Kathleen Margaret "Kit" Pearson (born April 30, 1947) is a Canadian writer and winner of numerous literature awards. Pearson wrote the linked novels '' The Sky Is Falling'' (1989), ''Looking at the Moon'' (1991), and ''The Lights Go on Again'' (1993), published in 1999 as ''The Guests of War Trilogy'', and ''

Awake and Dreaming ''Awake and Dreaming'' is a children's novel by Canadian author Kit Pearson and illustrator Margot Zemach. It was first published in 1996. The book follows an impoverished, introverted nine-year-old girl named Theo Caffrey, who dreams of living ...

'' (1996), which won the 1997

Governor General's Award for English-language children's literature The Governor General's Award for English-language children's writing is a Canadian literary award that annually recognizes one Canadian writer for a children's book written in English. It is one of four children's book awards among the Governor Ge ...

. She was appointed to the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada () is a Canadian state order, national order and the second-highest Award, honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the Canadian Centennial, ce ...

in 2019.https://www.transatlanticagency.com/2019/01/07/kit-pearson-named-to-the-order-of-canada/ Agency press announcement of appointment to Order of Canada Pearson was born in

Edmonton Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...

Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

and spent her childhood between that city and

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

, British Columbia. As a high-school student, she returned to Vancouver to be educated at

Crofton House School Crofton House School, in the neighbourhood of Kerrisdale in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, is a private university-preparatory school for girls that is tied for first place in the Fraser Institute's rankings of schools in British Columbia. ...

. She obtained a degree in English Literature at the

University of Alberta The University of Alberta (also known as U of A or UAlberta, ) is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford, the first premier of Alberta, and Henry Marshall Tory, t ...

. In 1975, she began her Library degree at the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a Public university, public research university with campuses near University of British Columbia Vancouver, Vancouver and University of British Columbia Okanagan, Kelowna, in British Columbia, Canada ...

and took her first jobs in that field in

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

. She later obtained an M.A. at the Simmons College Center for the Study of Children's Literature in

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

. Returning to Vancouver, she completed her first novel ''The Daring Game'' which was published by

Penguin Books Penguin Books Limited is a Germany, German-owned English publishing, publishing house. It was co-founded in 1935 by Allen Lane with his brothers Richard and John, as a line of the publishers the Bodley Head, only becoming a separate company the ...

. Pearson moved to

Victoria, British Columbia Victoria is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of British Columbia, on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific Ocean, Pacific coast. The city has a population of 91,867, and the Gre ...

, in 2005, where she lives with her partner Katherine Farris.

Awards

for ''Awake and Dreaming'' *

Vicky Metcalf Award The Vicky Metcalf Award for Literature for Young People, colloquially called the Vicky, is given annually at the Writers' Trust Awards to a writer or illustrator whose body of work has been "inspirational to Canadian youth". It is a top honour for ...

for a body of work * Mr. Christie's Book Award, for ''The Sky is Falling'' * The "Vlag en Wimpel" prize for the Dutch edition of ''The Sky is Falling''. *

Canadian Library Association The Canadian Library Association (CLA) was a national, predominantly English-language association which represented 57,000 library workers across Canada. It also spoke for the interests of the 21 million Canadians who are members of libraries. C ...

Children's Book of the Year Award, for ''A Handful of Time'', ''The Sky is Falling'' and ''The Whole Truth'' * Geoffrey Bilson Award for Historical Fiction, for ''The Sky is Falling'' and ''The Lights Go on Again'' * Manitoba Young Readers' Choice Award, for ''Looking at the Moon'' and ''Awake and Dreaming''. * National I.O.D.E. Violet Downey Award for ''The Lights Go On Again''. * Ruth Schwartz Award, for ''Awake and Dreaming'' and ''The Whole Truth''. *

Red Cedar Award Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–750 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a secondary ...

, for ''Awake and Dreaming''. *

Lieutenant Governor's Award for Literary Excellence The Lieutenant Governor's Award for Literary Excellence is administered by the BC Book Prizes and recognizes a writer who has contributed significantly to the development of literary excellence in British Columbia, as well as having written a substa ...

Bibliography

* ''The Daring Game'' (1986) * ''A Handful of Time'' (1987) * '' The Sky is Falling'' (1989) * ''The Singing Basket'' (1990) * ''Looking at the Moon'' (1991) * ''The Lights Go on Again'' (1993) * ''

'' (1996) * ''This Land'' (1998; editor) * ''The Guests of War Trilogy'' (1999) (Compilation volume of ''The Sky is Falling'', ''Looking at the Moon'', and ''The Lights Go on Again'') * ''Whispers of War: The War of 1812 Diary of Susanna Merritt'' (2002) ( Dear Canada series) * ''A Perfect Gentle Knight'' (2007) *''The Whole Truth'' (2011) * ''And Nothing But The Truth'' (2012) * ''A Day of Signs and Wonders'' (2016) * ''Be My Love'' (2019) * ''The Magic Boat'' (with Katherine Farris, illustrated by Gabrielle Grimard) (2019)

References

* W. H. New, ed. ''Encyclopedia of Literature in Canada.'' Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2002: 869.

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pearson, Kit 1947 births Living people Canadian LGBTQ novelists Canadian children's writers Canadian women novelists Members of the Order of Canada Simmons University alumni Canadian women children's writers Writers from Edmonton Writers from Victoria, British Columbia Governor General's Award–winning children's writers 20th-century Canadian LGBTQ people 21st-century Canadian LGBTQ people Novelists from Alberta Novelists from British Columbia