Paulette Bourgeois, (born July 20, 1951) is a Canadian writer best known for creating Franklin the Turtle, the character who appears in picture books illustrated by

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

native Brenda Clark. The books have sold more than 60 million copies worldwide and have been translated into 38 languages. An animated television series, merchandise, DVDs and full-length films are based on the character.

Education and early career

Born in

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

Manitoba Manitoba is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population ...

, Bourgeois graduated with a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

degree in

Occupational therapy Occupational therapy (OT), also known as ergotherapy, is a healthcare profession. Ergotherapy is derived from the Greek wiktionary:ergon, ergon which is allied to work, to act and to be active. Occupational therapy is based on the assumption t ...

from the

University of Western Ontario The University of Western Ontario (UWO; branded as Western University) is a Public university, public research university in London, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on of land, surrounded by residential neighbourhoods and the Thame ...

in 1974. She was a psychiatric occupational therapist for three years before deciding to focus on her writing. She studied journalism at

Carleton University Carleton University is an English-language public university, public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1942 as Carleton College, the institution originally operated as a private, non-denominational evening college to se ...

then worked as a reporter for the ''

Ottawa Citizen The ''Ottawa Citizen'' is an English-language daily newspaper owned by Postmedia Network in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. History Established as the Bytown ''Packet'' in 1845 by William Harris (journalist), William Harris, it was renamed the ''Ci ...

'' and

CBC Television CBC Television (also known as CBC TV, or simply CBC) is a Television in Canada, Canadian English-language terrestrial television, broadcast television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcasting, p ...

. She became a freelance journalist in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

contributing pieces to ''

Chatelaine Chatelaine may refer to: *Chatelaine (chain), a set of short chains on a belt worn by women and men for carrying keys, thimble and/or sewing kit, etc. * Chatelaine (horse), a racehorse * ''Chatelaine'' (magazine), an English-language Canadian wom ...

'', ''

Canadian Living ''Canadian Living'' is a monthly Canadian lifestyle magazine, which publishes articles relating to food, fashion, crafts, and health and family advice. History and profile The magazine was created by Clem Compton-Smith and his business partner, ...

'', ''

Reader's Digest ''Reader's Digest'' is an American general-interest family magazine, published ten times a year. Formerly based in Chappaqua, New York, it is now headquartered in midtown Manhattan. The magazine was founded in 1922 by DeWitt Wallace and his wi ...

'' and ''

Maclean's ''Maclean's'' is a Canadian magazine founded in 1905 which reports on Canadian issues such as politics, pop culture, trends and current events. Its founder, publisher John Bayne Maclean, established the magazine to provide a uniquely Canadian ...

''. She returned to Toronto in 1983. Bourgeois graduated with an MFA in creative writing from the University of British Columbia in 2009.

Franklin

After the birth of her first child, Natalie, she decided to write a children's book inspired by the Season 7 episode of ''

M*A*S*H ''M*A*S*H'' (an acronym for Mobile Army Surgical Hospital) is an American media franchise consisting of a series of novels, a film, several television series, plays, and other properties, and based on the semi-autobiographical fiction of Richa ...

'' entitled C*A*V*E, where Hawkeye Pierce admits that he is

claustrophobic Claustrophobia is a fear of confined spaces. It is triggered by many situations or stimuli, including elevators, especially when crowded to capacity, windowless rooms, and hotel rooms with closed doors and sealed windows. Even bedrooms with a l ...

and refuses to go into a

cave Caves or caverns are natural voids under the Earth's Planetary surface, surface. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. Exogene caves are smaller openings that extend a relatively short distance undergrou ...

, "If I were a

turtle Turtles are reptiles of the order (biology), order Testudines, characterized by a special turtle shell, shell developed mainly from their ribs. Modern turtles are divided into two major groups, the Pleurodira (side necked turtles) and Crypt ...

I would be afraid of my own

shell Shell may refer to: Architecture and design * Shell (structure), a thin structure ** Concrete shell, a thin shell of concrete, usually with no interior columns or exterior buttresses Science Biology * Seashell, a hard outer layer of a marine ani ...

", he explained. ''Franklin in the Dark'' was illustrated by Brenda Clark and published in 1986. She is also the author of ''Changes in You and Me'', books about adolescence, the ''Oma's Quilt'' was developed as a short film by the National Film Board of Canada, ''Big Sarah's Little Boots'' and more. Paulette has also written dozens of non-fiction books for children, including the Amazing series, the ''In My Neighbourhood'' series, ''The Sun'', and ''The Moon''. She has been a columnist for Homemaker's Magazine, written for Canadian Living, Chatelaine and Today's Parent. She provided the concept and initial research for ''"The Bee Talker"'' which aired on CBC TV's ''

The Nature of Things ''The Nature of Things'' (formerly, ''The Nature of Things with David Suzuki'') is a Canadian television series of documentary programs. It debuted on CBC Television on 6 November 1960. Many of the programs document nature and the effect th ...

''. She has written three episodes of the TV documentary series, Creepy Canada, and has just finished the script for a full-length feature film, ''Loving Mrs. Twiggy''. The Canadian Association of Occupational Therapis

asked Bourgeois to write a picture book explaining the work of occupational therapists. ''You, Me and My OT

was published in 2009. It tells the story of Emma, a feisty young girl with cerebral palsy who participates in everyday classroom occupations. She has two grown-up children, Natalie and Gordon and lives in Toronto, Ontario.

Honours

In 2003, she became a Member of 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 ...

and in 2007, she received an Honorary Doctor of Laws from her alma mater, the University of Western Ontario, and an Award of Merit from the Canadian Association of Occupational Therapists.

Selected works

* ''On Your Mark, Get Set ...: All About the Olympics Then and Now'' (1987) * ''The Amazing Apple Book'' (1987) * ''The Amazing Paper Books'' (1989) * ''Starting with Space: The Sun'' (1995) * ''Starting with Space: The Moon'' (1995) * ''Oma's Quilt'' (2001)

References

External links

Maclean's Magazine - Million Dollar Turtle (Wayback Machine)
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bourgeois, Paulette 1951 births Living people 20th-century Canadian writers 21st-century Canadian writers 20th-century Canadian women writers 21st-century Canadian women writers Canadian Broadcasting Corporation people Canadian children's writers Canadian television reporters and correspondents Carleton University alumni Franco-Manitoban people Members of the Order of Canada University of British Columbia alumni University of Western Ontario alumni Occupational therapists Writers from Winnipeg Franklin the Turtle (books)