My Name Is Blessing

Eric Walters, Member of the Order of Canada, began writing in 1993 as a way to get his fifthgrade students interested in reading and writing. Eric cofounded a children’s program called Creation of Hope that supports orphaned children in the Mbooni district in rural Kenya and is recognized by the Mbooni community as an elder. He spends time each year working with the children and helping to run the organization. For the rest of the year he lives in Guelph, Ontario. For more information, visit www.ericwalters.net.

Eugenie Fernandes is one of Canada’s most established children’s author-illustrators, with more than ninety books to her credit. Her paintings for illustrations have been used by UNICEF to create cards and puzzles and by One Hen, Inc. to create award-winning educational websites. Her paintings from the books Earth Magic and One Hen: How One Small Loan Made a Big Difference are on display at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African Art, and Earth Magic was short-listed for Canada’s Governor General’s Literary Award for Illustration. Eugenie graduated from the School of Visual Arts in New York City and now lives in Lakehurst, Ontario, where she writes and paints in a studio made of glass.