Sara Cassidy’s children’s books include finalists for the Governor General’s Literary Award in Young People’s Literature, Ruth and Sylvia Schwartz Children’s Book Award, and Sunburst Award for Excellence in Canadian Literature of the Fantastic. Her book Genius Jolene won the Sheila A. Egoff Children’s Literature Prize. She lives in Victoria, British Columbia, and works in communications for the B.C. Ministry of Health.

Julie McLaughlin is an award-winning illustrator who has illustrated numerous children’s titles, including Why We Live Where We Live winner of the 2015 Norma Fleck Award for Canadian Children’s Non-Fiction. She was also the recipient of the Victoria Book Prize and The Nature Generation Green Earth Book Award in 2023. Julie grew up on the Prairies and now resides on Vancouver Island, B.C.

l to r: Sara Cassidy and Julie McLaughlin

Excerpt from Star Sailor, The Story of Words by Sara Cassidy and Julie McLaughlin (Orca Book Publishers, 2025). Reprinted with permission from the publisher. All rights reserved. 

Star Sailor, The Story of Words publishes on August 19.