jane baird warren
stories for the
young
and young
at heart
Jane Baird Warren writes for kids, and adults like her, who still read Middle Grade and Young Adult fiction— Harry Potter was a game-changer, wasn't it?
In her fiction and in real life, Jane is fascinated by people — the good ones, the bad ones, and the ones who are ugly inside — but what she values most in both worlds is kindness and courage. She is currently obsessed with the notion of family secrets and how uncovering the truth changes how kids (adults, too!) see and define themselves. She has ridiculous memory for trivia, which she'd always believed was the most useless superpower a girl could have. Until she started writing.
Featured on CBC'smiddle-grade books to watch for
When her class is assigned a family tree project, Lizzie knows hers will become fodder for Scotch Gully’s town gossips. It’s 1981, and she’s the only one with an unmarried mom. So she turns to her neighbour Harry for advice, but he has problems of his own. A stranger has turned up, claiming to own his farm, and Harry is being forced out.
For David, the new owner’s son, everything is riding on this. The farm is his chance to escape the city and his bullies at school. And maybe even get his mom away from her horrible new fiancé. But he wasn’t expecting to find someone else living there.
Lizzie and David become surprising allies, and as their family stories crack wide open, they uncover the keys that could save Harry and his farm. But sharing long buried secrets has a cost too. Can they trust themselves – and each other – to find the way forward together?
How to Be a Goldfish is a gripping story about lost and found family, fierce friendship, warm griddle cakes, and finding the courage to be who you were always meant to be.
Cover art by Julie McLaughlin