The Longest Home Run

Roch Carrier is Canada’s National Librarian and the beloved author of many Canadian classics for both adults and children. In 1968 he published his hugely successful novel, La Guerre, Yes Sir!. He has written many novels, short stories, plays, film and television scripts, essays, travel books, and poetry. Several of his works have become classics and are used in schools and universities around the world. His much-loved children’s story, The Hockey Sweater, remains a timeless favorite. In 1991, Roch Carrier was awarded the Stephen Leacock Award for Humour for Prayers of a Very Wise Child. Among his many other awards and honors, Mr. Carrier is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, an Officer of the Order of Canada, and the holder of many honorary doctorates. All this from the boy who grew up in a village with no library and no books. Now the village has a brand new library – the Roch Carrier Library.

Sheldon Cohen has had an impressive career in illustration, animation, film directing, and painting. His films include Pies (1983), which won the Blue Ribbon at the American Film Festival, and The Sweater (1980), which won fifteen international awards. The Sweater‘s success with a book version of the film and a sequel, the latter won the Governor General’s Award for Children’s Illustrations. The Snow Cat, an animated film based on a children’s book by the late Dayal Kaur Khalsa, was released in 1998. In addition to his work in film, Sheldon Cohen is an accomplished and highly regarded painter and a sought-after lecturer and teacher. He lives in Montreal.