About Sarabeth Holden - Children's Author

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Sarabeth is an award-winning author and children's writer based in Toronto, ON, and she's Anaana to two inspirational little boys. Together with her husband Sean, she owns Red Tape Brewery in the east end of Toronto. Sarabeth, who is Inuit from the community of Pangnirtung, Nunavut, was born in Halifax and raised between New Brunswick and Nunavut. She is also known for her delightful book, 'Benny the Bananasaurus Rex,' which captures the imagination of children everywhere.

Sarabeth, an award-winning author, loves to do school visits where she facilitates engaging writing workshops for classes from kindergarten to grade 12. Workshop Estimated time: 30 minutes. Format: In person. Materials: Whiteboard, flipchart, or blackboard. Markers or chalk for the writing surface provided. Age group: This creative writing workshop is directed towards learners up to the age of 8. Sarabeth will start by reading her popular book, Benny the Bananasaurus Rex, followed by a brief introduction to the activity. She will encourage the group to suggest words that will inspire the story writing process, and then collaboratively create a story based on the suggested words. For example, if the group suggests the words: strawberries, snow, hot chocolate, park, Eric, and Zara, Sarabeth will weave a story using these elements: Eric went to his best friend Zara’s house to see if she wanted to go sledding. “Hi Eric!” Zara said, “I’m having some strawberries, do you want to have some?” “Sure!”, responded Eric, “Then do you want to take our sleds to the park?” “That sounds like a great plan!”, said Zara. They munched on the scrumptious strawberries, bundled up in their snowsuits, and headed out into the fresh snow with their sleds. When they arrived at the park, they found their friends already having fun sledding. The snow was so fast! They laughed and played for hours. “Should we go home and have some hot chocolate?”, asked Zara. “Let’s do it!”, said Eric. So they trudged home, sleds in tow, to enjoy hot chocolate with marshmallows while their soggy snowsuits dripped dry in the entryway. Depending on time and participation, we may repeat the exercise, sometimes allowing kids to create their own unique stories.