LOGO

Joseph Simons, author of children's novel Under A Living Sky, was born in Oakville, Ontario in 1956, a year after his parents had emigrated from Holland. The oldest of eight children, Joseph grew up on a farm. He rode the bus to school in the city every day, and when he was in grade 7 he received a horse, which he then raised. He also loved hockey, but when Joseph got into a motorcycle accident, he could no longer skate.

After high school, Joseph worked as a truck driver. After the accident, he decided to go to a bible college in Saskatchewan because he wanted to be a minister. In college, Joseph met his wife who wanted to be a writer. After college, he worked on farms, then as a bus driver, and then in a home for persons with mental disabilities. Since he and his wife moved to McCauley almost six years ago, Joseph has worked with special needs children in a junior high school as a teacher's assistant.

Under A Living Sky is set in 1937, near the end of the Great Depression. Farms in Saskatchewan were very, very poor, and 11,000 went bankrupt that year. Money was so tight that only the oldest child would receive a new article of clothing for Christmas. In this story, the oldest daughter gets new shoes for Christmas and the younger daughter gets a homemade doll. This makes the older sister jealous because their parents made the doll with their own hands. The oldest daughter eventually buries her sister's doll in the snow.

Joseph first heard this story from his father-in-law who grew up during the Great Depression. Hearing such a short version of this story troubled Joseph to such a degree that he had to do something to change it. He decided to rewrite it and expand it. One of his main challenges he found was trying to understand the motivations of the characters.

Joseph Simons will be visiting Ridgevalley School this fall, Oct 26th from 2:00-3:00 p.m. in the school library.  All members of the community are invited to attend.  See you there.