We’re introducing Staff Q&A’s so you can get to know the Owlkids team a bit better.
Today, it’s Dytria’s birthday! Dytria works on the Owlkids Books team and we asked her some fun questions about some of her favourite things and birthday traditions. Check it out!
Your favourite Owlkids book?
An impossible choice because they are all so good! But my introverted heart has a special place for How to Party Like a Snail.đ
Do you have a birthday tradition?
Nothing out of the ordinary – dinner with my family. Maybe I should start one though…
What’s your favourite colour?
Forest green. đČ
Favourite activity:
Reading (of course), but I also love doing puzzles, building Legos, and playing sports. â€ïž
If you could pick a superpower?
Teleportation for sure! There’s a whole world to see and I would love to skip the plane rides. đ
In the September issue of Chickadee, we published the story “Teacher’s Pet” by Jeff Szpriglas and illustrated by Sandra Dumais. Did you know that the author, Jeff, based the dog Ruff-Ruff on his own pet? We wanted to know more so we asked him some questions. Read on!
Jeff: We got her during the lockdown portion of the pandemic, so there were no in-person dog training schools available to us. We did learn from some online videos, and my wife Danielle (who also writes books with me) is a lifelong dog owner.
Do you like dancing along with The Wiggles? We do! And we had a chance to meet Blue Wiggle Anthony and new Yellow Wiggle Tsehay and ask them some burning questions sent in by Chirp readers. Check out their answers!
What is the best part about being a Wiggle? – MatildaÂ
Anthony: You get to dress up every day in your favourite colour. And my favourite colour is blue! And I get to sing and dance and play songs for children.
Tsehay: I get to wear my favourite colour which is yellow. It matches my name, which means “the sun”. And I love to dance and sing with kids and have a great time.
Why are you called The Wiggles? – Lennon and Regan
Anthony: When we first made our music, we saw that young children kind of wiggled more than they danced. So we thought we’d make our name The Wiggles!
How do you come up with your songs? – Kayla and Emily
Anthony: When you write for children, you can choose from a whole world of ideas because children are so open and curious. We can write about fruit salad, yummy, yummy! Or we will write about a hot potato getting in the car, chug, chug!
Tsehay: The wiggles have different talents so it’s also about showcasing what each Wiggle can do. I love to dance!
Does Captain Feathersword actually live on a pirate ship? – Fallon
Anthony: He lives on land but he spends so much time on the SS Feathersword that when he comes off it he has sea legs! So he gets a bit wobbly sometimes.
Thanks so much to The Wiggles for answering our questions! And be sure to check out the Chirp blog later this month for a special Wiggles Tour Ticket Giveaway with our friends at Treehouse!
Left to right: Kyra, Noam, Julia, Glee, Vasili, Aliyah Rose, Izzy, Abby.
The Mini Pop Kids are Canada’s best-selling kids music group! They are currently travelling across North America, including a stop in Toronto, Ontario on June 12th, with their Bright Lights RELIT tour. You can dance along while they sing songs by BTS, Justin Bieber, Dua Lipa, Harry Styles, Olivia Rodgrio and more!
Glee, 11, is a member of Mini Pop Kids. Chickadee intern, Erin, had the chance to talk to her about what itâs like to be part of the musical groupâread on!
What is the best part of being in Mini Pop Kids?Â
The best part of being in Mini Pop Kids is performing on stage. Itâs what makes all those hours of practice worth it, and I love to meet the audience after, too!
How did you start performing with the group?
I auditioned for MPK (very nervous), made the team group (very excited!), and love being with the other Mini Pop Kids! We all want to put on the best show and music possible, and feed off the energy from the crowd, and each other.
Do you ever get stage fright? How do you get over it?
Yes, stage fright is real! But once I start my first move and vocal it all disappears … and I just become super excited and able to channel that energy into my performance.
What advice would you give to a kid who wants to become a singer or a performer?
Follow your passion and work really hard! Never give up! Your dreams will come true if you work at it!
What is your favourite song to perform? Why?
I love all the songs, but if I must choose one right now, it would be “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” because it is more than a song â each MPK gets to be a character. The music video was so much fun to film, and I love to stream the song. I hope the readers love it as much as we loved making it!