Curious and curiouser — Jenny has been like that her whole life, even though it has got her into trouble now and then. But honestly, this world! The more mileage she gets under her belt, the more wonder she sees. For instance, she was this many years old when she discovered some species of shark have teeth on their eyes!

Her favourite funny tidbit from Canadian history might be apocryphal but, honestly, it sure sounds true: In the mid-1800’s, the Rideau Canal was built in Ottawa, the capital of Canada, to allow the British to protect against possible attack from the United States. But merchants said: ‘Why not make the canal a little wider so we can also use it for shipping?’ Queen Victoria decreed a compromise from her throne in London. The merchants would get a wider canal but only by half of what they had asked for. So the building costs went up accordingly and shipping vessels still couldn’t use the canal. It was too narrow.

Jenny grew up in Ottawa in a suburb that sat right on the edge of a forest where she built forts, and explored wildflowers, and bugs skittering on ponds. In her teens, she walked through it on her way to high school. Every time she stepped into it, she felt she was in another world.

That sense of finding other worlds right under our noses is what leads Jenny to write non-fiction, especially for children. It tells of real people who are a real inspiration, such as the women who sewed the space suits for Buzz Aldrin’s and Neil Armstrong’s moon landing from the tough, somewhat stretchy fabric used for girdles.

How could kids not like non-fiction!