Inspiring a Best-Selling Author

Lauretta Reid, 11, of Orillia, Ontario, has inspired one of Canada’s best-selling authors to write his latest children’s book.

Youngsters the world over love the funny and whimsical stories of Robert Munsch. His more than 35 books feature an array of strong, likeable characters who have captured the imagination of his young readers. Munsch’s new book is no exception.

The book, Zoom!, is about a feisty little girl with a disability who is tired of her ratty, old wheelchair. Her mother takes her shopping to buy a new wheelchair, but Lauretta wants to take home the fastest wheelchair in the store. In the end, when her older brother has an accident, it’s Lauretta who saves the day by speeding him to the hospital in her super-fast wheelchair.

The real-life Lauretta, who has spina bifida, says she “wanted a funny book about a kid with a wheelchair, but I didn’t want there to be a moral.” Robert Munsch met with Lauretta and her family before the book was published to get her reaction to the story and illustrations.

Zoom! is published by Scholastic Canada Ltd. (www.scholastic.ca). For more information, call (905) 887-7323.