
Sheree Fitch
Biography
Born in Ottawa in 1956, Sheree Fitch grew up in the Maritimes, where she has lived in Newcastle, Moncton, Fredericton, and Halifax. She received her undergraduate degree from St. Thomas University, then earned a Masters in English at Acadia University. Fitch began by creating poems and performing in New Brunswick classrooms for ten years while she was a single mother of two boys and struggling to pay the bills. Perhaps best known for bestselling children’s poems like Toes in My Nose (1987), Fitch has also published adult poetry, In This House There Are Many Women (1993), as well as a young adult novel, The Gravesavers (2005). Fitch suggests children’s poetry is as technically demanding as adult poetry—if not more so because of the precise metre. As she tells Jeanette Lynes in Words out There: Women Poets in Atlantic Canada: “Writing good nonsense verse is demanding and I still want to do it better and do it until I die” (159). The main difference between writing for adults and children for her is the emotional cost of writing about adult issues, such as the domestic violence which pervades In This House. Fitch, a UNICEF goodwill ambassador, has used her reputation to advocate for children’s literacy and has travelled widely to teach creative writing and promote literacy: Africa, Bhutan, and the northern part of Canada. Fitch has received honorary degrees from Saint Mary’s University and Acadia, and she has won numerous awards, including a Queen’s Fellowship in 1987 and the Vicky Metcalf Award for a body of work inspirational to Canadian Children in 2000.
Bibliography
- Toes in my Nose. Toronto: Doubleday, 1987.
- Sleeping Dragons All Around. (Michele Nidenoff). Toronto: Doubleday Canada, 1989.
- Merry-go-day. (with Molly Lamb Bobak). Toronto: Doubleday Canada, 1991.
- There Were Monkeys in My Kitchen! (with Marc Mongeau) Toronto: Doubleday Canada, 1992.
- In This House Are Many Women. Fredericton: Goose Lane, 1993.
- I Am Small. (with Kim LaFave). Toronto: Doubleday Canada, 1994.
- The Sweet Chorus of Ha, Ha, He! Polyphony in Utterance: A Collection of Writings on Children’s Poetry. Ottawa: National Library of Canada, 1994.
- Mabel Murple. (with Maryann Kovalski). Toronto: Doubleday Canada, 1995.
- The Bridge from A-Z: Linking PEI, NB, Canada. (with Kathy Creaghan Gray, and Elizabeth Scott). Cornwall, PE: Quality Action Consulting, 1996.
- Ani Ketanah (Benatayim). (with Kim LaFave and Rimonah Di-Nur). Or Yehudah: Hed Arsi: Sheva, 1997.
- The Hullabaloo Bugaboo Day. (with Jill Quinn). East Lawrencetown, NS: Pottersfield Press, 1997.
- If You Could Wear My Sneakers! (with Darcia Labrosse) Toronto: Doubleday Canada, 1997.
- There’s a Mouse in My House! (with Leslie Elizabeth Watts) Toronto: Doubleday Canada, 1997.
- If I Were the Moon. (with Leslie Elizabeth Watts). Toronto: Doubleday Canada, 1999.
- The Other Author Arthur. (with Jill Quinn) East Lawrencetown, NS: Pottersfield Press, 1999.
- Writing Maniac: How I Grew Up to be a Writer (And You Can, Too!) Markham, ON: Pembroke Publishers, 2000.
- Everybody's Different on Everybody Street (with Laura Jolicoeur). Dartmount: Nova Scotia Hospital Foundation, 2001.
- No Two Snowflakes (with Janet Wilson) Victoria, BC: Orca Book Publishers, 2001.
- One More Step. Victoria, BC: Orca Book Publishers, 2002.
- The Tale of the Hidden Story (with Judi Pennanen). Fredericton, NB: Early Childhood Centre, 2002.
- When Dinosaurs Dine By Moonlight. Toronto: Doubleday Canada, 2002.
- Persnickety Pete (The Cleanest Boy in the World): A Play. (with Jane Wallace-Mitchell). South Melbourne, Victoria: Pearson Education Australia Pty Ltd, 2003.
- If I Were the Moon: Two Part Song. (with James Wright). Oakville, ON: Leslie Music Supply, 2004.
- Pocket Rocks. (with Helen Flook). Victoria, BC: Orca Book Publishers, 2004.
- If I Had a Million Onions. (with Yayo). Vancouver: Tradewind Books, 2005.
- The Gravesavers: A Novel. Toronto: Doubleday Canada, 2005.
- Novel Study Guide to Accompany The Gravesavers by Sheree Fitch. (with Glen R Turnbull). N.p: CanLit for Kids Books Ltd, 2005.
- Peek-a-Little Boo. (with Laura Watson). Victoria, BC: Orca Book Publishers, 2005.
- Kiss the Joy as it Flies. Halifax: Nimbus, 2008.
- Kisses Kisses Baby-O! (with Hilda Rose). Halifax: Nimbus, 2008.
- The Poetry Experience: Choosing and Using Poetry in the Classroom (with Larry Swartz). Markham: Pembroke, 2008.
- Weska'qelmut apje'juanue (with Bernard Francis and Hilda Rose). Halifax: Nimbus, 2009.
- Pluto's Ghost. Toronto: Doubleday Canada, 2010.
- Breathe, Stretch, Write: Learning to Write With Everything You've Got. Markham: Pembroke, 2011.
- Night Sky Wheel Ride (with Yayo). Vancouver: Tradewind, 2012.
- Singily Skipping Along. Halifax: Nimbus, 2014.
Critical Sources
- Babinski, Bob. "Sheree Fitch: Reaching for the Moon." Atlantic Advocate 81.6 (1991): 9-11.
- Canton, Jeffrey. Rev. of If I Were the Moon, by Sheree Fitch. Books in Canada 28.5 (1999): 41.
- Clement, Lesley D. “Women Do This Every Day: Selected Poems of Lillian Allen / In This House Are Many Women / This Brighter Prison: A Book of Journeys.” Rev. of In This House Are Many Women, by Sheree Fitch. Canadian Literature 148 (1996): 136-39.
- Dyer, Hadley. “Nonsense Poet Explores New Forms.” Quill & Quire 63.6 (1997): 61.
- Findon, Joanne. Rev. of There’s a Mouse in My House, by Sheree Fitch. Quill & Quire 63.12 (1997): 36.
- Goodall, Lian. Rev. of If You Could Wear My Sneakers, by Sheree Fitch. Books in Canada 28.1 (1999): 31.
- Haughian Sheree. Rev. of If I Were the Moon, by Sheree Fitch. Quill & Quire 65.4 (1999): 36.
- Jenkinson, Dave. "Sheree Fitch: Prize Winning Writer of 'Utterance.'" Emergency Librarian 21.1 (1993): 66-70.
- Lawlor, Patty. Rev. of The Other Author Arthur, by Sheree Fitch. Quill & Quire 65.11 (1999): 47.
- Lynes, Jeanette. “Profile: ‘A Purple Sort of Girl.’ Sheree Fitch’s Tales of Emergence.” Canadian Children’s Literature 90 (1998): 28.
- “Sheree Fitch: The Laundry Basket and the Moon.” Words out There: Women Poets in Atlantic Canada. Lockeport, NS: Roseway Publishing, 1999. 156-63.
- Martin, Bern. Rev. of If You Could Wear My Sneakers!, by Sheree Fitch. Books in Canada 26.6 (1997): 33.
- Oppel, Kenneth. “About a Nautical Disaster.” Rev. of The Gravesavers, by Sheree Fitch. Quill & Quire 71.2 (2005): 34.
- Rev. of Hullaballo Bugaboo Day, by Sheree Fitch. Atlantic Books Today 19 (1997-98): 16.
- Rev. of I Am Small, by Sheree Fitch. CM 22.5 (1994): 187.
- Rev. of I Am Small, by Sheree Fitch. Quill & Quire 60.6 (1994): 47.
- Rev. of If I Were the Moon, by Sheree Fitch. Canadian Children's Literature 26.1 (2000): 54-5.
- Rev. of In This House Are Many Woman, by Sheree Fitch. Atlantic Books Today 4 (1993): 29.
- Rev. of In This House Are Many Woman, by Sheree Fitch. Canadian Literature 148 (1996): 136-38.
- Rev. of Mabel Murple, by Sheree Fitch. Atlantic Books Today 9 (1995).
- Rev. of Mabel Murple, by Sheree Fitch. Canadian Children's Literature 22.1 (1996): 43-4.
- Rev. of Mabel Murple, by Sheree Fitch. Quill & Quire 61.6 (1995): 56.
- Rev. of Merry-Go-Day, by Sheree Fitch. Atlantic Provinces Book Review 18.3 (1991): 12.
- Rev. of Merry-Go-Day, by Sheree Fitch. Quill & Quire 57.7 (1991): 52.
- Rev. of Merry-Go-Day, by Sheree Fitch. CM 20.3 (1992): 162.
- Rev. of The Other Author Arthur, by Sheree Fitch. Quill & Quire 65.11 (1999): 47.
- Rev. of Sleeping Dragons all Around, by Sheree Fitch. CM 18.2 (1990): 63.
- Rev. of There's a Mouse in my House, by Sheree Fitch. Canadian Children's Literature 26.1 (2000): 54-5.
- Rev. of There Were Monkeys in My Kitchen!, by Sheree Fitch. Atlantic Books Today 2 (1993): 20.
- Rev. of There Were Monkeys in My Kitchen!, by Sheree Fitch. Canadian Children's Literature 22.1 (1996): 43-4.
- Rev. of There Were Monkeys in my Kitchen!, by Sheree Fitch. Quill & Quire 58.10 (1992): 34.
- Rev. of Toes in My Nose, by Sheree Fitch. Atlantic Books Today 2 (1993): 20.
- Rev. of Toes in My Nose, by Sheree Fitch. Books for Young People 1.3 (1987): 10.
- Rev. of Toes in My Nose, by Sheree Fitch. Canadian Children's Literature 50 (1988): 76-7.
See also: - ShereeFitch.com: Sheree Fitch's Official Website
- "A Conversation with Sheree Fitch." JustOneMoreBook.com. 2006 [Podcast Link]
- Danielle Fuller, Writing the Everyday: Women’s Textual Communities in Atlantic Canada. Montreal: McGill-Queens, 2004. 198-214.