The Dream Machine

Ashling has broken her bones one hundred times. She was born with osteogenesis imperfecta (OI), a rare bone disorder, which makes her bones very fragile and brittle. Because of her condition, Ashling is in chronic pain and is often hospitalized.

Sixteen-year-old Ashling witnesses her eight-year-old sister, Skylar, fall and break her leg during ski practice. For the first time, Skylar experiences what Ashling goes through on a regular basis. Ashling helps Skylar deal with her pain the same way she usually does: by using her dream machine, a machine that conjures up stories of imaginary worlds to distract her from pain.

"Skylar: the rainbow seeker" is a riveting tale of rainbows, a talking mole, a wily fox and a sport-shoe crazed leprechaun, through which Ashling not only distracts her sister but also cleverly reveals a sad truth: because of her injury, Skylar will be unable to ski for the rest of the season nor accept a sponsorship from one of the biggest alpine ski companies to participate in an exclusive summer ski camp.

Candace Amarante is an artist-researcher specializing in writing children's stories and plays. In most of her stories, she pursues two main goals: bringing awareness of children's rights through the arts, and incorporating, in children's literature, the voice of children with chronic illnesses. Her most recent work includes a poem for children, The Sky Smiles at Me (featured in the LEARN Quebec's My Goodnight Bag 2021); a play on children's rights, The Ugly Ones (with Chelsea Woolley; Geordie Theatre Fest 2020); and a play for young audiences, You, Me and Victor Hugo! on the concept of censorship. She has published a short children's story, The Blunder Family: Now Where'd I Put the Pork? (East of the Web 2020); and a children's book, The Pheasant's Tale or . . . Was it Its Tail? (Green Bamboo Publishing 2017). Amarante holds a Ph.D. in political science from Columbia University, NY. Currently, she is a member of the board of directors of the Canadian Coalition for the Rights of Children. When she is not writing, she loves skiing with her husband and reading with her daughter. For more information, please visit her website: https: //sites.google.com/site/candaceamarante/Dave Reed is an American children's book illustrator and character designer. He received a BFA from the School of Visual Arts in NYC, where he majored in illustration. He lives in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, with his fiancé, and their cat, Athena. IG: @drugfreedave Argerie Tsimicalis, RN, PhD, is an associate professor at the Ingram School of Nursing, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, McGill University; and Nurse Scientist at the Shriners Hospitals for Children-Canada. Dr. Tsimicalis is the recipient of a Junior 1 Research Scholar from the Quebec Research Funds-Health. This award allows her to spend most of her time conducting research with children. Dr. Tsimicalis lives in Montreal with her husband, Tasso, and three children, Thanos, Kleio and Leandros. They love skiing in the trees together.