mail	6178 - 130B Street Surrey, BC V3X2G9
ph	604-590-0405
e	gina-mb@shaw.ca
web	www.ginabooks.com

Biography

Gina McMurchy-Barber was the recipient of the Governor General's Award for Excellence in Teaching Canadian History. Prior to teaching, she majored in archaeology at Simon Fraser University, studied orangutans in Borneo with Dr. Birute Galdikas, and led backpack tours to Asia and South America. She has written curriculum for Right to Play, Ecovoyageurs and Mysteries of the Great Lakes and given presentations at teacher conferences.

Her first novel, Reading the Bones, was released March 2008. By June, it was shortlisted and nominated for the 2008/2009 Langley Book of the Year Award. Later that summer Reading the Bones was evaluated by BC ERAC and added to the provincial recommended reading list for grades 6 and 7. And in the fall it was nominated for the 2009 Silver Birch Award. Her second YA novel, Free as a Bird, was released in March 2010.

When Children Play is her first non-fiction book and is about the international humanitarian organization, Right To Play. And Broken Bones is her sequel to Reading the Bones and is a juvenile novel that takes the protagonist into th einterior of British Columbia to learn more about archaeology and life.

Gina offers fun and interesting interactive presentations to schools and libraries. She lives in South Surrey, B.C.

Book types: juvenile fiction, juvenile nonfiction, YA fiction

Guest speaker/presentation information

As an experienced classroom teacher I have prepared interactive lessons on archaeology and Coast Salish culture; a teacher lesson plan; an archaeological display; and ensured content meets IRP requirements for socials, science and language arts.

Presentation geographic range: Vancouver, Coast, Lower Mainland, Gulf and Vancouver Islands, Thompson Okanagan, Northern British Columbia, Cariboo Chilcotin Coast, Kootenay Rockies, The Territories, Canada - beyond BC, USA

Presentation audience age groups: grades 4-6, grades 7-8, college/university/adult

Published work

Reading the Bones
Free as a Bird
When Children Play
Broken Bones

Awards & recognition

Governor General's Award for Excellence in Teaching Canadian History
Reading the Bones was nominated for the 2009 Silver Birch Award; the 2009 Langley Book of the Year Award