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As It Happens

What's it like to be in a Robert Munsch book? Taylor Gordon knows.

Taylor Gordon was 11 when the children’s author visited her school in Cobalt, Ontario. Soon she and her friend were starring in one of his stories. As Robert Munsch turns 70, she made a film about the experience.
CBC Radio ·
Taylor Gordon met children's author Robert Munsch when she was 11. Later, he wrote her into his book, "I'm So Embarrassed." (Photo: Taylor Gordon)

Taylor Gordon has a story to tell about the time she got put into a Robert Munsch story.

More than a decade ago, when she was a student in Cobalt, Ontario, the children's author came to visit her school -- and stayed at her home.

When Munsch arrived in Cobalt, the teacher who'd convinced him to come, Jackie Livingston, and her family went to meet him at the airport. Livingston was so excited she rushed up to him and gave him a huge hug. Her son, Andrew, was embarrassed.

Another student at Taylor Gordon's school, Andrew Livingston, was the inspiration for the main character in "I'm So Embarrassed." (Photo: Taylor Gordon)

Munsch began quizzing Andrew about what other things about his mother embarrassed him. And within about a half an hour, a story started to take form.

Later, he wrote Gordon into the story as Andrew's sidekick. And, in 2005, his book "I'm So Embarrassed" was published.

Now, Gordon is a student at Fanshawe College. And she's made a short film about how the story came to be. It's called, "I'm Still Embarrassed."

Its release comes as Munsch turns 70 on Thursday.

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