They say "it takes a village"; to raise a child and to care for families in crisis. It takes both a child and a village and a wise hat-maker in Caroline Woodward's first chapter book for 8-to-11-year-olds, The Village of Many Hats (Oolichan $9.95). As the protagonist nine-year-old Gina struggles with her sister's illness, tragedy within their mountain village of Silverado brings the community together.

With her literary roots in the Peace River, Woodward, born in Fort St. John, is also moving onto new ground geographically with The Village of Many Hats, setting her uplifting story in the Kootenay and Slocan valleys of southeastern B.C. where she founded a bookstore.

"Outside the vibrant cultural life and amenities of cities,"; she says, "I have to say that the rural and semi-rural Kootenays possess the people, the wilderness, the do-it-ourselves attitudes and the persistence to keep the arts in all its forms thriving.
"There is a constant flow between all age groups that I have found nowhere else and that I still find truly remarkable,"; she says. "During the eight years that my partner, Jeff George, and I ran the Motherlode Bookstore in New Denver, I was able to appreciate the way that people supported each other in times of crisis and in times of celebration, too.";
Woodward lived for eighteen years in the Kootenays: on the north shore of Kootenay Lake, attending the visionary, late, still-lamented David Thompson University Centre in Nelson. In Winlaw, she also worked in various capacities for Julian Ross and Ruth Porter at Polestar Press.

"I remain inspired by the work of so many talented and generous community organizers and artists I've met, collaborated with and still sing the praises of in The Village of Many Hats.
"I haven't even begun to pay homage to the abandoned railway tracks, the glorious hot springs, the cold, clean lakes and river swimming holes, the plentiful mountain ranges with acres of wild flowers on their slopes for six weeks and fantastic skiing the rest of the year...

"Did I say that I intend to live in the Kootenays again? Well, I do!"; says Woodward, who currently lives near Tofino.

The name of the village in her book combines one of the early names for present-day New Denver - El Dorado - and Silverton, a village on the shores of Slocan Lake, only five kilometres to the south of New Denver. "Silverado is more than just the name brand of a truck!"; says Woodward.

After the province withdrew 100% of its funding for the New Denver Reading Centre, Woodward posted her work-in-progress online and auctioned off roles in the story to five 'real' people who have contributed over $900 to support the centre: Heather Fox, Dr. Jamie Barber, Judi Gardiner, Wendy Harlock, and Francie Oldham.

The muse for her character Madame D'Oiseaux is the multi-talented milliner and fabric artist, Rosalie Bird, who still lives in New Denver. The book was launched at the Bosun Hall in New Denver in May. 978-0-88982-284-9

[BCBW 2012]