Paulette Bourgeois

In 2003, she became a Member of the Order of Canada and in 2007, she received an Honorary Doctor of Laws from her alma mater, the University of Western Ontario, and an Award of Merit from the Canadian Association of Occupational Therapists.

After the birth of her first child, Natalie, she decided to write a children's book. Inspired by the Season 7 episode of M*A*S*H, C*A*V*E, where Hawkeye Pierce admits that he is claustrophobic and refuses to go into a cave, "If I were a turtle I would be afraid of my own shell", he said. After Franklin in the Dark was illustrated by Brenda Clark and published in 1986.

Born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Bourgeois graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Occupational therapy from the University of Western Ontario in 1974. She was a psychiatric occupational therapist for three years before deciding to focus on her writing. She studied journalism at Carleton University then worked as a reporter for the Ottawa Citizen and CBC Television. She became a freelance journalist in Washington, D.C. contributing pieces to Chatelaine, Canadian Living, Reader's Digest and Maclean's. She returned to Toronto in 1983. Bourgeois graduated with an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of British Columbia in 2009.

Paulette Bourgeois, CM (born July 20, 1951) is a Canadian writer best known for creating Franklin the Turtle, the character who appears in picture books illustrated by Toronto native Brenda Clark. The books have sold more than 60 million copies around the world and have been translated into 38 languages. An animated television series, merchandise, DVDs and full-feature movies are based on the character.