Murder & Mayhem Around Leduc is Tom's fourth book about Leduc, Alberta, Canada Did two teenage boys get away with crimes due to the wealth of their parents? Who poisoned a five year old? Did a highly regarded police office once try to murder his wife? Did a horse really go shopping? How did a lawyer get a town named after him? Answers to these and other questions are answered within these pages.
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ABOUT Tom
A Mommet in Time
Author Tom Dirsa grew up on the tip of Cape Cod in Massachusetts. After graduating from university, he moved to Alberta, Canada for two years, which became a lifetime.
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After a successful career as a teacher, basketball coach, and a school administrator that took him and his wife, Margaret, to New England, Saskatchewan, and many communities throughout Alberta, they retired to Leduc, Alberta in 2008.
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He has published a series of children picture books based on true incidents involving one of Tom's grandsons who was diagnosed with ADHD early in his life. BJ is a real person who has a quick wit and is full of energy.
Tom is a popular presenter to Teacher Conventions based on his experience with his grandson. Tom is currently available to do Facetime/Skype presentations to classrooms about writing.
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Tom worked as a freelance reporter for the Pipestone-Flyer Newspaper for three years. During that time, he wrote a series of articles on the history of Leduc and District that proved to be very popular and has resulted in him working with the Leduc Public Library on three local history books.
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He was contracted to write for Beach Street Book’s series titled Canada Turns 150. He wrote the first book in the series titled Canada becomes a Federation. In September of 2018, his fourth children’s picture book called To See a Deer and a history book called Leduc: Then & Now was Published.
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The School with No Students was published in April of 2020 and shows what schools look like without students due to the Coronavirus.The Alberta Provincial Museum accepted it as part of their collection about Covid-19.
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In April 2023 adds to the history of Leduc called Leduc: Then & Now: Vol 3 Downtown. His 4th book about leduc Murder & Mayhem Around Leduc was published in October 2023.
What's Up?
With the advent of Covid-19, our ability to make presentations and promote our books was dramatically curtailed. Fortunately the Leduc Public Library offered us an opportunity to present stories from our book Leduc: Then & Now.
The presentations are available on YouTube. This is the second video in the series..
Books by Tom Dirsa
Tom's first four books are children picture books. The story “Sweaty Eyes” is based on a true incident regarding one of Tom’s grandsons who was diagnosed with ADHD early in his life. BJ is a real person with a quick wit and full of energy. Sweaty Eyes teaches BJ that winning isn’t every thing, but being a team player has it’s own rewards. In Fishing Lessons for Grandpa BJ learns that he can ask without asking while learning how to fish on Cape Cod.
When BJ visits Fenway Park in BJ & the Green Monstah he learns about the game of baseball and that the Green Monstah is nothing to fear unless you’re a rookie. Our fourth book takes a walk through the woods to seek a deer. Is BJ successful and what did he learn in To See a Deer?
"Books are lighthouses erected in the great sea of time"
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Edwin Percy Whipple
ADHD
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ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) is one of the most common neurdevelopment disorders of childhood. It usually occurs in childhood and often lasts into adulthood. ADHD impacts each child's brain differently, so each case can look quite different in the classroom Children with ADHD exhibt a range of symptons: some bounce of the walls, some daydream constantly, and others just can't seem to follow the rules.
Distractibility
—Can be easily distracted, miss details, forget things, and frequently switches from one activity to another.
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—Have difficulty focusing on one thing.
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—Become bored with a task after only a few minutes, unless they are doing something they enjoy
—Have difficulty focusing on learning something new
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Impulsivity
Are Impatient
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Blurt out inappropiate comments, show their emotions without restraint, and act without regard for consequences.
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Have difficulty waiting for things they want or waiting their turns in games.
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Often interrupt conversations or others' activities.
Are constantly in motion and tend to fidget and squirm in their seats.
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Talk nonstop.
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Dash around touching and playing with anything and everything in sight.
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have difficulty doing quit tasks or activities.
Hyperactivity
CAPTAIN DAVID
Fishing Lessons for Grandpa
Captain David was a real sea captain that fished for over 40 years along the New England coast.
He is the Captain Dave in our book Fishing Lessons for Grandpa. Unfortunately the Captain died in June of 2016.
We will miss him as he was a friend and our cousin.
Provincetown on Cape Cod
Scenes and Fishing
Provincetown and Cape Cod was and is a beautiful place to grown up. It is a unique place that attracts all members of society.
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Its beauty draws artists and writers. It history draws those with an interest in the past and its beaches draws tourists from all over the world.
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When I graduated from Provincetown High I began a journey that crossed the nation. Meanwhile my cousin stayed and joined his grandfather and father as a fisherman.
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As much as I learned from books David learned much more from the sea. As Capt. David would say "I hope that calm seas and following winds will be in all of your futures..."
CONTACT
Thank you for reviewing my website. Please get in touch if you have any questions or interested in a school presentation by Skype/Facetime or in person.
780-739-4091
School Presentations
Tom has been a successful speaker at numerous Alberta Teacher Conventions.
Tom is available to make student presentations by using Skype/Facetime or Zoom. His first video presentation occurred on July 27th, 2017 to a student literacy camp at Wabasca, Alberta. Tom has a genuine rapport with students of all ages, and can change the style of his programs to best suit the needs of each audience.
The use of video presentations allows teachers/schools to bring to their students successful authors at an affordable rate.
​ Tom can provide an outline of his presentation and cost upon request by emailing him at tdirsa@shaw.ca. He is able to adapt to fit the needs of the audience.
What Do They Say About Tom's Presentations?
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School Division: Fort Vermilion School Division
City/Province/State: Blumenort, La Crete, Alberta
Your Name and Title: Chris Adamson – Principal of Hill Crest Community School
Tom did an excellent job discussing how to become an author and made it a very realistic goal for our students. He also answered their questions very well and posed his own in a way that our students could generate appropriate answers.
Lucky: A Whale of a Tale
All of the following books are available on Amazon. ca and from Dream Write Publishing Prices are in Canadian dollars.
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Sweaty Eyes - $9.10
Fishing Lessons for Grandpa - $11.72
BJ and the Green Monstah! - $13.03
To See a Deer - $7.50
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These Books are available from Lulu Press (Lulu.com) as well as Amazon
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Lucky: A Whale of a Tale! - $22.46
Leduc: Then & Now - $21.95
The School with No Students - $16.96
Leduc: Then & Now Vol 2 Footprints - $20.95
Leduc: Then & Now Vol 3 Downtown - $22.50
Murder and Mayhem Around Leduc - $22.50
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