When Weyburn author Joanne Bannatyne-Cugnet was asked by her publisher to do a book on Canadian citizenship court, she didn't know if she would accept the assignment - considering she had never attended one.

After going to a couple of court sessions, the experience was so profound for her she decided to do the book to inform other people about the process of becoming a citizen.

The now-completed book, entitled From Far and Wide, will be launched in Weyburn on Sunday, June 18 at the Allie Griffin auditorium in the Weyburn Public Library.

The story is told from the point of view of a little Chinese girl who goes through a citizenship ceremony along with her parents.

"The first time I went to a ceremony, 13 Kleenexes later I was just blubbering. I went to one in Regina later and cried through it, too. After that I decided I had to do this book, because I wanted people to experience what I did," said the author.

Bannatyne-Cugnet is widely known for her children's books, A Prairie Alphabet, A Prairie Year, Grampa's Alkali, and Estelle and the Self-Esteem Machine. She received the Our Choice Award from the Canadian Children's Book Centre in 1993 and 1994.

Her newest book was illustrated by Montreal-based artist Song Nan Zhang, who was born in China and became a permanent resident of Canada in 1991.

To help with some of the pictures, Joanne sent him photos of the citizenship court held at Queen Elizabeth School last year. As a result some Weyburn people were put into the illustrations of the citizenship court ceremony, including Brent Allin, Gordon Button and Q.E. principal Brenda Croft.

Joanne noted it was only after 1947 that people could become Canadian citizens - prior to this Canadian residents were considered British subjects.

"I think the book is important. When people read the book, they'll come away knowing more about what's involved in becoming a citizen of Canada. It's been very interesting doing it," she said.

Further details on the book launch will be announced at a later date.