Month: September 2020

Tuesdays with Tundra is an ongoing series featuring our new releases. The following book is now available in stores and online!

The Barnabus Project
By The Fan Brothers
72 Pages | Ages 5-9 | Hardcover
ISBN 9780735263260 | Tundra Books
Deep underground beneath Perfect Pets, where children can buy genetically engineered “perfect” creatures, there is a secret lab. Barnabus and his friends live in this lab, but none of them is perfect. They are all Failed Projects. Barnabus has never been outside his tiny bell jar, yet he dreams of one day seeing the world above ground that his pal Pip the cockroach has told him about: a world with green hills and trees, and buildings that reach all the way to the sky, lit with their own stars. But Barnabus may have to reach the outside world sooner than he thought, because the Green Rubber Suits are about to recycle all Failed Projects . . . and Barnabus doesn’t want to be made into a fluffier pet with bigger eyes. He just wants to be himself. So he decides it’s time for he and the others to escape. With his little trunk and a lot of cooperation and courage, Barnabus sets out to find freedom — and a place where he and his friends can finally be accepted for who they are. This suspenseful, poignant and magical story about following your dreams and finding where you truly belong will draw readers into a surreal, lushly detailed world in which perfection really means being true to yourself and your friends.

The Little Ghost Who Was a Quilt
By Riel Nason
Illustrated by Byron Eggenschwiler
48 Pages | Ages 3-7 | Hardcover
ISBN 9780735264472 | Tundra Books
Ghosts are supposed to be sheets, light as air and able to whirl and twirl and float and soar. But the little ghost who is a quilt can’t whirl or twirl at all, and when he flies, he gets very hot. He doesn’t know why he’s a quilt. His parents are both sheets, and so are all of his friends. (His great-grandmother was a lace curtain, but that doesn’t really help cheer him up.) He feels sad and left out when his friends are zooming around and he can’t keep up. But one Halloween, everything changes. The little ghost who was a quilt has an experience that no other ghost could have, an experience that only happens because he’s a quilt . . . and he realizes that it’s OK to be different.

Pine Island Home
By Polly Horvath
240 Pages | Ages 9-12 | Hardcover
ISBN 9780735268623 | Puffin Canada
From Newbery Honor- and National Book Award-winning author Polly Horvath comes a story of four sisters searching for home. Fiona, Marlin, Natasha, and Charlie McCready are left on their own when their missionary parents are washed away in a tsunami. Fortunately, their great aunt Martha volunteers to have them live with her on her farm in British Columbia. But while they are traveling there, Martha dies unexpectedly, forcing Fiona, the eldest, to come up with a scheme to keep social services from separating the girls – a scheme that will only work if no one knows they are living on their own. Fiona approaches their grouchy and indifferent neighbor Al and asks if he will pretend to be their live-in legal guardian should papers need to be signed or if anyone comes snooping around. He reluctantly agrees, under the condition that they bring him dinner every night. As weeks pass, Fiona takes on more and more adult responsibilities, while each of the younger girls finds their own special role in their atypical family. But even if things seem to be falling into place, Fiona can’t help but worry that it is only a matter of time before they are caught. What she needs to do is find them a real guardian.

New in paperback:

Anne’s Kindred Spirits
By Kallie George
Illustrated by Abigail Halpin
64 Pages | Ages 6-8 | Paperback
ISBN 9780735266940 | Tundra Books
The sweet and funny second book in a new early-reader series, starring the spirited and outspoken Anne Shirley as she makes friends and settles into life at Green Gables – with a few hijinks along the way, of course! Anne is nervous and excited to meet Diana, a neighbor girl who she just knows will be a kindred spirit. She’s even more excited when she learns that she’s invited to her very first picnic! Until Marilla’s precious brooch goes missing and it looks like it’s Anne’s fault. Marilla is upset and Anne’s picnic adventure is now in jeopardy. Ultimately, the misunderstanding with the brooch is resolved and Anne is able to go to the picnic. Anne and Diana’s friendship blossoms and Anne’s bond with Matthew and Marilla grows stronger. Lovingly adapted by Kallie George with beautiful nostalgic illustrations by Abigail Halpin, this series is perfect for fans of Anne, new and old.

Jay Versus the Saxophone of Doom
By Kara Kootstra
Illustrated by Kim Smith
Afterword by Bobby Orr
192 Pages | Ages 8-12 | Paperback
ISBN 9780735268692 | Puffin Canada
Jay Roberts loves hockey. He’s good at it. He also loves his hockey hero, Bobby Orr, considered a legend by Jay’s grandfather. In fact, even though they may bicker, when it comes to the Bruins, the whole family agrees that they are the team to root for. When it comes to hockey, Jay’s a team player, but there’s one person who seems determined to make life hard for Jay: his classmate and fellow team member, Mick Bartlet. It’s a good thing Jay can usually stick-handle his way out of his bullying. But something else is determined to make Jay’s life difficult, something far harder for Jay to play: the saxophone. Sixth grade just became a whole lot more challenging . . .

New in board book:

The Hockey Sweater
By Roch Carrier
Illustrated by Sheldon Cohen
Translated by Sheila Fischman
24 Pages | Ages 0-3 | Board Book
ISBN 9780735268685 | Tundra Books
In the days of Roch’s childhood, winters in the village of Ste. Justine were long. Life centered around school, church, and the hockey rink, and every boy’s hero was Montreal Canadiens hockey legend Maurice Richard. Everyone wore Richard’s number 9. They laced their skates like Richard. They even wore their hair like Richard. When Roch outgrows his cherished Canadiens sweater, his mother writes away for a new one. Much to Roch’s horror, he is sent the blue and white sweater of the rival Toronto Maple Leafs, dreaded and hated foes to his beloved team. How can Roch face the other kids at the rink?

We can’t wait to see you reading these! If you share these books online, remember to use #ReadTundra in your hashtags so that we can re-post.