author – Tundra Book Group

March 25, 2025May 6, 2025

Creator Spotlight: Jackie Khalilieh

At Tundra Books, we want you to get to know and love our creators as much as you know and love their books. Our creator spotlight series will introduce you to the people behind some of your favorite titles . . . this week, say hello to Jackie Khalilieh!

About the Author:

JACKIE KHALILIEH is a Palestinian Canadian writer with a penchant for Samoyeds, to-do lists and staying up way too late. She is passionate about positive representation within her writing. Something More, her debut YA novel, was shortlisted for the Ruth & Sylvia Schwartz Award, as well as the Snow Willow Award and the Amy Mathers Teen Book Award, and was selected for several Best Books of 2023 lists, including the New York Public Library and Audible Canada among others. She resides just outside Toronto, Canada, with her husband and two daughters, continuing to complain nightly about having to cook dinner.

Fast Five with Jackie Khalilieh:

If you could live anywhere, where would it be?

This is going to be a boring answer, but I’m happy living where I am now. As much as I complain about the cold or the humidity in the summer, being somewhere with four seasons is important to me. So is being close to my family. Every time I go away, I get very homesick.

Younger me would have answered New York City though.

What’s one thing that can instantly make your day better?

Sleeping in! And an iced coffee, made the way I like (too much ice, too much cream).

Which meal is your favorite: breakfast, lunch, or dinner?

I make a mean breakfast! On weekends I pretend to be a disgruntled diner cook and my daughters are my regulars who don’t pay or tip. But if I don’t have a good dinner, then it puts me in a bad mood! I just wish it wasn’t always me having to make it! (see bio)

What’s the best concert you’ve ever been to?

My younger daughter and I were lucky enough to attend Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour in November of 2024. We had the best time! But now she wants to go to concerts all the time and I’m like, sorry, I can’t just ask your favorite singers to come to Toronto!

What do you look for in a friendship?

As an autistic person, making and maintaining friendships has been a lifelong challenge. My friends are so smart! Funny, talented, kind, understanding and patient.

Books by Jackie Khalilieh:

You Started It
By Jackie Khalilieh
336 Pages | Age 12+ | Hardcover
ISBN 9781774884751 | Tundra Books
Available: May 20, 2025
Seventeen-year-old Jamie Taher-Foster has big plans for senior year. She’s made a list of things and places in Toronto she and her boyfriend of three years, Ben Cameron, need to check off before graduating. And the biggest plan of all: a very special night for the two of them at the upcoming Winter Formal. But then Ben arrives back home after a summer away with an unthinkable announcement: he wants to break up. And when Jamie discovers him with Olivia Chen the next day, she is determined to get him back. Even if that means fake dating the younger, curly-haired, TikTok dancer Axel Dahini, whose bicycle she accidentally ran over. Though she and Axel have nothing in common aside from their shared Arab heritage – she’s a messy, type A with anxiety; he’s carefree but meticulous – their forced time together brings them to better understand one another. And for Jamie, it just might mean learning that not all experiences or people need to be crossed off a list.

Something More
By Jackie Khalilieh
334 Pages | Age 12+ | Paperback
ISBN 9781774882153 | Tundra Books
Fifteen-year-old Jessie, a quirky loner obsessed with the nineties, is diagnosed as autistic just weeks before starting high school. Determined to make a fresh start and keep her diagnosis a secret, Jessie creates a list of goals that range from acquiring two distinct eyebrows to getting a magical first kiss and landing a spot in the school play. Within the halls of Holy Trinity High, she finds a world where things are no longer black and white and quickly learns that living in color is much more fun. But Jessie gets more than she bargained for when two very different boys steal her heart, forcing her to go off-script.

March 20, 2025May 6, 2025

Creator Spotlight: Kallie George

About the Author:

KALLIE GEORGE is an author, editor and creative writing teacher. Her picture books include I Am a Meadow Mermaid, The Secret Fawn, and the Anne of Green Gables-inspired picture books If I Couldn’t Be Anne; Goodnight, Anne and Merry Christmas, Anne; as well as her chapter book series adapted from the Anne of Green Gables books. Kallie has written other acclaimed books for children, including I Hear You, Forest, as well as the chapter book series Crimson Twill, Bibbidi Bobbidi Academy, and Heartwood Hotel. She has also taught writing workshops for children and adults. Kallie always loves spending time at the beach, making sand cakes and other sandy treats with her family.

Spotlight on Kallie George:

What inspired you to write a story about a beachside baker?

Many of my book ideas come to me in different ways, but I would say overarchingly I’m outside when I think of ideas. I’m often hiking, exploring, or playing in nature. Sand Cakes was no different. I remember when I came up with it! I was with my older son, playing at the beach. I live on the West coast and spend a lot of time near the ocean. We were making cakes out of sand, instead of sand castles. We decorated them with shells and seaweed. The tide was rising, threatening to wash our cakes away. On the way home, the little song of “Sand-cake, sun cake, will you eat what I’ve baked” came into my head.

How did you come up with the idea of using sand as the main ingredient for the treats?

As I mentioned above, I was actually making a little sand cake instead of a sand castle. I think (if I can remember correctly) that my son and I didn’t bring any buckets or toys to the beach, and it was easier to pat a little cake out of the sand. I don’t remember now if it was me or him who called it a sand cake, I do know we pretended it was a birthday cake at one point and found a little sticks to be the candles.

How do you craft the poetic elements in your writing for young readers?

Each book is different. In this particular one, I use a simple rhyme pattern and lot of alliteration (“crispy-crusted”, “patted-perfect”), and repetition (“sand-cake, sun-cake”). There are long strings of adjectives in this book, almost like tongue twisters. I wanted it to be fun to read aloud. I suppose there’s a tradition of beachy tongue twisters, with “she sells sea shells by the seashore”!

Can you share any behind-the-scenes details about the making of this book?

I really loved working on this with the Tundra team. We spent a lot of time on word choice – which descriptions worked the best. I tried to think of all the things that I’ve used to decorate sand castles and sand cakes at the beach – sea foam and sea glass, seaweed and sticks.

Do you have a favorite treat that the little baker makes in the book? Do you have a favorite illustration or spread?

Devon’s artwork is sublime. I absolutely adore the spreads where the sea “eats” the sand cakes. I love how, if you look very closely, you can even see a “face” in the waves. I LOVE the endpapers on this book too. I think my favorite treat that the baker makes are the sunbeam-butter-cream tarts. They should so good, I would eat one of those!

Books by Kallie George:

Sand Cakes
Written by Kallie George
Illustrated by Devon Holzwarth
48 Pages | Ages 3-7 | Hardcover
ISBN 9781774882474 | Tundra Books
Available: April 22, 2025
Sand cake, Sun cake, Sprinkle-topped with rocks cake. Will you eat what I baked? A fun day at the beach means making some sweet treats to share with everyone! The main ingredient? Sand of course! No matter how yummy her rock-sprinkled cakes, seaweed pies and sea foam cream puffs look, this little beachside baker can’t seem to get ANYONE to eat her sandy sweets. Even the seagulls turn their beaks up! Will she ever find a customer willing to give them a try? Buoyantly poetic, this funny and sweet picture book from author Kallie George, featuring endearing illustrations from Devon Holzwarth, is a read-aloud treat for readers of all ages.

I Am a Meadow Mermaid
Written by Kallie George
Illustrated by Elly MacKay
32 Pages | Ages 3-7 | Hardcover
ISBN 9780735271371 | Tundra Books
A little girl dreams of adventures in the water and feels the spirit of the ocean all around her . . . even though she lives on the prairie, with flat land as far as the eye can see. But she won’t let a little detail like that stand in the way of being a meadow mermaid! Frolicking in the “waves” of wheat and “oceans” of grass, spying sea horses and . . . a shipwrecked sailor? Even if that shipwreck is actually an overturned bike and the sailor a new kid from a neighboring field, it’s still a chance to make a new friend, one with an imagination as expansive and a love of the ocean as deep as the little girl’s own. This fanciful, whimsical picture book will charm young mermaids and little pirates everywhere, and inspire them to embrace the spirit of the ocean in the things around them, no matter where they live!

The Secret Fawn
Written by Kallie George
Illustrated by Elly MacKay
40 Pages | Ages 3-7 | Hardcover
ISBN 9780735265165 | Tundra Books
A little girl is always missing out on the wonderful things her family gets to see and do, just because she is the youngest and smallest. She misses seeing shooting stars because she goes to bed too early; she can’t pick the first apple of autumn because she’s too short; and, this morning, everyone else got to see a deer . . . except her. She goes into her backyard in search of the deer, a sugar cube tucked in her pocket. She sees a flick of brown in the orchard – is that the deer? No, it’s just the neighbor’s friendly dog (shhhhh, Nala!). Is that it by the pond? No, that’s just a bird, playing in the water. Just when she’s about to give up, she spots a fawn, beautiful, quiet and small . . . just like her. The Secret Fawn beautifully captures the power of nature to inspire children and shows how connecting with animals can help kids who feel left out or overlooked.

If I Couldn’t Be Anne
Written by Kallie George
Illustrated by Geneviève Godbout
40 Pages | Ages 3-7 | Hardcover
ISBN 9781770499287 | Tundra Books
In this whimsical and magical picture book, Anne’s boundless imagination takes flight! She imagines being all the things she loves so dearly. If I Couldn’t Be Anne, Anne with an e, what would I be . . . Anne wonders what it would be like to be the wind dancing round the treetops. A tightrope walker, breathless and brave. A princess in a palace made of apple blossoms. A magical frost fairy or a plain little wood elf. . . . But even as Anne’s imagination soars far and wide, she comes back down to earth, recognizing that some things – like friendship! – are even better than the imagination.

March 18, 2025May 6, 2025

Tuesdays with Tundra

Tuesdays with Tundra is an ongoing series featuring our new releases. These titles are now available in stores and online!

Head Full of Clouds
Written by Joanne Schwartz
Illustrated by Afsaneh Sanei
40 Pages | Ages 4-7 | Hardcover
ISBN 9781774881613 | Tundra Books
A girl wakes up from a dream she can’t shake. Her head is full of clouds. When she goes outside, the things she normally doesn’t pay much attention to suddenly reveal their beauty: the plants growing in the cracks of the sidewalk, the shimmering puddles, the notes from a violin drifting in the air. She revels in this strangeness of the familiar, and eventually her dream comes back to her in all its surrealness. When she meets a friend, she feels solid and connected again, part of the world – but she doesn’t lose the gifts that this strange morning gave her: the quietly profound wonder of the everyday and the joy of being present. Joanne Schwartz’s lyrical text and Afsaneh Sanei’s gorgeous art are a dreamy pairing that will reward readers with something special in every read.

Pluto Rocket: Full Blast! (Pluto Rocket #3)
By Paul Gilligan
96 Pages | Ages 6-9 | Hardcover
ISBN 9781774885413 | Tundra Books
Joe Pidge, king of the neighborhood, and Pluto Rocket, an alien who’s new in town, have left the safety of Joe’s neighborhood to discover other places on Earth for Pluto’s secret mission – to explore the planet and prove that Earthlings are nice. But Joe is way out of his comfort zone! What starts as a casual walk into a new town turns into a high-speed chase as Joe is convinced the duo is being pursued by a wolf (it’s really a poodle). Later, Pluto’s habit of helping people leads to the two being celebrated as heroes! But when their publicity makes its way back to Pluto’s home planet, Joe and Pluto have to find a way to escape to the moon . . . and fast, in the third book of this hilarious graphic novel series from Paul Gilligan, creator of the syndicated comic strip Pooch Cafè!

Pluto Rocket: Full Blast! is also available today in Paperback!

Words with Wings and Magic Things
Written by Matthew Burgess
Illustrated by Doug Salati
128 Pages | Ages 5-9 | Hardcover
ISBN 9781774880289 | Tundra Books
Beyond the doorway of the first page of this collection awaits a dragon piñata, an alligator on the A train, a hungry yeti, an ice cream dream, jetpack sneakers, midnight firelight, a gray day, a plump tomato, a serious question and so much more. Whether you’re feeling blue, lemon yellow or Day-Glo green, this inviting and magical book of poems takes young readers on an uplifting journey through everyday moments, moods and experiences, transforming the ordinary into the extraordinary. With enchanting illustrations throughout and seven die-cut portals that open into the realms of Welcome, Wonder, Wild, Weee!, Whoops & Wallops, Windows and Whispers & Well Wishes, Words With Wings and Magic Things explores how words can awaken us to a world of wonder and possibility. Step inside . . . and take flight!

Words with Wings and Magic Things is also available today in Audiobook!

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

March 13, 2025May 6, 2025

Creator Spotlight: Tanya Lloyd Kyi

About the Author:

TANYA LLOYD KYI is the author of more than thirty-five books for children and young adults, including Emily Posts and Me and Banksy. She grew up with a racoon-sized tortoiseshell cat named D.C. (for Darn Cat), who would have felt right at home in The City. Tanya has worked in the past as a graphic designer, an editor, and a dishwasher. (She considers herself entirely qualified for that last one.) Her favorite color is blue, her favorite food is cheese, and her favorite book is A Wrinkle in Time. When she’s not telling cat tales, Tanya teaches at the UBC School of Creative Writing in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Fast Five with Tanya Lloyd Kyi:

If you could live anywhere, where would it be?

I would live exactly where I live now, in Vancouver. I moved here for a co-op work term at a publishing house when I was 23 years old. Soon after I arrived, a friend’s aunt took me to see a reading at the Orpheum. I fell in love with the theatre, and the thought that I could spend my evenings hearing people read from their books, and basically the whole idea of living in this city forever. I haven’t changed my mind yet!

What’s one thing that can instantly make your day better?

My dog, Coby. Look at this face!

Which meal is your favorite: breakfast, lunch, or dinner?

Breakfast. Which my husband very kindly cooks for me every morning. (Really. This may be why I married him.) I need to be fed every few hours and I get grumpy if I don’t eat. It’s possible I’m actually a Tamagotchi.

What’s the best concert you’ve ever been to?

My first concert ever was Kiss, Slaughter, and Winger in Spokane when I was seventeen. If I remember correctly, the guitarist in Winger was famous for playing his guitar with an electric drill, and the members of Slaughter were famous for whipping their long hair in giant circles. There were no assigned seats, so we spent the whole time squashed with thousands of sweaty people on the floor. I loved every second of that concert, but . . . I don’t actually listen to music. I like to write in silence, and I’m probably the only person in the world who works out to podcasts instead of songs. I’m weird that way!

You grew up with a racoon-sized tortoiseshell cat named D.C. (for Darn Cat), what’s the story behind their name?

My parents owned a restaurant and they found D.C. in the dumpster behind the building. My dad called him “that darned cat,” because he kept jumping out and scaring the restaurant staff. After Dad brought him home, D.C. spent the next decade or so terrorizing our tiny terrier cross, monopolizing sunbeams, and ruling the household. So I of course had to dedicate The City of Lost Cats to D.C.!

Photo: My dad and D.C., circa 2000

Books by Tanya Lloyd Kyi:

The City of Lost Cats
By Tanya Lloyd Kyi
288 Pages | Ages 10+ | Hardcover
ISBN 9781774882108 | Tundra Books
When Fiona wanders into an abandoned mansion down by the harbor, she discovers the house is full of stray cats (and two chaotic parakeets). Fiona feels a great deal of sympathy for the animals; she understands what it’s like to need a safe home. Ever since her parents died, she’s been struggling to adjust to the tiny apartment where she and her Aunt Tanis now live. And Aunt Tanis has little time to spare for Fiona, between her job at The Municipal Hall and her horrible, hair-gelled boyfriend. When the mansion is threatened by a demolition team, Fiona is determined to save “The City” and its residents. But the cats have their own priorities. Cot (short for Cottonball Fluffikins Magnificent III, a name he refuses to acknowledge) has lived in the mansion for two years and is the self-proclaimed king. He’s convinced the demolition effort has been organized by the recently arrived parakeets. Those birds have got to go! Cot’s feline rival, Piper, is sure she can intimidate the demolition team and force them to leave, if Fiona will simply stay out of her way. And the parakeets . . . well, the parakeets just want to go home. As the demolition team begins tearing down the house next door, Fiona looks for any help she can find – at the library, the butcher shop, and even at The Municipal Hall. Can the efforts of one small girl and an assortment of animals stop a luxury condo development? Can they create something better in its place? It’s going to take some quick thinking on the part of Fiona, not to mention the cooperation of all the cats, to give The City a future.

Emily Posts
By Tanya Lloyd Kyi
256 Pages | Ages 10+ | Hardcover
ISBN 9781774882047 | Tundra Books
Emily is the ringleader for her school podcast, Cedarview Speaks – Sponsored by CoastFresh! But her plans for middle-school fame and social media influence are derailed when Amelie joins her eighth-grade class. The new arrival has a seemingly endless supply of confidence and a gift for leading people. Or leading them astray, as far as Emily’s concerned. Emily puts her old-fashioned sense of etiquette into practice. Rather than confronting Amelie, she focuses her energy on creating a podcast story about an upcoming climate march. But her story is censored by the school principal. When she protests, Emily gets cut from the podcast crew . . . and Amelie takes her place! Can Emily use her influence to spread the news of the climate march, reclaim her place on the podcast team and expose the flaws of CoastFresh? Can she balance her impeccable manners with twenty-first century activism? And how will she ever manage to work alongside Amelie? With a light touch and plenty of humor, Emily Posts explores issues of social media, influence, corporate sponsorship . . . and the fraught waters of middle-school friendship.

Me and Banksy
By Tanya Lloyd Kyi
272 Pages | Ages 10+ | Paperback
ISBN 9780735266933 | Puffin Canada
Dominica’s private school is covered in cameras, and someone is hacking into them and posting embarrassing moments for the whole school to see. Like Ana picking her nose. When Dominica quickly changes her shirt from inside out in what she thinks is the privacy of a quiet corner in the library, she’s shocked – and embarrassed – to discover a video has captured this and is currently circulating amongst her schoolmates. So mortifying, especially since over the past three years, they’ve had a half-dozen school talks about social media safety. Who has access to the school security cameras and why are they doing this? Dominica and her best friends, Holden and Saanvi, are determined to find out, and in the process start an art-based student campaign against cameras in the classroom.

Mya’s Strategy to Save the World
By Tanya Lloyd Kyi
200 Pages | Ages 9-12 | Paperback
ISBN 9780735265264 | Puffin Canada
Mya Parsons runs her school’s social justice club with her best friend, Cleo. Her lifelong desire is to work for the United Nations and change the world, and then bask in all the ensuing adulation. Her more immediate desire is to get a phone, preferably one like Cleo’s, with a leopard-print case to match. When her distracted dad and her long-distance mom (temporarily in Myanmar taking care of Mya’s grandmother) both say no, no way, and possibly never, Mya launches a campaign to prove herself reliable and deserving. She advertises her babysitting services, takes on more responsibility around the house, and attempts to supervise her sister’s skateboarding lessons. Her efforts leave her ego bruised and the kitchen slightly scorched. She’s no closer to touch-screen victory, let alone the Nobel Peace Prize she deserves. But all that changes after an accident leaves Mya to take charge-an experience which helps her realize how much she’s grown, with or without access to proper communications.

March 11, 2025May 6, 2025

Tuesdays with Tundra

Tuesdays with Tundra is an ongoing series featuring our new releases. This title is now available in stores and online!

Sunny Wants to Play
By Katty Maurey
40 Pages | Ages 4-7 | Hardcover
ISBN 9781774884812 | Tundra Books
Sunny is the only kid in a big family. She wishes she had someone to play with, but it seems like everyone has someone except her. When she finally gets her wish and is invited to play with the neighborhood kids, it’s a bit more than she bargained for . . . Maybe being the only child has its advantages! This beautiful story invites readers into Sunny’s quiet world with its lazy afternoons and sleepy, distracted adults, and Katty Maurey’s delicate and gorgeous artwork perfectly evokes both the calm and not-so-calm moments, in this celebration of introverts, comfort zones and new experiences.

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