Category: author

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CLA Announces 2014 Award Shortlists

The Canadian Library Association announced the shortlist for the Young Adult Book Award. This award recognizes an author of an outstanding English-language Canadian work of fiction that appeals to young adults between the ages of 13 and 18. Congratulations to Julie Johnston!

Little Red LiesLittle Red Lies
Written by Julie Johnston
Hardcover | 352 Pages | Ages 10+
ISBN: 978-1-77049-313-1
eBook: 978-1-77049-314-8

“Johnston has crafted a beautifully written, low-key, yet emotional story of a family dealing with the return of a son at the close of war. Jamie is wracked with survivor’s guilt…. His letters to Rachel … are painfully realistic, the antithesis of the glamour that teens too often assign to war….” – Starred Review, Booklist

“Filled with bumbling characters who achingly love each other, this coming-of-age tale rises above a crowded field to take readers on a moving journey of discovery.” – Starred Review, Kirkus Reviews

Congratulations to the other shortlisted authors:

  • The Silent Summer of Kyle McGinley by Jan Andrews
  • Graffiti Knight by Karen Bass
  • The Gypsy King by Maureen Fergus
  • Nix Minus One by Jill MacLean
  • The Oathbreaker’s Shadow by Amy McCulloch
  • Not Your Ordinary Wolf Girl by Emily Pohl-Weary
  • Audacious by Gabrielle Prendergast
  • The Color of Silence by Liane Shaw
  • The Unlikely Hero of Room 13B by Teresa Toten

Thank you to the Jury Members who took the time to read, discuss, and narrow the list down – not an easy task! The winner of the award, and the Honour Books, will be announced the week of April 14th. The award will be presented at the Canadian Library Association 2014 National Conference and Trade Show in Victoria, BC on May 29 at the annual awards reception.

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Notable Books for a Global Society Book Award

Tundra Books is happy to announce that the following books have been named to the 2014 Notable Books for a Global Society winners’ list!

Legends Icons and RebelsLegends, Icons & Rebels
Music That Changed the World
Written by Robbie Robertson, Jim Guerinot, Sebastian Robertson, and Jared Levine
Hardcover with 2 CDs | 128 Pages | Ages 9-12
ISBN: 978-1-77049-571-5
“Wow, just wow! This book is big in every way. . . . The book’s art is hard to resist . . . it’s a treat that the words grab as much as the pictures.” – Starred Review, Booklist

My Name Is BlessingMy Name Is Blessing
Written by Eric Walters
Illustrated by Eugenie Fernandes
Hardcover | 32 Pages | Ages 6-9
ISBN: 978-1-77049-301-8
“This expressive picture book, based on a real family, lovingly tells a hard story with a twist. It’s difficult to broach poverty, disability and custody issues in so few pages without sounding maudlin, but Walters manages by speaking simply. . . . With dignity and quiet acceptance, this story illustrates that blessings, like family, can take unexpected forms.” – Starred Review, Kirkus Reviews

About Notable Books for a Global Society
This award is sponsored by the International Reading Association (IRA) Children’s Literature and Reading Special Interest Group. Each year a panel of judges selects 25 books published in the preceding year to represent the interests of students in grades K-12 on the many issues of diversity, social justice, and multicultural literature. More information about the committee and all past winners’ lists can be found on their website.

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Tuesdays with Tundra 36

Tuesdays with Tundra is a monthly post on our new releases. The following books are available today in stores and online!

The Voice Inside My HeadThe Voice inside My Head
Written by S.J. Laidlaw
Hardcover | 256 Pages | Ages 14+
ISBN: 978-1-77049-565-4
eBook: 978-1-77049-566-1
Seventeen-year-old Luke’s older sister, Pat, has always been his moral compass, like a voice inside his head, every time he has a decision to make. So when Pat disappears on a tiny island off the coast of Honduras and the authorities claim she’s drowned – despite the fact that they can’t produce a body – Luke heads to Honduras to find her because he knows something the authorities don’t. From the moment of her disappearance, Pat’s voice has become real, guiding him to Utila, where she had accepted a summer internship to study whale sharks. Once there, he meets several characters who describe his sister as a very different girl from the one knows. Does someone have a motive for wanting her dead? Determined to get to the bottom of Pat’s disappearance, Luke risks everything, including his own life, to find the answer.

The FlyThe Fly
Written by Elise Gravel
Hardcover | 32 Pages | Ages 6-9
ISBN: 978-1-77049-636-1
The first in a series of humorous books about disgusting creatures, The Fly is a look at the common housefly. It covers such topics as the hair on the fly’s body (requires a lot of shaving), its ability to walk on the ceiling (it’s pretty cool, but it’s hard to play soccer up there), and its really disgusting food tastes (garbage juice soup followed by dirty diaper with rotten tomato sauce, for example). Although silly and off-the-wall, The Fly contains real information that will tie in with curriculum.

The WormThe Worm
Written by Elise Gravel
Hardcover | 32 Pages | Ages 6-9
ISBN: 978-1-77049-633-0
The second in a series of humorous books about disgusting creatures, The Worm is a look at the earthworm. It covers such topics as the worm’s habitats (sometimes they live inside other animals), its anatomy (its muscle tube is slimy and gross), and its illustrious history (worms have been on earth for 120 million years). Although silly and off-the-wall, The Worm contains real information that will tie in with curriculum.

A Tinfoil Sky_paperbackA Tinfoil Sky
Written by Cyndi Sand-Eveland
Trade Paperback | 224 Pages | Ages 10+
ISBN: 978-1-77049-510-4
“. . . this touching picture of a child torn between her need for a stable home and her love for her troubled mother feels deeply authentic . . . this depiction of wounded people forming healing bonds goes straight to the heart.” – Booklist

Pub Date Giveaway: In the comments below, please tell us which new March release of Tundra’s you would love to read and one lucky reader will receive their requested book! One request per person and please review our rules. This giveaway ends at midnight on Monday, March 17, 2014!

UPDATE: Congratulations to Kris who has won a copy of The Voice inside My Head.

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2014 Oscars Strike a Chord with Tundra Authors

Five Thousand Years of SlaveryThe Oscars for “12 Years a Slave” struck a chord with Tundra authors Marjorie Gann and Janet Willen. The movie and their book, Five Thousand Years of Slavery, tell the story of Solomon Northup, a free Northern black, who was kidnapped into slavery and transported to Louisiana, where he languished for twelve long years until he was released in 1853. “After seeing the film, many people told us that they were surprised at how brutal slavery was. But as we show in Five Thousand Years of Slavery, cruelty and slavery cannot be separated, not in Northup’s day and not today.” The authors are thrilled that “12 Years a Slave” has won these honors and hope this means that more people will learn the truth about the history of slavery.

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You’re Invited to the Launch of The Highest Number in the World

MacGregor_Kaleidoscope
You are invited to the launch of The Highest Number in the World. Please join award-winning author, Roy MacGregor, as he celebrates his newest book with the fantastic staff at Kaleidoscope Kids’ Books!

When: Saturday, March 1, 2014
Time: 1:30 – 3:00 PM
Where: Kaleidoscope Kids’ Books
Address: 1018 Bank Street, Ottawa, ON K1S 3W8
Telephone: (613) 232-7406

Praise for The Highest Number in the World:
“The story’s ending, in which Gabe dreams of her number 9 retired and raised to the rafters, is uplifting in every way. MacGregor’s writing packs an emotional punch without relying on sentimentality (when the coach hands her the disappointing jersey, ‘Gabe’s heart felt as if a skate had just run across it’). Expressive pencil drawings, brightened with color washes, perfectly capture the characters’ feelings. From the moment Grandma begins to share her past and her passion for hockey, the story’s context becomes broader, more complex, and more meaningful. A memorable,
intergenerational picture book perfect for sharing.” – Starred Review, Booklist

“As pleasing as a warm memory.” – Kirkus Reviews

“MacGregor’s text climbs to a heartwarming conclusion, is wonderfully illustrated by St-Lambert’s Geneviève Després (I especially liked the views from the arena’s rafters), and makes for a great companion piece to The Hockey Sweater, Roch Carrier’s Canadian classic.” – The Montreal Gazette

Tundra Book Group