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Holiday Spotlight: Tundra Books Young Adult 2023

Here at Penguin Random House Canada, we’re lucky to work with so many different imprints and children’s book lists. This holiday season, we’ll be highlighting each one with a dedicated post to help you find the perfect gift (or your next read). Today’s post is all about young adult books from Tundra Books, our very own Canadian publisher!

Catfish Rolling
By Clara Kumagai
432 Pages | Ages 14+ | Hardcover
ISBN 9781774882764 | Penguin Teen Canada
There’s a catfish under Japan, and when it rolls, the land rises and falls. At least, that’s what Sora was told after she lost her mother to an earthquake so powerful that it cracked time itself. Sora and her father are some of the few who still live near the most powerful of these “zones” – the places where time has been irrevocably sped up, or slowed down. When high school ends, and her best friend leaves for university, Sora finds herself stuck and increasingly alone. She begins secretly conducting her own research, tracking down a time expert in Tokyo. She also feels increasingly conflicted in her quasi-romantic feelings for her best friend – and for the time expert’s assistant, a striking and confident girl named Maya, another hafu (half-Japanese, half-non) girl with whom Sora forms an instant bond. But when Sora’s father disappears, she has no choice but to return home and venture deep into the abandoned time zones to find him, and perhaps the catfish itself . . .

Friends Like These
By Meg Rosoff
208 Pages | Ages 14+ | Paperback
ISBN 9781774881101 | Tundra Books
New York City. Summer 1983. A summer internship in New York was meant to be everything Beth wanted. But from the moment she arrives in the city she feels wrong: wrong hair, terrible clothes, defective smile, too obviously a virgin. Sharing a hot, cockroach-filled apartment with a couple falling out of love completes the dream picture. Then she meets her fellow interns: ambitious out-of-towner Dan, preppy rich boy Oliver, and Edie – a beautiful, brittle, magnetic, instant best friend. Irresistible people are like gravity. You can’t help being pulled towards them – can you?

Funeral Songs for Dying Girls
By Cherie Dimaline
280 Pages | Ages 14+ | Hardcover
ISBN 9780735265639 | Tundra Books
Winifred has lived in the apartment above the cemetery office with her father, who works in the crematorium all her life, close to her mother’s grave. With her sixteenth birthday only days away, Winifred has settled into a lazy summer schedule, lugging her obese Chihuahua around the grounds in a squeaky red wagon to visit the neglected gravesides and nursing a serious crush on her best friend, Jack. Her habit of wandering the graveyard at all hours has started a rumor that Winterson Cemetery might be haunted. It’s welcome news since the crematorium is on the verge of closure and her father’s job being outsourced. Now that the ghost tours have started, Winifred just might be able to save her father’s job and the only home she’s ever known, not to mention being able to stay close to where her mother is buried. All she has to do is get help from her con-artist cousin to keep up the rouse and somehow manage to stop her father from believing his wife has returned from the grave. But when Phil, an actual ghost of a teen girl who lived and died in the ravine next to the cemetery, starts showing up, Winifred begins to question everything she believes about life, love and death. Especially love.

House of Ash and Bone
By Joel A. Sutherland
336 Pages | Ages 12+ | Hardcover
ISBN 9781774880968 | Tundra Books
Seventeen-year-old Josephine Jagger is a talented writer with special abilities she doesn’t fully understand. Over the years she has developed methods to cope with the voices she hears in her head, but the old house her family has inherited in Vermont makes Josephine question what’s real and what’s not more than anything she’s ever encountered before. It’s filled with shadows, and whispers, and the unshakable feeling of being watched. Josephine then catches her first glimpse of a shadowy woman with long hair, pale skin, an impossibly wide smile and hollow pits for eyes. Her name is Dorcas, the ghost of a witch who died three hundred years ago. She has summoned the family to Vermont to ensnare them – then consume them – in order to rise from the grave and live again . . .

Murtagh
By Christopher Paolini
656 Pages | Ages 12+ | Hardcover
ISBN 9781774882962 | Penguin Teen Canada
The world is no longer safe for the Dragon Rider Murtagh and his dragon, Thorn. An evil king has been toppled, and they are left to face the consequences of the reluctant role they played in his reign of terror. Now they are hated and alone, exiled to the outskirts of society. Throughout the land, hushed voices whisper of brittle ground and a faint scent of brimstone in the air – and Murtagh senses that something wicked lurks in the shadows of Alagaësia. So begins an epic journey into lands both familiar and untraveled, where Murtagh and Thorn must use every weapon in their arsenal, from brains to brawn, to find and outwit a mysterious witch. A witch who is much more than she seems. In this gripping novel starring one of the most popular characters from Christopher Paolini’s blockbuster Inheritance Cycle, a Dragon Rider must discover what he stands for in a world that has abandoned him. Murtagh is the perfect book to enter the World of Eragon for the first time . . . or to joyfully return.

Of Light and Shadow
By Tanaz Bhathena
448 Pages | Ages 12+ | Hardcover
ISBN 9780735271432 | Penguin Teen Canada
When they don’t give us our birthright, we steal it. Roshan Chaya is out for justice. Abandoned by her parents at birth and adopted by the kingdom of Jwala’s most notorious bandit before his brutal murder, she is now leader of the Shadow Clan, a gang of farmers-turned-bandits impoverished by the provincial governor’s atrocities and corruption. Roshan’s goal: to avenge her adoptive father and earn back rights and dignity for her people. Prince Navin has always felt like an outcast. Second in line for the throne, he has never been close to his grandmother, Queen Bhairavi of Jwala. When a night out drinking with friends leads to his capture by the infamous Shadow Clan, Navin schemes to befriend Roshan and use her as a means to escape. His ploy, however, brings Navin closer to the corruption and poverty at the heart of Roshan’s province, raising questions about its governor and Navin’s own family. To further complicate things, the closer Roshan and Navin get, the harder it becomes to fight their growing attraction. But how can they trust each other when the world as they know it starts to fall apart? Set in a magical world inspired by the badlands of 17th century India, this standalone epic fantasy novel by Tanaz Bhathena is packed with political tensions, dangerous schemes, and swoon-worthy romance that asks the age old question: can love conquer all?

Someone Is Always Watching
By Kelley Armstrong
368 Pages | Ages 12+ | Hardcover
ISBN 9780735270923 | Tundra Books
Blythe and her friends – Gabrielle, and brother and sister Tucker and Tanya – have always been a tight friend group, attending a local high school and falling in and out of love with each other. But an act of violence has caused a rift between Blythe and Tucker . . . and unexpected bursts of aggression and disturbing nightmares have started to become more frequent in their lives. The strange happenings culminate in a shocking event at school: Gabrielle is found covered in blood in front of their deceased principal, with no memory of what happened. Cracks in their friendship, as well as in their own memories, start appearing, threatening to expose long-forgotten secrets which could change the group’s lives forever. How can Blythe and her friends trust each other when they can’t even trust their own memories?

Stateless
By Elizabeth Wein
400 Pages | Ages 12+ | Paperback
ISBN 9781774881538 | Penguin Teen Canada
Europe, 1937. Stella North, who has learned to fly planes as a teen, has the opportunity to participate in a race across Europe for a hefty sum of prize money. The race is billed by its eccentric organizer, Lady Frith, as the “Circuit of Nations Olympics of the Air” and is designed to promote peace and sport among Europe’s young pilots; entrants must be under the age of 21. Europe pre-WWII is an unsettled and dangerous place: civil war is raging in Spain, Hitler is in power in Germany, Italy has embraced Fascism, and in the Soviet Union, anyone who speaks out against the government is ruthlessly imprisoned and executed. The air race is going to be an unusual propaganda event for many of the participants. Stella needs to be careful as she navigates her way across Europe’s troubled skies, not least because of her own family background (her parents were murdered during the Russian Revolution, and her aunt and uncle fled to Britain with her when she was only three.) Nevertheless, she is shocked when she witnesses one of the race’s participants using his plane to ram another pilot out of the sky. Early evidence points to the sullen and enigmatic French pilot, Tony Roberts, but he also claims that his own plane has been sabotaged. As events unfold, further evidence points to Stella herself – to outside eyes, it appears that she may be attempting to get rid of a competitor and pushing the blame onto her fellow racers. It’s up to Stella to unravel the mystery before she becomes the assassin’s next victim.

The Everlasting Road
By Wab Kinew
272 Pages | Ages 12+ | Hardcover
ISBN 9780735269033 | Tundra Books
Devastated by the loss of her beloved older brother to cancer, Bugz returns to the place where she can always find solace and strength: the Floraverse. Over the past year, she has gained back all that she had lost in that virtual world, and while the remaining ClanLess members still plot against her, she is easily able to overcome their attacks. Even better, she’s been secretly working on a bot that will be both an incredible weapon and a source of comfort: Waawaate. With the Waawaate bot looking exactly like the brother she misses so much – even acting so much like him – Bugz feels ready to show him off to Feng, who has become a constant companion in the Verse, and she cannot wait to team up with both friend and bot to secure her dominance once and for all. But Feng has his own issues to deal with, especially when news that his parents are alive and want to contact him threatens to send his new life on the Rez into upheaval. As they work through their complicated feelings of grief and loss, Feng and Bugz find themselves becoming ever closer. But disturbances in the Floraverse cannot be ignored, especially when Bugz realizes that her Waawaate bot is growing in powers beyond her control . . . 

Who Owns the Clouds?
By Mario Brassard
Illustrated by Gérard DuBois
100 Pages | Ages 12+ | Hardcover
ISBN 9781774880210 | Tundra Books
Even though Mila is no longer a child, she is overcome by memories – memories of a childhood halfway between reality and dreaming, and not knowing which is which. In her dreams, Mila and her family leave their bombed village to stand in line for weeks on end, suitcases in hand, hoping to move on to better lives. But the memories of her uncle’s disappearance, and the approach of looming clouds, keep blurring the lines between past and present, real and unreal. How can Mila move forward? Perhaps if the clouds can remind her of where she’s from, they can also show her where to go . . . Winner of a Governor General’s Award, Canada’s most prestigious literary prize, and the Bologna Ragazzi Award, this stunningly evocative book about experience, trauma and healing will stay with readers from beginning to end.

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Holiday Spotlight: Tundra Books Early Reader + Middle-Grade 2023

Here at Penguin Random House Canada, we’re lucky to work with so many different imprints and children’s book lists. This holiday season, we’ll be highlighting each one with a dedicated post to help you find the perfect gift (or your next read). Today’s post is all about early reader and middle-grade books from Tundra Books, our very own Canadian publisher!

A Green Velvet Secret
By Vicki Grant
256 Pages | Ages 10+ | Hardcover
ISBN 9780735270121 | Tundra Books
It’s always hard to lose a friend, but for Yardley O’Hanlon it’s devastating. Her best friend is her wild and wonderful grandmother Gidge. They’re two fashionable peas in a quirky little pod. They spend all their time together sewing and crafting and creating beautiful things – until Gidge dies, and Yardley loses her for good. Or does she? Yardley isn’t convinced. Gidge was a big believer in reincarnation. She promised she’d never leave Yardley, and Gidge always kept her promises. So when a stylish older woman walks into the Over Easy Vintage Emporium where Yardley is helping out, Yardley is sure it’s her grandmother, back from the dead. But her happiness doesn’t last long, as the woman runs away in terror and no one else believes she was Gidge reincarnated. It’s only with the help of a beautiful green velvet dress, a series of letters from “the other side” and an irritating twelve-year-old buttinsky named Harris that Yardley discovers there’s more to the mystery woman – and Gidge – than she ever imagined.

Anne Dares
By Kallie George
Illustrated by Abigail Halpin
72 Pages | Ages 6-9 | Hardcover
ISBN 9780735272101 | Tundra Books
Anne is excited to be a guest at a party at Orchard Slope, the home of her kindred spirit, Diana Barry. But when the dares start and mean Josie Pye makes the others feel bad, Anne can’t stop herself from challenging Josie to a dare . . . which leads to Anne being dared to climb the house and walk along the ridgepole! Anne’s dangerous dare ends in injury . . . and teaches her an important lesson. But Anne must pluck up her courage again when she is chosen to recite at a Christmas concert! How can Anne perform in front of so many people? And what is shy Matthew Cuthbert hiding from the family?

Billy and the Giant Adventure
By Jamie Oliver
Illustrated by Mónica Armiño
336 Pages | Ages 8-12 | Hardcover
ISBN 9781774884140 | Tundra Books
One pinch of adventure, a dash of friendship, a sprinkle of mystery and a HUGE spoonful of magic . . . Jamie Oliver, bestselling author and internationally renowned chef, delivers the perfect recipe for a page-turning children’s fiction debut! Billy and his friends know that Waterfall Woods is out of bounds; strange things are rumored to have happened there and no one in their village has ventured past its walls for decades . . . But when they discover a secret way in, Billy and his best friends, Anna, Jimmy and Andy, can’t resist the temptation to explore! Only to quickly discover that the woods are brimming with magic and inhabited by all sorts of unusual creatures, including a whole community of sprites who need the children’s help! With magical battles, a long-lost mythical city, fantastical flying machines, epic feasts and one GIANT rescue – not to mention some mouth-watering recipes at the back – get ready for an adventure you’ll never forget!

Champions of the Fox: Thieves of Shadow #3
By Kevin Sands
464 Pages | Ages 10+ | Hardcover
ISBN 9781774882405 | Puffin Canada
Commanded by the magical artifact known as the Dragon’s Eye, junior con artist Callan and his friends are eagerly reaching the end of the epic quest that will finally free him from the Eye’s sinister hold. But their final task is their most ambitious: sneaking into the emperor’s private island prison and rescuing a man from a jail cell that has been locked tight for nearly a century. This impossible heist will strain the gang’s unique abilities to thieve and deceive everyone from the guards, the city elite, the warden, and even the nefarious local crime boss who warns them to stay away. As the friends plan out their last and most difficult con job, Callan begins to question what they’re helping the Eye to achieve. Aided by magical hints and fitful dreams, Callan slowly uncovers the Eye’s true desires. To his horror, he realizes that he may be the one being conned all this time . . . and his mistake could cost the world’s entire existence.

Don’t Want to Be Your Monster
By Deke Moulton
304 Pages | Ages 10-14 | Hardcover
ISBN 9781774880494 | Tundra Books
Adam and Victor are brothers who have the usual fights over the remote, which movie to watch and whether or not it’s morally acceptable to eat people. Well, not so much eat . . . just drink a little blood. They’re vampires, hiding in plain sight with their eclectic yet loving family. Ten-year-old Adam knows he has a better purpose in his life (well, immortal life) than just drinking blood, but fourteen-year-old Victor wants to accept his own self-image of vampirism. Everything changes when bodies start to appear all over town, and it becomes clear that a vampire hunter may be on the lookout for the family. Can Adam and Victor reconcile their differences and work together to stop the killer before it’s too late?

Hans Christian Andersen Lives Next Door
By Cary Fagan
160 Pages | Ages 9-12 | Hardcover
ISBN 9781774880159 | Tundra Books
Andie Gladman is your typical kid – she lives in a small town, doesn’t have many friends and quietly puts up with taunts from the school bully, Myrtle Klinghoffer. But one day, a new neighbor moves into the house next to Andie’s family . . . and he looks awfully familiar. Could he be famous author Hans Christian Andersen? Andie sure thinks so, and the arrival of this well-known writer inspires Andie to write her own poems (with a feminist twist) based on his classic fairy tales. Her newfound hobby leads her to make a friend and finally feel some excitement about her previously quiet life . . . but will a shocking revelation change everything for Andie?

Happy Narwhalidays: A Narwhal and Jelly Book #5
By Ben Clanton
76 Pages | Ages 6-9  | Hardcover
ISBN 9780735262515 | Tundra Books
Dive into three new stories about Narwhal’s favorite time of the year! It’s the festive season in the world wide waters, and Narwhal is looking forward to cozying up with a good book, singing and partying with his pod pals and enjoying some warm waffle pudding. But most of all he’s excited about the arrival of the Merry Mermicorn! According to Narwhal, she’s part mermaid, part unicorn and completely mer-aculous! Jelly is of course skeptical about the existence of the “Mira-Miny-What-A Corn” . . . even when he receives a mysterious present. It must be from Narwhal. Now Jelly has to get the perfect gift, but finding a present for someone as unique as Narwhal is no easy feat, even when you have six tentacles. How will Jelly ever come up with a whaley great gift for a best pal who spreads cheer all through the year?

Megabat Megastar
By Anna Humphrey
Illustrated by Kris Easler
192 Pages | Ages 7-10 | Hardcover
ISBN 9780735271661 | Tundra Books
Daniel’s allowance is not going to cover the cost to fix his dad’s phone screen, which he and Megabat broke. And he is out of ideas. Megabat has a GREAT idea: become famous! Famous people have lots of money. Daniel is also grounded, and being stuck inside is pretty boring. Megabat has no time to spend with bored Daniel, he’s too busy learning the skill that will make him famous and rich. Daniel really doesn’t like Megabat’s new catchphrase, or his fancy new hairdo. Megabat will show him! When Megabat takes things too far and ruins Daniel’s mom’s dinner party with his “magic show,” chaos ensues . . . and Daniel is not too happy. And Megabat learns there are some things that are more important than fame and riches. Kris Easler’s adorable illustrations paired with Anna Humphrey’s hilarious text make for another unforgettable Megabat adventure, one that will appeal to Megabat fans and newcomers!

Mine for Keeps
By Jean Little
232 Pages | Ages 8-12 | Paperback
ISBN 9781774882948 | Puffin Canada 
Away at school, Sally Copeland has always dreamed of going home, but now that she’s there, she feels frightened and unsure of herself. Will her brother and sister accept her? Will she be able to do things for herself? And what will it be like to go to a regular school and be the only one with cerebral palsy?

Pine Island Visitors
By Polly Horvath
288 Pages | Ages 9-12 | Hardcover
ISBN 9781774881859 | Puffin Canada
By Newbery Honor author Polly Horvath, comes a sequel to her popular middle-grade novel Pine Island Home about orphaned sisters who find a way to make a new family.
Fiona, Marlin, Natasha and Charlie McCready have been adopted by their unlikely guardian, Al, and finally settled into their new home on Pine Island in British Columbia. Fiona is struggling under the weight of trying to keep everything together, not to mention worrying about expenses, while Marlin tries to adjust to her new high school and faces rejections for her cookbook, Thirty Meals a Twelve-Year-Old Could Make and Did!. Natasha is still keeping to herself, but a new interest in the violin reveals hidden talents, while Charlie is dreaming of what kind of dog she would like. It’s been an adjustment, but they are loving being with each other and having Al next door. Then they receive a letter from Mrs. Weatherspoon, who took care of them after their parents died, and she is coming to visit for three months – an inordinate amount of time for a houseguest. Accommodating a fifth person in the tiny house is hard enough, but to their horror, Mrs. Weatherspoon arrives with a companion: her childhood friend, Jo. Jo has opinions about everything – what they should eat, how they should behave – and she doesn’t hesitate to express them. And sweet Mrs. Weatherspoon seems to have fallen under her spell. When she and Jo announce that they are going to extend their stay even longer, Fiona and Marlin are beside themselves. Fiona hates rocking the boat, but she is going to have to find the courage to stand up to these grown-up bullies so she and her sisters can have the life they wish to lead.

Pluto Rocket: Joe Pidge Flips a Lid (Pluto Rocket #2)
By Paul Gilligan
88 Pages | Ages 6-9 | Hardcover
ISBN 9780735271937 | Tundra Books
Joe Pidge, king of the neighborhood, and Pluto Rocket, an alien who’s new in town, have become fast friends, with Joe acting as Pluto’s guide on her secret mission to discover what life in the neighborhood is really like. But on Joe’s tour (where he shows Pluto the best fire escape and the best garbage can in the world!), it becomes clear that Joe has never actually left his tiny slice of the planet . . . Pluto encourages Joe to get out of his comfort zone, but Joe delays by creating an outlandish list of supplies they’ll need to get before they go! Is Joe Pidge afraid of leaving his safe little neighborhood? And if that’s tough, imagine how Joe feels when his hat, his trademark super-flavio look that helps him stand out from the other pigeons, goes missing. Thankfully, Pluto is here to help save the day in the second book of this hilarious graphic novel series from Paul Gilligan, creator of the syndicated comic strip Pooch Cafe!

Scaredy Squirrel Gets Festive
By Melanie Watt
88 Pages | Ages 6-9 | Hardcover
ISBN 9780735269613 | Tundra Books
In his third NUTTY ADVENTURE, Scaredy is getting ready for Christmas ahead of time . . . WAY ahead of time (June). When December finally rolls around, Scaredy has everything in place: perfect red-and-green decorations, a perfect get-together planned (no parties!), perfectly personalized gifts for each of his friends, all the required permits for gingerbread-house construction (perfectly filled out) and, of course, a perfectly secured premises with a perfect spot for Santa. Yup, nothing can possibly go wrong . . . until friends Rash and Tim break the decorations! But Scaredy is filled with the spirit of the holiday and happy to help his friends finish their Christmas shopping. (Unless they’re shopping for Gary the germ?!) Prepare to get festive this Christmas with Scaredy and friends!

The Big Sting
By Rachelle Delaney
224 Pages | Ages 8-12 | Hardcover
ISBN 9780735269309 | Tundra Books
Eleven-year-old Leo is an “armchair adventurer.” This, according to Dad, means he’d choose adventures in books or video games over real-life experiences. And while Leo hates the label, he can’t argue with it. Unlike his little sister Lizzie, Leo is not a risk-taker. So when he, Lizzie, Mom and Dad leave the city to visit Grandpa on Heron Island, Leo finds all kinds of dangers to avoid – from the deep, dark ocean to an old barn on the verge of collapse. But nothing on the island is more fearsome than Grandpa himself – Leo has never met anyone so grumpy! According to Mom, Grandpa is still grieving the recent death of his wife, a beekeeper beloved by everyone on the island. Despite Leo’s best efforts to avoid it, adventure finds him anyway when Grandma’s beehives go missing in the dead of night. Infuriated, Grandpa vows to track down the sticky-fingered thieves himself . . . with risk-averse Leo and danger-loving Lizzie (plus a kitten named Mayhem) in tow.

The Pancake Problem (Weenie Featuring Frank and Beans Book #2)
By Maureen Fergus
Illustrated by Alexandra Bye
48 Pages | Ages 6-9 | Hardcover
ISBN 9780735267947 | Tundra Books
Fans of Narwhal and Jelly will love this laugh-out-loud graphic novel: a pancake adventure with Weenie, Frank and Beans featuring wiener dog smooches, a huge pile of stinky brussels sprouts and a whole lot of syrup. Weenie loves his human, Bob. He loves his guinea pig friend Beans and his cat friend Frank. He loves naps, adventures and sharing. In fact, Weenie loves pretty much everything (except brussels sprouts). And Weenie SUPER LOVES pancakes. Maybe too much. When the SuperSonic Pancake Maker malfunctions, Weenie knows exactly what to do! Sort of . . .

The Portal Keeper: The Misewa Saga #4
By David A. Robertson
256 Pages | Ages 10+ | Hardcover
ISBN 9781774880258 | Tundra Books
Eli and Morgan experience life-changing revelations in this new adventure in the award-winning, Narnia-inspired Indigenous middle-grade fantasy series.
While exploring World’s End, an area in Aski they’ve just discovered, Morgan and Emily delight in their developing relationship, while Eli struggles to understand his new-found power: the ability to locate a portal. A shocking turn of events leads them to a new village, Ministik, where the animal beings who live there are going missing. Horrified to discover who is responsible, the children vow to help and turn to friends, old and new. But it’s getting harder and harder to keep the two worlds separate, especially when details of a traditional legend change everything. Forever.

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Tuesdays with Tundra

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

Billy and the Giant Adventure
By Jamie Oliver
Illustrated by Mónica Armiño
336 Pages | Ages 8 – 12 | Hardcover
ISBN 9781774884140 | Tundra Books
One pinch of adventure, a dash of friendship, a sprinkle of mystery and a HUGE spoonful of magic . . . Jamie Oliver, bestselling author and internationally renowned chef, delivers the perfect recipe for a page-turning children’s fiction debut! Billy and his friends know that Waterfall Woods is out of bounds; strange things are rumored to have happened there and no one in their village has ventured past its walls for decades . . . But when they discover a secret way in, Billy and his best friends, Anna, Jimmy and Andy, can’t resist the temptation to explore! Only to quickly discover that the woods are brimming with magic and inhabited by all sorts of unusual creatures, including a whole community of sprites who need the children’s help! With magical battles, a long-lost mythical city, fantastical flying machines, epic feasts and one GIANT rescue – not to mention some mouth-watering recipes at the back – get ready for an adventure you’ll never forget!

Billy and the Giant Adventure is also available today in Audiobook!

New in Audio:

The Marrow Thieves
By Cherie Dimaline
Read by Meegwun Fairbrother
7 hours 8 minutes | Audiobook
ISBN 9781774885475 | Penguin Teen Canada
Humanity has nearly destroyed its world through global warming, but now an even greater evil lurks. The indigenous people of North America are being hunted and harvested for their bone marrow, which carries the key to recovering something the rest of the population has lost: the ability to dream. In this dark world, Frenchie and his companions struggle to survive as they make their way up north to the old lands. For now, survival means staying hidden – but what they don’t know is that one of them holds the secret to defeating the marrow thieves.

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

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Holiday Spotlight: Tundra Picture Books 2023

Here at Penguin Random House Canada, we’re lucky to work with so many different imprints and children’s book lists. This holiday season, we’ll be highlighting each one with a dedicated post to help you find the perfect gift (or your next read). Today’s post is all about picture books from Tundra Books, our very own Canadian publisher!

Dim Sum Palace
By X. Fang
48 Pages | Ages 3-7 | Hardcover
ISBN 9781774881989 | Tundra Books
Liddy is so excited about going to the Dim Sum Palace tomorrow with her family that she can’t sleep. So when a delicious smell wafts into her room, she hops out of bed, opens her door and steps into . . . an actual palace of dim sum! There are dumplings, baos, buns and more delicious treats than one girl can possibly eat. Liddy just has to take a bite, but she slips and falls . . . into a bowl of dumpling filling. The chefs are so busy rolling, folding and pinching dough that they don’t notice they’ve prepared a most unusual dumpling for the Empress – a Liddy dumpling! Worst of all, she looks good enough to eat . . .

How to Decorate a Christmas Tree
By Vikki VanSickle
Illustrated by Miki Sato
40 Pages | Ages 4-8 | Hardcover
ISBN 9780735268586 | Tundra Books
A little girl shares the steps for the perfect tree trimming – a holiday picture book for fans of Pick a Pine Tree and The Little Christmas Tree. In this charming Christmas tale, readers will follow along with the main character as she shares all the things that go into decorating a tree:
Lights
Ornaments
Popcorn
Hot chocolate
Taffy the cat
Memories
And, most importantly, family!
With stunning three-dimensional art by Miki Sato and a delightful story by wordsmith Vikki VanSickle, including a twist ending, this book will quickly become a Christmas tree decorating tradition of its own.

Ploof
By Ben Clanton and Andy Chou Musser
56 Pages | Ages 2-5 | Hardcover
ISBN 9781774881927 | Tundra Books
Ploof is a puffy cloud who’s a little lonely – but now you’re here, and the fun can begin! Can you help Ploof overcome their shyness? Play pretend? Make Ploof laugh with your funny faces, find their hiding spot, give them a high five! Full of imaginative and interactive fun, each page of this perfect book for preschoolers offers a chance to play. By following cues to say hello, clap, blow, shake, wave or make a funny face, young readers will be delighted to see the effects of their actions on Ploof. They’ll learn social-emotional skills like empathy, encouragement and kindness through Ploof’s emotional journey – and, along the way, they’ll learn how to be a fantastic friend! Join Ploof’s adventures in a brand-new series co-written and co-illustrated by Narwhal and Jelly creator Ben Clanton and up-and-coming picture book maker Andy Chou Musser.

Mama’s Sleeping Scarf
By Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie writing as Nwa Grace-James
Illustrated by Joelle Avelino
32 Pages | Ages 3-7 | Hardcover
ISBN 9781774882696 | Puffin Canada
Chino loves the scarf that her mama ties around her hair at night. But when Mama leaves for the day, what happens to her scarf? Chino takes it on endless adventures! Peeking through the colorful haze of the silky scarf, Chino and her toy bunny can look at her whole family as they go through their routines. With stunning illustrations from Joelle Avelino, Mama’s Sleeping Scarf is a celebration of family, and a touching story about the everyday objects that remind us of the ones we love.

The Hidden World of Gnomes
By Lauren Soloy
96 Pages | Ages 3-7 | Hardcover
ISBN 9780735271043 | Tundra Books
This book is an introduction to the hidden folk called gnomes, who live in a happy place they call The Pocket. Where is The Pocket, you ask? Well, it’s all around you, all the time. Gnomes are curious little creatures, and they’re very shy. But after reading this book, you will learn to spot the telltale signs that gnomes are around . . . and maybe even meet one! Lauren Soloy has been studying gnomes her whole life, and she has created this book to share her knowledge with you. For example, what jobs do gnomes do? Babysitting robin’s eggs, squirrel-tail fluffing, storytelling. Where do they live? In gardens, forests and any place with plants, birds and bugs. What are their names? Hotchi-Mossy, Able Potter, Cob Tiggy and Puckle Swift, to name a few. With charming details and surprising facts, this celebration of all things gnome will enchant readers of all ages.

The Little Books of the Little Brontës
By Sara O’Leary
Illustrated by Briony May Smith
40 Pages | Ages 5-9 | Hardcover
ISBN 9780735263697 | Tundra Books
Many years ago, the four motherless children of the Brontë family – Charlotte, Branwell, Emily and Anne – lived in a windswept house by the moors with their father. Although their lives were often filled with sadness and their world was only as large as the distance they could walk, their INNER worlds were bound only by their imaginations. Hungry for stories, these children devoured novels and poetry, history and fables. And with the gift of a group of toy soldiers, they were inspired to make their own stories, and their own tiny books . . . a passion that would last them a lifetime. A moving and atmospheric story about the power of imagination, the joy of storytelling and the love of books, The Little Books of the Little Brontës will enchant both those who love these literary sisters and those who are learning about them for the first time. Includes an author’s note, timeline of the Brontës’ lives and a fun craft with instructions on creating your own little book.

The Only Way to Make Bread
By Cristina Quintero
Illustrated by Sarah Gonzales
40 Pages | Ages 3-7 | Hardcover
ISBN 9780735271760 | Tundra Books
A delicious exploration of all kinds of breads, from sourdough to bannock to bao, that will tickle your taste buds and warm your heart.
What’s the only way to make bread?
You might use white flour in your bread, or whole wheat flour or corn flour.
You might use water or milk, maybe an egg or two.
You’ll use a handful of this, a dash of that, a bit of this and a splash of that.
Some dough will rise, some dough will bubble. Sometimes it will be sticky, sometimes it will be shaggy.  
What’s the only way to make bread?
Your way!
This tasty celebration of all kinds of bread will tempt bread lovers big and small. No matter what kind of bread YOU like to make, this book is for you!

The Song That Called Them Home
By David A. Robertson
Illustrated by Maya McKibbin
52 Pages | Ages 4-8 | Hardcover
ISBN 9780735266704 | Tundra Books
One summer day, Lauren and her little brother, James, go on a trip to the land with their Moshom (grandfather). After they’ve arrived, the children decide to fish for dinner while Moshom naps. They are in their canoe in the middle of the lake when the water around them begins to swirl and crash. They are thrown overboard and when Lauren surfaces she sees her brother being pulled away by the Memekwesewak – creatures who live in and around water and like to interfere with humans. Lauren must follow the Memekwesewak through a portal and along a watery path to find and bring back James. But when she finally comes upon her brother, she too feels the lure of the Memekwesewak’s song. Something even stronger must pull them back home.  

The Three Little Mittens
By Linda Bailey
Illustrated by Natalia Shaloshvili
32 Pages | Ages 3-7 | Hardcover
ISBN 9781774880111 | Tundra Books
Dotty and Other Dotty are a matching set of mittens. When another mitten, Stripes, loses her partner and becomes a single mitten, they don’t feel the need to include her. She doesn’t “match” them, so she is banished to the dark, lonely pocket of the Little Girl who owns them. Before long, however, Dotty loses her partner, and now she doesn’t match the reunited pair of Stripes and Other Stripes, who in turn banish her to the pocket. “YOU don’t match!” they tell her. When the Little Girl, who has been listening to their conversations, weighs in with a huge question (“Why do you have to match?”), the mittens are shocked. Then comes their realization that “matching” often means leaving someone out. This prompts the Little Girl to break a fundamental rule of fashion so that individual mittens (and maybe even socks! or shoes!) can be themselves – and everyone can belong. A warm and fuzzy story with lots of laughs, this latest picture book from Linda Bailey explores what it feels like to be excluded and included and celebrates one-of-a-kindness!

The Tragically Hip ABC
By The Tragically Hip
With Drew Macklin
Illustrated by Clayton Hanmer, Julia Breckenreid, Monika Melnychuk and Bridget George
32 Pages | Ages 5-7 | Hardcover
ISBN 9781774881248 | Tundra Books
A love letter to The Tragically Hip, one of Canada’s most beloved bands, this ABC picture book features illustrations from four renowned Canadian illustrators. The Tragically Hip, fronted by the late Gord Downie, is a legendary, bestselling Canadian band. And now, almost forty years of music can be appreciated in a brand-new way: an ABC picture book! From “A is for Ahead by a Century” to “N is for New Orleans is Sinking” all the way to “Z is for Frozen in My Tracks,” this illustrated ode to the band will be enjoyed by readers of all ages. Featuring art from Canadian illustrators Clayton Hanmer, Julia Breckenreid, Bridget George and Monika Melnychuk, this is the perfect gift for Hip fans old and new!

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Tuesdays with Tundra

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

Champions of the Fox: Thieves of Shadow #3
By Kevin Sands
464 Pages | Ages 10+ | Hardcover
ISBN 9781774882405 | Puffin Canada
“Follow my instructions, and when our task is done, I will release you.”
Commanded by the magical artifact known as the Dragon’s Eye, junior con artist Callan and his friends are eagerly reaching the end of the epic quest that will finally free him from the Eye’s sinister hold. But their final task is their most ambitious: sneaking into the emperor’s private island prison and rescuing a man from a jail cell that has been locked tight for nearly a century. This impossible heist will strain the gang’s unique abilities to thieve and deceive everyone from the guards, the city elite, the warden, and even the nefarious local crime boss who warns them to stay away. As the friends plan out their last and most difficult con job, Callan begins to question what they’re helping the Eye to achieve. Aided by magical hints and fitful dreams, Callan slowly uncovers the Eye’s true desires. To his horror, he realizes that he may be the one being conned all this time . . . and his mistake could cost the world’s entire existence.

Champions of the Fox is also available today in Audiobook!

Murtagh
By Christopher Paolini
656 Pages | Ages 12+ | Hardcover
ISBN 9781774882962 | Penguin Teen Canada
The world is no longer safe for the Dragon Rider Murtagh and his dragon, Thorn. An evil king has been toppled, and they are left to face the consequences of the reluctant role they played in his reign of terror. Now they are hated and alone, exiled to the outskirts of society. Throughout the land, hushed voices whisper of brittle ground and a faint scent of brimstone in the air – and Murtagh senses that something wicked lurks in the shadows of Alagaësia. So begins an epic journey into lands both familiar and untraveled, where Murtagh and Thorn must use every weapon in their arsenal, from brains to brawn, to find and outwit a mysterious witch. A witch who is much more than she seems. In this gripping novel starring one of the most popular characters from Christopher Paolini’s blockbuster Inheritance Cycle, a Dragon Rider must discover what he stands for in a world that has abandoned him. Murtagh is the perfect book to enter the World of Eragon for the first time . . . or to joyfully return.

New in Paperback:

Green Mountain Academy
By Frances Greenslade
240 Pages | Ages 10-14 | Paperback
ISBN 9780735267862 | Tundra Books
After a family trip turned disastrous when their truck broke down in the middle of an old logging road in Oregon, Francie is now back in British Columbia. People try to make things as “normal” as possible for her, but they don’t understand that trying to be normal in your old life that’s exploded is the worst feeling in the world. Luckily for Francie, the wilderness is still soothing, and an opportunity to attend the Green Mountain Academy, a tiny boarding school perched on the side of a mountain, seems perfect. It’s a new start, with new friends and a chance at a new family. But when a winter storm hits, knocking out all the power, news that a small plane has gone missing unsettles Francie. Knowing that the chance of survival in the middle of a wild nighttime snowstorm diminishes over time, Francie is compelled to leave the cozy school and set out into the icy cold, swirling snowstorm.

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.

Tundra Book Group