Category: author

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Trick or Treat

No tricks whatsoever, we’re giving away some ghostly treats today! Take a look at the Grand Prize, courtesy of CCI Entertainment and Tundra Books:

The grand prize is a sturdy “Ghost Trackers” duffel bag (imagine going trick-or-treating with this) and a copy of Ghost Trackers.

This bag will fit all your ghost tracking tools and it even includes a shoulder strap and small mesh bag.

In case you don’t win the Grand Prize, we’re also giving away 5 copies of Ghost Trackers so that you can learn to be the ultimate ghost tracker this Halloween! Here is more information about the book:

Ghost Trackers: The Unreal World of Ghosts, Ghost-Hunting, and the Paranormal
Written by Chris Gudgeon & CCI Entertainment
Paperback | 80 Pages | Ages 9+
ISBN 9780887769504

Inspired by the hit television series “Ghost Trackers,” this ghostly tome invites readers to explore the mysteries that haunt us all: ghostly histories, how to equip yourself to explore a haunted house, the latest on what the scientists think. All this and much more is packed into this fascinating book.

In the world of Ghost Trackers, kids who are interested in ghosts and the paranormal search for answers to the questions we all have about the afterlife. Full of stories of sightings, both ancient and recent, and information about becoming a ghost tracker, this book demands to be read and shared. After all, who knows if ghosts are evidence of life after death or if they are simply a natural occurrence we are yet to understand?

What do you have to do to enter, you ask?

  • Please leave a comment below telling us if you were to see a ghost, who would you want it to be, and why?
  • The staff at Tundra will decide on their favourite response and that person will win the Grand Prize.
  • The 5 Ghost Tracker book winners will be chosen at random.
  • We will ship to Canada and the U.S.A. – so keep in mind you will need a Canadian or American mailing address to receive the prize.
  • The giveaway closes on October 29, 2010 at 11:00 am EST.
  • Please read our giveaway rules here.
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The 2011 OLA Forest of Reading® Nominees

Yesterday, the Ontario Library Association revealed the short-listed nominated titles for the 2011 Forest of Reading®. All nominated titles have been posted on the Reading Program page of the OLA website, which you can visit at http://www.accessola.com/reading.

Tundra would like to congratulate Jane Barclay, Renné Benoit, Monica Kulling, Bill Slavin, Ann Love, Jane Drake, and Nancy Hartry!

Blue Spruce Award (JK-Grade 2)

Proud as a Peacock, Brave as a Lion
By Jane Barclay
Illustrated by Renné Benoit
ISBN 978-88776-951-1
Hardcover
24 Pages
“…Barcaly has taken on an important topic in an effective and touching way…. The text is complemented beautifully with Benoit’s artwork rendered in watercolours and gouache. The gentle wash of colours is soft and expressive, with the red poppies making an impression….” – CM Magazine

Silver Birch Award – Express (Grades 2-4)

It’s a Snap! George Eastman’s First Photograph
By Monica Kulling
Illustrated by Bill Slavin
ISBN 978-88776-881-1
Hardcover
32 Pages
“…Love the story, the history and the illustrations. We had a great time reading it together and talking about how much cameras have changed. It’s great to look at our past to see how far we’ve come….” – The Book Broads

Silver Birch Award – Nonfiction (Grades 4-6)

Talking Tails: The Incredible Connection Between People and Their Pets
By Ann Love and Jane Drake
Illustrated by Bill Slavin
ISBN 978-88776-884-2
Hardcover
80 Pages
“…Written in what might be described as an infectiously friendly fashion, with an ample array of narrative … and plentifully illustrated with witty watercolours by the irrepressible Bill Slavin, Talking Tails will appeal to those who are contemplating having a pet in their lives, or those who just want affirmation of the rightness of their choice of pet – and perhaps more information about the cat, dog or leopard gecko they dote on.” – The Globe and Mail

Golden Oak Award (Adult Learners)

Watching Jimmy
By Nancy Hartry
ISBN 978-88776-871-2
Hardcover
160 Pages
“…Nancy Hartry’s observant, smart, and iconoclastic narrator floats the story over the surface of a despair which often threatens to engulf the characters, but somehow never does….” – Canadian Literature

The Festival of Treesâ„¢ will be taking place on May 11-12, 2011 at the Harbourfront Centre. We’ll be there to cheer on our authors and illustrators!

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Picasso

On this day in 1881, Pablo Picasso was born! Learn more about this artist:

Picasso: Soul on Fire
Written by Rick Jacobson
Illustrated by Laura Fernandez and Rick Jacobson
ISBN 978-0-88776-599-5
Ages 10+ | Hardcover | 32 pages

Modern art has a language, and when it is learned it opens the door to treasure. In Picasso: Soul on Fire, Rick Jacobson and Laura Fernandez present more than the story of the painter’s life. They provide young readers with the tools with which to understand his work.

Picasso was an expert draftsman – his rendering of pigeons’ feet by the time he was eleven was so detailed that his artist father recognized the boy’s genius and stopped painting. But he took art much further, using emotions to redefine the way we see. His sense of joy infused his Rose Period. His sadness over the loss of a friend is reflected in his famous Blue Period. His viewing of an African mask made him reexamine his ideas of shape.

This beautifully illustrated homage is a splendid introduction to modern art.

Praise for Picasso:

  • “Written in simple, clear language, it effortlessly leads readers through the life of the artist, exploring his influences, selected works, and his creative processes. The softly radiant oil paintings are mostly full page and enhance the enjoyment of the book…. A timeline fleshes out some of the facts imparted in the text. This eloquent tribute will serve as an introduction to Picasso and to an artist’s inspirations.” – School Library Journal
  • “Fernandez and Jacobson reveal Picasso to young readers through beautiful images from the painter’s life and reproductions of some of Picasso’s works. An excellent introduction to modern art for young readers.” – BC Parent
  • “Jacobsen is to be congratulated for taking a little-known figure to children and making him – and modern art – accessible. Though aimed at ages 10 and up, the book’s compelling story, beautiful illustration and reproduced paintings of Picasso will appeal to anyone who loves art.” – Today’s Parent
  • “…with its unusual portraits and basic introduction to cubism and Picasso’s life, this will be an intriguing addition to the surprisingly slender offerings about the artist for this age group.” – Booklist
  • “…powerful, full-page oil paintings of Picasso at various stages of his life.” – The Globe and Mail
  • Finalist for the 2005/2006 Hackmatack Award
  • Shortlist for the Amelia Francis Howard-Gibbon Book Award
  • Finalist in the Nautilus 2005 Book Awards

Available in paperback on May 10, 2011.

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October Pub Date Giveaway Winner

Thank you to everyone who entered our Pub Date Giveaway! We used random.org to generate the winning number:

Wow! It pays to be the first to enter sometimes! The first entry belongs to Autumn! Congratulations! I will be emailing you for your shipping address, so please check your inbox.

Autumn picked the novel Avalanche Dance by Ellen Schwartz. Don’t worry if you didn’t win anything this round, we’ll do it again on November 8, 2010! As a heads up, our Pub Date is always the second Tuesday of each month. =)

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2010 Governor General’s Literary Awards

Tundra would like to congratulate Lesley Fairfield!! Her graphic novel, Tyranny, is nominated for the 2010 Governor General’s Literary Awards in Children’s Literature – Text.

Tyranny
Written and illustrated by Lesley Fairfield
Trade Paperback | 120 pages
Ages 11 and up
ISBN 978-0-88776-903-0
Brilliantly and realistically presented, Tyranny is a must-read for anyone looking for a better understanding of eating disorders and for everyone looking for a compelling page-turner that is truly a story of triumph and hope.

Praise for Tyranny:

“… This is one of the most moving and important graphic novels to come along in years…. Fairfield treats this important subject with intelligence and empathy, and personifying Anna’s horrible self-image in the character of Tyranny is a unique and compelling approach. The simple yet powerful black-and-white drawings do wonders in bringing the book’s message to its readers. Tyranny is so important that both younger and older teens will benefit from reading it. Every public and school library should own at least one copy of this amazing book.” – Starred Review, School Library Journal

“Tyranny is a page-turner…. Fairfield captures the nuanced psychological somersaults of the anorexic experience pitch-perfectly….  She immerses us in the social and physical experience of anorexia…with both guts and grace.” – NOW Magazine

“Lesley Fairfield juxtaposes images of a slender, attractive Anna with the flabby, repulsive girl Anna sees in the mirror…. Enter Tyranny – a skeletal figure who acts as Anna’s inner critic…” – Graphic Spotlight, Kirkus Reviews

“…the emotions are real…. The story is told with equally simple words, relying on the pictures to provide the punch. …effective…” – Booklist

“The graphic form impels but doesn’t rush the reader along with Anna on her dangerous dance with a severe and recurrent eating disorder. The malevolent squiggle that is Tyranny is never out of the picture for long.” – The Globe and Mail

“…Although Anna tries several times to break the cycle of her disorder, Tyranny always pulls her back in. It’s this struggle to regain her will to live that makes Tyranny a powerful read.” – Quill & Quire

Lesley Fairfield is a graduate of the Ontario College of Art and Design in illustration. Her work appears in many children’s books. Lesley’s personal thirty-year struggle with anorexia and bulimia has informed her work concerning body image, which has appeared in Dance in Canada magazine and in York University’s International Women’s Studies Journal.

Tundra Book Group