Category: Ontario

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2019 Ruth & Sylvia Schwartz Children’s Books Awards

The Ruth and Sylvia Schwartz Children’s Book Awards were established in 1976 – each year, two awards are presented to recognize artistic excellence in writing and illustration in English-language Canadian children’s literature. The winners are selected by juries at dedicated schools. Tundra Books would like to congratulate Wab Kinew and Joe Morse! Go Show the World: A Celebration of Indigenous Heroes was awarded this year’s Children’s Picture Book award.

This year’s school, Scarborough’s Eastview Public School, has a large Indigenous community, offering Ojibwa language instruction and other Indigenous programming.

Go Show the World: A Celebration of Indigenous Heroes
By Wab Kinew
Illustrated by Joe Morse
40 Pages | Ages 5-9 | Tundra Books
ISBN 9780735262928

What the students said:
“This was my favourite book because it showed how to be positive and how to be a hero.”
“I loved the message of the book.”
“I liked that the first part of the book is a poem, and that the second part has information about the heroes’ lives.”
“The illustrations are beautiful. The artist made all the people in the story look like heroes!”

Joe Morse with the jurors of the Ruth and Sylvia Schwartz Award picture book category.

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Putting the YA in FRIYAY: Penguin Teen Social 2019 Recap

Yesterday we hosted our second #PenguinTeenSocial event – we invited bloggers and booksellers to our office for a fun night of trivia, pizza, and author signings. Check out some of our highlights below!

Welcome to Penguin Teen Social 2019!
Our author guests were: Tanaz Bhathena, Jeff Zentner, Heather Smith, Lesley Livingston, Lizzy Mason (who unfortunately couldn’t make it), and Laura Sebastian.
We used the Penguin Shop Cart as an author signing booth!
Swag bags including some Penguin Teen Canada sunglasses
Free ARCs!
#Penguin10 – the 10 books you NEED to read this fall!
Pizza generously donated by Panago Pizza. #RandomActsOfPizza
Marketing & Publicity Associate Director Vikki VanSickle introducing the evening’s schedule.
Our authors Jeff Zentner, Lesley Livingston, Heather Smith, Tanaz Bhathena,and Laura Sebastian playing a trivia game with our host/publicity manager, Evan Munday.
Signing line for Lesley Livingston.
Heather Smith and Tanaz Bhathena!
Signing line for Jeff Zentner.
So many book lovers in one room!
Your Penguin Teen Canada team: Sylvia Chan, Sam Devotta, Vikki VanSickle, and Evan Munday.

Thanks to everyone for a great night – hope to see you again next year!

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The 2019 OLA Forest of Reading® Winners and Honour Books

The 2019 Forest of Reading awards were announced last week and we are so thrilled that eight of our titles were honoured at the Festival of Trees. Congratulations to our authors and illustrators!

Blue Spruce Award
#2 Honour Book
The Magician's SecretThe Magician’s Secret
Written by Zachary Hyman
Illustrated by Joe Bluhm
Hardcover
Published by Tundra Books
“The conversational tone draws the reader through the story. The remarkable art work by Joe Bluhm showcases the relationship between Charlie and his grandpa and transports the reader into each adventure, providing glimpses of how the imagination can make a dream a reality . . . this book is best shared as a read-aloud. Any adult will be equally thrilled by the story, its rich language and the wonderful illustrations.” – CM Magazine

Silver Birch Fiction Award
Winner
Chase - paperbackChase
Written by Linwood Barclay
Published by Puffin Canada
Paperback
“The action in Chase begins on the first page and doesn’t let up in this new thriller from Linwood Barclay  . . . readers will enjoy the twists and turns of the action and will relate to all three main characters.” – CM Magazine

#1 Honour Book
Elephant SecretElephant Secret
Written by Eric Walters
Published by Puffin Canada
Hardcover
“Walters interweaves his beautiful family story with a thorough description of elephant behavior—their intellect, compassion, and loyalty—and factual scientific possibilities of cloning an extinct species…A must-read for anyone with an interest in elephants and their welfare.” – Booklist

Red Maple Non-Fiction Award
#2 Honour Book
Innovation NationInnovation Nation: How Canadian Innovators Made the World Smarter, Smaller, Kinder, Safer, Healthier, Wealthier, Happier
Written by David Johnston and Tom Jenkins
Illustrated by Josh Holinaty
Hardcover
Published by Tundra Books
“[R]eminds us just how ingenious Canadians are, despite our golly-gosh-shucks tendency to downplay our accomplishments… Bright illustrations by Josh Holinaty swirl around each page of text to evoke the brilliance of fun and curiosity.” – Quill & Quire

Red Maple Fiction Award
#2 Honour Book
Fourth DimensionFourth Dimension
Written by Eric Walters
Hardcover
Published by Penguin Teen Canada
“I recommend Fourth Dimension to fans of The Rule of 3 series as well as those readers who enjoy action/adventure, realistic, or post-apocalyptic stories. Emma and her mother are strong female characters who are great role models for teenage girls. . . . Recommended.” – CM Magazine

White Pine Award
Winner
The Agony of Bun O'KeefeThe Agony of Bun O’Keefe
Written by Heather T. Smith
Hardcover
Published by Penguin Teen Canada
“Although Bun is 14, she possesses the endearing naiveté and honesty of a child, but her first-person narration isn’t sappy or immature. . . . Bun O’Keefe will settle comfortably at home in readers’ hearts.” – Starred Review, Kirkus Reviews

The Forest of Reading is Canada’s largest recreational reading program. This initiative of the Ontario Library Association (OLA) offers seven reading programs to encourage a love of reading in people of all ages. The Forest helps celebrate Canadian books, publishers, authors and illustrators. More than 270,000 readers participate annually from their School and/or Public Library. All Canadians are invited to participate via their local public library, school library, or individually.

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Putting the YA in FRIYAY: 5 Things You Need to Know About Lesley Livingston

Have you binge-read Lesley Livingston‘s The Valiant series yet? The trilogy ended with The Triumphant earlier this year, and this fierce group of female gladiators is definitely something you need to experience for yourself. To convince you that you need more Lesley Livingston in your life, we asked her for five random facts about her and the results were pretty great:

  1. I can wiggle my ears.
  2. I was a competitive luger. For a weekend. Came in 7/10s of a second away from a bronze medal and broke my glasses.
  3. My best vocal impressions are Chewbacca from Star Wars, and a tribble from Star Trek.
  4. I can pronounce the name of the Welsh town Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch.
  5. The TV character I relate to most in life is probably Colonel Potter from M*A*S*H*.

Add The Triumphant on Goodreads here!

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Putting the YA in FRIYAY: 5 Things You Need to Know About E.K. Johnston

E.K. Johnston is such a prolific writer, it’s impossible for us to choose a favourite book by her…but The Afterward has been out since February and we’re still gushing about it! Please enjoy this Q&A from E.K. Johnston as well as some random facts about her.

Describe your book in 5 words

Sword, Sorcery, and Student Loans

Which of the characters in The Afterward do you relate to the most?

Kalanthe.

Recommend a book for Kalanthe and Olsa.

We Are Okay by Nina LaCour

What advice would you give your 16-year-old self?

Don’t rebel by choosing the school musical over track and field. The musical will never make it to stage, and only, like, five of you will take it seriously.

What is the best piece of writing advice you have ever received?

Shannon Hale says that writing a first draft is like piling all the sand into the sandbox so that you can make a castle later, and I love that.

What are you reading now?

Catching up on comics! Ms. Marvel and the last Poe Dameron volume.

What books do you recommend to fans of The Afterward?

How to Love by Katie Cotugno
The Scorpion Rules by  Erin Bow

5 Things You Need to Know About E.K. Johnston:

  1. Her archaeological specialties are iron age fortifications in southern Moab and the recovery of human remains
  2. One time she made a cake in the shape of BB-8 that made her famous on Tumblr
  3. She grew up in a small town and only recently has been addressed by her own name on the first try (instead of her sister’s)
  4. She misses L&P (New Zealand), Monte Carlos (Australia), chocolate cake in a can (England), and one particular street food vendor in Busan, South Korea who made these deep fried shrimp with eggs TO DIE FOR
  5. She recently played Mass Effect all the way through and is still in recovery

Add The Afterward on Goodreads here!