Category: Toronto

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Canadian Children’s Literature Awards Celebration

Last night, Tundra came out to support our finalists in the Canadian Children’s Literature Awards. It was a beautiful night of fine dining, cocktails, and children books!

Charming Garvia Bailey, host of CBC’s Big City, Small World was our Master of Ceremony. The first award to be announced was the Geoffrey Bilson Award for Historical Fiction for Young People. We have a short clip that you can watch by clicking here.

Drumroll please, the winner of the Geoffrey Bilson for Historical Fiction for Young People goes to…

Vanishing Girl: The Boy Sherlock Holmes, His 3rd Case
Written by Shane Peacock
Hardcover | 320 Pages
ISBN 978-0-88776-852-1
For ages 9 and up
“Peacock delves into the young mind of one of the best-known characters in literature, creating a story that is well-plotted, with plenty of action, adventure and plot twists… Beautifully written and fast-paced… Peacock’s writing has a distinctive voice and tone that is perfectly suited to the story being told.” – Jury Comments

Congratulations to Shane Peacock! The first two books in the Boy Sherlock Holmes series, Eye of the Crow and Death in the Air are all finalists of the TD Canadian Children’s Literature Award.

The Norma Fleck Award for Canadian Children’s Non-Fiction was next! Tundra’s A Thousand Years of Pirates by William Gilkerson was nominated. The award went to the much deserving team of Priscilla Galloway and Dawn Hunter for Adventures on the Ancient Silk Road. They received a standing ovation after Priscilla’s thank you speech.

Next up, the Marilyn Baillie Picture Book Award! We had two finalists in this category (Our Corner Grocery Store by Joanne Schwartz, illustrated by Laura Beingessner), but only one could win…

Timmerman Was Here
Written by Colleen Sydor, illustrated by Nicolas Debon
Hardcover | 32 Pages
ISBN 978-0-88776-890-3
For ages 4 – 8
“This is a sublimely humanistic and memorable story about the way we discover the difference between truth and appearances… Dramatic pictures equally involve the reader, while the artistic use of dark and light further affect our emotional response… This intriguing tale with a twist delves exceptionally well into values and perceptions, the rational and the irrational, achieving a conclusion that is profoundly self-affirming for the child… This emotionally rich and suspenseful story is capped by an uplifting ending that will stir hearts from 8 to 80… A perfect pairing of text and illustration.” – Jury Comments

Congratulations to Colleen Sydor and Nicolas Debon for their work on Timmerman Was Here!

Lastly, the big award we were all waiting for, the TD Canadian Children’s Literature Award. Tundra has two finalists in the running!

And the winner is…

Arthur Slade for The Hunchback Assignments! Congratulations! Everyone got a copy in their gift bag and we can’t wait to read it!

A huge thank you goes out to the Canadian Children’s Book Centre, TD Bank Financial Group, the jurors, sponsors, and staff for all your work and for the amazing celebration!

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Launch of: Humpty Dumpty and Friends

Last night, we celebrated the launch of Oleg Lipchenko’s Humpty Dumpty and Friends at Nicholas Hoare Books in Toronto.

The event also included a presentation of the 2009 Elizabeth Mrazik-Cleaver Award to Oleg Lipchenko for his illustrations in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. The annual IBBY Canada Elizabeth Mrazik-Cleaver Award, honours outstanding artistic talent in Canadian picture books.

IBBY Canada president, Patricia Ocampo presented Oleg Lipchenko with the award.

This is what the jury had to say:
“Oleg Lipchenko has turned this classic story into a rich experience for readers greeting Alice for the first time, as well as for those who know the original…Lipchenko’s illustrations are more than images on a page; they are an homage to the surreal quality and humor of Lewis Carroll’s text.”

Oleg Lipchenko signing copies of his books and posters.

Throughout the evening, guests were invited to look through Oleg Lipchenko’s portfolio containing the original artworks for the books.

Many thanks to everyone at Nicholas Hoare Books, IBBY Canada, to the family, and friends who came out to show their support for Oleg Lipchenko!

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CBC TD Kids Bookclub Contest

CBC Radio is partnered with the TD Bank Financial Group and the Canadian Children’s Book Centre to run a contest for middle school students across Canada – Greater Vancouver, the Edmonton area, the Calgary area, Manitoba, Toronto, the Montreal area, and Mainland Nova Scotia.

It’s an opportunity for young readers to win a visit from one of the five nominated authors for a book club discussion, plus copies of the book. CBC Radio will even record the event for broadcast, so readers will be heard on the radio!

We have two TD Canadian Children’s Literature Award nominees this year who are participating in the contest:

A Thousand Years of Pirates
Written and illustrated by William Gilkerson
Hardcover | 96 Pages
ISBN 978-0-88776-924-5
For ages 10 – 14
“A beautifully illustrated treasure trove of information… Chronicles the history of piracy from the time of the Vikings to the present day… This clear and compelling cross-over (history) for all ages includes not only biographical and dramatic narratives, but also the rarely-told sordid and sad details of piracy.” – Jury Comments

Watching Jimmy
Written by Nancy Hartry
Hardcover | 160 Pages
ISBN 978-0-88776-871-2
For ages 12 and up
“Watching Jimmy is a masterful exploration of the impact a young girl’s voice can have when she is supported by adult allies… A suspenseful novel of loyalty, determination and compassion… Hartry creates a memorable portrayal of the secret subculture of childhood… A profound and powerful story.” – Jury Comments

The other nominees are Janet McNaughton (Dragon Seer), Sharon Jennings (Home Free), and Arthur Slade (The Hunchback Assignments)! All great authors and books!

To Enter:
Individual classes must submit an original short story, poem or song convincing CBC Radio to bring the TD Kids Book Club to their school. Entrants must tell CBC why their class is so special when it comes to books and reading. Please visit www.cbc.ca/kidsbookclub for more information related to your location.

Contest Entry Deadline:
Friday, October 15, 2010. Please help spread the word, the entry deadline is approaching fast!

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The 2010 Word on the Street

Have you started planning out your schedule for Sunday, September 26th, 2010? Everyone is buzzing about the author events, presentations, workshops, and marketplace with the best selection of Canadian books and magazines. We hope to see you at the Word on the Street festival this weekend!

IN VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA:
Raise-a-Reader Corner:
12:00 PM – Kathryn E. Shoemaker with Clay Man and Good-bye Marianne
1:20 PM – Maxwell Newhouse with The Weber Street Wonder Work Crew
Cancelled – Irene Watts with No Moon

  

IN KITCHENER, ONTARIO:
Heritage Canada Reading Rocks Tent:
12:00 PM – Nan Forler with Bird Child
TBA – Ann Love and Jane Drake with Talking Tails: The Incredible Connection Between People and Their Pets

 

IN TORONTO, ONTARIO:
The Children’s Reading Tent:
1:20 PM – Heather Hartt-Sussman with Nana’s Getting Married
2:40 PM – Susin Nielsen with Dear George Clooney, Please Marry My Mom
3:40 PM – Monica Kulling with All Aboard! Elijah McCoy’s Steam Engine
4:30 PM – Kevin Sylvester with Splinters
4:50 PM – Jan Andrews with Rude Stories
Great Books Marquee:
1:15 PM – Richard Scrimger with Me & Death
The Activity Tent:
3:00 PM – Jason Bone with Alison Dare, Little Miss Adventures and Alison Dare, The Heart of the Maiden

       

Tundra Books will be selling books, giving away posters, catalogues, postcards, and bookmarks. Look for us at KidStreet! Also, click here to see photos from last year’s festival.

Bonus, to celebrate KidStreet, Open Book: Toronto and The Word On The Street are giving away a Children’s Book Prize Pack and a Family Pass to the Ontario Science Centre! To enter, please visit the Open Book: Toronto website.

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Word up for the Teen Read Awards!

Indigo launched an awards program called the Teen Read Awards. The goal of the program is to get teens excited about books and to have their say on their favourites. Canadian teens are encouraged to go to the site and cast their vote for their favourite book in several categories such as Best Read, Best All-Time-Fave, Best Series, Best Villain, etc.

Don’t see a book you think deserves to be nominated? Each category will have the opportunity for you to pick your own nominee until July 25th.

Now for some special news, Susin Nielsen has been nominated in the category of Best Canadian Read for Word Nerd!!! *Cheers*

If you wish to vote for Susin, go to teenreadawards.ca and click on the Best Canadian Read tab. Then click on the Word Nerd cover and finally, ‘Cast My Vote’. After that you’ll be prompted to register, but once registered you can also vote on other categories and be entered to win cool prizes!

Voting will continue until early September and the winner will be announced on September 25th at a ceremony in Toronto!

Why don’t we have Susin tell you a little bit about herself here:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BMx7E7iZlEg]

If you’re a Canadian teen, please vote!

Tundra Book Group