TD National Reading Summit

TDNationalReadingSummit

WHEN?
November 12-13, 2009

WHERE?
Bronfman Hall,
Royal Ontario Museum
100 Queen’s Park, Toronto

ABOUT THE SUMMIT:
Becoming a reader is at the very heart of responsible citizenship. But as we find ourselves caught in the fierce updrafts of an information hurricane, we often lose sight of what reading – as an intellectual activity – contributes to our sense of self, our cultural awareness, our capacity for self-expression and, ultimately, our notions of engaged citizenship and the collective good. Reading, after all, is about so much more than a technical act that allows us to communicate, consume media and perform the activities of daily life. To be literate is necessary, but it is not enough.

What is Canada doing to foster a reading culture? Many countries around the world have developed a national program to promote reading among children and the general population. In Canada, individual provinces and communities have made steps in this direction; however, because schools and libraries are the most obvious focus for public reading initiatives, and both are under provincial and municipal jurisdictions, we have no coordinated national strategy to promote reading.

THE READING COALITION
In 2008, a group of librarians, parent activists, authors, publishers and corporate leaders came together with the goal of developing a national reading strategy for Canada; the TD National Reading Summit is the first step in identifying key strategies and building a coalition to advance policy development and implementation. Canadians from all parts of the country are encouraged to engage in this far-ranging discussion about the task of building a reading society.

Please click on the links to Get Involved and for More Information. We hope you get a chance to register and attend, the Program looks amazing!

Launch of: Tyranny

Last night, we joined Lesley Fairfield in celebrating the launch of her graphic novel, Tyranny. The reading and signing was held at McNally Robinson Booksellers in Don Mills.

TyrannyTyranny by Lesley Fairfield

Kathryn ColeKathryn Cole, the editor of Tyranny, gave a great introducation for Lesley Fairfield.

Tyranny PresentationLesley Fairfield telling us about her personal thirty-year struggle with anorexia and bulimia.

Lesley FairfieldWe love Lesley’s outfit!
Check out her earrings and top – they match the cover!

Thank you once again to Nicola and to the staff at McNally Robinson Booksellers for making the event a success!

CBC presents the TD Kids Bookclub

Tundra would like to thank all the elementary schools in the Greater Vancouver area, the Edmonton area, the Calgary area, Manitoba, the Montreal area and Mainland Nova Scotia for submitting their cheers to CBC.

Congratulations to the winning schools for their TD Kids Book Club cheers:

  • Shawne Chastko’s class from 12th Avenue Elementary School in Burnaby!
  • Adrienne Glover’s grade 3 class from Morley School in Morley, Alberta!
  • The Grade 6 class at Oliver School!
  • Karen Tole-Henderson’s grade 5 class at Shamrock School!
  • Holly Kusiewicz’s grade 5/6 class at Parkdale Elementary in St. Laurent!
  • Ms. Paulette O’Connor’s grade 5/6 class at St. Joseph’s/A. MacKay School!

Stay tuned for details on the TD Kids Book club broadcast in November. Susin Nielsen, author of Word Nerd, will be going to Burnaby and Edmonton for a special broadcast from the winning schools. Shane Peacock, author of Death in the Air, will be going to Halifax for a special broadcast from the winning school.

Word Nerd Thing-Thing Death in the Air

YoungIFOA presents the TD Canadian Children’s Literature Award Finalists:

  • Saturday, October 24, 11:00am| Studio Theatre
    A YoungIFOA event for the whole family to enjoy. New this year at IFOA: finalists for the TD Canadian Children’s Literature Award read from their nominated books. Charlotte Teeple hosts.
  • Saturday, October 24, 1:00pm| Studio Theatre
    TD Canadian Children’s Literature Award nominees Alma Fullerton, Susin Nielsen and Shane Peacock read from their nominated books in this YoungIFOA event for the whole family.
  • Saturday, October 24, 4:00pm| Studio Theatre
    In partnership with the TD Canadian Children’s Literature Award YoungIFOA presents a round table event for the young at heart. TD Canadian Children’s Literature Award nominees Nicola Campbell, Alma Fullerton, Cary Fagan, Kim LaFave, Susin Nielsen and Shane Peacock talk about children’s literature in the 21st century.

Launch of: Finn the half-Great

Finn the half-Great and his band of giants, and dragons, and other fine creatures celebrated the launch at the Spoke Club on Tuesday, October 13, 2009. Here are a few fine photos from the night. For more photos, please visit Finn‘s facebook page.

Finn the half-GreatFinn the half-Great by Theo Caldwell

Ben MalroneyTheo had asked his friend Ben Mulroney to host the event.

Kathy LowingerTundra’s Publisher, Kathy Lowinger, says a few words about Finn.

Theo CaldwellTheo Caldwell busy signing copies of Finn the half-Great
For more information on the book, please visit www.halfgreat.com

The Word on the Street 2009

Sunday, September 27, 2009 was the Word on the Street‘s 20th year! The weather held up and the festival was quite the success! Here are a few of our photos from the day:

Tundra booth - Kathy and HoriaTundra was at booth #245 this year with lots of great book deals and giveaways!

Laura Beingessner and Joanne SchwartzLaura Beingessner and Joanne Schwartz reading from Our Corner Grocery Store at the Children’s Reading Tent. After, Laura drew a broccoli for the kids!

Cary FaganCary Fagan reading from Jacob Two-Two on the High Seas. (You can see Laura Beingessner’s broccoli drawing on the left!)

From Jacob Two-Two on the High Seas, Cary Fagan teaches the audience the chorus of the Pirate Song: “It’s the pirate life for us, hey ho! The pirate life for us! Aaarrrgh!”
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9L6LAGjg3s]

Kent Price and Theo HerasAt 1:30pm in the Little Readers Tent, Theo Heras sang songs from What Will We Do with the Baby-O? Click here to watch the video.

Lesley Fairfield2:00pm at the Comics and Graphic Novels Tent was Graphic Memoirs: Three New Works. Tundra’s Lesley Fairfield (Tyranny) presented with Canadian graphic memoirists, Tory Woolcott (Mirror Mind) and Adam Bourret (I’m Crazy). Thank you to Christopher Butcher and Peter Birkemoe from The Beguiling for organizing this program.

Tim BeiserTim Beiser read from Bradley McGogg The Very Fine Frog at the Children’s Reading Tent.

In the Word On The Street in Kitchener, Shane Peacock and Marla Stewart Konrad read from their latest books!

Thank you to the Word on the Street team and all the volunteers! We look forward to the next festival on Sunday, September 26, 2010.

Tundra Book Group