Hello graphic novel lovers! The Young Readers team at Penguin Random House Canada is headed to downtown Toronto for TCAF 2024, happening on May 11th and 12th at the Toronto Reference Library. We’ll be showcasing many of our wonderful graphic novels at tables 144/145!
Saturday, May 11th
At 1:00pm in the Novella Room, join creator Adam de Souza for the Coast to Coast to Coast discussion. Moderated by Sal Sawler.
At 3:00pm in the Learning Centre, join creator Eunnie for a panel on Queer Kisses: Love, Romance and Identity.
Saturday, May 11th
At 1:00pm in the Learning Centre, join creator Adam de Souza for a discussion on Teen Titans: Empowering Stories for Young Folks. Moderated by Cole Pauls.
At 3:00pm in the Learning Centre, join creators Christine D.U. Chung and Salwa Majoka for a discussion on Back Pack: Creating Stories for Middle-Graders. Moderated by Sid Sharp.
We will also be hosting signings on both days at tables 144/145! Books will be available for purchase courtesy of The Beguiling.
And don’t forget to follow us online @tundrabooks and @penguinteenca as we post live from the show floors!
Tuesdays with Tundra is an ongoing series featuring our new releases. This title is now available in stores and online!
Shine By Bruno Valasse 32 Pages | Ages 3-7 | Hardcover ISBN 9781774884287 | Tundra Books A little moth hides from the dark, and doesn’t want to leave his bright and cozy home. But here’s a secret: he loves watching the stars. They only come out at night, though . . . when it’s dark outside. One night, the stars give the moth the courage to go outside into the night. There, he makes friends with other creatures who are also afraid of the dark, and they play and sparkle under the stars. But will a dangerous encounter with a group of hungry frogs drive the moth back inside? Or will it encourage him to create his own light in the darkness? Inspired by the author’s own childhood memories of being afraid of the dark but drawn to the beauty of the night sky, Shine is a gorgeous debut picture book which will encourage readers to be their authentic selves . . . and glow!
We can’t wait to see you reading this title! If you share this book online, remember to use #ReadTundra in your hashtags so that we can re-post.
At Tundra Books, we want you to get to know and love our authors as much as you know and love their books. Our creator spotlight series will introduce you to the people behind some of your favorite titles . . . this week, say hello to Kern Carter!
About the Author:
KERN CARTER is the author of Boys and Girls Screaming, along with two self-published novels, Thoughts of a Fractured Soul (novella) and Beauty Scars. In addition to his writing, Kern is a filmmaker and also teaches professional writing at a local college, committed to supporting emerging writers and helping them find their voice. He lives in Toronto.
Fast Five with Kern Carter:
If you could live anywhere, where would it be?
This is a tough question, so I’m going to cheat and give a couple of different answers. If I could live anywhere in the world, I would live part of my life in Grenada. My mother and grandmother were both born there and the stories they tell me speaks to my soul. The other place I would live is in Laguna Beach, California. I spent a few days there and you’re literally in between the ocean and these gorgeous mountains. I didn’t want to leave.
What’s one thing that can instantly make your day better?
One thing that instantly makes my day better is eating my first meal. I absolutely love food, good food, and eating usually puts me in the best mood.
Which meal is your favorite: breakfast, lunch, or dinner?
Dinner is definitely my favorite meal. There are so many options and I get the most excited thinking about all the different possibilities. Plus all of my favourite dishes are dinner dishes.
What’s the best concert you’ve ever been to?
The best concert I’ve ever been to was Kanye’s West’s Yeezus tour. I’ve never seen a production like that in my life. I also want to give a shoutout to Jill Scott. I saw her perform in New Orleans and her show was probably the most memorable. Her voice and stage presence was all she needed to command the audience.
Who do you consider a fashion icon?
When I was growing up, I remember waking up on Saturday mornings and flipping the TV to a show called Raw hosted by Jeanne Beker. Jeanne would take you behind the scenes of fashion shows all across the world and do these unscripted, random interviews and it was my first exposure to that level of fashion. So to me, Jeanne Beker is a fashion icon because she gave kids like me access at a time when it was limited.
Books by Kern:
And Then There Was Us By Kern Carter 232 Pages | Ages 14+ | Hardcover ISBN 9781774883402 | Tundra Books Coi is just eighteen years old, but has already survived years of physical and verbal abuse from her mother. After being kicked out of her mother’s house at age fourteen, Coi has lived with her father, and together they’ve created a peaceful life. That peace ends suddenly when her mother dies. While Coi struggles to find kindness in her heart for the woman who only hurt her, she starts having lucid dreams, forcing her to relive moments of abuse and emotional trauma that eventually led to Coi’s abandonment. Her mother’s passing also reopens the door to her mother’s side of the family, including her beloved younger half-sister, Kayla, her stepfather and her grandmother. Each of them challenge Coi’s long-held views about her mother, especially Kayla, who, Coi realizes, is taking their mother’s loss hard. As she reconnects with her family, Coi learns to see parts of her mother she never experienced, and for the first time since she was abandoned, opens her heart to forgiveness.
Tundra is very excited to be publishing The Kiss of the Nightingale on October 1, 2024! Written by Adi Denner, The Kiss of the Nightingale is a young adult romantasy novel set in an alternative historical Paris.
Scroll down for the full cover plus an excerpt from Adi Denner’s essay, “The Nightingale’s Legacy in Classical Music”.
Cover Design: Tim Byrne
The Kiss of the Nightingale By Adi Denner 384 Pages | Ages 14+ | Hardcover ISBN 9781774885253 | Tundra Books Release Date: October 1, 2024 1890, Lutèce:In this city, Talents are everything: precious gems that gift unrivaled skills to their owners. The most coveted, Elite Talents, are claimed by the aristocracy, passed through generations by blood magic. Cleodora dreamed of inheriting her father’s Tailoring Talent, but when he died, the magic died with him. Now she’s left with empty promises, a dress shop she can’t keep afloat, and her bedridden younger sister. But everything changes when she meets the dark-eyed Lady Dahlia Sibille. Dahlia offers Cleodora a Singing Talent – a chance to save her beloved sister and rewrite her own fate. From the first instant, Cleodora is bewitched . . . There’s just one catch: she needs to steal an Elite Talent from the prestigious Lenoir family. As Lutèce’s nightingale, Cleodora is the star of the opera’s galas and balls, worlds away from the darkness and dust of home. But the handsome yet infuriating Vicomte Lenoir is nothing like she expected. Soon, the Vicomte’s teasing smiles win her over, even as Dahlia’s seductive whispers linger in her ears. Torn between Dahlia, who gave her everything, and the Vicomte, who holds the price of her freedom, is Cleodora in danger of losing it all? Or can she prove that magic isn’t the only gift that counts?
“The Nightingale’s Legacy in Classical Music” By Adi Denner
The nightingale’s timeless song has soared through the ages, each note a heartbeat in literature and each trill a permanent mark on the pages of musical history. Its voice, at once both a whisper and a cry, has resonated through the ornate halls of the Baroque, the grand theaters of the Romantic era and beyond, echoing the human condition in a symphony of endless melodies. Tracing the nightingale’s passage through the realms of classical music uncovers a story not just of a bird, but of humanity’s ceaseless quest to find beauty in expression, to sing against the silence, to turn life’s vast experiences into art.
When I first sat down to write The Kiss of the Nightingaleand started to think about names for the book, I knew I wanted to showcase the Nightingale and its deep symbolism within the world of classical music and opera.
Tuesdays with Tundra is an ongoing series featuring our new releases. This title is now available in stores and online!
Roys Is Not a Dog By Esmé Shapiro and Daniel Newell Kaufman 48 Pages | Ages 3-7 | Hardcover ISBN 9780735265967 | Tundra Books On Lilypod Lane, everyone knows everything about everybody . . . or so they believe! When curious paperboy Weasel encounters his mysterious neighbor Roy on his route, he becomes convinced that Roy is actually a dog! But when his friend Pam Pam disagrees, Weasel must put on his detective cap and do his best sleuthing to reveal Roy’s extraordinary secret, and prove that not everything is as it seems, once and for all! An endearingly offbeat picture book that celebrates neighbors and neighborhoods, Roy Is Not a Dog delivers laughs and lessons about accepting others for who they are as well as the risks and rewards of showing your true self.
We can’t wait to see you reading this title! If you share this book online, remember to use #ReadTundra in your hashtags so that we can re-post.
