Hop! Hop! Fill your Easter baskets!

THE EASTER SHOP
Here are our recommendations for those celebrating Easter from ages 0-2!

100 First Things to Know100 First Things to Know
ISBN 9781465489784 | DK

Help your little one learn important vocabulary and build knowledge with this first word and picture book. Cleverly designed to inform and entertain, 100 First Things to Know takes your little one on an exciting learning adventure. As they point to the pictures and say the words, children can soon recognize colors, shapes, and patterns, count to 10, learn about life cycles, and name weathers and seasons. They will also be introduced to words from the worlds of art, music, math, and science.

Baby Touch and Feel BunnyBaby Touch and Feel Bunny
ISBN 9780756689872 | DK

A small touch and feel book full of cuddly bunnies, this is a gift your little one is sure to adore. Babies will explore different textures and expand their senses as they discover the tactile elements of Baby Touch and Feel: Bunny. This padded board book promotes sensory development and early language skills, and is the perfect size for small hands to hold.
With simple images that are clearly labeled, and an amazing range of novelty textures, Baby Touch and Feel books capture the attention of the very youngest children and create an experience they’ll want to repeat again and again.

Bizzy Bear Train EngineerBizy Bear: Train Engineer
Illustrated by Benji Davies
ISBN 9781536209853 | Candlewick Press

Come along for a train ride with Bizzy Bear in this board book full of sliders to push, pull, and turn. Join Bizzy Bear as he guides the big green steam engine across the city, through the level crossing, and then up into the high mountains. But where are he and his passengers going, and will they get there on time?

Bounce Bounce BunnyBounce! Bounce! Bunny
ISBN 9781465492999 | DK

Featuring familiar characters from Crunch! Munch! Bunny, join Binky the Bunny on a brand new journey as she tries to discover just what makes her special. Teach your little ones all about the power of self-confidence and how they can learn to help others, with this sturdy board book that’s ideal for preschoolers. Hop along with Binky as she meets her animal friends, including Pony, Ducky, Puppy, and new friend Kitty. Featuring playful rhyming text, this story is perfect for reading out loud again and again.

Can You Guess Animals with The Very Hungry CaterpillarCan you Guess Animals?
By Eric Carle
ISBN 9781524786366 | Penguin Young Readers Group

Spot the animals in this guessing-game board book featuring The Very Hungry Caterpillar! Which animal has wrinkly gray skin and a long trunk? It’s an elephant! Try to guess which animal will appear on the next page from the colorful close-ups and clever clues from The Very Hungry Caterpillar. Eric Carle’s beautiful classic illustrations bring the animals to life on the page!

Can You Guess Food with The Very Hungry CaterpillarCan you Guess Food?
By Eric Carle
ISBN 9781524786373 | Penguin Young Readers Group

Look for the colorful foods in this guessing-game board book featuring The Very Hungry Caterpillar! Which fruit is yellow and tart? It’s a lemon! Use the close-up art to guess which food item will appear on the next page as The Very Hungry Caterpillar eats through this book, giving clues along the way. Eric Carle’s colorful illustrations are tasty and vibrant, bringing life to each page of this board book.

Harris Finds His FeetHarris Finds his Feet
By Catherine Rayner
ISBN 9781680105964 | Tiger Tales

A beautiful story of a child’s journey to independence. Grandpa shows Harris how to hop high into the sky, to climb to the tops of the mountains, and to run very fast. Harris not only learns about the world around him but also the importance of finding his own feet…

Hey BabyHey, Baby! B Baby’s Day in Doodles
By Andrea Pippins
ISBN 9781984849519 | Random House Children’s Book

Follow a baby throughout the day, from napping to snacking to playing–and everything in between! High contrast, lively illustrations combine with gorgeous, colorful photographs to showcase the warmth and tenderness between a mommy and her baby. This affectionate look at babyhood is sure to appeal to new parents and grandparents, who will recognize their own little one in the pages.

Hop HopHop! Hop!
By Leslie Patricelli
ISBN 9780763663193 | Candlewick Press

The Easter Bunny is coming! It’s time to dye eggs. Did you know that red and blue make purple? That blue and yellow make green? That an art project may result in a multicolored Baby? There are bunny ears to wear (for the dog and cat, too) and an Easter basket to put out before bedtime. What will Baby find inside it the next morning?

Pop-Up Peekaboo Baby AnimalsPop-Up Peekaboo! Baby Animals
ISBN 9781465490513 | DK

This colorful pop-up peekaboo book follows animal parents and their babies as they play hide-and-seek in the rain forest. Babies and toddlers can lift big flaps and see peekaboo surprises pop up from the pages: a naughty baby monkey swinging from a tree, a lively baby tree frog leaping through the leaves, a baby elephant who loves to splish splash in the lake, and a sleepy baby sloth hanging upside down from the branches of his tree. The lively, read-aloud rhymes encourage literacy and early learning, while the surprise pop-up rain forest scenes will delight curious preschoolers.

There Was an Old Dragon Who Swallowed a KnightThere was an Old Dragon Who Swallowed a Knight
By Penny Parker Klostermann
Illustrated by Ben Mantle
ISBN 9781984892423 | Random House Children’s Books

We all know that “there was an old lady” who swallowed lots of things. Now meet the old dragon who swallows pretty much an entire kingdom! Will he ever learn a little moderation?! This rollicking rhyme is full to bursting with sight gags, silly characters, and plenty of burps! Parents and kids alike will delight in Ben Mantle’s precisely funny illustrations and in Penny Parker Klostermann’s wacky rhymes.

Where Is The Very Hungry CaterpillarWhere is the Very Hungry Caterpillar?
By Eric Carle
ISBN 9781524786328 | Penguin Young Readers Group

Where Is The Very Hungry Caterpillar? With a lift-flap on every spread, this sturdy casebound board book lets little readers join in the fun as they search for this beloved character. Is he hiding in the grass? No, that’s a chirpy cricket. Is he nibbling the strawberry? No, that’s an ant. Find out where everyone’s favorite caterpillar is hiding!

Wheres the ChickWhere’s the Chick?
Illustrated by Ingela P Arrhenius
ISBN 9781536207514 | Candlewick Press

Five beautifully illustrated spreads show a series of baby animals hiding behind bright felt flaps. A textile, sensory read that’s perfect for sharing with babies and toddlers, featuring a mirror reveal on the final spread.

Who's Hiding in the WoodsWho’s Hiding in the Woods
Illustrated by Katharine McEwen
ISBN 9781536208207 | Candlewick Press

There are lots of creatures in the woods. Where are they hiding and what are they doing? In this innovative lift-the-flap book, little ones can pore over the beautiful collaged pages and explore under rocks and logs to learn lots of interesting facts about the forest. This is a perfect introduction to the outdoors.

Find these books at your favorite local book store or at Indigo’s Easter Shop.

Window Wednesday

#WindowWednesday: We are incredibly fortunate to have stores create window features of our books. We want to highlight their amazing work here on our blog for you to see (and perhaps you’ll discover a new local bookstore).

Type Junction
2887 Dundas St W, Toronto, ON M6P 1Y9
Photography: Vikki VanSickle

 

 

Putting the YA in FRIYAY: Fight Like A Girl Audiobook

We’re so excited for the audiobook release of Fight Like a Girl! Narrated by author Sheena Kamal herself, the audiobook drops on Tuesday, March 31. While you’re waiting to take a listen, check out these behind-the-scenes photos from Sheena’s final recording session.

Fight Like a Girl
By Sheena Kamal
ISBN 9780735269873 | Audiobook
Ages 14+ | Penguin Teen Canada
Love and violence. In some families they’re bound up together, dysfunctional and poisonous, passed from generation to generation like eye color or a quirk of smile. Trisha’s trying to break the chain, channeling her violent impulses into Muay Thai kickboxing, an unlikely sport for a slightly built girl of Trinidadian descent. Her father comes and goes as he pleases, his presence adding a layer of tension to the Toronto east-end townhouse that Trisha and her mom call home, every punch he lands on her mother carving itself indelibly into Trisha’s mind. Until the night he wanders out drunk in front of the car Trisha is driving, practicing on her learner’s permit, her mother in the passenger seat. Her father is killed, and her mother seems strangely at peace. Lighter, somehow. Trisha doesn’t know exactly what happened that night, but she’s afraid it’s going to happen again. Her mom has a new man in her life and the patterns, they are repeating.

You can pre-order the audiobook through Kobo, Audible, iTunes, or Google Books.

SHEENA KAMAL: website | instagram

Introducing #7SillyPrompts

Newsletter Header

Hello!

We are working with some of our authors to create a fun 7-day challenge for you to do at home. Each day, a silly prompt will be revealed by an author to help spark your creativity!

Feel free to send your art or story or both to us at:

YoungReaders@penguinrandomhouse.com

Put #7SillyPrompts in the SUBJECT heading of your e-mail. Then please let us know which prompt you’re submitting for.

We will group them into 7 collections for everyone to see on a few of our platforms like Pinterest and Facebook. You can do them in any order or pick and choose the ones you want to do. There are no set rules, just have fun with it!

Author Prompt Reveals:

  • Monday, March 30, 2020 – Kelley Armstrong
  • Tuesday, March 31, 2020 – Eric Walters
  • Wednesday, April 1, 2020 – Anna Humphrey
  • Thursday, April 2, 2020 – Tanya Lloyd Kyi
  • Friday, April 3, 2020 – Janet Hill
  • Saturday, April 4, 2020 – Marthe Jocelyn
  • Sunday, April 5, 2020 – Esme Shapiro

So stay tuned and get ready to create!

The Royal Guide to Monster SlayingA Royal Guide to Monster Slaying
By Kelley Armstrong
288 Pages | Ages 10-14
ISBN 9780735265370 | Puffin Canada
Twelve-year-old Rowan is destined to be Queen; her twin brother, Rhydd, to be Royal Monster Hunter. Rowan would give anything to switch places, but the oldest child is always next in line, even if she is only older by two minutes. She resigns herself to admiring her monster hunting aunt’s glorious sword and joining her queen mother for boring diplomatic teas. But tragedy shatters the longstanding rule, and Rowan finds herself hunting the most dangerous monster of all: a gryphon.

Broken StringsBroken Strings
By Kathy Kacer and Eric Walters
288 Pages | Ages 10-14
ISBN 9780735266247 | Puffin Canada
It’s 2002. In the aftermath of the twin towers – and the death of her beloved grandmother – Shirli Berman is intent on moving forward. The best singer in her junior high, she auditions for the lead role in Fiddler on the Roof, but is crushed to learn that she’s been given the part of the old Jewish mother in the musical rather than the coveted part of the sister. But there is an upside: her “husband” is none other than Ben Morgan, the cutest and most popular boy in the school.

Megabat Is a FraidybatMegabat Is a Fraidybat
By Anna Humphrey
Illustrated by Kass Reich
192 Pages | Ages 7-10
ISBN 9780735266025 | Tundra Books
Daniel is not so sure about going to camp. There will be bugs. And uncomfortable beds. And leeches! Megabat can’t WAIT to go to camp! There will be so much smooshfruit, and he loves a good sing-along. Daniel starts to think camp isn’t so bad. He’s made friends, and his bed isn’t THAT uncomfortable. Megabat has made a new friend too. But his new friend wants him to go flying to spooky caves. And her mom is very toothy.

Me and BanksyMe and Banksy
By Tanya Lloyd Kyi
272 Pages | Ages 10+
ISBN 9780735266919 | Puffin Canada
Dominica’s private school is covered in cameras, and someone is hacking into them and posting embarrassing moments for the whole school to see. Like Ana picking her nose. When Dominica quickly changes her shirt from inside out in what she thinks is the privacy of a quiet corner in the library, she’s shocked – and embarrassed – to discover a video has captured this and is currently circulating amongst her schoolmates. So mortifying, especially since over the past three years, they’ve had a half-dozen school talks about social media safety.

Lucy Crisp and the Vanishing HouseLucy Crisp and the Vanishing House
By Janet Hill
240 Pages | Ages 12+
ISBN 9781770499249 | Tundra Books
After moving to a seemingly quaint and quiet new town, Lucy faces a new reality in which fairies exist, weather can be bottled and witches hold grudges. Accompanied by gorgeous color paintings, this novel is perfect for fans of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, The Hazel Wood and Gregory Maguire.

Aggie Morton Mystery Queen The Body Under the PianoAggie Morton, Mystery Queen: The Body under the Piano
By Marthe Jocelyn
Illustrated by Isabelle Follath
336 Pages | Ages 10+
ISBN 9780735265462 | Tundra Books
Aggie Morton lives in a small town on the coast of England in 1902. Adventurous and imaginative but deeply shy, Aggie hasn’t got much to do since the death of her beloved father . . . until the fateful day when she crosses paths with twelve-year-old Belgian immigrant Hector Perot and discovers a dead body on the floor of the Mermaid Dance Room! As the number of suspects grows and the murder threatens to tear the town apart, Aggie and her new friend will need every tool at their disposal – including their insatiable curiosity, deductive skills and not a little help from their friends – to solve the case before Aggie’s beloved dance instructor is charged with a crime Aggie is sure she didn’t commit.

Alma and the BeastAlma and the Beast
By Esme Shapiro
44 Pages | Ages 3-7
ISBN 9780735263963 | Tundra Books
Alma lives happily in her hairy world, where she can braid the trees, comb the grass, pet the roof and feed her plumpooshkie butterfly. Until one day . . . a hairless, button-nosed beast appears in the garden! At first Alma is scared but when she realizes the beast is lost and misses her hairless home, Alma offers to help her find her way back. As the two take a fantastical journey through the red-headed woods and the bearded mushroom glen to the beast’s bald abode, they discover that they are much more alike than different.

Thank you to our authors for helping us come up with 7 silly prompts!

CTV Your Morning Kids’ Book Segment on Quarantine Reads and Virtual Storytimes

Your Morning VVOur Marketing & Publicity Associate Director, Vikki VanSickle, was on CTV’s Your Morning today to talk about books to read while in quarantine and virtual events to keep kids occupied. Check out our titles from her recommended list below and don’t forget to watch her segment!

AGES 3-7

Studio: A Place for Art to Start
By Emily Arrow
Illustrated by The Little Friends of Printmaking
ISBN 9780735264854 | Hardcover
40 Pages | Tundra Books
In this charming ode to creativity, noted children’s singer and entertainer Emily Arrow introduces readers to the concept of the studio: a place for painters, dancers, singers, actors, sculptors, printmakers . . . and you! Whether it’s a purpose-made space with big windows, a room filled with equipment, or the corner of a bedroom, your studio can be anywhere–you just have to find it! Check out At Home with Emily Arrow on YouTube!

Alma and the Beast
By Esme Shapiro
ISBN 9780735263963 | Hardcover
44 Pages | Tundra Books
Alma lives happily in her hairy world, where she can braid the trees, comb the grass, pet the roof and feed her plumpooshkie butterfly. Until one day . . . a hairless, button-nosed beast appears in the garden!

If I Had a Gryphon
By Vikki VanSickle
Illustrated by Cale Atkinson
ISBN 9781770498099 | Hardcover
32 Pages | Tundra Books
If I Had a Gryphon is a raucous rhyming read-aloud about fantastical beasts in everyday situations–and the increasingly beleaguered heroine who has to deal with them. Keep up with all our virtual story times and events using this handy schedule!

AGES 6-9

Megabat
By Anna Humphrey
Illustrated by Kass Reich
ISBN 9780735266957 | Paperback
192 Pages | Tundra Books
The first installment of a sweet and hilarious chapter book series about a boy and a bat, two unlikely friends who bond over loneliness, jellyrolls and Darth Vader.

AGES 8-12

The Last Kids on Earth
By Max Brallier
Illustrated by Douglas Holgate
ISBN 9780670016617 | Hardcover
240 Pages | Viking Books For Young Readers
Told in a mixture of text and black-and-white illustration, this is the perfect book for any kid who’s ever dreamed of starring in his or her own comic book or video game. And then grab the rest of the series, now a New York Times bestseller!

The first season of The Last Kids on Earth is available on Netflix now!

AGES 12+

The Blue Castle
By Tanya Lloyd Kyi
ISBN 9780735265233 | Paperback
288 Pages | Tundra Books
At twenty-nine, Valancy has never been in love, and it seems romance has passed her by. Then a letter arrives from Dr. Trent–and Valancy decides to throw caution to the winds. For the first time in her life Valancy does and says exactly what she wants. Soon she discovers a surprising new world, full of love and adventures far beyond her most secret dreams. Listen to Rachel McAdams narrating Anne of Green Gables for free on Audible.ca!

The Story of Owen
By E.K. Johnston
ISBN 9780823445028 | Paperback
320 Pages | Holiday House
Dragons. In modern day North America. How can sixteen-year-old Owen fight back when he can barely pass algebra? It takes a village to train a dragon slayer, and Owen needs all the help he can get.

Tundra Book Group