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Putting the YA in FRIYAY: Introducing #PenguinFlashback

Hello and welcome to the first edition of #PenguinFlashback! Each month, we’re picking a different theme and featuring one of our fave books from years past that match the theme. This month, we’re talking “Swoony Couples” so we had to gush about Every Breath and Every Word by Ellie Marney.
 
 
And now here’s the fun part: we need your help! Next month’s theme is “Girl Boss” – you have until February 21 to comment on our Instagram post and suggest your favourite Penguin Random House YA book featuring a girl boss (aka “strong female character”). Then check back here in March to see which one was nominated. Can’t wait to see what you come up with!
By Ellie Marney
ISBN 9781770497726 | Hardcover
Ages 14+ | Tundra Books
Release date: October 14, 2014
When James Mycroft drags Rachel Watts off on a night mission to the Melbourne Zoo, the last thing she expects to find is the mutilated body of Homeless Dave, one of Mycroft’s numerous eccentric friends. But Mycroft’s passion for forensics leads him to realize that something about the scene isn’t right–and he wants Watts to help him investigate the murder. While Watts battles her attraction to bad-boy Mycroft, he’s busy getting himself expelled and clashing with the police, becoming murder suspect number one. When Watts and Mycroft unknowingly reveal too much to the cold-blooded killer, they find themselves in the lion’s den–literally. A trip to the zoo will never have quite the same meaning to Rachel Watts again…
 
By Ellie Marney
ISBN 9781770497757 | Hardcover
Ages 14+ | Tundra Books
Release date: September 8, 2015
James Mycroft has just left for London to investigate a car accident similar to the one that killed his parents … without saying goodbye to Rachel Watts, his ‘partner in crime’. Rachel is furious and worried about his strange behavior – not that Mycroft’s ever exactly normal, but London is the scene of so many of his nightmares. So Rachel jumps on a plane to follow him … and lands straight in a whole storm of trouble. The theft of a copy of Shakespeare’s First Folio, the possible murder of a rare books conservator, and the deaths of Mycroft’s parents…. Can Watts help Mycroft make sense of the three events – or will she lose him forever? Sparks fly when Watts and Mycroft reunite in this second sophisticated thriller about the teen sleuthing duo.

 

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Introducing: The Spider

Welcome to our creature feature! Did you know:

  • Spiders are not considered insects because insects only have six legs?
  • There are over 40,000 species of spiders?
  • In many spider species, the female is usually bigger than the male?
  • Most spiders are not dangerous to humans?

Want more facts about spiders and other creepy-crawlies? Make sure you check out Elise Gravel’s Disgusting Critters series! They’re on promotion at Indigo in-store and online for buy 2 get the 3rd free from now until March 2, 2020.

The Spider
By Elise Gravel
ISBN 9781770496644
Ages 6-9 | Tundra Books
Part of a series of hilarious non-fiction about disgusting creatures, this book looks at the spider. It covers such topics as the spider’s habitats (pretty much everywhere but outer space), the silk it spins (it can trap prey and makes a nifty bowtie), and its parenting practice (female spiders carry around their eggs in a silk purse). Although silly and off-the-wall, The Spider contains factual information that will both amuse and teach at the same time.

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I Read Canadian Day

February 19th, 2020 will mark the first ever I Read Canadian Day and we can’t wait to shout about our favourite Canadian authors and books!

The goal is to raise awareness of Canadian books and celebrate the richness and diversity of our country’s literature by encouraging everyone to read something Canadian for at least 15 minutes.

Libraries and bookstores are encouraged to sign up and host their own mini events and displays to help spread the news. Find out more on their website and join the conversation on social media with #IReadCanadian.

We’ll be reading Canadian on February 19th – will you join us?

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Author Guest Post: Mental Space by Tanya Lloyd Kyi

We’re bringing you a special treat today: a guest post from Me and Banksy author, Tanya Lloyd Kyi! Check out Tanya’s previous posts on Reading with Rendz and The Contented Reader for more insight into her writing process and be sure to keep an eye on her own blog for the final installment tomorrow.

To write a novel, you need two types of time. Time to sit in front of the keyboard, tapping away. And time to let your mind wander, puzzling over characters and playing with plot twists. The problem with the latter is that it looks suspiciously like doing nothing. And if you live, like I do, in a house with a husband and two teenagers, you’re not allowed to do nothing for long.

Can you drive me to the gym? Can these extra friends stay for dinner? And have you seen my black socks? No, not those black socks, the other ones.

I wrote Me and Banksy on a very tight deadline. I loved my characters – passionate and artistic Dominica, fiery Saanvi, and the über-smart but highly unmotivated Holden. But every day I needed to churn out new pages. I desperately needed time to plan and plot. 

Can you sign these field trip forms? Can you proofread my essay? Where did I put my hat? No, not that hat, the other one.

The answer, I found, was bedtime. Not my kids’ bedtimes, because they stay up later than me these days. No, it was my own bedtime. Instead of picking up a book or plugging in an audiobook like usual, I would turn out the light, close my eyes, and imagine myself in Dominica’s world. More often than not, the glimmer of an idea would appear. Sometimes, I’d scribble it down during breakfast.

Can you book me a haircut? Is this a pimple or a wart? Where did I put my backpack? Yes, of course that one.

I recently read a tweet about making use of unclaimed time. The minutes while waiting for the noodles to boil. I’m going to take that advice to heart this year, and see what new ideas appear, and what new stories I can write. I might just find a few more glimmers, tucked between the socks, the hats, and the backpacks.

Me and Banksy is available now! Make sure you’re following Tanya on social media!

TANYA LLOYD KYI: website | twitter

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2020 Outstanding International Books List

Since 2006, the United States Board on Books for Young People (USBBY) has put together an honor list of international books for young people. The list is published each year in February and highlights international books that are deemed to be outstanding in their field. We would like to congratulate Miguel Tanco whose beautiful book, Count on Me, was included on this year’s Outstanding International Books list!

Count on Me
By Miguel Tanco
Hardcover | 48 Pages | Ages 3-7
ISBN 9780735265752 | Tundra Books

A young girl sees the world differently in this beautiful picture book celebration of math.

Everyone has a passion. For some, it’s music. For others, it’s art. For our heroine, it’s math. When she looks around the world, she sees math in all the beautiful things: the concentric circles a stone makes in a lake, the curve of a slide, the geometric shapes in the playground. Others don’t understand her passion, but she doesn’t mind. There are infinite ways to see the world. And through math is one of them.

This book is a gorgeous ode to something vital but rarely celebrated. In the eyes of this little girl, math takes its place alongside painting, drawing and song as a way to ponder the beauty of the world.

Tundra Book Group