Tundra Book Group

February 5, 2015May 7, 2025

2015 ALA Midwinter

We’re back from the Windy City! It was a whirlwind weekend as Editorial Director Tara and Publishing Coordinator Sylvia flew in to set up booth #4829. We met many librarians, all excited and passionate about the books. Then, we survived the fifth-largest blizzard to ever come down on Chicago, but luckily none of our flights were canceled! Of course, that didn’t overshadow the highlight of every Midwinter, the Youth Media Awards! Congratulations to all the deserving authors, illustrators, and publishers!

We heard many praises for our beautiful bunting hanging on the front table. Most of the flags on the bunting feature the end papers from our books!

Thanks to Samantha Devotta, we had lots of sneaky dwarfs hanging around our booth!

There’s another one, sleeping on the job! They’re from Snow White and the 77 Dwarfs by Davide Cali and illustrated by Raphaëlle BarbanÃ¨gre.

Not letting the dwarfs run the whole show were the disgusting critters. Creeping out of our nonfiction section were spiders and head lice.

On the other end, our middle grade and young adult novels. Such stunning covers!

It felt like Sadie came and decorated this spot with paper dolls and fox masks. Which, by the way, you can learn how to make from this activity kit!

Giveaway table! ARCs for Best Friends through Eternity, Heartache and Other Natural Shocks, and Every Word. We had beautiful art cards for This Is Sadie and Adventures with Barefoot Critters, postcards for An Armadillo in Paris, bookmarks for Audrey (cow), Every Breath, and If You Happen to Have a Dinosaur. Memory card activity sheets for Nancy Knows, recipe cards for Julia, Child and a door hanger for Bob’s Hungry Ghost. Lots and lots of posters too!

We spotted Mister Dash and the Cupcake Calamity in our neighbor’s booth.

We also went to check out our publishing partners in the US, Catch You Later, Traitor by Avi is with Algonquin Young Readers.

Our US publishing partner for Outstanding in the Rain by Frank Viva is Little, Brown Books for Young Readers.

Such a great show, we can’t wait for ALA Annual in San Francisco! If you’d like a look at our 2015 books, please click here for our brochure. For MORE photos from ALA Midwinter, you can see the full album here on facebook.

February 4, 2015May 7, 2025

An Intern and a Super Conference

Hello everyone!

It’s Sam the intern and for once, I’m not trying to get you to sign up for my Reading Club (but you should probably check it out anyway!). I’m here to share my experience at the OLA Super Conference.

In my six months working in publishing, I’ve only been to one other conference; all I did was sit quietly behind a table for a few hours while people milled around, glancing at our table but rarely stopping to chat. So I didn’t know what to expect when I stepped into the Metro Toronto Convention Centre last Thursday.

It was a lot more fun than sitting behind a table, let me tell you.

For one thing, there were so many people! Librarians and library assistants and library sciences students and other people who, I guess, work at libraries in some way.

Hundreds of companies were represented in the hall, and there were tons of author signings. We had five of our own authors signing over two days but, since we shared the booth with the rest of Penguin Random House, there was always a line for someone!

We had Frank Viva (Outstanding in the Rain), Charis Cotter (The Swallow: A Ghost Story), Eric Walters (Hope Springs), Susin Nielsen (We Are All Made of Molecules), and Sylvia McNicoll (Best Friends Through Eternity).

I loved the way our booth looked, the brightly coloured picture books made it look super cheerful. And we had DWARFS and disgusting critters decorated all around.

I didn’t really get a chance to wander around the rest of the hall because I was documenting everything on our instagram, though I did pick up a poster and some cute temporary tattoos for me – ahem, I mean for my nieces.

But I got to talk to our authors, which was very exciting! Eric Walters is taller than I expected, which sounds like an odd thing to say, but he can be a little intimidating at 9 am when you haven’t had your tea yet.

I also asked Susin Nielsen to sign my copy of Word Nerd; I recently started reading her books, and I’m completely addicted to them now! If you haven’t read anything by her yet, please do yourself a favour and check her out.

Word Nerd is about a Scrabble player, so Susin used the letters in my name to come up with smaller words. It was pretty impressive how fast she did it (I know it’s a short name, but still!).

Before I knew it, it was time to pack all our books away so that they could be sent to our next destination: Reading for the Love of it, which happens February 9-10. I’ll be popping in to support our authors, Eric Walters, Richard Scrimger, Margriet Ruurs, and Rina Singh and I can’t wait to find out what goes on over there!

February 2, 2015May 7, 2025

Tundra Reading Club: February 2015

Hi everyone!

I hope you’re all ready for this month’s reading club!

Just to remind you:

Each month, we’ll post a book and a sign-up form for bloggers. Then we’ll randomly choose the lucky five who will receive a copy (in some cases, an advance copy) in exchange for a review on their blog!

Of course, everyone is free to participate via tweets (@TundraBooks) or in the comment section on the monthly post.

To make it easy to work into your busy schedules, we’ve chosen picture books so it shouldn’t take you too long to read the book of the month (or like me, you might pore over it for hours and be distracted by the illustrations).

As we announced last week, our February pick is Julie Kraulis’ gorgeous An Armadillo in Paris. With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, what better way to celebrate than with a stroll through Paris, the city of love?

A winsome armadillo from Brazil takes a trip to Paris in this delightful picture book from Julie Kraulis. Arlo is an armadillo who is always up for adventure. His grandfather, Augustin, loved adventure too. When Arlo was born, Augustin wrote travel journals about his favorite places for Arlo to use when he was hold enough to go exploring on his own. When Arlo reads about Paris and the one the French call La Dame de Fer, or Iron Lady, he decides it’s time to strike out on his first adventure. He travels to France and, guided by Augustin’s journal, discovers the joys of Paris: eating a flakey croissant at a café, visiting the Louvre, walking along the Seine and, of course, meeting the Iron Lady… But who is she? Each spread has a clue about her identity, and kids will see hints of her scattered throughout the book.

Visit your local library or bookstore to get reading! If you’re interested, fill in the form below and we’ll randomly select five bloggers to read and review a copy of An Armadillo in Paris and join our discussion.

SIGN-UP FORM CLOSED!

UPDATE: Congratulations to Tanya, Jo Ann, Danielle, Emilie, and Jules! We look forward to your reviews!

Check back in on Monday, February 23, 2015 for our book club’s first meeting to discuss An Armadillo in Paris!

January 27, 2015May 7, 2025

Tundra Reading Club: Spic-and-Span! Reviews

Hi everyone!

Happy Tuesday!

I’m so happy to share our five reader reviews for our January reading club pick, Monica Kulling’s Spic-and-Span! Lillian Gilbreth’s Wonder Kitchen.

Spic-and-Span!
Lillian Gilbreth’s Wonder Kitchen
Written by Monica Kulling
Illustrated by David Parkins
Hardcover | 32 Pages | Ages 5-8
ISBN: 978-1-77049-380-3
“This engaging picture-book biography details the many accomplishments of Lillian Gilbreth … Kulling deftly describes early twentieth-century social, physical, and technical conditions that presented challenges to productivity in both public and private settings, and she explains how Gilbreth’s innovations improved conditions, creating context so that young readers can appreciate the extent of her contributions. Parkins’ rich, cartoon-like illustrations provide clear period detail, and his characters’ faces portray an extensive range of emotions, adding interest and emphasizing Gilbreth’s primary commitment to her family. Student researchers might also enjoy other titles in the Great Idea series…” – Booklist

Shilpa at SukasaReads thought the illustrations by David Parkins “do a remarkable job taking kids through that time period, yet still keeping the book relatable.”
Ann Marie at a dainty dish loved the poem at the beginning because it “sets the tone for the story and the state of mind – calm, restful and relaxed – that Lilian was hoping to help others achieve through her innovations.” She also included a modified recipe for Frank Gilbreth’s beloved apple cake! Yum!
Heather at Books and Quilts said that Monica Kulling “brought Lillian Gilbreth to life” and recommended the book “to all young women considering a career in engineering.”
Jennifer at A Penne for Your Thoughts recommended it for 6-10 year olds because she believes the Great Ideas Series “will spark interest in learning more about the remarkable people they tell the stories of.”
Annette at Teacher Librarian suggested it would be a “wonderful book to feature during Women’s History Month” (review will go live January 30th, 2015).

If you read the book as well, please let us know what you thought about it in the comments below! How many of you knew that Lillian Gilbreth was that accomplished?

I’m also very excited to announce our February reading club book: An Armadillo in Paris by Julie Kraulis. Make sure you check back here next Monday to sign up for your chance to win a review copy.

Thanks for participating and see you next week!

January 26, 2015May 7, 2025

2015 OLA Super Conference

It’s that time of year again! The OLA Super Conference takes place at the end of this week!

From Thursday to Friday, you can find us at booth #716-724, talking about our new and upcoming books. We’ll also have a few author signings over the two days! With each author signing, we’ll hand out complimentary copies of the title on a first come, first serve basis. Make sure you get there early – there will only be a limited number of signed books to give away!

Frank Viva signing on Thursday, January 29, 2015 at 2:00 p.m.

Outstanding in the Rain
Written by Frank Viva
Hardcover | 32 Pages | Ages 3-7
ISBN 9781101917688
eBook 9781101917701
An outstanding story of word and picture play from an award-winning author/illustrator, that will amaze and delight kids, English language enthusiasts and anyone who appreciates great design and arty children’s books.

Charis Cotter signing on Thursday, January 29, 2015 at 4:00 p.m.

The Swallow: A Ghost Story
Written by Charis Cotter
Hardcover | 320 Pages | Ages 9-12
ISBN 9781770495913
eBook 9781770495937
“Spooky tension, friendship and compassion permeate this exquisitely plotted middle-grade ghost story … readers will seesaw between chills and snorts of laughter. When Cotter delivers the final twist, it is a denouement that becomes a springboard for greater revelations that lead to even greater reader satisfaction. Middle-grade storytelling at its very best-extraordinary.” – Starred Review, Kirkus Reviews
“Cotter builds suspense without artificially withholding information from the reader. And for bibliophiles, the author’s subtle hat tips to favourite books are a joy. Like all the best ghost stories, The Swallow tells us more about the living than the dead. It is a fantastic addition to Toronto literature, with all the makings of a classic.” – Starred Review, Quill & Quire

Eric Walters signing on Friday, January 30, 2015 at 9:30 a.m.

Hope Springs
Written by Eric Walters
Illustrated by Eugenie Fernandes
Hardcover | 32 Pages | Ages 6-9
ISBN 9781770495302
eBook 9781770495319
“Based on actual events, this story is one of strength and kindness in the face of fear…. With the addition of the author’s ‘Story Behind the Story,’ the facts of the origin of Hope Springs allow a retelling of the story through a personal narrative with the aid of photography, a map, and additional explanation.” – School Library Journal

Sylvia McNicoll signing on Friday, January 30, 2015 at 2:00 p.m.

Best Friends through Eternity
Written by Sylvia McNicoll
Hardcover | 192 Pages | Ages 12 and up
ISBN 9781770497108
eBook 9781770497122
A fast-paced novel about a Chinese teen who “dies” in a tragic accident and is reunited with her former best friend. Will she have to stay away for the rest of her days, or is there a way back?

Follow @TundraBooks, @VIVAandCO, @CharisCotter, @EricRWalters and @SylviaMcNicoll on Twitter! You can also follow #OLASC15 for the latest news and updates!