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Author Lunch: Susin Nielsen

Susin Nielsen happened to be in town, so we invited her in for lunch on April 21, 2009. We really wanted to celebrate the success of Susin’s young adult novel, Word Nerd. Inspired from Word Nerd, the main character, Ambrose is always invited to eat with his Greek landlords – so we decided to have delicious Greek food!

Chicken SouvlakiNo Peanut signs!

Left: Ambrose is a very good Scrabble player (he attends the West Side Scrabble Club), so we made food labels using Scrabble tiles!
Right: The wonderful cover of Word Nerd features a “no peanut sign” because Ambrose is severely allergic to peanuts. We kept with the design and had “no peanut” signs displayed in our food trays.

Susin's CakeSusin Nielsen
For dessert, we had this delicious chocolate truffle cake. Congratulations Susin! Word Nerd is nominated for the Canadian Library Association’s 2009 Book of the Year Award for Children!

Word NerdWord Nerd centerpiece!

Most Promising Newcomer TrophyThe “Most Promising Newcomer” trophy! Inspired again from Word Nerd, Ambrose wins this trophy from the Scrabble Club. You can download the file for the trophy here. Simply print and cut!

Susin NielsenSusin Nielsen signing copies of Word Nerd for our guests. Thank you Susin for coming in and sharing your wonderful (and funny) stories with us!

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TINARS for Tots: Our Corner Grocery Store

This Is Not a Reading Series for Tots on Saturday, April 18, 2009 was presented by Pages Books & Magazine, The Little Paper, Bunch, and the Gladstone Hotel. TINAR’s “Neighbourhood Stories Day” featured Joanne Schwartz and Laura Beingessner’s book, Our Corner Grocery Store. Also presenting that day was Frieda Wishinsky and Marie-Louise Gay’s Please Louise!

Our Corner Grocery StoreOur Corner Grocery Store by Joanne Schwartz, illustrated by Laura Beingessner

TINARS for TotsParents have brunch while children are entertained by authors and illustrators!

Joanne Schwartz and Laura Beingessner organized a wonderful arts and craft project:
Crafting Our Corner Grocery StoreColouring the grocery store and food items.
Crafting Our Corner Grocery StoreCutting and..
Crafting Our Corner Grocery Storepasting!

Joanne Schwartz, Winston, and Joanne BeingessnerJoanne Schwartz and Laura Beingessner with Winston, the TINARS mascot!

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Launch of: The Battle for Duncragglin

Andrew H. Vanderwal’s young adult novel, The Battle for Dunragglin, was launched on Tuesday, April 14, 2009. The outstanding event was held at the Assembly Hall from 7:00 pm to 9:30 pm.

The Battle for DuncragglinCopies of The Battle for Duncragglin waiting to be signed and read.

Andrew H. Vanderwal's first signing at the launchAndrew H. Vanderwal’s first signing at his launch!

MCI Senior Strings Quartet
MCI Senior Strings QuartetAndrew H. Vanderwal hired his son’s school’s quartet, The MCI Senior Strings Quartet, to play at the book launch.

McDonnell School of Highland Dance
The McDonnell School of Highland DanceA wonderful performance from the McDonnell School of Highland Dance. Many thanks to Julie McDonnell and her students! Short video clips of the performance can be viewed on our facebook page.

Kathy LowingerTundra’s publisher, Kathy Lowinger, talks about The Battle for Duncragglin and introduces Andrew H. Vanderwal on stage.

Andrew H. VanderwalAndrew H. Vanderwal talks about the progression of The Battle for Duncragglin and reads a passage from the book.

Guests at the Battle for Duncragglin launchWhat a fabulous turnout of guests!

Tundra would like to thank Andrew H. Vanderwal and his wife, Jan, for making the event such a success! You can read about the launch on Andrew’s blog here.

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The Bologna Children’s Book Fair 2009

Tundra’s Director of Foreign and Special Markets, Catherine Mitchell, shares her photos from the Bologna Children’s Book Fair:

Here are two photos of our booth at this year’s Bologna Book Fair. The space is small but a representative selection of our picture books (back wall), fiction and non-fiction (side wall) are taken to show publishers in our meetings. Time is limited so the display has to tell as much as possible and act as backdrop to the discussion. We include quotes, honours, rights sales, and award stickers where possible to maximize attention to the list, all of which is helped by great looking covers to catch passers-by as well.

Tundra's Bologna Booth

Tundra's Bologna Booth

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Booklist’s Top 10 Historical Fiction for Youth: 2009

Booklist's Top 10 Historical Fiction for Youth 2009

Eva Wiseman’s Puppet is listed in Booklist’s Top 10 Historical Fiction for Youth!  Click here to view the full list. Puppet tells a heartbreaking episode in history, explained through the story of a young servant girl in the late 1800s. Although Puppet is a work of fiction, it is based upon a real court case that took place in Hungary in 1883. In Hungary today, the name Morris Scharf has become synonymous with “traitor.”

“The tension builds to the trial scenes, and the climax is electrifying with its public drama on the witness stand and the heartbreak between Morris and his dad. Adults will want this, too.”

– Starred Review from Booklist

“…a tale of shocking prejudice and a kind of petty corruption that chills one to the bone… Wiseman’s unflinching descriptions of the conducts of officials, the trial itself, and subtext of Julie’s life mixed with her reactions to and participation in the events around her are compelling and believable. The relatively positive ending to this harrowing tale serves to mitigate the shocking events it so admirably relates.”

– Excellent from Resource Links

Award-winning author, Eva Wiseman, is the mother of two and she lives in Winnipeg with her husband. Eva recently celebrated the launch of Puppet at McNally Robinson.