Read Comics in Public Day!

Saturday, August 28, is the first annual celebration of International Read Comics in Public Day. So pick your favourite comic or graphic novel, go outside, and read! Need suggestions? We recommend:

Alison Dare, Little Miss Adventures
Written by J. Torres
Illustrated by J. Bone
Trade Paperback | 96 pages
Ages 8-11 years
ISBN 978-0-88776-934-4
“…Bone’s open art is a wonderful counterpart to these funny tales of derring-do that don’t quite go as expected. His figures are simple and compact, suggesting unexpected power and ability…. Torres’ writing is playful, with occasional pop culture references…. It’s his humor that gives Alison Dare its unique twist. Many kids dream of magical adventures, and Alison’s experiences fill that desire nicely.” – Comics Worth Reading

Alison Dare, The Heart of the Maiden
Written by J. Torres
Illustrated by J. Bone
Trade Paperback | 104 pages
Ages 8-11 years
ISBN 978-0-88776-935-1
“…are packed with action and wit, and I recommend them to kids and adults alike….” – Bildungsroman

Tyranny
Written by Lesley Fairfield
Trade Paperback | 120 pages
Ages 11 UP
ISBN 978-0-88776-903-0
“… This is one of the most moving and important graphic novels to come along in years.… The simple yet powerful black-and-white drawings do wonders in bringing the book’s message to its readers. Tyranny is so important that both younger and older teens will benefit from reading it. Every public and school library should own at least one copy of this amazing book. – Starred Review, School Library Journal

The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde
Adapted by Alan Grant
Illustrated by Cam Kennedy
Trade Paperback | 48 pages
Ages 10 UP
ISBN 978-0-88776-882-8
“This classic has tremendous modern appeal. A complex detective story for the most part, this adaptation depicts the gaslight era of London in all its gloomy grandeur…. Public libraries with an eye to keeping a varied teen fiction shelf should consider this title.” – School Library Journal

Kidnapped
Adapted by Alan Grant
Illustrated by Cam Kennedy
Trade Paperback | 64 pages
Ages 10 UP
ISBN 978-0-88776-843-9
“Grant’s words are clean and gracefully streamline Stevenson’s, while unobtrusively preserving the sense of time and place through colloquialisms and accent. Kennedy’s characters are distinct and dramatic, and his settings, using his trademark greens and blues, are atmospheric and eerie…. This is an adaptation done absolutely right.” – Booklist

Good-bye Marianne: A Story of Growing Up in Nazi Germany
Written by Irene N.Watts
Illustrated by Kathryn E. Shoemaker
Trade Paperback | 128 pages
Ages 8-11 years
ISBN 978-0-88776-830-9
“…one of the most powerful books is a black and white graphic novel. Good-bye Marianne is the retelling of the award-winning novel…. Moody pencil drawings capture the dark despair of that time, of the mother’s desperate, unselfish gamble to save her daughter’s life.” – The Chronicle Herald

The Best Children’s Books of the Year

The Best Children’s Books of the Year
List compiled by the Children’s Book Committee
of the Bank Street College of Education

Here are the Tundra books that made the list this year:

Word Nerd
Written by Susin Nielsen
ISBN: 978-0-88776-875-0
CDN Price: $20.99
US Price: $18.95
Hardcover
One uber nerd, one ex-con, a love of words, a budding romance … put them together and voila, a wonderful novel about coming into one’s own.

Dear Toni
Written by Cyndi Sand-Eveland
ISBN: 978-0-88776-876-7
CDN Price: $16.99
US Price: $14.95
Hardcover
A novel with the look and feel of a journal that reveals the heart of a special twelve year old.

The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde: The Graphic Novel
Adapted by Alan Grant
Illustrated by Cam Kennedy
CDN Price: $12.99
US Price: $11.95
Paperback
The classic story of good and evil, retold by the graphic novel dream team of Alan Grant and Cam Kennedy.

Visit the Bank Street College of Education: Children’s Book Committee’s website for more information. This is their 100th anniversary edition of The Best Children’s Books of the Year. This special edition of their annual booklist was published in September 2009.

Happy Halloween

Tundra Books has several great picks for this Halloween – from easy readers to teens! Get in the spirit with these spooky and entertaining reads:

MonsterologyMonsterology: Fabulous Lives of the Creepy, the Revolting, and the Undead
Written by Arthur Slade
Illustrated by Derek Mah
ISBN 978-0-88776-714-2
Ages 9-12 | 96 Pages | Paperback

Governor General’s award-winner Arthur Slade has gathered together fifteen scary critters, ranging from Dracula to Golem, from Frankenstein to Baba Yaga and even a zombie. He provides facts, real history, imagined history, and lots of jokes to make these creatures come to life. Slade’s hilarious text presents delicious imagined gossip, favorite blood types, favorite movies, and even favorite haunts (you should pardon the expression) with character descriptions and thoroughly researched background information.

VillainologyVillainology: Fabulous Lives of the Big, the Bad, and the Wicked
Written by Arthur Slade
Illustrated by Derek Mah
ISBN 978-0-88776-809-5
Ages 9-12 | 96 Pages | Paperback

Villainology is a veritable who’s who of characters from the underworld. Be they fictitious or all-too-genuine baddies, they are bound together by their infamous deeds. Author Arthur Slade takes a lighthearted view, nonetheless, and provides personal stats, their likes and dislikes, their high-school memories and an amazing array of cool facts along with up close and personal “interviews.” Readers will not only come away amused, they will come away with an enlarged store of general knowledge. Among the fourteen notable villains included are: The Wicked Witch of the West, Attila the Hun, The Wolf, Billy the Kid, The Headless Horseman, Morgan le Fay, Quin Hui, The Invisible Man, Scarface Capone, and a lineup of Shakespeare’s most memorable villains.

Wolf PackWolf Pack
Written by Edo van Belkom
ISBN 978-0-88776-669-5
Ages 10-14 | 184 Pages | Paperback

After a devastating forest fire, a ranger discovers a litter of wolf cubs. He and his wife soon learn that they are no ordinary wolves. They are both animal and human. Although the young ones try to fit into the human world, their true nature makes the challenges of being teenagers all the more difficult. When one of the pack is kidnapped, the others must draw on both sides of their nature – human and wolf – to find the cunning, the strength, and the courage it takes to rescue her. Check out the other titles in the series, Wolf Man, Lone Wolf, and Cry Wolf.

Eye of the CrowEye of the Crow: The Boy Sherlock Holmes, His First Case
Written by Shane Peacock
ISBN 978-0-88776-850-7
Ages 10-14 | 164 Pages | Hardcover

Shane Peacock has created a boy who bears all the seeds of the character who has mesmerized millions: the relentless eye, the sense of justice, and the complex ego. The boy Sherlock Holmes is a fascinating character who is sure to become a fast favorite with young readers everywhere. Check out the other titles in the series, Death in the Air, Vanishing Girl, and coming May 2010 The Secret Fiend.

The Castle on Deadman's IslandThe Castle on Deadman’s Island
Written by Curtis Parkinson
ISBN 978-0-88776-893-4
Ages 10-14 | 224 Pages | Paperback

Intrigue. An eccentric millionaire. A woman’s disappearance. A child’s skeleton. A ghost. A towering castle. A secret tunnel. All of these and more make up this compelling new mystery novel by award-winning author Curtis Parkinson. When the owner of the castle on Deadman’s Island dies, his bizarre will leaves it to three of his friends who hate each other. Dark schemes follow, and the curse of the castle, entrenched forever in local lore, strikes again. Also read the companion, Death in Kingsport.

GenesisGenesis
Written by Bernard Beckett
ISBN 978-0-7710-1142-9
Ages 12+ | 192 Pages | Hardcover
Co-published by McClelland & Stewart and Tundra Books

A brilliant and chilling dystopia for a new generation in the tradition of Brave New World. Anaximander, a young Academy candidate, is put through a gruelling exam. Her special subject: the life of Adam Forde, her long-dead hero. It’s late in the 21st century and the island Republic has emerged from a ruined, plague-ridden world, its citizens safe, but not free, and living in complete isolation from outside contact. Approaching planes are gunned down, refugees shot on sight. Until a man named Adam Forde rescued a girl from the sea.

Benny Bensky and the Giant Pumpkin HeistBenny Bensky and the Giant Pumpkin Heist
Written by Mary Borsky
Illustrated by Linda Hendry
ISBN 978-0-88776-607-7
Ages 8-12 | 128 Pages | Paperback

Benny Bensky is a big black dog with a nose for trouble. His owner, Rosie, and her best friend, Fran, are growing a giant pumpkin for the Giant Pumpkin Weigh-off – and it looks like first prize (a ride on the first float in the parade at the country fair) is within their reach. But soon Benny and the girls are involved in solving a nefarious crime: someone is stealing the pumpkins, and what’s worse – the detective trio are getting the blame. On top of all this, Rosie must get glasses.

Don't Go into the ForestEasy-to-Read Spooky Tales
Written by Veronika Martenova Charles
Illustrated by David Parkins
Ages 5-8 | Paperback

Titles in this series include: Don’t Open the Door! Don’t Go Into the Forest! Don’t Go Near the Water! Don’t Go In There! Don’t Walk Alone at Night! Don’t Eat That! Don’t Enter the House! Don’t Forget! Don’t Talk to Strangers! and Don’t Touch That!

Dr Jekyll and Mr HydeDr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
Adapted by Alan Grant
Illustrated by Cam Kennedy
ISBN 978-0-88776-882-8
Ages 10+ | 48 Pages | Paperback

Good and evil, right and wrong. Both are seen through the eyes of John Utterson, a lawyer and friend of the scientist Dr. Jekyll. After hearing the alarming account of the horrendous trampling of a small girl “like some damned juggernaut” by a violent man named Mr. Hyde, who also holds a connection to the lawyer’s dear friend, Utterson’s curiosity gets the better of him and he begins to investigate. As he probes further into the events and the hidden life of Mr. Hyde, Utterson slowly uncovers a terrifying and ghastly story.

A Thousand Years of PiratesA Thousand Years of Pirates
Written and illustrated by William Gilkerson
ISBN 978-0-88776-924-5
Ages 10+ | 96 Pages | Hardcover

Governor General’s award-winning author William Gilkerson has spent years researching and painting about pirates. From the terrible Black Beard to the fascinating Granuaile, or Grace O’Malley as the English called her, they have come alive under Gilkerson’s paintbrush. One can almost hear the creak of timbers, the snap of canvas while turning the pages.

Talk Like a Pirate Day

Y’arrr! Today be International Talk Like a Pirate Day! Here are some treasures for ye!

A Thousand Years of PiratesA Thousand Years of Pirates
Written and illustrated by William Gilkerson
ISBN 978-0-88776-924-5
Ages 10+ | 96 Pages | Hardcover
Governor General’s Award-winning author and artist William Gilkerson has spent years researching and painting their colorful history. From the terrible Black Beard to the fascinating Granuaile, or Grace O’Malley as the English called her, they have come to life under his brush. One can almost hear the creak of timbers, the snap of canvas while turning the pages. This gift book is a rich treasure in its own right.

KidnappedKidnapped
Adapted by Alan Grant
Illustrated by Cam Kennedy
ISBN 978-0-88776-843-9
Ages 10+ | 64 Pages | Paperback
This new adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson’s Kidnapped, the dramatic and epic adventure story about a seventeen-year-old desperate to secure his inheritance, brings together two creative giants from the world of graphic novels — the absolute “dream team” of artist Cam Kennedy and scriptwriter Alan Grant.

The Ancient Ocean BluesThe Ancient Ocean Blues
Written by Jack Mitchell
ISBN 978-0-88776-832-3
Ages 10-13 | 200 Pages | Paperback
Anyone who thinks ancient history is dry will think again after dipping into these ocean blues. Here, political corruption, intrigue, high-seas adventure, romance, and comedy are all presented in abundance by the likable Marcus Oppius Sabinus, a teenager with a very contemporary attitude. Marcus is unwittingly involved by his cousin in “promoting” the ambitious young Julius Caesar in an upcoming Roman election. Given very little choice but to accept his assignment, Marcus travels to Greece, but not before he is sidelined by shipwreck, enslavement, and pirate attack. Oh, yes, and the beginnings of love.

X Doesn't Mark the SpotX Doesn’t Mark the Spot: Tales of Pirate Gold, Buried Treasure, and Lost Riches
Written by Ed Butts
ISBN 978-0-88776-808-8
Ages 11+ | 88 Pages | Paperback
Ed Butts’s tales of adventure, of shattered hopes, and, occasionally, of dreams come true expose the greed and the challenges that motivated the searchers. A few of them got lucky. But X didn’t mark the spot for most of these adventurers — and that means undiscovered treasures still lie ready to ignite the imagination.

Jacob Two-Two on the High SeasJacob Two-Two on the High Seas
Written by Cary Fagan
Illustrated by Dušan Petričić
ISBN 978-0-88776-895-8
Ages 8-11 | 128 Pages | Hardcover
He’s back! After Jacob Two-Two’s father writes a very important novel, the family makes plans to move to Canada. They board the SS Spring-a-Leak for a journey across the ocean. But something is wrong on the SS Spring-a-Leak. Will the intrepid Shapiro and the fearless O’Toole really be left on a desert island? Will Jacob Two-Two be made to walk the plank? Jacob Two-Two on the High Seas is a treat for those who know Jacob and for those who are about to meet one of the most endearing characters in children’s literature.