Curtis Parkinson Archives - Tundra Book Group

March 13, 2012March 20, 2012

Tuesdays with Tundra 18

Tuesdays with Tundra is a monthly post on our new releases. The following books are available today in stores and online!

Going Ape!
By Eduardo Bustos
Illustrated by Lucho Rodríguez
Hardcover | 24 pages | Ages 5-8
ISBN: 978-1-77049-282-0
There are more than 200 species of primates in the world. Going Ape! is a wonderful introduction to some of the most fascinating ones for children just discovering the world of animals. From Japan’s macaques to Africa’s gorillas, brilliant images and brief, informative text will capture the imagination of young children.

Man Overboard!
By Curtis Parkinson
Paperback | 160 pages | Ages 10-12
ISBN: 978-1-77049-298-1
eBook: 978-1-77049-299-8
During World War II, a German agent landed in Canada from a U-boat. Curtis Parkinson has used this true historical event to tell a fast-paced, exciting story. Sixteen-year-old Scott and his friend Adam find summer jobs as deckhands on the Rapids Prince, a ship that plies the waters between the town of Prescott, on the St. Lawrence River, and Montreal. Scott overhears convincing information that a German agent is actually on board the boat!

Puppet
By Eva Wiseman
Paperback | 240 pages | Ages 11+
ISBN: 978-1-77049-296-7
eBook: 978-1-77049-028-4
This powerful fictionalized account of one of the last blood libel trial in Europe is told through the eyes of Julie, a friend of the murdered Esther, and a servant at the jail where Morris is imprisoned. Although Puppet is a novel, it is based upon a real court case that took place in Hungary in 1883. In Hungary today, the name Morris Schar has become synonymous with “traitor.” Once again, Eva Wiseman illuminates a heartbreaking episode in history for young readers.

Pub Date Giveaway: Tell us which new releases you would love to read in the comments below and one lucky reader will receive their requested book!

One request per person and please review our rules. This giveaway ends at midnight on Monday, March 19, 2012!

UPDATE: Congratulations to Linda, she won a copy of Going Ape!

PS: Our next Pub Date Giveaway will be on April 10, 2012.

January 26, 2012February 1, 2012

OLA’s Super Conference 2012

The Ontario Library Association’s Super Conference starts next week! Librarians will be gathering at the Metro Toronto Convention Center and visiting the exhibits from February 2nd to the 3rd.

Tundra Books will be at booth #720 to tell you about our new and upcoming books. You can come by to pick up catalogs, posters, and bookmarks!

We will also have author signings! Be sure to line-up early, the complimentary books will be available on a first come, first serve basis.

Author signings on Thursday, February 2:

Michael Bedard will be signing ARCs of The Green Man at 10:30 AM
Hardcover | 320 page | Ages 10-14
ISBN: 978-1-77049-285-1
eBook: 978-1-77049-293-6
Teenaged O – never call her Ophelia – is about to spend the summer with her aunt Emily. Emily is a poet and the owner of an antiquarian book store, The Green Man. At once an exploration of poetry, a story of family relationships, and an intriguing mystery, The Green Man is Michael Bedard at his finest.

Nan Forler will be signing Winterberries and Apple Blossoms at 12:30 PM
Illustrated by Peter Etril Snyder
Hardcover | 40 pages | All ages
ISBN: 978-1-77049-254-7
The poems and recipes are perfectly complemented by Peter Etril Snyder’s lovely paintings. Winterberries and Apple Blossoms is a beautifully produced book, perfect for gift-giving, or sharing with anyone who appreciates simple, enduring values.

Heather Hartt-Sussman will be signing Here Comes Hortense! at 1:45 PM

Illustrated by Georgia Graham
Hardcover | 32 pages | Ages 4-7
ISBN: 978-1-77049-221-9
The feisty, irrepressible Nana we met in Nana’s Getting Married is back. And what could be more fun for a six-year-old than having your nana and her new husband take you to a theme park? But the fun is spoiled when Nana and Bob announce that they’ve planned a surprise: they are going to be joined by Bob’s granddaughter, Hortense. A perceptive and hilarious exploration of rivalry, there’s a gentle lesson for readers, young and old.

Karen Patkau will be signing Who Needs a Jungle?, Who Needs a Swamp?, and Who Needs an Iceberg? at 2:45 PM
Hardcover | 32 pages | Ages 7-10
ISBN: 978-0-88776-992-4
In Who Needs a Jungle? we learn about its vital role in providing us with oxygen, food, medicinal ingredients, and raw materials we use every day. Who Needs a Swamp? explores wetlands and their importance in the food chain and in preserving our soil and clean water. Who Needs an Iceberg? talks about the shrinking Arctic Ice Cap.

Author signings on Friday, February 3:

Pam Withers will be signing First Descent at 10:30 AM
Hardcover | 272 Pages | Ages 12+
ISBN: 978-1-77049-257-8
eBook: 978-1-77049-274-5
Montana-born Rex loves nothing more than to take his kayak out on a river, the faster and more powerful the better. When he gets the opportunity to tackle the well-named El Furioso in southwest Colombia, he is thrilled. He anticipates the river’s challenges, but finds himself in a situation where the real danger is human.

Curtis Parkinson will be signing Man Overboard! at 11:30 AM
Paperback | 160 pages | Ages 10-12
ISBN: 978-1-77049-298-1
eBook: 978-1-77049-299-8
During World War II, a German agent landed in Canada from a U-boat. Curtis Parkinson has used this true historical event to tell a fast-paced, exciting story. Sixteen-year-old Scott and his friend Adam find summer jobs as deckhands on the Rapids Prince, a ship that plies the waters between the town of Prescott, on the St. Lawrence River, and Montreal. Scott overhears convincing information that a German agent is actually on board the boat!

Marthe Jocelyn will be signing “Scribbling Women” at 12:30 PM
Hardcover | 208 Pages | Ages 14+
ISBN: 978-0-88776-952-8
eBook: 978-1-77049-230-1
In 1855, Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote to his publisher, complaining about the irritating fad of “scribbling women.” Whether they were written by professionals, by women who simply wanted to connect with others, or by those who wanted to leave a record of their lives, those “scribbles” are fascinating, informative, and instructive.

Follow the tag #SC12 on twitter! We’ll be sending out reminders for our author signings. See you there!

October 31, 2009September 2, 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:

Monsterology: 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.

Villainology: 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 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 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 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.

Genesis
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 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.

Easy-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. 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 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.

September 22, 2009September 21, 2009

Eden Mills Writers’ Festival 2009

Eden Mills Writers’ Festival is now in its 21st year! This year it was held on Sunday, September 20, 2009 – noon ’til 6:00pm. Here are a few photos from the day:

Driving into Eden Mills, we knew we were going the right way!

This painting on a building near the South Gate Entrance:

Publishers’ Way: The Bookshelf had books for sale by author reading at the Festival. Author signings were in the booth next to the Bookshelf. Other Publishers also had booths on this street.

The Food Court: lots of delicious foods from samosas to organic ice cream!

Curtis Parkinson reading from The Castle on Deadman’s Island at the Common during the Young Adult Authors set at 1:30pm.

Also reading was Cary Fagan at the Children’s Area at 1:30pm and Edo van Belkom at the Children’s Area at 4:30pm. Please visit our page on facebook for more photos.

We would like the thank all the hardworking volunteers for making the festival such a success! The next EMWF‘s big day of readings will be on Sunday, September 19, 2010.

July 7, 2009September 29, 2009

Mystery Monday with Curtis Parkinson

McNally Robinson Booksellers invited Curtis Parkinson for their Mystery Monday event. Curtis read two passages from his newest young adult novel, The Castle on Deadman’s Island.

If you weren’t able to make it to the event, Curtis did sign copies of The Castle on Deadman’s Island and Death in Kingsport that will be available at McNally Robinson on a first come, first serve basis. Thank you to the wonderful team at McNally Robinson for all their hard work and help!

Don’t forget to read Curtis Parkinson’s interview about The Castle on Deadman’s Island in The Kingston Whig Standard. In the interview, Curtis explains how Boldt Castle inspired this mystery novel.

Curtis Parkinson will be participating at this year’s Eden Mills Writers Festival on Sunday, September 20, 2009. He will also be touring Saskatchewan for the TD Canadian Children’s Book Week during Saturday, November 14 to Saturday, November 21, 2009.

There was a great number of people who came to hear Curtis Parkinson read. The audience asked him lots of questions, had their books signed, and had their pictures taken. Short video clips of the reading are posted on our youtube channel.