Eye of the Crow Archives - Tundra Book Group

November 25, 2011December 8, 2011

The Boy Sherlock Holmes

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows hits theatres in three week! Once again, Robert Downey Jr. plays the ever resourceful Sherlock Holmes with Jude Law as Dr. John Watson.

However, before you watch the movie, why not read about the Boy Sherlock Holmes first?

Eye of the Crow
The Boy Sherlock Holmes, His 1st Case
Written by Shane Peacock
ISBN 978-0-88776-850-7 (Hardcover)
ISBN 978-0-88776-919-1 (Paperback)
ISBN 978-1-77049-078-9 (eBook)

“…Shane Peacock has created a cleverly inventive background story for Sherlock Holmes that explains the adult character’s reluctance to talk about his family life. He’s also managed to create a thrilling, impeccably paced murder mystery. Peacock reveals the budding detective’s very real fears and insecurities, providing just enough detail about the young Sherlock’s methods to make him an entirely believable teenage precursor to the master detective. ” – Starred Review, Quill & Quire

“The details of the plot are plausible, the pacing well timed, and the historical setting vividly depicted… the characters enrich the book and help give Holmes’s storied abilities credence.” – Starred review, School Library Journal

“…the first intriguing volume in an ambitious new series…. Creative references to Doyle’s characters abound…and Sherlock himself is cleverly interpreted….[made] both fascinating and complex….plenty of readers will like the smart, young detective they find here, and find themselves irresistibly drawn into his thrilling adventures.” – Starred review, Booklist

Death in the Air
The Boy Sherlock Holmes, His 2nd Case
Written by Shane Peacock
ISBN 978-0-88776-851-4 (Hardcover)
ISBN 978-0-88776-928-3 (Paperback)
ISBN 978-1-77049-080-2 (eBook)

“In the first novel, we see many of the characteristics of the adult detective being formed through his first exciting adventure. In Death in the Air, this development continues and we get to know young Sherlock even better….This novel is written for the young adult, but adult readers will also find it satisfying. Peacock places demand on the reader, expecting intelligence and curiosity. The fast-paced adventure is a treat.” – The Globe and Mail

Vanishing Girl
The Boy Sherlock Holmes, His 3rd Case
Written by Shane Peacock
ISBN 978-0-88776-852-1 (Hardcover)
ISBN 978-1-77049-234-9 (Paperback)
ISBN 978-1-77049-081-9 (eBook)

“The first two books in this splendid series have won a shelf-full of awards. Peacock’s adolescent Sherlock is complex, intuitive and fascinating. As much as a Bildungsroman as a detective yarn, Sherlock tracks down an aristocratic young woman gone missing twice, driven by passion and pride, in the belief this may be the case that will make his reputation.” – The National Post

The Secret Fiend
The Boy Sherlock Holmes, His 4th Case
Written by Shane Peacock
ISBN 978-0-88776-853-8 (Hardcover)
ISBN 978-1-77049-213-4 (eBook)

“…Peacock has added another brilliant installation to an already amazing series. Sherlock is beautifully drawn, true to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and infused with the freshness of a youthful perspective. It is a delight to watch as the young detective develops, and it is a thrill to see how the various elements of his adult persona come together. This book is more than an origin story of the famous detective…. The mystery has a solid, fast-paced plot; the characters are carefully constructed and fully fleshed out with dynamic, complex relationships; Victorian England itself is a character, and Peacock does a wonderful job of describing the streets, the political unrest and the changing modes that mark the era. This is a truly wonderful book and belongs in any library.” – VOYA

The Dragon Turn
The Boy Sherlock Holmes, His 5th Case
Written by Shane Peacock
ISBN 978-1-77049-231-8 (Hardcover)
ISBN 978-1-77049-273-8 (eBook)

Summer 1869, and Sherlock Holmes and his friend Irene celebrate her sixteenth birthday by attending the theater to watch a celebrated magician make a real dragon appear on stage. It is the London sensation. Sherlock and Irene meet the magician, Alistair Hemsworth – just as he is arrested for the murder of his rival, The Wizard of Nottingham. Is Hemsworth guilty? Sherlock has his doubts, and soon, so does the reader.

GIVEAWAY CONTEST!
Win a set of the Boy Sherlock Holmes in hardcover! We’ll throw in a lovely green book bag for you to carry the series in! That’s not all, we’ll even send you the books that are available in paperback so that you can give them to a friend (it’s almost gift-giving season). Review our contest rules here and leave a comment below responding to this question:

It has been said that Sherlock Holmes was the first superhero. Do you agree? (You can compare him to other superheroes in comic books, movies, graphic novels, etc.)

We’ll pick a winner and announce it here on December 8, 2011.

UPDATE: Congratulations to Sean Pynaert!

December 17, 2009December 14, 2009

The Boy Sherlock Holmes

Guy Ritchie’s adaptation of Sherlock Holmes hits theatres next week! Robert Downey Jr. plays the witty Sherlock Holmes, Rachel McAdams as the beautiful Irene Adler, and Jude Law as Dr. John Watson. But, before you watch the movie, we challenge you to read the Boy Sherlock Holmes series!

Eye of the Crow
The Boy Sherlock Holmes, His 1st Case
Written by Shane Peacock
ISBN 978-0-88776-850-7 (Hardcover)
ISBN 978-0-88776-919-1 (Paperback)

“In Eye of the Crow, Shane Peacock has created a cleverly inventive background story for Sherlock Holmes that explains the adult character’s reluctance to talk about his family life. He’s also managed to create a thrilling, impeccably paced murder mystery. Peacock reveals the budding detective’s very real fears and insecurities, providing just enough detail about the young Sherlock’s methods to make him an entirely believable teenage precursor to the master detective. Peacock also neatly creates a sense of the bustle of Victorian London, making the squalid grunginess of the East End almost waft off the pages.” – Starred Review, Quill & Quire

“The details of the plot are plausible, the pacing well timed, and the historical setting vividly depicted…The titular crow comes fascinatingly into play…On balance, the characters enrich the book and help give Holmes’s storied abilities credence.” – Starred review, School Library Journal

“…the first intriguing volume in an ambitious new series….a shadowy, vividly described London….Creative references to Doyle’s characters abound…and Sherlock himself is cleverly interpreted….[made] both fascinating and complex….plenty of readers will like the smart, young detective they find here, and find themselves irresistibly drawn into his thrilling adventures.” – Starred review, Booklist

Awards and Honours:

Winner of the 2008 Arthur Ellis Award for Best Juvenile Book, presented by the Crime Writers of Canada
Winner of the 2008 IODE Violet Downey Book Award
Gold Medal Winner of the 2008 ForeWord Magazine‘s Book of the Year Award – Young Adult Fiction category
Gold Medalist for the 2008 Moonbeam Awards – Intermediate/Middle Grade category
Short-listed for the 2009 Rocky Mountain Children’s Book Award
Short-listed for the 2009 Manitoba Young Readers’ Choice Award – presented by MYRCA
Nominated for the 2009 Saskatchewan Young Readers’ Choise Award (SYRCA) – Snow Willow Award category
Nominated for the 2008-2009 Hackmatack Children’s Choice Book Award
Finalist for the 2008 Geoffrey Bilson Award for Historical Fiction
Finalist for the 2008 TD Canadian Children’s Literature Award
Honour Book for the Canadian Library Association’s Book of the Year for Children Award
Chosen as Booklist’s “Top Ten in Youth Mysteries” in 2008
Chosen as an Honor Book for the 2009 Silver Birch Award for Fiction – presented by the Ontario Library Association
Selected for the 2009 TD Summer Reading List

Death in the Air
The Boy Sherlock Holmes, His 2nd Case
Written by Shane Peacock
ISBN 978-0-88776-851-4 (Hardcover)
ISBN 978-0-88776-928-3 (Paperback)

“In the first novel, we see many of the characteristics of the adult detective being formed through his first exciting adventure. In Death in the Air, this development continues and we get to know young Sherlock even better….This novel is written for the young adult, but adult readers will also find it satisfying. Peacock places demand on the reader, expecting intelligence and curiosity. The fast-paced adventure is a treat.” – The Globe and Mail

“Shane Peacock’s second novel of the young Sherlock is no less exciting or authentic than the first, Eye of the Crow…. Again Peacock has remained true to the original spirit of the Holmes series. Sherlock’s pervasive melancholy and his flirtatious relationship with the underworld of London create yet another authentic mystery. Peacock has honored the essence of the original Holmes stories while contributing his own intuitive, exhilarating touches.” – Highly Recommended, CM Magazine: Canadian Review of Materials

Awards and Honours:

Finalist for the 2009 TD Canadian Children’s Literature Award
Short-listed for the 2008 IODE (National Chapter) Violet Downey Book Award
Finalist for the 2009 Canadian Library Association’s Young Adult Book Award
Selected for the Best Book for Kids and Teens 2009 list
Chosen as a 2008 Best Bets by the Ontario Library Association

Vanishing Girl
The Boy Sherlock Holmes, His 3rd Case
Written by Shane Peacock
ISBN 978-0-88776-852-1 (Hardcover)

“… The richly descriptive prose offers a vivid sense of both Victorian life and the diverse characters, especially complex, intriguing, and sympathetic Sherlock” – Booklist

The Secret Fiend
The Boy Sherlock Holmes, His 4th Case
Written by Shane Peacock
ISBN 978-0-88776-853-8 (Hardcover)
Available on May 11 2010!

It is 1868, the week that Benjamin Disraeli becomes Prime Minister of the Empire. Sherlock’s beautiful but poor admirer, Beatrice, the hatter’s daughter, appears at the door late at night. She is terrified, claiming that she and her friend have just been attacked by the Spring Heeled Jack on Westminister Bridge and the fiend has made off with her friend. At first Sherlock things Beatrice simply wants his attention, and he is reluctant to go back to detective work. He also believes that the Jack everyone fears is a fictional figure. But soon he is suspicious of various individuals, several of them close friends.

Set in a time when many in England were in a state of fear because a Jew was running the country, Shane Peacock presents a compelling story filled with an atmosphere of paranoia and secrets and surprises played out on late-night London streets. Sherlock gets drawn deeper and deeper into the pursuit of the Spring Heeled Jack, whose attacks grow in number until it seems that there are Jacks everywhere.

The Secret Fiend is the fourth book in Shane Peacock’s award-winning Boy Sherlock Holmes series, combining brilliant storytelling with fascinating historical detail and a mystery worthy of one of the greatest sleuths in English literature.

Please visit Shane Peacock’s website at www.shanepeacock.ca and www.theboysherlockholmes.com

November 27, 2009November 27, 2009

The Boy Sherlock Holmes

Guess where Pamela, Kathryn, and I were last night? Here are some hints to the answer:

Look at the pretty holiday decorations, the funny sign, this all points to… the team at McNally Robinson Booksellers!

Yesterday, Shane Peacock was invited to talk about his Boy Sherlock Holmes series at McNally Robinson Booksellers. The store has a book club for children and they had just finished reading Eye of the Crow (some were almost finished reading Death in the Air too). This was a great opportunity for the club members (and their parents) to ask Shane some questions. He brought in his laptop and we hooked it up to the projector to show his book trailers.

Shane did a dramatic reading from each of his books after showing the individual book trailers. Below, Shane reads an excerpt from Vanishing Girl:

Thank you to the book club readers and their parents for coming out to meet Shane Peacock. Thank you once again to Nicola and to the wonderful staff for making the event a success!

Note from Tundra: We hope people are happy to see pictures of themselves on Talking with Tundra, but if you would like your photo removed, please contact us at tundra@mcclelland.com. Thank you.

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.

May 14, 2009May 15, 2009

Day 2: Festival of Trees 2009

Here is the second day of the 2009 Festival of Trees! You can read about Day 1 here. On day 2, the Silver Birch Awards were announced.

Silver Birch Award: Ages 7-11, Grades 3-6

Fiction Winner: The Third Eye by Mahtab Narsimhan
Fiction Honour books: Eye of the Crow – The Boy Sherlock Holmes by Shane Peacock and Swindle by Gordon Korman

Non-Fiction Winner: Gold Medal for Weird by Kevin Sylvester
Non-Fiction Honour books: Everything But the Kitchen Sink: Weird Stuff You Didn’t
Know About Food by Frieda Wishinsky and Elizabeth MacLeod and Brave Deeds: How One Family Saved Many by Ann Alma

Express Winner: Dear Sylvia by Alan Cumyn
Express Honour books: Feather Brain by Maureen Bush and Boy in Motion – The Rick Hansen Story by Ainslie Manson

Shane Peacock signing Eye of the Crow.

Just look at the line-ups for autographs!

More games and activities for the students.

Once again, congratulations to the authors and illustrations and a big thank you to everyone made the event such a success! Until next year!