National Adoption Day

National Adoption Day is a collective national effort to raise awareness of the many children in foster care waiting to find permanent, loving families. To learn more, please visit www.nationaladoptionday.org.

Nini
By François Thisdale
Hardcover | 40 Pages | Ages 3-6
ISBN: 978-1-77049-270-7
This exceptional book about adoption is a comforting story for children and families who have experienced it first-hand, a tribute to the author’s own adopted child, and a very heartfelt thank-you for the gift of family.

Emma’s Story
By Deborah Hodge
Illustrated by Song Nan Zhang
Hardcover | 24 Pages | Ages 5-8
ISBN: 978-0-88776-632-9
In gentle text, Deborah Hodge tells the story of one small girl’s adoption: the hopes and prayers of her Canadian parents, their trip to the other side of the world, their meeting with the new baby, and the very long ride home to the new family waiting for Emma.

Anne of Green Gables
By L.M. Montgomery
Illustrated by Laura Fernandez and Rick Jacobson
Introduction by Kate Butler MacDonald
Hardcover | 328 Pages | All Ages
ISBN: 978-0-88776-515-5
Anne (with an ‘e’ of course) starts out as a mistake. The elderly Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert had planned on adopting a boy to help Matthew with the chores on their Prince Edward Island farm. What are they to do with the red-haired, high-spirited girl who arrives instead?

A Home for Foundlings
By Marthe Jocelyn
Trade Paperback | 120 Pages | All Ages
ISBN: 978-0-88776-709-8
Thousands of mothers carried their babies to the gates of the Foundling Hospital desperate to save them from the cruel streets of eighteenth-century London. Each baby was left with a personal “token” – identification if a repentant mother ever returned to reclaim her child.

Folly
By Marthe Jocelyn
Hardcover | 256 Pages | Ages 12+
ISBN: 978-0-88776-929-0
eBook: 978-1-77049-212-7
Set in the late 1800’s, Marthe Jocelyn’s stunning new novel is told in the voices of four people whose lives and destinies intertwine. There’s Mary, who begins “exceeding ignorant” (apart from what a girl can learn from family mayhem, a dead mother, and a grim stepmother) and winds up encountering lust and betrayal when she becomes a servant in a fine house in London. Mary’s nemesis is another maid in the household, Eliza. Eliza also knows lust and betrayal, but she doesn’t know who is betraying who.

Raspberry House Blues
By Linda Holeman
Trade Paperback | 248 Pages | Ages 11-14
ISBN: 978-0-88776-493-6
Poppy is on an odyssey. Her adoptive mother has taken off to find herself, so Poppy decides to live with her adoptive father, his new wife, Calypso, and their toddler, Sandeep, in a ramshackle rasp-berry-colored house. At first Poppy is distressed by the disordered household, which is unlike anything she has ever known, but soon it becomes a jumping-off point for her search for her birth mother.

Promise Song
By Linda Holeman
Trade Paperback | 264 pages
ISBN: 978-0-88776-387-8
The year is 1900 and orphaned 14-year-old Rosetta and her beloved younger sister Flora sail from England as “home girls.” They are sent to Canada so that they can have a chance at family life. Their dreams are shattered when Flora is adopted, but Rosetta is deemed to be too old. She is to become a farm worker, far from Flora’s new home.

Canada’s Parks Day

Today is Canada’s Parks Day! You can discover how Cornelia Hahn Oberlander and Frederick Law Olmsted changed the landscapes around them:

Love Every Leaf
The Life of Landscape Architect Cornelia Hahn Oberlander

Written by Kathy Stinson
Hardcover | 96 pages
Ages 14+
ISBN 978-0-88776-804-0
“Fascinating biography…strong environmental theme….Interesting to read and very thought provoking. What an amazing woman Cornelia Oberlander is!” – Delaware County Library System

The Man Who Made Parks
The Story of Parkbuilder Frederick Law Olmsted

Written by Frieda Wishinsky
Illustrated by Song Nan Zhang
Hardcover | 32 pages
All ages
ISBN 978-0-88776-902-3
“Frieda Whishinsky’s informative story and Song Nan Zhang’s evocative paintings nicely capture the spirit of a growing nation and the will of a resourceful people.” – The Orlando Sentinel

For more information about Canada’s Parks Day, please visit the official website.

Happy Canada Day!

Here are some books that celebrate being a Canadian and the vast country of Canada!

The Day I Became a Canadian: A Citizenship Scrapbook
Written by Jo Bannatyne-Cugnet
Illustrated by Song Nan Zhang
Paperback | 24 pages
Ages 7-9
ISBN 978-0-88776-892-7
“…Being born a Canadian, I don’t know what it feels like to become one. But reading The Day I Became a Canadian, I got a child’s glimpse of what becoming a citizen must be like — a bit of an adventure in discovering oneself in a new identity yet to be forged….” – PaperTigers.org

“…In heartfelt words and vivid colours, author Jo Bannantyne-Cugnet and illustrator Song Nan Zhang capture the excitement and solemnity of the ceremonial process, which takes place at the narrator’s school. With its touching story and information on citizens’ rights and responsibilities, this book is a wonderful introduction to the topics of community and national identity.” – Montreal Review of Books

“…With equal artistry and attention to detail, The Day I Became a Canadian also scrutinizes the stages in a process…. For Canadian-born children it will provide a glimpse of what many of their friends have experienced. For recent arrivals in Canada, it will be a reminder of an important commitment and, one hopes, a meaningful and happy experience.” – Canadian Literature

The Big Book of Canada: Exploring the Provinces and Territories
By Christopher Moore
Illustrated by Bill Slavin
Hardcover | 256 Pages
Ages 9+
ISBN 978-0-88776-457-8
“The Big Book moves … across the continent from east to west…. Bill Slavin’s inimitable watercolours, supplemented by black-and-white and colour photographs, add their own touch of whimsy to this excellent addition to school or home bookshelf.” – The Globe and Mail

Building Canada
By Bonnie Shemie
Hardcover | 40 Pages
Ages 9+
ISBN 978-0-88776-504-9
“Bonnie Shemie’s beautifully illustrated Building Canada invites children to discover the architecture that surrounds them and that is as much a part of their heritage as the Maple Leaf … a useful reference as well as a treasure to explore.” – Kitchener-Waterloo Record

Earth Day 2010

Celebrating the love of nature! Did you know? Tundra Books and McClelland & Stewart have a Green Committee to help minimize our carbon footprint in the office.

Love Every Leaf
The Life of Landscape Architect Cornelia Hahn Oberlander

Written by Kathy Stinson
Hardcover | 96 pages
Ages 14+
ISBN 978-0-88776-804-0
“Fascinating biography…strong environmental theme….Interesting to read and very thought provoking. What an amazing woman Cornelia Oberlander is!” – Delaware County Library System

The Man Who Made Parks
The Story of Parkbuilder Frederick Law Olmsted

Written by Frieda Wishinsky
Illustrated by Song Nan Zhang
Hardcover | 32 pages
All ages
ISBN 978-0-88776-902-3
“Frieda Whishinsky’s informative story and Song Nan Zhang’s evocative paintings nicely capture the spirit of a growing nation and the will of a resourceful people.” – The Orlando Sentinel

Trash Action
A Fresh Look at Garbage

Written by Ann Love and Jane Drake
Illustrated by Mark Thurman
Trade Paperback | 80 pages
Ages 8+
ISBN 978-0-88776-721-0
“The breezy style will attract browsers and may encourage them to try some of the trash-reduction strategies suggested.” – School Library Journal

Cool Woods
A Trip around the World’s Boreal Forest
Written by Jane Drake and Ann Love
Illustrated by Andrew Kiss
Hardcover | 80 pages
Age 9+
ISBN 978-0-88776-608-4
“…a remarkable look at the last great forest on Earth…each chapter is full of wonderful information…But the real merit of this book is the obvious passion that the authors feel for saving and preserving this unique and vital “lungs of the Earth” environment” – Victoria Times Colonist

Snow Amazing
Cool Facts and Warm Tales

Written by Jane Drake and Ann Love
Illustrated by Mark Thurman
Hardcover | 80 pages
Ages 9+
ISBN 978-0-88776-670-1
“…this book leaves no flake unturned in its detail…a strong resource.” – The Horn Book Guide

In My Backyard
Written by Margriet Ruurs
Illustrated by Ron Broda
Hardcover | 32 pages
Ages 4-8
ISBN: 978-0-88776-775-3
“…Made entirely of sculpted paper and watercolors, Broda’s awe-inspiring scenes have a depth and realism that draw readers in. And as if that weren’t enough, readers get the extra treat of hidden details – he conceals a ladybug on each spread and a clue as to what animal will be featured on the next page. A necessary library purchase, this is also sure to find a home on budding artists’ and young naturalists’ bookshelves.” – Starred Review, Kirkus Reviews

For more information about Earth Day, please visit the Earth Day Network‘s website.

Year of the Tiger

Chinese New Year is on Sunday, February 14 and this year and we are celebrating the year of the Tiger!

A Little Tiger in the Chinese Night
An Autobiography in Art
By Song Nan Zhang
Paperback
48 Pages
ISBN 978-0-88776-356-4

“His descriptions of life in China, in both prose and paintings…offer an excellent introduction to the modern history of a complex country.” – School Library Journal

Once Upon a Full Moon
By Elizabeth Quan
Hardcover
48 Pages
ISBN 978-0-88776-813-2

“…a poignant memoir… Quan’s vibrant watercolors will help young readers follow the simple but vocabulary-rich text.” – The Washington Post Book World

The Children of China
An Artist’s Journey
By Song Nan Zhang
Paperback
32 Pages
ISBN 978-0-88776-448-6

“His intricate details carefully portray the wide variety of lifestyles, and his beautiful faces glow with deep contentment.” – MultiCultural Review