2014 Holiday Gift Guide: The Dreamers

Listed by age range:

If You Happen to Have a DinosaurIf You Happen to Have a Dinosaur
Written by Linda Bailey
Illustrated by Colin Jack
Hardcover | 40 Pages
For Ages: 3-7 years
ISBN: 978-1-77049-568-5
If you happen to have a dinosaur, lying around your living room, and you don’t know what to do with it … why don’t you use it as a can opener? It will make a terrific nutcracker too! There are oodles of uses for a dinosaur — from a fine umbrella to an excellent kite and a dandy pillow, not to mention a reliable burglar alarm and the perfect excuse to forget your homework. This delightfully absurd exploration of the domestic uses of dinosaurs — and the things dinos just aren’t good for at all — is guaranteed to tickle funny bones and spark imaginations.

Ella May and the Wishing StoneElla May and the Wishing Stone
Written by Cary Fagan
Illustrated by Geneviève Côté
Trade Paperback | 32 Pages
For Ages: 4-6
ISBN: 978-1-77049-410-7
When Ella May finds a smooth stone with a line going all-all-all the way around it, she is convinced it has magical powers. Surely such a stone will grant wishes, she thinks. But when her friends want to join in the fun, Ella May says that the stone is too special. Slowly she comes to realize that keeping the stone all to herself is a sure way to lose friends. By using her imagination, Ella May finds a way to make everyone’s wishes come true-including her own.

audreyAudrey (cow)
Written by Dan Bar-el
Illustrated by Tatjana Mai-Wyss
Hardcover | 240 Pages
For Ages: 7-10 years
ISBN: 978-1-77049-602-6
Audrey is a cow with poetry in her blood, who yearns for the greener pastures beyond Bittersweet Farms. If you have no problem with stories about brave cows escaping their dark destiny and dodging hunters and vicious predators, then this book is for you. Over two dozen animals and humans tell the tale of Audrey’s great escape. Full of heart and humor, Audrey (cow) is ultimately a very human story about life and death, friendship, and holding on to one’s dreams – based more or less on a true story.

MillhouseMillhouse
Written by Natale Ghent
Hardcover | 192 Pages
For Ages: 7-10 years
ISBN: 978-1-77049-639-2
Millhouse is a faint-hearted, hairless guinea pig. A great lover of all things theatrical, most especially the work of William Shakespeare, Milly longs for the limelight and someone to love. However, after the death of his beloved owner, the great actor Sir Roderick Lord Kingswagger, Millhouse is abandoned to a neglected and dusty pet shop filled with other rodents — some rude, some odd, some cute and some downright frightening. Finding himself a reviled outcast and a target of the nasty Pepper Brown ferret, Millhouse sets about trying to find a way back to the theater and a happy home, and in doing so experiences more drama than he could ever have imagined.

The Green Man_paperbackThe Green Man
Written by Michael Bedard
Trade Paperback | 320 Pages
For Ages: 10 and up
ISBN: 978-1-77049-511-1
When Ophelia’s father heads off to Italy for the summer to finish work on his book on the poet Ezra Pound, O – as she prefers to be called – is sent by train to stay with her Aunt Emily, who runs a secondhand bookshop back east called The Green Man. Part mystery, part fantasy, this compelling and beautifully written novel slips between the real world, and that of the creative imagination. Cloaked in the simple story of a young woman taking over a bookstore from her aged aunt, The Green Man is an eerie story about finding voice and courage, and about suspending disbelief!

DinosaursReading

Tuesdays with Tundra 44

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

Audrey-cowAudrey (cow)
Written by Dan Bar-el
Illustrated by Tatjana Mai-Wyss
Hardcover | 240 Pages | Ages 7-10
ISBN: 978-1-77049-602-6
eBook: 978-1-77049-604-0
“Move aside Wilbur and Babe. There’s a new farmyard hero in town, and she has no desire to end up hamburger. In a multiple-perspective, documentary-like format, each animal tells its part of the story with terrific humor and personality … the many voices make the book an ideal read-aloud for a classroom and ideal fodder for readers’ theatre. Bar-el is also unafraid to engage in truly lovely descriptive writing. Part Great Escape, part Hatchet, part Charlotte’s Web, all wonderful.” – Starred Review, Kirkus Reviews
“…[a] cleverly constructed story…. Bar-el creates a humorous chorus of perspectives, temperaments, dialects, and cadences….. Thoroughly charming….” – Starred Review, Publishers Weekly
“At its heart, Audrey (cow) encourages kids to think even as it entertains – the mark of wonderful children’s literature.” – Starred Review, Quill and Quire

The Hockey Sweater_30th AnniversaryThe Hockey Sweater, Anniversary Edition
Written by Roch Carrier
Illustrated by Sheldon Cohen
Translated by Sheila Fischman
Hardcover | 48 Pages | All Ages
ISBN: 978-1-77049-762-7
“It’s a classic … you can’t really be a Canadian and not read it. It’s become part of our cultural lexicon.” – Canadian Children’s Book News

TThe Green Man_paperbackhe Green Man
Written by Michael Bedard
Trade Paperback | 320 Pages | Ages 10+
ISBN: 978-1-77049-511-1
“Mystery, fantasy, romance, horror, and poetry come together in this classic outsider story with sometimes shocking twists and turns that reveal heartfelt connections…. [T]he action is fast, and the simple prose is pitch-perfect….” – Booklist

You know what else releases today? Our newly packaged L.M. Montgomery hardcover books!!!

Anne of Green Gables Anne of Avonlea Anne of the Island Anne of Windy Poplars Annes House of Dreams Anne of Ingleside Rainbow Valley Rilla of Ingleside Emily of New Moon Emily Climbs  Emilys Quest

Pub Date Giveaway: In the comments below, please tell us which new November release of Tundra’s you would love to read 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, November 17, 2014!

UPDATE: Congratulations to Kris, you’ve won a copy of The Green Man!

Put some BOO in your BOOkshelves

Happy Halloween! If you like to read while munching on all your treats, here are some great companions for your flashlight-under-the-blanket reads.

Bob's Hungry GhostBob’s Hungry Ghost
Written by Geneviève Côté
Hardcover| Ages 3-7 | 32 pages
ISBN: 978-1-77049-713-9
eBook: 978-1-77049-714-6
“All ends well in a sweetly silly book about appreciating what you have. And everyone will want a ghost for their birthday after reading this book.” – Sharon the Librarian

Every BreathEvery Breath
Written by Ellie Marney
Hardcover | 352 Pages | Ages 14+
ISBN: 978-1-77049-772-6
eBook: 978-1-77049-774-0
“If you’re a fan of Sherlock Holmes and contemporary YA, read Every Breath. It’s smart, it’s clever — and Mycroft and Watts have stolen my heart.” – There were books involved . . .

The Green Man_paperbackThe Green Man
Written by Michael Bedard
Trade Paperback | Ages 10+ | 320 pages
ISBN: 978-1-77049-511-1
eBook: 978-1-77049-293-6
“…Bedard takes full advantage of the genre’s atmospheric creepiness and sepia-toned timelessness…. For more plot-hungry Goosebumps graduates, there are dark strangers, abandoned mansions, ghostly glowing, chilling coincidences, and otherworldly portals galore.” — Starred Review, Quill & Quire

The SwallowThe Swallow: A Ghost Story
Written by Charis Cotter
Hardcover | Ages 9-12 | 320 pages
ISBN: 978-1-77049-591-3
eBook: 978-1-77049-593-7
“Spooky tension, friendship and compassion permeate this exquisitely plotted middle-grade ghost story…. The protagonists are both spooky and delightfully down-to-earth, and readers will seesaw between chills and snorts of laughter. When Cotter delivers the final twist, it is a denouement that becomes a springboard for greater revelations that lead to even greater reader satisfaction. Middle-grade storytelling at its very best—extraordinary.” – Starred Review, Kirkus Reviews

Zombie ElementaryZombie Elementary: The Real Story
Written by Howard Whitehouse
Hardcover | Ages 9-12 | 256 Pages
ISBN: 978-1-77049-608-8
eBook: 978-1-77049-610-1
Zombie Elementary: The Real Story is a great, action-packed read for kids and adults alike…. The text is broken up by cute ‘Zombie Tips’ and interjections by the person interviewing Larry.” – Mediatron

If you’re brave enough, visit our Pinterest board for more Halloween ideas!

Shortlist for the 2013 Sunburst Award

The Sunburst Award for Excellence in Canadian Literature of the Fantastic is a juried award to recognize stellar writing, named after the first novel by Phyllis Gotlieb (1926–2009), one of the first published authors of contemporary Canadian science fiction.

The shortlisted works in the young adult category are:

The Green ManThe Green Man
By Michael Bedard
Hardcover | 320 Pages | Ages 10+
ISBN: 978-1-77049-285-1
eBook: 978-1-77049-293-6
“Fifteen-year-old O—short for Opehlia, but don’t call her that—spends the summer with her Aunt Emily, whose poor health means that Emily is as much nurse as niece. A well known poet in her day, Emily now runs a ramshackle secondhand bookstore called The Green Man, and over the course of the summer O will discover that it is not only her aunt who is haunted by the past. The author’s lyrical prose illuminates this haunting love story to the written word, and its power to captivate, enchant, and possess. Sympathetic characters, a creeping evil which must be defeated, and an endearing phantasmagorical Dead Poets Society inhabiting a bookshop are only some of the delights in this heavenly read.” —Jury Comments

Bright’s Light by Susan Juby
Pirate Cinema by Cory Doctorow
Seraphina by Rachel Hartman
Rebel Heart by Moira Young

Congratulations to the five shortlisted authors!

The awards will be presented in the fall of 2013. The jurors for the 2013 award are: Rebecca Bradley, Tony Burgess, Shari Lapeña, Barbara Roden, and Leon Rooke.

2013 IODE Violet Downey Book Award Winner

The winner was announced at IODE Canada’s 113th National Annual Meeting held at the Carriage House Inn in Calgary, Alberta. We want to congratulate Michael Bedard, The Green Man won!

The Green ManThe Green Man
Written by Michael Bedard
Hardcover | 320 Pages | Ages 10-14
ISBN: 978-1-77049-285-1
eBook: 978-1-77049-293-6
“…Bedard takes full advantage of the genre’s atmospheric creepiness and sepia-toned timelessness…. For more plot-hungry Goosebumps graduates, there are dark strangers, abandoned mansions, ghostly glowing, chilling coincidences, and otherworldly portals galore.” — Starred Review, Quill & Quire

Congratulations to the finalists:

  • Enemy Territory written by Sharon E. McKay
  • My Name is Parvana written by Deborah Ellis
  • One Year in Coal Harbour written by Polly Horvath
  • Yesterday’s Dead written by Pat Bourke

IODE Canada is a national women’s charitable organization dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for individuals through education support, community service and citizenship programs.

For a list of past winners or for more information about IODE, please visit www.iode.ca.