Tuesdays with Tundra is an ongoing series featuring our new releases. This title is now available in stores and online!
New in Paperback!
Tremendous Things By Susin Nielsen 272 Pages | Ages 12+ | Paperback ISBN 9780735271227 | Tundra Books We all have moments that define us. For the comically clueless Wilbur, his moment happened on the first day of middle school, when someone shared his private letter with the entire student body. It revealed some of Wilbur’s innermost embarrassing thoughts that no one else should ever know. Now it’s the start of ninth grade and Wilbur hasn’t been able to escape that major humiliation. His good friend Alex stuck by him, but Alex doesn’t have as much time since he started dating Fabrizio. Luckily, Wil can confide in his best friend: his elderly neighbor Sal. Also, Wil’s in the school band, where he plays the triangle. They’re doing an exchange program with students from Paris, and Wilbur’s billet, Charlie, a tall, chic young woman who plays the ukulele and burps with abandon, captures his heart. Charlie likes him, but only as a friend. So Alex, Fabrizio, and Sal host a Queer Eye-style intervention to get Wil in shape and to build his confidence so he can impress Charlie when their band visits Paris, and just maybe replace humiliation with true romance in the City of Love.
We can’t wait to see you reading this title! If you share this book online, remember to use #ReadTundra in your hashtags so that we can re-post.
Tundra Book Group is excited to be publishing How to Decorate a Christmas Tree on October 10, 2023! With stunning three-dimensional art by Miki Sato and a delightful story by wordsmith Vikki VanSickle, including a twist ending, this book will quickly become a Christmas tree decorating tradition of its own.
How to Decorate a Christmas Tree By Vikki VanSickle Illustrated by Miki Sato 40 Pages | Ages 4-8 | Hardcover ISBN 9780735268586 | Tundra Books Release Date: October 10, 2023 In this charming Christmas tale, readers will follow along with the main character as she shares all the things that go into decorating a tree: Lights Ornaments Popcorn Hot chocolate Taffy the cat Memories And, most importantly, family!
Q&A with Illustrator Miki Sato
What type of materials did you use to create the cover and artwork inside the book? For my illustrations, I use a whole bunch of different papers and fabrics that I cut and paint. I’m always on the lookout for interesting textures to use in my work. I also like incorporating unconventional materials. For example, in this book I used a lot of craft supplies like popsicle sticks, googly eyes, pipe cleaners, and sequins to create the Christmas ornaments that show up in the story. Another new thing I used in this book was air dry clay. It was the perfect material to make the red Christmas baubles you see throughout the book.
Were you given any guidance from the author/editor? There were some notes with the manuscript that explained the basic story beats, but otherwise I was given a lot of freedom with this book. I knew that I wanted to represent a multicultural family in this story, so I spent time sketching out character designs before the layouts for the book even began. The most fun I had was with Taffy the cat. Something about the name Taffy made me think of a big, fluffy, orange tabby cat.
How many drafts/designs did you go through before it was “finished”? and How long does it take you to create each spread? There actually weren’t too many drafts needed for this book, and it was mostly changes with the layout at the beginning of the process. We did end up with a couple of more pages than what was originally planned, as we thought the book needed a bit more breathing room for some of the spreads. As I get to work on more books, I’m getting faster at making my illustrations too! One spread would usually take me around half a week until it’s ready to be photographed and edited on the computer. I make sure that my initial rough sketches are very polished so that there isn’t any guesswork when it comes time to make the final illustration. The most time consuming part of this book was definitely all the tiny pine needles that I needed to cut for the Christmas trees!
What emotions did you want to capture on the cover? I was hoping to convey that feeling of Christmas sparkle and magic, with the twinkling lights of the tree reflected in the eyes of Taffy the cat, and the little girl. That warm, cozy feeling of putting the first ornament onto the tree. I also got the chance to embroider the letters of the title. It was my first time doing lettering in embroidery so it didn’t turn out perfect, but I think that adds to that homey feeling.
Also by Vikki VanSickle:
Anonymouse By Vikki VanSickle Illustrated by Anna Pirolli 40 Pages | Ages 3-7 | Hardcover ISBN 9780735263949 | Tundra Books Art for the birds. Art for the ants. Art for the dogs, cats and raccoons. Art to make them laugh, make them think, make them feel at home. But who is creating it? Only Anonymouse knows for sure . . . This clever tale mixes street art, animals and gorgeous illustrations to create a meditation on how art can uplift any creature’s spirit – human or animal – when it speaks directly to them. Every page of Anna Pirolli’s stunning artwork is its own masterpiece with its bold pops of color and sly humor, elevating Vikki VanSickle’s subtle but evocative text.
If I Had a Gryphon By Vikki VanSickle Illustrated by Cale Atkinson 32 Pages | Ages 3-7 | Paperback ISBN 9781774880913 | Tundra Books Sam just got a hamster for a pet. But the hamster is kind of boring . . . he just eats and sleeps and gets his shavings wet. Inspired by her book of mythological creatures, Sam longs for a more exciting pet. But she soon realizes that taking care of these magical beasts might not be as wonderful as she thought. Sasquatches are messy, unicorns are shy, hippogriffs scare the dogs at the dog park, and having a fire extinguisher handy at all times makes dragons seem like an awful lot of work. In the end, Sam realizes that her hamster is a pretty sweet and safe pet . . . or is he? If I Had a Gryphon is a raucous rhyming read-aloud about fantastical beasts in everyday situations – and the increasingly beleaguered heroine who has to deal with them.
Teddy Bear of the Year By Vikki VanSickle Illustrated by Sydney Hanson 40 Pages | Ages 3-7 | Hardcover ISBN 9780735263925 | Tundra Books Ollie is a regular bear with a regular job. He listens to his girl’s stories about her days, he snuggles her to sleep and he is there waiting when she gets home from school. Just your typical teddy bear stuff. So when he is whisked away to the annual teddy bears’ picnic, he feels insignificant compared to the other bears who do daring and daunting things: sleepovers, hospital stays-even a night in the lost and found! Ollie feels even more small and unimportant but he soon learns that it’s not just the big things that matter, it’s the little things too.
For more sneak peeks, check out these behind the scenes shots
Tuesdays with Tundra is an ongoing series featuring our new releases. This title is now available in stores and online!
Your School Is the Best By Maggie Hutchings Illustrated by Felicita Sala 40 Pages | Ages 3-7 | Hardcover ISBN 9780735271647 | Tundra Books This picture book follows the story of an eager cockroach and his family who hitch a ride to school – with hilarious results. For fans of I Don’t Want to Be a Frog. Everyone’s favorite cockroach from Your Birthday Was the Best! is back, and this time he’s going to school . . . and bringing his whole family along for the ride! From show-and-tell to arts and crafts, this little stowaway can’t wait to try it all . . . and maybe become the new teachers’ pet! Charming, hilarious and just a tiny bit disgusting, this is a school tale with a twist.
We can’t wait to see you reading this title! If you share this book online, remember to use #ReadTundra in your hashtags so that we can re-post.
Tuesdays with Tundra is an ongoing series featuring our new releases. These titles are now available in stores and online!
New in Paperback:
Scaredy Squirrel Gets a Surprise By Melanie Watt 84 Pages | Ages 6-9 | Paperback ISBN 9781774883334 | Tundra Books In this second NUTTY ADVENTURE, Scaredy is in for a big surprise . . . and Scaredy does NOT like surprises. He is a squirrel who likes a schedule, predictability, nothing unexpected. So, what’s inside the mysterious crate? Turns out it’s a POOL! Scaredy imagines sharks, eels and algae! He prepares safety rules! Luckily his friends Ivy, Timber and newcomer Rash are happy to remind him of another important rule . . . having fun!
The Fabled Stables: Belly of the Beast By Jonathan Auxier Illustrated by Olga Demidova 96 Pages | Ages 6-9 | Paperback ISBN 9780735267800 | Puffin Canada On an island at the top of the world are the Fabled Stables, a one-of-a-kind place for one-of-a-kind creatures. Auggie is their caretaker, and it’s his job to strike out into the Wide World and save creatures from danger. This time, he and his friends are tasked with saving a new creature, the Shibboleth. They hop through the portal and find themselves in the evil Rooks’ lair! There, they meet a young girl named Veena and a monster . . . with a belly full of Rooks! It turns out, whenever anyone speaks to the Shibboleth, it gobbles them whole. Auggie puts on his gentlest voice to try to calm the beast, but he’s swallowed in one gulp. Soon, with some help from Veena and a magic book, Auggie discovers that the Shibboleth eats anyone who doesn’t call it by name. They save themselves and the creature with this simple act of kindness.
The Secret Diary of Mona Hasan By Salma Hussain 296 Pages | Ages 10-14 | Paperback ISBN 9780735271517 | Tundra Books Mona Hasan is a young Muslim girl growing up in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, when the first Gulf War breaks out in 1991. The war isn’t what she expects – “We didn’t even get any days off school! Just my luck!” – especially when the ground offensive is over so quickly and her family peels the masking tape off their windows. Her parents, however, fear there is no peace in the region, and it sparks a major change in their lives. Over the course of one year, Mona falls in love, speaks up to protect her younger sister, loses her best friend to the new girl at school, has summer adventures with her cousins in Pakistan, immigrates to Canada, and pursues her ambition to be a feminist and a poet.
We can’t wait to see you reading these titles! If you share these books online, remember to use #ReadTundra in your hashtags so that we can re-post.
Tuesdays with Tundra is an ongoing series featuring our new releases. This title is now available in stores and online!
Someone Is Always Watching By Kelley Armstrong 368 Pages | Ages 12+ | Hardcover ISBN 9780735270923 | Tundra Books Blythe and her friends – Gabrielle, and brother and sister Tucker and Tanya – have always been a tight friend group, attending a local high school and falling in and out of love with each other. But an act of violence has caused a rift between Blythe and Tucker . . . and unexpected bursts of aggression and disturbing nightmares have started to become more frequent in their lives. The strange happenings culminate in a shocking event at school: Gabrielle is found covered in blood in front of their deceased principal, with no memory of what happened. Cracks in their friendship, as well as in their own memories, start appearing, threatening to expose long-forgotten secrets which could change the group’s lives forever. How can Blythe and her friends trust each other when they can’t even trust their own memories?
Someone Is Always Watching and Funeral Songs for Dying Girls are also available today in Audiobook!
We can’t wait to see you reading this title! If you share this book online, remember to use #ReadTundra in your hashtags so that we can re-post.
