Tag: We Are All Made of Molecules

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Finalists for the 2015 Governor General’s Literary Awards

Each year, the Canada Council for the Arts honours the best books in Canadian literature with the Governor General’s Literary Awards. This year, we have four finalists in Children’s Literature, two in text and two in illustrations. Huge congratulations to our authors and illustrators!

Children’s Literature – Text

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
“Animal Farm meets The Great Escape…. The result is purely delightful, as are Tatjana Mai-Wyss’s appropriately vintage-looking spot illustrations. The short first-person passages help move the story along, ending with a comedy-of-errors that culminates in Audrey happily living out her days at an animal sanctuary. Bar-el manages to gently and thoughtfully introduce kids to the concept of the abattoir while also underscoring that a farm’s very purpose is producing food. At its heart, Audrey (cow) encourages kids to think even as it entertains – the mark of wonderful children’s literature.” – Starred Review, Quill & Quire

We Are All Made of MoleculesWe Are All Made of Molecules
Written by Susin Nielsen
Hardcover | 256 Pages | Ages 12 and up
ISBN: 978-1-77049-779-5
eBook: 978-1-77049-781-8
“Drama, humour, poignancy, and suspense are rarely found in such perfect proportions as in Governor General’s Literary Award–winner Susin Nielsen’s new novel about a teen odd couple forced together in a blended family situation…We Are All Made of Molecules is chockablock with timely and weighty issues, yet it feels feather-light thanks in large part to some truly funny writing. Teens will be so busy turning pages they won’t even realize they’re thinking. This is stellar, top-notch stuff.” – Starred Review, Quill & Quire

Congratulations to the other finalists in this category: Darren Groth for Are You Seeing Me?, Caroline Pignat for The Gospel Truth, and Emil Sher for Young Man with Camera.

Children’s Literature – Illustrated Books

The Good Little BookThe Good Little Book
Written by Kyo Maclear
Illustrated by Marion Arbona
Hardcover | 40 Pages | Ages 5-9
ISBN: 978-1-77049-451-0
“Maclear steers clear of ‘reading is good for you’ and focuses instead on a boy’s affection for a dearly loved object and sorrow at its loss. But with the affection is something more subtle, a celebration of the comfort of rereading, of having a favourite book that’s the only book for you. And Arbona’s art works well at aiding and abetting that play of imagination and feeling. Cockeyed perspectives, vivid colours and comic, surreal scenes show how dynamic, how animated, the love for a favourite story can be. Funny and thoughtful.” – The Toronto Star

Bug in a VacuumBug in a Vacuum
Written by Mélanie Watt
Hardcover | 96 Pages | Ages 5-9
ISBN: 978-1-77049-645-3
“In a story heady and intellectually ambitious enough for a jaded adult, yet suited to a child’s down-to-earth appetites, a wide-eyed fly gets vacuumed up. Trapped, it goes through the five stages of grief … each first depicted by Watt as a funny retro product like bug spray…. There’s a journey, yes, into the light, but it’s a happy ending that may just prompt sheer joy at the simple fact of being alive.” – The New York Times

Congratulations to the other finalists in this category: Andy Jones and Darka Erdelji for Jack, the King of Ashes, JonArno Lawson and Sydney Smith for Sidewalk Flowers, and John Martz for A Cat Named Tim and Other Stories.

Go online to discover the year’s best books and their authors, illustrators and translators, on the new interactive GG website. Follow the conversation on Twitter through @CanadaCouncil and by using the hashtag #GGbooks. Like the GGs on Facebook for all the latest updates.

The winners of the 2015 Governor General Literary Awards will be announced on Wednesday, October 28 at 6:30 am.

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Tuesdays with Tundra 48

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

This Is SadieThis Is Sadie
Written by Sara O’Leary
Illustrated by Julie Morstad
Hardcover | 32 Pages | Ages 3-7
ISBN: 978-1-77049-532-6
“This award-winning duo beautifully convey the magic that is to be found in reading or listening to a story…. With its leisurely pace and verdant illustrations, this book is a delight for bedtime as well as an excellent story time choice…. A wonderful purchase for all collections.” — STARRED REVIEW, School Library Journal

“Sara O’Leary and Julie Morstad … celebrate the joy of creativity and the beautiful chaos of imaginative play … [they] invite kids to see beyond what’s presented on the page – to see past the box, the tree, and their own physical limitations and join Sadie on her adventures…. With something new to discover upon each encounter, This Is Sadie is sure to become a favourite bedtime read.” — STARRED REVIEW, Quill & Quire

We Are All Made of MoleculesWe Are All Made of Molecules
Written by Susin Nielsen
Hardcover | 256 Pages | Ages 12+
ISBN: 978-1-77049-779-5
eBook: 978-1-77049-781-8
“The psychodrama is narrated by the two kids in alternating chapters, leavened with constant, wry humor that should keep readers chuckling even as the story grapples with serious emotional issues. Stewart comes across as absolutely adorable. He knows he’s a complete geek with imperfect social skills. His disarming honesty about his intelligence and especially about his weaknesses holds the entire book together, allowing readers to take self-absorbed Ashley with a grain of salt as she goes through what her mother terms the ‘demon seed’ stage. This savvy, insightful take on the modern family makes for nearly nonstop laughs.” – STARRED REVIEW, Kirkus Reviews

Pub Date Giveaway: In the comments below, please tell us which new May 2015 release of Tundra’s you would love to read and one lucky reader will receive their requested book (Canada only for We Are All Made of Molecules)! One request per person and please review our rules. This giveaway ends at midnight on Monday, May 18, 2015!

UPDATE: Congratulations to Nicole, winner of We Are All Made of Molecules.

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Authors for Indies Day

authorsforindiesCanadian Authors for Indies Day is happening on Saturday, May 2, 2015, and several of our authors are popping into independent bookstores across the country!

British Columbia:

Edie's Ensembles  We Are All Made of Molecules If You Happen to Have a Dinosaur

Newfoundland:

The Swallow

Nova Scotia:

Frankenstink

Ontario:

Julia Child  Nancy Knows  Millhouse  Best Friends through Eternity Audrey-cow For Those About to Write  The Pocket Mommy

For a full list of participating authors and bookstores, please check out the Authors for Indies website.

AuthorsForIndies-Globe-Apr25-v4

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Pink Shirt Day

Stand up against bullying! Today is Pink Shirt Day, a day when we wear pink to show that we are all working together as a community to prevent bullying in all forms.

Not only are we wearing pink and spreading the word, we’re also hosting a giveaway! And what better author to talk about bullying than our very own Susin Nielsen? Her upcoming book, We Are All Made of Molecules, deals with themes of bullying and the power of having someone stand up for another person.

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Two lucky winners will receive: one We Are All Made of Molecules T-shirt, one signed ARC of We Are All Made of Molecules, one signed paperback of Dear George Clooney, Please Marry My Mom, one signed paperback of The Reluctant Journal of Henry K. Larsen, and one signed paperback of Word Nerd.

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Ooo, comfy T-shirt! (Person not included in giveaway.)

Pink Shirt Day was started by two Nova Scotia students in 2007 when a younger boy was bullied for wearing pink. You can read a full account of the story here.

Fill out the entry below to enter our giveaway! One entry per person and please make sure you review our rules. This giveaway is open to residents of Canada only (sorry, US fans!) and ends on Wednesday March 4, 2015. We Are All Made of Molecules will be released on May 12, 2015, so this is your chance for an early read!

Entry form closed!

Update: Congratulations Karen and Sharon, we hope you enjoy your signed books! Thanks to everyone who participated! #PinkItForward

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An Intern and a Super Conference

Hello everyone!

It’s Sam the intern and for once, I’m not trying to get you to sign up for my Reading Club (but you should probably check it out anyway!). I’m here to share my experience at the OLA Super Conference.

In my six months working in publishing, I’ve only been to one other conference; all I did was sit quietly behind a table for a few hours while people milled around, glancing at our table but rarely stopping to chat. So I didn’t know what to expect when I stepped into the Metro Toronto Convention Centre last Thursday.

It was a lot more fun than sitting behind a table, let me tell you.

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For one thing, there were so many people! Librarians and library assistants and library sciences students and other people who, I guess, work at libraries in some way.

Hundreds of companies were represented in the hall, and there were tons of author signings. We had five of our own authors signing over two days but, since we shared the booth with the rest of Penguin Random House, there was always a line for someone!

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We had Frank Viva (Outstanding in the Rain), Charis Cotter (The Swallow: A Ghost Story), Eric Walters (Hope Springs), Susin Nielsen (We Are All Made of Molecules), and Sylvia McNicoll (Best Friends Through Eternity).

I loved the way our booth looked, the brightly coloured picture books made it look super cheerful. And we had DWARFS and disgusting critters decorated all around.

I didn’t really get a chance to wander around the rest of the hall because I was documenting everything on our instagram, though I did pick up a poster and some cute temporary tattoos for me – ahem, I mean for my nieces.

But I got to talk to our authors, which was very exciting! Eric Walters is taller than I expected, which sounds like an odd thing to say, but he can be a little intimidating at 9 am when you haven’t had your tea yet.

I also asked Susin Nielsen to sign my copy of Word Nerd; I recently started reading her books, and I’m completely addicted to them now! If you haven’t read anything by her yet, please do yourself a favour and check her out.

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Word Nerd is about a Scrabble player, so Susin used the letters in my name to come up with smaller words. It was pretty impressive how fast she did it (I know it’s a short name, but still!).

Before I knew it, it was time to pack all our books away so that they could be sent to our next destination: Reading for the Love of it, which happens February 9-10. I’ll be popping in to support our authors, Eric Walters, Richard Scrimger, Margriet Ruurs, and Rina Singh and I can’t wait to find out what goes on over there!