What We Hide – Tundra Book Group

October 13, 2015October 20, 2015

Tuesdays with Tundra 51

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

Heartache and Other Natural Shocks
Written by Glenda Leznoff
Hardcover | 384 Pages | Ages 14+
ISBN: 978-1-77049-836-5
eBook: 978-1-77049-837-2
“She said, she said, with a dose of Shakespearean intrigue … a refreshing break from contemporary teen fiction.” – Kirkus Reviews

When Santa Was a Baby
Written by Linda Bailey
Illustrated by Geneviève Godbout
Hardcover | 32 Pages | Ages 3-7
ISBN: 978-1-77049-556-2
“Bailey and Godbout give Santa Claus a backstory in this sweetly funny account, warmly illustrated with soft, nostalgic pencil and pastel artwork…a clever take on the Santa myth that develops him as a character with his own thoughts and motivations…Godbout’s cozy artwork gives the book the feel of a classic while also offering some cheeky moments – as when a young Santa stands naked in front of an open fridge, trying to cool down.” – Starred Review, Publishers Weekly

Today Is the Day
Written by Eric Walters
Illustrated by Eugenie Fernandes
Hardcover | 32 Pages | Ages 6-9
ISBN: 978-1-77049-648-4
“A different sort of birthday celebration is at the bighearted center of this picture book…. Text and colorful art with expressive line combine to depict the orphanage as a place of care and safety for the children, who still have ties to family despite significant losses and difficulties…. Endnotes ground the story in its inspiration from a real orphanage in Kenya while also explaining to more privileged Western children how someone might not know his or her birthday. Both deeply important and purely joyful.” – Kirkus Reviews

Hockey Hero
Written by Zachary Hyman
Illustrated by Zachary Pullen
Hardcover | 40 Pages | Ages 6-9
ISBN: 978-1-77049-630-9
“…the story has an ingenuous wisdom. And Grandpa is just kooky enough—painting his face red and white for games and throwing octopuses onto the ice…. A fine look into hockey’s heart.” – Kirkus Reviews

What We Hide
Written by Marthe Jocelyn
Trade Paperback | 288 Pages | Ages 14+
ISBN: 978-1-77049-643-9
eBook: 978-1-77049-644-6
“Jocelyn provides authentic British flavor and an evocative representation of the tumultuous ’60s, when teens challenged social conventions. Intrigue builds as many figures, willingly or unwillingly, come face-to-face with what they are hiding and must decide whether to drop their deceptive facades.” – Publishers Weekly

Pub Date Giveaway: In the comments below, please tell us which new October 2015 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, October 19, 2015!

UPDATE: Congratulations to Jane, who won a copy of When Santa Was a Baby.

September 10, 2015September 10, 2015

Finalists for the 2015 Canadian Children’s Book Centre Awards

The Canadian Children’s Book Centre (CCBC) has announced the finalists for its major children’s book awards – the TD Canadian Children’s Literature Award, Prix TD de littérature canadienne pour l’enfance et la jeunesse, Marilyn Baillie Picture Book Award, Norma Fleck Award for Canadian Children’s Non-Fiction, Geoffrey Bilson Award for Historical Fiction for Young People, John Spray Mystery Award, the Monica Hughes Award for Science Fiction and Fantasy, and the Amy Mathers Teen Book Award.

The nominated books exemplify some of the best work by Canadian authors and illustrators. The following Tundra titles have been chosen:

MARILYN BAILLIE PICTURE BOOK AWARD

Hope Springs
Written by Eric Walters
Illustrated by Eugenie Fernandes
Hardcover | 32 Pages | Ages 6-9
ISBN: 978-1-77049-530-2
“Hope Springs is based on the real life struggles of a young boy living in drought-stricken rural Kenya… Walters deftly engages readers from the first line of the first page and Fernandes’s vibrant illustrations happily carry us along as the story unfolds. The result is a multi-layered tale that not only enlightens readers about the need for access to fresh water, but also conveys a meaningful message about compassion, kindness and sharing… Perhaps most importantly, the book offers inspiration to young readers about the power of one person, even a young child, to make a difference.”

Nancy Knows
Written by Cybèle Young
Hardcover | 40 Pages | Ages 3-7
ISBN: 978-1-77049-482-4
“A simple storyline, sparse text and ingenious illustrations come together beautifully in this delightful picture book… Readers follow Nancy, a charming little elephant, as she struggles to remember something very important. As readers ponder what that might be, they encounter on each page a new assortment of tiny treasures to explore, cleverly constructed paper sculptures that bring Nancy’s thoughts to life… This is a book to be read and enjoyed over and over again.”

JOHN SPRAY MYSTERY AWARD

The Voice inside My Head
Written by S.J. Laidlaw
Hardcover | 256 Pages | Ages 14+
ISBN: 978-1-77049-565-4
eBook: 978-1-77049-566-1
“A gripping portrayal of jealousy, mystery and the strength of family bonds… Losing a sibling is horrible. Not knowing how she died, or why, makes it even worse. Luke hears his sister Pat’s voice, urging him to catch her killer. Along the way, Luke finds out his sister was a bit of a mystery herself… The exotic setting of Utila, a small island off the coast of Honduras, drives this excellent, well-paced story… A gripping adventure story and a sensitive exploration of the power of family ties – The Voice inside My Head will satisfy readers who seek both thrills and insights.”

AMY MATHERS TEEN BOOK AWARD

What We Hide
Written by Marthe Jocelyn
Hardcover | 288 Pages | Ages 14+
ISBN: 978-1-77049-642-2
eBook: 978-1-77049-644-6
“Using a variety of narrative styles, Jocelyn gives us the opportunity to think deeply about the profound role of secrets in our lives – who has them, who keeps them, who does not, and why… Set in the 1970s and told from eight points of view, teenage boarding students’ secrets are revealed to create a layered and nuanced tale of prejudice, assumptions and lies… Letters, scripts and straight narration keep the pace of this character-driven novel moving forward in this thought-provoking meditation on the nature of truth and perspective.”

Thank you to the judges for their considerations and again, congratulations to our authors, illustrators, and our hardworking publishing team! The winners will be announced at the TD Canadian Children’s Literature Awards Gala in Toronto on November 18, 2015.

March 5, 2015March 5, 2015

CLA’s 2015 Young Adult Book Award Shortlist

The Canadian Library Association is pleased to announce the shortlist for the 2015 Young Adult Book Award. The award is generously sponsored by Library Services Centre and recognizes an author of an outstanding English-language Canadian work of fiction (novel, collection of short stories or graphic novel), published in 2014 that appeals to young adults. Tundra would like to congratulate S.J. Laidlaw and Marthe Jocelyn!

2015 Young Adult Book Award Shortlist

The Voice inside My Head
Written by S.J. Laidlaw
Hardcover | 256 Pages | Ages 14+
ISBN: 978-1-77049-565-4
eBook: 978-1-77049-566-1
“With so much choice available on the Young Adult market, it’s refreshing to come across an engaging, authentic, and compelling first-person protagonist—and a male one at that. S.J. Laidlaw lays out a crisp, enticing, and realistic fictional piece of work with a grippingly vivid, unexpected ending. The beauty of the story here is one of the unfaltering friendship that can be found in siblings … the believable dialogue and dialect shines in The Voice inside My Head. This is quite simply a page-turner, and one that will leave voices inside your head for days after. Add it to your summer reading list, Central American island optional.” – Children’s Book Review

What We Hide
Written by Marthe Jocelyn
Hardcover | 288 Pages | Ages 14+
ISBN: 978-1-77049-642-2
eBook: 978-1-77049-644-6
“Jocelyn moves from one character’s voice to the next, each with its own sharp perspective, style, and emergent self- (and often sexual) knowledge. Warm-hearted, clever, funny and moving, this keeps readers thinking all the way to its end. Immensely satisfying for its interwoven stories and fully realized characters.” – The Toronto Star

Congratulations to the other shortlisted authors!

The Art of Getting Stared At by Laura Langston
The Death of Us by Alice Kuipers
The Gospel Truth by Caroline Pignat
Moon at Nine by Deborah Ellis
Rabbit Ears by Maggie DeVries
This One Summer by Mariko and Jillian Tamaki
Twisted by Lisa Harrington
Unspeakable by Caroline Pignat

Thank you to the jury members for their dedication and hard work! The winner of the award, and the Honour Books, will be announced during the week of April 20th. The award will be presented during the CLA National Conference and Trade Show at the Shaw Centre, Ottawa on June 4th, 2015 at the Book Awards reception.

April 8, 2014April 15, 2014

Tuesdays with Tundra 37

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

The ACB with Honora Lee
Written by Kate De Goldi
Illustrated by Gregory O’Brien
Hardcover | 128 Pages | Ages 10+
ISBN: 978-1-77049-722-1
eBook: 978-1-77049-723-8
“De Goldi’s story of an only child’s determined efforts to know and love her grandmother deserves a place in the pantheon of quiet, word-of-mouth classics . . . Perry is funny and bewitching, and all of the other characters, even the walk-ons, are equally engaging. O’Brien’s curious diagram-illustrations pay appropriate tribute to Perry’s admiration for the unconventional.” – Starred Review, Publishers Weekly

The Bambino and Me
Written by Zachary Hyman
Read by Jason Alexander
Illustrated by Zachary Pullen
Hardcover | 48 Pages | Ages 6-9
ISBN: 978-1-77049-627-9
“The tale is entirely fictional, but it manages to capture the essence of that extraordinary time and the larger-than-life persona that was Babe Ruth. Hyman invests George’s voice with boyish enthusiasm and conversational language filled with contemporary syntax. Pullen’s oddly proportioned, compelling illustrations, rendered in oil paint and walnut oil, are in perfect tandem with the nostalgic spirit of the text and wonderfully depict every aspect of the characters’ emotions. . . . Lively, fun-filled and altogether delightful.” – Starred Review, Kirkus Reviews

What We Hide
Written by Marthe Jocelyn
Hardcover | 288 Pages | Ages 14+
ISBN: 978-1-77049-642-2
eBook: 978-1-77049-644-6
“The true heart of Jocelyn’s novel is the dangerous relationship between Robbie and Luke. . . . Their occasional encounters in the woods are some of the most explicit in the book, but also the most emotionally healthy. No one in What We Hide gets a storybook ending, just a slightly better understanding of his or her predicament. . . . Jocelyn shows an ease with the vagaries of the teenage mind and a willingness to depict some very uncomfortable situations without blinking. Yes, there is a lot of sex here, but Jocelyn writes about it with more brute honesty and maturity than you’ll find in many adult books.” – Quill & Quire

The World Outside
Written by Eva Wiseman
Hardcover | 240 Pages | Ages 12+
ISBN: 978-0-88776-981-8
eBook: 978-0-88776-982-5
Seventeen-year-old Chanie Altman lives the protected life of a Lubavitcher Hasidic girl in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, New York, in 1991. Religion is the most important aspect of her life, and, like other Lubavitcher girls, she is expected to attend a seminary and to marry as soon as she graduates from high school. But Chanie has a beautiful voice and dreams of becoming an opera singer – a profession forbidden to a Hasidic girl. When she meets David, a non-Hasidic Jewish boy, he opens the portals to the world outside her fundamentalist community. The Crown Heights riots break out, and the Lubavitchers are put under siege by their African-American neighbors. A tragedy occurs. Will Chanie stay in the fundamentalist community she has always known in a life that has been prescribed for her, or will she leave it behind to follow her dreams?

Going Up!
Elisha Otis’s Trip to the Top
Written by Monica Kulling
Illustrated by David Parkins
Trade Paperback | 32 Pages | Ages 5-8
ISBN: 978-1-77049-516-6
“Kulling engages readers with her narrative style and fast-paced storytelling. She keeps the story moving without leaving out important details. . . . Detailed pen, ink and watercolor illustrations depict history while also being kid-friendly. Parkins effectively captures the expressions on the faces of people throughout the book. . . . It is sure to captivate readers while teaching them something new.” – Nonfiction Detectives

Pub Date Giveaway: In the comments below, please tell us which new April 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, April 14, 2014! What We Hide by Marthe Jocelyn is only open to Canadian residents. The rest of the titles above are open to both Canada and the United States.

UPDATE: Congratulations to Mary-Esther, winner of The World Outside by Eva Wiseman.

February 18, 2014February 18, 2014

Reading for the Love of It 2014

Tundra Books will be exhibiting at Reading for the Love of It! Please visit us at booth #310 to learn about our new and upcoming books. And, we will be having author signings at our booth! With each author signing, we will be handing out complimentary copies of the title at a first come, first serve basis. So don’t forget! There’s a limited number of signed books to give away!

Marthe and Richard on Thursday, February 20, 2014 at 10:00 a.m.
Viminy Crowe’s Comic Book
Written by Marthe Jocelyn and Richard Scrimger
Illustrated by Claudia Dávila
Hardcover | 336 Pages | Ages 9-12
ISBN 978-1-77049-479-4
eBook 978-1-77049-480-0
When chubby, geeky Wylder Wallace spills lunch on cool and aloof Addy Crowe at Toronto’s Comicon, she dashes to the bathroom, leaving behind the latest issue of her uncle’s steampunk comic hit. Wylder, a fan of the Flynn comics, opens this new one eagerly, astounded to see the girl who was just yelling at him inside the comic. Fascinated, he follows Addy into the bathroom, and the adventure begins…

Marthe on Thursday, February 20, 2014 at 10:30 a.m.
What We Hide
Written by Marthe Jocelyn
Hardcover | 288 Pages | Ages 14+
ISBN 978-1-77049-642-2
eBook 978-1-77049-644-6
Jenny and her brother Tom are off to England. Tom to university to dodge the Vietnam draft, Jenny to be the new girl at Illington Hall, which the students call Ill Hall. This is Jenny’s chance to finally be special and stand out, so when she arrives she tells everybody a lie. But in the small world of Ill Hall, everyone has secrets. Jenny pretends she has a boyfriend. Robbie and Luke pretend they don’t. Brenda won’t tell what happened with the school doctor. Percy won’t tell about his famous dad. Oona lies to everyone. Penelope lies only to herself.

Natale on Friday, February 21, 2014 at 10:15 a.m.
Millhouse
Written by Natale Ghent
Hardcover | 192 Pages | Ages 7-10
ISBN 978-1-77049-639-2
eBook 978-1-77049-641-5
Fans of the I, Freddy series and Charlotte’s Web will be won over by this charming, delightfully told and illustrated story of a petshop misfit – a hairless guinea pig with a penchant for Shakespeare.

In addition, on Thursday, February 20, 2014 at 12:00 p.m., we will be handing out posters and audio books for The Bambino and Me. There’s so much happening! Some of our authors are hosting sessions:

Thursday 9:00-10:15: Margriet Ruurs, “My Librarian is a Camel” at the Kenora Room
Thursday 12:45-2:00: Kevin Sylvester, “Make ‘em Laugh and Make ‘em Learn” at the Chestnut E & W
Friday 9:00-10:15: Margriet Ruurs, “Amazing Animals” at the Kenora Room
Friday 12:45-2:00: Kevin Sylvester, “Make ‘em Laugh and Make ‘em Learn” at the Dominion South

Follow @eysreading, @TundraBooks, @nataleghent, @scissorhouse, @richardscrimger, @margrietruurs, and @kevinarts on twitter! You can also follow #RFTLOI for the latest news and updates!