Your First Day of Circus School – Page 2

March 16, 2020May 7, 2025

Virtual Story Times and Singalongs

Important information for teachers, librarians and booksellers: Penguin Random House Open License Online Story Time and Classroom Read-Aloud Videos and Live Events

If you’re a Tundra, Puffin Canada, or Penguin Teen Canada author or illustrator, and you want to get involved during this time, please reach out to your publicist (Evan or Sam).

In times of need, you can always depend on the KidLit community to band together and help out. Many authors and illustrators are doing live events on social media for kids to tune into from home! We will be compiling a list of our authors and illustrators who are pitching in with virtual events for families to enjoy:

Monday, March 16, 2020 – ongoing

Emily Arrow, the author of Studio, will be doing singalongs on her YouTube channel at 1:00 pm EST (10:00 am PST).
Tara Lazar, author of Your First Day of Circus School, will be doing daily Instagram live streams starting at 12:00 pm EST (9:00 am PST).

Monday, March 16, 2020

Esme Shapiro, the author-illustrator of Alma and the Beast, will be reading her picture book on Instagram Live at 5:00 pm EST (2:00 pm PST).

Wednesday, March 18, 2020

Vikki VanSickle, the author of Teddy Bear of the Year, will be reading her picture book on Tundra’s Facebook Live at 10:30 am EST (7:30 am PST).
Ben Clanton, the author-illustrator of the Narwhal and Jelly graphic novel series, will be doing Facebook Live author visits at 2:00 pm EST (11:00 am PST).

Thursday, March 19, 2020

Sharon Hampson and Randi Hampson, two of the authors of Sharon, Lois and Bram’s Skinnamarink, will be doing a singalong on Facebook Live at 3:00 pm EST (12:00 pm PST).
Esme Shapiro, the author-illustrator of Ooko and Alma and the Beast, will be reading her picture books on Shop Mercimilo‘s Instagram Live at 5:00 pm EST (2:00 pm PST).

Friday, March 20, 2020

Ben Clanton, the author-illustrator of the Narwhal and Jelly graphic novel series, will be doing Facebook Live author visits at 5:00 pm EST (2:00 pm PST).

Monday, March 23, 2020 – ongoing

Ben Clanton, the author of the Narwhal and Jelly series, will be doing Miximal Mondays on his Instagram live at 12:30 pm EST (9:30 am PST).
Susin Nielsen, the author of No Fixed Address, will be reading a chapter a day on her Twitter live at 1:00 pm EST (10:00 am PST).
David A. Robertson, the author of The Barren Grounds, will be reading a chapter a day on his Twitter live at 1:30 pm EST (10:30 am PST).

Tuesday, March 24, 2020

Elly MacKay, the author-illustrator of Red Sky at Night, will be reading her picture book and demonstrating a craft on Tundra’s Instagram Live at 2:00 pm EST (11:00 am PST).

Wednesday, March 25, 2020

Vikki VanSickle, the author of If I Had a Gryphon, will be reading her picture book on Tundra’s Facebook Live at 10:30 am EST (7:30 am PST).
Jeff Zentner, the author of The Serpent King, will be reading his novel on his Instagram Live at 8:00 pm EST (5:00 pm PST).

Thursday, March 26, 2020

Kallie George, the author of Goodnight, Anne, will be reading her picture book on Tundra’s Instagram Live at 2:00 pm EST (11:00 am PST).

Monday, March 30, 2020 – ongoing

Dan Bar-el, the author of Audrey (cow), will be reading a portion a day of his middle grade novel on his Facebook Live at 2:00 pm EST (11:00 am PST). Download the Character List to follow which of the thirty-three narrators are speaking!

Tuesday, March 31, 2020

Vikki VanSickle, the author of Teddy Bear of the Year, will be reading her picture book on Mastermind Toy’s Instagram Live at 10:00 am EST (7:00 am PST)
Kass Reich, the illustrator of Carson Crosses Canada, will be reading her picture book on her Instagram Live at 2:00 pm EST (11:00 am PST).
Sharon Hampson and Randi Hampson, authors of Sharon, Lois and Bram’s Skinnamarink, will be celebrating Sharon’s birthday on Facebook at 2:00 pm EST (11:00 am PST).
Sharon Hampson, one of the authors of Sharon, Lois and Bram’s Skinnamarink, will be reading her picture book on Bedtime Stories with‘s Facebook at 8:00 pm EST (5:00 pm PST).

Wednesday, April 1, 2020

Lorna Schultz Nicholson, author of Puckster’s New Hockey Teammate, will be reading her picture book on Hockey Canada’s Instagram Live at 11:30 am EST (8:30 am PST).

Friday, April 3, 2020

Sharon Hampson and Randi Hampson, authors of Sharon, Lois and Bram’s Skinnamarink, will be reading their picture book on Mastermind Toy’s Instagram Live at 10:00 am EST (7:00 am PST).

Tuesday, April 7, 2020

Print: A Bookstore will be reading Story Boat by Kyo Maclear and illustrated by Rashin Kheiriyeh on their Instagram Live at 10:00 am EST.
Sharon and Randi Hampson, authors of Sharon, Lois and Bram’s Skinnamarink, perform as part of the National Arts Centre’s #CanadaPerforms series at 11:00 am EST (8:00 am PST) on their Facebook Live.

Wednesday, April 8, 2020

Kevin Sylvester, the illustrator of Great, will be reading his picture book on Hockey Canada’s Instagram Live at 11:30 am EST (8:30 am PST).

Thursday, April 9, 2020

Kyo Maclear and Esme Shapiro, the creatures of Yak and Dove, will be reading their picture book on Esme Shapiro’s Instagram Live at 3:00 pm EST.

Saturday, April 11, 2020

Vikki VanSickle, the author of Teddy Bear of the Year, will be reading her picture book on Penguin Random House Canada’s Instagram Live at 10:00 am EST as part of their Shelf-Care Saturday.

Tuesday, April 14, 2020

We are hosting a Zoom lunch at 12:30 pm EST with Anna Humphrey and Kass Reich to celebrate the Megabat series. RSVP here to get the Zoom link!

Please refer to THIS PAGE for the most up-to-date event information.

Last updated on: Monday, April 13, 2020 at 10:27 am EST.

September 4, 2019May 7, 2025

Window Wednesday

#WindowWednesday: We are incredibly fortunate to have stores create window features of our books. We want to highlight their amazing work here on our blog for you to see (and perhaps you’ll discover a new local bookstore).

Book City
348 Danforth Ave, Toronto, ON M4K 1N8

BookCity-Ready4School (2) BookCity-Ready4School (1) BookCity-Ready4School (3)

August 1, 2019May 7, 2025

Get #Ready4School

Ready4School

Summer is coming to an end and it’s time to think about those new notebooks and take out the backpack again. Perhaps we can interest you in that new book smell? Here are four great titles to get back into the swing of things:

Alis the Aviator
By Danielle Metcalfe-Chenail
Illustrated by Kalpna Patel
ISBN 9781101919057 | Tundra Books
40 Pages | Ages 3-7 | Hardcover
Come along on an aviation journey with Alis! This spunky female guide will take you through an ABC of planes featuring gorgeous cut-paper art. An A to Z of planes past and present, this book has stunning cut-paper art and a cute-as-a-button guide named Alis. Named for Dr. Alis Kennedy, likely one of the first Indigenous women to obtain a commercial pilot licence in Canada, Alis will take you on an aviation tour from the Avro Arrow to the Zeppelin and everything in between. Meticulously researched and uniquely crafted, this is a one-of-a-kind book that will delight aviation fans big and little.

Count on Me
By Miguel Tanco
ISBN 9780735265752 | Tundra Books
48 Pages | Ages 3-7 | Hardcover
Everyone has a passion. For some, it’s music. For others, it’s art. For our heroine, it’s math. When she looks around the world, she sees math in all the beautiful things: the concentric circles a stone makes in a lake, the curve of a slide, the geometric shapes in the playground. Others don’t understand her passion, but she doesn’t mind. There are infinite ways to see the world. And through math is one of them. This book is a gorgeous ode to something vital but rarely celebrated. In the eyes of this little girl, math takes its place alongside painting, drawing and song as a way to ponder the beauty of the world.

Go Show the World
A Celebration of Indigenous Heroes
By Wab Kinew
Illustrated by Joe Morse
ISBN 9780735262928 | Tundra Books
40 Pages | Ages 5-9| Hardcover
Celebrating the stories of Indigenous people throughout time, Wab Kinew has created a powerful rap song, the lyrics of which are the basis for the text in this beautiful picture book, illustrated by the acclaimed Joe Morse. Including figures such as Crazy Horse, Net-no-kwa, former NASA astronaut John Herrington and Canadian NHL goalie Carey Price, Go Show the World showcases a diverse group of Indigenous people in the US and Canada, both the more well known and the not- so-widely recognized. Individually, their stories, though briefly touched on, are inspiring; collectively, they empower the reader with this message: “We are people who matter, yes, it’s true; now let’s show the world what people who matter can do.”

Your First Day of Circus School
By Tara Lazar
Illustrated by Melissa Crowton
ISBN 9780735263710 | Tundra Books
40 Pages | Ages 3-7 | Hardcover
Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls of all ages! It’s the most amazing day on earth: the first day of school! It can be a daunting prospect, but don’t worry – your big brother can show you the ropes. Join a nervous boy and his enthusiastic older brother as they navigate the highs and lows of a first day at school . . . except this school is a big top, and the teacher is named Miss Stupendous, and the cafeteria can be a zoo, literally! It turns out, school isn’t so scary when you can let off steam during recess (on a steam train) and walk on stilts to all of your classes. With a bit of help from family and some new friends, you’ll make it to the top of the class in no time! This charming take on school readiness will delight new school-goers and take a bit of the fear out of those first-day jitters.