Kids and Teen Blog
You’re Invited To The Launch Of I Want To Go To The Moon
by Crystal
Events + Kids + Picture Books / December 15, 2011
You're invited to to the launch of I Want To Go To The Moon by Tom Saunders, Illustrated by Cynthia Nugent.
Saturday, December 17th, 2011 from 2:00-4:00. Coast Capital Playhouse 1532 Johnston Road, White Rock, BC.
About The Book:
Although everyone told Neil Armstrong his dream of travelling to the moon was impossible, he never gave up. Tom Saunders' song tells the story of Neil's life, step-by-step, until he reaches that world-changing "small step" and "giant leap." In this book, the inspiring lyrics are brought to life by the illustrations of award-winning Cynthia Nugent.
Cover and Trailer Reveal for Embrace
by Crystal
YA Fiction / December 08, 2011
One of my favorite things about being a Children's Book Publicist is that I get to read YA Books long before they are available to the general public. One of the titles that I'm most excited about is Embrace by Jessica Shirvington. 17 year old Violet Eden has to decide if she is going to embrace the kick butt role of being a Grigori (fighter of exiled angels) that she was destined for from the moment of her mother's death when she was 2 years old, or continue her life as a regular teen. Think Buffy but with angels. Oh and their is a fantastic love triangle. I'm Team Lincoln, but our other resident YA reader is Team Phoenix (I think she likes the bad boys). Trust me, you have to read this book the second it hits stores in March.
But don't take my word for it, check out all of these fab reviews on GoodReads!
Today I have the lucky role of revealing the cover of Embrace to you! So without further ado... drumroll please.... Ta da!
What do you think? Does it make you want to read it? I love the whispy angel wings and would die for hair like hers.
And for even more behind the scenes content, here is the big reveal of the Behind The Scenes Cover Shoot Video!
Embrace Cover Shoot from Sourcebooks Inc on Vimeo.
Hope you enjoy fellow YA Book lovers! Don't forget to Like the Embrace The Series Facebook Page and sign up for Email Updates!
Kick off Christmas With Sara Gillingham and My Little Stocking
by Crystal
Board Books + Events + Kids + Vancouver / November 29, 2011
Get into the holiday spirit by joining us to celebrate the launch of darling new holiday puppet board book, My Little Stocking, by Sara Gillingham.
Sunday, December 4th from 4-5 at Dilly Dally Kids – 1161 Commercial Drive(at William) in Vancouver.
Sara Gillingham will give a presentation of the book and then help the little ones make a "My Little Ornament" take home keepsake.
For more information contact Dilly Dally Kids at 604-252-9727.
8 Year Old Sophie France Writes About Meeting Annie Barrows
by Crystal
Events + Guest Blogger + Kids + Vancouver / November 18, 2011
On November 1st I had the great pleasure of spending the day with author extraordinaire, Annie Barrows. Annie is the author of the hilarious Ivy and Bean Series.
Annie and I got into all kinds of mischief together, including riding a giant teacup at Chapters Robson and taking a well deserved break on the Raincoast boardroom table after signing a few hundred copies of Ivy and Bean No News Is Good News. (See photographic evidence.)
Annie is such a blast to hang out with. One of my favorite things about her is the way she interacts with the kids who come out to her events.
My good friend Hanna, who writes the blog The Famished Foodies, was at the event with her 8 year old daughter Sophie. I decided that instead of me telling you about my day with Annie it would be more interesting to hear about one of Annie's events through the eyes of a child. Sophie, an aspiring illustrator and writer was happy to oblige. Take it away Sophie!
Let's run! I was pulling along my mom to see Annie Barrows. It was a chilly night and it was already dark after our warm sushi dinner. We were forty minutes early and I got what I wanted. Front row seats!
Annie Barrows is a famous writer of my favourite books. She wrote all of the Ivy and Bean books and also The Magic Half. And she uses tons of juicy words. My teacher likes those juicy words. I love Ivy because she reads a lot and so do I. And I like Bean a lot because she's goofy. I am the goofiest! All of Annie Barrows' stories are funny, realistic and wonderful. One time, in What's the Big Idea?, Ivy and Bean made a million and seven science potions in their house. This got messy. This is something I do. (But I haven't done a million and seven.) Yet.
Sitting in the front row with my new hardcover, No News is Good News, I saw my friend, Emma, from school and invited her to squeeze in next
to me. I was really excited and I had to talk and talk and we laughed and laughed until it was time to listen. And then there was Annie Barrows. She read four chapters of this great new book and it was very funny. She was funny too! She even brought a cheeseball covered with red wax just like in the story.
After her reading, she answered questions like which book was the easiest and which was the hardest to write. By the way, the hardest book was Doomed to Dance and the easiest was Ivy and Bean, the first one. Then she signed books and wrote "Say cheeeeese!" in mine. See? She's funny.
At home that night I only read two chapters but I finished the book the next evening. I'm really excited to wait for the next book but while I wait, I'll be reading the series over again from the beginning. When I grow up I will definitely be an illustrator and now I think I may be a writer too!
By Sophie France Ahn, age 8! :-)
A special thanks to Kidsbooks for hosting two fabulous Ivy and Bean events, to Hanna Ahn (Zuzu Photography) for her beautiful photographs (last two in this post) and for having such a talented daughter, to Annie Barrows for another fabulous day together in Vancouver and to Sophie for her incredible blog post.
Fall’s Best Children’s Books According To Children at The Huffington Post
by Crystal
Kids / October 27, 2011
What would childrens publishing look like if it was kids who wrote Children's Book Reviews?
The Huffington Post put 4 girls and their mom to work and had them give the honest truth about what they liked (and didn't like) about a big pile of books. 4 of the 7 books that they reviewed were from our very own publisher Chronicle Books!
Click through on each picture to see what the girls and their mom thought of the books.
From left to right, top to bottom: Count Dagmar, Eye-Popping 3-D Bugs, The Conductor, Over and Under The Snow.
The Girl Who Never Made Mistakes wins Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Platinum Book Award
by Siobhan
October 26, 2011
Make no mistake about it... we are thrilled to announce that The Girl Who Never Made Mistakes has been awarded an Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Platinum Book Award!
Congratulations to authors Mark Pett and Gary Rubinstein, and the whole team at Sourcebooks. When the book was first presented to us, it was praised as an in-house favourite at Sourcebooks (possibly due in part to the protagonist's resemblance to a certain perfectionist Sourcebooks rep!), and it's great to be seeing the book being so well-loved now that it's out there in the world.
The Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Platinum Book Award is an independent consumer review of children's media founded by child development experts Joanne Oppenheim and her daughter Stephanie Oppenheim. Their Oppenheim Toy Portfolio awards have become a benchmark of excellence with consumers, toy makers, and the media. In order to receive an Oppenheim award, the book must be selected by a noted expert in child development, children's literature, and education, and further tested by the most objective panel of judges—kids.
The Platinum Award is given to the most innovative, engaging products of the year. This is the highest honor the Oppenheim Toy Portfolio awards!
For more information about the award and to see the full review of this book, visit the Oppenheim Toy Portfolio website.
Flying The Canadian Flyer
by Kendal (Owlkids)
October 24, 2011
When I was eight years old I’m pretty sure I wasn’t even allowed to go around the corner by myself, which is why I love our Canadian Flyer series — Emily and Matt, our two fourth-grade adventurers, have been to more provinces and territories (and gotten out of more jams) than anyone I know! Since 2007, when Beware, Pirates! first started flying off shelves, they’ve outrun dinosaurs in the Alberta Badlands, seen the Silver Dart soar high in Nova Scotia’s skies, drove a bumpy stagecoach from Montreal to Peterborough, and experienced other key moments in Canadian history firsthand (such is the magic of time travel)!
Owlkids is wrapping the series up this November with Halifax Explodes!, which finds Matt and Emily touching their magic sled down on Citadel Hill just as the city is rocked by a giant explosion. Nova Scotia is clearly a favourite province of theirs, as this will be their fourth visit in as many years! It will be sad not to have a new Canadian Flyer or two (or three) on our list next season, but luckily there are 17 books in total, which is plenty of material for even the most voracious of young readers.
These books have great curriculum links for grades two to four — everything from geography to language arts and social studies — so author (and former teacher) Frieda Wishinsky has helped us put together these great lesson plans for teachers. Hope you can use them in your classroom or library! Plus, don’t you love this map of Canada, which shows all the places Emily and Matt have gone on their adventures? Let your Raincoast rep know if you would like one.
Bon voyage!
Annie Barrows Returns to Kidsbooks
by Crystal
Events + Kids + Vancouver / October 21, 2011
Annie Barrows the author of the bestselling Ivy and Bean Series is returning to Vancouver for the North American Launch of Ivy And Bean No News Is Good News with Kidsbooks.
Two fabulous events to choose from.
In North Vancouver:
Tuesday November 1st at 4 pm at North Van District Library, Lynn Valley Branch, Community Meeting Room
1277 Lynn Valley Road, North Vancouver
For more information, call Kidsbooks in the Village at 604-986-6190In Vancouver:
Tuesday November 1st at 7 pm
West Point Grey United Church Sanctuary
4595 West 8th Avenue, Vancouver
For more information, call Kidsbooks at 604-738-5335
Don't delay! Call and reserve your tickets early in order to avoid disappointment.
13 New Halloween Books for Monsters of All Ages
by Siobhan
October 13, 2011
It's that time of year again: costumes are being sewn, pumpkins are being carved... The cold is starting to creep in, and we're all starting to crave some creepy, bonechilling tales. Here are a few new Halloween books for all ages, ranging from the cute to the creepy.
New Halloween Books for Young Monsters...
Little Owl Finger Puppet Book (Ages -3)
Count, Dagmar! by J.otto Seibold (All Ages)
Renowned artist J.otto Seibold (Olive the Other Reindeer) gives Halloween a delightfully wacky and sweet spin in this counting board book starring Dagmar, the beloved vegetarian vampire from Vunce Upon a Time. Lift the flaps and count from one to ten billion -- or at least from one to ten!
Ten Little Beasties by Ed Emberley and Rebecca Emberley (Ages 2-6)
If there's one thing beasties love to do, it's dance! When one little beastie is joined by two little, three little, and more little beasties, we count UP until there's a party on the page. But when one of the little beastie starts trouble, it's time to start counting DOWN.
Click here to listen to the "Ten Little Beasties" song!
When a Monster Is Born by Sean Taylor (Ages 3-6)
When a monster is born, there are two possibilities— either it’s a faraway-in-the-forests monster, or ... it’s an under-your-bed monster. If it’s a faraway-in-the-forests monster, that’s that. But if it’s an under-your-bed monster, all sorts of comical things can happen. Read it at bedtime and laugh your pajamas off ... or read it during the day and laugh your socks off!
Bone Dog by Eric Rohmann (Ages 4-8)
Ghost dogs and skeletons in a tall tale with a tender heart from the Caldecott Medal-winning creator of My Friend Rabbit. Sam doesn't feel like doing much after his dog ella dies. He doesn't really even feel like dressing up for Halloween. But when Sam runs into a bunch of rowdy skeletons, it's Ella -- his very own Bone Dog -- who comes to his aid, and together they put those skeletons in their place. A book about friendship, loss, and a delightfully spooky Halloween.
Monster Doodles for Kids by Chris Sabatino (Ages 6 and up)
Filled with prompts and illustrations to help inspire their inner Dr. Frankenstein, Monster Doodles for Kids lures boys and girls into this pocket-sized laboratory where they can create fiendish, snaggle-toothed monsters and eye-popping villains to their heart's desire.
Horrid Henry Wakes the Dead by Francesca Simon (Ages 7-10)
Henry will do anything to win the grand prize at this year's talent show...even wake the dead! Plus three other stories that will leave you screaming for more.
New Halloween Books for Tween Terrors...
The Orphan of Awkward Falls by Keith Graves (Ages 8-12)
"The worst is yet to come for a town built on secrets and sauerkraut..."
With a penchant for spooky details, surprising twists, and haunting illustrations, Keith Graves (best known for his picture books, Frank Was a Monster Who Wanted to Dance and Chicken Big) delivers a suspenseful and engaging first novel.
Chihuawolf: A Tail of Mystery and Horror by Charlee Ganny (Ages 9-12)
Paco, a smart, fashionably-dressed Chihuahua, lives in a snug and comfortable world as the pampered pet of ten-year-old Olivia. The problem is Natasha, the gorgeous Afghan hound he adores, thinks him too tiny to be taken seriously. Determined to change his outside to reflect the lion-hearted courage he possesses inside, Paco decides to do something drastic. He enlists the help of his animal friends to help him transform into the biggest, fiercest canine he can imagine: a Chihuawolf!
Wonkenstein: The Creature from My Closet by Obert Skye (Ages 9-12)
Click here to read the first chapter! (PDF)
Twelve-year-old underachiever Rob has better things to do than read. His parents give him lots of books but most of them just end up in the messy pile of junk he keeps locked in his closet that once doubled as a makeshift science laboratory. One day, Rob hears weird sounds coming from behind his closet door and discovers a funny little creature that seems to be a cross between two characters from books he's tried to ignore. He names him Wonkenstein...
Sally's Bones by MacKenzie Cadenhead (Ages 9-12)
Click here to read the first chapter!
Sally is a quirky character who loves Death Rock and faded blue jeans. She fits in better with the Addams Family than with a clique of catty sixth grade girls. After her mother's death, grief-stricken Sally begs for death... and death is exactly what she gets: a tail-wagging skeleton dog called Bones. A gift from beyond the grave, Bones is a dreadfully delicious girl's best friend. In this cleverly written, alliterative tale the neighbourhood's dog treats go missing and everyone blames Bones. Sally must solve the mystery to save her cadaverous canine from puppy prison.
New Halloween Books for More Grown-Up Ghouls...
The House of Dead Maids by Clare B. Dunkle (Ages 12 and up)
Young Tabby Aykroyd has been brought to the dusty mansion of Seldom House to be nursemaid to a foundling boy, but there are ghosts lurking the halls, and sleeping in her bed. Clare B. Dunkle, author of the acclaimed Hollow Kingdom trilogy writes this bone-chilling story as a prelude to Wuthering Heights.
Daybreak by Brian Ralph (Ages 16 and up)
Click here to read a excerpt from the graphic novel! (PDF)
Daybreak is seen through the eyes of a silent observer as he follows his protector and runs from the shadows of the imminent zombie threat. Brian Ralph slowly builds the tension of the zombies on the periphery, letting the threat-rather than the actual carnage-be the driving force. The post-apocalyptic backdrop features tangles of rocks, lumber, I beams, and overturned cars that are characters in and of themselves. Drawing inspiration from zombies, horror movies, television, and first-person shooter video games, Daybreak departs from zombie genre in both content and format, achieving a living-dead masterwork of literary proportions.
Intern Insights: Thanks for the Little Things
by Janet
Fiction + Vancouver + YA Fiction / October 11, 2011
Happy Tuesday! I hope everyone had a great long weekend. It was Canadian Thanksgiving and I definitely got my fill of stuffing and mashed potatoes (I'm a vegetarian so no turkey for me). I got to thinking about things I'm grateful for, this internship definitely being one of them, and it's always the small things that make a place great.
The Little Things:
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Office Supplies:
Who doesn't love office supplies? From the feel of a fresh new pen on a brand new Moleskine to colourful sticky notes and pink paperclips? I cleaned up my desk today with stackable trays and that definitely brings a smile to my face!
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Tea:
I'm not much of a coffee drinker but I can definitely finish off three cups or more of tea. Any kind: I love earl greys, greens, whites and blacks! A hot steaming cup, sometimes sweetened, sometimes with milk or cream - no matter how it's prepared it's always a warm and uplifting drink. Perfect for those rainy Vancouver days. (Crystal is tea lover as well!)
“You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me.” ~C.S. Lewis
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A good book:
One of the perks of being an intern at a book distributor is access to advanced copies! Tempest is a hot new young adult book from St. Martin's press and has already been slated for a movie by Summit Entertainment (Twilight). Julie Cross debuts with this fast and action packed time jumping novel. The narrator is a teenaged boy, rare in the world of YA books, but don't let that scare you, when this comes out (January 2012) I suggest you pick it up!
Romance and young love, secrets and government spies and time travelling! What more could you ask for in a good weekend book?
What are you thankful for? I’d love to hear in the comments or let me know by email.
I'll leave off with a lovely comic about reading (I think we can all relate):