Blog

Category: Board Books

26 New Rep Picks For Fall 2019

by Kayi
Animals & Nature + Art & Photography + Biography & Memoir + Board Books + Fiction + Mysteries and Thrillers + Science Fiction and Fantasy + Food & Drink + Graphica + Health & Wellness + Kids + Picture Books + Psychology & Self-Help + Sports + YA Fiction / October 22, 2019

 

Cozy up—because our fall titles are here to keep you in your reading nooks through this rainy season. If you’re overwhelmed by all the exciting releases hitting shelves over the next few months, take a look at our sales reps' favourites curated just for our booksellers and readers.

 

Books for Adults
 

(1) Rebel Writers
by Celia Brayfield

“Shelagh Delaney, and then Edna O’Brien, Lynne Reid Banks, Virginia Ironside, Charlotte Bingham, Margaret Forster and Nell Dunn. Writers who depicted the lives of women with openness and honesty, challenging traditional concepts of womanhood in the writing that came before them, and leaving their mark on all writing that came after them. This is their story told for the first time.”
—Morgen Young

(2) Tuesday Mooney Talks to Ghosts
by Kate Racculia

“October always brings me a desire to read slightly spookier (but not scary!) books, but that’s only one of the reasons I’m so excited to read this one! I’m a massive fan of Racculia’s last book, Bellweather Rhapsody, and her new novel sounds like it’ll bring plenty of the same elements: a misanthropic protagonist, a group of misfits, spooky moments, and a delicious mystery. (Bonus: can you guess which rep is also a big Bellweather Rhapsody fan?)”
—Dani Farmer

(3) Ballerina Project
by Dane Shitagi

“I grew up doing ballet so I immediately fell in love with this beautiful book that profiles ballerinas from around the world. This gorgeous coffee table book is perfect for ballerinas and non-ballerinas alike.”
—Jessica Price

(4) Gather 
by David Robertson

“Gather ‘round! The follow-up to the bestselling Dirty Apron Cookbook is here! With a focus on family-oriented comfort food and inspired by a wide range of cuisines from all over the world, this cookbook is sure to have something for everyone.”
—Jenny Enriquez

(5) The Man That Got Away
by Lynne Truss

“A young man is found dead on Brighton Beach and Constable Twitten must find the murderer and convince his colleagues there’s an evil mastermind at hand. This is book #2 in the Constable Twitten Mystery series.”
—Laureen Cusack

(6) A Well-Behaved Woman
(new in trade paper)
by Therese Anne Fowler

“A Well-Behaved Woman is the story of Alva Vanderbilt, a fierce female power ahead of her time in the Gilded Age, New York. This was a ‘richly’ riveting read!”
—Laurie Martella

(7) Dog is Love 
by Clive D.L. Wynne, PhD

“Did you know your oxytocin levels spike when you and your dog look into each other’s eyes? (That’s the love hormone!) Using science and original research, canine behaviorist Clive Wynne explains ways we can better reciprocate their affection so they understand our love.”
—Evette Sintichakis

(8) The Girl Who Reads on the Metro
by Christine Feret-Fleury

“A delayed coming-of-age story after my own heart! Juliette dreams away her morning commute by making up stories about the strangers reading across from her on the metro. One day she stumbles into a used bookshop and finds herself taking on the job of bringing used books out into the world and using her imagination to match books with readers. And all this in a dreamy Parisian setting.”
—Laura MacDonald

(9) Ten Arguments for Deleting Your Social Media Accounts Right Now
(new in trade paper)
by Jaron Lanier

“I have always been a sceptic and this book confirms my doubts. Bottom line—social media platforms are commercial endeavours so must make a profit and therefore how much truth are you seeing and how secure can they be? The author, Jaron Lanier, believes social media to be an excellent form of global communication but it was set up too fast with no rules and all the power lies in the hands of the owners, NOT the users. Lanier’s message: get off these old platforms NOW and let the new, secure ones being created have room to bloom!”
—Karen Stacey

(10) Lost Connections
(new in trade paper)
by Johann Hari

“This book is a fascinating look at depression, and how we treat it as a society. Full of examples of how real people are dealing with their mental health, Hari had me examining the fabric of my own life. Lost Connections is thoroughly empathetic and readable.”
—Ali Hewitt

(11) The Ruin of Kings
(new in trade paper)
by Jenn Lyons

“In Ruin of Kings, we follow the adventures in a dual-timeline of the protagonist, Kihrin, through multiple perspectives as he tries to uncover the truth behind his parentage, heritage, and the threat against the world. Kihrin will have to uncover ancient secrets, fight demons, and find out what his friends, family, and acquaintances are hiding from him. In this high fantasy story filled with world building, Jenn Lyons begins a harrowing story of loss and the resilience required to survive in a world filled with lies.”
—Louis-Marc Simard

(12) Am I Overthinking This?
by Michelle Rial

“A hilarious and visual book that pokes fun at the mundane and seemingly enormous worries we all have.”
—Saffron Beckwith

(13) Conversations with RBG
by Jeffrey Rosen

“An inspiring and insightful look at the trailblazing life and career of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, one of only 4 women to ever be appointed to the Supreme Court of the United States.”
—Pavan Ranu
 

Books for Kids

 

(14) Most of the Better Natural Things in the World
by Dave Eggers, illustrated by Angel Chang

“Embark on an epic journey across a multitude of the world’s landscapes and solve the mystery of why a tiger is carrying a chair on her back in this gorgeously illustrated picture book by Dave Eggers and Angel Chang.”
—Jenny Enriquez

(15) Ordinary Mary's Positively Extraordinary Day
by Emily Pearson, illustrated by Fumi Kosaka

“This is a follow-up to a lovely book about the cumulative effects of kindness (that sold 7,000 copies in Canada!). With a message of how kindness can make a positive difference in people’s lives and charmingly diverse illustrations, this is a must-read for everyone!.”
—Ali Hewitt

(16) Dinosaur Yoga
by Mariam Gates, illustrated by Matthew Rivera

“This adorable picture book reminds us that anyone can do yoga, even dinosaurs!”
—Jessica Price

(17) The Sleeping Beauty
by Jennifer Adams, illustrated by Corey Egbert

“As an armchair ballet fan, do you know what’s even better than following ballerinas like Misty Copeland and Isabella Boylston on Instagram? Having a board book to share with the little people in my life that is beautifully illustrated as well as diverse. This book will look beautiful in any nursery (or on my own bookshelf!).”
—Dani Farmer

(18) This book just stole my cat!
by Richard Byrne

“When Ben’s cat disappears into the binding of the book, a search-and-rescue mission is set into motion. Hilariously funny with cute characters and bright, bold illustrations.”
—Laureen Cusack

(19) Happy Right Now
by Julie Berry, illustrated by Holly Hatam

“Happy Right Now is a delightfully colourful book, exploring a range of emotions, with the message of how to ‘be’ with those emotions.”
—Laurie Martella

(20) A to Z Menagerie
illustrated by Suzy Ultman

“A beautiful alphabet board book with die-cut letters and pull tabs, from the creator of the MASHA books. Think TouchThinkLearn, with Suzy Ultman’s style. Perfect for little hands.”
—Morgen Young

(21) Reading Beauty
by Deborah Underwood, illustrated by Meg Hunt

“I’m a total sucker for a fractured/retold/feminist fairy tale. Reading Beauty is about a young, black space heroine who creates her own happy ending through the power of reading. Also, there’s a puppy who fetches books, need I say more??”
—Laura MacDonald

(22) Trapeze
by Leigh Ansell

“This is a charming coming-of-age story about trapeze artist Corey who feels like a fish out of water when she is forced to stop traveling with the circus. She doesn’t know how to be a normal teenager because she grew up in the circus and never stayed in one place too long. Now she’s starting school and trying to fit in. Think Water for Elephants meets Rainbow Rowell.”
—Evette Sintichakis

(25) There Will Come a Darkness
by Katy Rose Pool

 “Full of epic world building and an amazing cast of characters, this book delivers! Pull back the curtain and find out if the world will be saved or led to the end of its days.”
—Pavan Ranu

(24) Santa’s Cookie Is Missing!
illustrated by Anne Passchier

“An adorable and delicious book... also please don’t eat this book ;)”
—Saffron Beckwith

(25) Ruby Finds a Worry
by Tom Percival

“Anxiety in children is rising at alarming rates! In this beautifully illustrated picture book, Tom Percival writes a powerful book about the place worries take in our lives. As worries stay inside our head, they grow and grow until it’s all we can think about! The only way to get the worry smaller is very accessible: we can talk about them with friends and family. Just as with his previous book Perfectly Norman, the author delivers an important book explaining mental health concepts to young children.”
—Louis-Marc Simard

(26) AstroNuts Mission One: The Plant Planet
by Jon Scieszka, illustrated by Steven Weinberg

“Here he is again—Jon Scieszka, the dynamic and original author that brought you Stinky Cheese Man, Three Little Pigs, and more. In AstroNuts, he has created a groundbreaking, very cool new series for the 8-12 crowd with full colour, gatefolds, and how-to pages, illustrated by Steven Weinberg. Think Hitchiker’s Guide to the Galaxy for kids! This will be the first of 3 titles by this dynamic duo in this new ‘out of the world’ series.”
—Karen Stacey

 

---

Last minute Father’s Day book ideas

by Danielle
Board Books + Food & Drink + Humour + Parenting / June 18, 2015

It's not too late!

Here's some great titles we think would be a great fit for your dad, or husband, or some great guy you know with children! All available at your local bookshop. List is a bit long but hey, what can we say? We have lots of books to offer!

---

Selective Learning and Goodbyes

by Brian
Board Books + Fiction + Graphica + Humour + Kids + Parenting + Picture Books + Vancouver / August 09, 2011

Sad news everyone — it's my last day at Raincoast (cue crying and wailing of Raincoast staff here) and I'm still having trouble coming to grips with having to leave all this behind. But mostly I'm having trouble leaving...

• My Star Wars themed desk
• Our warehouse full of books
• And getting to flip through all the awesome ARCs and Samples

Oh, and the people — they were great too.

Seeing as how this is my last day, I think it'll be a good idea to take a moment and reflect on all that I've learned here at Raincoast.

(I've also been watching a lot of late night talk shows)

The 10 Most Important Things I’ve Learned at Raincoast Books

#10 - You can put Zombies in anything

 

#9 - "Baby Rage” is real. And IS frightening.

#8 - Women really DO want to trade husbands for housekeepers

#7 – Taco in a Bag is delicious

#6 – "Moleskine" isn’t the same as “Vole Skin”

#5- Vegetables are the “New Meat”

     

#4- Hand puppets and books DO go hand-in-hand

#3- There’s no such thing as “too much Darcy.”

   

#2- It takes 1 determined intern, 2 weeks and 3 americanos a day to input sales data for 800 titles into an e-catalogue.

#1 Googling The Naked Roommate at work does not produce the best results.

*I had a great time and learned a lot this past year. Thanks for reading about all the quirky things that happen at Raincoast Books through the eyes of a 20-something and I hope you continue to read about all the awesome people here and their love for books.

Cheers,

Brian

---