November 26, 2014

Authors' Booking Service: Helping readers connect with youngCanLit authors and illustrators

Schools, libraries, book festivals and other literary functions that endeavour to enlist Canadian authors and illustrators are fortunate to have the Authors' Booking Service to help connect readers with those who produce our rich collection of youngCanLit. For those who have ever been interested in booking an author or illustrator, Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch and Valerie Sherrard, youngCanLit authors in their own right (write?), created this service in 2006, and share details about it here.




HK:  What is the Authors' Booking Service?

ABS:  Since 2006, Authors' Booking Service has been assisting educators and librarians with finding young adult and children's book creators who are qualified and willing to present at schools and libraries.

We currently represent more than 100 high-profile Canadian children’s authors and illustrators who produce fiction and non-fiction in all genres of work and for all ages. Our creators range from budding writers to multiple award winners. We represent six of the original Seven series authors, a poet-songwriter, an astronomer who brings his own planetarium to visits, an artist who donates an original sketch to schools she gives workshops for, and a singer-songwriter who can workshop how to craft your own school anthem. Our creators entertain, inspire, educate and, most of all, promote literacy and creativity, each in their own unique way.

In recent years, we have partnered with the OLA Forest of Reading program to help current nominees with their bookings. This is particularly important for out of province nominees, because without a critical mass of bookings, many could not afford the trip to their own award ceremonies.

We represent seasoned creators and brand new authors. The one thing that all of our creators have in common is that they love doing school and library presentations and they're good at it!

An impressive group of youngCanLit authors, including Janet Wilson, Rona Arato, Loris Lesynski and Marsha Skrypuch (just to name a few) met with teacher-librarians in Dufferin-Peel.

HK:  Why did you start this service?

ABS:  We saw the need for a booking service that would provide educators and librarians with up-to-date information on children's and young adult authors who were willing and qualified to do school and library presentations and writing workshops. From a creator’s point of view, there was a huge need for a service that could connect with educators and librarians in a systematic way to manage creator presentations and to ease communication challenges.

We recognized that many smaller schools and libraries could not afford an author visit. We know that staff is stretched to the limit, often managing more than one library or having other roles in addition to the library. They do not have time to co-ordinate an author visit with area schools and libraries in order to minimize the cost.

We also realized that many schools and libraries were not aware of funding programs available to offset some of the costs of an author presentation. As well, many authors did not know how to access funding programs.

We knew that crises happen. What if an author or illustrator is sick or has a family emergency and cannot visit at the appointed time? For the author, it would be near-impossible for them find their own replacement at the last minute. And it is a daunting prospect for a school or library to find a last-minute replacement.

Sometimes funding approval comes so close to the deadline that a school or library is left scrambling for an appropriate author or illustrator to come in before the money disappears. Similarly, sometimes an author is in a particular city or town, their travel has already been paid for, but they’ve only been booked for part of the day. They’re biding their time in a coffee shop, waiting until the train arrives when what they’d really like to be doing is one more presentation.

We also knew how difficult it was for authors and illustrators to manage their own bookings. It takes a LOT of time to write or illustrate a book and so figuring out a way to cluster school and library presentations in a way that doesn’t interfere with the creative process (and deadlines) was essential.


HK:  Who uses your services?

ABS:  Mostly children’s librarians, and school library staff, although we’ve also helped line up presenters for government functions, clubs and cultural groups. We focus on Ontario, but we’ve also satisfied requests from across Canada and even from the US.


HK:  What are the advantages to using the Authors' Booking Service?

ABS:  When you try to book an author on your own, you’re starting from scratch. You might have a particular author in mind, but you have no idea whether you can afford them or whether they’re available. You can email them and may never hear back – it could be because of board email filters or it could be because the email you have for the author is no longer valid. Whatever the reason, it is a frustrating exercise.

We keep track of our authors’ availability. We can inform you right up front about the author’s pricing, dates available and whether they’d be a good fit for your needs. We can also recommend alternatives. Every single ABS author has an author page which lists key information like presentation costs, travel fees, recent books and awards, presentation details and audience parameters.

We also send out a weekly email newsletter with news of interest, including availability details for our members’ upcoming tours. We can help you share an author with neighbouring schools in order to minimize costs. We can let you know when there are subsidies available.

If you have an urgent need – we can get things done quickly. For example, your scheduled author comes down with chicken pox two days before the visit. We can find you a replacement – and not just any replacement but a fab one. We’ve managed situations like a municipality wanting four energetic YA authors for a noon-time gig in a busy shopping mall, and oh, the event is on Friday.


HK:  Is there a charge for schools, libraries or other venues who want your help to book an author or illustrator?

ABS:  No. The service is free for schools and libraries. However, if you use our website as a resource, we ask that you book through us rather than emailing the author directly. This helps us track our bookings.

Middle-grade and YA author Sylvia McNicoll

HK:  What fee do authors/illustrators pay to use your service?

ABS:  For every presentation we book, our authors are charged a small flat fee, which goes towards maintaining the website, paying for our mailing list subscription and paper brochures. What’s left over is split between Valerie and myself.


HK:  What kinds of authors do you book through ABS?

ABS:  We’ve learned over the years what sorts of presenters are most in demand. Just writing or illustrating a great book is not enough, they must also be able to wow an audience.

We make a point of filling niches, so our presenters have specialty topics that fit in with
the curriculum. We also have speakers who can talk about the Franklin Expedition, hockey, the War of 1812, swimming across Lake Ontario and running a 100 mile marathon. Many of our authors have overcome great personal challenges and they can inspire your students to do the same.

Picture book author Lisa Dalrymple
The bulk of our authors (http://www.authorsbooking.com/wp/presenter-index/) live in Ontario and are usually available throughout the school year.

We also represent out of province authors who come to Ontario once or twice a year and need a clustering of bookings to make the trip viable.

And we provide special representation for those authors and illustrators who are current nominees for the Ontario Library Association's Forest of Reading (check out the website for current nominees).


HK:  Are there any authors that you do not work with e.g., those who live in the US?

ABS:  In order to keep our numbers manageable and still meet the needs of those using our service, it is necessary for us to be somewhat selective. We tend not to represent authors who are brand new unless they’ve garnered a significant number of awards or nominations. We have represented authors who live in the US when they’ve been shortlisted for the Forest of Reading Awards.


HK:  How do you recommend someone get in touch with you to use your services?

ABS:  Email us at abs@authorsbooking.com or visit our website at www.authorsbooking.com  We would love to hear from you!

You can also subscribe to our newsletter. Email us and ask to be added, or simply enter your email address on the subscribe button that’s in the top left portion of every ABS author’s page.


Read what those who've used the Authors' Booking Service say about its service:
David Carroll came to St. George's Junior School this morning and enthralled the students (gr. 3-5) with his Ultra marathon stories. He has great messages to share with the students through his stories...ie "we all have super powers" and "nothing is impossible". David kept the audience engaged with his slides, music, reading, story telling and chatting with the kids. Very personable, fun and easy going. Highly recommended! - Juli Belliveau
I saw the "Your Turn" section and had to thank you for recommending Sigmund Brouwer to us here in Sault Ste. Marie Ontario in June 2014. What a fantastic author! He shared his high energy, enthusiastic, informative and inspirational Rock and Roll Literacy Event with 6 of our schools in June then returned to visit 9 more in November. Being able to have this author has impacted our students' enthusiasm for reading, writing and improving library interest. I whole heartedly recommend inviting Sigmund Brouwer to any school, any time and be ready to have your world Rocked! - Roberta Chiarello, System Teacher-Librarian, Huron-Superior Catholic District School Board
About Marsha Skrypuch: "The feedback I have received from our students has been awesome. Everyone LOVED your presentations and are so inspired to read, and read more of your books. Bombs for Hitler copies were all gone by 8:40 a.m! There were so many inspired and motivated students." - Marla Cook
I am so grateful for Authors Booking Service. You have made the process of arranging author and illustrator visits so straightforward. The authors that we have hosted this year have been phenomenal! - Andrea Wesson
Thank you for helping me arrange Rebecca Bender's visit to our school. It was a smashing success! - Tom Holmes
Quotes from authors:
"I love the way ABS connects me with teachers, librarians and readers, without whom I'm not sure what I'd be doing." - Allan Stratton, author of Curse of the Dream Witch
Living on Prince Edward Island is a dream come true but Authors’ Booking Service makes it possible to come home again."Sharon E. McKay, author of War Brothers and Charlie Wilcox
"Authors' Booking Service has been ideal for both promotion of my services and to smooth out the booking process: it allows a one-stop shopping for bookings, thus facilitating what to me is the less thrilling part of my work as an author. Marsha and Valerie are energizer bunnies in this regard, and have done great work in promoting school visits, and authors, and literacy, and thus all the good things that happen as result." - Bill Swan, Red Maple award-winning author of Real Justice: Fourteen and Sentenced to Death: The Steven Truscott Story
Picture book author/illustrator Mireille Messier
"Thanks to ABS I’ve been able to reach out and present my French picture books to immersion schools students that I would otherwise never have had a chance to meet."Mireille Messier, author of Fatima et les voleurs de clĂ©mentines
"I love the way you guys tell a school that I am a 'wise choice' as a presenter. No one in my whole life has called me wise. It makes me feel grown-up and Gandalf-y -- neither of which is my natural state." - Richard Scrimger, author of Ink Me and Zomboy
"Not only do this powerhouse duo walk on water, but they patiently lead their authors to that water. What did we do without them?”Teresa Toten, author of Governor General award-winning The Unlikely Hero of Room 13B



Please note: CanLit for LittleCanadians has received no remuneration for promoting the Authors' Booking Service.  As always, I promote youngCanLit, and its authors and illustrators, because I love it.  Without promotion, we could sadly lose the wealth of youngCanLit gracing our bookshelves.

November 22, 2014

Jellybean Mouse

by Philip Roy
Illustrated by Andrea Torrey Balsara
Ronsdale Press
978-1-55380-344-7
32 pp.
Ages 4-8
September, 2014

I fell in love with Happy the Pocket Mouse when he first appeared in Philip Roy's Mouse Tales (Ronsdale, 2014) and I continue to delight in the tender-hearted relationship between this quirky-whiskered and curious mouse and his housemate, John.

In Jellybean Mouse, Happy is seriously bored but the only exciting adventure on their agenda that day is a trip to the laundromat to wash clothes i.e., not very exciting at all. Happy goes along with John but sees the potential for excitement all along the way: at the bowling alley, the skating rink, and the grocery store.  But, of course, John keeps them on course, regardless of Happy's relentless queries.

Ah, but the laundromat offers a wonderful new option: a jellybean machine.  And though Happy must deal with a few obstacles, his determination is interminable.  He's a curious child who asks, wonders, listens, and ponders, and looks for a way to get what he wants without being selfish or breaking the rules.  Happy's innocence and positive attitude provide him with the hope to find something good in just about anything, and Philip Roy's words share that unpretentiousness superbly.  Honestly, Happy is that precious.

Jellybean Mouse is the simple story of a guardian and his ward, albeit a man and a mouse, and the pure, uncomplicated life they lead, finding joy in the simple pleasures.  Philip Roy gives John and Happy the perfect compassionate relationship to which most of us could only aspire.  And Andrea Torrey Balsara continues to provide the only illustrations that could epitomize John and Happy: the calm, steadfastness of John and the thoughtful, inquisitive Happy.  I don't know whether it's her palette of colours (Happy has a lovely mauve hue to his fur) or the straggly nature of her lines, as in Happy's whiskers, or the softness of John's eyewear and Happy's roundish belly and massive, interested eyes.  All I know is that, courtesy of Philip Roy and Andrea Torrey Balsara, Happy is now as firmly entrenched in my heart as he wanted to be in that jellybean machine.

November 20, 2014

A Brush Full of Colour: The World of Ted Harrison - Book Event (Victoria)

Join co-authors

Margriet Ruurs and Katherine Gibson

for a presentation and book-signing of 

their incredibly beautiful biography

A Brush Full of Colour: The World of Ted Harrison
by Margriet Ruurs and Katherine Gibson
An Ann Featherstone Book
Pajama Press
978-1-927485-63-7
40 pp.
All ages
September, 2014


on
Monday, December 1, 2014

7:30-9:30 p.m.
(Doors open at 7:00 p.m.)

at

Saanich Centennial Branch
Greater Victoria Public Library
3110 Tillicum Road
(by Pearkes Arena)


Tickets
$5 and $4 for students

Available at School House
2014 Douglas Street
or
at the door
(Purchasing tickets in advance is recommended to ensure seating)


I expect that this will be a very special event and I encourage anyone who loves beautiful books, artwork, Canadian landscapes, biographies, children's books and so much more to attend.

November 18, 2014

The Fabulous World of Mr. Fred

by Lili Chartrand
Illustrated by Gabrielle Grimard
Fitzhenry & Whiteside
978-1-55455-346-4
32 pp.
Ages 5+
September 2014

The award-winning Monde fabuleux de Monsieur Fred (Dominique et Compagnie, 2012) has finally been translated into English, introducing new readers to the beautifully illustrated story of friendship, imagination and stories.

Pierrot is a daydreamer, a young boy who loves stories and using his imagination.  Coming across an older man sitting on a park bench and reading an invisible book, the boy introduces himself and joins the man, Mr. Fred.  Instead of treating the man as crazy, Pierrot encourages Mr. Fred to share the stories in his book.  Invited back, Pierrot enjoys Mr. Fred's magical stories, delighting in their mesmeric quality and the joy the story-teller derives.  Finally Mr. Fred feels comfortable to disclose his own story, revealing a tragedy that leads him to meeting Pierrot.  And, though Pierrot tries to excite other children about Mr. Fred and his book, they laugh at him.  That is, all but one little girl, Lila.  Sadly Lila never meets Mr. Fred.  But his friendship and stories become the catalyst for Pierrot and Lila's friendship and future.

Lili Chartrand's lovely story about the healing nature of friendship and the gift of imagination is enhanced with Gabrielle Grimard's expressive illustrations. Her use of watercolours gives the images an ethereal fluidity, though the intense gouache and definition with pencil help ground the story in bright reality.  The Fabulous World of Mr. Fred easily melds intensity and lightness of text and pictures to share a story of similar depth and tenderness.

The Sweetest Thing You Can Sing

by C. K. Kelly Martin
Dancing Cat Books
978-1-770864115
256 pp.
Ages 13+
September, 2014

The Sweetest Thing You Can Sing, as a title, suggests the lightness of song and joy. But those moments are few and far between in the actual story. That's because The Sweetest Thing You Can Sing is a story of secrets, confusion, anger, and grief, with only a few bars of a sweet song that may be heard in the background, leaving you hoping the song will make its way to the forefront and be sung loud and clear and passionately.

When Serena LeBlanc's older brother, Devin, trades a life of Mensa brilliance at university for drugs and life on the street, she could never have foreseen the impact it would have on her and her family.  Having endured Devin's plunge into drugs, theft and erratic behaviour, culminating with his disappearance, Serena's parents seem to have disassociated themselves from any life without Devin.  Mom is constantly on eBay purchasing new Swarovski figurines and Dad just seems to go through the motions of life. Her eldest brother Morgan, a celebrity VJ at MuchMusic, lives with his partner Jimmy in Toronto, but still tries to offer the support they all need to remain an intact family.  Serena, not yet sixteen, loses almost thirty pounds and begins dating Jacob Westermark, leaving behind her old friendships, and enjoying a new popularity.

But recognizing an incident at a party as an attempt at sexual exploitation, Serena swears off Jacob and guys in general, finding new friends in girls Nicole and Genevieve who have been humiliated by their boyfriends too.  Bonding with the girls over their disappointment in boys provides Serena some refuge from her parents' detachment, as does a part-time job as a cashier at Total Drug Mart.  But two events change everything for Serena.

A young man who regularly drops into Total Drug Mart begins to show an interest in Serena.  But Serena is torn between being loyal to her friends and their boyfriend-less status and becoming involved with a really nice guy, Gage Cochrane.  Worse still, Serena doesn't know how to be herself around Gage.  She still sees herself as the chubby girl who would need to throw herself at a guy to keep him interested.  Gage, on the other hand, seems fairly well-adjusted and is not impressed with Serena's sexual antics.

Then, while attending one of Jimmy's art shows in Toronto, Serena spots Devin on the street.  But when he flees from her, catching a streetcar, Serena is left with more questions about who her brother has become and whether he wants to come home ever.

It's painful to read Serena's attempts to understand and find her brother, especially as she examines her relationship with him and how she sees herself.
...I can see with absolute clarity how the tangled mess of my former blubber, personal insecurities, and stupid need for some kind of male appraisal have shaped me into a person I don't want to be. (pg. 114) 
As she did in My Beating Teenage Heart, Yesterday and Tomorrow, C. K. Kelly Martin expertly weaves a story based on the typical confusion of the teen years but with an atypical, devastating situation that impacts that confusion all the more.  In The Sweetest Thing You Can Sing, she imbues the story with a grittiness and harshness about young relationships, especially in the shadow of social media exploitation, and a young man's severance from his family, and creates a series of scenarios you hope you'll never have to experience.  You won't necessarily like Serena (or at least I didn't, at the beginning) but you'll understand how she has become the person she has.  Her life is messy but it's not until she takes some responsibility for that mess and faces that she can't force things to turn out the way she wants that life begins to feel better.  She can't make Devin come home.  She can't make her parents change.  She can't make Gage act like she thinks he should.  Serena cannot make her life all sweet and lovely but she can control herself and her choices and that makes things all the sweeter.  C. K. Kelly Martin gets that very right and, without making Serena's life a Broadway musical, she allows her to find a song that is sure to become sweeter. 

November 17, 2014

Kissing Frogs: Book Launch (Toronto)

Join 


and 

debut author 

Alisha Sevigny 

for the launch 

of her young adult book

Kissing Frogs

978-1-927746-66-0
231 pp.
Ages 12+



on
Sunday, November 23, 2014

7 - 9 p.m.

at

College Street Bar
574 College Street
Toronto, ON

Alisha Sevigny will be reading from Kissing Frogs
and signing copies of her book which will be available for purchase (cash only).

Jon Klassen: Author/Illustrator Event (Toronto)

Jon Klassen,
author and illustrator of


award-winning picture books

I Want My Hat Back 

This is Not My Hat

and 

illustrator of

Sam and Dave Dig a Hole

will give a short presentation about his work as well as sign his books

on

Tuesday, November 18th, 2014 

5pm – 7pm 

at

Little Island Comics 
742 Bathurst Street
Toronto, ON

November 11, 2014

Kissing Frogs: Interview with author Alisha Sevigny











Yesterday, I reviewed Kissing Frogs, a new YA novel by Alisha Sevigny and today the author has kindly agreed to answer a few questions about her book and her writing for CanLit for LittleCanadians. Thanks to Colleen McKie at Fierce Ink Press for arranging for this author extra.
Author Alisha Sevigny

  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~  


HK:  There is a strong environmental theme to Kissing Frogs.  Would you consider this the most important message you wanted to convey when you were writing the book or was it just one of several you wanted to focus on?

AS:  When I started writing the book this was definitely the main message I wanted to convey. However, as the story and characters evolved it was interesting to see different layers emerge. Themes of self-acceptance and self-definition came up, as well as being open to different people, places and experiences. The book even addresses bullying, which was never an intention but sometimes your characters get ideas of their own!


HK:  So, let’s talk about frogs.  Do you have a background in biology or zoology, or did your interest in these little guys come from another experience?  And, why frogs?

AS:  I don’t have an extensive background in biology but have always enjoyed it and been interested in animal conservation. The reason why frogs figure so prominently in the books is that I wrote it while traveling through Panama, where I learned about what’s happening with frogs there and all over the world. And the scary truth is they’re rapidly going extinct, mainly in part to a fungus called Chytrid. Panama’s national symbol, the golden frog, is one of the species that is believed to now exist only in these mini-arks that house some of the last survivors of their kind.


HK:  Kissing Frogs speaks a lot about self-acceptance, with Jess not sure how she prefers to be seen: as a brainiac or as uber-popular.  Which of these two were you most like in high school and would you have preferred to be otherwise?

AS:  I definitely leaned more towards the scholastic side of things, though I did love drama and acting in the school plays. I was a bit of a mish-mash I suppose; it’s hard to see your younger self objectively! I don’t think I would’ve preferred to be anything other than what I was because all those experiences made me who I am today.


HK:  This is your debut book.  Did you foresee it coming together easily or with difficulty, and how would you describe the actual experience of writing a book from conception to conclusion, through edits and finally publication?

AS:  The original story idea hit me as soon as I arrived in Panama, but it was definitely a process. I wrote the book in about 5 months and then there was a lot of going back and forth with edits with my agent and her intern at the time. And then more edits. And then more. Then we submitted it and ended up getting a deal with the US publisher, Swoon Romance, first, then the Canadian publisher, Fierce Ink Press. And then there were more edits. And then some more. Did I mention there were edits?


HK:  One of my favourite questions to ask authors is the following: Would you rather produce one book of extraordinary importance that becomes a classic but one to which all your writing is forever compared, or would you prefer to author many different books for different audiences and which could not be compared to each other?

AS:  Oooh, that’s a tough one. Maybe the second? I feel like there would be so much pressure with the first one. And I do have lots of ideas bubbling in me for different books and genres!


HK:  What other writing projects do you currently have in the works, and do you see yourself sticking with YA writing?

AS:  I definitely have ideas for other projects (and a couple unfinished manuscripts ;) that lean more towards the new adult/women’s commercial side of things but for now I’m focusing on YA; I love the genre and writing for kids and teens. Getting them involved in reading has always been a passion of mine. I was the BIGGEST bookworm when I was younger. My mom used to get so annoyed with me for reading ALL the time that she’d hide my books. No lie.

  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~  

Many thanks to Alisha Sevigny 
for answering my questions and 
allowing us to post them here for everyone's reading pleasure. 
CanLit for LittleCanadians wishes her all the best 
with the publication of her debut novel.

November 10, 2014

Kissing Frogs: Blog Tour

by Alisha Sevigny
Fierce Ink Press
978-1-927746-66-0
231 pp.
Ages 12+
For release November 18, 2014

According to a myriad of fairy tales, you have to kiss a lot of frogs before you find your prince, though Kissing Frogs protagonist Jessica seems to be convinced she's already met him in gorgeous Miles. Sadly it explains why she's failing Grade 12 biology, having missed a lot of those classes to spend time with him. Guess it was worth it to claw her "way up out of Geeksville and into the realm of the Socially Acceptable" (pg. 20) Except now she has to give up on a trip to South Beach with Miles and her other uber-popular friends, and instead join her biology teacher, Mr. A., and the conservation group on a trip to Panama to help some endangered frogs and complete a make-up research project.

It's evident to her trip mates that Jess would rather be elsewhere and, as they had needed to fundraise to take part in this amazing learning opportunity, there's some animosity towards her as a last-minute addition, especially from two snarky girls, Chrissy and Kiki. Moreover, she's surprised (shocked?) to learn that a former middle-school friend, Travis Henley, who'd teased her relentlessly, calling her Messy Jessie or Princess, is also on the trip, though he'd known her as the brainiac she was before she'd reinvented herself.  Other kids rounding out the group are a quiet girl Harp; Juan, a short funny guy who is friends with Travis; and Steven a.k.a. Shaggy.

While Jess vacillates between her new popular self (and desperately tries to connect with Miles and her friends) and the smart girl who'd dreamed of going to Berkley (and desperately wants the others to know she's neither mean nor an idiot), she draws the attention of Enrique, the very handsome son of the villas' owners, while Travis insists on taking her on non-dates to prove he's not the same annoying guy she'd known.

Photo by Brian Gratwicke. Retrieved from
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Atelopus_zeteki1.jpg
The emphasis for the school group may be the conservation of those species whose very existence is endangered, if not already extirpated, but Jess herself recognizes that the potential loss of her true self is not dissimilar to the plight of the golden frog.  She is willing to give up on university in favour of her new friends and popularity, not unlike the choices Panama has made in favour of growth and westernization: on the surface, very attractive, but the repercussions may be unpredictable, disastrous, and permanent.  Should she maintain her status as the popular girl, who has a gorgeous boyfriend and friends and doesn't care about university, or rejuvenate her smart self, who works hard and shows compassion and understanding for others, frogs and humans alike? Strangely, her mother prefers the former while her academician father would prefer her to be true to herself.
"You should just make sure that the people you give up your dreams for are worth it," he said finally, looking back at the computer screen. "We shouldn't have to compromise who we are for others." (pg. 71)
Alisha Sevigny has written a light and breezy YA novel whose only angst is that which the teens experience as they try to navigate through the treacherous dating roads of not knowing how to act around those they may be interested in.  Getting a first boyfriend or girlfriend, or perhaps the first one that really matters, is scary, especially if you're not sure who you are yourself.  Jess may have reinvented herself but it's clear that, without her supporting cast, the role doesn't quite fit her.  Alisha Sevigny certainly gets that right, demonstrating that it's easier to just be yourself.  So you trip a little bit and skin your knees here and there.  In the end, you're able to pick yourself up and know which way the role is taking you without becoming a farce or a tragedy. At the trip's onset, Jess' attitude indicated that she thought she was going to be stuck with a bunch of unattractive frogs in Panama, leaving her true prince, Miles, behind.  Thankfully, with sufficient time and a fresh perspective, it's amazing how cute those frogs can turn out to be.  Spoiler alert: happy ending!

  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~  

Check back tomorrow for my interview with Kissing Frogs author Alisha Sevigny.

November 09, 2014

Wallace Edwards: Book Launch, and Art Exhibition and Sale (Toronto)

Join author and artist
Wallace Edwards 

for the book launch and signings 
of his newest picture book

Unnatural Selections

Written and illustrated by Wallace Edwards
Orca Book Publishers
9781459805552 
32 pp.
Ages 4+
October 2014

on


December 6, 2014
from 2 - 4 p.m.

at



49 Avenue Road
Toronto, ON


Unnatural Selections is described on Orca's website as follows:
A fantastical collection of unnatural selections!
Beloved illustrator Wallace Edwards invites us into the world of Professor I.B. Doodling, a traveling artist who takes suggestions from schoolchildren in order to create fantastical hybrid animals. The result of these visits is Unnatural Selections, a collection of magnificent beasts, from the stately Whalephant to the talented Lizabouboon. Sure to inspire the imagination, Wallace Edwards’s intricate illustrations invite you to pore over them again and again. A supplementary index lists additional creatures to spot throughout the book’s pages, encouraging readers to go back for a second, and a third, look.
Retrieved from http://www.orcabook.com/productdetails.cfm?PC=2014 on November 8, 2014.


Plus

there will be an 

 Art Exhibition 
and Sale of Original Artwork
by Wallace Edwards


from

December 6 -16, 2014
Images retrieved from 
http://www.ingramgallery.com/artists/wallace_edwards/index.html on November 8, 2014.

November 08, 2014

The Great War: A World War I booklist



This year we commemorate the 100th anniversary of the beginning of World War I.  Though hardly an event worthy of celebration, World War I marked the true coming of age of the twentieth century, with strife experienced on a global scale.  Lest we forget, this selection of youngCanLit will cover many historical and fictionalized accounts of events during the Great War. If the title does not suggest the nature of the book's connection to the war, a brief description is provided.


Picture Books
A Bear in War
by Stephanie Innes and Harry Endrulat
Illustrated by Brian Deines
Key Porter Books
40 pp.
Ages 5-12
2009
(Reprint by Pajama Press, 2012)
True story of a stuffed bear that a young girl gives her father when he goes to fight overseas.

A Brave Soldier
by Nicolas Debon
Groundwood Books
32 pp.
Ages 8+
2002
A young man's enthusiastic enlistment turns to disillusionment with the horrors of war.

Bunny the Brave War Horse
by Elizabeth MacLeod
Illustrated by Marie Lafrance
Kids Can Press
32 pp.
Ages 7-9
October, 2014

Forget-Me-Not
by Maxine Trottier
Illustrated by Nancy Keating
Tuckamore Books
32 pp.
Ages 7-12
2002
A soldier returns from war and secludes himself on an island, only revealing himself slowly to a young girl who brings him food.

Proud as a Peacock, Brave as a Lion
by Jane Barclay
Illustrated by Renné Benoit
Tundra
24 pp.
Ages 4-8
2009
A grandfather recounts his experiences in war as he and his grandson prepare to attend a Remembrance Day service.



 

Fiction
And in the Morning
by John Wilson
Key Porter Books
200 pp.
Ages 12+
2010
When his father enlists in 1914, a teen envies him the glory. But consequences of that experience and his own enlistment change the young man's perspective of war.
Brothers Far From Home: The World War I Diary of Eliza Bates, Uxbridge, Ontario 1916 (Dear Canada)
by Jean Little
Scholastic Canada
224 pp.
Ages 9-12
2003

Charlie Wilcox
by Sharon E. McKay
Stoddart Kids
240 pp.
Ages 11-15
2000
Story of a 14-year-old boy who accidentally boards a ship taking Newfoundland soldiers to the front, and finds himself an under-age medic in France.

Charlie Wilcox's Great War
by Sharon E. McKay
Penguin Canada
268 pp.
Ages 11-15
2003
Sequel to Charlie Wilcox, in which Charlie returns home to Newfoundland and must deal with the secrets he keeps and the tragedies they have all endured.

Dance of the Banished
by Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch
Pajama Press
288 pp.
Ages 12+
August, 2014
The story of two Alevi Kurdish teens torn apart by World War I.

Daughter of War
by Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch
Fitzhenry & Whiteside
210 pp.
Ages 12+
2008
Armenian genocide in Turkey during World War I.

Days of Terror
by Barbara Smucker
Puffin Canada
256 pp.
Ages 9-13
2008
A Mennonite family leaves the horrors of life in Russia in 1917 and heads for a new life in North America.
Fire in the Sky: World War I, Paul Townend, Over No Man's Land, 1916 (I Am Canada)
by David Ward
Scholastic Canada
224 pp.
Ages 8-12
2013
A young man's experiences as a fighter pilot.
Flying Geese
by Barbara Haworth-Attard
HarperTrophy Canada
256 pp.
Ages 8-12
2002
A family moves from the farm to the city of London, Ontario and deals with the difficulties of having a son and brother overseas.

Halifax Explodes! (Canadian Flyer Adventures #17)
by Frieda Wishinsky
Illustrated by Patricia Ann Lewis-MacDougall
Maple Tree Press
96 pp.
Ages 7-10
2011


Irish Chain
by Barbara Haworth-Attard
HarperCollins
213 pp.
Ages 10-13
2002
A girl and her family experience the devastating effects of the Halifax explosion.

A Kind of Courage
by Colleen Heffernan
Orca Book Publishers
160 pp.
Ages 12+
2005
Effects of a young man's enlistment in 1916 on his family back home on the farm.
Lord of the Nutcracker Men
by Iain Lawrence
Delacorte Press
240 pp.
Ages 11+
2001
When his father enlists to fight in France, a boy recognizes how different war is from his play with toy soldiers.

Murder on the Ridge
by Ted Stenhouse
Kids Can Press
240 pp.
Ages 10-14
2006
An anonymous letter in 1952 suggests to a widow that her Blackfoot husband was murdered, not a casualty at Vimy Ridge as reported.



Nettie's Journey
by Adele Dueck
Coteau Books
216 pp.
Ages 9-13
2005
A Mennonite grandmother shares her life in Ukraine through World War I, the Russian Revolution and escape to Canada.

No Man's Land
by Kevin Major
Anchor Canada
264 pp.
Ages 12+
2001
Describes the men of the Newfoundland Regiment at the Battle of the Somme in 1916.

No Safe Harbour: The Halifax Explosion Diary of Charlotte Blackburn, Halifax, Nova Scotia, 1917 (Dear Canada)
by Julie Lawson
Scholastic Canada
249 pp.
Ages 9-12
2006

Penelope: Terror in the Harbour (Our Canadian Girl Series)
by Sharon E.  McKay
Penguin Canada
88 pp.
Ages 8-11
2001
The Halifax explosion.

Prisoners in the Promised Land: The Ukrainian Internment Diary of Anya Soloniuk (Dear Canada)
by Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch
Scholastic Canada
243 pp.
Ages 11-14
2007

Rilla of Ingleside
by L.M. Montgomery
Ages 8-13
1921
New editions of this Canadian classic (including Tundra's 2014 edition at 384 pp., pictured here) tell of life on the home front in PEI for Rilla, Anne Shirley's youngest daughter.

Sabotage
by Karen Autio
Sono Nis Press
293 pp.
Ages 10+
2013
Spies, sabotage, internment and life on the home front in Port Arthur, Ontario.


Shot at Dawn: World War I, Allan McBride, France, 1917 (I am Canada)
by John Wilson
Scholastic Canada
201 pp.
Ages 13-17
2011
Horrific life in the trenches turns a shell-shocked soldier to desert.

Soldier Doll
by Jennifer Gold
Second Story Press
978-1-927583-29-6
256 pp.
Ages 13-18
March 2014
Travels of a doll originally created for a soldier during WWI.






Non-Fiction
At Vimy Ridge: Canada’s Greatest World War I Victory
by Hugh Brewster
Scholastic Canada
48 pp.
Ages 9+
2006

Desperate Glory: The Story of WWI (Stories of Canada)
by John Wilson
Napoleon
96 pp.
Ages 11-13
2008

From Vimy to Victory: Canada’s Fight to the Finish in World War I
by Hugh Brewster
Scholastic Canada
48 pp.
Ages 9-12
September, 2014

The Great War (Discovering Canada)
by Robert Livesey
Illustrated by A.G. Smith
Fitzhenry & Whiteside
90 pp.
Ages 9+
2006

Hold the Oxo! A Teenage Soldier Writes Home
by Marion Fargey Brooker
Dundurn
141 pp.
Ages 12+
2011


In Flanders Fields: The Story of the Poem by John McCrae
by Linda Granfield
Illustrated by Janet Wilson
Lester Publishing
32 pp.
Ages 9+
1995

In Flanders Fields: The Story of the Poem by John McCrae
by Linda Granfield
Illustrated by Janet Wilson
Fitzhenry & Whiteside
32 pp.
Ages 9+
October, 2014
New edition with new cover and additional text.

Lone Hawk: The Story of Air Ace Billy Bishop
by John Lang
Puffin Canada
97 pp.
Ages 13+
2011
Graphic novel biography.

Passchendaele: Canada’s Triumph and Tragedy on the Fields of Flanders
by Norman Leach
Coteau Books
48 pp.
Ages 14+
2008

A Poppy is to Remember
by Heather Patterson
Illustrated by Ron Lightburn
North Winds Press/Scholastic
32 pp.
Ages 5-8
2004

Remembering John McCrae: Soldier, Doctor, Poet
by Linda Granfield
Scholastic Canada
38 pp.
Ages 8-12
2009

Silent in an Evil Time: The Brave War of Edith Cavell
by Jack Batten
Tundra
135 pp.
Ages 10+
2007
Edith Cavell was a nurse who helped smuggle British soldiers back to England from German-occupied Belgium.

The Unknown Soldier
by Linda Granfield
Scholastic Canada
38 pp.
Ages 8+
2008

The War to End All Wars: The Story of World War I
by Jack Batten
Tundra Books
154 pp.
Ages 13+
2009

Where Poppies Grow: A World War I Companion
by Linda Granfield
Fitzhenry & Whiteside
48 pp.
Ages 8+
2005





Film
The Danger Tree
Directed by John McGreevy
Produced by Janice Tufford and Marilyn A. Belec
National Film Board of Canada
50 min.
Ages 15+
1997
History of the Goodyear family of Newfoundland, including the trials of sending sons off to war.

Far From Home: Canada and the Great War
Three part series
Morningstar Entertainment
300 min.
Ages 16+
2004
A three-part series covering Minister of Militia Sam Hughes, the Battle of Vimy Ridge and Canada's role during the last 100 days of WWI.