Playdate Surprise: Book launch (Kelowna, BC)

 

Karen Autio 

author of picture books, middle grade novels and non-fiction, including

I Can, Too!

 
is launching her newest picture book

 

 Playdate Surprise

 

Written by Karen Autio

Illustrated by Laura Watson

Scholastic Canada

978-1-443199810

24 pp.
Ages 3-7

September 2024

 

(also in French) 

Une surprise merveilleuse

978-1-443199841

 

on 

 

Sunday, September 22, 2024 

 

at

Once Upon a Bookstore
2795 Tutt Street
Kelowna, BC

 

at

 

 1 PM and 3 PM (local times)

(The 3 PM reading will be simultaneously interpreted in ASL)

Cost: $10 /two people (children under 2 attend free)

includes an autographed book (or store credit) and a sticker sheet 

Use this QR Code to purchase a ticket for either the 1 PM or 3 PM event

There will be storytime, a kids' craft and cake with author Karen Autio!

The Outsmarters

Written by Deborah Ellis

Groundwood Books

978-1-77306-857-2

248 pp.

Ages 9-13

August 2024

 

We refuse to outmean them and we can never outspend them. We have to outsmart them. (pg. 14) 

When you live in a small town and everyone knows your business, you have to be smart or even smarter to get through. Twelve-year-old Kate has to be very smart because her life is so convoluted, and she doesn't even know the half of it. She lives with her Gran after Kate's mom Alyssa abandoned her for her latest boyfriend and her addiction, but Gran is as curmudgeonly as they come. For a woman who runs The Junk Yard, a junk business that carries everything from toys to books, hardware and kitchen stuff, Gran is hardly a people person, and she passes on the hard lessons on life and business that she's learned to Kate. So, to make some money, Kate decides to set up a Philosophy Booth in an old shack on the property and charge "seekers" $2 to get answers to life's questions. Using a roulette wheel and cards with quotes from 32 philosophers from Buddha to Ovid, Kate starts making and saving her money so that she can help Mom leave her latest boyfriend, if she ever gets back in touch.

 

Through her six-week suspension from Grade 6 and into the summer, Kate reads a variety of people, from the crusty Ms. Prawn, their neighbour, who is always complaining about them and their cat Bargain, to junk yard customers Mrs. Doris Blight and Mrs. Jean Rutherford, and a teen Landon who needs advice about getting "them" off his back. Her advice always seems pertinent, and some seekers take it to heart. Without knowing it, Kate is opening up her world to new people and even friends, whom she's going to need when she learns some truths about her mother, Gran, and others.

That's the trouble with thinking. One you get started, it's damn hard to stop. (pg. 73) 

Deborah Ellis has always tackled challenging issues in her writing, whether it be non-fiction or fiction and even short story collections. Her most recent books (e.g., Sit, Step, and My Story Starts Here: Voices of Young Offenders) look at everything from detention and abuse, to conflict and poverty. Similarly, some of her most popular books, including The Breadwinner series and Three Wishes: Palestinian and Israeli Children Speak, started important dialogues on children's lives in Afghanistan and the Middle East. While an Ontario location may seem more familiar to many North American readers, the story within is just as gripping as those in unusual settings because of the issues with which Kate a.k.a. Krate (you'll need to read the story to find out why) grapples. From abandonment by a mother with a drug addiction to bullying at school and a reluctance to connect with others as learned from those seemingly broken by life, Kate has been challenged. But, while Deborah Ellis never sugar coats life's challenges, she shows readers through Kate and Gran and Kate's seekers and new friends that there are opportunities to amend choices and open their once-closed worlds a little.

There are a lot of crusty characters in Deborah Ellis' The Outsmarters–of which Kate and Gran are but two–but when you've spent much of your life hurt and scarred by others and their actions or you're worried that someone is trying to take advantage of you or intends harm, that crust becomes a shield. But a shield is a defense and outsmarting someone is an offensive move, getting them before they get you. It's sad to think that outsmarting someone or putting up a shield are the go-to moves for someone as young as Kate but, be sure assured, that her experiences take her to where she can walk with others, accepting help and being an ally as needed.

I Want to Read All the Books: Book launch (Toronto, ON)

 Debbie Ridpath Ohi

author and illustrator

 

is launching her new picture book!

 

I Want to Read All the Books

Written and illustrated by Debbie Ridpath Ohi

Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

978-1481416306

48 pp.

Ages 4-8

September 17 2024

 

 

 

Book launch will take place on

 

Tuesday, September 24, 2024

 

at 7 PM 

(doors open at 6:30 PM)

 

at

 

TYPE Junction

2887 Dundas Street West

Toronto, ON

The Case of the Disappearing Castle (A Gumboot Kids Nature Mystery)

by Eric Hogan and Tara Hungerford 

Firefly Books

978-0-228104711

32 pp.

Ages 3-8

September 2024

 

As there were two Gumboot Kids Nature Mystery books released this month,  I won't repeat myself about the virtues of the series in teaching young children science concepts in a playful and mindful manner, as I did in yesterday's review of The Case of the Noisy Neighbor. But I would still like to share the story of The Case of the Disappearing Castle so that teachers and parents might consider the value of its scope.

From The Case of the Disappearing Castle by Eric Hogan and Tara Hungerford

This time, Daisy is building a sandcastle on the ocean's beach when Scout comes along. When they return from taking a walk, Daisy's beautiful sandcastle is gone. It's a new mystery for the nature sleuths and they take to Daisy's field notes to solve it. Daisy had, of course, made note of the sand and the ocean and even the moon that was visible during the day. With their clues and a trip to the knowledged-filled library, the two learn about tides.

From The Case of the Disappearing Castle by Eric Hogan and Tara Hungerford

Told with accuracy and simplicity, the two friends realize that the castle was swept away by the ocean tides. And with a mindful moment or two, Daisy and Scout take the time to breathe and appreciate the waves and the sounds of the ocean.

From The Case of the Disappearing Castle by Eric Hogan and Tara Hungerford

In addition to learning about tides and gravity, children will learn to make a sand clay handprint as their Nature Craft. As a support for early STEM learning, the Gumboot Kids Nature Mystery series does its job well but I am most impressed with the stories' focus on children being mindful in natural settings. Daisy and Scout always take a moment to breathe and relax as they contemplate what they've observed. With this multifaceted focus on science and self-awareness and relaxation, The Case of the Disappearing Castle reveals more than it disappears.

From The Case of the Disappearing Castle by Eric Hogan and Tara Hungerford

The Case of the Noisy Neighbor (A Gumboot Kids Nature Mystery)

by Eric Hogan and Tara Hungerford (Gumboot Kids Media)

Firefly Books
978-0-228104735
32 pp.
Ages 3-8
September 2024

 

It's spring in Dandelion Town when Scout hears a knocking at his house. But when he opens the door, there's no one there. When it repeats and still no caller, Scout is perplexed. He sees Daisy outside and when she tells him she heard something similar in the forest, the two friends know they have a new nature mystery on hand. And what do you do when you have a mystery? You investigate!

From The Case of the Noisy Neighbor by Eric Hogan and Tara Hungerford

Using Daisy's field notes to help them organize the evidence, the two friends head into the forest and look at additional clues of a tree trunk and a hole in a trunk before they spot a bird emerging and banging away. A trip to the library helps them identify the bird as a woodpecker.

From The Case of the Noisy Neighbor by Eric Hogan and Tara Hungerford

Though a simple story of figuring out who is making all the noise, The Case of the Noisy Neighbor is a far more important story about being mindful of one's surroundings by listening and seeing. Daisy and Scout are always present while they enjoy time together in nature and because of that they appreciate all the elements of the natural world to which they are exposed. While it is extraordinary that the woodpecker they see is a Pileated Woodpecker–one which many people will never see as it is far less common than Downy or Hairy Woodpeckers–it is striking in its appearance and the volume of its pecking is certainly noteworthy. The observations that Daisy makes in her field notes, which always append the Gumboots Kids' story, reveal much to feed inquiry in STEM education. And if that's not enough educational value, authors Eric Hogan and Tara Hungerford, the creators of the Gumboot Kids series, also provide a fun nature craft for very young children that extends their learning. (In The Case of the Noisy Neighbor, the craft is a tin can drum.)

From The Case of the Noisy Neighbor by Eric Hogan and Tara Hungerford

The Gumboot Kids Nature Mystery series, as well as the Gumboot Kids series, speaks to the wonders of the natural world and provide easy access to learning about everything from woodpeckers and oceans to spiders and bees. With charming felted characters set in a variety of settings, both in and outdoors, Eric Hogan and Tara Hungerford merge young children's love of stuffies–FYI stuffies of Daisy and Scout are available–and early STEM concepts. The context is delightful and the learning happens organically. Not surprising that the Gumboot Kids have been ever so popular.

 

By my count, The Case of the Noisy Neighbor is the tenth volume in the Gumboot Kids Nature Mystery series and, with a wide world of science and learning that can happen, Eric Hogan and Tara Hungerford have many more opportunities to entertain and teach with their friends Scout and Daisy.

• • • • • • •

 

Gumboot Kids Nature Mystery series

The Case of the Vanishing Caterpillar (2019)
The Case of the Story Rock (2019)
The Case of the Wooden Timekeeper (2019)
The Case of the Growing Bird Feeder (2019)
The Case of the Singing Ocean (2020)
The Case of the Buzzing Honey Makers (2020)
The Case of the Shrinking Friend (2021)
The Case of the Hanging Food Catcher (2021) 

The Case of the Disappearing Castle (2024) 

The Case of the Noisy Neighbor (2024)

Maud of Green Gables: How L. M. Montgomery's Anne Enchanted the World

Written and illustrated by Janet Wilson 

978-1-0688776-0-5
39 pp.

All ages

September 2024 

 

While the world knows the story of Anne of Green Gables, in whatever configuration they may have enjoyed–so many adaptations!–the story of her creator, Lucy Maud Montgomery, is less known to most of us. Was her story that of Anne's? Did she write from personal experiences? Was there really a Green Gables? And how did a freckled and red-haired girl enchant the world so completely?

From Maud of Green Gables: How L. M. Montgomery's Anne Enchanted the World, written and illustrated by Janet Wilson

The story within Maud of Green Gables is about the writer and her story. It's about being brought up by her grandparents, trying to get an education at a time when women were often relegated to housework, and finding her passion in writing. It is about Maud's writing, from childhood and throughout her life, and the process of getting Anne's story rejected and accepted and then lauded globally. It's about how she felt about her book and the world. It's about how she saw herself and her place in the world, whether living on Prince Edward Island or in Ontario, whether as a freelance writer or a novelist.

 

“But oh, I love my work! I love spinning stories,
and I love to sit by the window of my room
and shape some ‘airy fairy’ fancy into verse.”

 

And, though Janet Wilson peppers her story with photographs and direct quotes from Montgomery's diaries and from her novel, reminding us that Maud of Green Gables is a biography of Lucy Maud Montgomery, it is the artwork that makes the story sing.

From Maud of Green Gables: How L. M. Montgomery's Anne Enchanted the World, written and illustrated by Janet Wilson

 Janet Wilson's oil paintings do more than just captivate. First, they let us see Anne of Green Gables again and in a different light. (And the light in Janet Wilson's art is brilliant!) We see Anne as she dreams, as she imagines, as she takes in the wonders of her world, and as she treasures moments with those she loves.

From Maud of Green Gables: How L. M. Montgomery's Anne Enchanted the World, written and illustrated by Janet Wilson

But Janet Wilson also lets us see Lucy Maud Montgomery beyond the images recorded in photographs. Those images of her as a child or as a woman, or of her homes and those in her life are static. They captured a person or a place in one moment. Janet Wilson's paintings give us heart and always radiant light. Whether Maud is reading with a cat on her lap, playing with a camera, or walking along a shore, there is a radiance that comes from within.

From Maud of Green Gables: How L. M. Montgomery's Anne Enchanted the World, written and illustrated by Janet Wilson

Maud of Green Gables could have been a dry biography about L. M. Montgomery's story, from early life and family to education and writing and then to her marriage and death. But anyone could tell that story. Telling it with the richness of this art could only be done by the likes of Janet Wilson, the artist whose realism brought In Flanders Fields: The Story of the Poem by John McCrae, written by Linda Granfield, to life. Here her art recreates Maud and Anne with light and life. Moreover, by quoting from Maud's diaries and from Anne's story, Janet Wilson connects the two women on a deeper level, reaching into the hearts of Anne and Maud simultaneously and making us feel for both writer and character and know them both a little better.

 

• • • • • • • 

 

Janet Wilson launches Maud of Green Gables: How L. M. Montgomery's Anne Enchanted the World this Saturday (September 7, 2024) in Eden Mills, Ontario. Check here for details, including how to purchase her new book.

 

 • • • • • • •

Anne of the Library-on-the-Hill

Written by Catherine Little

Illustrated by Sae Kimura

Plumleaf Press

978-1-7381-6524-7

32 pp.

 Ages 6-10

August 2024 

This year we will commemorate the 150th anniversary of the birth of Lucy Maud Montgomery, the author of Anne of Green Gables. There will be several titles released to observe this anniversary, some fiction, some non-fiction, and Anne of the Library-on-the-Hill celebrates Anne of Green Gables with a wholly fictionalized story about another little girl named Anne, with an "e" of course.

 

Anne, of Anne of the Library-on-the-Hill, lives with her parents in Toronto, and regularly visits the Wychwood Library with her father, an artist. This library which she calls Library-on-the-Hill is a special place for her and father, and they both relish the plethora of books they borrow. Her mother is more of an industrious woman who worries that too much imagination might not be helping Anne.

From Anne of the Library-on-the-Hill, written by Catherine Little, illustrated by Sae Kimura

Then World War I arrives, and Father must leave home to serve. His absence, monumental in itself, results in additional changes to the household, with Mother taking on laundry work and no time to take Anne to the Library-on-the-Hill for books. Fortunately, one of Mother's customers, Mrs. Mary Beal shares her own children's old books with Anne. And when a new Library-on-the-Hill is opened, Anne's Mother ultimately gives Anne permission to visit it on her own.

From Anne of the Library-on-the-Hill, written by Catherine Little, illustrated by Sae Kimura

Sadly, the family receives bad news about Father from Vimy Ridge. Missing her father terribly, Anne is comforted when her mother shares a special book that Anne's father had gifted her early in their marriage. Yes, it is Anne of Green Gables, published in 1908.

From Anne of the Library-on-the-Hill, written by Catherine Little, illustrated by Sae Kimura

There's still more that happens to the Anne of Catherine Little's story, including an encounter with the famous author herself, but suffice it to say that our Anne takes wisdom from Lucy Maud Montgomery's Anne that supports her through life's good days and bad.

“I believe the nicest and sweetest days
are not those on which anything very
splendid or wonderful or exciting happens
but just those that bring simple little
pleasures, following one another softly,
like pearls slipping off a string.”

                                                                           ~ From Anne of Green Gables

 

Our two Annes, that of Lucy Maud Montgomery's story and that of Catherine Little's, share some commonalities though their stories are completely different. They both had father figures who encouraged their passions for imaginative endeavours and maternal figures who were more pragmatic. The women weren't mean; they were just prudent. Not surprising that Matthew and Anne's father both had soft spots for their Annes and defended them tactfully to the women in their lives. Beyond the characters themselves, Catherine Little intersperses her story with known experiences from Montgomery's life including her friendship with Mary Beal and attending an event that included Nellie McCLung. By borrowing elements of Anne of Green Gables to feed her story of Anne of the Library-on-the-Hill, Catherine Little pays homage to the much beloved story while giving us a whole new story. If you didn't know about Anne of Green Gables –though Catherine Little provides plenty of background information about Anne and L. M. Montgomery to get you caught up–this Anne and her library and her life would still captivate.

The art of Anne of the Library-on-the-Hill has been created by Sae Kimura, who also illustrated Catherine Little's earlier books, Twelve in a Race and Dragon's Dilemma. Using a variety of media, including acrylic, gouache, watercolour, and pencil crayon, Toronto's Sae Kimura gives an ethereal sense to Anne of the Library-on-the-Hill, which works well for a story set in the mid-late 1910s to early 1920s. The reality of Anne's life is never in question but the richness of her imagination and passion for life is always evident, in the colours of her surroundings, in the brightness of her reading, and the joy she derives from being with her father, visiting the library, and more.

From Anne of the Library-on-the-Hill, written by Catherine Little, illustrated by Sae Kimura

Celebrate Anne of Green Gables and Lucy Maud Montgomery by reading a picture book that honours both while creating something that is wholly its own. With Anne of the Library-on-the-Hill, Catherine Little and Sae Kimura remind us of the anchor that reading can be in a child's life and also the pillar that Anne of Green Gables is in both the CanLit world and internationally.