Write for a Better World: 2016 Writing Contest for Canadian students in Gr. 5-8

World Literacy Canada

presents its annual

WRITE FOR A BETTER WORLD  

contest

for Canadian students in Grades 5-8

This year, the writing theme was created by  

Jonathan Auxier

(who will also be the final judge)

 author of the award-winning 
The Night Gardener

Puffin

978-0-670-06772-5

384 pp.

Ages 10+

2014
Reviewed here

What to do:
• Using this story starter, tell what happens next in 400 words or less:

People often say that "every person is the hero of their own story." What they don't tell you is that sometimes you are the villain in someone else's story. This is the story of the day I learned that lesson the hard way.

Deadline:
• April 15, 2016


Full Details:
• Details of prizes and the entry form can be found at worldlit.ca/write2016

• World Literacy Canada has a teacher resource for the contest here

The White Cat and the Monk: A Retelling of the Poem “Pangur Bán”

by JoEllen Bogart

Illustrated by Sydney Smith

Groundwood Books

978-1-55498-780-1

32 pp.

Ages 4-8

March, 2016

At its foundation, The White Cat and the Monk has all the elements of a contemplative read: quiet, books, companionship, and a cat.  But, bigger picture, The White Cat and the Monk is an essay in study and reflection in one’s work and the importance of mindfulness.  JoEllen Bogart has taken the essence of Pangur Bán, a ninth century Old Irish poem, to its humble message and, with Sydney Smith’s austere but inspired illustrations, produced a masterpiece.

The story of Pangur Bán is a simple one.  A white cat treds a familiar path at night to the room of a monk who studies his manuscript, replendent in colour, while Pangur, the cat, waits and watches for a mouse.  Their tasks are intense and focused yet strangely companionably intimate and respectful.  Each appreciates the other’s need for quiet and concentration while providing an anchor for that isolation.

JoEllen Bogart has provided a lovely interpretation of the importance of work and the efficacy of mindfulness, and Sydney Smith has demonstrated again why he has won mutiple awards for his illustrations in Sidewalk Flowers.  In The White Cat and the Monk, Sydney Smith has emphasized the simplicity in the lives of the cat and the monk with the coarse lines and neutral palette of greys, taupes, beiges, golds and blacks, with colour only appearing in the nose of Pangur, the cheeks of the monk, the pages of the manuscript he reads and the few plants and flowers.  Yet the tones of the illustrations, like the text, are not sombre, just modest, as are the tasks upon which the two characters are concentrating.  The White Cat and the Monk is a brilliant reinforcement in words and art of the magnitude of focusing on just that moment and just that one task for life to be complete.  

From The White Cat and the Monk
 by JoEllen Bogart and Sydney Smith

TOTSAPALOOZA 8: Coming February 6, 2016 (Toronto)

TOTSAPALOOZA

Small Print Toronto's

festival of 

picture books, indie-bands and DIY crafts 

is coming!  

Saturday, February 6, 2016

1 - 4 p.m.

at

Revival Nightclub

783 College Street

Tickets 

(get your tickets early as this event is often sold out)

Children (0-2 years of age)      Free

Children (older than 2)           $15

Adults                                      $20

Here's what adults and young people can enjoy:

Authors presenting picture books:

Neil Pasricha

author of The Book of Awesome presents his new kids' book

Awesome is Everywhere
Puffin

Cybèle Young

Governor General's Award winner  presents her newest children's book

Some Things I’ve Lost

Groundwood Books

(Reviewed here)

Lindsay Mattick
shares part of her family history in her book
Finding Winnie: The True Story of the World’s Most Famous Bear
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Kevin Sylvester

author of the Neil Flambé series shares (including providing books for sale!) of April release 

Super Duper Monster Viewer 

Groundwood Books

Arts & Crafts presented by magician craftician Kalpna Patel (December 2015's Ms. Chatelaine!)

Music & Dance
• Indie roots-rock trio Bellwoods Trinity
• DJ Matt Blackett (publisher, creative director and one of the founders of Spacing magazine)
• Audience choreography led by Anne Marie Williams of Movement Lab

A Photo Booth fun for the whole family

Food
Handmade snacks for sale from Wanda's Pie in the Sky pop-up bakery

The Lake in the Clouds (The Shards of Excalibur, Book 3)

by Edward Willett

Coteau Books

978-1-550-506167

224 pp.

Ages 12+

2015

Two shards of Excalibur found, three to go.  Sort of.  Ariane has the first shard from the Northwest Territories (Song of the Sword, Coteau, 2014) and then, following the song she hears, discovers the second shard at a cave in France (Twist of the Blade, Coteau, 2014).  But bringing the two shards together produces a less harmonious song and more a discordant shrieking, except when Wally Knight brings the two together.  Yep, awkward Wally Knight has some serious King Arthur heir mojo going.  And that explains why Merlin, also known as computer software CEO Rex Major, has "encouraged" Wally to work with him, including stealing the second shard back for Major, rather than letting the seemingly out-of-control Ariane, the heir to the Lady of the Lake, keep it.  So instead of working with Ariane to recover the remaining shards of Excalibur, Arthur's magically-imbued sword, Wally is living with Rex Major at his condo in Toronto while Ariane seethes with anger and resentment for Wally's betrayal and watches over her Aunt Phyllis safely ensconced at their remote Saskatchewan cabin.

But, while Rex Major promises to never lie to Wally as Ariane has, he's taking off for Saskatchewan to use his Voice of Command on Aunt Phyllis and keep her hostage, threatening to kill her, unless Ariane finds him the third shard.  Ariane has no choice but to help Major, sending them to New Zealand in search of the next shard of the sword.  Wally, on the other hand, becomes tired of being restricted and guarded by Major's men, and hacks into Major's computer system, learning almost too late of the man's dishonesty, including Major’s tracking of Ariane's mother whom they all assumed dead.  With some clever manipulations of bank accounts, email and communication with Major's henchmen, Wally is able to escape and rescue Aunt Phyllis, and consequently learn that he has some fantastic powers of his own.

Much deception on everyone's part gets Ariane with Rex Major to Lake Putahi– Lake in the Clouds in Maori–and Wally there on his own, where everything does a flip, again.  Let’s just say that no one seems to leave with the one with whom they came. And, there may be three shards that have been discovered but the shards continue to change hands: sometimes stolen, sometimes surrendered, sometimes gifted.  Excalibur is getting closer to being reconstructed, and the characters’ roles are being redefined.

By continuing to develop his characters so that they never remain good or evil or secondary, Edward Willett has ensured that the plot doesn’t stagnate in a seemingly simple plot of finding the shards of Excalibur and having its power unleashed.  With Ariane and Wally both being affected by the shards and learning of new abilities, as well as other characters being drawn into the story in different ways, The Lake in the Clouds becomes a fuller story.  The plot itself continues to evolve and the adventure is grand, as travel by plane, bus, boat, limo, cloud (yep, that's Ariane) and water (her again) takes the characters from across Canada (Toronto, Regina, Saskatoon, Prince Albert, Emma Lake and Vancouver) and to Hawaii and New Zealand.  The journeys are part of the quest but hold on because your travelling companions are switching places and your next seat mates may be a surprise in Cave Beneath the Sea (Book 4, out November 2015) and Door into Faerie (Book 5, May 2016).

Twist of the Blade (The Shards of Excalibur, Book 2)

by Edward Willett

Coteau Books

978-1-550-505993

217 pp.

Ages 12+

2014

Teen protagonists Ariane Forsythe, heir to the Lady of the Lake, and Wally Knight may have outwitted Rex Major of Excalibur Computer Systems, a.k.a. Merlin, and rescued the first of five shards of the sword Excalibur in Song of the Sword (Coteau, 2014), the first book in The Shards of Excalibur series by Edward Willett, but there are still four more shards to be recovered.  That is, if the two are to trust the Lady of the Lake who has instructed them to do so to prevent Merlin from gaining control of the Faerie world.  But trust is a monumental issue in Twist of the Blade, and  Ariane and Wally begin to wonder who they should trust, who they can trust and if they can even trust each other.  

You see, both Ariane and Wally seem to be changing.  Ariane has started to feel the brutal power that the shards harness, violently defending herself against Wally’s sister Felicia and her "coven", landing Felicia in hospital.  On the other hand, Wally has become quite skilled at fencing and Rex Major is starting to believe the teen is heir to King Arthur of Excalibur fame.  Not surprising that, after being hospitalized because of a terrible fall and receiving no visitors (since his parents are separating and oblivious, Felicia is herself injured, and Ariane is recovering from her attack) except for Rex Major, Wally begins to wonder who's on his side and even how scrupulous Ariane is.  Regardless, the two set off for France to locate the second shard, Ariane travelling via the moisture in clouds and Wally flying there, while Ariane’s Aunt Phyllis hides herself off in her cabin in rural Saskatchewan.  

But it soon becomes evident that Ariane and Wally are making poor choices, doubting each other’s intents and sincerity.  Locating the second shard in a newly-discovered cave outside of Lyon, France is just the beginning of a conflict that has the two teens working at cross-purposes to the task set out for them by the Lady of the Lake in Song of the Sword.

While Edward Willett continues to weave the Arthurian legend into a Saskatchewan setting, he builds on the Merlin, Arthur and Lady of the Lake story by creating a magical sword that craves to be reconstructed and wielded as a weapon.  But Excalibur is more than a sword.  It is an instrument that exerts rage and strength and, as Ariane notes, attitude.

"...the shard was a piece of a weapon–its attitude was brutal and direct." (pg. 113)

Edward Willett capably brandishes the trust issues of teens, especially those related to their families, as the means to progress the story.  But it’s these same issues with which Merlin and Arthur had to deal.  However, without their anger and self-doubt, Ariane and Wally could not learn to believe in others and themselves as worthy of the challenge to bring together the shards of the legendary sword of King Arthur and complete the story of The Shards of Excalibur.

††††††††††††††††

Watch this space for my next post, a review of Lake in the Clouds, the next book in The Shards of Excalibur series.

Cherry Blossom Baseball: Book launch (Burlington, ON)

Join #youngCanLit author

Jennifer Maruno

whose books include

Kid Soldier

Dundurn

978-1-45970-677-4

208 pp.

Ages 13-15

2013

Totem

Dundurn

978-1-4597-1934-7

166 pp.

Ages 8-12

2014

and 

When Cherry Blossoms Fell & Cherry Blossom Winter

Dundurn         Dundurn

978-1-89491-783-4             978-1-45970-211-0

144 pp.     176 pp.

Ages 10-13

2009     2012

for the launch of her newest middle-grade historical fiction 

and

third book in her Cherry Blossom series

Cherry Blossom Baseball

by Jennifer Maruno

Dundurn

978-1459731660

256 pp.

Ages 10-13

December 2015

on

Sunday, January 10, 2016 

at

1:30 p.m.

at the

 Burlington Central Library

2331 New St.

Burlington, ON

L7R 1J4

The book blurb from Dundurn reads as:

Michiko Minigawa’s life is nothing but a bad game of baseball. The Canadian government swung the bat once, knocking her family away from a Vancouver home base to an old farmhouse in the Kootenay Mountains. But when they move into town, the government swings the bat again, announcing that all Japanese must now move east of the Rockies or else go to Japan. 

Now in Ontario, Michiko once again has to adjust to a whole new kind of life. She is the only Japanese student in her school, and making friends is harder than it was before. When Michiko surprises an older student with her baseball skills and he encourages her to try out for the local team, she gives it a shot. But everyone thinks this new baseball star is a boy. Michiko has to make a decision: quit playing ball (and being harassed), or pitch like she’s never pitched before.

(Retrieved from https://www.dundurn.com/books/Cherry-Blossom-Baseball on January 3, 2016.) 

Books will be available for purchase from A Different Drummer Books.  It's a great way to complete or start your Cherry Blossom collection!

Worlds of Ink and Shadow: Book launch (Toronto)

Join fantasy author

Lena Coakley

author of 

Witchlanders

Atheneum Books for Young Readers/Simon & Schuster

978-1-4424-2005-2

400 pp.

Ages 12+

2011

Reviewed here

for the  launch of her newest book

Worlds of Ink and Shadow

HarperCollins Canada

978-1443416597

352 pp.

Ages 12+

January 2016

on

Saturday, January 23, 2016 

2:00-4:00 pm

at

Ben McNally Books

366 Bay St.

Toronto, Ontario

In addition to a short reading, 
there will be tea and scones

(as appropriate for a book about the Brontes).

For a little teaser, check out Lena Coakley's promotional video for the book

Uploaded by Lena Coakley on July 27, 2015 to YouTube.

Or read the blurb for Worlds of Ink and Shadow from HarperCollins Canada's website:

Charlotte, Branwell, Emily, and Anne. The Brontë siblings have always been inseparable. After all, nothing can bond four siblings quite like life in an isolated parsonage out on the moors. Their vivid imaginations lend them escape from their strict upbringing, actually transporting them into their created worlds: the glittering Verdopolis and the romantic and melancholy Gondal. But at what price? As Branwell begins to descend into madness and the sisters feel their real lives slipping away, they must weigh the cost of their powerful imaginations, even as their characters-the brooding Rogue and dashing Duke of Zamorna-refuse to let them go. 

Gorgeously written and based on the Brontës’ own juvenilia, Worlds of Ink & Shadow brings to life one of history’s most celebrated literary families in a thrilling, suspenseful fantasy.