publishing news
Kirkus Reviews says "Laurie Elmquist's second story about Reece Hansen features a new family member named Ruckus whose sole purpose in life is to shake things up. Moments of humour are balanced with tenderness as this Jack Russell tears about the pages, uniting the family in ways they never imagined." Ruckus is in Orca's Echoes series of early novels for ages 6 -8.
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Sixteen-year-old Claire is walking across Lions Gate Bridge in Vancouver when a good-looking young man approaches. He's laughing, talking on his cellphone. Then, when they get close, he reaches out, hands her his phone, says, "I'm sorry?" then climbs over the railing and jumps. This is the vivid first scene of Leanne Baugh's young adult novel, Last Words (Red Deer Press), out in October.
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On July 1, 2019, it was announced that every child in grade 1 in Canada would receive a copy of Monique Gray Smith's My Heart Fills With Happiness (Orca), illustrated by Julie Flett. The picture book was chosen for the annual Canadian Children's Book Centre's TD Grade One Book Giveaway program, which distributes 550,000 books each year.
And Monique's Tilly and the Crazy Eights (Second Story) is a nominated First Nations Community Reads YA/Adult book for 2019-2020. Shari Green is excited about recent translation/foreign rights deals. Macy McMillan and the Rainbow Goddess (Pajama Press) is being translated info Farsi for publication in Iran (2019), and Missing Mike (Pajama Press) will soon have a French edition coming out (la courte échelle).
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Kari Jones's Footprints title Ours to Share: Coexisting in a Crowded World (Orca, 2019) examines the complex problems of sharing resources in an overcrowded world and suggests ways kids can bring more balance to the world. Kirkus calls it "a strongly felt and convincingly argued case for more attention to fairness in the allocation of resources."
Karen Hibbard is working on illustrations for Dessine moi un traineau (Les editions du soleil du minuit), about a boy named Émile meeting Iti, an Inuit grandmother, on his daily route to the local park. Iti can't speak English but she can draw and through her drawings, Émile learns about her former life up north. Karen illustrated Nimoshom and His Bus (Portage and Main) and books for Annick Press, Planète rebelle and Éditions Mango.
Aidan Cassie, creator of Sterling, Best Dog Ever, employs her pitch-perfect humour and heartwarming illustrations again to help little ones love themselves at any size in Little Juniper Makes It BIG (FSG/Macmillan). "This sweet look at how a change in perspective can alter one’s own reality offers a comforting, inspiring message. Cassie’s expressive illustrations complement the narrative, offering youngsters silly scenes and adorable details to unpack." —School Library Journal |
Kristin Butcher's new Soundings book (Orca, 2019) speaks to the #MeToo movement. It’s about a high school girl, who gets raped by a boy at school, but when he tells everyone the sex was consensual, she gets labeled a slut and is even dissed by her former best friend.
Kristin has also signed a contract with Crwth Press for a middle-grade fantasy titled The Druid and the Dragon (2020)! |
Sara Cassidy is thrilled that her first board book, The Moon is a Silver Pond (Orca), illustrated by Quebec artist Josee Bisaillon, received a starred review in Publishers Weekly. The book's follow-up, The Sun is a Peach, will be published in Spring, 2020. Her graphic novel, Helen's Birds (Groundwood) is a Junior Library Guild selection.
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