October Kid Lit Events Round-up

October is my favourite month. It’s pumpkin pie, salted-caramel hot chocolate, and boots season. The air smells like woodsmoke and apples and everywhere you look the leaves are shirking their uniform greenness and letting their colours show. Plus their are two fantastic holidays, Thanksgiving and Halloween! Feasts and costumes! Who doesn’t love October?!

So it figures October would have some pretty rocking events to look forward to:

1. My Book Trailer Contest!

If you’re a follower of this blog you will know that I am holding a book trailer contest to celebrate the release of DAYS THAT END IN Y (February 2013). The contest is open to students in grades 4+ , so if you’re a teacher, librarian or parent who knows some kids who are good with a camera, check out the rules here or email me for more info!

      

Contest closes on January 15th, which gives you plenty of time to get those cameras rolling!

2. Girls Without Hats Benefit Concert + Jon Klassen Book Launch

This event is going to literally rock. It is a benefit concert for one of my fave organizations Girls Rock Camp Toronto, featuring local female musicians and Girls Rock Camp alum; Jon Klassen, one of my fave illustrators* who just so happens to be launching his new book THIS IS NOT MY HAT, and me, as a seriously starstruck host.

In addition to all of those awesome guests, there will be a silent auction with wicked prizes! AND it’s being held at The Gladstone! Throw in cupcakes and this is seriously all of my favourite things in one snazzy event. Whatever am I going to wear?

Such a cool event can only be organized by Small Print Toronto. Check out the website for more info and come join us on Wednesday, October 24th, 7pm, Gladstone Hotel (1214 Queen St West)  

1.  Another Story Workshop!

Another Story is a wonderfully eclectic and curated bookshop in Toronto that specializes in socially conscious literature. Now that I am a Junctionite, Another Story is practically in my neighbourhood.

I was thrilled to be invited to host a Saturday morning kid’s book club. I will be talking about the writing process and why it’s important to be honest, even when it makes you (or other people) uncomfortable. If you are under 14 and want to drop by (or if you know any young budding writers) please come on down Saturday, October 27th, 9-10am, Another Story Bookshop, 315 Roncesvalles Avenue.

*Remember when my she-roommate made me a custom mug with Jon Klassen’s swing dancing cats on them? Click here to refresh your memory

Girl Crushing on Raina Telgemeier: DRAMA Review

I have a mad girl crush on Raina Telgemeier*. Her work is fresh, funny, sweet, and relevant. She is a master of her craft and has created a name for herself middle grade graphic novels for girls that feel just as rich, resonant, and fun as traditional novels. I gushed on and on about her semi-memoir Smile, and begged for a reading copy of Drama, which given it’s school musical connection, could not be more perfect for me.

When her school chooses a big, glossy, golden age musical for their annual production, set designer Callie has big dreams (a canon that really fires, a magnolia tree featuring leaves that actually fall to the stage at a key romantic moment) which given her lack of carpentry skills and minimal budget is proving more than a little challenging. Throw in her long-time crush, two new cute AND talented brothers, and a friend who is interested in something more, and Callie has more drama than she can handle.

There is lots to love here. What better backdrop for middle school drama than a production of a school musical? I admit to being slightly biased, having used similar settings for Love is a Four-Letter Word. As a retired theatre rat I loved all the musical theatre references and funny social dramas that arise from the close communal process of “putting on a show.” I loved that the book is more about the stage crew- those unsung heroes- than the cast. Disaster strikes during the show, creating a lot of opportunties for characters to shine and plenty of fist-pumping moments for the reader.

Everyone is here- the diva lead actress, suave male lead, quirky funny boy who just happens to be gay, the shy member of stage crew who really just wants a chance to sing- the list goes on and on. Telgemeier plays with these tropes so no one feels two-dimensional or too much like a stock character. I especially appreciated how she handled Justin coming out to Callie in a funny, honest, and casual discussion, just between friends. Although it’s an important (and rare scene in MG fiction), it was understated and not in the least a capital I “Issue”.

Telgemeier writes the kind of fun, relatable middle grade fiction that inspires devotion and gushing among her young (and slightly older) fans. I have warm bookstore memories of girls (both non-readers and voracious readers) who would RUN to the bookshelves, grab a copy of Smile, and hug it closely while explaining to their friends just why they HAD to read it NOW. Let’s hope Telgemeier can keep knocking them out of the park!

Here is the adorable book trailer for DRAMA: 

Drama is available in hardcover and paperback from Scholastic Canada in early September.

*Seriously. I think we could be really great friends. I imagine Raina, Jenny Han, Kirsten Miller and I hanging out at a cool diner on a rainy Saturday afternoon drinking milkshakes and talking about books and our mutual crushes on John Green, like the best writing group EVER. Then Kit Pearson drops by to give us advice and you pretty much have my dream afternoon.

Picture Book Inspired DIY Projects: An Ode to My Roommate

My roommates are better than yours. I don’t say that boastfully, but out of much love and truth. Take for example, my she-roommate, Rebecca. In between running three camps and mentoring hundreds of young women every day, she makes the best birthday gifts.

It is a well known fact among those I love and those who read this blog that I love picture books. I love them so much I often wish I could live inside one. Rebecca is doing her very best to make this dream come true.

Exhibit A: HOW TO PAINT A PORTRAIT OF A BIRD by Jacques Prévert, ill. by Mordecai Gerstein

This illustrated version of a French poem in translation is one of my favourite picture books. This simple poem about creativity and patience has special relevance for me as a writer, and these delicate but colourful illustrations are perfection. Having listened to me gush at great length about this book and my undying love for it, Rebecca went ahead and embroidered a canvas for me for my birthday. Here it is, living happily atop my sassy teal typewriter, Miss Smitty*:

Rebecca is no amateur crafter. Check out the detail on the bird:

And the quotation:

Pure loveliness! As if that wasn’t amazing enough, we move onto this year’s gifts.

Exhibit B: CAT’S NIGHT OUT by Caroline Stutson, ill. by Jon Klassen

I’m not personally acquainted with wunderkind Jon Klassen, but if I was, this is the book he would have created for me, should he create picture books for his friends in his spare time. In short, it features cats in poodle skirts and saddle shoes dancing in an urban setting at night. Savvy Rebecca, knowing me well, took cues from Klassen and created me this amazing mug BY HAND! It features cats dancing…

…and a fun quotation from the book about cats dancing!

I’ll spare you all of the cat-related puns that come to mind, but this mug may be too pretty to use!

Exhibit C: WHEN YOU WERE SMALL by Sara O’leary, ill. by Julie Morstad

The subtle but dynamic pairing of O’leary and Morstad helped define the look and pedigree of Canada’s art-house picture book publisher Simply Read Books. When You Were Small, the first of three books featuring charming and inventive conversations between a parent and child that somehow manages to not be even the slightest bit twee, holds a special place in my heart.

How can you not love how Julie Morstad depicts sweet and inquistive Henry, re-created here by Rebecca on my own, custom-made porridge bowl:

Or love Sara O’leary’s imaginative responses to every-day kid questions?

I am truly lucky to have such a talented, thoughtful friend in my life who knows me so well she can come up with gifts I would never even think to ask for. These gifts are not only lovely to look at (and functional!) but are personal, one of a kind, and precious to me. And yes, for those savvy readers out there, this Rebecca is the same Rebecca mentioned in the dedication of Love is a Four-Letter Word. For these gifts (and many other reasons), she deserves it, no?

*The wine bottle lamp was also made by a friend, the inimitable Michael David Reansbury, Library Tech Extraordinaire, who knows that I will enjoy wine with a cat on the label more than any other wine, simply on principle.

Introducing a New Canadian Picture Book Dream Team: Virginia Wolf Review

I have a rather impressive collection of picture books; some people buy art for their walls, I buy art for my shelves. Picture books serve a variety of purposes and can be many different things, but when text, image and package come together perfectly there is nothing more magical than a picture book. I don’t often review picture books, not because I don’t love them, but because they aren’t my specialty, but this one is so achingly beautiful I wanted to share it with the great wide world.

One day Vanessa’s sister Virginia wakes up in a terrible mood. She shouts at everyone, shies away from bright colours, and wants to be left alone. She is so wolfish that she has in fact turned INTO a wolf! Vanessa does everything she can to cheer her sister up- bringing her the cat, playing the violin, offering sweet treats- but nothing works. Eventually Virginia admits to wanting to fly away to a perfect place- Bloomsbury. Vanessa has never heard of Bloomsbury, but while Virginia sleeps, she paints a garden full of flowers and animals on the walls of the room, imagining what this perfect place must look like. When Virginia wakes up, she joins her sister in creating their own Bloomsbury and the two sisters go outside to play. Virginia’s mood has lifted, and she is back to being a girl again.

Virginia Wolf is not a typical subject for the picture book crowd. Virginia Wolf isn’t really a picture book biography, either. These books, though illustrated, tend be be text heavy and full of facts, aimed at a slighter older audience. Virginia Wolf will resonate with the 4-7  year old set in a way that traditional picture book biographies generally do not. Instead of a biography, it is a re-imagining of a moment in Wolf’s childhood, creating a portrait of the artist as a young child. You don’t need to know anything about the Wolf sisters to love the book, but fans will appreciate the subtle nods to their childhoods. On the most basic level, this is a story about a girl who has a bad day and how her sister brings her out of it. You don’t need to know Wolf’s stormy history of depression to appreciate the story. Children will delight at how Virginia’s mood actually turns her into a wolf, and the colourful and imaginative resolution.

This is a gorgeous and imaginative take on sisters, moods, and artistic expression. There are lots of books about children who throw fits, but this is far more imaginative and sensitive than a simple moral story about learning to control your temper. This is about bad moods or depression from a child’s perspective, and Vanessa’s solution is appropriately child-like and speaks to Virginia’s inner conflict, as well. Throughout the book Vanessa takes Virginia’s feelings seriously, never telling her to get over it or cheer up. What a lovely story about recognizing the feelings of others. There are other examples of books where children turn into animals, sometimes as a result of behaviour or a lesson they need to learn, but somehow the combination of these two skilled artists makes the book feel fresh.

Kyo Maclear must thank her lucky stars every day that she was paired with Isabelle Arsenault. Her text, though very clean and spare, has a touch of whimsy, and Arsenault is able to draw that out in her illustrations. During the doldrums phase of Wolf’s bad day, there are smudged charcoal drawings, long dark shadows with little colour and lots of white space on the page. As Vanessa begins to create Bloomsbury, her palette explodes with yellows, greens, and reds. The white space disappears almost completely, replaced by wild floral scenes that extend to the end of the page.

This is the second collaboration for Maclear and Arsenault,who made waves with Spork, about a little utensil who was not quite spoon, not quite fork (if you’ve read Maclear’s adult novel Stray Love- and you should, I reviewed it here- you know that the themes of belonging and being of mixed heritage come up frequently in her writing). Spork was cute and well-rendered, but Virgina Wolf takes their collaboration to a whole other level. Maclear & Arsenault* are a Canadian dream team producing dreamy picture books. If this book is not nominated for a Governor-General’s award I will be feeling rather wolfish myself.

Virginia Wolf is available now in hardcover from Kids Can Press.

*Has there ever been a more Canadian pairing of names? ‘Maclear & Arsenault’ sounds like it could have been the subtitle for the film Bon Cop, Bad Cop.

Porcupines are the New Penguins: Picture Book Trend

A few years ago it seemed like every other picture book featured penguins, and why not? Penguins can be cute, funny, resourceful, family-oriented, quirky, survivors, or figures of environmental tragedy. Think of Tacky the Penguin, Oliver Jeffer’s Lost and Found, Karma Wilson’s Don’t Be Afraid, Little Pip and many other books featuring penguin protagonists. Thanks to movies like Happy Feet and March of the Penguins, you couldn’t help but see them everywhere.

Lately I feel like I’ve been seeing less penguins and more porcupines. I get it- porcupines, at least when rendered in children’s book illustration- are adorable. I mean look at that image of Pearl! So cute, so joyous! So perfect for picture books!  There is much fun to be had with the prickly/difficult to love aspect of the porcupine, and not being able to give or receive hugs is especially tragic to the under 6 set.

From Paul Schmid we have the adorable Hugs from Pearl, the protagonist featured above, soon to be followed by Percy’s Big Idea:

A sketch from the up-coming Percy's Big Idea

New Canadian Christmas classic A Porcupine in a Pine Tree by Helaine Becker replaces the stuffy old partridge of 12 Days of Christmas Lore with an almost cuddly looking porcupine, as rendered by Werner Zimmerman:

Mr. Prickles: A Quill-Fated Love Story (Kara LeReau and Scott Magoon) is the story of two porcupines who find love despite trials and tribulations (in the form of some mean-spirited woodland creatures) along the way:

All of these recent books owe much to the 1989 classic A Porcupine Named Fluffy, interestingly enough brought to you by Helen Lester and Lynn Munsinger, the same team who created the Tacky the Penguin books. Clearly this duo has a magical ability to create picture book trends:

Fluffy is rocking some rad hair in this cover

And just in case you were concerned that the cute factor of porcupines was being misrepresented, here is a video of a young porcupine with the hiccups that will put your fears to rest. Why are animals infinitely more adorable when they have the hiccups?

Gorgeous Heartbreak: A Monster Calls Review

A Monster Calls is a gorgeously rendered piece of literary art. A compact, powerful novel, the best way I can describe it is Skellig by David Almond meets J.K. Rowling’s “The Tale of Three Brothers” from Tales of Beedle the Bard. This book is a love letter to Siobhan Dowd, a rising YA star who died young of breast cancer. Keeping this (and Patrick Ness‘ exquisite letter about how this book grew out of an idea of hers at the beginning of the book) in the back of my mind made the story all the more tragic.

Conor’s mother is sick, but he doesn’t want to think about that. He has other things on his plate- like the kids at school who wait for their teacher’s back to be turned and then attack, both physically and with words, cruelly taunting him about his mother’s illness. And now there is a monster that comes to him in the night- a monster that seems to be made of the Yew tree in his backyard and claims to have three stories to tell him. When he is finished telling his stories, then Conor must tell the fourth.

I imagined the monster as the faun from Pan’s Labyrinth, monstrous and humanoid but made of a tree, and was rewarded by Jim Kay’s eerie illustrations, which basically depict him in the same way:

Like the faun, you’re unsure if he is a monster with bad intentions or a somewhat aloof and frightening guardian angel. His stories do nothing to clarify this.  The tales told by the monster are folkloric and allegorical: a prince who runs away from an evil step-mother with the baker’s daughter; a preacher who begs an apothecary for help when his daughters fall ill; an invisible man who wishes to be seen.

Though the stories seem straightforward and traditional, the monster reveals a twist in each one that is unsettling. The function of the stories is to show that good and bad- like right and wrong- have little to do with truth, which lies somewhere in the hazy gray space between these opposites. All of this helps Conor tell his story, which allows him to forgive himself and experience catharsis. You will be experiencing catharsis too, by this I mean bawling your eyes out.

The story of the invisible man, and how Conor internalizes it, was one of the most effective sections of the book. In this story the two narratives- the midnight fairytale magic realism section(monster) and the stark daytime reality section (bullies)- blend, ending in a vicious attack that leaves Conor visible to everyone in his school, but not in the way he wanted.

I have never felt sadder for a character than I felt for Conor. His beloved mother is dying, his grandmother is cold and bossy, his father lives in America and can barely stick around for a weekend, he’s being targeted by bullies and he’s turned away from his only friend, Lily, because she told everyone about his mother’s illness in the first place. There are lots of beautiful and sad observances about grief and love, but the bullying stuff was just as powerful to me. Heavy stuff, yes, but somehow after finishing the book I didn’t feel weighed down. Such is the genius of Patrick Ness that you are able to experience extreme emotion and catharsis just as Conor does, and walk away from the book not totally depressed. In lesser hands the book would feel melodramatic or depress you so much you would be unable to get out of bed for days.

So who will read this book? Children’s literature nuts like myself will of course adore it, but it is a dark story that will make the reader feel dark things. Not all children are ready for this at the same age. It is middle grade, although it has that rare quality of truly classic stories that seem to exist outside an age range. I’m not sure it would alleviate grief, but it strikes me as a great book for angry children. Anger is addressed extremely well in the book, as is grief, guilt, and absolute first class storytelling.

A Monster Calls is available now in hard cover from Candlewick Press.

Double the Tails, Double the Fun:The Melancholic Mermaid

I am so excited to introduce you to this marvelous new picture book written by a dear and talented friend of mine. At it’s heart, The Melancholic Mermaid is about two children who feel outcast due to physical abnormalities coming to terms with themselves through an unlikely and touching friendship. It is also funny, magical, and marks the arrival of an exciting new voice in Canadian picturebooks, Kallie George.

Maude is a merbaby born with two tails. Even though her parents insist this is a blessing, she feels quite the opposite. Tony is a boy with webbed hands. Fate brings them together at a cruel circus, where Tony is forced to clean Maude’s tank and realizes that those bubbles rising from her face are tears. Together, the two of them make a brave dash for the ocean, in search of their own personal brand of happily ever after.

It is clear that George is a student of fairytale masters such as Hans Christian Anderson and Oscar Wilde. The narrative style and structure of her story, which is divided into sections with such lovely titles as “The Tears of Bubbles and How They Began,” are very traditional.  What makes this tale contemporary is the inclusion of loving adults, in the form of Maude’s devoted parents. Generally good parenting is hard to come by in fairytales, a fact which is brilliantly parodied in the title of a recent collection of fairytales for adults, My Mother She Ate me, My Father He Killed Me. There is also a happy ending  for both Maude and Tony, though not a romantic one, and the absense of a horrible bloody death, something that can not be said about the Grimm’s or Anderson’s fairytales.

George’s gift is her imagination, which is evidenced not only by her concepts and storytelling, but by her language. It is fresh and charming, though never cutesy. She has the ability to surprise and delight the reader with unexpected turns of phrase. This makes it an excellent read aloud. Lucky for George, Abigail Halpin’s illustration are well suited to her story; both dreamy and understated, which allows the text to shine.

There has been a lot of debate lately regarding whether or not picture books are dying out. According to articles like this one, parents are pushing their children to read novels at a younger age, therefore shrinking the already small window of time that children enjoy picture books. This saddens me. Picture books are lovingly crafted and mutli-layered works of art that celebrate story, language, art, and design. Sharing a picture book with a child is one of the things an e-reader will never be able to simulate. I don’t understand why learning to read at an earlier age and books with pictures are suddenly mutually exclusive, but perhaps the stop-gap will be filled by well-crafted longer format picturebooks like The Melancholic Mermaid.

Having known and worked with Kallie for a number of years I could not be more proud. This is truly a book to treasure, and I know many young people (and their parents!) who will not only enjoy The Melancholic Mermaid, but beg for multiple readings.

The Melancholic Mermaid is available now from Simply Read Books.

The Twelve Books of Christmas: The Christmas Magic

On the twelfth day of Christmas my true love read to me, this beautiful work of art!

This book is the perfect end to my list: lovely, quiet, and magical. Reading this story is akin to watching the snow fall on a clear winter’s evening. In it, Santa is presented as a fragile but capable man who takes his responsibilities, both magical and mundane, very seriously. This book focuses on the feelings of wonder and awe that accompany the season. Although it features Santa Claus going about his daily business before taking off on Christmas Eve, this book is not about presents or toys, but that Christmas feeling that is oh-so-difficult to capture in book form. Where others have tried and failed, Thompson and Muth suceed with flying colours.

I am an enormous Jon J. Muth fan. His illustrations are both breathtaking and subtle. I own all of his Zen books (Zen Shorts, Zen Ties, Zen Ghosts) and I cry everytime I read his most recent collaboration with the formidable Mo Willems, City Dog, Country Frog. His illustrations perfectly capture the wonder and magic of Lauren Thompson’s simple but evocative text.

And so ends my twelve books of Christmas. Once I started compiling the list, I realized there are so many more titles I wish I could have included, so here are some honourable mentions: How The Grinch Stole Christmas (Dr. Seuss), Silver Packages (Cynthia Rylant, ill. Chris K. Soentpiet ), The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey (Susan Wojciechowski, ill. P.J.Lynch) and Pippin the Christmas Pig (Jean Little, ill. Werner Zimmerman).

Merry Christmas to all; I hope you find a book to share under your tree or in your stocking this Christmas. As always, happy reading!

The Twelve Books of Christmas: Melrose and Croc Together at Christmas

On the eighth day of Christmas my true love read to me, this friendship story!

There are many stories about Melrose (a little yellow dog) and Croc (a little green crocodile), but this one is my favourite. Both Melrose and Croc are excited about Christmas, but wish they had someone to share the holidays with. A string of disappointments leads them both to a skating rink, where they crash into each other and a new friendship is formed.

 In general, Christmas books fall under three categories: religious/spiritual, the importance of friendship/community, and miracle stories. Like The Christmas Giant, this is a story about friendship. This story works well for children as young as 3 because the plot is straightforward, the language is very clear, and the emotion resonates with the anxieties of very young children. For example, when Croc arrives at the department store only to discover that Father Christmas is no longer there, Clark comments that, “Croc felt like crying, but he didn’t want people to see.” The simplicity and authenticity of that line gets me everytime.*

This is a very British story, in which Santa Claus is Father Christmas and everyone wishes each other ‘Happy Christmas.’ There is something about British storytelling that works very well with a snowy Christmas tale.  It helps that I have a weakness for animal characters that speak perfect Queen’s English

*Don’t worry. This terrible, horrible, no good very bad day has a lovely ending. It IS  a Christmas story, after all.

Ode to the Long Format Picture Book: Snook Alone

Even a cat person like me can fall in love with a face like this

This post could just as easily be an ode to Timothy Basil Ering, the master illustrator who gives such warmth and wonder to this story.Mr. Erling is the man who gave those charming, inquisitive features to Kate DiCamillo’s littlest hero from The Tale of Despereaux. He is also responsible for the artfully scribbled, chaotic mess that is Frog Belly Rat Bone. Let’s not forget Necks Out for Adventure, an odd but touching  story about a “wiggleskin”* (clam) who risks his life to find his family. It is safe to say that Erling is quirky.

His illustrations combined with Marilyn Nelson’s poignant text makes for a beautiful piece of picture book art. Snook is a little dog who lives with an old monk, Abba Jacob. Their lives are quiet and predictable until Abba Jacob is asked by the Society for the Preservation of St. Brandon’s Atoll to assist with the cataloging of plant and animal species on a series of islands. Snook accompanies Abba Jacob, only to be accidentally left behind on the island of Avocaire. Fear not, gentle readers- monk and dog are reunited in the end, as depicted in the most lovely image of joy ever to grace a children’s picture book.

 Marilyn Nelson’s text is full of lush description and genuine reverence of the natural world. The setting is exotic and provides excellent source material for an author with an aptitude for poetry. Nelson introduces all sorts of plants and animals that young readers (or listeners) will no doubt want to learn more about. In fact, the story reads as an ode to the natural world. While his beloved master is around, Snook is content to be his shadow, following at his heels and hunting mice and rats.  But when left to his own devices, Snook’s routine changes, as does his outlook on life. His days are full of the sights and sounds of turtles, sharks, tropical plants and a truly terrifying land crab. Snook’s separation from Abba Jacob is gutting, but it is during this separation that his eyes are truly opened to the wonders of the world. It also makes their eventual reunion that much more poignant. Snook Alone is perhaps a meaningful story for parents who are teaching their children to deal with separation anxieties.  

I love longer format picture books. They make great family read alouds, the kind of book you want to keep on hand for rainy days at the cottage or cold nights by the fireplace at Christmas. Some of my favourites include The Snow Goose, by Paul Gallico and featuring divine illustrations by Angela Barrett and Elsie Piddock Skips in Her Sleep, Eleanor Farjeon and Charlotte Voake’s ode to skipping. I would even go so far as to include Shawn Tan’s innovative Tales From Outer Suburbia on this list, though the style and format is more pastiche than it is a traditional narrative. Snook Alone is a welcome addition to this collection of artful and heartfelt comfort reads.

Snook Alone is available now in hard cover from Candlewick Press.

*Most adorable moniker for a not-so-adorable creature