CCBC April 2018 Newsletter

TD Canadian Children’s Book Week will take place from Saturday, May 5 to Saturday, May 12, 2018. Bring books to life in your classroom or library with posters and bookmarks, featuring Gabrielle Grimard’s stunning illustration.

Book Week materials are available now at the CCBC’s online shop. Posters are $5.95 and bookmarks are $4.95 for a set of 30. Schools and libraries with visiting authors and illustrators will receive one free poster.

Learn more about the creators visiting your province or territory at bookweek.ca.

Submissions are now open for Formac Publishing Company’s Write to Win! Contest. Atlantic Canadians aged 18 to 40 who write literary or non-fiction can enter for free. Their original unpublished work must be 20,000 to 60,000 words and written for teen or adult readers. The winner will receive $1,500 and a publishing offer. Second and third place will receive $1,000 and $500, respectively. Submissions will be judged by writers George Elliot Clarke, Sheree Fitch and Wanda Lauren Taylor. Submissions are open until June 30th, 2018.

Find more information here.

Get your copy of The Landing by John Ibbitson

Set in Depression-era Muskoka, this evocative and powerful Governor General’s Literary Award–winning novel follows a young musician’s awakening to the possibilities of a world beyond his borders.

“The Landing is geared toward young adults, but just as easily belongs to the Canadian coming-of-age genre occupied by the likes of Alice Munro and Margaret Laurence.” — The Globe and Mail

Proceeds from this 10th Anniversary edition support the Canadian Children’s Book Centre.

On sale now! Available in bookstores or through the CCBC’s online shop. Order through the CCBC and receive a FREE subscription to Canadian Children’s Book News and Best Books for Kids & Teens. Enter coupon code landing to take advantage of this limited time offer. Offer ends April 30th, 2018!

Attend the TD Canadian Children’s Book Week Kick Off in Halifax

Enter CANSCAIP’s Writing For Children Contest

CANSCAIP (Canadian Society of Children’s Authors, Illustrators and Performers) is holding its 21st annual Writing for Children Contest. Submissions are open until May 31, 2018.

Two winners will be awarded $750 for a picture book/early reader entry and a chapter book/middle grade/young adult entry. Eight finalists will also be selected. CANSCAIP submits the winners and finalists to publishers Annick Press, Kids Can Press and Scholastic Canada for their consideration.

Find out more here.

Links We Love

Articles and videos of interest to educators

How Children’s Books Are Inspiring the Next Generation of Activists

Media Literacy for Kindergarten by Julie Booker

Bologna Children’s Book Fair in Pictures

Can Write – Meet Monique Gray Smith

Kids’ Book Aims to Improve Literacy Skills, Preserve Indigenous Languages

A Student Initiated Book Club

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April Book List: National Poetry Month

April is National Poetry Month and this year marks the 20th anniversary of the month long celebration of poetry in Canada. All throughout April,  bring a little poetry into your classroom or library with one of these great Canadian books in verse.

Picture Books
All the World a Poem Written by Gilles Tibo Illustrated by Manon Gauthier Pajama Press, 2016 ISBN 978-1-77278-009-3 IL: Ages 5-12 RL: Grades 3-4 Poems | Poetry | Whimsy | Nature | Feelings | Joyfulness In Gilles Tibo’s wonder-filled tribute to poetry, poems bloom in fields, fly on the wings of birds and float on the foam of the sea. They are written in the dark of night, in the light of happiness and in the warmth of the writer’s heart. Each poem is illustrated with Manon Gauthier’s whimsical paper-collage art. This title is also available in French as Poésies pour la vie. Amazon | Indigo | Canadian Bookstores | Wholesalers	If I Had a Gryphon Written by Vikki VanSickle Illustrated by Cale Atkinson Tundra Books, 2016 ISBN 978-1-77049-809-9 IL: Ages 3-7 RL: Grades 1-2 Pets | Imagination | Mythical Creatures | Verse Sam’s new pet hamster mostly just eats and sleeps and hides. Inspired by her book of mythological creatures, Sam imagines a more exciting pet. But she realizes that gryphons need to fly, unicorns are shy, hippogriffs scare everyone at the dog park, and a dragon is an awful lot of work. Maybe her hamster really is the best pet for her. A nice safe pet… right? Amazon | Indigo | Canadian Bookstores | Wholesalers
If You Could Wear My Sneakers! 20th Anniversary Edition Written by Sheree Fitch Illustrated by Darcia Labrosse Nimbus Publishing, 2017 ISBN 978-1-77108-469-7 IL: Ages 7-10 RL: Grades 2-3 Verse | Human Rights | Rights of the Child | Humour | Animals This award-winning picture book about children’s rights is now available for a new generation of young readers. Humorous poems paired with timeless illustrations explore 15 of the 54 articles of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. A fun way to start talking about the rights all children have the world over. Amazon | Indigo | Canadian Bookstores | Wholesalers	Leap! Written by JonArno Lawson Illustrated by Josée Bisaillon Kids Can Press, 2017 ISBN 978-1-77138-678-4 IL: Ages 3-7  RL: Grades 2-3 Verse | Animals | Natural World A startled flea LEAPS into the path of a grasshopper, which startles the grasshopper who, in turn, LEAPS onto a bunny. And so it goes: dog, fish, bullfrog and horse, each leaping and upsetting the next. With its rollicking rhythm and a rich array of action words, this book will inspire and encourage children to move, making this an excellent introduction to the power of language. Amazon | Indigo | Canadian Bookstores | Wholesalers
Melvis and Elvis Written by Dennis Lee Illustrated by Jeremy Tankard HarperCollins Publishers, 2015 ISBN 978-1-44341-148-6 IL: Ages 3-7 RL: Grades 1-2 Poetry | Friendship | Whimsy Meet Melvis the monster and Elvis the elf, two unlikely friends hunting for the perfect book to read. The result is a splendid collection of poems from Dennis Lee, Canada’s Father Goose! This irresistible blend of narrative, wordplay and pure nonsense, combined with Jeremy Tankard’s whimsical and energetic illustrations, will appeal to both the very young and developing readers. Amazon | Indigo | Canadian Bookstores | Wholesalers	Song for a Summer Night: A Lullaby Written by Robert Heidbreder Illustrated by Qin Leng Groundwood Books, 2015 ISBN 978-1-55498-493-0 IL: Ages 3-7 RL: Grades 1-2 Summer | Night | Animals | Curiosity | Natural World | Verse As night falls on a soft summer evening, neighbourhood children are drawn out of their houses by the sights and sounds of the world after dark. First the fireflies come sparkling past, followed by raccoons, skunks, cats and owls. A sweet interplay between our everyday domestic world and one that is just a little bit wilder. Amazon | Indigo | Canadian Bookstores | Wholesalers
Junior & Intermediate Fiction
Macy McMillan and the Rainbow Goddess Written by Shari Green Pajama Press, 2017 ISBN 978-1-77278-017-8 IL: Ages 8-12 RL: Grades 3-4 Change | Step Families | Intergenerational Relationships | Deafness | Novels in Verse | Friendship | Family Relationships | Moving Everything is changing for deaf sixth grader Macy McMillan. Then her mother sends her next door to help 86-year-old Iris (the Rainbow Goddess) pack books for her unwelcome move to an assisted-living facility. Soon, through notes and books and cookies, a friendship grows. And this friendship, odd and unexpected, may be just what Macy needs to face the changes in her life. Amazon | Indigo | Canadian Bookstores | Wholesalers	Prince Puggly of Spud and the Kingdom of Spiff Written by Robert Paul Weston Illustrated by Víctor Rivas Villa Puffin Canada, 2013 ISBN 978-0-14-317332-8 IL: Ages 8-12 RL: Grades 3-4 Rhyming Verse | Fashion | Identity Prince Puggly, of the unfashionable Kingdom of Spud, is surprised when he’s invited to a ball in the stylish Kingdom of Spiff… an invitation that ends in humiliation. But then Puggly meets Francesca, the Princess of Spiff, and together the two teach Francesca’s Spiffian countrymen an absurd lesson in style. Amazon | Indigo | Canadian Bookstores | Wholesalers
Stay Written by Katherine Lawrence Coteau Books, 2017 ISBN 978-1-55050-681-5 IL: Ages 9-14 RL: Grades 4-5 Novels in Verse | Family Relationships | Cancer | Coming of Age | Divorce | Dogs A moving, personal novel-in-verse about 11-year-old Millie who dreams about having her own puppy and puts down all her hopes and fears in a diary written to her twin Billy who died in utero. Millie faces new challenges amidst the traditional tribulations of growing up, including wanting to have a dog and keep her family together after her parents separate. Amazon | Indigo | Canadian Bookstores | Wholesalers	Whispers of Mermaids and Wonderful Things: Children’s Poetry and Verse from Atlantic Canada Edited by Sheree Fitch and Anne Hunt Nimbus Publishing, 2017 ISBN 978-1-77108-471-0 IL: Ages 5-12  RL: Grades 5-6 Poetry | Verse | Atlantic Canada | Whimsy | Wordplay From celebrated children’s poet and author Sheree Fitch and early childhood educator and researcher Anne Hunt comes this compendium of Atlantic Canadian poetry and verse for young readers. Spanning centuries, the collection includes everything from soft lullabies and silly songs to poignant meditations on nature, loss and love. More than 100 poems from the region’s best are sure to delight readers of all ages. Amazon | Indigo | Canadian Bookstores | Wholesalers
Young Adult Fiction
Audacious Written by Gabrielle Prendergast Orca Book Publishers, 2013 ISBN 978-1-4598-0530-9 IL: Ages 14 and up RL: Grades 9-10 Family Relationships | Eating Disorders | Defiance | Novels in Verse This novel written in verse is about 16-year-old Raphaelle, who says the wrong things, antagonizes people and has a bad attitude. When her father moves the family to a new city, Raphaelle (Ella) wants to fit in. When she falls for Samir, a Muslim boy, and expresses her confused feelings in explicit art, the fallout spreads throughout Ella’s life. Amazon | Indigo | Canadian Bookstores | Wholesalers	Burn Written by Alma Fullerton Dancing Cat Books, 2010 ISBN 978-1-897151-95-2 IL: Ages 12 and up RL: Grades 6-7 Abandonment | Resentment | Autism | Adoption This powerful free-verse novel explores Casey’s desperate attempt to take care of her autistic sister and keep her family together after her mother leaves. To find comfort, Casey becomes obsessed with building fires to send smoke signals to her mother, hoping she’ll see them and come back. When the everyday pressures get to be too much for Casey, her obsession with fire escalates into a very dangerous situation. Amazon | Indigo | Canadian Bookstores | Wholesalers
Closing Down Heaven Written by Lesley Choyce Red Deer Press, 2016 ISBN 978-0-88995-543-1 IL: Ages 12 and up RL: Grades 6-7 Choices | Death | Suicide | Journeys | Novels in Verse | Love | Afterlife | Consequences Hunter, 16, crashes his bike and dies. In heaven, he meets Archie, a guide who helps him understand his new existence. Soon, Hunter meets Trinity and becomes her guide, his mission to love and protect her. Complications multiply until both Hunter and Trinity find a redemptive path that gives them both back their real lives and new opportunities. Amazon | Indigo | Canadian Bookstores | Wholesalers	My Book of Life by Angel Written by Martine Leavitt Groundwood Books, 2012 ISBN 978-1-55498-117-5 IL: Ages 14 and up RL: Grades 9-10 Sex Workers | Drugs | Missing Persons | Murder | Novels in Verse This stunning verse novel about a 16-year-old sex worker trying to survive in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside during the time of the Pickton murders is told with grace, wit, compassion and deep respect for the missing women — the “Eastside angels” — to whom the book is dedicated. Amazon | Indigo | Canadian Bookstores | Wholesalers

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Author’s Corner: JonArno Lawson

JonArno Lawson is a children’s poet and author of Think Again, Down in the Bottom of the Bottom of the Box, Leap!, Sidewalk Flowers and more. He is the four time recipient of the Lion and Unicorn Award for Excellence in North American Children’s Poetry and has received an Alcuin Award, a Prix Libbylit Award and a Governor’s General Literary Award for Illustrated Children’s Books. He currently lives in Toronto.

How did you get your start as an author/poet?

I wrote for a long, long time before I published anything. My first real poem was written for my high school girlfriend, and I don’t think I wrote another decent poem for another 10 years. Sometimes I think that first poem was the only real poem I’ve written.

In terms of how I actually got my start publishing, I made a chapbook of a few poems I’d written for a contest (which I didn’t win) and I sent a copy of the chapbook to Timothy Findley at the same time. I was in my late twenties at that point.  I got a letter back from Findley four or five months later. In this letter, he asked if he could use one of the poems in his next novel, told me he sent my work to Barry Callaghan (the editor of Exile Editions) asking him to see if I had a full manuscript, and wrote a blurb for the back of my future first book.

That’s when I got my start in terms of being taken seriously as a writer.

What is your writing process like?

With poetry, I usually begin with a few words that sound good together, and go from there. Sound comes first, then comes sense, even if the sense is nonsense. I write every day, though I discard most of what I write eventually — most of my time is spent rewriting. With other books, like the picture books I’ve written, the process is more visual. I picture the story usually, and then sometimes I find words for the pictures, and sometimes I never get further than the pictures!

April marks the 20^th anniversary of National Poetry Month in Canada. Why are you drawn to poetry?

The magic of sound. I always loved songs — the wordplay of lyricists like Yip Harburg, Tom Lehrer, Stephen Sondheim and Sheldon Harnick are probably what drew me first to poetry. Also the dark, clever Gumdrop Follies recordings of Jim Copp and Ed Brown, which were made specifically for children – I couldn’t get enough of them. Paul Francis Webster’s lyrics for the Spiderman theme song really stuck out for me as well. I wanted to work in that world of word-magic too.

The poem that’s meant the most to me, though, as an adult, is David Pendlebury’s translation and abridgement of Hakim Sanai’s The Walled Garden of Truth. To me, it’s poetry at its highest and finest. It’s the most personally challenging poem I’ve read, though it’s completely accessible. The struggle isn’t to understand the poem, but to understand yourself once you’ve read it.

What was the inspiration for your latest book Leap!? How would you suggest teachers use the rollicking rhythm and rich array of action words in the book to introduce the power of language to children? Do you have any activity suggestions?

It started as a prose book about creatures that move by leaping — it wasn’t a poetry idea — I was briefly fascinated by how different creatures had evolved as leapers. And I was walking past Kids Can Press’s old offices on Birch Avenue near Yonge St. when the idea occurred to me, so it was sort of fitting that Kids Can would publish the book later!

I re-wrote the concept as a poem a few years on, and I was happy with the result. I kept submitting it here and there, but it kept getting rejected. Then I sent it to Kids Can. Two presses that had previously rejected it asked to consider it again a week after Kids Can accepted it, but I was so happy Kids Can got to it first, because I had a wonderful time working on it with Yvette Ghione. Yvette was incredibly fun to work with — she had lively, detailed, suggestions. It couldn’t have come together as it did without her.

Leap! might be interesting to act out — if you take “leap” as it appears in the text as an opportunity to actually leap. I like the idea of keeping language connected to the body, since it’s a product of the body — of refined movements of muscle, bone and breathing.

It might be fun to take the book as a departure point for using and exploring action words too — doing another series using “crawl” and its synonyms — slide, slither, squirm, skulk. Or strut, swagger, sway, parade.

Do you have any tips for aspiring authors/poets?

Just keep going. Find a way in, but also, make sure to keep looking for ways out again. Don’t get stuck. If what you’re doing isn’t working, or doesn’t seem to be working (sometimes it is, but you aren’t being patient) experiment. Forget everything you’ve heard about what it means to be a writer, or what you need to do to get published. The publishing world changes all the time. What you need to do is write well, and to be persistent.

What projects are you working on now? Can you tell us about any upcoming books?

I’m working on an Arabian nights sort of book — a book of interwoven tales. But my next book out is a picture book called Over the Rooftops, Under the Moon illustrated by Nahid Kazemi. It’s being published this summer by Enchanted Lion Books in Brooklyn. It was supposed to be wordless, but at some point Nahid’s pictures demanded a text, and that turned it into something different again. Claudia Bedrick, the book’s publisher and editor, made brilliant suggestions for changes and additions to the words I came up with. In 2019 I’ll have a picture book out with Groundwood called The Playgrounds of Babel, which will be illustrated by Piet Grobler. And there are some other things set up already for 2020, but I don’t have enough details to share more than that yet!

Find out more about JonArno Lawson by following him on Twitter.

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Amy’s Travels in Teen Fiction

Hello Canadian teen book readers! After a medical leave of absence I am back with a podcast interview with Star Spider! Her first teen book, Past Tense, is coming out in April. Listen to our 46 minute conversation covering such topics as mental illness and and LGBTQIA2 issues in YA, and the unique writing processes of short stories and full length novels. Up next month is Danielle Younge-Ullman, GG & White Pine nominee for Everything Beautiful is Not Ruined. Enjoy, and happy reading! —Amy

*Any beliefs expressed in this podcast do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Canadian Children’s Book Centre.

In 2014, Amy Mathers read and reviewed 365 YA books to raise funds to create the Amy Mathers Teen Book Award.

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