Josephine Baker

Chronicle released this trailer to celebrate Josephine: The Dazzling Life of Josephine Baker. This book is a great read...I had very little knowledge of her amazing history...that's why I love kid's books...you get all the good stuff in way less pages!

Canada has chosen Hana's Suitcase as the Ultimate Silver Birch Book!

Many congratulations to Karen Levine and Second Story Press! I am thrilled that Canadian readers have voted for Hana's Suitcase as the Ultimate Silver Birch Book in celebration of the prestigious award's 20th birthday. The Silver Birch Award is part of Ontario Library Association's Forest of Reading Program which has more than 250,000 participants each year. Read more about the OLA's oldest award and Hana's Suitcase here!  

Happy 40th Birthday Kids Can Press!

The company that introduced the world to Franklin and Scaredy Squirrel started out as a summer project! In 1973 Frieda Forman and her students received a government grant which they used to respond to a need for Canadian storybooks for children. Over the years the company has evolved into a brand that is recognized all over the world through children's literature that deals with global issues such as Citizen Kid series. Read about the forty amazing years of their journey here. 

Interesting Piece on the Young-Adult Dystopian Market

This NYT article has some great insights into the publishing world and the young-adult dystopian market in particular. While the publishing industry is an integral part of our culture, it is also a business and profits are a consideration rather than literary merit when titles are chosen for production. The desire for having timely publications in the market, however, means that the quality of books available to buyers is compromised. Added to that is the celebrity appeal of young authors that comes with relative inexperience. The best of literature, this article argues, is written by older people who have had the time to hone their craft without the pressure of being dissected by people on very public platforms such as in Amazon reviews. The current culture in publishing creates an environment in which young authors are under tremendous stress to produce blockbuster successes. It is also an environment in which authors are treated as dispensable. Do you agree? Do you find the "Divergent" series offensive? This "Riff" by Michelle Dean is quite thought provoking.

Fun Article on Marginalia

What do Mark Twain, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, William Blake, Charles Darwin and Nelson Mandela have in common? Marginelia i.e. writing comments beside passages. Scribbles by readers on books are stories in themselves. Not only do these notes enhance the reading experience but they also become part of our literary heritage. The Caxton Club, a literary group, is sponsoring a symposium in March titled Other People's Books: Association Copies and the Stories They Tell in which they will present books that were once owned or annotated by authors. A lot of us have been taught that recording our thoughts and reflections in books is defacing them. Read a refreshing take on marginalia in this article in The New York Times here! 

Happy Valentine's Day!

Raincoast's very own Crystal Allen interviewed Eagranie Yuh about how to give in to our chocolate cravings without the guilt! Her first tip is to read the ingredients so that we buy quality chocolate, not candy! Did you know that REAL chocolate has health benefits such as lowering blood pressure? We are very excited about Eagranie's upcoming The Chocolate Tasting Kit which is coming out in March 2014. For some quick tips on how to buy the right chocolate for your sweetheart on Valentine's Day, read the interview here!

Cress

The third book in the Lunar Chronicle series, Cress, just came out. For those of you who don't know, the trilogy is an awesome retelling of Rapunzel, Little Red Riding Hood and Cinderella  Check out this stunning display at Mabel's Fables. We are so excited that Marissa is going to be coming to Toronto to do an event! See below for the details.
Marissa will be at the North York Public Library Branch on Monday February 24th at 2:00. 

Her second event will be at Indigo Yorkdale at 7:00pm.

Just what the heck is happening at Scholastic anyway?

I believe it is called art! Taken by yours truly on Wednesday.

The Fabulous Josephine Baker!

I loved this book and this video is totally adorable! And it is getting starred reviews everywhere! Josephine: The Dazzling Life of Josephine Baker
School Library Journal starred review
Shelf Awareness starred review 
Publishers Weekly starred review 
Kirkus Reviews starred review