#OperationReadAloud

Operation Read Aloud is a much needed site to aggregate children's book creators to read-aloud while children are sequestered at home. Join the group to enjoy story-time with your little ones, all while watching some of our favourite authors #readaloud.

Author Events at the 2016 OLA Superconference

The Dewey Divas & Dudes are looking forward to the OLA Superconference January 28th & 29th! 

Here's a summary of the author signings that will be happening at our booths during the trade show this year. Even if you can't make it to a signing, please drop by and say hello! 

You can also pick up our lists of new Dewey Diva picks for Winter & Spring/Summer and enter a draw for a great prize pack of books. 

We hope to see you there! 

 Thursday January 28th

10:00 AM: Kenneth Oppel, The Nest HarperCollins Canada- Booth 730/732

10:00 AM: Patricia Storms, The Ghosts Go Spooking

Scholastic Canada- Booth 211

10:30 AM: Allison Day, Whole Bowls Thomas Allen & Sons- Booth 318/320

11:00 AM: E. K. Johnston, A Thousand Nights Canadian Manda Group- Booth 217/219

11:00 AM: Barbara Reid, Read Me A Book and Sing a Song of Bedtime- Scholastic Canada- 211

12:00 PM: Don Cummer, Blood Oath

Scholastic Canada- Booth 211

12:30 PM: Joel A. Sutherland, Haunted Canada 5 Scholastic Canada- Booth 211

1:00 PM: Teresa Cascioli, M is for Money: The Storybook Vol. 1 Canadian Manda- Booth 217/219

1:00 PM: Lena Coakley, Worlds of Ink and Shadow HarperCollins Canada- Booth 730/732

1:00 PM: Kelley Armstrong, City of the Lost  Penguin Random House Canada- Booth 716-724
1:00 PM: Jennifer Mook-Sang, Speechless Scholastic Canada- Booth 211
1:00 PM: Toko Hosoya,  A, B, C Animals and 1, 2, 3 Sea Creatures Thomas Allen- Booth 318/320

2:00 PM: Terry Fallis, No Relation & Tanis Rideout, Above All Things Penguin Random House Canada- Booth 716-724
2:00 PM: David Skuy, Last Shot Scholastic Canada Booth 211
3:00 PM: Karma Brown,  The Choices We Make HarperCollins Canada- Booth 730/732

3:00 PM: Mahtab Narsimhan, Mission Mumbai Scholastic Canada- Booth 211

Friday January 29th

10:00 AM:  Evan Munday, Loyalist to a Fault: The Dead Kid Detective Agency #3 Canadian Manda Group- Booth 217/219

10:00 AM: Stella Partheniou Grasso, Five Busy Beavers Scholastic Canada- Booth 211
10:30 AM: Jennifer Robson , Moonlight Over Paris HarperCollins Canada- Booth 730/732

11:00 AM: Frank Viva, Young Charlotte, Filmmaker, Canadian Manda Group-Booth 217/219

11:30 AM: Helaine Becker, A Porcupine in a Pine Tree Scholastic Canada- Booth 211
11:30 AM: Caroline Fernandez, Boredom Busters and More Boredom Busters Thomas Allen & Sons- Booth 318/320
12:00 PM: Emil Sher, Young Man With Camera Scholastic Canada- Booth 211

12:30 PM: Amanda Sun, Heir To The Sky HarperCollins Canada- Booth 730/732
1:00 PM: Frieda Wishinsky, Survival: Shipwreck! Scholastic Canada- Booth 211
1:30 PM: David Carroll, Sight Unseen Scholastic Canada- Booth 211
2:00 PM: Leah Bobet, An Inheritance of Ashes Scholastic Canada Booth 211

The Dewey Divas and Dudes Top 5: Chris' Picks!

If you love sci-fi and fantasy and you haven't visited Bakka Phoenix Books in Toronto, then you are missing out! Bakka Phoenix Books is the oldest sci-fi/fantasy bookstore in Canada and it is amazing! I called on the manager, Chris Szego, for her top picks of the year. I knew she was a trusted and well-read source but can you believe she reads on average 10 books a week?! While I am beyond impressed (and slightly jealous) she warned me that it was very difficult for her to only pick five. Here are her picks:

1. Written in Red: A Novel of the Others by Anne Bishop (Roc Hardcover)

"A thoroughly enjoyable urban fantasy in which humans are not the dominant species on the planet. A fun read: I'm looking forward to the next book in the series."

2. An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth by Chris Hadfield (Random House) 

"I say this unironically, as an adult: Chris Hadfield is my hero.

His intelligence, humour, and above all his sheer delight in his work is a constant inspiration. Read this book."

3. A Face Like Glass by Frances Hardinge (MacMillan)

"Hardinge's impressive originality is on full display in this story about the underground city of Caverna. The city's denizens can create wines to make you forget your dreams; perfumes to send you to sleep, and cheeses that can kill -- but they cannot make any facial expressions until they are taught how. Into this world falls young Neverfell, whose face reflects everything that she feels... and Caverna will never be the same."

4. Royal Airs by Sharon Shinn (Ace Hardcover) 

"Josetta may be a princess, but she will not allow her entire life to be eaten by court intrigue. Rafe is a gambler who is looking to make something more of his life. When they meet, the world will change in ways they can't even imagine. I already want more."

5. An Inquiry Into Love and Death by Simone St. James (NAL Trade)

"In post WWI England, a young woman encounters a number of mysteries when she travels to a small town to settle the affairs of her recently deceased uncle. Beautifully written, with a definite feel for the historical period. (And Canadian!)"

  

The Dewey Divas and Dudes Top 5 Books: Ken's Picks!

Here we go again! This time I called on Ken Setterington, Renaissance Man, for his top 5 books of the year. Ken was recently interviewed by Shelagh Rogers on CBC Radio's The Next Chapter where he discussed his new book, Branded by the Pink Triangle. He even took time out of his vacay on the beach to write this list! Here are his picks:

1. The Unlikely Hero of Room 13B by Teresa Toten (Doubleday)

"Without question a most worthy recipient of this year's Governor General's Award. This was a book that really nails respect for teens and the challenges that they face, but it does so with humour and compassion."

2. The Hidden Agenda of Sigrid Sugden by Jill MacLean (Fitzhenry & Whiteside)

"It is surprising that a book with a cover that looks like it is about a young naturalist or ornithologist is actually about a girl who is trying to escape her past bullying ways. Thoughtful and demanding of the reader.  Love the book - hate the cover!"

3. Bones Never Lie: How Forensics Helps Solve History's Mysteries by Elizabeth MacLeod (Annick Press)

"This is the sort of book that will appeal to all readers, male and female. The simple, straight forward text tells how forensics have been useful uncovering historical truths."

4. Learn to Speak Film: A Guide to Creating, Promoting and Screening Your Films by Michael Glassbourg (Owlkids)

"Who hasn't wanted to make their own film?  This book tells the reader how to get started and how to make a film from beginning to end.  Love that the screening is included as part of the process!"

5. The Four Seasons of Patrick by Susan Hughes (Red Deer Press)

"In a short simple chapter book Susan Hughes lets a young reader share with Patrick the fears, annoyance and challenges of becoming part of a blended family. Hughes really understands the realities facing young children."

Introducing the Dewey Divas and Dudes Top Picks of the Year: Rachel's Pick!

It's hard to believe it's that time of year again... Soon the malls will be filled with carols and garland and the holiday craziness will be upon us! That's why we thought it would be perfect timing to introduce to you top picks of the year from some of our trustworthy book professionals to bring you their top books of the year, and maybe help you with your holiday gift giving this season. Our first recommendations come from Rachel Seigel, Sales and Selection Strategist at EDU Reference Publishers Direct. Rachel also has a blog: http://readingtimbits.blogspot.com and contributes regularly to www.publishingcrawl.com.
Here are her top 5 picks of 2013:

1. Carnivores by Aaron Reynolds (Chronicle Books)

"A clever and wickedly funny picture book told from the point of view of a timber wolf, a great white shark and a lion, who lament that they are misunderstood and wrongly judged." 

2. Grafitti Knight by Karen Bass (Pajama Press)

"This book is a fast-paced page-turner and compelling historical fiction for tweens and teens. It contains just the right mix of adventure and suspense to keep readers interested, and is one of my favourite novels this year."

3. Pi in the Sky by Wendy Mass (Little Brown Books for Young Readers)

"Her characterizations are spot-on, and I love the combination of science, math and humour, and the sense of wonder she creates about learning.  A perfect middle-grade read."

4. This is What Happy Looks Like by Jennifer E. Smith (Hachette)

"Think Notting Hill but with teens and in a book. It’s a book that just makes you smile when you read it." 

5. That's Not a Good Idea by Mo Willems (HarperCollins)

"Filled with humour and clever illustrations, this book is exactly what you’d expect from the creator of Pigeon and Elephant & Piggie."

An inside look at STAINED by Cheryl Rainfield

Cheryl Rainfield writes the books she needed as a teen and couldn't find. In Stained, her fourth YA novel, Sarah, who has a port wine stain and some body image issues, is abducted and must find a way to rescue herself. Like Sarah, Cheryl had to rely on her own strength to survive many threatening situations. Earlier this fall, Cheryl spoke to a group of teenagers at Indigo Yorkdale. Cheryl spoke very passionately and strongly, and her personal story and reading were remarkably powerful. A self-defence seminar/demonstration was also part of this event.

Stained recently received a four-star review in CM Magazine. Cheryl is scheduled to make an appearance at OLA Super Conference at the Thomas Allen & Son booth. Follow Thomas Allen & Son on Twitter for more information.

Stained by Cheryl Rainfield

$20.99, hardcover

ISBN: 9780547942087

Publication date: October 1, 2013

Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Distributed in Canada by Thomas Allen & Son

Fall 2009 Dewey picks. . .

If you're looking for something to read this weekend, or want to get a head start on some holds at your library - I've now posted some of the Dewey Divas' fall picks. You can always access them on the right hand side of this blog, and as the reps update their websites, I'll link to those pages. For now, you can see fall picks from Lahring, Saffron, Susan and yours truly. Have a great Thanksgiving weekend. Stuff yourself silly with books!

Summer reading. . .

Hope everyone's summer is going well and you've found some great reads to dip into, preferably by a lake, on an airplane to somewhere exotic, or just under a shady tree in the backyard. If we tend to have less book reviews on the blog at this time, well, to be honest, we're tired. If there is any "down" time in the book industry, it may just be these few slim weeks in July and at least in my case, there are a lot of fun activities out there competing with my reading time. I'm out on my bike every chance I get, and spending many of my evenings at the Cinematheque watching clever French New Wave films. And this is a great time to catch up on reading other publishers' books. And the classics.

Still, I haven't been entirely idle and have just posted my summer 09 reading picks. You can access them here. Some of the books won't be available until August, but you can put your holds on them now and have them to hand for the Labour Day weekend (sorry, shouldn't have mentioned the "l-word"). Happy summer reading.

We feel the love. . .

Thank you Rachel and Tania at the Chatham Public Library for sending this photo along of a display that you put together for our book picks.

We're very honoured and tickled pink - especially by the sign: Sssh. . .Dewey Divas and Dudes Ditch Their Cardigans.

We only wear our feathery boas when we read, honestly. . .

Fabulous Fall Reads from Around the World: My Dewey Picks for Fall 08. . .

If you've been reading any book news or book blogs in the last day or so, you will inevitably have come across the literary brouhaha over the remarks made by Horace Engdahl, secretary of the Swedish Academy that awards the Nobel Prize of Literature (which should be announced shortly). You can read the full story here, but the gist of the controversy is Engdahl's claim that, "The U.S. is too isolated, too insular. They don't translate enough and don't really participate in the big dialogue of literature. That ignorance is restraining." The comments were made in the context of Engdahl explaining his theory for why most of the past winners were European.

Now, I love literary spats, so following the debates and impassioned defenses of American literature has been very entertaining - and has more than once led me to adding another writer to my neverending to-be-read list. My own personal opinion is that it's impossible and rather naive to sum up any country's literary culture so succinctly, (though it's certainly a surefire way to get publicity) but if his comments do make readers stop and think about the last time they may have read (or not) a work in translation and decide to expose themselves to some international writers outside of their geographical comfort zone, well then, that would be terrific.

I've always been a fan of reading writers from different countries because I love travelling and there's no better way to explore a country than through its literature. And my Dewey picks have always reflected this. But in light of this debate, as I was putting together my list of favourite fall reads, I was taken by how difficult it is to determine what exactly constitutes literary nationalism anyways. For example - Michel Faber's latest book, The Fire Gospel is on my list. Faber was born in the Netherlands, grew up in Australia and now lives in Scotland. So is he Dutch? Australian? Scottish? Dutch-Scottish? Or how about Randa Jarrar? She was born in Chicago and now lives in Ann Arbor. But she grew up in Kuwait and Egypt before moving back to the U.S. and her new novel, A Map of Home completely reflects her Arab heritage and experiences. If she's American, she's certainly not isolated or insular. We are all - writers and readers alike - such a wonderfully complicated, ever-changing, marvellously messy mixture of all of our accumulated ancestral and literary influences. Isn't that what cultural globalization is all about?

However if anyone is counting, my list includes two Canadians (one of whom lives in the U.S.), a Kiwi, a Norweigan, a Swede, four Brits, one German (who lives in Austria), one Hungarian, one Russian and the before-mentioned Faber and Jarrar. The important thing is they have all written wonderful (and wonderfully different) books that I can't wait to get out on the road and book talk about. I should add (because I represent a lot of different publishers, some of whom have their own distinct websites separate from Random House) that I'll be also be plugging Damon Galgut's terrific novel The Impostor (he's from South Africa) and the moving Journal of Hélène Berr (she was French). For those who won't get a chance to see the Deweys in person, do check out our lists posted as they become available, on the right hand side of the blog. Lots of great reading recommendations for you and your patrons - no matter where you hail from or live.

Dewey Diva Picks: Our links now available on the righthand side

Apologies if you've been trying to access our book lists on our website and are getting stalled or out-of-date links. To cut a long, technical story short, our website has a separate host and it's a bit complicated to make changes on it. I'm currently working on a way to post a PDF of all of our lists that can be downloaded and printed off when needed, or just opened up if you want a quick peek. I'll blog about it when it's available.

In the meantime, you'll see a new category on the righthand sidebar of this blog. Many of us have our lists posted on our individual publishers' websites and I've added links to those pages which will contain our latest picks and also some of our archived picks from past seasons (great if you are looking for bookclub suggestions among last year's books, as they may well be in paperback by now).

Just a note to our international and American readers - the isbn and publisher information listed is for Canadian distribution. However, many of our favourite books have been published worldwide, albeit by other publishers, so just check your local library or bookstore under the title and author. Many independent bookstores have terrific special order services and can probably obtain any of these books for you, so check out your neighbourhood indy.

Hope you find some good suggestions either for your own reading pleasure or that of your library patrons or bookstore customers. Hey, Xmas is just around the corner too...