DK Canada's "Stay Home, Stay Curious" Campaign

DK Canada is thrilled to share their "Stay Home, Stay Curious" campaign on DK Canada's website.

This hub will house content from across DK Canada's books and divisions. Everything from home learning ideas, recipe extracts to great Canadian content such as a free downloadable teacher's guide for Our Great Prime Ministers. There's also DIY ideas & Gardening tips as well as excerpts to make staying fit at home easy!

Blue Spruce Awards Go Virtual!

The Blue Spruce Awards are going virtual! Visit Forest of Reading (see attachment for the link ; read-aloud schedule) to catch this years Blue Spruce Nominees!  These books will enrich young readers learning experiences with beautiful illustrations blended with fun, interesting, and exciting stories.

"Pumpkinheads" Graphic Novel Trailer!

A collaboration for the ages! Bringing together Rainbow Rowell - the author of Fangirl and Elanor & Park, among other celebrated YA novels - and the beautiful illustrations of Faith Erin Hicks, who won the Eisner award for her work on The Adventures of Superhero Girl, the new graphic novel Pumpkinheads is a perfect fit for the fall season. If you want to read a quick review, check out this article by the Hollywood Reporter; if you're more the visual type, click the link below for a trailer!

The Woes of the Comic Industry -- Interview with Faith Erin Hicks

Award-winning comics creator, Faith Erin Hicks, describes in her own words what it was like to write her first YA novel, Comics Will Break Your Heart, and her experience in the comic industry.

Hicks shares how as a comic creator, it was extremely difficult for her to read about how some comic creators don't retain ownership of the characters they create, or they lose copyright to their creations. This book was inspired by these issues, and to shed light on the struggle many comics face in this industry. 

Comics Will Break Your Heart is a sensitive and funny modern day romance, and shows what it takes to heal the past.  Click here to read more!

Harry Potter - House Editions

Courage? Loyalty? Ambition? Wisdom? What's your most valued trait? Which house do you belong to? Better find out soon, because the House Editions of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets are here! Whether you want the green of Slytherin, the blue of Ravenclaw, the yellow of Hufflepuff, or the red of Gryffindor, there's a copy with your name on it! 

Sex, Drugs, and YA Literature

Decades have been spent trying to get boys to read – but trying to get teenage boys to read? Forget it. Proposing the question ‘What are teenage boys interested in?’ will typically be answered with nothing more than a roll of the eyes, but Daniel Handler’s newest novel All the Dirty Parts focuses on exactly that. Described by the author in a recent New York Times article, the novel “portrays a young boy’s emotional, hetroflexible sex life”. Instead of censoring out the sex, drugs, and rock and roll, Handler writes head on about a young adult’s burgeoning sexuality and tells it like it is. As Handler puts it: “Let’s not smirk at their interests. Let’s give them books that might engage them."

Handler is also known by his pen name, Lemony Snicket. 

Harry Potter 20!

Feel old yet? June 26^th Marked the 20^th anniversary of Harry Potter! Quill and Quire asked booksellers all across Canada to reflect on the impact and importance of J.K. Rowling’s revolutionary saga since its release two decades ago. From inspiring new readers, then and now, to some crediting Rowling with the revival of an industry, check out the memories Canadian Booksellers shared here. 

Meg Wolitzer on YA

This piece on YA literature really sums up how I feel on reading YA books...the more the merrier!

My favourite teen book this year!!!

How much did I love this book? Words are hard to describe. Everyone in the office was talking about it, so I figured I better jump on the bandwagon. So many times, when people are super excited about something I feel it is very hard for the expectations to be met...but The Kiss of Deception was certainly the very happy exception!!! A little fantasy, the required love triangle with an unbelievable twist that had me practically starting the book from the beginning. When oh when will the next one come out and why can't I travel forward in time to read it!
Here's an interview with her in the Huffington Post.

Print vs. Digital: YA Reader Edition

Whoever said today's youth can't unplug from technology is wrong... at least according to a survey that finds that 62% of young reader aged 16 to 24 prefer printed books over their digital equivalents. Given the limitless technology that surrounds youth today (and I'm speaking from experience with two teens of my own) these results are exciting!) This is great news for all of us library and book professionals though!

The debate between books and e-books comes down to a couple factors such as preference, convenience and price -- all things that were addressed in this study. Check out the full article on The Guardian, click here. 

PW's Best Children's Fiction Books of 2013

Publishers Weekly released their list of Best Children's Fiction Books of 2013 and believe me, there are some really good picks! You might recognize some of the featured books from this blog, such as Eleanor & Park and Boxers and Saints. Other titles include the fantastic Far Far Away by Tom McNeal and Tony Cliff's stunning graphic novel, Delilah Dirk and the Turkish Lieutenant. To check out the full list, click here and you may find some great ideas for your young readers!

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

Lainey Lui Reviews Rainbow Rowell's Eleanor and Park

The feelings are unanimous in our Ampersand office: Rainbow Rowell's Eleanor and Park is our favourite young adult book of the year! Maybe its the amazing 80's pop culture references or the challenges of first-love romance that help us relate so well. Author Rainbow Rowell recently visited Toronto for a series of readings and was reviewed (and interviewed) by the one and only gossip entertainment blogger Lainey Lui! Her review is so fantastic I just had to share my favourite part:

"Here’s my only complaint about the book: since I read it on my iPad, I couldn’t properly hug it. Hugging an iPad isn’t the same as hugging a real book. And as corny as it sounds, it deserves to be hugged." - Lainey

To read Lainey's awesome review in full, click here.

Announcing the Finalists for the 2013 Canadian Children's Book Centre Awards!

The Canadian Children's Book Centre (CCBC) has announced the finalists for this year's Canadian Children's Book Centre Awards. With up to $130,000 in prizes this year, here are the finalists:

TD Canadian Children’s Literature Award ($30,000)

1. Kids of Kabul: Living Bravely Through a Never-Ending War by Deborah Ellis (Groundwood Books)

2. One Year in Coal Harbour by Polly Horvath (Groundwood Books)

3. The Reluctant Journal of Henry K. Larson by Susin Nielsen (Tundra Books)

4. The Stamp Collector by Jennifer Lanthier, Illustrated by Francois Thisdale (Fitzhenry & Whiteside)

5. Virginia Wolf by Kyo Maclear, Illustrated by Isabelle Arsenault (Kids Can Press)

Prix TD de littérature canadienne pour l’enfance et la jeunesse ($30,000)

1. À la recherche du bout du monde by Michael Noel (Éditions Hurtubise)

2. La clé à molette by Élise Gravel (Éditions la courte échelle)

3. Jane, le renard & moi by Fanny Britt, Illustrated by Isabelle Arsenault (Éditions La Pastèque)

4. Minegan, mon village, Poems by Inuit schoolchildren, Illustrated by Rogé (Éditions de la Bagnole)

5. Tu me prends en photo by Marie-Francine Hébert, Illustrated by Jean-Luc Trudel (Éditions Les 400 coups)

Marilyn Baillie Picture Book Award ($20,000)

1. Mr. King's Things by Geneviève Côté (Kids Can Press)

2. Mr. Zinger's Hat by Cary Fagan, Illustrated by Dušan Petričić (Tundra Books)

3. The Stamp Collector by Jennifer Lanthier, Illustrated by Francois Thisdale (Fitzhenry & Whiteside)

4. Uncle Wally's Old Brown Shoe by Wallace Edwards (Orca Book Publishers)

5. Virginia Wolf by Kyo Maclear, Illustrated by Isabelle Arsenault (Kids Can Press)

Norma Fleck Award for Canadian Children’s Non-Fiction ($10,000)

1. Going Up! Elisha Otis's Trip to the Top by Monica Kulling, Illustrated by David Parkins
(Tundra Books)

2. Kate & Pippin: An Unlikely Love Story by Martin Springett, Photographs by Isobel Springett (Puffin Canada)

3. Kids of Kabul: Living Bravely Through a Never-Ending War by Deborah Ellis (Groundwood Books)

4. Real Justice: Fourteen and Sentenced to Death - The Story of Steven Truscott by Bill Swan (Lorimer)

5. Rescuing the Children: The Story of Kindertransport by Deborah Hodge (Tundra)

Geoffrey Bilson Award for Historical Fiction for Young People ($5,000)
1. A Call to Battle (I Am Canada) by Gillian Chan (Scholastic Canada)
2. The Lynching of Louie Sam by Elizabeth Stewart (Annick Press)
3. Making Bombs for Hitler by Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch (Scholastic Canada)
4. Violins of Autumn by Amy McAuley (Walker Publishing Company Inc.)
5. Yesterday's Dead by Pat Bourke (Second Story Press)

John Spray Mystery Award ($5,000)

1. Becoming Holmes by Shane Peacock (Tundra)
2. Breakaway by Michael Betcherman (Razorbill/Penguin Group)
3. Devil's Press by Sigmund Brouwer (Orca Book Publishers)
4. The Lynching of Louie Sam by Elizabeth Stewart (Annick Press)
5. Neil Flambé and the Tokyo Treasure by Kevin Sylvester (Simon & Schuster)

Monica Hughes Award for Science Fiction and Fantasy ($5,000)

1. The Girl with the Borrowed Wings by Rinsai Rossetti (Dial Books)
2. Island of Doom: The Hunchback Assignments IV by Arthur Slade (HarperCollins)
3. Rebel Heart by Moira Young (Doubleday Canada)
4. Seraphina by Rachel Hartman (Doubleday Canada)
5. Shadows Cast by Stars by Catherine Knutsson (Atheneum Books for Young Readers)

The winners will be announced at the two invite-only galas held in Toronto on October 22, 2013 and Montreal on October 29, 2013. Young readers are encouraged to vote for their favourite book from the shortlisted TD Award titles for the first ever Fan Choice Award, presented by TD and CBC Books. For more information, click here.

Congratulations finalists! 

Why is this children's book being 'censored' in Canada?

Ken Setterington's new book Branded by the Pink Triangle comes out April 22nd. You can watch Ken discuss with CBC's Hanna Sung the issue of censorship in schools and libraries when his book Mom and Mum are Getting Married came out.
And speaking of censorship here is the ALA's top 10 list of most challenged books for 2012:

1. Captain Underpants series, by Dav Pilkey
2. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie
3. Thirteen Reasons Why, by Jay Asher
4. Fifty Shades of Grey, by E.L. James
5. And Tango Makes Three, by Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson
6. The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini
7. Looking for Alaska, by John Green
8. Scary Stories series, by Alvin Schwartz
9. The Glass Castle, by Jeanette Walls
10. Beloved, by Toni Morrison

 

Marissa Meyer!

Ok so it's not the best picture but still worth sharing. Marissa Meyer , author of Cinder and Scarlet was in town recently to promote her book. One of the booksellers, (who had been Marissa's Pen Pal for ten years but had never met her until now), made this awesome sweatshirt for Marissa's first visit to T-dot.

Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell

Eleanor and Park has been an in-house favourite and now it is out the buzz is building even more. It has already gone into three printings since it came out in February and has had starred reviews in Kirkus, Booklist and PW. The NYT gave it a rave review. My favourite line from the review was ‘Eleanor & Park’ reminded me not just what it’s like to be young and in love with a girl, but also what it’s like to be young and in love with a book.” 

Hey DIVERGENT fans!! CONTEST ALERT!

The hottest book of the Spring season is going to be INSURGENT by Veronica Roth, follow up to the much acclaimed DIVERGENT. It goes on sale MAY 1st and people have been dying to read it. Advance reading copies for INSURGENT were few and far between, but I've managed to secure a copy for a contest! It's a great prize- not only do you get an ARC of INSURGENT (and the chance to read it before your friends and colleagues), you'll also get an autographed copy of DIVERGENT!

Contest rules:

• Contest is open to librarians and teachers in CANADA only
• To enter please send an e-mail to deweydivasinfo@gmail.com with the subject 'Insurgent Contest'. You must provide the full mailing address of your library or school.
• Contest begins today (April 10th) and I'll collect entries until 5pm (EST) on Monday April 16th and notify the winner via e-mail.
• Only one entry per person please. However, I'm running a simultaneous contest on the HarperCollins Canada Library blog HCCLibraryLove (yes, that's right- two identical but separate prizes!), so you may want to enter both contests to increase your chances of winning!
• Odds of winning are dependent on the number of entries, but still MUCH better than winning the 6/49. :)
  

Good luck!-Rosalyn (@rozsteele)
_____________________________________________________

UPDATE- The winners of both contests have been notified, but if you'd like another chance to win, you may want to check out the HarperCollins Canada Facebook page. They are currently giving away THREE ARCs of Insurgent (ends April 22nd)...

Step Backwards in Time

My favourite new YA book for the spring season is called The Night Sky in My Head. It’s reminiscent of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime because of the unusual perspective of the narrator, which in this case is 14 yr. old Mikey. He’s suffered head trauma in a terrible accident and has a big scar on his head, but he can’t remember what happened. However, since the accident Mikey has acquired the ability to go backwards in time. He’ll walk by a bus shelter, or beside the river, and see visions of particular events that happened there. These visions are clues to a mystery, one that involves Mikey’s absent father, his new friend Ralph and the unusual scar. The suspense builds as pieces of the puzzle start to come together until we finally understand the circumstances surrounding the tragic accident. It’s a gripping story that will challenge YA readers and lead to some interesting discussions.

Dystopian Tour Contest

Last week, I had the pleasure of meeting authors Veronica Roth (Divergent) and Lauren Oliver (Delirium) when they were in Toronto for the Dystopian Fiction Tour. InnerSPACE hosted the event that I attended at Indigo Yorkdale and aired the footage of the event during their broadcast the following night! Some fans had been there waiting in line for hours!

So what did Veronica Roth and Lauren Oliver have to say about their trip to Canada? Check out this link for Veronica's blog and this link for Lauren Oliver's blog.

As promised, for those who could not attend the events, I did get books signed. I'm offering up THREE of the following fabulous prize packs:

A Signed copy of both Divergent and Delirium
A Signed poster of Divergent
A 'Swag' bag full of cool tattoos & fun extras

If you are a librarian or teacher located in Canada and would like to win one of these great prize packs, please send me an e-mail at rosalyn.steele@harpercollins.com with Dystopian Fiction Contest in the subject line.

I'll collect entries until 9 a.m. on Friday June 10th and randomly draw three winners from the qualified entrants.

Remember- your odds of winning a fabulous prize on the Dewey Diva blog are MUCH better than winning the lotto!