BC Book Prizes - 2010

The BC Book Prize gala was this past weekend in Victoria. I was hoping to make it this year, but couldn't swing the trip. Congratulations to all of the nominees and winners. Sheryl McFarlane did a blogpost about part of the evening, which you can read here.

For a full list of the finalists and winners visit the BC Book Prizes site.

Lu & Clancy Go to Hong Kong

Fun to receive these copies of Lu and Clancy in the mail. They've been translated into Complex Chinese by Sun Ya Publications of Hong Kong.

Canada Children's Book Week Moving to Spring

Many of you may have been on the receiving or delivering end of the Canadian Children's Book Week. News from the Canadian Children's Book Centre this week is that they are moving the event from fall to spring. The press release explains it all, but weather seems to have played a big part. Moving authors around Canada in November can be problematic at times. This change means no Book Week in 2010, but it will be back May 201..

The Future of Publishing?

You may have already seen this, but it is very clever. (I have a long list of posts to get up soon. Yes, soon!)

I is for Inuksuk

Mary Wallace is Canada's Queen of the Inuksuk, or at least one of its greatest supporters! Her latest book: I is for Inuksuk: An Arctic Celebration, follows her other books: The Inuksuk Book, Make Your Own Inuksuk, and Inuksuk Journey.

Although at first glance you might think I is for Inuksuk is an alphabet book, it is actually an acrostic poem, with each letter in the word INUKSUK serving as a way to introduce another Inuktitut word. For example, "N is or Nanuq, the powerful polar bear of the North." After the introductory set up, Wallace goes on to provide more information related to that word. With smaller illustrations and a line or two of text, we learn, for example, that polar bears are good swimmers, that they hunt seals and give birth to babies in winter dens. We also get a close look at a paw print, complete with ice-gripping claws.

Other pages explore transportation, clothing, wildlife, family life and more. Wallace includes the Inuktitut script for each word, which is useful to show children that the Latin Alphabet is not the only one going. (One of my favourite things to do at school visits is to show children my books that have been translated into Arabic or Chinese script. This inevitably launches in to a discussion about alphabets and scripts.)

Wallace is also the illustrator of this book and her vibrant, joyful (especially U is for Umiaq where we see a family paddling their umiaq - summer sea boat — through the rolling seas) are highly appealing and engaging. (One pet peeve — and Ms. Wallace is not alone with this — is the huge plume of water gushing out of the whale's blowhole. The biologist in me cringes when I see this. The blowhole is connected to the lung. A whale with this much water in its lungs would be dead. (Yes, whales can drown.) The water you see "spouting" from whales is condensation. Think of what your breath looks like on the cool day. There is also a bit of water on top of the blowhole, but there is never a plume like this. Okay, biology lesson over.) I can see her illustrations sparking some wonderful art classes with a creative teacher at the helm, much like one of my girl's teacher used Ted Harrison's art.)

Each spread in the book includes a different type of inuksuk and its meaning. Children will enjoy trying to find each one on the pages. (And it was a revelation to me to learn that there were different types.) There is also a helpful. Inuktitut pronunciation guide.

Here's the publisher's blurb and a review from Canadian Materials.

You're Mean, Lily Jean (and many other books)

I'm back. I have a stack of books on my desk I've been meaning to blog about. (And a box under it, too. Sigh.) My own work and other writing projects have been taking my time, but these slower days (for the moment at least; comments from my editor are imminent) are giving me a bit of time to finally post. I hope you enjoy — or at least find useful — these updates and links. First up: You're Mean, Lily Jean by Frieda Wishinsky, illustrated by Kady MacDonald Denton.

Frieda was in Tough City earlier in the year so we had a chance to meet and have a cup of tea. It's always wonderful to meet other writers from across the country, so I'm glad she looked me up. I suspect there is not a child (probably female child) in the country, or an adult (probably female, too) who cannot relate to the scenario in You're Mean, Lily Jean. A new girl moves in next door — oh, joy! But it turns out that Lily Jean is a tad bossy and while she's happy to play with Sandy, she exerts her will and bossiness over Sandy's young sister, Carly. Whatever Lily Jean deems the girls shall play — house, cowgirls, king and queen — Carly is only permitted to play if she takes on a "lesser" role — baby, cow, dog. The dynamics of a trio of girls, which is already dredging up squirmy memories for me, is also at play in this book. Carly plays along, but only to a point. As you can expect, Lily Jean gets her comeuppance at the book's crescendo and all is resolved satisfactorily at the end, without any meanness. Kady MacDonald Denton's illustrations have always appealed to me, ever since I started reading 'Til All the Stars Have Fallen: Canadian Poems for Children with my own wee sprogs. (It's a fabulous book, by the way, and still in print almost 20 years later.) Her illustrations are bright and playful and the children's expressions, especially Carly when she is being relegated to the role of cow (complete with moos) cracks me up. Her art perfectly complements the characters well-envisioned by Wishinsky.

Others have a lot to say about this book, often along the lines of teaching about bullying and expressing ones feelings. Of course this is all very true, but above all it's a wonderful story, with spot-on illustrations, that I bet all children (old and not so) can relate to. What more could you want?

Here's the publisher's blurb and a review from Quill and Quire.

Honour Book Honour for Robots

Robots: From Everyday to Out of This World, my most recent chlidren's book, was one of the finalists for the Children's Literature Roundtables of Canada Information Book Award. The short-list had six books on it. One Peace was the winner, but Robots was named one of two "honour books."

Orca Books

Here's an update on a great Canadian (and British Columbian) publisher surviving in these tenuous times. Long ago I published a book with Orca. It's still one of my favourites, but is sadly long out of print.

Sell One, Give One Away

Awesome Book Tour from Dallas Clayton on Vimeo.

So what do you think of this? In an era when book publishing is in such flux, it's an interesting story of someone finding a new way. Of course self-publishing is not new, but he's also created what looks like (I haven't seen it) a great book that is well produced and, obviously, one that has struck a chord.

Remembrance Day Trio

This will come late to anyone hoping to plan something for the classroom or library, but, honestly, these books are good enough to haul out whenever you are discussing war, peace, poetry, history, and the lives of children here and there. I have just emerged from a very long book project and this was the earliest I could get to making this post, but these titles have been a diversion in the past for weeks for which I've been very grateful.

Linda Granfield, one of the finest non-fiction writers in Canada, has one new book out this year: Remembering John McCrae: Solidier, Doctor, Poet and, from last year, there is The Unknown Soldier.

I suspect that almost every child in Canada can recite at least the first few lines of "In Flanders fields, the poppies grow / Beneath the crosses, row on row...". Granfield's book brings depth to this poem as we learn the story of John McCrae, the man who scribbled it on a scrap of paper in honour of his friend, Alexis Helmer. This is just the kind of book I love—a running story line supported by a plethora of photos, paintings, journal excerpts, ephemera (even a photo of bone forceps) which adds graphical, and textual, interest to the pages. I can imagine a child browsing through the book, being drawn in by these images. Quotations from McCrae's letters and journals allow us to hear from McCrae himself.

This book is many things, but one thing that struck me after I finished is how it helps bring context to poetry. I think poetry if often intimidating to people, young and not so, and there is somehow a feeling of inadequacy when trying to "understand" it. But poetry is a source of expression — be it of joy or grief — and this book helps give context to that expression and somehow, I hope, make poetry — or at least the idea of poetry — more accessible to everyone.

Here's a review from Canadian Materials.

Apropos to this book, there is a show discussing Remembrance Day on the radio and one of the hosts just said that one of the greatest sorrows of veterans is to be forgotten. Was is such a tragic waste of life — usually young life — and with each death, a bit more of the human potential is lost. Memorials to the Unknown Soldiers help to remind us of those who were lost, and, tragically, never repatriated. These monuments give a place for people to remember all of the men who died and buried on the battlefield.

The Unknown Soldier also brings us to "The Unknown" monuments throughout the world as Granfield describes the monuments in 15 countries. The traditions surrounding these monuments was most interesting to me. In Moscow, for instance, it is a wedding tradition for newlyweds to leave flowers at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Being one who enjoys visiting graveyards — they always seem very beautiful to me — I also enjoyed the spread explaining the symbols on gravestones. These sorts of details may be the perfect conduit to bring children into this book. The Unknown Soldier is another valuable addition to any bookshelf.

Here's a review from Canadian Materials.

Finally, the book Too Young to Fight: Memories From Out Youth During World War II compiled by Priscilla Galloway. I suspect this book is out of print now as it was first published ten years ago and, its publisher, Stoddart, is no longer with us. It is a gem, however, so worth searching for. (Wait! It's been republished by Fitzhenry and Whiteside!) Books about war are almost always about people fighting the war, but there were many ways in which people were affected. Perhaps a parent went to the battlefield, or your town was bombed, or you were interned because of your ethnicity. This book includes the remembrances of 12 Canadian writers who "were too young to fight." I'll confess that it's awhile since I've read this book, but it's on my stack for later today.

I'm not sure exactly how to sign off, but I can't help but remember a childhood friend of my sister's who brought my parents a "Happy Remembrance Day" card. Perhaps she didn't quite have the sentiment of the day right, but it was certainly memorable!

Letter to a Scientist (a "top" one)

Something to make your day, from Letters of Note, via BookNinja. Oh, so fabulous.



Read more about the letter here. It was sent in 1957 in a young person's bid to bring Australia into the space race. I love the: "You put in the other details."

Support for BC Bookworld

Four times a year I look forward to a new edition of BC Bookworld. Each issue profiles BC authors, illustrators and publishers, including self-published authors. It is an invaluable resource and a wonderful way to profile all things literary about BC. The magazine is available free through bookstores and on the BC ferries as well, so it is sure to get into peoples' hands and, no doubt, helps put new writers in readers' hot little hands. You can also subscribe to BC Bookworld for the very reasonable price of $25. Given the latest round of funding cuts BC Bookworld's future is a bit shaky. Please take a minute to read this letter and consider supporting BC Bookworld.

Dear Friend,

For more than twenty years, Alan Twigg and David Lester have produced B.C. BookWorld, Canada?s most-read independent publication about books. It?s an educational newspaper that serves 100,000 people per issue, via more than 900 distribution outlets around the province.

With the onset of the Olympics, the B.C. provincial government has suddenly withdrawn all its annual support, terminating a 22-year partnership with the non-profit society that sponsors B.C. BookWorld. The news came in a brisk phone call in October, without any explanation, and no paper trail, with less than one month?s notice.

Similar calls were made, on the same day, to the B.C. book publishers? association and the B.C. magazine publishers? association.

The future of B.C. BookWorld is now in jeopardy.

If you value and enjoy B.C. BookWorld, I invite you to help preserve and embolden this essential publication by sending a Supportive Subscription cheque of $25 to:

Pacific BookWorld News Society
3516 West 13th Avenue
Vancouver, B.C.
V6R 2S3

In return, B.C. BookWorld will be mailed to your home or office address throughout 2010.

Please act now. As legendary Canadian publisher Jack McClelland put it, ?In all sincerity, let me say that I have never encountered a book journal as engaging as B.C. BookWorld.?


Sent on behalf of Pacific BookWorld News Society; publisher Howard White (president), historian Jean Barman, Simon Fraser University chief librarian Lynn Copeland, Canadian Centre for Studies in Publishing director Rowland Lorimer, Association of Book Publishers of British Columbia executive director Margaret Reynolds, author Andreas Schroeder, bookseller Don Stewart, Vancouver Public Library chief librarian Paul Whitney. In conjunction with the Coalition for the Defence of Writing and Publishing in British Columbia.

More Word on the Street

Thanks again to the fab. CWILL-BC blog — here's a list (with links) of all of the BC writers and illustrators creating children's books who will be appearing at Vancouver's Word on the Street event. Thanks, Tanya!

Win a Writer or Illustrator!

Head on over to the CWILL-BC blog to learn more about the Fall Book Harvest and to learn how you can win a visit by a BC writer or illustrator.

One Week Until The Word on the Street

Next Sunday, September 27, is The Word on the Street. This year's events will be held in Vancouver, Kitchener, Toronto, and Halifax. I will be at the Vancouver event, in the magazine tent with the magazine and also presenting in the Kids' Tent at 4 pm. See you there!

TD Books Kids' Club

The CBC and TD are holding a contest to have a kids' book club come to your school. All you need to do is organize some sort of cheer and have your teacher or principal record it and send it off to the CBC. (Well, and then you have to win of course.) The classes that win get to meet the author travelling in their area and, of course, have their scintillating discussion recorded for all to hear. This year the regions are limited to: Greater Vancouver, Edmonton area, Calgary area, Manitoba, Montreal area, and mainland Nova Scotia. (And, yes, those odd and inconsistent descriptions are from the contest details.) Details here.

September Q&Q Reviews

Quill and Quire's September issue has reviews of the latest children's books by: Arthur Slade, Valerie Wyatt, Joanne Schwartz, Melanie Watt, Marie-Louise Gay, Mireille Messier, Nicholas Maes, James Laxer, Eric Walters, Fiona Bayrock, Nancy Harty, Maureen Garvie, Kenneth Oppel, Allison van Diepen, and Jocelyn Brown.

Canadian Materials Goes Weekly

Canadian Materials is now publishing weekly, which is great news for all those wanting to keep up on the latest on Canadian books for kids. This week look for interviews with Larry Verstraete, Eva Wiseman, and Marty Chan as well as 23 book reviews. (This is a great magazine, but I sure wish they'd come up with a new, more inspired, name!)

Upcoming Events: Fall Book Harvest

Mark your calendars. Fall Book Harvest is coming soon to the Vancouver area. This is a great opportunity to meet some of the Canadian authors and illustrators who are creating books for children. And, of course, it's a great chance to see (and purchase a signed copy of) their latest books. A similar event will be held in Victoria in November. Stay tuned!



For more about the Fall Book Harvest and the Hycroft Event (and other happenings from writers and illustrators in BC), visit the CWILL-BC Blog.

Finally the Bride, Not the Bridesmaid

After years of many other honours, my colleauges at YES Mag have finally been awarded the Periodical of the Year by the Association of Educational Publishers! This is much deserved honour for a very hard working crew.