$4.95 SUMMER 2013 VOL. 36 NO. 3 RECOMMENDED BOOKS + OPINIONS + PROFILES + NEWS + REVIEWS Savour the Summer with ... 30+ Writers of colour recommended new books by in conversation Richard Van Camp, Caroline Adderson, The two faces Meg Tilly, Jon Klassen of Georgia Graham and more Beyond Quinoa! Books about food 03 7125274 86123 Fall 2013 The Stowaways by Meghan Marentette October 15th | 978-1-927485-33-0 (HC) $19.95 Nat the Cat Can Sleep Like That by Victoria Allenby and illustrated by Tara Anderson September 1st | 978-1-927485-52-1 (HC) $19.95 Tweezle into Everything by Stephanie McLellan and illustrated by Dean Griffi ths th August 15 | 978-1-927485-47-7 (HC) $17.95 n o Cat Champions: Caring for our Feline Friends by Rob Laidlaw October 15th | 978-1-927485-31-6 (HC) / 978-1-927485-54-5 (PB) $19.95 (HC) / $14.95 (PB) Graffi ti Knight by Karen Bass August 15th | 978-1-927485-53-8 (PB) $14.95 [email protected] facebook.com/pajamapress @pajamapress1 pinterest.com/pajamapress CONTENTS THISI ISSUE booknews Summer 2013 Volume 36 No. 3 7 Seen at ... The envelope, please! At the Forest of Reading celebrations Editorr Gillian O’Reilly on May 15, 2013, the Red Maple Award nominees, both Fiction Copy Editor and Proofreaderr Shannon Howe Barnes and Non-Fiction, wait for the announcement of the winners Design Perna Siegrist Design and honour books. Advertising Michael Wile This informative magazine published quarterly by the Canadian Children’s Book Centre is available by yearly subscription. Single subscription — $24.95 plus sales tax (includes 2 issues of Best Books for Kids & Teens) Contact the CCBC for bulk subscriptions and for US or overseas subscription rates. Summer 2013 (July 2013) Canadian Publication Mail Product Sales Agreement 40010217 Published by the Canadian Children’s Book Centre ISSN 1705 – 7809 For change of address, subscriptions, or return of undeliverable copies, contact: The Canadian Children’s Book Centre 40 Orchard View Blvd., Suite 217 Toronto, ON M4R 1B9 Tel 416.975.0010 Fax 416.975.8970 Email [email protected] Website www.bookcentre.ca North Shore News Review copies, catalogues and press releases should be sent to the Editor at: [email protected] or to Gillian O’Reilly c/o the above address. For advertising information, contact: Michael Wile at [email protected] or 416.531.1483 Photo courtesy: Paul McGrath, readings.org 4 Opinion: Choosing an illustrator — 18 Bookmark! Beyond Quinoa the challenge of matching artist to text Books on food in honour of the UN Annick Press Art Director Sheryl Shapiro International Year of Quinoa. looks at the complex task of picking the right artist for the right book. 22 The Classroom Bookshelf High interest fi ction for reluctant readers. 6 News Roundup TD Book Week 2014; Barbara Reid named 24 Book Bits: Seeing the Light to Order of Canada; Eric Walters talks book, Four new picture books help readers to hope and blessings; Kids Can, Groundwood, “see the light” literally and metaphorically. Woozles celebrate important anniversa- ries; Spreading the Words in NWT and NS; 26 We Recommend COVER: Illustration from Mr. King’s Things, Joanne Fitzgerald Illustrator-in-Residence: written and illustrated by Geneviève Côté, Reviews of the latest in fi ne Canadian books Martha Newbigging; Jennifer Lanthier’s published by Kids Can Press Ltd., Toronto. for children and teens. Text and Illustrations © 2012 Geneviève Côté. speech at CCBC AGM. Used with permission. For more information, 40 Index of Reviews visit www.kidscanpress.ca. 7 Seen at ... MEDIUM: Multi-media A photographic look at book events. ABOUT THE Illustrator: Geneviève Côté studied Art and Graphic Design at Concordia University in 8 Keep Your Eye On ... Ashley Little Montreal. She has illustrated many books for children and she also enjoys writing her own stories. 10 The Two Faces of Georgia Graham Her editorial art has appeared in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Boston Globe and other The illustrator with two very different styles such publications. Côté’s books have received three talks about her work, her inspiration and her nominations for the Governor General’s Literary research. Award for Illustration, one of which went on to win, and she has also won the Elizabeth Mrazik-Cleaver 12 Writers of Colour in Conversation Award. Tololwa Mollel, Nicole Mortillaro, Dirk McLean, Sean L. Moore and Zetta Elliott explore their paths to publication and their audiences. SUMMER 2013 CANADIAN CHILDREN’S BOOK NEWS 1 FROM THE EDITOR GILLL IAN O’REILLY Board of Directors Todd Kyle, President Felicia Quon, Vice-President Leigh Chalmers, Treasurer Pat Daley Lisa Doucet Sharon Jennings Naomi Levine Shar Levine Charles McCarragher Lynne Missen Daryl Novak Roland Stringer Staff Charlotte Teeple Executive Director Shannon Howe Barnes Program Coordinator Meghan Howe Library Coordinator Holly Kent Sales and Marketing Manager Dawn Todd General Manager I have long said that, in their capacity for storytelling in pictures, children’s book illustrators are the natural heirs of the great artists of the late Middle Ages and Renaissance. (This theory was in no way diminished by a recent show of early Renaissance Patrons art at the Art Gallery of Ontario, where the saints’ eyes all looked remarkably like the eyes Marilyn Baillie of Jon Klassen’s bears.) You can explore illustration and storytelling in three of the articles Kit Pearson in this issue: art director Sheryl Shapiro’s thoughts on matching illustrator and text, Tina Powell Ian and Deb Wallace our profi le of noted and multi-faceted artist Georgia Graham and our Book Bits column which looks at new picture books, illustrated by award-winning artists. Sponsors Our feature article is a roundtable with fi ve authors of colour — fi ve voices that are Amazon.ca Friesens articulate, passionate, thoughtful, vibrant and engaging — as they discuss their work, HarperCollins Canada the publishing world and the audiences they write and illustrate for. Penguin Group (Canada) Rawlinson Moving & Storage Recently, Arthur Ellis Award-winner Lou Allin, who writes for Orca Book Publishers’ TD Bank Group high-interest/low-vocabulary Rapid Reads series for adults, described her creative process Funders as: “I write the story in my usual fashion, then hit the Hemingway key.” Her tongue-in- Canada Council for the Arts cheek comment rightly suggests that the art of creating these exciting and accessible reads Canadian Heritage (Canada Book Fund) requires considerable skill. Whether hi-lo books are written for teens or adults, the results Charles Baillie are a wonderful way to hook reluctant or struggling readers of any age. In The Classroom Fleck Family Foundation Bookshelf, Sandra O’Brien looks at four hi-lo books that will appeal to teens in the Manitoba Department of Culture, Heritage and Tourism classroom. PEI Department of Education and Early Childhood Development Happy reading. PEI Department of Tourism and Culture Ontario Arts Council Ontario Arts Foundation Toronto Public Library Yukon Department of Education Our Thanks The work of the Canadian Children’s Book Centre is made possible through the generous support of our members, volunteers, sponsors, funders and the continuing assistance of the Canada Council for the Arts, Writing and Publishing Section, and the Public Readings Program. Your feedback is important! EMAIL COMMENTS TO [email protected] We acknowledge the fi nancial support of the Government of Canada through the Department of Canadian Heritage’s Canada Book Fund program. Like us! facebook.com/kidsbookcentre Follow us! @kidsbookcentre WWW.BOOKCENTRE.CA SUMMER 2013 CANADIAN CHILDREN’S BOOK NEWS 3 OPINION SHERERYL SHAPIRO Choosing an illustrator THE CHALLENGE OF MATCHING ARTIST TO TEXT Spring is here and so is the list of new books I’ll be designing I look for creativity when browsing illustrator samples. I am for the next season. Working in the children’s book industry encouraged to go look at more art from an illustrator when means that every book I work on will need some sort of art. their sample manages to tell a little story, showing me some- Some will have archival photography, some will need maps, thing more than just technical merit. It isn’t easy. If the illus- some only small vignettes on lots of pages, and some full- trator has already had a book printed, that becomes a portfolio colour glorious illustrations. piece. That’s how artists who draw great dogs get picked for Choosing an illustrator for a book is like casting for a movie. another dog book or artists who paint great cities get chosen You feel more confi dent if you’ve seen something they’ve to do another book that needs architecture. acted in before. You often prefer to use a comedy actor for a Talking about looking for more artist samples, websites are comedy and a dramatic actor for a drama. You also want that critical. The website tells the art director a great deal about the person to bring his or her own personality to the role, to pro- artist. The more variety that is shown, the more likely it is that vide something fresh and insightful. one of the subjects or styles may be right. I’m not suggesting I don’t do that many picture books each year so opportu- illustrators not hone their own style but, if they are equally nities of the full glorious kind are somewhat limited. I quite good at a number of things, that is useful information to the frequently turn to an illustrator I’ve used before if their style art director. It is a small point, but websites that load slowly or of art will suit a manuscript. If they have proved that, in ad- are confusing are bad news because some of us harried view- dition to being technically talented, they also think creatively, ers give up more quickly than we should and move onto the are willing to work on a concept or piece of art until they get it next possibility on our list.