TRAGICALLY HIP KIDS BOOK COLLAB!

F is for Fireworks / G is for Goodnight Attawapiskat (exerpts from The Tragically Hip ABC, Tundra Books 2024)

A while back I was approached by an old friend, Drew Macklin, to help create a kid’s book for the Tragically Hip. I jumped at the opportunity to celebrate a band that was a memorable part of my youth. Long story short, we ended up working with three other amazing Canadian illustrators and Tundra Books (Penguin Random House) to pay homage to one of Canada’s most iconic bands. Thanks to all of those involved!

Tundra Books calls it:

A love letter to The Tragically Hip, one of Canada's most beloved bands, this ABC picture book features illustrations from four renowned Canadian illustrators.

The Tragically Hip, fronted by the late Gord Downie, is a legendary, bestselling Canadian band. And now, almost forty years of music can be appreciated in a brand-new way: an ABC picture book! From "A is for Ahead by a Century" to "N is for New Orleans is Sinking" all the way to "Z is for Frozen in My Tracks," this illustrated ode to the band will be enjoyed by readers of all ages. Featuring art from Canadian illustrators Clayton Hanmer, Julia Breckenreid, Bridget George and Monika Melnychuk, this is the perfect gift for Hip fans old and new!

The Tragically Hip ABC is available in late October wherever you buy books! Pre-order yours today.

COME CELEBRATE IN ALMONTE!

Celebrate the launch of The Museum of Odd Body Leftovers with me at the Almonte branch of The Mississippi Mills Library on Saturday, Nov.5th from 10:30am until noon!

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I’ll be there to discuss my latest book and my illustration process. We’ll also get our drawing utensils warmed up with a super fun comic art creation activity for kids 7-14 yrs old (and your families)!

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Did you know your amazing, incredible body is a walking, talking museum of evolution!?

In The Museum of Odd Body Leftovers, tour guides Wisdom Tooth & Disappearing Kidney lead readers through a wacky museum dedicated to vestigial structures: body parts that were essential to our ancestors but are no longer useful to us – even though they're still hanging around!

A perfect STEM resource!

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Register now by calling 613-256-1037 or visiting this sign-up page!

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@greystonekidsbooks #kidsbooks #picturebooks #picturebookstagram #naturebooks #kidslit #illustration #comics

NEW BOOK OUT NOW!

I'm super excited to announce the release of my latest book, The Museum of Odd Body Leftovers, written by the amazing Rachel Poliquin & published by the awesome Greystone Kids! Available now at your local bookstore or online here. 🤖🤘🧑‍🔬🧬🎉
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A perfect STEM resource: This illustrated tour of our “leftover” body parts (like the appendix, or even goosebumps) introduces readers age 7-11 to the bizarre and fascinating science of evolution. 

Welcome to the weirdest museum you’ll ever explore—the one inside your body. 

Did you know your amazing, incredible body is a walking, talking museum of evolution? In The Museum of Odd Body Leftovers, tour guides Wisdom Tooth and Disappearing Kidney lead readers through a wacky museum dedicated to vestigial structures: body parts that were essential to our ancestors but are no longer useful to us—even though they’re still hanging around. 

From goosebumps and hiccups to exploding organs and monkey muscles, each room in the museum shows us that these parts have stories to tell us about our past. By the time we make it to the gift shop, we’ll understand that evolution is not only messy and imperfect, but also ongoing. Our bodies are constantly changing along with the environment we live in—and there’s so much that is still unknown, just waiting to be discovered. 

Engaging, hilarious, and a visual treat, The Museum of Odd Body Leftovers is a place you’ll want to visit again and again.
#stemforkids #evolution

2021 YELLOW CEDAR AWARD!

2021 Forest of Reading

TRENDING WINS 2021 YELLOW CEDAR AWARD!

I’m super excited, thrilled AND honoured to announce that my latest book collaboration with author Kira Vermond (Owlkids 2020), Trending: How and Why Stuff Gets Popular, has won the 2021 Forest of Reading Yellow Cedar Award! Thanks to all the voters/kids/readers out there for voting for Trending (and enjoying the book). It’s also our favourite to date as well! Check out the highly entertaining virtual event hosted by comedian/actor, Ali Hassan, here!

ABOUT THE FOREST OF READING

The Forest of Reading® is Canada’s largest recreational reading program! This initiative of the Ontario Library Association (OLA) offers ten reading programs to encourage a love of reading in people of all ages. The Forest helps celebrate Canadian books, publishers, authors and illustrators. More than 270,000 readers participate annually from their school and/or public library. All Canadians are invited to participate via their local public library, school library, or individually.

The Forest of Reading Award Programs are where children and young adults pick the winner! Readers choose a program that they would like to be a part of, usually based on their age or grade, and simply begin reading! They can read all ten of the titles, or pick and choose to read only the ones they are interested in. Participants are encouraged to read at least five of the ten titles to be eligible to vote in April. This program aims to encourage a genuine and life-long love of reading among readers of all ages.

 
 

TRENDING:
HOW AND WHY STUFF
GETS POPULAR

Written by
Kira Vermond

Illustrated by
Clayton ‘CTON’ Hanmer

Published by
Owlkids Books

TOURING ACROSS CANADA!

Canadian Children’s Book Week 2021

TOURING ACROSS CANADA!

WHAT?! During the pandemic?! How??? Why???!!!

Well, thanks to the magic of the internet and the Canadian Children’s Book Centre, I will be joining a crew of amazing Canadian creators touring around Canada (virtually) for Canadian Children’s Book Week 2021, visiting schools, libraries, community centres and bookstores to share our love of creating books!

⁠Usually, this amazing week is a physical tour for authors, illustrators and storytellers but since we are living in strange times, the Canadian Children's Book Centre has taken it completely online. This allows for all of those involved to visit several provinces and territories during their travels. A task that would be quite difficult to pull off in normal times!

From May 3rd to 7th, I will be stopping in New Brunswick, Quebec and the Northwest Territories to talk to kids about being an illustrator. We will discuss all things doodles, including comics and how they can use the medium to write stories of their own.

.🇨🇦 🍁 📚 📕 📖 🔖 🧒🏽⁠
#CCBCBookWeek2021 / #liretoutvent

I'D LIKE TO THANK ALL THE GREAT FOLKS
THAT ARE MAKING MY TOUR POSSIBLE:

Organizers:

The Canadian Children's Book Centre / Communication-Jeunesse

Funders:

The Canada Council for the Arts #BringingTheArtsToLife

The Government of the Northwest Territories

Sponsors:

First Book Canada (these great folks not only sponsored one of my events but also provided a copy of my latest book, Trending, to every kid taking part in that particular presentation!)

 

WHERE I’M GOING:

  • Forest Glen Elementary School, Moncton, NB

  • LP Fisher Public Library,
    Woodstock, NB

  • Joliette Elementary School,
    Saint-Charles-Borromée, QC

  • Pierre Elliott Trudeau
    Elementary School,
    Blainville, QC

  • Laurentian Elementary School, Lachute, QC

  • Belle Anse Elementary School, Gaspé, QC

  • Líídlįį Kúę Elementary School
    Fort Simpson, NWT

  • Paul William Kaeser High School
    Fort Smith, NWT

  • Click here for a google map of all the schools & libraries I’ll be visiting.

PART OF THE TRANSATLANTIC FAMILY

Big News!

NOW PART OF THE TRANSATLANTIC FAMILY!

I’m thrilled to announce my new partnership with literary agent, Fiona Kenshole @ The Transatlantic Agency.

Fiona came to agenting after nearly a decade as VP at Laika Studios, creating a development slate of new projects for the Academy Award-winning animation studio, including the Oscar-nominated THE BOXTROLLS and CORALINE.

Previously she was a senior publisher in the UK where she published authors including Michael Bond (Paddington Bear), P.L Travers (Mary Poppins) and the Laureate Michael Morpurgo (War Horse) and was UK editor for Beverley Cleary, Lois Lowry, Bruce Coville, Gary Paulsen and Cynthia Voigt. She was nominated for “Editor of the Year” at the British Book Awards.

Fiona enjoys being on faculty as a conference guest speaker throughout the US and in Europe. She has taught publishing at Oxford Brookes University and Portland State; organized events for the Oxford Literary Festival and is herself a published author. A British citizen, Fiona is based in Portland, Oregon.

She joined Transatlantic in 2013. Her clients’ recent successes include Rosanne Parry’s MG A WOLF CALLED WANDER (Andersen Press/Greenwillow) which has spent 37 weeks in the NYT bestseller list and sold in 11 languages, and Vicki Grant’s YA rom-com, 36 QUESTIONS THAT CHANGED MY MIND ABOUT YOU (Running Press), which sold in 22 languages and is optioned for TV.

Transatlantic Agency is a North American literary management company with a vibrant and diverse team of 18 agents known for their integrity, commitment and success representing storytellers across all genres and formats for books, speaking and TV & Film.

DRAWING COMICS WITH CTON

Workshop Video

DRAWING COMICS WITH CTON

It was only a year ago this past summer that I was the TD Summer Reading Club’s official artist. This year, the club had to think differently due to the COVID-19 pandemic and create an learning experience that was almost entirely online. Part of this shift was to have authors and illustrators create YouTube videos based on their work. I was once again honoured to be called upon to be part of this initiative during these crazy times.

What did was convert my live comic workshop into an online version which showed kids how to create their own characters using simple shapes. Then, wrote a comic on the spot using these wacko characters. Watch the video to find out who I came up with and what happened to them!

Stay tuned for future videos…

 

Video created by CTON for:

TD Summer Reading Club is Canada’s biggest, bilingual summer reading program for kids of all ages, all interests, and all abilities. Find out more: tdsummerreadingclub.ca

Bibliovideo is a YouTube channel all about Canadian children’s books.

The Canadian Children’s Book Centre is a national, not-for-profit organization founded in 1976. We are dedicated to encouraging, promoting and supporting the reading, writing and illustrating of Canadian books for young readers. Find out more: bookcentre.ca

Also supported by the Canada Council for the Arts.