News from Orca Book Publishers

News from Orca Book Publishers
February 2010

News and notes...
(Click on the covers for more info).

YALSA Quick Picks...

Three Orca titles have been selected for the American Library Association's YALSA Quick Picks for Reluctant Readers list.

Taken by Norah McClintock;
Jacked, an Orca Soundings novel by Carrie Mac;
Five Minutes More by Darlene Ryan.

The list was voted on at the ALA Midwinter Conference in Boston in January.

More info here.

2010 Rainbow Project...

The Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgendered Round Table and the Social Responsibilities Round Table of the American Library Association have released the 2010 Rainbow Project bibliography of recommended titles for youth from birth to age 18 that contain significant and authentic content.

Inferno, a teen novel by Robin Stevenson, was one of 46 recommended titles.

Booklist said of Inferno: "Stevenson creates a compelling portrait of autonomy vs. conformity...Dante's sexuality is refreshingly not a problem, just a fact of life. Readers will recognize themselves and many of their peers in Stevenson's complex, likeable characters."

Hearing voices...

We were honored a few weeks ago to be interviewed on CBC Radio's national current events show, The Sunday Edition, as part of a panel on reaching reluctant readers. It was a great opportunity to talk about books, along with author Eric Walters and librarian Brenda Halliday. The Orca Soundings series was the star of the show.
Following the airing of the program, we had a number of phone calls and emails about the show, the books and the importance of the topic. Thanks to everyone who believes, as we do, that reading is one of the most important skills one can have and that access to books is the key to an engaged and educated population.

Listen to the Podcast here. The segment is about 30 minutes in.

Got Boing Boing?

The most recent entry in the Graphic Guide Adventure series - Media Meltdown - had the honor of being Boing Boinged recently. Sounds painful, you think? Not really, and most people love it. Boing Boing is one of the most influential sites on the web about new media and technology. Blogger and guru Cory Doctrow mentioned Media Meltdown, saying "Media Meltdown is a good mix of instructional and narrative comic, using the medium's strengths to illustrate how media is made, and giving kids the tools they need to research media-making for themselves...a great starting-point."

And check out the companion website for the book here. Lots of info for kids and teachers.

eARC...

No, that's not the sound of a hair ball. It is our newest attempt to save a tree (and promote a book). We send a lot of review copies out with every new release. Now we are trying something new-electronic Advance Reading Copies. Want one?
This season we are offering two new titles electronically for you to read, and rate. Click here to download either of these books - Plastic, an Orca Soundings novel by Sarah Harvey or Reckless, an Orca Currents title by Lesley Choyce.

Go on, save a tree, you know you wanna. Click here to download copies of both titles.

Is there an echo in here?

Now available: new packaging for the Orca Echoes series and a new Orca Echoes Resource Guide

The Orca Echoes are lively, entertaining short chapter books aimed at readers between ages seven and nine. These popular classroom favorites are well suited for social responsibility and character building programs and are all at a grade two reading level..
The Orca Echoes Resource Guide helps teachers open the door for meaningful classroom discussion. Professionally written guides with curriculum connections, writing exercises, discussion questions and activities are provided for each title in the Orca Echoes series. With additional information on teaching ideas, reading levels, literature circles and assessment, the Orca Echoes Resource Guide is a valuable tool for teachers using Orca Echoes in the classroom.

Guided Reading levels available. Call for details.

Willow Awards...
Two novels for younger readers, The Mealworm Diaries written by Anna Kerz and Meeting Miss 405 an Orca Young Reader by Lois Peterson, have been nominated for the Diamond Willow Award, part of the Saskatchewan Young Readers' Choice Award.

Kirkus said of The Mealworm Diaries: "This moving novel deftly weaves...serious issues into a realistic depiction of an ordinary boy moving forward despite his loss and doing the right thing by his troubled classmate."

More info on the Willow Awards here.

Thanks for reading!
Remember customer service? We do too. If you have a question about a title, want us to customize a collection for your school or library, are interested in what we can can do for your store, or just want to chat and exchange gossip, give us a call. Our toll-free customer service line is manned (personed?) from 8:30 to 4:30 PST.
Really - call us. We're waiting.