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NEWS
Hello, Groundwood Books News readers! Happy May to you all. We have some great stuff to share with you this month, including a couple of really special new releases, awards news, a giveaway you don't want to miss, a Mother's Day feature on HIPPY Canada, and an exclusive interview with Matt Beam. Read on!
 
Roslyn Rutabaga and the Biggest Hole on Earth! by Marie-Louise Gay and I Know Here by Laurel Croza and by Matt James have been shortlisted for the 2011 Ruth and Sylvia Schwartz Children's Book Award!
This year's winner will be chosen by five students in grades 3 and 4 from Agnes Macphail Public School in Toronto. The winner will be announced on May 26, 2011.
Good luck to Marie-Louise, Laurel and Matt!
 We're delighted to be a part of Spanglish Baby's My Bilingual School Library Contest!
One very lucky bilingual (Spanish-English) library will win $500 worth of books! If you're a librarian, teacher, parent of a child at a school with a bilingual library or just know someone who could take advantage of this incredible giveaway, please visit the Spanglish Baby website to learn more.
* *  Groundwood Books has been working in partnership with HIPPY Canada for over two years now, providing picture books with Canadian content for literacy programs. In honor of Mother's Day this month, we would like to share a story from this amazing program and how it is essential for many mothers in Canada.
A case study from our friends at HIPPY:
Kalpana was young. She was determined. She had come to Canada in search of a better life. So when this Sri Lankan mom heard of HIPPY, she didn't hesitate. She knew she had found her ticket. Kalpana's English was good, but her French was only basic, which was a problem as she lived in Quebec and wanted to participate in her child's schooling. Through HIPPY she enrolled in language classes. In her second year with HIPPY, she became a home visitor in the program and worked with families in English, Tamil and French. Her dedication and contribution to building bridges between her own Tamil community and Quebec society is remarkable. Through her work with HIPPY, Kalpana has become a more independent woman, a role model in her community and an inspiration to her colleagues. After two years as a home visitor, she was ready to move on and, today, Kalpana is working as a French early childhood educator in a community day care center.
To learn more, please visit the HIPPY Canada website.
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MAY NEW RELEASES
CITY NUMBERS
Written by Joanne Schwartz
Photos by Matt Beam
Joanne Schwartz and Matt Beam have discovered numbers in many different forms all over the city. They are on houses and apartment buildings, on store windows and doors, on trucks and garbage bins, on sidewalks and parking spots. They are printed, spray-painted, molded in plastic, chiseled in stone, stamped on vinyl, even torched into metal. We see these numbers, often unconsciously, every day, but the wonderful photographs in this book prompt us to look at them more closely, becoming aware and alive to the art, serendipity and variety that surround us. This is another beautifully conceived book for anyone who enjoys engaging visually with the city.
Advance reviews of City Numbers:
"An impeccably designed yet playful twist on the traditional counting book." -- Publishers Weekly
"Highly recommended." -- CM Magazine
*
 MY TATTOOED DAD
By Daniel Nesquens
Illustrated by Magicomora
"Dad goes and comes. Like the day, like the night."
A young boy describes what life is like when his dad comes home -- how he fries up chicken samosas for dinner, how he makes jokes and fools around, and how he carries him off to bed when he is sleepy. His dad also tells wonderful stories of his adventures in far-off lands, often inspired by his many exotic tattoos. His letters to his son are full of great stories about the past -- what the first date with the boy's mother was like and how he saved the boy's life twice, once when he was stolen from his baby basket by a dog and once when he flew out the car window. But as his mother says, his dad has ants in his pants, which means he's often not around. Still, life rolls along with one fantastical tale after another, in good times and bad. This extraordinary father's gift is the life of the imagination, which is always with his son, even when he is not.
Advance reviews of My Tattooed Dad:
"A strange and entertaining affirmation of the parent-child bond." -- Kirkus Reviews
>> Enter to win a copy of My Tattooed Dad in our May contest! |
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AUTHOR EVENTS
 Jody Nyasha Warner (Viola Desmond Won't Be Budged)
Canadian Children's Book Week
Tuesday, May 3, 10:00-11:00 a.m.
Toronto Public Library: Thorncliffe Branch
48 Thorncliffe Park Drive
Toronto, ON
* * * *   Richard Swift and Jane Springer (Gangs and the Groundwork Guides)
Launch and celebration of 5 years of Groundwork Guides
Thursday, May 5, 8:00 p.m.
Jet Fuel
519 Parliament Street
Toronto, ON
Sponsored by Another Story Book Shop and Steamwhistle.
 Joanne Schwartz and Matt Beam (City Numbers)
Launch
Saturday, May 7, 3:00 p.m.
TYPE Books
883 Queen Street West
Toronto, ON
Matt Beam (City Numbers)
ALOUD at Harbourfront Centre
Wednesday, May 11, 1:00 p.m.
Brigantine Room
235 Queen's Quay West
Toronto, ON
$13
 Rukhsana Khan (Wanting Mor)
Asian Heritage Month: South Asian Homelands Festival
Saturday, May 14, 11:30-12:30 p.m.
Toronto Public Library: Malvern Branch
30 Sewells Road
Toronto, ON
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AUTHOR INTERVIEW
A Q&A with Matt Beam, illustrator of City Numbers
What was your process for taking the photos in City Numbers? Did you go out looking or just come across a number that would inspire you?
The process for taking my photographs for the book occurred in three stages. The pre-City Numbers stage was at the beginning of my career as a photographic artist when I trolled the city and took all kinds of shots. As some photographers say, "It was like shooting fish in a barrel." There were so many things in the city -- mostly small, close-up things -- that interested me. I just couldn't stop.
One of those things was numbers. The image on the back of the book, 90.705, was one of those first shots. The second stage was more conscious. I didn't know what Joanne's and my creative vision was yet but I knew my job was to look for interesting digits out there in the city. 100, on the title page, is an example of this. The final stage was when I knew the parameters of the book, and I had to fill in some gaps. 13 was one of these. It was on a truck from out of town. 13 was just visiting the city, and yet was a part of it for a short while.
Do you have a favorite number in the book?
My favorite number is the final one, but it's a surprise. You'll have to open the book up to see it. My second favorite is the first one. But it isn't a one, it's a zero. But it's not only a zero, it's three zeros that -- and this is my favorite part -- is still just zero! What a concept. Numbers are awesome.
>> Read more . . .
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BOOKSTORE OF THE MONTH
A Q&A with Paul McLaren, co-owner of Chat Noir Books
 Chat Noir Books 57 Whitewood Ave. New Liskeard, ON PO Box 910 P0J 1P0 (705) 647-8215 How long has the bookstore been in business? We have been open for eight years now. Do you have a favorite book? It is really hard to pick just one book, so here are my top three favorite fiction books as of today: Trader by Charles de Lint, Through Black Spruce by Joseph Boyden, and Lamb by Christopher Moore. Do you have a favorite Anansi or Groundwood book? That is a tough one as well! I would have to say A Short History of Progress by Ronald Wright and Player One by Douglas Coupland would be my top two picks!
>> Read more . . . (scroll down to bottom of Anansi homepage)
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Thanks for reading! Talk to you soon.
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