Books make some of the very best gifts ~ Part 1

Lana Button has a number of marvelous picture books, most recently, Tayra’s Not Talking from Kids Can Press see here. 

Also check out The Cow Said Boo (see here) Tough Like Mum (here), What If Bunny's NOT a Bully?  My Teacher's Not Here!  Willow's Smile, Willow's Whispers  and Willow Finds a Way , and Raj’s Rule (For the Bathroom at School).

 

Jennifer Mook-Sang has a new picture book coming out April 4 from Tundra Books {a Penguin Random House Canada imprint}: The Care and Keeping of Grandmas. It’s available for pre-order here. 

Jennifer  is also the author of the wonderful picture book, Captain Monty Takes the Plunge, from Kids Can Press, and the acclaimed middle grade book,  Speechless, from Scholastic. 

 

Erin Silver published two books this year, both with Orca Books: the picture book, Sitting Shiva (available here) and a nonfiction book for young people: Rush Hour: Navigating Our Global Traffic Jam (available here). 

Erin has also published a funny middle grade book, Just Watch Me, {Common Deer Press} and two more nonfiction book for young people: What Kids Did: Stories of Kindness and Invention in the Time of Covid-19 {Second Story Press} and Proud to Play – The inspiring stories of amazing Canadian LGBTQ athletes (from Lorimer).

 Note: Erin and Jennifer will be the two guest speakers for the online Writing Little Kid Lit class starting in January on Tuesday afternoons. See here.

 

Tanya Bellehumeur-Allatt  published her poetry collection this year with Shoreline Press: Chaos Theories of Goodness {available by email from the publisher: publisher@shorelinepress.ca}. Sharp-eyed readers will recognize a couple of the poems from this collection previously published on Quick Brown Fox.

Tanya is also the author of the critically acclaimed memoir:  Peacekeeper’s Daughter with Thistledown Press. Order your copy now from the publisher here, from Chapters here, or order it through your local bookstore here. 

 

Tanaz Bhathena has a fifth young adult novel coming out in May 2023 from Tundra Books {a Penguin Random House Canada imprint}: Of Light and Shadow. 

Along with her previous four novels, Of Light and Shadow is available for pr-order now. See here. And you can get a signed copy of Of Light and Shadow (and also of Tanaz's earlier novels) from The Book Wardrobe here. 

 

Mark Baker, writing as G.E. Baker, published the first book in his Cuthbert’s People series last year: The Wistful and the Good. This year, he’s brought our Book Two: Saint Agnes and the Selkie, and next year, Book Three will come out: The Needle of Avocation. These are historical novel set in Saxon England, shortly after the Viking raid on the Lindisfarne Monastary, the 9-11 of the Anglo-Saxon world. Available here. 

This year, Mark also published Lady Isabel and the Elf Knight, a literary fantasy novel. Read more about Lady Isabel and the Elf Knight here, and it’s available here.

Visit Mark’s webpage here or read his essays on writing literature on Substack here.

 

Roger Moore has published his twenty-fifth book of poetry this year: The Nature of Art and the Art of Nature (available here). Those twenty-five books include chapbooks – but still, Roger is wonderfully productive. 

Visit his website here. 

 

June Smith’s memoir of surviving as a Ward of the Crown in Ontario’s foster care system finally came out this year. Read more about Outside the Gate here, it’s available here.

Visit June at her website here.

 

This year Barbara Baker published What About Me? a young adult novel about Jillian who’s moved to Banff to live with her birth mother, who Jillian grew up thinking was her aunt. Read more about What About Me? here, and it’s available here. 

Note this is a much-anticipated sequel to Barbara’s earlier young adult novel, Summer of Lies. Read more about Summer of Lies here and it’s available here.  

 

Howard Pell has launched his first fiction book, Lives Lived which uses reincarnation as a device to explore human values and the mysteries of existence. 

Read more about Lives Lived here, and it’s available in a Kindle edition here or for a paperback visit Howard’s website here.

 

Carolyn Clarke, the founder of HenLit Central published her first novel this year. And Then There’s Margaret is a laugh-out-loud look at life with a live-in mother-in-law. 

Read more about And Then There’s Margaret here and it’s available here.

 

Angela Misri has a new book in her funny middle grade zombie apocalypse series. ValHamster follows up on Pickles vs. the Zombies, and Trip of the Dead. 

She also has an essay in the forthcoming What we talk about when we talk about dumplings – all available through Angela’s website here. 

 

Kelley Armstrong has 50+ books, for adults, young adults and middle grade readers, including her latest: A Rip Through Time.

If you’re not yet familiar with Kelly’s books, the best place to start is by browsing the shelves at your local bookstore or check out her website here.   

 See “Books make some of the very best gifts

 ~ Part 2 here.

See the best Jewish Canadian books for kids and teens here and here.  

Check out 77 more gifts for writers here. 

Gifts to make the world a better place here. 

And check out some of the very best gifts for writers here. 

Plus, don't forget, try to shop local. Buy your books straight from the publisher or from a book store. 

See Brian Henry’s upcoming weekly writing classes, one-day workshops, and weekend retreats here.