simply read blog

beautiful Alice

2012-01-24T14:51:00.000-08:00

There are quite a few beautiful Alice in Wonderland editions out there. (One published by us, in fact, and illustrated by the extremely talented Iassen Ghiuselev which you can check out here.)

Another I just discovered today, illustrated by the remarkable Rebecca Dautremer, a French illustrator I would love to meet. How can you not be impressed with her work?

moon music

2012-01-16T18:12:00.000-08:00

What could be cooler than the music that a moon makes?
The recent launch of one of our new books, I Want to Go to the Moon by Tom Saunders and illustrated by Cynthia Nugent, included a range of wonderful performances, and ended with a recording of Jupiter's moon, Io, and the sounds that it emits.
Check it out here, on "Symphony of the Planets"--recordings done by Nasa.
Io looks pretty amazing, too!

The Joy of Books

2012-01-10T10:50:00.000-08:00

How wonderful! Just wanted to let you know I was watching this neat little video of animated books by Type bookstore in Toronto (883 Queen Street West, (416) 366-8973). Everything you see here can be purchased at Type Books.
At about the 1:07 mark, one of our Simply Read titles, Dotty (by Paola Opal), dances!

amazing bookshelves

2012-01-08T12:23:00.000-08:00

Here is the best site ever for people who love to imagine what their dream library might one day look like! It's a photo blog collection of all the best bookshelf photos from around the world. (I only wish there were a few ones made completely of children's books--guess that's up to me to one day photograph ;)

Launch for I Want to Go to the Moon

2012-01-03T12:22:00.000-08:00

Come celebrate the launch of I Want to Go to the Moon by Tom Saunders and illustrated by Cynthia Nugent.
When: 6-9 PM January 13, 2012
Where: Scottish Cultural Centre
8886 Hudson Street, Vancouver

There'll be book sales and signing, children's activities, refreshments and the Moon Stage where songs and poems will be preformed.

merry christmas!

2011-12-23T10:02:00.001-08:00

you should take care

2011-12-19T07:10:00.000-08:00

Thanks to freepeople blog for alerting me to the beautiful paintings of Pakayla Biehn. Her show is called "You Should Take Care."

Lately Lily

2011-12-13T09:59:00.000-08:00

Very cute idea! What a nice combination of illustration, story, and fashion marketing for kids.
This site Lately Lily features an adorable girl who travels the world -- on the site you can find out where Lily has been most recently, read her notebook, find out what she carries in her suitcase and why, or buy a Lily t-shirt!

creatures go bump in the night

2011-12-12T16:00:00.000-08:00

The Province, a BC newspaper, just ran a lovely article, "Creatures Go Bump in the Night", about Sleepless Kao, author of Monchan's Bag and her latest gallery show, Chotto Motto, at Blim Gallery in Vancouver.
My favorite part of the article was finding out what Chotto Motto means ;)

adorable saffy

2011-12-07T10:04:00.001-08:00

A fan of Paola Opal's adorable Simply Small books -- including Saffy, Saffy Looks for Rain and Saffy and Ollie -- created this amazing stuffie of the baby giraffe, Saffy.
If only it was available to buy!

Come celebrate a book launch!

2011-12-06T10:59:00.001-08:00

Our new and lovely book, I Want to Go to the Moon, by Tom Saunders and illustrated by Cynthia Nugent, about Neil Armstrong's growing up, is finally out! Join us in celebrating its release!
When: Saturday, December 17, 2 to 4 pm
Where: Coast Capital Playhouse, 1532 Johnston Road, White Rock BC
Come hear Tom Saunders perform the song, enjoy refreshments, and buy the book -- a signed book makes a great Christmas present!
(There will also likely be a launch of this title in Vancouver in the new year!)

free holiday gift tags!

2011-12-05T10:11:00.000-08:00

The lovely Christmas season is upon us and one of the Simply Read illustrators who recently launched her awesome on-line shop of art inspiring activities for kids, Draw Me a Lion, has just put out a series of free downloadable gift tags.
What makes these gift tags even better is that they are coloring gift tags--so that a kid can help out with all the holiday wrapping!
For the free download check out Lisa's Draw Me a Lion blog, here.

adorable children's book jewelry

2011-11-30T10:28:00.000-08:00

What could be better than jewelry inspired by children's books? Thanks to Betsy Bird over at Fuse #8 for posting about the new jewelry based on Oliver Jeffers books such as Heart in the Bottle, The Great Paper Caper and Lost and Found.

You can see the whole collection here.
I wish we could do this for some of the Simply Read books.
It would be so cute to have a little Saffy or Ollie necklace. Or something inspired by one of Julie Morstad's lovely titles.

interview with illustrator Abigail Halpin

2011-11-30T10:18:00.000-08:00

Here's a wonderful interview on 7 Impossible Things Before Breakfast with Abigail Halpin, illustrator of The Melancholic Mermaid.

Pussycat, Pussycat, where have you been...

2011-11-29T10:37:00.000-08:00

In glowing reviews and starring in book trailers, that's where!
Check out the adorable book trailer below for Dan Bar-el and Rae Mate's book.

yoyomama's 5 favourite books for gifts!

2011-11-24T13:46:00.000-08:00

Yoyomama just wrote an article about their 5 favorite books to give as gifts to babies... and out of five, three are Simply Read books!

ABC by Matthew Porter

Calling All Animals by Matthew Porter

Monkey World by Matthew Porter

Thanks, Yoyomama!

Chotto Motto - new work by Kaori Kasai

2011-11-21T20:31:00.000-08:00

Come to the opening of a new art show of Kaori Kasai, author of the adorable Simply Read Book, Monchan's Bag.
When: Friday, December 2, 8 pm to 11 pm (Show Runs December 2-29_
Location: 115 Pender St. E, Vancouver BC Canada V6A 1T6
What: Little creatures pop out of Kao's brain around midnight and tell her, "more, more...". They demand more room,
so she puts them onto large canvases. Other creatures do not stop moving, so she makes a short animation of
them. Come to BLIM to see Kao's work. Enjoy chotto motto holiday gifts by Kao, including prints, dolls, lucky-charms, and a little more.

Under the Mound Book Launch

2011-11-15T10:18:00.000-08:00

When: Sunday November 20th, 2:00 pm
Where: Christianne's Lyceum of Literature and Art, 3696 West 8th Ave, Vancouver
Join us for the wonderful launch of Under the Mound by Cynthia Heinrichs.
Light fare and beverages will be provided.

Cybils Award Nominations

2011-11-14T13:13:00.000-08:00

The Cybils Nominations have been announced and two of our picture books are included in the Fiction Picture Book Category!
Singing Away the Dark by Caroline Woodward and illustrated by Julie Morstad

Pussycat, Pussycat, Where Have You Been? by Dan Bar-el and illustrated by Rae Mate

The Cybils is a great program that advocates rewarding books that combine literary merit and kid appeal. (As they say, they like books that are both "yummy and nutritious"!) They also are run by children's literature bloggers and help foster a sense of community among children's lit bloggers. Yay!
More about the Cybils here.

70 million by hold your horses

2011-11-08T11:31:00.000-08:00

Check out this amazing music video that references classic, famous paintings. Love!

draw me a lion!

2011-11-08T11:22:00.000-08:00

Lisa Cinar, author and illustrator of Paulina P. for Petersen and The Day It all Blew Away, has just launched a new site called Draw Me a Lion where she is selling prints, color your own postcards, coloring posters and even a story activity kit, which is awesome!
Check it out!

exploded flowers

2011-11-07T09:57:00.000-08:00

Beautiful series of photographs by Qi Wei called "Exploded Flowers". They really show how amazing and complex nature is. Thanks to free people blog for the link.

make way for stories!

2011-11-04T17:15:00.000-07:00

This is an interesting article by Anita Silvey from School Library Journal that we here at Simply Read Books agrees with.
Her main argument in her article is that picture books shouldn't shy away from having longer texts!
Some of our recently published picture books definitely do have more of a story to them--such as The Boy in the Oak, The Melancholic Mermaid, Oliver's Tantrums to name a few. It's something we believe in.

Launch for When I Was Small

2011-10-27T10:49:00.000-07:00

When: Monday November 7th, 7:00 pm
Where: Christianne's Lyceum of Literature and Art, 3696 West 8th Ave, Vancouver
Join us for the lovely launch of When I Was Small by Sara O'Leary and Julie Morstad.
Both Sara and Julie will be there to answer any questions about their delightful series!

picture books we have known and loved

2011-10-24T12:02:00.000-07:00

Check out this wonderful article posted by Canadian Bookshelf and written by Sara O'Leary, author of When I Was Small.
She reviews a handful of Canadian pictures that "are now part of the family and wherever we go, they go with us".
She includes two Simply Read titles, "Singing Away the Dark" and "Foggy"!

picture book proclamation

2011-10-22T11:13:00.000-07:00

What an excellent thing! This picture book proclamation is for all lovers and writers and publishers of picture books.

cute to kill

2011-10-18T11:07:00.000-07:00

If you are in Vancouver, check out this awesome Halloween animation event featuring the animation work of one of Simply Read's very own illustrators--Sleepless Kao.

Cute to Kill II — Special Halloween Edition

Friday October 28 | 8 – 11 PM | $12/10 | @ VIVO (Main St. × 4th Ave.)

Cute to Kill 2 is an expose of recent video works from local, national, and international animators and video artists. Each short film explores the artists’ morbid fascination with dark subject matter through the guise of “cute” (a prevalent juxtaposition in contemporary Asian pop culture). In their first co-production, Yuriko Iga (of Blim) and Asa Mori bring together a wide range of adorably despondent short films to be viewed as a collection for this one night only.

Featuring local, national, and international Japanese artists:
Yuriko Iga / Kaori Kasai / Mirai Mizue / Asa Mori / Kei Oyama / Sachiyo Takahashi / Yuki Takahashi / Atsushi Wada

With special print exhibit, live performance, animations, and limited edition t-shirt.

Advance tix available at Blim for $10/12 at the door.
Seniors, PSF members, and Halloween costumed: $10 at the door.

Call 604 872 8180 or info@blim.ca for information.

For more, check out here.

starry starry night

2011-10-17T19:09:00.000-07:00

This is a lovely, inspiring idea to spruce up a child's room. Use a star punch to cut out stars from a window shade and create a lovely night sky in the bedroom.

Thanks to Color Me Katie for the idea!

Picture This, Pussycats!

2011-10-04T16:12:00.000-07:00

This exhibition by Vancouver artist and illustrator Rae Maté features original illustrations on canvas and paper from her three children's books, including her latest, Pussycat, Pussycat, Where Have You Been, as well as playful "portraits" of cats and crocodiles.

Where: Sidney and Gertrude Zack Gallery, 950 W. 41st, Vancouver
Opening Reception: Thur Nov 3, 2011 • 7-9 pm
Artist in attendance • Free Admission
Exhibit continues to Sun Dec 4, 2011

Singing Away the Dark on North by Northwest

2011-10-04T15:59:00.000-07:00

This previous Sunday, North by Northwest, the CBC radio show hosted by Sheryl MacKay, featured Caroline Woodward talking about her beautiful book, Singing Away the Dark!
Listen to the show here and find out more about what inspired Caroline to write this story.

summit for the small

2011-09-26T16:48:00.000-07:00

The Mouse City Summit, an event planned by Small Print Toronto, is about the most adorable and intriguing event this fall, and makes me wish I could fly to Toronto to attend.
The idea is for kids aged 2 to 8 to gather for a day to imagine and create what an entire city created specially for fictional mice would look like. The kids will be given recycled materials and inspiration, too, in the form of the well-known children's book Phoebe Gilman's Something from Nothing and the fable City Mouse/Country Mouse, and
You can find out more about the event at Small Print Toronto here.

Of course, an event like this makes me think of our newest book, and a beautiful one, When I Was Small, by the amazing team Sara O'Leary and Julie Morstad. It is all about imagining what it would be like to be very very small.
Look at the beautiful cover and illustrations:

Check out as well Sara O'Leary's great blog and Julie Morstad's great website!

Word on the Street!

2011-09-25T09:24:00.000-07:00

Come check out Word on the Street, Sunday 25, 2011.
In Vancouver we have Dan Bar-el performing Pussycat, Pussycat, Where Have You Been? at 11:00.

In Toronto we have Michael Moniz reading his book, Wazzyjump.

Get cozy in fall with Simply Small

2011-09-22T12:22:00.000-07:00

Our new Simply Small titles are hitting the shelves any week now, and Rokko is especially cute and cozy for fall.
Check out the lovely autumn colors.

The Simply Small series is all about baby animals who are too small to do the things they want to do.
There really are very small animals out there in nature! Check them out!

This is the Pygmy Marmoset, the smallest monkey in the world.

This is the Bee Hummingbird, the smallest bird in the world.

And, of all things, this is the world's smallest cat. Mr. Peebles. He is two years old, lives in central Illinois, and is only three pounds.

More cute tiny animals here!

Mermaids Book Launch

2011-08-25T11:11:00.000-07:00

Hope you've been having a delightful summer!
We have another launch for a lovely picture book: Mermaids by Cynthia Heinrichs and illustrated by Jumin Lee.
More about the book here.

When: September 10, 7 pm
Where: Christianne's Lyceum, 3696 West 8th Avenue
www.christiannehayward.com

Goodies and refreshments will be served!

Hope you see you all there!

amazing website of Herve Tullet

2011-08-16T10:35:00.000-07:00

Herve Tullet is the genius behind a series of children's coloring and activity books, such as The Coloring Book.
His website is absolutely magical.
This is one of the best children's book author/illustrator websites I've seen. So interactive and fun.
Go to the map, and check out the following:
On the far left, the orange flower leads you to the most awesome car race for your mouse.
The scribble on the top leads you to hilarious scribbling activities.
The Coloring Book cover below leads you to strange and nearly impossible coloring activities.

the brothers quay

2011-08-12T13:25:00.000-07:00

If you haven't come across this awesome pair of stop-motion film-makers before, now is the time!
From America, the Brothers Quay now work and reside in England where they create the creepiest and coolest stop-motion shorts.
This one above is called The Calligrapher.

whither the library

2011-08-06T19:46:00.000-07:00

Unfortunately this isn't the nicest news to share: Here in Canada, in Toronto, public libraries are under threat.
The author of bestselling children's book, "The Grufflao" Julia Donaldson, speaks up.
You can listen to the CBC's segment on the future of libraries here.

IBBY Canada Cleaver Picture Book Award to Illustrator Julie Flett

2011-08-04T10:44:00.000-07:00

Yipee! Or as in the Michif language, 'Miyo-âcimowin' (which means "Good news!")

IBBY Canada (International Board on Books for Young People, Canadian section) just announced that Vancouver illustrator Julie Flett is the winner of the 2010 IBBY Canada Elizabeth Mrazik-Cleaver Picture Book Award for Lii Yiiboo Nayaapiwak lii Swer: L’Alfabet di Michif / Owls See Clearly at Night: A Michif Alphabet, published by us, Simply Read Books!

This book also recently won the BC Book Prize Christie Harris Illustrated Children's Literature Prize!

Here are some of the gorgeous images from the book:

fairy tale posters

2011-07-30T08:49:00.000-07:00

These minimalist-style posters of fairy tales by Christian Jackson are fabulous. More links here.
I think my fave is the Alice in Wonderland.

Chocolate Lily nomination

2011-07-30T08:42:00.000-07:00

We just found out that Singing Away the Dark by Caroline Woodward and illustrated by Julie Morstad has been nominated for another fabulous award - the Chocolate Lily Picture Book Award for 2011-2012. The award isn't announced until next Spring.
You can find out more about the award here. And, in fact, in 2010 a Simply Read title, Penguin and the Cupcake, by Ashley Spires, was the winner of the award.
Yay, Simply Read!

book dress

2011-07-12T10:47:00.000-07:00

Another amazing book dress. This one is an illuminated gown made of book pages, milled paper, typewriter parts, linen rope and binders. It's from an exhibit in Montreal called "One: Objects from a New Era". More here.

beautiful book art

2011-06-30T10:37:00.001-07:00

Although I am undecided in terms of whether or not I agree with cutting up old books, there is no doubt in my mind that this book art by Su Blackwell, a London artist, is utterly gorgeous and magical. My favorite is the Wild Swans piece, one of the my favorite Andersen fairy tales, as well as an upcoming Simply Read Books' title, illustrated in a stunning manner by Thomas Aquinas Maguire.

Singing Away the Dark award nomination!

2011-06-14T12:04:00.000-07:00

Yipee! Singing Away the Dark, by Caroline Woodward and illustrated by Julie Morstad was just nominated for the Marilyn Baillie Picture Book Award, sponsored by the amazing Canadian Children's Book Centre. Winners will be announced on October 4.

new fall titles from Simply Read

2011-06-10T15:45:00.000-07:00

We just added some of our upcoming fall titles to our website.
Check them out!

Launch for Pussycat, Pussycat, Where Have You Been!

2011-05-15T17:53:00.000-07:00

You are invited to the launch for the beautiful book Pussycat, Pussycat, Where Have You Been
by Dan Bar-el, illustrations by Rae Maté

When: Tuesday May 31, 2011, 7:30 pm
Where: Christianne's Lyceum of Literature and Art, 3696 West 8th Ave, Vancouver

There will be delicious food and "amewsing" activities galore!

Check out the great review in the New York Times!

petite pencil sculptures

2011-05-11T19:26:00.000-07:00

WOW! These are miniature masterpieces by Dalton Ghetti, all carved into graphite, in particular--the tips of pencils! Dalton, who works as a carpenter has been making his tiny graphite works for about 25 years. There are more images here.

windy and friends - giveaway

2011-05-09T21:51:00.001-07:00

Windy and Friends blog has a wonderful giveway right now!

They are giving away 1 ball of Blue Sky Worsted Cotton in "Tomato" red, enough to make 1 Windy's Spring Scarf.
More about the Windy book here.

All you have to do to potentially win is to let them know what your favourite colour of red is. Is it strawberry? Is it stoplight?

The giveaway ends May 27 and the winner will be chosen at random.

Good luck!

a book you can sleep in

2011-05-09T11:07:00.000-07:00

How cute! I wish I had one of these. Beds that look like giant books! These have been created by Japanese artist Yusuke Suzuki, and you can even turn the pages. More about them here.

new simply small website!

2011-05-04T15:57:00.000-07:00

The Simply Small Series has a lovely new website: paolaopal.com

There's fun stuff like coloring pages to download, info about the wonderful Paola Opal, author and illustrator, and peeks into the four upcoming titles: Bitsy, Rokko, Saffy & Ollie, and Zingy!

become someone else

2011-05-02T10:42:00.001-07:00

This amazingly clever bookstore ad campaign is called "Become Someone Else" designed for the bookstore Mint Vinentu, a used bookstore in Villinus that caters in classic books. Thanks to Fuse #8 (always a source of wonderful inspiration) for the link.
Who do you like to become when you read?

children's book cakes

2011-04-28T10:39:00.000-07:00

Check out these cakes!

Where the Wild Things Are:

Wizard of Oz:

Beatrix Potter's The Tale of Mrs. Tittlemouse:

A while ago we posted some cakes designed as books. Here are some other amazing ones created for specific children's books.
Thanks to the fabulous Betsy Bird at Fuse #8 for bringing them to our attention, and to Cake Wrecks for posting them!
It would be amazing to see a decorated cake for one of the Simply Read titles! I might try it out!

Owls See Clearly at Night Won!

2011-04-25T10:56:00.001-07:00

On Thursday night the finalists were announced for the BC Book Prizes and we are thrilled that Owls See Clearly at Night by Julie Flett won the 2011 Christie Harris Illustrated Children's Literature Prize!

Congrats to Julie, as it is a beautiful work, and congrats to all those who were nominated.

hedgehogs and mice

2011-04-19T21:53:00.000-07:00

These are a few inspirational things discovered on the wonderful blog "We Heart Books".

Hedgehog in the Fog is an unbelievably cute animation directed by Yuri Norstein done in 1975, and there is a book based on the animation which looks lovely as well.

And there is this super cute creation by Myko Bocek Studios

Thanks to We Heart Books for all the inspiration!

pretty art installation

2011-04-15T16:17:00.000-07:00

As part of a Finnish environmental art installation, artist Jonna Pohjalainen transformed a bunch of aspen logs into giant colored pencils. It makes me think of our Simply Read Book, When I Was Small, by Sara O'Leary and illustrated by Julie Morstad. Thanks to free people for the link!

simply read stop motion

2011-04-12T16:38:00.000-07:00

Check out this lovely little stop motion some friends of ours made all about the magic and imagination in books (in particular--simply "red" ones)

melancholic mermaid book trailer

2011-04-11T13:56:00.000-07:00

This super cute book trailer was just made! It features the two-tailed mermaid from the Simply Read book The Melancholic Mermaid. Check it out!

how Maurice Sendak almost illustrated The Hobbit!

2011-04-08T11:22:00.000-07:00

In the late 1960's illustrator Maurice Sendak almost had the chance to illustrate The Hobbit -- but it never happened!
It was the 30 anniversary edition of the novel -- but before Tolkien, then 75, would approve he asked Sendak to do a few sketches. He went ahead and created two sketches, one of them (above) of Gandalf and Bilbo.

But when the publisher sent the pieces, the second of which was wood-elves, for Tolkien’s approval, a mistake was made. The editor labeled the wood-elves as hobbits and Tolkien was upset. He replied that Sendak didn't know what a hobbit was and couldn't have read the book. He did not approve of the drawings. The publisher tried to fix this misunderstanding, even going so far as to set up a meeting between the two while Sendak was touring the U.K. in support of Where the Wild Things Are, but the day before their meeting, Sendak suffered a major heart attack. He recovered, but no meeting ever took place, and the project was abandoned.

Thanks to Fuse #8 and I Heart Chaos for the info!

more cute Simply Small stuffies!

2011-04-01T10:08:00.000-07:00

Courtney Fearon, the mom whose daughter loves the Simply Small Series by Paola Opal, just finished the last two characters in the series--Saffy and Ollie.
Then she took some photos of all of them together.
They are too cute!

golden book dress

2011-03-27T18:31:00.000-07:00

This is amazing! A dress made entirely out of Golden Books. The skirt is all made from illustrations sewn together with metallic gold thread. The bodice is made from the books' foil spines. Below is some of the pictures of the process!

You can find more about the process here!

Simply Small dolls - totally cute!

2011-03-23T11:38:00.000-07:00

Our author/illustrator Paola Opal just shared with us the work of one of her fans.
A mom, Courtney Fearon, whose 1 year old LOVES the simply small series, decided to create fabric dolls of the characters for her daughter's birthday.
She started with Totty and Dotty's bird because those are her daughter's favorite characters. She also created Dotty and Perry, too!
Saffy and Ollie are in the works!

Congrats to Julie Flett and all the BC Book Prize Finalists

2011-03-10T10:02:00.000-08:00

The finalists for the 2011 BC book prizes were just announced today and we are thrilled that Julie Flett's beautiful book, Owls See Clearly at Night, was nominated, along with some other beautiful picture book titles.

day dreams

2011-03-01T03:35:00.000-08:00

This is beautiful and inspiring.

While her baby is taking her nap, Adele Endersen creatures scenes around her and takes quick snap photos. She makes sure each photo takes only a few minutes, as she doesn't want to disturb her sleeping! As she says, "I'd like to see into your dreams, my little girl." There is a video of all her images posted on her blog.

Lost Thing Wins

2011-02-28T15:44:00.000-08:00

The brilliant film by Shaun Tan -- the Lost Thing -- just won an Oscar last night! Congratulations!

# 1 at Foyles

2011-02-20T12:39:00.000-08:00

Nice--Boy in the Oak was #1 at Foyles in London!

amazing book art

2011-01-31T13:04:00.000-08:00

Wow! I just came across some art from old books and some of it is truly mind-boggling. Thanks to Besty Bird at Fuse #8 for the link!

This portrait by Alex Queral was carved out of a phonebook.

This is called the 'Reader's Digest' Cake and was frosted with wax but Robert The.

And this is a Book Vase by Laura Cahill. Laura uses a band saw - then inserts glass tubes inside for the water.

What do you think?

Boy in the Oak Foyles pictures

2011-01-23T21:41:00.001-08:00

Here are some lovely pics from the gallery show of Jessica Albarn's art for The Boy in the Oak at Foyles in London, as well as an article published about it. The 19th, the opening reception, was a success! The show goes on until the 28th, so check it out if you're in London. And, best of all, below there's a still from the upcoming movie based on the book and narrated by Jude Law. We're all very excited here at Simply Read about it.

Boy in the Oak Film

2011-01-10T11:00:00.000-08:00

Exciting!

Damon Albarn, the frontman of Blur and the musical chameleon behind Gorillaz and The Good The Bad & The Queen, has written a score for a short film based on the Simply Read Book by Jessica Albarn - The Boy In The Oak.

The film will be directed by renowned music video director Luke Losey (known particularly for his work with Orbital), and narrated by Hollywood star Jude Law. And best of all, we don't have long to wait! It's coming out this spring!

The Boy in the Oak art Exhibition

2011-01-06T09:19:00.000-08:00

If you're in London, check out this exhibition of art from Jessica Albarn's book The Boy in the Oak!

2 new awards from the Canadian Toy Testing Council

2010-11-22T12:45:00.000-08:00

The Canadian Toy Testing Council has just released its list of Top 10 Great Books for Children 2011, and TWO of our titles are on it! Wow!
Perry by Paola Opal

And Ella's Umbrella's by Jennifer Lloyd with illustrations by Ashley Spires.

Thanks to all the kids who read and voted for our titles! And congrats to all the other winning books too!

Dot, the world's smallest stop-motion animation

2010-11-07T18:05:00.000-08:00

This is one of the cutest animations -- and the world's smallest. What's extra cute and serendipitous is that Henry's mother, from Sara O'Leary's When You Were Small books, is actually called Dot, too!
Thanks to Betsy Bird over at Fuse#8 for the link!
Sara also has an awesome blog about books and book-related things too.

Simply Read Books Book Launch November 15

2010-11-04T14:31:00.001-07:00

cute, impractical bookshelf!

2010-11-03T15:39:00.001-07:00

Thanks to Betsy Bird for the link! She got it from Yay!Everyday, a cool site with tons of inspiring images!

Jolly news for Jack the Bear

2010-10-29T11:13:00.001-07:00

The 2011 Blue Spruce Official Selections are out and hip-hip-hurray!
Jack the Bear by Christina Leist was one of the selected titles.

The Blue Spruce Award is part of the Forest of Reading Awards, a program headed by the Ontario Library Association. For each of the Forest of Reading Awards, readers are encouraged to read all or a selection of the books and vote on their favorite. Usually 250,000 readers across Canada (mainly Ontario) are involved.
It's a brilliant way of exciting readers!

fairy tale photos

2010-10-27T14:43:00.001-07:00

These photos are fairy tale perfect. Flickr blogger Lissy Elle is so inspirational. Every photo suggests an enchanting story.

GG nomination, Owls See Clearly at Night

2010-10-14T11:21:00.000-07:00

Here is the big Simply Read Books news!

Owls See Clearly at Night: a Michif alphabet / Lii Yiiboo Nayaapiwak lii Swer: l’alfabet di Michif by the talented Julie Flett was shortlisted for the Governor General's Literary Awards 2010 for the category Children's Literature - Illustration.

The awards are announced November 16 in Montreal, and presented on November 25 in Ottawa at Rideau Hall.

As Canada Council says, "In Owls See Clearly at Night, Julie Flett’s beautiful and elegant illustrations eloquently describe the Michif alphabet. Each letter’s vignette is thought-provoking, depicting elements of the natural world in an illumination of meaning. The letters appear deceptively simple at first glance, but in fact each contains its own mysterious, lyrical story."

Congrats to all the other books nominated too! The competition is steep!

Here are some images from Julie's book:

TVO features The World is Your Oyster

2010-10-14T11:09:00.000-07:00

Great news! The lovely TVO program, Gisele's Big Backyard, has featured another one of our titles, The World is Your Oyster by Tamara James and illustrated by Emma SanCartier.

Here's a link to the show!

When you are done learning all about the book, there is a great activity that includes questions relating to the book. Fun, fun, fun!

pom-pom activity for Foggy

2010-10-14T10:58:00.000-07:00

Here is the first of a series of blog posts today!
This is the super cute pom-pom activity that goes along with the (also super cute) book Foggy, by Robin Mitchel-Cranfield and Judith Steedman.

The link to the pdf of the activity (on our website) is here.
And another great set of instructions is here.

We at Simply Read love craft activities that go along with books and are always looking for more. If you have any to suggest for any of our titles, please email at kgeorge@simplyreadbooks.com!

simply read books sign

2010-10-04T11:52:00.000-07:00

At Word on the Street in Vancouver, it was raining quite a bit! Check out what happened to our sign:

supernatural collective nouns

2010-09-28T12:22:00.001-07:00

Our new board book Calling All Animals, by Matthew Porter, is all about collective nouns--but of the animal sort.
This amazing index lists all kinds of supernatural collective nouns! They are so great: a tizzy of fairies, a rage of orcs, a dignity of dragons. I'd love to see these illustrated.

Thanks to bookninja for the post!

Singing Away the Dark Shadow Puppets

2010-09-27T11:54:00.000-07:00

Singing Away the Dark by Caroline Woodward and illustrated by Julie Morstad just came back from the press and we are very excited!

So excited in fact that we've created a fun activity to go along with the book - creating shadow puppets!
Specifically to go along with illustrations from the book like this:

A downloadable pdf of the instructions and templates are available from our website here.

And here are the instructions too.

Materials you need:
- white paper
- pencil
- thick board paper, any color
- brass paper fasteners
- extra-long straws or rods (around 40 cm long)
- tape or glue gun
- screen and light

Step 1.
Use the provided templates of the animal you want to make a puppet of on plain white paper. You can also draw your own
template! If you want your puppet to move you probably want to have two parts to it: the head, and then the body. You don’t want more than three (You don’t want more joints than a single puppeteer can manipulate). Cut the template out.

Step 2.
Trace the template onto a thick board. Cut the shape out.

Step 3.
Poke holes in the template where the hole marks are and stick a wire or brass paper fastener through fi rst the head, then the
body.

Step 4.
Using a glue gun or tape, affi x a stick or an extra long straw or rod to the back of the puppet. Attach one rod to each part that
moves. For example, use one rod for the body and then one rod for the head.

Step 5.
Prepare a surface for refl ecting the shadows, such as a wall, screen or the side of a tent, free of pictures or wall hangings.

Step 6.
Choose a light source like a fl ashlight, lamp, or lantern. Even a projector makes an excellent screen.

Step 7.
Construct the performance area. Make sure you include an area for the puppeteers to maneuver the puppets between the light
source and the shadow surface.

Step 8.
Perform!

Next up will be a pom pom activity to go along with Foggy by Judith Steedman and Robin Mitchell-Cranfield.

beautiful limited edition classics

2010-09-23T10:36:00.000-07:00

Wow! These limited edition puffin designer classics are so beautiful. The Secret Garden designed by Lauren Child especially so. (Unfortunately this one is sold out.)
Check it out and others here.

In Mania's Memory book launch!

2010-09-13T14:59:00.000-07:00

This beautiful book is one of the first to launch Simply Read Books' new imprint Read Leaf of fiction, art and photography books and pop culture books.
In Mania's Memory is a powerful Holocaust story by award-winning journalist Lisa Birnie. The story follows the lives of two women, one a Holocaust survivor (Mania) and one an ex-Nazi guard (Johanne), as they cross paths on a search for the truth: did Joanne save Mania's life during the Holocaust?

The advance reception of it is exceptional so far:
The Vancouver Sun says: "A thorough and satisfying exploration of how two people on opposite sides of a great divide survived an unspeakably grim period of human history.”
Robbbi Waisman said, "I almost missed my plane - I couldn't put it down!"
He will be speaking at the book launch in Vancouver next week!

When: Thursday September 23, 6 to 8 pm
Where: Bau Xi Gallery, 3045 Granville Street

If you are in town, please join us for this amazing launch!

TimeOut New York Kids!

2010-09-07T14:31:00.000-07:00

TimeOut New York Kids has been posting weekly picture book picks, including great books like More Life-Size Zoo by Teruyuki Komiya and It's a Book by Lane Smith.
This week they chose Julie Flett's Owls See Clearly at Night!
They say: "The gorgeous, bilingual ABC book Owls See Clearly at Night: A Michif Alphabet introduces kids—and, likely, parents—to the language and culture of the Métis people of North America."
And the review ends with an awesome field trip idea (if you're in New York, of course): Consider pairing a reading with a visit to the National Museum of the American Indian.
For the full review, click here.

red riding hood animation

2010-09-03T11:18:00.000-07:00

To continue fairy tale interpretations: here's a bizarre video of red riding hood by Tomas Nilsson, a Swedish art director and motion graphics artist.

how pretty

2010-09-02T15:13:00.001-07:00

In the mode of fairy tales -- we're working on a version of Wild Swans, and Alice Through the Looking Glass -- I came across this lovely image of Cinderella by PCP... more cute stuff here.

very cute baby bookshelf

2010-08-23T22:40:00.000-07:00

This adorable bookshelf looks perfect for holding Simply Small board books by Paola Opal, no?
Especially Ollie!

You can find it at DwellStudio Baby.

it's a book

2010-08-20T17:04:00.000-07:00

A very cute video by Lane Smith!

bembo's zoo

2010-08-18T19:03:00.000-07:00

Ooo la la. What fun!
Created by the graphic designer Roberto de Vicq de Cumptich Bembo's Zoo is an animated version of his picture book, "Bembo's Zoo: An Animal ABC Boo", in which letters form stylish animals. The animated, interactive site is amazing. Go to the page here and hover over the letters. Then click on one to see what happens! It's impossible to choose a single favorite letter/animal, but here are a few that I liked:

We love abc books at Simply Read. They are brilliant because they allow a talented illustrator to show off his or her style, or explore an interesting place, or an interesting concept.

Here are a few of ours:
ABC by Julie Morstad

ABC by Matthew Porter

Ryan Heshka's ABC Spookshow

Owls See Clearly at Night (Lii Yiiboo Nayaapiwak lii Swer) by Julie Flett

Runaway Alphabet by Kari-Lynn Winters and illustrated by Ben Frey

And... in the works:

One day it would be nice to do a gallery show of all the Simply Read ABC illustrations!

calling all animals

2010-08-13T17:27:00.000-07:00

Just a few days ago the wonderful Betsy Bird at Fuse #8 reviewed our board book, Calling All Animals, by Matthew Porter.
As she says:
"One of the finest little board books the eye ever did see. They may be small. They may be short. They may not be overwhelming you with content. But board books are hard and Matthew Porter consistently gets them right. Something to be said for that."

The full review can be read here.

Calling All Animals is consists of collective animal nouns. In general, collective animal nouns are so interesting!
Here are some included in the book:

Some other awesome collective nouns include:
a charm of hummingbirds
a smack of jellyfish
a mischief of mice
a sneak of weasels
a prickle of hedgehogs
and...
a zeal of zebras

And why not make up more? A good collective noun for babies, I think (depending on their mood), would be a Giggle of Babies!

Also, if you don't follow Betsy Bird's blog, definitely check it out. It is an amazing blog, hosted by the School Library Journal, and she posts pretty much every day!

book cake

2010-08-02T18:47:00.000-07:00

This is the best cake ever: a book cake.

Made by Cake Power Kids. As they say: "One of the sweetest things in the world is to make a kid's birthday cake--there is nothing like that look of wonder & happiness as the cake enters the room!"
Same thing goes with books. There is nothing like that look of a kid peacefully, happily reading.

around a camp fire

2010-07-28T16:22:00.000-07:00

Spending some time around a campfire? Why not fry up some delicious bannock?
It's a combination of Scottish bread and First Nations' fry bread and is found throughout First Nations' cuisine, including the Metis people. In fact, bannock, in Michif, is called Gallet. Here is the illustration in Julie Flett's Owls See Clearly at Night:

Here is a recipe to try yourself!

Campfire bannock

2 1⁄2 cups of flour
2 tsp baking powder
1⁄2 tsp salt
3 tablespoons of butter or earth bound butter replacement
1 cup cold water (approximately)

Combine the dry ingredients into a bowl. Cut the butter in till well blended. Slowly add water to form a thick dough. Knead the dough on a floured board for less than a minute. Form the dough into one-half to one inch cakes and place into a warmed (greased) caste iron frying pan. Place on rack or prop into the coals of the campfire. Cook for approximately 10 minutes and turn, and then for another 10 (or until cooked in the middle).

Breakfast Bannock

Use the same bannock base, add a cup of berries and serve warm with molasses or maple syrup.

cutest interview ever

2010-07-20T18:33:00.000-07:00

We've all seen author and illustrator interviews, but what about an interview with a doll? Not just any doll, but Cloudy, the co-star of Foggy, by Robin Mitchell-Cranfield and Judith Steedman.

The interview is on TV, on the Knowledge Network. You can watch it between kids programming on Knowledge Network, or find it online at http://knowledge.ca/program/cartographies-shorts

It is such a funny, cute stop-motion!
Check out Robin and Judith's blog too, Windy and Friends, which is chock-full of excellent crafts for kids.

Best Books for Kids & Teens!

2010-07-20T18:20:00.000-07:00

The Canadian Children's Book Centre Best Books for Kids & Teens, 2010, just arrived in our mailbox.

Yay! Three of our books are included in it!

Saffy Looks for Rain by Paola Opal

Totty by Paola Opal

The Undesirables by Paule Briere and illustrated by Philippe Beha

The magazine guide is produced by The Canadian Children Book Centre, a national, not-for-profit organization and their Book News magazines are great too. The Centre is a wonderful recourse for anyone interested in children's books.
Congrats to all the other amazing authors and illustrators whose books were chosen!
And thanks to all the dedicated librarians, booksellers and educators who sat on the selection committees!

yummy crayons

2010-07-10T12:27:00.000-07:00

Amazing! Crayons that you can draw with, or eat, depending on how you feel!
This awesome project was created by Luxirare. It's a weekly webzine dedicated to clothing and cuisine.
Although it is not really book related, Luxirare's manifesto reminds me of some of the ideas behind Simply Read, to constantly produce an imaginative flow of images and ideas.

fall/winter 2010 catalog!

2010-07-03T09:25:00.000-07:00

Our catalog for Fall & Winter 2010 Catalog is now available for download from our website!
Check out all our new books there! So exciting!

babyccino kids

2010-06-29T10:35:00.000-07:00

Babyccino kids is a great website for modern parents looking for awesome crafts, recipes and kid-friendly ideas and must-have accessories and books. Goki Racing cars, cute vintage magnet sets... AND... a list of the best books for boys that includes When You Were Small by Sara O'Leary and Julie Morstad.

Check out the other awesome titles

Monchan meets a little elephant

2010-06-26T12:55:00.000-07:00

Check out this cute short trailer for our new book, Monchan's Bag.
Sleepless Kao, the author/illustrator, created it. She does some video work too!

We have more little videos of our books to come!

Jeunesse: Young People, Texts, Cultures

2010-06-22T20:20:00.000-07:00

Our press, including thirty-seven of our titles, was reviewed in Issue 2.1 of Jeunesse: Young People, Texts, Cultures in an article titled, "Simply Read: An Innovative Press," by Carole Scott, Professor Emeritus of English and former Dean of Undergraduate Studies at San Diego State University.

The reviews include Saffy by Paola Opal, The Day it All Blew Away and Paulina P. (for Petersen) by Lisa Cinar, Picturescape by Elisa Gutierrez, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll and illustrated by Iassen Ghiuselev, and 22 more!

This academic, peer-reviewed journal was formerly called CCL/LCJ: Canadian Children's Literature/Litterature canadienne pour la jeunesse) and began in 1975 at the University of Guelph and in 2005 the journal moved to the University of Winnipeg. You can learn more about it and buy copies here. It is available at libraries too!

Check it out especially if you want to get a sense of our publishing program for the past few year! The article does a very good job!

Yipee!

catalog coming soon

2010-06-15T20:29:00.000-07:00

Soon available for download from our website!

Big Backyard Book Club

2010-06-08T16:36:00.000-07:00

Over at TVO Kids, the featured book for their program Gisele's Big Backyard Book Club is our very own Ella's Umbrellas, by Jennifer Lloyd and illustrated by Ashley Spires.

What a cute program! There is a storytime video and when you are done watching you can answer questions about the characters in the book to complete the Big Backyard Book Club activity. Then you get a special colouring page!