f12-simply-read by Tamara Mair

Fall 2012

SIMPLY READ Full Catalogue This edition of the catalogue was printed on May 8, 2012.

To view updates, please see the Fall 2012 Raincoast eCatalogue or visit www.raincoast.com

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SIMPLY READ | FALL 2012 CATALOGUE

Anna May’s Cloak

CHRISTIANE CICIOLI, ILLUSTRATED BY SUSAN PEARSON When Anna May is young, her grandmother makes her a beautiful blue velvet cloak. When she wears it, Anna May feels like a queen. Soon Anna May grows out of the cloak-but she never forgets her favorite piece of clothing and the love and magic in it. And she is determined pass the love in the cloak on to all those in her family. The remarkable story of one beautiful cloak and the transformations it undergoes as it is remade into piece after piece of clothing, warming both body and hearts of every child in her family.

Christiane Cicioli is a writer living in Montreal, Quebec. This is her first book. Simply Read • Available: 12/1/2012 0 x 0 • 40 pages 9781897476819 • $19.95 • cl Simply Read: p. 12

Susan Pearson has worked as a postie, a camp cook, a waitress, a commercial fishing deckhand and a florist. Throughout all these occupations West Coast artist Susan Pearson has always retained a clear focus on developing her artistic talents. Susan has studied fine art, graphic art and animation at Vancouver BC colleges. Since 1988 she has concentrated on her watercolours, exhibiting them at many Vancouver galleries and restaurants. Susan is a lover of the sea, (and Neil Young) citing her 11 seasons spent commercial fishing (sketchbook and camera always

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with her). She has illustrated for children’s books, magazines, t-shirt designs and posters for various causes. Susan has also created and sold many of her fine art watercolour paintings, and has taught watercolour technique since 1994. She lives in Vancouver, BC.

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SIMPLY READ | FALL 2012 CATALOGUE

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Chantel’s Quest for the Crystal Star OLIVER NEUBERT The truth lies in the Land of the West, where water meets land and where the darkness and death all began. There Chantel must face the force behind all of the horror and sorrow that has ripped apart the Four Lands. But before she does, the Princess of Freedom must find the last of the four relics, the Crystal Star, and discover what happened to her family and what they are responsible for. Will the Princess of Freedom be strong enough to face these truths, overcome her own doubts and fight the evil Spirit of the West? Will she live up to her name and free the Four Lands for once and for all?

Oliver Neubert draws inspiration from his natural surroundings and Simply Read • Available: 2/15/2013 5.50 x 8.25 • 225 pages 9781897476635 • $9.95 • pb Simply Read: p. 11

from his wonderful, creative daughter. This is his fourth book.

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Circles of Round

SIGNE STURUP, ILLUSTRATED BY WINNIE MA Despite the odd bump in the road, all the circles in the town called Round live happy lives. Until, one day, an obtuse strange comes to visit, with an even stranger machine. Called the Corner Transformer, the stranger boasts that it will give them all a new angle on life, and better shapes, too. All the circles eagerly try it out… but changing from circles to squares and triangles isn’t quite what they expected... Simply yet strikingly illustrated with photos of three-dimensional shapes made of paper, this story is a great way to introduce children to the powers of advertising.

Growing up in Toronto, Signe Sturup wanted to be a ballet dancer, a firefighter, an author, and an actress. She graduated with a BFA in Theatre Production from York Simply Read • Available: 2/15/2013 8.50 x 11 • 40 pages 9781927018187 • $18.95 • cl Simply Read: p. 14

University and a TESOL certificate the University of Toronto. She currently lives in Munich, Germany where she teaches English to children and adults. Signe continues to write and dance, however she hasn’t put out any fires recently. Winnie Ma holds a Bachelor of Design from York University/Sheridan Institute. Her work has been published in Applied Arts, Coupe Magazine, and Typography Today. She works as a communication designer by day, and by night she can be

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found nestled in books dreaming of her next crafty adventure. She currently lives in Toronto, ON.

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SIMPLY READ | FALL 2012 CATALOGUE

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Cozy Classics: Moby Dick JACK WANG AND HOLMAN WANG Classics never go out of style — that’s what makes them classic. Cozy Classics is a new board book series that presents well-loved stories to children aged 0+. Every classic in the series will be condensed to 12 baby-friendly words, and each word will appear alongside a photograph of needle felted objects. Now Moby Dick can be shared with your youngest children.

Jack and Holman Wang are twin brothers who grew up in Vancouver, British Columbia. They first began writing and illustrating books together in the Simply Read • Available: 10/1/2012 5 x 7 • 28 pages 9781927018118 • $9.95 • board book Simply Read: p. 2

third grade.

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Cozy Classics: Pride and Prejudice JACK WANG AND HOLMAN WANG Classics never go out of style — that’s what makes them classic. Cozy Classics is a new board book series that presents well-loved stories to children aged 0+. Every classic in the series will be condensed to 12 baby-friendly words, and each word will appear alongside a photograph of needle felted objects. Pride and Prejudice is a timeless romance about how a bad first impression can turn into love, and one of the world’s most beloved classics. Now this classic can be shared with your youngest children.

Simply Read • Available: 10/1/2012 5 x 7 • 28 pages 9781927018125 • $9.95 • board book Simply Read: p. 3

Jack Wang earned a Master of Fine Arts degree in creative writing from the University of Arizona and a Ph.D. in English with an emphasis in creative writing from Florida State University, where his major area was the history of the novel. He is currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Writing at Ithaca College in Ithaca, New York, where he specializes in fiction writing.

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Daydreams for Night

JOHN SOUTHWORTH, ILLUSTRATED BY DAVID OUIMET Seven very short stories from acclaimed musician John Southworth will tweak your mind and peak your imagination. Meet the boy with grey hair, who spends his days on a cargo ship peeling potatoes, a strange man who keeps a Ferris wheel in his backyard, and a whale that lives in a manmade lake on the top of a faraway hill. Chockfull of details in their brevity, they beg to be mused over. Equally intriguing and unusual black and white illustrations by David Ouimet bright the strange, bizarre characters to life.

John Southworth is one of Canada’s most distinctive and iconoclastic music artists, a song maker with a meticulous sense of craft and seasoned individual vision, respected for forging ahead with his own unique brand of music-making, while Simply Read • Available: 2/15/2013 0 x 0 • 0 pages 9781927018170 • $24.95 • cl Simply Read: p. 13

garnering high praise for his inimitable contribution n from both critics and contemporaries alike. His next project, the upcoming cabaretoperetta, Easterween, is a 21 st century metaphysical fertility tale set to 19 th century psychedelic gypsy songs, featuring arrangements by Andrew Downing. It marks John’s first work outside the traditional singer-songwriter role, and will premiere at Toronto’s Lower Ossington Theatre in April 2012. John’s previous albums include last year’s elegiac Human Cry (“will renew your faith in music” Tom Power, CBC Radio), 2009’s feverish pop

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album Mama Tevatron (“has to be heard to believed” n Michael Barclay, Radiofreecanuckistan), the surreal ballady of 2007’s The Pillowmaker, and his signature orchestral debut, Mars Pennsylvania, hailed by Exclaim Magazine as “the most original debut by a Canadian artist since Mary Margaret O’Hara’s Miss America”. Outside of his native Canada, his records have been released in the U.S, U.K and Japan. His songs have garnered cover versions by such prestigious Canadian artists as Sarah Slean, Mary Margaret O’Hara, Veda Hille and Martin Tielli. Recently John has contributed a song (Bcc) for Buck 65’s new record 20 Odd Years, as well for recent Hawksley Workman and Jully Black records. He continues his rave-winning collaboration with Toronto’s Art of Time Ensemble, appearing in the past three Source &

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Inspiration and Abbey Road concerts. He has directed all his videos. Website: www.johnsouthworth.ca David Ouimet is a New York-based Artist and Musician. After graduating from the Rhode Island School of Design in 1989 he worked on a number of independent films, while scoring music soundtracks for documentary, feature, and short films. In the early 1990’s he quit the film business to concentrate on music, recorded

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and appeared on numerous records and performed throughout the world. In the mid-90’s, Ouimet decided to focus on his artwork, and began working in the book business. He has illustrated several children’s books.

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Dreamboats

DAN BAR-EL , ILLUSTRATED BY KIRSTI ANNE WAKELIN

Simply Read • Available: 11/1/2012 11 x 8.50 • 44 pages 9781897476871 • $19.95 • cl Simply Read: p. 8

Children ride and glide in boats as they adventure through their dreams. From Marco in the Andes who sails through the constellations and greets Mighty Viracocha, to Kaia in the Northwest coast, who floats near the shores of Haida Gwaii and adventures with Eagle, Orca, Grizzly Bear, and her Grandmother, to Ivan in St. Petersburg who sneaks between the bony legs of Baba Yaga, “Dreamboats” takes readers into the dreams of children around the world, dreams that are filled with family and legends, culture and love. Written in lyrical prose by Dan Bar-el with gorgeous evocative art by Kirsti Anne Wakelin, this is a book to be treasured by generations of dreamers.

Dan Bar-el is a children’s author, educator and storyteller. His work includes a series of satirical chapter books including Pussycat, Pussycat, Where Have You Been?, Things Are Looking Grimm, Jill (winner of the 2008 Silver Birch Express award) as well as two funny picture books including Alphabetter (chosen by the BC government for the Ready, Set, Learn program — 50,000 copies sent to preschool children across the province) and Such a Prince (a 2009 Blue Spruce Honour Book). REP. NOTES

In the past, Dan trained and worked professionally as an actor, has written for theatre, as well as written and performed comedy across Canada. He has many years experience working with school age children and currently facilitates a unique storytelling program that he brings to preschools and daycares. Dan merrily travels around the country visiting schools and libraries, and when he’s not doing that, he lives and thrives in Vancouver along with the most adorable kitten in the known universe. Learn dubious facts about him on the web at www.danbar-el.com. Kirsti Anne Wakelin is a well-known freelance designer, writer and illustrator. She has illustrated the award-winning Looking for Loons, for Simply Read Books. She

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lives in Vancouver, BC.

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SIMPLY READ | FALL 2012 CATALOGUE

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Duet

SLEEPLESS K AU Sora and Sarah are twins. They do everything together: go for walks, share favorite sweets and the sweetest tunes. But when Sora begins to grow up, Sarah does not. Sarah is an imaginary twin and she doesn’t grow up. What will Sora do when her new school friend, Kay, comes to play? Will she stop playing with Sarah, or is there another solution?

Sleepless Kao (Kaori Kasai), an artist-in-motion, graduated from art school in Tokyo and Vancouver and traveled to live and work in San Francisco, Hong Kong, and Vancouver. She creates storyboards of short vignettes about kinship, alienation, emotional boundaries and our interactions with physical environments. Her works have been exhibited at Giant Robot, Little Otsu and SOMARTS (San FranSimply Read • Available: 2/15/2013 8 x 10 • 32 pages 9781897476765 • $18.95 • cl Simply Read: p. 6

cisco), Compound Gallery (Portland), gallery 1 (Japan), and the site of Helen Pitt Gallery (Vancouver). For more information on Sleepless Kao, visit her website at www.kaorikasai.com

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Emily and the Mighty Om

SARAH LOLLEY, ILLUSTRATED BY SLEEPLESS K AO Emilie has a new form of after-school entertainment when Albert moves in next door. Every afternoon he can be found on the front lawn, twisting his body into all kinds of crazy postures, then chanting “om”-something he calls “yoga”. Then one day something serious happens: Albert gets stuck, all twisted up like a pretzel.

Simply Read • Available: 11/1/2012 8 x 10 • 32 pages 9781897476352 • $18.95 • cl Simply Read: p. 5

Albert knows what he needs, and he tries to tell the grownups who race over to help him, but everyone keeps misunderstanding. They comb his hair, bring him a gnome and even write him a poem but nothing works. The only person who hears Albert properly is Emilie, but will she have the courage to speak up?

Sarah Lolley is a Montreal-based freelance writer. Her numerous personal essays have appeared in ELLE Canada magazine, The Globe and Mail, the Toronto Star and the Montreal Gazette. Her short fiction for adults has been published in Maisonneuve magazine and anthologized by the CBC in the book In Other Words (2008, Vehicule Press). This is her first picture book. REP. NOTES

Sleepless Kao (Kaori Kasai), an artist-in-motion, graduated from art school in Tokyo and Vancouver and traveled to live and work in San Francisco, Hong Kong, and Vancouver. She creates storyboards of short vignettes about kinship, alienation, emotional boundaries and our interactions with physical environments. Her works have been exhibited at Giant Robot, Little Otsu and SOMARTS (San Francisco), Compound Gallery (Portland), gallery 1 (Japan), and the site of Helen Pitt Gallery (Vancouver). For more information on Sleepless Kao, visit her website at www.kaorikasai.com

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SIMPLY READ | FALL 2012 CATALOGUE

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How To

JULIE MORSTAD This imaginative how-to book explores whimsical ways of doing a host of different tasks, including how to wonder, how to see the breeze, and how to be brave. With evocative text and images by award-winning illustrator Julie Morstad, this book will bring wonder into the lives of all ages.

Julie Morstad is an award-winning illustrator and fine artist known for her surreal, whimsical work. Illustrator of numerous children’s books, including Singing Away Simply Read • Available: 12/1/2012 8 x 10 • 36 pages 9781897476574 • $18.95 • cl Simply Read: p. 10

the Dark and When You Were Small and its two sequels Where You Came From and When I Was Small, Julie has exhibited her work in galleries, animated two music videos with her brother, filled up stacks of sketchbooks, and made countless pots of soup and many loaves of bread. She lives in Vancouver with her family.

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SIMPLY READ | FALL 2012 CATALOGUE

Murilla Gorilla

JENNIFER LLOYD, ILLUSTRATED BY JACQUI LEE Murilla Gorilla, the jungle detective, is woken up by a new case: Ms. Chimpanzee’s muffins were stolen. But who did it? It’s up to Murilla to find out… as long as she can find her badge first! Murilla may seem like a hopeless detective-disorganized, messy and always thinking about her next snackbut out of her mess come some pretty good ideas, and some pretty funny moments too.

Jennifer Lloyd is the author of Ella’s Umbrellas, One Winter Night and Looking for Loons. When she is not at her writing desk, she works as a kindergarten teacher in Blainville, Quebec. Her students provide her with a wealth of ideas, as do her own two children. Jennifer loves teaching beginning writing to her students, many Simply Read • Available: 10/1/2012 6 x 9 • 48 pages 9781927018156 • $18.95 • cl Simply Read: p. 4

learning in a second language. She also gives workshops in classrooms around the Laurentians and Montreal. Jennifer lives in Blainville, Quebec. Jacqui Lee currently works as a freelance illustrator in Vancouver, BC. She graduated from the Alberta College of Art and Design with a Bachelor of Design in 2011.

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SIMPLY READ | FALL 2012 CATALOGUE

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Pippy

PAOLA OPAL Pippy is the smallest baby seahorse. When a big fish comes, Pippy is too small to keep up with the group. Can smart little Pippy find a different way to avoid the big fish?

Paola Opal is a full-time artist and designer and the two-time recipient of the Canadian Toy Testing Council Best Book for Children Award for the Simply Small series, and the recipient of the 2004 Alcuin Society Award for Excellence in Book Design. She lives in Vancouver, BC.

Simply Read • Available: 11/1/2012 4.25 x 7.75 • 24 pages 9781897476925 • $8.95 • board book Simply Read: p. 9

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Stinky Skunk Mel

K ARI-LYNN WINTERS, ILLUSTRATED BY PAOLA OPAL Poor Mel is a stinky-no wonder, he’s a skunk. None of the other forest animals want to have anything to do with him, and Mel is sent to live at the outskirts of the forest. But then, when a big forest fire comes, Stinky Skunk’s spray is just what’s needed… proving that a little stink is very important after all.

Growing up just west of the “snowbelt” in St. Thomas, Ontario, Kari-Lynn Winters knows how to have fun in the snow. As a child she spent hours tobogganing on the nearby hills, building snowmen and forts in the backyard, and skating on her neighbour’s homemade rink. Kari-Lynn currently lives in St. Catharines, with her husband, two children, and two cats. Although she misses the snow, she writes Simply Read • Available: 11/1/2012 8 x 10 • 32 pages 9781897476833 • $18.95 • cl Simply Read: p. 7

books about it to help her remember and to fill her imagination. She is the author of Runaway Alphabet (Simply Read Books), On My Walk (Tradewind Books). Jeffrey and Sloth (Orca Book Publishers, 2007) and aRHYTHMetic: A book and a half of poetry about math (written with Tiffany Stone, Lori Sherritt, and Scot Ritchie, Gumboot Books, 2009). Besides being an award-winning children’s author, KariLynn is also an experienced playwright and theatre performer, a certified teacher, and an academic scholar.

REP. NOTES Paola Opal is a full-time artist and designer and the two-time recipient of the Canadian Toy Testing Council Best Book for Children Award for the Simply Small series, and the recipient of the 2004 Alcuin Society Award for Excellence in Book Design. She lives in Vancouver, BC.

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SIMPLY READ | FALL 2012 CATALOGUE

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We are Canada

RIKIA SADDY We Are Canada is a short story of Canada that begins at the end of the last ice age and carries through to the present day. It is an eighty-page telling of our history that challenges three Canadian myths: that the French were a conquered people, that our First Nations were innocent bystanders in the formation of our country, and that Canada only had two founding peoples. According to Rikia Saddy, we’ve been multicultural from the start. An informative, easy read, We Are Canada will change the way you see your country. We can’t be divided, and we can’t be conquered. We are Canada.

Rikia Saddy is a marketing strategist who has worked throughout Canada, the U.S. and Europe. In the past decade, she has become active in the political and social Simply Read • Available: 7/1/2012 4.50 x 7 • 80 pages 9781927018200 • $14.95 • cl Simply Read: p. 1

change arena, advising candidates and leadership campaigns, causes, and groups seeking to educate and enlighten. Rikia has written extensively on policy issues, and shaped party positions. Active in the debate about Canada’s future, she is a founding member of Canada 2020, and has presented workshops at the Global Youth Assembly, Couchiching policy conference, and the Canadian campaign school modeled after Yale’s. In 2005, Rikia was chosen as the voice of Western Canada in a 15 minute segment with Mark Kelley for CBC’s The National. Since then,

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she has appeared numerous times as a panelist on both the National and Connect with Mark Kelley, speaking on a variety of issues facing Canada from Afghanistan to proroguing parliament. She is in demand as a spokesperson for several causes, and has been involved in high-level negotiations and discussions on strategies that affect the future of Canada in the world. A third-generation Canadian, Rikia sees the potential of this country beyond the limitations of political leadership, and works tirelessly in backrooms and through social media channels to educate and inform. Canada has the power to be a model for the world, but the people of Canada are miles ahead of the leaders of Canada in their vision for a progressive, inclusive nation.

PROMOTION Cameron McLellan is an artist, musician, production designer, and writer who lives in Vancouver, B.C.

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