Irene Luxbacher (born December 10, 1970 in Toronto, Ontario) is a Canadian artist, an author and children's book illustrator.
After graduating with a degree in Art History from Queen's University, she studied Fine Art (specifically drawing and painting) at Emily Carr University of Art and Design. She has a background in art education and has led visual arts workshops in Public schools in Toronto and at The Avenue Road Arts School. Both the Jumbo Books and the Starting Art Series have received much critical acclaim and reviews from librarians, teachers and parents, particularly homeschooling parents.
Irene was a finalist for the 2009 Governor General's Awards [1] for her illustrations found in The Imaginary Garden published by Kids Can Press [2] (text by Andrew Larsen).
Irene lives in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
The Imaginary Garden
123 I Can Paint!
123 I Can Sculpt!
The Jumbo Book of Art
The Jumbo Book of Outdoor Art
The Not-So-Faraway Adventure
Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch is a Ukrainian-Canadian children's writer who currently lives in Brantford, Ontario.
Ryan North is a Canadian writer and computer programmer.
Smile is an autobiographical graphic novel written by Raina Telgemeier. It was published in February of 2010 by Graphix, an imprint of Scholastic Inc. The novel provides an account of the author's life, characterized by dental procedures and struggles with fitting in, from sixth grade to high school. The book originated as a webcomic, which was serialized on Girlamatic. It is most appropriate for readers between fourth and sixth grade. Smile has had a pedagogical impact, and reviews have been written on this novel.
Kids Can Press is a Canadian-owned publisher of children's books, with a catalog near 1,000 picture books and 500 e-books, nonfiction, and fiction titles for toddlers to young adults. The Kids Can Press list includes characters such as Franklin the Turtle which has sold more than 65 million books in more than 30 languages around the world.
Canadian Children's Book Centre (CCBC) is a national non-profit organization that dedicates its resources to promoting quality Canadian children's literature to parents, librarians, teachers, and youth across Canada. Founded in 1976, the CCBC has library collections in five cities across Canada (Toronto, Vancouver, Edmonton, Winnipeg, and Halifax) with its national office located in Toronto.
The Stamp Collector is a children's picture book by Jennifer Lanthier and François Thisdale. It was published in 2012 by Fitzhenry & Whiteside. A French language edition, Le Collectionneur de Timbres, was released in October, 2013. The theme of the book is freedom of expression.
Out of My Mind is a novel by Sharon M. Draper, a New York Times bestselling author. The cover illustration of the fifth edition is by Daniel Chang, and the cover photography is by Cyril Bruneau/Jupiter Images. A reading group guide is enclosed. The book is recommended for ages 10-14 and for grades 5–8. The story was written in first person, featuring Melody Brooks, a girl with cerebral palsy.
The Tightrope Walkers is a 2014 novel written by David Almond and is Almond's second adult novel. It is about Dominic Hall growing up in 1960s North East England. A young adult version was released in America in 2015.
Beetle Boy is a 2016 middle grade novel written by M. G. Leonard, illustrated by Júlia Sardà, and published by The Chicken House and Scholastic.
Minty: A Story of Young Harriet Tubman is a 1996 children's picture book by Alan Schroeder and is illustrated by Jerry Pinkney. Released in 1996 by Dial Press, it is a fictionalized story of Harriet Tubman as a young girl.
That Is NOT a Good Idea! is a 2013 children's picture book written and illustrated by Mo Willems. First published by Balzer + Bray, it is about a plump fowl that meets a fox, and is persuaded to follow the fox to its house in the woods, all the while being observed, as if on a movie screen, by a group of young birds that regularly shout the title words.
Stripes of the Sidestep Wolf is a 1999 young adult novel by Sonya Hartnett. It is about a young man, Satchel, living in a declining Tasmanian town and his encounter with a wild animal that may be a Thylacine.
Piecing Me Together is a 2017 young adult novel written by Renée Watson. The first person novel tells the story of Jade, an ambitious African American high school student. The book, a New York Times best seller, was well reviewed and won several awards.
The Imaginary is a 2014 British children's novel written by A. F. Harrold and illustrated by Emily Gravett. It is about a small girl, Amanda, and her imaginary friend, Rudger. An anime film adaptation by Studio Ponoc has been announced. Initially set for a Q3 2022 release, it was later delayed to 15 December 2023 due to production issues.
Nadia L. Hohn is a Canadian educator and children's book author. She has earned critical acclaim for her books for young readers, including her debut picture book, Malaika's Costume.
Beyond Magenta: Transgender Teens Speak Out is a 2014 book written by American author Susan Kuklin. For the book, Kuklin met and interviewed six transgender or gender-neutral young adults, describing their sense of identity before, during, and after transitioning.
The White Cat and the Monk: A Retelling of the Poem "Pangur Bán" is a 2016 children's picture book by Jo Ellen Bogart and illustrated by Sydney Smith. An adaption of an anonymous ninth century poem, it is about the friendship between Pangur, a cat and a monk, told over the course of one night, and the fulfillment they both receive by morning.
Courage Has No Color: The True Story of the Triple Nickles, America's First Black Paratroopers is a nonfiction book geared toward children, written by Tanya Lee Stone and published January 22, 2013 by Candlewick Press. The book tells the story of the 555th Parachute Infantry Battalion, nicknamed The Triple Nickles, an all-Black airborne unit of the United States Army during World War II.
A Stranger at Home is a memoir aimed at middle-grade children, written by Christy Jordan-Fenton and Margaret (Olemaun) Pokiak-Fenton and illustrated by Liz Amini-Holmes, published September 1, 2011 by Annick Press. The book follows Margaret Pokiak's experience of returning home to her family after living at a residential school for two years.
Robin Stevenson is a Canadian author of thirty books for kids and teens. Her writing has been translated into several languages, and published in more than a dozen countries. Robin's books regularly receive starred reviews, have won the Silver Birch Award, the Sheila A. Egoff Children's Literature Prize and a Stonewall Book Award, and have been finalists for the Governor General's Awards, the Lambda Literary Award, and others. She writes both fiction and non-fiction, for toddlers through teens.