All posts by joannelevy

Books, CRUSHING IT, LET IT GLOW, News, SORRY FOR YOUR LOSS

Looking Forward to a Very Busy Fall 2024

Hello, friends!

It’s been a minute but it’s fair to say I’ve been busy. And when I say busy, I mean really, really busy. I’m bad at blogging at the best of times, but when stuff gets busy around here, well, you see what happens. 

Anyway, there are SO MANY things I need to tell you, so please bear with me.

NEW BOOKS are coming this fall, just in time for your holiday shopping. You’re welcome.

First up in September is an anthology called THE FESTIVAL OF LIGHTS, which is, as you might have guessed, about Hanukkah. This compilation of Hanukkah-themed awesomeness was put together by the very awesome Henry Herz that includes not only a story by me, but contributions by many other author friends, too.

Celebrate Hanukkah with a diverse collection of poems and stories filled with history, humor, and hope. Cheer on a young baker as he tries to make sufganiyot from a family recipe. Learn about code breakers in England during World War II. Imagine hosting a refugee cousin or finding long-lost relatives. In this anthology, characters make discoveries, connect with family and friends, and mourn loved ones. Encompassing a range of genres and experiences, there’s something for readers of all faiths in the illuminating pages of The Festival of Lights.

In my story, called The Greatest Gift, we revisit Evie and Oren from SORRY FOR YOUR LOSS. This fun return to a couple of my favorite characters of all time, is told in Oren’s point of view and takes place at the first Hanukkah after SORRY closes. I hope you love it!

Order your copy: Your Canadian indie bookstore, Bookshop.org, Indigo, Barnes & Noble, Amazon.com, Amazon.ca 

Full list of contributors: Henry Herz, Leslea Newman, R.M. Romero, Stacia Deutsch, Bridget Hodder, Kimberly Brubaker Bradley, Nancy Holder, Alan Katz, Gini Koch Nancy Krulik, Nancy Churnin, Joanne Levy, Erica S. Perl, Alan Silberberg, Terri Libenson, and Richard Michelson.

Speaking of SORRY FOR YOUR LOSS, word on the street is that it’s coming out in audio this fall – stay tuned for more info on that.

 

My second Hanukkah/Holiday book this fall is LET IT GLOW, the book I wrote with the amazing Marissa Meyer. This book that will release at the end of October is filled with joy, humor, and tons of holiday food that is definitely going to make you hungry. 

Check out the book’s page for all the purchase links and don’t forget to add it to your Goodreads to be read list (pro tip: if you have it on your TBR, you should get a notification if/when there’s a giveaway. Just sayin’.)

TOUR INFO (yes, I said tour info) is coming soon, so stay tuned for that in the coming weeks. 

Oh, and because I haven’t yet inundated you with enough, CRUSHING IT (my Cyrano de Bergerac retelling for tweens) is coming in December with this cute new cover. If you never did get this book when it came out in 2017, it’s available for preorder now. 

Whew. That’s it for now, but I’d love to see you this fall – stay tuned for that tour info!

 

Books, Events, Launch Party

Squawking About the BIRD BRAIN Book Launch!

Oh hello. Yes, it’s been a minute. I’m bad at updating my blog but here I am, excited to squawk about my new book, BIRD BRAIN. More about it on the dedicated page here. Plus, check out this page where you can learn more about parrots, including my bird, Gabby, who was the inspiration for the book. Hint: her poop had a lot to do with it. Want more about that? Check out this post over on L.E. Carmichael’s blog for the inside poop. I mean, scoop. 

You can also download the Bird Brain Discussion Guide – perfect for book clubs!

If you’re in the Burlington, Ontario area on Saturday March 23rd, I hope you’ll join me for my book launch at A Different Drummer Books. It’s a joint launch with Jeff Szpirglas and Danielle Saint-Onge, who are celebrating their new book, SUPER SWITCH. There will be cake!

Hope to see you! If you can’t make the party, you can get your copy of BIRD BRAIN at your favorite store: Your Canadian indie bookstore, Bookshop.org, Indigo, Barnes & Noble, Amazon.com, Amazon.ca or directly from Orca.

Cool Stuff, Events, News, Uncategorized

Early 2023 Upcoming Events

Welcome to 2023, friends! I’m so pleased to announce that I actually have a few in-person events coming up in the next few months. I hope to add more, but, as always, if you’d like me to come visit with your students/patrons/book club, please check out my visits page and get in touch.

Ontario Library Association Super Conference – Friday, February 3, 10:00am – signing at the Orca Book Publishers booth #410/412. I will be signing books and giving out tons of bookmarks.

See the full list of author signings here.

Sharp Words Book Fair – Saturday, February 25, 10 – 6pm Bridgeworks in Hamilton (200 Caroline Street North).

I will be signing books with May be an image of text that says 'SHA WRDS RDS HAMILTON'S Winter Book Fair FEBRUARY 25, 2023 SUPER CRAWL' several other kidlit authors. There’s also a full day of programming. See here for details and follow for up-to-date information. 

FREE to attend. 

 

OLA Forest of Reading Festival of Trees – May in Toronto. More details to come. Stay tuned!

 

Books, News, SORRY FOR YOUR LOSS, Uncategorized

I Nearly Lost It!

Hey, remember when I wondered if the SORRY FOR YOUR LOSS puns would ever end? Apparently not. Because I’ve gotten some pretty amazing news about it lately, and I nearly lost it. No, I’m kidding, I did lose it. If ‘it’ is a bunch of emotional tears, because yeah, that happened. 

Bear with me, there’s a lot to tell you – it’s been an embarrassment of riches kind of autumn. 

First up, earlier this fall, SORRY FOR YOUR LOSS won the children/youth category of the The Canadian Jewish Literary Awards.  Later this month, I will travel to Toronto to accept the award and I can’t wait. 

Second, earlier this week, SORRY FOR YOUR LOSS was named as a finalist in The 2022 Governor General’s Literary Awards. This is a huge, huge honour and, well, I’m verklempt. See the full list of finalists here.

Also this week, SORRY FOR YOUR LOSS has also been nominated in the OLA’s Forest of Reading in the Red Maple category.  From the Forest website: “The Forest of Reading® is Canada’s largest recreational reading program! This initiative offers ten reading programs to encourage a love of reading in people of all ages. The Forest helps celebrate Canadian books, publishers, authors and illustrators. More than 270,000 readers participate annually from their school and/or public library. All Canadians are invited to participate via their local public library, school library, or individually.”

This is an absolutely amazing program. I had the honour of participating a few years back when SMALL MEDIUM AT LARGE was nominated, and I loved every minute of it. What a wonderful program to get kids reading and talking about books while elevating authors to rock stars! 

Another great thing about the Forest is being nominated among so many talented authors, many of whom I call friends. Writing can be such a solitary endeavor (especially these past few years!), so being able to get together with other authors  in this way is a giant added bonus.

And if all that wasn’t enough, SORRY FOR YOUR LOSS was offered up as one of October’s four monthly choices for PJ Our Way. If you’ve been around these parts, you know that I love PJ Library and PJ Our Way for many reasons (read the acknowledgements in the back of THE SUN WILL COME OUT to get a peek into why) but the biggest one is that they get books into kids hands. I especially love that the site posts kid reviews and kid reviews are the best reviews. 

Whew. That’s a lot of big stuff. Add that to the other great news that SORRY FOR YOUR LOSS has garnered, and, well, I feel like my cup of goodness overfloweth. 

To all of you who have reviewed it, contacted me directly to tell me it touched you,  who have handed it to a kid, or who have simply read and enjoyed it, thank you. There are a lot of amazing books out there and I’m beyond honoured that you chose mine.

 

Books, News, THE BOOK OF ELSIE, Uncategorized

The Book of Elsie is out now!

Great news! I have a book out today. *throws confetti*

The truth is that I wish I hadn’t felt the need to write a book about a kid who has to deal with antisemitism and other forms of prejudice but as long as there is hate out in the world, well, here we are. It hurt my heart to write this book and it hurt again to edit and reread it in preparation for release, but I hope it does a little good out in the world.

This book, my response to antisemitism, is also full of hope, a few laughs, and even a recipe that kids can try, lest you think it’s all doom and gloom.

More about why I wrote it can be found in my Teen Librarian Toolbox guest post here.

THE BOOK OF ELSIE is a book that I think all kids (and adults) can enjoy and learn from but don’t take my word for it:

“Strong first-person narration thoughtfully explores experiences of antisemitism and prejudice…Levy presents a realistic, gutsy, problemsolving youth navigating difficult situations with the love and support of community, friends, and family.” – Booklist

“Both Jew­ish and non-Jew­ish read­ers will be inspired by Elsie’s brav­ery while learn­ing about Jew­ish hol­i­days and com­mu­ni­ty sup­port.” – Jewish Book Council

“Allows readers to find the space to ask questions and have conversations about racism and antisemitism in society. Recommended.” – CM: Canadian Review of Materials

And my favorite review so far from the awesome E Train:

https://anchor.fm/e-train5/episodes/My-Book-Review-of-The-Book-of-Elsie-by-Joanne-Levy-e1kn8mu

p.s. Don’t miss my video interview with the smart and insightful E Train.

I hope you’ll check out The Book of Elsie and don’t forget to drop a review at retailers and/or Goodreads – that helps spread the word.

Get your copy: Your Canadian indie bookstore, Bookshop.org, Indigo, Barnes & Noble, Amazon.com, Amazon.ca

About the book:

Elsie Rose-Miller loves celebrating the Purim holiday and can’t wait for the annual costume party at her local synagogue.

Elsie plans to dress up as the fierce and smart Queen Esther, who saved all the Jewish people. But when financial hardship and a terrible incident of hate-inspired vandalism threaten not only the party but the synagogue too, Elsie, like Queen Esther, takes action to bring her entire community―Jewish and non-Jewish alike―together.

Read an excerpt here.

**Activity and discussion guide coming soon.**

 

Books, News, SORRY FOR YOUR LOSS

Not SORRY to Share Some News!

Will the puns about the title for SORRY FOR YOUR LOSS ever end? Maybe, but not today. Because I’m very excited and not sorry at all to share a few exciting things that have happened to the book recently.

It was featured in The Canadian Children’s Book Centre’s Best Books for Kids & Teens 2022 as a Starred selection.

It has been named as a 2022/2023 Red Cedar Awards Nominee. This is a kids’ choice award in British Columbia where kids get to read and vote on their favourite books.

SORRY FOR YOUR LOSS is also a 2023 Rocky Mountain Book Award Nominee. Another kids’ choice award but this one is for Alberta.

Yay for Western Canada! I’m so excited that these great things mean this book – the book of my heart – will find more kids who will enjoy and maybe even need it. I’m truly honoured and chuffed at these three amazing things.

And before you go, it’s just about two months until my NEXT book, THE BOOK OF ELSIE comes out in the world. There is so much packed into this little book about fighting prejudice and communities coming together. Not just serious stuff, but lots of funny moments too. I hope you’ll check it out.

Add to your Goodreads TBR.

More info about it here.

Events

Upcoming Event – Fighting Antisemitism Using Children’s Books

Note: the event already happened but you can view the replay here.

Hate and antisemitism are on the rise – this unfortunate fact likely isn’t a surprise to anyone. But how do we combat it? Start early and with books.

Please join me and fellow author Tziporah Cohen as we share some startling statistics and strategies for fighting hate. We will also be reading from our books – including a sneak peek of my upcoming THE BOOK OF ELSIE. Q&A to follow.

This seminar is free but registration is required. Please reserve your spot here. 

Note: *This event will be recorded so if you can’t attend, please register anyway and you’ll receive the recording link once it goes live.*

Books, News, SMALL MEDIUM AT LARGE

Listen! Small Medium at Large Turns Ten!

It’s been 10 years (!!!) since my debut, SMALL MEDIUM AT LARGE came out in the world. Since then, a lot has happened – the book was a Red Maple Nominee, a MYRCA Honour, a Sydney Taylor Notable, and got in the hands of a lot of kids (the best part, honestly).

Since the book has been out for a while, I gave it a bit of a refresh and released it in paperback (links below for paperback and ebook versions).

But in today’s very exciting news – SMALL MEDIUM AT LARGE is now available as an audio book. It’s read to you by MacKenzie Cahill and I couldn’t be more pleased. Want a sample? Sure you do.

Listen to a sample here.

The Small Medium at Large audio book is available wherever you get your audio: Google Play, Kobo, Apple, Audible and Amazon – also available at many libraries. If you don’t see it at yours, please request it.

Ebooks are available instantly and directly from me using this direct link (all formats) or at the following retailers: Kobo, Google Play, Apple Books, Barnes & Noble and Amazon.

The paperback is available directly through me via my Etsy shop (signed and personalized!), Bookshop.org or you can ask for it to be ordered in at your local indie bookstore – they should be able to get it in for you. It’s also available at Amazon. This updated version also includes a teaser for the sequel, SMALL MEDIUM TAKES CHARGE which is coming soon-ish. Stay tuned for more news on that. Until then, happy listening!

Books, Cool Stuff, FISH OUT OF WATER, News, SORRY FOR YOUR LOSS

Kid Reviews are the BEST Reviews Part II

Currently playing episode

If you’ve been around these parts, you know I love kid reviews and am always so thrilled when a reader takes the time to write/tape a review and share it with me. Well, in this instance, the amazing E Train reviewed THREE of my books in brief but really insightful podcast episodes that are part booktalk part review. Check them out below (the images are links that go to E Train’s podcast page).

THE SUN WILL COME OUT

SORRY FOR YOUR LOSS

FISH OUT OF WATER

Thank you so much, E Train!

You can follow E Train’s podcast reviews and social media: Twitter and YouTube.

News, SORRY FOR YOUR LOSS

SORRY is a Sydney Taylor Notable Book!

Are you familiar with the word verklempt? It is a Yiddish word that people use to describe being overcome with emotion or feelings. It’s safe to say that I am currently verkempt over the news that SORRY FOR YOUR LOSS has been named as a Sydney Taylor Notable Book.

LOOK at that pretty seal!

From the award website: “The Sydney Taylor Book Award is presented annually to outstanding books for children and teens that authentically portray the Jewish experience.”

Now, I don’t want you to think that SORRY FOR YOUR LOSS is a book that only Jewish people can enjoy. I wrote this book for everyone. It has very universal themes: grief, loss, friendship, bullying, and what happens when we die. It’s told through a Jewish lens, due to the setting (a Jewish funeral home) but I hope that everyone can find something to enjoy (and maybe learn) in its pages.

But being honored this way means I got it right. People who aren’t even related to me, through this award, call the book outstanding and say that it authentically portrays the Jewish experience. This is such an incredible validation. I worked harder on this book than anything. I engaged so many beta readers and did SO MANY DRAFTS (Oy vey, so many drafts). All worth it. I’m so very proud of this book.

I share this honor with my dad who helped me with the details and who inspired so much of it with the important work he does.

Mazel tov to us.