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Carson Crosses Canada

Illustrated by Kass Reich
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Paperback
$8.99 US
10.13"W x 10"H x 0.15"D   | 8 oz | 48 per carton
On sale May 19, 2020 | 36 Pages | 978-0-7352-6635-3
Age 4-8 years | Preschool - 3
From the author of If You Happen to Have a Dinosaur comes a funny and sweet cross-country roadtrip adventure with a sassy septuagenarian and her quirky canine.

Feisty Annie Magruder and her dog, Carson, live in British Columbia, Canada, and they're setting out to visit her sister, Elsie, in Newfoundland. In their little rattlebang car, packed with Carson's favorite toy, Squeaky Chicken, and plenty of baloney sandwiches, Annie and Carson hit the road! They travel province by province, taking in each unique landscape and experiencing something special to that particular part of this vast, grand country. For example, they marvel at the beauty of the big, open sky -- and grasshoppers! -- in Saskatchewan and discover the gorgeous red earth and delicious lobster rolls in PEI, before finally being greeted by Elsie -- and a surprise for Carson!
  • NOMINEE | 2018
    Shining Willow Award
  • SELECTION | 2017
    OLA Best Bets for Children's Fiction
Starred in CCBC’S Best Books for Kids & Teens (2017)


"Classic dog humour abounds . . . Repeated words and descriptions stitch the story together beautifully. . . . The positive energy evident . . . celebrates the diverse regions that make our land shine." --Quill & Quire

"Reich has done full justice to many iconic Canadian places and traditions, with vivid pictures that paint just the right amount of detail. . . . What a wonderful way to introduce Canada to children. Highly recommended." --CM Magazine

"Reich’s gouache paintings, colourful and evocative, manage to capture the diversity and vastness of this land, stretching from the B.C. coast all the way to Cape Breton Island." --Montreal Gazette

"Figures are full of expression and the sheer joy of living, and children will chuckle aloud at the plentiful detail and humour. This is a wonderful read-aloud and a perfect book for Canada’s sesquicentennial that introduces the variety of flavours that make up Canada." --Canadian Children’s Book News



PRAISE FOR If You Happen to Have a Dinosaur:
"There aren't many books that have the courage to be this silly....Simply wonderful." --The Globe and Mail
 • Selected as one of Today's Parent's Top 15 Picture books of 2014
 • Nominated for the Washington Children's Choice Picture Book Award, 2016


PRAISE FOR When Santa Was a Baby:
"A fond, reassuring look at the eccentric childhood of a much-beloved holiday figure." --Starred Review, School Library Journal

"Bailey and Godbout give Santa Claus a backstory in this sweetly funny account, warmly illustrated with soft, nostalgic pencil and pastel artwork....[A] clever take on the Santa myth that develops him as a character with his own thoughts and motivations." --Starred Review, Publishers Weekly


PRAISE FOR Seven Dead Pirates:
"Ahoy, ye maties: don't miss this treasure of a middle grade yarn." --Starred Review, School Library Journal

"Bailey endows Lewis with several scene-stealing allies (notably a fierce kindergartener) and leaves him confidently steering a course toward calm waters. Piratical fun well-stocked with colorful cast members living and arrghh." --Starred Review, Kirkus Reviews
© Lia Grainger
LINDA BAILEY is an award-winning author who has written nearly forty books for children. Mary Who Wrote Frankenstein was cited as a Best Book of the Year by Publishers Weekly, the Globe and Mail, the New York Public Library, CBC and Booklist, among others. In addition to these, Linda has been awarded the Blue Spruce Award, the Silver Birch Award the Shining Willow Award (twice), the B.C. Chocolate Lily Award (five times), the Red Cedar Award, the California Young Reader Medal, the Georgia Storybook Award, the Christie Harris Award, the Hackmatack Award, the Vicky Metcalf Award for Literature for Young People and the Arthur Ellis Award (twice). View titles by Linda Bailey
© Stephanie Coffey
KASS REICH works as an artist and educator and has spent the majority of the last decade travelling around the world. She earned a degree in Art Education from Concordia University and was an early childhood educator in Beijing, which inspired her to start making picture books for very young readers. Kass loves illustrating books for all ages, including the Megabat series, Sergeant Billy, Carson Crosses Canada and Hamsters Holding Hands. She now lives and works in Toronto, Ontario. View titles by Kass Reich

About

From the author of If You Happen to Have a Dinosaur comes a funny and sweet cross-country roadtrip adventure with a sassy septuagenarian and her quirky canine.

Feisty Annie Magruder and her dog, Carson, live in British Columbia, Canada, and they're setting out to visit her sister, Elsie, in Newfoundland. In their little rattlebang car, packed with Carson's favorite toy, Squeaky Chicken, and plenty of baloney sandwiches, Annie and Carson hit the road! They travel province by province, taking in each unique landscape and experiencing something special to that particular part of this vast, grand country. For example, they marvel at the beauty of the big, open sky -- and grasshoppers! -- in Saskatchewan and discover the gorgeous red earth and delicious lobster rolls in PEI, before finally being greeted by Elsie -- and a surprise for Carson!

Awards

  • NOMINEE | 2018
    Shining Willow Award
  • SELECTION | 2017
    OLA Best Bets for Children's Fiction

Praise

Starred in CCBC’S Best Books for Kids & Teens (2017)


"Classic dog humour abounds . . . Repeated words and descriptions stitch the story together beautifully. . . . The positive energy evident . . . celebrates the diverse regions that make our land shine." --Quill & Quire

"Reich has done full justice to many iconic Canadian places and traditions, with vivid pictures that paint just the right amount of detail. . . . What a wonderful way to introduce Canada to children. Highly recommended." --CM Magazine

"Reich’s gouache paintings, colourful and evocative, manage to capture the diversity and vastness of this land, stretching from the B.C. coast all the way to Cape Breton Island." --Montreal Gazette

"Figures are full of expression and the sheer joy of living, and children will chuckle aloud at the plentiful detail and humour. This is a wonderful read-aloud and a perfect book for Canada’s sesquicentennial that introduces the variety of flavours that make up Canada." --Canadian Children’s Book News



PRAISE FOR If You Happen to Have a Dinosaur:
"There aren't many books that have the courage to be this silly....Simply wonderful." --The Globe and Mail
 • Selected as one of Today's Parent's Top 15 Picture books of 2014
 • Nominated for the Washington Children's Choice Picture Book Award, 2016


PRAISE FOR When Santa Was a Baby:
"A fond, reassuring look at the eccentric childhood of a much-beloved holiday figure." --Starred Review, School Library Journal

"Bailey and Godbout give Santa Claus a backstory in this sweetly funny account, warmly illustrated with soft, nostalgic pencil and pastel artwork....[A] clever take on the Santa myth that develops him as a character with his own thoughts and motivations." --Starred Review, Publishers Weekly


PRAISE FOR Seven Dead Pirates:
"Ahoy, ye maties: don't miss this treasure of a middle grade yarn." --Starred Review, School Library Journal

"Bailey endows Lewis with several scene-stealing allies (notably a fierce kindergartener) and leaves him confidently steering a course toward calm waters. Piratical fun well-stocked with colorful cast members living and arrghh." --Starred Review, Kirkus Reviews

Author

© Lia Grainger
LINDA BAILEY is an award-winning author who has written nearly forty books for children. Mary Who Wrote Frankenstein was cited as a Best Book of the Year by Publishers Weekly, the Globe and Mail, the New York Public Library, CBC and Booklist, among others. In addition to these, Linda has been awarded the Blue Spruce Award, the Silver Birch Award the Shining Willow Award (twice), the B.C. Chocolate Lily Award (five times), the Red Cedar Award, the California Young Reader Medal, the Georgia Storybook Award, the Christie Harris Award, the Hackmatack Award, the Vicky Metcalf Award for Literature for Young People and the Arthur Ellis Award (twice). View titles by Linda Bailey
© Stephanie Coffey
KASS REICH works as an artist and educator and has spent the majority of the last decade travelling around the world. She earned a degree in Art Education from Concordia University and was an early childhood educator in Beijing, which inspired her to start making picture books for very young readers. Kass loves illustrating books for all ages, including the Megabat series, Sergeant Billy, Carson Crosses Canada and Hamsters Holding Hands. She now lives and works in Toronto, Ontario. View titles by Kass Reich