KIDS CAN IMAGINE IT DAY

Andrew Larsen & Irene Luxbacher – The Imaginary Garden
Barbara Todd & Patricia Storms – Edward and the Eureka Lucky Wish Company

Spring always comes early when you use your imagination! At the launch of their book, The Imaginary Garden (Kids Can Press), author Andrew Larsen and illustrator Irene Luxbacher will show us how to make garden boxes for the city. 

Would you know what to do with a coupon for three wishes? Barbara Todd and Patricia Storms will debut their tale of a boy who faces just such a dilemma, Edward and the Eureka Lucky Wish Company (Kids Can Press).

– A TINARS For Tots event presented by Kids Can Press, Bunch, Gladstone Hotel & The Little Paper.

Gladstone Hotel Ballroom, 1214 Queen St West, Toronto
Sat Feb 21; 10:00AM (Doors 9:30AM) Adults $5 (Free With Book Purchase) / Tots ride free. 

THE IMAGINARY GARDEN

Theodora loved her grandfather’s old garden. His new apartment’s balcony is too windy and small for a garden. But what appears to be a drawback soon leads to a shared burst of creativity as Theo and her Poppa decide to paint a new garden. As they work side by side — sowing seeds with brushes and paint — a masterpiece begins to take shape that transforms the balcony into an abundant garden.

When Poppa goes away on holiday, Theo helps nurture the garden and it begins to take on a life of its own. This garden grows not from soil but from love, imagination and creativity.

Readers will marvel at each stage of this fertile garden as it grows from seed to full flower, revealing the power of art to enrich our lives.

ANDREW LARSEN is an author who cultivates stories. He often visits schools and libraries where he encourages children to write their own stories. “We all have stories to tell,” he says. “And each of us has our own way of telling them.” Larsen lives in Toronto with his wife, Esther Arbeid, and two children.

IRENE M. LUXBACHER is an artist, author, educator and illustrator. Luxbacher’s visual art has been exhibited in galleries across North America. She is the author of The Jumbo Book of Art, which won the 2003 National Parenting Publication Award, and The Jumbo Book of Outdoor Art. Her most recent project for Kids Can Press is the Starting Art series.

EDWARD AND THE EUREKA LUCKY WISH COMPANY

Edward wishes he could fly. But no matter how much he adjusts and re-adjusts the splurchler and turbo-twirler on his Skyhopper 2000, he can’t get off the ground.

Imagine Edward’s thrill when he gets a coupon for not just one, but three wishes. Edward makes a wish that his Skyhopper could fly. And there it goes - Boing! Sproing! Z-z-ooom! - without him. Things really start to lurch out of control when his mother tells him to clean his room. Edward wishes that he didn’t have to! After a monster gobbles up the contents of his room until there’s nothing left to clean, Edward is determined to be more careful with his last wish. Wishes, like flying, should not be taken lightly.

Will Edward ever figure out what he really wants to wish for? Edward and the Eureka Lucky Wish Company is a story to delight young readers who will recognize an imagination as boundless as their own.

BARBARA TODD puts her humdinger of an imagination to excellent use as a children’s author and storyteller. Edward and the Eureka Lucky Wish Company is Todd’s third book. She lives and writes in Toronto.

PATRICIA STORM is a freelance cartoonist, illustrator and avid wish-maker. She has illustrated several children’s books. Her work has appeared in such publications as Chickadee and The National Post. Storm lives in Toronto.

 
Stay In Touch With Your Culture: Join the TINARS For Tots facebook group and visit www.pagesbooks.ca,  www.bunchfamily.ca and www.littlepaper.com

MEDIA CONTACTS
Andrew Laren, Irene Luxbacher, Patricia Storm & Barbara Todd: Mary Kapusta, mkapusta@kidscan.com, (416) 925-5437, ext 140
TINARS For Tots: Chris Reed, tinars@pagesbooks.ca, (416) 598-1447 ext 221