“OH, THE PLACES WE’LL GO THEN,”
DURING THE YEAR TWENTY-TEN
M A Y
THE TOT SQUAD (AKA Small Print, The Little Paper & Rooster Studio) Presents
"POWER TO THE LITTLE PEOPLE"
- MONKEY BUNCH ALBUM RELEASE PARTY!
Sun May 30; 3-5pm
The Great Hall, 1087 Queen St W
$10 Adults / $5 Kids
Do you feel like you're not sure who is going to save the world? Like we could really use a super hero right about now? Or an army that will protect our planet? Meet THE MONKEY BUNCH. They are here to change the way you think about children's music. Using humour, real music and a passion for the planet, this rock band for kids is empowering children to save us all!! After playing to sold out crowds and selling thousands of CDs, The Monkey Bunch is finally ready to unleash their second CD to the world, "POWER TO THE LITTLE PEOPLE"!
POWER TO THE LITTLE PEOPLE features performances by: Danny Michel, Adam Gontier (Three Days Grace), Mia Sheard, Lori Cullen, Kevin Fox and Jian Gomeshi! Take all of this musical talent and throw Juno nominated Michael Philip Wojewoda (BNL, Anvil) into the mix. Like your favourite mixed tape, the new Monkey Bunch album takes music for kids to a whole new level and packs it with even more explosive rock and pollution fighting power! This is one CD you MUST have for a complete and healthy childhood.
THE MONKEY BUNCH is made up of comic genius Shoshana Sperling, musician/songwriter Maury LaFoy and their musical friends. Shoshana Sperling is a Toronto writer/performer who has given us character-rich plays, television and live comedic monologues. Maury LaFoy is a musician/songwriter/producer who has played with Jann Arden, k-os, Sarah Harmer, Ron Sexsmith and Olivia Newton John. Using a variety of musical stylings the MONKEY BUNCH engage kids with their skilled musicality and original humour, while imparting fun but important educational messages about the environment. This high-energy concert will have your kids dancing, rushing the stage and going BANANAS! THE MONKEY BUNCH is for parents who love music – and want their kids to do the same.
“…. the hilariously fabulous Shoshana Sperling and her partner in crime, Maury LaFoy, have done the impossible: created a kids’ album that’s actually great.” ~ **** (4 stars) NOW Magazine
“Shoshana and Maury have made a wonderfully musical kids album full of wit and charm without any of that ‘goofy’ aftertaste.”
~ Ron Sexsmith
For more information please contact Shoshana Sperling at sho@themonkeybunch.com or 416-516-8511
J U N E
LESLEY ANNE COWAN IN CONVERSATION WITH
EMILY POHL-WEARY
Saturday June 5; 2pm (Doors Open 1:30pm) FREE
Gladstone Hotel Ballroom, 1214 Queen St West
Can a sixteen year-old girl beat the odds and rise above a bad situation? Sure, but what if fairy tales don’t come true? How does a young woman surrounded by ugliness find beauty in her life and in herself? To celebrate the launch of her latest novel, Something Wicked (Penguin Group Canada), Lesley Anne Cowan will discuss writing and working with at-risk youth with noted author Emily Pohl-Weary. An extended Q&A will follow the conversation. – A Small Print Toronto event presented by Penguin Group Canada, Gladstone Hotel and Torontoist.com.
SOMETHING WICKED Sixteen-year-old Melissa’s most recent troubles stem from a secret: her twenty-eight-year-old boyfriend, Michael, has just broken up with her. Even though the relationship is clearly over, Melissa clings to the past, riding a never-ending wave of hope and disappointment. Meaningless sexual escapades, drunken nights, and drug-induced blackouts help her deal with heartbreak, but her pain goes much deeper than her failed relationship. Along with a broken heart, Melissa has to cope with the memories of her younger brother’s death; the non-existent parenting of her insecure, flighty mother; being juggled between social workers and psychologists; and getting kicked out of school and sent to a special program for at-risk youth. So when the cracks in her life threaten to tear her apart, Melissa has to decide whether to keep fighting—or to let go.
LESLEY ANNE COWAN’s writing is informed by her job as a secondary school teacher working with at-risk youth, which gives her writing an authenticity that few authors can match. Cowan has a B.A. in English Literature and a Diploma in Education from McGill University. She is also a graduate of the Humber School for Writers. Her debut novel As She Grows was widely acclaimed. Lesley currently resides in Toronto.
EMILY POHL-WEARY is an award-winning author. Her books include young adult mystery Strange Times at Western High. She edited the acclaimed female superhero anthology, Girls Who Bite Back and published literary congo line Kiss Machine magazine. In 2008, Pohl-Weary founded the Parkdale Street Writers for at-risk youth. She also runs a weekly writing group for Native men in transition at Sagatay (Na-Me-Res). More recently, she’s making the transition into writing for film, and her screenplay Life on the Edge received financing from Astral Media through its Greenberg Fund.
Media/ Info Contact: Lesley Anne Cowan: Vimala Jeevanandam: (416) 928-2419, vimala.jeevanandam@ca.penguingroup.com
EAST/WEST A TORONTO ALPHABET
Luminato Festival of Arts & Creativity
June 11-20
Small Print in partnership with Luminato Festival
Building on the Festival’s programming theme of East/West perceptions, students in grades 4 and 5 will explore their neighbourhood through writing and photography workshops inspired by the new children’s book City Alphabet (Groundwood Books) by Joanne Schwartz and Matt Beam.
The students’ images and written work will be published in A Toronto Alphabet, a children’s book that will be distributed to selected schools across the city of Toronto.
During the Festival, authors from the Luminato Literary Program, including Roddy Doyle, founder of the youth writing centre Fighting Words Dublin, will visit these participating students for a creative exchange and discussion.
Visit: www.luminato.com/2010/education
THE TOT SQUAD (AKA Small Print, The Little Paper & Rooster Studio) Presents
TOTSTOCK ‘10
Sun June 27; 2-5pm FREE
Sorauren Park, Sorauren Avenue
How does the local commons serve the common good? Why, that’s the riddle at the heart of the second annual Totstock.
Once again, mainstage lineup features many of the city’s top kids-friendly indie bands, like Don Kerr & Friends, Bellwoods Trinity, Chris Patterson and The Monkey Bunch. The story tent will host such leading children’s authors as Lana Button, Laurel Crouza, Matt James, Sharon Jennings and Patricia Storms. And Lynda Hill, Artistic Director of Theatre Direct, will read Peter Rabbit. (And rumour has it that Peter, the lovable rascal, may join in the festivities!)
We’ll be joined this year by such groups as The Centre For Art & Soul, West End Food Co-op and Planet In Focus International Video and Film Festival, who will stage a bicycle-powered film festival.
Our plans are sprouting up like perennials, so stay tuned for more additions!
Want to get involved as a sponsor or volunteer? Just contact Vicki Bell at Vicki@littlepaper.com.
COMING SOON
Small Print & Theatre Direct are joining forces to present two, count ‘em two, major festivals of workshops and shows for young people in the fall. On September 11-12, we will stage The Toronto Roald Festival. And on October 23, it’s the DIY Comic Book Club. Both will be at Artscape Wychwood Barns.
What could be bigger than that, you ask? How about a Glee Karaokee Throwdown?. For real. Leave that auto-tuner in your locker. We’re launching Don’t Stop Believing: The Unofficial Guide To Glee (ECW Press) by Erin Balser and Suzanne Gardner in true Accafella style.
Stay in touch: join the Small Print Facebook Group.
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