Oct 27: JOHN MARTZ & BRITT WILSON “EVIE & THE TRUTH ABOUT WITCHES” & “GHOST QUEEN” LAUNCH at LITTLE ISLAND COMICS!
Posted by: Andrew on: October 2, 2018
On Saturday, October 27th The Beguiling, Little Island Comics & Koyama Press are beyond pleased to welcome JOHN MARTZ and BRITT WILSON to the store for a fun-for-all-ages celebration of the release of their new books EVIE AND THE TRUTH ABOUT WITCHES and GHOST QUEEN!
Come on out Saturday, October 27th at the kid-friendly time of 12-2PM for a fun Halloweentime activity for all! Meet the creators, get your books signed, and lots more fun stuff to come! (I mean, it’s Halloween time, right? What’s Halloween without some CANDY?)
About EVIE AND THE TRUTH ABOUT WITCHES:
“We’ve all read about witches, those pointy hat wearin’, broom ridin’, spell castin’, superlative olfactory organ sportin’, child nappin’ creepies. But Evie wants to be scared, and Evie has found out the truth about witches, and she didn’t find it in a book.”
About GHOST QUEEN:
“Luey, Miri and Phil don’t need a babysitter, but they might need an exorcist. With dad out of town and mom hosting an emergency yoga retreat everything was junk food and scary movies until the ghosts popped up. Now it’s up to the kids to banish the banshees. Britt Wilson presents another rollicking romp in this fun-filled phantasmagorical fantasy.”
See you there!!
Oct 20: Ira Crumb Feels the Feelings Launch at LITTLE ISLAND COMICS!
Posted by: Andrew on: October 2, 2018
Little Island Comics and Owlkids invite you to celebrate the launch of the hilarious new picture book, Ira Crumb Feels the Feelings, from author Naseem Hrab and illustrator Josh Holinaty!
Morning fun includes:
A reading!
Activities for kids!
Books for sale! And Naseem and Josh will be signing copieS!!!
ALSO??? THERE WILL DEFINITELY BE COOKIES.
About the Book:
Ira and Malcolm are best friends: they always make each other laugh, always eat lunch together, and always play together. But one day, a disagreement about whether to play tag or hide-and-seek sees the suddenly über-popular Malcolm run off with a crowd of tag-loving kids—and Ira all alone.
Ira’s tummy hurts, his chin is wibbling, and his eyes are leaking. What’s happening?! Any efforts to cheer him up fall flat. When Malcolm finally returns and asks what’s wrong, Ira tells him: “I had all these feelings…and I didn’t have you.”
The second Ira Crumb book marks the return of an endearing character full of personality, humor, and heart. With lots of laughs and comics-style storytelling, it’s a funny, touching look at how feelings can be confusing, and how processing emotions can take time—and a bit of help from a pretty good friend.
UPDATED: Kids and Teens Deserve Inclusive, Current Sex Ed!
Posted by: Andrew on: July 13, 2018
UPDATE: Thanks so much to all of the amazing customers and citizens who stopped by to check out the displays, chat about curricula, and buy some of these great resources. It’s thanks to you that we were able to donate just over $600 to LGBT Youthline, an important organization that year-round supports queer and trans youth across Ontario.
If you’d like to learn more about LGBT Youthline, or if you’d like to make a donation yourself, please follow the link here.
Thank you!
1 August 2018
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Like you, at Little Island Comics we are shocked and angry about the rollback of the updated Sex & Health curriculum here in Ontario. Queer and trans folks, the internet, science…these are things that aren’t going away, no matter who’s in power at Queen’s Park. We believe that the best way for young people to access current, inclusive information about sex, gender, sexuality, and health is through our public schools.
But while there are still gaps between what you learn at school and what you need to know, Little Island is here for you! We’ve got lots of comics about bodies, health, and sex, for all ages.
This July, come into the Little Island Comics and The Beguiling to browse our displays of THINGS THEY WON’T TEACH YOU IN SCHOOL…. We’ll be donating 25% of all sales from these books this month to LGBT Youthline, a great organization that provides confidential, non-judgemental, and informed LGBTTQQ2SI peer support across Ontario – something that is ever more important!
And don’t forget that MPPs work for us! You can find out who your MPP is here, and email them to tell them all about why we need current, inclusive sex & health education in Ontario!
Little Island Comics is Re-Opening…and we’re having a SALE!
Posted by: Andrew on: February 21, 2018
The Beguiling Books & Art is proud to announce the return of
LITTLE ISLAND COMICS
The world’s first and only comic shop exclusively for kids!
Art by Genève Firanski
Little Island Comics is BACK!!! Offering the widest possible array of graphic novels, manga, and comics for people 12 years old and younger, Little Island celebrates its Grand Re-Opening during March Break 2018 with a slate of creator appearances, refreshments and activities– with a sale to jumpstart your library of great comics for kids!
When it opened in 2011, Little Island served thousands of young readers, grateful parents, enthusiastic educators, and cool aunts and uncles for five years until the original Mirvish Village location closed due to redevelopment. During that time Little Island was more than a retail destination — it was a local hub: a venue for comics-making classes and teacher/librarian sessions, and hosted many book launches and events with kid-lit luminaries like Tomi Ungerer (The Three Robbers), Kate Beaton (The Princess and the Pony), Kazu Kibuishi (Amulet) and Jon Klassen (We Found a Hat).
“Little Island has proven to be a key part of The Beguiling’s business overall,” says proprietor Peter Birkemoe. “I’m thrilled to once again devote space where kids and parents can learn, read and start loving comics. And we really missed giving our youngest customers the specific attention they deserve.”
“Little Island Comics responded to the public’s continuing need for specialized books shops as points of discovery, interaction, and creative community,” Little Island Comics manager Andrew Woodrow-Butcher adds. “It’s a bricks-and-mortar success story!”
A year after closing its previous Mirvish Village location, Little Island Comics re-opens in March next door to its parent shop The Beguiling’s newly expanded location at the top of Toronto’s vibrant Kensington Market neighbourhood. As The Beguiling enters its fourth decade as North America’s premier comic book retailer, the move to College Street has allowed it to add a gallery and events space, which Little Island will share.
Little Island Comics will be staffed by the same team that worked at the previous location, who also work for The Beguiling’s Library Services business, which has been helping school and public libraries curate their comics collections for more than 15 years. Comics as a medium has become a mainstay of educational library collections in the last decade, and parents and educators will appreciate the expert help in selecting titles that address curriculum objectives, learning challenges, and a wide variety of reading levels. Kids will appreciate the engaging visual storytelling in some of today’s most popular books for young people!
Little Island will offer a 20% discount on all in-print kids comics, picture books, and graphic novels throughout March Break (March 10-18, 2018) to encourage families to dig into graphic novels! The week will culminate in a Grand Re-Opening Party on Saturday, March 17th, with refreshments, drop-in activities, story time, live-drawing (see below for schedule).
We’re VERY HAPPY ABOUT THIS and we hope you are too!!
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Little Island Comics Grand Re-Opening SALE
MARCH BREAK 2018 – 10-18 March
20% off all regular-priced, in-print comics for kids!
(Some restrictions apply – speak to the staff in-store for details)
Little Island Comics Grand Re-Opening Party!
Saturday, March 17th, 2018: 12pm – 4pm
activities – refreshments – creator appearances
SCHEDULE:
12pm: Drawing with Brain McLachlan (Draw out the Story) and Kean Soo (March: Grand Prix)!
1pm: Storytime! Creators Naseem Hrab and Josh Holinaty share their book Ira Crumb Makes a Pretty Good Friend!
2pm: Meet Scott Chantler (The Three Thieves), Ryan North (Unbeatable Squirrel Girl), Andrew Wheeler (Another Castle: Grimoire), Britt Wilson (Cat Dad: King of the Goblins) and Tory Woollcott (Mirror Mind), learn all about their comics, and get some autographs!
Logo by Steve Manale
The End Of Little Island Comics
Posted by: admin on: January 5, 2017
Little Island Comics was the first comic book store for kids in the whole world!
Unfortunately, due to our entire city block being torn down by a condo developer, Little Island Comics closed up shop on December 30th, 2016. Originally opened in August 2011, Little Island Comics served thousands of enthusiastic young readers, grateful parents, and cool aunts and uncles looking for the perfect gift in our short five years.
If you’re looking to continue buying kids comics and graphic novels and picture books from an independent retailer in Toronto, please consider shopping at Page & Panel: The TCAF Shop, 789 Yonge Street, as it has a marvelous selection of books for young people. Our big-brother store, The Beguiling Books & Art, is now located at 319 College Street, and it has a small but excellently curated kids section once again. Beguiling Library Services, and the former staff of Little Island Comics, can be reached at mail@beguilinglibraryservices.com.
We’re very proud of all we were able to accomplish, and we greatly appreciate everyone who shopped with us, hosted or attended an event at our shop, or generally just made the store an awesome place to be.
Thank you!
– The Staff of Little Island Comics
Holiday Hours @ Little Island
Posted by: Andrew on: December 18, 2016
We’re open for all your kids’ comics needs this week and next! Here are our hours:
Until DEC 22nd (Thurs): regular hours
DEC 23rd (Fri): 11am to 9pm
DEC 24th (Sat): 11am to 3pm
DEC 25th (Sun): CLOSED
DEC 26th (Mon): 11am to 5pm
DEC 27th (Tues): 11am to 7pm
DEC 28th (Weds): 11am to 7pm
DEC 29th (Thurs): 11am to 7pm
DEC 30th (Fri): 11am to 7pm
DEC 31st (Sat): CLOSED
JAN 1st (Sun): CLOSED
Friday, December 30th is Little Island Comics’ official last day of regular business. That said, through most of January 2017 The Beguiling/Little Island will be operating in some capacity at 742 Bathurst, hours of operation TBD. Please stay tuned for more announcements, and please come visit us and say goodbye over the next couple of weeks!
Notice: We’re away for a few days!
Posted by: Andrew on: November 13, 2016
Dear Customers,
The Little Island Comics team is in high demand this November, and we’ll be travelling across the province in the next few weeks, selling books to school libraries under The Beguiling’s banner. Amazing!
That means we’ll be closing our doors for a couple of days each week through November to free the team up a bit. We’re closing on Monday and Tuesday for the next three weeks. We’re really sorry for any inconvenience this might cause. If you have any questions about this, you can always reach us at mail@littleislandcomics.com.
The closures are noted below. All other days are business as usual!
MON 14 NOV – closed TUES 15 NOV – closed WED 16 NOV – back to normal MON 21 NOV – closed TUES 22 NOV – closed WED 23 NOV – back to normal MON 28 NOV – closed TUES 29 NOV – closed WED 30 NOV – back to normal!See you in the shop soon!
Bespoke Makeup @ Little Island!
Posted by: Andrew on: October 25, 2016
Do you need that perfect makeup to match your costume this Hallowe’en? Come see Bespoke Makeup at Little Island Comics!
Children’s faces $20 (walk-ins welcome) | Adult make-up will range from $25 – $75 (based on complexity)
Space is limited, so book your appointment today to be sure to get a spot!
Appointments available from 11:00am – 6:30pm on Saturday, October 29
Appointments available from 4:00pm – 6:30pm on Monday, October 31
Phone: 647-390-3178
Email: hello@bespoke-makeup.com
Bespoke Makeup & Hair is a Toronto based hair and make-up company. Visit bespoke-makeup.com for more information.
Book Launch: Eric Orchard’s “Bera the One-Headed Troll”
Posted by: Andrew on: July 22, 2016
We are delighted to host the launch of Eric Orchard’s new book, Bera the One-Headed Troll! Join us on Aug 13th at 12 noon for a chance to meet Eric, get your copy of Bera signed, and take part in some fun kids comics activities.
We had lots of fun two years ago when we launched his last book, Maddy Kettle: The Adventure of the Thimblewitch, and you can still view Eric’s original artwork from Maddy Kettle in the store.
See you on the 13th at noon!
BOOK LAUNCH: Bera the One-Headed Troll
Saturday 13 August 2016 12 noon
Little Island Comics 742 Bathurst Street, Toronto
Happy Victoria Day!
Posted by: Andrew on: May 22, 2016
Thomas Younghusband and his Family Meet Queen Victoria and her Family at Crystal Palace – C. Wells
Hi folks! We’re closed tomorrow (Monday, May 23rd) in celebration of Victoria Day! Normal hours resume on Tuesday.