iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Kari Tanaka @karitanaka.bsky.social · 01/08/2025

Amber Smith never ceases to amaze me in showing what young, healthy relationships should/could look like if teens choose themselves over paths of self destruction. This amazing collab with Sam Gellar brings 90s nostalgia to modern teens. Ah, how the more things change, the more they stay the same!❤️📚

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Kari Tanaka @karitanaka.bsky.social · 18/07/2025

I approve of this family moving into the neighborhood. 🥹

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Kari Tanaka @karitanaka.bsky.social · 14/07/2025

Binging on berries before moseying on. Love the Waterton Bears! ❤️🐻

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Kari Tanaka @karitanaka.bsky.social · 02/07/2025

30 days in June means 30 days of 2SLGBTQ+ picture, MG, and YA book recommendations from me! Here is the highlight reel. 😊 Check out my original posts for more detailed reviews and remember to READ, RECOMMEND and DEFEND diverse books 365 days a year! ❤️📚

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Kari Tanaka @karitanaka.bsky.social · 08/06/2025

In other news…KANGAROOS!!! 🦘🦘🦘

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Kari Tanaka @karitanaka.bsky.social · 01/06/2025

It’s June 1 so that means it’s time for 30 kids, MG, and YA 🏳️‍🌈📚recs in 30 days! These are 30 titles that I’ve read & loved in the past year. Through books, we can show solidarity, strength, and community. HUGE respect to all of you who read, recommend and defend 2SLGBTQIA+ KidLit EVERYDAY! ❤️🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️📚

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Kari Tanaka @karitanaka.bsky.social · 01/06/2025

We are ready for Pride Month at the @ulethbookstore! What a great day and a great partnership with @outreach.sab and @lethlib to bring the first YQL Queer Book Fair to life! I hope it’s the first of many! 🥰❤️🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️📚

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Kari Tanaka @karitanaka.bsky.social · 30/05/2025

Here I am standing between two of the most influential people in my literary journey, Dr. David A. Robertson and Dr. Robin Bright. David received an honorary degree from the UofL and it was my honour to host him for a book signing at the UofL Bookstore following the ceremony. 🥰❤️📚

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Kari Tanaka @karitanaka.bsky.social · 29/05/2025

What a fun way to kick off convocation week at the UofL! Love my job. Love my team. Love my U. Love the cool stuff we get to do and the amazing people we get to meet! 💙💛❤️🇨🇦📚 @ulethbookstore

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Kari Tanaka @karitanaka.bsky.social · 24/05/2025

This is going to be so much fun! This week we get to meet and host book signings for two amazing Canadians and celebrate all of our UofL grads! We get to meet and host a book signing for Brent Butt on Sunday and David A. Robertson on Thursday. Love my job and my team at the UofL Bookstore!💙💛

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Kari Tanaka @karitanaka.bsky.social · 08/05/2025

Didn’t see this little sweetheart napping in our flower bed on the way out the door this morning so we startled him as much as he startled us. He was limping and seems to have injured his back leg, poor thing. 😢 Hope he heals up soon.

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Kari Tanaka @karitanaka.bsky.social · 30/04/2025

WOW!🥺😢😭🫣🥺🥰🫣😡🤬🥺😳🥺😳😨😱🤔.This poetic, queer YA horror novel, set within the confines of a boarding school, will give you a slow burn before jolting you with whiplashing plot twists, ripping your heart out, and leaving you with an ambiguous, but brilliantly haunting ending! Available now @ulethbookstore

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Kari Tanaka @karitanaka.bsky.social · 30/04/2025

This beautiful girl was there to greet me when I got home from work today. She’s so sweet. 🥰

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Kari Tanaka @karitanaka.bsky.social · 29/04/2025

This debut paranormal YA horror novel gave me all the vengeful vibes of Stephen King’s, Carrie, with a queer 🇨🇦 twist! The plot twist! What the heck?😳 I had to flip back several pages before deciding to keep moving forward so my brain could catch up! This one’s a bit gory but so satisfying & awesome!

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Kari Tanaka @karitanaka.bsky.social · 25/04/2025

Well, the smiley face moon “winked” at us this morning. Venus was nice and bright but Saturn was a little shy. 😉 Did anyone happen to see the full “face” early this morning? 😀

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Kari Tanaka @karitanaka.bsky.social · 23/04/2025

This book is everything all at once & at the same time! It’s light & dark. It’s funny & serious. It’s chaotic & contemplative. It’s fair & unfair. If you’re looking for a deeply philosophical, highly engaging & gorgeously illustrated MG novel, be sure to check this one out! ❤️📚@ulethbookstore

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Kari Tanaka @karitanaka.bsky.social · 22/04/2025

📚❤️🧡💛💚💙💜🩷🩵🤎🖤📚

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Kari Tanaka @karitanaka.bsky.social · 20/04/2025

Okay, hear me out. A Matt de la Pena/Loren Long picture book is ideal for ANY occasion BUT with a line like this, "home is not a house you leave behind but the people who walk beside you,” don’t you think it would make a FANTASTIC graduation gift? I do! Come check it out at the @ulethbookstore. ❤️📚

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Kari Tanaka @karitanaka.bsky.social · 18/04/2025

There are some YA books that,as an adult,you want to crawl into & save the characters from themselves while also hoping that a teen reader sees a little bit of their own reality & is inspired to shift their path away from dark & into light. This one broke my heart but I am richer for having read it.

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Kari Tanaka @karitanaka.bsky.social · 18/04/2025

Good morning beautifuls! What a great view out my window to start the long weekend. 🥰

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Kari Tanaka @karitanaka.bsky.social · 18/04/2025

Me & my team at the UofL Bookstore did a read aloud of Don’t Trust Fish this afternoon, (yes, adults can have story time too), and we believe we have found one of the funniest picture books of the season, if not EVER! We were crying we were laughing so hard! What a debut! More from this duo please!

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Kari Tanaka @karitanaka.bsky.social · 17/04/2025

I knew @mrsmacskinders would love this one as much as I do! I can’t wait to see what her students think of it! If you haven’t seen it yet, come and check it out at the @ulethbookstore! ❤️🐧📚

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Kari Tanaka @karitanaka.bsky.social · 17/04/2025

This picture book by Carol Rose GoldenEagle & Hawlii Pichette is absolutely breathtaking! Not only did it expand my appreciation of the land it also inspired me to explore my appreciation through art. I will 100% be bringing some art supplies with me to Waterton, or maybe even into my own backyard!

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Kari Tanaka @karitanaka.bsky.social · 16/04/2025

So lucky to get an early peak of this new picture book by the amazing Robin Stevenson and incredibly talented Kristina Jones. If my kids choose to make me a grandma someday I will definitely be grabbing a copy for each of my grandkids! A beautiful testament to love, near and far. ❤️🇨🇦📚@ulethbookstore

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Kari Tanaka @karitanaka.bsky.social · 14/04/2025

F.T. Lukens writes the best, most amazingly supportive YA friend groups & I absolutely adore them for it! This book is a page-turning paranormal mystery, with an MC trying to embrace their authentic self while also trying to prevent a murder, salvage a friendship, & explore a new romance. Loved it!

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Kari Tanaka @karitanaka.bsky.social · 04/04/2025

I’m so proud to be volunteering to help Outreach put on their first ever Queer Book Fair! Taking the seed of an idea and growing it into something tangible is so rewarding! If you’d like to book a booth, check out the call for vendors or, if you know anyone who might be interested, please share!

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Kari Tanaka @karitanaka.bsky.social · 02/04/2025

Spaw day for Belle E. Buttons. She is such a goofy little muppet! 😂❤️🐶

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Kari Tanaka @karitanaka.bsky.social · 27/03/2025

This YA novel is as breathtaking as its cover.Imagine returning to your former life, 7 years after you’ve died.You haven’t aged a day,your life experience frozen in time,but the lives of your family, boyfriend, friends, & strangers have carried on in ways both good & bad.I read this in one sitting!

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Kari Tanaka @karitanaka.bsky.social · 26/03/2025

Ibi Zoboi’s novels in verse are nothing short of exquisite.Her latest, (S)KIN, merges Caribbean folklore with contemporary YA themes of identity, race,class, immigration & freedom. The fantasy elements are stunning, the horror elements are chilling & the conclusion is 🔥 on the page!❤️📚@ulethbookstore

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Kari Tanaka @karitanaka.bsky.social · 18/03/2025

I binge watched Adolescence on Netflix on Saturday and I’m still thinking about it tonight. This powerful, character driven, phenomenally acted drama is an exploration of social media, toxic masculinity and accountability. You’ll want to hug your kids tight after this one!

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Kari Tanaka @karitanaka.bsky.social · 18/03/2025

This beautiful MG novel explores more than just the coral reefs off the coast of Roatan, Honduras. It dives deep into sibling rivalry, disappointment and eco-anxiety while leaving readers with the hope of new friendships, rebuilt relationships, and effective environmental activism. ❤️📚@ulethbookstore

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Kari Tanaka @karitanaka.bsky.social · 16/03/2025

Looking for a fun, non-fiction read aloud for K-3? Look no further! This Is NOT My Lunch Box will keep your audience guessing just which forest creature’s lunch box they have opened, based on the contents! Be prepared for lots of oohs, awws, ewws, and ahhs as you turn each page! 😊❤️📚@ulethbookstore

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Kari Tanaka @karitanaka.bsky.social · 24/02/2025

Spent my Saturday reading this terrifying little number from cover to cover. Nothing like a horror novel narrated by a child to get your heart racing!😳 Thanks for the recommendation @directedreading and @nicoleafreel ❤️📚

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Kari Tanaka @karitanaka.bsky.social · 11/02/2025

Holy moly, @chadgalucas.bsky.social, I could not put your new book down!!! So timely! So brave! So PERFECT for MG readers who are ready for intense, relevant, non-condescending, somewhat disturbing, yet hopeful, mature storylines! You have such respect for young readers! ❤️🇨🇦📚 at the UofL Bookstore.

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Kari Tanaka @karitanaka.bsky.social · 06/02/2025

Oh my picture book loving heart! This book is so stinkin’ CUTE!!! Meet Buffalo Fluffalo. He heaves and he huffalos. Leave him alone because he’s had enuffalo! But, behind his fluffy bravado, he’s really just a little softie at heart.🥹 This perfect read aloud is available now at the UofL Bookstore!❤️📚

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Kari Tanaka @karitanaka.bsky.social · 27/01/2025

Answering a few emails in my hotel room this morning and, seriously, the view from my window couldn’t be more stunning! The falls in the winter are unreal! 🥰

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Kari Tanaka @karitanaka.bsky.social · 27/01/2025

These views from the hotel room never get old! Glad to be back in Niagara for the annual Campus Stores Canada Conference! In an industry that has been in a constant state of disruption since I started working in it 20 years ago, we have A LOT to talk about this week! 😄❤️CSC

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Kari Tanaka @karitanaka.bsky.social · 22/01/2025

I had the opportunity to share some of my favourite MG books with the most AMAZING grade 5 students TWO days in a row! What a treat! I love my job at the UofL Bookstore, the people I’ve met and the opportunities I’ve had! I LOVE book tasting with Rhona Harkness, Robin Bright, & Carly Goruk! 😊❤️📚

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Kari Tanaka @karitanaka.bsky.social · 11/01/2025

This debut YA novel-in-verse was poignant, relevant, & hit me in all the feels. Learning that the author also struggled with an eating disorder made Evie’s story all the more powerful. Shout out to side-character, Jean, who warmed my heart & brought a tear to my eye on more than on occasion. 🥹❤️🇨🇦📚

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Kari Tanaka @karitanaka.bsky.social · 11/01/2025

I’m not much of a hamster person, but my daughter’s new critter is a pretty handsome little fella. 😊

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Kari Tanaka @karitanaka.bsky.social · 05/01/2025

I don’t know how I let Shari Green’s debut YA novel in verse slip by me but I’m sure glad I found it now! This moving historical novel, set in 80s East Germany before the fall of the Berlin Wall, shows how hope, bravery, & music work in harmony to inspire protests & change.❤️🇨🇦📚 at the UofL Bookstore.

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Kari Tanaka @karitanaka.bsky.social · 04/01/2025

If you adore David & Patrick’s relationship in Schitt’s Creek you will fall head over heels in love with Bobby & Luke in Paul Coccia’s delightful new YA rom-com! Quirky, fun, & extra in all the best ways, this story is a great reminder that we are all worthy of good people & good books in our lives!

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Kari Tanaka @karitanaka.bsky.social · 25/12/2024

A quiet start to Christmas morning while I wait for the family to get up. Christmas morning with teen/adult children is different, but still magical its own way. 😊❤️🎄📚

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Kari Tanaka @karitanaka.bsky.social · 24/12/2024

This is how I plan to spend the latter half of my Christmas vacay! 😂❤️📚

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Kari Tanaka @karitanaka.bsky.social · 24/12/2024

I couldn’t help but pull over on the way to work this morning to try to capture a bit of this beautiful Christmas Eve sunrise. I hope your Christmas Eve is as beautiful as my morning drive was. 😊

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Kari Tanaka @karitanaka.bsky.social · 22/12/2024

I love it when the neighbourhood deer stop by for a visit. They are so fluffy this time of year! 🥰

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Kari Tanaka @karitanaka.bsky.social · 14/12/2024

If you’re looking for a great gift idea for that favourite teacher in your life, picture books are a sure fire hit! This one is perfect for elementary teachers and also for MG and HS teachers to demonstrate all the elements of a story in a hilariously quirky way! 😊❤️📚 at the UofL Bookstore

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Kari Tanaka @karitanaka.bsky.social · 13/12/2024

This book is so utterly sweet, wholesome & adorable,I literally cried at my desk while reading it over my lunch hour proving,once again, that bookseller lunch hours are the absolute best! The text,the illustrations,the depth of the message, oh my picture book loving heart! 🥹❤️📚at the UofL Bookstore.

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