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INFORMATION BOOK AWARD
In 1871, Sir John A. Macdonald had a dream of a railway that stretched from sea to sea. Within 10 years, the Canadian Pacific Railway was ready to turn the dream into reality. This book examines the many connections between the making of the railway and events in the history of Canada. It is a story of our nation, of the challenges we faced and how we overcame them. Meet some of the people who built the railway. The survey crews, grading gangs, bridge-makers, track-layers, labourers, cooks, and others who toiled through some of the world's harshest weather and terrain came from many different countries. Building the railway required great feats of engineering: blasting through some of the hardest rock on earth, spanning great rivers, and laying track on miles of muskeg. Read about the rotary snow plough, as well as Sandford Fleming's system of standard time. Hear about the settlers who journeyed west aboard the colonist cars. Learn about freight trains, school trains, troop trains, passenger trains and freight trains. Colourful illustrations and archival material greatly aid in the understanding of the information presented and give a sense of the times. Includes an index. DS MANITOBA YOUNG READER'S CHOICE AWARD
Afghanistan is still under the rule of the harsh Taliban regime. Young Parvana's father can no longer teach, he was wounded when a bomb destroyed the school where he was teaching, and her mother, three sisters and baby brother are confined to a one-room apartment. Every day, 10-year-old Parvana accompanies her father to the market, where he sits in a corner trying to earn enough money to support his family by reading letters for those who cannot read. When Parvana's father is beaten up and jailed, the family is left with no means of survival. Their only hope is with Parvana -- she is young enough to dress as a boy (girls are not allowed to go out in public) and knows how to read and write, which will enable her take her father's place in the market. Each day is filled with new dangers. When Parvana's mother and sisters try to go north to Mazar-e-sharif for Parvana's older sister's wedding, they are rounded up by the Taliban. Alone in Kabul, Parvana will need all her courage to survive. The Breadwinner has received international attention. The indomitable character and remarkable courage and determination of Parvana were inspired by personalities Deborah Ellis met while working in refugee camps in Pakistan. JP MR. CHRISTIE'S BOOK AWARD 2000
Take a farmyard, one sickly feline, one kind-hearted fowl, add a twist of magic realism, and the result is The Chicken Cat. The kitten in question is Merlin, who is discovered abandoned and shivering in the barn. Guinevere is the feather-brained but motherly chicken who takes Merlin under her wing. Poor Merlin needs more than dry feed to get well in the cold barn, and so when a mother and daughter visit the farm looking for a kitten to adopt, Guinevere ensures that Merlin gets taken home with them. An unexpected development leads to a happy reunion of the unlikely pair and the fulfilment of Guinevere's dreams. The real strength of this book is the wonderfully heart-breaking illustrations by Sean Cassidy, who uses watercolour, gouache, and coloured pencil to great effect, producing perhaps the most expressive poultry eyes you will ever see. MR. CHRISTIE'S BOOK AWARD 2001
A little rooster lives with a poor old woman. Sometimes, she has nothing to feed the rooster, so he has to scratch for bugs and worms. One day while scratching, he finds a diamond button. He wants to pick it up and bring it to the old woman, but a greedy sultan spies the button and orders his servants to take it. The rooster is determined to get the button back; he follows the sultan to his palace and demands that the button be returned: "Sultan! Sultan! Give me back my diamond button." The sultan is annoyed and refuses. His servants throw the rooster into a well, a fire and a beehive, but the rooster perseveres. Finally, fed up, the sultan gives the button back to the little rooster. Celia Barker Lottridge and Joanne Fitzgerald have teamed up once again in the retelling of this traditional Hungarian tale. The water-colour illustrations are detailed and captivating. Children will cheer for the rooster who outwits the greedy sultan. AC MR. CHRISTIE'S BOOK AWARD 2000
Jean Little's latest work tells the story of two children, abandoned by their drug-addicted mother, and their journey across the country and into the arms of their extended family, to a place where they finally feel they belong. Twelve-year-old Willow and her brother Twig, four, are left by their mother in the care of a succession of acquaintances in Vancouver, eventually finding themselves alone. Through social services, the children manage to contact their grandmother and are soon on the way east to the family homestead in southern Ontario. There, they attempt to settle into a very different life with their grandmother, great-uncle and great-aunt and their live-in menagerie. MMc MR. CHRISTIE'S BOOK AWARD 2001
"Haven't you ever just known something deep in your heart without reason?" asks 11-year-old Primrose Squarp. When her parents are lost at sea in a storm off Coal Harbour, British Columbia, everyone but Primrose believes them to be dead. As the elderly babysitter's bill (who is still on the clock at $3 an hour) is getting too much for what Primrose calls her parents' bank account and what everyone else calls their estate, the town council manages to find a relative, an Uncle Jack, who reluctantly finds himself in Coal Harbour looking after Primrose. They quickly become fond of each other; however, Primrose still has to cope with a series of misfortunes and calamities, and a guidance counsellor eager to help her deal with her "issues" (but who is really only interested in Uncle Jack). Primrose's main confidante is Miss Bowzer, cook and proprietor of The Girl on the Red Swing, a restaurant where absolutely everything gets served on a waffle. As a special added touch, a recipe related to the text appears at the end of each chapter. Everything on a Waffle is a slightly odd yet thoroughly charming book. AR MR. CHRISTIE'S BOOK AWARD 2000
Blay Raytee is a lyrical name, rhythmic and fanciful. But for Blay Raytee, there's little song or imagination in her real life. Blay lives in the year 2368. She slaves in a government work camp, scrounging in a landfill site for items like Styrofoam, plastic bottles and bundles of paper. She's 13. Or 12. Or is she 14? She's not even sure that her name is Blay Raytee. It's a name she adopted so she wouldn't be just another nameless, faceless child like so many of the others in the camp - children with no identity, no innocence, no hope. Blay gets a break, though. She's bright and she loves to read. Blay is chosen from the work camp kids to serve as a tutor to Marrella, the new bio-indicator who has special sensitivities to the environment. In the end, it's Blay, not Marrella, who learns everything about the environment and its fascinations. Blay goes on to discover who she really is; she finds out about her enigmatic past and the secret that's buried under her skin. The Secret Under My Skin, written by Governor General Award winner Janet McNaughton, is a captivating science fiction tale full of dreams, suspense and revelations. MR. CHRISTIE'S BOOK AWARD 2001
In the early 1930s in Saskatchewan, times are tough. Not only is the depression in full swing, but there has also been a large-scale drought. Robert, aged 11, lives on a farm outside the town of Horshoe. When a stranger abducts his younger brother, Matthew, the town rallies to find him, but to no avail. Bizarre things start to happen: the chickens lay bloody eggs, and people begin to have strange dreams. At this point, a sinister man named Abram Harsich arrives in town. With smoke and mirrors, he mesmerizes the usually sceptical townsfolk, convincing them that he can build a rainmaking machine. No one seems concerned when more children begin to disappear; even Robert's parents seem to have forgotten about Matthew. Only Robert seems immune to the enchantment. He sets out alone to visit the Harsich farm in hope of discovering the fate of the missing children. MF MUNICIPAL CHAPTER OF TORONTO IODE BOOK AWARD
The pansies and marigolds are steeped in iridescent hues of purple and orange. The forests and grasses shimmer a myriad of greens in the wet dew. The giraffe smiles tall in his asymmetrical coat of earthy browns and the birds … they're white. In Vlasta van Kampen's A Drop of Gold, Mother Nature has goofed. She was so busy adding colours to the rest of the world that she forgot about the birds. White, bland and homogenous, they chirp sadly. So Mother Nature calls her helpers, a couple of very energetic monkeys. With their pails of paint, the monkeys paint the birds yellow, red, teal, blue, black and more and add stripes, dots and specks. The birds' spirits are now buoyed in their dazzling new outfits. Except for one little white bird, that is. He was lost and joined the other birds too late. And now there are no colourful paints left -- only a brown paint remains. The other birds paint him, yet he is still so very plain, so very brown. Just then the duck remembers that there is a tiny pot of special liquid still left: gold. The duck puts a drop of gold into the little brown bird's mouth. He begins to sing sweetly and beautifully. The little brown bird has become a nightingale. Ms. Van Kampen's A Drop of Gold is a brightly told tale, and her water-colour illustrations of the many birds in various stages of dress are frenzied and fun. Visually enthralling, children will be charmed by the colours and detail in this picture book. MSI NATIONAL CHAPTER OF CANADA IODE VIOLET DOWNEY BOOK AWARD
Set in the Gatineau hills of Quebec, this novel introduces unforgettable characters such as Mary Ann Alice, the aspiring poet who was named after the church bell in Martindale, Patchy Drizzle, the school teacher whose passion for geology is shared by his young pupil, and Mrs. Drizzle, his unhappy wife who cannot get used to life in this remote village far from her familiar English countryside. These new personalities are joined by many of the familiar characters who inhabit Brian Doyle's other novels. Something is about to happen that will change the life of these characters and of everyone else living in the area -- the Paugan dam is being built. Engineers and lawyers invade the village, and many of the locals are expelled as their land is inundated. Not only is the landscape being altered, so too is a way of life -- entire farms are now submerged. But for some the change is not all bad; many find work on the new site. Mary Ann Alice's curious and intelligent voice is present throughout the novel, she marvels at each historical and geological discovery made with Patchy Drizzle. The beautiful descriptions of rock formations and geological marvels such as caves and cliffs give this novel a rich texture. Mary Ann Alice's curious and intelligent voice is present throughout the novel, she marvels at each historical and geological discovery made with her teacher, Patchy Drizzle. She is part of a lively community that is connected by generations of shared stories; the language of the locals, and the interwoven relationships between its inhabitants make this village special. The beautiful descriptions of rock formations and geological marvels such as the caves and cliffs that existed before the dam was built give this novels its rich texture. The land becomes an integral part of the story. Mary Ann Alice is a wonderful addition to the universe created by Brian Doyle, a universe describing life in the early years of the 20th century in the Upper Gatineau hills. This novel belongs to a specific place, yet it is universal by its vision, its literary qualities and its humanism. JP NORMA FLECK AWARD FOR CHILDREN'S NON-FICTION
Florence Nightingale. Her name evokes the image of a tireless nurse, sweet, selfless and hunched over a patient, lamp in hand. The art of the day portrayed her beatifically at times; in one painting she's shawl-draped and statuesque, almost ethereal, as if laying hands. In the literature of her times, she held a mystical and iconic stature. Henry Wadsworth wrote:
Gena K. Gorrell casts aside those Victorian images and hyperbole and offers a truer, more complete picture of the woman, Florence Nightingale. An impressive chronology of Florence's life, Heart and Soul confirms what we already know about her. The book, however, also captures Florence Nightingale's bitter frustrations with the female conventions of the time. A sometimes difficult and demanding individual who is driven by a desire to help the poor and the sick, she turns her back on her life of privilege, becoming a nurse and revolutionizing the field of nursing by bringing to light the value of sanitation, nutrition and proper record keeping. The text is meticulously detailed and is accompanied by many illustrations that provide further depth to the story. The stark description of the violence and waste of battle and of Florence's integral role during the Crimean War are superlative. After reading this book, the words selfless and tireless still come to mind in reference to Florence Nightingale, but so too do the words brilliant, visionary, passionate, stubborn, intense, iconoclast and humanist. MSI
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