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R. ROSS ANNETT JUVENILE FICTION AWARD
Rachel is spending the summer with her aunt and uncle in the small town of Agatha, Alberta. She's been anticipating a boring summer, that is, until she meets Michael. Within minutes, Rachel is smitten. But she senses something disturbing in her new friend. Still feeling the loss of his older brother, Nick, two years ago, Michael is easily angered and picks fights at the slightest provocation. Rachel finds herself caught in the middle of violent pranks and wonders about their relationship and the meaning of friendship. Katherine Holubitsky has captured the landscape of a small-town life in the prairies. The characters are well developed, and the description of a teenager dealing with loss is true to life. The story's message: no matter what, friends are always there for you. AC RED CEDAR BOOK AWARD
Sunwing continues the story started in the multi-award-winning novel Silverwing, in which Shade, a silverwing bat, has many adventures while searching for his lost colony. In Sunwing, Shade has been reunited with his colony, but has yet to find his father. Shade, along with his friend Marina and other members of the colony, travel many wingbeats to the north and discover a strange building created by humans. The bats hope to find Shade's father as well as the meaning of the silver bands that humans have attached to some of their species. The building holds many surprises, more frightening than any of the bats ever imagined. Shade and Marina meet Goth, the evil vampire bat who has tried to kill them before. Which is the worse threat, humans or Goth? The bats escape, but they must find a way to stop Goth and his colony from destroying them. Shade enlists the aid of the rats and the owls -- enemies of the bats since the beginning of time. Goth and his colony live in the jungles in the south, and it is there that the bats and their group must make a stand. In the ancient pyramids of the jungle a terrifying battle ensues. At stake is the survival of the northern bats and their way of life. This story is gripping and is written in great detail. The readers are pulled into the life of the bats: their quest for family, their journeys, their fears and their struggle to survive. RED CEDAR BOOK AWARD
In WOW Canada! the reader embarks on a cross-Canada car trip, as seen through the eyes of a 12-year-old boy named Guy, who is travelling with his parents and younger sister, Rachel. In his journal, Guy recounts facts and stories about Canada, ranging from places and history to wildlife and geology, in a humorous, kid-friendly tone. The layout presents a great number of interesting facts using sidebars with titles such as "According to Dad" and "Exceedingly Weird" to inform and entertain readers without overwhelming them. Illustrations take the form of colourful photographs, slides, stamps and souvenirs, as well as postcards that document correspondence from Guy and Rachel to their friends back home. WOW Canada! covers all of Canada's provinces and territories, including Nunavut, with a separate chapter devoted to each one. The chapters include information on tourist attractions, historical sites, and even "Food I Was Introduced to for My Own Good." There is an excellent index, as well as a three-page synopsis of facts, covering flags, symbols, population, and government Web page addresses for each province and territory. With its bounty of timely information, this book may be useful for school projects, as well as being a very entertaining guide to take on a trip across Canada. RED MAPLE AWARD
The year is 1943. Life for Clara, as a Jewish girl in Prague, Czechoslovakia, is getting increasingly restrictive. No longer allowed to go to public school, to play with her friends or go to the movies, she longs for life the way it used to be. To make matters worse, one day a notice arrives ordering her family to relocate to a walled town called Terezin. Ghetto life is hard. Clara is separated from her brother and parents, the food is bad and scarce, and the barracks are either too hot or too cold. Worse still is the constant threat of being transferred to a death camp. And yet, as Clara learns, there are wonderful things as well, like friendships and performing a lead part in a children's opera. Set in the Second World War, this fast-paced historical fiction novel is inspiring and gripping. Through Clara's experiences, readers will understand the power art has to transcend suffering and bring some happiness in the grimmest of circumstances. DS RUTH SCHWARTZ CHILDREN'S BOOK AWARD
Emily's Oma has moved from her house on Maple Street into Forest View Retirement Home. Living in Forest View is a big adjustment for Oma; she doesn't like the food, she misses her old neighbourhood, and she doesn't think much of the other residents. Emily is worried about her grandmother, but she doesn't know how to help her. While Emily and her mother are sorting through boxes of Oma's things, they find old clothing, including Emily's baby blanket and the dress Emily's mother wore at her first piano recital. Emily suggests that they make a memory quilt for Oma out of the old clothes. When the quilt is finished, Oma is deeply touched, and tells Emily the stories behind each piece of fabric in the quilt. The quilt provides a happy reminder for Oma of her life on Maple Street, and it helps her begin to adjust to living in her new home. Oma's Quilt is a lovingly told story, accompanied by exuberant water-colour illustrations. This story will help children better understand the emotions experienced by their grandparents when they can no longer live as independently as they once did. MF RUTH SCHWARTZ CHILDREN'S BOOK AWARD
The Newfoundland outport community of Cook's Cove in 1960 provides the setting for this novel. Three 15-year-old girls, all cousins and friends, are spending a last carefree summer together before their final year of high school. The community is isolated and life is tough for its residents. What can the future possibly hold for a teenager in a small fishing community? One day, a stranger arrives in the town. He notices Rebecca's exceptional drawings and extends an invitation for her to go to Boston to further her studies. No one could have guessed that his arrival would initiate the discovery of a secret capable of destroying the families' closeness. Warm and engaging, this story incorporates the many hard truths about life in Newfoundland. One is able to picture the community of Cook's Cove as it was in 1960, at a time when there was no road permitting outside access and when there were few modern conveniences and luxuries. A thought-provoking story in which all the characters maintain strength of character and spirit that sees them through. BM THE SHEILA A. EGOFF CHILDREN'S PRIZE
"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 SILVER BIRCH AWARD
This is the story of Phoebe and her dream of finding freedom. Born on a plantation in Alabama, 13-year-old Phoebe has known nothing but the life of a slave in a kitchen or on a plantation, picking cotton. She lives with her parents in a house that used to be full of joy and children. Now she is all that is left of their family of seven. Slaves not only do not own their own land, they also do not own their own family. Phoebe has seen three of her siblings auctioned off. Her sister Rachel has run away to Canada, on the Underground Railroad, without even saying good-bye. Phoebe dreams of the day she will be free. One day, she meets Liney and, along with her two children, they flee the plantation the week before Phoebe is to be auctioned off. They chart a path using clues taken from songs sung on the plantation, finding safe houses as they make their way north to Canada. On their journey, they must evade slave catchers and spies who are ready to turn them in for a reward. It is an almost impossible undertaking, filled with enemies, danger, passwords, cold and hunger, but it is one that they must risk in order to attain the freedom they so desperately seek. In her first novel, Virginia Frances Schwartz brings to life Phoebe's courage and faith as she risks her life for freedom. ACM SILVER BIRCH AWARD
What's smaller than a bee's mouth? What did the grape say to the elephant? The answers will make you groan, and that's just the sort of jokes that kids love! There are many, many puns and silly giggles to be found in this book. A lot of the gags are oldies that children have found funny for ages and that adults will recognize from their own childhood. In addition to the laughs are optical illusions to fascinate all ages. In each section, there are interesting facts related to the theme of the jokes. For example, alongside the bird jokes, the reader learns why birds don't fall off their perches while sleeping. The illustrations are in keeping with the spirit of the text: goofy, cartoon-like, weird or just plain funny. AR YOUNG ADULT CANADIAN BOOK AWARD
Garnet Havelock has a talent for words and for history but he shows no enthusiasm for school. When a new girl transfers to his school, Garnet's life changes. Raven-haired and graceful, Raphaella is uniquely beautiful and doesn't try to fit in with the others -- Garnet is smitten. Garnet works part time at his father's antique shop; during a furniture delivery in the countryside he is caught in a snowstorm. While taking refuge in a dilapidated chapel, he senses that the building and the surrounding abandoned settlement are filled with painful memories from the distant past. Later, he feels drawn back to the place and shares his feelings with Raphaella. His passion for history and her sensibility to the world of spirits draws them both deep into a mysterious and violent event that took place during the 19th century in the black settlement of Oro Township (Ontario). Garnet and Raphaella embark on a quest to ease pain from the past; they uncover the terrible circumstances of the death of Hannah, a woman whose soul has been suffering for centuries and longs to be put to rest. A richly layered novel that weaves together well-defined teenaged characters, historical information and a supernatural mystery. JP INTERNATIONAL LITERARY AWARDS EDGAR ALLAN POE AWARD (USA) NEWBERY MEDAL HONOR BOOK (USA) 2001 DEUTSCHER JUGENDLITERATURPREIS CANADIAN NOMINEE FOR THE 2002 HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSEN ILLUSTRATOR AWARD CANADIAN NOMINEE FOR THE 2002 HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSEN AUTHOR AWARD  |
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