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Award-Winning Titles 2004English Awards (continued)GEOFFREY BILSON AWARD FOR HISTORICAL FICTION FOR YOUNG PEOPLE 2003
This is the story of two sisters who have left Ontario after their mother's death to live in St. John's, Newfoundland, in the fall of 1926. While their father works for a mining company inland, Sadie, 14, and Flora, 8, try to adapt to a new school and a new town in the absence of their parents. The woman who boards them is mean Mrs. Hatch, who feeds the children lumpy porridge and makes them do household chores. Sadie and Flora anxiously await the return of their father at the end of the school year, but rather than coming to collect the girls, he leaves to search for gold. Threatened with eviction and worried for their father, the children run away to Corner Brook, where a friend of their mother takes them in. Eventually their father, who has suffered hardships on his own adventures, is found, and the family is reunited. This is a poignant story of two young girls striving to make the best of their circumstances in pre-Confederation Newfoundland. BM GOVERNOR GENERAL'S LITERARY AWARD / CHILDREN'S LITERATURE
Travis lives in a two-story trailer outside a small Canadian prairie town with his aunt, his verbally abusive uncle and their young children. His mother, a country-and-western singer, is often on the road. Travis loves to sew and play with puppets; he wants to be a professional puppeteer. Travis doesn't mind being poor or being different, but because he is different he is teased and violently bullied by Shon and his friends. Travis and his disabled friend Chantelle, together with several of their classmates, create a puppet adaptation of A Midsummer Night's Dream. Travis is excited about the puppet show, but unfortunately the bullying escalates to dangerous extremes. Stitches is a poignant and gripping coming-of-age story that deals with bullying, disabilities and abuse. The story offers valuable lessons on friendship and understanding, while encouraging teens to celebrate their individuality and to stand up for themselves. -AC GOVERNOR GENERAL'S LITERARY AWARD / CHILDREN'S LITERATURE
The Song within My Heart is the story of a young First Nations boy and his first pow-wow. His Nokum (grandmother) explains this wonderful tradition to him. Confused by the singing he hears, the young boy asks his grandmother what is being said. He listens intently as his Nokum explains that a story is "…a sacred thing / That should be passed from age to youth." She then advises her grandson to close his eyes and learn to listen. The rhythmic lyrics are enhanced by the lifelike, colourful illustrations. The Song within My Heart is based on memories from illustrator Allen Sapp's childhood. Sapp, a renowned Cree painter originally from Saskatchewan, is a member of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts and an Officer of the Order of Canada. David Bouchard is the author of many other books, including The Elders are Watching. -SG HACKMATACK CHILDREN'S CHOICE BOOK AWARD
Owen Skye, the middle child in his family, lives in a small town with his parents, his two brothers and his shy, reclusive uncle. Owen's life of helping on the farm, going to school, playing hockey and getting into trouble with his brothers is very simple and ordinary. That is until the Bog Man, the Bog Man's wife, and Sylvia, the girl from school who catches Owen's eye, make an appearance and change everything. The Bog Man and his wife are horrible creatures that steal cattle at night by injecting them with poisonous fingernails, turning the cows' bones to soup. They sneak around the surrounding properties with nothing but trouble on their minds. The Skye boys have run into the Bog Man (or think they have) more times than they care to admit. Owen's life changes yet again when his uncle Lorne marries the neighbourhood widow, Mrs. Foster, giving Owen two new cousins. Then Sylvia's father's company transfers him to a faraway town, forcing them to move. All this change makes Owen wonder what the future will hold. -SG HACKMATACK CHILDREN'S CHOICE BOOK AWARD
Available in French under the title: La valise d'Hana (Montréal: Hurtubise HMH, 2003). This is the true story of a search for the owner of a suitcase -- a suitcase that arrived at the Tokyo Holocaust Center in Japan in 2000. The only clues were the words painted on the outside of the suitcase: the name of a girl, Hana Brady; a date, May 31, 1931; and the word Waisenkind -- the German name for orphan. Armed only with the knowledge that the suitcase had come from Auschwitz, a Second World War concentration camp, the centre's director, Fumiko Ishioka, sets out to discover who Hana Brady was and what happened to her. This poignant story simultaneously traces Fumiko's journey to Europe and Canada, and the life of Hana Brady, who was killed in Auschwitz at age 13. Told with honesty and sensitivity, readers will gain an understanding of the horrors of the Holocaust, tempered with a lesson of hope. Black-and-white photographs, documents and sketches give an intimate view of this remarkable story. -DS INFORMATION BOOK AWARD 2003
Available in French under the title: La valise d'Hana (Montréal: Hurtubise HMH, 2003). This is the true story of a search for the owner of a suitcase -- a suitcase that arrived at the Tokyo Holocaust Center in Japan in 2000. The only clues were the words painted on the outside of the suitcase: the name of a girl, Hana Brady; a date, May 31, 1931; and the word Waisenkind -- the German name for orphan. Armed only with the knowledge that the suitcase had come from Auschwitz, a Second World War concentration camp, the centre's director, Fumiko Ishioka, sets out to discover who Hana Brady was and what happened to her. This poignant story simultaneously traces Fumiko's journey to Europe and Canada, and the life of Hana Brady, who was killed in Auschwitz at age 13. Told with honesty and sensitivity, readers will gain an understanding of the horrors of the Holocaust, tempered with a lesson of hope. Black-and-white photographs, documents and sketches give an intimate view of this remarkable story. -DS MANITOBA YOUNG READER'S CHOICE AWARD
Third in the series that began with Silverwing and Sunwing, Firewing continues author Kenneth Oppel's fantastic combination of bat ecology and the struggle between good and evil. Newborn Silverwing Griffin must contend with being the timid, worrisome son of the legendary Shade -- defeater of the cannibal bats, peacemaker with the owls and restorer of the sun to the Silverwings. A misguided attempt to emulate his father results in the injury of popular newborn Luna; and Griffin steals away from Tree Haven in despair. Meanwhile, Shade is migrating to Tree Haven, eager to see his son for the first time and to reunite with his mate, Marina. A ground tremor during his flight intensifies Shade's concern for his family. Upon arrival, Shade discovers Marina injured from the quake and Griffin nowhere to be found. Using sonic imaging, Shade traces his son's disappearance to a fissure in the earth, revealing Griffin's descent into the fearsome Underworld. Undaunted and driven in his quest to rescue his son, Shade begins his own descent into the land of the dead, where his arch-nemesis Goth and the struggle to ascend back to the upper world await. -JP MR. CHRISTIE'S BOOK AWARD 2002
Most young boys dream of being Mounties, and the narrator of this story is no exception. After a long day of harvesting wheat in the field with his father, the boy is given a mission: to find his missing brother before the approaching storm sets down. He rides off on his beautiful black horse, bedecked in his Mountie regalia, complete with red serge coat, Stetson hat, blue breeches and polished boots. After hearing the cry of a coyote and stopping to watch a heron creep along the shore, he finds his brother catching frogs in the slough. However, they are not quick enough to escape the dark, thundering storm. After much trouble, the brave Mountie and his rescued brother return safely to the barn, where his mother and father are waiting. The boy ends his adventure by telling his horse that it was "all in the line of duty." The illustrations are delicate and understated, effectively conveying both the immense prairie and the thunderstorm. -SG MR. CHRISTIE'S BOOK AWARD 2002
Owen Skye, the middle child in his family, lives in a small town with his parents, his two brothers and his shy, reclusive uncle. Owen's life of helping on the farm, going to school, playing hockey and getting into trouble with his brothers is very simple and ordinary. That is until the Bog Man, the Bog Man's wife, and Sylvia, the girl from school who catches Owen's eye, make an appearance and change everything. The Bog Man and his wife are horrible creatures that steal cattle at night by injecting them with poisonous fingernails, turning the cows' bones to soup. They sneak around the surrounding properties with nothing but trouble on their minds. The Skye boys have run into the Bog Man (or think they have) more times than they care to admit. Owen's life changes yet again when his uncle Lorne marries the neighbourhood widow, Mrs. Foster, giving Owen two new cousins. Then Sylvia's father's company transfers him to a faraway town, forcing them to move. All this change makes Owen wonder what the future will hold. -SG
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