Library and Archives Canada
www.collectionscanada.gc.ca
This archived Web page remains online for reference, research or recordkeeping purposes. This page will not be altered or updated. Web pages that are archived on the Internet are not subject to the Government of Canada Web Standards. As per the Communications Policy of the Government of Canada, you can request alternate formats of this page on the Contact Us page.
 |
        
|
Award-Winning Titles 2004English Awards (continued)RUTH SCHWARTZ CHILDREN'S BOOK AWARD
With the novel Boy O'Boy, Brian Doyle demonstrates his mastery of plot and characterization. We are introduced to Martin O'Boy, a gentle and loving boy who lives with his parents and an incapacitated twin brother in a small house in Lowertown Ottawa during the Second World War. Times are hard and money is scarce. Martin and his friend Billy become summer choirboys to earn a few nickels. The organist, Mr. George, shows an unhealthy interest in both boys. The children feel trapped but find the strength to ask the help of a trusted friend to escape the unsavoury Mr. George. When dealing with the complex and difficult topic of sexual abuse, Brian Doyle shows respect for his characters and young readers. Boy O'Boy is a beautifully written novel, filled with memorable characters created by a writer who understands children and their fears, and who shows humanity and compassion in transcending the dreadful actions in his story. Nominated by IBBY Canada for the prestigious Hans Christian Andersen Award in 1998, Brian Doyle has received many accolades. He is a three-time winner of the Canadian Library Association's Book of the Year for Children Award and is the recipient of numerous other national and international honours. -JP SASKATCHEWAN YOUNG READERS' CHOICE WILLOW AWARDS
Set in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, this chilling ghost story deals with mysterious events in the present and evil spirits from the past. When Grade 6 teacher Miss Vindez falls off the belfry roof of the school's older section, Daphne and her friends Nick and Peach decide to investigate. Access to the belfry is forbidden by Principal Peterka, but Daphne finds a way to look for clues. She hears the injured Miss Vindez babble about the voices of children. Daphne also remembers feeling a strange presence and hearing children whispering near the belfry. During their investigations, the three detectives meet strange characters, such as Al Capone, who used to hide in Moose Jaw from the FBI; an evil janitor; and a principal who is unaccustomed to dealing with ghosts. How can these young sleuths unravel a mystery that took place generations ago, and how can they appease the suffering of the children of the past whose school was burned down? How can they fight an evil character from the past who is trying to haunt and destroy everything around him? This is a page-turning mystery by Arthur Slade, winner of both the Governor General's Literary Award and the Mr. Christie's Book Award. -JP SASKATCHEWAN YOUNG READERS' CHOICE WILLOW AWARDS
'Ailurophobia' is the hatred or inexplicable fear of cats, which is what TJ Barnes reasons he must suffer from when his vacationing grandmother leaves her four mischievous felines in his care. We meet Killer, Cleo, Kink and Maximilian the Emperor as they tear through their new home, hide in cupboards and sprawl across poor TJ's chest and feet at night. They trash the Barnes's home and even manage to call 911. The same police officer responds to both calls, and she is not amused. To make matters worse, Cleo goes missing. To overcome his fear of cats, and for the purpose of "knowing your enemy," TJ insists that he and his friend Seymour choose cats as the subject of their report for class. Although Seymour is initially reluctant, eventually both boys become engrossed in their research and discover all kinds of interesting facts about these animals, earning their report (featuring Kink as a special in-class guest) a 10 out of 10. Author Hazel Hutchins has cleverly interwoven her comedy of irrational fear with the fun of learning, while bringing subtle depth to the story by addressing the strain between TJ and his workaholic parents. -TC SASKATCHEWAN YOUNG READERS' CHOICE WILLOW AWARDS
Joel's best friend, Ryan, is going through tough times at home. Desperate to prevent him taking drugs offered at a party, Joel tells Ryan that his older sister has given him something better. What Joel has is a cold remedy, but Ryan believes it's a performance-enhancing drug. When his teammates find out about it, they want some too. Every week, Joel supplies them with bags of the powder he prepares. Their team, the Falcons, have an incredible season; they attribute their success to the wonder drug. Joel knows what they're doing is wrong. He has hooked his teammates on a decongestant. He feels guilty but doesn't know what to do about it. His stepmother catches him and insists that he find a way to get them off the drug. And with her support, Joel finally does. The story is based on real events that took place in Calgary. Offside deals with the subject of drugs and drug addiction in a way that young readers will relate to. It also explores friendship, depression, love, and the relationship between stepparents. Readers will be captivated by this story. -AC SHEILA A. EGOFF CHILDREN'S PRIZE
Four guys with four different personalities, lives and aspirations are attending their last year of high school when their paths collide with tragic consequences. Each chapter gives voice to one of the characters: Tommy seems like a model student, yet he hides an emotional vulnerability stemming from a past that includes an abusive mother; Brad is a star hockey player scouted for Junior A, but his ambition is fuelled by a father who encourages him to fight on and off the ice; Andy dreams about the stage, is involved in a school play, and has an agent who has called him for an audition. The fourth voice belongs to Shane, a young man with a violent past who befriends Andy and becomes his protector. The collapsing events of this strong novel are seen from each of the four character's point of view, with author Dennis Foon providing a tone and vocabulary unique to Tommy, Brad, Andy and Shane. Life in high school can be very dramatic; the ambitions and aspirations of teenagers can become obsessions. It can be explosive; it can be deadly. Skud is a chilling read. -JP SILVER BIRCH AWARD
Newton Wiggins is a skinny, eccentric 10 year old with glasses who keeps secret journals of his many science experiments and inventions. He is not interested in sports and is a disaster when forced to participate in them at school. Newton is perpetually subject to the torment inflicted by his bullying, soccer-star quadruplet brothers. Even Newton's best friend, Max, questions his integrity when Newton explains his encounter with Herbert -- a giant, foul-smelling ogre from the land of Merriwarts, who visited Newton's attic through a portal. With the help of a ghoulish local witch, a haughty military toy named Joe and an experimental set of wings strapped to his back, Newton sets off to find Herbert and adventure. Amidst strange landscapes and some terrifying close calls with the rival kingdom of Liveds, Newton becomes a key figure in determining the outcome of an upcoming war. Michael McGowan's story offers not only a page-turning romp for young readers but it also encourages academic and non-aggressive kids who may sometimes find themselves to be, in sports terms, the underdog. -TC SILVER BIRCH AWARD
This is a sensationalistic and gruesome collection of true stories that highlight real terror. Generic chapters entitled "Overpowered," "Attacked," "Stranded," "Trapped" and "Injured" offer graphic depictions of nearly every kind of catastrophe -- from those that cause absolute destruction to the poor decision to put your hand in a lawnmower chute. Harrowing accounts of hurricanes, avalanches, snakebites and grizzly attacks each conclude with the miracle of survival, however traumatized or disabled the survivor. Advice on how to minimize injuries when you face these dangers appears after select stories; the descriptions of other, more exotic emergencies, such as a volcano erupting unexpectedly, offer no such advice. At five or six pages per death-defying escape, author Larry Verstraete crops these stories like pulp fiction. Kids will likely tear through this book in terrible anticipation of the next disaster. Impact photos of some of the incidents are included (a car accident victim and an apartment building removed by Hurricane Camille in 1969), while other pictures serve as related examples (wildfires, animals). -TC VICKY METCALF AWARD 2003 Presented to the author of a body of work in children's literature that, in the opinion of the judges, is demonstrative of the highest literary standards (previously administered by the Canadian Authors' Association). Roslyn Schwartz She has published Rose and Dorothy (1990) and Yo Baby! (2002), but is best known for writing and illustrating The Mole Sisters stories. The series, for which 10 stories have been published so far, is popular with both children and adults. She has also released two animated films with the National Film Board of Canada, one of which is for children (Arkelope). Roslyn Schwartz has lived in Montréal for the last 14 years. WHITE PINE READING PROGRAM 2004
Reef was raised by his alcoholic, abusive grandfather and his long-suffering grandmother. After their deaths, he drifted through a string of foster homes, eventually developing into an angry young man who attempts to gain control over his life by committing random acts of violence. In one incident, he throws a rock off an overpass, smashing the windshield of Leeza Hemming's car. Due to his Young Offender status, Reef is sent to a group home. As part of his sentencing, Reef ends up volunteering at the Halifax Rehabilitation Centre, the same place where the injured Leeza has been sent to recover. At the centre, neither recognizes the other. Reef soon begins helping Leeza to heal, but then the inevitable happens -- Leeza's mother recognizes him and, having always believed his sentence too lenient, secures a court order banning Reef from seeing her daughter. Yet Reef is not the same angry young man who threw the rock, and while he would like Leeza to forgive him, he has at last forgiven himself. Ironically, Leeza's mother drags her to church where they hear a sermon on forgiveness: "Let the person who is without sin cast the first stone." Neither Leeza nor her mother has forgiven Reef. Parents should be advised that this book contains crude language and graphic medical descriptions. -LS YOUNG ADULT CANADIAN BOOK AWARD
Poor Ratchet Clark suffers from nightmares about corpse-devouring insects and worms beyond the walls of the dingy basement apartment she shares with her neurotic mother, Henriette, in Pensacola, Florida. Suddenly, without warning or even the chance to grab a suitcase, Henriette tosses Ratchet on a train bound for Maine to live with her elderly and isolated aunts, Tilly and Penpen, for the summer. In a house surrounded by dense woods, bears and the sea, the storied old women teach Ratchet how to swim, milk cows, tend garden and can berries for the canning season (their only source of income), awakening the young girl to a life she had never before experienced. Midway through the summer, Ratchet befriends another wayward yet amusingly obnoxious teenager, Harper, and together they share chores, adventure and the strange bond of being "motherless." This is a story of myriad complexity, one that deals with the weighty topics of suicide, family, alienation and friendship, but is comically wrapped in a glowing eccentricity that should carry young readers through this off-centre but deeply humane novel. -TC
|
