Children and YA Fiction

Zack

Like Forbidden City (Bell’s YA novel about Tiananmen Square), Zack is historical fiction. The main character delves into the past, but is firmly rooted in the present since that delving inspires a modern-day odyssey.Zack is ... Read More »

March 2, 2004 | Filed under: Children and YA Fiction

Stephen Fair

By Tim Wynne-Jones

Beset by nightmares and troubled by the partial knowledge of a family secret, 15-year-old Stephen Fair is beginning to doubt his sanity. Part of the problem is the blurred emotional boundary between his mother and ... Read More »

March 2, 2004 | Filed under: Children and YA Fiction

The Town That Floated Away

By Sandra Birdsell, Helen Flook, illus.

Children’s writers are often asked when they are going to start writing for adults. This can be an irksome question, but I am sometimes guilty of its reverse: When I read an adult novel that ... Read More »

March 2, 2004 | Filed under: Children and YA Fiction

Make Your Own Dinosaur Out of Chicken Bones: Foolproof Instructions for Budding Paleontologists

By Christopher McGowan

This is not a kid’s book. A child couldn’t decipher the instructions or execute them. It’s not an adult book because adults working on a model this intricate would choose a ship in a bottle ... Read More »

March 2, 2004 | Filed under: Children and YA Fiction

Wormworld

By Shar Levine, Louise Phillips, - illus.

It’s easy to get hooked on the Wormworld kit before you even open it. The attractive blue and green checkered box that contains the kit has some fascinating worm facts that make you want to ... Read More »

March 2, 2004 | Filed under: Children and YA Fiction

Diamonds in the Rough

By Eric Walters

A number of years ago, one of the most interesting phenomena associated with Canadian young people’s literature was the number of women writing highly successful young adult fiction featuring male protagonists. Today, one of the ... Read More »

March 2, 2004 | Filed under: Children and YA Fiction

Good-Bye Marianne

By Irene N. Watts

One moment 11-year-old Marianne is heading off to school, stewing over an upcoming math test; the next she finds the school doors closed to her and ordinary life finished. For a Jewish child growing up ... Read More »

March 2, 2004 | Filed under: Children and YA Fiction

The Foolish Men of Agra and Other Tales of Mogul India

By Rina Singh, Farida Zaman, illus.

Akbar was a Mogul emperor of India who ruled between 1556 and 1605. The Moguls were Moslem, and Akbar is remembered, not only for consolidating the empire begun by his grandfather, but for winning acceptance ... Read More »

March 2, 2004 | Filed under: Children and YA Fiction

Amazing Allstar Hockey Activity Book

By Jesse Ross, Julian Ross, Noah Ross, Anne DeGrace, illus.

Compiled by the Ross family (father Julian is the founder of Polestar Books, while sons Noah and Jesse are 12- and 15-year-old hockey experts), the Amazing Allstar Hockey Activity Book is a jam-packed compendium of ... Read More »

March 1, 2004 | Filed under: Children and YA Fiction