February 13, 2004 | Filed under: Children and YA Fiction, Picture Books
On the evening of Chinese New Year, a little girl cowers in her grandmother’s arms, afraid of the fireworks outside. To comfort her, the grandmother tells the story of how New Year celebrations began. Long ... Read More »
Toronto writer Gena K. Gorrell is fascinated by fire and firefighting but cannot understand how firefighters can muster the courage to face a fire and do their job. That’s why Gorrell, author of North Star ... Read More »
February 13, 2004 | Filed under: Children and YA Fiction
At age six, after I saw a performance of The Nutcracker, visions of pink crinoline tutus, sparkling tiaras, and satin ribbons danced through my head. I begged my mother to enroll me in ballet lessons. ... Read More »
February 12, 2004 | Filed under: Children and YA Fiction
This intriguing adventure is billed as a retelling of Melville’s classic – with a catch. It’s told from the whale’s point of view. This is an original but difficult premise to work with and has ... Read More »
February 12, 2004 | Filed under: Children and YA Fiction
In Vancouver writer Sue Ann Alderson’s latest book, the bickering sisters Samantha and Belinda head up the mountain to pick berries. Along the way, they imagine they see and hear bears everywhere. Samantha sings a ... Read More »
February 12, 2004 | Filed under: Children and YA Fiction, Picture Books
In 1908 L.M. Montgomery’s unforgettable young orphan made Anne of Green Gables an instant bestseller. But Montgomery’s success came only after years of struggle and rejection. MacLeod’s new biography is targeted at young readers who ... Read More »
February 12, 2004 | Filed under: Children and YA Fiction
When a spring flood closes her school, Laura, 12, is sent to live for a week with her grandfather in 1940s Toronto. Her grandfather’s new neighbourhood holds little promise for Laura until she meets a ... Read More »
February 11, 2004 | Filed under: Children and YA Fiction
A Gift for Ampato, by New Brunswick writer Susan Vande Griek, weaves together the stories of three Incas: a pubescent girl, Timta, who is chosen unwillingly as a sacrifice to persuade the mountain gods to ... Read More »
February 11, 2004 | Filed under: Children and YA Fiction
The 10th title in Roy MacGregor’s Screech Owls series finds the adventurous team of young hockey stars in the Badlands of Alberta for a winter tournament. A warm chinook has made the weather in Drumheller ... Read More »
February 11, 2004 | Filed under: Children and YA Fiction
Set on the West Coast during the Second World War, this exquisitely sad and beautiful book tells of the friendship between Mary, a prairie girl visiting her grandmother for the summer, and Mr. Hiroshi, the ... Read More »
February 11, 2004 | Filed under: Children and YA Fiction, Picture Books