2013 Forest of Reading winners announced at Festival of Trees

Of course, the winners of the Ontario Library Association's Forest of Reading's book awards are listed on my CanLit for LittleCanadians: Awards page, but the news is too big not to share it on my main page.  It's just too fantastic!

After two glorious days of great weather, words and winning, young readers in Ontario learned the results of their reading and voting for the Forest of Reading award programs, a readers' choice award.  On May 15 and May 16, at the Festival of Trees event at Toronto's Harbourfront, young readers celebrated their reading accomplishments, shared the joy of reading great youngCanLit, played games for books, met numerous authors and illustrators, and enthusiastically learned their selections for the favourite books in each program. And authors, illustrators and publishers enjoyed the well-deserved and uproarious cheers and recognition from fans of fantastic youngCanLit.

It's impossible to name all those who made this reading program and the Festival of Trees such a success but I will try.  And, though I've said it before, I'll say it again and again and again,
congratulations to:
• the readers on their amazing selections from exemplary lists of Canadian literature for young people;
• the countless volunteers and OLA staff (Meredith Tutching directing at the helm) who ensure that Ontario young people read the best titles and who help bring the Festival of Trees to fruition (pun intended);
• the authors and illustrators honoured with Forest of Reading nominations;
• the authors and illustrators who enjoyed the undeniable adoration of thousands of reading fans;
• the publishers who are recognizing the importance of publishing and promoting children's and YA literature in Canada; and
• the winners and honourees in each reading program. 

Here are the winners and honour books for each reading program:

Blue Spruce

WINNER

Kate and Pippin: An Unlikely Love Story
by Martin Springett
Illustrated by Isobel Springett
Puffin Canada/Pengiun Group

HONOUR BOOKS

Splinters

by Kevin Sylvester
Tundra Books

 

 
 
Don't Laugh at Giraffe
by Rebecca Bender
Pajama Press

  

Silver Birch EXPRESS

   WINNER

Margaret and the Moth Tree

by Brit Trogen & Kari Trogen
Kids Can Press

HONOUR BOOKS

Dalen & Gole: Scandal in Port Angus
by Mike Deas
Orca
  

Harry Houdini: The Legend of the World's Greatest Escape Artist
by Janice Weaver
Illustrated by Chris Lane
Abrams Books for Young Readers/ABRAMS

Silver Birch FICTION

 WINNER

Making Bombs For Hitler

by Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch

Scholastic Canada

HONOUR BOOKS

Missing
by Becky Citra
Orca Book Publisher

 
A Tinfoil Sky
by Cyndi Sand-Eveland
Tundra Books

Silver Birch NON-FICTION

WINNER

No Shelter Here: Making the World a Kinder Place for Dogs

by Rob Laidlaw

Pajama Press

HONOUR BOOKS

50 Underwear Questions: A Bare-All History
by Tanya Lloyd Kyi
Illustrated by Ross Kinnaird
Annick Press 

Case Files: 40 Murders and Mysteries Solved by Science
by Larry Verstraete
Scholastic Canada

 

Le prix Peuplier

            Lauréat               

Le zoo de Yayaho
par Geneviève Lemieux
Illustré par Bruno St-Aubin
Bayard Canada Livres inc.

                              HONOUR BOOKS                                        

Salto: L'ultime défi
par Pierre Labrie
Illustré par Tristan Demers
Boomerang éditeur jeunesse inc.

 

Prince Olivier et le dragon
par Caroline Merola
Les éditions Imagine

Le Prix Tamarac

                   Lauréat

Le mystère des jumelles Barnes
par Carole Tremblay
Bayard Canada Livres 

HONOUR BOOKS

Hackerboy
par Julie Champagne
Bayard Canada Livres 

Biodôme: Dans le sens du poil
par Frédéric Antoine
Illustré par Yohann Morin
Boomerang éditeur jeunesse

Le Prix Tamarac EXPRESS

                   Lauréat

Billy Stuart: 1. Les Zintrépides
par Alain M. Bergeron
Illustré par Sampar
Éditions Michel Quintin

HONOUR BOOKS

Du soccer extrême
par François Gravel
Illustré par Philippe Germain
Les éditions FouLire inc.

Ziiip Sur Terre!

par Johanne Mercier

Illustré par Gabrielle Grimard

Les éditions FouLire inc.

Red Maple Fiction

WINNER

 

The Vindico
by Wesley King
G.P. Putnam's Sons/Penguin Group

HONOUR BOOKS

This Dark Endeavour
by Kenneth Oppel
HarperCollins

The Vampire Stalker
by Allison Van Diepen
Point/Scholastic

Red Maple Non-Fiction

WINNER

Real Justice: Fourteen And Sentenced To Death
by Bill Swan
James Lorimer & Company

HONOUR BOOKs

Last Airlift: A Vietnamese Orphan's Rescue from War
by Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch

Pajama Press

Running To Extremes: Ray Zahab's Amazing Ultramarathon Journey
by Steve Pitt with Ray Zahab
Puffin Canada/Penguin Group

White Pine FICTION

WINNER

Dark Inside
by Jeyn Roberts
Simon & Schuster BFYR/Simon & Schuster

HONOUR BOOKS

All Good Children
by Catherine Austen
Orca Book Publishers

Witchlanders
by Lena Coakley
Atheneum Books For Young Readers/Simon & Schuster

                                                                                                                

Thrilling news for all authors, illustrators and publishers!

Enjoyed all the more for being selected 

by young Canadian readers!

Congratulations to everyone!

Book Launch: Outcast by Adrienne Kress (Toronto)

Get your best 1950's gear on

and head to

The Dominion Pub

500 Queen Street East

Toronto

on June 6, 2013

for 7 p.m.

to help launch

the newest young adult book

Outcast

Diversion Books

978-1-62681061-7

283 pp.

June, 2013

from

author Adrienne Kress

whose other books include

The Friday Society (Dial, 2012)

Alex and the Ironic Gentleman (Scholastic Canada, 2007)

Timothy and the Dragon's Gate (Scholastic Canada, 2010)

Outcast focuses on 16-year-old Riley Carver whose community has been living in fear for six years since "angels" starting coming down from the skies and taking people.  When one shows up in her backyard, she shoots him with her mother's shotgun.  But, instead of a dead body, she gets a really hot, living guy who thinks it's 1956. (Details courtesy of goodreads.com)

Dress up, 

go to the Launch, 

have some great Fun

 and 

get the Book!

Namesake

by Sue MacLeod

Pajama Press

978-1927485293

232 pp.

Ages 12+

May 1, 2013

In current-day Halifax, teen Jane Grey and fellow classmates in her Advanced Placement History are embarking on their research projects and it would seem obvious that she would focus on her Namesake, Lady Jane Grey.

Just a bit of a history lesson for those unfamiliar with the Nine Days Queen.  In 1553, due to the machinations of her parents and the Duke of Northumberland, Lady Jane Grey was made heir to the King of England, Edward VI.  She had already wed the son of the Duke of Northumberland, so when Edward VI passed, the Duke declared Lady Jane to be Queen of England, sure that he could control the throne through her.   However, according to succession, Lady Jane's cousin Mary, King Edward VI's half-sister and King Henry VIII's daughter, would be next Queen.  Imprisoned until the arrival of soon-to-be Queen Mary I, Lady Jane was hopeful of a pardon because becoming Queen had never been her intention.  However, with her parents and the Duke playing the odds with her against Mary, and because her strong belief in her Protestant faith conflicted with Mary's Catholicism, a pardon was not granted and Lady Jane was executed.

In the twenty-first century, Jane discovers a small book called Booke of Prayre while unpacking her backpack of library books.  Reading aloud from it, Jane is transported mysteriously to the environs of the Tower of London, eavesdropping on two women, Mistress Tilney and Mistress Ellen gossiping about "our lady." Repeated visits to 1553 has Jane making the acquaintance of Lady Jane Grey and learning of her fate, her hopes, her regrets and her position on her faith.  Knowing what historically happened to Lady Jane, Jane wonders about her purpose in being sent back.  Was she to help the Lady convert to Catholicism?  Was she to help Lady Grey escape? Or was she there simply to provide her with companionship?

Dealing with her own tenuous situation at home, Jane is sympathetic to Lady Jane's dilemma, recognizing the similarity in the extent of their dire circumstances and inability to change them.  Since the death of her father, Jane has come to recognize that her mother Analise works in one of three modes: Mode One is Single Mother as Hero; Mode Two is the Nothing mode; and Mode Three is Hell.  Though a competent English professor, Analise harbours much anger related to her husband's death, and deals with it using alcohol which just exacerbates her mood swings and colours her interactions with Jane.  Not surprising that Jane has concerns when her history group must meet at eachother's homes for study and editing sessions.  And with best friend Megan hanging out with the tactless Crisco and wrapped up in a boyfriend situation, Jane is feeling more and more isolated and unable to find support.  For Jane, slipping back into 1553 gives her an opportunity to exert some control.

While Namesake may be initially seen as a standard time-slip novel, with a contemporary character going back in time to learn something which she could apply to her own life, the book goes beyond this by Jane trying to take an active role in Lady Jane's situation, even to the point of altering history if need be.  Jane educates Lady Jane on the vernacular and popular culture of her Halifax and Canada.  And while Lady Jane does begin to try out some of her new vocabulary, she uses it as a foreign language, not dropping the occasional work into her own speech.  Sue MacLeod has given Lady Jane a voice so authentic that her use of newly-acquired vocabulary provides for some much-needed humour.  Her voice is true and melodic, never wavering from that of a sixteenth-century young woman.

I am especially pleased by the direction the author takes Jane's time slip, allowing for the two young women, just sixteen, to share their lives and their stories, and Jane anticipating bringing Lady Jane back with her.  But, when Lady Jane does slip into Jane's time, it spurs a new relationship between Jane and her neighbour, the elderly woman she has nicknamed Mrs. Lynde (à la Green Gables), who surprisingly becomes her salvation.

The history is true, the twists unique and the touches of humour and romance are heart-warming. And Namesake still delivers an open ending that takes the reader to a more hopeful situation than Lady Jane's true horrific ending.

Brovko's Amazing Journey: Book Launch (Saskatoon)

Coteau Books

and

 Larry Warwaruk

author  
of  
Andrei and the Snow Walker (Coteau, 2002)

invite you to the book launch 
of 

Brovko's Amazing Journey

Brovko's Amazing Journey
by Larry Warwaruk
Coteau Books
9781550505542
168 pp.
Ages 7+
April 2013

The story of 12-year-old Andrei's companion Brovko, who is left behind when the family leaves Ukraine to start their new life in Canada.  But Brovko finds a way to get himself reunited with his best friend. 


on

Thursday, May 16, 2013

at

7:30 p.m. (CST)

at 

McNally Robinson Booksellers
8th Street East
Saskatoon, SK

For more information on Brovko's Amazing Journey, go to Coteau Books here http://ow.ly/kSghg

********************************

This is a book launch that I wish I could attend.  While my father came to Canada from Ukraine when he was in his twenties, he still had a photo of his dog, Marko, that he had left behind.  Looking at Larry Warwaruk, I see a Ukrainian grandfather, one I never knew, and know that Brovko's Amazing Journey will be an amazing story imbued with the richness of Ukrainian traditions.

An Infidel in Paradise

by S. J. Laidlaw

Tundra Books

978-1-77049-304-9

311 pp.

Ages 12+

February, 2013

in·fi·del
noun \ˈin-fə-dəl, -fə-ˌdel\
1 : one who is not a Christian or who opposes Christianity
2 a : an unbeliever with respect to a particular religion b : one who acknowledges no religious belief
3 : a disbeliever in something specified or understood

Retrieved from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/infidel on May 8, 2013

Under this definition of infidel, just about anyone could be called an infidel.  Christians, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, atheists, agnostics - all could be considered infidels by another group.  Yet the scathing judgement that is leveled against sixteen-year-old Emma as a Canadian teen forced to live in Islamabad, Pakistan is especially outrageous; she doesn't want to be there anymore than anyone else wants her there.

After her dad takes off with the family maid from their posting in Manila, Emma Grey's family (older brother Vince, younger sister Mandy and Mom) relocate to Pakistan for her mother's job, running the consular section of the Canadian embassy. Though embassy children are used to moving around a lot, the whole "make-new-friends and learn-to-fit-in" process required to make lifetolerable seems more problematic for Emma this time, probably because of her father's absence and mother's absorption in her work and obliviousness to her children's needs.  Emma is resentful of her mother for forcing them to move (this was a weak effort to make Dad choose between his family and new partner), and for expecting more of Emma specifically, including mothering eight-year-old Mandy.  Not surprising that Emma is brutally honest when asked by a new classmate, Mustapha Khan, how she is enjoying Pakistan.

"Well," I begin, feeling the familiar anger wakening like a beast inside me, "there's not a single mall, movie theater, or Caramel Frappuccino within a thousand miles, but there are huge poisonous reptiles, beggars on every street corner and all the atmosphere of a maximum-security penitentiary.  I'm just surprised there's not more tourism." (pg. 21-22)

 Ouch.  Not the way to make friends and influence people apparently.  Although she is quickly welcomed by Angie, a girl from the American compound, and introduced to her friends, Leeza, Jazzy and Tahira, Emma's candour and insistence on personal freedom place her at odds with several students, including Aisha, Mustapha's wealthy "promised" one, and Faarooq, protective and strict brother of Tahira.

All conflict is compounded when Mustapha continues to pay attention to Emma, much to Aisha's irritation, and Emma and Mustapha are thrown into a drama group with Faarooq and another boy Ali to produce a skit about conflict, first focusing on a racist American girl (hint?) and then on a Pakistani boy who likes a Canadian girl.  And, although Emma enlists Angie's help to avoid being alone with Mustapha, knowing that she is attracted to him, she and Mustapha are repeatedly thrown together, sometimes because he chooses to be with her and sometimes because he wants to be kind.  It all makes for much cultural and romantic confusion.

I can't imagine the transient lifestyle of foreign service families and the particular skills that the children must need to navigate new lives successfully.  Couple that with divorced parents and living with a workaholic mother and in a tenuous political-religious situation, and you've got all the makings of a disaster.  S. J. Laidlaw thankfully has given Emma the wicked sense of humour, common sense and heart to find a way to help Mandy and herself, as well as carve a niche for themselves in their new world.  She finds a source of wisdom, recognizing the value in the kind and comforting Mr. Akbar, and has enough insight to recognize her own flaws and address them as she can.

S. J. Laidlaw could have imbued "An Infidel in Paradise" with the same resentment that is implied in the scathing indictment of "Infidel!" leveled against Emma but she does not.  Instead, she plays with the idea that the safety of "inside", whether it be the compound, one's comfort zone or culture, and the danger of "outside" is not always the case.  It has more to do with perception and broaching that transition with caution in an effort to make both territories manageable.  Even Emma is able to find herself accepting her new life as "An Infidel in Paradise."