March 03, 2013

CLA Book of the Year for Children Awards: A History in Book Trailers


Since 1947, the Canadian Library Association (CLA) has awarded the Book of the Year for Children Award (BOYCA) to an outstanding book, published in Canada in the previous year, which appeals to children up to and including age 12. (A complete list of award winners by year is available at the CLA website here.)

On Friday, March 1, 2013, the short lists of books nominated for each of the CLA's book awards, including the Book of the Year for Children Award, were announced and I've posted them on the CanLit for LittleCanadians: Awards site. 

Until the winners are announced in mid-April, I'd like to encourage readers of youngCanLit to look back at some of the most recent winners of BOYCA to refresh their reading with some classics. And to that end, I would like present an impressive collection of book trailers of these recent BOYCA winners, as created by the graduate students at the School of Library, Archival and Information Studies (SLAIS) for Professor Judith Saltman's Library Services to Children class at the University of British Columbia. Just as these past winners exemplify a full range of genres and themes, so too do these creative book trailers.  Except for the first BOYCA winner, I can only provide links to their YouTube book trailers.  Please explore and enjoy!


1998 Winner
Silverwing
by Kenneth Oppel
HarperCollins
222 pp.
Ages 8-12
1997 
Book Trailer by Kaitlyn Sparks and Ashley Pettet
Uploaded by Kaitlyn1909 on November 22, 2012 to YouTube
_____________________________________________________
2002 Winner
Orphan at My Door: The Home Child Diary of Victoria Cope, Guelph, Ontario, 1897
by Jean Little
Scholastic Canada
221 pp.
Ages 10-13
2001

 
 www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipZoAcn0LtE
Book Trailer by Monica Spreitzer and Larissa Image
_____________________________________________________
 
2005 Winner
Last Chance Bay
by Anne Laurel Carter
Penguin Canada
169 pp.
Ages 10-13
2004 



 www.youtube.com/watch?v=ILp-IGApYfg
Book Trailer by Layla Naquin and Julia McKnight
_____________________________________________________

2006 Winner
The Crazy Man
by Pamela Porter
Groundwood Books
214 pp.
Ages 8-12
2005 



www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tm2UQS-_CVg
Book Trailer by Kate Longley and David Waddell
_____________________________________________________

2007 Winner
Johnny Kellock Died Today
by Hadley Dyer
HarperCollins
152 pp.
Ages 9-12
2006 




Book Trailer by Sabrina Wong and Helen Brown
_____________________________________________________

2008 Winner
Elijah of Buxton
by Christopher Paul Curtis
Scholastic Canada
288 pp.
Ages 9-12
2007


  
 Book Trailer by Kayla Cormier and Chelsea DiFrancesco
_____________________________________________________

2009 Winner
The Shepherd's Granddaughter
by Anne Laurel Carter
Groundwood Books
222 pp.
Ages 11+
2008 




Book Trailer by Lindsey Krabbenhoft and Michal Sitbon
_____________________________________________________

2010 Winner
Watching Jimmy
by Nancy Hartry
Tundra Books
144 pp.
Ages 10-14
2009 




Book Trailer
_____________________________________________________

2011 Winner
Half Brother
by Kenneth Oppel
HarperCollins Canada
377 pp.
Ages 12+
2010 




Book Trailer by Laura Hebert and Megan Melashewsky
_____________________________________________________

2012 Winner
The Whole Truth
by Kit Pearson
HarperCollins Canada
261 pp.
Ages 9+
2011




Book Trailer by Elizabeth Bell and Mariya Tokhtarova
 ___________________________________________________

Many thanks 
to Professor Judith Saltman and her students for allowing me to share these, and 
to Kay Weisman and Ellen Wu of CLASC for liaising with them.
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March 01, 2013

Days That End in Y

by Vikki VanSickle
Scholastic Canada
978-1-4431-2432-4
194 pp.
Ages 9-12
2013

When Vikki VanSickle introduced readers to Clarissa Delaney in Words that Start with B (Scholastic Canada, 2010), Clarissa was trying to cope with her mother being diagnosed with breast cancer, with her best friend Benji being bullied, and with a boy leaving her odd gifts.  Fortunately, with treatment, lifestyle changes and a new relationship, her mom's health is renewed in Love is a Four-Letter Word (Scholastic Canada, 2011), leaving Clarissa worrying more about her own feelings: for Benji, who gets chosen for a production of The Wizard of Oz in which Clarissa had hoped, almost expected, to win a role; for boys, particularly Michael; and for her mother's love for the new man in her life, Doug.
In Days That End in Y, Clarissa is still confused by her relationships and even more so as the summer sees her going solo, with friend Mattie at camp and Benji heavily involved with the Gaslighters drama group.  In fact, Benji and the drama group are enthralled with their summer director, the charismatic university student, Dean, and Mattie can't seem to stop telling Clarissa about her awesome and infinitely wise camp counsellor.  And then Mom and Doug get engaged. 

While prepping the house for Doug and his dog Suzy to move in, Clarissa's mom finds her old high school yearbooks, which Clarissa secretly squirrels away with the intent of learning more about her biological dad.  Though her initial aim may have been to learn more about his identity and character, even pumping Mom's best friend Denise for more information, an unexpected sighting of him at her maybe-boyfriend's baseball game has Clarissa determined to meet him.  But all goes awry when Clarissa learns that her dad never knew of her existence, and that her mother's portrayal of him as a deadbeat was used to mask her own flaws and mistakes.  As events progress towards the summer wedding, Clarissa begins to wonders if the most important relationships in her life are actually what they seem to be or only as she wants them to be.

 Middle-grade readers often find a dearth of great realistic fiction that reflects their lives but is still interesting to them without crossing into the mature issues of young adult fiction.  Surprisingly, they do enjoy reading about characters slightly older than themselves to help prepare for the changes that puberty, high school and boy-girl relationships will bring, but they need to see that the ineptitude and confusion that comes with those changes is universal.  Vikki VanSickle's Clarissa and Benji are the perfect escorts for middle-grade readers to navigate those transition years.  

In Days That End in Y, as in the first two books, Clarissa and Benji make mistakes with each other and with others, including their families.  They are on the cusp of reluctantly giving up on their "childish" missions for new experiences, regardless how awkward.  They're looking for heroes amongst those with whom they connect - parents, friends, camp counsellors, directors, other adults - always assuming that they've chosen wisely, unless otherwise indicated.  There is angst, questioning, confusion, misunderstanding, arrogance and the optimism of youth.  That is, until otherwise indicated.  Fortunately, for Vikki VanSickle's Clarissa and Benji, they are there to support each other when things begin to get out of control, as is the norm for all, on Days That End in Y.

    YYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY    

Sadly, Days That End in Y concludes Vikki VanSickle's middle-grade trilogy about Clarissa and Benji.  Sadder still is the fact that Vikki VanSickle provides fodder for another great book based on a revelation at the end of Days That End in Y.  It is a series that will be greatly missed but one of which we can be proud as readers of wonderful #youngCanLit.
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February 28, 2013

Circles and Cycles: Social Justice Book List #10

This is our last book list for social justice. Just as our lists have come full circle, so does the teaching and learning of social justice. These books exemplify how we can help others learn to become more open-minded and inclusive, widening Circle and Cycles.

Picture Books
Bagels from Benny
by Aubrey Davis
Illustrated by Dušan Petričić
Kids Can Press
32 pp.
Age 5-8
2003

 


A Castle on Viola Street
by DyAnne DiSalvo-Ryan
HarperCollins Canada
32 pp.
Ages 5-8
2001




From Far Away
by Robert Munsch 
Illustrated by Michael Martchenko
Annick Press
24 pp.
Ages 4+
1995

 

Ghost Train
by Paul Yee
Illustrated by Harvey Chan
Groundwood Books
32 pp.
Ages 8-12
1996

 


 
Gifts
by Jo Ellen Bogart
Illustrated by Barbara Reid
Scholastic Canada
32 pp.
Ages 3-7
1994

 

A Hen for Izzy Pippik
by Aubrey Davis
Illustrated by Marie LaFrance
Kids Can Press
32 pp.
Ages 5-8
2012

 

Jack the Bear
by Christine Leist
Simply Read Books
40 pp.
Ages 3-7
2009

 



The Last Piece of Sky
by Tim Wynne-Jones
Illustrated by Marie-Louise Gay
Groundwood Books
32 pp.
Ages 4-8
1993

 


Lights for Gita
by Rachna Gilmore
Illustrated by Alice Priestley
Second Story Press
24 pp.
Ages 4-7
1994

 

A Man Called Raven
by Richard Van Camp
Illustrated by George Littlechild
Children's Book Press
32 pp.
Ages 7+
1997

 



Migrant
by Maxine Trottier
Illustrated by Isabelle Arsenault
Groundwood Books
40 pp.
Ages 7-13
2011

 

The Miss Meow Pageant
by Ricardo Keene Douglas
Illustrated by Marie LaFrance
Annick Press
32 pp.
Ages 4-8
1998

 
Nanabosho Dances
by Joseph McLellan
Illustrated by Rhian Brynjolson
Pemmican Publications
52 pp.
Ages 5-8
1991

 
The Stamp Collector
by Jennifer Lanthier
Illustrations by François Thisdale
Fitzhenry & Whiteside
32 pp.
Ages 8+
2012


 



Fiction
Cape Town
by Brenda Hammond
Great Plains Teen Fiction
326 pp.
Ages 14+
2012

 



 
Elijah of Buxton
by Christopher Paul Curtis
Scholastic Canada
288 pp.
Ages 9-12
2007

 



The Glory Wind
by Valerie Sherrard
Fitzhenry & Whiteside
222 pp.
Ages 11+
2010

 



Lost Goat Lane
by Rosa Jordan
Fitzhenry & Whiteside
197 pp.
Ages 9-12
2005

 



Making Bombs For Hitler
by Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch
Scholastic Canada
186 pp.
Ages 8-12
2012

 

Many Windows: Six Kids, Five Faiths, One Community
by Rukhsana Khan with Elisa Carbone and Uma Krishnaswami
Illustrated by Patti Gallinger
Napoleon and Company
84 pp.
Ages 8-10
2008

 

 The Royal Woods
by Matt Duggan
Key Porter
218 pp.
Ages 8-12
2007

 


 Thunder Over Kandahar
by Sharon E. McKay
Annick Press
260 pp.
Ages 12+
2010

 



 The Tiffin
by Mahtab Narsimhan
Dancing Cat Books
190 pp.
Ages 9-12
2011

 



Non-Fiction

Children of War: Voices of Iraqi Refugees
by Deborah Ellis
Groundwood Books
128 pp.
Ages 10 and up
2009

 


Courage and Compassion: Ten Canadians Who Made a Difference
by Rona Arato
Maple Leaf Press
96 pp.
Ages 11-13
2008

 


 The Good Garden: How One Family Went from Hunger to Having Enough
by Katie Smith Milway
Illustrated by Sylvie Daigneault
Kids Can Press
32 pp.
Ages 8-10
2010

 

Healing our World: Inside Doctors Without Borders
by David Morley
Fitzhenry & Whiteside
121 pp.
Ages 12-17
2007

 

Imagine That!
by Janet Wilson
Stoddart Kids
32 pp.
Ages 5+
1999

 

Lacey and the African Grandmothers
by Sue Farrell Holler
Second Story Press
164 pp.
Ages 9-13
2009 

 


 Last Airlift: A Vietnamese Orphan’s Rescue from War
by Marsha Skrypuch
Pajama Press
99 pp.
Ages 10-15
2011

 

No Shelter Here: Making the World a Kinder Place for Dogs
by Rob Laidlaw
Pajama Press
64 pp.
Ages 9-12
2011

 

One Hen: How One Small Loan Made a Big Difference
by Katie Smith Milway
Illustrated by Eugenie Fernandes
Kids Can Press
32 pp.
Ages 7+
2008

 

Our New Home: Immigrant Children Speak
Edited by Emily Hearn and Marywinn Milne
Second Story Press
129 pp.
Ages 8-11
2007 
Our Stories, Our Songs: African Children Talk about AIDS
by Deborah Ellis
Fitzhenry & Whiteside
104 pp.
Ages 12+
2005

 



The Quilt of Belonging: Stitching Together the Stories of a Nation
by Janice Weaver
Maple Tree Press
64 pp.
Ages 9-12
2006

 

Ryan and Jimmy and the Well in Africa that Brought Them Together
by Herb Shoveller
Kids Can Press
56 pp.
Ages 10-14
2006

 



Saving Lives and Changing Hearts: Animal Sanctuaries and Rescue Centres
by Rob Laidlaw
Fitzhenry & Whiteside
62 pp.
Ages 10-14
2013

 
Shannen and the Dream for a School
by Janet Wilson
Second Story Press
206 pp.
Ages 8+
2011

 



Tell Me Why: How Young People Can Change the World
Edited by Eric Walters
Doubleday Canada
214 pp.
Ages 10+
2009

 


Viola Desmond Won’t Be Budged!
by Jody Nyasha Warner
Illustrated by Richard Rudnicki
Groundwood Books
32 pp.
Ages 6-9
2010

 

Yeny and the Children for Peace
by Michelle Mulder
Second Story Press
118 pp.
Ages 8-13
2008 





And so ends my series of social justice book lists.  I suspect I could continue to amend these lists endlessly as new youngCanLit is published.  All I can promise to do is add a social justice label so that readers can find these.  In the mean while, I hope you avail yourself of these worthwhile reads, whether you're looking for a social justice-themed book or not.
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