The Governor General Shortlist for 2012 has been announced. Congratulations everyone. The winners will be announced in November, but in the meantime, here are 10 great new books just for kids and kids at heart. Enjoy!
Children’s Literature — Text
Rachel Hartman, Vancouver, Seraphina
(Doubleday Canada, an imprint of Random House of Canada; distributed by the publisher)
Deborah Kerbel, Thornhill, Ont., Under the Moon
(Dancing Cat Books, an imprint of Cormorant Books; distributed by Thomas Allen & Son)
Susin Nielsen, Vancouver, The Reluctant Journal of Henry K. Larsen
(Tundra Books, an imprint of Random House of Canada; distributed by the publisher)
Judd Palmer, Victoria, B.C., The Umbrella
(Bayeux Arts; distributed by Literary Press Group of Canada)
Allan Stratton, Toronto, The Grave Robber’s Apprentice
(HarperCollins Publishers; distributed by the publisher)
Children’s Literature — Illustration
Isabelle Arsenault, Montreal, Virginia Wolf, text by Kyo Maclear
(Kids Can Press; distributed by University of Toronto Press)
Renné Benoit, St. Thomas, Ont., Big City Bees,
text by Maggie de Vries
(Greystone Books, an imprint of D&M Publishers; distributed by HarperCollins Canada)
Jon Klassen, Los Angeles (originally from Niagara Falls, Ont.),
House Held Up by Trees, text by Ted Kooser
(Candlewick Press; distributed by Random House of Canada)
David Parkins, Lansdowne, Ont.,
In the Bag! Margaret Knight Wraps it Up, text by Monica Kullin
(Tundra Books; distributed by Random House of Canada)
Barbara Reid, Toronto, Picture a Tree, text by Barbara Reid
(North Winds Press, an imprint of Scholastic Canada; distributed by the publisher)
The Canadian Children’s Book Centre has announced their Awards Short Lists!
In my humble opinion, A Monster Calls deserves to be the monster hit it seems to have become, despite the initial reluctance on the part of some gate keepers who found it too dark and too sad for children. It is sad. It is dark. How could it not be? It’s the story of a thirteen year old boy whose mother is dying. Frankly, children sometimes need to read dark, sad books. Sometimes children have to deal with terrible things in their lives; the loss of a parent, bullying, poverty, rejection. Reading about sad things that happen to a protagonist in a book can make a child feel less alone. It can help children whose lives have not been touched by strife understand and empathize with those who have been less fortunate.
Silver Birch® Express Award goes to Jan Andrews & Dušan Petričić for When Apples Grew Noses and White Horses Flew.
Silver Birch® Fiction Award winner David Skuy for Undergrounders.
Silver Birch® Non-Fiction Award goes to Catherine Rondina and Kevin
Red Maple goes to Ken Oppel for Half Brother, which I’m part way through.
White Pine fiction goes to Kelley Armstrong for the Gathering.
White Pine non-fiction goes to Neil Pasricha for The Book of Awesome.
One of my favorite picture books about friendship has just taken home the Ontario Library Association’s 
In a wild and lawless future, eighteen-year-old Saba lives with her father, twin brother Lugh, young sister Emmi and pet crow Nero. The family resides in a secluded shed and the lake, their only source of water and main provider of food, is gradually dying from the lack of rain. But Saba’s father refuses to leave the place where he buried his beloved wife, Allis, who died giving birth to Emmi. While Saba has never forgiven Emmi for their mother’s death, she adores her twin brother Lugh. So Saba’s small world is brutally torn apart, when a group of armed riders snatch Lugh away. Saba’s rage is so wild, that she manages to drive the men away, but not before they have captured Lugh and killed their father. And here begins Saba’s epic quest to rescue Lugh, during which she is tested by trials she could not have imagined. Moira Young was born in New Westminster, BC, where she attended the UBC before heading to the UK to study drama. Moira Young lives in Bath, England with her husband.
In a small prairie town like Argue, Saskatchewan, everyone knows everybody else’s business. Everyone knows that the Loney family has been barely hanging on—the father, George, reduced to drink and despair since the loss of his farm and the death of his wife, Margaret. That the four Loney children do not get along with George’s second wife, the pious, bitter Effie. Then George dies in a drunken stupor. Effie takes off with a traveling Bible salesman, and it looks as though the children are done for. Who’s to save them when everyone is coping with their own problems—the lingering depression and the loss of the town’s young men to the Second World War. Yet somehow the children find a way, under the watchful eye of their ghostly parents and through the small kindnesses of a few neighbors, but mostly by dint of their own determination and ingenuity. Pamela Porter is an award-winning author who lives in Sidney, British Columbia.
You don’t have to live in the Great Bear Rainforest to benefit from its existence, but after you read Nowhere Else on Earth you might want to visit this magnificent part of the planet. Environmental activist Caitlyn Vernon guides young readers through a forest of information, sharing her personal stories, her knowledge and her concern for this beautiful place. Full of breathtaking photographs and suggestions for ways to preserve this unique ecosystem, Nowhere Else on Earth is a timely and inspiring reminder that we need to stand up for our wild places before they are gone. Caitlyn Vernon grew up on BC’s Pacific Coast and now calls Victoria home. Caitlyn has a background in biology and environmental studies and is currently a campaigner with Sierra Club BC, working to protect the Great Bear Rainforest. Nowhere Else on Earth is her first book.
Leroy “Doodlebug” Barnstable likes to call himself the quickest draw in the west—with a crayon. It’s 1923 and Doodle is on the run from a couple of abusive cousins when he stumbles into a travelling Chautauqua show where it’s easy to get lost in a crowd—but also easy to lose your heart. Glen Huser has won a number of awards such as the Mr. Christie Award, the Governor General`s Award, and the R. Ross Annett Award. A teacher-librarian for most of his life, he continues to write, pursue his artwork and coach students working on their own books for young people.
Dex Pratt’s life has been turned upside down. His parents have divorced and his mother has remarried. When his father attempts suicide and fails, Dex returns to their small town to care for him. But he’s not prepared for how much everything has changed. Gone are the nice house, new cars, fancy bikes and other toys. Now he and his wheelchair-bound dad live in a rotting rented house at the back of a cornfield. And, worse, his father has given up defending marijuana growers in his law practice and has become one himself. Unable to cope, Dex begins smoking himself into a state of surrealism. He begins to lose touch with what is real and what he is imagining. And then there are the aliens…and the girl-of-his-dreams…and the crop circle… Karen Rivers’ books have been nominated for a number of awards, including the Sheila A. Egoff Children’s Literature Award and the Silver Birch Award. Karen lives, reads and writes in a yellow house near the beach in Victoria, BC.
Curious little Henry from the award-winning books When You Were Small and Where You Came From has a new question for his mother in this charming new picture book. “What was it like when you were small?” he asks. His mother proceeds to describe her adventures to him, all about when she was little – very little! Sara O’Leary is a playwright, fiction writer, and literary journalist. She teaches Writing for Children and Screenwriting at Concordia University in Montreal. Julie Morstad is an award-winning illustrator and fine artist known for her surreal, whimsical work. Illustrator of numerous children’s books, including Singing Away the Dark and When You Were Small and its two sequels Where You Came From and When I Was Small, Julie has exhibited her work in galleries, animated two music videos with her brother, filled up stacks of sketchbooks, and made countless pots of soup and many loaves of bread. She lives in Vancouver with her family.
Dalen and Gole are refugees on Earth in a race against time to save their home planet from an evil plot. With seconds to the finish line, Dalen and Gole lead the distant world of Budap’s annual Junior-Jet Race. Suddenly they are overtaken. Left behind in a cloud of mysterious purple exhaust, they realize something doesn’t add up. Looking for clues, the two friends uncover a tunnel that leads them to Earth. They arrive in Port Angus, once a lively west coast fishing community. The fishing industry is dying, and Dalen and Gole find themselves embroiled in a sinister plot to steal fish and send them to Budap. Pursued by government agents and angry aliens, Dalen and Gole are in a race against time to save both their own distant world and the fishing community of Port Angus. Mike Deas is the illustrator of the bestselling Graphic Guide Adventure series. He and his wife, Nancy, live in sunny Victoria, BC.
A young girl delights in a visit to her grandpa’s farm. She and her cousins run through the fields, explore the root cellar where the salmon and jars of fruit are stored, swing on a rope out the barn loft window, visit the Appaloosa in the corral and tease the neighbor’s pig. The visit is also an opportunity for this child to ask Grandpa what her grandmother, Yayah, was like, and explore the “secret room,” with its old wooden trunk of ribbons, medals and photos of Grandpa in uniform. There is a wonderful blend of fun and family history in this visit to a grandparent, but also the realization that there can be some things about the people we know and love that will always remain a mystery. Nicola I. Campbell is an award-winning author of children’s books who lives in Vancouver, BC. Kim La Fave has illustrated many award-winning books for children. He lives in Roberts Creek, BC.
In the classic nursery rhyme “Pussycat, Pussycat,” Pussycat travels to London to visit the Queen. But where else does Pussycat go? These vivid, dreamy poems and illustrations reveal the rest of Pussycat’s adventures. The trips take readers to far-flung, magical places of the world and also deeper into Pussycat’s heart, as they learn what he wishes for, what soothes his sorrow, where he hides when he is scared, and what happens when he gets lost. Dan Bar-el’s book Things Are Looking Grimm, Jill won the 2008 Silver Birch Express award, and his funny picture book Alphabetter was chosen for the BC government Ready, Set, Learn program. Rae Maté graduated from Emily Carr College of Art and Design in 1986. She enjoys teaching 2- 3 year olds at Parent and Me art classes at Arts Umbrella in Vancouver and paints in her home studios in Vancouver and Hornby Island, BC.
Kids still not up? Still sound asleep? Snoozing rug-bugs in a heap. Time to do whatever it takes. Read aloud from… SHAKE AWAKES! Slimy, Stinky, stuffed with dread—these poems will scare kids out of bed! But, hey, kids, there are poems for you, to wake up sleepy grown-ups too! Elves, Green goo—oops! —stuff that breaks—you’ll find them all in… SHAKE AWAKES! Robert Heidbreder has been enchanting children with his joyful poems and rhymes and his brilliant performances for more than two decades. Robert is the author of nearly a dozen books for children, including the award-winning Drumheller Dinosaur Dance. He is recipient of the Prime Minister’s Award for Excellence in Teaching, presented to him by Jean Chretien. Robert lives in Vancouver, BC. Marc Mongeau is the published author and illustrator of many children’s books. He currently lives in Quebec.
While you’re picking up a copy of 50 Poisonous Questions, you may also want to add The Blue Jean Book to your cart. It’s a fabulous book about that takes you behind the seams of bluejeans.
Sheryl McFarlane 