June 30, 2012

Kazaak!

by Sean Cassidy
Fitzhenry & Whiteside
978-1-55455-117-0
32 pp.
Ages 3-5
2010

For little ones fascinated with porcupines, Kazaak! by Canadian illustrator and author Sean Cassidy will delight them with a lovely story of learning one's strengths while teaching them more about these prickly little fellows.  In Kazaak!, they are little fellows: Russell and Spike.  Russell, slightly larger and definitely more worldly, is sharing his expertise about quills with his little friend who is unsure how to work with them.  You see, Spike's first quill-cleaning experience provides a pointed lesson to start the story.

Even while sensing Bear in the forest, Spike is full of questions and continues to take note of Russell's lessons, including how quills can be used for camouflage, for gathering food and for creating noise that deters predators. The best lesson is Russell's swinging and arcing demonstration of his quills kazaaking some ripe berries and a carrot, ready to eat. 

Unfortunately, immediately after showing Spike how he can leave his quills behind when stuck to a tree, Russell is left vulnerable to Bear who moseys along looking for his lunch.  But without his quills, Russell is unable to camouflage, make noises or kazaak Bear, except to tickle him.  Luckily Spike has paid attention to Russell's lessons, and uses his new-found knowledge and a little trickery to appease Bear and rescue his friend.  Most importantly, Spike recognizes that, "...quills are the best!"

Karate has "kiai" and tae kwon do has "kiap" but Sean Cassidy's porcupines have "kazaak" - noisy, emphatic and powerful.  And learning about one's strengths is just as powerful, whether one is a prickly porcupine or a worried child.  While Russell is willing to teach and demonstrate, it is only when Spike must rescue his vulnerable and ridiculed pal that the sweet evidence of that learning is demonstrated.  While rural myths may play up the idea of porcupines throwing their quills, which they cannot do, Kazaak! correctly shows Russell and Spike only detaching their quills when brushing up against trees, or berries, or perceived enemies.  

With deft hand, Sean Cassidy has created soft cushions of quills, still purposeful but honest, in captivating outdoor settings of green fields along forests of wildflowers, rocks and deciduous trees.  Russell and Spike's charming forms, particularly their tubby bellies, in the rich acrylics of Sean Cassidy's detailed drawings, will delight young children into learning.  And with summer here now and lots of children involved in outdoor activities while camping, at the cottage or at parks, Kazaak! is a perfect picture book to start off your child's summer reading.

^  ^  ^  ^  ^  ^  ^  ^

In addition to Kazaak!, Fitzhenry & Whiteside's  Tell-Me-More Storybook series also includes Bye, Bye Butterflies! (Andrew Larsen and Jacqueline Hudon-Verrelli, 2012) and Tooter's Stinky Wish (Brian Cretney and Peggy Collins, 2011).

June 28, 2012

IMAGINE: 2012 TD Summer Reading Club


Last day of school!  
Yeah!  
Time for camp, family vacations, baseball, swimming, visits to the beach, and reading, reading, reading.  

If reading is part of your summer plans, think about getting to your public library or perhaps another local participant in the TD Summer Reading Club, celebrating its 17th anniversary this year.

This program, an initiative of the Toronto Public Library, TD Bank Group and Library and Archives Canada, encourages young readers this year to IMAGINE and read about epic quests, mythical creatures and magic, all courtesy of in-branch and online programs, offered in both English and French and in alternate formats, such as DAISY format through the CNIB.

Booklists based on theme and age recommendations, activity booklets (preschool and school-age) for use throughout the summer, and stickers with secret codes will surely be a bonus to keep kids reading.  There are games, crafts, contests, puppet shows and more.  And most public library branches offering the program already have numerous special events set up for July and August, so you can plan your family time around these activities.

Dušan Petričić, award-winning Canadian illustrator of popular picture books including Mattland (Hazel Hutchins, 2008), Bagels from Benny (Aubrey Davis, 2003), Jacob Two-Two on the High Seas (Cary Fagan, 2009), and When Apples Grew Noses and White Horses Flew: Tales of Ti-Jean (Jan Andrews, 2011), was selected as this year's illustrator for the TD Summer Reading Club.  All the artwork for the program, and the artwork displayed here, are courtesy of Dušan Petričić and the TD Summer Reading Club.   The small version of Dušan Petričić's poster below does not do justice to the playful details of a summer of imagined fantasy. 











Go to the TD Summer Reading Club website for more details or to one of the following public library sites (just a few across the country) for programs specific to your area:



 Then, grab your children (if you're a parent) or your friends (if you're 12 and younger) and check out the TD Summer Reading Club at your local public library.  
Just IMAGINE how fantastic it will be!

June 27, 2012

#CanLitChoices: "The Giver" alternatives

The Giver
by Lois Lowry
Bantam Books
179 pp.
Ages 11-14
RL 5.9
1993

This novel, winner of countless book awards including the Newbery Award, the School Library Journal Best Book of the Year and the William Allen White Award, is a favourite novel used in the intermediate grades, usually Grades 7 or 8.  Written at RL 5.9 (this means a child should be able to read this at the ninth month of Grade 5), The Giver is often considered science fiction, although we would most likely consider it dystopian now.

The themes of the book include the following:
  • authority/power
  • community
  • oppression/intolerance
  • responsibility
  • courage



The following youngCanLit focuses on dystopian societies and would serve beautifully as updated and alternative novels to The Giver.  For each, I have looked at the key themes of The Giver in terms of the youngCanLit selection.





All Good Children
by Catherine Austen
Orca Book Publishers
978-1-55469-824-0
300 pp.
Ages 14+
2011






  • Authority/Power: Chemrose International, which implements the NEST program
  • Community:  New Middleton, owned by Chemrose, is a gated community free of environmental disasters that trouble the shanty towns outside its gates
  • Oppression/Intolerance: genetic status (e.g., ultimate, best-of-three, throwaway), deformed adults (due to chemical contamination), troublemakers
  • Responsibility: to accept mandatory vaccinations, to protect the children and others from harm, Max keeping Ally and Xavier safe after they are vaccinated
  • Courage: to evade the vaccinations, to help those debilitated by the vaccinations, to escape and help others escape




Ashes, Ashes
by Jo Treggiari
Scholastic Press
978-0-545-25563-9
341 pp.
Ages 12+
2011







  • Authority/Power: Sweepers under the direction of Dr. Lessing and the doctors at Roosevelt Island
  • Community:  the co-operative group of farmers, hunters, and scavengers that live in The Hell Gate
  • Oppression/Intolerance: S'ans (scarred survivors of the plague), the uninfected 
  • Responsibility: to rescue friends captured by the Sweepers
  • Courage: to survive alone in Central Park, to evade the hazard squads of Sweepers, to accept the S'ans, to join The Hell Gate community, to trust Aidan




Blood Red Road
by Moira Young
Doubleday Canada
978-0-385-67183-5
459 pp.
Ages 14+
2011







    • Authority/Power: the King who rules through his police, the TonTon
    • Community: the palisaded and gated city of Hopetown, the Free Hawks in Darktrees, the former society of Wreckers
    • Oppression/Intolerance: slaves, people high on chaal, cage-fighters, Free Hawks
    • Responsibility: to keep a promise to find Lugh, to keep family together, to protect Emmi
    • Courage: to search for Lugh, to leave the isolation of Silverlake and venture to Hopetown, to endure the cage-fighting, to return to save Jack from the fire, to shorten Epona's death, to go on to the Big Water in the West

       
        
      Eye of the Wolf
      by Troon Harrison
      Fitzhenry & Whiteside
      299 pp.
      Ages 14+
      2003









        • Authority/Power: the Governing Corporation, Coalition of Southern Alliance Nations
        • Community: different communities of the North and South
        • Oppression/Intolerance: needy Northerners, illegals, refugees, sugar-friends, promise-fathers
        • Responsibility: to find Chandra's kidnapped mother, to keep others in the North safe from a secret plot to infect them with a fatal virus
        • Courage: to rescue her mother, to rescue a wolf pup, to stand up to Hernandez, to cross the border illegally without papers 





          Flux
          by Beth Goobie
          Orca Book Publishers
          258 pp.
          Ages 12-16
          2004







            • Authority/Power: Interior Police who seek control through thought
            • Community: the controlled caste-system of the Interior vs. the anarchic Outback community
            • Oppression/Intolerance: those who have been chipped, those who worship the Goddess Ivanka, Outback community
            • Responsibility: of mothers to their children, Deller wanting to save his brother
            • Courage: to escape to the Outback, to resist the thought police, to become self-sufficient, for self-determination, to endure experimentation, to evade capture




               Hunted
              by Cheryl Rainfield
              Fitzhenry & Whiteside
              978-1-55455-226-9
              316 pp.
              Ages 13+
              2012






              • Authority/Power: Government of Normals who use torture and propaganda to oppress the Paranormals
              • Community: of Normals and Paranormals, built on fear of each other
              • Oppression/Intolerance:  Paranormals with a diversity of gifts such as telepathy, telekinesis, etc., Para-lovers, Para-sympatizers, Para-supporters
              • Responsibility: to register if a Para, to help Paras to evade detection, to educate Normals about Paras, to save those who are innocent, to risk their own lives for those they love
              • Courage: to evade detection, to endure torture, to stand up for what is right, to surrender when necessary, to trust in others, to love unconditionally
              A Teacher's Guide (.pdf) for Hunted is available at Cheryl Rainfield's website.


              What Happened to Serenity?
              by PJ Sarah Collins
              Red Deer Press
              978-0-889954-53-3
              222 pp.
              Ages 12-15
              2011








              • Authority/Power: Father, leader of the Community, is the only one who can ask questions
              • Community: All members, except Father, are called Sisters and Brothers
              • Oppression/Intolerance:  Those who ask questions are punished, with warnings, humiliation and ultimately less-than-favourable Life Roles
              • Responsibility: Katherine feels the need to determine what has happened to Serenity, her best friend's little sister; Katherine feels that she must help her younger brother to not ask questions to prevent him from disappearing too
              • Courage: Katherine is determined to see what is beyond the Community so that she might find out what happened to Serenity, even though she has been punished for her curiosity

              Leave comments if you have any other suggestions for The Giver alternatives or to select an age-old novel that needs refreshing with #CanLitChoices.

              June 26, 2012

              Refresh school novel sets with #youngCanLit


              If you go or went to school, elementary or secondary, in Canada in the past 25 years, peruse this list and note those books you were asked to read as part of an English or Language Arts class:


              Only 4 of these 27 titles are Canadian.  If you're reading this blog, you probably have or have had access to a school's novel sets.  Whether you're a student who has been asked to read specific books, an educator who uses novels to teach, a parent who has had books assigned to your children to read, or a teacher-librarian who selects titles for use in the school, really look at the titles that are part of your school's novel set collection.  How many are CanLit?

              As it can be pricey to purchase 30 copies of a single title that is not held in a library's general collection, most school libraries have a typical roster of novels available and most of these are not Canadian.  (As hard as it may be to believe, there are many teachers who still use whole class sets of a single novel to teach.)  And, although there are some teachers who, year after year, continue to use only those novels for which they already have lessons (and don't fool yourself that this group comprises of older teachers), many teachers have gone to literacy circles (i.e., setting up different small groups that will read different novels) which accommodate the diverse reading preferences and needs of their students.  Keep in mind what Edmund Wilson said:  
              No two persons ever read the same book.
              For those teachers and students who would like to promote the reading of great Canadian books in their classrooms, and school libraries who want to select the best, I'd like to suggest some great youngCanLit alternatives to the exhausted novels of bygone eras.

              Look for  #CanLitChoices in upcoming posts for suggestions on refreshing your novel set collections with the better alternatives i.e., youngCanLit.

              June 25, 2012

              Hunted

              by Cheryl Rainfield
              Fitzhenry & Whiteside
              978-1-55455-226-9
              316 pp.
              Ages 13+
              2012

              Whoa.  Catch your breath after reading Hunted by Cheryl Rainfield because you'll have been holding it through the entire read.  Surprisingly and sadly, that which horrifies is analogous to our own reality, for some more than others.

              It's not unusual for civilizations (and I use the word loosely here) to organize groups within their society into factions, castes, or classes that can be based on all manner of distinction, usually related to something one group has and another has not, such as wealth, a particular race or religion.  In Caitlyn's world, the distinction is based on paranormal activity, where being a Para is a derogatory term for those unlike the Normals.  Paranormals are considered dangerous and abnormal, and all of society and government revolves around debilitating Paras, if not enslaving them to do the government's bidding.  There are ParaTroopers, Para-hunters, ParaWatch groups, Government Paras (a.k.a. Para-slaves) manipulated by their handlers using ParaControllers, Para-sympathizers, Para-lovers, Para-haters and now there is a ParaReaper torturing and murdering Paras.

              At 15, Caitlyn has already endured the murder of her father by Normals during the riots; the kidnapping of her older brother, Daniel, when he was just 8 years old; her mother having deadened all her paranormal gifts so Caitlyn can no longer mind-talk with her; and years of running from those determined to hunt down every Para.  It's not surprising that Caitlyn has learned to protect herself, generally by pretending to be a Normal.  She also listens with her mind to the thoughts of others and to locate the energy frequencies of other Paras.  She visualizes shields of energy around herself and her mom.   And she swims, which deadens the voices and allows her to relax.  She also blogs as Teen Para, in an effort to educate others about Paras and debunk the propaganda levelled against them.

              But, now in yet another new location, a town highly vigilant about capturing Paras, Caitlyn is not expecting to have to protect herself from friendship, love and her brother.  Because they so rarely stay in one place very long, Caitlyn's Mom has always advised her to remain detached.  But, when she first hears Alex's laugh, she is enthralled by the peace and goodness that emanates from him, and Alex is just as attracted to her.  Their budding romance and her friendship with Rachel, a Para-supporter whose Para dad is confined by the government, are making Caitlyn feel almost Normal and even hopeful.  But, the reappearance of her brother impels her to want to help Daniel's group fight the oppression of Paras by honing her telepathy to influence Normals.  But, Daniel has grown into a hardened Government Para, having endured much torture, and his idea of fighting for equality is actually a revolution to oppress the Normals.  And he is willing to do anything to get his powerful sister on his side. 

              The nature of all Caitlyn's relationships - with her mother, her brother, Alex, Rachel, the motel owner, her telekinetic classmate Paul, the school librarian Mrs. Vespa, her teachers, everyone - provides a solid basis for the plot of Hunted, courtesy of Cheryl Rainfield's gift of voice for all her characters. Even with the book's cover quoting Caitlyn who considers, You don't feel much like living when you can't be yourself, Cheryl Rainfield always provides her with a consistent and honest persona, though Caitlyn might not always see that in herself.  Caitlyn is never anything but a believable teen.  Even as she plays at being Normal, she is still herself, just the part of her that isn't her paranormality, and this is what we see in her friendships and her romance.  Caitlyn sees the goodness and peace in Alex but she has the same within her.  She draws support and affection because she extends the same, whether it be to a Para stopped by a ParaTrooper, the motel owner grieving her loss, or enabling Paul to mind-talk with his mother and grandpa.  These interrelationships are often spontaneous and honest and provide the softness needed to complement the brutality of Caitlyn's world. 

              Cheryl Rainfield's terrifying story of a world persecuting those who are different (by virtue of their paranormal gifts) will not only engage the reader emotionally, it will demand attention be paid. The implausible concept of Hunted is hardly that of fantasy in our world of conflict. The book merely depicts a world gone wrong in a singularly grotesque manner, and Cheryl Rainfield chose well to have Caitlyn Ellis be the hero of Hunted;  Caitlyn is the Para to make everyone come together.  She of Hunted parallels Rodney King's indomitable plea during the 1992 Los Angeles riots, "Can we all get along?"



              n.b. I've posted two related videos on my Book Trailers blog here.

              June 22, 2012

              The Baby Experiment

              by Anne Dublin
              Dundurn
              978-1459701359
              150 pp.
              Ages 11-15
              2012

              When fourteen-year-old Johanna Eisen answers an ad for orphanage workers, she presents herself as Johanna Richter.  With Jews in Hamburg being accused of poisoning the water and spreading the plague (did I mention this story takes place in the early 1700s?), and having much prejudice levied against them, Johanna recognizes that she must keep her Jewish background hidden if she is to get the job.  Hired, Johanna agrees to care for the infants, always adhering to the strict rule of not speaking to the children or providing any comforts beyond the basics needed to survive.

              Johanna and the other two caregivers, Cecile and Monica, are each assigned a section with a number of babies aged one to three months old.  As the weeks pass, several of the babies die.  Learning from Monica that the orphanage is actually an experiment being run by Professor Gottfried Leibniz, and overhearing the visiting Dr. Keller telling the Professor that his experiment is denying the children their emotional needs, Johanna decides to conduct her own experiment on Rebecca, one of the babies in her care.  Disregarding her instructions when away from prying eyes, Johanna cuddles, hugs, sings to, and kisses Rebecca, helping the baby to thrive, while sadly other children die.  Taking a lesson from the story of Moses, Johanna decides to escape with Rebecca, now nine months old, and travel to Amsterdam where Jews are treated more fairly.  But, a simple plan becomes an ordeal with Johanna enlisting the help of those who may harbour antisemitic views, confronting the dreaded plague, being assaulted by bandits, and ultimately revealing her true Jewish nature.

              While I could not find any historical references to such experimentation, it is evident that antisemitism was pervasive in 18th century Europe, just as it is in The Baby Experiment, and this prejudice would have dominated all of Johanna's experiences.  Everything from her home to travel, work, friends and purchases, was affected, perhaps banned, restricted or impossible, due to the antisemitism of the time.  Having Johanna endure the masquerade of being non-Jewish (e.g., eating non-kosher food) and deny her heritage, even with friends, demonstrates her fortitude and resolve to manage in that prejudicial society.  Anne Dublin writes of Johanna's escape to Amsterdam as a grave undertaking, though it reads like an adventure, rife with obstacles and unexpected stumbling blocks, with the occasional advantage and luck tossed in to mitigate the oppressive nature of the times.  In The Baby Experiment, Anne Dublin has created a perfect story at the reading level for the middle grades but with the maturity appreciated by those readers slightly older, all in a historical setting brimming with atmosphere.  Young readers will appreciate Johanna's dangerous endeavour while The Baby Experiment spurs discussions of evolving social justice.

              June 20, 2012

              2012 TD Canadian Children's Literature Awards' finalists announced

              Having moved all the Canadian children's book award news to its own blog, CanLit for LittleCanadians: Awards at http://canlitforlittlecanadiansawards.blogspot.ca/, I really have no good excuse for posting the news here that the 2012 TD Canadian Children's Literature Awards' finalists have been announced (yesterday via the Canadian Children's Book Centre).   I have justified this (at least in my own mind) by emphasizing that these awards are:
              • national;
              • dedicated to children's and YA books;
              • include both French and English and a variety of genres;
              • selected by diverse juries of academics, authors, school or public librarians, book sellers and/or literacy advocates;
              • generous with their cash prizes and recognition;
              • supported by the Canadian Children's Book Centre, our nationally-recognized authority on all things related to youngCanLit; and
              • announced at a gala whose invitations are always creative keepsakes.
              So, I'm compelled to announce the finalists for the 2012 TD Canadian Children's Literature Awards here to ensure that the news reaches everyone (and I'll post a similar notice on my Awards blog as well.)

              The seven major children's book awards which will be awarded at invitation-only galas in Toronto and Montreal in the fall include:

              1. TD Canadian Children’s Literature Award ($25000) Sponsored by TD Bank Group;
              2. Prix TD de littérature canadienne pour l’enfance et la jeunesse ($25000) Sponsored by TD Bank Group;
              3. Marilyn Baillie Picture Book Award ($20,000) Sponsored by A. Charles Baillie;
              4. Norma Fleck Award For Canadian Children's Non-Fiction ($10,000) Sponsored by the Fleck Family Foundation;
              5. Geoffrey Bilson Award for Historical Fiction for Young People ($5,000) Sponsored by the Canadian Children’s Book Centre’s Bilson Endowment Fund;
              6. John Spray Mystery Award ($5,000) Sponsored by John Spray; and
              7. Monica Hughes Award for Science Fiction and Fantasy ($5,000)  Sponsored by HarperCollins Canada.

              Here are the short lists for each award category, as announced by the Canadian Children's Book Centre yesterday:

              TD Canadian Children’s Literature Award

              The Dragon Turn (The Boy Sherlock Holmes)
              by Shane Peacock
              Tundra Books
              Ages 10+

              My review
              No Ordinary Day
              by Deborah Ellis
              Groundwood Books
              Ages 9-12

              My review
              Off to Class: Incredible and Unusual Schools Around the World
              by Susan Hughes
              Owlkids Books Inc.
              Ages 9-13

              Seal Song
              by Andrea Spalding
              Illustrated by Pascal Milelli
              Orca Book Publishers
              Ages 5-8

              Stones for My Father
              by Trilby Kent
              Tundra Books
              Ages 11-14








                Prix TD de littérature canadienne pour l’enfance et la jeunesse 

              L'amélanchier: Conte de Jacques Ferron
              Adapté pour la jeunesse par Denis Côté  Illustré par Anne Sol
              Éditions Planète rebelled
              Ages 10+


              Lapin-Chagrin et les jours d'Elko
              par Sylvie Nicolas
              Illustré par Marion Arbona
              Éditions du Phoenix (initialement éditions Trampoline)
              Ages 6+

              Le monde de Théo
              par Louis Émond
              Illustré par Philippe Béha
              Éditions Hurtubise
              Ages 5+

              Mots doux pour endormir la nuit
              par Jacques Pasquet
              Illustré par Marion Arbona
              Éditions Planète rebelle
              Ages 3+

              La saison des pluies
              par Mario Brassard
              Illustré par Suana Verelst
              Soulières éditeur
              Ages 7+





              Marilyn Baillie Picture Book Award

              Cinnamon Baby
              by Nicola Winstanley
              Illustrated by Janice Nadeau
              Kids Can Press
              Ages 3-7

              Picture a Tree
              by Barbara Reid
              North Wind Press / Scholastic Canada
              Ages 3-8

              Pussycat, Pussycat, Where Have You Been?
              by Dan Bar-el
              Illustrated by Rae Maté
              Simply Read Books
              Ages 3-6


              Small Saul 
              by Ashley Spires
              Kids Can Press
              Ages 3-7

              My review
              Without You 
              by Geneviève Côté
              Kids Can Press
              Ages 3-6








              Norma Fleck Award For Canadian Children's Non-Fiction

              Beyond Bullets: A Photo Journal of Afghanistan
              by Rafal Gerszak  with Dawn Hunter
              Photos by Rafal Gerszak
              Annick Press
              Ages 12+

              Biomimicry: Inventions Inspired by Nature 
              by Dora Lee
              Illustrated by Margot Thompson
              Kids Can Press
              Ages 8-12

               


              Loon
              by Susan Vande Griek
              by Karen Reczuch
              Groundwood Books
              Ages 4-7

              Off to Class: Incredible and Unusual Schools Around the World
              by Susan Hughes
              Owlkids Books Inc.
              Ages 9-13

              Scribbling Women: True Tales from Astonishing Lives
              by Marthe Jocelyn
              Tundra Books
              Ages 12+








              Geoffrey Bilson Award for Historical Fiction 
              for Young People

              The Hangman in the Mirror
              by Kate Cayley
              Annick Press
              Ages 13+

              I’ll Be Watching 
              by Pamela Porter
              Groundwood Books
              Ages 14+

              My review
              Shot at Dawn: World War I (I Am Canada) 
              by John Wilson
              Scholastic Canada
              Ages 9-12

              This Dark Endeavour: The Apprenticeship of Victor Frankenstein 
              by Kenneth Oppel
              HarperCollins Publishers
              Ages 12+

              My review
              The Whole Truth 
              by Kit Pearson
              HarperCollins Publishers
              Ages 8-12

              My review







              John Spray Mystery Award

              The Case of the Missing Deed (Teaspoon Detectives)
              by Ellen Schwartz
              Tundra Books
              Ages 10+

              My review
              Charlie’s Key
              by Rob Mills
              Orca Book Publishers
              Ages 11+

              My review
              The Dragon Turn (The Boy Sherlock Holmes)
              by Shane Peacock
              Tundra Books
              Ages 10+

              My review
              Held
              by Edeet Ravel
              Annick Press
              Ages 13+

              True Blue
              by Deborah Ellis
              Pajama Press
              Ages 12+

              My review







              Monica Hughes Award for Science Fiction and Fantasy

              Dreamline
              by Nicole Luiken
              Great Plains Teen Fiction
              Ages 14+

              My review
              Hunted
              by Cheryl Rainfield
              Fitzhenry & Whiteside
              Ages 13+

              My review
              Peter Nimble and His Fantastic Eyes
              by Jonathan Auxier
              Puffin Canada
              Ages 9-12

              Tempestuous
              by Lesley Livingston
              HarperCollins Canada
              Ages 13+

              What Happened to Serenity?
              by P.J. Sarah Collins
              Red Deer Press
              Ages 12+








              We look forward to the gala ceremonies in the fall at which the winning titles will be announced.  In the meantime, I'll be catching up on all nominees which I have yet to review.