Reviews and Awards

Special 100th Anniversary of WWI Edition---In Flanders Fields: The Story of the Poem by John McCrae, written by Linda Granfield, with an introduction by Prof. Ron Jobe;
Fitzhenry & Whiteside (Canada and U.S.) 1-55005-144-X (hc), 2005, 36pp.
Ages 10 through adult.
This book is a tribute to the famous poem, its creator, John McCrae, and to the poppy which has come to symbolize remembrance of the fallen in battle. Lines of the poem are interwoven with background information about the First World War, details of daily life in the trenches, accounts of poet-doctor John McCrae’s experiences in the field hospital and a description of the tragic circumstances that led to the writing of the poem in 1915. Paintings interpret the poem line by line. Archival materials also illustrate a text that is a moving testament for today’s readers of all ages.
Themes: Lest We Forget,
Character: Courage; Responsibility; Compassion
*November 11 is Remembrance Day
* September 21, International Day of Peace
1997 Red Cedar Award for Non-fiction, winner (The Young Readers’ Choice Awards Society of B. C.)
Books for the Teen Age, (selected by New York Public Library)
1997 International Reading Association Teachers’ Choice Book
White Ravens 1997 selection (Internationale Jugendbibliothek/International Children’s Library, Munich)
1997 Regional Winner of the Silver Birch Award (Ontario Library Association)
1996 Information Book Award (Children’s Literature Roundtables of Canada)
1996 Honour Book, Non-fiction (Canadian Library Association)
1996 Honour Book, text (Canadian Library Association)
1996 The Year’s Best (Resource Links)
1996 IODE Book Award (Imperial Order of the Daughters of the Empire- Toronto chapter)
Our Choice selection (Canadian Children’s Book Centre)

Out of Slavery: The Journey to Amazing Grace , by Linda Granfield,
age 8+
This tenth anniversary edition of Amazing Grace tells the story of the famous hymn's author, John Newton. For many listeners around the world there is no sweeter sound than this beautiful hymn. The hymn’s composer led a successful life as a seafaring trader, sailing from Liverpool to Africa and on to Antigua. His cargo was a lucrative one, for he traded in human beings during the height of the slave trade. One night, a storm raged and Newton’s ship was almost lost. He prayed that if only salvation would come to “a wretch like me,” he would leave the slave trade and work toward its abolition. That night was a turning point in Newton’s life. He later became an ardent abolitionist and a minister. But his greatest legacy is “Amazing Grace.” This book provides an introduction to the history of slavery, and contains the original text of the hymn, music, and map endpapers.
Fitzhenry and Whiteside,
*Suitable for February, Black History Month
Best Books of 1997 (Quill & Quire)
Our Choice selection (Canadian Children’s Book Centre)

Lighthouse: A Story of Remembrance written by Robert Munsch
Ages 3 and up
Young Sarah can't sleep following her grandpa's funeral. So she wakes up her dad in the middle of the night. He agrees to take her where Grandpa used to take him as a boy — to the lighthouse. On the way there, Sarah and her dad drink coffee and eat donuts — just as Grandpa would have liked. When they climb up to the top of the lighthouse, Sarah throws a flower out to sea in her grandpa's memory. Robert Munsch has crafted a heart-warming, tender story about honouring those who have passed and keeping their memory alive.
Scholastic, 32 pages - ISBN 0-439-997458-5 hardcover ISBN 0-439-94656-5 paperback 8” x 10”
Themes: Coping with the loss of a loved one.
Best Book-Oppenheim Toy Portfolio, NYC

Jasper’s Day, written by Marjorie Blaine Parker
Ages: 5 and up
"... With exquisite sensitivity Parker calmly and confidently leads readers through an elderly, beloved golden retriever’s final day. ... Wilson adds greatly to the volume’s success with her soft, expressive pastels that bring Jasper to life and show the tender bonds between parents and child and boy and dog. ... this thoughtful effort will be of great help to families getting ready to face a similar situation."
Kids Can Press, 978-1-55337-764-1
*Themes: Coping with the loss of a loved one.
*Character: Compassion, Caring, Kindness, Empathy, Respect
MR. CHRISTIE'S BOOK AWARD Silver Seal winner
Winner of The 2002 ASPCA Henry Bergh Children's Book Award and Children's Book Illustration Awards
A Junior Library Guild Selection
An Accelerated Reader® title
Society of School Librarians International Honor Book
National Association for Humane and Environmental Education 2003 KIND Children's Book Award
Resource Links Best of the Year 2002 List
Ontario Library Association's Best Bets for 2002 List
Surrey Christian School 2002 Book Award
2004 Rocky Mountain Book Award - 2nd place
Nominee for the 2003 Amelia Frances Howard-Gibbon Award

Solomon’s Tree written by Andrea Spalding
The transformational experience of making a mask helps to heal a boy's grief.
Solomon has a special friendship with the big old maple outside his house. He knows the tree in all seasons and all weathers. When a terrible storm tears it up by its roots, Solomon is devastated. But through the healing process of making a mask from part of the tree with his uncle, he learns that the cycle of life continues and so does the friendship between himself and the tree.Orca Book Publisher, ISBN: 9781551433806 Pages: 32
Character: Respect; Caring;
*November is Aboriginal Awareness month at the Toronto and District School Board
*June 21st is National Aboriginal Day in Canada
2004 First Nation Communities Read Featured Selection

Selina and The Bear Paw Quilt , written by Barbara Smucker
Selina is a Mennonite girl living in Pennsylvania in the 1860s. She loves her farm delights in the spring flowers and most of all, takes pleasure in watching her grandmother piece together a quilt. Grandmother is following the Bear Paw pattern using stitches and techniques that were brought to America by the early pioneers. By making the of some once-treasured fabrics - scraps from her own wedding dress and those from Selina'a favourite baby clothes - Grandmother is able to recreate the family history in every square of the quilt.
Sadly, as the Civil War rages closer and closer, Selina's idyllic world is torn apart. Because she and her family are pacifists, they refuse to take up arms and must flee to Canada. When Grandmother decides she is too old to make the long journey, her treasured Bear Paw quilt - which is reproduced on the end pages of this book - becomes a precious link between countries and generations.
0773758372 9 x 9, 24 pages, Trade Paper General, Fitzhenry & Whiteside
Amelia Frances Howard Gibbon Award for illustration

Imagine That! written and illustrated by Janet Wilson
ages 5+
A fascinating illustrated history of the twentieth century.
"On her hundredth birthday, Auntie Violet reminisces with her great grandniece, and wonders at all the changes that have taken place in her lifetime. Violet tries to imagine what she could wish for that hasn't already come true. By the time the cake and candles arrive, she has the perfect answer. This look at one of the most amazing centuries of all time offers a wealth of information. Topics range from inventions, fashion, history, and medicine to entertainment, toys, food, and transportation. Sidebars for each decade are color coded to match pictures within the illustrations, creating a search-and-find activity for all ages."
0773732217, 8 x 11, 28 pages, Trade Cloth, General, Fitzhenry and Whiteside

Selina and the Shoo-Fly Pie by Barbara Smucker
Happily settled in the town of St. Jacobs, Selina has grown a whole inch since her family fled the Civil War. But even the peace of Upper Canada, a new house, and her own room cannot ease memories of loved ones left behind in Pennsylvania. Thoughts of Grandmother are never far away, especially when Selina touches the Bear Paw quilt on her bedstead. Then one day, news of a surprise visit sends the entire household into a flurry of preparation. Chores help to pass the time until Grandmother arrives, bringing Selina's troubled cousin Henry with her. But Selina can't help wondering about the mysterious recipe Grandmother has promised they'll make together. Shoo-Fly Pie sounds strange to Selina, but if it helps her cousin feel better, she is willing to give it a try.
ISBN: 0773730184, 32 pages, Publisher: Fitzhenry & Whiteside, hardcover

Me & Mr. Mah by Andrea Spalding
Grade 1-3-After his parents' separation, Ian and his mother move far from their farm home on the prairie to a large Canadian city. There, Mr. Mah, a Chinese neighbor, introduces the boy to gardening, and they share memories of earlier times and distant places-his neighbor's youth in China, and Ian's childhood on the farm. Each one has a memory box filled with tangible items from those places. After Ian's mother relocates them to a new neighborhood, he comes across his friend's memory box in a secondhand store. He tracks down the old man, who has broken a hip and moved. They renew their friendship, which helps them both cope with life's changes. The lavish illustrations fill the pages with greens and golds; artifacts, such as the boxes, Mr. Mah's dragon teapot, and Ian's toy tractor, are imbued with all the energy of icons. This title should be considered for material on intergenerational or interracial relationships and the ideas of separation and loss in a gentle but understandable way that children will immediately grasp.
32 pages, ISBN-13: 978-1551431680 Publisher: Orca Books, soft cover
Themes: Intergenerational friendships; Moving to a strange place; Coping with separation

No Two Snowflakes by Sheree Fitch
Gr 1-4-
How would you describe snow to a child who has never felt is squeak beneath her feet or melt on her tongue? "What is snow?" Araba, a Ghanaian child, asks her Canadian pen pal. The response unfolds as a letter in poetry, rich in lyricism and in what author Sheree Fitch would call "lipslipperiness." Janet Wilson's glowing pastel illustrations revel in all the sensory experiences, the color, associated with the cold white stuff. Through the asking and the telling, two children reach halfway around the world and touch one another.
32 pages, ISBN-13: 978-1551432069 Publisher: Orca Books, softcover

At Grandpa’s Sugar Bush by Margaret Carney,
Ages 4-8
Alongside his grandpa, a young boy shares the tasks involved in making maple syrup the old-fashioned way. From tapping the trees to boiling the sap, the two spend many hours working side by side in the woods. Their reward is a delicious breakfast of pancakes and “the best syrup in the whole world”. This is more than a story about syrup making. It is the story of the grandfather’s bond with nature and how he transfers this feeling to his grandson. Janet Wilson’s rich oil paintings capture all the signs of spring’s arrival in the sugar bush and the loving relationship between the boy and his grandpa.
32 pages ISBN- 978-1-55074-671-6, Kids Can Press
Themes: working together; Canadian traditions
*February/March- making maple syrup

L'érablière de mon grand-père Margaret Carney et Janet Wilson
Ages 4-8
Un jeune garçon découvre un monde féerique en accompagnant son grand-père à l'érablière familiale.
Publisher: Kids Can Press, soft cover
ISBN 0-590-16663-8

In Flanders Fields: The Story of the Poem by John McCrae, illus by Janet Wilson;
Fitzhenry & Whiteside, 0-7737-2991-7 (hc), 0-7737-5925-5 (pb)
Please see the Flanders entry above for further description and a list of awards.

Daniel's Dog, written by Jo Ellen Bogart, Scholastic,
Ages 5-8.
Jealous, neglected and unloved: that's how Daniel feels since the arrival of his baby sister, Carrie. As his mother spends most of her time caring for the infant, Daniel feels threatened by her lack of attention and creates an imaginary companion--a ghost dog named Lucy, sent to him by his dead grandfather. Lucy represents a positive spirit, bringing Daniel comfort and understanding. As a result he becomes more receptive to the baby's needs, and is able to share his fantasy with his friend Norman, who is also experiencing a personal crisis. Inspired in part by the dog ghosts of American Negro oral tradition (which supposedly represented a deceased loved one returning in a comforting role), Bogart's story gives a fresh and unusual slant to this familiar theme. Wilson's homey, realistic illustrations--and Lucy, depicted in an appropriately "translucent" fashion--add a reassuring touch to a potentially unsettling situation.