Today, I want to share some Canadian books with you that have received recent attention. The TD Children's Literature Awards have been announced recently in November. You may recall Jonathan Auxier won the award last year for The Night Gardener (not to be confused with the picture book The Night Gardener by Terry and Eric Fan).
The 2016 short list included five books you may wish to check out as additions to your library.
The Nest by Kenneth Oppel, illustrated by Jon Klassen
A Year of Borrowed Men by Michelle Barker, illustrated by Renné Benoit
That Squeak by Carolyn Beck , illustrated by François Thisdale
The Wolf-Birds by Willow Dawson
and the winner
Missing Nimama by Melanie Florence, illustrated by François Thisdale
Here is the promo for the book:
Kateri is a young girl, growing up in the care of her grandmother. We see her reaching important milestones her first day of school, first dance, first date, wedding, first child along with her mother, who is always there, watching her child growing up without her.
Told in alternating voices, Missing Nimâmâ is a story of love, loss and acceptance, showing the human side of a national tragedy. An afterword by the author provides a simple, age-appropriate context for young readers. (From Clockwise Press)
Melanie Florence's name has increasingly crossed my reading palette lately. She has a new YA novel available entitled The Missing dealing with missing aboriginal young women. The story is set in Winnipeg and is advertised as suitable for upper high school students. (My copy is on order.)
Florence has also written two of the SideStreets series published by Lorimer: Rez Runaway and One Night. She is an author who caught my attention and I expect she will become a very familiar name among Canadian authors.
I also found an audio interview done with Shelagh Rogers and Melanie Florence on The Next Chapter. Melanie shares how she created a children's book on the topic of missing and murdered aboriginal women. You can find it at this link
On the same link, check out the lists of Indigenous Reads for Youth, A Reconciliation Reading List for Young Readers, and A Reconciliation Reading List: 15 Must-Read Books (for adults). You can also find out more about the TD Children's Literature Book Awards shortlist.
Please share your comments on the books. I look forward to hearing student response to these Canadian books.
PAX is the story of a boy and the fox he has raised from a kit. Peter has to go live with his grandfather when his father goes to war and he is unable to take PAX, his fox, with him. However, not long after arriving at his grandfather's, Peter decides he needs to return to find PAX. His journey is full of adventure and misadventure. PAX is a story about friendship and love, but it is also about war and conflict.
