WINNER
WE ALL FALL DOWN by Eric Walters
Doubleday 2006 0385661924 IL: 5+
Will’s Dad works in the World Trade Centre in New York City. The date is Sept. 11/2001 and it’s “bring your child to work day.” Will thinks the day will be boring and that his Dad won’t make time for him, as usual. As catastrophe
ensues, Will and his Dad are thrown together in a fight for their lives. Will is shown a whole new side to his “borin” Dad in this tense, action packed story.
HONOUR BOOKS
THE DEVIL, THE BANSHEE, AND ME by L. M. Falcone
Kids Can Press 2006 978-1-55337-894-5 IL: 5+
Will thinks it’s creepy enough to live across from a cemetery but things get even creepier when new neighbours move in. If being chased by an egg=juggling sumo wrestler and making friends with the devil’s nephew isn’t weird enough, Will has to figure out the identity of the crying, screaming woman who floats above the cemetery gates.
GEMINI SUMMER by Iain Lawrence
Delacorte Press 2006 0-385-73089-6 IL: 5+
Welcome to the family life in the 1960’s. Mum is a housewife with dreams, young Danny desperately wants a dog, older brother Beau is obsessed with the NASA space program and Ad is the protector of his family. But after tragedy hits, life in the River’s household and neighbourhood is anything but ordinary.
NOMINEES
ALMOST EDEN by Anita Horrocks
Tundra Books 2006 0887767427 IL: 5+
Life in a small, prairie Mennonite community in the 1960’s is anything but simple for twelve-year-old Else. When her mom is hospitalized for depression, Else blames herself. Despite her own guilt about her mom, her fights with her family, and her terrible behaviour with her best friends.
THE BLUE HELMET by William Bell
Doubleday 2006 0-385-66246-7 IL: 5+
While in high school, Lee finds himself in trouble with the law and is sent to live with his aunt. Through his experiences and the friendships that he makes, including the one with Cutter, a peacekeeper in Bosnia, Lee is transformed from an angry man to one with compassion for others.
DOMENIC’S WAR by Curtis Parkinson
Tundra Books 2006 0-88776-751-6 IL: 5+
Through the eyes of two young Italians, Domenic and Antonio, we see how brave the people of war torn Monte Cassino had to be to survive living in constant fear and without the necessities of life in 1944. Based on a true story.
HAMISH X AND THE CHEESE PIRATES by Sean Cullen
Puffin Canada 2006 0670-06502-1 IL:5+
Under the oppressive rule of Viggo Schmatz and his staff at the Windcity orphanage and Cheese Factory, children donated from the Orphan Disposal Agency toil for long hours to manufacture the famed Caribou Blue Cheese. However, with the arrival of Hamish X, a ten-year-old orphan of unknown origin, things change. Hamish X and his newfound friends Parveen and Mimi set out to escape only to have things complicated by the arrival of the Cheese Pirates.
I AM A TAXI by Deborah Ellis
Groundwood 2006 0-88899-736-1 IL: 5+
Twelve-year-old Diego lives in his mother’s prison cell in Bolivia. He works as a “taxi” running errands for prisoners. A friend persuades him that they can make easier money by working for a local drug dealer. When this leads to virtual slavery deep in the jungle Diego struggles to survive and return to his family.
KETURAH AND LORD DEATH by Martine Leavitt
Red Deer Press 2006 978-0-88995-370-8 IL: 7+
Keturah, a beautiful sixteen-year-old girl, gets lost in the forest and is forced to bargain with Lord Death for her life. Keturah is given the task of finding her true love before the sun sets. Failing will mean death for her and the ones she loves.
MAGNIFICO by Victoria Miles
Fitzhenry & Whiteside 2006 978-0-88899-703-6 IL: 5+
As eleven-year-old Mariangela struggles to learn to play her grandfather’s accordion, not only does she discover her own unique musical talent but also secrets from her family’s past in Italy.
THE MYSTERY OF THE GRAFFITI GHOUL by Marty Chan
Thistledown Press 2006 1-897235-00-3 IL: 5+
Marty’s life consists of events and people he’d rather avoid – the outlandish clothes his mother insists he wears; the school bullies; teen gangs; mean, slushie drinking Trina and now graffiti painting ghouls. In trying to discover who vandalized and sprayed graffiti on a school building Marty and his best friend Remi get themselves into humourous situations that lead to interesting discoveries. Marty, the self-described brain and Remi, the brawn of the duo, use their detective skills to solve the mystery of the Graffiti Ghoul while discovering friends in unexpected places.
ODD MAN OUT by Sarah Ellis
Groundwood Books 2006 978-0-88899-703-6 IL: 5+
Twelve-year-old Jim and his mother are struggling to keep their Inn out of the hands of the town bullies when help mysteriously appears out of the fog. But who is this Captain Johnson and how can a man in 1952 know so much about life long ago on the high seas?
READY TO RUN by Beverly Scudamore
Lorimer 2006 1550289144 IL: 5+
When thirteen-year-old Remy O’Sullivan takes up running, she thinks she’s training to race. But when her close friend gets involved with an Internet chat-room pal who isn’t all that he seems, Remy’s running skills are put to another kind of test
SKINNYBONES AND THE WRINKLE QUEEN by Glen Huser
Groundwood Books 2006 978-0-88899-732-6 IL: 7+
Ms Barclay, an 89-year-old woman living alone, need Tamara to help her get to Seattle. Tamara needs Ms Barclay to help her get into modeling school. The two strike a bargain and set out on a road trip of a lifetime, both learning about themselves and each other in the process.
STEALING HOME by Ellen Schwartz
Tundra Books 2006 0887767656 IL: 5+
As a recently orphaned nine-year-old boy of mixed African American and Jewish descent Joey Sexton is familiar with the harsh realities of racism and loneliness. Amidst the background of Jackie Rovinson’s controversial entrance into major league baseball we witness Joe’s further struggles as he is sent to live with the Jewish relatives who have never acknowledged him. Can they work through the pain and betrayal and become the family Joey so desperately needs?
STRANGE TIMES AT WESTERN HIGH by Emily Pohl-Weary
Annick Press 2006 13-978-1-55451-039-9 IL: 6+
On her first day at Western High in Toronto, sixteen-year-old Natalie Fuentes witnesses an assault on the school’s custodian and becomes determined to discover the identity of his attackers. This is a mystery brimming with true-to-life teenage characters and a fast-paced plot filled with twists and dangers. There is also a fun web site about Natalie.
THE UNCLE DUNCLE CHRONICLES: ESCAPE FROM TREASURE ISLAND by Darren Krill
Lobster Press 2006 978-1-897073-31-5 IL: 5+
Twelve-year-old Sage Smiley knew that a summer vacation with Uncle Duncle, a world famous explorer, would be an adventure to remember, but he had no idea it would include traveling to Treasure Island on a World War II spitfire with a magical talisman, battling pirates and avoiding man-eating sharks.