WINNER
FIVE DAYS OF THE GHOST by William Bell
Stoddart, 1989 Paper 0-7737-5295-1
When Karen and her brother John explore the Indian burial ground near their home, they have a chilling encounter with a spirit in limbo. This spirit assumes an important role in solving the mystery of a haunting presence in their home. The ending of this exciting fast-paced novel will surprise you!
NOMINEES
THE BLUE RAVEN by Ted Harrison
Mcmillan, 1989 Cloth 0-771715-9288-4
The story of Nik, child of the Athapaskan Indians of the Yukon River, is written in the style of native legends. Nik sets out to find the Great Shaman to get help for his people who are dying of starvation. On the way he meets the Blue Raven who acts as his guide.
DOG RUNNER by Don H. Meredith
Western Producer Prairie Books, 1989 Paper 0-88833-293-9
When the fur market fails, teenager Jim Redcrow attempts to save his huskies by entering them in dog sled races. This challenge helps Jim identify and reconcile the trickster spirit haunting his dreams.
JESPER by Carol Matas
Lester & Orpen Denys, 1989 Paper 0-88619-109-2
Jesper is a teenager working for the Danish resistance during World War II. He narrates his exciting story from captivity in a Nazi prison where he faces interrogation, torture and possibly death. Jesper is a companion novel to Lisa (1987)
MIDS’ SUMMER…THE HORSE RACE by Marion Woodson
Pacific Edge Publishing, 1989 Paper 1-895110-01-7
Mid Springet is thirteen and busy helping her father and older brother on their Alberta foothills farm. She meets and befriends a young farmhand named Crowfoot. They enter and win a horse race, only to be disqualified because Crowfoot is an Indian. Together they go on to meet and overcome the challenges of racial prejudice.
NEXT DOOR NEIGHBOURS by Sarah Ellis
Groundwood, 1989
When 12-year-old Peggy’s family moves to the city, she is caught in a lie while trying to impress new friends. Isolated and embarrassed, she makes an unlikely new friend over the holidays. Sing Lee, the neighbour’s gardener, helps the two friends prepare for a puppet competition. The outcome of the contest is surprising in many ways.
NYKOLA AND GRANNY by Constance Horne
Gage Educational, 1989 Paper 07715-7019-8
Nykola was too ill to travel with his parents and sisters when they emigrated to Canada. Although his uncle now seems determined to keep him on his farm in the Ukraine, Nykola’s Granny has ideas of her own. Together they face a dangerous journey and the challenges of a new home in a new land.
PRAIRIE PICTURES by Shirlee Smith Matheson
McClelland & Stewart, 1989 Paper 0-7710-5857-8
Sherri and her family have just moved for the third time in a year so that her father can find work. When she starts grade 6 in her new school, she is treated like an outsider by the other children. Sherri learns how to survive and fit into her new environment.
RADIO FIFTH GRADE by Gordon Korman
Scholastic – TAB, 1989 Paper 0-590-41927-7
Kidsview is a weekly radio show put on by the fifth grade students of Centennial Park School. The students organizing the show encounter hilarious adventures with the show’s sponsor, his parrot, the school bully and the new teacher.
REBELLION by W. J. Scanlan
Stoddarrt, 1989 Cloth 0-7737-2271-8 Paper 0-7737-5285-4
At the age of 15, Jack Rawlins has made friends with the Metis who live near Fort Carlton. Jack rides with the Metis observing their conflict with the Canadian government forces. He finds himself in the middle of battle where he is captured by the Metis. Torn by the conflicting loyalties surrounding the Louis Riel uprising, Jack rides with the Metis and their cause against the Canadian government forces. The excitement, danger, and unpredictability of war come alive as Jack faces doubt, fear and sorrow.
THE REFUGE by Monica Hughes
Doubleday, 1989 Cloth 0-385-25219-6
When Barbara’s father moves out, she and her mother are compelled to move to a very different kind of neighbourhood from the well-to-do environment they have been used to. Barbara’s resentment is only gradually broken down by an unexpected new friend, by her own secret garden, and by a dangerous adventure which puts her life more clearly in focus.
SAY CHEESE by Mary Blakeslee
Scholastic- TAB Paper 0-590-73176-9
Granada Tyler finds herself in deep water when she poses as a photographer to be near Steve, the handsome popular school newspaper editor. Her bluff is discovered but not exposed by Gary, a real photographer. Her feelings change when she realizes that only Gary cares about the real Granada.
THE SKY IS FALLING by Kit Pearson
Penguin Books Canada, 1989 Paper 0-14-0034189-7
Ten year-old Norah and her younger brother have been sent to safety in Canada to escape the bombing in England during World War II. Norah endures teasing from school bullies as she struggles to learn unfamiliar and confusing Canadian customs. Her loneliness and homesickness are increased by the strange host family where she and her brother have been place. Pushed her limits, Norah takes drastic action with surprising results.
WHY JUST ME? by Martyn Godfrey
McClelland & Stewart, 1989 Paper 0-7710-3367-2
Shannon MacKenzie reveals with humor and honesty the joys, fears and challenges of the big “P (puberty) in the journal that she writes for her new teacher, Mr. Manning.
WINDWARD ISLAND by Karleen Bradford
Kids Can Press, 1989 Paper 0-921103-75-1
When the island school closes, Caleb and Loren must move to the mainland to continue high school. Cal accepts the change, but Loren resists, and their last summer on Windward Island becomes stormy. Another complication in the relationship of these two young men arrives in the person of April Lohnes. Her sophisticated mainland style and self-centered ways offer a new threat to their friendship.