deakin newsletter of children’s literature april 2007(administration...deakin newsletter of...

http://www.okanagan.bc.ca/Page9482.aspx 1

Deakin Newsletter of Children’s Literature April 2007 Newsletter and reviews of children’s literature written by Dr. Andrea Deakin.

• Picture Books

• Fiction Books

• Fiction – Reprints

• Classic Fairy Tales

• Poetry

• Poetry - Reprints

• Non-Fiction

• Feature Article

• Featured Websites (This Month)

• Featured Websites (Cumulative)

• Addendum

Picture Books

Henry and the Fox. By Chris Wormell. Jonathan Cape/Random House Canada. 2007

After the craggy mountainside of George and the Dragon, and the realistic seaside setting of The Sea Monster, Chris Wormell creates a typical small farm and farmyard to set his story of Henry, a cowardly cockerel, Buffy, a little bantam hen, and a "fox". Henry was not a success as a cockerel. The hens ignored him when he tried to boss them and his crowing was a disgrace; but Buffy was sympathetic. She and Henry put together "a brilliant plan" to restore his authority, but they do not reckon on the quiet arrival of a real, sleepy fox. Henry is eventually declared courageous, but it is rather by chance. Chris Wormell never disappoints. His farmyard, his lively birds and the glow of the countryside in what appears to be early summer, all of them enrich the tale and delight the eye.

mailto:[email protected]

Deakin Newsletter – Okanagan College Library April 2007


In My Backyard. By Margriet Ruurs. Illustrated by Ron Broda. Tundra Books. 2007

What visitors may be visiting your backyard? Margriet Ruurs perfectly stated sentences lead a child from page to page while Ron Broda's stunning paper sculpture develops the simple text into a field of discovery. Like pieces of statuary, his all white illustrations concentrate a child's attention on form. The page opposite, in full colour, brings the creatures to vibrant life and places them in their setting. Each picture gives a clue to the animals to follow; so in one picture a hummingbird peaking above a spider's web becomes, in the next, the same bird approaching a flower and dominating the page while, tucked away in a corner a garter snake is just visible under some bushes. In the next page the snake slithers through grass while tucked away among the leaves lies a wasp. A legend at the end gives more details about the creatures portrayed, and there is a page of suggestions on ways to entice animals and birds into your garden.

A Sea-Wishing Day, By Robert Heidbreder. Illustrated by Kady Macdonald Denton. Kids Can Press. 2007

The brave and imaginative youngster from I Wished for a Unicorn is back once more. Out in the familiar backyard with faithful hound in tow and a paddling pool, it is not long before the possibilities take hold of the imagination. The sea comes in, a ship, sporting a carved unicorn at the prow, hooves in sight, and off they are to deal with rogue waves, nine-headed beasties, crocodiles, desert islands and pirates until, with the help of a dolphin and encouraged by mermaids, it is back home to a pool and the backyard.



This, as in the earlier book, is a very attractive combination of writer and illustrator, so married that they take full advantage of the possibilities and give young children a book in which they can join in the lilting text (it will not be long before they are reciting it) and capture the magic and vitality of the illustrations.

Who Are You, Stripy Horse? By Jim Helmore and Karen Wall. Egmont/Publishers Group Canada. 2007

Here is a delightful, clever and appealing tale of a stripy horse tucked into a corner in a second hand store. Awakened by a shaft of moonlight, the horse sneezes and tests himself to make sure that his body still works. Only when a hummingbird on a lampshade greets him does he discover that he does not remember his name. On the hummingbird's advice he sets off to consult the wise Ming, accompanied on the way by a dog draught excluder and pepper-pot penguins. It is a job to reach the counter where Ming lives, but finally there, on a Chinese vase protected by two fierce red dragons, he meets "The Wise One". Ming is a blue cat painted on a Chinese vase, a delicate vase carefully examined by the long draught excluder and guarded by two over-enthusiastic dragons.... Needless to say, the stripy horse saves the day and discovers his name is on his label. Unfortunately that is so well worn that the penguins can only make out "Hand wash". Bright lively pictures depict the sympathetic and engaging characters as they seek out Stripy's name. This is a good solid story well told, one that children will want read and read again, and it is peopled by charming lively characters.

Ten Old Men and a Mouse. By Cary Fagan. Illustrated by Gary Clement. Tundra Books. 2007



Ten old men come morning and evening to pray at the synagogue. Each day they come in order, each day the same, until the day they find a mouse in the cupboard that holds the prayer books. Their first instinct is to get rid of the mouse, but its survival instincts appeal to the old men, and soon they are making a comfortable home and feeding it with treats, until one day the mouse will not let them open the cupboard door. "It just goes to show," said Lem. "Once a rodent, always a rodent." Their disgust at the mouse's seemingly ungrateful behaviour is turned to celebration when they discover the tiny baby mice. Again the mice are spoiled until it seems they will overrun the synagogue and a solution must be found. Eventually the mother mouse returns alone to the delighted old men.” Don’t worry," Saul said. 'You'll hear from your kids again. You know when? When they need something." This is traditional storytelling, a story to grasp hold of with ten real characters in the old men and a mouse of substance and humour. This is true storytelling, for we could have had a cute tale, a pretty tale, a talk-down tale, but Ten Old Men and a Mouse is a tale to grasp hold of, recite and remember in the best tradition. Gary Clement does it proud with his gentle colour and humour. Watch for the detail in his illustrations.

Animals: A First Art Book. By Lucy Micklethwait. Frances Lincoln Children’s Books. 2004

This little paperback is an introduction to Art for young children, using eighteen different works of art by artists chosen from five hundred years of art worldwide. "Scaly" shows a picture of a carp by Hokusai and a crocodile from a Bengali scroll painting; "Cuddly" a dog by David Hockney and a cat by Auguste Renoir. "Big and Bold" has an elephant by Khem Karan and a rhinoceros by Andy Warhol; and there are also works by Stubbs and Albrecht Durer, Han Hoffman and Yoshikuni. Each picture is presented alone on a white page, clear and easy to discern, the white allowing the impact of the colour. The whole is a very attractive introduction for young children to artists and their visions of the various animals.



The Secret World of Magic. By Rosalind Kerven. Illustrated by Wayne Anderson. Frances Lincoln Children’s’ Books. 2007

This is a brief introduction for young children to the figures and world of magic in brief descriptions of the makers of magic, spells, shape-changing, wishes and things bewitched. The light touch makes this an agreeable way to meet these different elements, which show up in stories from around the world. They have to be appreciated and understood to get the very most out of fairy tales. Woven into the text are seven such stories from around the world, and a list of books about folklore and folk tales gives extra background for adults sharing the book with children. The illustrations, which add so much lightness and so much mystery to the text, are by Wayne Anderson, who’s graceful and amusing pictures are presented with wit and in his familiar soft colour and graceful fantastical shapes.

Fiction Books

The Falconer's Knot By Mary Hoffman. Bloomsbury/Raincoast Books. 2007

The Falconer's Knot takes place in early 14th century Umbria. Chiara's father has died, and her brother, claiming that there is not enough money to give her a dowry, is sending her into a convent run by the Poor Clares. Meanwhile young Silvano has been accused of a murder which he did not commit. His father sends him into sanctuary in the care of an old friend, Father Bonsignore, Abbot of a monastery.



Both the monks and nuns prepare colour for the use of the artist, Simone Martini, a painter from Sienna, who is painting frescoes in the Basilica in Assisi. It is through the delivery of the colours that Chiara and Silvano meet and are drawn together in sympathy, for they both dislike the monastic life. Then a murder takes place, and another, and another, and convent and monastery live in fear, wondering who, in their closely knit communities, is at fault. Mary Hoffman spins a complex and interesting murder mystery, a tale gripping and interesting on its own; but she also gives us a fascinating insight into the making and blending of colour and the art of fresco painting. The book is a richly realized and totally engaging introduction to monastic, creative, and daily life in early 14th Century Italy.

How it Happened in Peach Hill. by Marthe Jocelyn. Tundra Books. 2007

It is 1924 and the spiritualist movement is well under way. The Great War has left a well of deep emotion, the longing to know something of lost loves, lost fathers, lost brothers, lost sons. Apart from this desire there is the continual longing for security about the future: will we find love, will we succeed, and will we get well. There are a very few spiritualists with a real gift, and a great many with the ambition to make money out of all this pain and insecurity. Amongst them is 15-year-old Annie's mother, Madame Caterina. After a close call with the law, she has chosen to come to the small town of Peach Hill. This time she wants Annie to fake a disability, for if the good people of Peach Hill believe her daughter to be "simple" they will let valuable information slip in their gossip in front of her. This information Annie is to bring home for Madame Caterina to employ. Annie has always been used in some way in her mother's service, but this time the taunts of the young people hurt just as much, even when she knows the truth; and she becomes attached to a young man, Sammy, who tries to protect her from these gibes. Suddenly it is all too much. As her mother prays publicly for her recovery, Annie stages a "miracle". This, however, only sets up a whole new series of problems, and Annie, supported by the one person who sees through it all, begins to think and act for herself. She is a far more intelligent and capable young woman than she has realized. Annie is a strong and sympathetic character who builds our concern for her as she faces up to the whole tale of deceit and dishonesty she has lived with, the "tangled web we weave...” and her story is engaging, often funny, frequently provocative and thoroughly enjoyable.



The Invention of Hugo Cabret. By Brian Selznick. Scholastic Books. 2007

How to describe Brian Selznick's novel. It is a combination of storytelling forms, a blend of novel, film and illustration that weaves the story of a young orphan, Hugo Cabret, who lives within the walls of a Paris train station. The book begins with an invitation to the imagination, an invitation to picture yourself sitting in the darkness while before you, on a screen, the sun will rise and you will find yourself moving towards a train station in the middle of Paris. There, in the crowded lobby, you will spot a boy amidst the crowd. The next few pages are drawings which propel you, as promised, rather like a black and white film, into that very lobby, into that child's life. From there a mixture of text and illustration, oral and pictorial storytelling, continues the story of the 12-year-old orphan, son of a clockmaker. Before his death his father had taken Hugh to the museum where he worked, and had shown him a broken and discarded clockwork man, pen in hand, in the attic. If the automation were repaired, what would he write? Tragedy haunts young Hugo. His father dies, his uncle, who has taken him in, disappears. Hugo survives by stealing food and caring for the station's clocks, his uncle's job, so that no one will know what has happened and come looking for him. Then he retrieves the automaton from the museum attic and carries on his father's efforts to make it work. He steals wind-up toys for parts, taking them from an old toymaker with a booth at the station. When he is caught his life takes yet another turn. This is not really a graphic novel, it is rather a rich combination of forms that also includes film stills and photographs, Selznick's careful and engaging graphic drawings that draw you into scenes, emphasize detail, ask you to look and to watch, and a text as carefully balanced as the visual effects.

Baboon. By David Jones. Annick Press. 2007



Gerry's parents are zoologists who have dedicated their lives to studying baboons in their natural habitat. They have been on sabbatical in England and are returning with Gerry to the African savanna where they are recording a troop of baboons. Not far from their destination the right engine of the plane malfunctions, the pilot loses control and the plane crashes. A blinding pain envelopes the side of Gerry's head and he loses consciousness. When he comes to he realises that, although his mind is still that of a 14-year-old boy, his body is that of a baboon. He is accepted by the troop as one of their own, but he has to find the right way to interact with them, desperately drawing on all he has learned from his parents. At the same time he has to find his parents and try to convey the situation to them. As time passes he also begins to realise that he is becoming more baboon than boy, time is growing short. While his struggle with a human mind in a baboon body goes on, his own body lies in hospital, where he is in a deep coma. The African background and the vivid recreation of life in the baboon troop increase the powerful recreation of Gerry's dilemma and his desperate struggles to survive and retain his human identity. This is a gripping and moving story that holds the imagination while it draws the reader into a completely different world.

Harrius Potter et Camera Secretorum. By J.K.Rowling. Translated by Peter Needham. Bloomsbury/Raincoast. 2007

After the success of Harrius Potter et Philosophi Lapis, Peter Needham has translated into Latin the second book about the young wizard. Needham, who has taught Classics at Eton for over thirty years, is following in a respected tradition of translation into Latin, ecce! Winnie Ille Pu. This will be a delightful experience for teens studying Latin and for elderly ex-Latin students who want to practice old skills without resorting yet again to Caesar's Gallic Wars! Indeed Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone is also now available in Ancient Greek as well.



Fiction – Reprints

The Silver Branch. By Rosemary Sutcliff. Illustrated by Charles Keeping. Oxford University Press. 2007 The Lantern Bearers. By Rosemary Sutcliff. Illustrated by Charles Keeping. Oxford University Press. 2007

Rosemary Sutcliff's work ranged from the re-telling of folk tales to novels set in Roman and early Britain, and novels set in more recent historical times. The most well-known of these is a trilogy set in Roman Britain, the first of which, The Eagle of the Ninth, was recently re-issued by Oxford University Press, and that re-issue is now followed by the other two books in the series, The Silver Branch and The Lantern Bearers ( winner of the Carnegie Medal). Rosemary Sutcliff's characters are often living on the fringe of society like the disabled Drem in Warrior Scarlet or Marcus of The Eagle of the Ninth. At a disadvantage in a difficult age and an often unfamiliar land, Marcus's search for the lost eagle takes him from the security of Hadrian's Wall into unknown territory. In her novels her characters struggle to make a place for themselves in their world. The Eagle of the Ninth, the first book in the trilogy, is about the Aquila family, in particular Marcus who attempts to find out what has happened to his father's legion. The Silver Branch finds violent disruption attacking the basis of Roman Britain. Justin and Flavius discover a plot to overthrow the Emperor. In The Lantern Bearers the last of the Roman army has left Britain to face civil war and a threat of invasion by the Saxons. Aquila deserts his regiment to return to protect his family, but his home has been destroyed. These are gripping exciting stories that bring the people and the times vividly alive. These reprints fortunately retain the original illustrations by Charles Keeping, a leading illustrator of his time. Rosemary Sutcliff. 1920-1992 O.B.E.1975, C.B.E.1992 Services to children's literature.



Classic Fairy Tales

The Nightingale. By Hans Christian Andersen. Illustrated by Igor Oleynikov. Publishers Group Canada. 2007

This version of Andersen's The Nightingale is adapted from the 1872 translation by Mrs. H.P. Paul. It is accessible without losing any of the rhythm and flavour of the original telling, keeping the drama alive, and it reads aloud very well. The illustrations, by Russian artist Igor Oleynikov, have an engaging sense of time and place. In the Emperor's garden a mist greens the background while warm browns and reds emphasize a curving bridge from which the courtiers fish, beside which the plants are hung with silver bells, and under which lolling pandas chew thoughtfully on bamboo. Contrasted with the highly elaborate life of the Imperial court are vignettes of cows lowing in the meadow, bull frogs croaking on the marsh, the unfamiliar noises of everyday confusing the courtiers until the poor little maid brings them to the enchanting song of the Nightingale. Dressed in white and bearing the emperor's crown, sword of state and banner, Death sits on the emperor's bed, untouched by the mechanical bird that is unwound and cannot sing. Death is finally driven away only by the enchantment of the nightingale's song. The drama of the whole picture is captured in the atmospheric detail of Oleynikov's paintings. Poetry

Comets, Stars, the Moon and Mars. By Douglas Florian. Harcourt Inc/Raincoast Books. 2007



Exuberant, witty and creative in word and form, Douglas Florian engages the reader's mind and eye time after time. In his latest collection of poetry for children he is working in a more confined space - you cannot really leave out a planet at will, but he elaborates visually and poetically with invention, wit and imagination as he leads children through a "sky watch". A galaxy is written in a spiral, a cut-out on the sun's surface suggests the green earth, and words and pictures on the surface of each celestial body will set imaginative minds to work. Best of all, he does not neglect poor downgraded Pluto, depicting its demise from the upper ranks with sympathetic wit - Pluto was a planet. But now it does not pass. Pluto was a planet. They say it's lacking mass. Pluto was a planet. Pluto was admired. Pluto was a planet. Till one day it got fired. Poetry - Reprints

Old Elm Speaks. By Kristine O'Connell George. Illustrated by Kate Kiesler. Thomas Allen & Son. 2007

This is a paperback edition of the collection of poems about trees first published in 1998. A child, slipping into the crack in an ancient Sequoia, feels at one with the tree," I hear its heartbeat. I breathe tree." Memories of my own childhood returned with "the neighbor's fruit tree has come to visit, bringing ripe plums for dessert." Fortunate it was that my father had built our fallout shelter in just the right part of the garden! An illustration, lively with squirrels, accompanies a poem about "Tree Traffic", and a heron splashes down to disturb a willow trailing its green leaves in cool waters. These poems, written for young children, capture moments of interaction and recognition, moments when they can be at one with nature, riding a tree branch as if it were a steed, using a fallen tree, so very carefully, as a bridge across a stream. This delightful collection encourages young readers to relive experiences and imagine fresh encounters.



Kate Kiesler's inviting illustrations encourage children to re-experience and to be aware - as in her portrait of a tiny bud just opening against a background of open sky. They make a perfect balance to Kristine O'Connell George's poetry.

100 Years of Poetry for Children. By Michael Harrison and Christopher Stuart-Clark. Oxford University Press. 2007

This is a new paperback edition of the collection first published in 1999, another finely balanced selection of poetry from the last century, put together by the skilful team of Michael Harrison and Christopher Stuart-Clark. This is not so much a collection of poetry for children as a collection of poetry that young people can appreciate and enjoy. Here is Dylan Thomas's “Fern Hill”, John Mole's grieving, “The Shoes”, for a father gone, Ogden Nash's “Adventures of Isabel”, Edwin Brooks' “Song of the Battery Hen”, and James Elroy Flecker's “The Old Ships”. From “The Listeners” to “Anthem for Doomed Youth”, it is a collection that touches on the real and the imagined, on joy, bewilderment and sorrow, and on the everyday joys and mysteries of life. This is truly a collection for every youngster's bookshelf and every class library.

Lavender's Blue: A Book of Nursery Rhymes. By Kathleen Lines. Illustrated by Harold Jones. Oxford University Press. 1954. Facsimile paperback edition. 2007



This year Oxford University Press celebrates 100 years of publishing children's books. Amongst the many fine books that they have produced over the years, one, published in 1954, has wormed its way into the hearts of the youngsters who encountered it and who, as adults, still recall its pleasures. This classic collection, Lavender's Blue, illustrated by Harold Jones, was given an honourable mention by the Hans Christian Andersen Award and received the American Library Association Award when it was first published. The handsome facsimile edition, first available in hardcover as a 50th Anniversary edition in 2004, is now available in paperback. It has worn well. Harold Jones' illustrations are engaging to this generation too, timeless in their gentle wit, glowing landscapes and soft, yet rich, colour. Kathleen Lines' rich collection includes many lesser-known rhymes, as well as the old favourites. The book is a treasure for every bookshelf. Walter de la Mare paid his tribute to Harold Jones' work as an illustrator, in this case for “This Year, Next Year” - "Even his commonest objects tell His love for what he sees so well. And such is the delight he shows- In stool or table, bird or rose- That, sharing them, one hardly knows Which for pleasure gives richer cause-? What he draws, or how he draws!" Non-Fiction

Paleo Sharks: Survival of the Strangest. By Timothy J. Bradley. Illustrated by Timothy J. Bradley. Chronicle Books/Raincoast Books.

When someone hears the word shark, it's "Everyone out of the pool!”. They are frightened, and so they should be. Shark deaths happen every year mainly on coastal Australia and coastal Florida. Even so, sharks have survived in one form or another since the Paleozoic era (about four and a half million years ago). Paleo Sharks is a well laid out book, each page has coloured drawings of what the sharks may have looked like in the past, the colour illustrations doing a good job of bringing the sharks to life.



At the top of each page thereafter, there is a caption giving the shark's name and spelling it phonetically, for example, Stethacanthus (steth-uh-chanth-us). Bradley then tells us roughly when it was alive, shows us a picture, and gives us a short description of each selected shark. On the right hand side of the right page a diagram shows the two sharks from the previous page, and then compares them to a drawing of a great white shark and a diver, to give some idea of size. There is a great deal of information to be had in such a well laid out book and I would recommend it highly to the children's section of any library or to any child already interested in dinosaurs.

(This title was reviewed by Ruth Nobes.)

At Vimy Ridge. By Hugh Brewster. Scholastic Books. 2007

April 9th marks the 90th anniversary of the Battle of Vimy Ridge, a battle that is considered to have defined Canada as a nation. It was here, against great odds, that the Canadians achieved a victory that had eluded the more experienced French and British troops. They took the strategic ridge from the Germans. For the first time four Canadian divisions would be fighting together, 100,000 men. Hugh Brewster leads up to the battle with a description of the progress of the war from its outbreak in 1914. Sam Hughes, the minister of militia and defence, promised 25,000 officers and men who quickly found themselves sent to a training camp on Salisbury Plain, made miserable by a record rainfall. It was February of 1915 before they were sent to the trenches. Brewster gives an account of their struggles, the effect of gas, the stalemate and the slaughter until Vimy. A vivid account of the war and the famous battle ends with a description of Walter Allward's dream and the powerful memorial which the sculptor designed and raised on Hill 145 on Vimy Ridge.

One Well: The Story of Water on Earth. Rochelle Strauss. Illustrated by Rosemary Woods. Kids Can Press. 2007



So far as we know the Earth is the only planet that has water in its liquid form, the form required for life to take place. Did you know that 97.23% of the earth's water comes from the oceans? The rest is trapped in icecaps and glaciers, groundwater, freshwater lakes, inland saltwater seas and moisture in the soil. Only 0.0001% comes from rivers. Water is constantly being recycled, evaporating from the oceans and raining on the mountains, and coming back via the rivers to the sea. Rochelle Strauss explains how the first plants on earth began life in water and how, about 450 million years ago, some were washed ashore and began to develop into the forms familiar to us.


A Seed is Sleepy. By Dianna Hutts Aston. Illustrated Sylvia Long. Raincoast Books. 2007

This is a beautifully illustrated book with gently-coloured, realistically drawn illustrations. The text, informative and poetic, is intertwined with the illustrations. The book takes the reader on a gentle journey to explore the various types of plant seeds, giving different examples for each type of plant. It explains how some seeds can remain dormant for up to ten years and it describes a variety of seed forms like the naked seed that is the pine cone. The author describes "adventurous" seeds that take different forms of spreading, like the dandelion seeds, which, when ready to spread, form a "parachute of fine silky hairs that can take the seed miles from the parent plant". Seeds can remain viable for a long time too,” the oldest known seed was sprouted after being unearthed from an ancient king's mountaintop palace in Israel". This is a beautifully and colourfully illustrated thoughtful and informative book for young children.




Feature Article Oxford University Press: 100 Years of Children's Book Publishing

Oxford UK had long published educational books for children, but it was not until 1907 that books were published under a separate children's imprint. In an arrangement with Hodder and Stoughton, two editors, Herbert Ely and Charles L'Estrange, were appointed to oversee the new imprint and they produced hundreds of books under the name of Herbert Strang - a familiar name from my childhood. The two retired from the press in 1938, but went on to publish many other annuals and collections after that. The first book published under this new imprint was an edition of Tom Brown's Schooldays. In 1916 all stocks were sold to Oxford University Press. The Biggles books dominated publishing in the 1940's, Oxford publishing two to three new titles a year in the series, but after the war Biggles was sold to Hodder and Stoughton and Oxford moved to more literary titles which included books like B.B.s The Little Grey Men (Carnegie Medal 1942), Philippa Pearce's Tom's Midnight Garden (Carnegie Medal 1958) and Rosemary Sutcliff's historical novels beginning with The Eagle of the Ninth. Oxford UK continues to publish major children's novelists like Geraldine McCaughrean, Tim Bowler and Gillian Cross. Oxford University Press in Canada was a major force in the 60's and 70's under the influence of William Toye who became committed to encouraging indigenous Canadian children's literature, perhaps partly as a response to Sheila Egoff's suggestion for a Canadian centenary project which included aboriginal stories. His book The Loon's Necklace was illustrated in collaboration with the great Canadian book illustrator, Elizabeth Mrazik Cleaver, whose outstanding collage technique drew international recognition. Sheila Egoff had suggested that the collection of literature in the National Archives was a rich source for Canadian picture books. Elizabeth Cleaver drew on the aboriginal artistic tradition to illustrate William Toye's retelling of their stories. Oxford University Press ceased publication of children's books by their overseas presses in 1994. Oxford University Press has won many awards in the field of children's literature. These are some of the awards earned in the United Kingdom and Canada by the OUP. UNITED KINGDOM The Carnegie Medal 1942 BB (Denys Watkins-Pitchford): The Little Grey Men 1955 Eleanor Farjeon: The Little Bookroom 1958 Philippa Pearce: Tom's Midnight Garden 1959 Rosemary Sutcliff: The Lantern Bearers 1969 K.M.Peyton: The Edge of the Cloud 1988 Geraldine McCaughrean: Pack of Lies 1990 Gillian Cross: Wolf



1997 Tim Bowler: River Boy Costa Book Awards (previously Whitbread Awards) Oxford has won this award four times in the Children's Category: Geraldine McCaughrean: Not the End of the World Geraldine McCaughrean: Gold Dust Gillian Cross: The Great Elephant Chase Geraldine McCaughrean: A Little Lower than the Angels Smarties Book Prize Sally Prue: Cold Tom (Silver Award) Geraldine McCaughrean: Smile! (Bronze Award) Geraldine McCaughrean: Stop the Train (Bronze Award) Geraldine McCaughrean: The Kite Rider (Bronze award Geraldine McCaughrean: Plundering Paradise (Bronze award) Gillian Cross: The Great Elephant Chase (Grand Prix) Guardian Children's Fiction Award Geraldine McCaughrean: A Pack of Lies Rachel Anderson: Paper Faces Leon Garfield: Devil-in-the-Fog CANADA The Canadian publishing department of Oxford University Press also won many awards: Governor-General's Award 1990 Illustration Paul Morin (author Tololwa Mollel). The Orphan Boy Canadian Library Association Book of the Year for Children 1957 Cyrus Macmillan/Illustrated John A.Hall: Glooskap's Country & Other Indian Tales 1960 Marius Barbeau: The Golden Phoenix and Other French-Canadian Fairy Tales 1961 William Toye/Illustrated by Rampant: The St. Lawrence 1965 Dorothy M. Reid. Illustrated by Donald Grant: Tales of Nanabozho 1971 William Toye/Illustrated by Laszlo Gal: Cartier Discovers the St. Lawrence Amelia Frances Howard-Gibbon Illustrators Award 1971 Elizabeth Cleaver (Mary Alice Downie & Barbara Robertson): The Wind Has Wings 1978 Elizabeth Cleaver (William Toye): The Loon's Necklace 1991 Paul Morin (Tololwa Mollel): The Orphan Boy 1993 Paul Morin (Julie Lawson): The Dragon's Pearl Elizabeth Mrazik-Cleaver Canadian Picture Book Award 1991 Paul Morin (Tololwa Mollel): The Orphan Boy Vicki Metcalf Award 1972 William Toye



Featured Websites (This month)

Christopher Wormell http://www.theartworksinc.com/face/cwface.htm

David Jones http://www.annickpress.com/authors/jones.asp?author=228

Kristine O’Connell George http://www.kristinegeorge.com/

An Interview with Rosemary Sutcliff http://www.lib.rochester.edu/camelot/intrvws/sutcliff.htm

http://www.theartworksinc.com/face/cwface.htm

http://www.annickpress.com/authors/jones.asp?author=228

http://www.kristinegeorge.com/

http://www.lib.rochester.edu/camelot/intrvws/sutcliff.htm



Featured Websites (Cumulative) • Achuka Children’s Books http://www.achuka.co.uk/

• Barbara Reid Home http://www.barbarareid.ca/

• BRAW Books, Reading & Writing http://www.braw.org.uk/Home/tabid/53/Default.aspx "Thank you for visiting the new BRAW website, the only site completely devoted to Scottish children's books."

• Christchurch Libraries http://library.christchurch.org.nz/Resources/Kids/StoriesBooksAuthors/

• Christopher Wormell http://www.theartworksinc.com/face/cwface.htm

• Colin Theile Webpage http://www.eudunda.net/colinthiele/index.shtml

• David Jones http://www.annickpress.com/authors/jones.asp?author=228

• Dick Bruna’s The Official Dick Bruna Website. http://www.miffy.com/

• IBBY, the International Board on Books for Young People http://www.ibby-canada.org/

• Index to Internet Sites: Children's and Young Adults' Authors & Illustrators http://falcon.jmu.edu/~ramseyil/biochildhome.htm

• Geraldine McCaughrean: Official website http://www.geraldine-mccaughrean.co.uk/main.html

• Jamie Bastedo. On Thin Ice. http://www.onthinice.ca/

• Kevin Crossley-Holland http://www.kevincrossley-holland.com/ and http://www.orionbooks.co.uk/author_audio_interview.aspx?athid=4720

• KIdsWWwrite: The e-zine for young authors & readers http://www.kalwriters.com/kidswwwrite/ Issue #59 (April 2007) http://www.kalwriters.com/kidswwwrite/read.html KIdsWWwrite Archive http://www.kalwriters.com/kidswwwrite/archive.html

• "A Kind of Magic": James Campbell of The Guardian writes about the life & work of Walter de la Mare, on the 50th anniversary of his death. http://books.guardian.co.uk/review/story/0,,1793847,00.html

• Kristine O’Connell George http://www.kristinegeorge.com/

• Lynn Truss http://www.lynnetruss.com/

• Philippa Pearce http://www.penguin.co.uk/nf/Author/AuthorPage/0,,1000024801,00.html

• Priscilla Galloway http://www.priscilla.galloway.net/Pages 2/Home.html

• Red Cedar Book Award http://www.redcedaraward.ca/

• Rosemary Sutcliff: An interview with Rosemary Sutcliff. http://www.lib.rochester.edu/camelot/intrvws/sutcliff.htm

• Sarah Ellis http://www.sarahellis.ca/

• Susan Cooper http://www.thelostland.com/welcome.htm

• William Gilkerson. Official Website http://www.williamgilkerson.com/

http://www.achuka.co.uk/

http://www.barbarareid.ca/

http://www.braw.org.uk/Home/tabid/53/Default.aspx

http://library.christchurch.org.nz/Resources/Kids/StoriesBooksAuthors/

http://www.theartworksinc.com/face/cwface.htm

http://www.eudunda.net/colinthiele/index.shtml

http://www.annickpress.com/authors/jones.asp?author=228

http://www.miffy.com/

http://www.ibby-canada.org/

http://falcon.jmu.edu/%7Eramseyil/biochildhome.htm

http://www.geraldine-mccaughrean.co.uk/main.html

http://www.onthinice.ca/

http://www.orionbooks.co.uk/4720-4/Author-Kevin-Crossley-Holland.htm

http://www.kevincrossley-holland.com/

http://www.orionbooks.co.uk/author_audio_interview.aspx?athid=4720

http://www.kalwriters.com/kidswwwrite/

http://www.kalwriters.com/kidswwwrite/read.html

http://www.kalwriters.com/kidswwwrite/archive.html

http://books.guardian.co.uk/review/story/0,,1793847,00.html

http://books.guardian.co.uk/review/story/0,,1793847,00.html

http://www.kristinegeorge.com/

http://www.lynnetruss.com/

http://www.penguin.co.uk/nf/Author/AuthorPage/0,,1000024801,00.html

http://www.priscilla.galloway.net/Pages%202/Home.html

http://www.redcedaraward.ca/

http://www.lib.rochester.edu/camelot/intrvws/sutcliff.htm

http://www.sarahellis.ca/

http://www.thelostland.com/welcome.htm

http://www.williamgilkerson.com/



Addendum Ruth Nobes, a freelance writer with an interest in children's literature, is a guest reviewer for the Deakin Newsletter of Children’s Literature. Ms. Nobes is a graduate of the University of British Columbia.

deakin newsletter of children’s literature april 2007(administration...deakin newsletter of...

Documents