Posts Tagged ‘Canadian Children’s Book Centre’

Timmerman Was Here written by Colleen Sydor and illustrated by Nicolas Debon
Picture book highlighting social responsibility published by Tundra Books

Tuesday evening, November 9th, 2010, the winner of the Marilyn Baillie Picture Book Award was announced at The Canadian Children’s Book Centre’s gala. Jury members’ comments about Timmerman Was Here were as follows, “This is a sublimely humanistic and memorable story about the way we discover the difference between truth and appearances… Dramatic pictures equally involve the reader, while the artistic use of dark and light further affect our emotional response… This intriguing tale with a twist delves exceptionally well into values and perceptions, the rational and the irrational, achieving a conclusion that is profoundly self-affirming for the child… This emotionally rich and suspenseful story is capped by an uplifting ending that will stir hearts from 8 to 80… A perfect pairing of text and illustration.”

Timmerman Was Here is written from the perspective of a young girl. We share her nervousness as a stranger arrives at her home. The stranger moves into a bedroom, recently vacated by the girl’s grandfather who has gone to live in a residence for seniors. The young girl is not happy about the stranger’s arrival but as she watches and interacts with him, she discovers a gentle heart. When the stranger is discovered walking the neighbourhood at night (with a spade and a burlap sack), gossip abounds. The neighbours speculate that he could be a bank robber or responsible for the death of a cat.

Timmerman Was Here is a lovely, thought-provoking picture book that encourages the reader to rethink assumptions and stereotypes. Highly recommended.

Suggested for children 4 – 8

Timmerman Was Here at Amazon.com

Timmerman Was Here at Amazon.ca

Stay involved with your child’s reading even middle graders: how to find the best chapter books

When our children are very young, we are often very involved in choosing picture books to share at bedtime. No doubt your child will have some favorites that she wants to hear over and over again. Hopefully you’ll find time to visit the public library and return home well-stocked with a mix of books, some chosen by your children and some that you’ve picked.

Depending on the size of the collection at your library, you may find it helpful to approach the shelves, armed with a list of authors or titles that you’d like to “check out.” To this end, I strongly suggest using a trusted source to identify some of the not-to-be-missed titles.

Award winners are often well worth a look. The Canadian Children’s Book Centre maintains lists of award winners on their website and in their annual publication; Best Books.

New York Public Library Offers 100 Picture Books Everyone Should Know and Love To Read – Recommended Titles for Third Grade

By the time your child is independently reading chapter books, it is tempting to “bow out” of selecting books and leave the choices to her. Hopefully, she has been blessed with a school librarian or classroom teacher who will take an active part in recommending titles.

If your middle-grade reader has difficulty finding chapter books that engage her, may I suggest getting actively involved in the search? Look for the following resources:

David Bouchard’s For the Love of Reading – books to Build Lifelong Readers. With the help of Sally Bender, Anne Letain and Lucie Poulin-Mackey, Mr. Bourchard provides great book ideas (500 annotated listings, some Canadian) for children of all ages. Included in the book, more than 100 French children’s books.

For the Love of Reading: Books to Build Lifelong Readers at Amazon.com

For the Love of Reading: Books to Build Lifelong Readers at Amazon.ca

James Blasingame’s Books That don’t Bore ‘Em includes books for older children – grade 5 and up. In addition to providing annotated lists, it includes author interviews.
Books That Don’t Bore ‘Em at Amazon.com

Books That Don’t Bore Em at Amazon.ca

Jim Trelease offers many, many book recommendations in The Read Aloud Handbook. His commentary and suggestions are sure to inspire you and your child.

The Read-Aloud Handbook at Amazon.com

Read Aloud Handbook at Amazon.ca

The Canadian Children’s Book Centre has announced the finalists for the TD Canadian Children’s Literature Award, Prix TD de littérature canadienne pour l’enfance et la jeunesse, Marilyn Baillie Picture Book Award, Norma Fleck Award for Canadian Children’s Non-Fiction, Geoffrey Bilson Award for Historical Fiction for Young People and the John Spray Mystery Award.

TD CANADIAN CHILDREN’S LITERATURE AWARD ($25,000) -Sponsored by TD Bank Group

Burn
Written by Alma Fullerton (Midland, ON)
Dancing Cat Books

Canadian Railroad Trilogy
Written by Gordon Lightfoot (Toronto, ON)
Illustrated by Ian Wallace (Brookline, MA)

The Glory Wind
Written by Valerie Sherrard (Miramichi, NB)
Fitzhenry & Whiteside

I Know Here
Written by Laurel Croza (Markham, ON)
Illustrated by Matt James (Toronto, ON)
Groundwood Books

Plain Kate
Written by Erin Bow (Kitchener, ON)
Scholastic Canada

PRIX TD DE LITTÉRATURE CANADIENNE POUR L’ENFANCE ET LA JEUNESSE ($25,000) – Sponsored by TD Bank Group

Le chasseur de loups-marins
Written by Claire Vigneau (Sherbrooke, QC)
Illustrated by Bruce Roberts (Westmount, QC)
Éditions Les 400 coups

Devant ma maison
Written and illustrated by Marianne Dubuc (Montreal, QC)
Éditions La courte échelle

La fille d’en face
Written by Linda Amyot (St-Charles-Boromée, QC)
Éditions Leméac

Oh ! la vache !
Written by Alain M. Bergeron (Victoriaville, QC), Édith Bourget (Saint-Jacques, NB),Colombe Labonté (Saint-Lambert, QC) and Guy Marchamps (Trois-Rivières, QC)
Illustrated by Caroline Merola (Montreal, QC)
Soulières éditeur

Xavier-la-lune
Written by Martine Audet (Montreal, QC)
Illustrated by Luc Melanson (Laval, QC)
Éditions Dominique et compagnie

MARILYN BAILLIE PICTURE BOOK AWARD ($20,000) – Sponsored by A. Charles Baillie

I Know HereWritten by Laurel Croza (Markham, ON)
Illustrated by Matt James (Toronto, ON)
Groundwood Books

In Front of My House
Written and illustrated by Marianne Dubuc (Montreal, QC)
Translated by Yvette Ghione (Toronto, ON)
Kids Can Press

Singing Away the Dark
Written by Caroline Woodward (Victoria, BC)
Illustrated by Julie Morstad (Vancouver, BC)
Simply Read Books

Spork
Written by Kyo Maclear (Toronto, ON)
Illustrated by Isabelle Arsenault (Montreal, QC)
Kids Can Press

Stanley’s Little Sister
Written by Linda Bailey (Vancouver, BC)
Illustrated by Bill Slavin (Millbrook, ON)
Kids Can Press

NORMA FLECK AWARD FOR CANADIAN CHILDREN’S NON-FICTION ($10,000) – Sponsored by the Fleck Family Foundation

Case Closed! Nine Mysteries Unlocked by Modern Science
Written by Susan Hughes (Toronto, ON)
Illustrated by Michael Wandelmaier (Toronto, ON)
Kids Can Press

Evolution: How We and All Living Things Came to Be
Written and illustrated by Daniel Loxton (Victoria, BC)
Kids Can Press

Not Your Typical Book About the Environment
Written by Elin Kelsey (Pacific Grove, CA)
Illustrated by Clayton Hanmer (Toronto, ON)
Owlkids

Viola Desmond Won’t Be Budged
Written by Jody Nyasha Warner (Toronto, ON)
Illustrated by Richard Rudnicki (Halifax, NS)
Groundwood Books

Watch This Space: Designing, Defending and Sharing Public Spaces
Written by Hadley Dyer (Toronto, ON)
Illustrated by Marc Ngui (Cambridge, ON)
Kids Can Press

GEOFFREY BILSON AWARD FOR HISTORICAL FICTION FOR YOUNG PEOPLE ($5,000) – Sponsored by the Canadian Children’s Book Centre’s Bilson Endowment Fund

Exiles from the War: The War Guests Diary of Charlotte Mary Twiss(Dear Canada)
Written by Jean Little (Guelph, ON)
Scholastic Canada

Folly
Written by Marthe Jocelyn (Stratford, ON)
Tundra Books

The Glory Wind
Written by Valerie Sherrard (Miramichi, NB)
Fitzhenry & Whiteside

Queen of Hearts
Written by Martha Brooks (Winnipeg, MB)
Groundwood Books

Wild Geese
Written by Caroline Pignat (Kanata, ON)
Red Deer Press

JOHN SPRAY MYSTERY AWARD ($5,000) – Sponsored by John Spray

Borderline
Written by Allan Stratton (Toronto, ON)
HarperTrophyCanada

Dead Bird Through the Cat Door(Megabyte Mystery)
Written by Jan Markley (Calgary, AB)
Gumboot Books

The Mystery of the Cyber Bully(Marty Chan Mystery)
Written by Marty Chan (Edmonton, AB)
Thistledown Press

A Spy in the House(The Agency)
Written by Y.S. Lee (Kingston, ON)
Candlewick Press

Victim Rights(Ryan Dooley Mystery)
Written by Norah McClintock (Toronto, ON)
Red Deer Press

The Canadian Children’s Book Centre has today announced the creation of a new membership level: Professional Creators. Effective immediately, published authors, illustrators and professional storytellers, will be offered memberships for a discounted (annual) rate of $35.00.

All members receive a one-year subscription to the quarterly magazine Canadian Children’s Book News and a copy of Best Books for Kids & Teens, the CCBC’s annual selection guide. Members also receive an invitation to the Annual General Meeting each June and invitations to special events hosted by the CCBC throughout the year.

In addition, Professional Creator members will have the opportunity to be listed in the Canadian Children’s Book Centre’s Author, Illustrator, and Storyteller Directory.