Three books by three Robins have been included in the current #WeHaveDiverseBooks catalogue – an initiative of the Association of Canadian Publishers’ Top Grade: CanLit for the Classroom program.
The books are:
Congratulations to Judith Silverthorne and Ray Lavallee, whose book Honouring the Buffalo (illustrated by Mike Keepness) has won one of two first prizes in the 2016 Next Generation Indie Book Awards in the Children’s Picture Book (6 years and up) category!
Author: Judith Silverthorne
Publisher: Coteau Books
Set in 1842 aboard a convict ship for convicted female prisoners, Convictions follows the story of Jennie, a teenage girl convicted for stealing a loaf of moldy bread from a garbage bin. Now she finds herself heading to Australia with no hope of ever seeing her family again.
Meticulously researched and true to the time, this is Judith’s 8th book with Coteau.
Winner of the 2016 Gold Moonbeam Award in YA Fiction-Historical/Cultural Category, and the 2018 Gold Human Relations Indie Book Award in the Pre-teen/Teen category.
Read more at Judith’s website.
Author: Gillian Richardson
Illustrator: Kim Rosen
Publisher: Annick Press
ISBN: 978-1-55451-781-7
Ships have always sailed through human history. Sometimes, they’ve even changed its course. For centures, ships have brought cultures together in peace or conflict, played a role in wars and revolutions, and even transformed societies.
Travel around the world with Gillian on 10 world-shifting ships. Meet pirates, explorers, desperate immigrants, eco-warriors, and more. All aboard for an ocean adventure through history!
Purchase this book at your favourite bookseller, including:
Congratulations to Anne Patton and Judith Silverthorne, whose books have both been awarded 2015 Moonbeam awards!
Anne’s book Through Flood and Fire won a Silver medal in the Pre-Teen Fiction–Historical/Cultural category. Judith’s book Honouring the Buffalo won a Silver medal in the Environmental Issues category.
Author: Anne Patton
Publisher: Coteau Books
Release Date: August 2015
Through Flood and Fire is the sequel to Anne’s first Barr Colony Adventure, Full Steam to Canada!
In the first book, Dorothy’s family makes the arduous journey to the Canadian Northwest Territories as part of the Barr Colony group in 1903. When the rest of her family falls seasick on the journey, Dorothy experiences freedom she has never had before. When they arrive in Canada, they take the train to the tent city of Saskatoon. Things are different than in England – even getting the small things like food and water takes a lot of work– but Dorothy is excited about the adventure and her new life.
In the second book, her family is ready to make the final leg of their journey from Saskatoon to their new homestead, several days’ travel away by horse-drawn wagon. Unfortunately, there is an outbreak of measles in the camp, and Dorothy’s mother has to stay behind. So Dorothy sets out with the rest of her family and a few other people they met on the first part of their journey. It’s a good thing Dorothy has grit, because they will face many daunting adventures before they can build their new home.
These stories are based on the recollections of Dorothy Boan, who came to Canada as a child with the Barr Colonists, and the diaries of some of the other people who were there. To see some of Anne’s research and hear Dorothy’s further thoughts on the journeys, check out Anne’s Barr Colony Adventure website.
Buy Through Flood and Fire as a print or e-book at:
Judith Silverthorne kicked off her new book, Honoring the Buffalo, with two events in Regina.
The first was at Seven Stones Community School on February 24, 2015. She was joined by Mike Keepness, who illustrated the book, and Ray Lavalee, Medicine Man and Wisdom Keeper of the Piapot First Nations Reserve. Ray is the Cree elder who gave Judith the legend in the book, and he opened the session with an invocation to the students to remember where they came from and who they are. Mike joined Judith in answering students’ questions after Judith’s reading.
The event was covered by CJME , cbc.ca, and the Regina Leader Post, and picked up by the Vancouver Sun, the Ottawa Citizen, and Canada.com.
The second event was March 21 at the Indian Metis Christian Fellowship building. After the reading, her audience enjoyed bannock and, appropriately, bison soup.
Congratulations, Judith!
Author: Alison Lohans
Publisher: Wandering Fox Books (an imprint of Heritage House)
Ages: 9-11
978-1-772030 -17- 4 (paperback) $ 7.95
978-1-772030 -18-1 (epub) $5.99
978-1-772030 -19-8 (epdf) $5.99
Sisters Jennifer and Sarah were once part of a happy, stable family, but their idyllic life comes to an abrupt halt with the death of their mother. Unable to cope with his grief and the needs of his two young daughters, their father finds comfort in alcohol, gets fired from his job, and loses his grip on his family. As twelve-year-old Jennifer approaches maturity, she starts to develop a tough exterior, especially when she attracts unwelcome attention from one of her father’s friends.
With nothing left to lose, the two sisters decide run away to their mother’s sister in Vancouver, setting out with very little money and no clear plan. Along the way, they must overcome fear, loneliness, illness, and the conflict inherent in their sibling relationship. This emotional story deals with mature themes, but it is ultimately about the enduring bonds of family.
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An earlier version of this book was published by Roussan in 1999. It was given an “Our Choice” citation from the Canadian Children’s Book Centre, and nominated for a Saskatchewan Book Award in the Children’s Literature category.
Purchase from:
Download Alison’s No Place for Kids – Curriculum Tie-in.
Saskatchewan Children's Writers' Round Robin 