award – Page 52 – Tundra Book Group

March 2, 2010May 7, 2025

March is Women’s History Month

March is Women’s History Month! Learn about these amazing women:

The Matchless Six
The Story of Canada’s First Women’s Olympic Team
Written by Ron Hotchkiss
ISBN 978-0-88776-738-8
Paperback
200 Pages
Ages 11+

Chosen by Quill & Quire as one of the 2006 Best Children’s Books of the Year
Selected as one of the best books of 2006 by CANSCAIP

Silent in an Evil Time
The Brave War of Edith Cavell
Written by Jack Batten
ISBN 978-0-88776-737-1
Paperback
144 Pages
Ages 10+

Included in the 2008 Amelia Bloomer Project list for recommended reading

Laura Secord
A story of Courage
Written by Janet Lunn
Illustrated by Maxwell Newhouse
ISBN 978-0-88776-538-4
32 Pages
Ages 8+

Selected for the Children’s Literature Choice List 2002
Selected for the Our Choice 2002 List by the Canadian Children’s Book Centre

Heart and Soul
The Story of Florence Nightingale
Written by Gena K. Gorrell
ISBN 978-0-88776-703-6
Paperback
152 Pages
Ages 10+

Winner of the 2001 Norma Fleck Award
Nominated for the 2002 Torgi Literary Award

Emily Carr
At the Edge of the World
Written by Jo Ellen Bogart
Illustrated by Maxwell Newhouse
ISBN 978-0-88776-640-4
40 Pages
Ages 10+

Nominated for the 2006-2007 Red Cedar Book Awards
2004 Honor Book by the Children’s Literature Roundtables of Canada Information Book Award

Capturing Joy
The Story of Maud Lewis
Written by Jo Ellen Bogart
Illustrated by Mark Lang
ISBN 978-0-88776-568-1
32 Pages
Ages 8-12

Shortlisted for the 2004 Hackmatack Children’s Choice Award
Finalist for the 2003 Information Book Award – Children’s Literature Roundtables of Canada

January 28, 2010May 7, 2025

Black History Month

February is Black History Month, visit your local bookstore or library to learn more. We also compiled our reading recommendations for you (click on the covers for more information):

Grease Town
By Ann Towell
ISBN 978-0-88776-983-2
Fiction
Available on February 9, 2010
A heartbreaking history of prejudice, family ties, and the loss of innocence. The novel is based on a race riot that occurred in Oil Springs, Ontario on March 20, 1863.

Afrika
By Colleen Craig
ISBN 978-0-88776-807-1
Fiction
~ Short-listed for the 2009 IODE (National Chapter) Violet Downey Book Award
~ Selected for the Best Book for Kids and Teens 2009 list, presented by the Canadian Children’s Book Centre

Out of Slavery: The Journey to Amazing Grace
By Linda Granfield
Illustrated by Janet Wilson
ISBN 978-0-88776-915-3
Non-Fiction
~ Selected as a Best Book (Non-fiction) by Quill & Quire
“…is beautifully written, evocative, and heart-wrenching” – School Library Journal

I Came as a Stranger: The Underground Railroad
By Bryan Prince
ISBN 978-0-88776-667-1
Non-Fiction
~ Honor Book for the Society of School Librarians International’s Best Book Award – Social Studies
~ Winner of 2005 Children’s Nautilus Book Awards (Non-fiction)

Season of Rage: Hugh Burnett and the Struggle for Civil Rights
By John Cooper
ISBN 978-0-88776-700-5
Non-Fiction
“…well written and compelling.” – VOYA
“What is really a vignette of events in one small town results in a much broader view of the attitudes of an entire country. An eye-opening story.” – School Library Journal

Rapid Ray: The Story of Ray Lewis
By John Cooper
ISBN 978-0-88776-612-1
Non-Fiction
“…This well-written and engaging biography of the first Canadian-born black athlete to join a Canadian Olympic track-and-field team…” – School Library Journal

December 17, 2009May 7, 2025

The Boy Sherlock Holmes

Guy Ritchie’s adaptation of Sherlock Holmes hits theatres next week! Robert Downey Jr. plays the witty Sherlock Holmes, Rachel McAdams as the beautiful Irene Adler, and Jude Law as Dr. John Watson. But, before you watch the movie, we challenge you to read the Boy Sherlock Holmes series!

Eye of the Crow
The Boy Sherlock Holmes, His 1st Case
Written by Shane Peacock
ISBN 978-0-88776-850-7 (Hardcover)
ISBN 978-0-88776-919-1 (Paperback)

“In Eye of the Crow, Shane Peacock has created a cleverly inventive background story for Sherlock Holmes that explains the adult character’s reluctance to talk about his family life. He’s also managed to create a thrilling, impeccably paced murder mystery. Peacock reveals the budding detective’s very real fears and insecurities, providing just enough detail about the young Sherlock’s methods to make him an entirely believable teenage precursor to the master detective. Peacock also neatly creates a sense of the bustle of Victorian London, making the squalid grunginess of the East End almost waft off the pages.” – Starred Review, Quill & Quire

“The details of the plot are plausible, the pacing well timed, and the historical setting vividly depicted…The titular crow comes fascinatingly into play…On balance, the characters enrich the book and help give Holmes’s storied abilities credence.” – Starred review, School Library Journal

“…the first intriguing volume in an ambitious new series….a shadowy, vividly described London….Creative references to Doyle’s characters abound…and Sherlock himself is cleverly interpreted….[made] both fascinating and complex….plenty of readers will like the smart, young detective they find here, and find themselves irresistibly drawn into his thrilling adventures.” – Starred review, Booklist

Awards and Honours:

Winner of the 2008 Arthur Ellis Award for Best Juvenile Book, presented by the Crime Writers of Canada
Winner of the 2008 IODE Violet Downey Book Award
Gold Medal Winner of the 2008 ForeWord Magazine‘s Book of the Year Award – Young Adult Fiction category
Gold Medalist for the 2008 Moonbeam Awards – Intermediate/Middle Grade category
Short-listed for the 2009 Rocky Mountain Children’s Book Award
Short-listed for the 2009 Manitoba Young Readers’ Choice Award – presented by MYRCA
Nominated for the 2009 Saskatchewan Young Readers’ Choise Award (SYRCA) – Snow Willow Award category
Nominated for the 2008-2009 Hackmatack Children’s Choice Book Award
Finalist for the 2008 Geoffrey Bilson Award for Historical Fiction
Finalist for the 2008 TD Canadian Children’s Literature Award
Honour Book for the Canadian Library Association’s Book of the Year for Children Award
Chosen as Booklist’s “Top Ten in Youth Mysteries” in 2008
Chosen as an Honor Book for the 2009 Silver Birch Award for Fiction – presented by the Ontario Library Association
Selected for the 2009 TD Summer Reading List

Death in the Air
The Boy Sherlock Holmes, His 2nd Case
Written by Shane Peacock
ISBN 978-0-88776-851-4 (Hardcover)
ISBN 978-0-88776-928-3 (Paperback)

“In the first novel, we see many of the characteristics of the adult detective being formed through his first exciting adventure. In Death in the Air, this development continues and we get to know young Sherlock even better….This novel is written for the young adult, but adult readers will also find it satisfying. Peacock places demand on the reader, expecting intelligence and curiosity. The fast-paced adventure is a treat.” – The Globe and Mail

“Shane Peacock’s second novel of the young Sherlock is no less exciting or authentic than the first, Eye of the Crow…. Again Peacock has remained true to the original spirit of the Holmes series. Sherlock’s pervasive melancholy and his flirtatious relationship with the underworld of London create yet another authentic mystery. Peacock has honored the essence of the original Holmes stories while contributing his own intuitive, exhilarating touches.” – Highly Recommended, CM Magazine: Canadian Review of Materials

Awards and Honours:

Finalist for the 2009 TD Canadian Children’s Literature Award
Short-listed for the 2008 IODE (National Chapter) Violet Downey Book Award
Finalist for the 2009 Canadian Library Association’s Young Adult Book Award
Selected for the Best Book for Kids and Teens 2009 list
Chosen as a 2008 Best Bets by the Ontario Library Association

Vanishing Girl
The Boy Sherlock Holmes, His 3rd Case
Written by Shane Peacock
ISBN 978-0-88776-852-1 (Hardcover)

“The first two books in this splendid series have won a shelf-full of awards. Peacock’s adolescent Sherlock is complex, intuitive and fascinating. As much as a Bildungsroman as a detective yarn, Sherlock tracks down an aristocratic young woman gone missing twice, driven by passion and pride, in the belief this may be the case that will make his reputation.” – The National Post

“… The richly descriptive prose offers a vivid sense of both Victorian life and the diverse characters, especially complex, intriguing, and sympathetic Sherlock” – Booklist

The Secret Fiend
The Boy Sherlock Holmes, His 4th Case
Written by Shane Peacock
ISBN 978-0-88776-853-8 (Hardcover)
Available on May 11 2010!

It is 1868, the week that Benjamin Disraeli becomes Prime Minister of the Empire. Sherlock’s beautiful but poor admirer, Beatrice, the hatter’s daughter, appears at the door late at night. She is terrified, claiming that she and her friend have just been attacked by the Spring Heeled Jack on Westminister Bridge and the fiend has made off with her friend. At first Sherlock things Beatrice simply wants his attention, and he is reluctant to go back to detective work. He also believes that the Jack everyone fears is a fictional figure. But soon he is suspicious of various individuals, several of them close friends.

Set in a time when many in England were in a state of fear because a Jew was running the country, Shane Peacock presents a compelling story filled with an atmosphere of paranoia and secrets and surprises played out on late-night London streets. Sherlock gets drawn deeper and deeper into the pursuit of the Spring Heeled Jack, whose attacks grow in number until it seems that there are Jacks everywhere.

The Secret Fiend is the fourth book in Shane Peacock’s award-winning Boy Sherlock Holmes series, combining brilliant storytelling with fascinating historical detail and a mystery worthy of one of the greatest sleuths in English literature.

Please visit Shane Peacock’s website at www.shanepeacock.ca and www.theboysherlockholmes.com

November 25, 2009May 7, 2025

9th Annual Writers’ Trust Awards

Last night, the 9th Annual Writers’ Trust Awards was held at the Isabel Bader Theatre in Toronto. The following award winners were announced:

Writers’ Trust of Canada/McClelland & Stewart Journey Prize
Vicky Metcalf Award for Children’s Literature
Writers’ Trust Notable Author Award
Writers’ Trust Award for Distinguished Contribution
Writers’ Trust Non-Fiction Prize
Rogers’ Writers’ Trust Fiction Prize

Congratulations to Marthe Jocelyn on being this year’s recipient of the Vicky Metcalf Award for Children’s Literature. This award honours a Canadian author of children’s literature whose body of work is judged to demonstrate the highest literary standards.

In her more than twenty books for preschoolers, elementary school children and young adults, Jocelyn demonstrates a rich versatility with genre, medium and style. She has published compelling narratives in a wide range of genres, including young adult realism, historical fiction, biography/memoir, fantasy and picture books. The emotional range of tone in her work is as broad and deep as her exploration of genre: she writes with equal conviction in the voice of satire, comedy and tragedy. Inventiveness, humour, and a sharp understanding of human nature underlie her work for all ages.

She is a visual artist as well as a verbal one, as her numerous picture books show. Her collage art glories in the beauty and grace of the child’s domain, rich in artefacts, objects of play and contemplation. Her subtle use of endpapers and framing, textured materials, fabrics and found objects – her use of real “kid things” – creates a visual world of identity, interest and choice, showing the creative possibilities and thoughtfulness in the child’s world.

– 2009 Vicky Metcalf Award for Children’s Literature Jury
Deirdre Baker, Julie Johnston and Judith Saltman

Congratulations to all the winners this year! Jian Ghomeshi, of Q on CBC Radio One, hosted the ceremony. He did a great job and kept the event on schedule. From left to right: Jian Ghomeshi, Annabel Lyon, David Bergen, Yasuko Thanh, Brian Brett, Marthe Jocelyn, and Politics & the Pen.

We would like to thank the jurors – Deirdre Baker, Julie Johnston, and Judith Saltman – for all their work. Thank you to everyone who attended the event and cheered for Marthe Jocelyn and gave a round of applause to Publisher, Kathy Lowinger. Finally, thank you to the Sponsors, Board of Directors, Authors’ Committee, and the staff at Writers’ Trust of Canada.

November 20, 2009May 7, 2025

2009 Canadian Children’s Book Centre Awards

This year, Tundra had a number of finalists for the TD Canadian Children’s Literature Award, the Marilyn Baillie Picture Book Award, and the Geoffrey Bilson Award for Historical Fiction for Young People. We had all received lovely gold coloured invitations and were all invited for a glamorous night at the Carlu.

This was my first time at the Canadian Children’s Book Centre Awards and I was excited (but I totally played it cool). Pamela had told me that it would be a great event and last night did not disappoint (aside from us not winning).

Pamela and I left the office around 6:00 pm and swiftly arrived at the Carlu. There was a red carpet leading to the elevators. Interestingly enough, we shared our ride up to the 7th floor with the Fleck Family and Marilyn Baillie! Then, those elevator doors opened… and wow. I glanced at Pamela and she gave me the “I told you this gala is great” look.

The place was decorated with costumed bears. Here’s one that mimics love stories. I remember spotting a pirate, a mermaid, and an astronaut bear.

What an amazing atmosphere: the music, the chatter (who is going to win tonight?), and the clink of glasses. There were hot food stations, hor d’oeuvre, and drinks going around. A lot of Tundra’s authors and illustrators were there, most of our finalists were able to attend (they were not feeling nervous at all), and it was really nice to meet or see everyone.

The awards ceremony began at 7:00 pm with Eleanor Watchtel as our MC for the night.

The Norma Fleck Award for Canadian Children’s Non-Fiction went to The Bite of the Mango. Congratulations to Mariatu Kamara and Susan McClelland!

The Geoffrey Bilson Award for Historical Fiction for Young People went to The Landing. Congratulations to John Ibbitson!

The Marilyn Baillie Picture Book Award went to Mattland. Congratulations to Hazel Hutchins, Gail Herbert, and DuÅ¡an PetriÄiÄ‡!

Finally, the TD Canadian Children’s Literature Award went to Shin-chi’s Canoe. Congratulations to Nicola I. Campbell and Kim LaFave!

Before we left, we were handed an environmentally friendly bag with the 2009 TD Grade One Book Giveaway Program’s book: Let’s Go! The Story of Getting from There to Here by Lizann Flatt and illustrated by Scot Ritchie.

Thank you to everyone at the Canadian Children’s Book Centre, to the jurors, to the sponsors, and to the wonderful staff that made the event a fantastic night! Until next year!