Young Winners Announced in 2008 Imperial Oil Foundation Writing Contest

TORONTO: April 1, 2009 — The Canadian Children’s Book Centre is excited to announce the winners of the 2008 Imperial Oil Foundation Writing Contest for young writers. The contest is a much-anticipated part of TD Canadian Children's Book Week—the largest celebration of Canadian books for young people in Canada.

In honour of the 100th anniversary of L.M. Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables, Book Week 2008 celebrated Classic Canadian Reading. In keeping with this theme, young writers from across Canada were invited to captivate our judges with recently-written stories or poems that they think could become a classic and be read for the next 100 years like Anne of Green Gables has.

Five Canadian children’s authors donated their time and expertise to judge 713 submissions from young writers in grades two to six. For the 2008 contest, the jurors were: Sylvia Gunnery, Richard Scrimger, Sheryl McFarlane, David Poulsen and Sylvia McNicoll.

The winner from each grade will receive a $200 gift certificate for the bookstore of his or her choice. The winning stories and honourable mentions can be enjoyed at www.bookweek.ca.

The WINNERS of the 2008 Imperial Oil Foundation Writing Contest are:

Grade 2: Laith Asem Sbeitan of Oakville, Ontario (Age 7) for his story Coming to Canada

Sylvia Gunnery’s comments: The worries of Chinese children, as they journey to Canada and as they begin to settle into a new life, are worries that many readers can easily understand. As I read Coming to Canada, I realized that the parents were hoping to begin a wonderful new life for the family; but the children missed China and all the things they were used to there. By the end of the story, both Sunjay and Romana had met new friends and they were “happy and safe.” I love stories with happy endings.

Grade 3: Kayla Borecky of Oakville, Ontario (Age 8) for her story Hug

Richard Scrimger’s comments: The story of Snookie the Hedgehog is completely charming and very well plotted. The issues are timely and the illustrations are perfect. I smiled all the way through the story, and my own children loved it too.

Grade 4: Audrey Pao of Toronto, Ontario (Age 9) for her story Can Santa Go On His Sleigh Tonight?

Sheryl McFarlane’s comments: I loved Audrey's creative new take on the magic of Christmas and I especially appreciated her ability to balance a well-paced plot against the story's message of the importance of a healthy life style. Audrey's use of rich language made the story come to life. All of these elements made this story a pleasure to read.

Grade 5: Elizabeth Roberts of Winnipeg, Manitoba (Age 10) for her story The Magic Song of Christmas

David Poulsen’s comments: I very much enjoyed The Magic Song of Christmas by Elizabeth Roberts of Winnipeg Manitoba. I was reminded of Dickens' "A Christmas Carol" as I read it—high praise indeed for this ten year old, grade five student. The symbolism that enriches her story and the delightful way she tied the ending to the magic of what had transpired through the night made it the kind of enduring and endearing story that I'm sure will be read over and over for many years, especially at Christmas. I look forward to seeing more writing in the future from this talented young Winnipeg writer.

Grade 6: Jared Levinson of Hamilton, Ontario (Age 11) for his story Flint

Sylvia McNicoll’s comments: Jared Levinson’s ghostly thriller Flint shows great sophistication in writing skill. Jared varies the pace of the story effectively by interspersing dialogue, description, action and flashbacks. His choice of language, especially in the flashbacks, creates a spine tingling mood and when he switches to the backstory, he tightens the tension till the reader wants to scream.

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The judges for the 2008 Imperial Oil Foundation Writing Contest talented authors of children’s and young adult books from across Canada:

Grade 2 judge:
Sylvia Gunnery (LaHave, Nova Scotia), author of Out of Bounds and Personal Best.

Grade 3 judge:
Richard Scrimger (Cobourg, Ontario), author of the Norbert series and Into the Ravine.

Grade 4 judge:
Sheryl McFarlane (Victoria, British Columbia), author of Waiting for the Whales and The Smell of Paint.

Grade 5 judge:
David Poulsen (Claresholm, Alberta), author of The Salt & Pepper Chronicles series and Numbers.

Grade 6 judge:
Sylvia McNicoll (Burlington, Ontario), author of Beauty Returns and Last Chance for Paris.
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About the Canadian Children's Book Centre:
The Canadian Children’s Book Centre is a national, not-for-profit organization founded in 1976 to encourage the reading, writing, illustrating and publishing of Canadian books for young readers. The CCBC is dedicated to promoting quality Canadian children’s literature through its services, publications and programs. For more information, please visit our website at www.bookcentre.ca.

The Very Hungry Catepillar

The Very Hungry Caterpillar is celebrating 40 years and it's still as good as the day it hit bookshelves. Check out this link to hear Eric Carle explain how it all began.

Freedom to Read

This being Freedom to Read Week, I thought I'd fill you all in on a few of the off the wall challenges to books that have come my way--

• The little black book for girlz: a book on healthy sexuality was challenged for being "obscene and for containing explicit instructions for sexual acts"" among other things! Hello...how on earth can you have a book that explains sexuality without being explicit!
• My friend Flicka, the classic by Mary O'Hara was challenged because the book uses the word "bitch" to refer to a female dog. Ok, so go ahead and check with any breeder for the acceptable term for female dog. Big surprise...it's "bitch"!
• Here's a good one; The Hockey Sweater by Roch Carrier was challenged because it promotes defiance of authority. Who knew a Canadian classic picture book about hockey could be so controversial!
• And the one I like the best is The tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter. which was challenged for portraying only middle-class rabbits and by consequence is "classist".

For more information on challenged and banned books, check out the Freedom To Read website

The Graveyard Book Trailer Narrated by Neil Gaiman

Here is the book trailer for The Graveyard Book narrated by the author. it's kind of cool.

2009 Newbery and Caldecott Awards

2009 ALA Award Winners have been announced. Visit ALSC for more on children's book awards sponsored by the American Library Association.

Newbery Medal

"The Graveyard Book" by Neil Gaiman, illustrated by Dave McKean, HarperCollins Children's Books

Newbery Honor Books

The Underneath by Kathi Appelt, illustrated by David Small, Atheneum Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing

The Surrender Tree: Poems of Cuba's Struggle for Freedom by Margarita Engle, Henry Holt and Company, LLC

Savvy by Ingrid Law, Dial Books for Young Readers, a division of Penguin Young Readers Group in partnership with Walden Media, LLC

After Tupac and D Foster by Jacqueline Woodson, G.P. Putnam's Sons, a division of Penguin Books for Young Readers

Caldecott Medal

The House in the Night illustrated by Beth Krommes and written by Susan Marie Swanson, Houghton Mifflin Co.

Caldecott Honor Books

A Couple of Boys Have the Best Week Ever by Marla Frazee, Harcourt, Inc.

How I Learned Geography by Uri Shulevitz, Farrar Straus Giroux

A River of Words: The Story of William Carlos Williams illustrated by Melissa Sweet and written by Jen Bryant, Eerdmans Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.

How to Talk to Girls by Alec Greven

I know, I know. It's been months since I've posted. But then, I have such good excuses; a trip to Oregon, 2 months in Europe, Xmas, a poetry course, the novel I'm still working on (yep, the same one!), travel for work, and I confess, a case of blogger burn-out. But, now I'm back in the saddle, so here goes.

My latest find isn't exactly news, but I'm really enjoying it. It' called How to Talk to Girls by Alec Greven. With Valentine's Day just around the corner, I'm thinking Alec has a few words of wisdom for boys in need of a little love advice. The guide is short, to the point, and easy to follow. For example, Alec advises "move on" if a girl you like ditches you. His wisdom doesn't stop there though. "You also have to be aware that girls win most of the arguments and have most of the power." He goes on to suggest that life will be easier guys if you learn that now! Wise well beyond his nine years, Alec has already figured out that "if you try for too many girls, you will have jealousy issues and might end up with nobody." Alec has advice on starting converstations with girls, what to do if you are shy, how to dress to impress, and even what not to do if you are successful in getting a girl and you want to keep her.

So, if you're looking for a valentine for a boy you like, this little gem just might be the ticket. At $9.99 US and $10.99 Canadian, it's a steal. Be careful though; Alec Greven may just steal your heart, and even for a book lover, that's one big ticket item. Sheryl

Time to work on my own books

I confess that it's been a while since I've posted, but I've come to the conclusion that the more I write about other peoples books, the less I work on my own so an extended writing jag is in order. Be sure to check out the archives, other favourite book blogs, and check back here for occasional lapses whereby I can't help but talk about what I'm reading. And now back to work. Have a great summer. S.

Good News

A bit of good news arrived in the mail this morning. The Smell of Paint was included in The Canadian Children's Book Centre's 2008 Best Books for Kids & Teens.