Middle_ Extra Books from CanLit For Kids Books -Winter_2008

Middle Extras

Addendums to

Winter - 2008 - 2009

The book packages listed below are from our previous packages and are not currently for sale online.

They are presented here as a sample of the grade level appropriate type of books CanLit selects and offers to school libraries.

These book packages can be ordered (depending on availability of books) by email (canlit@shaw.ca) or by calling CanLit toll free at 1-888-656-9906.

FICTION BOOKS	Back to Book Packages 2008 - 2009
	Skate Freak by Lesley Choyce Regular List Price: $9.95 Suggested Grades: 6 to 8 Pages: 112 Dorf is all about skateboarding and so far that's worked out fine. But now that he's in a new city, the terrain has changed. He's no longer free to skateboard where he wishes, school is more difficult, and his passion for skateboarding garners him the nickname and reputation of a freak. With daring stunts he gains the grudging respect of local troublemakers, but he needs to tap into another kind of courage to effect real change. This is a short high-interest novel with contemporary themes, written expressly for middle-school students reading below grade level. Reviewed by Maha Kumaran. CM: Canadian Review of Materials, August, 2008 Recommended. “Quinn Dorfman has just moved to the city from a small town named Willis Harbor. Apart from the move, the fact that his mother has left him, that his dad has no job and that his schoolmates call him “skate freak” have all shaken him up or, in his words, “knocked the wind” out of him.”
	Watch Me by Norah McClintock Regular List Price: $9.95 Suggested Grades: 6 to 8 Pages: 112 At first Kaz intends to help the old lady who's fallen in the park. But then he starts thinking about how he never gets what he wants. The next thing he knows, he's running away with her purse. The purse contains only five dollars and a battered watch. When Kaz learns who the old woman is and where the watch came from, he begins to understand consequences in a new way. This is a short high-interest novel with contemporary themes, written expressly for middle-school students reading below grade level.
NEW IN A SERIES	Top of Page
	Graveyard of the Sea (Disaster Strikes, Book IV) by Penny Draper Regular List Price: $8.95 Suggested Grades: 4 to 7 Pages: 188 High above the crashing waves on the rugged west coast of Canada stands the lighthouse Nell calls home. It’s a tiny world, just the ocean in front and the rainforest in back, but she loves every inch. To make herself helpful she studies the Morse code manual, teaching herself how to be a telegraph operator. And her study pays off the night she sends an S.O.S. for a stricken ship, aground on the rocks. This title is based on two famous west coast shipwrecks. In January 1906, The Valencia, carrying over 100 passengers and 65 crew, missed the turn into Juan de Fuca Strait and ran aground on the west coast of Vancouver Island. A mere eleven months later the Coloma followed. It was a deadly year for the Graveyard of the Pacific, one that spurred the government to build the West Coast Lifesaving Trail, now a world class destination for advanced hikers, as a rescue route for shipwrecked mariners. An important and interesting piece of history.
NON-FICTION BOOKS	Top of Page
	Courage and Compassion: Ten Canadians Who Made a Difference by Rona Arato Regular List Price: $19.95 Suggested Grades: 4 to 8 Pages: 96 Courage and Compassion profiles ten Canadians whose incredible acts protected the human rights we hold most dear. The names and accomplishments of some will be immediately familiar to readers while others may be more unsung heroes, but all shared a strong belief that they must act according to their conscience to make the country and the world a better place. Profiles include Lester B. Pearson, Craig Keilburger, Elijah Harper and others.
	Nobel's Women of Peace by Michelle Benjamin; Maggie Mooney Regular List Price: $10.95 Suggested Grades: 7 and up Pages: 147 Each year since 1901, the Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to a person who has made a difference in the world. Twelve women have been given this award and each had to struggle to be heard because she was a woman. Each one shares an incredible determination, commitment, and hope for the future. The most recent winner, Wangari Maathai of Kenya, has helped African women plant more than 30 million trees. How does planting trees promote peace? By improving the lives of communities. Aung San Suu Kyi of Burma has also fought to improve lives by trying to bring democracy to her country. Máiread Corrigan Maguire and Betty Williams worked to end violence in Northern Ireland, Jody Williams campaigns to ban landmines, and Mother Theresa was an example of compassion to millions. The courage of these women is inspiring.
	Our Powerful Planet: The Curious Kid's Guide to Tornadoes, Earthquakes, and Other Phenomena by Tim O'Shei Regular List Price: $16.95 Suggested Grades: 4 to 7 Examining how climates create and affect weather, this book provides a close-up look at the science behind some of the most common phenomena (like thunderstorms), some of the most destructive phenomena (like hurricanes and floods), and some of the most rare and mysterious phenomena (like rogue waves). It also discusses how changes in the Earth's environment are affecting these powerful phenomena. A glossary of terms is included. Given the winter weather recently experienced by many Canadians, this book is a timely one! Reviewed by Gail Hamilton. CM: Canadian Review of Materials, November, 2008 Highly Recommended. “Following the introduction, the book is divided into three main sections — air phenomena, land phenomena and water phenomena. The focus of the section on air phenomena is thunderstorms, lightning, hurricanes, floods and ice storms — their formation and the damage that they can cause. Land phenomena include earthquakes and volcanoes, while the section on water phenomena concentrates on tsunamis...Excellent colour diagrams, maps and photographs serve to further explain the concepts.”
	The Unknown Soldier by Linda Granfield Regular List Price: $19.99 Suggested Grades: 4 and up Following World War I, countries mourned their fallen. In 1920, both France and England erected memorials to lost heroes who had remained anonymous. Around the world, countries followed suit, each country creating its own version of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. This book looks at over a dozen memorials around the world, with over 100 photos that helps us to remember those who served, both known and unknown. Readers learn how DNA testing has identified many unknown Canadian soldiers and how today, the burial of today’s fallen soldiers is handled much differently, thanks to new technologies. Reviewed by Thomas F. Chambers. CM: Canadian Review of Materials, September, 2008 Highly Recommended. “The book deals with the history and traditions regarding unknown soldiers from the First World War to the 21st century. Each page is illustrated with functional photographs in both colour and black and white. In addition, the book has an index, a useful glossary, and “Significant Events,” a timeline from 1914-2004. ... An innovative teacher will find numerous ways in which to use The Unknown Soldier beyond Remembrance Day, and its contents will provoke many questions from eager young minds.”
	Yeny and the Children for Peace by Michelle Mulder Regular List Price: $14.95 Suggested Grades: 3 to 7 Pages: 118 Yeny and her family have escaped from the violence in their mountain village in Colombia to live in the city. But danger remains all around her — from groups of armed men who have kidnapped her uncle to a scary bully at school. Yeny feels powerless until her new friends decide to organize a peace carnival. Before long, the peace movement has attracted young people from across the country, and they decide to hold a national vote for peace. Inspired by the Colombian Children’s Movement for Peace - on October 25, 1996, millions of kids throughout Colombia held a vote that resulted in one full day with no bombs, shootings, or kidnappings. The group has been nominated every year since then for the Nobel Peace Prize. Reviewed by Gillian Richardson. CM: Canadian Review of Materials, December, 2008 Highly Recommended. “Yeny and the Children for Peace is highly readable in style, authentic in detail and tough to put down. The fiction-based-on-fact approach, which uses a lively young character to whom preteens will easily relate, is a perfect way to engage interest and initiate discussion. The nonfiction-style cover may present a challenge for librarians in terms of where to shelve this book, as it deserves to be included in curriculum areas of global communities and human rights. It includes photos from UNICEF, which has supported the Children’s Movement for Peace since 1996.”
ABORIGINAL EDUCATION BOOKS	Top of Page
	Qanuq Pinngurnimata: Inuit Stories of How Things Came to Be by Rachel A. Qitsualik & Sean A. Tinsley Emily Fiegenschuh & Patricia Ann Lewis-MacDougall (Illustrators) Regular List Price: $14.95 Suggested Grades: 7 and up Pages: 56 Two northern writers have collaborated to produce mesmerizing prose interpretations of Inuit creation stories. Readers will be drawn in by the humour, wisdom, and depth of these inspired tellings, which invite a contemporary audience to learn from and be moved by the rich mythology of Canadian Inuit. Richly illustrated and published in Nunavut.
GRAPHIC FICTION BOOKS	Top of Page
	ojingogo by Matthew Forsythe Regular List Price: $14.95 Suggested Grades: All Pages: Unpaginated NO TEXT Exuding simplicity in design and narrative, Ojingogo is an illustrated, dreamscape of abstracts and events. The otherworldly pantomime about a girl, her squid, and the creatures and calamities they experience together, is an intrinsically expressive and deeply rewarding journey. Drawing from Forsythe’s Korean influences, Ojingogo is accessible for all ages, tossing aside traditional narrative conventions in favour of creating its own world, language and rules that anyone can find a home of their own in. Nominated for 2 Eisner Awards for best web comic and winner of an Expozine award. Starred Review by Shaun Smith. Quill and Quire, November, 2008 "Anti-Semitism is the central issue here, but Poulsen elevates Numbers above the status of “issue book” through his funny and sympathetic depiction of contemporary teenage life. ... Numbers is a deeply moving, nuanced, and fascinating depiction of how confusion and vulnerability can sometimes cause damages that can never be fully repaired." Starred reviews for Quill and Quire indicate books of exceptional merit.*
	Ramp Rats: A Graphic Guide Adventure by Liam O'Donnell Michael Deas (Illustrator) Regular List Price: $9.95 Suggested Grades: 3 to 7 Pages: 64 In graphic novel format, Marcus is helping his cousin, Bounce, learn to skateboard. Between learning how to ollie and do a 50-50 grind, Bounce and his friends also have to avoid the skate-park goons and take on the outlaw bikers who are terrorizing the small town. Excitement, action and some radical skating tips. Hang on for a wild ride! The boys will love this one. Reviewed by Dana Eagles-Daley. CM: Canadian Review of Materials, September, 2008 Highly Recommended. “Ramp Rats is a fun graphic novel with a unique storyline which incorporates many attractive features for many types of readers. The characters are believable and well-developed, while the situations are so common that most readers will be able to identify with many of them. ... Combined with a lot of useful information about skating, as well as helpful guidance about bullying, Ramp Rats is a worthwhile read for young readers.”
Top of Page