Henri, a quiet and sickly choirboy, chronicles the events of the previous year when the Black Plague struck France and a street urchin arrived at the abbey. Although astonished by the waif's outlandish antics and angelic voice, Henri is drawn into a needed friendship with the boy. The two boys accompany a troupe of monks, called A Company of Fools, who entertain the sufferers of the plague. During a performance, Micah's voice is believed to have cured a sick child. Micah is revered by the Parisians and his inflated ego results in a horrific tragedy.
The diagram of the abbey, a map indicating the spread of the Plague, a glossary and a historical note provide additional information about 14th century medieval Europe.

This sequel to Bringing Up Beauty, which won the Silver Birch Award in Manitoba's Young Readers' Award, shows how the training of a guide dog is a difficult process. The story is told by Elizabeth and Kyle. Elizabeth vows she will never train another guide dog, however, in an attempt to keep her friend Scott at her side, she decides to train another dog without getting attached. When Kyle starts at Elizabeth's school, she thinks that he has a bad attitude. Kyle has lost his eyesight prematurely because of his diabetes; he is terrified of dogs and tries to cope with a white cane and poor helpers. After a big party, Elizabeth and her dog, Beauty, meet Kyle and a new kind of beauty is discovered by all.

Airborn is set in an imaginary Victorian world where airships rule the skies. Matt, a cabin boy from the elegant passenger airship, Aurora, narrates the tale. Kate, a young, wealthy passenger on the Aurora, is determined to prove her grandfather's claims about fantastic, impossible flying creatures in the sky. When Kate requests Matt's help in taking a photograph of the "cloud cat" to support her grandfather's claims, Matt becomes involved in Kate's quest.
This book won the Governor General's Award for Children's Literature in 2004.

This book includes photographs, complemented by text, to provide information about this well-known genius. The author involves the readers by asking questions about Einstein to show what they have learned as they read. After the opening section of the book, the information about Einstein follows in chronological order. Einstein's discoveries in physics are presented and the author describes Einstein's dedication to peace and his anguish over his creation of the atomic bomb.
Included are a timeline of Einstein's life and a list of places to visit in order to learn more about this famous scientist.

After her father dies, Alma and her mother face difficult times that include leaving the farm and moving to town. Alma finds comfort in the books that she reads and the short story that she writes. She longs for the day when she can be a real writer like her favourite author, R. R. Hawkins. Alma's handwriting prompts her teacher to recommend her for a job writing letters for a reclusive old lady,
Miss Lily. Alma and Miss Lily's mutual love of reading leads to friendship and trust. Miss Lily shares her books with Alma and encourages her to write stories.

This tale of heroism and young love is based on the shipwreck of The Despatch in 1828. As the Irish immigrant ship bound for Quebec City crashes off the Isle aux Mort, Ann courageously navigates a rescue through the fog and wind. Among the rescued is Seamus, who offers Ann a chance to leave the Newfoundland fishing village to begin a new life in America. Ann grapples with this decision because she loves her home, but wishes to escape the possibility of following her mother's fate.
This novel was nominated for the 2004 Governor General's Award.

The issues of Bifocal include a student arrested on suspicion of terrorism and a high school torn apart by racism. The story is told from two different points of view. Haroon is devoted to his family and his grandparents emigrated from Afghanistan. Jay is a football star devoted to his team and is Caucasian.
One day their high school is on lockdown and the police arrest a Muslim student on suspicion of terrorist affiliations. The entire student body fragments along racial lines and both Haroon and Jay find that their differences initially put them at odds. The Muslim students become targets, while Jay and his teammates believe they have been set up to look like racists.

The setting is Whitby, Ontario in the summer 1943. Two brothers, 12-year-old George and 14-year-old Jack, are left on their own a lot while their father fights overseas and their mother works in a munitions plant. As the boys explore the town they have moved to, they play war games. One game brings them to what looks like a military base. They are escorted home and ordered to stay away, but curiosity brings them back to Camp X. The boys become involved in the work of the top-secret spy camp and soon learn that everyone is under suspicion, including themselves.
The story is fictitious, but a spy camp was established in Whitby in 1941 by the Canadian who headed British security during the war. This Canadian, Sir William Stephenson, appears in the novel in a minor role as Little Bill.

In Firewing, the third book of the Silverwing Series, Oppel continues the adventures of Shade and Griffin in the Underworld setting. Griffin tries to steal fire from the humans to try to live up to his father's reputation. In the process, his friend Luna gets badly burned. Firewing is a darker story than its prequels, but the images can be interpreted as religious allusions, such as the Underworld, a kind of purgatory where everything appears beautiful, but is really false. The story of the bat family in crisis could be paralleled with human life choices and decisions.
Firewing won the Mr. Christie's Book Award in 2002.

Phillip is a fearless skateboarder. He is always eager to try a new move, even if it means a fall and a trip to the hospital. Phillip, his skateboarding friends Lisa and Wally, and computer whiz Nevin set up a website showing their skateboarding moves. It attracts a sponsor who is willing to pay one cent for every hit on the website. It seems like an easy way to attain fortune and fame, but the group wants more. When Wally is badly hurt trying a move he has almost mastered, Phillip decides it is time to re-evaluate what matters most in life.

The author documents a Japanese teacher's effort to find out what happened to a young Jewish girl named Hana Brady during World War II. Fumiko Ishioka was concerned that her students in Japan would never learn about this significant tragedy in history. Ishioka searches various Holocaust centres for authentic materials, and one day, a suitcase owned by Hana Brady arrives. Ishioka travels to Czechoslovakia and finally to Toronto where she interviews Hana's brother, George Brady, a survivor of the Holocaust.Ishioka's work is a comprehensive collection of archival material with a postscript from George Brady. It educates children about the horrors of the Holocaust and war.
The Canadian Library Association in 2003 selected Hana's Suitcase as the winner of the Book of the Year for Children Award. Hana's Suitcase also received the National Jewish Book Award and the Silver Birch Award.
The newspaper article about the work of Fumiko Ishioka also became a CBC radio documentary called Hana's Suitcase. The CBC radio documentary originally aired January 21, 2001, and can be accessed at www.cbc.ca/thesundayedition/features/hanassuitcase/

Hope's War depicts the struggles faced by Kat Baliuk, when her grandfather is accused of war crimes because he was an auxiliary police officer in World War II in the Ukraine. Danylo, Kat's grandfather, is labelled as a monster in the media and courts despite the lack of clear evidence. As the Baliuk family faces the scrutiny and anger of the community, Kat discovers the importance of family and friends.
This book intertwines facts about the Ukrainian resistance during the war with both contemporary Ukrainian culture and Canadian high school life. It also deals with prejudice, intolerance and problems with the Canadian immigration system. The ending of the story is left open to provoke discussion about the choices people make in the face of evil. Included are an author's note that provides information regarding the deportation of Canadian citizens charged with war crimes. A resource list is also included.
The Manitoba Young Readers' Choice Award nominated Hope's War for an award in 2003. The book was nominated for the Saskatchewan Young Readers' Choice Snow Award in 2004.

Meg Christie dreams of becoming a pilot just like her heroes Amelia Earhart and Beryl Markham. Meg lives in Cape Breton, where life is a struggle for coal miners' families, especially during World War II. Meg's aunt suffers from tuberculosis, her uncle is an alcoholic and her cousins are neglected. Meg's family does not understand her dream of becoming a pilot.
Miss MacKinnon, the new teacher who falls in love with Meg's cousin, Caleb, encourages Meg. However, the school committee dismisses Miss MacKinnon for her modern attitudes and Caleb is killed during the war. Meg is given the chance to fly when a pilot, who is a friend of Caleb's, returns from the war and offers her flying lessons.
Meg's voice regarding the technical, historical and cultural matters will lead to discussions about labour issues, gender equality, the war, the history of coal mining and the dynamics in family life and in an extended family.
This book won the Canadian Library Association Book of the Year Award for Children in 2005.

Asia has lived with Ira and Maddy for as long as she can remember. She loves the farm at Cold Creek. When Ira suffers a heart attack, Asia and Maddy rush him to the hospital. Ira's son Harry arrives and is determined to have Ira and Maddy move to California to live with him and locate Asia's real family.
Asia roams the farm and senses someone or something is near. It is a ghost named Miranda and only Asia can see and hear her. Harry locates Asia's family and she is sent to live with Beth, her grandmother in West Vancouver. Asia solves the mystery of Miranda and her mother's disappearance.

This sequel to The Hunger presents a chilling account of genocide and its aftermath. Survivors of the 1909 Adana massacre, Miriam, her siblings, Kevork, and her aunt, scramble to survive during the turmoil and violence. Finding protection in an orphanage, the Armenians again face the threat of persecution by the Turks. Separated, each faces horrifying events, but hold to the steadfast belief that they will again be reunited. Skrypuch offers an account of the suffering endured by the Armenian people and their quest for peace. The book includes a list of websites, print and media resources.

Cole Fennety wants to buy a new bike, so he looks for a summer job. The problem is that Cole is only 14 years old and very few people will hire him as he is too young. Cole accepts a position at Sam's shop. Sam Kerrigan, the owner, is a cantankerous old man who does not talk much. Cole and Sam eventually develop a good working relationship. Unfortunately, Sam becomes ill and decides to retire, not only from work, but also from life. In the past, Sam was there for Cole, so now Cole feels he should provide support to Sam. Cole's best friend, Wayne, gets him into trouble and Cole realizes that Wayne is not a very good friend at all.
The Saskatchewan Young Readers' Choice Willow Awards Committee nominated this book for the Snow Willow Award in 2005.

Search of the Moon King's Daughter is a historical novel set in industrial England in the 1830s. Emmaline Roke enjoys life with her family in Maidenfern. However, her world changes when Emmaline's father dies from cholera and the family moves to a factory town to work in the mill. When Emmaline is 15, her mother is injured in an industrial accident and becomes addicted to laudanum. In order to support her addiction, Mrs. Roke sells her deaf son Tommy into slavery as a chimney sweep. Emmaline travels to London to work as a maid and to rescue her brother from the cruelty of the chimney sweeps. Holeman has written a novel by juxtaposing the difficult lives of the working class struggling to survive in contrast to the opulent existence of those who have built the economy on human industry.
This book won the Mr. Christie's Book Award in 2003.

In this sequel to the Seeds of Time, Darrell Connor is back at Eagle Glen School and she is shocked to find out that her old adversary, Conrad Kennedy, is also a student. Kate and her dog Delaney discover an abandoned lighthouse will take them back in time to Italy during the Renaissance. There she meets Leonardo da Vinci and other artists of the period. As in Seeds of Time, Darrell tries unsuccessfully to go back in time to prevent the motorcycle accident that cost her father's life and resulted in the amputation of part of her leg.
The story will be easier to understand if students have already read Seeds of Time, since there are numerous references to events that have previously occurred.

In this prequel to Secret of Light, 13-year-old Darrell Connor is spending her summer at Eagle Glen Alternative School, a boarding school where she can study art. Darrell is still haunted by a motorcycle accident that took her father's life three years ago and resulted in the amputation of part of her leg. Darrell makes friends with a dog, Delaney, who leads her to a cave that takes her back in time to Scotland during the Black Plague.
Darrell is able to help people with the Black Plague, but she is not able to travel back to the time of the motorcycle accident and prevent her father's death. Gradually, she becomes more accepting of her losses. A subplot, set in the present day, involves smuggling of computer parts and software. Darrell makes friends over the course of the summer and comes to enjoy the school, but Conrad Kennedy, a local bully, harasses her.

Mike's mother, Master Corporal Alice Mackelwain, serves in the army as a peacekeeper. She is in Bosnia and Mike worries about her safety. Mike and his sister, Nellie, also get caught up with his mother's stories about children living in Bosnia during the war. Mike struggles to make sense of the world and to overcome his fears and unanswered questions.
During a visit to the library, Mike comes across a book that describes a belief that dogs guard the doorways to death. He decides that dogs bring people back to life from the dead and he calls them shimmerdogs. When Merit, Mike's dog, disappears, he deduces that Merit is on a peacekeeping mission like his mother. As Mike's life gets more stressful, he meets his own personal shimmerdog.

Anna and Ivan escape poverty and hardship in Ukraine and immigrate to Canada to start a new life. As they start to build their homestead, World War I breaks out. Ivan volunteers to fight for his new homeland. When Ivan tries to enlist, he is declared an enemy and is arrested. Anna returns to her home and plants crops.
Over the years, Anna is unable to clear land and is threatened with eviction from her homestead. After years in an interment camp, Ivan returns home after escaping. Together, they are able to clear land and keep their homestead.

In this sequel to Airborn, Matt Cruse is on a training mission in a decrepit cargo airship when he comes across the ghost ship, Hyperion, an airship that hasn't been seen for 40 years and is rumoured to be full of treasure. Matt, his girlfriend Kate de Vries, and their sidekicks Hal and Nadina try to reach the Hyperion to claim the treasure. Their quest, however, does not go smoothly. Adversity in the form of air pirates, monsters and other dangers faces them at every turn. The setting of the story is a cobmination of the past and present - the characters wear Victorian dress, but have futuristic technology.
The villains, John Rath and his boss George Barton, work for the Aruba Consortium that has a monopoly on production of airship fuel. This aspect of the story could lead to an interesting classroom discussion about oil cartels. As well, elements of Skybreaker echo the stories of Prometheus and Icarus, which provide other opportunities for expansion.

Travis lives with his aunt and uncle in a trailer court while his mother travels around as a country-and-western singer. Travis loves to sew and he is often bullied because he is different. Travis and his best friend, a physically challenged girl named Chantelle, are encouraged by two teachers to accept new challenges that foster their creativity. The bullying, however, reaches a deplorable level.
A winner of the Governor General's Award in 2003, this story addresses issues relevant to many young students.

Fourteen-year-old Bing-wing Chan lives in Vancouver's Chinatown in 1907. He resents his father, not because his father gambles away their money, but because he is a bone collector. He digs up the bones of the dead and sends them home to China for permanent burial. Bing hates having to help his father with this job and is afraid of the ghosts that hover around graveyards. In order to escape his father and bone collecting, Bing gets a job as a houseboy in a westerner's home. But the westerner's house is haunted and Bing must overcome his own fears in order to rid the house of ghosts.
Readers learn about the lives of Chinese immigrants in the early 1900s and the struggles they faced due to poverty and discrimination.

In 1828, 13-year-old John A. Macdonald receives a treasure map. Stone Mills is buzzing with the news of a mysterious serpent in the Lake of the Mountain. John is certain that this will be the best summer ever and he is determined to solve both mysteries. As John searches to discover the truth, he realizes that his family may be in danger. John finds the inner strength to save his sister and locate the vigilante who is terrorizing Stone Mills.
Additional online support can be found on the Fireside Publishing website.

Dong-Mei, an abandoned Chinese orphan, is adopted as an infant by a Canadian couple and becomes known as Grace Parker. The Chinese government has a very strict one-child policy and there is a cultural preference for male children to carry on the family name. Throwaway Daughter follows Grace's quest to learn more about her birth, culture and family. Grace's adoptive mother, Jane, is sensitive to her adopted daughter's culture, but she has difficulty when Grace wants to go back to China to explore her Chinese heritage.
The Saskatchewan Young Readers Choice Willow Awards Committee nominated Throwaway Daughter for a 2004 Snow Willow award.