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Norma Fleck Award for Canadian Children's Non-Fiction

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Norma Fleck Award for Canadian Children's Non-Fiction includes By Truck to the North, Seeing the Whole Through Social Studies (1995), Heart and Soul, The Man Who Ran Faster Than Everyone (2002), As Long as the Rivers Flow.

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By Truck to the North

by: Debora Pearson
By Truck to the North
"A bone-chilling silence filled the truck. We were north of the Arctic Circle on a road made of ice -- not pavement or gravel like a regular road, just a bumpy surface of frozen water. Under the ice flowed dangerous waters, deep enough to drown in -- if the shocking cold didn't kill you first. I glanced out the window and shivered..."

Adventure is just around the corner when you climb aboard an 18-wheeler and join Andy Turnbull on his eye-opening trip to the Arctic. You're along for the ride as he befriends a trucker's dog, views the Northern Lights, gets caught in a whiteout, and explores the ice roads of the Far North. Short sidebars of information that accompany Andy's story reveal what's inside a truck's cab, why camels once carried goods through this part of North America, what kids love about live in the Arctic, and much more. Colourful maps (essential traveler's tools) help you follow Andy's route chapter by chapter!

Seeing the Whole Through Social Studies

by: Tarry Lindquist
release date: Jan 01, 1995
Seeing the Whole Through Social Studies

Tarry is a teacher's teacher who communicates her love of children and enthusiasm for teaching on each page of this book.
-Margit McGuire, Past President, National Council for the Social Studies

Margit McGuire's words are as true now as they were for the first edition of Tarry Lindquist's chronicle of 12 years of teaching, using social studies as the framework. Since that time, citizenship and decision making for the public good are topics that are more important than ever. Social studies has taken on greater significance as today's teachers and students interact with worthwhile content in a meaningful way. Tarry's new second edition describes a child-centered classroom where students can expose and explore critical content and connect their learning to the real world.

Included among the new features are:

  • "Teacher's Notebook"-how to develop reading and writing skills using social studies resources and content
  • "Tarry's Teaching Tips"-organizational decisions for building a democratic classroom
  • "How It Worked for Me"-brief accounts from teachers across the country who have used Tarry's ideas
  • kinesthetic organizers-imagery as well as linguistic supports that help students better recall knowledge
  • standards and assessment-a new look at today's classroom
  • best practices and the latest brain research applied throughout the book
  • expanded and updated references.

Whether you are an elementary, middle school, or preservice teacher, use Tarry Lindquist's strategies to make social studies concepts, issues, and themes the basis of your day.

Heart and Soul

by: Gena K. Gorrell
Heart and Soul
In Florence Nightingale's day, if a person was sick – and lucky – he or she was nursed at home with caring family members tending the bedside. Hospitals were horrible places from which few emerged alive. The nurses were often drunks and prostitutes. Doctors had rudimentary skills.

Thus the privileged Nightingale family was appalled when Florence, who had done her share of household nursing, announced that she wanted to train to work in a hospital. After all, her role was cut out for her: she was to be a decorative, witty lady. A career, much less nursing, was out of the question.

It took many years, but Florence found her calling in Crimea. More English soldiers died of sickness there than died in battle. If they were wounded they were almost sure to suffer in misery, lying on pallets caked with old blood, hungry and thirsty, without anyone to offer them so much as a sip of water. Florence caused a revolution in her insistence for cleanliness, wholesome food, and kind treatment of men, who were considered to be nothing more than cannon fodder.

Florence's campaign resulted in reforms to health care for millions of people. Although she was in frail health for much of her life, her sense of outrage and her extraordinary stamina in the face of prejudice and almost criminal ignorance make her story one of the most inspiring in history.

Dozens of photographs, posters, and cartoons bring the past to life in this memorable biography.


From the Hardcover edition.

The Man Who Ran Faster Than Everyone

by: Jack Batten
release date: Mar 01, 2002
The Man Who Ran Faster Than Everyone
Tom Longboat was a hero. A member of the Onondaga Nation, he was born on the Six Nations reserve in Oshwegen, near Brantford, Ontario. Despite poverty, poor training, and prejudice, Longboat went on to become one of the world's best runners. In 1907, at the height of his fame, he won the Boston Marathon and ran in the 1908 Olympic Marathon. Longboat was one of the best-known people of his day, and certainly the most prominent member of the Six Nations. Throughout his career he had to race against opponents, as well as rumors of illegal running activities. Nevertheless, he maintained his dignity, and his achievements still inspire people who understand the great pleasure of running, and running fast.

As Long as the Rivers Flow

by: Larry-(Author) ,  Holmlund, Heather D.(Illustrator),  Brissenden, Constance(With) Loyie
As Long as the Rivers Flow
Before he is taken away to a government sponsored school, a young Cree boy spends the summer learning how members of his tribe participate in Cree traditions, such as watching his Grandmother make winter moccasins. Reprint.

The Road to There

by: Val Ross
release date: Sep 08, 2009
The Road to There
Winner of the 2004 Norma Fleck Award for Canadian children's non-fiction

Honor Book for the Society of School Librarians International's Best Book Award – Social Studies, Grades 7-12

Shortlisted for the Children's Literature Roundtable Information Book of the Year

2003 winner of the Mr. Christie's Book Award Seal

Shortlisted for the 2004 Norma Fleck Award for Canadian Children's Non-fiction

Included on VOYA's ninth annual Nonfiction Honor List

Selected for inclusion in CCBC Choices 2004: the best-of-the-year list published by the Cooperative Children's Book center of the School of Education at the University of Wisconsin-Madison

Named Notable Book by the International Reading Association's Children's Book Award in the intermediate nonfiction category


Road maps; sailor's charts; quilts; songlines; gilded parchment covered with jewel-like colors; computer printouts – to guide us through the strange, vast, beautiful, and mysterious frontiers of the world of maps, Val Ross presents the men and women who made them.

Here are some of the unexpected stories of history's great mapmakers: the fraud artists who deliberately distorted maps for political gain, Captain Cook, the slaves on the run who found their way thanks to specially-pieced quilts, the woman who mapped London's streets, princes, doctors, and warriors. These are the people who helped us chart our way in the world, under the sea, and on to the stars.

With reproductions of some of the most important maps in history, this extraordinary book, packed with information, is as fascinating and suspenseful as a novel.


From the Hardcover edition.

In Your Face

by: Shari Graydon
release date: Jan 01, 2004
In Your Face

"In our factory, we make lipstick; in our advertising, we sell hope."
- Charles Revson, founder of Revlon Cosmetics

More money is spent on beauty products in the United States annually than on education: over $6 billion on makeup alone.

From bedtime fairytales and blockbuster movies to magazine advertisements and reality TV, we absorb the lesson early -- being beautiful is the answer to our dreams. For pre-teens and teens, the pursuit of fitting in and measuring up feels like an essential survival strategy. Never before have so many messages offered so many unattainable ideals.

With In Your Face, Shari Graydon encourages readers to look critically at the culture of beauty of both past and present. Whether it's the different standards for guys versus girls, the assumptions we all have about models and celebrities, or the message that the right makeup can make you a better person, Graydon's look into the realities of our ideals will help kids face up to the culture of beauty and the beauty industry hype.

Accompanied by lively visuals, including sharp comic-style vignettes and photos from our beauty culture, this book will captivate readers.

Transformed

by: Illustrated by Bill Slavin,  With Jim Slavin By (author) Bill Slavin
Transformed
CDs start out as sand, and blackboard chalk comes from tiny sea creatures. Every single product in the world is made from elements found in nature. This unique book shows how nature is transformed into more than 60 things we eat, drink, play with, wear, or use every day.

I Found a Dead Bird: The Kids' Guide to the Cycle of Life and Death

by: Jan Thornhill
I Found a Dead Bird: The Kids' Guide to the Cycle of Life and Death
The death of a bird is the jumping-off point for this intelligent, wide-ranging look at the cycle of life. From life spans to how things die, from what happens after death to how people cope with the loss of a loved one, Jan Thornhill guides young readers through difficult territory with grace, sensitivity, and touches of humor. She tackles the subject head on, never shirking from reality, but with a life-affirming perspective that connects death to the world around us as part of the natural, never-ending cycle of life. The book's lively design and color photographs reinforce Thornhill's pragmatic, positive tone.

At Vimy Ridge

by: Hugh Brewster
At Vimy Ridge
April 9, 2007 marks the 90th anniversary of the pivotal World War I battle — one that many historians view as the battle that defined Canada as a nation.

At Vimy Ridge, Canadian soldiers achieved what more experienced soldiers from Britain and France could not — taking the strategic position of Vimy Ridge from the Germans. It was the battle that helped a young country discover its national pride, as for the first time, Canadians fought as Canadians, and achieved a significant victory.

Bite of the Mango

by:
Bite of the Mango
As a child in a small rural village in Sierra Leone, Mariatu Kamara lived peacefully surrounded by family and friends. Rumors of rebel attacks were no more than a distant worry. But when 12-year-old Mariatu set out for a neighboring village, she never arrived. Heavily armed rebel soldiers, many no older than children themselves, attacked and tortured Mariatu. During this brutal act of senseless violence they cut off both her hands. Stumbling through the countryside, Mariatu miraculously survived. The sweet taste of a mango, her first food after the attack, reaffirmed her desire to live, but the challenge of clutching the fruit in her bloodied arms reinforced the grim new reality that stood before her. With no parents or living adult to support her and living in a refugee camp, she turned to begging in the streets of Freetown. In this gripping and heartbreaking true story, Mariatu shares with readers the details of the brutal attack, its aftermath and her eventual arrival in Toronto. There she began to pull together the pieces of her broken life with courage, astonishing resilience and hope.

Adventures on the Ancient Silk Road

by: Dawn Hunter
Adventures on the Ancient Silk Road

A gripping account of three dramatic journeys that changed history.

The fabled Silk Road conjures up the sights, smells and sounds of faraway lands. But traveling the Silk Road took years, and those who set out encountered bandits, starvation and treacherous storms.

Adventures on the Ancient Silk Road introduces readers to three great historical figures:

Chinese Buddhist Xuanzang, whose 16-year journey from China to India and back (629-645 AD) is the only source we have for huge chunks of the history and geography of this time. His successful search for Buddhist scriptures changed the course of two great nations.

Genghis Khan, bred from infancy to be a warrior, brought the Mongol clans together. He established the greatest empire the world had seen, which ruled the Silk Road from 1201 to 1227.

Italian merchant Marco Polo journeyed through China from 1271 to 1295. He changed the way Europe saw the world, and his book even inspired Columbus to sail west across the Atlantic Ocean in search of China.

Beautiful photographs and art depicting the ancient routes and peoples bring the stories to life. Maps, sidebars and an afterword that updates the story of the Silk Road are also featured.

Case Closed?

by: Susan Hughes
Case Closed?
Egypt's first female pharaoh disappears around 1457 BCE --- was she murdered? Find out how DNA closes the case. The ancient Arabian Peninsula city of Ubar vanishes, seemingly without trace. Find out how old maps and modern space shuttles help solve the mystery. Sir John Franklin's 1845 expedition to find the Northwest Passage is never heard from again. Find out how spectroscopy points to some probable explanations.

Case Closed? examines these and six other mysteries from ancient and modern times. Accompanied by photos, maps, diagrams and illustrations, this book reveals how modern science sheds new light on people, vessels and entire civilizations throughout history that simply vanished. In some cases, the mystery has been solved. In other cases, readers can examine the latest evidence and decide for themselves.

Loon

by: Susan Vande Griek
release date: Aug 16, 2011
Loon
The haunting call of a loon is quintessential summertime for many people. These majestically beautiful birds breed on northern lakes during the spring and summer, and when fall arrives, they migrate to open coastal waters. Young loons stay on the ocean for three or four years until they mature and their gray feathers molt, turning to the beautiful black-and-white patterned feathers by which they are known. At this point they return to an inland lake to find a mate and have their young.

This gorgeously illustrated prose poem follows two baby chicks through this cycle. We witness their birth, and how they learn to swim, find food and avoid predators such as snapping turtles and big bass, and the possible danger of boaters. In the fall they imitate their parents as they learn to fly and are eventually large and strong enough to make their own migration to the coast.

An afterword supplies other interesting facts about the common loon, which some scientists believe has inhabited lakes and oceans for millions of years. It describes these birds' amazing diving ability, their four different calls, and the different factors that threaten them, such as loss of habitat due to human proximity and environmental problems (acid rain, deadly toxins in lakes, oil spills and global warming), suggesting different ways that we might help to protect them.

Kids of Kabul

by: Deborah Ellis
Kids of Kabul
Since its publication in 2000, hundreds of thousands of children all over the world have read and loved The Breadwinner. By reading the story of eleven-year-old Parvana and her struggles living under the terror of the Taliban, young readers came to know the plight of children in Afghanistan.

But what has happened to Afghanistan's children since the fall of the Taliban in 2001? In 2011, Deborah Ellis went to Kabul to find out. She interviewed children who spoke about their lives now. They are still living in a country torn apart by war. Violence and oppression still exist, particularly affecting the lives of girls, but the kids are weathering their lives with courage and optimism: "I was incredibly impressed by the sense of urgency these kids have — needing to get as much education and life experience and fun as they can, because they never know when the boom is going to be lowered on them again."
The two dozen or so children featured in the book range in age from ten to seventeen. Many are girls Deb met through projects funded by Canadian Women for Women in Afghanistan, the organization that is supported by royalties from The Breadwinner Trilogy. Parvana's Fund provides grants towards education projects for Afghan women and children, including schools, libraries and literacy programs.

All royalties from the sale of Kids of Kabul will also go to Women for Women in Afghanistan.

Aftermatter includes a map, glossary, a short history of Afghanistan and suggestions for further reading/resources.
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