Best Selling Books by Carol Matas

A wonderful seasonal anthology for Dear Canada readers, both old and new!A real treat for fans of this series, and all lovers of historical fiction! Eleven stories that each revisit a favourite character from books in the Dear Canada series are included in this special collection. These are completely original tales that stand alone as heartwarming Christmas stories, but also serve as a lovely "next chapter" to their original books.Each story is written by one of Canada''s top award-winning writers for children, including Jean Little, Sarah Ellis, Maxine Trottier, Carol Matas and more. This collection is a lovely companion to A Season of Miracles, and will be treasured year after year at holiday time!

After the shocking murder of her husband, 19-year-old Ros and her one-year-old son relocate to her childhood home to live with her parents. Palm Springs--full of sunlight, small and safe--should be the perfect place to bring up a child. But things aren''t always as they appear. When the father of one of Ros''s friends is shot in front of her house--an incident that also lands Ros in the hospital--it marks the beginning of a terrible string of events. Someone is out to get her, and they seem determined not to stop until her friends and family are also drawn in. As she struggles to uncover the identity of her mysterious enemy, Ros finds herself looking for answers in the most unusual places. Could the attacks have something to do with her increasingly disturbing dreams? And if so, how can she make them stop? In Past Crimes, bestselling author Carol Matas once again asks her readers to question their assumptions about the world around them. Are we capable of fully understanding the lives we lead, or do the things we fail to understand far outnumber those that we do? Growing out of her work in books like The Freak, Past Crimes offers an innovative twist on the mystery/thriller genre, and is a must-read for fans of Matas''s work. Veteran novelist Carol Matas knows that a fast-paced plot is mandatory for youth raised on television. In Ros [the protagonist], Matas has created a heroin who will appeal to teenage girls Canadian Review of Materials Ive read Past Crimes and its interesting that shes tackled something typically new. Shes gone from one genre to another and not many writers can. Shes willing to challenge different kinds of writing, and shes incredibly productive. Helen Norrie, Childrens reviewer from the Winnipeg Free Press as quoted in the Jewish Tribune

Twelve original holiday stories from the top children''s writers in the country!What an incredible gift book for Dear Canada fans! The twelve stories in this treasury are set around Christmas time and feature the young girls from a dozen previous Dear Canada books. Readers will be thrilled to reconnect with their favourites and get a glimpse of each character''s life a year or so after the events in the actual diary are over. Anyone new to the Dear Canada series will be introduced to characters so compelling, they''ll want to read more.

Lenora and Coren journey to Winnipeg to meet Carol Matas and Perry Nodelman! Suddenly transported against their will, the Princess Lenora and her fiance, Prince Coren, find themselves in a strange place-bone-chilling cold and snow outside, garish marketplaces and angry people inside. The inhabitants call it the city of Winnipeg. Lenora and Coren, however, have no idea where it is or whyhey are there. They can''t return home because, yet again their imaginative powers have deserted them. The Winnipeggers refuse to believe Lenora and Coren are who they say they are. Strangely enough, though, they have read about Lenora and Coren in a series of fantasy novels by the authors Carol M. and Perry N. But just who created whom, Lenora and Coren wonder. And how will they ever manage to escape this frightening city, worse than their worst nightmare, so that their long-awaited wedding can finally take place?"

Le jour de l''anniversaire de son arrière-grand-mère, Sarah Rose reçoit en héritage son médaillon. Elle promet à sa mère qu''elle ne le perdra pas si elle le porte pour aller à l''école. Mais l''impensable se produit. Quelqu''un vole son médaillon! Rose et ses amis pourront-ils le récupérer avant que sa mère ne le découvre?Le médaillon perdu explore les thèmes intemporels de la responsabilité et de l''intimidation.

Determined to make a difference in the war, Jesper refuses to stop fighting the Nazis in Carol Mata’s “stirring account” of a young boy facing the dangers of World War II (Publishers Weekly). In the sequel to Lisa’s War, Jesper continues his work for the Danish resistance and recounts the dangers that led to his confinement in a German prison. Determined to make a difference any way he can, Jesper begins to work for an underground press to help tell the truths about what is happening during the war. Simultaneously, frustrated with the state of their country, Stefan and Jesper join forces to fight the Nazis. “Mata’s extensive research, combined with powerful characterization and compelling narration, creates an intense, provocative novel.” – Publishers Weekly

Things sure are wrong, and Lenora wants to right them. The headstrong princess craves an adventure, and defeating the giant who has appeared up north would be a great one. The trouble is, no one will let her help. They want her to stay behind and plan her wedding to Prince Coren of Andilla, but Lenora has absolutely no use for color schemes or pew ribbons. Using the power to create whatever she imagines -- an ability that all Gepethians have, but have agreed not to use -- Lenora imagines a duplicate of herself (a duplicate who cares about pew ribbons) to stay at home, while she sets off on her mission. Quickly, Lenora realizes that the giant is just a symptom of a larger problem, and as she is joined by Coren and both of their duplicates, her adventure spirals out of control.

Ariel, Miranda''s clone, is becoming a person in her own right. Ariel is living with Miranda and they arebecoming close, as sisters do. Everything seems perfect, until Miranda starts noticing things that don''t seem to fit with the Ariel she knows. She sees her sister in places she shouldn''t be, doing things Ariel would never be doing, and Miranda begins to wonder if she herself is going crazy. But then Ariel beginsacting stranger than ever and Miranda gets a horrible feeling... what if there''s more than one clone? And if so, can she find out what''s going on and give Ariel back the life she''s built before it''s too late?

See below for English description. Qu''auraient écrit de simples jeunes filles si elles avaient vécu l''un ou l''autre des événements qui ont marqué l''histoire canadienne? Rose a survécu à l''Holocauste en vivant dans la clandestinité après avoir échappé de justesse au ghetto de Varsovie.À la fin de la guerre, elle se retrouve dans un orphelinat, puis émigre au Canada, mais elle fait encore face à beaucoup de souvenirs angoissants. The Cher Journal series invites readers into the intimate worlds of girls throughout different times in Canadian history. The ongoing series showcases Canada''s most distinguished children authors who recreate some of the most dramatic events from our diverse history. Rose survives the Holocaust by going into hiding after a narrow escape from the Warsaw Ghetto, but when the war is over and she ends up in an orphanage and then emigrates to Canada, there is still much to be faced as disturbing memories surface. Original Title: Pieces of the Past: the Holocaust Diary of Rose Rabinowitz Winnipeg, Manitoba, 1948

Rebecca learned at a young age how important it is to be liked, when her family left Russia to settle in Hirsch, Saskatchewan, a mostly Jewish community. But Rebecca''s close-knit extended family returns from her triumph on-stage at an amateur night to find their home in flames. With everything they own destroyed, the family is devastated and penniless. They move to Winnipeg, where Rebecca''s father struggles to find work, and where all the family members try to adjust to life in a big city. Rebecca is sent to live with a non-Jewish family until her parents get settled. There, she learns the true meaning of bravery, loyalty, and friendship. As she struggles to re-unite her family, Rebecca bridges the distance between the old world and the new, between her family''s traditional immigrant values and the opportunities of the modern world.

Les dix récits rassemblés dans ce roman relatent les événements qui sont survenus durant la période des fêtes, après que les héroïnes des romans de la collection Cher Journal eurent terminé d''écrire leur journal intime. Il n''est toutefois pas nécessaire d''avoir lu les autres livres de la collection ou de connaître les héroïnes pour comprendre et apprécier les récits du présent ouvrage.

Suivez l''histoire de Déborah Bernstein, alors que, du Canada où elle vit, elle cherche à aider sa cousine Sarah à fuir Paris avant que les nazis regroupent les Juifs et les déportent vers les camps de concentration.

This dramatic story tells of 11-year-old Devorah''s efforts to help her cousin and pen pal Sarah emigrate from Paris before the Nazis deport the Jews to internment camps. Devorah learns that 5,000 Jewish children in France have visas to leave the country, but the Canadian government will not let them in, leading Devorah to desperately lobby the government to change its policies. Turned Away illustrates the restrictions on the life of Jews in Paris via letters from Sarah who is living in German-occupied France. It also reveals Canada''s dismal record on Jewish immigration during World War II and depicts the impact of the war in Canada. In Winnipeg, one intriguing response to the war was "If Day," when local people posed as Nazis and staged a mock invasion to illustrate what it would be like if the city was occupied. Also included are fascinating period documents and photographs, many from the Holocaust Memorial Museum. The historical consultants for Turned Away were Dr. Irving Abella, co-author of the ground-breaking book None is Too Many, and Terry Copp, author of the remarkable book No Price Too High.

What if one day, you woke up psychic? What if, suddenly, you could see and know things about your friends and family that you probably shouldn''t? These are the difficulties faced by fifteen-year old Jade when her recovery from life-threatening meningitis takes a surprising twist. (1997)

After the Nazi occupation of Denmark forces his Jewish friends to flee the country, seventeen-year-old Jesper continues his work in the underground resistance movement.