Norma Fleck Award for Canadian Children's Non-Fiction

The author describes his experiences riding with a truck driver from Vancouver north through the Yukon to Tuktoyaktuk, a small town north of the Arctic circle.

The lifestyles, customs, and beliefs of the traditional Inuit, as related by artist Simon Tookoome, depict life in the far North as it used to be.

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.

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.

CDs start out as sand. Blackboard chalk comes from tiny sea creatures. The objects all around us --- every single product in the world --- is made from elements found in nature. Discover how nature is transformed into more than 60 things we eat, drink, play with, wear or use every day.

Technology changes constantly, but the stages raw materials go through to become finished objects remain much the same. On every page of this big book, these processes are described and illustrated step by step. The text and artwork combine playfulness with encyclopedic attention to detail.

This unique and fascinating book will inform and entertain every step of the way. Includes a glossary, index and further resources to help children, parents and teachers.

With reproductions of some of the most important maps in history, this book presents many of the unexpected stories of history's great mapmakers and their charts, quilts, songlines, and parchments that guided men and women through the strange, vast and mysterious frontiers of the world. Reprint.

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. "In our factory, we make lipstick; in our advertising, we sell hope," said Charles Revson, founder of Revlon Cosmetics. On the strength of that hope, more money is spent annually on beauty products in the U.S. than on education--over $6 billion on makeup alone. Media activist Graydon encourages readers to look critically at the culture of beauty 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 will help you face up to the culture of beauty and the beauty industry hype. A selection of photographs takes readers on a tour of beauty culture through time.--From publisher description.

"During World War I, Canadian soldiers achieved what more experienced soldiers from Britain and France could not b7s 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."--Publisher's website (www.scholastic.ca)

When Mariatu set out for a neighborhood village in Sierra Leone, she was kidnapped and tortured, and both of her hands cut off. She turned to begging to survive. This heart-rending memoir is a testament to her courage and resilience. Today she is a UNICEF Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict.

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.

Examines how developments in modern science, such as DNA analysis and spectroscopy, have helped to reopen archaeological mysteries about ancient cities, Egypt's first female pharaoh, a missing expedition to find the Northwest Passage, and more, with illustrations, maps, and photographs.

A gorgeously illustrated, lyrical non-fiction picture book about loons. It’s summertime, and as darkness falls there is a haunting sound from the lake — Ooh-hoo-oo, ooh-hoo-oo. It is a loon calling to its family across the water. This lyrical story follows the life cycle of two loon chicks. We see them breaking out of their eggshells, then learning to swim, find food and avoid predators such as snapping turtles and big bass fish. After they learn to fly, they migrate to the ocean. And when their striking black-and-white feathers finally emerge, they fly inland, each to find a new lake territory and mate. Accompanying Susan Vande Griek’s poetic text are Karen Reczuch’s gorgeous illustrations, which show the loons as they grow from tiny downy chicks to majestic adult birds. An afterword provides more information on loons, including their amazing diving ability, the meanings of their calls, and the environmental threats that they face. Also illustrated are five different types of loons and other animals that can be found in their lake habitat. The illustrations were researched in the Ornithology Collections at the Royal Ontario Museum, and Ron Ridout of Bird Studies Canada consulted on the text. Key Text Features illustrations author’s note further reading labels Correlates to the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.5 Explain major differences between books that tell stories and books that give information, drawing on a wide reading of a range of text types. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.2.5 Describe the overall structure of a story, including describing how the beginning introduces the story and the ending concludes the action. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.5.7 Analyze how visual and multimedia elements contribute to the meaning, tone, or beauty of a text (e.g., graphic novel, multimedia presentation of fiction, folktale, myth, poem).