Marilyn Baillie Picture Book Award

**Caramba the cat wishes he could fly.** Award-winning author and illustrator **Marie-Louise Gay**, best known for her **Stella and Sam books**, brings us an endearing character in Caramba, a sweet, shy cat who bravely accepts that he is different, and then discovers his own special talent. **Caramba is a fat, furry, striped cat with a big problem.** Every single cat in the world can fly, he sighs, except me! Caramba would love to swoop and glide between the clouds, to feel the wind whistling through his fur. He tries to soar into the sky over and over again but always lands flat on his face, until finally he sadly accepts that he is earthbound. **Don't be such a scaredy-cat, cry his cousins. All cats are meant to fly!** They grab his paws and whisk him up into the sky for an impromptu flying lesson that ends with a big splash and a surprising discovery.

The perfect bedtime story for anyone who was once small enough to be carried in their parents' pocket and wishes they could remember it!

Jake's little sister refuses to leave him alone, and so finally, in desperation, he wishes she was a dog, only to instantly regret his actions.

Matt's new subdivision is nothing but rocks and mud, but with help from his imagination and friends he maps out a new world.

Timmerman is mysterious. Moreover, he is bitterly resented by the young girl who lives in the same boardinghouse. After all, he occupies her beloved granddad’s now-vacant room. How dare he think he can take that space? But try as she might, the girl cannot dislike him forever. Timmerman is kind, gentle, and soft-spoken to everyone, even the dog, who lets him untangle her matted coat. Despite herself, the girl becomes fond of him. When rumors begin to fly, she tries not to listen. But it’s hard, especially when Timmerman is often seen late at night, wandering the streets with a shovel and sack over his shoulder. Is he stashing stolen goods? Burying dead cats? The girl takes a black eye for defending him at school. Even so, curiosity compels her to ask the question she knows she shouldn’t ask. Though Timmerman promises an explanation in time, he avoids a direct answer and disappears shortly after, leaving the girl to worry and wonder. Not until spring is the answer to Timmerman’s nighttime walks beautifully presented, leaving the entire street with a living memory of Timmerman’s presence. Timmerman Was Here is a charming tale of mystery, perception, and the gift of friendship.

The little girl in this story lives with her family in a trailer in northeastern Saskatchewan, where her father is building a dam. She knows everything about the place she lives -- her road, her school, the forest where she plays hide- and-seek and where the wolf howls at night, the hill where she goes tobogganing in winter. But the dam is nearly finished and when summer comes the family is moving to Toronto -- a place marked by a big red star on the map at school. "Have people in Toronto seen what I've seen?" the little girl asks. And with her teacher's help she finds a way to keep everything she loves about home. This simple, beautifully written story, complemented by Matt James's vibrant, imaginative illustrations, will resonate deeply with anyone who has had to leave their home for a new place. - Publisher.

Cary Fagan is the award-winning author of several young adult novels and picture books. This wonderful new story is about stories, and story-telling, and is sure to enchant and instruct children at home and at school for years to come. This is the story of a bored little boy, who meets a man, and together they build a story. This story within a story is charming and changes both their lives... and quite possibly the readers as well.