2016 MYRCA Nominees

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boundless The Boundless  by Kenneth Oppel

Harper Collins, 2015 9781443410274

Interest level: Grades 5+

It is always good to have a story of your own! Will’s first adventure includes an avalanche and several Sasquatch!  Three years later, when Will gets a chance to ride The Boundless, the biggest and longest train in the world, he gets much more than he bargained for. Not everyone on the train is along just for the ride.  Theft, murder, magic, Sasquatch and Bog Hags – how will Will’s story end?

 

HarperCollins Teacher’s Guide

Teacher’s Guide

Wordfest Guide

 

byebye evil eye Bye Bye Evil Eye by Deborah Kerbel

Cormorant Books, 2015     9781770863941

Interest level: Grades 5+

Dani Price lives a charmed life. She is thirteen, well-liked, beautiful and even has a red Mini Cooper parked in her driveway, just waiting for her to turn sixteen. Her best friend, Kat, invites her to spend three weeks in Greece with her family. However, once they arrive things start to go wrong for Dani. Has she been cursed with the evil eye? Will she be able to break the curse, before it’s too late?

 

 

catatthewall The Cat at the Wall by Deborah Ellis

Groundwood Books, 2015   9781554987078

Interest level: Grades 5+

Before she died, 13-year-old Clare was used to getting away with being a self-centred slacker and a bully because her teachers and parents believed her sweet smile. Until Ms. Zero came along, that is. Now reincarnated as a cat, Clare watches Israeli soldiers occupy a Palestinian home, where a boy hides under the floor. He’s finding it more and more difficult to breathe, and his parents are missing. But why should she care?

 

Groundwood Books Teacher’s Guide

 

comic book war The Comic Book War  by Jacqueline Guest

Coteau Books, 2015  9781550505825

Interest level: Grades 5+

Wham! Kablam!  When15-year-old Robert Tourond finds the falling star he saw drop from the sky, he is convinced the universe is sending him a cosmic message that his three brothers, who are overseas fighting in the war, will be safe. To keep his mind off of his brothers, Robert buys comic books and to his amazement he notices similarities between his brothers’ letters and his favourite superheroes. Coincidence or something more?

 

Coteau Books Teacher’s Guide

 

elevator ghost The Elevator Ghost  by Glen Huser

Groundwood Books, 2015  9781554984268

Interest level: Grades 5+

Babysitting the rambunctious children of Blatchford Arms can be a tough gig. But not for Carolina Giddle, the newest tenant, in the building. How does she manage to calm even the wildest of children? Take a look in her babysitting bag, you won’t find the usual tricks. Candlelight, check. Ghoulish treats, check. Ghost stories, check. With her trusty tarantula Chiquita in tow, nobody wants to miss her fantastical, spooky storytelling or the haunting Halloween party she hosts.

 

Groundwood Books Teacher’s Guide

 

InRealLife  In Real Life  by Cory Doctorow, Jen Wang

First Second, 2015  9781596436589

Interest level: Grades 7+

Teenaged Anda is an experienced gamer, so when she is encouraged to join a guild in an online role playing game she signs up right away.  Soon, she meets a kid who collects valuable objects in the game and sells them for real cash, something Anda knows is against the rules.  When she finds out the sad truth about her new friend’s real life in China, she wants to help.  Will she be able to make a difference before being banned from the game?

 

 

Mystery in Paradise Missing in Paradise  by Larry Verstraete

Rebelight Publishing, 2015  9780993939020

Interest level: Grades 5+

A mysterious box, a map with GOLD written beside a tiny pinprink, a creepy neighbour strangely interested in the old stuff Gramps left behind when he died – is this every 14-year-old’s dream, or is it a nightmare? Nate isn’t certain, but he feels sure that Gramps wants him to find out just what is going on.

 

 

 

MoonAtNine_C_Oct5.indd Moon at Nine  by Deborah Ellis

Pajama Press, 2015  9781927485590

Interest level: Grades 7+

Fifteen-year-old Farrin is living in Tehran 10 years after the overthrowing of the Shah. Everyone is under surveillance, including the students at Farrin’s school for gifted girls. Farrin is used to being an isolated outsider, but when she meets the new girl, Sadira, she begins to believe that friendship is possible. When their friendship becomes romantic, Farrin and Sadira risk everything to be together in a country where homosexuality is illegal and punishable by death.

 

Allen and Unwin Teacher’s Guide

Pajama Press Teacher’s Guide

 

NightGardener The Night Gardener  by Johnathan Auxier

Penguin Canada, 2015  9780143189978

Interest level: Grades 5+

Molly and Kip arrive at the Windsor Estate in search of food and shelter but discover a strange mystery instead. A visitor wanders the house at night, leaving a trail of leaves and muddy footprints behind. The inhabitants of the home are changing. At fourteen, Molly is oldest and in charge of keeping her brother safe. Do they leave to save themselves or try to solve the mystery of the Night Gardener?

 

 

outside in Outside In  by Sarah Ellis

Groundwood Books, 2015  9781554983674

Interest level: Grades 5+

When 14-year-old Lynn meets a mysterious girl at the bus stop, she’s introduced to the community of Underlanders, people who live off the grid, relying on the cast-offs of ‘Citizens’ to survive. As Lynn’ s friendship with the Underlanders grows, she promises to keep them a secret, but when her friends start to question her loyalty to them and her her new-age mother gets involved, Lynn is forced to make a choice.

 

Groundwood Books Teacher’s Guide

 

redwolf Red Wolf  by Jennifer Dance

Dundurn, 2015  9781459708105

Interest level: Grades 5+

Ripped away from his parents, 5-year-old Red Wolf is taken to Bruce County Residential School where the ‘dirty savage’ will be beaten from him. His only comfort is Crooked Ear, his wolf companion, who waits for him to return every summer. As the years go by, Red Wolf finds it increasingly difficult to find his way home, to a family that he no longer remembers and a life he is told to forget.

 

Dundurn’s Teacher’s Guide

 

 

rocket blues Rocket Blues  by David Skuy

Scholastic Canada, 2015  9781443133753

Interest level: Grades 5+

Hockey is everything for teenager Brian (the Rocket) Rockwood. It is his passion, his escape and his chance to get out of his dangerous neighborhood. But when his coaches tell him he is too small and he will never make it in hockey at his size, he is desperate and determined to prove them wrong. Can Brian prove to them that size isn’t everything and follow his dream to the NHL?

 

 

savinghoudiniSaving Houdini  by Michael Redhill

HarperCollins, 2015  9781443409957

Interest level: Grades 5+

Illusion, deceit and intrigue follow 13-year-old Dashiel Woolf (Dash) on a perilous journey through time. Finding himself in Toronto circa 1920 he enlists the help of an unlikely young ally named Walter. Together they determine the famous Houdini must play a role in getting Dash back where he belongs. Can Houdini help? Is magic the answer? Discover how a friendship can truly stand the test of time!

 

 

the-story-of-owenThe Story of Owen, Dragon Slayer of Trondheim  by E. K. Johnston

Lerner Publishing, 2015  9781467710664

Interest level: Grades 5+

Siobhan, 16, and Owen, 15, meet on the first day of Grade 11 in small-town southern Ontario. A normal way for a boy to meet a girl in normal days of internet research, cell phones (lousy reception), cars, and … dragons? Yup, real, fire-breathing, people-eating, dragons! And Owen is a dragon slayer-in-training. Theirs is a really, really, interesting story!

 

 

walking home Walking Home  by Eric Walters

Doubleday Canada, 2015  9780385681575

Interest level: Grades 5+

What would you do to keep your family together? When the authorities in the refugee camp threaten to separate Muchoki, thirteen, and little sister Jata, Muchoki decides the only way to keep them together is to get to the family home he has never seen, to the grandparents he has never met. He must make a decision. Stay and be placed in separate orphan’s homes or walk the hundreds of kilometres to his mother’s ancestral home. With no food or money, should they attempt this dangerous trip? Do they have a choice?

 

 

wings of war Wings of War  by John Wilson

Doubleday Canada, 2015  9780385678308

Interest level: Grades 5+

Edward Simpson is 16 years old and living in Saskatchewan when World War I breaks out.  Passionate about airplanes and flying, he becomes a pilot with the Royal Flying Corps in England and soon learns the dangers of flying over battle zones in France. As the fighting against the Germans reaches a pitch during the Battle of the Somme, Edward’s missions become increasingly dangerous. Surrounded by three enemy planes, Edward wonders if he will survive.

 

 

dayinthe lifeA Year in the Life of a Total and Complete Genius by Stacey Matson

Scholastic Canada, 2015  9781443133173

Interest level: Grades 5+

Arthur A. Bean wants to be a famous writer when he grows up so when a grade 7 writing contest is announced, he is sure this is his big break. But with the recent death of his mother he has a lot on his mind and is plagued by writer’s block. Arthur’s troubles are compounded when he is paired with his nemesis, Robbie Zack, on a class assignment. Will Arthur be able to let the past go and realize that friendship can be helpful in difficult times?

 

 

zomboyZomboy  by Richard Scrimger

HarperCollins, 2015  9781443410687

Interest level: grades 5+

Bob is an average gr 7 kid – a bit awkward, a target for the class bully, and closet romantic harbouring a secret crush on his best friend Olive, or Evil-O as she prefers to be called. But things get complicated when a zombie, “zomboy”, called Imre attends his school. All of a sudden people are choosing sides. There are protests, supporters, and a growing rift between Bob and Evil-O. Can Bob learn to look beyond Imre’s obvious differences and see the boy who just needs a friend?

 

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