writes about war from a young person's view #bannedbyrussia
Thrilled to see that Trapped in Hitler’s Web has been shortlisted for the Manitoba Young Readers’ Choice Award!!! Congratulations to everyone shortlisted, including my friends Valerie Sherrard, Wesley King, Sigmund Brouwer and Heather Smith. Here‘s the complete nomination list.
My friend, Melanie Kindrachuk saw a blog post by Lori Suss about these beautiful personal library quilts. She noticed that one of the library quilts included two of my books so she sent me a link.
I got in touch with the creators for permission to post their masterpieces here.
The two quilts were created by Fred and Betty Frost and Long Arm Quilted by Lori Suss – Night Owl Quilting, all members of Manitoba Prairie Quilters. The Personal Library Quilt Pattern by Heather Givans for Crimson Tate served as their guideline for constructing the quilt blocks.
Making the quilt into a personal library and memory quilt was Fred and Betty’s own creation. Their granddaughters, turning 12 (Maddie) and 15 (Izzy), just completed Grades 6 and 9. Betty and Fred’s goal was to make the quilts for June 2020 but then covid happened and so the girls received them a year late!
Two sisters try to make their way back to an Allied zone after World War II.
Told in alternating chapters narrated in the first person by Ukrainian sisters Krystia, 16, and Maria, 14, this gripping novel tells a lesser-known story of the war’s horror. It is June 1945, and Germany has surrendered: The war on the Western Front has ended. Krystia and Maria travel on foot to an American refugee camp in occupied Germany, hoping to eventually reach their aunt and uncle in Toronto. But just after they arrive to what they think is safety following, in Maria’s case, forced labor on a German farm, and, in Krystia’s case, hiding Jews and watching their mother get hanged for being part of the resistance, they are abducted by Soviet soldiers and accused of being Nazi collaborators. Taken to an interrogation house in the Soviet-controlled zone of occupied Germany, they are tortured but refuse to sign a false confession. The depictions of starvation, torture, and executions are drawn from actual accounts of prisoners who lived to talk about what happened in Soviet interrogation houses. Although some scenes can be difficult to read, this is ultimately a story of the strength of the human spirit. Krystia and Maria are survivors, and they never give up, drawing strength from remembering their parents’ belief in them as they struggle to stay alive.
Gripping, harsh, and superbly written. (author’s note, map) (Historical fiction. 13-18)
Review found here.
Too Young To Escape published by Pajama Press won the inaugural Yellow Cedar award last year. This is the newest Ontario Library Association Forest of Reading readers’ choice award, where the kids do the voting. Usually the award itself is framed student artwork and is presented on stage with all the nominees on the stage. Last year it was all done virtually. Isn’t it awesome that we’re on the verge of doing this sort of thing in person again? Thanks,Meredith Gilbert Tutching for your dedication and flexibility in daunting times!
Just virtually visited Holy Trinity School, Fall River MA and Keystone Elementary in Lagrange OH. So encouraging to see kids in classrooms and a start towards post-pandemic normalcy. Lots of great questions about the writing process and how books are published, and about why I write history. Thanks Scholastic Book Fairs for arranging the visits!
It was nice to visit with Hickson students from Woodstock Ontario — just down the highway from me! We discussed the writing life, writing history, writers’ block and how to overcome it. Also, the real people behind my books. Thanks #melanievanwyk for the invite! Thanks #writersunionofcanada for the funding!
Many thanks to the Brant Family Literacy Committee for funding this presentation. Since I did this for a Brantford group, I decided to talk about Stolen Girl, which is set in Brantford just after WWII about a young refugee who has troubling memories of what she may have been doing during the war. As a Brantfordian, it was awesome to include some of my favorite local places, like the original Brantford Public Library, now Laurier Brantford, Central School, the Ukrainian Catholic Church of St John, Yates Castle, and the train station, as well as our old downtown and some of the stores that used to be there. Also the neighborhoods where the refugees of that era lived.
What a great idea! #HallsvillISD
