Making Bombs for Hitler wins Silver Birch Award

Author Marsha Skrypuch, who enjoys writing while working at her treadmill desk, has added to her list of awards. (BRIAN THOMPSON, The Expositor)

There is blossoming praise for Brantford author Marsha Skrypuch’s books with recent wins in the Ontario Library Association’s Forest of Reading program.

Skrypuch last week took home the 2013 Silver Birch Award (the Grades 3 to 6 reader category) for Making Bombs for Hitler, her 15th published book ,which tells the Second World War story of nine-year-old Lida, who is kidnapped by the Germans and forced into slave labour.

Skrypuch, who has made a successful career from sharing difficult stories with young readers, also was honoured for Last Airlift, which was named a Red Maple Honour Book (Grades 6 to 8), one of the top three in the category. As an added bonus, Last Airlift also won the B.C. Red Cedar Information Book Award.

The Forest of Reading is Canada’s largest recreational reading program, made up of seven reading awards programs. The programs culminate every year in an event run in partnership with Authors at Harbourfront Centre in Toronto, called the Festival of Trees, the largest annual literacy event for children, attracting thousands of young readers.

More than 250,000 students participate annually in the program from their local schools or public libraries. Award winners are selected by these young readers.

“I was totally in shock when they opened the envelope and announced that I had won,” said Skrypuch.

“It was a lovely moment. I have been receiving floods of snail mail letters and emails from students across the province telling me that Making Bombs for Hitler had changed their life.

The novel is a companion book to Skrypuch’s award-winning Stolen Child. In that book she introduced readers to Hitler’s largely unknown Lebensborn program. The protagonist, Lida, becomes what was called an Ostarbeiter (eastern worker).

Lida’s small dexterous hands make her the perfect candidate to handle delicate munitions work, so she is sent to a factory to make bombs.

Skrypuch said approval from her readers is particularly gratifying since she has received a couple of complaints from parents who thought the novel must be too graphic for Grade 4 to 6 kids.

“Anyone who would do this couldn’t possibly have read the book, and certainly can’t understand what makes kids want to read,” she said.

“I didn’t learn to read until I was nine years old. It wasn’t that I didn’t have the ability but I lacked the desire. Books offered to kids in the 1960s were really bad, the assumption being that children should be fed saccharine.

“I write meaty kinds of books that I wish were available when I was a kid: tightly written, accurately researched historical fiction about kids in times of turmoil. I write for kids because they are a discerning audience. I respect their intelligence.”

One Grade 5 student from Richland Academy in Richmond Hill had this to say: “Making Bombs for Hitler was very sad, but very interesting and entertaining. The major life lesson that I take from this book is that I should be thankful for what I have.”

Since Making Bombs for Hitler and Stolen Child were shortlisted for the Forest of Reading awards in the fall, Skrypuch has been doing rounds of visits to libraries and schools, including those in Brantford, Paris and Scotland.

The author has also been travelling all over the province meeting readers. The week before the Harbourfront ceremonies, she flew to mass events in Parry Sound, North Bay and Thunder Bay with other nominees.

In order for students to attend the major Forest of Reading events, they must read at least five of the 10 nominated books in each category.

The awards themselves are designed by students who submit their artwork in a contest. The Silver Birch award was created by Gurleen Randhawa, a Grade 6 student at Fletcher’s Creek Public School in Brampton.

Skrypuch, who writes aboard a treadmill desk, slowly walking while typing on her computer, is working on a number of new projects.

She recently finished a companion novel to Making Bombs for Hitler, tentatively called Luka, Underground Soldier. It is set for release by Scholastic in February.

At the end of May, a new edition of Skrypuch’s 1998 picture book, The Best Gifts, will come out and, in October, a new picture book, called When Mama Goes to Work, will be released. The book was inspired by a suggestion from Skrypuch’s good friend, Sharon Brooks of Kids Can Fly.

Both of the picture books will be published by Fitzhenry and Whiteside.

The prolific author also has another “quirky” picture book text that was just accepted for publication by Pajama Press and one still in early development stages. She said it takes about two years for a picture book to go to press once it’s accepted.

Also, Skrypuch is writing a First World War young adult novel, partly set in Brantford, to be published by Pajama Press in the fall of 2014.

michelle.ruby@sunmedia.ca