Archive for February, 2013

“Giraffe and Bird run with the same crowd, but a friendship it is not, or at least not quite yet and certainly not in the traditional sense of the word. One way or another they manage to compete against each other for the title of most obnoxious throughout the course of any given day bit […]

Yesterday was Pink Shirt Day in Canada. To promote the anti-bullying campaign, Lost in a Great Book reviewed Creeps and Nix Minus One, both YA novels with a bullying thread. Here is what the reviewer had to say about Nix Minus One: “Nix Minus One by the remarkable Jill MacLean tells us about Nix, a […]

Gr 1-3–Kato, a young Ugandan boy, serves his family by filling jerry cans with a day’s worth of water each morning. His journey to the borehole takes him down hills, past cattle fields, and by soldiers standing guard. On this particular day, he pauses on his way back into town to peek inside an aid […]

The International Reading Association has published a series of book reviews about social justice-themed books for children of all ages. One of their selections is One Step at a Time: A Vietnamese Child Finds Her Way by Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch: “This companion book to Last Airlift: A Vietnamese Orphan’s Rescue from War (2012) provides the […]

In Jill MacLean’s YA novel Nix Minus One, protagonist Nixon Humbolt develops a relationship with his neighbour’s neglected dog, Twig. When Twig is sold to another owner who physically abuses her, Nix is determined to rescue her. But how? Many of us have been in Nix’s situation. It can be daunting—how can you protect the […]

“Beautiful verse, weirdly romantic, fantastic setting in Maritime Canada, violent, redemptive, sad, uplifting. I really loved this. I especially love the brilliantly simple cover and the woodworking motif that permeates the book. The cover is TEXTURED! Check it out!” Click here to read the full post.

“…In an interview Jill Maclean she said she writes character driven books. She hit the nail on the head with that statement, given the memorable characters she creates here…Nix, Roxy, Bryan, Twig, Chase, Loren and Blue, and Nix’s parents. Set in Newfoundland, this is his story about family, conflict, friendship, death, secrets, a dog and a budding romance. The […]

Tuyet was born in Vietnam and raised in an orphanage until a family in the US adopts her.  Tuyet was stricken with polio which has left her leg weak and her foot twisted.  She needs to have a series of operations to help her walk again and this is her story.  Tuyet doesn’t speak English and is […]

“…Alma Fullerton has written this simple but eloquent account of how giving is a boon to both the giver and the recipient. A wise Chinese proverb says: “A lot of fragrance always clings to the hand of one that gives roses.” That is certainly true of Kato. Hats off to Fullerton and illustrator Karen Patkau […]

“…Nix Minus One shows off Jill MacLean’s characteristic strong plotting that helped win countless awards and nominations for her other books: The Nine Lives of Travis Keating (Fitzhenry & Whiteside, 2008), The Present Tense of Prinny Murphy (Fitzhenry & Whiteside, 2009) and Home Truths (Dancing Cat Books, 2010).  She creates characters who would be considered […]