July 1st, 2013
“MacLean’s free verse style mirrors 15-year-old protagonist Nix Humbolt’s quiet, unassuming nature: “The first time / I came across the word / introversion / was the first time / I recognized myself. Like, / there was a category / for me.” At the heart of the novel, which is set in a tiny Newfoundland village, […]
Posted in Nix Minus One
June 21st, 2013
“Hello I am Joshua I am a grade eight student in Barrie. The book I have read is Nix Minus One by Jill MacLean. The reason I read this book is because I think Jill Maclean is a very good author and I have read many of her books and really enjoyed them. This book […]
Posted in Nix Minus One
June 3rd, 2013
The 200th anniversary of Laura Secord’s famous walk is June 22nd, 2013. With this date fast approaching, SmartGIRL WORKs interviewed author Connie Brummel Crook (Acts of Courage: Laura Secord and the War of 1812) to talk about this Canadian heroine and what it was like to writer her story. Here is a sneak preview: “When […]
Posted in Acts of Courage
May 14th, 2013
“While Namesake may be initially seen as a standard time-slip novel, with a contemporary character going back in time to learn something which she could apply to her own life, the book goes beyond this… I am especially pleased by the direction the author takes Jane’s time slip, allowing for the two young women, just […]
Posted in Namesake
April 20th, 2013
Pajama Press is pleased to announce that Acts of Courage: Laura Secord and the War of 1812 by Connie Brummel Crook has been shortlisted for two different 2012 Word Awards, in the categories of Young Adult and Historical Fiction. The winners will be announced at at the 2013 gala to be held at World Vision […]
Posted in Acts of Courage
April 18th, 2013
At 15, Nix Humbolt is taller and leaner than in his “Fatty Humbolt” days, but he still keeps a low profile at school. He finds refuge in his father’s workshop where he builds intricate boxes and tables – and avoids arguments with his older sister Roxy. When Roxy starts dating Bryan Sykes, Nix knows he’s […]
Posted in Nix Minus One
April 8th, 2013
“Skrypuch’s simple language captures the fear and bewilderment of a girl who’s barely had time to deal with the trauma of her escape from Vietnam and new life in a strange country when she’s confronted with yet another frightening experience. Tuyet still doesn’t speak English and although she knows they’re trying to fix her leg, […]
Posted in One Step at a Time
March 28th, 2013
The Cooperative Children’s Book Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison has released their CCBC Choices 2013 publication. Among the exemplary books selected is Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch’s Last Airlift: A Vietnamese Orphan’s Rescue from War, released in the US in 2012: “The last Canadian airlift to leave Saigon during the Vietnam War was on April 11, […]
Posted in Last Airlift
March 25th, 2013
“JILL MACLEAN of Bedford, N.S., has written many young adult books, but her latest, Nix Minus One (Pajama Press, 296 pages, $15 paperback), is an exceptional novel that is not to be missed. Written in free verse, it explores the life and emotions of Newfoundlander Nixon Humbolt (Nix) between his 14th and 16th years. …Maclean’s […]
Posted in Nix Minus One
March 15th, 2013
We are pleased to announce that No Shelter Here: Making the World a Kinder Place for Dogs by Rob Laidlaw has been nominated for the 2013-2014 Hackmatack Awards. The Hackmatack Awards are Atlantic Canada’s children’s choice reading awards for students in grades four to six. For more information about the program, visit www.hackmatack.ca. Congratulations to […]
Posted in No Shelter Here
