Manitoba Young Readers Choice Award

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Manitoba Young Readers Choice Award
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M.Y.R.C.A. Nominees2003

• MYRCA website http//www.wsd1.org/LitOnline/myrca
  .htm

The Manitoba Young Readers Choice Award aims to
promote reading and Canadian Literature by giving
young people the opportunity to vote for their
favorite Canadian Book from an annual
pre-selected list. The books are nominated based
on their quality and reader appeal. All young
people in Grades 5-8 who have read or heard read
at least three titles from the list can vote by
April 7, 2003.
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Stones
William Bell

• Garnet Havelock just wants to get out of high
  school so he can apprentice as a cabinetmaker.
  When his van slips off the road in a snowstorm,
  he is forced to spend the night in an old
  abandoned church and he and his new friend,
  Raphaella Skye, become entangled in a haunting
  mystery.

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Basket of Beethoven
Susan Currie

• Eleven-year-old Sam hears melodies, and rhythms
  in everything around him. But life is tough. He
  lives in a rundown apartment building with his
  mother, at school he is drawn to the new girl
  Helen, but she doesnt want anything to do with
  him, and both Helen and Sam are targets for the
  class bully. Perhaps if he can solve Helens
  problem with Pete, he can make things better for
  himself.

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Out of the Fire
Deborah Froese

• Dayles life is perfect well almost! Shes
  popular at school and has a great new boyfriend
  Keith. But, things are not going well with her
  best friend Amy. Then, one night, a horrible
  accident turns Dayles world upside down. How
  will Dayle cope with her new reality? Where will
  she find strength, friendship and support?

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Flying Geese
Barbara Haworth-Attard

• Twelve-year-old Margarets world is falling
  apart. Her favorite brother Edward is going off
  to World War I, and her father's accident forces
  her family to sell their Saskatchewan farm and
  move to London, Ontario. Her father is unable to
  find work, and when her mother falls ill,
  Margaret finds comfort only in the "flying geese"
  quilt she's making from scraps of fabric. Will
  she ever find a friend?

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Everything on a Waffle
Polly Horvath

• Primrose Squarp is a spunky almost orphan who
  lives in Coal Harbour on Vancouver Island. When
  her parents are lost at sea, the usual cast of
  eccentrics and misfits try to help Primrose
  overcome her loss. But its Miss Bowzer, the
  owner of a local restaurant, who offers a willing
  ear and some good advice. Recipes are included
  at the end of each chapter.

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In Spite of Killer Bees
Julie Johnston

• 14-year-old Aggies family is different. Her
  mother ran off long ago and her father, who spent
  time in jail, has died. All she has is her two
  older sisters. But rich Grampa Quade has left
  them an inheritance but theres a catch. Can
  Aggie and her sisters meet the conditions in the
  will?

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The Buccaneers
Iain Lawrence

• Bound for the West Indies, 17-year-old John
  Spencer sets sail aboard the Dragon in 1803. He
  is besieged on all sides by illness, treachery
  and weather. The portrayal of life aboard a
  wooden sailing ship and bloodthirsty pirates has
  gritty realism that dares the reader to turn each
  page.

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Orphan at My Door
Jean Little

• It is 1897 and Victoria Josephine Cope is 12
  years old. She and her family live in Guelph,
  Ontario. When Victoria receives a diary for her
  birthday, she decides to keep a record of her
  twelfth year - and Victoria's summer is filled
  with action, drama and mystery. The central
  focus of her life is the Home Girl, Marianna, her
  father finds to help Mrs. Cope, who is
  mysteriously unwell. Can Victoria help Marianna
  find and save her little brother?

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Scared to Death
Norah McClintock

• Chloe Yan was shocked when she heard about
  Tessa's murder. Tessa had been to Chloes house
  only a few days before and Chloe can't get rid of
  the notion that, if she had only talked to Tessa,
  the murder might never have happened. Her
  stepfather, the chief of police, has ordered
  Chloe to stay out of the investigation but Chloe
  finds herself involved almost against her will.
  Can Chloe help to find out who is the murderer
  before something else terrible happens?

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The Light-Bearers Daughter
O. R. Melling

• Eleven-year-old Dana is distressed when her
  father announces they are moving to Canada from
  Ireland. Now she feels she'll never find her
  mother who disappeared more than eight years ago.
  While walking deep in the forest, she is
  approached by Honor, a representative of faerie,
  to convey a message to the King of Wicklow, in
  return for which she'll receive her "heart's
  desire her mothers return. Despite hazards and
  hardships Dana accepts the challenge and embarks
  upon her quest

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If I Just Had Two Wings
Virginia Frances Schwartz

• Only Phoebe and her parents remain two sisters
  and a brother have been sold, one sister has run
  away. Picking cotton daily now that she's 13,
  Phoebe dreams of freedom, but Phoebe witnesses
  the consequences for runaways. When another sale
  looms, Liney, her two children, and Phoebe flee,
  following the instructions Old Willie provided
  and embarking upon a perilous four-month journey
  from Alabama north to Canada.

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Of Mice and Nutcrackers
Richard Scrimger

• 13-year-old Jane Peeler is directing a play based
  on The Nutcracker she has written for her
  school's holiday pageant. Then the family is
  quarantined, her dad gets pneumonia, her mothers
  distracted and busy with her career, Grandma is
  awful, and to top it off, Jane hears strange
  noises in the walls and the basement! Now, worst
  of all, the gym teacher vows to cause trouble on
  the big night. Will Jane be able to overcome all
  these obstacles?

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Hopes War
Marsh Forchuk Skrypuch

• A gifted artist, Kat Baliuk, struggles to make
  new friends at Cawtha School for the Arts where
  she has recently been accepted. Kats home life
  begins to fall apart when her beloved grandfather
  is accused of atrocities and ordered to face a
  deportation hearing, based on his activities as
  an auxiliary policeman in World War II Ukraine.
  When the family is targeted by hate crimes, Kat's
  new friends stand beside her. What will the
  judge decide?

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Dust
Arthur Slade

• Strange things are happening in 11-year-old
  Robert's drought-ridden, Saskatchewan community.
  First his younger brother goes missing during a
  walk to town. Two days later, two other
  classmates disappear, and a new man comes into
  town. This man wants people to help build a
  rainmaker. Most agree to help, but few think that
  its a hoax.. Robert is determined to find his
  brother. Will he succeed?

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The White Horse Talisman
Andrea Spalding

• Chantel and Adam are sent to England to spend the
  summer with their cousins, Holly and Owen, as
  their parents try to sort out their marriage
  problems. Together, they set out to help the
  Great White Horse Equus find his mate and regain
  his magical talisman. But as the horse rises, so
  does the dragon, and the age-old struggle between
  good and evil threatens.

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Across the Steel River
Ted Stenhouse

• Will and Arthur are 12-year-old friends living in
  a small prairie town during 1952. One day they
  discover a badly beaten Native man on the
  outskirts of town, next to the railway line
  leading out to the reserve. Yellowfly is a hero
  to the First Peoples and a decorated war veteran,
  but several of the white residents despise him.
  Will is determined to find the culprits, but he
  must stand up to the school bully, his father,
  and the town's troublemakers.

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On Wings of a Dragon
Cora Taylor

• A once happy and prosperous kingdom has fallen on
  hard times since its king was injured. No one is
  certain if he is still alive, they do know that
  his beautiful wife rules ruthlessly in his name.
  Petaurus, one of the kings former guards, is
  determined to rescue his granddaughter, Maighdlin
  from the queen's service. Kour'el wonders about
  the reasons for her imprisonment in a tower. Her
  fate is linked with that of a winged dragon,
  ApiNaga. Will the quests of Petaurus and Kour'el
  succeed?

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Tiger in Trouble
Eric Walters

• Nicholas and Sarah and are going away to spend a
  week at an 'exotic animal' camp. They're excited
  but feel like they already know about exotic
  animals. After all they spend time every day with
  their neighbour, Mr. McCurdy, helping out at his
  farm with his tiger, cheetah, chimpanzee and
  python. They soon find out there's a lot of
  things they don't know - things like the value of
  a dead tiger and what has to happen to save the
  big cat's life.

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• written designed by
• S. Cowtan
• R. H. G. Bonnycastle School