CBC TD Kids Bookclub Contest

CBC Radio is partnered with the TD Bank Financial Group and the Canadian Children’s Book Centre to run a contest for middle school students across Canada – Greater Vancouver, the Edmonton area, the Calgary area, Manitoba, Toronto, the Montreal area, and Mainland Nova Scotia.

It’s an opportunity for young readers to win a visit from one of the five nominated authors for a book club discussion, plus copies of the book. CBC Radio will even record the event for broadcast, so readers will be heard on the radio!

We have two TD Canadian Children’s Literature Award nominees this year who are participating in the contest:

A Thousand Years of Pirates
Written and illustrated by William Gilkerson
Hardcover | 96 Pages
ISBN 978-0-88776-924-5
For ages 10 – 14
“A beautifully illustrated treasure trove of information… Chronicles the history of piracy from the time of the Vikings to the present day… This clear and compelling cross-over (history) for all ages includes not only biographical and dramatic narratives, but also the rarely-told sordid and sad details of piracy.” – Jury Comments

Watching Jimmy
Written by Nancy Hartry
Hardcover | 160 Pages
ISBN 978-0-88776-871-2
For ages 12 and up
Watching Jimmy is a masterful exploration of the impact a young girl’s voice can have when she is supported by adult allies… A suspenseful novel of loyalty, determination and compassion… Hartry creates a memorable portrayal of the secret subculture of childhood… A profound and powerful story.” – Jury Comments

The other nominees are Janet McNaughton (Dragon Seer), Sharon Jennings (Home Free), and Arthur Slade (The Hunchback Assignments)! All great authors and books!

To Enter:
Individual classes must submit an original short story, poem or song convincing CBC Radio to bring the TD Kids Book Club to their school. Entrants must tell CBC why their class is so special when it comes to books and reading. Please visit www.cbc.ca/kidsbookclub for more information related to your location.

Contest Entry Deadline:
Friday, October 15, 2010. Please help spread the word, the entry deadline is approaching fast!

Guest Post: Susin Nielsen

Author and Blogger, Susin Nielsen, shares with us in this guest post on how she became an author:

How I Got My Start

I’ve always wanted to be a writer. In the very first diary I ever kept (I was eleven, and it lasted one week), this is, I kid you not, the opening sentence:

“This is the first day I’ve really written in a diary. The reason I am, is ‘cause I LOVE writing stories, and if I do grow up to be a famous writer, and later die, and they want to get a story of my life, I guess I should keep a diary.”

 Yup. Prescience and arrogance, rolled into one.

Anyway, this is me, reading recently in Edmonton.

But back to the past. My first paid writing gig came along when I was still quite young, in my early 20’s. I’d been hired on a brand-new TV series called Degrassi Junior High, to feed the cast and crew food (a job called “craft services.” Don’t ask me why). This is how the kid actors repaid me in that first season; this poem appeared in a “yearbook” they published:

An ode to Susin, the Bran Muffin Queen,
We eat them,
We die,
Then we turn green.

Thanks, kids.

Anyway, in between first and second season I wrote a “spec” script and showed it to the head writer. Next thing I knew, he and the producer hired me to write my first ever episode of television.

It was really, really, really hard! I was lucky – in the right time at the right place – but I did draft after draft after draft, trying to learn the craft of writing for TV. They were amazingly good to me on Degrassi, and I wound up writing 16 episodes of Degrassi Junior High and Degrassi High. Believe it or not, they were also responsible for giving me my first crack at writing young adult novels: I wrote four books in the Degrassi series: Shane, Wheels, Snake and (my personal favourite) Melanie.

But here’s a little secret that very few people know … for a brief, fleeting period, I was also an ACTOR on Degrassi …

That’s right: I played, in two memorable episodes, Louella Hawkins, the janitor.

Yup. That’s me. Age 22 or so, wielding a wrench or some other tool. In that particular episode the heating was on the fritz in the middle of winter and the kids were boiling hot, and when Joey Jeremiah asked me, “Isn’t it fixed yet Louella?” I got to say, “Good guess, goofball.” In my other episode, Arthur and Yick hide a dog in the boiler room, and when they come to find him, I step out of the shadows holding the dog: “Is this what you’re looking for? Dogs are not allowed in school. You’d better go see Mr. Lawrence.”

It’s a performance both wooden and laughable … Thank goodness I’m a better writer than I am an actor!

CBC presents the TD Kids Bookclub

Tundra would like to thank all the elementary schools in the Greater Vancouver area, the Edmonton area, the Calgary area, Manitoba, the Montreal area and Mainland Nova Scotia for submitting their cheers to CBC.

Congratulations to the winning schools for their TD Kids Book Club cheers:

  • Shawne Chastko’s class from 12th Avenue Elementary School in Burnaby!
  • Adrienne Glover’s grade 3 class from Morley School in Morley, Alberta!
  • The Grade 6 class at Oliver School!
  • Karen Tole-Henderson’s grade 5 class at Shamrock School!
  • Holly Kusiewicz’s grade 5/6 class at Parkdale Elementary in St. Laurent!
  • Ms. Paulette O’Connor’s grade 5/6 class at St. Joseph’s/A. MacKay School!

Stay tuned for details on the TD Kids Book club broadcast in November. Susin Nielsen, author of Word Nerd, will be going to Burnaby and Edmonton for a special broadcast from the winning schools. Shane Peacock, author of Death in the Air, will be going to Halifax for a special broadcast from the winning school.

Word Nerd Thing-Thing Death in the Air

YoungIFOA presents the TD Canadian Children’s Literature Award Finalists:

  • Saturday, October 24, 11:00am| Studio Theatre
    A YoungIFOA event for the whole family to enjoy. New this year at IFOA: finalists for the TD Canadian Children’s Literature Award read from their nominated books. Charlotte Teeple hosts.
  • Saturday, October 24, 1:00pm| Studio Theatre
    TD Canadian Children’s Literature Award nominees Alma Fullerton, Susin Nielsen and Shane Peacock read from their nominated books in this YoungIFOA event for the whole family.
  • Saturday, October 24, 4:00pm| Studio Theatre
    In partnership with the TD Canadian Children’s Literature Award YoungIFOA presents a round table event for the young at heart. TD Canadian Children’s Literature Award nominees Nicola Campbell, Alma Fullerton, Cary Fagan, Kim LaFave, Susin Nielsen and Shane Peacock talk about children’s literature in the 21st century.
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