MYRCA 2014 Nominees


Library

 

Introducting the 2015 MYRCA (Manitoba Young Readers Choice Award) Nominees!!! 

 

 

 

Prince Puggly of the muddy, terminally unfashionable Kingdom of Spud is surprised when he receives an invitation to a lavish ball in the far more chic Kingdom of Spiff. Puggly is sure that the Spiffs will take one look at him and laugh him out of their kingdom. But then Puggly meets Francesca, the bookish Princess of Spiff, and together the two set out to teach Francesca's Spiffian countrymen an absurd lesson in style.

 

 

 

 

 "The runes have spoken. We have our champion...Matthew Thorsen."

Matt hears the words, but he can't believe them. He's Thor's representative? Destined to fight trolls, monstrous wolves and giant serpents...or the world ends? He's only thirteen.

While Matt knew he was a modern-day descendent of Thor, he's always lived a normal kid's life. In fact, most people in the small town of Blackwell, South Dakota, are direct descendants of either Thor or Loki, including Matt's classmates Fen and Laurie Brekke. No big deal.

But now Ragnarok is coming, and it's up to the champions to fight in the place of the long-dead gods. Matt, Laurie, and Fen's lives will never be the same as they race to put together an unstoppable team, find Thor's hammer and shield, and prevent the end of the world.

In their middle grade debut, K.L. Armstrong and M.A. Marr begin the epic Blackwell Pages series with this action-packed adventure, filled with larger-than-life legends, gripping battles, and an engaging cast of characters who bring the myths to life.

 

 

 



In this whimsical, original folktale, written and illustrated throughout in vibrant full color by two celebrated masters of modern fantasy, a young girl's journey becomes an enchanting coming-of-age story about magic, friendship, and the courage to shape one's own destiny.

 

Lillian Kindred spends her days exploring the Tanglewood Forest, a magical, rolling wilderness that she imagines to be full of fairies. The trouble is, Lillian has never seen a wisp of magic in her hills--until the day the cats of the forest save her life by transforming her into a kitten. Now she must set out on a perilous adventure that will lead her through untamed lands of fabled creates--from Old Mother Possum to the fearsome Bear People--to find a way to make things right.

 

 

 

JR (short for Jack Russell) is an embassy dog. His human, George, works in embassies around the world and so they both travel. A lot. Now George is working at the Canadian Embassy in Moscow. While George loves the globetrotting life, he doesn't think JR needs any more excitement than hanging out at the park with the other embassy dogs.

JR, however, has had quite enough of leashes and perfectly manicured parks--not to mention the boring embassy dogs. Inspired by seeing a stray dog steal a coil of sausages, JR sneaks out of his apartment to do a little exploring on his own and soon meets up with the wily stray and some of his friends. This is the life: amazing city smells! Mouthwatering stuffed potatoes! And best of all, the freedom to travel on the Moscow subway.

But then JR's new friends mysteriously start to disappear. When an embassy dog goes missing as well, JR knows he must use everything he's learned about his new home to solve the mystery of Moscow's missing dogs.

 

 

 

 

While tracking clues from a secret code penciled in the margins of mystery novels at a public library, Derek Knowles-Collier discovers a time capsule, an unpublished author and a gravestone that may finally put his haunting past to rest. At Queensview Elementary, grade-six students are required to complete a community service unit as part of their school curriculum. Derek Knowles-Collier was sick when groups were assigned, so he is stuck with what's leftover: landscape and repair duty at the local cemetery.

 

 

 

Gregory loves numbers -- they don't change and he can count on them, literally.

Numbers also keep Gregory's mind off his father who died in a car crash. Ever since, Gregory has not been able to return to the accident scene despite the fact that it lies directly on the way to school. It has become an obstacle of the heart and mind, a physical space that he avoids at all costs. But his new route to school holds other obstacles -- even a big terrifying dog. So finally, when circumstances start to push him back to that tragic location, Gregory must figure out a way to face his problems.
With the support of some new friends, maybe Gregory can find a way to use his love for numbers and math to help overcome his fear -- and start the process of healing.

 

 

 

 

Three wishes go awry in a middle-grade debut as comical as it is spooky.

Toxic Vapor Worms. Shark Hounds. King-Crab Spiders. Two-Headed Mutant Rodents. These are just a few of the beasts featured in the pages of Scare Scape, the creepiest comic book around. They are vicious. They are terrifying. They are, luckily, totally made up.

Morton Clay is a huge fan of Scare Scape, so he isn't easily frightened. He's not afraid of the dark, or grossed-out by bugs and slugs. But when Morton and his siblings, James and Melissa, find an old stone statue buried in their yard, they discover that there is good reason to be afraid . . .

Spooky, funny, and fresh, Sam Fisher's middle-grade debut explores the bonds and rivalries that are unique to siblings . . . even as it revels in monstrous mayhem!

 


 

A young ultra-marathon runner is pushed to the breaking point and beyond in this gripping tale of physical endurance and emotional healing.

Quinn has been called a superhero and a freak of nature. At age 13, he's an amazing distance runner. He takes on the second-hardest challenge of his life when he enters his first ultramarathon: a grueling 100-mile, 24-hour-long race that will push him to the very limit of his endurance.

While Quinn struggles to go on -- up a mountain and through the night, as his muscles break down and he begins to hallucinate -- we learn why the ultra-marathon is only the second hardest thing he has endured in his young life. And maybe this devastating event from his past is exactly what Quinn has been running from . . .

Framed as an interview with a media commentator after Quinn's newsmaking finish, this remarkable debut novel from ultra-marathon runner David Carroll reminds us that when we dare to challenge what is possible, the word impossible loses its meaning.

 

 

Thirteen-year-old William McCoy's life changed forever a year ago when his father died. Now, his mother is moving on...but William still wants to hold on to the past. He sneaks out one night and takes a bus to Lunenburg, Nova Scotia--his father's home town.


But reuniting with his dad's family means more than just spending time with his grandparents and cousins; he also encounters the spirit of his great-grandfather, Bill "The Real" McCoy, a notorious rum-rummer who has been dead for more than seventy-five years.


With his mother in Toronto fretting about his safety, and his extended family in Nova Scotia struggling to save their home, William takes to the seas in a high-stakes schooner race with more than money at stake; his family, his father's memory, and the legacy of The Real McCoy are on the line.

 

 

 

An abused boy finds safety, friendship and a missing legend inside a historic hockey arena

I looked at the newspaper and gasped. There, staring back at me, was my own picture. It was this year's school photo. Now it took up most of the front page of the Toronto Star, smack dab under the large headline: STILL NO SIGN OF MISSING BOY.

Jake's drive to become a hockey star is matched only by his father's obsessive determination to see his son succeed. No matter how hard Jake works, how many pucks he puts in the net, it's never enough for his dad. Battered, bruised and tired of being afraid, Jake leaves his quiet suburban home in the middle of the night and runs away to downtown Toronto, where he finds comfort and safety in the most unexpected of places--the company of a homeless man with a storied past living inside the shuttered Maple Leaf Gardens.