We are thrilled to share that titles from two Transatlantic clients are winners of the 2024 Hackmatack Children’s Book Awards!
The Hackmatack Children’s Choice Book Award is a literary program designed for young readers and based in Atlantic Canada. Each year, thousands of children in grades four to six read from the selection of outstanding Canadian books and vote for their favourites.
About the winning titles:
In the English Nonfiction category – HOW TO HIGH TEA WITH A HYENA (AND NOT GET EATEN) by Rachel Poliquin, illustrated by Kathryn Durst (Tundra Books)
The second book in a hilarious illustrated chapter book series starring a savvy and stylish cockroach who guides the reader through an encounter with a charming — and dangerous — predator. Is this hyena drooling for tea and crumpets . . . or for you?!
Celeste is a cockroach, and everyone knows that cockroaches are survivors, so who better to give advice on surviving an encounter with a polite predator? High teas are dainty meals with pretty teacups: you nibble tiny cakes, sip milky tea and chit-chat about not-so-important things like why doughnuts have holes and if fish have eyebrows. But Ruby the hyena is loud, ferocious and tends to slober. High-speed gobbling makes good sense in the wild, but it is a definite no-no in the tearoom! And Ruby just happens to be Queen of a very large clan of hungry hyenas. Will high tea be ruined by uninvited guests? Is Ruby peckish for something other than Celeste’s famous cream buns? Using her vast knowledge of hyenas, Celeste comes up with lots of strategies to get through high tea in one piece. Many of her suggestions are dangerous, most are absurd, but all are based on true hyena biology and hunting behavior.
Rachel is represented by Amy Tompkins.
In the English fiction category – AWOL by Marla Lesage (Orca Books)
A moving graphic novel, AWOL explores the realities of PTSD from a kid’s perspective. The book includes an author’s note and kid-friendly mental health resources.
As a military child, eleven-year-old Leah moves…a lot. But this summer she will be the one left behind when her best friend’s family is reassigned. To make matters worse, her mother will be away for training, leaving Leah at home with her father, who has just returned from deployment. When a new girl moves into her neighborhood, Leah must navigate the ups and downs of making a new friend while avoiding her father’s unpredictable mood swings.
Marla is represented by Elizabeth Bennett.
Congratulations to the winners!