Books in Whitbread Children's Book of the Year Award series

2000 Whitbread Children's Book of the YearPublished to acclaim in the United Kingdom, this stunning historical novel delves into a hidden side of eighteenth-century England: the world of infanticide and child slavery. Otis Gardiner, the Coram man, makes a vicious living disposing of the unwanted children and illegitimate offspring of distraught young women, rich and poor. Meshak is Otis's oppressed, simpleminded son, who finally discovers an infant he considers special enough to risk saving out of the hundreds who have succumbed to his father's brutality. The infant's father is Alexander Ashbrook, a brilliant young aristocrat disinherited by his family for his devotion to a forbidden career, who is astonishingly unaware that he even has a son, much less that he has abandoned him. Around this trio and a host of other characters swirls Jamila Gavin's carefully orchestrated plot, in this disturbing, ultimately uplifting novel about sons and fathers, abuse and abandonment, treachery and devotion.

Ten-year-old Shanna has an uneasy feeling about a stranger her seven-year-old brother Rye met on way home from school. Is she just a silly chicken or is this what Momma calls intuition? Shanna and Rye are also disturbed by an angry presence in the shadows under some pine trees and by a mysterious raven. Their mother shows them how to use the magic of Imbolc to protect themselves and stand up for their beliefs. This is the first book in the Children's Wheel of the Year series for earth-centered, Pagan and Wiccan families. It is also a useful book for anyone teaching children about multicultural tolerance and about how to use intuition rather than prejudice to judge potentially dangerous situations.

The gift of a friend, The promise of the pentacle, A new beginning… And the courage to stand your ground. Here is a story for Pagan, Wiccan and earth-centered families to share the wonder of the Wheel of the Year. Ostara is a time for buds and shoots, for the smell of wet earth and for asserting your true self. A new beginning can be hard but it’s worth it after all. Ten-year-old Shanna and eight-year-old Rye are starting out at a new school just before Ostara. A teacher notices Shanna’s pentacle necklace and asks her to take it off. Brandy, the popular girl, says Shanna is going to “hell” and Rye has his own trouble with kids who say boys don’t draw or sing. Still the magic of Ostara is at work. Shanna and Rye can meet new challenges and find new friends. Like Shanna and Rye, children from earth-centered families often stand out in mainstream society. Without strong identity and confidence, they struggle to choose their own path. The Children’s Wheel of the Year books provide concepts our kids need to face these challenges.

Eleven-year-old Shanna and eight-year-old Rye take on grown-up responsibilities when an accident leaves Momma unable to walk for several weeks. Sister and brother must work hard to save the family garden and put food on the table. Then a massive hail storm threatens to destroy everything they have worked for. Shanna and the Goddess is the fourth book in the Children's Wheel of the Year series. Here is a story about celebrating the Summer Solstice (Litha) that brings the themes of maturity, empowerment and confidence to life. As Shanna and Rye accept responsibilities, they discover the self-confidence and inner strength that come from hard work. But the real test of their resolve comes when a severe hail storm breaks. How can a couple of kids keep the storm from flattening their garden? Each earth-centered holiday has its own energy and meaning. Shanna and Rye’s Summer Solstice is a celebration of life and courage.

The magic of spring, the gift of life and water in a dry land, and the power of kids to make a difference in our world. Eleven-year-old Shanna finds a secret pool on a class field trip to the “waste land” near her new school. The land nearby is dry and covered with scrub brush, but in a hidden pocket there is a wild profusion of flowers, trees and life around a trickle of water. Shanna’s teacher says the waste land is scheduled to be bulldozed for a building project and the tiny spring will be destroyed. But Shanna discovers something amazing that few outside her goddess-oriented family would believe—a magical protector of the spring, maybe even a real fairy. Shanna and her eight-year-old brother Rye decide they have to do something to save the spring and its magical resident. Amid a sharing of the festival of Beltane, the kids learn how passion and action can blossom to make positive change. This story is partly based on events from the author’s childhood, involving an endangered spring in dry country. But it is also an integral part of the Children’s Wheel of the Year, a collection of stories about the adventures of Shanna and Rye which make the concepts and themes of seasonal celebration come alive for children.