Winner of the Sheila A. Egoff Children's Literature Prize
Jessica knew that the family meeting Dad had called for that evening probably wouldn't be good news. Family meetings usually meant Mum talking a lot and then the whole family getting involved in some project that left everything in a mess until they gradually forgot about it.
But at school that day, Jessica forgot about the meeting. A teacher announced a new class project: They were to choose partners, pick an animal to study and present a paper. Jessica's partner would be her best friend, Margaret. And so it was Margaret whom Jessica called with the tremendous news from the family meeting: Mum was pregnant. Margaret was nearly as excited as Jessica, and very quickly the two of them decided that instead of studying the duck-billed platypus for the school project, they would study babies. But all their reading, discussions and research did not prepare Jessica or her family for the drastic changes baby Lucie would bring to their lives.
Winner of the Sheila A. Egoff Children's Literature Prize
Jessica knew that the family meeting Dad had called for that evening probably wouldn't be good news. Family meetings usually meant Mum talking a lot and then the whole family getting involved in some project that left everything in a mess until they gradually forgot about it.
But at school that day, Jessica forgot about the meeting. A teacher announced a new class project: They were to choose partners, pick an animal to study and present a paper. Jessica's partner would be her best friend, Margaret. And so it was Margaret whom Jessica called with the tremendous news from the family meeting: Mum was pregnant. Margaret was nearly as excited as Jessica, and very quickly the two of them decided that instead of studying the duck-billed platypus for the school project, they would study babies. But all their reading, discussions and research did not prepare Jessica or her family for the drastic changes baby Lucie would bring to their lives.
| Published By | Groundwood Books Ltd — Aug 1, 1994 |
| Specifications | 144 pages | 5.13 in x 7.63 in |
| Keywords | Social Situations; Adolescence; Family; New Baby; award winner; |
|
Supporting Resources
(select item to download) |
Excerpt |
| Written By |
SARAH ELLIS is a celebrated author, teacher and children’s literature expert. She has written more than twenty books across the genres, and her books have been translated into French, Spanish, Danish, Chinese and Japanese. She has won the Governor General’s Literary Award (Pick-Up Sticks) and the TD Canadian Children’s Literature Award (Odd Man Out). Sarah is a masthead reviewer for the Horn Book Magazine, and she is a former faculty member of Vermont College of Fine Arts. She lives in Vancouver, British Columbia. |
| Written By |
|
SARAH ELLIS is a celebrated author, teacher and children’s literature expert. She has written more than twenty books across the genres, and her books have been translated into French, Spanish, Danish, Chinese and Japanese. She has won the Governor General’s Literary Award (Pick-Up Sticks) and the TD Canadian Children’s Literature Award (Odd Man Out). Sarah is a masthead reviewer for the Horn Book Magazine, and she is a former faculty member of Vermont College of Fine Arts. She lives in Vancouver, British Columbia. |
| Audience | ages 8 to 12 / grades 3 to 7 |
Winner, Sheila A. Egoff Children's Literature Prize, 1986
“[The Baby Project] sails far above the adolescent tragedy sub-genre. It is primarily a book of joy - wise and delightfully funny in equal parts.” —Globe and Mail
“This book is one of the most appealing and moving family stories to come along in ages.” —Horn Book
“This is a sometimes fun and funny book, a sometimes sad and moving one. It is smart, lively and unwilling to sidestep the hurtful or awkward or mean in how realitives get alone - and don't.” —San Francisco Chronicle