The 2011 Willow Awards
Diamond Willow Nominee
walking backward
Josh’s mother has died in a car accident. His father is building a time machine in the basement, and his little brother talks to Power Rangers. Josh tries to understand death by researching how people around the world deal with it, and this helps him to make sense of the intense grief he is feeling.
Available in eBook format from your public library.
HTML5 Video Player by VideoJS
About the Author
Catherine Austen was raised in Kingston, Ontario, the youngest of five children. She studied political science at Queen's University and environmental studies at York University. While procrastinating in the face of exams, she wrote several short stories for literary journals. She worked through the 1990s in Canada's conservation movement, campaigning for federal endangered species legislation. In 2000, Catherine quit office life to raise her children and work as a freelance writer for environmental organizations and First Nations. While procrastinating in the face of deadlines, she began writing children's fiction. Walking Backwards is her first novel. Catherine writes from her home in Quebec, which she shares with her husband, Geoff, and their children, Sawyer and Daimon.
Book Reviews
Suggested Activities
Activity: Just Like
a. After reading a portion of the text or upon completion of the story, select the main character in the story (Josh)
b. Brainstorm all the character traits related to the main character (Josh). These character traits should be listed on the left hand side of their page.
c. The next step is for students to use those brainstormed character traits and compare the character (Josh) to themselves. What are the similarities and differences? Why?
d. Share these comparisons with the large group.
Comments
Add a Comment