The Magic Beads
Age range 6 to 9
It's seven-year-old Lillian's first day at a new school, and she's got butterflies in her tummy. When she learns she has to bring something for Show and Tell at the end of the week, her butterflies turn into grasshoppers. Lillian and her mother have just moved away from Lillian's abusive father and into a family shelter, leaving behind all of their possessions. Every day that Lillian anxiously watches her classmates bring toys in to share, the creatures in her stomach change and grown, until finally, she realizes that imagination can make anything magical, even an ordinary string of beads.
Susin Nielsen-Fernlund got her start writing for the hit TV series Degrassi Junior High, and went on to write for over twenty Canadian shows before turning her hand to novel writing. She is the author of five critically-acclaimed and award-winning titles, and lives in Vancouver, BC. The Magic Beads was Susin's third children's book, following the Mr. Christie's Silver award-winner Hank and Fergus, and Mormor Moves In.
Geneviève Côté has illustrated a number of books for children of all ages, and is also the author-illustrator of many books of her own. Her work has earned her several awards, including the Marilyn Baillie Picture Book Award in 2012 and the Governor General's Literary Award for Illustration in 2007. Geneviève lives in Montreal, Quebec, and although she doesn't have any pets, she feeds her neighbours' cats secretly.
