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2005
finalists.

2005 Hackmatack

Children's Choice Book Award/Prix littéraire - le choix de jeunes

Far from home, Teresa stays with relatives in the big city, where she spends her days at the hospital, preparing to walk on her first prosthetic leg. Her teenage brother, Tom, stays with her for the first weekend. To her surprise, he joins her in playing elaborate games with two old dolls named Tape and Curly. Tom leaves to work on a nearby farm and Teresa is bereft, even more so when he doesn't call or answer her letters. When she finally reaches out to him, she ends up pushing him farther away.

In the end, Teresa makes a brave journey to face her brother and reconnect. In doing so, she discovers her own strength and independence.

Leaving the Log House is Ainslie Manson's tenth book for children and her second novel. The dolls in the story, Tape and Curly, are based on real dolls that Ainslie was given as a child. Her book House Calls: The True Story of a Pioneer Doctor was nominated for a 2004 Hackmatack. She lives and writes in West Vancouver overlooking the sea.

Orca Books has made a teacher's guide for the this title available in pdf here.

Thematic Links

• Amputees, amputation
• Disabilities, living with disabilities, rehabilitation
• Personal strength, courage, fear
• Sibling relationships

Suggested Activities

• Visit a hospital or have a physiotherapist talk to group about disabilities and therapy.
• Write or illustrate: what do butterflies in the story mean to you?
• Think about challenges you have faced in your life. Write a story about how you overcame one.
• Check out www.orcabooks.com/leavingtheloghouseTG.pdf for more activity ideas.