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2005
finalists.

2005 Hackmatack

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

Ten riveting true stories of dramatic events in tunnels around the world!

Did you know that tunnels were instrumental in the dramatic rescue of 72 hostages held for over four months in the Japanese embassy in Lima, Peru, in 1997? Or that during the Vietnam War, guerrilla fighters known as the Viet Cong created a sophisticated system of tunnels complete with four levels, trap doors, and strategic ditches.

In this first book in a sensational new series, readers will find 10 gripping tunnel stories from around the world. There are stories of surviving a mining disaster, selfless heroes, uncovering ancient treasure, smuggling people to freedom, and building tunnels deep beneath the sea. There are even some bad guys - the robbers and drug runners who used tunnels for ill-gotten gains.

Readers will be transported to an underground world where tension abounds. With fast-paced and engrossing text, award-winning author Diane Swanson affirms her position as an outstanding writer for children.

Diane has published over 58 books for children. Tunnels! is the first in Annick's True Stories from the Edge series. Her recent titles include The Dentist & You, Nibbling on Einstein's Brain, and The Doctor & You. Her work has earned several awards, including the B.C. 2000 Award, the Orbis Pictus Award for Outstanding Nonfiction for Children, and the International Youth Library's White Raven Award. Her work has also been shortlisted for the Mr. Christie's Book Award, the B.C. Book Prize, the Red Cedar Award, the Silver Birch Award, and many more. Her Burp!: The Most Interesting Book You'll Ever Read About Eating was nominated for the 2003 Hackmatack Award. Diane lives in Victoria, B.C., with her family.

Thematic Links

• History
• Mining
• Escape
• Survival
• Discovery
• Disasters
• Heroism
• Exploration
• Crime
• Extraordinary feats
• Risk-taking

Suggested Activities

• Get a sense of what it was like to be in a wartime tunnel in Vietnam. Have five friends from a narrow tunnel with their legs by standing in a crooked line with their feet about 50 cm apart. With a blindfold to simulate darkness, see if you can crawl through the tunnel on your belly.
• Find and read news reports of Prince Philip's visit to the survivors of Springhill's mining disaster in 1958. Or interview someone who remembers the event.
• Design a "pretend" escape tunnel beneath the Wall of Shame to bring families from East Berlin to West Berlin in 1961.