Books by Harriet Zaidman
Click on the images to order the books listed below.
Second Chances
Set during the polio epidemics of the 1950s, a teen hockey star fears his chances for NHL glory are lost when he is paralyzed by this terrible disease. Dale struggles with his illness and a crisis caused by his father's refusal to acknowledge the danger of polio. In hospital he also meets a girl worried not only about her own recovery, but about racist attitudes that may lead to her family's eviction from the Metis community of Rooster Town in Winnipeg. (Red Deer Press, 2021) Second Chances won the prestigious Geoffrey Bilson Award for Historical Fiction for Young People in 2022. Here are comments make by Christina Minaki, juror for the award: A must-read on polio awareness, adjusting to disability, the importance of vaccines for protection against disease, the dangers of misinformation, and the devaluation of Metis lives. Zaidman’s superbly researched novel offers teens an essential and timely story of forgiveness, personal transformation, authentic inner growth and renewal that can come from facing hardship head-on." |
City on StrikeCity on Strike is set during the Winnipeg General Strike of 1919 when workers and soldiers returning from World War I demanded jobs, decent wages and the right to organize. Many politicians and business leaders condemned strike organizers, and, backed up by police, unleashed deadly violence on a day that has come to be known as Bloody Saturday.
The story focuses on a 13 year old boy and his younger sister who are part of a poor, but hard-working immigrant family. Together with their neighbours, the siblings are drawn into the chaos that changed the city and the country, forever. (Red Deer Press, 2019). Click here for an interview with me about how my family's immigrant experiences informed my writing of City on Strike. |
Daisy's Biggest SuccessDaisy the pup loves jumping on the couch, but her owner's don't like the hair she leaves behind. She succeeds in knocking off the big books they put in her way, setting her on new adventures. When daisy begins to help solve problems around the house, she achieves a success neither she nor her family could have imagined.
|
Sherman and the Sheep Shape ContestSherman is a member of a flock that is in chaos, and there are only days left until the first-ever Sheep Shape Contest. He escapes the confusion of the pasture, only to find himself caught up in the challenge of a classroom. He's sure school is beyond him, but good teaching sinks in. He applies the lessons of math class at the recess soccer game and then to the problems in the meadow, leading to successes neither the teacher, the kids nor the sheep ever imagined.
|
Benny's Dream HorseBenny has a dream to turn a delivery horse into a galloping steed so he can be a cowboy. When his impatience gets the better of him, his plan takes a dangerous turn. With love and understanding from his family and especially his kind neighbour, Benny learns how to make his dream come true in a different way.
|