• Age: 9 to 12
• Grade: 4 to 7

Canadian Library Association Book of the Year, Honour Book

Geoffrey Bilson Award for Historical Fiction, Honour Book

Mr. Christie Silver Book Award

Ruth Schwartz Award, finalist

Manitoba Young Readers' Choice Award, nominee

Rocky Mountain Book Award, nominee

Micah was not like me.

Henri has been living within abbey walls all his life, first in the care of nuns, then as a choirboy at St. Luc's, not far from Paris. He expects to spend the rest of his life there, copying books in the Scriptorium with the other brothers, and singing Mass in the great cathedral.

Then Micah arrives, a streetwise ragamuffin with the voice of an angel, saved from certain hanging to sing for God instead of coins. Micah comes like a fresh breeze into dead places, bringing exuberant joy at a time when Henri most needs it.

For the plague is coming, the grim reaper that will slash at the very roots of Henri's security. And neither Henri nor Micah nor anyone else in their world will ever be the same.

Deborah Ellis is the internationally acclaimed author of more than twenty books for children, including The Breadwinner Trilogy; The Heaven Shop; Lunch With Lenin; Children of War: Voices of Iraqi Refugees; and Our Stories, Our Songs: African Children Talk About AIDS. She has won many national and international awards for her books, including the Governor General’s Award, the Vicky Metcalf Award, Sweden’s Peter Pan Prize, the Jane Addams Children’s Book Award, and the Children’s Africana Book Award Honor Book for Older Readers.Deborah knew she wanted to be a writer at the age of 11 or 12. Growing up in Paris, Ontario, she loved reading about big cities like New York. In high school, Deborah joined the Peace Movement, playing anti-Nuclear War movies at her school. Since then Deborah has become a peace activist, humanitarian and philanthropist, donating almost all of the royalties from her books to communities in need in Asia and Africa. Heavily involved with Women for Women in Afghanistan, Deborah has helped build women’s centers and schools, giving children education and finding work for women.In 2006, Deborah was named to the Order of Ontario. She now lives in Simcoe, Ontario.

Deborah Ellis' profile page

"The sudden, devastating changes wrought by the plague on orderly monastic life is ably captured, and middle-graders fascinated by matters medieval will want to add this to their reading list."
— The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

"Like all good books, there are many threads that can be followed and teased to weave into the fabric of the school curriculum."
— ResourceLinks

"Readers will be amazed and horrified by this intimate chronicle of true friendship, laughter and the smell of Death...Ellis's characters are richly developed, and the desire to know what happens to Micah and Henri will pull readers along."
— Books in Canada

"What happens to Micah's song, and to Henri, makes a vivid chronicle of monks, good and bad, and intentions, good and bad, set in the horrific context of a plague year. Quicksilver language and strong imagery propel a powerful historical tale."
— Booklist