• Age: 3 to 9
• Grade: p to 12
• Reading age: 3 to 9

Here's a true-to-life adventure story. Arty is a 10-year-old boy who gets the chance of a lifetime -- he's hired to go on the maiden voyage of the famous schooner Bluenose in 1921. Young readers will delight in joining along with Arty as he learns his way around the ship amidst the dangers, excitement and intrigue of working on a fishing schooner. When Arty climbs to the top of a mast and spots another ship heading toward Bluenose on a collision course, even the captain is grateful for his help. Once he's back in Bluenose's home port of Lunenburg, Arty has a real adventure to share with his family and friends.

In this story, based on the real experiences of young boys who worked on board Bluenose in the 1920s, Jacqueline Halsey has created a book that celebrates the story of the ship and her famous captain Angus Walters.

For Jacqueline Halsey, growing up in post war London meant walking to school past numerous bombsites and listening to her mother's stories about food rationing and air raids. Consequently, she always admired the courage of women and children coping with the tasks of everyday life in wartime situations. This courage inspired Peggy's Letters, Jacqueline's first book.

After High School she went to art college in Worthing, Sussex and then much later obtained a BA degree at Mount Saint Vincent University in Halifax, which she attended as a mature student.

Jacqueline loves traveling and has visited many countries, including South Africa where she lived in a sugar mill village for four years.
She currently works in the Alderney Gate library in Halifax. Her days are filled with books, rhymes, puppets and lots of children to share them with. Jacqueline lives with her husband Ray, her granddaughter Ashlee, two cats and a very old goldfish in a house by a lake in Nova Scotia - a very different place from Peggy's war torn neighborhood. She is part of the Writer's Federation of Nova Scotia's 'Writer's in the School Program.' Her visits to schools are booked through them.

Jacqueline has a web page on the Writer's Federation of Nova Scotia website: http://www.writers.ns.ca/Writers/jhalsey.html.
Peggy's Letters (Oct 2005) published by Orca Books.
Nominated for: Hackmatack 2007 Children's Choice award; Rocky Mountain 2007 Children's Choice award; Silver Birch (Express) 2007 Children's Choice award; Woozle's Battle of the Books 2007 list

The Gran Plan
Placed third in the 2003 Atlantic Writing Competition/ Joyce Barkhouse award for Children's Literature. (Un published manuscripts) Subsequently, it was published (Fall 2006) by Scholastic as part of their Literacy Place for the Early Years school reading program.

Jacqueline Halsey's profile page

Eric Orchard is the illustrator of several books, including The Terrible, Horrible, Smelly Pirate. He won the Halifax Mayor's Award for Book Illustration and his work has been included in the Society of Illustrator's Annual competition and exhibition. Eric lives in Toronto.

Eric Orchard's profile page

"... stands on its own merit as an adventure story but is also full of details about how cod fishing was conducted in 1920s Atlantic Canada.... Illustrations by Eric Orchard are striking, matching the mood of the weather and nature."

Resource LInks

"Bluenose Adventure is a wonderful story that shows how a small act of kindness can make a big difference."

Canadian Review of Materials