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Children's Fiction Diseases, Illnesses & Injuries

In the Clear

by (author) Anne Laurel Carter

Publisher
Orca Book Publishers
Initial publish date
Sep 2001
Category
Diseases, Illnesses & Injuries, Self-Esteem & Self-Reliance, Hockey
  • eBook

    ISBN
    9781554694846
    Publish Date
    Sep 2001
    List Price
    $6.99

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Recommended Age, Grade, and Reading Levels

  • Age: 9 to 12
  • Grade: 4 to 7
  • Reading age: 9 to 12

Description

On her seventh birthday, Pauline rode across the lawns on her street followed by her best friend Henry, he on the blue wooden horse, she on the red. On the seventh lawn at the top of the street, she collapsed, becoming a sudden victim of the polio outbreak of the summer of 1954.

Five years later, when In the Clear begins, she has survived, but paid a heavy price. A brace on her left leg allows her to walk, but she confines herself to her house, humiliated at the notion of being seen. Terrified by what Pauline has already suffered, her mother watches over her, forbidding her to play hockey on the ice rink her father has created in the backyard.

In the Clear alternates, chapter by chapter, between Pauline's horror-filled year in the hospital five years earlier and her struggles to adapt in the present of 1959 and 1960. At the end of the book, her triumphs in past and present come together and she is able to move forward with new friendships, a renewed bond with her mother and, most important, a new faith in herself.

About the author

Anne Laurel Carter was born in Don Mills, Ontario. She has suffered from a bad case of wanderlust all of her life, which has taken her all over the world. In between travelling, Anne completed Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Education. Anne loves working with children, and became an ESL and French teacher. She is also the mother of four children, but still finds time to read and write. Anne currently lives in Toronto, Ontario, where she works full-time as a teacher-librarian.
Anne is a multi award-winning author of several books for children. Her picturebook Under a Prairie Sky (Orca, 2004) won the Mr. Christie's Book Award in 2003.

 

Anne Laurel Carter's profile page

Awards

  • Nominated, Forest of Reading Silver Birch Fiction Award
  • Commended, CCBC Our Choice
  • Commended, Canadian Children's Book Centre (CCBC) Our Choice
  • Winner, CLA Book Award
  • Commended, Best of the Best North of the 49th
  • Short-listed, Silver Birch nominee

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