• Age: 8 to 12
• Grade: 3 to 7

Middle grade historical fiction inspired by the real 18th-century shipwreck off Halifax Harbour, and the local boy who risked his life to save those on board.

When every aspect of your life is ruled by the whims of the sea, the water can be your best friend—and your worst enemy.

In 1797, an orphan named Joe is determined to set sail and leave his small town of Herring Cove, Nova Scotia, behind. Here, his life isn't his own: he has to do what grouchy Eli and strict Gram say, because (as they like to remind him) they've given him food and shelter. They order him around and keep secrets from him, in the contents of Gram's medicine bag and in the mysterious sea chest hidden at the back of Eli's shed.

The Atlantic Ocean is Joe's ticket to freedom. When he's out on the water, he delights in the ocean spray and rolling waves. But a gentle sea can turn choppy and deadly at any moment, which Joe and his neighbours know all too well.

When a frigate bound for Halifax Harbour wrecks nearby during a raging storm, the locals don't dare attempt a rescue. Can Joe stand by and listen to the helpless cries of the exhausted sailors, or should he put his life on the line and brave the merciless Atlantic?

Inspired by the true story of the shipwreck of the HMS Tribune and the heroism of a boy known as "Joe Cracker," this exciting coming-of-age adventure is brimming with rich detail and captivating suspense.

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