Books

Listen to Sheldon Oberman reading from his books: The White Stone in the Castle Wall;  The Always Prayer Shawl
 

	Island of the Minotaur retold by Sheldon Oberman, illustrated by Blair Drawson ISBN 1-896580-31-9 Tradewind Books This chapter book of Greek myths presents the epic history of the Minoan civilization. The novel connects famous myths; Zeus and Rhea, Theseus, Ariadne and the Minotaur, Icarus and Daedalus, Jason and Medea with little known tales of the Bronze Giant, Phaedra and the Ash tree spirits. Sheldon Oberman is an author, storyteller and teacher living in Winnipeg, Manitoba with his wife, Lisa. He is the father of 3 children Adam, Mira and Jesse and 12 books including The Always Prayer Shawl, The Shaman's Nephew and The Wisdom Bird. He was nominated for A Governor General's Award in Writing in 1999. Blair Drawson has authored and illustrated seven children's books including Flying Dimitri, a 1997 nominee for the Governor General's Award in Illustration. His work has appeared in such publications as Esquire, Time, Saturday Night, The New Yorker, Rolling Stone, The New York Times. He has garnered awards from such groups as the Society of Illustrators, The National Magazine Awards, and The Advertising and Design Club of Canada. Blair currently resides in Toronto with his wife and two children. What Inspired the book
	King Solomon is wise, the wisest man in the world. One day the Queen of Sheba--the wisest woman in the world--arrives at the gates of Jerusalem. She has come from a faraway land to see Solomon put his wisdom to work. "Name anything," says the king. What the queen asks of Solomon is startling. To fulfill her request, he must change the birds of the sky--and change them forever. Soon the fate of every bird in the world rests with a small, colorful bird called the hoopoe. The roots of the story of Solomon, Sheba, and the hoopoe bird are deep. Versions of the story are found in the folklore of Israel, Yemen, and East Africa. Out of this folklore, Sheldon Oberman has fashioned his own moving version of the tale, while Neil Waldman's stunning paintings reflect a blending of its Jewish and African traditions. This tale, which speaks to us of respect for different people and the different creatures of the world, is ancient and powerful. 32 Pages * 9 x 12 Pre-printed w/ Jacket Ages 6 and up Publisher: Boyds Mills Press (Raincoast distributes in Canada)  ISBN: 1-56397-816-4 What Inspired the book Reviews Teaching Guide Awards Excerpt
	27 true tales of nomadic life near the Arctic Circle as told to Sheldon Oberman by Simon Tookoome, one of the last of the Inuit/Eskimos to live in the ancient ways of his people. A beautiful book full of Tookoome's world-renowned art and rich in fascinating tales of Tookoome's adventures with his pet wolf, how he survived blizzards in his igloo, and his shaman uncle who hunted though he was blind and performed miraculous feats of healing and rescue. Publisher: FitzHenry and Whiteside, ages 9 to adult, 56 pages. ISBN: 0-7737-3200-4 What inspired the book Reviews Teaching Guide Excerpt Awards
Reviews	Adam is a young Jewish boy in Czarist Russia. When the revolution engulfs his village, his family decides to leave their home and start a new life across the ocean. Before Adam embarks on his journey, his grandmother hands the boy his prayer shawl, which was given to him by his own grandfather, whose name was Adam.  The new world brings many changes. Adam and his family move into a small apartment. He learns a new language. His parents find work in a factory. In the midst of all this change, one thing remains the same - the certainty of Adam's name and his prayer sha wl. Sheldon Oberman has created a story that unfolds from time past to time present, when Adam, a grandfather himself now, hands the prayer shawl to his own grandson. Ted Lewin has given powerful expression to the author's words with illustrations that l inger in the imagination long after the book is closed.Together they ave created a simple yet deeply felt picture book about the power of tradition and the passing of generations. It is a picture book that becomes richer with every reading. Publisher: Boyds Mills Press, 815 Church Street, Honesdale, PA, 18431 (Raincoast distributes in Canada) ISBN: 1-878093-22-3  What inspired the book Teaching Guide Reviews Hear Sheldon read the story Awards Excerpt
	A grandfather tells his family two tales - a story of their people and a story of their own family. Both are miraculous tales of the Hannukah Light.  When Grandpa was a boy he could not share the joy of Hanukkah with the world. They were forced to observe the holiday behind locked doors and drawn curtains. In those days a man came with soldiers to persecute the Jewish people - just as a foreign king had done centuries before in Jerusalem. Here is a book that captures the message of joy and courage that is the Festival of Lights.  Publisher: Boyds Mills Press, 815 Church Street, Honesdale, PA, 18431 (Raincoast distributes in Canada) ISBN: 1-56397-658-7 What inspired the book Teaching Guide Reviews Awards Excerpt
	Toronto's Casa Loma was the biggest castle in North America when it was built. The wall surrounding it was built with 250,000 dull-coloured stones. Only one is white. How did that one white stone get there?  This is the story of how it might have happened:  In the poorest part of town, little John Tommy hoped to earn money from his vegetable garden and become "the luckiest boy of all". When a hailstorm wipes out his garden, leaving only a large dirty gray stone, he becomes the "un luckiest" - until he hears some big news. Sir Henry M. Pellatt, who brought electric lights to the city, is building a wall around his castle on the hill and will pay a silver dollar for every dull-coloured stone accepted.  People bring stones from everywhere - by sailboat across the lake, through the canals on barges, to the city on trains - before loading them onto wagons for the steep trip up the hill. But John Tommy Fiddich has to push, pull and shove his home-made cart, carrying his single stone through rain and mud, the wait in line for hours - only to see the stone called "worthless" because of a surprising turn of events. But his hard work has made it worth a lot to him.  How the white stone finally gets accepted, rewarding John Tommy Fiddich for his hard work and again making him "the luckiest boy of all", makes for a charming story, as magical as the great castle that inspired it.  Publisher: Tundra Books ISBN: 0-88776-333-2 What inspired the book Teaching Guide Reviews Hear Sheldon read the story Awards Excerpt
	TV Sal, the Game Show from Outer Space  Words like BRUM*GRUZZEBEEP*HAZAP, BUZZAT! make this a lively read-aloud story for kids ages 4-8. Sal, who probably watches a bit too much television and doesn't want to go for a walk in the fog with her loving family, gets buzzated into another wor ld where weird, televisioney stuff happens and lots of time passes. Naturally, she learns a lesson, but it's not preached down.  Publisher: Red Deer College Press, 56 Avenue & 32 Street Box 5005, Red Deer, Alberta, Canada ISBN: 0-88995-093-8   Available only though the author
	A bilingual alphabet book  Publisher: Peguis Publishers Limited, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada ISBN: 0-920541-36-4  Review Awards
	A work of interrelated stories, This Business with Elijah opens a window on a sequence of fleeting wonders and secret acts in North End Winnipeg, circa 1961. Young Danny Stein's vision of the prophet Elijah awakens him to the rich and complex world of his own neighborhood. His mother Deborah seems trapped among the faded mannequins in her store window. Old Mr. Werner, resident mystic and caretaker, sheltered in his basement workshop, tells the miracles of the Ba'l Shem Tov. Rita, the waitress at the Popularity Grill, sings her Caribbean tunes while Dean, a butcher's apprentice, risks all to become a rock'n roll star. Danny searches for some magic charm as lives around him come together and fall apart with the joy and tragedy common to all people and all generations. This Business with Elijah was nominated for the Journey Prize.  Publisher: Turnstone Press, 607 - 100 Arthur Street, Winnipeg MB, Canada, R3B 1H3 ISBN: 0-88801-174-1  What inspired the book Teaching Guide Reviews Awards
	Featuring: Oscar Brand, Bruce Cockburn, Peter Gzowski, Queen Ida and the Bon Temps Zydeco Band, Jukebox Al Simmons, Sylvia Tyson, Buffy Ste Marie, and many others  Publisher: Turnstone Press, 201 - 99 King Street, Winnipeg MB, R3B 1H7 ISBN: 0-88801-085-0  Not available
	Julie Gerond loved adventure. In the summer when the fair came to town she was especially delighted because there were many different children's rides to amuse her and lots of good things to eat as well. Julie liked the merry-go-round best o f all. She rode the elephant and tiger and camel. But her favourite was the polka dot pony. Somehow he was special. One day the old woman who ran the merry-go-round told Julie the fair was leaving town. Julie believed she was having her last ride on the p olka dot pony. Then she learned a strange secret and vowed to help free the pony from the old woman's spell. Through Julie's love and great courage the spell is broken and Julie and her pony are happy together.  Publisher: Hyperion Press Limited ISBN: 0-920534-70-8        Not available
	Canadian Jewish experience in poetry and prose  Publisher:  Coteau Books  401 - 2206 Dewdney Avenue Regina S4R 1H3 (306) 777-0170 ISBN: 0-920657-00-1
	The junior version of the adult game
	One of the questions in the game
	Another question
	A moral question

WRITING

Stories, Poems in Journals and Magazines

"GRAIN"
"Border Crossings",
"The New Journal"
"New West Review",
"CVll",
"Buzz"
"Prairie Journal of Canadian Fiction",
"Event",
"Prairie Fire"

Stories, Poems, Plays in Anthologies
Children's

Prairie Jungle (Coteau 85) Gumbo Jungle (Coteau 89)
Peices (elementary school text - Peguis 86)
Puzzle (senior high school text - Peguis 86)
Do Whales Jump at Night? (Groundwood 90)
Fred Penner Sing Along Play Along (McGraw-Hill 90)

Adult

Other Travels (Moonstone Press 88) Made in Manitoba
(Turnstone 90) Out of Place (Cocteau Press 91)
Journey Award Anthology (McLelland & Stewart 92),
200% Cracked Wheat (Coteau 92) Instant Applause
Vol 2 (Blizzard 95) Due West (Turnstone 96)
Wisdom From the Heart(96) Next Teller (Ragweed 97)

Songs

8 songs on Fred Penner's children's albums, also on "Fred Penner's Place" CBC national TV others recorded by Eric Nagler, Ed Desjarlais

Games

created the 240 questions for "The Junior Version of A Question of Scruples" bought by Hasbro, internationally distributed.
Edited the 2nd and 3rd adult versions of "A Question of Scruples"

Film

Wrote and directed; "No Act of God" 84,
"The Amazing Creation of Al Simmons" 85
"House of the Wind" 87 dist by Winnipeg Film Group

Radio & TV

CBC radio drama, a TV short for Sesame Street
The Always Prayer Shawl on Reading Rainbow PBS

Journalism

feature writing for The Winnipeg Free Press, Winnipeg Magazine, Midcontinental, Outlook, etc.
My Autobiography for Something About the Author

Theatre

"Doctor Quaker, the Rainbow Maker" produced 1987 by Toronto Studio Players, bit on Morningside CBC
"The Always Prayer Shawl" Winnipeg Jewish Theater staged at Winnipeg's Warehouse Theatre 95 then Du Maurier Theatre in Toronto also as a school tour
"Trouble's Just a Bubble" Short Shots 95 PTE

Acting/Storytelling

professional acting on stage and film
Readings and storytelling sponsored by the Manitoba Arts Council and Canada Council Tours
Read on CBC Morningside, performed at numerous festivals, bookfairs and conferences Canada & US.

Honours

Adult Fiction First Place Canadian Authors Short Story Award 1987
Runner Up: Prism Short Story Award 1990
Journey Prize nomination for Best Canadian Short Story 1991 "This Business With Elijah"
Nominated for McNally Robinson Book of the Year 94
Short stories nominated for National Magazine Award 95 and the Western Magazine Award 95

Children's

The Lion in the Lake

1991 International Silver Medal Leipzig Germany International Book Fair

The Always Prayer Shawl

1994 American Jewish Book Award
1994 Sydney Taylor American Librarians Award
A Child's Magazine "Best Book of the Year" 94
American Bookseller "Pick of the List" Award 94
International Reading Association Choice Book 95
Assoc of Booksellers for Children Choice Book 95
Starred on "Choice List" of Children's Book Centre
National Council of Social Studies Notable Book in the Field of Social Studies 1995
Reading Rainbow Feature Book 1996
New York Times Book Shelf

By the Hannukah Light McMally Book of the Year 97

The Shaman's Nephew:

• Shortlisted, Governor General's Award
• Winner, Norma Fleck Award for Non-Fiction
• Finalist, McNally Robinson Book for Young People Award
• Nominee, British Columbia Round Table, 2000 Information Award
• Shortlisted, Amelia Frances Howard-Gibbon Award
• Winner, Parents' Choice Silver Honor Book (U.S.)
• Parent Council, Outstanding Book (U.S.)
• Children's Book Council, Notable Social Studies Trade Book (U.S.)

Nominations

5 Juno nominations - albums which include my songs

The White Stone in the Castle Wall

McNally Young People's Book Award Nominee
Ruth Shwartz Children's Book Award Nominee
Runner up Toronto IODE Book Award 95
Our Choice List of Canadian Children's Book Centre
Featured in Book of the Month Club

Date last modified: 21 November, 2003