WINNER  2013 RED MAPLE Non-fiction Ontario Library Association
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Bill’s BOOKS
Fast Finish (1998 James Lorimer & Company, Publishers, Toronto. ISBN 1-55028-640-4) Noah, 13, is the fastest runner in his school. But when he joins a track club he learns that sometimes what you like is not always what you are best at; and that you can’t win by running away from what you don’t want to face. Mud Run (2003 James Lorimer & Company, Publishers, Toronto. ISBN 1- 55028-786-9) Manitoba Young Readers Choice Award nominee 2005. Matt efforts to fit in at a new school dig him deeper and deeper into trouble. Even joining the Cross-Country team doesn’t help – until his discovery that even in an individual sport, teamwork is important. Off Track! (2003 James Lorimer & Company, Publishers, Toronto. ISBN 1- 55028-806-7) Tyler has to spend a summer doing remedial English, where he discovers the sport of Triathlons. But in order to race, he keeps secrets from his father. Major problems result, until his swimming coach helps Matt and his father focus – and compromise – on what each believes to be important. Corner Kick (May 2004 James Lorimer & Company, Publishers, Toronto 1- 55028-816) Canadian Children’s Book Centre Our Choice. Michael is not accepted at his school until the “in” group discovers his skill at soccer. As the school soccer team closes in on the city championship, another newcomer to the school threatens Michael’s new popularity. Now he must decide what is important to him. Deflection! (October 2004 James Lorimer & Company, Publishers, Toronto. ISBN 1-55028-852-0) Canadian Children’s Book Centre Our Choice. Jacob Henry loves to play hockey, but he has three problems — his grandfathers, each of whom thinks he possesses more hockey knowledge than the coach. One still plays in six leagues; another went to high school with one of the game’s stars; and the third tries to apply his musical skills to every problem.
Road Rage (Spring 2006 James Lorimer & Company, Publishers, Toronto. ISBN 1-55028-91698-09) Canadian Children’s Book Centre Our Choice. Matt Thompson and his running friends approach the last weeks of the eighth grade with the realization that both in school and in running they are headed in different directions. They decide to run in an annual local road race. Matt ends up accused of a theft, and his new coach schedules him to act as a water boy on the course instead of running. That’s when Matt learns what a real challenge is. A sequel to Mud Happens and Mud Run.
Mud Happens (October 2005 James Lorimer & Company, Publishers, Toronto. ISBN 1-55028-898-9) The student runners from S.T. Lovey Elementary School, first introduced in Mud Run, look for a continuation of running through the winter. This leads them to indoor track training, eccentric coaches, and stresses they had not imagined they would face in the eighth grade. The Enforcer (November 2007 James Lorimer & Company, Publishers, Toronto. ISBN 1550289799) In this hilarious sequel to Deflection, Jake Henry has achieved one of his dreams: to become the goalie for the Roofers of the Oshawa Lakeridge League. Then, bad news. The team coach moves away, and without a replacement, the Roofers might not finish the season. At first Jake is relieved when one of his three hockey-crazy grandfathers steps into the role. But can the team adapt to Grandpa P.J.'s old-school methods?
Real Justice: Fourteen and Sentenced to Death (March 2012 James Lorimer & Company, Publishers, Toronto. ISBN                                                      9781459400757 At fourteen, Steve Truscott was a typical teenager in rural Ontario in the fifties, mainly concerned about going fishing, playing football, and racing bikes with his friends. One summer evening, his twelve- year-old classmate, Lynne Harper, asked for a lift to the nearby highway on his bicycle and Steve agreed. Unfortunately, that made Steve the last person known to see Lynne alive. His world collapsed around him when he was arrested and then convicted of killing Lynne Harper. The penalty at the time was death by hanging. Although the sentence was changed to life in prison, Steve suffered for years behind bars for a murder he didn't commit. When his case gained national attention, the Supreme Court of Canada reviewed the evidence -- and confirmed his conviction. It took over forty years and a determination to prove his innocence for him to finally clear his name. He has since received an apology and compensation for his ordeal. In this book, young readers will discover how an innocent boy was presumed guilty by the justice system, and how in the end, that same justice system, prodded by Truscott and his lawyers, was able to acknowledge the terrible wrong done to him.
Real Justice: Convicted for Being a MI’KMAQ (March 2013 James Lorimer & Company, Publishers, Toronto  ISBN  9781459404380) When a black teen was murdered in a Sydney, Cape Breton park late one night, his young companion, Donald Marshall Jr., became a prime suspect. Sydney police coached two teens to testify against Donald which helped convict him of a murder he did not commit. He spent 11 years in prison until he finally got a lucky break. Not only was he eventually acquitted of the crime, but a royal commission inquiry into his wrongful conviction found that a non- aboriginal youth would not have been convicted in the first place.   Donald became a First Nations activist and later won a landmark court case in favour of native fishing rights. He was often referred to as the "reluctant hero" of the Mi'kmaq community.
Man to Man (November 2009 James Lorimer & Company, Publishers, Toronto. ISBN 1552774422)  Michael O'Reilly is the shortest kid on the lacrosse team, and the youngest. He doesn't play rough, and everyone says he's not tough enough for the sport. When tension breaks out between teams and one team accuses the other of racist behavior, Michael realizes that he is tough after all -- he's the only one brave enough to speak the truth.
Real Justice: Jailed for Life for Being Black James Lorimer and Company, Publishers, Toronto  ISBN: 9781459406667 Rubin Carter was in and out of reformatories and prisons from the age of twelve. At twenty-four, he became a winning professional boxer and was turning his life around. But Carter was also very vocal about racism in the local New Jersey police force. In 1966, local policemen arrested Carter and a friend for a triple murder. The two were convicted and sent to jail for life. Carter spent nearly twenty years in jail, proclaiming his innocence. A teen from Brooklyn, Lesra Martin, heard Carter's story and believed he was innocent. He and a small group of Canadians contacted Carter and began working with Carter's lawyers in New York to get the boxer exonerated. In 1985, a judge released Carter, ruling that Carter's conviction had been based not on evidence, but on racism. Carter moved to Canada in 1985, where until his death in 2014 he worked helping others prove that they had been wrongfully convicted.
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