Author: Marsha
I write historical fiction, mostly from the perspective of young people who are thrust in the midst of war.
Making Bombs for Hitler
In this companion book to the award-winning Stolen Child, a young girl is forced into slave labour in a munitions factory in Nazi Germany. In Stolen Child, Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch introduced readers to Larissa, a victim of Hitler’s largely unknown Lebensborn program. In this companion novel, readers will learn the fate of Lida, her sister, who was also kidnapped by the Germans and forced into slave labour — an Ostarbeiter.
In addition to her other tasks, Lida’s small hands make her the perfect candidate to handle delicate munitions work, so she is sent to a factory that makes bombs. The gruelling work and conditions leave her severely malnourished and emotionally traumatized, but overriding all of this is her concern and determination to find out what happened to her vulnerable younger sister.
With rumours of the Allies turning the tide in the war, Lida and her friends conspire to sabotage the bombs to help block the Nazis’ war effort. When her work camp is finally liberated, she is able to begin her search to learn the fate of her sister.
In this exceptional novel Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch delivers a powerful story of hope and courage in the face of incredible odds.
Continue reading “Making Bombs for Hitler”
The War Below (previously: Underground Soldier)
A companion to the award-winning books Stolen Child and Making Bombs for Hitler.
Fourteen-year-old Luka works as an Ostarbeiter in Nazi-occupied Eastern Europe, alongside Lida from Making Bombs for Hitler. Desperate to escape the brutal conditions of the labour camp, he manages to get away by hiding in a truck under a pile of dead bodies.
Once free, Luka joins a group of Ukrainian resistance fighters. Caught between advancing Nazis in the west and Soviet troops in the east, they mount guerilla raids, help POW escapees, and do all they can to make life hard for the Nazis and Soviets. After the war, Luka must decide whether to follow Lida to Canada — or stay in Europe and search for his long-lost mother.
Underground Soldier is a companion book to Stolen Child and Making Bombs for Hitler, and a perfect entry point into the series for new readers, as the books can be read in any order.
Continue reading “The War Below (previously: Underground Soldier)”
Nobody’s Child Teacher’s Guide
Nobody’s Child
by Marsha Skrypuch
Dundurn 2003
isbn 1-55002-442-6
Pre-reading activities
Look at the cover
what do you think the story will be about?
why do you think this novel is called Nobody’s Child?
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The Hunger Teacher’s Guide
The Hunger
by Marsha Skrypuch
Boardwalk Books 1999
isbn 1-895681-16-2
Pre-Reading Activities
Look at the cover. What do you think the story will be about? Think of the title and then read the blurb on the back of the book. What do you think “the hunger” refers to? Have you ever experienced a hunger? What were the circumstances? Is a hunger always about food? What other things can it be about?
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Silver Threads Teacher’s Guide
Silver Threads
by Marsha Skrypuch
art by Michael Martchenko
Fitzhenry & Whiteside 2004
isbn 1550419013 (hardcover)
isbn: 155041903X (paperback)
Anna and Ivan escape hardship in Ukraine to build a home on the Canadian frontier. But when war breaks out in Europe, Ivan is imprisoned as an enemy of their new country. Now Anna is left alone to complete the homestead while she waits patiently for the miracle that will bring her husband back to her.
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Meet the Professional: Meredith Tutching, Director of the Forest of Reading®
Is there an author or illustrator in Canada who doesn’t wait with bated breath for the annual Forest of Reading® shortlists to be announced? A Forest of Reading® nomination can make a book an instant bestseller and can transform a children’s author into something like a rock star. Continue reading “Meet the Professional: Meredith Tutching, Director of the Forest of Reading®”
It Takes a Failing to Master the Trick of Success
Thank you, Successstory.com for the great interview!
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- Early Childhood Aspirations
Continue reading “It Takes a Failing to Master the Trick of Success”
Dance of the Banished audio interview
From Teachingbooks.net. Listen here.
Parish Internees
St. Michael’s Parish during WWI
Marsha Skrypuch
Within weeks of Canada entering World War I against Germany and Austria-Hungary on August 6, 1914, our federal government brought into force the War Measures Act, tightening the grip on immigrants from enemy countries. Federal officials were given sweeping powers to decide whom to arrest, deport or incarcerate, and whose property they would expropriate and sell. Continue reading “Parish Internees”