Carried Away on Licorice Days

Owen isn't expecting anything other than a good night's sleep when he's shipped off to his grandmother's farm after his baby sister is born, but he soon discovers that he fits right in with the three-legged dog, the blind goat, and a very angry pony. Then Grandma wins the lottery and everything changes. From the Critics:"e;This gentle novel brings to mind the works of James Herriot, full of memorable animal characters, cups of steaming hot cocoa, and frosty mornings out in the barn. Highly recommended."e; CM: Canadian Review of Materials, March 20th, 2009?"e;... a thrilling outcome for Owen ... one that debut author McMaster deftly and convincingly orchestrates."e; Susan Perren, Children's Book Reviewer, The Globe and Mail, November 8th, 2008Honours:Shortlisted for the 2011 Rocky Mountain Book AwardShortlisted for the 2010/2011 Hackmatack Children's Choice Book AwardLonglisted for the Canadian Library Association's 2009 Book of the Year for Children AwardAbout the Author: Margaret J. McMaster published her first book of middle-grade fiction, Carried Away on Licorice Days, in 2008. It was nominated for three literary awards: the Canadian Library Association's Book of the Year for Children Award, the 2010/2011 Hackmatack Children's Choice Book Award, and the 2011 Rocky Mountain Book Award. In 2009 she started writing the Babysitter Out of Control! series. These amusing, fast-paced adventures include: Babysitter Out of Control!, Looking for Love on Mongo Tongo, The Improbable Party on Purple Plum Lane, What Happened in July (a Best Books for Kids & Teens selection), The Sinking of the Wiley Bean, and, The Queen of Second Chances. The Complete Babysitter Out of Control! Series, published in 2015, was long-listed for the 2016 Silver Birch Award, a Best Books for Kids & Teens selection, and the 2015 Moonbeam Children's Book Award Early Reader/1st Chapter Books winner. McMaster is a past contributor to the Canadian Children's Annual and her creative non-fiction piece, After All These Years, was shortlisted for the 2006 CBC Literary Award. So Much Potential, a novel set in the Lake Erie fishing industry, was published in 2013. It was a Best Book for Kids & Teens *Starred* Selection. The first book in her Phoebe Sproule series, 8 Days in DUMBO, was named one of *The Year's Best* by Resource Links and won an Honorable Mention in the 2019/2020 Reader Views Literary Awards. The sequel, The Haunting of Cedar Hill Plantation, was released in 2020 and won a Bronze Medal in the Reader Views Literary Award.