Josepha A Prairie Boy's Story Format: Trade Paperback

The time is 1900, in the midst of the great waves of European immigration to North America. Standing in the dust and wind of the prairie, a young boy prepares to say good-bye to Josepha, his older classmate, who is leaving the alienating world of the classroom where no one speaks his language.

But what a wonderful friend he has been! And without a common language between them, how will his younger friend ever say good-bye? What gift can he give Josepha to show how special their friendship has been? Josepha depicts a facet of pioneer life seldom considered - the immigrant child's struggle to begin again in a strange land. Winner of the Governor General's Literary Award for Children's Illustration

For over 20 years Jim McGugan has been an elementary-school teacher, a guidance counsellor, an educational consultant, an editor, and a writer. The author of two books for children, he draws on all his experiences when he writes and is presently at work on another illustrated story and a novel for young readers. Jim McGugan lives in Palgrave, Ontario with his wife, two daughters, and, according to the author information in his first book, with his lawn tractor, Grumplegrunt.

Since graduating in 1988 from Alberta College of Art and; Design in Calgary, Murray Kimber has worked as a freelance illustrator in all major communication capacities, from advertising to annuals to children's publishing. His work has won industry recognition from Studio Magazine, Applied Arts, Communication Arts, Publishing, and the Society of Illustrators in New York.