Beryl YoungBeryl Young


April, 2021

Show Us Where You Live, Humpback received a STARRED review in Kirkus! "A true homage to these wondrous creatures."


October, 2019

A Boy From Acadie has just won the Silver Moonbeam Award in the U.S.

September, 2019

Exciting news that Miles to Go has just received the honour of a nomination for the 2019 Canadian Children's Book Centre Geoffrey Bilson Award for Historical Fiction for Young People. Thanks to everyone involved.


January, 2019

Newly released: A Boy From Acadie: Roméo LeBlanc's Journey to Rideau Hall in French and English editions now available.


October, 2018

Just released by Wandering Fox, Heritage House is my new novel Miles to Go. The book is for readers 9-13 and is set in southwest Saskatchewan in 1948.


August, 2018

In the spring of this year, the Parliament of Canada voted unanimously to declare September 28 an annual British Home Child Day. This is a wonderful recognition of the many thousands of children who came to Canada alone to work as indentured workers between 1830 and 1939, and whose descendants are now proud Canadians.


August, 2017

2018 will be an exciting year.

In June, my biography of Roméo LeBlanc will be released by Bouton d'or Acadie in New Brunswick. A Boy From Acadie: Roméo LeBlanc's Journey to Rideau Hall will be published in both French and English and will be a cross-over book appealing to readers from ten to adult.

A Boy From Acadie tells the story of a poor Acadian boy whose sister works as a maid to make it possible for her brother to attend high school. Education opens the door for Roméo to go out into the world. After a distinguished career as a politician in Ottawa, Roméo is appointed to represent the Queen in Canada becoming the first Acadian governor general. Like my book Charlie: a Home Child's Life in Canada, this is the story of an ordinary Canadian who grows up to make a valuable contribution to his country. This non-fiction biography will have photographs and sidebars to supplement the story.

In October, Heritage House of Victoria, B.C. will release my middle grade novel Miles to Go. Based on a true event, the book tells the story of a friendship between two twelve-year-old girls in a small Saskatchewan town. In the spring of 1948, each girl faces a deep loss with the death of a family member. Anna makes a promise on her mother's deathbed to look after the newborn baby. Maggie, struggling with fears that she is adopted, loses her family ally, her beloved grandmother. Through the hard few months ahead the girls face new challenges that threaten their friendship. Together they learn the meaning of loyalty and the value of keeping a promise.

Look for A Boy From Acadie and Miles to Go.


March, 2014

Follow the Elephant and Charlie: a Home Child’s Life in Canada are being turned into audio books to be available soon.

Look under Would Someone Please Answer the Parrot! to see the two new award nominations it has received.


June, 2013

Read about my first picture book Would Someone Please Answer the Parrot! on this website. Launches are being planned for Vancouver, Victoria and Winnipeg this fall.


May, 2012

Here is a picture of me accepting the Chocolate Lily award for the best novel in B.C. in 2011-12. The award is for Follow the Elephant and the statue is beautiful carved glass in the shape of B.C. On my right is Ron Hatch, the publisher of the book and on my left in Karen Erenholz, the founder of the award. Very exciting.

I've been invited to speak to 500 descendants of Home Children on September 28, 2012 at Upper Canada Village in Ontario. I look forward to hearing the stories told my others whose relatives came to Canada at a young age like my father.


May, 2011

I've just heard that Charlie: a Home Child's Life in Canada has been nominated for a B.C. Red Cedar 2011-12 award. Such an honour to be recognized in your own province. Students will read the book all next year and vote for a favourite in the spring of 2012.

I had a great trip to Calgary this month (complete with snow) speaking to over 250 students about both Charlie and the Elephant books. At the end of the week I was part of a day-long Calgary Young Writer's Conference with over 1200 students who broke into small groups to learn about writing with over 40 authors. I don't usually teach writing to students, but had fun with the workshops I'd prepared and I hope inspired some students in their writing.

I just returned from a visit to Halifax which was a big success in spite of torrential rain and wind every day. I stayed in a charming old converted home from the 1860's right downtown where I could walk to Pier 21 and some schools.

I had three school visits (about 160 students in total) and they all went well - seems that Charlie's story moved the teachers to tears at one event (tears are music to a writer's ears). And I can report that I did not take it personally when a Grade 5 boy vomited in the middle of another talk!

The Hackmatack award ceremony was exhilarating - you can imagine 300 students stomping and cheering as the authors walked to the stage led by a student with our names on a big banner along with a BC flag in my case. I was the only nominee from BC. Charlie didn't win the non-fiction award but it didn't matter. Later after another marathon book and paper signing I had a chance to talk to Philip Roy about how we liked being with Ronsdale Press.


April, 2011

Recently I've spoken at the Galiano Writer's Festival and at a Tapestry 2011 teacher's conference in Victoria and this month I'm off to Calgary to speak to schools and at a Young Writer's Conference.

In May I'll spend a week in Halifax speaking to schools and attending the Hackmatack awards. The Red Maple award ceremony is held the same month in Toronto.

Since Key Porter and H.B.Fenn declared bankruptcy in January, Charlie: a Home Child's Life in Canada has been without a home. A new publisher has been found and will be announced soon.

Reader's Digest International has bought the rights to publish the condensed version of Charlie internationally. Chinese readers will be among the first to read about Charlie's journey to Canada.

Wishing Star Summer is now out of print and copies will be available through the author (see Contact).


October, 2010

Follow the Elephant has received a Silver Medal for Pre-teen fiction at the 2010 Moonbeam Awards (US).

I'm just back from Ottawa where I had the wonderful experience of presenting a copy of Charlie: a Home Child's Life in Canada to the Parliamentary Library in the parliament buildings. It's such an honour to think of the story of my father's life being part of their collection.

While there I attended a reception with 250 people in honour of The Year of the British Home Child given by the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration. The next day I gave a presentation at a conference of the Ottawa branch of the British Isles Family History Society.

The other big news is that Reader's Digest Canada have chosen Charlie as their Reader's Choice book for October. They published 28 pages of the story with eleven photographs starting on p.136. I'm happy that the story of Home Children will reach more people.


Summer, 2010

I just received an invitation to present Charlie: a Home Child's Life in Canada to the Parliamentary Library when I'm in Ottawa on September 10th. I'll be met at the front door of the Centre Block of the Parliament buildings and taken to the newly renovated library to present my book to the Chief Librarian.

It feels good to think that Charlie's story will be in their permanent collection.

Charlie: a Home Child's Life in Canada appears in Canadian Children's Book Centre BEST BOOKS for 2010 with a starred "exceptional calibre" recommendation.


June, 2010

This last year has been a busy and exciting one for me. With two new books within six months, Charlie: a Home Child's Life in Canada (2009) and Follow the Elephant, (2010) I've held eight book launches across the country from Cape Breton, Toronto, Winnipeg, Vancouver to Victoria.

I've spoken to over one thousand school students and to reunions with the descendants of hundreds of British Home children. All very exciting.

The big news now is that Charlie has been nominated for three awards and good reviews are coming in for Follow the Elephant.

The best news of all is that the Canadian parliament has voted unanimously to declare 2010 the Year of the British Home Child. I'm not too sure what this will mean, but I'm hoping schools across the country will learn about Home Children as part of their curriculum.

I have just been invited to speak at a plenary session of a large national conference of the British Isles Family History Society in Ottawa, September 9-12. This is very exciting for me, not just as the daughter of a Home Child, but as a chance to speak to people about how I discovered and researched my father's story. There will be a reception the night before at Library and Archives Canada put on by Citizenship and Immigration Canada.

In October, Canada Post will launch a stamp honouring British Home Children.