When Karen asked her Finnish-Canadian grandparents to record their life stories, she was given a glimpse of her grandmother's brave yet mysterious battle against tuberculosis as a young mother. The idea for Saara's Passage took tangible shape after Karen read letters written by her grandmother to her infant daughter, Karen's mother, letters that were discovered after her grandmother's death.

Saara's Passage is a sequel to Second Watch, Karen's historical novel based on the wreck of the Empress of Ireland steamship in 1914. When Karen's Finnish-Canadian grandmother gave her a silver spoon and told her its tale, Karen had no idea it would lead her into a whole novel's worth of words. She learned that her grandmother's Finnish friends had members of their family from Port Arthur who died in the wreck of the Empress of Ireland. Karen researched the steamship and wove the ship's story into fictional Saara's life.

Both Second Watch and Saara's Passage have been nominated for the Chocolate Lily Award and have been enthusiastically received by children, parents, teachers, and reviewers. Karen grew up in the Thunder Bay area and now lives in Kelowna, B.C.

For more information about Karen Autio, please visit the author's website: www.karenautio.com or connect with her on Facebook or Jacketflap.

Second Watch

Second Watch is based on true details of Finnish immigrant culture and the sinking of the great Empress of Ireland. Over the eight years that this Canadian Pacific steamship sailed the Atlantic Ocean, it transported more than 117,000 passengers to Canada. The sinking of the Empress on May 29, 1914, remains Canada's worst maritime disaster during peacetime. Of 1,477 passengers and crew on board, 1,012 were lost – more passengers than in the sinking of the Titanic. Yet the Empress of Ireland and its fate remain little known to most Canadians.

JUVENILE HISTORICAL FICTION • Ages 10+ • 200 pp • 5¼ x 7¾ • map, historical note and archival photos
ISBN 1-55039-151-8 • paper • $9.95

Saara's Passage

Saara is trying hard to put her horrible experience aboard the doomed Empress of Ireland behind her. She goes to school, roller skates with her best friend, and enjoys her new baby cousin. And she is so looking forward to starring in the school play!

But nightmares—and unanswerable questions—continue to disturb her. War is declared, and the future of the whole world looks uncertain. Then her family is struck with another heavy blow: tuberculosis. Saara's beloved Aunt Marja must go to the sanatorium in Toronto. Who will care for baby Sanni?

Juvenile Historical Fiction • Ages 10+ • 256 pp • 5¼ x 7¾ • historical note and archival photos
ISBN 1-55039-168-2, ISBN 13 978-1-55039-168-8 • paper • $10.95