The Heaven Shop by Deborah Ellis

The Heaven Shop by Deborah Ellis

At her father's funeral, Binti's grandmother utters the words that no one in Malawi wants to hear. Binti's father and her mother before him, dies of AIDS. Binti, her sister, and brother are separated and sent to the home of relatives who can barely tolerate their presence. Ostracized by their extended family, the orphans are treated like the lowest servants. With her brother far away and her sister wallowing in her own sorrow, Binti can hardly contain her rage. She, Binti Phirim, was once a child star of a popular radio program. Now she is scraping to survive. Binti always believed she was special, now she is nothing but a common AIDS orphan.

Binti Phiri is not about to give up. Even as she clings to hope that her former life will be restored, she must face a greater challenge. If she and her brother and sister are to reunited, Binti Phiri will have to look outside herself and find a new way to be special.

Compelling and uplifting, The Heaven Shop, is a contemporary novel that puts a very real face on the African AIDS pandemic, which to-date has orphaned more than 11 million African children. Inspired by a young radio performer the author met during her research visit to Malawi, Binti Phiri is a compelling character that readers will never forget.

• Ontario Library Association's Golden Oak Award winner 2006
• Winner of the 2005 Jane Addams Children's Book Award in the category of Honor Books for Older Children
• Shortlisted for the 2006 Alberta Children's Choice Book Award
• A Manitoba Young Readers' Choice Awards Honour Book for 2006
• Foreword Magazine 2004 Book of the Year Award finalist
• A Children's Africana Book Awards (CABA) 2005 Honor Book for Older Readers
• A Canadian Children's Book Centre Our Choice 2005
• Ruth & Sylvia Schwartz Children's Book Award for Young Adult/Middle Reader Books finalist

Deborah Ellis is best known for her Breadwinner series of novels, which have been translated into 25 languages and have generated over $1 million in royalties for charities such as Canadian Women for Women in Afghanistan and Street Kids International. She has received numerous awards, including the Governor General's Award, the Ruth Schwartz Award, the University of California's Middle East Book Award, the Swedish Peter Pan Prize, the Jane Addams Children's Book Award, and the Vicky Metcalf Award for a Body of Work. She was recently appointed to the Order of Ontario and won the President's Award for Outstanding Achievement from the Ontario Library Association. Simcoe, Ontario is her home.