Charlie Wilcox is a children's novel by Sharon E. McKay about a boy from Newfoundland in World War I. First published in 2000, the novel won the Geoffrey Bilson Award and the Violet Downey Award. It is followed by a sequel, Charlie Wilcox's Great War, published in 2003.
Plot
The book opens in Newfoundland in 1915. Charlie Wilcox's parents want him to go to college rather than become a seal hunter like his father; they believe that his club foot makes him unfit for an active life. To prove his courage and ability, fourteen-year-old Charlie decides to stow away on a sealing vessel; however, he finds himself instead on a troop ship bound for the war in Europe. Rather than return, he chooses to become a stretcher bearer at the front where he witnesses the horrors of trench warfare and the Battle of the Somme.
Awards
| Year | Award | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Geoffrey Bilson Award | Winner | |
| 2001 | Violet Downey Award | Winner | |
| 2002 | Manitoba Young Readers' Choice Award | Nominee | |
| 2001-02 | Hackmatack Children's Choice Award for English Fiction | Winner |