Cary Fagan, born writer Music books for all ages

Transcription

$4.95
WINTER 2013
VOL. 36 NO. 1
RECOMMENDED BOOKS + OPINIONS + PROFILES + NEWS + REVIEWS
Cary Fagan,
born writer
Music books
for all ages
01
7
25274 86123
1
30+
recommended new books by Arthur Slade,
K’naan, Martine Leavitt, Karen Patkau and more
T his spring we’re hanging out
Community Soup by Alma Fullerton
978-1-927485-27-9 (HC with jacket) $19.95
Hoogie in the Middle by Stephanie McLellan
and illustrated by Dean Griffiths
978-1-927485-28-6 (HC with jacket) $17.95
Namesake by Sue MacLeod
978-1-927485-29-3 (PB) $14.95
978-1-927485-32-3 (HC) $21.95
Nix Minus One by Jill MacLean
978-1-927485-25-5 (PB) $14.95
978-1-927485-24-8 (HC) $21.95
[email protected]
facebook.com/pajamapress
@pajamapress1
pinterest.com/pajamapress
Hoogie in Bunny Suit © Dean Griffiths; Laughing Bird © Reebecca Bender
our best!
CONTENTS TH
THIIS ISSUE
booknews
7 Seen at ...
Winter 2013 Volume 36 No. 1
Trilby Kent, author of Stones for My Fatherr and winner of the
2012 TD Canadian Children’s Literature Award, celebrates with
Charlotte Teeple, Executive Director of the Canadian Children’s Book
Centre, and Tim Hockey, President & CEO of TD Canada Trust.
Editorr Gillian O’Reilly
Copy Editor and Proofreaderr Shannon Howe Barnes
Design Perna Siegrist Design
Advertising Michael Wile
Editorial Committee Peter Carver, Brenda Halliday,
Merle Harris, Diane Kerner, Cora Lee, Carol McDougall,
Liza Morrison, Shelley Stagg Peterson, Charlotte Teeple,
Gail Winskill
This informative magazine published quarterly
by the Canadian Children’s Book Centre is available
by yearly subscription.
Single subscription — $24.95 plus sales tax
(includes 2 issues of Best Books for Kids & Teens)
Contact the CCBC for bulk subscriptions and
for US or overseas subscription rates.
Winter 2013 (January 2013)
Canadian Publication Mail Product Sales
Agreement 40010217
Published by the Canadian Children’s Book Centre
ISSN 1705 – 7809
© 2012 Greig Reekie Photos
For change of address, subscriptions,
or return of undeliverable copies, contact:
The Canadian Children’s Book Centre
40 Orchard View Blvd., Suite 217
Toronto, ON M4R 1B9
Tel 416.975.0010 Fax 416.975.8970
Email [email protected] Website www.bookcentre.ca
Review copies, catalogues and press releases
should be sent to the Editor at: [email protected]
or to Gillian O’Reilly c/o the above address.
For advertising information, contact: Michael Wile at
[email protected] or 416.531.1483
4 Opinion: Savouring good news
in tough times
18
Gillian O’Reilly looks at some good news
stories amidst challenging times for the
book business.
Two important organizations for children’s
book writers celebrate significant milestones.
6
COVER: Illustration from Uncle Wally’s Old Brown
Shoe, illustrated and written by Wallace Edwards,
published by Orca Book Publishers, © 2012.
Used with permission. For more information,
visit www.orcabook.com.
News Roundup
International Disabilities Collection finds
home in Toronto; Celebrate Science! most
successful ever — plus locusts!; Book Week
news and updates; New Events Calendar
for children’s book lovers everywhere.
7
Seen at ...
Happy Birthday to CANSCAIP
and CWILL BC
20
Bookmark! Making Music
Twenty books, from fact to fiction, celebrate
music and music-makers.
22
The Classroom Bookshelf
24
Book Bits: Biting into Board Books
Five books for babies and toddlers start
youngsters on their reading journey.
A photographic look at book events.
MEDIUM: Watercolour, gouache and pencil.
10
ABOUT THE ARTIST: An award-winning author
and illustrator, Wallace Edwards is a graduate of the
Ontario College of Art. His paintings and illustrations
are found in public and private collections, books,
magazines and on public display in Canada and the
United States. Wallace has been the guest speaker
at many conferences, literary events, schools and
libraries. He finds visiting with students from
Kindergarten to Grade 6 especially enjoyable, where
his presentations consist of reading, discussions
and drawing. Wallace lives in Yarker, Ontario.
With 18 children’s books to date, Cary Fagan
says he owes his career to persistence, hard
work and luck.
Cary Fagan: A Born Writer
26
We Recommend
Reviews of the latest in fine Canadian books
for children and teens.
40
Index of Reviews
14
Focus: A Seriously Funny
Author Roundtable
Four authors talk about humour, darker
subjects and the balance between serious
and funny.
W I N T E R 2 013 C A N A D I A N C H I L D R E N ’ S B O O K N E W S
1
We’re honoured to
honour great books
Meet the 2012 TD Canadian Children’s Literature Award winners.
Encouraging a love of reading is one of our great passions. That’s why we’re proud sponsors of the TD Canadian
Children’s Literature Award. Congratulations to winning authors Trilby Kent and Mario Brassard as well as illustrator
Suana Verelst on their powerful stories of resilience and strength.
Administered by the Canadian Children’s Book Centre, the TD Canadian Children’s Literature Award is one of the
largest awards of its kind. To learn more, please visit tdreads.com/awardwinners
FROM THE EDITOR GI
GILLLLIIAN O’REILLY
Board of Directors
Todd Kyle, President
Felicia Quon, Vice-President
Leigh Chalmers, Treasurer
Sheila Barry
Lisa Doucet
Sharon Jennings
Shar Levine
Charles McCarragher
Susan McLennan
Daryl Novak
Itah Sadu
Roland Stringer
Staff
Charlotte Teeple Executive Director
Shannon Howe Barnes Program Coordinator
Meghan Howe Library Coordinator
Holly Kent Sales and Marketing Manager
Dawn Todd General Manager
Patrons
Marilyn Baillie
Kit Pearson
The Peter and Eleanor Daniels Foundation
Tina Powell
Ian and Deb Wallace
Sponsors
Amazon.ca
Friesens
HarperCollins Canada
Penguin Group (Canada)
Rawlinson Moving & Storage
TD Bank Group
Funders
Canada Council for the Arts
Canadian Heritage (BPIDP)
Charles Baillie
Fleck Family Foundation
Manitoba Department of Culture,
Heritage and Tourism
PEI Department of Education
and Early Childhood Development
PEI Department of Tourism and Culture
Ontario Arts Council
Ontario Arts Foundation
Toronto Public Library
Yukon Department of Education
“Humour is a perfectly legitimate response to the horror of the world.” This quote
from Scottish writer A.L. Kennedy was used in a recent discussion of dark humour on
CBC Radio’s Writers & Company.
For kids and teens, the horrors of the world can range widely in level of gravity — from
ways that adults can bewilder and mortify young people to the very real tragedies of death
and grieving. Yet, funny books and funny/serious books are enthusiastically embraced by
young readers. I’ve often felt that we don’t give enough credit to the writers who have the
talent to create these books. Perhaps it’s because humour continues to be seen as easy
to write. Perhaps it’s because, as Ted Staunton observes in this issue, humour is a
much more subjective quality.
In “A Seriously Funny Roundtable,” Melanie Fishbane interviews four excellent writers
about humour and how they use it in books which make their readers think seriously and
laugh at the same time. Gordon Korman, Susin Nielsen, Alan Silberberg and Ted Staunton
offer thought-provoking comments on their craft.
I’ve known author Cary Fagan for many years (he was one of the two people who set me
up on a date with my husband) and I’ve always been impressed with his perseverance and
commitment to his craft. Sylvia McNicoll interviews this prolific author who has known
since childhood that he wanted to be a writer.
Two organizations which support, promote and nourish the many talented children’s book
creators in this country are celebrating significant anniversaries this year. You’ll find out
more on page 18.
Take a look at our selected list of books with music themes on page 20 and check out all
the Book Week news and updates on page 6.
Happy reading!
Our Thanks
The work of the Canadian Children’s Book Centre
is made possible through the generous support of our
members, volunteers, sponsors, funders and the
continuing assistance of the Canada Council, Writing
and Publishing Section, and the Public Readings Program.
Your feedback is important!
EMAIL COMMENTS TO [email protected]
We acknowledge the financial support of the
Government of Canada through the Book Publishing
Industry Development Program (BPIDP) for this project.
Like us! Facebook.com/KidsBookCentre
Follow us! @KidsBookCentre
W W W. B O O K C E N T R E . C A
3
OPINION GI
GILLLLIIAN O’REILLY
Savouring good news in tough times
Kendal Hanson
As has been observed before, people involved in children’s books
Patsy Aldana presents the Matt Cohen Award to Jean Little.
are possessed of a relentless optimism. Given all the challenges of
writing, illustrating and publishing for children — and running
bookstores for children — they have to! Even though you may hear
a certain amount of moaning or a number of dour predictions from
those same creators and producers, they couldn’t be in the business
of children’s books if they weren’t possessed of a core compulsion to
look cheerfully into the future.
This past year, however, has proved a challenge. As I write this,
Douglas & McIntyre is in creditor protection with the outcome to be
announced in February. Although mainly a publisher for the adult
market, D&M and its sister company Greystone Books have published excellent and award-winning non-fiction for young people. In
2012, a number of independent bookstores shut down branches of
their operation (Nicholas Hoare Books in Ottawa and Montreal) or
closed their doors (Toronto Women’s Bookstore and The Book Mark
in Toronto, Titles in Peterborough, Greenwoods in Edmonton). Over
the holiday came the sad news that Benjamin’s Books, the 13-yearold children’s bookstore in Rothesay, New Brunswick, was closing
its doors. And, while children’s books have always been judged by
the general media to be less important and less “literary” than their
adult counterparts, the diminution of children’s book coverage in a
number of newspapers this past year has been very discouraging.
There are, however, good news stories to cheer us and fuel the
crazy optimism of this business.
Kendal Hanson
The Writers’ Trust
spotlights children’s books
Kirsten Hanson, Chair of the Metcalf Foundation, presents the Vicky
Metcalf Award to Paul Yee.
4
C A N A D I A N C H I L D R E N ’ S B O O K N E W S W I N T E R 2 013
This past fall, children’s books and children’s authors were highlighted at the annual Writers’ Trust Awards Gala. Paul Yee won the
Vicky Metcalf Award for Children’s Literature, the prize presented
annually to a children’s book author for a body of work. As someone
who maintains her own private list of authors who should receive
this award (and I’m sure I’m not alone), I was delighted to see Paul
Yee honoured in this way. He’s been high on my list for a long time.
As the jury wrote, “Paul Yee has contributed uniquely and powerfully to our literary landscape over a writing career that spans almost 30 years. He was virtually the first children’s author to document the Chinese-Canadian experience from its early days to the
present. Ghost Train, Tales from Gold Mountain, and Dead Man’s
Gold
d now stand as classics. Layered and haunting, they strike at the
heart of human character, while at the same time portraying a very
particular historical setting in vivid, economical prose. Even in his
quick, contemporary short stories he writes from a strong position
of familiarity and knowledge, bringing up many facets and varieties
in the Canadian experience of immigration. And yet, in almost all
his stories, whether historical or contemporary, there is a moment of
revelation or character change that pivots on human passions that
we all share. His recent teen novels have a biting voice that speaks to
issues of identity, racism, and sexual discrimination, both inside and
outside the Canadian-Chinese community. His is a body of work to
wrestle with, one that leaves the reader altered, and that deserves our
recognition.”
Usually, among the Writers’ Trust Awards, the Vicky Metcalf
Award is the only opportunity to honour children’s book writers.
This year, however, Jean Little was awarded the Matt Cohen Award:
In Celebration of a Writing Life. This prize recognizes a lifetime of
distinguished work by a Canadian writer, working in either poetry
or prose in either French or English. Janet Lunn is the only other
children’s book author to have won this award since its establishment in 2000.
“A Writing Life” is a very apt description of Jean Little’s 50-year
career. Her first book was published in 1962 and her most recent
appeared in the fall of 2012. In recognizing Jean’s contribution to
our literature, the jury said, “In all, Jean has written 50 books for
children and young adults, and is one of the best loved and most
respected children’s authors in the country.”
Many of Jean Little’s books feature characters who have, or whose
lives are affected by those with, a disability and she believed those
children had a right to be represented in fiction. But the strength
of her writing is her uncanny ability to get inside the head of any
child and vividly and honestly depict all the emotions of childhood
— from joy to loneliness to jealousy to the security of coming home.
It is wonderful to see her honoured this way.
On the fift ieth anniversary of the Vicky Metcalf Award, the Writers’ Trust Distinguished Contribution Award went to the Metcalf
Foundation itself — for its important support of Canadian children’s
books through this prize. “A model of generosity, care, and a willingness to make a difference, for 50 years the Metcalf Foundation
has stood firmly behind Canadian authors, helping to recognize the
brightest members of our country’s children’s literature community.”
(A short video about the Vicky Metcalf Award and what it is means
to authors — featuring previous recipients Julie Johnston, Marthe
Jocelyn and Kenneth Oppel — can be found at www.writerstrust.
com/Awards.)
The Seven Series
There were many good books published in 2012, too numerous to list
here (although, I admit, my colleagues have heard me rave particularly about The Stamp Collectorr by Jennifer Lanthier and François
Thisdale). Among them, the Seven series was a mammoth undertaking by Orca Book Publishers and the seven authors involved — and it
turned out to be a very good news story. Initiated by prolific author
Eric Walters, the project saw seven writers create linked stories about
the seven grandsons of a man who leaves them each a task in his will.
The manuscript deadline was October 31, 2011 and the publication
date was October 10, 2012, so the achievements of editor Sarah Harvey (armed with spreadsheet, index cards and more) is awe-inspiring, especially as she also published a novel of her own this fall.
Fift y thousand books in the Seven series were sold in the first
six weeks. All the books are in their second printing and one is in
its third printing. Teachers’ guides are available on Orca’s website
(www.orcabook.com). Although Orca had high hopes for the series,
publisher Andrew Wooldridge acknowledges that it proved “bigger
than we thought it would be.”
The authors — all seasoned and entertaining performers — took
the show on the road, doing appearances in pairs, in fours and some-
times all seven of them. There was power in numbers; they attracted
audiences as large as 3,000. In addition, author Sigmund Brouwer,
whose character is a young musician forced from his home by a sadistic stepfather, has created a band and music video for his character
and an original song “Rock the Boat” (www.devilspassnovel.com).
The series has attracted a great deal of interest in the foreign rights
market as well as a few nibbles in the area of movie rights. There is
talk of another series from the same team — remember that crazy
optimism of people in the book business? — one which could appear
as early as 2014.
Power of a group — great for the books, great for authors individually and together, great for helping to get attention and awareness
of books and reading.
Children’s bookstores
Children’s bookstores have been a challenging business since the
first one opened in Canada in 1929 (not an auspicious year to start a
business) and the unhappy news from Benjamin’s Books reminds us
that it is still tough sledding. If I could, I’d give an award to each and
every children’s bookstore in Canada — from Woozles in Halifax
through Livres Babar in Montreal, Kaleidoscope in Ottawa, Mabel’s
Fables and Ella Minnow in Toronto and Kidsbooks in Vancouver —
for their service and commitment to their customers and their support for the authors and illustrators in this country. I was reminded
of what they can do when I recently ordered two backlist books online from my local store (Mabel’s Fables) and got an almost instant
email saying the books were in stock and ready and, by the way, the
author was in the store at that very moment and would I like them
autographed. Yes!
A recent story in The Atlanticc magazine by American adult author
Ann Patchett detailed the establishment of a bookstore in Nashville
by Patchett and two other booklovers (www.theatlantic.com/maga
zine/archive/2012/12/the-bookstore-strikes-back/309164/). Crazy
optimism is not, apparently, limited to the Canadian scene. Patchett ended up doing a great many media appearances where she was
constantly asked about the future of independent bookstores. She
decided to draw on her experience in the fashion magazine world
where she had realized “what everyone in fashion already knew: a
trend is whatever you call a trend.” Consequently, she writes, “‘The
small independent bookstore is coming back,’ I told reporters in
Bangladesh and Berlin. ‘It’s part of a trend.’”
Inspired by both Patchett’s observation and by some of the good
news stories from 2012, I’m welcoming 2013, determined to identify
a few developments. “Children’s books are being acknowledged as
the important literary form they are — it’s part of a trend.” “Support
your independent children’s bookstore so they can succeed in the
face of current challenges — it’s part of a trend.” “Canadian authors
and publishers are taking on crazily ambitious projects and succeeding wonderfully — it’s part of a trend.”
And now I’m off to check out the New Year’s Day list of nominees to the Order of Canada — a list which never includes enough
children’s authors and illustrators. Maybe it’s time to start a new
trend.
Gillian O’Reilly is the Editor of Canadian Children’s Book News.
5
INDUSTRY
News Roundup
Alex Gabriel
AWARDS, BOOK LAUNCHES, ANNOUNCEMENTS AND THE LATEST NEWS
Dinner is served at Celebrate Science! (l to r)
Leslie Johnstone, Shar Levine, Murray Isman.
Celebrate Science!
most successful ever — plus locusts!
Celebrate Science, the annual event for
teachers and educators, aims to inspire
young minds to love science and math
through interesting science books, simple
hands-on activities and science collections. The third Celebrate Science, held
on November 3 at the Beaty Biodiversity
Museum in Vancouver, was the most
successful ever, according to conference
co-organizer Shar Levine — sold out and
with a waiting list of 20 names.
Speakers included a variety of science
writers, illustrators and scientists. Artist Dianna Bonder shared her thoughts
on why science illustrations have to be
both fun and accurate. Information Book
Award nominee Dora Lee spoke about
some of the fascinating information in her
book and her passion for inspiring young
girls to pursue careers in science. Other
speakers included museum interpreter and
writer Alex Gabriel; Gillian Richardson,
author of the award-winning Kaboom!
and other books; Michelle Mulder, author
and bike enthusiast who described how
bikes can be used as centrifuges, knife
sharpeners and other unusual products;
and a hands-on science demonstration by
authors Shar Levine and Leslie Johnstone
6
with tricks from their new book Hockey
Science. The keynote speaker was Dr.
David Close, Director, Aboriginal Fisheries
Research Unit at the University of British
Columbia Fisheries Centre.
Presenters had an extra encounter with
science at a pre-conference party featuring
Crunchy Science. Conference coordinator
Shar Levine explains, “Professor Murray
Isman, Dean of Land and Food Systems,
generously offered up some of the insects
from his lab. His preparation and demonstration of things to do with meal worms
and locusts had guests squealing with
delight. Roasted meal worms taste a bit like
peanuts, while locusts sautéed in garlic and
butter were the same flavour and texture as
shrimp. And yes, we all ate them!”
International Disabilities Collection
finds home in Toronto
An international collection of books for
and about young people with disabilities
has found a home in Canada. The IBBY
Documentation Centre of Books for Disabled Young People, established in 1985
and formerly centred in Oslo, Norway, will
be moving to the North York Central Library in the Toronto Public Library system
in 2013. IBBY, the International Board on
Books for Young People, is an network of
people from around the world committed
to bringing children and books together.
The Toronto Public Library was selected
from a range of international applicants.
The collection, which now comprises
over 4,000 books, represents the best titles
published worldwide for children and
teens with special needs. Formats include
books with sign language illustrations,
BLISS symbols, PCS pictograms, Braille or
tactile illustrations and cloth books. The
North York Central Library will be making the collection widely accessible. Sharon
Moynes, Manager of Readers, Youth and
Children’s Services at the North York Central Library, says, “Once the IBBY books
arrive and are prepared for our public
shelves, there will be a designated area for
them within the Children’s Department
complete with IBBY signage and a display
cabinet where we can showcase the more
delicate IBBY treasures.” In addition,
online access will open up the collection
to a worldwide audience.
The books in the collection are selected
from submissions from around the world.
IBBY Canada Past President Brenda Halliday explains, “Every two years IBBY
invites its national sections in 77 countries to submit recently published books
produced especially for young people with
disabilities, as well as regular books serving special needs. The jury also looks for
picture books and novels from the regular
children’s book production that portray
persons with special needs — with an
emphasis on similarities rather than differences, to encourage understanding and
empathy. The final selection of approximately 50 outstanding books is featured in
a biennial catalogue, and exhibited at the
Bologna Children’s Book Fair and other
conferences and venues internationally,
before joining the permanent collection.”
For further information on IBBY and
the biennial Outstanding Books for Young
People with Disabilities catalogues, visit
www.ibby.org.
Book Week: February Release
for Book Week materials
Starting in February, teachers and librarians can purchase TD Canadian Children’s
Book Week posters and bookmarks for
their classroom or library, and will be able
to access the theme guide and activities
online.
Award-winning author and illustrator
Marthe Jocelyn, and her daughter Nell Jocelyn, have created this year’s Book Week
2013 poster image which perfectly captures
the Book Week theme All the Bookshelf ’s a
Stage. Bookmarks using the poster image
help share the magic of Book Week with all
the students in your classroom or library.
The theme guide All the Bookshelf ’s a
Stage: Celebrating the Performing Arts is
available free online. The Canadian Children’s Book Centre has carefully sourced
Canadian books that look at musical incontinued on page 8
EVENTS
Seen at...
Holly Kent
Catherine Mitchell
A PHOTOGRAPHIC LOOK AT CANADIAN CHILDREN’S BOOK EVENTS
Cybèle Young, winner of the Elizabeth MrazikCleaver Award for A Few Blocks.
© 2012 Greig Reekie Photos
Philippe Béha and his new friends celebrate the 2012 TD Grade One Book Giveaway!
Above: Dirty Dog Boogie and more: Loris
Lesynski records five of her books for the new
ebook and audio ebook versions from Open
Road Integrated Media.
Above right: Celebrating the Norma Fleck Award
for Canadian Children’s Non-Fiction: Quinn
Fleck, illustrator Karen Reczuch, author Susan
Vande Griek, and David Fleck.
Gillian O’Reilly
Below right: In the huddle — launching And
the Crowd Goes Wild! A Global Gathering of
Sports Poems, editor Carol-Ann Hoyte (second
from left) celebrates with Pippa Kennard of
Right to Play, illustrator Kevin Sylvester and
contributor Jocelyn Shipley.
7
struments, the circus, ballet, puppet shows,
the opera, music, song and dance. These
books will introduce readers to different
art forms, as well as to characters whose
lives have been changed because of a connection to music, theatre, song and dance.
Book Week:
Who’s Going Where?
Alberta
Selina Eisenberg, storyteller
Alma Fullerton, author
British Columbia
Interior
Charles de Lint, author
Lower Mainland
Richard Scrimger, author
Vancouver Island
Marthe Jocelyn, author & illustrator
Manitoba
Wallace Edwards, author & illustrator
Sylvia Gunnery, author
New Brunswick
Eric Walters, author
Newfoundland
Hélène Boudreau, author
Labrador
Jennifer Lanthier, author
Northwest Territories
Lorna Schultz Nicholson, author
Book Week: Writing Contest
The nine dedicated judges for the annual
Book Week Writing Contest for Kids &
Teens will be hard at work through February and March, engaged in the difficult
task of evaluating the many creative efforts
submitted by the February 1 deadline and
picking a winner for each grade. Students
from Grades 4 to 12 are eligible.
Contest winners will be announced on
May 8 during TD Canadian Children’s
Book Week 2013. For further information,
visit www.bookweek.ca.
Book Week: Find public readings
in your region
There are scores of free public readings
taking place across Canada during TD
Canadian Children’s Book Week. These
readings, generously funded by the Canada
Council for the Arts, are held in public
libraries, community centres, bookstores
and, in the case of remote regions where
there is not a public library, local schools.
As of April 15, you can check online to see
if there is a reading in your area to enjoy!
Nova Scotia
Sylvia McNicoll, author
Nunavut
Sarah Tsiang, author
Ontario
Rachelle Delaney, author
Maureen Fergus, author
Gary Kent, author & Kim LaFave,
illustrator
Anne Renaud, author
Caroll Simpson, author & illustrator
Maureen Ulrich, author
Cassy Welburn, storyteller
Prince Edward Island
Ron Lightburn, author & illustrator
Quebec (English-language tour)
Dan Bar-el, author & storyteller
JonArno Lawson, author & poet
Catherine Rondina, author
Max Tell, storyteller
John Wilson, author
Saskatchewan
Lizann Flatt, author
Lois Peterson, author
CCBC Book
Events Calendar
Your Canadian source for kid’s book events
New! Events Calendar for
children’s book lovers everywhere
The new CCBC Book Events Calendar
(events.bookcentre.ca) is an easy-to-use,
comprehensive source for all events related
to Canadian children’s books. Launching
to the public in January 2013 and
linked to both the CCBC home page
(www.bookcentre.ca) and to the
Book Week home page (www.bookweek.ca
(
),
the site enables booklovers to specify a
location and search for events in their area.
They can also sort by type of event, price,
language, and reading level.
While anyone can view the calendar and
share events through email, Facebook, or
Twitter, posting events is a unique perk of
Canadian Children’s Book Centre membership. The site can be accessed at events.
bookcentre.ca, and members of the CCBC
can apply for an online profi le and begin
posting as soon as the profi le has been
approved. Those who are not yet members
can sign up at www.bookcentre.ca/store
before applying for a profi le.
The CCBC launched a BETA version in
September 2012 and feedback from those
already posting events already has been
enthusiastic. Erin Woods of Pajama Press
says, “For Pajama Press, the major appeal
of the CCBC events calendar has been
the ability to reach a specific audience
of people who work in children’s books.
We found it especially useful in advertising our annual fall book launch. And, of
course, it’s great to see what other people
in the industry are doing, too.”
Saff ron Beckwith, Vice-President of
Ampersand, adds, “I think the events page
is great. It’s fabulous to have a central
national source for Canadian kids’ books!”
Looking for... awards news or history?
For the most up-to-date awards news, as
well as an authoritative and comprehensive
list of Canadian children’s books awards,
visit www.bookcentre.ca/award.
Yukon
Geneviève Côté, author & illustrator
8
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If you love Canadian kids’ books,
go to the source:
bookcentre.ca
PROFILE CA
CAR
RY
R
Y FAGAN
Cary Fagan: A Born Writer
Persistent, Hardworking and Lucky
BY SYLVIA MCNICOLL
The Beginning
“I had an essentially happy childhood and was blessed with wonderful parents, but I seemed to have had a somewhat melancholy
nature, which made me introspective, and with a tendency to live in
my head.” Like some of the characters in his books, Cary Fagan grew
up in a privileged household in a well-to-do suburb. His parents
came from modest circumstances — his father arrived in Canada as
a refugee and his Toronto-born mother began working in her teens
when her father died — but they worked hard and ended up providing well for their family. (His dad was a lawyer and businessman,
however, not the dental floss tycoon from his 2011 novel Banjo of
Destiny.) Growing up, Fagan and his two brothers were loved and
cherished, but his family was insular and, while close to his older
brothers, he wandered the school playground alone.
When his two brothers went fishing, he was happy to sit somewhere near them and scribble out stories. “My parents were very supportive of my writing. They encouraged me when I was a kid and
never stopped. Somehow they believed I could make it.”
While he loved writing from an early age, he did not enjoy reading
as much as his brothers. At 16, because he knew he wanted to write
for a living, he thought he had better train by studying the classics,
beginning with a dull-looking edition of Charles Dickens’ Great
Expectations. Surprising himself, he loved it and he kept reading.
10
At the University of Toronto, he won nine writing prizes along the
path to his degree in English. This promising start then stalled for
over ten years. Fagan wrote hard, supporting himself with freelance
work for magazines, editing jobs and even a paste up job in London,
Ontario. His creative writing, however, did not get published very
often. “I didn’t realize it then, but I wasn’t ready. I was persistent
though — I worked hard and I kept working at it.”
In frustration, he self-published a number of chapbooks. His last
one, Nora by the Sea (published in 1988), earned praise on CBC from
Timothy Findley. Finally, in 1990, his non-fiction book, City Hall
and Mrs. God
d was published, along with a first collection of short
stories, History Lessons. As luck would have it, a number of novels
quickly placed with traditional publishers afterwards and that first
non-fiction book was named a 1990 finalist for the Toronto Book
Awards.
Turning to Children’s Books
After Dickens, Fagan also enjoyed reading the Russian classics.
Gogol’s short story “The Overcoat,” in which a clerk dies for the loss
of a hard earned coat, moved Fagan so much he wanted to write a
happier version.
By this time he was telling stories to his nephews and drawing
little illustrated books for his two daughters, which made him look
more closely at children’s literature. His wife at the time, Joanne
Schwartz, was studying to become a children’s librarian, bringing
home wonderful stories to read. Gogol’s adult short story gradually
morphed into Fagan’s more optimistic retelling in his first picture
book, Gogol’s Coat. Fagan created another picture book adaptation,
The Market Wedding,
g from Abraham Cahan’s story “A Ghetto Wedding,” in which a couple spends every last cent on a lavish wedding
in the hopes that the gifts will furnish their house. That story earned
him the 2004 World Storytelling Award.
His first children’s novel began as a picture book. Daughter of the
Great Zandini featured a master magician who wanted to pass his
professional legacy to the wrong child. Fagan’s editor, Kathy Lowinger, thought it should be longer. “I didn’t just extend it but made
the story more involved, and even added a sort of unseen villain (a
newspaper reporter). She was right, it became a much better story.”
Getting Lucky
In 2001, Daughter of the Great Zandini won a Mr. Christie Book
Award Silver Medal. Lowinger then asked him to co-write a nonfiction ballet memoir with Chan Hon Goh (Beyond the Dance: A Ballerina’s Life) which shortlisted for the 2003 Norma Fleck Award for
Canadian Children’s Non-Fiction. For his next book, Fagan decided
to draw a greater audience of children with a work of pure entertainment — and the result was The Fortress of Kaspar Snit, the adventures
of two children who battle a dastardly, fountain-stealing villain. The
book was rewarded with a Silver Birch Honour Book citation.
After five more books with Tundra, Fagan was invited by Lowinger
to continue Mordecai Richlar’s Jacob Two-Two series. Intrigued by
the family story underpinning the series, Fagan re-read the three
novels and instead of continuing the saga, created a tale to link the
first and second, explaining the movement from England to Canada.
Jacob Two-Two on the High Seas attracted much attention for Fagan,
including profi les in The Globe and Maill and Publishers Weekly,
as well as the book being named a Quill & Quire Book of the Year
in 2009.
Fagan considers his children’s writing to have been blessed with
greater good fortune than his adult writing. Over the years, he has
received many nominations for “Tree” awards, which, he says, have
given his books life and drawn huge sales. This year his latest picture
book, Ella May and the Wishing Stone, is on the Blue Spruce Award
shortlist.
As well, his recent adult book of stories, Life Among the Apes, was
longlisted for the 2012 Scotiabank Giller Prize before it was even formally launched. For the first few days he was shocked and thrilled;
then the pressure to make the shortlist set in. The book did not make
it further but that initial announcement immediately sent it into
a second print run. “Like most authors, I have ambiguous feelings
about awards — you know, the nature of making things a competition — but that doesn’t mean I don’t want to be shortlisted or win.”
When asked about the pinnacles of his career, he doesn’t cite that
longlisting or any other award. Rather, it is how his own children
can see and respond to his work. “Not all kids really understand
what their parents do, but my daughters have from the earliest age,
and then my wonderful stepsons. I make up stories. They certainly
understand that. And that they’re proud of me gives me one of my
greatest rewards. The kids have all come down to the ceremony for
the Tree awards at Harbourfront and have heard the crazy cheering,
have seen the line-ups for autographs. That’s pretty sweet.”
Making Magic Happen
Fagan’s approach has always been to juggle several projects at the
same time, writing adult fiction and non-fiction, children’s picture
books and novels. “There are differences in my approach to writing for
kids and adults, but most of the satisfactions are the same. Revealing
character, building a credible and involving story, trying to capture
an idea and a feeling in a way that opens something up for the reader
— that’s all a part of writing. And there are particular satisfactions
that come with each, as well. If I could write only adult or only kids’
books, I’d feel bereft, as if a part of me was missing.”
He likes to work anywhere from a week to several months on one
project. For picture books he keeps in mind the nature of the listening experience and the fact that each turn of the page requires a
certain dramatic moment, like a chapter break. He’s grown in that
he now allows the illustrator more space to contribute and resists the
urge to share his vision with her or him.
“In a novel I hope to give my main character some depth, especially his or her emotional life as it changes through the narrative.”
Even for kids, he doesn’t like to spell everything out, but leans toward
a more ambiguous ending, leaving it up to the reader to fi ll in parts
of the story.
Fagan is one of those disciplined authors who resists the lure of the
Internet. He works in a variety of places but on an average morning
heads up to his study on the third floor where the Internet is banned.
That’s his rule for now at least. He writes for a couple of hours and
only then takes a break to check his email, research or perhaps read.
(Besides writing, he edits books, mentors other writers and teaches
picture book writing at University of Toronto’s School of Continuing
Studies.) In the afternoon he heads back for a second writing session,
something he found hard to do in the earlier part of his career.
Although his household is a busy one with two daughters, Rachel
(21) and Sophie (15), and two stepsons, Emilio (21) and Joachim
(15), around at various times, Fagan likes to stay connected with
his writing by working at least a couple of hours a day, even on the
weekend. His wife, Rebecca Comay, understands as she is a professor
of philosophy and an author too (Mourning Sickness, Hegel and the
French Revolution). On vacations, sometimes, they enjoy working
quietly together.
For some projects, picture books especially, he may head for the
local coffee shop and write the first draft longhand. On a holiday
in Cape Breton, he wrote Gogol’s Coatt at Tim Hortons. He likewise
wrote a chunk of his latest novel, The Boy in the Box, on a Netbook in
Tompkins Square Park in New York.
Second Draft, Third Draft, Publication
Fagan’s favourite self-editing tool is allowing a first draft to sit to get
distance — sometimes for weeks, sometimes for as long as a year.
Although his wife and children sometimes read and comment on his
stories, when asked about using writing groups or other first readers,
he says “I like to greedily keep it to myself.”
The next time he looks at that draft, he can take bigger leaps,
slashing and burning. He also becomes more descriptive. But it is
the third draft he enjoys the most; with very little external changes
to be made, this draft will feel closest to the shape he wants.
He enjoys and credits the input of savvy editors on his many projects along the way: Kathy Lowinger, Kathryn Cole, Sue Tate, Shelley
Tanaka, Patsy Aldana, Sheila Barry and Lynne Missen. “They were
all nice people to work with too.”
11
The Future
Since the end of that decade of frustration in his twenties, all of
Fagan’s stories find publishers. Some take longer than others and
they certainly aren’t all easy. Currently his work is placed by Transatlantic Literary Agency’s Marie Campbell for his children’s books
and Sam Haywood for his adult work.
His most recent work, and his 18th book for kids, The Boy in the
Box, returns to his earlier themes of magic. It is a substantial book,
longer than his previous kids’ novels, with a hypnotic dark feel. A
travelling show uses the thrill of performance to lure 12-year-old Sullivan Mintz, as well as all the other children in the show, away from
their homes. Threatened with sinister consequences for attempted
escapes and missing their families, they nevertheless become hooked
on the adrenalin of show business.
Whereas all of his other series books have been one-offs that grew
into more episodes, this story is designed to be a two-parter. The
ending definitely warrants a “to be continued.” Fagan says, “If it is a
satisfying novel, hopefully the readers will hold their breath until the
next book.”
Sylvia McNicoll, author of crush. candy. corpse (Lorimer) will be one of those readers
holding her breath for the next installment.
Selected Titles by Cary Fagan
The Boy in the Box
(Master Melville’s Medicine Show, Book I)
PENGUIN CANADA, 2012
Jacob Two-Two on the High Seas
illustrated by Dušan Petričić
TUNDRA BOOKS, 2009
Mr. Zinger’s Hat
TUNDRA BOOKS, 2012
Thing-Thing
illustrated by Nicolas Debon
TUNDRA BOOKS, 2008
Banjo of Destiny
illustrated by Selçuk Demirel
GROUNDWOOD BOOKS, 2011
Ten Lessons for Kaspar Snit
TUNDRA BOOKS, 2008
Ella May and the Wishing Stone
illustrated by Geneviève Côté
TUNDRA BOOKS, 2011
The Big Swim
Book of Big Brothers
illustrated by Luc Melanson
12
Mr. Karp’s Last Glass
My New Shirt
TUNDRA BOOKS, 2007
Directed by Kaspar Snit
TUNDRA BOOKS, 2007
Ten Old Men and a Mouse
illustrated by Gary Clement
TUNDRA BOOKS, 2007
The Fortress of Kaspar Snit
TUNDRA BOOKS, 2004
Beyond the Dance: A Ballerina’s Life
written by Chan Hon Goh and Cary Fagan
TUNDRA BOOKS, 2002
Daughter of the Great Zandini
illustrated by Cybèle Young
TUNDRA BOOKS, 2001
The Market Wedding
illustrated by Regolo Ricci
TUNDRA BOOKS, 2000
Gogol’s Coat
illustrated by Regolo Ricci
TUNDRA BOOKS, 1998
For more on the author,
visit www.caryfagan.com
FREEDOM TO
READ WEEK
FEBRUARY 24 - MARCH 2, 2013
Join us in raising awareness about censorship, freedom
of expression and our access to Canadian writing!
Visit www.freedomtoread.ca to order your Freedom to Read
annual review of censorship issues in Canada and 2013 posters.
A project of the BOOK AND PERIODICAL COUNCIL
Book and
Periodical
Council
CONGRATULATIONS TO THE WINNER OF THE
2012 John Spray Mystery Award
Established in 2011 to honour excellence in mystery book genre and
sponsored by John Spray, President of the Mantis Investigation Agency,
this $5,000 prize is awarded annually to a Canadian author of an
outstanding work of mystery writing for young people.
C
Charlie’s
Key
written by Rob Mills
w
O
Orca
Book Publishers
978-1-55469-872-1 (pb) $9.95
9
Canadian
Children’s
Book Centre
Awards
The John Spray
Mystery Award
is administered by
the Canadian Children’s
Book Centre.
For more information
and for jury comments,
visit www.bookcentre.ca
13
FOCUS HU
UM
MOUR
A Seriously Funny
Author Roundtable
BY MELANIE FISHBANE
Recently, when Governor General Literary Award-winner Susin
Nielsen was at a teacher-librarian event, one of them described her
books as “seriously funny.”
“I thought this was a great expression so I’m stealing it!” writes
Nielsen when being interviewed for this article. I’m going to follow
her lead and steal it, too, because it is the perfect expression to
describe the kind of humour that the following Canadian authors
use when dealing with difficult issues. While humour in children’s
literature isn’t necessarily a new trend, what is new is the increase
in writers willing to use this tool to explore darker issues.
The four authors interviewed for this roundtable are not only
skilled in getting the laughs, but also in knowing how to be funny
without losing the emotional resonance. Whether it is dealing
with the extremes of bullying, a disease like Alzheimer’s, writing
a grief narrative, or changes in family dynamics, Gordon Korman,
Susin Nielsen, Alan Silberberg and Ted Staunton find the balance
between the serious and funny, showing kids that laughter can
truly be the best medicine.
Since the publication of his first book, This Can’t Be Happening at
Macdonald Hall, 35 years ago, Gordon Korman has written over 75
books. His recent works include Ungifted, Schooledd and Pop. Susin
Nielsen’s tragic and funny book, The Reluctant Journal of Henry
K. Larsen, won the 2012 Governor General’s Literary Award. She
is also the author of Word Nerdd and Dear George Clooney, Please
Marry My Mom. Author and musician Ted Staunton has written
nearly 40 books since his picture book Puddleman was published
in 1983. His most recent books include Jump Cut (part of the Seven
series), Acting Up and the early reader Morgan Gets Cracking. Alan
Silberberg is the author of Milo: Sticky Notes & Brain Freeze and the
forthcoming book, The Awesome, Almost 100% True Adventures of
Matt & Craz.
Many of your books deal with a particular serious
(sometimes tragic) issue, such as bullying, politics, and
death/dying/grieving. How did you decide to use humour
to approach these issues in a way that felt authentic to
the story and its character?
Gordon Korman: I think we have to stipulate that some issues are
more serious than others. In Schooled, I tackle bullying; in Pop, it’s
a retired football player suffering from CTE, a degenerative brain
disease. So, obviously, I’ve got more room for comedy in the former
than the latter. But in both novels, there’s a place for humour, just as
there is in our lives, even in some of the darkest moments.
Alan Silberberg: When I began Milo, my intention was to write a
light, funny book with cartoon illustrations about a boy in junior
high school. Diary of a Wimpy Kid
d had just made a splash so I wanted
to create something funny and cartoony. The farthest thing from my
mind was that I wanted to write a book about a boy grieving his
mother’s death. But as I got into it and established Milo’s funny tone
of voice I realized that I was using my own voice as a 13-year-old.
Drawing from my past brought up all of the emotional memories of
being an adolescent whose mom had died when he was nine. It was
a seamless transition to let Milo’s story continue to come out from
that place inside me and to continue letting the humour and sadness
stay intertwined, because that’s what life was like for me. I was still a
funny kid — but also a kid caught up in sadness and confusion. Life
is never all one thing or the other and my book allowed me to tell a
story that was both.
Susin
Nielsen
Gordon
Korman
14
“These days, the smart, ironic teen narrator is ascendant,
but I still carry a torch for the earnest, humourless character –
the more admirable the better – who, despite all his/ her
admirable qualities, just doesn’t see the forest for the trees.”
— Gordon Korman
Susin Nielsen: I always feel that as long as I’m staying true to my
narrator, then I’m being authentic. And kids at the age of 12 or 13
tend to have a very self-centered view of the world. I don’t mean that
in a bad way at all. I just mean that there is a lot they’re learning and
figuring out and a lot they haven’t quite grasped yet. So, even if I’m
writing about the most tragic of circumstances, if it’s from a 13-yearold boy’s perspective, there will be parts that will (hopefully) make
you laugh.
Ted Staunton: I’m not sure that any of my books deal with bullying, politics, or death (Okay, maybe a tiny bit of death and some
bullying, but that’s out of a lot of books. There is a divorce in one.)
I use those issues as a counterbalance to some of the zanier stuff,
rather than attempting to skewer them.
Gordon: When you’re writing for an audience that has grown up
surrounded by TV, movies and YouTube, it’s vital that characters’
voices be authentic. Whatever your opinion of kids’ media-dominated lives, today’s young readers bring a highly-developed ear
for dialogue and voice to the table. And, of course, in humourous
novels, a lot of the narration and conversation is funny. These days,
the smart, ironic teen narrator is ascendant, but I still carry a torch
for the earnest, humourless character — the more admirable the
better — who, despite all his/her admirable qualities, just doesn’t see
the forest for the trees. At least seven times out of ten, I’ll go with
characters that don’tt get the joke. Sometimes, the best humour is
between author and reader, leaving the cast out of the loop.
Alan: From page one, my main character, Milo, was always a funny
kid so my intention from the start was to let him be a peculiar, weird
and funny guy. But as the story developed and I realized more and
more that Milo’s story was in part my own story, I was aware that I
needed his voice to remain true to his character and to be funny as
well as introspective. His comic voice was the counterpoint to his
sadness and like me, Milo uses his sense of humour as a protective
layer — something I wanted to give to the reader too.
Susin: I would like to change my answer to any of the above three
answers as they are far more intelligent and thought-provoking.
Who won’t sue me for plagiarism?
Alan
Silberberg
Each of your characters has their own distinct voice
and humour is a device that helps them deal with their
situation. Was this something intentional or did it grow
as the story developed?
Susin: I can’t imagine writing a book without humour. I think perhaps it’s my philosophy on life in general; you laugh, you cry.
Ted: I think all writers try to give their characters distinctive voices,
whether they’re aiming for funny or not. You (or I) grow into the
character’s voice as you go. The usual comic voice seems to me either
puzzled or aggrieved. This is because funny has to come from an
outside perspective. It’s the outsider who sees things differently, and
outsiders tend to be either angry or confused. Then the writer can
rage, mock, tease, or do all of the above more subtly by pretending
befuddlement while writing outrageous stuff.
Ted
Staunton
15
“Humour is the door most people, and especially kids,
will walk through without question.”
– Alan Silberberg
Why do you think that younger readers (and adults)
respond to humour in such a positive way?
Alan: Humour is the door most people, and especially kids, will
walk through without question. That isn’t to say that funny books
are “easy” books or stray away from emotional topics. But, when a
book can use humour to be the guide dog through potentially difficult terrain, I think the reader feels less vulnerable. Humour makes
it comfortable to experience the other feelings that the writer hoped
to evoke.
Ted: I don’t know that readers do respond positively to humour in
any overwhelming way. In most cases, humour is way too subjective to have broad appeal. You’re always going to disappoint someone
who says you’re too broad or too juvenile or too esoteric or too subtle
or offensive...
Susin: To be honest, I find books without any humour in them are
not my favourite, so I’m not going to write a book without humour
either. I go back to my overall philosophy; I love a book that can
make me laugh and cry! I also love books that are just straight on
funny. I laughed just as much as my son did when he was younger
and I read Captain Underpants aloud to him.
Gordon: When my early books came out in the late seventies, I
was blown away by the kid-lit luminaries of the time who expressed
amazement at their popularity. Isn’t it kind of a no-brainer that
laughing is fun? I’m kind of surprised that the question has to be
asked.
When do you think that humour isn’t appropriate?
Is there a line?
Alan: I really don’t think there is a line where humour isn’t appropriate. I think there are so many different styles of humour that it’s
the writer’s job to keep the style of humour in line with the subject
matter.
Gordon: Obviously, there are limits, but I don’t think they are static
standards that can be applied to every novel. When I look back at
the books I wrote as a teenager, I see a lot of excess in the humour
department. I couldn’t get enough slapstick. I pounded repeating
jokes endlessly. Smart-alecky comments crackled like gunshots in
a firefight. If I were writing those stories today, I’d absolutely tackle
them differently. I can’t say exactly how, but I’m sure I’d have a more
restrained, measured approach. Yet I was much closer to my readers
in both age and sensibility when I wrote those early books, so it’s
dangerous to call one style “better.” I used humour a certain way
when I was getting started. I have a different tack now. That’s all.
Susin: Regarding The Reluctant Journal of Henry K. Larsen, I definitely felt I was walking out on a creaky and unstable creative limb.
Using humour when there was such a horrible tragedy at the heart
of the story, I felt I was stretching boundaries, perhaps. But it was a
risk I needed to take, as I could never have written about such a dark
subject without having moments of levity as well.
Ted: Suspense, adventure, romance, are pretty easy to judge: they’re
either happening or they’re not. Humour is much harder to defi ne.
Nothing is innately funny to everyone. Even the fat guy/banana peel
setup isn’t funny to the fat guy; funny is all a function of perspective
(see above). At the same time I think that anything has the potential
to be funny — to some people in some circumstances — and anything is fair game. You’ve got to have some unfunny to make the
funny bits funnier. Even the Marx Brothers had their biggest movie
hits when they wove sappy, unfunny romances into their zaniness.
It’s like pitching: keep changing your pace unless you’ve got a
killer fastball.
We know that story can come from personal tragedy, or be
inspired by real events. In books where you have done that,
what were some of the challenges? What kinds of things
in the story or character had to change to make the novel
more authentic? Were you surprised at the way certain
aspects of the story turned out?
Alan: Milo was a personal story for me. Though many of the events
in the book were not based on actual events in my childhood, the
emotional truth was there. I exposed a few moments that my family
strongly related to and was careful to not make things too specific for
fear of hurting anyone’s feelings. One thing that had to change in the
book was giving Milo an emotional sense of closure in grieving his
mother. To do this, I had to create several scenes that I wished had
happened when I was a kid but sadly never did. But in writing those
scenes I was able to create a satisfied feeling inside of my adult self,
which was a welcome surprise for me.
“Suspense, adventure, romance, are pretty easy to judge: they’re
either happening or they’re not. Humour is much harder to define.”
– Ted Staunton
16
“A friend of mine says the way to write fiction is to start with
the truth and then lie big time. That seems to sum it up.”
– Ted Staunton
Ted: A friend of mine says the way to write fiction is to start with the
truth and then lie big time. That seems to sum it up. Sometimes the
hardest thing is to come up with something strangerr than the truth.
How my stories turn out should always surprise me; if they don’t,
then I know they aren’t any good.
Gordon: In my case, the only personal tragedy was in the inspiration for Pop. In the nineties, I watched my grandmother’s deterioration from Alzheimer’s Disease. She never played in the NFL, obviously. But CTE, the head-trauma-induced condition affecting NFL
veterans, was initially believed to be early-onset Alzheimers.
Alzheimer’s affected my grandmother oddly at first. She mixed up
generations. A son-in-law became her brother-in-law, long deceased.
Her daughter was her sister. Well over 90, living in a home for the
aged, she worried that she was AWOL from her parents, violating
curfew in this strange place, and her father was going to be angry.
This became the premise of Pop. What if a football player with CTE
begins to confuse a teenage quarterback with his old high school
football buddy? And, surprisingly, that provided a lot of opportunities for humour, since I had an odd couple, ages 16 and 55 respectively, who were essentially two high school class-clown-style hellraisers.
Susin: I’ve never written a book that was inspired by a real event
(although I did get the initial nubbin of an idea from reading a Wally
Lamb book, and he’d placed one of his characters in the very real
Columbine tragedy). There are always things that surprise me as
I’m writing, places the characters take me that weren’t necessarily
what I’d planned, or been thinking of. Those are usually pretty sweet
moments.
As you build your secondary characters and the community
that surrounds your main character, how do these elements
foster your protagonist’s understanding of the situation
and, maybe, provide some comic relief?
Gordon: The secondary characters are always my favourites, since
you can get away with making them more extreme. In almost all
my books, the supporting cast is funnier than the protagonists. As
readers, we laugh with the main characters, and even att them, but we
have to be able to continue relate to them and see the world through
their eyes. For the minor characters, though, a writer has much more
freedom to go crazy.
Susin: My secondary characters are really important to my stories.
I love craft ing them and getting to know them, especially the ones
that appear in more than one of my novels, because then I get to
know another aspect to them that I haven’t yet uncovered. In The
Reluctant Journall we’re meeting these people through Henry’s eyes,
and a lot of them seem almost stereotypes, or one-dimensional at
first, because that’s how Henry’s seeing them, too. But as he gets to
know them, so do we, and hopefully they become 3D at that point.
They do also definitely help provide comic relief on occasion. In The
Reluctant Journall this band of misfit toys eventually becomes, in a
sense, Henry’s new family, the people who will help him move forward in his life.
Ted: My protagonists practically never understand the world or the
community around them; that’s part of their outsider status. That
doesn’t mean my main character is always the weirdo. Sometimes
they’re the only sane one in the room. It’s just that neither they nor
the others in the book know that. It’s my job to make sure the reader
does.
Alan: Milo’s best friend Marshall is even more of a goofball than
Milo. I wanted Milo to exist in a real universe and imagined that the
kid who accepted him would be a kid who was also kind of odd. I
think it’s important for books that are supposed to be funny to have
characters, both central and secondary, who champion that cause.
But when every character in a book says funny things, I usually
check out a bit because I don’t think real life is like that. I also think
if the voice of a book is “funny” then you need to have balance with
characters who would never get the punch lines!
Melanie Fishbane is a freelance writer in Toronto with over 16 years experience in
children’s literature. She is currently doing her MFA at the Vermont College of Fine Arts.
For further information about these authors,
visit their websites at:
www.gordonkorman.com
www.susinnielsen.com
www.silberbooks.com
www.tedstauntonbooks.com
“The secondary characters are always my favourites,
since you can get away with making them more extreme.”
– Gordon Korman
17
ANNIVERSARIES CA
CAN
NS
N
SCAIP & CWILL BC
Milestones: CANSCAIP and
CWILL BC reach significant birthdays
Kathy Stinson
BY GILLIAN O’REILLY
Richard Scrimger and Allan Stratton at CANSCAIP’s Packaging Your
Imagination 2012.
This year 2013 sees significant birthdays for two Canadian organizations of children’s authors and illustrators — milestones that point to
the vibrant and collegial communities of children’s book creators.
This spring, CWILL BC Society (Children’s Writers and Illustrators of BC Society) celebrates its 20th anniversary. Founded in 1993
to serve published authors and illustrators in BC, the organization
now boasts 160 members with over 2,500 titles to their credit.
CWILL BC carries out a number of promotional and professional
development opportunities for its members and, while the individual
projects have changed over the years, the focus is always to highlight
and encourage the talent of the provinces’ creators both locally and
provincially. (The CWILL BC blog includes an excellent list of “BCCreated Books Set In British Columbian Locations.”)
Kathryn Shoemaker, one of CWILL’s co-founders (along with
author Norma Charles), notes, “We have always tried to promote
our members’ work throughout the province through our website’s
speakers list and through partnering with other organizations interested in children’s literature such as the CCBC, IBBY Canada, the
BC Teacher Librarians Association and the Vancouver Children’s
Literature Roundtable and our local libraries and school districts.”
President Shar Levine adds that, among the new projects coming
on stream, “There is going to be an art exhibit of our illustrators
and we are working closely with the Vancouver Children’s Literature
Roundtable to have author speed dating events with librarians. We
still do an event at Vancouver’s main library on how to get published
and we have a number of other literary and literacy events around
the city. We have recently partnered with Books for Me! a local Vancouver charity that gives gently used children’s books to the most
needy kids in our city.”
CANSCAIP (Canadian Society of Children’s Authors, Illustrators
and Performers) grew out of a Canada Day Conference organized
in 1977 by the Port Colborne Public Library in Ontario. Eleven artists — eight writers, two illustrators and one performer — had been
18
invited to share their expertise with the children of the town. Many
were strangers to each other; all realized they needed (and wanted)
to know others working in their field. Out of this need for professional stimulation, a support group was born.
Thirty-five years later, CANSCAIP has over 400 Members (published authors and illustrators and professional performers) and over
600 Friends — librarians, parents, publishers, not-yet-published creators and others who are interested in aspects of children’s books,
illustrations and performances.
CANSCAIP hosts regular meetings in Toronto, Montreal,
Edmonton and, on a less formal basis, Ottawa and Halifax. In addition, there are professional development conferences in three locations. Packaging Your Imagination takes place annually in Toronto
and the Prairie Horizons conference occurs biennially in Lumsden,
Saskatchewan. The Imagine a Story conference took place in Montreal in 2010 and 2011 and plans are afoot to make it regular event.
Karen Krossing, CANSCAIP’s current president, notes that “Packaging Your Imagination has recently expanded to include the very
popular manuscript and portfolio critiquing sessions with industry
experts, as well as master-level workshops in writing and illustrating.” CANSCAIP also promotes its Members through online
forums and the quarterly CANSCAIP NEWS.
In celebration of its 35th anniversary, CANSCAIP has established its first Creator-in-Residence program. From January 15 to
May 15, 2013, CANSCAIP will have two Creators-in-Residence: BC
illustrator Dianna Bonder and Ontario author Kathy Stinson. This
program will encourage exchanges between the Creators-in-Residence and the CANSCAIP community across Canada, and to foster
mentorship of new and emerging authors and illustrators who are
both Members and Friends of CANSCAIP. As part of this program,
Bonder and Stinson will each be conducting twelve Creator-in-Residence Blue Pencil Mentorships, as well as writing articles on craft
for the CANSCAIP NEWS. Krossing adds, “We wanted to celebrate
CANSCAIP’s 35 years by giving back to the community of Members
and Friends. Supporting, connecting and promoting Canadian creators for children is what this organization is all about.”
The professional development and promotional assistance these
organizations offer their members has doubtless allowed each organization to grow and thrive. Over and above that, however, the main
benefit each has given the talented creators of this country is probably the one expressed succinctly on the CWILL BC website — “the
friendship, inspiration and support of colleagues in the field of children’s writing and illustrating.”
For further information on
CWILL BC Society, visit www.cwillbc.ca.
For further information on
CANSCAIP, visit www.canscaip.org.
Christy Jordan-Fenton & Marg
rgare
r t Pokiakk-F
Fento
t n
Art by Gabrielle
l Griimard
rd
Read the remarkable true story of
a young Inuit girl who reminds us
what power we hold when we can
read. When I Was Eight makes the
bestselling memoir Fatty Legs
accessible to young children.
Ages 6–9
16
awards
9
awards
annick press
www.annickpress.com
available from your
favourite bookstore
e
2012 Geoffrey Bilson Award for
Historical Fiction for Young People
Established in 1988 in memory of historian and author Geoffrey Bilson,
this $5,000 prize is awarded annually to the Canadian author of an
outstanding work of historical fiction.
T Hangman in the Mirror
The
written by Kate Cayley
w
A
Annick
Press
978-1-55451-357-4 (hc) $21.95
9
978-1-55451-356-7 (pb) $12.95
9
Canadian
Children’s
Book Centre
Awards
The Geoffrey
Bilson Award for
Historical Fiction for
Young People is
administered by
Book Centre.
19
BOOKMARK MU
USIC FOR ALL AGES
“BO OKMARK!” HIGHLIGHTS BO OKS FOR A VARIET Y OF
GRADE LEVELS AROUND A PARTICUL AR THEME.
CCBC Library Coordinator Meghan Howe offers books for all who love music
and good stories. For more books on music and the performing arts, the theme
of TD Canadian Children’s Book Week 2013, visit www.bookweek.ca.
Making Music
PICTURE BOOKS FOR
KINDERGARTEN TO GRADE 3
Canadian Railroad Trilogy
written by Gordon Lightfoot
illustrated by Ian Wallace
(Groundwood Books, 2010)
Award-winning artist Ian Wallace
illustrates Gordon Lightfoot’s beloved song
with sweeping landscapes and evocative
portrayals of the people who lived the
building of the railroad. This book includes
Lightfoot’s music and lyrics, a brief history
of the railroad, notes on the illustrations
and further reading.
The Circle Game
written by Joni Mitchell
illustrated by Brian Deines
(Dancing Cat Books, 2011)
This book introduces Joni Mitchell’s song
to a new generation through captivating
artwork by Brian Deines. The story is a nod
to a boy’s childhood dreams and memories;
as years pass, his dreams change, but his
sense of wonder remains.
The City Speaks in Drums
written by Shauntay Grant
illustrated by Susan Tooke
(Nimbus Publishing, 2010)
The sounds of the city — from basketball
players and musicians to dancers and
children — create a fast-paced and exciting
rhythmic poem as two boys from Halifax
explore their neighbourhood. Vivid, eyecatching illustrations capture the action
and sights of this east coast city.
A Gift of Music:
Émile Benoit and his Fiddle
written by Alice Walsh
illustrated by Geoff Butler
(Tuckamore Books, 2010)
20
This touching tale of a boy’s dream to have
his own fiddle is based on the true story
of Émile Benoit, the gifted Newfoundland
musician. On his twelft h birthday, his
father presents him with a fiddle made
of old violin parts. Soon he is amazing
everyone by playing tunes he has
composed in his head.
Lullaby Berceuse:
A Warm Prairie Night
written by Connie Kaldor and
Carmen Campagne
illustrated by Brian Deines
(La montagne secrète, 2006)
All Through the Night, Bonne Nuit…
Gorgeous illustrations complement this
bedtime storybook, which includes lyrics
and an award-winning CD of English
and French lullabies.
JUNIOR NON-FICTION AND
FICTION FOR GRADES 4 TO 8
Libby’s Got the Beat
(Streetlights)
written by Robert Rayner
(Lorimer, 2010)
Libby’s entire school’s provincial test results
are low. With extra-curricular activities on
hold so students can retake the test, Libby
and her friends set out to prove the value of
staging a concert by applying real-life situations to classroom learning. If they teach
Professor Brayne a lesson along the way,
that will be good too.
Crossover
(Orca Sports)
written by Jeff Rud
(Orca Book Publishers, 2008)
When basketball player Kyle decides to try
out for the school musical, he finds there’s
more to life than high-tops and hook shots.
Conflicting priorities cause problems
between Kyle and others. When his pal
becomes the target of homophobic hatred,
Kyle must make some difficult choices.
For Those About to Rock:
A Road Map to Being in a Band
written by Dave Bidini
(Tundra Books, 2004)
Learn about becoming a rock-and-roll
musician. Bidini offers history, information
about the music trade, vocational guidance and hard-won advice from his own
experience.
Learn to Speak Music: A Guide
to Creating, Performing, and
Promoting Your Songs
written by John Crossingham
illustrated by Jeff Kulak
(Owlkids, 2009)
A member of the indie band Broken Social
Scene, Crossingham knows something
about the music world. He covers several
aspects of music making, from choosing
and learning to play an instrument to
promoting your music. Colour artwork
with a retro vibe rounds out this fun-fi lled
guide for young musicians.
Music by Morgan
(First Novels)
written by Ted Staunton
illustrated by Bill Slavin
(Formac Publishing, 2010)
Morgan isn’t happy when his parents sign
him up for floor hockey. He’d much rather
take piano lessons. When Aldeen Hummel,
the Godzilla of Grade Three and a good
hockey player, is signed up for piano, they
craft a plan to trade places. How long can
they fool the coach, the piano teacher and
their parents?
Oscar Peterson:
The Man and His Jazz
written by Jack Batten
(Tundra Books, 2012)
In September 1949, “Jazz at the Philharmonic” performed in New York City.
Twenty-four-year-old Oscar Peterson from
Montreal was invited onstage to play the
piano. This American debut marked the
beginning of what was to become international recognition of Oscar Peterson as
the world’s greatest jazz pianist.
Power Chord
(Orca Currents)
Hannah Waters and the Daughter
of Johann Sebastian Bach
written by Ted Staunton
(Orca Book Publishers, 2011)
written by Barbara Nickel
(Penguin Group Canada, 2005)
Fourteen-year-old Ace starts a band with
his friends Denny and Pig in hopes that
girls will notice them. Ace discovers he
loves playing music more than anything,
but his friends have other interests. When
they finally get a chance to perform, Ace
learns a tough lesson about plagiarism.
From award-winning author Barbara
Nickel comes an unforgettable tale of two
lonely girls. Born centuries apart, they
become entwined like the music of two
violins, and change each other’s lives.
The Landing
Talisa’s Song
written by John Ibbitson
(Kids Can Press, 2008)
(Tales of Three Lands)
written by Linda Smith
(Coteau Books, 2005)
Talisa Thatcher thinks she’s useless because
she’s the only one in her family who can’t
perform magic. But she learns the power
of her own gift of music when she saves the
life of a young man unjustly accused
of murder.
SENIOR NON-FICTION AND
FICTION FOR GRADES 7 AND UP
Drummer Girl
written by Karen Bass
(Coteau Books, 2011)
Sid’s the best drummer in the school,
and desperately wants to get into its most
popular band. But the band members have
different opinions about having a girl in
an otherwise all-boy band. Sid must decide
how far she’s willing to compromise her
identity — and herself — to achieve
her goal.
Flat-Out Rock:
Ten Great Bands of the ‘60s
written by Mike Tanner
(Annick Press, 2006)
From Bob Dylan to The Beatles, Tanner
profiles 10 rock bands from the ‘60s and
‘70s. Photos and sidebars highlight the times
that formed the backdrop for this musical
revolution. Teen readers will may also want
to read Tanner’s Resurrection Blues.
Ben is shown an unfamiliar, liberating
world by a cultured and wealthy New York
woman. After he plays the violin for her
and her friends, it makes him more desperate to flee The Landing, a hardscrabble
farm on Lake Muskoka. Then, one stormy
night on the lake, everything changes.
Out of Darkness:
The Jeff Healey Story
written by Cindy Watson
(Dundurn Press, 2010)
Given up for adoption, losing both eyes to
cancer and then losing his own mother to
cancer, Jeff Healey had all the excuses not
to succeed. But from the moment he laid a
guitar across his lap, it was clear he was no
ordinary kid. He became one of the most
influential blues-rock and jazz performers
of our time.
The Vinyl Princess
written by Yvonne Prinz
(HarperCollins Canada, 2010)
Sixteen-year-old Allie has the summer job
of her dreams, working at Bob and Bob
Records. Surrounded by music, she is about
to set up her secret identity as “The Vinyl
Princess” — author of a zine and a blog. But
the store is losing sales, and there’s been a
string of robberies in the neighbourhood.
Virtuosity
written by Jessica Martinez
(Simon Pulse, 2011)
Carmen, a 17-year-old violin prodigy,
wants to win the Guarneri competition.
Jeremy stands between her and her goal.
Carmen knows kissing Jeremy will not end
well, but she can’t resist him and she can’t
trust him with her secret — an anti-anxiety-drug addiction. Carmen is sick of not
feeling anything on stage and always doing
what’s expected of her.
REVIEWS ES
ESP
PECIALLY FOR TEACHERS
P
The Classroom Bookshelf
FOOD, FARMING, HEALTH AND FESTIVALS
BY SANDRA O’BRIEN
Whether children plant a garden, speak out about their right to healthy food choices, join the fight
against poverty or share their customs and traditions with others to encourage tolerance, they can be
empowered to make the world they live in a better place.
Lighting Our World:
A Year of Celebrations
written by Catherine Rondina
illustrated by Jacqui Oakley
Kids Can Press, 2012
978-1-55453-594-1 (hc) $18.95
for Grades 2 to 5
Non-fiction | Social Studies | Cultures | Celebrations | Multiculturalism
People use light to celebrate special occasions all over the world.
This book takes children on a journey around the globe including
the United Kingdom, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, North and
South America and New Zealand. It introduces them to the
many cultures that use light — in the form of candles, bonfires
or fireworks — to mark significant events. Each two-page spread
discusses at least two festivals or celebrations and the text is
surrounded by colourful illustrations. A glossary of terms is
included at the back in the book.
What I liked about this book was that it covered a wider range
of holidays, festivals and celebrations than I have previously seen
and even introduced me to a few I hadn’t heard of. While the
information is fairly brief about each holiday, it provides students
with a starting point to begin their research and allows them to
share their own knowledge of these events. Written for students
in the late primary or early junior grades, this resource is one that
teachers will find helpful when studying or celebrating these
cultural events in their classrooms.
22
Mimi’s Village: And How
Basic Health Care Transformed It
(Citizen Kid)
written by Katie Smith Milway
illustrated by Eugenie Fernandes
978-0-1-55453-722-8 (hc) $18.95
for Grades 3 to 6
Non-fiction | Social Studies | Global Awareness | Rural Communities
When Mimi’s little sister Nakkissi becomes sick, Mimi and her
family must travel to the health clinic in the next village to get
Nakkissi the help she needs. Nurse Tela gives Nakkissi clean water
mixed with sugar and salt to help her get well and teaches Mimi
why she weighs the infant babies and administers vaccinations.
Mimi’s village needs their own clinic and the elders decide they
should build one. After many months, the clinic is built and Nurse
Tela makes her first visit to Mimi’s village just in time to help
deliver Mimi’s new baby brother. Nurse Tela teaches the families in
the village many important things about clean water, hand washing
and mosquito nets and Mimi and her Ma join the village health
committee. As Mimi watches and listens to Nurse Tela talk to the
village women she dreams of one day becoming a nurse or a doctor
so she can help other villages become healthy too.
Written with older primary and younger junior students in
mind, Mimi’s story is a blend of real stories from Africa where
clean water, hand washing, mosquito nets and village health
workers have helped to save the lives of millions of children who
live in poverty. The story teaches children the issues surrounding
global health and encourages them to get involved. At the back of
the book, readers will find factual information about why basic
health care is so important and what they can do to help.
What’s for Lunch? How Schoolchildren
Eat Around the World
Potatoes on Rooftops:
Farming in the City
written by Andrea Curtis
photographs by Yvonne Duivenvoorden
Fitzhenry & Whiteside, 2012
978-0-88995-482-3 (pb) $12.95
for Grades 5 to 8
written by Hadley Dyer
Annick Press, 2012
978-1-55451-424-3 (pb) $14.95
978-1-55451-425-0 (hc) $24.95
for Grades 4 to 7
Non-fiction | Global Awareness | Food and Nutrition
Non-fiction | Urban Farming | Ecology | Sustainability | Food
This book not only discusses what children are eating for lunch
around the world but the impact that young people can have when
they choose to take control of what they are eating in their school
cafeterias and school lunch programs. Sadly Canada is one of the
few developed nations in the world that doesn’t offer a national
nutrition program for school-age children. There are, however,
programs like The Stop Community Food Centre’s Green Barn in
downtown Toronto. As described in this book, it is an education
centre with lush gardens, a greenhouse and a professional kitchen
where children learn how to grow, cook and eat good food. By
comparing what children eat for lunch from Japan, Russia, Kenya,
Afghanistan and the United States, we learn about issues such as
climate change, health and poverty, and discover that some countries offer nutritious and well-balanced meals while others barely
meet basic nutrition standards.
The photographs drew me in (perhaps reading it right before
lunch had something to do with that); then the information
grabbed my attention and kept me interested from start to fi nish.
I learned about the plight of farmers in Peru, the challenges of
world hunger that face the United Nations World Food Programme,
diet-related illnesses that are plaguing our children today and the
impact we have on the environment when we buy food that has
been shipped from countries overseas or large scale farms.
Appropriate for students from the junior grades to high school,
this book will inspire many to start growing their own food,
influence parents and teachers to start advocating for better lunch
programs for children and encourage kids to take charge of what
they’re eating, where it comes from and what impact they can
have on global issues.
This book reveals the many creative ways people have begun to
farm in urban spaces from futuristic pod greenhouses to food
producing wall panels, industrial sized composters to buckets on
balconies. As people discover how easy it is to grow fresh food in
the city, they learn that growing food closer to home reduces the
impact that shipping has on the environment, they are able to feed
people who might otherwise go without and they begin to make
our cities greener, which helps reduce global warming.
The first section of the book discusses city living and where
the food comes from to feed all those urban dwellers. The second
section teaches us how we can change our urban landscapes and
the third section informs us of other ways we can green our cities,
such as raising chicks, aquaculture (growing water-dwelling plants
and animals), composting and water harvesting. The final section
encourages people to get involved in their community, school or
backyard and gives examples of people who have done just that.
Although this book seems to be written for students in the
junior grades, the concepts Hadley Dyer discusses are pertinent
to students in the primary, intermediate and senior grades as well.
It could be used as a resource in the social studies curriculum when
studying living things or the environmental impact of shipping
food around the globe, and in the health curriculum when studying
nutrition. It could also be used in humanities courses in high
school, such as individual and family living or food and nutrition,
to encourage students to grow their own produce to cook with at
home or school.
Hopefully, the book will be used to inspire young urban dwellers
to start growing their own food in their backyards, on their balconies, at school or in a community garden.
Sandra O’Brien is a former teacher with an M.Ed. in Children’s Literature.
23
REVIEWS BO
BOO
OK BITS
Biting into Board Books
BY LIAN GOODALL
Kiss, Tickle, Cuddle, Hug
Baby Play
Checkers and Dot
written by Susan Musgrave
photography by Masterfile and
Getty Images
Orca Book Publishers, 2012
978-1-4598-0163-9 (board) $9.95
for newborns to 2 years
written by Carol McDougall and
Shanda LaRamee-Jones
photography by Blue Vine Photography
Nimbus Publishing, 2012
978-1-55109-902-6 (board) $8.95
for newborns to 2 years
written by J. Torres
illustrated by J. Lum
Tundra Books, 2012
978-1-77049-441-1 (board) $8.99
for toddler to Preschool
From works for newly minted babies to older toddlers, the five
books in this article can help craft the most joyous wings for reaching the goal of family literacy. Starting on the reading journey with
your wriggling reading partner is magic and the small-sized books
reviewed here are some fine first introductions to the delicious
world of story.
The first two books — Kiss, Tickle, Cuddle, Hugg and Baby Playy —
are similar in format and visual focus with short text and photographs of babies. Kiss, Tickle, Cuddle, Hugg is the largest of the books.
Babies and toddlers will want to reach out to touch the 11 almost
life-sized faces of the tots with their different expressions: sleepy,
angry, brave and more. The wide-eyed babies in Kiss, Tickle, Cuddle,
Hugg were photographed by various professionals under the Masterfile and Getty Images umbrellas. The next book, Baby Play, features
the excellent work of Halifax’s Blue Vine Photography whose lens
focused on a single little brown-eyed cherub — crawling, peeking
and strolling — the star of the entire book. It might be fun with
either book for parents and babies to imitate their favourite facial
expressions.
The authors of these first two books have special qualifications,
either as writers or experts in their fields. The creators of Baby Play
are key players in family literacy programs. Carol McDougall is the
director and Shanda LaRamee-Jones is the provincial coordinator
of the Read to Me! Nova Scotia Family Literacy Program, a program
that puts books into the hands of every Nova Scotian family
welcoming a new born or adopted child. This is McDougall’s
second book and LaRamee-Jones’s first.
The authors’ passion for early literacy is evident in Baby Play.
While the text may be described as a little lumpy in places — calm,
yawn and song don’t rhyme — tots and their readers will bounce past
these tiny bumps and enjoy this energetic book that follows baby
24
Checkers and Dot
at the Zoo
written by J. Torres
illustrated by J. Lum
Tundra Books, 2012
978-1-77049-442-8 (board) $8.99
for toddler to Preschool
through his / her day. Baby, baby / Strolling along / What’s that you
hear? / A chickadee song? / Chick-a-dee-dee all day long / We LOVE
strolling along.
This warm story of a mom and dad sharing with baby closes with
an important message: “I love you.” Baby Playy is the first book of
three in a planned series about baby’s first year. (The second and
third are Baby Look and the 2013 title Baby Talk.)
British Columbian resident Susan Musgrave, the author of Kiss,
Tickle, Cuddle, Hug,
g has written well-known books for adults (Convict Lover) and some for young people (Dreams Are More Real Than
Bathtubs). Now a doting grandmother with perhaps a fresh appreciation for babydom, Musgrave has been inspired to create for the
youngest book ‘consumers’ (and we know that these chunky books
will certainly be chewed on). The baby’s facial expressions and parental response — “Ella makes a sleepy face. Ella needs a cuddle.” —
will have the adult-baby duo imitating the squeezing, cuddling and
kissing actions. This book finishes playfully with a “Kiss, Tickle,
Cuddle, Hug, BOO!”
Those leaving babyhood and ready for their first story book with
fictional characters might flip through the work of writer Joseph
Torres of Whitby, Ontario, simply rendered in black and white by
Jennifer Lum. Fatherhood prompted Torres to write two board
books: Checkers and Dot, which looks at patterns, and Checkers and
Dot at the Zoo, which takes the theme of black and white animals
such as: polar bears, penguins, gorillas and zebras.
Filippino-born Torres is no stranger to crafting words to meld
with pictures. Among his credits are a number of comic strips,
graphic novels and award-winning comic books. He slips easily into
picture book lingo in Checkers and Dot, with appropriately simple
language, and not one extra word: “Say ‘hello’ to Checkers. Say ‘hello’
to Dot.” Readers also meet the pair’s cat, Stripesy, and dog, Spot.
Kids’ Stuff
Look for the Kids’ Stuff section in our
NEW 2013 Library Supplies Catalogue.
Call to request your
FREE copy today!
My First Hockey Book
text and photography by Ian Crysler
Scholastic Canada, 2012
978-4431-0752-5 (board) $9.99
for toddler to Kindergarten
reviewed from uncorrected proof
After a quick look at the patterns on each character, “‘Stripesy wants
to nap,’ says Dot. ‘Time to go!’ Checkers calls to Spot.” And book
readers say “bye-bye” to each character.
The foursome is back for an outing with Checkers and Dot at
the Zoo “and they want you to come too.” For her first picture books,
graphic artist and book designer Jennifer Lum has chosen a rounded,
almost naive style that one might pleasantly associate with the
Japanese concept of “kawaii” (the quality of being adorable).
Checkers and Dot, with their broad smiling faces, are my idea of
button-cute storybook characters.
With the fifth book in this review, diapers are done with (or
almost done with), teeth are in (or mostly in) and your child is ready
for books with pages that are less than a centimetre thick. Might this
reviewer suggest something delightful and very Canadian? A hockey
book! Not just any hockey book, mind you — a brilliant first hockey
book. Whether it be ball, road or ice hockey, the girls and boys in Ian
Crysler’s My First Hockey Book are clearly having a lot of fun. “Let’s
play!” the text invites, and all the family — moms, dads, tots and
older kids — are happily engaged, watching or hefting their sticks.
This effervescent book made me want to run out, borrow a stick and
partake in that wonderful aspect of childhood — play.
How did Toronto-based veteran photographer Crysler get it
so right on his first picture book? It’s possible he has become well
acquainted with the qualities of excellent picture books, as Crysler
photographs all the work of his talented spouse, Plasticine goddess,
Barbara Reid. The book ends with a collage of beaming, hockeyplaying kids and the words “Hooray for Hockey.” Hooray for
hockey indeed!
And hooray for these first books! In 2013, I will have been reviewing children’s books and emphasizing the importance of early family
literacy for 30 years. It’s exciting to see, as exemplified with this
crop of fine books, that including boys and girls of different ethnic
backgrounds is a standard in the book industry today. Maybe we
will stretch a little more and open up gender roles (only mothers
are shown with babies in Kiss, Tickle, Cuddle, Hug)
g and broaden the
definition of family (two dads or two moms) shown on the pages,
so that each child, even the youngest, sees its first book as a mirror
of its world.
lian goodall, now in Whitehorse, Yukon, has been writing about reading and family
literacy since 1983.
Call: 1.800.268.2123
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IN OUR
NEXT ISSUE...
Non-fiction for little readers
A look at the challenges and
pleasures of writing non-fiction
picture books
Plus
A profile of author and teacher
te
Sylvia Gunnery; travel books
for summer fun; and reviews
views of
over 30 new titles
For more information, visit
www.bookcentre.ca
25
REVIEWS RE
REC
CO
C
OMMENDED BOOKS
We Recommend
NEW AND NOTED BOOKS FOR TODDLERS TO TEENS
A Good Trade
Lumpito and
the Painter from Spain
written by Alma Fullerton
illustrated by Karen Patkau
Pajama Press, 2012
978-0-9869495-9-3 (hc) $19.95
for Kindergarten to Grade 2
written by Monica Kulling
illustrated by Dean Griffiths
Pajama Press, 2012
978-1-927485-00-2 (hc) $19.95
Picture Book | Dogs | Art and Art History
Lump (German for “rascal”) is a dachshund living in Rome with
David, a famous photographer. Lump’s fortune changes when he
accompanies David on a road trip to visit the acclaimed Spanish
painter, Pablo Picasso, in the south of France. At Picasso’s villa,
Lump encounters a large friendly dog named Yam, and Esmeralda,
an amiable goat. He is, however, particularly captivated by the
artist, who has affectionately nicknamed him “Lumpito.” Picasso,
delighting in the dachshund, feeds him delicacies off a specially
designed plate and takes great pleasure in his company day and
night, so much so that Lumpito remains behind when David
returns to Rome.
Based on a true account by photographer David Douglas
Duncan, Lumpito’s first master, Monica Kulling has written a
memorable tale about the bond between man and dog, only in
this instance the individual happens to be the world-famous artist
Pablo Picasso. Witness their growing affection for each other:
“Picasso lay on the ground beside Lumpito. ‘Things look different
from down here,’ he said stroking Lumpito’s long body... If Lumpito
had been a cat, he would have purred.” Not only has Kulling captured the artist’s expansive personality and sense of humour in her
text, but she has also made reference to some of the art in which
Lumpito has been immortalized.
Dean Griffiths’ watercolour illustrations are absolutely
endearing. From the moment we meet Lumpito on the bookcover,
with his inquisitive face and lengthy body wrapped from the
front to the back, we recognize that he is one very special dog.
It is obvious that Griffiths has researched Picasso and his work,
as he has imbued the essence of both into his own art in a most
expressive and creative manner.
Make way for a new wave of readers who will, no doubt,
endeavour to examine Picasso’s paintings with the hope of
spotting his four-legged muse.
Picture Book | Uganda |Children & War | Gifts
Every morning at dawn, Kato leaves his Ugandan village to begin
his challenging barefoot hike to fetch water. Carrying two jerry
cans, the boy traverses through grass, down hills, and past cattle
in fields guarded by soldiers. When he reaches the village well, he
fi lls the cans with a day’s supply of water. After splashing his weary,
dusty feet, Kato begins his long trek home, conveying the heavy
containers on his head and in his hand. An aid worker’s truck
near the village square catches his attention. The child becomes so
excited by what he spots inside the vehicle that he dashes home to
look for something special to present to the aid worker in exchange
for the life-altering gift... a single white poppy from his garden for
brand new shoes!
Alma Fullerton introduces us to the life of a young boy living in
a war-torn country. Readers will quickly deduce that Kato’s days
are fraught with hardship and danger as well as joy. The text is brief
and subtle, yet descriptive enough so that we can feel Kato’s energy
as well as his weariness, hear the splash of water and the laughter
of the children, and sense the menacing presence of the watchful
soldiers. Witness Kato’s elation when he finds the perfect gift to give
to the aid worker: “Rushing through his chores, Kato runs to the
garden and stops when he spies the single white poppy. Tenderly, he
kneels to pick it. Between bouncy children, Kato weaves, cradling
the poppy, careful not to crush it.”
Karen Patkau’s evocative digital illustrations provide further
illuminating details about Kato’s environment: the Ugandan
village where he lives, the territory traversed en route to get water,
the changing hues of the sky, the brilliant colours of the children’s
clothing, the friend with the artificial leg, the exquisiteness of
the white poppy. The artwork is a perfect match for Fullerton’s
understated text. Together they provide an enriching insight into
one boy’s life in a distant country, and the preciousness of peace
and goodwill.
Senta Ross
Senta Ross is a former elementary teacher and teacher-librarian in Kitchener, Ontario.
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Uncle Wally’s Old Brown Show
written and illustrated by Wallace Edwards
978-1-4598-0154-7 (hc) $19.95
Picture Book | Animals | Cumulative Tale
This story opens with a very simple statement: “This is Uncle
Wally’s old brown shoe.” The illustration, however, lets you know
that this is a very special old brown shoe since it has wheels, one
of which is a bright red, white and blue target. Then you set off on
a cumulative and circular tale that ends with the old brown shoe,
although we now know more about the red wheel. As a cumulative
tale, each page repeats all of the events in the previous pages —
all of the extraordinary events such as “This the fish with a spooky
mask that startled the bee that kissed the frog that chased the pig that
tickled the kitten that drove around in Uncle Wally’s old brown shoe.”
Using watercolour, gouache and pencil, Wallace Edwards has,
as always, created the most fantastic rich and detailed illustrations
full of images not mentioned in the text. The only constant is that
the animal on each page has the old brown shoe — and there is a
tiger somewhere. The animals are realistic in many ways, while also
being exaggerated in others. For instance, the fish has faithfully
rendered scales and also holds a mask in one fin while floating in
the air in front of the bee.
Reading the story is only half of the process, as you can also
search through each picture for details such as a green chameleon
in the leaves or the parrot holding a puzzle piece missing from
the previous page. This is a thoroughly enjoyable addition to any
library that both children and adults will want to read over
and over.
Willow Moonbeam is a math professor and librarian with an interest in knitting,
astrology and learning new things.
Old MacDonald Had Her Farm
written by JonArno Lawson
illustrated by Tina Holdcroft
Annick Press, 2012
978-1-55451-457-1 (hc) $19.95
978-1-55451-456-4 (pb) $9.95
for Preschool to Grade 2
Picture Book | Humour | Language | Farming
In Old MacDonald Had Her Farm, JonArno Lawson has created
a unique song-style read that has youngsters as early as four years
of age clapping to the familiar refrain — with very different “vowel”
twist : “A-E-I-O-U and at times Y”. The repetition of this refrain
allows for complete engagement by the reader. The extraordinary
assortment of short vowel words showcased in each verse creates
totally tongue-twisted fun as Old MacDonald proceeds to “saw
barn planks, stack sacks, crank cranks, and whack gnats” and
more. This is a masterful work of high educational calibre.
The words are accompanied by the most distinct and hilariously
imaginative illustrations. The work of Tina Holdcroft, they are
action-fi lled with varying perspectives. Her bold vividly coloured
drawings, each a double-page spread, allow for the inventiveness
of the farm machinery operated by old MacDonald. For example,
short O page: “Mow crops nonstop…” gives thought to how early
morning threshing waits for neither man nor beast. Farm animals
and wild animals all enjoy distinctive personalities. Teachers and
librarians with access to document projection cameras could use
these drawings in a unit on inventions or simple machines too.
Brilliant work by both author and illustrator results in a
fun-fi lled must-have book for school and public library shelves.
Ellen Donogh is a teacher-librarian at Queenston and Luxton Elementary Schools
in Winnipeg.
Big City Bees
written by Maggie de Vries
illustrated by Renné Benoit
Greystone Books, 2012
978-1-55365-906-8 (hc) $19.95
Picture Book | Urban Farming | Animal Life Cycles | Bees
In an inner city community garden, siblings Matthew and Sophie
are growing pumpkins under the tutelage of their grandfather.
“We’ll need bees to make the pumpkins grow,” says Matthew.
“What if they don’t come?” If the pumpkin flowers aren’t pollinated
by bees, there will be no pumpkins.
Worried about a dearth of bees in the city, the young gardeners
and their grandfather embark on a search. To their amazement,
they discover four hives high up on the terrace of a hotel. Encouraged, the children lovingly care for their pumpkin plants during
the summer months while continuously watching for the needed
pollinators. They observe the transformation of the seeds as they
sprout into shoots, then flourish into spreading vines and leaves,
complete with the crucial yellow flowers, some of which bloom for
only a single day. Will the city bees arrive in time to pollinate
these flowers?
Through author Maggie de Vries’s educational and entertaining
narrative, readers will learn how bees live, how nectar is transformed into honey, and why bees are vital for our food supply.
We become witnesses to the working lives of bees as well as the
ebb and flow of a garden throughout the seasons. The text is both
factual and descriptive: “A honeybee buzzes over the closest flower.
Breaths held, the children watch. And, as if by magic, four more
bees arrive. The flowers are huge, like goblets. The bees are frenzied,
sipping nectar, gathering pollen. In and out they crawl...” An afterword contains additional information about bees and how families
can help them survive.
Renné Benoit’s watercolour illustrations convey a sense of
place and space. The children’s big city environs, with tall buildings surrounding the community garden, are juxtaposed with the
coziness of a beehive. We observe the scenery from the viewpoint
of both the children and the bees... looking down, up, across and
inside. Benoit’s artwork was shortlisted for the 2012 Governor
General’s Literary Award for Illustration.
Big City Bees will create awareness about the importance of bees,
no matter where one lives!
Senta Ross
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Pit Pony: The Picture Book
written by Joyce Barkhouse and Janet Barkhouse
illustrated by Sydney Smith
Formac Publishing, 2012
978-1-4595-0143-0 (hc) $14.95
Picture Book | Family | Hardship | Coal Mining |
Cape Breton
Willie’s father and brother are incapacitated after a mine accident,
and the 11-year-old lad must leave school to earn the family’s bread
through his labour deep under the earth of Cape Breton, Nova
Scotia. However, even in the depth of Willie’s despair, hope shines:
he delights in his pit partner, the brave, wild mare, Gem.
“The wild horse screamed as its feet left the deck of the schooner”
is the gripping first sentence of both the original Pit Ponyy novel
written by Joyce Barkhouse in 1990, and, the new perfectly scaleddown picture book version brought to life by her daughter, educator/author Janet Barkhouse. Joyce died in February 2012 at age
98. In her dedication, Janet writes that Joyce “would be delighted”
to introduce Willie and Gem to young children. When older, those
same readers may slip into the magic of the Ann Connor Brimer
Award-winning novel, Pit Pony, and other Barkhouse titles.
Pit Pony: The Picture Book is illustrated by Nova Scotian Sydney
Smith, who has recently done several bouncy re-issues of poet
Sheree Fitches’ works. He successfully adopts an old-fashioned,
heavy outline style that suits the place and time period: 1902
Cape Breton where boys mined alongside men. Smith’s drawings
charmingly capture the heart of the story: joy and tragedy; love
and cruelty. Readers experience these contrasts visually through
the bright gold of Willie’s hair against the oppressive black of the
coal mine. Later after a mine “bump” (cave-in), heroic Willie lies
abed unconscious with dark bruises on his face, while a fire-warm
orange cat snuggles at his feet. Perhaps only a Bluenose, such as
Smith, could have so tenderly rendered the loving faces of Willie’s family presenting his birthday dinner — “a huge codfish head
stuffed with oats and mashed cod livers — Willie’s favourite meal.”
This is an exceptional book that should be on awards lists.
lian goodall is the author of a book about Nova Scotian contralto, Portia White –
Singing Towards the Future: The Story of Portia White.
When I Get Older:
The Story behind “Wavin’ Flag”
written by K’naan and Sol Guy
illustrated by Rudy Gutierrez
Tundra Books, 2012
978-1-77049-302-5 (hc) $19.99
978-1-77049-303-2 (ebook) $10.99
for Grades 2 to 5
Non-fiction | Biography | Music | Immigrant Experience
There is an elegant simplicity in poet/rapper/singer/songwriter
K’naan’s telling of his story. It is an immigrant story many, many
Canadian children will know personally, though K’naan’s specifics
will be his own.
K’naan grew up in Mogadishu, Somalia, in a loving home with
his mother, siblings and beloved grandfather, who was a famous
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poet. Though his family was far from rich, his was a carefree
life with boyish adventures and friends to share them with. One
morning all of that changed as a sound “like angry bees” broke the
peace. To comfort him, his grandfather gave K’naan a short poem
which they read together often, the now famous opening lines of his
international anthem: When I get older, I will be stronger, / They’ll
call me freedom, just like a wavin’ flag.
g
His mother sought their escape and received papers — for all but
his grandfather — to go to the United States and then to Canada.
K’naan tells of his first snowfall wearing sandals, his struggle to
learn English and a fight with a boy who called him a mean name
— experiences other new Canadian children will recognize.
All the while he held his grandfather’s words close to his heart.
Rudy Gutierrez, whose work is sometimes described as
“musical”, provides lively, flowing illustrations to complement
K’naan’s text. The emotional highs and lows of K’naan’s tale are
captured in Gutierrez’s colour and composition. K’naan’s childhood
before the war is depicted in vibrant, sun-drenched colours, while
scenes of the war are in tones of grey.
The music and all of the lyrics to “Wavin’ Flag” follow the story.
A map showing Somalia’s location in Africa and a brief history of
Somalia appear as back matter. And one last brilliant feature to this
attractive book are the endpapers fi lled with images of countries’
flags. Hopefully every child reading this book will find the waving
flag of his or her homeland.
Theo Heras is a children’s librarian and author.
You Are Stardust
written by Elin Kelsey
illustrated by Soyeon Kim
Owlkids Books, 2012
978-1-926973-35-7 (hc) $18.95
978-1-926973-47-0 (ebook) $12.95
for Kindergarten to Adult
Picture Book | Science | Environment | Ecology
You Are Stardustt is a brief journey through time that takes the
reader from the beginning of the physical universe to our present
day world, while exploring the many connections among the living
and non-living entities on earth. Elin Kelsey’s simple, powerful
text presents an impressive combination of demonstrable facts
(for example, “New cells line your stomach every three days.”) and
reflective concepts (for example, “Like you, the earth breathes.”)
At its core, this book deft ly communicates how everything in our
world is connected.
Soyeon Kim’s three-dimensional artwork is a revelation.
Her dioramas, constructed on large wooden frames with paper
elements hung on fishing line, are skillfully executed and poetically
complement the book’s narrative. (A detailed look at the dioramas
is included on the reverse of the book jacket.) A book of this type
needs a strong combination of literal and abstract interpretation to
support the ideas in the text. The resultant combination continually
rewards the reader with new-found details and ideas each time
it is read.
As an educator, this picture book is what I like to call a “thinking
book.” It is the type of multi-leveled narrative that, over time, draws
you in and prompts more questions than gives answers. For parents
2012 Marilyn Baille
Picture Book Award
Baillie P
i
N
BO
ER
◆
ure
Maril
n
ct
y
Established by Charles Baillie in the name of his wife, author Marilyn
Baille, this $20,000 prize, shared between author and illustrator, honours
excellence in the picture book format for children aged three to eight.
◆W
I
Baillie P
i
A
L
IS
T◆
ure
Maril
n
N
A W
A R D
ct
y
O
K
IN
◆F
Without You
written and illustrated by
Geneviève Côté
Kids Can Press
978-1-55453-620-7 (hc) $16.95
978-1-55453-911-6 (ebook) $9.99
Canadian
Children’s
Book Centre
Awards
The Marilyn Baille
Picture Book Award
is administered by
Book Centre.
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and teachers, it is the best kind of book to share with children of
all ages because it sparks meaningful conversation. Owlkids Books
offers an array of parent and teacher resources to complement this
book, from links to the Ontario Curriculum to videos about how
the art was made (www.owlkidsbooks.com). As well, an app is now
available for this book.
Nancy Rawlinson is an elementary teacher in the Toronto District School Board and
has a background in math and science.
That One Spooky Night
written by Dan Bar-el
illustrated by David Huyck
978-1-55453-752-5 (pb) $16.95
for Grades 2 to 5
Graphic Novel | Halloween
That One Spooky Nightt is a collection of tales about a Halloween
evening fi lled with haunted happenings and creepy characters.
These linked stories are vibrant in their comic book style of illustration and scary in the way that thrills and delights young readers.
Dan Bar-el is known for playing with traditional rhymes and
stories as in his recent picture book Pussycat, Pussycat, Where Have
You Been?? and his earlier middle grade books such as Things are
Looking Grimm, Jill. He continues to cleverly twist classic tropes to
create something witty and unexpected in That One Spooky Night.
“Broom with a View” introduces a witch who, with her distasteful-sounding potions, ministers to the aches and complaints of
all the land’s ghouls. “The Fang Gang” features a cabal of vampires
that invites four friends into its creepy mansion, as long as they
have permission for a play date. And, when the trick-or-treating is
done, the “Aqua-Hero” twins meet the monster behind the “10,000
Tentacles Under the Tub.”
First-time children’s book illustrator David Huyck matches the
mood of these spooky stories with a palette of blacks, oranges and
murky greens. In true graphic style, the story is developed through
the progression of the illustrated panels and much of the nuance
is carried by the visual image, a geniune collaboration between
author and illustrator to narrate the silences.
On any spooky night, readers aged 7 to 10, cuddled up under
the covers with their flashlights, will find That One Spooky Night
is the perfect book to devour.
Based in Fergus, Ontario, Lisa Dalrymple is the author of If It’s No Trouble...
A Big Polar Bear.
The Giant Bear: An Inuit Folktale
written by Jose Angutinngurniq
illustrated by Eva Widermann
Inhabit Media, 2012
978-1-92709-503-4 (hc) $13.95
for Grades 3 to 5
Picture Book | Traditional Tales |
Inuit Culture | Courage
The Giant Bear: An Inuit Folktale is an impressive short story
of an Inuit hunter who outsmarts a giant polar bear. The colossal
creatures, known as nanurluit, roam the Arctic and wreak havoc
on Inuit communities. They have even been known to take Inuit
children from the ice, leaving hunters defenseless against the
giant’s size.
When a lone hunter comes across an enormous breathing hole,
he must take immediate action in order to protect his nearby
family. The danger that lurks below prompts him to use quick
and effective hunting skills to trap the nanurluk beneath the ice —
giving the hunter enough time to reinforce his iglu and plan
for attack.
This folktale is truly an astounding story of courage. Where
many have failed, one determined Inuit hunter succeeds in eradicating a giant predator. As a traditional Inuit story, the skillful
killing of the nanurluk is not meant to be an unhappy event. The
death of any animal is not taken lightly, as it represents a means to
successfully survive in the Arctic. As depicted in The Giant Bear,
r
meat and furs are abundantly provided for the family/community
in order to last through the winter.
Neil Christopher, Inuit scholar, explains the importance of
indigenous storytelling in the foreword. Folktales are passed from
each generation as a means to inspire and teach younger listeners.
Although this folktale may be graphic for younger readers, the
message of courage and survival can easily be grasped by a more
mature audience.
Jennifer Walters is a MLIS student at the University of Toronto’s iSchool and
an intern at the CCBC.
Island of Doom
(The Hunchback Assignments IV)
written by Arthur Slade
HarperCollins Canada, 2012
978-1-66568-360-4 (hc) $18.99
for Grades 6 to 9
Fiction | Steampunk | Spies
In Arthur Slade’s fi nal installment of The Hunchback Assignments, we find our protagonist Modo, the shapeshift ing spy for
The Permanent Association, and his loyal friend and fellow spy,
Octavia Milkweed, in Montreal, Canada, where they receive a
strange encoded letter from Colette Brunet, the French spy. She
has found Modo’s parents and informs him that they are in great
danger. She insists that Modo depart for France immediately, as she
alone cannot protect his parents. Unfortunately Modo, Octavia and
Colette cannot stop The Clockwork Guild from kidnapping Modo’s
mother and taking her to a remote island. When Octavia and Modo
rejoin his boss Mr. Socrates in North America, they discover The
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Permanent Association has created an interesting group of soldiers
to bring down The Clockwork Guild. But no one is expecting to
encounter ‘Frankenstein-like’ creatures on the island where Miss
Hakkandottir and the leader of The Clockwork Guild are hiding
out and the battle that ensues leaves only one victor standing.
Once again, Slade has managed to enthrall his audience with
another chapter in the life of the endearing Modo and his companions. With high adventure, fantastical creatures and some heartwrenching moments between Modo and those he loves, Slade keeps
readers turning the pages and wanting more. I, for one, am sad to
see this series end and I’m sure Slade will receive many pleas from
his readers to bring these characters back in yet another series.
Written for students in the junior grades and up, this final book
in the series will certainly not disappoint fans of The Hunchback
Assignments.
to find — like Shauzia and the indomitable Mrs. Weera. However,
My Name Is Parvana certainly takes readers on a different quest
than the earlier novels. It’s a very brave book, a novel that is deeply
poignant, passionately powerful and utterly unforgettable.
Jeffrey Canton is a lecturer at York University where he teaches in the Children’s
Studies program.
Yesterday’s Dead
written by Pat Bourke
Second Story Press, 2012
978-1-926920-32-0 (pb) $11.95
for Grades 5 to 9
Fiction | Canadian History | Child Labourers |
Spanish Flu | World War I Home Front
Sandra O’Brien is a former teacher with an M.Ed. in Children’s Literature.
My Name Is Parvana
written by Deborah Ellis
Groundwood Books, 2012
978-1-55498-297-4 (hc) $16.95
for Grades 4 to 7
Fiction | Afghanistan | Women’s and Girls’ Rights |
Taliban | Religious Freedom | Education |
War and Conflict
In this stunning sequel to The Breadwinner trilogy (The Breadwinner,
r Parvana’s Journeyy and Mud City), Ellis takes us on a
harrowing journey into the topsy-turvey world of post-Taliban
Afghanistan where, for more than 30 years, war and conflict have
been the rule of the day, children’s rights are ignored and women
and girls are subject to horrific violence in the name of religious
fundamentalism. But it’s also a world where the power of the
written word can give one frightened, angry and inspiring teenage
girl hope for the future, if she can hold on just one more day.
Fifteen-year-old Parvana is being detained on an American
Army base after being found in the ruins of the school for girls
that she and her family built, a building that has been destroyed by
American bombs. Suspected of being a terrorist, she is ruthlessly
interrogated by her captors — starved, degraded, deprived of sleep,
made to stand for endless hours and mentally brutalized. But Parvana refuses to talk, even when the Americans discover explosives
and bomb-making equipment on the school grounds. Instead, she
takes refuge in her memories of Leila’s Academy of Hope, reliving
how she was an integral part of creating a space where girls could
receive the education they deserve and a place where her ragtag
family could be safe. As we witness her senseless interrogation,
Parvana takes us on another journey, one she shared with her
mother and older sister Nooria, her younger sister Maryam and
her adopted brothers Asif and Hassan. It’s an exciting journey
but not without frustrations, as Parvana, used to surviving on her
own inside and outside refugee camps, now finds herself having to
buckle down and be a normal student.
Parvana has done a lot of growing up over the course of Ellis’s
novels, as have her readers, and My Name Is Parvana won’t disappoint. Ellis has woven in memorable bits and pieces from the earlier
books into this story, as well as characters that readers will expect
Thirteen-year-old Meredith tells her new Rosedale employer that
she is 15 because she desperately needs a job to help her mother
back home. Before the brave young woman has had time to adjust
to her new domestic duties, disaster strikes: Spanish Influenza
sweeps through Toronto in 1918. Meredith’s superiors and some of
her employer’s family fall ill, and her employer, a doctor, is called
away to help with the emergency. Poor Meredith is left to cope and
care for the ill as best she can, with the “help” of the same-aged
daughter of her employer, a girl who initially treats Meredith with
rude disdain.
Around a sometimes rambly plot, author Pat Bourke has crafted
a fantastically detailed novel that would satisfy any young reader’s
desire to find out about the past. Through Meredith, the reader
watches pie dough being rolled out, feels coal dust in the cellar
and even tastes peppermint sticks: rich, sensual details that many
seasoned authors somehow omit.
The picture Bourke created helped me fi ll in the blanks about
what life may have been like for my own great-grandmother during
her time as a young domestic, when, due to poor living conditions,
she caught typhoid while working for a wealthy Toronto family.
It’s a gift from an author when a reader can experience writing that
helps increase one’s understanding of a time of war, a time when
very young women worked, and a time when Canadians were being
tested by an invisible and lethal invader. A teacher’s guide is available online at www.secondstorypress.ca.
lian goodall
The Baby Experiment
written by Anne Dublin
Dundurn Press, 2012
978-1-45970-135-9 (pb) $9.99
978-1-45970-137-3 (ebook) $8.99
for Grades 6 to 10
Fiction | Jewish History | Courage | Medical Ethics
Anne Dublin’s novel, The Baby Experiment, is a compelling read.
The heroine, Johanna, and her mother live in poverty following
the plague deaths of all other family members. Life is harsh in
eighteenth-century Hamburg and Johanna chooses to hide her
ethnicity and apply to work outside the Jewish sector. Hired to
care for orphaned babies, she learns, to her horror, that there is
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an experiment being conducted and babies are dying. Readers are
shocked to discover the disregard for human life portrayed in the
name of science.
Determined to save the baby in her care, Johanna plans to leave
her mother and escape to Holland where she can live as a free
citizen. Her plan undergoes a major change when another employee
confesses she too can no longer remain at the orphanage and begs
to join them. The hardships they encounter test both their beliefs
and friendship. Finding the strength to overcome difficult odds
endears Dublin’s characters to the reader and her powerful
dialogues expose many racial prejudices of the time.
Not for the faint of heart, Dublin’s work is a realistic portrayal
of a dark time for Jews in European society and the tale of a strong
and courageous teen. Some subject matter makes this a
YA designation.
Ellen Donogh
All These Lives
written by Sarah Wylie
Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 2012
978-0-37430-208-5 (hc) $19.95
for Grades 7 and up
Fiction / Grief / Illness / Siblings
Sixteen-year-old Dani is convinced she has nine lives. Throughout
her life, she’s walked away from situations where she should have
died, but her fraternal twin, Jena, isn’t as lucky. She has cancer and
may not survive. Dani sets out to rid herself of all of her extra lives,
hoping that if they are put out into the universe, one of them will
settle on Jena. But when Dani finds herself at the breaking point,
she’s faced with a startling reality: maybe the only life she ever
had is the one she is living.
Wylie’s debut novel sensitively explores how a family copes
with a serious illness. For Dani, losing Jena would not just be losing
a sister; it would be losing part of herself. Dani doesn’t know how
to exist without her twin and, moreover, she doesn’t know if she
can. Dani’s parents offer little support, and are alternately lost in
their grief and in pretending that everything is normal.
Dani’s voice is candid and realistic; readers will easily understand her anger and her helplessness. She lashes out and she
distances herself from everybody (including her sister), but she also
has a good heart and tries to be a good daughter. Each section of
the novel represents one of Dani’s lives and, as the novel progresses,
Dani’s behaviour becomes more desperate and reckless.
This is a beautifully written and powerful novel and, while there
is no happily ever after, the author does end on a hopeful note
that will leave readers wondering about the fates of both girls long
after reading.
Rachel Seigel is Selection Manager at S&B Books — a division of Whitehots.
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Freedom Bound
written by Jean Rae Baxter
Ronsdale Press, 2012
978-1-55380-143-6 (pb) $11.95
978-1-55380-153-5 (ebook) $11.95
for Grades 7 and up
Fiction | American Revolution | Courage
In Jean Rae Baxter’s historical novel Freedom Bound, 18-year-old
Loyalist Charlotte Schyler outwits bounty hunters, evades alligators, and helps escaped slaves during the final days of the American
Revolution. This concludes Baxter’s trilogy that started with The
Way Lies North (2007) and continued with Broken Traill (2011).
After arriving from Canada to join her new husband, Nick, in
Charleston, South Carolina, Charlotte discovers that Nick has
been sent on a mission by the British military and so she is forced
to move in with a young, widowed Quaker woman and her three
children in the working-class area of Charleston. Her stay turns
into more than just helping the woman deliver laundry to the upper
class when she becomes involved with helping runaway slaves
Phoebe and Jammy, and has to disguise herself as a boy to rescue
the kidnapped Nick while dodging hungry alligators and ruthless
bounty hunters.
Through Charlotte, Baxter cleverly incorporates details revealing
how different life was for women, depending on their class and skin
colour, and for enslaved people during this period in American
history. Baxter doesn’t shy away from life’s grimness or cruelty
when describing the whipping of an escaped slave or how Phoebe
became pregnant, but she also shows that girls can have adventures,
demonstrate bravery and ingenuity, while also expressing empathy,
tolerance, and perseverance. Baxter’s storytelling is energized by
the constant unexpected turns of events and by a protagonist who
uses her wit and ingenuity to find solutions in life-threatening
situations, resulting in a fast-moving, but realistic, page-turner
appropriate for ages 12 to 16.
Karri Yano is an editor and writer in Toronto.
I, Witness
written by Norah McClintock
illustrated by Mike Deas
978-1-5546-9789-2 (pb) $16.95
for Grades 7 and up
Graphic Novel | Crime | Consequences
You’re trolling through dumpsters in dead-end alleys with your
best high school buddy, Robbie, but all you’re finding is junk. You
turn to your buddy — and he’s watching something happening in
a window that looks onto the alley: a murder. You both hightail
it out of there as fast as you can. You decide not to tell the cops; it
might be gang-related, you don’t want to be a snitches and you’re
pretty sure they didn’t see the two of you. But you’re wrong. They
kill Robbie in a drive-by shooting and then another high school pal,
Andre, gets gunned down too. Now you don’t know what to do.
You have this terrible secret but can’t tell the cops, can’t tell your
dad, can’t tell Andre’s family — though they’re sure you know
something. You’re a witness but if you say anything, you’re going
to be next.
P OW E R P L AY
E R I C W A LT E RS
Bestselling author Eric Walters brings us a powerful
and poignant cautionary tale about the disturbing
relationship between a talented young hockey star and
his predatory coach as it descends into sexual abuse.
Unforgettably moving and provocative, this is one
of Walters’ best novels to date.
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HarperCollinsCanada
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a
2012 Monica Hughes Award
for Science Fiction and Fantasy
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ni
he
s
mo
Established in 2011 with the first award being presented in 2012,
this award honours excellence in the science fiction and fantasy genre.
The $5,000 prize, awarded annualy to a Canadian author, is sponsored
by HarperCollins Canada, in memory of the late Monica Hughes.
Winner
AWA R D
W
What
Happened to Serenity?
written by PJ Sarah Collins
w
R Deer Press
Red
978-0-88995-453-3 (pb) $12.95
9
Canadian
Children’s
Book Centre
Awards
The Monica Hughes
Award for
Science Fiction
and Fantasy
is administered by
Book Centre.
33
REVIEWS RE
REC
CO
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OMMENDED BOOKS
Norah McClintock has the reader hooked from the opening
pages of her first graphic novel, I,Witness. As 17-year-old David
Boone gets more and more tangled up in the thread of lies he keeps
spinning in order not to reveal what he witnessed, he also finds
himself becoming more and more isolated. McClintock makes
readers see the way this secret is eating Boone up, throwing him off
course at school and putting up walls between him and his friends
because, for them, he’s become a living jinx. She is relentless in
forcing Boone deeper and deeper into the web he’s created, making
readers see that his only choice is to tell the truth. But Boone can’t.
McClintock’s storyline is compellingly illustrated by Mike
Deas’s exceptionally rendered drawings. His strong simple blackand-white images have the feel of quick on-the-spot sketches with
the occasional use of red to highlight the violence that is slowly
engulfing Boone’s world. Deas’s drawings not only give us a real
sense of Boone and the terrible dilemma he faces, but help create
the raw tension that is at the very heart of McClintock’s story.
He makes readers feel that sense of Boone’s being out-of-control
and pushes us, as McClintock’s story does, towards a surprising
but very satisfying ending. It’s far-and-above the work he’s done
for Orca’s Graphic Guide Adventure series and Dalen and Gole.
McClintock and Deas make reading I, Witness a truly mesmerizing
and deeply rewarding graphic experience.
Jeffrey Canton
The White Bicycle
written by Beverley Brenna
Red Deer Press, 2012
978-0-88995-483-0 (pb) $12.95
for Grades 8 and up
Fiction | Independence | Disabilities
Nineteen-year-old Taylor Jane Simon has very
specific goals for her summer. She is spending the season in France
working as a personal care assistant, an accomplishment that she
hopes to put on her resume. This will help with one of her life goals,
which is to find a full-time job — so that she can someday be independent of her mother — despite the fact that she has Asperger’s
Syndrome. But her mother has come to France too and Taylor
resents her efforts to dictate her activities.
Taylor is also keeping a journal in which she recalls her childhood experiences — to see if it is true that understanding her past
may help her to deal effectively with her present and future. As
these months unfold, Taylor is finally able to reassure herself that
a) she will not allow herself to be controlled by her fears and b)
that she has developed strategies to cope with things that upset
her and to make wise choices for herself. She also finally finds the
words to explain to her mother her need to be free to make her
own decisions.
Like her previous two books, Brenna’s latest novel offers a keen
and revelatory glimpse into the inner workings of Taylor’s carefully
ordered mind. Told entirely from her perspective, the book affords
readers the opportunity to see how seemingly ordinary experiences
can be perceived completely differently by someone like Taylor,
who interprets the world in a much more literal fashion.
In spite of her condition, or more accurately, because of her condition, Taylor is able to develop admirable ways of coping with her
34
emotions and confronting obstacles head-on. While her processing
of events and situations may be different from the norm, her search
for independence and her desire to be responsible for herself is what
all young people strive for. Perhaps the main difference lies in her
ability to succinctly defi ne her goals and the clarity with which
she is able to articulate her journey. Readers of all ages will enjoy
accompanying Taylor as she — and her white bicycle — navigate
the ever-twisting path to adulthood.
Lisa Doucet is Co-Manager of Woozles, the Halifax bookstore.
Under the Moon
written by Deborah Kerbel
Dancing Cat Books, 2012
978-1-77086-090-2 (pb) $14.95
for Grades 7 and up
Fiction | Death | Friendship | Family | Sleep Deprivation
Eighteen days. That is the longest any human has
managed to go without sleep. But 15-year-old Lily is shaping up
to break that record. She hasn’t slept a wink since the death of her
vibrant Aunt Su — a kindred spirit, and the only one who really
seemed to get Lily. Now she has only the moon for company in her
nocturnal wanderings — that is, until a yearning to hear another
human voice brings her to a fateful encounter at a drive-through
window with a mysterious (and undeniably handsome) new
transfer student.
It’s a classic setup, lent a quirky charm by Lily’s lively narration
— a pleasing blend of realistically-rendered teenage emotion and
writerly inclinations. Nothing is quite what it seems in this book;
Lily’s introversion is perceived as standoffishness by her classmates,
and only we are privy to the richness of her inner life. Prospective
love interest Ben seems rude, even hostile — but that attitude is
hiding a deeper sense of loss and anxiety. Even Lily’s domineering
mother “General MacArthur” conceals surprising motivations
beneath her flinty exterior.
Everyone longs to be understood by others, and it is this deep
loneliness, rather than the simple absence of companionship, that
truly drives our heroine in this 2012 Governor General’s Literary
Award nominee. The process of discovering these hidden depths is
also Lily’s adventure in making meaningful contact with the people
around her, and it is this central thread that really makes the story
shine. The result is a gently touching, often funny story
of grief, anxiety and loneliness — and of the surprise and pleasure
of those rare points of contact that drive that loneliness away.
Lynette Terrill is a librarian and freelance writer.
Enemy Territory
written by Sharon McKay
Annick Press, 2012
978-1-55451-431-1 (hc) $21.95
978-1-55451-430-4 (pb) $12.95
for Grades 7 and up
Fiction | Friendship | Adventure | War | Middle East
Sam and Yusuf are teens in modern-day Israel, patients at Hadassah
Hospital — a facility that promotes peace, equality and reconcilia-
tion by treating both Israeli and Palestinian youth. Due to a freak
accident, Yusuf has lost one eye and has an infection in the other;
after being injured in a suicide bombing, Sam may lose one leg.
The boys have grown up on opposite sides of the Israeli-Palestinian
conflict, and now find themselves grudging roommates. After a
spur-of-the-moment escape from the hospital, they also become
grudging allies in an outside world fraught with dangers.
Sam leaves the hospital, limping on crutches, with Yusuf in tow.
Yusuf has already experienced Sam’s prejudices and definitely has
his own. He also has no travel papers and is terrified of the implications of being caught, but desperately wants to experience the Arab
Quarter of the Old City — a privilege hitherto withheld from him
because of travel restrictions placed on Palestinians.
The boys face many scary risks and dangers, several of them
life-threatening. However, stresses and tension come not only from
outside threats. Sam and Yusuf also struggle between themselves,
wrestling with the anger they feel about the Palestinian-Israeli
conflict and the stereotypes and ignorance they’ve been exposed
to. Yusuf and Sam make the journey from peril to safety, but most
of all, they go from deep suspicion to solid friendship in a very
realistic process. It is important to note that Yusuf has only one eye,
and Sam thinks of his injured leg as “bad,” but it is their impairments that teach them to lean — literally — on each other, and to
work through their mistrust.
Full of grit and bursts of well-placed humour, Enemy Territory
is a characteristically bold, thought-provoking, important novel
from an author and Canadian war artist unafraid to use controversial issues as a platform to educate and enlighten. McKay’s artistic
canvas here is an unlikely friendship used to show the real grassroots work it will take to resolve the conflict in the Middle East
— one hard-won bond and one honest dialogue at a time. Enemy
Territoryy is another of McKay’s engrossing, superbly researched
must-reads for mature teens.
Christina Minaki is working on her second novel.
The Friday Society
written by Adrienne Kress
Dial Books/Penguin Canada, 2012
978-0-80373-761-7 (hc ) $18.00
for Grades 7 and up
Fiction | Steampunk | Mystery
Cora, Nellie and Michiko are three extremely
talented young women, assistants to powerful men in Edwardian
London. When a chance meeting at a ball ends with the discovery
of a murdered mystery man, it’s up to these three to solve the
murder, and the crimes they believe may be connected to it, without
calling too much attention to their bosses — or to themselves!
This debut steampunk young adult novel from Adrienne Kress
literally begins with a bang, and continues on at an explosive pace.
In Cora, Nellie and Michiko, readers will discover three very
different, but extremely well-crafted characters. Cora, an amateur
inventor, is a personal assistant to a Member of Parliament and
scientist. Nellie is an assistant to a world-renowned magician, and
Michiko is a Samurai in training. All three girls work for important
men, yet each is intelligent, ambitious and has unique strengths.
These girls are not sniveling passive heroines. They are at times
self-doubting (particularly Michiko, who wonders if she really has
what it takes to be a Samurai), but they are also capable and able
to fend for themselves. It is also a refreshing change to see three
women who genuinely get along and respect and care for each
other. Strangers at the start of the novel, they quickly discover
that they work best by combining their strengths and working as
a team, and the dynamic works perfectly for the story.
The writing is sharp, witty, and seamlessly alternates between the
three main characters’ points of view. Set in an alternative London,
the book perfectly captures the contrasting nature of the metropolis
— thriving, bustling city by day, and a grimy, dimly lit, dangerous
place at night. A perfect mix of romance, humour and action, this
highly entertaining novel will keep teens reading late into the night.
Rachel Seigel
Pirate Cinema
written by Cory Doctorow
Tor Teen, 2012
978-0-76532-908-0 (hc) $21.99
for Grades 9 and up
Fiction | Speculative Fiction | Internet | Creativity and
Intellectual Property
Trent McCauley is 16, brilliant, and obsessed with making movies
on his computer by reassembling footage he downloads from the
net. In near future Britain, where Trent is growing up, this is more
illegal than ever. The punishment for being caught three times is
that your entire household is cut off from the Internet for a year —
with no appeal. When Trent’s family gets cut off, it nearly destroys
them. Shamed and shattered, he runs away to London, where he
connects with a demimonde of artists and activists who are trying
to fight the bill that will criminalize digital copying. Things look
bad, but the powers that be didn’t count on the power of a movie to
change people’s minds…
In Cory Doctorow’s third novel for teens, he deft ly explores the
hot-button topic of Internet piracy and copyright, and how much
power the government should and does have to limit creativity.
In Doctorow’s Britain, the Internet is more essential than ever.
Everything from school to medical to business is Internet based,
and functioning without it is virtually impossible. Trent, a typical
tech-savvy teenager, knows that the penalties are stiff, but like
most teens, he thinks he’s too smart to get caught. But he does
and the effects are devastating. Is what he’s doing wrong? While
downloading has, technically, been made illegal by the government,
Trent is creating something original out of pre-existing content,
and the question of whether or not art should be proprietary makes
up the central theme of the novel.
Doctorow is an excellent ideas man, and his viewpoint is made
extremely clear both in and outside of his writing. Unfortunately,
at times the message verges on preachy, and it makes it difficult to
ever be fully drawn into the story. The narrative also gets bogged
down by the technical, and though Doctorow’s expertise is evident,
that level of detail detracts from the reader’s enjoyment.
Those problems aside, there is a lot right with the novel. The setting is well-detailed, the characters are richly drawn and likeable,
and the computer-savvy, socially conscious teens to whom Doctorow’s works appeal, will enjoy the teens vs. the corporation motif.
Rachel Seigel
35
REVIEWS RE
REC
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OMMENDED BOOKS
(You) Set Me on Fire
written by Mariko Tamaki
Razorbill Canada, 2012
978-0-14-318093-7 (pb) $16.00
for Grades 9 and up
Fiction | Relationships | Independence | Self-Discovery
Allison Lee is relieved to be leaving the horrors
of high school behind as she heads off to St. Joseph’s College, far
away from her home town and from all of the unhappiness that she
associates with it. Settling into her new residence, she realizes that
this is a chance to start over and become someone new, to leave
behind the girl who never had any friends and whose heart was so
recently broken. Then Shar takes her under her wing, offering her
friendship and possibly something more. Allison allows herself to
become all but consumed by the promises of this new relationship,
although she recognizes that Shar can be cruel, manipulative and
dangerously unpredictable. But during this time of transition and
of growth and self-discovery, Allison also eventually learns that her
scars (both emotional and physical) don’t have to define her and
that it is never too late to make yet another fresh start.
Mariko Tamaki, author of the highly acclaimed graphic novel
Skim, once again has created a character who is vulnerable and
self-deprecating and yet entirely relatable. Allison’s first-person
narration succinctly captures the drama and drudgery of everyday
life as she and her peers confront the challenges that this new
period in their lives affords them. It also enables readers to empathize with Allison’s own unique struggles and inner turmoil as she
wrestles with her feelings for Shar.
This book is an artful depiction of freshman year, so full of
promise and possibilities, and a compelling snapshot of one girl’s
tumultuous journey through it all. Witty, realistic and wonderful,
it is a beautifully told story that leaves readers hoping — and
believing — that the best is yet to come for Allison.
Lisa Doucet
My Book of Life by Angel
written by Martine Leavitt
Groundwood Books,2012
978-0-1-55498-117-5 (pb) $14.95
for Grades 9 and up
Fiction | Prostitution | Drugs | Friendship |
Downtown Eastside Vancouver
The day that Serena disappears is the day that Angel gets a notebook and starts to tell her story. Her story began with her mother’s
death, and with Angel stealing one shoe at the mall. And another
shoe. And another single shoe, until Call found her.
Now she is Call’s girl in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. Night
after night she has to go to her corner “at the gate of ten thousand
happinesses.” Call’s “candy” makes it slightly more bearable for
her to go on her “dates” and get the job done, but Angel makes a
vow to stop taking his candy, now and forever. Then Call brings
home Melli, a silent, scared little girl. Melli is only 11 and Angel
is desperate to protect her. But with women disappearing off the
streets, and rumours of a dangerous Mr. P. somewhere out there,
and Call insisting that she make double if she won’t let Melli work,
36
it becomes harder and harder to keep her vow.
Heartbreakingly, exquisitely beautiful from the very first page,
Martine Leavitt’s latest gem brings readers into the darkness of
Angel’s world, fi lled with violence, drugs, cruelty and fear. And
yet, in poetry that is spare and taut and true, Leavitt also depicts
the friendship, the small kindnesses and the moments of light in
the midst of the darkness, the hope — fragile and tender but hope
nonetheless. Angel’s story, interwoven as it is with elements of the
true story of the Robert Picton murders, provides a crystal-clear
glimpse into the horrors endured by countless young women
who find themselves trapped in the vicious nightmare of life on
the streets. It is a poignant testament to their bravery, a powerful
reminder of their dignity and humanity, and a stunningly beautiful
acknowledgement of the Angels in our midst.
Lisa Doucet
What Happened to Ivy
written by Kathy Stinson
Second Story Press, 2012
978-1-926920-81-8 (pb) $11.95
for Grades 7 to 10
Fiction | Family | Tragedy | Guilt
Ivy Burke’s life is not easy. Severely disabled because of cerebral
palsy, her life is very different from that of most 11 year olds. But
being her older brother has its own challenges. Although David
loves Ivy and shares a special bond with her, he also resents so
many things about her: the way she embarrasses him whenever
they are in public together; how most of his friends no longer want
to come to his house because of her; the fact that their parents only
ever seem to have time for Ivy and her needs, leaving him feeling
all but invisible to them. So his feelings for Ivy are complicated.
But when she drowns in the lake at their cottage he is absolutely
devastated. He struggles to deal with his grief and remorse for
things that he did to her in anger, things that he now wishes he
could take back. But when rumours begin to circulate that his
father may have been part of her drowning, his grief turns to rage.
Could his father really have just let Ivy die? Could there be
anything, any reason at all, that would make that forgiveable?
This book tackles a very heavy subject with sensitivity and
compassion for all those involved. Stinson masterfully depicts the
stress that Ivy’s condition puts on the entire family and their
relationships, as well as the reality of David’s situation. His mixed
feelings are not only deft ly conveyed but also utterly believable
(despite the fact that he did seem younger than his 15 years). The
tension is palpable from the first page, and the author manages to
provide many different perspectives ranging from David’s feelings of fury and betrayal to his friend Hannah’s admiration of his
father’s gentle, patient, boundless love for Ivy to his father’s anguish
and the agony of experiencing Ivy’s suffering firsthand, knowing
that more painful surgeries were the realities of her foreseeable
future. A thoughtful book that resists providing any clear answers
to the questions it raises, it gives readers much to think about.
Lisa Doucet
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2012 Norma Fleck Award for
Canadian Children’s Non-Fiction
Established by the Fleck Family Foundation, this $10,000 prize
recoginizes exceptional non-fiction books for young people. The award
honours Norma Fleck (1906-1998) who inspired a deep love of reading
in her children.
Canadian
Children’s
Book Centre
Awards
Loon
written by Susan Vande Griek
w
illustrated by Karen Reczuch
Groundwood Books
978-1-55498-077-2 (hc) $18.95
The Norma
Fleck Award for
Canadian Children’s
Non-Fiction
is administered by
Book Centre.
37
REVIEWS RE
REC
CO
C
OMMENDED BOOKS
Beyond: A Ghost Story
written by Graham McNamee
Random House of Canada, 2012
978-0-38573-775-3 (hc) $18.95
for Grades 9 and up
Fiction | Supernatural | Ghosts
Jane was a perfectly normal kid until her shadow took control of
her life, and forced her to start doing horrific things to herself. Now
17, her shadow has struck again, causing a near fatal accident that
nobody seems to believe wasn’t deliberate. Luckily, she has Lexi,
her best friend, for support. Determined to figure out why these
terrifying things are happening and to put a stop to them, Jane and
Lexi’s sleuthing connects her own horrors to the secret history of
a serial killer.
Master of suspense Graham McNamee offers readers a creepy
ghost story that will keep readers guessing until the last page.
Jane is a unique and well-developed character. Called a miracle
baby because she wasn’t breathing at birth, Jane has accepted the
numerous near-fatal accidents that have befallen her, but is no less
terrified by them. Her most recent incident nearly killed her, and
she’s terrified of what her shadow will do next. Nightmares have
become daymares, and she also has a tendency to sleepwalk, which
has resulted in her parents putting a GPS on her to alert them if she
tries to leave the house. Jane’s numerous near-death experiences
cause the kids at school to stare, gossip, or just ignore her, but for
the most part, Jane just runs with it. In fact, she’s so used to her
gruesome reputation that she and Lexi call themselves the
“creep sisters”.
Lexi is equally as interesting and well-drawn. She knows the
truth about Jane’s shadow and, amazingly, believes her. Lexi also
has creepy moments of her own, which makes her perfectly suited
to Jane, and creates a natural and realistic friendship.
The chapters are short and crisp, and the story is fast-paced and
flows well. Flashbacks to Jane’s various accidents help to flesh out
the plot and, while there is a developing love interest, it’s secondary
to the ghost story, and serves mostly to show Jane what she can’t
have as long as she is being haunted.
d is a suspenseful and chilling read
Tense and terrifying, Beyond
that will appeal to any teen who enjoys the kind of book that makes
you afraid of the dark.
Rachel Siegel
Noisy Poems for a Busy Day
written by Robert Heidbreder
illustrated by Lori Joy Smith
978-1-55453-706-8 (hc) $18.95
for Preschool to Grade 1
Non-fiction | Poetry | Daily Routines | Sounds
Scrunchy munch-up, sniggle-giggle, squishy-squash. Noisy Poems
for a Busy Dayy captures both the simple pleasures and spirited
adventures of a young child’s day from waking to bedtime with
pint-sized poems and joyful illustrations.
A primary teacher for 30 years who won the Prime Minister’s
Award for Teaching Excellence, Heidbreder has written numerous
picture books — Lickety-Split, I Wished for a Unicorn, Drumheller
38
Dinosaur Dance — the latter winning the Blue Spruce Award in
2006. His experience in appealing to young children’s sense of play
is apparent in his poems, which will encourage a sense of fun with
language while introducing concepts such as rhythm and rhyme.
The poetic text is complemented by the happy, childlike illustrations of Lori Joy Smith whose artwork has appeared in publications such as Chirp, Today’s Parentt and American Girl. Smith has
chosen a warm, earthy palette which gives the book an inviting feel.
Children and small animals populate the pages, gleefully munching
lunch, swinging in the park or splashing in the tub.
For parents and educators alike, Noisy Poems for a Busy Dayy is
worth having on the bookshelf. At home, the lively illustrations and
imaginative wordplay are sure to engage young children at story
time. Older siblings or beginning readers may also want to get into
the read-aloud action — who can resist reading “bummy-wiggle,”
“gurpy-slurpy” or “sloppy-slurp” out loud! In the classroom,
this picture book will inspire art projects, dramatizations and,
of course, poetry writing!
Tracey Schindler is a teacher who currently works at the Ajax Public Library.
And the Crowd Goes Wild!
A Global Gathering of Sports Poems
edited by Carol-Ann Hoyte and Heidi Bee Roemer
illustrated by Kevin Sylvester
Friesen Press, 2012
978-1-77097-953-6 (pb) $20.99
978-1-77097-954-3 (ebook) $3.99
for Grades 3 to 8
Non-fiction | Poetry | Sports |Language Arts
Sport is a universal language for kids, crossing boundaries of
nationality, gender and ability. Whether in the schoolyard, organized clubs, or as a fan watching a favourite team, kids can connect
with sport. And the Crowd Goes Wild!, winner of a 2012 Moonbeam Children’s Book Award, is a unique and inspired anthology
of poems celebrating sport from soccer to skiing, from the World
Series to the Paralympics. Hoyte and Roemer have compiled this
delightful collection of 50 sports poems from predominantly
Canadian and American poets, but also including pieces from the
British Isles, Australia, New Zealand, Ghana and Liberia.
The poems cover a wide gamut of sport from conventional
(volleyball and football) to the unexpected (checkers and dog-sledding). They are written from the perspective of winners and losers,
spectators and players, even the equipment (the puck and curling
stone). The poems are funny and poignant, wondrous and silly. The
appealing pen-and-ink illustrations by Kevin Sylvester, author of
the popular Neil Flambé series, add an energy and exuberance that
will be hard for any reader to resist.
This book would be an invaluable classroom resource for poetry
writing, dramatizations, choral readings and oral presentations.
Included is a very helpful list of Poetry Forms and Poetry Devices
which lists the 20 poetic styles in the book and the poems which
employ them. There is a terrific variety of poetry styles and forms,
from traditional verse to Acrostic and Cleave poems. And the
Crowd Goes Wild!! is a true celebration of poetry and sport which
will engage readers and spark their creativity.
Tracey Schindler
Rescuing the Children:
The Story of the Kindertransport
written by Deborah Hodges
Tundra Books, 2012
978-1-77049-256-1 (hc) $19.99
for Grades 5 and up
Non-fiction | World War II | Holocaust | Kindertransport
On December 1, 1938, almost 200 German children whose
orphanage had been burned down on Kristallnachtt left Berlin as
part of a remarkable rescue operation. In the next nine months (the
last transport left Germany on September 1, 1939), nearly 10,000
Jewish children from Germany, Austria, Czechoslovakia, and
the Free City of Danzig (now Gdańsk in Poland) left their homes
and families through the work of the Movement for the Care of
Children in Germany and found refuge and safety from Hitler’s
Nazi Germany in Britain. In her new book, Deborah Hodge pieces
together some of the remarkable tales told by the children who
lived because they escaped from the Nazis.
What is most striking about Hodge’s book is how she weaves
what the children themselves relate into her narrative. In their own
words, they offer readers insight into the trauma of leaving their
families and friends behind, journeying to a place where they
didn’t speak the language and felt foreign and alone, unsure what
was happening back home or whether they’d ever see their parents
or siblings again. Beginning with chapters on Hitler’s attack on
European Jewry through the 1930s to Kristallnachtt in October
1938, the book focuses primarily on eight German children, boys
and girls between ages 9 to 14, from a range of backgrounds. As
well, Canadian author Irene N. Watts, who was herself one of the
Kinder, has written a moving foreword. Hodge provides information on the Jewish, Quaker and Christian groups responsible for
rescuing the children and some of the most important women and
men in Germany, England and Holland who helped to organize
this enormous effort.
The text is accompanied by excellent archival photographs, as
well as images from memory quilts created by the Kinder and the
paintings of Hans Jackson. And Hodge doesn’t just leave the Kinder
in Britain at the beginning of the Second World War, but follows
them not only through to the end of the war but on to their lives
today. She has also included a list of books for children and adults,
DVDs and websites for further research. One very small quibble is
that Hodge doesn’t provide readers with the names of some of the
truly remarkable men and women who were among the Kinder,
people like Nobel Prize laureates Walter Kohn and Arno Penzias,
Canadian journalist Joe Schlesinger, contemporary artists
like Frank Auerback and Eva Hesse or television personalities
like Dr. Ruth Westheimer.
Jeffrey Canton
Drop
p in
for a look
CCBC Collections Across the Country
Drop in for a look at the titles in the Centre’s library
collections at the national office in Toronto or at one of
the four regional locations. Phone ahead for hours
and availability.
In Toronto
Canadian Children’s Book Centre
40 Orchard View Blvd., Suite 217
Toronto ON M4R 1B9
416 975-0010 x222
Contact: Meghan Howe
[email protected]
In Vancouver
Education Library
University of British Columbia
Faculty of Education (Scarfe Building)
2125 Main Mall
Vancouver BC V6T 1Z4
604 822-0940
Contact: Christopher Ball
[email protected]
In Edmonton
Herbert T. Coutts Education Library
Education South
University of Alberta
Edmonton AB T6G 2G5
780 942-1429
Contact: Dr. Merrill Distad
[email protected]
In Winnipeg
Elizabeth Dafoe Library
University of Manitoba
25 Chancellors Circle
Winnipeg MB R3T 2N2
204 474-9977
Contact: Donna Masson
[email protected]
In Halifax
Mount Saint Vincent University Library
166 Bedford Highway
Halifax NS B3M 2J6
902 457-6108
Contact: Terrence Paris
[email protected]
39
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REVIEWS IN T
TH
HIS ISSUE
from Lumpito and the Painter from Spain, page 26
22
26
THE CLASSROOM BOOKSHELF
WE RECOMMEND
Lighting Our World: A Year of Celebrations
Catherine Rondina, Jacqui Oakley
A Good Trade
Alma Fullerton, Karen Patkau
Mimi’s Village: And How Basic Health Care
Transformed It
Katie Smith Milway, Eugenie Fernandes
All These Lives
Sarah Wylie
Old MacDonald Had Her Farm
JonArno Lawson, Tina Holdcroft
Pirate Cinema
Cory Doctorow
Pit Pony: The Picture Book
Joyce Barkhouse, Janet Barkhouse, Sydney Smith
Rescuing the Children: The Story of
the Kindertransport
Deborah Hodges
And the Crowd Goes Wild!
A Global Gathering of Sports Poems
Carol-Ann Hoyte (ed.), Heidi Bee Roemer (ed.),
Kevin Sylvester
That One Spooky Night
Dan Bar-el, David Huyck
The Baby Experiment
Anne Dublin
Uncle Wally’s Old Brown Show
Wallace Edwards
Beyond: A Ghost Story
Graham McNamee
Under the Moon
Deborah Kerbel
BOOK BITS
Big City Bees
Maggie de Vries, Renné Benoit
What Happened to Ivy
Kathy Stinson
Baby Play
Carol McDougall, Shanda LaRamee-Jones,
Blue Vine Photography
Enemy Territory
Sharon McKay
When I Get Older: The Story Behind
“Wavin’ Flag”
K’naan, Sol Guy, Rudy Gutierrez
Potatoes on Rooftops: Farming in the City
Hadley Dyer
What’s for Lunch? How Schoolchildren
Eat Around the World
Andrea Curtis, Yvonne Duivenvoorden
24
Checkers and Dot
J. Torres, J. Lum
Checkers and Dot at the Zoo
J. Torres, J. Lum
Kiss, Tickle, Cuddle, Hug
Susan Musgrave, Masterfile,
Getty Images
My First Hockey Book
Ian Crysler
Freedom Bound
Jean Rae Baxter
The Friday Society
Adrienne Kress
The Giant Bear: An Inuit Folktale
Jose Angutinngurniq, Eva Widermann
I, Witness
Norah McClintock, Mike Deas
Island of Doom
(The Hunchback Assignments IV)
Arthur Slade
Lumpito and the Painter from Spain
Monica Kulling, Dean Griffiths
My Book of Life by Angel
Martine Leavitt
My Name Is Parvana
Deborah Ellis
Noisy Poems for a Busy Day
Robert Heidbreder, Lori Joy Smith
The White Bicycle
Beverley Brenna
Yesterday’s Dead
Pat Bourke
You Are Stardust
Elin Kelsey, Soyeon Kim
(You) Set Me on Fire
Mariko Tamaki
Reviews from
Canadian Children’s Book News
are indexed in the Children’s Literature
Comprehensive Database, Gale Online
Databases and EBSCO Publishing.
Visit www.bookcentre.ca
40
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Suite 217, 40 Orchard View Blvd.
Toronto, Ontario M4R 1B9

Cary Fagan, born writer Music books for all ages

Transcription

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