Wade's Wiggly Antlers

Written by Louise Bradford

Illustrated by Christine Battuz

Kids Can Press

978-1-77138-615-9

32 pp.

Ages 3-7

May 2017

Wade loves his antlers.  They look like trumpets and are the basis for much imaginative play with his squirrel, fox and bird friends.  But when he feels them wiggle, he panics and races home (hoping that doesn't jostle them!) to his mother.  She reminds him that they'd already talked about his antlers falling off and then growing new ones in the summer but Wade is distraught, knowing all the wonderful things he does with them: paddles for ping pong; perches for friends; mitts for softball; and hooks for kite-flying.  Desperate to hold onto his antlers, Wade keeps himself from fun with his friends so as to prevent the antlers from falling off.  But, after days of life on the sidelines, Wade realizes he's already missing out on fun with his friends and vows to start living again, come what may. (And we all know what comes because growing up is all about change.)

From Wade's Wiggly Antlers

by Louise Bradford

illus. by Christine Battuz

Your little ones will probably not be worried about losing their antlers but there are changes that may cause them anxiety, such as losing their baby teeth.  Yes, it may be natural and something that happens to all children but that dismissal will not alleviate the stress that can arise.  His mother is wise enough to have prepared Wade for the inevitable loss of his antlers but she also consoles him with the knowledge that he would grow new antlers in time. She is a very wise mother.  But Wade still needs to work through this in his own way, and thankfully Louise Bradford allows him to do so with the support of his family and friends.  There's even a party with colourful cupcakes to celebrate when his first antlers are lost.

From Wade's Wiggly Antlers 

by Louise Bradford

illus. by Christine Battuz

Louise Bradford's text is very comprehensive in evoking Wade's distress and his mother's wise reassurances but it's Quebec illustrator Christine Battuz who uses her digital art to create playful scenes of Wade with his family and friends.  She capably gives him expressions of delight and concern and surprise with but a few strokes of her digital artistry.  Even his little friends are expressive in those same emotions and more, including the tiny blue jay and cardinal that flit around the larger animals. Christine Battuz uses bright colours and bold patterns to energize her illustrations, even in the cool sobriety of winter, the time of moose antler shedding. See if Wade's sweater with contrasting wrist and waist ribbing, along with his dotted scarf, don't bring a smile to your face.  

From Wade's Wiggly Antlers

by Louise Bradford

illus. by Christine Battuz

While it may seem silly to release a winter-based book in May, Wade's Wiggly Antlers is actually a timeless book since kids will be losing their first teeth all year round (unlike moose who shed their antlers between December and March).  Let Wade and his friends help lighten your own children's anxieties, whether it be about loose teeth or some other growing up change, or, if they're fearless, use Wade's Wiggly Antlers to teach some science about seasonal changes and ecology.  Either way, there's some playful learning to be had.

From Wade's Wiggly Antlers

by Louise Bradford

illus. by Christine Battuz

Short for Chameleon

Written by Vicki Grant
HarperTrophy Canada
978-1-44344-898-7
242 pp.
Ages 12+
April 2017

Hold onto that funny bone because it will be sprained from overuse if you read Vicki Grant's newest young adult novel Short for Chameleon in one sitting.  Take your time to savour the delicious humour that saturates her writing because, like a great meal, it's over far too quickly.

Cam is short for Cameron and he works with his dad, former sitcom actor William Redden, playing the roles of family members for anyone who'll pay the Almost Family Surrogate Agency.  Apparently the renting of family is not uncommon in some countries like Japan where Dad had tried to revive his failing career.  Now he and Cam and others in their employ shape and dress themselves into whatever the client needs: grieving son and grandson at a funeral; family visitors to prison; eye-candy for a high school reunion; whatever.  But getting recognized would not be good for business.  After all, you can't be remembered as a repeat grieving father and son at multiple grandmothers' funerals.

So when the wheelchair-bound Albertina Legge approaches them at one funeral, identifying them at scammers, Dad is pretty nervous, "sweating like a high-wire walker in a typhoon." (pg. 4) Unbeknownst to Dad, Albertina engages Cam to assist her in some scam-busting, all the while threatening him with revealing their lack of certification for a variety of government health regulations.  At fifteen and a half, Cam is none the wiser to her shenanigans, and goes along with her demands to assist her in investigations of scams upon seniors.  But things become more enticing for Cam when teen Raylene shows up hoping to hire a brother and gets involved as another sidekick of Albertina's.

Albertina's marks include the pharmacist she cons into refilling prescriptions, and the healer and medium Dr. Blaine T. Morley (to whom countless elderly streamed "like a scene from some zombie apocalypse movie, except with fewer missing body parts and more elastic-waist pants"; pg. 51) whose scamming she reveals to a crowd of devotees.  But she's got her sights set on two big scores: one against  a restaurateur named Lorenzo Martinelli whom she recognizes as the former investment cheat Wade Schmidt, and also looking into a young woman named Janie Aikens running the Time of Our Lives Adult Daycare. All the while, Cam is trying to get closer to Raylene, learn about her family and maybe get her interested in him like he is in her.

But like a British farce in which you can't tell who's telling the truth, Short for Chameleon is rife with scammers.  From Cam whose full name seems better suited to Chameleon rather than Cameron, and Raylene who keeps ditching him whenever he gets too close to learning the truth about her, to Albertina who has more than one agenda and doesn't care how she achieves what she wants, because going gently into the night is not an option for her.

"... she seemed a tad too alive–fuchsia lips, hair like Marge Simpson's only in a tasteful shade of tangerine, not to mention a good fifteen inches of wrinkly cleavage that made me think of the mighty Amazon snaking its way down the relief map I made in Mr. Jackman's geography class." (pg. 2)

Like life which is truly bittersweet for most of us, Short for Chameleon highlights the humour and the sadness of reality.  Doesn't matter whether you're a kid, a teen, an adult or an elderly person on the cusp of the end, life is not easy, there always being moments of grief and brightness.  All you can do is hope that sometimes there's someone there with you to share life's load.  (And if there isn't, there's always a rent-a-family agency around the corner to fill the need.  At least there is in Vicki Grant's Short for Chameleon.)

Grandfather and the Moon

Written by Stéphanie Lapointe

Illustrated by Rogé

Translated by ShelleyTanaka

Groundwood Books

978-1-55498-963-4

100 pp.

Ages 10-13

May 2017

Grand-père et la Lune won the 2016 Governor General's Award for French-language children's illustration and Groundwood Books has astutely engaged Shelley Tanaka to bring this jewel as Grandfather and the Moon to English-language readers. It's sensitive and nostalgic and emotive in a finely understated approach, blending a grandfather-granddaughter relationship with an exceptional journey into space.

Though it is evident from the subtle words and illustrations at the onset that the young girl's grandfather has passed, this is her story of how she remembers him.  He affectionately called her Mémère and, though he spoke few words, he said much to her.  He told his granddaughter of his past work, and always insisted she go to university and get her degree.  He drove around in a tank of a Chrysler and loved spaghetti that came out of a can.

From Grandfather and the Moon 

by Stéphanie Lapointe

illus. by Rogé

Life passed through Grandfather
like one long breath.
Warm,
and slow.

He adored his wife Lucille and was devastated by her death, slipping into a depression of fewer words, "Like his heart ran out of gas." When the Who Will Go to the Moon Contest is announced (though Grandfather hadn't heard of it, since he rarely watched TV, declaring that "Television is something that ends up doing our thinking for us"), the young girl is selected from hundreds of thousands of people for the space journey.

From Grandfather and the Moon 

by Stéphanie Lapointe

illus. by Rogé

After a booming launch, the girl ponders the beauty and silence of space, infusing her deliberations with her perspective on the history of space travel.  Just like the overwhelming emptiness her grandfather endured upon the death of his wife, the girl is staggered by the desolation.  Her response is stunning, to herself and others, but her grandfather in his box of a car is still there for her.

From Grandfather and the Moon

by Stéphanie Lapointe

illus. by Rogé

The relationship between granddaughter and grandfather is everything in Grandfather and the Moon.  There may be an extraordinary trip into space by an ordinary girl but even that does not surpass the profound connection between the two as the most important feature of the book.  Hardly effusive, the two still nurture their relationship as you would a fragile glass sphere, taking care with it but not engulfing it.  And even though I never knew either of my grandfathers, I know this young girl and this man who says so much in his actions and impacts her choices.  This must be a relationship very familiar to author Stéphanie Lapointe as her perspective is so intimate and touched with affection.

Award-winning artist Rogé who has illustrated countless French- and English-language books, his own and those of other authors,  uses pencil to evoke both the delicacy and the transparency of the relationship between the two generations in Grandfather and the Moon.  Moreover, the contemplative nature of the story comes out in Rogé's illustrations, from scenes of Grandfather at Lucille's bedside or the young girl's sojourn into space.  The colours are ever muted, with only glints of red, green or blue like stars in an oppressively darkened sky.  Together Stéphanie Lapointe and Rogé ensure that Grandfather and the Moon is loaded in gravitas in both words and art but with twinkles of humour and sweetness.  Because that's what life is generally like.  

2017 Canadian Authors for Indies Day: April 29

Celebrate independent bookstores in Canada

on Saturday, April 29, 2017

with your favourite children's and YA authors 

who will be there volunteering!

Across Canada on Saturday, April 29th, many authors will be volunteering their time to promote independent bookstores.   I know I’m going to miss some of your favourites but here’s a generous smattering of independent bookstores who will be hosting an assortment of authors (children’s, YA and adult) and even providing treats and prizes, if you’re lucky!

As I'm only including the names of authors of children's and young adult books here, PLEASE check with the Authors for Indies website for the complete listing of authors and individual bookstores participating.  Also check the timing of events and schedule for author appearances. As you’ll note, authors may be at several venues during the day and I would hate for you to miss them because of a lack of clarity or detail in my listings.

British Columbia

Armchair Books, Whistler

Susan Juby

Black Bond Books (Central City), Surrey

kc dyer

Black Bond Books, Maple Ridge

Rachelle Delaney
Darren Groth

Black Bond Books (White Rock), Surrey

Cristy Watson (11am -12:30 pm)

Black Bonds Books (Ladner), Delta

Ashley Spires
Darren Groth

Black Bond Books (Surrey), Surrey

Gina McMurchy-Barber (10:00 am - 12:00 pm)

Cristy Watson (1:30 - 2:30 pm)

Book Warehouse Main Street, Vancouver

Kallie George (11 am - 1 pm)

Anita Miettunen (11 am - 1 pm)

Book Warehouse Broadway, Vancouver

Melanie Jackson (11 am -12:30 pm)

Hager Books (Vancouver)

Julie Burtinshaw (11 am - 12 pm)

Anita Miettunen (2 - 3 pm)

KidsBooks, Vancouver

Susin Nielsen (2 - 4 pm)

Ashley Spires (2 - 4 pm)

Charise Mericle Harper (2 - 4 pm)

Munro's Books, Victoria

Julie Lawson
Jordan Stratford

Otter Books, Nelson

Cyndi Sand Eveland (9:30 - 11:30 am)

UBC Bookstore, Vancouver

kc dyer

ALBERTA

Audrey’s Books, Edmonton

Lorna Nicholson (11 am - 12 pm)

Kate Boorman (1 - 2 pm)

Marty Chan (2 - 3 pm)

The Bookworm, Sherwood Park

Judith Graves (10 am - 12 pm)

Marty Chan (12 - 1 pm)

Mandy Eve-Barnett (1 - 2 pm)

Shelf Life Books, Calgary

Susan Ouriou (1:30 - 3:30 pm)

SASKATCHEWAN

SK Books & Collectibles Inc., Regina

Participating but no authors listed at time of posting

ONTARIO

Another Story Bookshop, Toronto

Danielle Younge-Ullman 

Backbeat Books & Music, Perth

Roy MacGregor

Bakka Phoenix Books, Toronto

Kate Blair (11:30 am - 1:30 pm)

Leah Bobet (11:30 am - 3 pm)

Megan Crewe (11:30 am - 1:30 pm)

Kristyn Dunnion (12:30 - 2:30 pm)

Kevin Sylvester (3 - 5 pm)

Ben McNally Books, Toronto

Melanie Fishbane (11:30 am - 12:30 pm)

Trilby Kent (2 - 3 pm)

Blue Heron Books, Uxbridge

Heather O'Connor

Ruth Ohi

Susie Berg

Bill Swan 

Linwood Barclay (10 - 11 am)

Bill Freeman (11:30 am - 1:30 pm)

Ann Y.K. Choi (2:30 - 4 pm)

Book City (Bloor West Village), Toronto

Melanie Florence 

Jennifer Maruno 

Linda Granfield 

Sharon Jennings 

Patricia Storms 

Jennifer Lanthier

Deb Loughead 

Book City (Danforth), Toronto

Karen Krossing 

Melanie Fishbane 

Carey Sookocheff 

Book City (Beaches), Toronto

Kevin Sylvester

Book City (Yonge at St. Clair), Toronto

Joyce Grant 

Angela Misri 

Leah Bobet 

Sydney Smith 

BookLore, Orangeville

Shelley Peterson (10 - 11 am)

The Bookshelf, Guelph

Kira Vermond (12 - 1 pm)

Curiosity House, Creemore

Kerry Clare (10 - 11:30 am)

A Different Drummer Bookstore, Burlington

Participating but no authors listed at time of posting but event set for 4:30 - 6 pm

Epic Books, Hamilton

E. Graziani 

Joanne Levy 

Nicola Winstanley 

Forster's Book Garden, Bolton

Kerry Clare 

Peter G. Reynolds 

Mary Scattergood 

Hunter Books, Peterborough

Michael Redhill (3 - 5 pm)

Kent Bookstore, Lindsay

Meaghan McIsaac 

Let's Talk Books, Cobourg

Linwood Barclay

Lighthouse Books, Brighton

Peggy Dymond Leavey (11 am - 1 pm)

Linwood Barclay (2:30 - 3 pm)

Mill Street Books, Almonte

Rick Revelle (2 - 4 pm)

Perfect Books, Ottawa

Amanda West Lewis (3 - 4 pm)

Queen Books, Toronto

Carey Sookocheff (10 - 11 am)

Kevin Sylvester (1 - 2 pm)

Type Books, Toronto

Vikki VanSickle (11 am- 12 pm)

Sydney Smith (1 - 2 pm)

Kenneth Oppel (2 - 3 pm)

Ruth Ohi (3 - 4 pm)

NOVA SCOTIA

The Box of Delights Bookshop, Wolfville

Jan L. Coates

Lahave River Books, Lahave

Laura Best (1- 2 pm)

Sylvia Gunnery (3 - 4 pm)

Lexicon Books, Lunenburg

Sylvia Gunnery (1 -2 pm)

Kate Inglis (4 - 5 pm)

Woozles, Halifax

Sarah Sawler (10 am - 12 pm)

Tom Ryan (10 - 12 pm)

Meghan Marentette (10 - 12 pm)

Jessica Kerrin (12 - 2 pm)

Melanie Mosher (12 - 2 pm)

L. E. Carmichael (2 - 4 pm)

Ishta Mercurio (2 - 4 pm)

James Leck (2 - 4 pm)

Check out the Authors for Indies website for a listing of all bookstores participating, including the plethora of adult authors I didn't even try to mention and authors and illustrators whose names I don't even know, yet!

Any errors or omissions are completely my own. Please leave a comment if I've made any horrific impossible-to-ignore mistakes that I can resolve promptly.  Thanks.

Nathan

Written by Susan Ouriou

Red Deer Press

978-0-88995-547-9

152 pp.

Ages 7-12

October 2016

Bullies come in all sizes and ages.  Some are in the past and some in the present but their impact is as damaging as any trauma that can make you feel like you don’t belong or that you are not safe.  In her first middle grade book, Susan Ouriou, best known for her translations (including Pieces of Me; Jane, the Fox and Me; This Side of the Sky), tackles the heavy issue of bullying from different perspectives: a  school bully tormenting young Nathan, the historical trauma of residential schools as experienced by Nathan’s grandfather’s mother, and even the assault of Altzheimer’s on the human spirit.  All are brutal and relentless but there is reconciliation.

It’s summer, and the family is starting to move Grampa from his own home to live with them, and it’s making everyone tense.  Mom acts annoyed and can be downright rude to her father.  Dad just thinks Grampa should go straight into a nursing home.  Grampa isn’t always sure what’s going on but seems resigned to accept it.  And Nathan would do anything to keep his Grampa  as the impressive giant of a man he always was.  Grampa is especially sympathetic when Nathan, who is being bullied by a boy named Adam, is repeatedly accosted by the boy while enjoying outdoors play with a new friend Max.

“…no good could come of digging up the past.  All that counted was remembering we come from survivors.  We’re tough.” (pg. 25)

Grampa takes Nathan and Max (and Nathan’s Mom, who knows Grampa should not be driving) to  the museum at the Tsuut´ina Nation to meet Elder Estella who teaches about the impact of European settlement on First Nations.  Nathan learns his great-Gramma had been First Nations and had had to survive living at a residential school, where kids were bullied by adults and didn’t have their parents around to protect them.  

The school year begins and a vicious assault by Adam on Nathan and Max leaves Nathan psychologically impacted and unable to walk and Max moving to another school.  As constant companions, Grampa, whose Alzheimer’s is worsening, and Nathan become the supports they need to survive their personal ordeals and grow stronger because of them.

Though the title suggests a book all about Nathan, it goes far beyond the young boy’s story, being a middle-grade novel dense with emotion and conflict and drama, of family and trauma and First Nations and bullies and history. Susan Ouriou whose interpretation experiences include Edmonton’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission as well as The Banff Centre’s Indigenous Writers Program weaves the past, in terms of the residential schools and the Holocaust of WWII, with the present, and family with community.  Through her characters and the story, she shows us that there were and are many who are “some kind of strong and some kind of brave” (pg. 83) and that includes Nathan whose compassion lets him see Adam beyond a tormentor and Grampa who must live through his own torment while still looking to help others.  Nathan is a story of resilience and courage that bridges generations and offers understanding and even some degree of assurance.

Stop Feedin' da Boids!

Written by James Sage
Illustrated by Pierre Pratt
Kids Can Press
978-1-77138-613-5
32 pp.
Ages 3-7
April 2017

I wish I could review more books illustrated by Pierre Pratt. Unfortunately for me, his illustrations often accompany French-language texts and I am reluctant to reveal my lack of skill reviewing French books.  So, although author James Sage is British, I am delighted to be able to review an English-language text that is fortunate to be illustrated by Montreal's Pierre Pratt, a man whose bio includes copious nominations and awards, including the Governor General Literary Award for Children's Book Illustration, Le Prix TD, Bratislava's Golden Apple Award, and the UNICEF-Bologna Book Fair Illustrator of the Year Award.

From Stop Feedin' da Boids!

by James Sage

illus. by Pierre Pratt

In Stop Feedin' da Boids!, Swanda and her dog Waldo and her family move from the country to Brooklyn.  Though she misses the wildlife, she soon finds herself enamoured with the birds that flock outside their apartment onto the iron fire-escape.

From Stop Feedin' da Boids!

by James Sage

illus. by Pierre Pratt

Providing the birds with a bird feeder, more and more pigeons come to visit, much to the dismay of her neighbours who are displeased with the mess.  Swanda seeks help from so-called experts–a pest control officer, a zookeeper and an exotic bird fancier– but it's not until Lexi from the deli tells Angelo who tells another neighbour who shares with another neighbour and so on and so on the titular advice that Swanda rids the building and neighbourhood of her countless feathered friends. But Swanda's story doesn't end there. A chance sighting and a lot of heart finds Swanda discovering some new wildlife to welcome into her home.

From Stop Feedin' da Boids!

by James Sage

illus. by Pierre Pratt

James Sage weaves a light-hearted story about a little girl who likes animals perhaps a little too much but whose intentions are always charitable.  But it's Pierre Pratt's artwork that provides the context for Swanda's love of animals and the neighbourhood that envelops her.  She is part of her community, whether it be the countryside or a diverse neighbourhood of people, animals and urban life. They are both detailed landscapes of colours and textures, solitude and activity.  Look for the dogs or cats looking out windows, or Mr. Kaminski's two-toned shoes, or the mega-armed bodybuilder.  There's a 1920s feel to the Brooklyn of Stop Feedin' da Boids!, and Pierre Pratt uses strong strokes and bold colours to create a cityscape of tall angled buildings and community of diverse people, all different in size, colour, shape, expression and dress.  It's wild and it's homey.  It's the same style that charmed readers in Gustave (by Rémy Simard, Groundwood, 2014) and No-Matter-What Friend (by Kari-Lynn Winters, Tradewind Books, 2014) by bringing an intensity to the storytelling and readers into the story's setting.

Go ahead and read this one aloud–get that Brooklyn accent right!–but be sure to share the illustrations to get the whole story behind why Swanda should "Stop Feedin' da Boids!"

Phoebe Sounds It Out

Written by Julie Zwillich

Illustrated by Denise Holmes

Owlkids Books

978-1-77147-164-0

32 pp.

Ages 3-7

April 2017

Too many children like Phoebe avoid that which seems difficult or problematic especially in school.  So it’s not surprising that the young girl would prefer to play with her rain boots and a pencil rather than practise writing her name as instructed by the teacher.  Even though she has her name written on her backpack to use as a guide, she knows the letters don’t match the sounds that she is able to distinguish in her name. (Her Mama must have made a mistake.)

From Phoebe Sounds It Out

by Julie Zwillich 

illus. by Denise Holmes

So, Phoebe carefully chooses the sounds and letters that would make sense in her name and, for a child in kindergarten, she is absolutely en pointe!  She’s not copying her name out; she’s sounding it out and spelling it as the sounds dictate.  Moreover, she’s led by her heart to use letters that fit but still she chooses those that might have special meaning or add a little something extra like companionship for lonely letters.

“Maybe she could borrow the letter that was at the end of Nicky’s name.  It sounded right.  Nicky wouldn’t mind.”

And though her teacher could chastize Phoebe for incorrectly spelling her name, she instead celebrates all the children’s attempts with glitter glue and a clothespin display for all to enjoy.

From Phoebe Sounds It Out

by Julie Zwillich

illus. by Denise Holmes

Julie Zwillich’s picture book is based on a very familiar premise though not all teachers and parents would recognize it as so or be as accommodating as the children’s teacher Ms. Martha.  As daunting a task as writing your name for the first time, so is reading. Imagine needing to decipher letters before you can even put the sounds together to form words.  Still the story is very straightforward and told in an uncomplicated text so that young children just learning to read will want to attempt to decipher the words, especially since they’ll see themselves within Phoebe’s story.  Everyone is in this book, courtesy of illustrator Denise Holmes who creates a diverse class with students of different races, ethnicities, abilities and challenges, whether they be eyesight or mobility or spelling.  Judging by the names of students displayed (looks like there’s a Lakshmi, Maria, Finch, Ali, Aaron, Miguel, Hazel, Sam, Nicky, June and, of course, Phoebe), Ms. Martha’s classroom is wonderfully rich in diversity, inviting readers to empathize with her students and  respond to Phoebe’s circumstances with understanding.

There’s a wonderful Teachers’ Guide for download that encourages  activities with reading comprehension, writing, and the alphabet, but just reading Phoebe Sounds It Out will suffice to foster discussions about trying and making mistakes as a part of learning.

Water's Children: Celebrating the resource that unites us all

Written by Angèle Delaunois

Illustrated by Gérard Frischeteau

Translated by Erin Woods

Pajama Press

978-1-77278-015-4

32 pp.

Ages 4-8

April 2017

Of course water is important.  Everyone knows it is the basis for life.  But water is so, so much more than just the liquid that sustains life. It enriches, energizes, moves, alters and drenches and Water’s Children is truly a celebration of that life force in a global context.

From Water's Children

by Angèle Delaunois

illus. by Gérard Frischeteau

trans. by Erin Woods

Quebec author, visual artist and publisher Angèle Delaunois takes the reader across the world to witness the importance of water to the children of different countries.  Each child describes their experiences with getting water, using water, and what water represents, with a final summation statement.  Canada is represented by two spreads, one from Quebec and one from Nunavut, both which speak in terms of what is most familiar to young  Canadian readers.

For me, water is everywhere:
the tap that I turn on without thinking,
the bathtub full of bubbles,
the sprinkler that greens the grass,
the lake that summons us for vacation fun.
For me, water is a burst of laughter. (pg. 7)

For me, water is winter:
the ocean and the river trapped beneath the ice,
the snowflakes that blur the horizon where earth becomes sky,
the frost that whitens my lashes,
the solitude and silence of the long polar night.
For me, water is a perfect crystal of snow. (pg. 8)

While other texts and illustrations will be familiar or at least obvious such as the Russian child of a fishing village and the rain experienced by an urban child in Germany, many spreads will rouse thoughtful discussions of unfamiliar depictions of water.  There’s the flooded lands after a dam is built, the Brazilian rainforest, the orange groves on lands that were once desert, and water trucks in Mauritania.  Imagine worlds in which water is  “an outstretched hand” or “a cup of mint tea.”  The ultimate word goes to an unborn child for whom “water is the song of my mother” and who speaks for the world declaring that “For me, for all of us, water is a matter of life.”

From Water's Children

by Angèle Delaunois

illus. by Gérard Frischeteau

trans. by Erin Woods

The artwork of Montreal animator, graphic artist and illustrator Gérard Frischeteau rings with authenticity, depicting each global child in both personal and expansive landscapes, often providing details about daily life and family.  From the scarlet macaw of the rainforest to the bowler hat of the South American girl with her alpaca, each spread provides a glimpse into another world in which water is life.

From Water's Children

by Angèle Delaunois

illus. by Gérard Frischeteau

trans. by Erin Woods

In fact, “Water is Life” is a special touch in Water’s Children. On watermarks adorning each spread, the term “water is life” is translated into a corresponding language, including French, Inuktitut, Catalan, German, Portuguese, Tamil, Arabic and Wolof with a final listing of all regions and languages represented in the book.

I know I’ve listed the reading audience as 4 to 8 years of age but don’t follow that.  Water’s Children’s audience should read “All ages” or “Everyone” because it is an extraordinarily inspirational examination of the importance of water throughout the world.  You can save it for World Water Day (March 22) but I recommend it for this weekend’s Earth Day (April 22) and anytime meaningful attention be paid to a global resource i.e., always.

NemeSIS

Written by Susan Marshall
Blue Moon Publishers
978-1-988279-32-3
204 pp.
Ages 13+
April 2017

I know that sisters can be as close as best friends (I have a wonderful younger sister who is just this for me).  Sisters can be there to support you through familial strife and guide you through the uncertainties of growing up.  As the middle of three sisters, I know what can be but I also know what is.  Susan Marshall’s debut YA novel, as the name suggests, is about that tenuous relationship between sisters, a mixed bag of bullying and bond.

With her parents going through a marital separation, fifteen-year-old Nadine could certainly use the support of her older sister, Rachel.  But seventeen-year-old Rachel is too egocentric to see anything, including her parents’ separation, in any terms other than those related to her. Between her parents' separation, and Mom establishing a new life as a realtor, and Rachel vacillating (can you say moody?) between kind and cruel, Nadine needs someone in her corner.

“Like Voldemort, Rachel was a monster of the dark arts.” (pg. 41)

While trying to avoid Rachel’s wrath, like the dumping of ice water on Nadine while she sleeps and plugging her nose with a clothespin (painful!), Nadine begins to adopt a plan of steps, similar to the AA twelve-step program, to help “dig herself out of the hole she was in.” (pg.  18) Undertaking to become part of the school and make a friend, she meets Anne Lavery,  new to Elgin High School, and younger sister of wildly popular senior Matt Lavery and his twin Cameron.  With that one step, Nadine’s life expands to include a lunch buddy, a love interest,

“Cameron was the sun, and I was this speck of intergalactic dust being pulled toward him, close enough to bask in the warmth of his rays but not so close as to get burned” (pg. 35)

and a place on the field hockey team where she meets a new friend Mei.  But while Nadine’s relationship with Anne brings many positives into her life, it also draws Rachel’s attention.  Not surprising that the manipulative Rachel uses her sister’s friendship with Anne to get close to Matt but Rachel can’t decide whether to cultivate her relationship with Nadine to her own end or threaten the girl about keeping mum about her bullying of Nadine.  And what Nadine learns is that bullying is bullying, whether it is by a sister, a team mate or an opponent, and avoidance is not an effective option.

As a reader, I often wonder whether all writers have first hand knowledge of that which they write.  I’m pretty sure Susan Marshall knows something about sibling bullying, though she tempers the viciousness that can be had at the hands of an older sister.  Still, the psychological torment of bullying and trauma inflicted by Rachel, and other bullies in the story, are very real and impactful, and Susan Marshall makes it clear that dealing with bullies does not have one solution.  The confusion of dealing with a bully who could turn kind or cruel in a split second may be rationalized by mental health issues but the care with which they select when, where and how to inflict that cruelty suggests a psychopathy beyond moodiness.  I think Nadine is far more generous with her sister than other bullies and more than Rachel deserves but it’s amazing what you can forgive family.  Susan Marshall conveys all that mixed up turmoil of shame, anger, resolve,  and expectancy convincingly and still provides a guarantee that things can and do get better.  It may not be fast enough or easily enough for many victims of  bullying, sibling or otherwise, but when you have a NemeSIS, it’s a long-standing relationship that can come to an end with a shocking bang like it does for Mei and her bully, or a soft closing of a door, perhaps as it will be with Nadine and Rachel.  Go with the door.  It hurts less.

Forest Kid Committee: Applications due April 30, 2017

Do you 💖 reading?

Are you in Grades 4-8?

Do you live in Ontario?

Do you want to help choose books 

that other kids will want to read?

Then this is the group for you!

 Join the first ever Forest Kid Committee!

Who?:       The Forest of Reading is looking for enthusiastic readers in Grades 4 to 8 

What?:      To help develop a summer recommended reading list for Canadian children 

When?:     Meeting June, 2017

Where?:    Ontario Library Association offices in Toronto

Applications are due April 30, 2017

and can be completed online here

The Forest of Reading Kid Committee is a 2017 pilot project. If successful, more opportunities for readers to get involved will be tested in future years. Stay tuned!

Hannah and the Magic Eye

Written byTyler Enfield

Great Plains Teen Fiction

978-1-927855-68-3

165 pp.

Ages 8-12

April 2017

“…taking her on a tour through the last three-thousand years of Israel’s major religions–from Judaism, to Islam, and lastly to Christianity–all of them locked together by a shared history in this solitary, enchanted city and a magical ring once worn by its wisest king.” (pg. 135)

Think The Da Vinci Code for middle-graders and you have Edmonton author Tyler Enfield’s Hannah and the Magic Eye.  Entombed in archaeology, a secret society and secret codes, it's a thriller which takes place in Jerusalem, one of the oldest and historically richest cities of the world.

Twelve-year-old Hannah travels from her home in Brussels, Belgium to visit her famed archaeologist grandfather, Henri Dubuisson, in Jerusalem.  When she arrives and Henri is not there to meet her, she only has a cryptic note he’d sent her to guide her.  She discovers a secret online message from her Grandpa Henri about a treasure beyond her wildest dreams and a secret society called the Cancellarii in search of the same treasure. Convinced Henri has been kidnapped and attempting to avoid several nefarious characters who attempt to follow her and grab her, Hannah, with the help of a Palestinian boy who likens himself to George Clooney, uncovers an ancient journal by ancestor Julien Dubuisson.  Hannah and Clooney must decipher the seven illustrations within, using a camera and a lot of ingenuity about historic sites in Jerusalem and environs, if they are to decipher the mysterious treasure map and discover a treasure that once belonged to King Solomon and save her grandfather.

No stops for deep breaths on this adventure.  Tyler Enfield has plotted a story so intricate and action-packed that young readers won’t have time to take breaks to learn about the historic details woven into the story (though they will surely be googling King Solomon, the different quarters of Jerusalem and the Dome of the Rock after finishing the book).  Clever Hannah is like a young Indiana Jones with her loyal sidekick Clooney who gets her both into and out of trouble.  With Hannah’s code-breaking skills and historic knowledge along with Clooney’s familiarity with their exotic location, Hannah and the Magic Eye is a thrilling course of intrigue that captivates and captures, inviting young readers to travel with Hannah and Clooney on their adventure, even on camel back. And judging by the conclusion of Hannah and the Magic Eye, they have a subsequent treasure hunt in Cambodia with Hannah and Clooney assisting Henri, all courtesy of Tyler Enfield's elaborate plotting and savvy for telling an exciting middle-grade story.

The Banana-Leaf Ball

Written by Katie Smith Milway

Illustrated by Shane W. Evans

Kids Can Press

978-1-77138-331-8

32 pp.

Ages 8-12

April 2017

Most picture books are thirty-two pages in length but packing a story that includes escape from war, near starvation, separation from family, life in a refugee camp, and troubles with gangs into those few pages is an accomplishment.  The Banana-Leaf Ball’s story has all of that and even reconciliation and hope for the future.

From The Banana-Leaf Ball 

by Katie Smith Milway 

illus. by Shane W. Evans

When Deo Rukundo and his family are driven from their farm by war in Burundi, the child becomes separated from them.  Rescued by a fisherman, Deo is taken to Lukole, a refugee camp in Tanzania.  The camp which is not dissimilar from a village with a marketplace and school also has limited resources like water and food and the presence of gangs.  Deo tries to avoid Remy, a gang leader, who steals and bullies but especially after Remy  steals some of Deo’s carefully worked banana twine for the banana-leaf ball he makes and hides away.  When a man arrives with a coveted leather soccer ball and puts the teams into Shirts and Skins to encourage a game,  Deo is made a captain and Remy is on his team.  With a little teamwork and a lot of encouragement, all the boys, Deo and Remy included, are able to put away their differences and learn a bit about playing soccer, making banana-leaf balls, and becoming friends.

From The Banana-Leaf Ball 

by Katie Smith Milway 

illus. by Shane W. Evans

The Banana-Leaf Ball is Kid Can Press’ newest addition to its CitizenKid series of books and Katie Smith Milway’s fourth book in the series. Like its predecessors, it’s a story of empowerment that comes from dire circumstances but told in terms of the children who rise above.  Though most young readers will have no first-hand knowledge of being driven out of their homes by war and separated from family, as well as living in a refugee camp, many will understand the conflict with a peer that pervades daily existence.  The message that play and sport can override that conflict and provide the basis for inclusiveness is a positive one that children the world over need to know.  To further that message, The Banana-Leaf Ball includes notes about the real Deo and an amazing section called “How Kids are Learning to Trust and Include Others” which includes links to relevant organizations and descriptions of games to foster working together.

From The Banana-Leaf Ball 

by Katie Smith Milway

 illus. by Shane W. Evans

Award-winning American illustrator Shane W. Evans (Underground: Finding the Light to Freedom, We March, and The Way a Door Closes) who primarily works in pen and ink and oils with computer lends a simple power to the story.  The illustrations are weighty but energetic with the strife of escape and bustle of life in a refugee camp.  Colour and shape and even size help convey Deo’s situation, dark and shadowy when escaping and isolated, while bright and larger, coming to life when playing soccer.

Through words and art, The Banana-Leaf Ball continues to fulfil CitizenKid’s mandate of inspiring global citizenship but, by basing it on a true story, it also demonstrates the potential for good to come from bad and the importance of empathy, teamwork and resilience to further that good.


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Check out Kids Can Press' book trailer for this new book:

The Banana-Leaf Ball - A New CitizenKid Book

Uploaded to YouTube by KidsCanPressMovies on March 28, 2017.

By the Time You Read This

Written by Jennifer Lanthier

Illustrated by Patricia Storms

Clockwise Press

 978-1-988347-05-9

32 pp.

Ages 4-8

April 2017

By the Time You Read This, this book will probably be out and I’ll have missed its launch, but, hey, what can you do? At least it’s not the devastating news like that which the arm cast-addled Oscar pens to his former friend Sam, beginning with “To my mortal enemy, By the time you read this….” He then proceeds to itemize all the play things he is dismantling or putting the kibosh on in light of their conflict: the Scientific Experiment of Glorious Doom; their Indestructible Fortress of Fiendishness; their Epic Battle of Giant Robots versus Alien Insects; the Magical Zoo of Mystical Creatures; the Neverending Novel of Awesome Adventures; the Precarious Portal for Intrepid Explorers; and the Time Travel Tower of Ultimate Power.  It seems Sam laughed when Oscar fell when skateboarding.

But all that anger dissipates when Sam finds Oscar and apologizes for laughing, not realizing he’d hurt himself.  Recalling all the fun things they had done together, Oscar relents, asking Sam if she’d like to sign his cast.  With that, the two surrender to their friendship and get back to the business of serious play.

From By the Time You Read This 

by Jennifer Lanthier 

illus. by Patricia Storms

Though Oscar is initially vehement in his new enemy-ship with Sam, as denoted by his powerful words and the decisiveness of his actions, he is not immune to a little empathy and an apology.  It’s amazing what a small step of humility and voiced regret can do to turn things around, especially in a childhood friendship.  Children are forever making friends and dissolving friendships on a whim, justifiably so or not.  It’s evident that, in By the Time You Read This, even anger and disappointment can be fleeting and resolved amicably with just a few words.  Jennifer Lanthier’s text demonstrates the depths of friendship in Oscar and Sam’s imaginative play, especially in their super-duper partnership in taking on the world.  How could Oscar and Sam not stay friends?

From By the Time You Read This 

by Jennifer Lanthier 

illus. by Patricia Storms

Patricia Storms, who can illustrate both tender books like Never Let You Go and playful picture books like The Ghosts Go Spooking, lends an energetic atmosphere to By the Time You Read This, portraying the spirit of children in her boldly-coloured cartoons and in the little details in signage (e.g., "Oscar + Sam ONLY, No Parents Allowed, No Brothers Either") and toys.   Kids will laugh themselves silly over the creatures in the Magical Zoo of Mystical Creatures, like the Farting Fur-Tail and Lionisaurus Rex, and probably recognize a few of their own toys within the pages of By the Time You Read This. They’ll definitely see themselves in the book.  This is a important as young readers need to know that friendships sometimes fall apart but can be reconstructed, sometimes with just a little bandage of kind words.  And even though By the Time You Read This ends with Oscar and Sam reconciled, back at play in their Planetary Pirate Ship, they might still have another falling out.  Such are the nature of friendships when you’re close to someone and care about what they feel and do. But, with a smile and a little play (perhaps the board game on the inside of By the Time You Read This' s cover), all might be forgiven.

Me (and) Me Blog Tour: Guest post by author Alice Kuipers

Today is the official release date for Alice Kuipers'
new young adult novel, Me (and) Me.  

Happy book birthday! 

Me (and) Me

Written by Alice Kuipers

HarperCollins Canada

9781443448826

288 pp.

Ages 14+

April 11, 2017

ORDER NOW:

Chapters Indigo | Amazon | McNally Robinson 

As part of the blog tour for Me (and) Me, Alice Kuipers is sharing with us a little bit about her experiences with writing YA novels and I am delighted to post that here. 

Why I Write YA Novels? 

By Alice Kuipers

When I was eighteen, I wrote a novel about a girl who split into two people. She didn’t know which life was the best for her to live. Me (and) Me, my fifth YA novel is about the same theme: the main character, Lark, has to make a decision between two lives. And she can’t. The book I wrote when I was eighteen was never published. In fact, it was never read by anyone else. But I loved writing it. I loved the way writing made me feel: calm and focused. So I started work on another book. This book, like the first, was planned for adult readers. Again the character was young and lost—her baby boy had drowned. Again the book didn’t work on the page. But, again, I loved writing it.

When I’d written four books like this, books that I loved but that didn’t seem to work on the page, I had a conversation with someone who’d read one of them. She said, have you ever thought about writing for younger readers. It was as if a light went on in my head (total cliché, but I swear that’s what happened).

I didn’t know much about writing for young readers, but I had read a lot of books for teens and kids. And all my characters were young—they were at that place in their lives where they were becoming adults. They were making decisions that would forever mark them in their future lives. Writing about teenagers made me connect with the confused and frustrated teenager I’d been.

Everything lined up in my head after this reader made her comment. I quickly wrote a book for middle grade readers. It wasn’t good enough to be published, but it was the first book I’d written that I felt fully proud of: something about it worked. The book after that was called Life on the Refrigerator Door. It was about a teenager and her mother going through a terrible situation. This ended up being my first published novel—and weirdly, although I’d written it for teens, in many countries it was published as an adult novel. But I’ve always seen it as my first true YA book.

I’ve discovered that novels for young adult readers can be read by any age. But YA novels need to explore that moment of dramatic choice—when a teen takes the path that makes them the adult they are going to be. It took me many, many years and many books to figure out what sort of writer I was, and it took me four published YA novels to work out how to tell the story I began when I first attempted a novel. It seems to me that Me (and) Me is the original book I started trying to write when I was eighteen. The final version of this novel came alive when seventeen-year old Lark walked into my mind.

Lark, in the novel, eventually has to make a choice in her life. Just as making the choice to write YA led me to tell the stories that swirl around my head all the time.

For those of you who are writers yourselves, you can find the first of my online workshops free here or sign up to my free online writing course on my website. Hopefully these writing ideas help you find the writer you’re meant to be a whole lot more quickly than I did.

Many thanks to Alice Kuipers

for sharing her writing with us,
 in Me (and) Me and in this guest blog post,

 and for allowing us a glimpse into her world.

If you would like to connect with author Alice Kuipers or partake in her worthwhile writing course online, check out her various links here:

• Alice on Twitter
• Alice on Facebook
• Alice on Instagram 
• Alice on Tumblr 
• Alice on Pinterest 
• Free Online Writing Course