Howdy, I'm John Ware

Written by Ayesha Clough

Illustrated by Hugh Rookwood

Howdy Books (Red Barn Books)

978-1-9991087-8-6

48 pp.

Ages 6-11

January 2020

John Ware, born into slavery around 1850, was a man of strong character and fortitude, who parlayed hard work and his skills as a cowboy into a life of accomplishment in present-day Alberta.

From Howdy, I'm John Ware by Ayesha Clough, illus. by Hugh Rockwood

Though accounts of John Ware's early life are spotty, it is known that, after the abolition of slavery, he was hired on as a ranch hand, earning a reputation as a hard worker. Working as a cowboy on cattle drives, John Ware helped move cattle from the southern US to the north. It was one drive in 1882 that brought cattle from Idaho to the foothills near Calgary and landed John Ware north of the border and into the country that would become his home.

From Howdy, I'm John Ware by Ayesha Clough, illus. by Hugh Rockwood

Regardless of his accomplishments as a cowboy, John Ware still suffered the discrimination of a black man in the predominantly white world of ranching. Nevertheless, his skills and good nature would ultimately win over those who'd seen only his skin colour, recognizing him as an outstanding man of integrity and determination.

From Howdy, I'm John Ware by Ayesha Clough, illus. by Hugh Rockwood

There are stories of extraordinary courage and strength and the legends about John Ware covered everything from wrestling steers, lifting a cow, walking on the backs of bulls and be able to ride anything. In addition to John Ware's accomplishments as a cowboy, he became a rancher, starting with a small herd, marrying, and growing his family and his ranch into a fine life. Upon his death, his funeral was "the largest that young city (Calgary) had ever seen" with ranchers calling him the finest gentleman, a good soul and an incredible horseman.

From Howdy, I'm John Ware by Ayesha Clough, illus. by Hugh Rockwood

Ayesha Clough tells John Ware's story as he might recount it, sharing how others saw him or what they knew of him while expressing his own surprise, pleasure and sadness with life's milestones. His attitude to the animals is especially poignant.

     I connected with animals. Like me, they had to work for a master. But there was no need for fear and violence.

     I cared about them, showed them love and respect. They, in turn, gave their best for me. (pg. 23)

Appended with photos, a timeline and notes for educators, Ayesha Clough helps ensure that John Ware's story is remembered. Though his accomplishments have been recognized with a number of place names like Mount Ware and John Ware Ridge as well as several buildings, this picture book will serve to introduce him to young children.  He achieved so much as a cowboy and, with decency and hard work, created a life of goodness for himself and his family and, with comic book artist Hugh Rookwood's illustrations to focus on the occasions of the cowboy's life, both challenging and impressive, John Ware's story becomes accessible to all young readers. 

It is fitting that two Albertans, Ayesha Clough and Hugh Rookwood, should honour another Albertan, John Ware, a cowboy who dealt with racial discrimination and achieved respect and admiration from all, by telling his story in Howdy, I'm John Ware. It's a story I hope all will read.

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Giveaway!

I have a free copy of Howdy, I'm John Ware for giveaway from publisher Red Barn Books. 

For your chance at this giveaway,
just leave a comment below about why you'd like a copy of the book.
I'll do a random draw at 6 p.m. EST on June 29, 2020.

Good luck, readers! 

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Black History Month: The newest update to a youngCanLit book list

In February 2014, I first posted a list (Black History Month: Book list) of youngCanLit that would help young people recognize the significance of Black History Month.  In February 2016, I updated that list as Black History Month: An updated youngCanLit booklist. In 2018, I added more titles (Black History Month: Additional titles). Now two years later, it is incumbent upon me to update this list yet again. As the listing continues to grow (there were 98 titles before today), I will simply add those titles that did not appear on the earlier lists. I encourage young readers and the adults in their lives who want to visit relevant titles for Black History Month to check out those earlier posts in addition to this one to get a fuller picture of the wonderful titles by Canadian creators that celebrate the lives and experiences and accomplishments of many African Canadians, African Americans and others of African ancestry while also giving voice to struggles and history that should not be forgotten.

List 1: Black History Month: Book list (February 10, 2014)

List 2: Black History Month: An updated youngCanLit booklist (February 3, 2016) 

List 3: Black History Month: Additional titles (February 9, 2018)
(With today's list, that's 109 titles!)


PICTURE BOOKS

An African Alphabet
Written by Eric Walters
Illustrated by Sue Todd
Orca Book Publishers
28 pp.
Ages 1-5
2017

Africville
Written by Shauntay Grant
Illustrated by Eva Campbell
Groundwood Books
32 pp.
Ages 4-7
2018
Reviewed here 

A Likkle Miss Lou: How Jamaican Poet Louise Bennett Coverley Found Her Voice
Written by Nadia L. Hohn
Illustrated by Eugenie Fernandes
Owlkids Books
32 pp.
Ages 4-8
2019

FICTION

One Thing That's True
Written by Cheryl Foggo
Kids Can Press
128 pp.
Ages 10-14
1997

YOUNG ADULT

Blue Gold
Written by Elizabeth Stewart
Annick Press
304 pp.
Ages 12+
2014

Freedom's Just Another Word
Written by Caroline Stellings
Second Story Press
232 pp.
Ages 12+
2016
Reviewed here

NON-FICTION

Africville: An African Nova Scotian Community Is Demolished — and Fights Back (Righting Canada's Wrongs)
Written by Gloria Ann Wesley
Lorimer
96 pp.
Ages 9-14
2019

John Ware (The Canadians)
Written by Ian Hundey
Fitzhenry & Whiteside
64 pp.
Ages 9-14
2005

Meet Viola Desmond (Scholastic Canada Biography)
Written by Elizabeth McLeod
Illustrated by Mike Deas
Scholastic Canada
32 pp.
Ages 6-9
2018
Reviewed here

Meet Willie O'Ree (Scholastic Canada Biography)
Written by Elizabeth McLeod
Illustrated by Mike Deas
Scholastic Canada
32 pp.
Ages 6-9
2020

P.K. Subban: Fighting racism to become a hockey superstar and role model for athletes of colour (Recordbooks)
Written by Catherine Rondina
Lorimer
160 pp.
Ages 9-14
2020

Elijah of Buxton

Written by Christopher Paul Curtis

Scholastic Press

9780439936477 

288 pp.

Ages 9-12

2007

Eleven-year-old Elijah Freeman is the first free child born in Buxton, Ontario, a town of slaves who have escaped from the United States.  His days are filled with fishing by throwing stones, going to school, staying away from snakes (of which he is deathly afraid) and continuing to run into the Preacher, a sweet-talking but manipulative man, who gets Elijah involved in more than one of his schemes. But when the Preacher steals all the hard-earned money that Mr. Leroy was saving to buy his wife and two children out of slavery, Elijah, a boy of innocence and a strong sense of fairness, finds himself heading across the border and into the world of slavers and those seeking freedom in Canada. His ma might call him "fra-gile" but Elijah proves that he is anything but.

Though Elijah of Buxton is a book of a harrowing journey into America by a black youth looking to right a wrong, it only becomes a perilous adventure in the last third of the book.  Christopher Paul Curtis takes time to set the stage for that venture, establishing his characters and cultural landscape through the complexity of voice and atmosphere.  Elijah's interactions with others in his community, both peers and those "growned-up," speak to the changing times, when racism could be overt or concealed and the divide between the United States and Canada was both conspicuous and subtle.

Elijah of Buxton begs to be read aloud to get the full nuance of language and tone that Christopher Paul Curtis instills in the narration and dialogue, just as he has in The Madman of Piney Woods and The Journey of Little Charlie.  The dialect can seem confusing at times but read aloud the text becomes rich and flavourful.

There are many difficult moments in Elijah of Buxton, times when my heart broke and I struggled to read on.  Not because the book wasn't an outstanding piece of literature but because of the injustices and horrors endured.   Mind you, even Christopher Paul Curtis's ending left me sobbing and still hopeful for a baby, for Elijah and for all. Christopher Paul Curtis had just set up the “most beautifullest, most perfectest” story he could.

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Though I rarely review books not published in the past year, my recent review of The Journey of Little Charlie compelled me to review Christopher Paul Curtis's earlier books that reference the town of Buxton, The Madman of Piney Woods and now Elijah of Buxton.  These books are not a series, though Buxton is mentioned in each.  Please read them all.

Mayann's Train Ride

by The Honourable Mayann Francis

Illustrated by Tamara Thiébaux Heikalo

Nimbus Publishing

978-1-77108-348-5

32 pp.

Ages 4-9

October 2015

The Honourable Mayann Francis, first female African-Nova Scotian to hold the position of  Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia, was once a young girl who took a memorable train trip with her family and, while seeing important sights, learned what it means to be part of a warm and open-hearted community.  This is her story.

In the 1950s, when she was just 9 years old, Mayann accompanied her parents and sister Isabel on a trip to visit family in New York City where her father, George Francis, archpriest of the African Orthodox Church of Whitney Pier (Sydney), Cape Breton would also speak at a Harlem church.  This was a big deal for the little girl for, though she lived in a diverse community that exposed her to people from faraway places, she was going to travel by overnight train, stop in Montreal to visit old friends and, almost most importantly, she got to carry a very-grown-up purse she had purchased using her savings.  

There is a reason I write “almost most importantly.” Though she appreciates all who notice the beautiful green purse in which she carries a small notebook recording all she experiences on her trip, “dreaming of showing off the purse to my family in New York”, Mayann she loses it on a subway after a trip to the Bronx Zoo.  No matter the efforts to locate it or to console Mayann, it “was gone forever, along with the five-dollar bill and my notebook full of memories.”  However, the congregation at the church in Harlem help Mayann see that it’s people that make things important, not the items themselves.

Going beyond one’s comfort zone to experience new and wonderful places and people is what Mayann’s Train Ride is all about but it’s also about milestones in one’s life, whether it be carrying one’s first purse or experiencing the Statue of Liberty or seeing your first black doll.  The Honourable Mayann Francis shares these moments with young readers and offers a sweet story of humble beginnings for a woman who achieved so much.  I don’t know Tamara Thiébaux Heikalo’s artwork but I should have as Mayann’s Train Ride is the ninth book for which she has provided illustrations.  Her ink-outlined watercolours provide a charming nostalgic quality to the story, perfect for the 1950s.  From the girls’ clothing and the bows in their hair, to their mother’s prim and proper suits, and of course the purses, Tamara Thiébaux Heikalo gets the tone and the colours and the quality of the setting and characters perfect, as are her depictions of important places like Notre-Dame Basilica in Montreal.

Mayann’s Train Ride may be a trip down memory lane for The Honourable Mayann Francis but it will read as a new adventure for children who will recognize its importance, right down to the little green purse.