Birthdays Around the World

Written by Margriet Ruurs

Illustrated by Ashley Barron

Kids Can Press

978-1-77138-624-1

40 pp.

Ages 3-7

September 2017

Global perspectives are difficult concepts for very young children to grasp.  They are typically just learning about their own place, here and now, and understanding that there is much beyond that is challenging.  By focusing on a familiar and shared concept such as birthdays, Margriet Ruurs has found a way for young children to connect with those around the world.

From Birthdays Around the World

by Margriet Ruurs

 illus. by Ashley Barron

Birthdays around the world, boldly illustrated by cut-paper collage artist Ashley Barron, looks at children in 14 different countries around the world and tells about their family, birthday greetings, celebratory activities and food.  The children and countries depicted in each double-spread include:

• Arvaarluk from Canada (Nunavut, specifically)
• Alana and Kainoa  from the United States (Hawaii)
• Opal and Delroy in Jamaica
• Mercedes in Peru
• Ieva in Latvia
• Dmitry in Russia (on the border of Europe and Asia)
• Bram in Belgium
• Maame in Ghana
• Nthabeleng in Lesotho
• Ninoshka in India (Kashmir region)
• Shinobu in Japan
• Athom and Arunny in Cambodia
• Phúc Khang in Vietnam
• Thea on Norfolk Island, Australia

From Birthdays Around the World 

by Margriet Ruurs 

illus. by Ashley Barron

A mixture of boys and girls of different ages and living in different types of communities (big cities, islands, remote towns, rural areas) will ensure that young readers might see something of themselves in these children.  Some of their stories are presented by a sibling e.g. Athom speaks for baby sister Arunny.  Some are atypical celebrations that are held country-wide rather than commemorating the birth day of an individual. And, even though many of their celebrations will be foreign to young readers e.g. the dumping of flour on Delroy's head, there is much that they can envision, different as they may be.  Special foods and treats, good wishes and blessings, family and friends.  Whether they dress in a silk kimono, a palaka aloha shirt or a favourite outfit, these children know how special this day is for them and others to celebrate with them.

Margriet Ruurs does a stellar job of bringing the world in a little closer to home.  She always does (e.g., Stepping Stones: A Refugee Family's Journey, illus. by Nizar Ali Badr, Orca, 2015). In Birthdays Around the World, Margriet Ruurs has endeavoured to include all continents (except Antarctica) and cover the full range of birthdays, from simple days of food and family to elaborate days of military parades and more. Both secular and religious observances are included, as is appropriate, and Margriet Ruurs even helps direct discussions of the reader's birthday celebrations in an addendum called "Your Birthday" and provides activities for parents and teachers relating to the book's contents and more.  And everything is so much better for the unique art of Ashley Barron, whose cut-paper graced earlier works Up! How Families Around the World Carry Their Little Ones (Susan Hughes, Owlkids, 2017) and Kyle Goes Alone (Jan Thornhill, Owlkids, 2015).  The cut-paper artwork adds astounding depth and clarity to the text, guaranteeing that Birthdays Around the World is a relatable and visually expressive children's book on the global perspective of birthdays.

From Birthdays Around the World 

by Margriet Ruurs 

illus. by Ashley Barron

Stepping Stones: A Refugee Family’s Journey

by Margriet Ruurs

Artwork by Nizar Ali Badr

Orca Book Publishers

978-1-459814905

28 pp.

All ages

October 2016

Stepping Stones: A Refugee Family’s Journey is a very important book on so many fronts.  At face value, it recounts in memorable artwork and text the plight of refugees from Syria, Nizar Ali Badr’s home, or elsewhere, now and forever.  But beyond bringing understanding to the refugee crisis, Stepping Stones is a book of encouragement to those arriving in Canada –the book is a dual-language edition in both English and Arabic–and to those who can contribute to the cause.

This is the story told from the perspective of a young girl, Rama, who recounts life in Syria, from the rooster crowing her family (Mama, Papa, grandfather Jedo and brother Sami) awake, and a breakfast of bread, yogurt and tomatoes, and memories of play and work, school and freedom.

But that was then.And this is now. (pg. 10)

From Stepping Stones: A Refugee Family's Journey 

by Margriet Ruurs, art by Nizar Ali Badr

But their freedom is an illusion, and after war comes, there is insufficient food and the bombings, and people begin to leave.

People began to leave our village.
First a trickle, then a stream,
across dusty fields under a burning sun,
a stream driven by hope. (pg. 14)

So too begins Rama’s family exodus, walking until reaching the sea, whereupon they “set sail on the waves of hope and prayer” (pg. 20), arriving on land where the gruelling trek begins again, until they arrive at their future, welcomed by neighbours who communicate with smiles and the sharing of clothes and food and more.

The lucky ones, they call us.
New memories, new hopes,
     new dreams.
Not of war,
but of peace. (pg. 25)

All told in the artistry of Nizar Ali Badr’s stunning arrangements of oddly-shaped and widely-coloured stones, Stepping Stones could be the story of any refugee family: a good life bombarded by war, a demanding and emotional flight from danger, and the arrival to a new life.  Though for each family the path is a unique arrangement of steps, its bearing is always the same: safety and opportunity.  Stepping Stones: A Refugee Family’s Journey reveals this route with empathy and assurance.

Margriet Ruurs provides an extensive foreward that explains the background of Stepping Stones coming to publication.  She accounts her herculean efforts to contact artist Nizar Ali Badr after viewing his wondrous artwork of stones, about convincing him and Orca Book Publishers to take on the project, and arranging for a portion of the proceeds from the sale of the books to be donated to resettlement agencies.  The task may have been as arduous as that of Sisyphus but the ultimate story of Stepping Stones: A Refugee Family’s Journey, both within and externally, culminates with promise and purpose, the hallmarks of a good life.

From Stepping Stones: A Refugee Family's Journey 

by Margriet Ruurs, art by Nizar Ali Badr

Nut and Bolt

by Nicole de Cock

Translated by Margriet Ruurs

Fitzhenry & Whiteside

978-1-55455-364-8

32 pp.

Ages 3+
April, 2015

Nut is a mouse.  Bolt is a donkey. And they are friends.  Real friends.  And "real friends would do anything for each other!" is the message that Nut and Bolt shares with young readers.  

While the very simple story is based on the litany of Nut's generosity–providing games, shade, cleaning, entertainment– all provided with great effort, joy and efficacy, the young reader will start to wonder whether the friendship is one-sided.  Nut is working tirelessly for his friend and Bolt enjoys the fruits of Nut's labours, page after page, but what of Bolt and his friendship for Nut?

Margriet Ruurs, whose recent book A Brush Full of Colour (Pajama Press, 2014) demonstrates the breadth of her writing, keeps the message of Dutch author Nicole de Cock's text short, simple and powerful.  And just when the reader will start to wonder what Bolt does for Nut, Nicole de Cock provides a final illustration, an endearing rendition of what Bolt gives Nut.  It's Home. It's Shelter. It's Comfort. It's Life.

It's a Delight.

A Brush Full of Colour: The World of Ted Harrison - Book Event (Victoria)

Join co-authors

Margriet Ruurs and Katherine Gibson

for a presentation and book-signing of 

their incredibly beautiful biography

A Brush Full of Colour: The World of Ted Harrison

by Margriet Ruurs and Katherine Gibson

An Ann Featherstone Book

Pajama Press

978-1-927485-63-7

40 pp.

All ages

September, 2014

Reviewed here

on

Monday, December 1, 2014

7:30-9:30 p.m.

(Doors open at 7:00 p.m.)

at

Saanich Centennial Branch

Greater Victoria Public Library

3110 Tillicum Road

(by Pearkes Arena)

Tickets

$5 and $4 for students

Available at School House

2014 Douglas Street

or

at the door

(Purchasing tickets in advance is recommended to ensure seating)

I expect that this will be a very special event and I encourage anyone who loves beautiful books, artwork, Canadian landscapes, biographies, children's books and so much more to attend.

A Brush Full of Colour: The World of Ted Harrison

by Margriet Ruurs and Katherine Gibson

An Ann Featherstone Book, Pajama Press

978-1-927485-63-7

40 pp.

All ages

For release September, 2014

I hope that the above reproduction of the book cover of A Brush Full of Colour adequately represents the brilliance of the book's images and the story of artist Ted Harrison, as told by award-winning children's author Margriet Ruurs and biographer Katherine Gibson. If I could have posted a larger graphic of the book here, I would have, because this book is virtually larger than life.

Within a scant 40 pages, the authors share Ted Harrison's progression from the coal-mining County Durham in England, to art school and military service post-WWII, teaching, immigration to Canada, and full-time artistry.  Art was nurtured from a young Harrison by his father and by his own love of reading, and thrived when living in India, Africa, Malaysia, and New Zealand, using ink and watercolours, oils, and acrylics, learning to depict only positive images, as

"There's enough sadness and misery in the world without hanging it on our walls." (pg. 14)

But it's Ted Harrison's move with his wife and son to northern Alberta and the Yukon that compelled him to break free of his early art styles which could not evoke the life and grandeur of the northern land and sky.  Incorporating the colours and techniques he'd seen in his travels, Ted Harrison explored using wild and bold colours and outlining in black, ultimately creating his effusive trademark style.

Northern Education, 1989 by Ted Harrison; Reproduced
on back cover of A Brush Full of Colour

Biographies for young readers can be difficult to write and organize successfully.  Too often, the story and details are lost in dense text, frequently with few graphics, especially when dealing with historical figures.  But A Brush Full of Colour is an exemplary youngCanLit biography having: informative text, organized well under headings such as Childhood, Travelling the World, Life in the North, and A Full-Time Artist; an assortment of visuals, including photographs and samples of Ted Harrison's artwork throughout his career; quotes from the artist; and key features of non-fiction texts such as a table of contents, index and resources section.

The artwork is rich and spirited, the artist thoughtful and A Brush Full of Colour's portrayal honours both.