An Unbalanced Force

Written by Valerie Sherrard

DCB 

978-1-77086-764-2

200 pp.

Ages 12+

November 2024

 

When your family gives you everything, from a comfortable lifestyle and money to support and love, it's not unusual to feel beholding to them, even if they don't make you feel like it's a transactional relationship. (Sadly, there are families that do this.) But imagine if you owe your life to a dad who saved you when you'd snuck into an abandoned house and were bleeding out from an injury? Would you feel indebted forever? Or would there be a point where doing the right thing would feel like the wrong thing?

Seventeen-year-old Ethan Granger has a pretty nice life. He and his parents live in a gated community in Ottawa near enough to the Gatineau that he can take his trail bike there regularly. He just got a new bike, and his parents are talking about taking him to do the Inca Trail in Peru. His dad who became rich with his company, The Granger Group, is generous with his cash, especially whenever he goes on a business trip, which is frequently. Part of Ethan's circle include his best friend, Owen, who enjoys getting away from his alcoholic mother by hanging at Ethan's, and Ethan's girlfriend Nora with whom he often has an on-again-off-again relationship.

When he sees his dad in a parking lot near a strip mall in town when he's supposed to be on a trip, Ethan has questions, even more so when he texts his dad and his dad claims he's just getting off his flight. Recalling an earlier incident in which Mom claims to have seen someone driving Dad's car when he was out of town, Ethan decides to hire a private investigator to check things out. Ethan knows his dad is a smooth talker and a great storyteller but is he really a liar? Ms. Abboud, the investigator, reminds Ethan that, "It's important to realize that whatever you find out, it's going to be something you'll carry for the rest of your days." (p. 36)

 

Working with Ms. Abboud and his friends, Ethan discovers where Dad is spending time during his supposed business trips, and what Ethan learns puts him in an uncomfortable position. Does he stand by his father, a man who'd saved his life, or does he go to the police? Does he jeopardize all he and his family have or consider the needs of others?

Being a teen is often a balancing act of following the rules of the adults in your life–parents, teachers, coaches, guardians–and your own inclinations, whether for interests, friends, ambitions or just independence. And even though Ethan is fortunate that he comes from a wealthy family in which his wants are rarely limited, Valerie Sherrard gives us a typical teen who looks for support in his peer group, and who wants to have a good relationship with his family and girlfriend. He's also honest with himself, seeing things he doesn't like, whether in the way Nora treats him, in his father's lies, or in his own responses to disappointment and confusion. He's a teen and he's an insightful one.

Valerie Sherrard, who was recently named the 2024 Literary Arts Laureate of the New Brunswick Lieutenant Governor’s Award for High Achievement in the Arts, is an accomplished writer of all genres, from picture books and middle grade novels to YA and non-fiction. (See a few of my reviews of some of her books, including A Bend in the Breeze, Counting Back from Nine, Standing on Neptune, Driftwood, Random Acts, and Rain Shadow, to see the range of her writing.) While she can write everything from funny to angsty, novels in free verse to information texts, I think Valerie Sherrard excels at realistic YA in which young people are challenged by ordinary feelings in perhaps uncommon circumstances. In An Unbalanced Force, Ethan is challenged with doing what's right which may be at odds with what his family might want. His choice could also impact others around him. Perhaps the circumstances are exceptional but his reactions, from confusion to disappointment and even rage, are all legit, as are the means by which he decides upon his response.

With the overload of decisions which young people must make before reaching adulthood, with respect to their careers, their relationships, and even the risks they take, it's reassuring to know that, even when given circumstances beyond their control, like Owen's alcoholic mother and Ethan's deceitful father, they can see different perspectives and make good choices for themselves. Best of all, they can remain open to possibilities and stay confident in their choices, regardless of what others may toss at them.

Standing on Neptune

Written by Valerie Sherrard

DCB

978-1-77086-687-4

160 pp.

Ages 13+

April 2023

Brooke Wells's story begins with an important line:

…this is about what happened (pg. 1)

But the seventeen-year-old explains that it’s only a moment in her story, not her whole story. It's less than a week, in fact, but a monumental one of a secret, hidden beneath the facade of being a daughter, a sister, a girlfriend, a friend and a classmate. It's a moment and one that may, or may not, change her life.

 

x + y = -5 is the equation Brooke envisions for her situation on the Monday of her story. What this means is she and her boyfriend Ryan had sex and now her period is five days late. Standing in Neptune is primarily her story, told in free verse, as she comes to terms with what it means, who to tell, and what to do. While she grapples with the shock and enormity of the possibility of a pregnancy, Brooke is almost frozen in place, telling only Ryan and only in the briefest of terms. She sees his panic, his anger, his fear, and even hope, and, instead of supporting each other, Brooke becomes more aloof and distant. 

Her bestie Emma knows something is up, but Brooke lies, worried that Emma may let her secret slip. Brooke's nine-year-old brother Kevin can also see that she is distracted, but she denies it and lies to him as well. Her thoughts are her only support, though she finds a convenient distraction in a science project on Neptune. As she learns about the frozen planet, she finds parallels to her own situation, like how it was detected mathematically and what is visible and not visible.

Our shared truth, I suspect, is that

it too has secrets, hidden beneath

what can be seen.      (pg.79)

Like Neptune, with so much more to it than the obvious, Brooke is more than her relationships with others. She is more than Ryan's girlfriend or Emma's friend. She is holding in a secret that might impact her whole life. Or will it? The frozen blue planet of Neptune with its orbiting moons is easily recognizable but, like Brooke, there is much beneath the surface that is unknown. And, until she knows the truth, i.e., is she pregnant or not, she is frozen with inaction, with hesitancy to share, and projecting a facade that all is normal.

Perhaps I am simply frozen in place, afraid of

facing things, of

getting it wrong.      (pg. 99)

Novels in free verse are one of my favourite genres, packing so much emotion and storytelling in few but well-chosen words, structured for meaning. Valerie Sherrard, whose earlier novel in verse Counting Back from Nine (2013) was nominated for a Governor General's Literature Award for children's text, knows how to use the genre to tell gripping stories. She takes us into the thoughts of teens as they contend with issues of teen pregnancy, shaky friendships, blended families, insecurities, and self-awareness. There's a lot going on in Brooke's head, more than she reveals to others, and Valerie Sherrard lets us hear Brooke's thoughts. Though Ryan's point of view is occasionally shared in excerpts of prose, it is Brooke we hear. It's her perspective that is paramount in Standing on Neptune. Whether she is pregnant or not, or right or wrong in her choices is irrelevant. They are hers. And as she studies Neptune and sees herself as a lone planet with moons that orbit her, perhaps someday being torn apart by her gravitational force, Brooke still knows she's part of something far greater.

A Bend in the Breeze: Book discussion (online)

 Join author Valerie Sherrard

 

for a book discussion to launch 

her newest middle-grade novel

 

A Bend in the Breeze

 Written by Valerie Sherrard

DCB

978-1-77086-647-8

248 pp.

Ages 9-12

April 2022 

Reviewed here

 

on April 21, 2022

 

2 - 3 PM (ET)

 

Hosted by Bobbie Henley,

this online event (via Zoom) is free 

and a great opportunity for young readers 

to connect with an award-winning Canadian author 

and hear about her newest book

 

Register at EventBrite here

A Bend in the Breeze

 

Written by Valerie Sherrard

DCB

978-1-77086-647-8

248 pp.

Ages 9-12

April 2022 

...there are things in this world that can only be seen by the innocent eyes of youth and by our friends in nature. (pg. 128)

You never know where a bend in the breeze can take you: here or there, away or to. And the bend in the breeze that transports 11-year-old Pascale Chardon to the island of TeJÉ might have done all those things.

 

The small island community of TeJÉ had been established many, many years ago by a twin brother and sister who'd sought a place of peace and happiness. But, as in any community, small discourtesies, some impatiences and ingratitude crept into that goodness. The brother, before his passing, dreamed that a bend in the breeze would bring a stranger who would determine whether the future of the island's people held happiness or misery. So when Pascale, the first ever stranger on TeJÉ appears, they suspect she is the Long Awaited, and anticipate her revelation after the requisite seventeen days on the island.  

Worried about her family and saddened by her predicament, Pascale tries to make the best of her situation. Accompanied by her companion beetle, Inch, Pascale sees much of the goodness of the island. There are her two new friends, Kenta Morningbay and Karuna Cloudwater, and the blind Mrs. Wintercreek with whom Pascale is sheltered. She's delighted with their outdoor school and begins to learn of the island traditions for Union Day (wedding) and addressing concerns to the three Elders at the Place of Matters. Though Pascale is grateful for much, below the surface she is grieving for her situation. This is not unlike the island with its emphasis on harmony but with underlying iniquities that could shatter its future. And then there's the mystery of her boat leaving a hole in the water where it had rested. It would seem there might be another element that will determine the futures of the island and Pascale.

 

TeJÉ may be a small community but it is a microcosm of those who are wise and those who are foolish, those who seek approval and those who seek attention, the kind, the mean, those who cannot see and even those who are blind and see perfectly. It may strive for harmony but, as it is populated by humans, it cannot be perfect. Dropped into this community, Pascale tries to see its goodness, even when unkindness is evident, remembering well what her mother always told her. "No one can be happy until they first learn to be grateful." (pg. 97) But this is a real community of people. And whether she's writing historical fiction like her award-winning The Glory Wind and Rain Shadow, novels in verse like Counting Back from Nine or contemporary stories like Birdspell and Driftwood, Valerie Sherrard always tells of real people who are strong and vulnerable, confused and steadfast, and living with circumstances with which young readers can often relate. Though A Bend in the Breeze takes those readers to a secluded island via a stranded and unaccompanied child, circumstances which undoubtedly none have experienced, Valerie Sherrard does bring them to a relatable story. There's a child who feels alone and wishes to be with her family. There's a community that strives for harmony but includes a veneer of conflict. There is companionship with friends and animals, questioning about self, people and circumstances, and there is uncertainty. This is childhood for many. Thankfully, Valerie Sherrard also resolves Pascale's story. It might be unexpected but it is wrap that readers will appreciate.

Think of A Bend in the Breeze as The Little Prince meets Island of the Blue Dolphins in that a child is stranded on an island, away from family, and learns and imparts lessons about compassion, acceptance, and gratitude. It's also about forgiveness and hope. Big lessons on a small island. That's where A Bend in the Breeze will take young readers.

 

🏝🏝🏝🏝🏝

See my next post about a free online book discussion

 this Thursday, April 21, 2022 

with author Valerie Sherrard about A Bend in the Breeze.

🏝🏝🏝🏝🏝

Cooper Clark and the Dragon Lady

Written by Valerie Sherrard

Illustrated by David Jardine

Fitzhenry & Whiteside

978-1-55455-462-1

80 pp.

Ages 7-10

2019

Cooper's friends Jared and Nina like dragons but Cooper does not. He just tries to avoid anything to do with dragons: movies, games, play. But when his regular after-school babysitter, Linda, takes a new job and can't look after him anymore and his parents suggest Mrs. Mulligan, it becomes a whole lot harder to deal with his fear.

Cooper's parents don't know what he knows about the elderly Mrs. Mulligan. Older boys Lenny and Matt have told everyone that she has a dragon with a pointy tongue in her basement and sometimes she lets it run free. So Cooper creates a web of lies to try to get out of going to Mrs. Mulligan's house.  When those don't work, the boy takes evasive actions.  In the end, after a series of missteps, Cooper learns a thing or two, including how to knit, and that all dragons are not the same.

Cooper Clark and the Dragon Lady is an early reader that addresses the power of the imagination to feed fears from gossip and rumours. There really is a dragon in Mrs. Mulligan's basement but it's a version that delights not hurts. Sadly Cooper, like most children, believes those who are older and might know better and this proves to be his undoing. Well, that and his fear of dragons that he doesn't share with his family or friends.

Tackling important issues in early readers is not always easy. You don't have the expressive illustrations of picture books that can carry much of a message or the vocabulary and word count of middle grade or YA novels to delve deep into issues such as anxiety and fears. So, for Valerie Sherrard to speak to young readers at their level of worry and the expression of that worry, she has accomplished much with Cooper Clark and the Dragon Lady. It's a short story that accepts that young children will have fears that seem outlandish to those who are older and that they will find clumsy strategies to deal with those fears. However, those fears are very real. But, with some support from others, and a dose of the truth, those fears can be reconstructed into something less destructive.

Random Acts

Written by Valerie Sherrard

Puffin/Penguin Canada

978-0-14-319104-9

264 pp.

Ages 8-12

March, 2015

Doing random acts of kindness sounds like a noble endeavour, doesn't it? But, as we know, the best of intentions can often lead us astray, and for  Zoey, Jenna and Bean in Random Acts that’s just what happens, to hilarious results.

Of course, the reason things start to go awry is because popular Destiny Desotto decides to start a club called "Lend a Hand" but doesn’t invite Zoey and Jenna’s friend Bean because he “isn’t someone wh\e’d want in the group even if he did want in” (pg. 11) So they choose to start their own secret group called "The Random Acts".  But then hottie Dennis Fuller invites Zoey to join "Lend a Hand" and she’s convinced she can do it without the two clubs knowing about her involvement with the other.  Ultimately it’s all in aid of doing good deeds, so that’s OK, right? Not for Zoey, though.

She can’t help out her neighbours, the Kimuras, with their newspaper or their leaves without it escalating to a threat of charges being laid against her!  And Jenna’s good deed of donating old magazines to the student lounge has Zoey scrambling when a quiz she did as Destiny puts Destiny on the war path.  Even Jenna's cookies-for-the-teachers'-lounge good deed goes amok, resulting in detentions and the hospitalization of a teacher! And don’t even get me started on all the lying Zoey feels she has to do to cover her mistakes and to dampen the amorous intentions of Glenda, a client, to Zoey's dad, a psychologist.

In her efforts to contrive random acts of kindness—yes, that is an oxymoron—Zoey ends up being a liar, a stalker, a vandal, an eavesdropper, a gossip and a thief!  Some people just don’t know when you’re being kind. By making the kids’ random acts of kindness random, i.e., twisted, in both the funny sense and in the completely unpredictable way, Valerie Sherrard ensures hilarity without the malevolence that can come with manipulation.  Well played.  I always knew keeping secrets and misusing power—even if purportedly for good—were never good ideas. But they are funny ones, at least they are in Random Acts. 

Rain Shadow

by Valerie Sherrard

Fitzhenry & Whiteside

978-1-55455-341-9

150 pp.

Ages 10+

November 2014

Yes, the book cover is beautiful.  And the beauty of Rain Shadow's cover is only surpassed by Valerie Sherrard's story within.

Valerie Sherrard takes the reader back to Junction, Manitoba, the setting for her multi-award-winning book, The Glory Wind (Fitzhenry & Whiteside, 2010), a poetic tale of friendship and tragedy.  Two years after The Glory Wind's events, twelve-year-old Bethany Anderson still only knows that something happened to Gracie, though her only memory involves a half penny she never was able to return to her schoolmate before she was gone.  Bethany has never shared that with anyone and certainly not her fourteen-year-old sister Mira who calls Bethany a "Retard" and tells her about scary places for children like Bethany "who have parts that do not work correctly." (pg. 19) Bethany may have difficulties learning, and cannot read, and takes things too literally, but she has the biggest heart and blames herself too readily for things that are never in her control. 

"But I did do wrong things lots of other days.  Mostly, I did not know they were wrong until after I did them.  That made me wish I knew how to write more words.  Then I could have made a list of things I should not do so I would not forget them and keep upsetting Mother.  At bedtime, I said the ones I could remember over and over in my head." (pg. 81)

Perhaps her gravest error, in her mind, was answering the door to a man and his family whose son later died of polio. Of course, no one knew he had polio at the time, and Bethany didn't invite them in or tell Mira to join them and Mother in the house; Mother did that.  But when Mira contracts polio and dies, Mother's grief lashes out at Bethany.

"That made me feel like something black and scary was inside me." (pg. 83)

Surprisingly, school becomes Bethany's salvation.  Without Mira around, the other students are generally kinder to her, and her efforts are recognized, and there is always someone to chastize those who might be mean to her.  So while Bethany might feel unwanted and inconvenient at home, a stone to Mira's jewel, at school she feels exactly like the others.  And it's only through the efforts of others in the community that Bethany is encouraged to see how strong and brave she has always been.

The polio epidemics of the 1940s and 1950s were all the more frightening for the lack of understanding and the tragic prognoses. But the loss of a favourite and "perfect"child to polio is obviously too much for Bethany's mother to bear. Already flawed, as indicated by her treatment of Bethany, Mother could do nothing less than destroy her relationship with her only surviving daughter. That doesn't excuse her.  But, by continuing to perpetuate the placement of her youngest daughter in Mira's (rain) shadow, her mother has actually nudged Bethany to explore everything she can be.

Valerie Sherrard is so adept at telling a story that could be anyone's tale.  At its foundation, Rain Shadow is just the story of a girl with challenges whose family doesn't know how to meet her needs, especially after a great tragedy engulfs all of them.  Though set in 1949, Rain Shadow encompasses the story lines of our lives: tragedy, relationships with siblings and parents, school life, the kindness of strangers, love, and self-awareness.  But, conceived and written by Valerie Sherrard, Rain Shadow becomes a triumph of the human spirit to weather life's challenges and to even transcend them.  It's a beautiful story amidst despairing circumstances.

Authors' Booking Service: Helping readers connect with youngCanLit authors and illustrators

Schools, libraries, book festivals and other literary functions that endeavour to enlist Canadian authors and illustrators are fortunate to have the Authors' Booking Service to help connect readers with those who produce our rich collection of youngCanLit. For those who have ever been interested in booking an author or illustrator, Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch and Valerie Sherrard, youngCanLit authors in their own right (write?), created this service in 2006, and share details about it here.

HK:  What is the Authors' Booking Service?

ABS:  Since 2006, Authors' Booking Service has been assisting educators and librarians with finding young adult and children's book creators who are qualified and willing to present at schools and libraries.

We currently represent more than 100 high-profile Canadian children’s authors and illustrators who produce fiction and non-fiction in all genres of work and for all ages. Our creators range from budding writers to multiple award winners. We represent six of the original Seven series authors, a poet-songwriter, an astronomer who brings his own planetarium to visits, an artist who donates an original sketch to schools she gives workshops for, and a singer-songwriter who can workshop how to craft your own school anthem. Our creators entertain, inspire, educate and, most of all, promote literacy and creativity, each in their own unique way.

In recent years, we have partnered with the OLA Forest of Reading program to help current nominees with their bookings. This is particularly important for out of province nominees, because without a critical mass of bookings, many could not afford the trip to their own award ceremonies.

We represent seasoned creators and brand new authors. The one thing that all of our creators have in common is that they love doing school and library presentations and they're good at it!

An impressive group of youngCanLit authors, including Janet Wilson, Rona Arato, Loris Lesynski and Marsha Skrypuch (just to name a few) met with teacher-librarians in Dufferin-Peel.

HK:  Why did you start this service?

ABS:  We saw the need for a booking service that would provide educators and librarians with up-to-date information on children's and young adult authors who were willing and qualified to do school and library presentations and writing workshops. From a creator’s point of view, there was a huge need for a service that could connect with educators and librarians in a systematic way to manage creator presentations and to ease communication challenges.

We recognized that many smaller schools and libraries could not afford an author visit. We know that staff is stretched to the limit, often managing more than one library or having other roles in addition to the library. They do not have time to co-ordinate an author visit with area schools and libraries in order to minimize the cost.

We also realized that many schools and libraries were not aware of funding programs available to offset some of the costs of an author presentation. As well, many authors did not know how to access funding programs.

We knew that crises happen. What if an author or illustrator is sick or has a family emergency and cannot visit at the appointed time? For the author, it would be near-impossible for them find their own replacement at the last minute. And it is a daunting prospect for a school or library to find a last-minute replacement.

Sometimes funding approval comes so close to the deadline that a school or library is left scrambling for an appropriate author or illustrator to come in before the money disappears. Similarly, sometimes an author is in a particular city or town, their travel has already been paid for, but they’ve only been booked for part of the day. They’re biding their time in a coffee shop, waiting until the train arrives when what they’d really like to be doing is one more presentation.

We also knew how difficult it was for authors and illustrators to manage their own bookings. It takes a LOT of time to write or illustrate a book and so figuring out a way to cluster school and library presentations in a way that doesn’t interfere with the creative process (and deadlines) was essential.

HK:  Who uses your services?

ABS:  Mostly children’s librarians, and school library staff, although we’ve also helped line up presenters for government functions, clubs and cultural groups. We focus on Ontario, but we’ve also satisfied requests from across Canada and even from the US.

HK:  What are the advantages to using the Authors' Booking Service?

ABS:  When you try to book an author on your own, you’re starting from scratch. You might have a particular author in mind, but you have no idea whether you can afford them or whether they’re available. You can email them and may never hear back – it could be because of board email filters or it could be because the email you have for the author is no longer valid. Whatever the reason, it is a frustrating exercise.

We keep track of our authors’ availability. We can inform you right up front about the author’s pricing, dates available and whether they’d be a good fit for your needs. We can also recommend alternatives. Every single ABS author has an author page which lists key information like presentation costs, travel fees, recent books and awards, presentation details and audience parameters.

We also send out a weekly email newsletter with news of interest, including availability details for our members’ upcoming tours. We can help you share an author with neighbouring schools in order to minimize costs. We can let you know when there are subsidies available.

If you have an urgent need – we can get things done quickly. For example, your scheduled author comes down with chicken pox two days before the visit. We can find you a replacement – and not just any replacement but a fab one. We’ve managed situations like a municipality wanting four energetic YA authors for a noon-time gig in a busy shopping mall, and oh, the event is on Friday.


HK:  Is there a charge for schools, libraries or other venues who want your help to book an author or illustrator?

ABS:  No. The service is free for schools and libraries. However, if you use our website as a resource, we ask that you book through us rather than emailing the author directly. This helps us track our bookings.

Middle-grade and YA author Sylvia McNicoll

HK:  What fee do authors/illustrators pay to use your service?

ABS:  For every presentation we book, our authors are charged a small flat fee, which goes towards maintaining the website, paying for our mailing list subscription and paper brochures. What’s left over is split between Valerie and myself.

HK:  What kinds of authors do you book through ABS?

ABS:  We’ve learned over the years what sorts of presenters are most in demand. Just writing or illustrating a great book is not enough, they must also be able to wow an audience.

We make a point of filling niches, so our presenters have specialty topics that fit in with
the curriculum. We also have speakers who can talk about the Franklin Expedition, hockey, the War of 1812, swimming across Lake Ontario and running a 100 mile marathon. Many of our authors have overcome great personal challenges and they can inspire your students to do the same.

Picture book author Lisa Dalrymple

The bulk of our authors (http://www.authorsbooking.com/wp/presenter-index/) live in Ontario and are usually available throughout the school year.

We also represent out of province authors who come to Ontario once or twice a year and need a clustering of bookings to make the trip viable.

And we provide special representation for those authors and illustrators who are current nominees for the Ontario Library Association's Forest of Reading (check out the website for current nominees).


HK:  Are there any authors that you do not work with e.g., those who live in the US?

ABS:  In order to keep our numbers manageable and still meet the needs of those using our service, it is necessary for us to be somewhat selective. We tend not to represent authors who are brand new unless they’ve garnered a significant number of awards or nominations. We have represented authors who live in the US when they’ve been shortlisted for the Forest of Reading Awards.

HK:  How do you recommend someone get in touch with you to use your services?

ABS:  Email us at abs@authorsbooking.com or visit our website at www.authorsbooking.com  We would love to hear from you!

You can also subscribe to our newsletter. Email us and ask to be added, or simply enter your email address on the subscribe button that’s in the top left portion of every ABS author’s page.


Read what those who've used the Authors' Booking Service say about its service:

David Carroll came to St. George's Junior School this morning and enthralled the students (gr. 3-5) with his Ultra marathon stories. He has great messages to share with the students through his stories...ie "we all have super powers" and "nothing is impossible". David kept the audience engaged with his slides, music, reading, story telling and chatting with the kids. Very personable, fun and easy going. Highly recommended! - Juli Belliveau

I saw the "Your Turn" section and had to thank you for recommending Sigmund Brouwer to us here in Sault Ste. Marie Ontario in June 2014. What a fantastic author! He shared his high energy, enthusiastic, informative and inspirational Rock and Roll Literacy Event with 6 of our schools in June then returned to visit 9 more in November. Being able to have this author has impacted our students' enthusiasm for reading, writing and improving library interest. I whole heartedly recommend inviting Sigmund Brouwer to any school, any time and be ready to have your world Rocked! - Roberta Chiarello, System Teacher-Librarian, Huron-Superior Catholic District School Board

About Marsha Skrypuch: "The feedback I have received from our students has been awesome. Everyone LOVED your presentations and are so inspired to read, and read more of your books. Bombs for Hitler copies were all gone by 8:40 a.m! There were so many inspired and motivated students." - Marla Cook

I am so grateful for Authors Booking Service. You have made the process of arranging author and illustrator visits so straightforward. The authors that we have hosted this year have been phenomenal! - Andrea Wesson

Thank you for helping me arrange Rebecca Bender's visit to our school. It was a smashing success! - Tom Holmes

Quotes from authors:

"I love the way ABS connects me with teachers, librarians and readers, without whom I'm not sure what I'd be doing." - Allan Stratton, author of Curse of the Dream Witch

Living on Prince Edward Island is a dream come true but Authors’ Booking Service makes it possible to come home again." - Sharon E. McKay, author of War Brothers and Charlie Wilcox

"Authors' Booking Service has been ideal for both promotion of my services and to smooth out the booking process: it allows a one-stop shopping for bookings, thus facilitating what to me is the less thrilling part of my work as an author. Marsha and Valerie are energizer bunnies in this regard, and have done great work in promoting school visits, and authors, and literacy, and thus all the good things that happen as result." - Bill Swan, Red Maple award-winning author of Real Justice: Fourteen and Sentenced to Death: The Steven Truscott Story

Picture book author/illustrator Mireille Messier

"Thanks to ABS I’ve been able to reach out and present my French picture books to immersion schools students that I would otherwise never have had a chance to meet." - Mireille Messier, author of Fatima et les voleurs de clémentines

"I love the way you guys tell a school that I am a 'wise choice' as a presenter. No one in my whole life has called me wise. It makes me feel grown-up and Gandalf-y -- neither of which is my natural state." - Richard Scrimger, author of Ink Me and Zomboy

"Not only do this powerhouse duo walk on water, but they patiently lead their authors to that water. What did we do without them?” - Teresa Toten, author of Governor General award-winning The Unlikely Hero of Room 13B

Please note: CanLit for LittleCanadians has received no remuneration for promoting the Authors' Booking Service.  As always, I promote youngCanLit, and its authors and illustrators, because I love it.  Without promotion, we could sadly lose the wealth of youngCanLit gracing our bookshelves.

Driftwood

Written by Valerie Sherrard
Fitzhenry & Whiteside
978-1-55455-305-1
200 pp.
Ages 10+
October, 2013

With the recent awarding of the Nobel Prize in Literature to Alice Munro, I think we can consider the short story as coming into its own.  And while Valerie Sherrard's Driftwood is not a collection of short stories, it has at its heart the telling of short stories as perfect vignettes of life lessons. 

Although eleven-year-old Adam's summer at a cottage on Schooner Point, Miramachi for two months has a rough start when his best friend Billy cancels the day before they're supposed to leave, it becomes a pivotal one for him.  It's a coming-of-age summer with Adam learning to see, not just look. While Mom tries to recharge her artistic juices (her popular paintings of their local covered bridge seem less inspired) and Dad works away on his computer, Adam explores the area, finding new acquaintances amongst the other cottagers.

Though Adam meets an assortment of kids, older and younger, male and female, friendly and arrogant, it's his first cottage friend, Joey, who introduces him to Theo, an older blind gentleman, who pays $5 for interesting pieces of driftwood.  Better than the money are the stories that Theo shares based on the wood's origins.  But as  entertaining as his stories are about the lychee, the oak, the mountain mahogany, the baobab and the mountain ash, it's what his audience derives from these tales that is the most significant.  Sometimes there are life lessons about telling the truth, or karma, or friendship, or secrets.  What the listener or reader can take from the stories depends on their own circumstances and whether they're listening.

"Our hearts hear the whispers they need to hear.  If we are wise, we take them in." (pg. 174)

The driftwood provides the impetus for life lessons to be taught but it is Adam who is the most significant driftwood, set loose by a no-show friend.  He goes into the summer with a disappointment chip on his shoulder and then drifts from one situation to another, never really taking root.  By melding these interactions–many endearing, some humourous, at least one frightening–with Theo's stories, Valerie Sherrard turns a summer vacation into a summer of growth for Adam, though it's unlikely that he recognizes it completely for what it is until he returns home.  In Driftwood, Adam finds his own story, beginning to understand himself and those around him, and discovering that he can control how he establishes himself with others.  He's looking and finally seeing, hearing and finally listening, and learning and finally understanding.  Similarly Driftwood encourages the reader to read beyond the words to discover the beauty of a boy's simple summer.

Counting Back from Nine

by Valerie Sherrard

Fitzhenry & Whiteside

978-1-55455-245-0

198 pp.

Ages 14+

March, 2013

In Valerie Sherrard's "Acknowledgements" for Counting Back from Nine, she tells of originally writing the book in prose before proposing a rewrite in free verse to her editor, Christie Harkin, at Fitzhenry & Whiteside.  An astute choice, I believe, as Counting Back from Nine has the depth and fluidity and Valerie Sherrard has the fine touch that can create a story in which not all has to be written out for the reader.  Novels in free verse are sophisticated writing and appropriate for stories that surge beyond the page and into the hearts of readers, as does Counting Back from Nine. It's not surprising that Counting Back from Nine has been nominated for a 2013 Governor General Literary Award for Children's Text and for a Red Maple award.

Lauren Oliver has been secretly seeing her best friend's ex-boyfriend, Scott, since they broke up.  When she finally admits it to Nina, she is promptly and emphatically told, "I hate you."  And so with telling her parents about this situation, and getting a reassuring hug from her dad, Lauren acknowledges that the countdown from 9 has begun. 

Dealing with all her friends unfriending her, and Scott being quasi-attentive, Lauren is surprised to find herself invited to join a classmate, Christine Oakley, and her friend, Dee, at lunch and then elsewhere.  She realizes how critical their friendship is to her, especially when her father is involved in a car accident and, though he shows great positivity in vowing to spend more time with family (step 8), he dies. 

While recalling bright sparks of memories of her father, all steps in her countdown, Lauren works to resolve the discrepancy in the father she recalls with affection and the father who was apparently having an affair with the woman passenger in the car.

"It is the strangest feeling
when joy and sorrow both
have claws on your heart." (pg. 58)

Soon enough, the readers will recognize that the countdown of sections from 9 to 8 and so on are tracking the progress of Lauren's grief for the loss of her father, his love, and her family (which is reconfiguring itself), and forgiveness for his infidelity and weaknesses.  While resolving these issues for herself, Lauren also finds the means to resolve her tenuous relationships with Scott, Nina and other friends.

Cloud nine is a very nice place to be but the fall can be hard.  Lauren's family, friendships and clandestine relationship with Scott put her on that cloud but clouds are not solid ground and, as each bubble of joy bursts, Lauren falls closer to reality.  Valerie Sherrard exemplifies that contemplative descent through streaming verse, never allowing Lauren to hit bottom but instead helping her land softly.  Young readers of Counting Back from Nine, including those participating in the 2014 Red Maple reading program in which the book is nominated, will appreciate the gentle treatment for some harsh life lessons.

Accomplice

Written by Valerie Sherrard
Dundurn Press
978-1554887644
142 pp.
Ages13-16
2011

Dundurn's newly established Keystone Hi-Lo series hits the mark with Accomplice by Valerie Sherrard, enticing readers with a cover suggestive of a female criminal, a less likely combo than you might expect.  Our covergirl, fifteen-year-old Lexie Malton, starts her story with her arrest, and spends the remainder describing the circumstances by which she ends up nestled in a sheriff's van.

The story is fairly simple: Lexie gets her boyfriend, Devlin, to go to a party where she is enticed into trying heroin and encourages the reluctant Devlin to follow.  Unlike her, Devlin becomes addicted, eventually ending up on the street.  Though Lexie eventually moves on and starts going out with Oscar, her overwhelming guilt at her role in turning a great guy into a junkie continues to compel her to get what little money she can for Devlin whenever he calls.  Regardless of Devlin's insistence that he's going to stop the drugs and get clean, even returning to rehab, he thoughtlessly wrenches Lexie into a brutal situation that results in a death and Lexie marked as an accomplice.

The mandate of Hi-Lo books, i.e., grabbing the reader with its engrossing plot without dissuading reading with challenging vocabulary, can result in uninspired writing around a weak storyline.  However, in the hands of an accomplished writer such as Valerie Sherrard, most recently winner of the 2011 Geoffrey Bilson Historical Fiction for Young People Award for The Glory Wind (Fitzhenry & Whiteside, 2010), there is no chance of mediocrity.  Accomplice presents a straightforward but not light-weight plot involving common teen trials dealing with curiosity about drugs, discriminating between right and wrong, dating and communicating, and accepting responsibility.  More than just a hi-lo read, Accomplice provides a glimpse into how innocent errors in judgement can produce unfathomable consequences.