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.

How Nivi Got Her Names

Written by Laura Deal

Illustrated by Charlene Chua

Inhabit Media

978-1-77227-137-9

32 pp.

Ages 5-7

April 2017

Naming children after their parents or grandparents in not unusual but the Inuit show great depth of respect and appreciation for their ancestry in the naming of their children, particularly those involved in the Inuit custom adoption, a profoundly generous sharing of children with those who do not have their own.

Adorable Nivi whose full name is Niviaq Kauki Baabi Irmela Jamesie is playing with her toys when she realizes that they each only have one name whereas she has lots.  How Nivi Got Her Names is the story of Mom explaining to her daughter, who came to them through the Inuit custom adoption, the origins of all her names.

From How Nivi Got Her Names 

by Laura Deal 

illus. by Charlene Chua

Niviaq means “little girl” and is the name her adopted parents gave her. Kauki was the grandmother of Nivi’s birth mother, and giving her that name allowed them to honour her and connect Nivi to her biological family.  Baabi was a special family friend who appeared in a dream and naming Nivi after him allowed his spirit and character to live on through her, as well as connecting the child to his family.  Mom explains that Nivi is named Irmela after her own grandmother Irma who was strong, resourceful and creative. Finally, the name Jamesie was to honour Nivi’s mother’s grandfather, a man with a generous heart and a loving spirit.

I wept with emotion for the words Nivi’s mother tells the child:

"We all love you, dear Nivi, for all that you are.  For the names that you have, for the character and traits we see in you, and the people we are reminded of when we are with you.” (pg. 22) 

From How Nivi Got Her Names 

by Laura Deal 

illus. by Charlene Chua

How Nivi Got Her Names may appear on the surface to be a parent explaining something to a child but it is more about providing context for the bonds and connections with those who are living and those who have passed. Giving a child a name for registration and for ease of communication is the norm but the Inuit tradition of naming is a means of “welcoming back a family member, a loved one, or a respected community member” (pg. 29)  and provide community for a child.  Nivi is Laura Deal’s own daughter, adopted through Inuit custom adoption and, though the author provides a glossary and extensive notes on Inuit kinship and naming customs, as well as bios on the individuals honoured in Nivi’s names, the gratitude and love with which the author infuses her story is very personal.  Even Charlene Chua’s art which is cheerful and playful, like Nivi and her daily routines, still pays respect to the practices described within, undoubtedly illustrating the individuals honoured in Nivi’s names with accuracy and dignity.

How Nivi Got Her Names may be an informative picture book about the Inuit tradition of naming and custom adoption but it is an intimate depiction of an admirable practice, one that provides an inheritance more valuable than anything normally pursued in western worlds.  How fortunate for young Niviaq Kauki Baabi Irmela Jamesie.

From How Nivi Got Her Names 

by Laura Deal 

illus. by Charlene Chua

Honouring all races and ethnicities: Cultural competence with diverse youngCanLit

Continuing with the booklists that accompanied my presentation Becoming Culturally Competent with Diverse YoungCanLit at the Ontario Library Association's Superconference in Toronto last week, I hope this third post in a series of seven will help all become culturally competent. (See the first post here for details.)

Today's post will focus on...

A Change of Heart
Written by Alice Walsh
Illustrated by Erin Bennett Banks
Nimbus Publ.
32 pp.
Ages 4-10
2016
African American Lanier Phillips, Newfoundland, racism
Review here

French Toast
Written by Kari-Lynn Winters
Illustrated by François Thisdale
Pajama Press
32 pp.
Ages 6+
2016
Haitian, skin colour, name-calling
Review here

From Lands of the Night
Written by Tololwa Mollel
Illustrated by Darrell McCalla
Red Deer Press
32 pp.
Ages 7+
2014
Tanzania, illness, ancestors, celebration
Review here

Guru Nanak: The first Sikh Guru
Written by Rina Singh
Illustrated by Andrée Pouliot
Groundwood Books
64 pp.
Ages 9+
2011
Sikh faith

Haiti My Country
Written by Haitian schoolchildren
Illustrated by Rogé
Fifth House Publishers
44 pp.
Ages 7-11
2014
Haiti, nature, poetry

An Infidel in Paradise
Written by S. J. Laidlaw
Tundra Books
311 pp.
Ages 12+
2013
Pakistan, religion, intolerance
Review here

Malaika’s Costume
Written by Nadia L. Hohn
Illustrated by Irene Luxbacher
Groundwood Books
32 pp.
Ages 3-7
2016
Trinidad & Tobago, Carnival, absentee mother
Review here

Mingan My Village
Written by Innu schoolchildren
Illustrated by Rogé
Fifth House Publishers
42 pp.,
Ages 7-11
2014
Innu, Mingan Indian Reserve, Quebec

Mission Mumbai: A novel of sacred cows, snakes, and stolen toilets
Written by Mahtab Narsimhan
Scholastic Canada
272 pp.,
Ages 9-12
2016
India, Hinduism, Mumbai
Review here

My Life Before Me
Written by Norah McClintock
Orca Book Publishers
248 pp.
Ages 12+
2015
Historical fiction, racism, murder
Review here

Stepping Stones: A Refugee Family’s Journey
Written by Margriet Ruurs
Illustrated by Nizar Ali Badr
Orca Book Publishers
28 pp.
All ages
2016
Refugees, Syria, dual-language, Arabic, immigration
Review here

Thunder Over Kandahar
Written by Sharon E. McKay
Annick Press
264 pp.
Ages 12+
2010
Afghanistan, class differences, women, religion

The Tiffin
Written by Mahtab Narsimhan
Dancing Cat Books
190 pp.
Ages 8-13
2011
India, abandonment, child labour
Review here

Tilt Your Head, Rosie the Red
Written by Rosemary McCarney
Illustrated by Yvonne Cathcart
Second Story Press
24 pp.
Ages 4-7
2015
Hijabs, compassion, support
Review here

Violet
Written by Tania Duprey Stehlik
Illustrated by Vanja Vuleta Jovanovic
Second Story Press
23 pp.
Ages 5-8
2010
Prejudice, tolerance, self-acceptance, colour

When the Rain Comes
Written by Alma Fullerton
Illustrated by Kim La Fave
Pajama Press
32 pp.
Ages 4-8
2016
Sri Lanka, monsoons, rice-planting, oxen, floods
Review here

Download the complete booklist here

Becoming Culturally Competent with Diverse youngCanLit

Last week, I presented a talk on cultural competence at the Ontario Library Association's Superconference in Toronto.  The premise behind the talk was the need for schools, libraries and all institutions to go beyond tolerance and acceptance and become culturally competent.  To that end, I shared lists of some books (but only a fraction of a fraction of the books that could  be included!) of youngCanLit that could be used to support that endeavour, and thought that perhaps others might benefit from them as well.

If diversity is a window into other cultures, races, ethnicities, sexualities, families and individuals, then cultural competence is a mirror or a sliding glass door into those same identities. It is based on three main premises:

• recognizing the differences among students and families from different cultural groups;
• responding to those differences positively; and
• interacting effectively in a range of cultural environments.

(Lindsey, R.B., Robins, K.N. and Terrell, R.D. 2003. 

Cultural proficiency: A manual for school leaders. 

Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press)

I based my presentation on seven foci that need to be understood and honoured in order to become more culturally competent.  There were:

• cultures
• languages
• races and ethnicities
• gender identities and sexualities
• capacities and abilities
• family life
• Aboriginal ways of knowing and being

Becoming culturally competent is a tall order but one which must be addressed in order to become a considerate and full-functioning member of society.  Everyone should be culturally competent, and awareness through youngCanLit is a great first step.

I hope these booklists, which I will present in a series of 7 posts, will help readers to come closer to achieving that end.

Let's begin with today's post focusing on...

Alego
by Ningeokuluk Teevee
Groundwood Books
24 pp.
Ages 3-7
2009
Inuit life

Chin Chiang and the Dragon’s Dance
by Ian Wallace
Groundwood Books
32 pp.
Ages 4-8
1994/1998
Chinese, dance, celebration

From Lands of the Night
by Tololwa Mollel
Illus. by Darrell McCalla
Red Deer Press
32 pp.
Ages 7+
2014
Tanzania, illness, ancestors, celebration
Reviewed here

Games of Survival: Traditional Inuit Games for Elementary Students
by Johnny Issaluk
Inhabit Media
60 pp.
Ages 7+
2012
Inuit, Arctic, games, skills, survival
Reviewed here

Greetings, Leroy 
by Itah Sadu
Illus. by Alix Delinois
Groundwood Books
32 pp.
Ages 4-7
2017
Immigration, Jamaica

Haiti My Country
Haitian schoolchildren
Illus. by Rogé
Fifth House Publishers
44 pp.
Ages 7-11
2014
Haiti, nature, poetry

Hand Over Hand
by Alma Fullerton
Illus. Renné Benoit
Second Story Press
24 pp.
Ages 5-8
2017
Philippines, fishing

The Hill
by Karen Bass
Pajama Press
256 pp.
Ages 12+
2016
Cree, survival, legends, supernatural beliefs, tolerance
Reviewed here

Lights for Gita
by Rachna Gilmore
Illus. by Alice Priestley
Second Story Press
24 pp.
1994
Hinduism, Diwali

Malaika’s Costume
by Nadia L. Hohn
Illus. by Irene Luxbacher
Groundwood Books
32 pp.
Ages 3-7
2016
Trinidad & Tobago, Carnival, absentee mother
Reviewed here

Mission Mumbai: A novel of sacred cows, snakes, and stolen toilets
by Mahtab Narsimhan
Scholastic Canada
272 pp.,
Ages 9-12
2016
India, Hinduism, Mumbai
Reviewed here

The Mummer’s Song
by Bud Davidge
Illus. by Ian Wallace
Groundwood Books
32 pp.
Ages
2009
Newfoundland, mummering, song

My Two Grandmothers
by Diane Carmel Léger
Illus. by Jean-Luc Trudel
Nimbus Publishing
32 pp.
Ages 4-8
2016
French Acadian, Scottish, grandmothers
Reviewed here

P’ésk’a and the First Salmon Ceremony
by Scott Ritchie
Groundwood Books
32 pp.
Ages 4-7
2015
Sts’ailes, salmon, ceremony

Sometimes I Feel Like a Fox
by Danielle Daniel
Groundwood Books
36 pp.
Ages 4-7
2015
Anishinaabe, totem animals
Reviewed here

The Tiffin
by Mahtab Narsimhan
Dancing Cat Books
190 pp.
Ages 8-13
2011
India, abandonment, working children
Reviewed here

Treasure for Lunch
by Shenaaz Nanji
Illus. by Yvonne Cathcart
Second Story Press
28 pp.
Ages 4-8
2000
Indian food,  shame, immigration

The Trouble with Dilly
by Rachna Gilmore
HarperCollins Canada
162 pp.
Ages 7-10
2009
Immigration, cultural conflict, hockey, India, Hungary

When the Rain Comes
by Alma Fullerton
Illus. by Kim La Fave
Pajama Press
32 pp.
Ages 4-8
2016
Sri Lanka, monsoons, rice-planting, oxen, floods
Reviewed here


Downloadable book list available here

My Two Grandmothers

by Diane Carmel Léger

Illustrated by Jean-Luc Trudel

Nimbus Publishing

978-1-77108-400-0

32 pp.

Ages 4-8

April 2016

How fortunate these children are to have two grandmothers! Two grandmothers who are incredibly different-one Acadian, the other Scottish–and living in villages separated by the world's second-longest covered bridge.  Two grandmothers who are also so similar, connected by that same bridge and bonded by their love for their grandchildren.

From My Two Grandmothers

by Diane Carmel Léger, illus. by Jean-Luc Trudel

On one side of the Rockland bridge lives Mémére Hermance whose grandchildren call Grandmother Sun or Mémére Bee who lives her life with vitality and joie de vivre. She is a "very chic Acadian lady."  Nannie Henrietta, their Grandmother Moon or Nannie Hen, is a "calm and modest Scottish lady." What they offer their grandchildren in the way of treats, experiences and life lessons are very different but equally fulfilling.  Whether they get bonbons or toffee, or go to the beach or listen to a blethering brook, celebrate Réveillon or Christmas with Scottish cookies, the children, called petits escrables and wee lumbers, are loved, scolded, taught, protected, and entertained by their two grandmothers.

My Two Grandmothers is a captivating story of differences and similarities in a loving and lovely Canadian context, though Canadian and non-Canadian readers will both benefit from the glossary of French and Scottish vocabulary. (A listing of how to say "grandmother" and "grandfather" in over 20 languages is also included.)  A made-for-TV movie would have undoubtedly played up the differences between the two grandmothers making it into a competition but Diane Carmel Léger's My Two Grandmothers demonstrates how much the two older women are adored by the children who appreciate their distinct personalities as adding richness to their lives.  Illustrator Jean-Luc Trudel offers up flavourful portraits of both women, and their grandchildren, without stereotyping either.  By choosing to differentiate them both in their forms and the colours that surround them, Jean-Luc Trudel has created two contrasting but similarly soft and strong women.  As a child who grew up without grandmothers around, I would have been delighted to have had a Nannie and Mémére in my life.  For me and for those who are fortunate to have grandmothers in their lives, My Two Grandmothers will delight. And for those whose children are fortunate enough to have a French or Acadian grandmother, you might consider acquiring Mémère et Nannie, the French edition and co-publication by Bouton d'or Acadie.

From My Two Grandmothers

by Diane Carmel Léger, illus. by Jean-Luc Trudel