The Library Bus

Written by Bahram Rahman

Illustrated by Gabrielle Grimard

Pajama Press

978-1-77278-101-4

32 pp.

Ages 5-8

November, 2020

While education should be a right for all everywhere, sometimes someone has to step up to make sure those without access because of gender inequality or location or some other restriction get the schooling they should be receiving. That someone in The Library Bus is Pari's mother.

From The Library Bus by Bahram Rahman, illus. by Gabrielle Grimard

Little Pari, who will not be starting school until the following year, is going to help her mother on the library bus she takes around to villages and refugee camps without access to schools. Pari knows this is a privilege and takes her role seriously, repeating to herself that she should, "Arrange the books...clean up...be nice to the other girls." For the girls who wait patiently for the bus's arrival and cherish their time with the books and their teacher, the library bus is their school.

From The Library Bus by Bahram Rahman, illus. by Gabrielle Grimard

They exchange their library books for new ones and sit down with Pari's mother who teaches them the alphabet and their numbers in English. For the children of the refugee camps, they provide school supplies like notebooks and pencils. Pari is impressed by how much the girls know and want to learn. As she helps, she listens and learns too, ably reading the important acronyms of WFP and UNHCR by the time they leave the camp.

From The Library Bus by Bahram Rahman, illus. by Gabrielle Grimard

When Pari asks her mother where she learned the alphabet, she is told how Grandpa taught her mother in the basement as girls were prohibited from attending school. For that reason, she insists that Pari study well when she gets to school so that she might experience the freedom that learning gives.

The encouragement of learning is always powerful but by embodying it in Afghanistan, a country impacted by war and restrictive policies, Bahram Rahman's first children's book tells it gently but with influence. Many Canadian children will not appreciate the privilege that attending school and receiving an education entails. It is the norm for them. But for Bahram Rahman's characters, education is everything, and the generosity and impact of the library bus and its in-house teacher are significant.

From The Library Bus by Bahram Rahman, illus. by Gabrielle Grimard

Illustrated by award-winning artist Gabrielle Grimard with watercolour and digital media, Bahram Rahman's gentle strength of message is emulated. The softness of the watercolour and the openness of Gabrielle Grimard's character's faces invite the readers in to the story and the bus, allowing them to travel with Pari and her Mama and join the girls to be part of something bigger and meaningful.

While Bahram Rahman claims to have taken liberties to rearrange the details in the telling of the story of The Library Bus, based on his own experiences and meeting others in Afghanistan, I see only the truth about the hope gifted to the girls with the books and teaching that came with the bus's weekly visits. Now, by Bahram Rahman and Gabrielle Grimard's hands, the travels of The Library Bus will lead to even greater learning.

A Funny Sort of Minister

Written by Dominique Demers

Illustrated by Tony Ross

Translated by Sander Berg

Alma Books

978-1-84688-456-6

96 pp.

Ages 7-11

January 2020 

The unconventional and spirited woman of Dominique Demers's The Adventures of Miss Charlotte has returned and this time she's accidentally delving into politics (hence the ministerial role in the title).

Miss Charlotte is heading by train to see her friends in Saint-Anatole when she accidentally grabs the bag of the Prime Minister, Roger Rarejoy. When she goes to the address with which it is labelled, she is sent away as a crazy lady (she doesn't just tell them outright she has his bag). But the prime minister's son, Gustave-Aurèle, wants to help her find his father and make his father proud, something the boy never feels he has accomplished, no matter how hard he works.  So together Miss Charlotte and Gustave-Aurèle follow the prime minister's schedule, hoping to catch up with him.

But, when the two unlikely companions end up at a car factory and learn the prime minister has not arrived to the impatient crowd, Miss Charlotte takes it upon herself to act as his representative, unveiling a new car and renaming it GA-GA after Gustave-Aurèle. She delights everyone with her lively presentation that includes a song and dance and has them heralding her as the new kind of politician. That is, everyone except the prime minister and his entourage who start to believe that Gustave-Aurèle has been kidnapped by the woman who incidentally reminds the PM of happy times with his own Auntie Josephine.

The hilarity continues with Miss Charlotte and Gustave-Aurèle seeking to get the important papers to the prime minister, particularly those that set out a new policy for education that requires more and more time in school and none for play, with the two parties ultimately converging to a charming reunion between father and son and the realization that play is an important part of learning.

Dominique Demers's original French-language series has charmed countless young readers across the world and we're fortunate that these English translations are being published now. These early chapter books provide straightforward but engaging plots with strong characters and subtle messages about creativity and play, bridging the genre between early readers and middle grade fiction beautifully. The writing draws the reader in immediately, as the distracted Miss Charlotte loses her bag and the Prime Minister, through a series of mishaps, enters the station. Then it's one scene after another, visually explicit and always funny with misunderstanding and confusion, that leads to the story's end when Miss Charlotte disappears with only a letter to tie up her latest adventure.

From A Funny Sort of Minister by Dominique Demers, illus. by Tony Ross

Complemented with the illustrations of well-known British artist Tony Ross, A Funny Sort of Minister will tickle young readers with its cheerful yet silly circumstances while they applaud Miss Charlotte's recognition of the value of learning outside the box, and the classroom.

••••••••••••••••••••••
 

I encourage young readers who are looking for funny early chapter books to consider reading the whole series (two of which I have reviewed):

The New Teacher (2016)

The Mysterious Librarian (2017)

The New Football Coach (2019)
A Funny Sort of Minister (2020)

Girl of the Southern Sea

Written by Michelle Kadarusman

Pajama Press

978-1-77278-081-9

224 pp.

Ages 8-12

May 2019

This is the story of Nia, a girl who lives with her five-year-old brother Rudi and their father in a tin shack along the train tracks of Jakarta, Indonesia. Though at fourteen she has finished middle school, she craves to continue her education, but there is no extra money for the school fees needed for high school. Instead she works to tend to the family: getting her brother to and from school, making meals, cleaning, and preparing batter for their father's fried banana cart. Sadly, it also means bringing her father home from nights of drinking arak (an alcoholic drink) at Jango's hut and cleaning up after Bapak's poor choices. Still Nia tries to see a future, hopeful of saving money for school and writing stories about Dewi Kadita, the Queen of the Southern Sea, who offers life lessons and the promise of a better life from dire circumstances.

But, with any story, there are plot twists and conflicts that challenge characters and wrench the narrative from a smooth path to a satisfying terminus. For Nia, it's a minibus crash from which she alone survives essentially unscathed. In a culture rife with superstitions and a predilection for supernatural stories, Nia's survival is seen as a miracle and consequently their banana fritters attributed with being infused with good luck. But how fortunate is Nia truly?

This is the basis for Michelle Kadarusman's story of Nia, but I cannot convey the depth of the storytelling within Girl of the Southern Sea and it's message for girls to make their own opportunities. (A portion of the book's proceeds go to Plan International Canada's #BecauseIAmaGirl campaign.) Even dealing with her father's alcoholism and weakness of character, and inherent vulnerabilities because of poverty and alarming cultural and social attitudes, Nia is driven to continue her education and write her stories. She stands up for herself–"I am not your promise to give." (pg. 196)– and makes sure that her life becomes the story she wants told.

I am here to live a different story. I am here to write my own story. (pg. 202)

There are so many tragedies in Nia's story that come when others try to impose their lives on her circumstances. There are the corrupt police who assault her father; her best friend Yuli who may be involved in illicit activities as a way to improve her conditions; vigilantes who turn on Nia violently when the good luck they purported she peddled was proven to be lacking; and her father who is willing to choose his own needs over those of his children. Still Nia takes guidance from her mother, via dreams, and from Dewi Kadita, the princess cursed with disfiguring skin conditions relieved only in the Southern Sea, and begins to make a life for herself. Its origins may be saturated in misfortune and tragedy but it will become the story she wants to write for herself and make her the Girl of the Southern Sea.

Ten Cents a Pound

Written by Nhung N. Tran-Davies

Illustrated by Josée Bisaillon

Second Story Press

978-1-77260-056-8

24 pp.

Ages 5-9

April 2018

I defy anyone to read Nhung N. Tran-Davies' text in Ten Cents a Pound and not be moved to tears by a mother's willingness to work at gathering coffee beans so that her child could have a better life. All the more poignant is the response from the child who recognizes her mother's struggles and does not want to leave her in order to pursue an education elsewhere. Their dialogue, told with love and admiration and respect, is the story of Ten Cents a Pound. 

From Ten Cents a Pound by Nhung N. Tran-Davies, illus. by Josée Bisaillon

Mama, I see your hands,
Coarsened and scratched,
By the twigs and bark of the trees, row on row,
By the leaves and berries, picked one by one.
I will stay with you.

So begins Ten Cents a Pound, with a daughter seeing the toil of hard work on her mother's hands and her declaration that she will stay with her.  Ah, but her mother will have none of that.  Calling her "silly child" or "faithful child" or similar, the mother asserts that she is working so that she might put books in her daughter's hands and set her on a life beyond their mountain and villages. Still the girl cannot see past her mother's pain and hardship and repeats that she cannot leave her.  Always with great affection and fortitude, her mother vows that the girl will be set free with an education and must go beyond the confines of their village. Finally, the girl accepts the wisdom of her mother's wish for her future but contends that she will return.

From Ten Cents a Pound by Nhung N. Tran-Davies, illus. by Josée Bisaillon

Though I cry readily, not all books move me to tears. Ten Cents a Pound did so. Many parents sacrifice much for their children, though those trials are not always acknowledged, but here a child recognizes that suffering and doesn't feel like she can accept the cost of her mother's unselfishness. I don't know if physician and author Nhung N. Tran-Davies, who came to Canada from Vietnam, ever witnessed this self-sacrificing love but Ten Cents a Pound is a testament to the determination a parent can have for wanting a better future for their child.  This mother is willing to suffer the back pains, the harm to feet and hands, and declining eyesight and more just to ensure her child has an education and a better life.

Award-winning illustrator Josée Bisaillon blends the realism of the mother-daughter relationship with a lightness that belies the gravity of their circumstances. The outdoor scenes of fields and trees are grounded in the earth but give rise to the green of dreams and expectation. Even the fluttering butterflies and the child in flight suggest a journey of hope and ascendancy.

From Ten Cents a Pound by Nhung N. Tran-Davies, illus. by Josée Bisaillon

Ten Cents a Pound may be a tome that supports the idea of education as the means for freedom and advancement or a social justice story embedded in the coffee fields of Vietnam.  But, at its heart, it is a dedication to mothers and daughters who are willing to offer anything to ensure a good life for the other.

Back to School Book List

With the ads starting for back-to-school sales and everyone starting to think about the beginning of the school year, consider some of these 87 (!) books–picture books, novels, young adult and non-fiction– as read-alouds.  Whether dealing with bullies, or undertaking research projects, looking back at schools of the past, these reads have got it all.

Picture Books

A+ for Big Ben

by Sarah Ellis

Illustrated by Kim La Fave

Pajama Press

24 pp.

Ages 2-5

2015

The Best Thing about Kindergarten

by Jennifer Lloyd

Illustrated by Qin Leng

Simply Read Books

36 pp.

2013

Community Soup

by Alma Fullerton

Pajama Press

32 pp.

Ages 4-7

2013

The Day My Mom Came to Kindergarten

by Maureen Fergus

Illustrated by Mike Lowery

Kids Can Press

32 pp.

Ages 3-7

2013

Franklin Goes to School

by Paulette Bourgeois

Illustrated by Brenda Clark

Kids Can Press

32 pp.

Ages 3-6

1995

Get Out of Bed!

by Robert Munsch

Illustrated by Alan and Lea Daniel

Scholastic Canada

32 pp.

Ages 3-7

1998

Gift Days

by Kari-Lynn Winters

Illustrated by Stephen Taylor

Fitzhenry & Whiteside

32 pp.

Ages 7+

2012

Morris Micklewhite and the Tangerine Dress

by Christine Baldacchino

Illustrated by Isabelle Malenfant
Groundwood Books
32 pp.
Ages 4-7
2014

Noni is Nervous

by Heather Hartt-Sussman

Illustrated by Geneviève Côté

Tundra

24 pp.

Ages 2-6

2013

Oddrey and the New Kid

by Dave Whamond

Owlkids

32 pp.

Ages 4-7

2013

An Ordinary School Day

by C. J. Hamilton

Illustrated by Cindy Revell

Annick Press

24 pp.

Ages 5-9

2004

The Pocket Mommy

by Rachel Eugster

Illustrated by Tom Goldsmith

Tundra Books

32 Pages

Ages 4-6

2013

Suki's Kimono

by Chieri Uegaki

Illustrated by Stephane Jorisch

Kids Can Press

32 pp.

Ages 3-7

2005

Tilt Your Head, Rosie the Red

by Rosemary McCarney

Illustrated by Yvonne Cathcart

Second Story Press

24 pp.

Ages 4-7

2015

Willow Finds a Way

by Lana Button

Illustrated by Tania Howells

Kids Can Press

32 pp.

Ages 5-7

2013

Violet

by Tania Duprey Stehlik

Illustrated by Vanja Vuleta Jovanic

Second Story Press

24 pp.

Ages 5-8

2009

Fiction

4 Kids in 5E and 1 Crazy Year

by Virginia Frances Schwartz

Scholastic Canada

244 pp.

Ages 10-13

2007

26 Tips for Surviving Grade 6

by Catherine Austen

James Lorimer

168 pp.

Ages 8-12

2011

28 Tricks for a Fearless Grade 6

by Catherine Austen

James Lorimer

189 pp.

Ages 9-12

2014

Athlete vs. Mathlete

by W. C. Mack

Scholastic Canada

172 pp.

Ages 9-12

2013

The BEDMAS Conspiracy

by Deborah Sherman

Fitzhenry & Whiteside

172 pp.

Ages 8-11

20011

Bernadette and the Lunch Bunch

by Suzanne Glickman

Illustrated by Mélanie Allard

Second Story Press

123 pp.

Ages 7-9

2008

Dunces Anonymous

by Kate Jaimet

Orca Book Publishers

157 pp.

Ages 8-12

2009

Dunces Rock

by Kate Jaimet

Orca Book Publishers

215 pp.

Ages 8-11

2014

Egghead

by Caroline Pignat

Red Deer Press

173 pp.

Ages 11-14

2008

Ghost Most Foul

by Patti Grayson

Coteau Books

192 pp.

Ages 10-13

2015

The Glory Wind

by Valerie Sherrard
Fitzhenry & Whiteside

222 pp.

Ages 11+

2010

How to Tame a Bully

by Nancy Wilcox Richards

Illustrated by Drazen Kozjan

Scholastic Canada

80 pp.

Ages 7-10

2006

Invasion of the IQ Snatchers

by Arthur Slade

Coteau Books

115 pp.

Ages 8-12

2007

Jolted: Newton Starker’s Rules for Survival

by Arthur Slade

HarperCollins Canada

203 pp.

Ages 11-14

2008

Late for School (Haley and Bix)

by Scott Higgs

Scholastic Canada

30 pp.

Ages 6-7

2007

The Mealworm Diaries

by Anna Kerz   

Orca Book Publishers

176 pp.

Ages 9+

2009

Milo: Sticky Notes and Brain Freeze

by Alan Silberberg

Aladdin

288 pp.

Ages 8-13

2011

The Missing Dog is Spotted

by Jessica Scott Kerrin

Groundwood Books

204 pp.

Ages 8-12

March, 2015

Monsters in the School
by Martyn Godfrey
Scholastic Canada
86 pp.
Ages 7-9
1991

No More Dead Dogs

by Gordon Korman

Scholastic Canada

192 pp.

Ages 8-12

2002

Not Fair, Clare
by Yvonne Prinz
Raincoast Books
197 pp.
Ages 11-13
2008

Overtime

by David Skuy

Scholastic Canada

216 pp.

Ages 11-14

2011

Pigboy

by Vicki Grant

Orca Book Publishers

101 pp.

Ages 9-13

2006

Rain Shadow

by Valerie Sherrard

Fitzhenry & Whiteside

150 pp.

Ages 10+

2014

Revenge on the Fly

by Sylvia McNicoll

Pajama Press

224 pp.

Ages 8+

2014

Rex Zero: The Great Pretender

by Tim Wynne-Jones

Groundwood Books

224 pp.

Ages 10-14

2009

Running Scared

by Beverley Terrell-Deutsch

Red Deer Press

176 pp.

Ages 9-12

2013

Schooled

by Gordon Korman

Scholastic Canada

208 pp.

Ages 8-12

2007

The Secret of Grim Hill

by Linda DeMeulemeester

Lobster Press

187 pp.

Ages 8-12

2007

The Sixth Grade Nickname Game

by Gordon Korman

Scholastic Canada

160 pp.

Ages 8-12

2004

Speechless

by Jennifer Mook-Sang

Scholastic Canada

184 pp.

Ages 8-12

September, 2015

The Spotted Dog Last Seen

by Jessica Scott Kerrin

Groundwood Books

196 pp.

Ages 8-11

2013

The Strictest School in the World: Being the Tale of a Clever Girl, a Rubber Boy and a Collection of Flying Machines, Mostly Broken

by Howard Whitehouse

Illustrated by Bill Slavin

Kids Can Press

252 pp.

Ages 11-14

2006

This Can’t Be Happening at Macdonald Hall

by Gordon Korman

Scholastic Canada

116 pp.

Ages 8-12

1978/2011

The Time Time Stopped

by Don Gilmour

Scholastic Canada

151 pp.

Ages 8-11

2011

Ungifted

by Gordon Korman

Scholastic Canada

260 pp.

Ages 8-12

2012

Young Adult

Alice, I Think
by Susan Juby
HarperCollins Canada
244 pp.
Ages 12+
2003

The Baby Project

by Sarah Ellis

Groundwood Books

144 pp.

Ages 12+

1986

Bifocal

by Deborah Ellis and Eric Walters

Fitzhenry & Whiteside

280 pp.

Ages 12-15

2007

Branded

by Eric Walters

Orca Book Publishers

136 pp.

Ages 10-14

2010

Cape Town

by Brenda Hammond

Great Plains Teen Fiction

326 pp.

Ages 14+

2012 

Chance to Dance for You

by Gail Sidonie Sobat

Great Plains Teen Fiction

172 pp.
Ages 14+
2011

Creeps

by Darren Hynes

Razorbill/Penguin Canada

309 pp.

Age 13 +

2013

Cut the Lights

by Karen Krossing

Orca Book Publishers

129 pp.

Ages 11-14

2013

Depth of Field
by Chantel Guertin
ECW Press
208 pp.
Ages 13+
2014

The Dewpoint Show

by Barb Howard

Fitzhenry & Whiteside

231 pp.

Ages 11-14

2010

Drummer Girl

by Karen Bass

Coteau Books

192 pp.

Ages 14+

2011

Fragile Bones: Harrison & Anna

by Lorna Schultz Nicholson

Clockwise Press

217 pp.

Ages 13+

March 2015

Game Plan

by Natalie Corbett Sampson

Fierce Ink Press

351 pp.

Ages 12+

2013

Kissing Frogs

by Alisha Sevigny

Fierce Ink Press

231 pp.

Ages 12+

2014

My Parents Are Sex Maniacs: A High School Horror Story
by Robyn Harding
Annick Press
235 pp.
Ages 14-16
2009

The New Normal

by Ashley Little

Orca Book Publishers

222 pp.

Ages 12+

2013

The Reluctant Journal of Henry K. Larsen

by Susin Nielsen

Tundra Books

243 pp.

Ages 11-14

2012

Straight Punch
by Monique Polak
Orca Book Publishers
249 pp.
Ages 13-16
2014

The Taming

by Eric Walters and Teresa Toten

Doubleday Canada

229 pp.

Ages 13-17

2012

The Throne

by Beth Goobie

Red Deer Press

281 pp.

Ages 14+

2013

Tribes

by Arthur Slade

HarperTrophy Canada

166 pp.

Ages 12+

2004

The Truth Commission
by Susan Juby
Razorbill Canada
272 pp.
Ages 14+
April 2015

We Are All Made of Molecules

by Susin Nielsen

Tundra Books

246 pp.

Ages 12+

May 2015

What We Hide

by Marthe Jocelyn

Tundra Books

275 pp.

Ages 14+

2014

When Kacey Left

by Dawn Green

Red Deer Press

228 pp.

Ages 12+

April 2015

Non-Fiction

The Delta is My Home

by Tom McLeod and Mindy Willett

Fifth House

26 pp.

Ages 7-10

2008

Fatty Legs: A True Story

by Christy Jordan-Fenton and Margaret Pokiak-Fenton

Illustrated by Liz Amini-Holmes

Annick Press

104 pp.

Ages 7-11

2010 

Goodbye Buffalo Bay

by Larry Loyie

Theytus Books

142 pp.

Ages 10-14

2008

Off to Class: Incredible and Unusual Schools Around the World

by Susan Hughes

Owlkids Books

64 pp.

Ages 8-13

2011

Razia’s Ray of Hope: One Girl’s Dream of an Education
by Elizabeth Suneby
Illustrated by Suana Verelst
Kids Can Press
36 pp.
Ages 8-10
2013

Reptile Flu: A story about communication

by Kathryn Cole

Illustrated by Qin Leng

Second Story Press

24 pp.

Ages 5-8

April 2015

School Days Around the World
by Margriet Ruurs
Illustrated by Alice Feagan
Kids Can Press
40 pp.
Ages 4-7
2015

Shannen and the Dream for a School

by Janet Wilson

Second Story Press

206 pp.

Ages 8+

2011 

The Way to School

by Rosemary McCarney and Plan International

Second Story Press

32 pp.

Ages 7-12

September 2015

When I Was Eight

by Christy Jordan-Fenton and Margaret Pokiak-Fenton

Illustrated by Gabrielle Grimard

Annick Press

32 pp.

Ages 6-9

2013