Endgame: The Secret Force 136

Written by Catherine Little

Illustrated by Sean Huang

Plumleaf Press

978-1-738898244

32 pp.

All ages

October 2023

This is a picture book. But Endgame: The Secret Force 136 is more than a picture book. It's a story within a story with another story. There's an intergenerational story which segues into a story from World War II that is framed by the playing of a game of Chinese chess that is depicted as an actual battle in illustrations. It may sound complicated and yet it all works.

From Endgame: The Secret Force 136, written by Catherine Little, illus. by Sean Huang

A child regularly visits his great-grandfather Tai Gong with his mother and is gifted with his elder's Chinese chess set on his tenth birthday. The boy enjoys learning the new game, called Xiangqi or elephant chess, with its two battling armies of generals, advisers, elephants, chariots, cannons, and soldiers, but he can never win over his Tai Gong.  Tai Gong advises him:

“You have to plan ahead, Alex,” Tai Gong replied. “As I have told you many times, slow down and plan your strategies. Focus on the big picture.”

From Endgame: The Secret Force 136, written by Catherine Little, illus. by Sean Huang

During one visit, Tai Gong shows Alex some faded photographs he keeps in his wallet. The photos show groups of men, some in uniforms, and Tai Gong says he needs to tell Alex about the stories of these photos. As he recalls discrimination he and other Chinese Canadians endured, many still felt the need to fight for their country during World War II. Though they were rejected initially, when the enemy occupied much of Southeast Asia, they were accepted into Secret Force 136 for special missions. And though he speaks of dangerous situations, Alex's tai gong is convinced it was all worth it because of the progress that happened upon their return. It was all about the endgame, something he hopes to impart to his great-grandson as they play Xiangqi.

From Endgame: The Secret Force 136, written by Catherine Little, illus. by Sean Huang

There is a history lesson in Endgame: The Secret Force 136, and Catherine Little provides extensive historical notes about the racial discrimination Chinese Canadians faced, about the Secret Force 136 including bios of several of the team's members, and about the impact of the Chinese Canadian war effort. While her focus may be on the history, as shared through a boy's interaction with his great-grandfather, she also embeds in the playing of the ancient game of Xiangqi which she also highlights in her appended notes. This could have been a very dry exposé of a WWII special operation but by tying the story of the strategies employed in a game of chess with the memories of an elderly Chinese Canadian, Catherine Little makes the story more personal. This is his story, and he speaks of it because he knows of it. And he learned valuable lessons for war but also for life but now he can share that strategizing so that his great-grandson may also benefit.

The realism of the child's interactions with his great-grandfather and his Tai Gong's experiences are depicted well in the lush paintings of Saskatchewan artist Sean Huang who takes readers from a contemporary setting to that of World War II and also to a time when warriors wore lamellar armour and carried spears. Because the story is one based in history, it's appropriate that Sean Huang maintains that realism so that a young reader might visualize their own interaction with a grandparent, or asking about the past, or looking to understand who is in photos. (The illustration of the Tai Gong's hands and the photographs is so lifelike that it will be immediately familiar and evocative of age and nostalgia.)

Players of chess and other games often speak of the endgame as the final stage and Alex learns about the perspective he must take to have a successful endgame. But his Tai Gong knows that there are many endgames in life, those final steps that can lead to success, to progress, and to resolution. His life has had many endgames and while they may or may not have always felt triumphant, they were surely noteworthy, if not for him then for others.

David Jumps In

Written by Alan Woo

Illustrated by Katty Maurey

Kids Can Press

978-1-77138-845-0

24 pp.

Ages 4-7

March 2020 

Sometimes a leap of faith is necessary to pursue that which is uncomfortable or seemingly impossible. With a string of elastic bands and that leap of faith, David jumps in to a new school and makes new friends with whom to play in this new picture book from Maggie's Chopsticks author Alan Woo. 

 

From David Jumps In by Alan Woo, illus. by Katty Maurey

Many children know the discomfort of starting at a new school or joining an activity in which friendships have already been established. David, the little boy in the red T-shirt with his mom in the blue skirt in the bottom right of the above illustration, undoubtedly feels small and insignificant. He knows no one at this school.  When recess comes, everyone gravitates to their favourite activities, whether in groups, or pairs, or by themselves. He tries to approach a couple of kids playing video-games or reading books, but they are in their own worlds and don't even hear him.

From David Jumps In by Alan Woo, illus. by Katty Maurey

Though David is starting to get nervous that maybe no one would play with him, he finds some classmates playing hopscotch, a game like elastic skip which requires balance, jumping and chanting, so,with blushing cheeks, he approaches them. 

"Hey," he said shyly. "I'm David.

Do you want to play elastic skip?"

They ask how the game goes and he demonstrates. And with that a new world of play is created.

From David Jumps In by Alan Woo, illus. by Katty Maurey

I'm so pleased to know that kids still play this game though when I was growing up it was called jumpsies. Still it's a great game that requires a minimum of equipment that can be stored in a pocket and played just about anywhere you have three kids (although we sometimes used chair legs if we were alone). Play will always bring children together and I applaud David and author Alan Woo for reminding everyone that making new friends, or at least playmates, may just require taking that first step in asking. Of course that first step may be the hardest, as it seemed to be for David, but the payoff–connecting and having fun with his peers–makes it all worthwhile.

Montreal illustrator Katty Maurey recreates the isolation that David feels at his new school, by making him just one more small child in a sea of children. She may make them all unique in their skin, hair, clothes, abilities and interests, ensuring a diversity that reflects all children, but they are many and David is just one. He doesn't want to stand out, as many children are loathe to do; he just wants to fit in and have play fun. With the very colourful but subtle illustrations, digitally rendered, Katty Maurey brings Alan Woo's David from the outskirts of his new life to a foothold for a game he loves and for his classmates.

From David Jumps In by Alan Woo, illus. by Katty Maurey

The Canadian Kids' Guide to Outdoor Fun

Written by Helaine Becker

Illustrated by Claudia Dávila

Scholastic Canada

978-1-4431-4845-0

175 pp.

Ages 6-13

May 2019

Canada Day has come and gone so summer holidays for kids are truly here in Canada.  While some kids may be off to organized camps and activities, there are many who will be filling their days with caregivers, some at cottages and at travel, and everyone wondering how they will occupy their days.  Helaine Becker's The Canadian Kids' Guide to Outdoor Fun will have you covered for the whole summer.

The book is divided into four main sections: Get Out There!, Make a Splash!, Time to Play! and Around the Campfire.  Get Out There! is all about kids getting outside to discover nature or travel to new locations. It includes everything from creating a kids-only clubhouse and developing secret languages and handshakes and codes to outdoor games like Capture the Flag and Amoeba Tag. There are activities to observe insects, press flowers, hike –I loved the Colour Swatch Scavenger Hunt–and make face-paint. And, of course, there are travel activities for car rides.

From The Canadian Kids' Guide to Outdoor Fun by Helaine Becker, illus. by Claudia Dávila

Make a Splash! includes water sports such as canoeing and fishing, and water-based games such as Sharks and Minnows. There are also water-based activities like making your own bubble solution and blowers, and water balloons. For anyone wary about water-based activities for kids, Helaine Becker rounds things out with a detailed discussion about water safety.

From The Canadian Kids' Guide to Outdoor Fun by Helaine Becker, illus. by Claudia Dávila

Time to Play! covers all manner of games from card games to pen and paper games, and activities such as weaving bracelets, writing a newsletter, taking photos, performing improv or a theatrical play, and studying weather.

Finally, Around the Campfire gets into how campfires are built safely and effectively, how to tell stories, sing songs, make s'mores, roast marshmallows and appreciate the moon and stars above.

From The Canadian Kids' Guide to Outdoor Fun by Helaine Becker, illus. by Claudia Dávila

As a compendium of activities and summertime fun, The Canadian Kids' Guide to Outdoor Fun is complete and comprehensive. There is something for all the kids, from those who want to play alone and read how to do things for themselves, to those who crave full group games and fun with others. There are activities for families and for kids alone. There are those that require nothing but imagination or observational skills and those with recipes to construct a rain stick or bake a chocolate mug cake. With Claudia Dávila's illustrations to enhance delivery of Helaine Becker's messages and directions, The Canadian Kids' Guide to Outdoor Fun provides all children with a slew of distractions to try, helping to entertain them the whole summer, regardless of weather, interests, companions and resources.

By the Time You Read This

Written by Jennifer Lanthier

Illustrated by Patricia Storms

Clockwise Press

 978-1-988347-05-9

32 pp.

Ages 4-8

April 2017

By the Time You Read This, this book will probably be out and I’ll have missed its launch, but, hey, what can you do? At least it’s not the devastating news like that which the arm cast-addled Oscar pens to his former friend Sam, beginning with “To my mortal enemy, By the time you read this….” He then proceeds to itemize all the play things he is dismantling or putting the kibosh on in light of their conflict: the Scientific Experiment of Glorious Doom; their Indestructible Fortress of Fiendishness; their Epic Battle of Giant Robots versus Alien Insects; the Magical Zoo of Mystical Creatures; the Neverending Novel of Awesome Adventures; the Precarious Portal for Intrepid Explorers; and the Time Travel Tower of Ultimate Power.  It seems Sam laughed when Oscar fell when skateboarding.

But all that anger dissipates when Sam finds Oscar and apologizes for laughing, not realizing he’d hurt himself.  Recalling all the fun things they had done together, Oscar relents, asking Sam if she’d like to sign his cast.  With that, the two surrender to their friendship and get back to the business of serious play.

From By the Time You Read This 

by Jennifer Lanthier 

illus. by Patricia Storms

Though Oscar is initially vehement in his new enemy-ship with Sam, as denoted by his powerful words and the decisiveness of his actions, he is not immune to a little empathy and an apology.  It’s amazing what a small step of humility and voiced regret can do to turn things around, especially in a childhood friendship.  Children are forever making friends and dissolving friendships on a whim, justifiably so or not.  It’s evident that, in By the Time You Read This, even anger and disappointment can be fleeting and resolved amicably with just a few words.  Jennifer Lanthier’s text demonstrates the depths of friendship in Oscar and Sam’s imaginative play, especially in their super-duper partnership in taking on the world.  How could Oscar and Sam not stay friends?

From By the Time You Read This 

by Jennifer Lanthier 

illus. by Patricia Storms

Patricia Storms, who can illustrate both tender books like Never Let You Go and playful picture books like The Ghosts Go Spooking, lends an energetic atmosphere to By the Time You Read This, portraying the spirit of children in her boldly-coloured cartoons and in the little details in signage (e.g., "Oscar + Sam ONLY, No Parents Allowed, No Brothers Either") and toys.   Kids will laugh themselves silly over the creatures in the Magical Zoo of Mystical Creatures, like the Farting Fur-Tail and Lionisaurus Rex, and probably recognize a few of their own toys within the pages of By the Time You Read This. They’ll definitely see themselves in the book.  This is a important as young readers need to know that friendships sometimes fall apart but can be reconstructed, sometimes with just a little bandage of kind words.  And even though By the Time You Read This ends with Oscar and Sam reconciled, back at play in their Planetary Pirate Ship, they might still have another falling out.  Such are the nature of friendships when you’re close to someone and care about what they feel and do. But, with a smile and a little play (perhaps the board game on the inside of By the Time You Read This' s cover), all might be forgiven.

Gabby, Wonder Girl

Written by Joyce Grant

Illustrated by Jan Dolby

Fitzhenry & Whiteside

978-1-55455-384-6

32 pp.

Ages 5-7

September 2016

Joyce Grant and Jan Dolby’s little Gabby, of earlier books Gabby (Fitzhenry & Whiteside, 2013) and Gabby, Drama Queen (Fitzhenry & Whiteside, 2013), is taking on the world again, this time to solve a mystery of a photograph through questioning.

When Gabby’s friend Roy becomes engulfed in a pile of question marks that he’s released from her magic book–the one that usually just releases a multitude of letters–the two characters become super sleuths, Wonder Girl and Super Roy, on the trail of the person in the black-and-white photograph Gabby discovers in her backyard.  Using letters from the book and the question marks, Gabby creates the wonder-ful “Who?” that helps them realize the girl in the photo is Mrs. Oldham, her neighbour.  But the two can’t find her and have to amalgamate a “w” (wafting in the wind), “h” (half-hidden in a hammock), “e” (in the electric car), “r” (resting on a race track), and another “e” (on Roy’s elbow) with one of the ubiquitous question marks to locate the older woman in the apple tree!  With some reorganization of letters and a slithery snake, the question of “how?” they can get her out of the tree and free her to make a proffered apple pie is solved!

From Gabby, Wonder Girl 

by Joyce Grant, illus. by Jan Dolby

Joyce Grant’s cutie pie shows off her inquisitiveness and invention with gusto and creativity.  Who knew learning to use questions could be so much fun?  With a simple story, Joyce Grant offers very young readers an introduction to letters of the alphabet while manipulating them into words that provide the basis for questions and simple words.  Those of us more proficient in reading know of the versatility of letters to create new words and worlds but, for the very young, Gabby, Wonder Girl will be a revelation in learning housed in an unassuming but entertaining format.  No need to learn about letters from a standard A-B-C book when you have Gabby.  And Jan Dolby makes sure that Gabby, Wonder Girl (as she did in the earlier Gabby books) is a fun read of bright colours and squiggly lines and quirky details like a garden gnome, hedgehogs, butterflies and yards of letters.  Gabby really is a red-haired wonder girl in both language and action, and Roy plays superbly as her masked sidekick.  

From Gabby, Wonder Girl 

by Joyce Grant, illus. by Jan Dolby

Chidlren will love Gabby Wonder Girl, as they have Gabby and Gabby, Drama Queen, but parents and teachers will enjoy helping them experience Gabby’s learning opportunities in the fun word activites and games as well as drawing lesson that Joyce Grant and Jan Dolby provide at the end of the book.  There’s even a Gabby teachers’ guide that can be accessed online at http://joycegrantauthor.com/free-teachers-guide-gabby.  Gabby, Wonder Girl is a big package of learning in a small but bright little marvel of a book.

Summer's On: A Non-Fiction Book List

My final list for the summer includes a few non-fiction books that might be worthwhile to keep young readers occupied during the summer, as well as educate them about our Canadian weather.

NON-FICTION 

38 Ways to Entertain Your Parents on Summer Vacation

by Dette Hunter

Illustrated by Kitty Macaulay

Annick Press

48 pp.

Ages 4-9

2005

Get Outside: The Kids Guide to Fun in the Great Outdoors

by Jane Drake and Ann Love

Illustrated by Heather Collins

Kids Can Press

176 pp.

Ages 8+

2012

The Kids Cottage Book: Official Activity Book of Summer

by Jane Drake and Ann Love

Kids Can Press

208 pp.

1993

The Kids Cottage Games Book: Official Book of Games to Play

by Jane Drake and Ann Love

Kids Can Press

Sun and Storms: Canadian Summer Weather

by Nicole Mortillaro

Scholastic Canada

60 pp.

Ages 7-9

2005

Games of Survival: Traditional Inuit Games for Elementary Students

Written by Johnny Issaluk
Inhabit Media
978-1-927095-21-8
60 pp.
Ages 7+
2012

Anyone who reads this blog will know that I don't review a lot of non-fiction.  I won't repeat my reasons here, as I did in an earlier post; suffice it to say that, Johnny Issaluk's Games of Survival: Traditional Inuit Games for Elementary Students is so unique in its topic and bold presentation that I'm delighted to review it here on CanLit for LittleCanadians.

As teachers, we know that whether we're teaching math or English or geography, if we can connect our students' learning to something relevant to them, then it will engage them.  Games often don't need gimmicks to engage young people; they're just fun.  But what if the games were relevant to your survival, as well as fun?  Wouldn't most young people be intrigued?  By presenting these games as purposeful play, as well as fun, Johnny Issaluk, Arctic Winter Games champion, will grab the attention of young readers as well as their teachers and parents.

Games of Survival presents a series of traditional Inuit games that were used to support skills in agility, strength and endurance - all key capabilities for surviving as an Inuit in the Arctic.  For those of us who do not live within the Far North, we've only seen snippets of these games when reported on the news during the annual Arctic Winter Games, a circumpolar sports competition held every two years.  Without understanding the rationale, rules or methodology, I know that what I saw requires incredible athleticism.  Now, with Games of Survival, my understanding has increased substantially.

The agility games include several versions of the High Kick, in which a competitor kicks up at a target hanging from above.  Enhanced by photographs from Ed Maruyama from different angles and of different ages of competitors, the text explains what skills are practised and developed, as well as their role in the traditional Inuit lifestyle in the Arctic.  Similarly, Games of Survival includes games that match the strength of competitors as they pull against each other, and games of endurance that include the knuckle hop, that imitates the movement of a seal, and the muskox push in which shoulders are locked together.

Games of Survival works so well on so many levels.  Johnny Issaluk is thrifty with his text, explaining well the purpose and mechanics of the games, without drowning the information in pages of dense text (the failing of many books of children's non-fiction).  The photographs are bold and spatially intriguing (i.e., how do they do that?).  And any reader, young or older, will be captivated and maybe even challenged to try the games included here.  The subtitle, Traditional Inuit Games for Elementary Students, may suggest this book is a teacher resource but it's much more than that.  Think of it as a photographic history and how-to book that shares the stories and talents of a culture with which we should all be more familiar.

And the Crowd Goes Wild! A Global Gathering of Sports Poems

Edited by Carol-Ann Hoyte and Heidi Bee Roemer

Illustrated by Kevin Sylvester

Friesen Press

978-1-77097-953-6

67 pp.

Ages 7–12

August 2012

Reviewed from digital file

978-1-77097-954-3

Fans of sports, poetry, humour and youngCanLit will be sure to cheer for this anthology of poetry that stretches from the experiences of going to the stadium to playing and watching various sports and games (including lacrosse, chess, table tennis, football, baseball and dogsled racing) and finales like the World Series and closing ceremonies.

And the Crowd Goes Wild! editors, Canadian Carol-Ann Hoyte and American Heidi Bee Roemer, have chosen poetry from around the world, hence the global gathering, which includes Canada, U.S.A., Australia, Liberia, England, Scotland, New Zealand, Ghana, Ireland and Wales.  Young readers will recognize many sports like hockey, tennis and football, and learn about nontraditional endeavours such as goalball and monoskiing.  Whether in contexts of global events such as the Olympics and the Paralympics, or based in neighbourhood fields and playgrounds, the poetry will touch readers with its humour, poignancy or familiarity.  From the young girl whose letter asks her coach (also her father) to let her play (The Letter by Eileen R. Meyer), to a girl's relationship with her father solidified over sport (I Watch Football with My Father by Savannah Tesla) or Tiffany Stone's I Hate Hockey, surprisingly told from the puck's point of view, the poetry emphasizes the relation of young people to sport from their own perspectives and experiences.  The reader need not be familiar with the sport or topic to enjoy the poetry, but experiences, personal or observational, will introduce another layer of appreciation and comprehension of the poetry.

One of the numerous poems by Canadians is Pianoball by Jocelyn Shipley, author of How to Tend a Grave (reviewed here).  Showing her writing versatility, Jocelyn Shipley's poem about a child practising piano while yearning for the baseball game is enhanced by a Kevin Sylvester drawing.  Kevin Sylvester, author of the wildly popular Neil Flambé series, is also recognized for his sports-based non-fiction (e.g., Game Day, Annick, 2010; Sports Hall of Weird, Kids Can Press, 2005) and award-winning illustrations (e.g., Don't Touch That Toad and Other Strange Things Adults Tell You, Kids Can Press, 2010) so he was the definitive choice for illustrator of And the Crowd Goes Wild!

I haven't even mentioned a valuable resource for teachers who'd love to meld poetry with sports.  The editors generously referenced each poem to its form (e.g., shape poems, acrostic) and poetic devices such as hyperbole and metaphor. And if that wasn't enough, there is a website at http://crowdgoeswildpoems.wordpress.com/ that is slated to provide primers on writing poetry and interviews with the editors and others related to And the Crowd Goes Wild! book.

As I'm always promoting CanLit for young readers, the inclusion of poetry by non-Canadians does not negate the value of this wonderful anthology.  Published in Canada with the efforts of a Canadian editor and illustrated by a well-known illustrator and sports enthusiast, in addition to the numerous poets from Canada, I can safely attest that And the Crowd Goes Wild! hits one out of the park, no matter who's on the teams. Go, Team Hoyte-Roemer, Go!