Flip Flop Flapjack: Wildhorse Jack and the First Stampede Breakfast

Written by Brenda Joyce Leahy

Illustrated by Melissa Bruglemans-LaBelle

Red Barn Books

978-1-989915-12-7 (hc)/978-1-989915-11-0 (pb)

32 pp.

Ages 4-7

May 2023

 

Many families, especially those in western Canada, may be planning a trip to the Calgary Stampede this July and for those with children who'd like to throw in a literacy component that recalls how the first pancake breakfast arose, Brenda Joyce Leahy, granddaughter of its founder, Wildhorse Jack, has got you covered.

From Flip Flop Flapjack by Brenda Joyce Leahy, illus. by Melissa Bruglemans-LaBelle

As a child, Frankie Morton loved participating in the Stampede. She'd ride her pony Rosie in the parade alongside her family, enjoying the cheers her father, Wildhorse Jack Morton, drew from the crowds.

Papa enjoyed performing in the rodeo events and Frankie, her dad's biggest fan, was sure he'd win every event. But, from the Wild Cow Milking to the Wild Bronc Riding and the first Chuckwagon Race, Papa failed to win, though he entertained the crowd with his antics and always congratulated the winners. Frankie was devastated.

From Flip Flop Flapjack by Brenda Joyce Leahy, illus. by Melissa Bruglemans-LaBelle

The next day, Mama took Frankie and her sibs downtown to find Papa and his cowboys at a chuckwagon flipping pancakes and handing them out to the crowd. When Frankie wonders how he can be so cheerful when he'd lost all his events, he reminds her that...

"I might not be the best at bronc riding, or wild cow milking, or even chuckwagon racing. But I can be the best at having fun at the Stampede, and my kind of fun includes sharing what I've got."

From Flip Flop Flapjack by Brenda Joyce Leahy, illus. by Melissa Bruglemans-LaBelle

Flip Flop Flapjack may be a humourous take on a historic event, but it will also teach young readers that winning isn't everything. Brenda Joyce Leahy, whose mother was Frankie, has recounted, with some creative license, what she'd heard of that first Stampede breakfast from her family, focusing on both Wildhorse Jack and his popularity and the sharing of that first pancake breakfast. In addition to this whimsical story, Brenda Joyce Leahy shares information about and photos of her grandfather, Wildhorse Jack Morton, and about the Calgary Stampede, as well as providing a recipe for his pancakes.

From Flip Flop Flapjack by Brenda Joyce Leahy, illus. by Melissa Bruglemans-LaBelle

That same playfulness of text is emulated in the artwork of Alberta's Melissa Bruglemans-LaBelle. She plays up the humour in the story–like Mama telling the kids that "This is the first time your father has cooked breakfast and I'm not going to miss it"–with her cartoon illustrations, from Wildhorse Jack's voluminous moustache to the family's enthusiastic pet badger Maggie and hilarious horses and cows. Melissa Bruglemans-LaBelle, who is well-known for her coffee paintings as well as her Stampede-themed windows, obviously understands how to capture the colour and liveliness of the Stampede and she's making a visit to that event all the more fun in Flip Flop Flapjack.

It's hard to believe that this year marks the 100th anniversary of that first Stampede Breakfast. With Brenda Joyce Leahy and Melissa Bruglemans-LaBelle's picture book, you can revisit that milestone of Stampede history. You can purchase the book earlier in prep for the Stampede, but I suspect that it might be a welcome distraction and break when running between events this year. Your choice but, with a stack of pancakes, it'll be a welcome treat.

The Prisoner and the Writer: Guest review

This review was written by student Bronte L.

 

Written by Heather Camlot

Illustrated by Sophie Casson

Groundwood Books

978-1-773066325 

64 pp.

Ages 9-12

2022

The year is 1895 and Alfred Dreyfus is imprisoned on Devil’s Island off the coast of South America. The French government has accused him of selling military secrets to the German government. All he has are the books and letters his wife sends him and the memories. There are the memories of the day the stripes were ripped off his military uniform and his sword broken in two, and all the people shouting for him to be dead, because of the crime he did not commit, and because he was a Jew. And, of course, there are the memories of his children and wife back in Paris. Dreyfus had been sentenced here for life, and, although he knows he is innocent, there is nothing he can do.

From The Prisoner and the Writer by Heather Camlot, illus. by Sophie Casson

Back in France, in 1897, Emile Zola hears Dreyfus’ story. The newspapers say he is guilty, but many people think otherwise. Zola is captivated by this debate. He learns about the trial, searches for the facts, and eventually he is led to the truth that Alfred Dreyfus was innocent and a victim of antisemitism, now suffering for a crime he did not commit. Although Zola is a stranger to Dreyfus, and his successful career could be on the line, Zola decides to speak against the government, and tell the country what has happened. Emile Zola writes “J’accuse…!”, an open letter laying out all he has learned, and why Dreyfus should be released. This letter will change both their lives.

From The Prisoner and the Writer by Heather Camlot, illus. by Sophie Casson

The Prisoner and the Writer, written by Heather Camlot and illustrated by Sophie Casson, is a short, nonfiction picture book about the story of Alfred Dreyfus and Emile Zola. It tells how one stranger’s bravery and search for justice saved the life of an innocent man, and made news across the country. The book includes additional notes about this historical event, and teaches the reader how to identify disinformation and biased news, which is certainly an important skill in our current times.

Before reading this book, I had never heard of Dreyfus or Zola, or their incredible story. I can’t believe that’s the case, because it is such an inspirational one! Heather Camlot’s poetic writing, paired with Sophie Casson’s cool pastel illustrations, with dashes of fiery reds and glowing oranges, make you feel as though you’re watching a historical drama. The author’s notes on the affair and issues in the press today were just as essential, tying the story to the work we still have in improving our media, and in becoming more inclusive.

I give The Prisoner and the Writer a rating of 4.5 out of 5. I would recommend it to Grades 4 and up; to anyone trying to teach kids about disinformation, media, or persuasive writing; to those with a passion for history; and, of course, to anyone who hasn’t heard the sensational story of Emile Zola and  Alfred Dreyfus! 

 

~ Written by Bronte L., a Grade 9 student

Africville: Book launch (Toronto, ON)

I am sorry I missed posting about the book launch earlier this month (September 13) at the Africville Museum in Halifax but here's hoping that this launch will be successful in making more people aware of this heritage site and take the trouble to learn more about its history.

 •••••••••••••••••••

Join author 

Shauntay Grant

for a celebration of her new picture book

Africville

Written by Shauntay Grant

Illustrated by Eva Campbell

Groundwood Books

978-1-77306-043-9

32 pp.

Ages 4-7

September 2018

on

Saturday, September 29, 2018

from

2 - 4:30 p.m.

at

A Different Booklist

777-779 Bathurst Street

Toronto, ON

Learn more about the book with my review posted here today.

Africville

Written by Shauntay Grant

Illustrated by Eva Campbell

Groundwood Books

978-1-77306-043-9

32 pp.

Ages 4-7

September 2018

Though Africville, a Nova Scotia community founded by former slaves and Black Loyalists in the 1800s, is sadly a legacy of racial discrimination and abandonment, Shauntay Grant chooses to tell the story of community and all the goodness one child sees in Africville.

Africville's story begins with a young girl looking at the community as an observer, seeing its location

at the end of the ocean
 where waves come to rest
 and hug the harbor stones

to its structures

and the houses lay out like a rainbow

From Africville by Shauntay Grant, illus. by Eva Campbell

and the activity of children at play and at home, relaxing and busy. There is fishing and football, rafting, skipping and fishing, food, family and church. This is the Africville of home.

From Africville by Shauntay Grant, illus. by Eva Campbell

Take me to where the pavement ends
and family begins

Though Shauntay Grant shares the girl's observations of Africville as if the child is of that place and time, it only becomes evident at the very end that the girl is visiting the current historic site, looking at the community from a contemporary setting, envisioning the children and families as their lives may have been lived and Africville may have been.

From Africville by Shauntay Grant, illus. by Eva Campbell

But, while Africville is a piece of history of which countless books have been written, including several of youngCanLit, Shauntay Grant's book is not a journalist piece about the community's evolution and tragedies. She has written a joyful account of a neighbourhood of people. The colour in their lives comes from where they are, what they do, and how they feel. There is a respect for the past and for the present, and anticipation for the future.

where memories turn to dreams,
and dreams turn to hope,
and hope never ends.

Shauntay Grant is a poet who brings that sweetness of time and place to her free verse, transporting all readers to the humanity of Africville. Likewise, BC painter Eva Campbell uses vivid colours of acrylic on canvas to bring out Africville's joys and its sense of kinship even with those who would be unrelated. In Africville, everyone belongs.

The legacy that is Africville will spark deep discussions of history and racism but Shauntay Grant and Eva Campbell's Africville will take those discussion sideways to celebrate the Africville that was home and life to so many for over a century.