Never Silent: A Hiroshima Survivor's Story

Written by Setsuko Thurlow and Kathy Lowinger

Illustrated by Michelle Theodore

Annick Press

978-1-77321-985-1

64 pp.

Ages 11+

August 2025 

 

Setsuko Thurlow née Nakamura was born in Kojijn-machi, an eastern part of Hiroshima, in 1932. Her family had been samurai, and she'd had a rich childhood of family and education before the war came. With it, everything changed.

From Never Silent: A Hiroshima Survivor's Story, written by Setsuko Thurlow and Kathy Lowinger, illustrated by Michelle Theodore

As happened worldwide, daily life had to accommodate the threat of attack and the rationing to support military efforts. Hiroshima, a bustling city, was an important transportation and industrial hub and, with its port, it became a critical military harbour. Young children were sent away, food was rationed, and the people were encouraged to make sacrifices for "the glory of the country." (p. 25) As a thirteen-year-old, Setsuko and other girls were recruited to decode messages. August 6, 1945 was her first day as a decoder. She was at army headquarters in Hiroshima when the first atomic bomb was detonated on their city.

From Never Silent: A Hiroshima Survivor's Story, written by Setsuko Thurlow and Kathy Lowinger, illustrated by Michelle Theodore

Setsuko Thurlow's recollections of being buried in the rubble of a collapsed building, helping the countless burned and blinded, being reunited with some family and watching others suffer and die are horrific. And as a child, she lived this horror. Her parents set an unimaginable example of fortitude and courage. Still when those who had survived began to experience mysterious illnesses and die, there was new grief and confusion.

From Never Silent: A Hiroshima Survivor's Story, written by Setsuko Thurlow and Kathy Lowinger, illustrated by Michelle Theodore

Setsuko Thurlow's story does not end with the bombing of Hiroshima. She speaks of the aftermath including Japan's surrender and the occupation by U.S. and British Commonwealth forces, and the call for the abolition of nuclear weapons by herself and other Hibakusha (Japanese for explosion-affected persons) and activist groups worldwide.

 

The story of the bombing of Hiroshima and also Nagasaki is not an easy one. With so much suffering and devastation, any discussion would be brimming with tragedy, emotional distress, and worse. This story is even more so because it is told from the perspective of Setsuko Thurlow, herself a survivor. But Setsuko Thurlow and Kathy Lowinger go beyond the bombing itself and give the reader history of Hiroshima, of World War II, and of Setsuko Thurlow's activism and the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to the International Campaign for the Abolishment of Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) with which she is involved. (She delivered the Nobel lecture upon receiving the prize.) 

From Never Silent: A Hiroshima Survivor's Story, written by Setsuko Thurlow and Kathy Lowinger, illustrated by Michelle Theodore

While much of Never Silent: A Hiroshima Survivor's Story is illustrated with countless photographs and images of newspapers and other documents, Edmonton's Michelle Theodore provides artwork that elevates the book from documentation to personal. She uses ink and watercolour markers to create sombre and evocative illustrations that depict both deeply personal and deeply poignant scenes. Her focus is on the Japanese setting and people, but all converges on what they are experiencing whether it be childhood joy, distress with tragedy, or compassion.

 

The 80th anniversary of the dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima was commemorated this past August which is when this book was released. Because many of the Hibakusha are elderly, their stories are precious recollections to inform us and encourage action for peace. Setsuko Thurlow's story in Never Silent gives us a unique perspective but also a comprehensive one by embedding it in the history of Hiroshima, World War II, and the peace movements against nuclear weaponry. It is a touching and enlightening read, and it is one we would be wise from which to learn.

Momma's Going to March

Written by Jennifer Maruno

Illustrated by Vivian Rosas

Groundwood Books

978-1-77306-551-9

32 pp.

Ages 3-6

August 2024

Protest marches have long been a part of history. They are a kind of activism that can inspire change. In a series of vignettes through different periods of time, Jennifer Maruno and Vivian Rosas show us protest marches that brought mother and child out to fight for positive societal change. 

 

In  the first spreads, a mother and her daughter prepare signs for their march for freedom. It's a march for a myriad of civil rights, from voting and integrated schools and decent housing. It's a 1960s march by Black Americans for recognition of their equal rights and the racial discrimination they continued to endure.

From Momma's Going to March, written by Jennifer Maruno, illustrated by Vivian Rosas

Then in the late 1970s, a child and her momma, both dressed in white, join a march for equality, advocating for the ERA (Equal Rights Amendment), emboldened to fight for equal rights for women, from voting to employment. 

From Momma's Going to March, written by Jennifer Maruno, illustrated by Vivian Rosas

There's a pro-peace and anti-war march, sadly one which we must repeat with each new conflict. There is one advocating for clean water in Indigenous communities, and another for the environment by initiating a global climate strike. In each case, a mother and child head out to march to encourage positive change.

From Momma's Going to March, written by Jennifer Maruno, illustrated by Vivian Rosas

Jennifer Maruno's message of "march, March, MARCH" is loud and clear, and she adds to that message with notes about what makes a march, like signs and clothing, flags and banners, as well as identifying the historical marches represented in her story. In each case, her emphasis is on the relationship between mother and child, with one inspiring the other to do good by fighting for something important. It may be promoting social justice or bringing attention to causes too often neglected or unanswered but it's always about doing something. Whether it's walking or carrying a sign, riding in a wagon or shouting slogans, these mommas and their ones are community activists at a grass roots level.

Vivian Rosas, the Toronto artist who also illustrated Queer History A to Z: 100 Years of LGBTQ+ Activism, seems to have found a social justice niche for her art, though I suspect her style is equally effective across all genres. Her digital illustrations, though, strongly support diverse communities, depicting people of all ages, ethnicities, races, abilities, and more, making for inclusive marches and encouraging empowerment. Moreover, Vivian Rosas's vibrant colours and strong shapes lend themselves to Jennifer Maruno's messaging about standing up and marching for important causes.

 

Mommas, and Pappas and little sisters and big brothers and everyone, have always marched to do right and make people see and hear what needs to be done. Now, with Jennifer Maruno and Vivian Rosas's story of Momma's Going to March, young readers can see the big impact a little marching can kickoff.

What is Peace?: Book launch (Toronto)

Another Story Bookshop 

and 

the Toronto Public Library

present

award-winning author and illustrator

of

Wallace Edwards

for the launch of his newest book

What is Peace?

Text and illustrations by Wallace Edwards

North Winds Press/Scholastic Canada

978-1-4431-4843-6

32 pp.

Ages 4-10

November 2016

on 

Saturday, November 5, 2016

at 2 p.m.

at

Lillian H. Smith Library

(branch of the Toronto Public Library)

239 College Street

Toronto, ON

Book reviewed here on CanLit for Little Canadians

What is Peace?

Text and illustrations by Wallace Edwards

North Winds Press/Scholastic Canada

978-1-4431-4843-6

32 pp.

Ages 4-10

November 2016

If you’re seeing the red felt poppy pins on coats, you’ll be starting to think about Remembrance Day and war and peace.  The concept of peace is a prodigious one.  Imagine attemping to encompass all aspects of peace in a single book, especially a picture book?  Fortunately, with Wallace Edwards at the helm of that undertaking, and the use of his glorious illustrations and a multitude of questions to guide this reflective discussion of peace, enlightenment is on the horizon.

Each double spread has one page of text–a series of questions, culminating with a final line “What is peace?”–and a full page illustration.  From a bird on a cherry blossom branch with accompanying questions on the temporal and spatial nature of peace–old, new, near, far– there follows a range of quiet and evocative illustrations and questions about peace’s inclusivity, its study, its sensory nature, as well as expressions and attributes of peace.  Wallace Edwards covers all nature of peace without ever defining what it is, relating to this in the appending text titled “What Do You See?” (pg. 30), in which he admits that there are no right or wrong answers.

From What is Peace? by Wallace Edwards

In the preface to the book, Wallace Edwards discusses how, after being asked to do a series of paintings on the theme of peace, he found it himself meditating on the question that is the title.  And after recognizing how big a question it is, Wallace Edwards hopes that the book “inspires you to think and talk and maybe draw or write or sing about what peace means to you and the other creatures who share this world.” (pg. 3) Ever thoughtful, Wallace Edwards inspires with his words and artwork of all nature of creature and substance: mandrill, luna moth, zebra, crumbling wall, rhinos, and the ubiquitous white bird evident on every illustration.

By recognizing the distinctiveness of peace and a commonality to it as well, Wallace Edwards has shown us the way that is peace without actually driving his own definition of it onto the reader.  What is Peace? is an eloquent discussion starter and contemplative tome for a month of remembrance and loss and hope.

From What is Peace? by Wallace Edwards

Look for my post tomorrow about the book launch for What is Peace? in Toronto this weekend.

Rights of the Child: Social Justice Book List #5

The United Nations Convention of the Rights of the Child which consists of 54 articles and two optional protocols helps guide UNICEF (United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund) in its mandate to protect the rights of children.   This extensive document which can be accessed at http://www.unicef.org/crc/ is a set of minimum entitlements and freedoms that should be respected by all governments.  Some of these rights include the following:

• parental guidance;
• survival and development;
• identity;
• freedom of expression;
• privacy;
• protection from violence;
• health and treatment;
• social services;
• education;
• leisure, play and culture;
• adequate standard of living; and
• freedom from exploitation.

While many books demonstrate children's rights, the books listed below have a significant focus on these rights.

Picture Books

The Flute
by Rachna Gilmore
Illustrated by Pulak Biswas
Fitzhenry & Whiteside
32 pp.
Ages 3-7
2011 

Gift Days
by Kari-Lynn Winters
Illustrated by Stephen Taylor
Fitzhenry & Whiteside
32 pp.
Ages 7+
2012

The Little Yellow Bottle
by Angèle Delaunois
Illustrated by Christie Delezzen
Second Story Press
24 pp.
Ages 6-19
2011

The Roses in My Carpets
by Rukhsana Khan
Illustrated by Ronald Himler
Fitzhenry & Whiteside
32 pp.
Ages 7-9
2004

Fiction

Alexandria of Africa

by Eric Walters

Doubleday Canada/Random House Canada

200 pp.

Ages 10-14

2008

    

 All Good Children

by Catherine Austen

Orca Book Publishers
300 pp.
Ages 14+
2011

Chanda's Secrets

by Allan Stratton

Annick Press

193 pp.

Ages 12-15

2004

Dear Jo: The Story of Losing Leah...and Searching for Hope

by Christina Kilbourne

Lobster Press

188 pp.

Ages 10-15

2007

Factory Girl

by Barbara Greenwood

Kids Can Press

136 pp.

Ages 9-14

2007

The Paper House

by Lois Peterson

Orca Book Publishers

108 pp.

Ages 8-11

2012

The Tiffin

by Mahtab Narsimhan

Dancing Cat Books

190 pp.

AGes 9-12

2011

Wanting Mor

by Rukhsana Khan

Groundwood Books

192 pp.

Ages 10-14

2009

Watching Jimmy

by Nancy Hartry

Tundra Books

144 pp.

Ages 10-14

2009

Non-Fiction

Children of War: Voices of Iraqi Refugees
by Deborah Ellis
Groundwood Books
128 pp.
Ages 10 and up
2009
 

Dangerous Crossings!: Ten Daring Treks Across Land, Sea, and Air 
by Antonia Banyard
Annick Press
146 pp.
Ages 10-13
2007

If You Could Wear My Sneakers! : A Book about Children’s Rights
by Sheree Fitch
Illustrated by Darcia Labrosse
Doubleday Canada
32 pp.
Ages 8-11
1997

I Have the Right to Be a Child
by Alain Serres
Illustrated by Aurélia Fronty
Translated by Helen Bixter
Groundwood Books
48 pp.
Ages 4-7
2012

Last Airlift: A Vietnamese Orphan’s Rescue from War
by Marsha Skrypuch
Pajama Press
99 pp.
Ages 10-15
2011

Mimi's Village and How Basic Health Care Transformed It
by Katie Smith Milway
Illustrated by Eugenie Fernandes
Kids Can Press
32 pp.
Ages 8-11
2012

Our Stories, Our Songs: African Children Talk about AIDS
by Deborah Ellis

Fitzhenry & Whiteside

104 pp.

Ages 12+

2005

Shannen and the Dream for a School
by Janet Wilson
Second Story Press

206 pp.

Ages 8+
2011

SOS: Stories of Survival: True Tales of Disaster, Tragedy, and Courage
by Ed Butts
Tundra Books
120 pp.
Ages 9-12
2007 

This Child, Every Child: A Book About the World's Children
by David J. Smith
Kids Can Press
36 pp.
Ages 9-12
2011

When I Get Older: The Story Behind “Wavin’ Flag”
by K'NAAN and Sol Sol
Illustrated by Rudy Gutierrez
Tundra Books
32 pp.
Ages 6+
2012

When Children Play: The Story of Right to Play
by Gina McMurchy-Barber
Fitzhenry & Whiteside
48 pp.
Ages 10+
2013

Peace: Social Justice Book List #3

Peace can be experienced as a global issue but also an internal one as one searches to attain inner peace. These youngCanLit books support the topic of Peace in social justice teaching.

Picture Books

The Boy in the Attic
by Paul Yee

Illustrated by Gu Xiong

Groundwood Books

31 pp.

Ages 6-8

1998

The Chinese Violin

by Madeline Thien

Illustrated by Joe Chang

Whitecap Books

32 pp.

Ages 4-8

2001

Jack the Bear

by Christine Leist

Simply Read Books

40 pp.

Ages 3-7

2009

Proud as a Peacock, Brave as a Lion
by Jane Barclay
Illustrated by Renné Benoit
Tundra
24 pp.
Ages 4-8
2009

Red Parka Mary
by Peter Eyvindson
Illustrated by Rhian Brynjolson
Pemmican Publications
44 pp.
Ages 4-8
1996

The Roses in my Carpets
by Rukhsana Khan
Illustrated by Ronald Himler
Fitzhenery & Whiteside
32 pp.
Ages 7-9
2004

A Screaming Kind of Day
by Rachna Gilmore
Illustrated by Gordon Sauve
Fitzhenry & Whiteside
38 pp.
Ages 5-8
1999

Fiction

Betrayed: The Legend of Oak Island
by Christopher Dinsdale
Napoleon
292 pp.
Ages 10+
2009

Darkest Light

by Hiromi Goto

Illustrated by Jillian Tamaki

Razorbill (Penguin Group) 

327 pp.

Ages 12-15

2012

The Feathered Cloak

by Sean Dixon

Key Porter

196 pp.

Ages 9-12

2007

Good-bye Marianne: A Story of Growing Up in Nazi Germany

by Irene N. Watts

Tundra

105 pp.

Ages 9-12

1998

A Hare in the Elephant's Trunk

by Jan L. Coates
Red Deer Press

291 pp.

Ages 13+
2010

Ned Mouse Breaks Away

by Tim Wynne-Jones

Illustrated by Dušan Petričić

Groundwood Books

68 pp.

Ages 8+

2003

Peacekeepers

by Dianne Linden

Coteau Books

193 pp.

Ages 11-14

2003

The Reunion
by Jacqueline Pearce
Orca Book Publishers
92 pp.
Ages 7-10
2002

 




Rex Zero, King of Nothing

by Tim Wynne-Jones

Groundwood Books

224 pp.

Ages 9-12

2007

Shattered

by Eric Walters

Viking Canada

192 pp.

Ages 12-16

2006

The Shepherd's Granddaughter

by Anne Laurel Carter

Groundwood Books/House of Anansi

222 pp.

Ages 11+

2008

Non-Fiction

Hana's Suitcase Anniversary Album (A Holocaust Remembrance Series for Young Readers)
by Karen Levine
Second Story Press
176 pp.
Ages 9-13
2012

Hana's Suitcase
by Karen Levine
Second Story Press
120 pp.
Ages 9-12
2002

Hiding Edith: A True Story (A Holocaust Remembrance Series for Young Readers) 
by Kathy Kacer
Second Story Press
151 pp.
Ages 9-11
2006

If I Had a Million Onions
by Sheree Fitch
Illustrated by Yayo
Tradewind Books
63 pp.
Ages 5-9
2005

In Flanders Field: The Story of the Poem by John McCrae

by Linda Granfield

Illustrated by Janet Wilson

Lester Publishing

32 pp.

Ages 9+

1995

Last Airlift: A Vietnamese Orphan’s Rescue from War

by Marsha Skrypuch

Pajama Press

99 pp.

Ages 10-15

2011

My Childhood Under Fire: A Sarajevo Diary

by Nadja Halilbegovich

Kids Can Press

120 pp.

Ages 10-12

2006

Nobel's Women of Peace
by Michelle Benjamin and Maggie Mooney
Second Story Press
146 pp.
Ages 10+
2008
 

One Peace: True Stories of Young Activists

by Janet Wilson

Orca Book Publishers

48 pp.

Ages 8-12

2008 

Three Wishes: Palestinian and Israeli Children Speak

by Deborah Ellis 

Groundwood Books

110 pp.

Ages 11-17

2004

 

Yeny and the Children for Peace

by Michelle Mulder

Second Story Press

118 pp.

Ages 8-13

2008