I Love My Purse

Written by Belle DeMont

Illustrated by Sonja Wimmer

Annick Press

978-1-55451-954-5

36 pp.

Ages 5-8

September 2017

Children will be picking out their first-day-of-school clothes soon.  They'll be looking for clothes and accessories that make them feel good and look good but they'll also be thinking about how others will see them.  Charlie, the boy in I Love My Purse, is familiar with this process.  When he looks up at his sky-high (he stands on 4 chairs and 5 pillows and 4 books to reach the top) closet which is a colourful menagerie of clothes, footwear and more, he sees "nothing he liked.  Nothing except the bright red purse that his grandma had let him have." Until now, he'd only worn it viewing himself in the mirror.

From I Love My Purse 

by Belle DeMont 

illus. by Sonja Wimmer

When his hipster dad sees him, he questions why his son is wearing a purse.  Honestly, Charlie tells him, "'Cause I want to." Of course his dad's initial response is to tell him that boys do not carry purses and that one can't always wear what they love, like him and his Hawaiian shirts, inappropriate for his suit and tie workplace.  At school, his classmate Charlotte questions him similarly, declaring that, although she loves face paint, she can't come to school wearing it.  Charlie replicates his response: "'Cause I want to" and "Because I love my purse."  He is polite enough, however, to offer that maybe he'd go along with their suggestions of a backpack the next day.

This continues when a group of older boys led by Sam approaches Charlie in the school cafeteria.  Sam's response is about wishing he could eat actual food rather than the slop served up at school but he can't very well march into the kitchen and start cooking. The crossing guard's feedback is perhaps the warmest.

"Well, I love it!" said the crossing guard.  "Have I ever told you about my favorite sparkly shoes?"

From I Love My Purse 

by Belle DeMont 

illus. by Sonja Wimmer

The next day, everyone who'd questioned him the day before has relaxed their stance, showing a hint of their own preferences, though still somewhat shy.  It's not until the third day that his father is wearing his Hawaiian shirt, Charlotte has her face painted like a tiger, and Sam's cooking risotto.  And the crossing guard?  He's wearing his sparkly shoes that send Charlie on another foray into proclaiming his individuality.

From I Love My Purse 

by Belle DeMont 

illus. by Sonja Wimmer

Nova Scotian writer Belle DeMont and German illustrator Sonja Wimmer (whose art you might recognize from Mahtab Narsimhan's Looking for Lord Ganesh, 2016) give a jazzy feel to the text and illustrations.  Perhaps it's the fluidity of the art and the prose, or maybe it's Charlie's "cool cat" attitude.  From the swinging purse to the pliable characters (both in body and disposition), Belle DeMont and Sonja Wimmer have given us a wonderful story about self-expression.

Charlie may love that bright red purse but I love Charlie for his refreshing and honest appreciation for  that tote that others question, ridicule and even condemn him for carrying.  For Charlie, carrying that purse is nothing abnormal, it's just something he does.  It's sweet, it's honest and it's Charlie.  And it should be all of us.  The message of I Love My Purse is about fulfilling a need for self-expression in dress or action and it's paramount.  Forget the stereotyping that tells us a boy carrying a purse is inappropriate. Haven't we gone beyond that narrow-minded thinking?  Charlie has.  Let's all embrace our inner Charlie and bear our purses proudly, regardless of gender.

Mayann's Train Ride

by The Honourable Mayann Francis

Illustrated by Tamara Thiébaux Heikalo

Nimbus Publishing

978-1-77108-348-5

32 pp.

Ages 4-9

October 2015

The Honourable Mayann Francis, first female African-Nova Scotian to hold the position of  Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia, was once a young girl who took a memorable train trip with her family and, while seeing important sights, learned what it means to be part of a warm and open-hearted community.  This is her story.

In the 1950s, when she was just 9 years old, Mayann accompanied her parents and sister Isabel on a trip to visit family in New York City where her father, George Francis, archpriest of the African Orthodox Church of Whitney Pier (Sydney), Cape Breton would also speak at a Harlem church.  This was a big deal for the little girl for, though she lived in a diverse community that exposed her to people from faraway places, she was going to travel by overnight train, stop in Montreal to visit old friends and, almost most importantly, she got to carry a very-grown-up purse she had purchased using her savings.  

There is a reason I write “almost most importantly.” Though she appreciates all who notice the beautiful green purse in which she carries a small notebook recording all she experiences on her trip, “dreaming of showing off the purse to my family in New York”, Mayann she loses it on a subway after a trip to the Bronx Zoo.  No matter the efforts to locate it or to console Mayann, it “was gone forever, along with the five-dollar bill and my notebook full of memories.”  However, the congregation at the church in Harlem help Mayann see that it’s people that make things important, not the items themselves.

Going beyond one’s comfort zone to experience new and wonderful places and people is what Mayann’s Train Ride is all about but it’s also about milestones in one’s life, whether it be carrying one’s first purse or experiencing the Statue of Liberty or seeing your first black doll.  The Honourable Mayann Francis shares these moments with young readers and offers a sweet story of humble beginnings for a woman who achieved so much.  I don’t know Tamara Thiébaux Heikalo’s artwork but I should have as Mayann’s Train Ride is the ninth book for which she has provided illustrations.  Her ink-outlined watercolours provide a charming nostalgic quality to the story, perfect for the 1950s.  From the girls’ clothing and the bows in their hair, to their mother’s prim and proper suits, and of course the purses, Tamara Thiébaux Heikalo gets the tone and the colours and the quality of the setting and characters perfect, as are her depictions of important places like Notre-Dame Basilica in Montreal.

Mayann’s Train Ride may be a trip down memory lane for The Honourable Mayann Francis but it will read as a new adventure for children who will recognize its importance, right down to the little green purse.