I Found Hope in a Cherry Tree

Written by Jean E. Pendziwol

Illustrated by Nathalie Dion

Groundwood Books

978-1-77306-220-4

32 pp.

Ages 3-7

September 2020

With spring on the horizon and hope finally blooming, I can't think of a better time to review Jean E. Pendziwol's latest picture book, I Found Hope in a Cherry Tree, illustrated by Montreal's Nathalie Dion.

Who needs toys when you have the natural world as a play thing and mate? First, a little girl, with her beautiful Siamese cat, finds joy in the shadows created by sunshine pouring in through a window or a skylight.

From I Found Hope in a Cherry Tree by Jean E. Pendziwol, illus. by Nathalie Dion

Though she recognizes that they might only stay around for a short time–maybe minutes, maybe days–or even disappear, she knows the shadows will always come back.

From I Found Hope in a Cherry Tree by Jean E. Pendziwol, illus. by Nathalie Dion

When the child and cat head outside where...

I can hear the wind tell stories,

whispering

to the trees

making them

laugh and sigh.

...there is new play to be had. The weather and the natural world can bring quiet stories that whisper or dance, or rush through. And when in her bed, beneath a red blanket worn as a cape, when the stories creep in to nibble her toes, she's the one to tell the stories.

Bundled up in her colourful coat, red boots, and woolens, she imagines the snowflakes as bringing the flavour of clouds, even when icy and sharp. Though everything, whether shadows, stories or snowflakes, can have a downside, there is always hope.

But the cherry tree

knows this:

it is hope in autumn

that brings

flowers in spring.

From I Found Hope in a Cherry Tree by Jean E. Pendziwol, illus. by Nathalie Dion

There may be hope in the buds of the cherry tree but it's everywhere in Jean E. Pendziwol's story. It's in the shadow that changes shape and size, and can disappear but always comes back; in the wild stories that can be tamed; and in the snowflakes that can prickle and freeze but delight. Jean E. Pendziwol makes this child's imaginative play a wholly sensory experience of insight and appreciation for her world, even when unpredictable or ambiguous. And it's the hope for better or more or even the same goodness that enriches her play.

 

I know that Nathalie Dion has illustrated many picture books, including French-language ones, but this is my first for review and  I Found Hope in a Cherry Tree begs me to add her to my 2021 listings of Canadian illustrators of note. (Listings were already posted in 2013, 2015, 2017 and 2019.) Her art, a mix of traditional and digital paintings, then cut, transformed and manipulated in Photoshop, has an ethereal quality to it that suggests much of the play is in the child's head, not in her feet and hands. Even in the darkness of late-night storytelling, Nathalie Dion suggests a lightness of message with a child immersed in thought and perception.

Play can be more than activity. It can be in the soul that sees beyond the doing, the now, the ephemeral. It can be in the hope of possibilities and Jean E. Pendziwol and Nathalie Dion help us see this in I Found Hope in a Cherry Tree.

Stories of the Aurora

by Joan Marie Galat

Illustrated by Lorna Bennett

Whitecap Books

978-1-77050-210-9

68 pp.

Ages 9-13

November 2016

The magic light show that is the aurora–aurora borealis in the northern hemisphere and aurora australis in the southern hemisphere–has delighted, terrified and perplexed cultures through the world for centuries.  In Stories of the Aurora, her fifth book in the astronomical non-fiction series Dot to Dot in the Sky, Joan Marie Galat provides both the science behind the phenomena and the stories of ancient cultures told to explain them.

In addition to her discussion of plasma, magnetic fields, solar winds and the ionosphere, Joan Marie Galat shares with readers where and when to look for auroras, and how to find them.  But, it’s Joan Marie Galat’s examination of the different links of the aurora stories to the spirit world, including as omens, dancing spirits or fires, and the six stories from various northern cultures that bring a new perspective to a well-explained sky phenomenon.

The Inuit believed that the aurora was associated with the spirits of the dead, perhaps playing a kicking game, and a representation of a level of heaven.  The Norse have a story, here titled Skirnir’s Journey, in which Frey marries the frost giant maiden Gerda and it is their union that brings the lights dancing above the earth. Another Norse legend has the lights produced by the armour and shields of the Valkyries as they race across the sky to do Odin’s bidding.  The Greeks believed that the glowing lights were as a result of the goddess of the dawn, Eos.  The Wabanaki/Algonquin legend The Rainbow Belt relates how a chief follows his often-absent son and enters the Land of the Northern Lights where his son and others don bands around the heads and their waists that shine and stream wild lights as they play a ball game.  Finally, in Land of Eternal Memory, the Mi’kmaq and French-Canadians tell of a young man touched by magic and his beloved fairy wife, saddened by a separation, who are taken to a place where no one forgets those for whom they care.  There they are transformed into the aurora, shaking when they look down upon the Land of Forgetfulness, dancing with the joy of their togetherness. 

Stories of the Aurora is an interesting take on a non-fiction topic, providing both the science and the fiction of the aurora.  While I might have modified the organization of the text and filtered the stories to emphasize the origin tales of the aurora, the book balances the two aspects equitably and provides plenty of information for discussion of the subject.  

If you're in Edmonton this weekend, do go to the book launch for Stories of the Aurora at Telus World of Science.  There's lots going on, including a rocket launch! Details here including where to register for this free event.

Stories of the Aurora: Book launch (Edmonton, AB)

Here's a book launch like no other!

Author Joan Marie Galat 

will be launching her fifth and newest title 

in her Dot to Dot in the Sky series

Stories of the Aurora

by Joan Marie Galat

Illustrated by Lorna Bennett

Whitecap Books

978-1-77050-210-9

68 pp.

Ages 9-13

November 2016

on Saturday, December 3, 2016

1:30 p.m.

at Telus World of Science

11211-142 St. NW

Edmonton, AB

In addition to a reading, book signing, entertainment, activities,  
refreshments and door prizes, there will be a rocket launch!

The book, Stories of the Aurora, explains why the northern lights occur; features folklore from the Inuit, Norse, Romans, Mi’kmaq, Wabanaki, and other peoples; and includes back cover comments from a Canadian astronaut, NASA scientist, and CBC's Bob McDonald.

The event is free 

but register at

  https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/book-launch-dot-to-dot-in-the-sky-stories-of-the-aurora-tickets-28261098707

The Fabulous World of Mr. Fred

by Lili Chartrand

Illustrated by Gabrielle Grimard

Fitzhenry & Whiteside

978-1-55455-346-4

32 pp.

Ages 5+

September 2014

The award-winning Monde fabuleux de Monsieur Fred (Dominique et Compagnie, 2012) has finally been translated into English, introducing new readers to the beautifully illustrated story of friendship, imagination and stories.

Pierrot is a daydreamer, a young boy who loves stories and using his imagination.  Coming across an older man sitting on a park bench and reading an invisible book, the boy introduces himself and joins the man, Mr. Fred.  Instead of treating the man as crazy, Pierrot encourages Mr. Fred to share the stories in his book.  Invited back, Pierrot enjoys Mr. Fred's magical stories, delighting in their mesmeric quality and the joy the story-teller derives.  Finally Mr. Fred feels comfortable to disclose his own story, revealing a tragedy that leads him to meeting Pierrot.  And, though Pierrot tries to excite other children about Mr. Fred and his book, they laugh at him.  That is, all but one little girl, Lila.  Sadly Lila never meets Mr. Fred.  But his friendship and stories become the catalyst for Pierrot and Lila's friendship and future.

Lili Chartrand's lovely story about the healing nature of friendship and the gift of imagination is enhanced with Gabrielle Grimard's expressive illustrations. Her use of watercolours gives the images an ethereal fluidity, though the intense gouache and definition with pencil help ground the story in bright reality.  The Fabulous World of Mr. Fred easily melds intensity and lightness of text and pictures to share a story of similar depth and tenderness.

Mr. Zinger's Hat

by Cary Fagan

Illustrated by Dušan Petričić

Tundra Books

978-1-77-49-253-0

32 pp.

Ages 6-9

August 2012

Yep, under the hat is a story.  First it's under Mr. Zinger's Hat, the hat that old Mr. Zinger wears when he walks around the courtyard making up stories that he publishes.  And Leo's mom always tells him not to disturb Mr. Zinger when he is thinking. But when Mr. Zinger's hat gets carried off by Leo's errant ball and then miraculously lands on Leo's head, they look inside the hat for some explanation. 

As Mr. Zinger looks within his hat, he prompts Leo to share details about the story trying to get out: the character, his problem, what he does to solve it, and finally the ending.  Leo is very eager to help fill in the blanks of the story within the hat, and he seems to have all the answers, as well as a fertile imagination!  Ah, the sights that can be imagined and the sounds that can be heard from that hat are astounding.  When Mr. Zinger declares it is time to return to his desk, he vows that he will not write down that story, as it belongs to Leo.  Subsequently when Leo finds a new playmate, he tells her of a story inside his baseball cap, allowing her to help provide the details this time.

The magic of discovering a story from within - within a hat, within a heart, within one's imagination - is extraordinarily fulfilling, as Mr. Zinger knows, sharing that knowledge with Leo, who in turn shares with Sophie.  There is no pulling or prodding to reveal the story; the story is naturally drawn out, as natural as a conversation in one's imagination.  Cary Fagan has Mr. Zinger effortlessly converse with Leo as if they were old friends - no judgements, no manipulations, no expectations.  And the story comes as it comes and it is real and relevant and inspiring.  Mr. Zinger becomes the iconic storyteller (looking and sounding all too similar to Canadian children's author and storyteller, Aubrey Davis!), surprised and impressed with his own story, and sharing that astonishment with his listeners.  How could Leo help but be mesmerized?

Award-winning illustrator Dušan Petričić, who has collaborated with Cary Fagan on several picture books including My New Shirt (Tundra, 2007) and Jacob Two-Two on the High Seas (Tundra, 2009), does profound credit to Cary Fagan's story, capturing Leo's awe with the light touch of one who knows this boy well.  I fully expect to see Leo playing ball outside the local school in the city.  Readers may notice that when Leo is formulating his story (from Mr. Zinger's hat), Dušan Petričić's illustrations change from his rich, highly-textured water-coloured images to the simple, two-dimensional drawings of a less sophisticated artist, say a child.  Obviously Dušan Petričić also knows whose story it is and is able to help young readers see it as well.

I may have found Mr. Zinger's Hat on a shelf, not under a brim, but I am absolutely delighted that Cary Fagan was able to see beneath some hat and then invite Dušan Petričić to use his high-powered vision to discern the textures, colours and shapes that must have lain hidden within as well.  That's some special headgear and insight, as special as Mr. Zinger's Hat.