The Inside Story of Franklin the Turtle: From Book to Brand

If you're fortunate enough to be in Vancouver, British Columbia in January, you might want to check out this colloquium featuring Canadian picture book author, Paulette Bourgeois, creator of the Franklin the Turtle series.

Colloquium:  The Inside Story of Franklin the Turtle:    From Book to Brand

Presented by:   Paulette Bourgeois

Hosted by: The Master of Arts in Children's Literature Program, University of British Columbia

Date:   Thursday, January 26, 2012
Time:   4:30-5:30 p.m.
Location:   The Dodson Room, Room 302, Level 3
                  Chapman Learning Commons
                  Irving K. Barber Learning Centre
                  1961 East Mall
                  University of British Columbia

View the flyer here MACL Colloquium flyer

Happy 10th Birthday to . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Scholastic's DEAR CANADA series

By the end of 2011, twenty-nine diaries based on events in Canada's history will have been written by eleven authors for Scholastic Canada's series Dear Canada.   

From the tactile pleasure of their hardcovers, to the delicacy of the trademark ribbon bookmark, to the rough, deckle edges of the ivory pages and the intimacy of the story telling from the diarist's perspective, our young readers are carried into a Canada of a different time.

Congratulations, Scholastic Canada, for bringing Canadian history to life for many young readers. 

All books are listed at Scholastic Canada's website, Scholastic Canada: Dear Canada series book list
including Dear Canada's newest, That Fatal Night: The Titanic Diary of Dorothy Wilton by Sarah Ellis (Scholastic Canada, 2011)

Fostergirls

by Liane Shaw

Second Story Press

978-1-897187-90-6

256 pp.

Ages13-16

2011

Regardless of how romanticized the life of an Anne-of-Green-Gables orphan may seem, living apart from family, whether you have one or not, is hardly a life of fulfilment.  Sadie Thompson, 15, knows this all too well, having endured the moniker of "fostergirl" for the past 12 years, although she now has progressed to that of "grouphomegirl."

With moving onto her thirteenth school, Sadie is determined not to be singled out for help of any sort, believing that if she just keeps to herself until her sixteenth birthday, she can get out by requesting legal emancipation (freedom to get her own place and get a job).  But her plans not to engage with anyone are set awry.  At school, she meets chatterbox Rhiannon Kerry who chooses to make Sadie her friend, and then Ms Jackson, a guidance counsellor, who believes that a learning disability may be at the root of Sadie's school issues.  Both seem to see something beyond Sadie's "fostergirl" label.

At the group home, Sadie tries to stay under the radar of the other fostergirls: Alisha (who continuously proclaims that her alcoholic mom will be taking her home soon), Buffy (who regularly snaps and becomes vicious) and two inseparable younger girls whom Sadie calls the K's (Kendra and Krista). Sadie convinces herself that she really doesn't care to know what has brought them into care, including knowledge of her own story (beyond her memory of wandering door-to-door with a five-year-old brother).

Having and being a friend are foreign to Sadie.  So, when she is told that Rhiannon is also labelled a "fostergirl" (because her mom and dad are enthusiastic foster parents to numerous children) and is just "collecting" another foster child in Sadie, Sadie uses that to rationalize a return to her disaffection.  But a death, a tragic accident, some educational testing, and another transfer (because of the closing of their group home) all bring Sadie to a point she never envisioned for herself: feeling embraced by caring.

Liane Shaw's professional background in special education has provided her with the experiences and understanding to share the narratives of any number of Sadies.  However, it is Sadie's voice, one based in despondency and unrecognized courage, that prompted me to investigate for myself the extent of  issues troubling children in foster care.  Sadly, my cursory search suggests that Sadie's educational and socio-behavioural challenges are not unusual amongst foster children.  As such, I congratulate Shaw in providing such a convincing context by which the lives of many foster children are expressed, and the impetus for the reader to pursue greater understanding with empathy.

Check out Second Story Press' book trailer for Fostergirls on my Book Trailer page

Deborah Ellis' "No Ordinary Day": Theme for Write/Right to Read contest

 

Having recently (November 7, 2011) reviewed Deb Ellis' No Ordinary Day (Groundwood, 2011) and recognizing its valuable contribution to children's understanding of poverty and global issues, I was thrilled to see that World Literacy Canada's annual writing contest for children in Grades 4-6 is using Ellis' book as the basis for this year's contest.

Contest details and entry forms are available at Write/Right to Read contest here

Kudos (again) for Forest of Reading®

If you haven't guessed yet, I am a HUGE supporter (and promoter!) of the Ontario Library Association's Forest of Reading® programs.  How can you not love, adore, cherish, treasure, etc. (thesaurus busy today!) a program that provides for all readers (children, young adult and adult) and shares fantastic, outstanding, extraordinary, remarkable, exceptional, etc. literature that's new and Canadian?  You can't, or at least shouldn't.  And when another province is recognizing the Forest of Reading®'s positive influence on Ontario children, it's time to pay attention.

Read this December 1, 2011 Montreal Gazette article by Henry Aubin titled, "There's something to learn from bookish Ontario" to see how lucky Ontario readers are.
There's something to learn from bookish Ontario

2012 Hans Christian Andersen Awards

As this blog's Awards Page states, the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY) Canada submits nominations for IBBY's International Awards, one of which is the Hans Christian Andersen Award. This award is given to a living author and illustrator whose work has made a significant and meaningful contribution to children's literature.  On their website, IBBY maintains that the

"...Hans Christian Andersen Award is the highest international recognition given to an author and an illustrator of children's books." (1)

The 2012 Canadian nominees for this award are author Tim Wynne-Jones and illustrator Stéphane Jorisch.

Tim Wynne-Jones
Tim Wynne-Jones' writing can range from playful to tragic, but always with richness of imagination and heartfelt voice.  And, because his body of work is so extensive, I can only list those titles with which I am familiar and that's still a fair chunk:

Picture Books
Zoom Away (Douglas & McIntyre, 1991)

(2)

Zoom Upstream (Douglas & McIntyre, 1993)
The Last Piece of Sky (Douglas & McIntyre, 1993)
Pounce de Leon (Red Deer Press, 2008)

Short Story Collections
Lord of the Fries (Douglas & McIntyre, 1999 )
The Book of Changes (Groundwood, 1994)

Novels
Rex Zero, King of Nothing (Groundwood, 2007)
Rex Zero, The Great Pretender (Groundwood, 2009)
Rex Zero and the End of the World (Groundwood, 2006)
The Uninvited (Candlewick, 2009) 
The Thief in the House of Memory (Groundwood, 2004) 
The Boy in the Burning House (Douglas & McIntyre, 2000) 
The Maestro (Groundwood, 1996) 
Stephen Fair (Douglas & McIntyre, 1999)
Blink and Caution (Candlewick, 2011)

(3)

Stéphane Jorisch 
Stéphane Jorisch's detailed illustrations are produced using water colour, gouache and pen and ink, and have earned him the Governor-General's Literary Award for Children's Illustration in 2004 and 2008.

Books in which his illustrations can be enjoyed include:
My Father Knows the Names of Things by Jane Yolen (Simon & Schuster, 2010)
Mélanie Lapierre by Bertrand Gauthier (La courte échelle, 2010)
Rosie and Buttercup by Chieri Uegaki (Kids Can Press, 2008)
Mon pyjama et moi by Lucie Papineau (Dominique et compagnie, 2008)
The Owl and the Pussycat by Edward Lear (Kids Can Press, 2007)
Suki's Kimono by Chieri Uegaki (Kids Can Press, 2003)
As for the Princess?: a folktale from Quebec by Stéphane Jorisch (Annick, 2001)
Oma's Quilt by Paulette Bourgeios (Kids Can Press, 2001)


The Hans Christian Andersen Award will be announced March 19, 2012. 


(1) Retrieved from http://www.ibby.org/index.php?id=273 on November 30, 2011.

(2) Image retrieved from http://www.timwynne-jones.com/ on November 30, 2011.

(3) Image retrieved from http://www.kidscanpress.com/US/CreatorDetails.aspx?cid=106 on November 30, 2011.

The Hunchback Assignments

A recent posting from author Arthur Slade (thank you!) shared the sad news that the fourth book of this series, due out in the summer of 2012, will the final instalment in Modo's story. Gasp! To postpone the imminent feeling of loss I will definitely feel after reading that book, I'd like to share reviews of the first three books in this series, and urge you to get your hands on these great steampunk adventures.Official Hunchback Assignments website

The Hunchback Assignments
by Arthur Slade
HarperCollins Canada
978-1-55468-354-3
275 pp.
Ages 12+
2009

The Dark Deeps: The Hunchback Assignments II
by Arthur Slade
HarperCollins Canada
978-1-55468-357-4
256 pp.
Ages12+
2010

Empire of Ruins: The Hunchback Assignments III
by Arthur Slade
HarperCollins Canada
978-1-55468-358-1
256 pp.
Ages 12+
2011

In the first book, The Hunchback Assignments, Modo, the hunchback of the title, is rescued from a travelling show by the mysterious Mr. Socrates, who learned of the boy's unique ability to transform his appearance.  At Ravenscroft where Mr. Socrates has deposited Modo, he is trained in all skills, physical and intellectual, under the care and tutelage of Mrs. Finchley and Tharpa, his combat instructor.  Unfortunately, Modo also learns that his appearance can be frightening to others, but he becomes deft at manipulating it. At 14, Modo is abandoned by Mr. Socrates on the streets of London to undertake his first “assignment” involving a dangerous secret society, the Clockwork Guild.  The Guild, directed by Miss Hakkandottir, has recruited the evil Dr. Cornelius Hyde to help harness the anger of children to power a machine.  (It’s actually quite horrible when you think of it, but the horror is riveting.) During his assignment, Modo makes the acquaintance of Octavia (Tavia) Milkweed, another agent of Mr. Socrates, whose acting and daring impress him as much as her curiosity about him.

Modo continues to grapple with his deformity in The Dark Deeps while struggling with his growing need for companionship, brought on when he and Octavia must act as husband and wife to investigate the activities of French spy Colette Brunet and something called Ictineo. Without revealing too much, Modo uncovers an underwater steamship, a burgeoning underwater community, and an invisible saboteur.

In Empire of Ruins: The Hunchback Assignments III, Modo, Octavia, Mr. Socrates, Tharpa and Mrs. Finchley travel to Queensland, Australia to discover the nature of the God Face, associated with an Egyptian temple filled with treasure but attributed to driving men mad. In their ship, the Prince Albert, Modo and company, including the crew led by local balloonist, Lizzie, must deal with the Clockwork Guild in their airship, the Prometheus, and their arsenal of weaponry which now includes vicious mechanical birds capable of poisoning. The quest for the temple and the God Face may direct the plot, but it is the relationships between friends and foes and natives that fuels it.

Arthur Slade’s foray into steam-punk provides a brilliant vehicle for merging the sensibilities of Victorian England and the riveting science of the future while sharing the passage of Modo from a pawn but highly-skilled agent of Mr. Socrates to a young man who discovers (creates?) his identity, one solidly based in moral obligation and kindness.

And if those details aren't enough to make you delve into The Hunchback Assignments, then the deficiency is in my telling of their stories. Maybe the trailers created for Books I and II (see below) will sway your attention.

Uploaded by slade67 on Nov 10, 2009 on youtube.com 

Uploaded by slade67 on May 14, 2010 on youtube.com