Brief Interview with...me!

Please may I brag?

I was recently interviewed by Kay Weisman, a moderator (with Ellen Fu) for the blog of the Canadian Library Association's network, Canadian Libraries Are Serving Children (CLASC).  CLASC is an online hub where children's services librarians and staff may connect and share resources and ideas relating to books, programs, and all things related to children's literature. 

Kay and I had been fellow committee members for the Canadian Library Association's Book of the Year for Children Award (BOYCA) for several years, finally meeting at the CLA conference in Edmonton in 2010. (You have no idea how often librarians and teacher-librarians never meet, communicating so much online.) That was the year that Nancy Hartry's book Watching Jimmy (Tundra, 2009) won the Book of the Year for Children's Award.  

If you haven't had a chance to read this book, please do so, to see why it won BOYCA and was a finalist for the Geoffrey Bilson Award for Historical Fiction for Young People (2010), the 2010 TD Canadian Children's Literature Award and the Golden Oak Award (2010).



The interview was originally posted on the CLASC blog at  https://claclasc.wordpress.com/2012/01/14/clasc-profile-helen-kubiw/.  However, since the Canadian Library Association disbanded in January 2016, the CLASC blog has been removed.

I have posted the interview below:

Helen Kubiw—a self-described Canadian, teacher, librarian, reader, reviewer, selection committee member, writers' festival volunteer, enthusiastic promoter of great literature—is a teacher librarian in Guelph, Ontario and creator of CANLIT FOR LITTLECANADIANS http://canlitforlittlecanadians.blogspot.com/, a delightful blog promoting Canadian literature for youth. We caught up with her recently during a rare quiet moment.



CLASC: Helen, thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to talk with us. First of all, what prompted you to start your new blog this fall and how do you find the time to post so often—and so thoughtfully?

Although I’ve always been a reader, it wasn’t until recently that I found that sharing my reading with others was equally fulfilling.  I’d be on a book buying trip at S&B Books or at a board-organized take-away show and I would find myself saying over and over again, “You’ve got to read this one” or “I think this is even better than Twilight and it’s Canadian” or “The newest Arthur Slade is out now.”  Through my participation on selection committees for the Ontario Library Association’s Forest of Reading and on the Canadian Library Association’s Book of the Year for Children Award, as well as keeping up with reviews in Quill & Quire and CM: Canadian Review of Materials and other blogs, I was well aware of the wealth of Canadian literature for young people.  But many other readers, teacher-librarians, children, teens, and parents, were not, making them more vulnerable to the books that received the most hype: large displays at bookstores, movie tie-ins, TV spin-offs, advertising, and the plethora of reviews of such.  CANLIT FOR LITTLECANADIANS is my way of sharing my reading with others, in the hopes that they will do the same, and bring kidsCanlit the hype it truly deserves.

I have to admit that another reason that I started this blog is to pursue my interest in Canadian children’s literature but along a different avenue.  My recent experiences as a teacher-librarian have not been fulfilling.  I love being a teacher-librarian but most of my time is scheduled for teaching other subjects or providing planning time for teachers.  Feeling that my skills as a teacher-librarian are undervalued and consequently underused by administration, I’m using my blog to pursue other career choices.  So, if you know anyone who is looking for a promoter of great Canadian children’s lit who reads and reviews constantly, be sure to pass along my name.



CLASC: Your site has wonderful content—author and publisher Links, book trailers, and book awards for Canadian young people. Who you see as your web audience? Parents? Professionals? Kids? Have you ever used the site as a resource with your students?

I really hope that any reader of books for young people – teachers, teacher-librarians, parents, students, grandparents, publishers, authors, reviewers world-wide – would take the time to regularly peruse CANLIT FOR LITTLECANADIANS to direct their reading choices and become accustomed to always searching out Canadian titles first.  Becoming familiar with the authors and the publishers who are responsible for these wonderful books is key to recognizing their value and encouraging followers.  Of course, I have included a direct link on my school library website to CANLIT FOR LITTLECANADIANS.  If I can’t be there personally to tell them about the books, then I’ll let the blog speak for me.



CLASC: What forgotten gem or unsung story are you promoting this season?

I would have a hard time picking only one book that I believe fits that bill but three books published in 2011 that I think are still coming into their own are:
True Blue by Deborah Ellis from Pajama Press; The Tiffin by Mahtab Narsimhan from Dancing Cat Books; and Little Jane Silver by Adira Rotstein from Dundurn.  I will also be promoting Making Bombs for Hitler from Marsha Skrypuch (Scholastic Canada) but that’s not scheduled for release until February, 2012.

Festival of Trees™ ticket sales

DON'T MISS OUT on Canada's largest literary event for young people!

With the Ontario Library Association's Forest of Reading®

programs currently running in Ontario schools, many students are already anticipating the culminating event, 
  Festival of Trees™

 TORONTO

The Festival of Trees™ which will be held over two days in May at Toronto's Harbourfront will host over 8000 young readers.  This wonderful opportunity celebrates our children's love of reading with numerous workshops with authors and illustrators; music performances; buskers; activity tents for crafts, etc.; games for prizes; educational displays; book purchases at S & B's festival tent; author signings; and, of course, the announcement of the winners.

The two days' awards are separated, as follows:

May 15, 2012 : Blue Spruce, Red Maple and White Pine

May16, 2012:  Silver Birch
As events are often sold out, early purchase of tickets is recommended.

For Registered Forest Members:

Tickets go on sale Friday, January 13, 2012 at 8:00 a.m. at Harbourfront Box Office or by phone at 416.973.4000 (press 1 )

 

For the Public:

Tickets will go on sale in February.

The Festival which was originally only held in Toronto will present inaugural events in Ottawa and Thunder Bay this year.

OTTAWA

Ottawa's first Festival of Trees will be held on May 17, 2012 at Carleton University

One thousand tickets for the Silver Birch and Red Maple ceremonies are available for $10 directly from the Ontario Library Association

THUNDER BAY

Similarly, Thunder Bay's first Festival of Trees will take place on May 18, 2012 at the Canadian Lakehead Exhibition.  One thousand tickets, available on a first-come-first-serve basis, are available directly from the Ontario Library Association

Further details about the Festival of Trees can be found at the OLA Festival web site 

Chance to Dance for You

Written by Gail Sidonie Sobat

Great Plains Teen Fiction

978-1-926531-11-3

172 pp.

Ages 14+

2011

Although Ian Trudeau has only outed himself to his family and best friend, Tilley, his dance skills, specifically ballet, make him a target of homophobic slurs, vandalism and violence in his very suburban high school.  Unfortunately, one of the worst offenders is Jess Campeau, a football and hockey athlete, on whom Ian has a crush.  Fortunately, Jess seems to have issues with his own sexuality, compelling him to take Ian aside on two different occasions and kiss him, while still denouncing being gay.

When Ian agrees to keep Jess' secret in return for Jess discontinuing his insults of gays and girls, he also promises to be his friend and sounding board if Jess feels he needs to talk.  That courageous offer opens a door for Jess, allowing him to get closer to Ian, while still determined to keep their relationship completely hidden.  After a romantic evening during which Jess asks Ian to dance for him, Jess discretely attends a dress rehearsal for a spring show of Ian's.  But, Jess' military dad finds a copy of the programme, furious at its implications (i.e., Jess isn't a real man) and beats up his son, who finds refuge for the night with Ian and his mom.  Surprisingly, the next day begins Jess' avoidance of Ian and his public dating of a girl, Brittany, to temper his dad's anger and drunken violence.

Hurt, angry and lonely, Ian looks for ways to reconnect with Jess.  And, although Ian is gently persuaded to recognize that he is very fortunate to have unconditional support to be himself, not everyone feels able or willing to fight for their rights to be different.  But, this lesson is a painful one for him to learn and then accept.

While many may emphasize the gay relationship in Chance to Dance for You, I see it as a love story wrapped in prejudice.  Jess learns from his father and his jock peers that he shouldn't be attracted to Ian, but he is, hence his conflict.  Ian knows the battles he faces daily, even with undeniable caring and support, but he is convinced that love can conquer all.  Gail Sidonie Sobat's storyline, so authentic in its voice and details, emphasizes the boys' attempts to resolve these conflicts while staying true to themselves and remaining unbroken, if possible.  First loves always have a way of taking a little bit away from you while almost always helping you gain something: maturity, strength, humility, insight, friendship, or wisdom. 
 
Read the book jacket endorsements by Brian Francis (author of Fruit, ECW Press, 2004) and Glen Huser (author of Stitches, Groundwood, 2003), Canadian authors of books in which male protagonists must deal with their differences, for their succinct and touching expressions about Chance to Dance for You.  Then, read this very real and bittersweet story that juxtaposes love with prejudice, courage with fear, and sensitivity with harshness, all to enhance our understanding of what it means to be a man.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ultraviolet

by R. J. Anderson

Carolrhoda Lab

978-0-7613-7408-4

303 pp.

Ages 14+

2011

R. J. Anderson, author of Faery Rebels: Spell Hunter (HarperCollins Canada, 2009) and Wayfarer (HarperCollins Canada, 2010), continues her foray into speculative fiction, but this time immersed in the issue of youth mental health, a reality that could read like fiction.

Waking up in a hospital, Alison Jeffries learns quickly that she has been admitted to a psychiatric department after a psychotic episode that had her harming herself and assaulting  a police officer.  Upon her transfer to Pine Hills, a youth facility, she realizes that another Gr. 10 student from her school, Tori Beaugrand, disappeared on the same day of Alison's crisis, and that many believe that Alison had something to do with the girl's disappearance.  Of course, it also might be because Alison claimed that she'd made Tori disintegrate.

Because of her interactions with Constable Deckard (who returns several times to question her memory of the day's events), her therapy sessions with Dr. Minta (who seems to see every action of Alison's in terms of psychoses), visits from her family (or lack thereof), and a visit from her best friend, Melissa, Alison spends much of her weeks in Pine Hills recalling that day's events, particularly her memory of seeing Tori vanish before her eyes.  She believes that she might have always been "crazy", recollecting her mother's reaction to her sharing the colours and shapes and smells she associates with random items and feelings.

While she learns to interact with her Pine Hills' peers, who deal with anorexia, bipolar disorder, depression, paranoia, etc., her most significant relationship is established with the young Dr. Sebastian Faraday, a neuropsychologist from South Africa, whose unique violet eyes and startling beauty assure and calm her.  Faraday identifies Alison as a synesthete, one of only 4% of the population whose senses (sight, sound, touch, smell, taste) are interconnected.  Convinced that Alison is not crazy and that she is not responsible for Tori's disappearance, Faraday becomes a strong emotional support for Alison, causing some awkwardness for flirtatious patient, Kirk, whose anger and jealousy are brought to the surface, resulting in a destructive fire, the removal of Faraday from Pine Hills, and permission for Alison to visit home.

But, that is hardly the end of the story.  A whole new set of circumstances bring Alison's relationship with Faraday and the "madness" of her experiences with Tori into play, demonstrating the speculative nature of Ultraviolet.  Telling you any more than that would destroy the systematic "aha" moments that bring this story to its unpredictable resolution.  Fortunately, the story has not concluded, since a sequel, tentatively titled Quicksilver, is slated for publication in 2013.

R. J. Anderson seems to whip up amazing plots that are rich in their interconnectedness and their complexity, here taking mental health issues and wrapping them in fantastical elements, playing down the fear and anxiety of mental illness while revealing much about it.  Her characters can be enigmas, not unlike most of us, who change their minds and alter their behaviour, sometimes without apparent rationale.  But, they ultimately reveal themselves as complex beings and begin to see and be seen beyond first impressions.  Creating empathetic characters in speculative fiction is a skill that R. J. Anderson has demonstrated repeatedly, recognizing that the richness of her characters can carry any bizarre plot she may be imaginative enough to create. 

 

 Uploaded by LernerPublishing on Mar 30, 2011

The publisher, Carolrhoda Lab, is an imprint of Lerner Publishing, who has posted this very brief trailer for Ultraviolet.

Spoiler alert: If you'd like to see a Fan trailer for "Ultraviolet"that focuses on Alison and Faraday, check out this link BUT it does include a spoiler not revealed in this review.

Blood Red Road wins Costa Children's Book Award

Congratulations to Moira Young and her book Blood Red Road (Doubleday Canada, 2011) reviewed here on December 27, 2011 which has been awarded the 2011 Costa Children's Book Award.  Although a native Canadian, Young currently lives in the United Kingdom, making her eligible for the Costa Awards for popular books by writers based in the UK and Ireland.

The Costa Awards, which have been bestowed for 40 years, cover 5 categories: First Novel, Novel, Biography, Poetry and Children's Book, with the winner of each receiving £5,000.  The winners of the five 2011 awards were announced January 4, 2011,  Announcement

Now, the winners of the 5 different awards are pitted against one another for the Costa Book of the Year with the winner receiving an additional £30,000.  This award will be selected and announced on January 24, 2012.

By the way, you may want to check out the different covers for Blood Red Road as available in Canada and the UK. Personally, the subtle colours and dusty appearance with Saba walking off the cover are my preference.  Must be the understated Canadian nature at play.

Doubleday Canada, 2011 

Marion Lloyd Books, 2011

All Good Children

by Catherine Austen

Orca Book Publishers

978-1-55469-824-0

300 pp.

Ages 14+

2011

Here's a way to start out 2012: read about a future that is so terrifyingly probable that you wonder how we're ever going to stop it from happening.  Catherine Austen's All Good Children may be science fiction but it certainly alludes to the direction we may be heading.  How many readers have heard a teacher, librarian, parent or any adult who works with young people declare repeatedly about young troublemakers taking all of their time and efforts?  If you have, then All Good Children could be our future, sadly.

Max Connors and his best friend, Dallas Richmond, would both consider themselves fifteen-year-old troublemakers and smile at that label.  In their gated community of New Middleton, owned by Chemrose International, they pull a lot of pranks, don't hold back their opinions of others, live for their RIGs (Realtime Integrated Gateways) and religiously follow Freakshow, an "entertaining" reality show in which deformed adults (as a result of chemical contamination) compete against each other.  The boys and their families are actually very fortunate: first, by living in a region devoid of environmental disasters such the drowning of New York City or desiccation of Phoenix; second, by living in homes in New Middleton, rather than the tents or shanties of the forests outside the gates; and, third, by attending academic schools because of their genetic status (Dallas is an ultimate, and Max a best-of-three) and not being the throwaway kids of the trade schools. 

In fact, Max's little sister, Ally, a six-year-old, has been very fortunate having missed the first week of school when the family (Mom, Max and herself) attended a funeral in Atlanta.  Upon their return, Ally notes that all the Grade 1 and 2 students are acting kind of slow and fuzzy, emoting very little, repeatedly using phrases about being lucky to be in school and that all their teachers deserve respect.  Consequently Ally is cited as not fitting in at her academic school and transferred to a trade school.  With a bit of investigating at the middle school, Max, his brilliant but quirky neighbour, Xavier, and Dallas learn of a new motivational leadership program called NEST (New Education Support Treatment) being delivered to all students, youngest first, via vaccination.  Max's mother, a nurse at a geriatric facility where patients are subjected to a similar treatment,  is determined not to allow her children to be vaccinated and initiates plans to evade the mandatory program.

While the plot keeps the reader on edge, anticipating exposure of Max and Dallas' deception and the family's plan for evasion, the moral dilemma of identifying children as "good" or not and consequent programs to improve their status was far more compelling to me.  Skillfully, Catherine Austen ensures that Max is seen as a smart aleck kid who has moments of brilliance and compassion, helping the readers clarify their own perspectives on this new world and its way of doing things.  Does Max need to be turned into a "good" child or is he already such a child, just an individual?  Who is able to judge a child's "goodness": a parent/guardian, a principal, a teacher, the child?  Think about the number of mothers of criminals who will claim that their children have good hearts or would never have done anything like that.  Really?  Should I trust their assessment or look to the evidence?  Having seen enough students similar to Max in my classes, I would never classify him as a "good child" but I would surely support his right to be an individual.

Moreover, while mass vaccination of a population is not unusual (e.g., against polio and small pox), their use to ensure compliance and the lack of opportunity to decline treatment is more akin to forced psychiatric drugging than "motivational leadership".  A rose by any other name?  Be the child or the parent/guardian and the perspectives may be very different, whether it is called nesting or psychiatric treatment.  Dallas' father certainly has a different perspective than his son and Max's mom.

As in her first book, Walking Backward (Orca, 2009), which was shortlisted for the Canadian Library Association's 2010 Book of the Year for Children Award, in which a family comes to terms with the mother's death, Catherine Austen poignantly reveals the psychological workings of a family under duress with parent and children all searching for clarity and understanding and always hope.  Charmingly, hope is offered in a country called Canada.

New #kidsCanlit for 2012

Fearful that you might miss out on the release of the last Hunchback Assignments or the final The Boy Sherlock Holmes Case?  Do you know when Marsha Skrypuch's Making Bombs for Hitler will be available?  Check my calendar below for some of the more prominent #kidsCanlit I'm tracking that are scheduled for release in 2012. Titles in blue indicate those reviewed previously. (n.b. Titles listed here include only those currently listed for release.  Updates will be announced regularly.)