In the Bag! Margaret Knight Wraps It Up

by Monica Kulling

Illustrated by David Parkins

Tundra Books

978-1-77049-239-4

32 pp.

Ages 5-9

2011

Margaret (Mattie) Knight was one of those amazing women who never let her gender stand in her way, though others tried.  As a young girl in mid-1800's New Hampshire, Mattie enjoyed building purposeful items from wood, using the tools inherited from her father who'd died when she was 3.  She built kites and sleds, but when she began to work in a cotton mill (still as a young girl), she put her inventing skills to greater use.  While captivated by the looms and other large machinery involved in spinning and weaving, Mattie recognized inherent dangers therein and designed a device that prevented moving shuttles from blasting off when threads broke.

Mattie was only 12 when she invented this stop-motion device, preventing her from registering a patent for it, but she consoled herself with the injuries her device prevented.  Never marrying, Mattie continued to dream up machines when she wasn't working.  In 1868, when she worked at a paper-bag factory, Mattie was inspired to design a machine that would cut, fold and paste a paper bag with a flat bottom.  It was only because of her perseverance, toiling for years on her machine and then taking a patent thief to court, that Mattie was able to establish herself as the ingenious woman inventor she was.

Biographies can be dry reading for children, as can most non-fiction, if the authors and publishers forget to focus on those features of text that make the reading compelling.  Tundra's Great Ideas Series, with three volumes all penned by Monica Kulling, tell biographies as stories, emphasizing the milestones of visionaries' ideas, rather than the minutiae of their timelines.  Enhanced with detailed and appealing illustrations by David Parkins, The Beano contributor and émigré from the United Kingdom, In the Bag! seems less non-fiction and more picture book, favourably widening its readership.

With In the Bag!, Monica Kulling demonstrates a knack she has for crafting reader-friendly biographies for children.  Her earlier books in the Great Ideas Series of illustrated biographies, It's a Snap! George Eastman's First Photograph (Tundra, 2009) and All Aboard! Elijah McCoy's Steam Engine (Tundra, 2010), have been nominated for the OLA's Silver Birch Express Award (2011 and 2012, respectively), with  In the Bag! currently nominated for a Shining Willow Award.  I suspect that the release of Going Up! Elisha Otis' Trip To The Top (Tundra, fall 2012) will similarly find an eager audience of young readers who appreciate the colourful tales of innovation, all the more intriguing for their factual nature.

CBC Bookie Awards 2012

In 2011, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) introduced the CBC Bookie Awards as an opportunity for readers to choose their favourite Canadian reads published the previous year.  Based on the selections of the well-read CBC personnel from CBC Books, Canada Reads, Writers & Company, The Next Chapter, as well as recommendations from the public, five titles in each of ten categories are nominated.  Readers can then cast their votes (only once per category per day).

This year's CBC Bookies Awards nominees were announced yesterday and voting must take place online before 11:59 p.m. ET of Saturday, March 31.  The winners will be announced at a CBC Twitter Chat (#CanLit) on Thursday, April 5.

This year's ten categories, which include two international ones, are:

• Literary Fiction
• Non-Fiction
• Poetry
• Thriller, Mystery or Crime
• Science Fiction, Fantasy or Speculative Fiction
• Young Adult
• Graphic Novel or Comic Book
• Short Story Collection
• International Fiction
• International Non-Fiction

The one category relevant to CanLit for LittleCanadians is the Young Adult category.  The finalists for this category are:

Blink and Caution

by Tim Wynne-Jones
Candlewick Press

The Gathering

by Kelley Armstrong
Doubleday Canada

No Ordinary Day

by Deborah Ellis
Groundwood Books

This Dark Endeavour: The Apprenticeship of Victor Frankenstein
by Kenneth Oppel
HarperCollins Canada

Tilt

by Alan Cumyn
Groundwood Books/House of Anansi Press

Use this CBC Bookies link to cast your vote(s) for your favourites in the Young Adult category, but only until the end of March 31, 2012.  (The ballot below is as it appears on the CBC Bookies website)

Retrieved from the CBC Bookies website on March 9, 2012.

Let CBC and others know what YACanLit are your favourites from 2011.

BC Book Prizes

The BC Book Prizes are annual literary awards selected by the West Coast Prize Society for writers and illustrators who are British Columbia or Yukon residents (or have lived there for three of the last five years).  Established in 1985, the BC Book Prizes take submissions until the end of January deadline, announcing their shortlists in the award-ravaged month of March.  The award-winning books and authors/illustrators are announced at a Book Prize Soirée in May in Vancouver.  The logo of the BC Book Prizes and the book seals for short-listed and winning titles  was created from BC artist, Roy Henry Vickers's work, Eagle Full Circle (1982).

Here are the seven categories for the BC Book Prizes:

• Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize

• Hubert Evans Non-Fiction Prize

• Dorothy Livesay Poetry Prize

• Roderick Haig-Brown Regional Prize

• Sheila A. Egoff Children’s Literature Prize

• Christie Harris Illustrated Children’s Literature Prize

• Bill Duthie Booksellers’ Choice Award

An additional award, the Lieutenant Governor's Award for Literary Excellence, which recognizes BC writers who have contributed to the development of literary excellence there, is also presented at the Book Prizes Gala.

The finalists (i.e., shortlisted titles) for the 2012 BC Book Prizes were announced yesterday for all seven literary awards. Below CanLit for LittleCanadians has noted those titles for the two awards dedicated to books for young readers.

Sheila A. Egoff Children’s Literature Prize

Awarded to the author of novels, including chapter books, aimed at juveniles and young adults, as well as non-fiction books for children (including biography) which have not been highly illustrated.

(from http://www.bcbookprizes.ca/about)

The 2012 finalists are:

Blood Red Road
Written by Moira Young
Doubleday Canada  

I’ll Be Watching
Written by Pamela Porter
Groundwood Books

Nowhere Else on Earth: Standing Tall for the Great Bear Rainforest
Written by Caitlyn Vernon
Orca Book Publishers

 

 

The Runaway
Written by Glen Huser
Tradewind Books

What is Real
Written by Karen Rivers
Orca Book Publishers

Christie Harris Illustrated Children’s Literature Prize

Awarded to the author and illustrator of picture books, picture story books, and illustrated non-fiction books

(from http://www.bcbookprizes.ca/about) 

The 2012 finalists are:

Dalen & Gole: Scandal in Port Angus
Written and illustrated by Mike Deas
Orca Book Publishers

Grandpa’s Girls
Written by Nicola I. Campbell
Illustrated by Kim LaFave
Groundwood Books

 

Pussycat, Pussycat, Where Have You Been?
Written by Dan Bar-el
Illustrated by Rae Maté
Simply Read Books 

Shake Awakes
Written by Robert Heidbreder
Illustrated by Marc Mongeau
Tradewind Books

When I Was Small
Written by Sara O'Leary
Illustrated by Julie Morstad
Simply Read Books

 

 

We look forward to the announcement of the winning titles, authors and illustrators on May 12, 2012.

Cross Katie Kross

by Donna Morrissey
Illustrated by Bridgette Morrissey
Penguin Canada
978-0-670-06479-3
32 pp.
Ages 4+
2012

Katie Kross is the mean woman that every child on any street knows to avoid.  She's always cross and unhappy. Often what makes someone mean is a mystery, except for Katie Kross.  She doesn't "like most anything" except Love Valley: a wondrous place from her dreams with soft grass, sweet air, and kindly animals, and where Katie is very happy.

As with most of us, Katie Kross is determined to recapture that happiness by finding Love Valley.  But the road to Love Valley is not clear.  Katie walks for days and days, only to find herself at the crossroads where a rabbit points her along the "obvious" road.  But, after a long trek, she reaches a dead end.  Cross and achy, Katie attempts to sleep but is kept awake by an irritatingly loud brook.  Jumpins! Nothing seems to be going right for Katie.

Back to the crossroads, Katie returns and chooses a different road, as advised by a preening fox.  Unfortunately, her travels end without finding Love Valley again.  Finally, Katie travels the only crossroad remaining and ventures into dark woods with lovely fountains of sweet pink juice from which Katie drinks and drinks and drinks.  Katie does find Love Valley but the reader will need to enjoy Cross Katie Kross to find its location.

Donna Morrissey, author of award-winning adult fiction including Downhill Chance (Penguin Canada, 2002) and Sylvanus Now (Penguin Canada, 2005), joins her daughter, artist Bridgette Morrissey, in their first picture book collaboration.  Children will recognize quite quickly what makes Katie Kross so mean and that her reaction to disappointment feeds her exasperation.  But it's the great teachable moment that Cross Katie Kross offers, about being "at the crossroads" and the strife most of us perceive when at this point, that will stoke important discussions.

Bridgette Morrissey's whimsical illustrations add the magic to Katie's home and her travels in search of Love Valley.  I needed to know how Bridgette Morrissey (see her website) creates the softness and touchability (I know it's not a word but tactile sensation sounds insensate) to the trees, animals, cakes - everything.  An email query to Bridgette Morrissey revealed her technique:

Everyone thinks the illustrations are colored pencil but they are indeed acrylic on paper.  I tend to paint very thin so the grain of the paper shows through, giving it that slightly textured look.

 (Morrissey, Bridgette. "Re: type of illustration." Email message, March 7, 2012.)

Children may not pick up on the "grass is always greener" allegory but they will pick up on the incongruity of Katie Kross' meanness and the softness of the illustrations and recognize that things are not always as we see them.

***

Below, Donna Morrissey and Bridgette Morrissey discuss their collaboration at a Cross Katie Kross book signing event at The Inside Story bookshop in Greenwood, Nova Scotia. The video was created by Edward Wedler.

Uploaded by Club8104 on Feb 28, 2012 on YouTube.

Marina Cohen: Author Interview

Marina Cohen, author of Chasing the White Witch, Mind Gap and Ghost Ride, all published by Dundurn Press, graciously agreed to answer a few questions for CanLitforLittleCanadians about her writing.

***

HK: Your newest book, Chasing the White Witch (Dundurn, 2011) has the main character, Claire, looking for solutions to her problems in a book of magic. What first gave you the idea for this plot?

MC: As a kid I always wished I had magical powers. As an adult I came to realize it's a really good thing I didn't! When I was young I was somewhat impulsive and, well, I had a bit of a temper. Add magic to that mix and I'm certain there would have been an awful lot of toads hopping around! The funny thing is, I did own a little book of magic spells. Believe it or not, they were giving them away at a gas station with the purchase of a full tank of gas!


HK: I think that there are so many great characters in the book, like Claire, Jordan, Hollis and Paula-Jean, that I'd love to read a follow-up book for a chance to see a different side to them. Do you foresee writing another book based on the characters in Chasing the White Witch?

MC: Although I wrote this particular book to be a stand-alone novel with no intent to create a series -- I could not help but play with these characters in my mind. A new plot may very well revolve around Claire desperately seeking funds to purchase a grade eight grad dress (one her parents refuse to buy!). Claire delves back into her little book and casts a good luck charm on herself. Needless to say, spells cast for personal profit go awry! Now all I need is a time-management spell for myself so I can write it!

HK: Your other books, Ghost Ride (Dundurn, 2009) and Mind Gap (Dundurn, 2011) also focus on the theme of making choices and dealing with the consequences. But Chasing the White Witch is very different from them in that it is so rich in humour. Was it easier or harder for you to write a book based in humour?

MC: First off, I'm thrilled you think this novel is humourous. I spent night after night at my kitchen table laughing myself silly as I wrote. My husband turned to me more than once and said, "Marina, no one will find this remotely funny." To which I'd respond, "Probably. But I'm having the best time writing it!" On a serious note, I think good humour is extremely difficult to write. I also believe great humourous novels can be undervalued. They are often dismissed as fluff when they have as much to offer a reader as a serious issue book or a fantasy or mystery etc.


HK: Do you have another book in the works or set for publication in 2012 or 2013?

MC: I don't have a book set for publication at this point. Though I currently have a manuscript on submission--a very creepy middle-grade. With a little bit of luck, it will find a home soon!


HK: Would you rather produce one book of extraordinary importance that becomes a classic but one to which all your writing is forever compared, or would you prefer to author many different books for different audiences and which could not be compared to each other?

MC: This is a fabulous question--one I've been mulling over for several days now. I'd love to create a work so rich in language and character, so exquisite in plot and theme that it would one day be deemed a classic. But honestly, I'm not sure I have that book in me. But also, if I could write such a novel, it would come with hefty a cost. To be forever compared to that one great novel (or series!) is extremely difficult for a writer. I, for one, am very excited to read J.K. Rowling's new novel. I intend not to compare it to Harry Potter -- though sadly, I'm sure many will.

 ***
  

Many thanks to Marina Cohen for granting me this interview and share her writing with us.

***

For more about author Marina Cohen and her books, check out her blog and website for more information including book trailers and contact links. 

Torn Apart: The Internment Diary of Mary Kobayashi, Vancouver, British Columbia, 1941

by Susan Aihoshi

Scholastic Canada

978-0-439-94660-5

209 pp.

Ages 8-13

2012

In Torn Apart: The Internment Diary of Mary Kobayashi, Mary turns twelve and looks forward to the simple pleasures of playing tennis with her friends, Sachiko, Maggie and Ellen; going to Girl Guides and Guide camp; attending baseball games with her family; and earning some money for a new bike by berry-picking in Surrey.  Although there is a war going on overseas, her life is filled with the simple joys of childhood and the caring of her large family: Mama and Papa; Geechan (her grandfather); older brothers Tad and Mike; older sisters Kay and Emma; and annoying little brother, Harry.  But soon, small changes impose on her reality.

At school, where they now do "war work" (e.g., sewing, knitting, map-reading, first aid), Mary endures occasional racial slurs, while the older members of her family acquiesce to carrying their registration cards with them.  The veiled prejudice aimed at Japanese-Canadians becomes more public after the December 7 bombing of the American military base at Pearl Harbor and Canada's declaration of war on Japan the following day.  Regardless of their citizenship, beliefs, desire to join Canada's military, or reputations, the Japanese-Canadians watch as their Japanese-language newspapers are shut down, their fishing boats seized by the navy, and secure jobs lost. While the older members of her family experience firsthand the discrimination of Canada's government and society, Mary notes what is happening but continues to enjoy a life rich in friendships and family.

However, the consequences of Japan's activities overseas, including seizing Hong Kong and later Singapore, bring a new round of governmental actions aimed at fraying the freedoms of Canada's Japanese, like requiring them to surrender their cars, radios and cameras; follow a dawn-to-dusk curfew; move to "relocation centres"; and concede to being rounded like Mary's Geechan and sent to work camps in the Rockies and elsewhere.  With Geechan's leaving, the fabric of Mary's family begins to rip, and slowly they become separated: Mike gets orders to work on a road crew; Tad volunteers for work in northern Ontario; the RCMP take Papa; and Emma, Kay and Mary are sent to the ghost town of New Denver, while Mama remains in Vancouver with a hospitalized Harry. 

While reading this newest addition to Scholastic Canada's Dear Canada series, I agonized over the cumulative losses endured by Mary and her family.  But, after finishing my reading, I know that Susan Aihoshi was correct in emphasizing the Torn Apart nature of the Japanese-Canadian story.  Like a strong furoshiki, able to heft great loads, the Kobayashi's are strong because of their connections, as a family, to each other and to their communities, Japanese and Canadian.  But, the challenges of fear and ignorance strive to weaken the fabric, ripping it unceremoniously with Geechan's departure, and more so with each separation.

Susan Aihoshi appropriately uses Mary's voice to express the experience of the Japanese-Canadians during the latter half of World War II.  Mary is neither as naive and oblivious as young Harry, who wants to play war and the board game "Yellow Peril", nor succumbing to the life-altering demands of an ignorant government.  But, she witnesses the perplexing about-turn of an ill-informed society and she tries to keep her reality intact.  Luckily, small kindnesses and thoughtful support slowly weave the frayed threads of that furoshiki together again.  Though never the same as the original, the mending offers some hope for re-creating the family tapestry, perhaps with new threads of different hues and composition.


N.B. Susan Aihoshi includes a wealth of historical notes and graphics to enhance and reference Mary's fictional tale.

Twitter Chat with Author Alice Kuipers

Join us for a

 CHAT

with 

ALICE KUIPERS

author of

• 40 Things I Need To Tell You •

• The Worst Thing She Ever Did •

• Life on the Refrigerator Door •

• Lost for Words •

Wednesday, March 7, 2012 

2 - 3 p.m.  

(Eastern Standard Time)

Chat with @AliceKuipers using the following hashtag

Alice Kuipers will be answering questions about writing, her books, being an author, etc. 

Look for more input from Alice Kuipers the following week
 when she begins her 40 Things I Want To Tell You blog tour,
including a guest post here on March 12, 2012