I'll Be Home Soon

by Luanne Armstrong
Ronsdale Press
978-1-55380-180-1
200 pp.
Ages 10+
Available September, 2012

Gritty girls have become the new heroes of popular fiction and movies, ready to take on any foe, physically, strategically or emotionally.  Though their challenges may be contrived in the lines of speculative fiction filled with vampires, game-makers, werewolves, and other contenders, these protagonists compel the readers to cheer for them, regardless of the horrific circumstances, countless deaths and violent outcomes.  But, these heroes have nothing on thirteen-year-old Regan of Luanne Armstrong's I'll Be Home Soon.

Regan's less-than-comfortable life has become even grittier since the disappearance of her mother, Joanie Anderson, who goes out on an evening job to make a few extra dollars and does not return.  For the first few weeks, Regan uses the money her mother left for food and continues going to school and even her kung fu classes, though unable to pay.  But things get more desperate when she's scrounging for food out of garbage bins, when there's no money for laundry and when she spends most of her time watching for her mom, staying under the radar of her teachers, the local street youth worker and the police.  While she finds solace in the discipline of kung fu at the dojo and the caring of the kung fu master, Sifu, Regan's sole friend is Mike, a sixteen-year-old homeless busker, who encourages her to go to the police, still keeping her updated on anything that he hears on the street.

Though Mike seems a casual acquaintance, someone who Regan seeks out when she needs help, he becomes instrumental in helping track her mother, as well as keep Regan safe.  After visiting Clayton, the man whose poker party Regan's mom worked, Regan unwisely checks out the player, George Miller, with whom her mother has apparently gone off.  But, George Miller is less than gracious, alleging that Regan's mom stole money from him, and tries to grab Regan, even sending men to pursue her.   After brief stays at the tent city of Ramona and other homeless people, at a group home, and at the home of a grandmother she hadn't seen for years,  Regan is being threatened by George and his goons to reveal where her mother, who has apparently stolen millions, is hiding.

While there is no evidence of a romance between Regan and Mike, they seem to be forging a strong bond founded in their mutual admiration for the resilience and caring each demonstrates.  He shares his squat, sleeping bag and family history with her, even putting himself in danger, although he claims, "I'm good at staying uninvolved" (pg. 98) because becoming part of a "we" causes hurt.  Thankfully, Mike's repeated efforts to discover more about Regan's mother, plus the attentions of Sifu, Reg McDermid, a researcher on street youth, and a female cop, help resolve the mystery of Regan's mom's disappearance and reestablish Regan's and her mom's lives, even improving upon them.

Regan is not a character, because Luanne Armstrong has not written I'll Be Home Soon as a piece of fiction; it reads like a retelling of a few months in a young girl's life.  Regan is a young girl who, by nature of unprecedented circumstances, must make some hard choices that test her fortitude and survival skills, including knowing who to trust and not to trust.  Luanne Armstrong does an incredible job of leading the reader from subplot to subplot, looking for resolution, never setting up simple answers, whether it be the rescue of Regan's mom or a perfect happy ending for Mike and Regan.  For example, Luanne Armstrong could have wrapped up I'll Be Home Soon with all the homeless becoming homed, bad guys caught and jailed, and every less-than-sympathetic person redeeming themselves.  She does not.  What she does do is far more satisfying, demonstrating that coming home may be everyone's aspiration but where that home is or the nature of that home is not always so easily defined or even recognized.

When I Was Small series

On April 4, 2012, I reviewed Sara O'Leary's delightful picture book When I Was Small, illustrated by Julie Morstad, published by Simply Read Books (2011).

Today, I learned that When I Was Small is just the newest of three books by Sara O'Leary and Julie Morstad which are all based on young Henry and his curiosity.  The three books are:

When I Was Small

Written by Sara O'Leary
Illustrated by Julie Morstad
Simply Read Books
978-1-897-476-38-3
32 pp.
Ages 4-8
2011

Where You Came From

Written by Sara O'Leary
Illustrated by Julie Morstad
Simply Read Books
978-1-894965-46-0
32 pp.
Ages 3-8
2008

When You Were Small

Written by Sara O'Leary
Illustrated by Julie Morstad
Simply Read Books
978-1-894965-36-1
32 pp.
Ages 2-6
2005

I will need to check out the first two books in this lovely series, but you can do that here, courtesy of the book trailer uploaded by Simply Read Books on May 18, 2012, recently showcased on a School Library Journal blog.

Published on May 18, 2012 by simplyread1 to YouTube 

 

Hummingbird Heart

by Robin Stevenson

Orca Book Publishers

978-1-554693900

ebook: 978-1-554693917

278 pp.

Ages 13-16

April, 2012

Reviewed from ebook

Fiction for younger readers seems to have found a favourite character in the selfish mother or at least mothers who, realizing that they can't have it all, choose in favour of themselves, not their children. Such is Dylan Jarvis' mom, although her mom still has the audacity to tell her that she's doing what's best for Dylan.

In Hummingbird Heart, sixteen-year-old Dylan may know how self-centered her mom, Amanda, is; after all, Mom doesn't seem to worry about constantly getting new tattoos or smoking pot or making out with her newest boyfriend at home.  In fact, Dylan wishes her mother was more predictable and acted more like a responsible grown-up.  But while Dylan may acknowledge how messed up her family is (there's Mom who got pregnant when she was 16 after a one-night stand, and Karma, her "sister", the eleven-year-old daughter of Amanda's deceased friend, Sheri) but she considers herself weird and boring, more like "Diluted Kool-Aid, maybe. Or skim milk" (pg. 35) compared to her champagne-like best friend, Toni.  Even though Toni's parents have divorced, Dylan looks upon Toni as having a more normal family, since she knows both her parents.  Dylan, who knows nothing of her father, struggles for a connection to him by having her mom send a birthday photograph of them to him each year.  Even though he has never replied, Dylan considers going to see him when Mark calls and wants to have dinner with them.

Meanwhile, Dylan is encouraged by Toni to be a bit more sociable and interested in guys; by crushing on new boy, Jax, Dylan feels a bit more normal like Toni, who has a boyfriend, Finn.  Perhaps because she knows so little about him and feels like a different (more normal?) person around him, Dylan takes Jax in as a confidante, sharing with him the news of her father and her feelings about her mother.  While she does question Jax's interest in her, Dylan enjoys the almost out-of-body experience of being with him, especially knowing that he isn't thinking only of himself, as Toni and her mother and even Karma are.

And there's her father, Mark Wheatcroft, a successful lawyer, with a wife and four-year-old daughter, Casey.  Learning Mark's daughter has leukemia and he'd like Dylan to agree to a blood test to check for a bone marrow match, Dylan feels even more humiliated and numbed by the self-centeredness of everyone around her.  This just adds to her already-heightened concern of impending environmental doom, a planet destined for destruction from selfish humans.

Revelations by her mother, Mark, Toni, and Jax have Dylan confused about what she needs to do, especially when some stories are true, others are untruths to make things better, and some are harmful lies.  Even the hummingbird tattoo on her mother's wrist becomes something different and more, when Dylan learns that Mark has an identical one on his wrist.

Much of Hummingbird Heart revolves around the theme of self-awareness, and knowing who you are and what you want and what you will do to get it.  Sadly, Dylan's insightful thoughts like,  "It was strange, the way an ordinary day could suddenly seem so beautiful and so fragile it made you ache" (pg. 14-15) are not considered valid by her until she begins to see the weaknesses of those around her.  Even the courage that Mark showed in breaking off with Amanda is wrapped in selfishness: "I can't be around you and still have room to be who I want to be." (pg. 251) Somehow, by making the characters less vulnerable to guilt and pleas from others, Robin Stevenson takes Hummingbird Heart from just a mirror of a young girl's attempt to understand others as well as herself to a piece of artwork, extensive and colourful, deep and enduring, of choices, wonderful or humiliating, like a tattoo, hummingbird or otherwise.

Wicked Sweet

by Mar'ce Merrell

Feiwel and Friends (Macmillan imprint)

978-0-312-60749-4

330 pp.

Ages 14-18

2012

It would be fun to pun my way through this review for Wicked Sweet but I don't want to give the impression that the story is too saccharine.  Really.  There is much sweetness in it, courtesy of several characters, some amazing baking, and a plot that wraps up very nicely, but I would never consider it saccharine, sugary sweet or diabetic overload.  Wicked Sweet is an irresistible story of one summer and two friends, Jillian and Chantal, who are finding their way through the minefield that first boyfriends can be, while trying to keep their friendship and self-esteems intact.

It's the summer before their final high school year and the summer starts like any other:  at the lake, planning for their summer project.  Two very dedicated students, Jillian and Chantal know their priorities: friendship and grades.  But behind the friendship is the support each needs to deal with the difficulties in their lives:  Chantal, who suffers from anxiety attacks, has a stringent mother who aims for perfection, while Jillian endures the whims of her self-centered mother who spends more time with boyfriends than she does with her other six children (the Hat Trick, the Double Minor and baby Ollie), always leaving their care to Jillian. 

This summer, though, Jillian is showing an interest in boys, specifically the very hot, wealthy and together Parker, who has just broken up with his long-time girlfriend, Annelise.  And, if Parker brings his best friend, Will, then the four of them can hang out together, even think about doing their summer project with the boys.  Unfortunately, Chantal overhears Will and Parker talking about their "man challenge" which Will wins because he forces a kiss on Chantal (we won't mention that she vomits during the kiss).  Determined to get revenge, Chantal plans on humiliating Will using her new found baking skills, courtesy of Nigella Lawson's cooking channel, to suggest a secret admirer is leaving him very tasty treats and love notes, thus raising his expectations (easily, because of his arrogance) before she takes him down a notch or two.  Chantal even gets Annelise to play a part in this ruse.

Meanwhile, the summer project of a hockey camp for little kids at the lake has Jillian and Parker keeping very busy, but not busy enough to keep Parker from falling hard for her and Jillian from questioning the unrealistic demands her mother places on her and wondering how she can save herself.

Even following her recipe for revenge, Chantal's plot gets amended several times because she: 1) is spotted delivering the cakes; 2) has to hide her baking from her mother; 3) notices Parker is a good guy; 4) anonymously garners more and more attention for the Cake Princess; 5) recognizes who she does have a crush on; and 6) recognizes that everyone's roles are changing.  Although I was having difficulties keeping track of the plan and rationale for each change, I suspect it has more to do with my advanced age, far from the teens in Wicked Sweet.  Spontaneous changes in plans, whether well thought out or not, are not unusual in the lives of teens.  Except the old Chantal who liked schedules and order and pre-planning, the teens amended their plans as needed, usually just dealing with the repercussions of their choices as they manifest themselves.

Jillian is quite right when she claims that, "Who you are is all about what you want to believe." (pg. 302) Jillian, Chantal, Parker and Will are learning about themselves independent of their families who have thus far determined what kind of people they will be: a surrogate care-giver, the perfect daughter, the successful businessman, or a second-rate guy jealous of those who have more than he has.  While Mar'ce Merrell's plot in Wicked Sweet is delicious (sorry, it was irresistible), flavoured (oops, another pun!) with subplots, like Chantal's baking that becomes a sensory experience, it's her characters that had me craving more of Wicked Sweet.  By giving each chapter the different voices of the characters, Mar'ce Merrell allows the reader to get inside of Jillian's head as she tries to manage her mother and not embarrass herself and eventually recognize that she is worthy of more than she has been given, just as Parker begins to recognize that he does have a life plan and it's not being the successful, golfing business man, like his father and brothers, with a socialite wife.  Without knowing the nature of Parker's family, Jillian provides him with the opportunity to explore his own pursuits, vocational and romantic.

Don't let the cover fool you into thinking that Wicked Sweet is a piece of fluff, as it is not. (Sometimes cakes and pretty colours are erroneously taken as suggestive of a book of lesser quality.)  Wicked Sweet is a heartfelt and substantial look at growing up and deciding who you want to be when you don't even know who you are.

And, if you're still not convinced you need to read Wicked Sweet (how could you not be?), envision "light yellow vanilla love sweetened by delicate pink air kisses" and "white meringue frosting decorated with thin-piped daisy petals" and "chocolate cake with a vanilla buttercream spotted with chocolate circles." Yum.

Lesley Livingston's Wondrous Strange series

Wondrous Strange

Written by Lesley Livingston

HarperCollins

978-1-55468-273-7

327 pp.

Ages 12+

2008

Darklight

Written by Lesley Livingston

HarperCollins

978-1-55468-345-1

312 pp.

Ages 12+

2010

Reviewed from audiobook
Harper Audio
ASIN: B00309TZ04
Narrated by Lesley Livingston
6 hours, 58 minutes
2009

Tempestuous

Written by Lesley Livingston

HarperCollins

978-1–55468-455-7

361 pp.

Ages 12+

2011

Reviewed from audiobook
Harper Audio
ASIN: B004G81VZ0
Narrated by Lesley Livingston
8 hours, 39 minutes
2010

 

Lesley Livingston burst onto the YA literary scene in 2008 with her first novel, Wondrous Strange, which quickly won the accolades of readers and juries, winning the 2009 Canadian Library Association's Young Adult Book of the Year Award. Set in New York City, the Wondrous Strange series is an urban fantasy with the contemporary mortal world crossing paths with the hidden Faerie worlds, often as a consequence of the popular vices of revenge, greed and power.

Kelley Winslow is a young actor enjoying her first foray into professional theatre, performing in the Avalon Players' production of Shakespeare's A Midsummer's Night Dream. But, a chance and memorable meeting with the attractive Sonny Flannery, a Janus Guard, defender of the infrequently-opened gates between the Otherworld and the mortal realm, and Kelley's rescue of a horse from the lake in Central Park bring the Faerie world from the fiction of Kelley's script into her reality.

While Kelley attempts to explain and rid herself of the horse that magically re-appears in the apartment she shares with the beautiful Tyff, Sonny discovers evidence of a kelpie (magic-infused horse that drowns its victims) and ultimately the secret of Kelley's heritage. Through skirmishes with all manner of mortal and Otherworldly creatures, Sonny must convince Kelley of the reality and dangers of the Faerie Realm and keep her safe, while preventing the re-awakening of the deadly Wild Hunt.

In the second book, Darklight, the two young people, so desperately in love, are now forced to live in two different worlds: Sonny, still under orders from King Auberon, must destroy any remnants of the Wild Hunt in the Otherworld, while Kelley continues to perform with the Avalon Players, this time in Romeo and Juliet. After another Janus Guard, the Fennrys Wolf, tries to save Kelley from another attack in Central Park, they tumble into the Otherworld. But Kelley and Sonny's reunion is short-lived after Bob, the boucca, requests that Kelley visit the ailing Auberon and she refuses. Sonny, dealing with the jealous images Queen Mabh has shown him of Kelley with Fennrys, cannot comprehend Kelley's refusal, and seeks out Auberon himself. Happily, Kelley and Sonny are able to re-establish their love when they work together to thwart the leprechauns and the Green Magick, while attempting to save Auberon.

Sadly, Tempestuous begins with Sonny overhearing Kelley telling Tyff that she does not love him. Knowing that Faeries cannot lie, and not knowing Kelley's intentions (to keep him safe), Sonny disappears among the Lost Fae. But the murderous actions of rogue Janus Guards bring Sonny out of seclusion to fight, as does Kelley, those who would trade loyalty for power. As Shakespeare's The Tempest, the Avalon Players' current production, seems recreated in their lives, Sonny and Kelley do all they can to save each other and those for whom they care, mortal and Fae alike.

Though I've tried to give very little away regarding the plots of each book (not wanting to allude to culminating events that are key in the subsequent books), I can tell you that each book in the Wondrous Strange series has Lesley Livingston's signature wit, honest relationships, and sophisticated plotting, all embedded in the Old English folklore and the Bard's comedies and tragedies. For a special treat, listen to an audiobook of at least one volume of this series, as nothing can compare to author-actor Lesley Livingston reading her own work. Not only can she manipulate her voice to create very distinct characters, from young modern-day Kelley, to strong and loyal Sonny (with his disarming romantic side), mischievous Bob, regal Auberon, and self-absorbed Tyff, her sense of timing in the delivery of the clever repartee is impeccable. And the narrative, whether read or heard, is rife with the magick of a wordsmith who is able to forge rich tales that are emotionally engaging (whether to cheer for Kelley and Sonny's growing love, or despise the manipulations of the Faerie kings and queens) and edge-of-your-seat riveting (with chase scenes, deadly altercations, various assaults, and surprise revelations). The series may be called Wondrous Strange but it is more akin to Uniquely Wonderful.

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BOOK TRAILERS

I've put all the book trailers, uploaded by harperteen to YouTube, for the Wondrous Strange series on one page HERE for readers' perusal.

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AUTHOR TALKS

The following three videos (Lesley Livingston - On the Fly I, II and III), while not book trailers, offer a glimpse into Lesley Livingston's choices for her setting, characters and plot in the Wondrous Strange series.

Uploaded by HarperCollinsCanada on Jan 26, 2009 to YouTube

Uploaded by HarperCollinsCanada on Jan 26, 2009 to YouTube

Uploaded by HarperCollinsCanada on Jan 26, 2009 to YouTube

Piggy Bunny

by Rachel Vail

Illustrated by Jeremy Tankard

Feiwel and Friends (Macmillan Imprint)

Distributed in Canada by Raincoast Books

978-0-312-64988-3

32 pp.

Ages 5-8

2012

Liam is a well-loved piglet in a family of pigs who all know exactly what they are: pigs.  But, Liam aspires to be the Easter Bunny.  He practises hopping, eating salad and delivering Easter eggs, and he seems to be improving.

But, as much as his siblings and parents tell him that he's perfect and has all the attributes of a great pig, Liam can't see himself as anything but a springtime hare.  Luckily, his grandparents have the imagination and internet skills to help him manifest the Easter Bunny within.

Canadian illustrator Jeremy Tankard's characters are so distinct that, even when they are the basis for a picture book by an American author, Rachel Vail, and published in the U.S. (thankfully distributed in Canada by Raincoast Books), they define the book.

Children will recognize Piggy Bunny as a a close relation to the assorted animals in Grumpy Bird (Scholastic, 2007) and Boo Hoo Bird (Scholastic, 2009), such as Raccoon, Bird, and Beaver  displayed above.  Piggy Bunny comes from a patent line of strongly outlined creatures, heavily inked to delineate their simple forms, just as with Liam and the cat below.

The story is straightforward, the illustrations seemingly effortless, and the bold colours alluring in their use in the pages' designs.  The coupling of text that champions individuality with artwork that is itself unique will help little ones accept the concept of being oneself and enjoying the esteem that comes with it.

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On the CanLit for LittleCanadians Book Trailers, I've posted MacmillanChildrens upload to YouTube of Jeremy Tankard illustrating Piggy Bunny.  Check it out here.

Sean Cassidy, kidsCanLit author and illustrator

On the afternoon of June 19, 2012, I had the pleasure of visiting illustrator and author, Sean Cassidy, and his wife, Sylvia, at their lovely home north of Toronto, for discussions about the process by which illustrations become picture books.  Sean Cassidy, having illustrated a number of Blue Spruce nominees for the Ontario Library Association's Forest of Reading, attended an industry event during the Festival of Trees and generously offered to show me how the illustrating process works.

Sean Cassidy is an award-winning author and illustrator,  member of CANSCAIP (Canadian Society of Children's Authors, Illustrators and Performers) and the Writers' Union of Canada (WUC), and winner of the Ruth Schwartz Award, is best known for his illustrations, particularly his animals, in picture books such as:

Kazaak!
Written and illustrated by Sean Cassidy
Fitzhenry & Whiteside

2010

Hanna Bear's Christmas

Written by Monica Devine

Illustrated by Sean Cassidy

Fitzhenry & Whiteside

2007

Wake Up, Henry Rooster!
Written by Margriet Ruurs
Illustrated by Sean Cassidy
Fitzhenry & Whiteside
2006

Gummytoes

Written and illustrated by Sean Cassidy

Fitzhenry & Whiteside

2004

Good To Be Small
Written and illustrated by Sean Cassidy
Fitzhenry & Whiteside
2002

The Chicken Cat

Written by Stephanie Simpson McLellan

Illustrated by Sean Cassidy

Fitzhenry & Whiteside

2000

Depending on whether Sean writes the story as well as illustrating the book, the procedure of getting the book ready for publication will differ.  The process is far easier, Sean notes, when the illustrator is also the author, as he/she will generally know what images are needed from the onset.

Once he knows the basics of a story (perhaps even before the text is received), Sean will begin sketching.  He carries a sketch book with him everywhere, and, if possible, uses one sketchbook per picture book. Judging by their natural surroundings, it would not be unusual for Sean to sketch of particular tree and some rocks, or a bird at the feeder, or some running water, as images that could find their way into a book.  This page from Sean's sketchbook (above left) shows some of his initial drawings and thoughts about Russell and Spike in Kazaak!

If the illustrator is contracted to illustrate the text for a particular book, as Sean was for Wake Up, Henry Rooster! written by Margriet Ruurs, he will receive the text already edited and typed up, chunked into different pages (right).  Sean notes that if the illustrator has a good relationship with the publisher, he/she may be able to have some input into the pagination if it is felt that it might work better with a particular graphic.

The publisher and the book designer will decide on the size and shape of the book, as well as the number of pages.  The number of pages is determined by the printing and binding process, so often for picture books the page count will be 32 pages i.e., a multiple of 16.  This is because the book is printed onto large sheets of paper with 8 pages per side and, with both sides printed, there would be 16 pages from a single sheet (above right).  When the pages are printed and folded, these sections or bundles of 16 pages (called signatures) are easily visible at the spine side of the text block.

Having submitted any notes he makes about illustrations and discussed the illustrations that might accompany each page of text with the book designer (who decides the size and shape of the book, as well as its layout), the illustrator will go to work, matching the best illustration concept with the text on each page. Then the hard work comes in: the artwork.

Sitting down as a group, which could include the publisher, book designer, author and illustrator, they will decide which illustrations they like or recommend changing, and the book designer scans the images to produced a full-size rough with black-and white sketches and the paginated text. 

At this point, Sean will use a light box to copy his sketches onto drafting velum.  When approved, the velum illustrations are copied onto good quality watercolour paper.  Sean has devised a method of taping down the paper on a wooden board to prevent the paper from getting wrinkled, and losing detail in the printing process. 


Early in his career, Sean exclusively used coloured pencils.  However, knowing that the colours of pencils could lose their vibrancy and get a bloom (which can be polished up), Sean began using acrylic paints which tend to be more forgiving than pencil.  If he makes a mistake with acrylics, Sean will simply paint over it.  He has chosen not to use watercolour as Sean has noted that colours begin to wash out, almost look muddy, after three runs in the printer. After all that work, it would certainly be worthwhile to ensure the integrity of the illustrations.

In order to ensure accuracy of the colours between illustrations, Sean records all paints used to create a colour for a specific use, such as recorded for Bear in Kazaak!

With all the illustrations transferred to the good art paper and painted with acrylics, Sean will cover each with tissue paper, and send them off to the publisher for multiple scans (with four colour separation) to ensure that the scan colours match the artwork colours.


If approved, sixteen pages will be printed on a single page and outsourced for printing, cutting and assemblage.  Before the book goes into production, copies are sent to the publisher for a last chance to ensure the book looks as it should.


The first run, usually 2500 copies, will be completed in about 3 months, taking anywhere from 18 - 24 months to get through the whole process.  And then...

Ta-da!  

The book is done, ready to be promoted, launched and released.

                                                                       

I encourage readers to check out Sean Cassidy's website which provides full details of his books, and opportunities for school and library visits.  It's a fascinating look at a Canadian author/illustrator and a great opportunity for young readers to learn about the craft and process of illustrating.  It's highly recommended!