Children from 2 - 8 years of age are invited to enjoy an afternoon with the winner of the 2011 Governor General's Award for Children's Illustration and Small Print Toronto on a guided exploration around the library with follow-up activities
Lesley Livingston takes the fantasy reader back to the New York City of her Wondrous Strange series but veers off in another direction, now focusing on the Fennrys Wolf, the Janus Guard who'd made an extreme sacrifice at the conclusion of Tempestuous.
The Starling of the title is Mason Starling, a student and avid fencer at the venerable Gosforth Academy. Well-protected (or over-protected?) by her very wealthy father, Gunnar Starling, and eldest brother Rothgar, Mason suffers from debilitating claustrophobia, courtesy of a childhood prank played on her by her other brother, Rory, during a game of hide-and-seek in which she was locked in a shed for days. Rory is hardly the caring older brother that Roth is to Mason. And, sadly, Mason does not have the comfort of a mother, her own dying giving birth.
When Mason, Rory, and their fencing teammates at Gosforth Academy are attacked by horrible, mutable creatures during a violent storm that knocks out all power, a beautiful, naked blond man, who identifies himself as the Fennrys Wolf, comes to their aid. Beyond using his sword to fight off the creatures he calls draugr, saving the life of Calum Aristarchos, who is in love with Mason, and reassuring the claustrophobic Mason (when the group shelters itself in a cellar), the Fennrys Wolf has little to offer about himself. He knows a lot about the draugr and such, but he doesn't know how he knows it.
After Fennrys gathers some clothes from the group he's sedated with magick, he goes off in search of some answers. He is attacked by centaurs, crosses the East River over a bridge called Hell Gate to Dead Ground, and reconnects with Mason whose dark blue eyes continue to haunt and mesmerize him. Mason is similarly drawn to Fennrys. Together they piece together bits of Fennrys' memories, including finding his warehouse apartment and a cache of weapons, and practise fencing, with Mason using a sword which Fennrys gifts to her. Of course, there seem to be a lot of strange entities coming after them - draugr, fireballs, nixxies - but Fennrys is determined to keep Mason safe.
Meanwhile, through Rory who has secretly availed himself of his father's old diary, the reader learns that the Starlings had dedicated their lives to the service of the Norse gods, by vowing to help bring about Ragnarok, the catastrophic end of the world, and thus the return of the gods to the mortal realm. There are other clans, however, in service to the gods of Greek and
Celtic worlds, for example, who are just as happy to leave the mortal world
as is. But, the appearance of the Fennrys Wolf, who has walked between the mortal world and the Dead, is seen by some as a harbinger of the end or the means by which Ragnarok may begin. Sadly, unbeknownst to all, Rory who has learned to do magick is determined to follow the Starlings' destiny.
So, while Fennrys and Mason fall in love, he learns more of his tragic story and the plots to manipulate him, and she questions her choices and tries to resolve discrepancies between what she feels and what she is told. Ultimately, both Mason and Fennrys become pawns in a larger-than-life plot that could lead to the end of the world.
That synopsis doesn't even come close to the depth and layering of plots and characterizations in Starling. There's a sharp learning curve about mythological concepts from various civilizations that Lesley Livingston obviously is well versed in. When they all come together, both in conflict and in harmony, the result is a multi-layered story in which it's almost impossible to know in whom to trust. That would explain Mason's own confusion: a father who seems to love her; contemptuous and contemptible Rory but her brother just the same; Roth who the readers learn has a few secrets of his own, including an alliance with the servants of the Greek gods; Calum who wants to share with her his fears of the mer-people but blames her for his injuries; and Fennrys, to whom she is drawn and who seems to adore her but whose arrival has resulted in such mayhem.
I'm delighted that Lesley Livingston has chosen to re-introduce the Fennrys Wolf by way of his own series, especially after his heart-breaking ending in Tempestuous. And her innovative and rich melding of the Faery world with the realms of classic mythology is inspired. After all, many belief systems, including today's religions, have similar or identical premises upon which they are founded. With the addition of Mason and Fennrys' romance, sibling rivalries, peer relationships, and a classic good-versus-evil theme, Starling is that first burst of explosion at the onset of Ragnarok - it's startling, it's overwhelming, and it's just the beginning.
An additional video of Lesley Livingston recording the audio version of Starling at the CBC studios in Toronto demonstrates why listening to Lesley Livingston read her story is as much of a treat as reading it.
Anticipation for Orca's upcoming Seven The Series has been growing since first announced earlier in the year and its enticing book trailer released in February. If Ink Me, just one of the seven books set for simultaneous release on October 10, 2012, is any indicator, all young readers will be hooked instantly.
Bunny (a.k.a. Bernard) is just one of seven grandsons who, upon the death of their grandfather, receive a letter and instructions about a task to perform. At 15, Bunny is the youngest of the grandsons but he may be the most challenged, living with a mental disability. Regardless, Bunny is a very astute young man, understanding far more than many, even if Bunny believes that,
"they all reddy no Im a dummy." (pg. 3)
And Ink Me is all about how people, places, objects, situations - everything - are perceived and how these perceptions, right or wrong or misunderstood, affect everything else. Bunny's task is to go to a particular tattoo parlour where they have been instructed to give him a specific tattoo. The tattoo of the number 15 with a candle doesn't strike Bunny as anything special or too unusual; after all, he turned 15 on his most recent birthday. But, the reader soon realizes, even if Bunny does not, that the tattoo that he sports indicates that he is part of the 15 Street gang and that he has made one kill. When Bunny defends a skinny gang member, Jaden, from a beating by a member of a rival gang, the Angels, he is introduced to other members of 15 at the gym where they hang out. Being white, Bunny is an oddity within the gang but his tattoo and surprising knowledge, albeit naively, of gang members with whom 15 is making a deal, gives him some credibility. For the first time, Bunny is enjoying the camaraderie of friends, particularly Jaden. Moreover, Morgan, a former pro fighter who now runs the gym, recognizes that Bunny could be a great fighter, with his fast reflexes and the moves his grandfather had taught him, and Morgan starts training him. Although enjoying the benefits of his new friendships, Bunny also must withstand the negatives associated with being a part of 15, though he does not always recognize these drawbacks as such. Even after being hauled away with the gang by the police and interrogated about "the deal" and later chased and shot at by a rival gang, Bunny continues to see everything as a new experience and himself under the care of his friends. The line between the good guys and the bad guys continues to get blurred for Bunny as the deal between 15 and two other gangs is brokered. Richard Scrimger, one of my favourite Canadian authors, is brilliant at telling a story without any lessons creeping in to weigh down the plot; that is, until the last few pages of the book are turned. Readers will be too engrossed in the upshot of Bunny's honesty and incomprehension to realize that Ink Me exposes the vulnerability of perceptions to misinterpretation. Whether it be the tattoo that marks Bunny as a gang member, or Jaden acting one way but in reality being someone else, or how guns are bad except when they're useful, these matters are all vulnerable to misperception. Even Bunny's mom, a philosophy professor, has a hard time believing what Bunny tells her, instead reading situations as she chooses or as she is accustomed. Though writing as Bunny must have been an arduous task for Richard Scrimger, as the text is so laden with spelling and grammatical mistakes, the author provides a real example of the dangers of "misreading." I had to remind myself constantly that "no" in Bunny's text is "know" for me, and that I had to read carefully in order that I not let my prejudices alter the text's meaning. Ink Me is a brilliant story, less about gangs and tattoos than about our relationships with others and the roles misunderstanding and perspective play in securing or destroying the integrity of those connections.
Have you used your books to help you enhance your pirate vocabulary? Do you know how to swab the decks, walk the gangplank, and shiver m' timbers?
After reading any number of these great pirate adventures written by Canadians, you're sure to be ready when September 19th rolls around this year. And even if you're not into pirate mimicry, these books tell great yarns! Here we go, me matey!
Picture Books
Bigbeard's Hook: Nathaniel McDaniel and the Magic Attic
by Evan Solomon
Illustrated by Bill Slavin
Viking Canada
40 pp.
Ages 6-10
2005
Elliot's Shipwreck
by Andrea Beck
Kids Can Press
32 pp.
Ages 4 - 7
2000
Freddy's Day at the Races
by Susan Chalker Brown
Illustrated by HildaRose
Orca Book Publishers
32 pp.
Ages 6-12
2008
Grandma and the Pirates
by Phoebe Gilman
Scholastic Canada
32 pp.
Ages 5-8
2012 (reissue)
Lucy and the Pirates
by Glen Petrie
Illustrated by Matilda Harrison.
Tradewind Books
32 pp.
Ages 7-10
1996
The Pirate and the Penguin
by Patricia Storms
Owlkids Books
32 pp.
Ages 5-8
2009
The Pirate Girl's Treasure: An Origami Adventure by Peyton Leung Illustrated by Hilary Leung Kids Can Press 32 pp. Ages 4-8 2012
The Pirates of Captain McKee
[Original title: Whatever You Do, Don’t Go Near That Canoe!]
by Julie Lawson
Illustrated by Werner Zimmerman
Scholastic Canada
30 pp.
Ages 3-9
1996/2008
Princess June and the Shadow Pirates
by Douglas Hopkins
Tuckamore Books
32 pp.
Ages 7-9
2005
Sail Away
by Florence McNeil
Illustrated by David McPhail
Orca Book Publishers
32 pp.
Ages 2-5
2000
Sally Dog Little
by Bill Richardson
Illustrated by Céline Malépart
Annick Press
24 pp.
Ages 6-9
2002
Small Saul
by Ashley Spires
Kids Can Press
32 pp.
Ages
2011
The Terrible Horrible Smelly Pirate
by Carrie Muller and Jacqueline Halsey
Illustrated by Eric Orchard
Nimbus
32 pp.
Ages 4-7
2008
A Treasure at Sea for Dragon and Me: Water Safety for Kids (and Dragons) by Jean E. Pendziwol Illustrated by Martine Gourbault Kids Can Press 32 pp. Ages 3-7 2005
Chapter Books
Alex and the Ironic Gentleman
by Adrienne
Kress
Scholastic Canada 382 pp.
Ages 9-12 2007
The Ancient Ocean Blues
by Jack Mitchell
Tundra Books
187 pp.
Ages 9-13
2008
Beware, Pirates! (Canadian Flyer Adventures 1)
by Frieda Wishinsky
Illustrated by Dean Griffiths
Maple Tree Press
83 pp.
Ages 6-9
2007
Captain Jake
by Shannon Stewart
Illustrated by Ben Hodson
Orca Book Publishers
59 pp.
Ages 7-9
2008
The Dread Crew: Pirates of the Backwoods
by Kate Inglis
Illustrated by Sydney Smith
Nimbus
192 pages
Ages 8-12
2010
Horrendo's Curse
by Anna Fienberg
Illustrated by Kim Gamble
Annick Press
158 pp.
Ages 9-12
2002
Jacob Two-Two on the High Seas
by Cary Fagan
Illustrated by Dušan Petricic
Tundra Books
128 pp.
Ages 7-10
2009
Little Jane Silver
by Adira Rotstein
Dundurn
268 pp.
Ages 9-14
2011
Little Jane Silver and the Nameless Isle
by Adira Rotstein
Dundurn
272 pp.
Ages 9-14
September, 2012
A Noodle Up Your Nose
by Frieda Wishinsky Illustrated by Louise-Andrée Laliberté
Orca Book Publishers
64 pp.
Ages 6-8
2004
The Secret of Pirate Taz
by Liz Collard
Illustrated by Maia Desjardins
Trafford Publishing
24 pp.
Ages 5-7
2011
The Ship of Lost Souls
by Rachelle Delaney
HarperCollins Canada
233 pp.
Ages 9-12
2009
The Lost Souls of Island X
by Rachelle Delaney
HarperCollins Canada
240 pp.
Ages 8-12
2011
Torrie and the Pirate Queen
by K.V. Johansen
Illustrated by Christine Delezenne
Annick Press
156 pp.
Ages 9-11
2005
Woolies and Worms
by Stephen MacNeil
Illustrated by John Sandford
Cricket Books / Publishers Group Canada
243 pp.
Ages 8-10
2007
Young Adult Books
The Bonemender's Choice
by Holly Bennett
Orca Book Publishers
234 pp.
Ages 11+
2007
The Convicts by Iain Lawrence Delacorte/Random House Canada 198 pp. Ages 11-14 2005
The Cannibals by Iain Lawrence Delacorte/Random House Canada 230 pp. Ages 11-14 2005
The Castaways by Iain Lawrence Delacorte/Random House Canada 243 pp. Ages 10-14 2007
Hamish X and the Cheese Pirates
by Seán Cullen
Illustrated by Johann Wessels
Puffin Canada
293 pp.
Ages 10-13
2006
The Wreckers
by Iain Lawrence
Delacorte/Doubleday
196 pp.
Ages 10-13
1998
The Smugglers by Iain Lawrence Dell Yearling/Random House Canada 184 pp. Ages 10-14 1999 The Buccaneers
by Iain Lawrence
Delacorte/Random House Canada
244 pp.
Ages 11+
2001
The Island of Mad Scientists:Being
an Excursion to the Wilds of Scotland, Involving Many Marvels of
Experimental Invention, Pirates, a Heroic Cat, a Mechanical Man and a
Monkey: The Mad Misadventures of Emmaline and Rubberbones
by Howard Whitehorse
Illustrated by Bill Slavin
Kids Can Press
262 pp.
Ages 11-14
2008
Minerva's Voyage
by Lynne Kositsky
Dundurn
215 pp.
Ages 11-14
2010
Perilous Passage
by B. J. Bayle
Sandcastle/Dundurn
184 pp.
Ages 10-13
2007
Pirates Passage
by William Gilkerson
Trumpeter/Shambhala/Random House Canada
364 pp.
Ages 11-13
2006
Red Sea
by Diane Tullson
Orca Book Publishers
168 pp.
Ages 13-17
2005
Skybreaker
by Kenneth Oppel
HarperCollins Canada
340 pp.
Ages 12-16
2005
The Uncle Duncle Chronicles: Escape from Treasure Island
by Darren Krill
Lobster Press
335 pp.
Ages 14-16
2006
Non-Fiction
Imagine You're a Pirate
by Meg Clibbon
Illustrated by Lucy Clibbon
Annick Press
32 pp.
Ages 4-9
2002
Lost Treasures: True Stories of Discover
by Larry Verstraete
Scholastic Canada
185 pp.
Ages 9-13
2006
Oak Island Family: The Restall Hunt for Buried Treasure
by Lee Lamb
Dundurn Press
236 pp.
Ages 12+
2012
The Ship That Voted No and Other Stories of Ships and the Sea by Tommy Keene Lancelot Press 86 pp. Ages 12+ 1995
A Thousand Years of Pirates
by William Gilkerson
Tundra Books
96 pp.
Ages 10-14
2009
