International Holocaust Memorial Day: Book List I

During World War II, the Nazis persecuted and killed millions of people belonging to groups they deemed inferior or dangerous.  Six million victims of the Holocaust were Jews and an additional eleven million victims were Poles, Russians, Ukrainians, Romas, the mentally and physically disabled, homosexuals and transexuals, and religious dissidents.

In 2005, the United Nations General Assembly designated January 27 as International Holocaust Remembrance Day.  January 27 coincides with the liberation of the concentration camp Auschwitz-Birkenau in 1945. To help enlighten young Canadian readers to the nature of the Holocaust, for the sole purpose of preventing such bigotry and hatred from ever occurring again, I offer two book lists to support the teaching of the tragedy of the Holocaust.

As we often note on Remembrance Day (November 11), let us support this very simple but profound intent:

   Never again.   

Picture Books

The Secret of the Village Fool
Written by Rebecca Upjohn
Illustrated by Renée Benoit
Second Story Press
32 pp.
Ages 8-10
2012

Poland, kindness, hiding, courage

Juvenile Fiction

After the War
Written by Carol Matas
Scholastic Canada
144 pp.
Ages 12-14
1996

Post-war migration

Clara's War (A Holocaust Remembrance Book for Young Readers)
Written by Kathy Kacer
Second Story Press
198 pp.
Ages 12-14
2001 

Terezin

Daniel's Story
Written by Carol Matas
Scholastic Canada
144 pp.
Ages 9-12
1993

Germany, Poland, resistance

The Diary of Laura's Twin (A Holocaust Remembrance Book for Young Readers)
Written by Kathy Kacer
Second Story Press
202 pp.
Ages 11-14
2008

Poland, bat mitzvah, memories

Goodbye, Marianne: A Story of Growing Up in Nazi Germany
Written by Irene Watts
Tundra Books
105 pp.
Ages 9-12
1998 

Berlin, Kindertransport, Hitler Youth

Goodbye, Marianne
Written by Irene N. Watts
Illustrated by Kathryn E. Shoemaker
Tundra Books
128 pp.
Ages 9-12
2008

Graphic novel, Berlin, Kindertransport, Hitler Youth

Greater than Angels
Written by Carol Matas
Scholastic Canada
144 pp.
Ages 11-14
1998

France, deportation, refugee camp

Guardian Angel House
Written by Kathy Clark
Second Story Press
228 pp.
Ages 10-14
2009

Budapest, refugees

Hero
Written by Martha Attema
Orca Book Publishers
131 pp.
Ages 7-10
2003

Netherlands, refugees

Honey Cake
Written by Joan Betty Stuchner
Illustrated by Cynthia Nugent
Tradewind Books
92 pp.
Ages 8-10
2007

Denmark, resistance, Underground

In My Enemy's House
Written by Carol Matas
Scholastic Canada
168 pp.
Ages 11-14
1999

Poland, disguise

The Night Spies (A Holocaust Remembrance Book for Young Readers)
Written by Kathy Kacer
Second Story Press
197 pp.
Ages 10-13
2003

Czechoslovakia, resistance 

The Old Brown Suitcase: A Teenager's Story of War and Peace
Written by Lillian Boraks-Nemetz
Ben-Simon Publication
148 pp.
Ages 10-15
1994

Poland, post-war migration to Canada

The Orphan Rescue
Written by Anne Dublin
Illustrated by Qin Leng
Second Story Press
124 pp.
Ages 9-12
2010

Poland, orphans, factory work


Pieces of the Past : The Holocaust Diary of Rose Rabinowitz, Winnipeg, Manitoba, 1948 (Dear Canada)
Written by Carol Matas 
Scholastic Canada
168 pp.
Ages 9-12
Feb 01, 2013 

Memories, refugees, Poland

Remember Me
Written by Irene Watts
Tundra Books
184 pp.
Ages 10-15
2000 

Kindertransport, England

The Righteous Smuggler (A Holocaust Remembrance Book for Young Readers)
Written by Debbie Spring
Second Story Press
160 pp.
Ages 10-12
2005

Netherlands, deportation, smuggling, resistance

The Secret of Gabi's Dresser
Written by Kathy Kacer
Second Story Press
128 pp.
Ages 9-12
1999 

Czechoslovakia, memories, hiding

Stolen Child
Written by Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch
Scholastic Canada
154 pp.
Ages 8-12
2010

Ukrainians, Lebensborn, memories

Making Bombs for Hitler
Written by Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch 

Scholastic Canada

186 pp.

Ages 8-12

2012

Ukrainians, Ostarbeiter, persecution

Tell No One Who You Are: The Hidden Childhood of Régine Miller
Written by Walter Buchignami
Tundra Books 
185 pp.
Ages 9-13
2008

Belgium

Turned Away: The World War 11 Diary of Devorah Bernstein, Winnipeg, Manitoba, 1941 (Dear Canada)
Written by Carol Matas
Scholastic Canada
199 pp.
Ages 10-14
2005

Escape, immigration to Canada

We Are Their Voice: Young People Respond to the Holocaust (A Holocaust Remembrance Book for Young Readers)
Edited by Kathy Kacer
Second Story Press
232 pp.
Ages 10-13
2012


 

Young Adult

Kanada
Written by Eva Wiseman
Tundra Books
264 pp.
Ages 13 +
2006

Auschwitz

My Canary Yellow Star
Written by Eva Wiseman
Tundra Books
232 pp.
Ages 14+
2001

Hungary, Raoul Wallenberg

Flames of the Tiger
Written by John Wilson
Kids Can Press
176 pp.
Ages 11-17
2003

Germany, Hitler Youth, propaganda

The Thought of High Windows
Written by Lynne Kositsky
Kids Can Press
175 pp.
Ages 11-14
2004

Germany, escape, Underground



A second book list  for International Holocaust Memorial Day will be posted tomorrow.

Gabby

Written by Joyce Grant

Illustrated by Jan Dolby

Fitzhenry & Whiteside

978-1-55455-250-4

32 pp.

Ages 3-6

January 2013

Look at this little cutie!  Could it be a junior Pippi?  No, this little one is Gabby and she is much more grounded and responsible, although still imaginative.

This sweet little girl is responsibly tidying up her room of its toys and books when a falling book deposits its letters every which way but inside the tome.  Fortunately, the very clever letters find their way to appropriate settings: a C on the carpet, an A on an armchair, a T on the table.  And by using those three letters, Gabby creates a very funky CAT.  Then, by retrieving different letters, Gabby is able to feed the CAT.  But when the letters B-I-R-D come together and mayhem ensues, Gabby puts her letter-building skills to work and makes things P-E-R-F-E-C-T (my word, not hers).

Joyce Grant's light-hearted text may demonstrate the fun to be had with building words but with Jan Dolby's cutie Gabby and the joyous letters, the story is more than an alphabet lesson.  Letters become toys with which to play, bend, imagine, build and delight.  They're fun! I dare any child to read this book and think that they are being taught about the alphabet and vocabulary building. And teachers and parents will love the joy that Gabby exudes putting her letters together.  With the "Fun Gabby Activities" put together by author Joyce Grant and illustrator Jan Dolby at the end of the book, children can learn how to draw Gabby, make ribbon words or play a memory game.  There is even more fun to be had at the author's website http://joycegrantauthor.com/ 

I recommend that young readers open the toy box that is Gabby (the book, not the girl) and play with the action-figures called letters.  By bringing learning into the realm of play, Gabby will more than meet expectations, learning and otherwise.

Viking Tales: A YoungCanLit Book List

On the last Tuesday of January, the largest Viking festival, Up Helly Aa, is held in rural Shetlands.  This festival, known as a fire festival, celebrates the Norse heritage of the Shetland Islands and involves a procession with a full-sized replica of a Viking galley ship, complete with shields and weaponry, that is set ablaze.

Procession at Uyeasound Up Helly Aa

 © Copyright Mike Pennington

What better way to participate in Up Helly Aa from Canada than by immersing oneself in the various fiction and non-fiction that includes elements of Viking history or mythology.  The following thirty-six titles present a varied sampling of such tales from our rich youngCanLit. (And, if you're teacher, these present an excellent way to integrate your social studies lessons with books by Canadians.)



Picture Books

Erik the Viking Sheep
by Elizabeth Creith
Illustrated by Linda Hendry
Scholastic Canada
32 pp.
Ages 2-7
1997

 

My Great-great-great-great-great-grandfather...was a Warrior
by Riccardo Francaviglia
Illustrated by Margherita Sgarlata
Lobster Press
24 pp.
Ages 4-8
2003


Chapter Books

Yikes! Vikings! (Canadian Flyer Adventures #4)
by Frieda Wishinsky
Illustrated by Dean Griffiths
Maple Tree Press
83 pp.
Ages 6-9
2007

The Curse of the Viking Grave
by Farley Mowat
McClelland & Stewart
256 pp.
Ages 9+
1987

Out of the Dark
by Welwyn Wilton Katz
Groundwood Books
176 pp.
Ages 11-14
1995

Betrayed: The Legend of Oak Island
by Christopher Dinsdale
Napoleon
292 pp.
Ages 10+
2009

The Dream Carvers
by Joan Clark
Puffin Canada
240 pp.
Ages 11-15
1997

The Face in the Flames (The Adventures of Wordsy & Jessica series)
by David Boyd
Rubicon Publishing
97 pp.
Ages 11 to 14
1989

Catla and the Vikings
by Mary Elizabeth Nelson
Orca Book Publishers
191 pp.
Ages 9-13
2012

Dragon Seer
by Janet McNaughton
HarperCollins
325 pp.
Ages 11-14
2009

Dragon Seer's Gift
by Janet McNaughton
HarperCollins Canada
282 pp.
Ages 10+
2011

The Feathered Cloak (Trilogy of the Tree, Part 1)
by Sean Dixon
Key Porter
143 pp.
Ages 10-13
2007

The Winter Drey (Trilogy of the Tree, Part II)
Sean Dixon
Key Porter Books
221 pp.
Ages 10-12
2009

Draugr (Northern Fright series, Book 1)
by Arthur Slade
Orca Book Publishers
144 pp.
Ages 10-15
1997 
Teachers can download a free study guide for this book from the author's website
 
The Haunting of Drang Island (Northern Fright series, Book 2)
by Arthur G. Slade
Orca Book Publishers
160 pp.
Ages 10-15
1998
A study guide for this book is available from author Arthur Slade's website
 
The Loki Wolf (Northern Fright series, Book 3)
by Arthur Slade
Orca Book Publishers
192 pp.
Ages 10-15
2000 
A study guide for this book is available from Arthur Slade's website 

Kingdom of Trolls (A Middlegate Book)
by Rae Bridgman
Sybertooth
288 pp.
Ages 10-14
2011

Stolen Away
by Christopher Dinsdale
Napoleon
229 pp.
Ages 10-12
2006





Young Adult

Eiriksdottir: A Tale of Dreams and Luck
by Joan Clark
Macmillan
418 pp.
1994

The Fetch (The Runestone Saga, Book I)
by Chris Humphreys
Alfred A. Knopf / Random House of Canada
357 pp.
Ages 13+
2006

Vendetta (The Runestone Saga, Book II)
by Chris Humphreys
Alfred A. Knopf / Random House of Canada
322 pp.
Ages 13+
2007

Possession (The Runestone Saga, Book III)
by Chris Humphreys
Alfred A. Knopf / Random House of Canada
369 pp.
Ages 13+
2008

The Sinclair Saga
by Mark Finnan
Formac
154 pp.
Ages 13+
1999

Under the Mound
by Cynthia Heinrichs
Be Read/Simply Read Books
455 pp.
Ages 11-15
2011

Viking Quest
by Tom Henighan
Dundurn
120 pp.
Ages 12-15
2001

Viking Terror (Book 2)
by Tom Henighan
Dundurn
180 pp.
Ages 12-15
2006







Non-Fiction

Adventures with the Vikings (Good Times Travel Agency)
by Linda Bailey
Illustrated by Bill Slavin
Kids Can Press
48 pp.
Ages 8-12
2001

Beowulf
by Welwyn Wilton Katz
Illustrated by Laszlo Gal
Groundwood Books/Douglas & McIntyre
63 pp.
Ages 10+
1999

Cryptic Canada: Unsolved Mysteries from Coast to Coast
by Natalie Hyde
Illustrated by Matt Hammill
Owlkids Books
48 pp.
Ages 9-11
2012

Explorers Who Made It...or Died Trying
by Frieda Wishinsky
Illustrated by Bill Dickson
Scholastic Canada
155 pp.
Ages 12-14
2011

First Folks and Vile Voyageurs (Hilarious Canadian Histories)
by Claire Mackay
Illustrated by Bill Dickson
Scholastic Canada
169 pp.
Ages 10-13
2001

Life of the Ancient Vikings (Peoples of the Ancient World)
by Hazel Richardson
Crabtree
32 pp.
Ages 9-13
2005

Science Detectives: How Real Scientists Solved Six Real-Life Mysteries
by Editors of Yes Mag
Illustrated by Rose Cowles
Kids Can Press
48 pp.
Ages 8-12
2006

The Vikings (Discovering Canada)
by Robert Livesy
Illustrated by A. G. Smith
Stoddart
90 pp.
1989

Vikings: Dress, Eat, Write, and Play Just Like the Vikings (Hands-On History)
by Fiona Macdonald
Crabtree
32 pp.
Ages 8-11
2008