Rights of the Child: Social Justice Book List #5

The United Nations Convention of the Rights of the Child which consists of 54 articles and two optional protocols helps guide UNICEF (United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund) in its mandate to protect the rights of children.   This extensive document which can be accessed at http://www.unicef.org/crc/ is a set of minimum entitlements and freedoms that should be respected by all governments.  Some of these rights include the following:

• parental guidance;
• survival and development;
• identity;
• freedom of expression;
• privacy;
• protection from violence;
• health and treatment;
• social services;
• education;
• leisure, play and culture;
• adequate standard of living; and
• freedom from exploitation.

While many books demonstrate children's rights, the books listed below have a significant focus on these rights.

Picture Books

The Flute
by Rachna Gilmore
Illustrated by Pulak Biswas
Fitzhenry & Whiteside
32 pp.
Ages 3-7
2011 

Gift Days
by Kari-Lynn Winters
Illustrated by Stephen Taylor
Fitzhenry & Whiteside
32 pp.
Ages 7+
2012

The Little Yellow Bottle
by Angèle Delaunois
Illustrated by Christie Delezzen
Second Story Press
24 pp.
Ages 6-19
2011

The Roses in My Carpets
by Rukhsana Khan
Illustrated by Ronald Himler
Fitzhenry & Whiteside
32 pp.
Ages 7-9
2004

Fiction

Alexandria of Africa

by Eric Walters

Doubleday Canada/Random House Canada

200 pp.

Ages 10-14

2008

    

 All Good Children

by Catherine Austen

Orca Book Publishers
300 pp.
Ages 14+
2011

Chanda's Secrets

by Allan Stratton

Annick Press

193 pp.

Ages 12-15

2004

Dear Jo: The Story of Losing Leah...and Searching for Hope

by Christina Kilbourne

Lobster Press

188 pp.

Ages 10-15

2007

Factory Girl

by Barbara Greenwood

Kids Can Press

136 pp.

Ages 9-14

2007

The Paper House

by Lois Peterson

Orca Book Publishers

108 pp.

Ages 8-11

2012

The Tiffin

by Mahtab Narsimhan

Dancing Cat Books

190 pp.

AGes 9-12

2011

Wanting Mor

by Rukhsana Khan

Groundwood Books

192 pp.

Ages 10-14

2009

Watching Jimmy

by Nancy Hartry

Tundra Books

144 pp.

Ages 10-14

2009

Non-Fiction

Children of War: Voices of Iraqi Refugees
by Deborah Ellis
Groundwood Books
128 pp.
Ages 10 and up
2009
 

Dangerous Crossings!: Ten Daring Treks Across Land, Sea, and Air 
by Antonia Banyard
Annick Press
146 pp.
Ages 10-13
2007

If You Could Wear My Sneakers! : A Book about Children’s Rights
by Sheree Fitch
Illustrated by Darcia Labrosse
Doubleday Canada
32 pp.
Ages 8-11
1997

I Have the Right to Be a Child
by Alain Serres
Illustrated by Aurélia Fronty
Translated by Helen Bixter
Groundwood Books
48 pp.
Ages 4-7
2012

Last Airlift: A Vietnamese Orphan’s Rescue from War
by Marsha Skrypuch
Pajama Press
99 pp.
Ages 10-15
2011

Mimi's Village and How Basic Health Care Transformed It
by Katie Smith Milway
Illustrated by Eugenie Fernandes
Kids Can Press
32 pp.
Ages 8-11
2012

Our Stories, Our Songs: African Children Talk about AIDS
by Deborah Ellis

Fitzhenry & Whiteside

104 pp.

Ages 12+

2005

Shannen and the Dream for a School
by Janet Wilson
Second Story Press

206 pp.

Ages 8+
2011

SOS: Stories of Survival: True Tales of Disaster, Tragedy, and Courage
by Ed Butts
Tundra Books
120 pp.
Ages 9-12
2007 

This Child, Every Child: A Book About the World's Children
by David J. Smith
Kids Can Press
36 pp.
Ages 9-12
2011

When I Get Older: The Story Behind “Wavin’ Flag”
by K'NAAN and Sol Sol
Illustrated by Rudy Gutierrez
Tundra Books
32 pp.
Ages 6+
2012

When Children Play: The Story of Right to Play
by Gina McMurchy-Barber
Fitzhenry & Whiteside
48 pp.
Ages 10+
2013

Nix Minus One

Written by Jill MacLean

Pajama Press

978-1-927485-25-5

Ages 12+

296 pp.

February 15, 2013



"Two's tougher than one."

This is what Roxanne used to say to her younger brother Nixon Humbolt, once known as Fatty Humbolt, when they were younger.  Because of his girth and quiet nature ("Unless he addresses his issues around communication, Nixon will be unsuited for any occupation that requires interfacing with the public" wrote his guidance counsellor), Nixon often needed someone in his corner.  

Now 15 and 16, it's Nix and Roxy.  Nix is taller and leaner and more skilled at finding the means to fight his battles.  For example, saddened to see the hopelessness in the dog forever chained outside boozy Swiff Dunphy's place, Nix buys a leash and dog treats, and essentially tells Swiff he's taking the dog for walks.  The dog, who Nix names Twig, may be reticent at first, but eventually the two are walking out on the Newfoundland barrens daily and getting more fit.  Between attending school, woodworking in his dad's furniture-making shop, crushing on a friend's girlfriend and walking Twig, Nix feels like his life is full enough.

Roxy, on the other hand, always seems to feel like there's more out there.  She's developing a rebellious streak: changing her hair colour, breaking rules, becoming a party girl and then going out with a senior - rich kid Bryan Sykes - who supposedly deals in drugs and is always accompanied by his friend and enforcer Cyril.  Regardless how little time they actually spend together anymore, Nix repeatedly advises Roxy to stay away from Bryan, even while covering her when she stays out overnight or comes home drunk.  

How can someone drive you into the middle of next week and make you feel like you'd slay sixteen dragons for her? (pg. 105)

And Roxy has her own advice for Nix, that is, other than to stay out of her business. She suggests that he's always playing it safe, sheltering himself in a box so that he can avoid taking risks that could result in failure.  For example, she declares that he's only crushing on Chase's girlfriend, Loren, because he knows he can't have her.  (Of course she doesn't know that Nix has been thinking more and more about Chase's 14-year-old sister, Blue, who birds on the barrens and for whom he is building bird boxes.) But when Swiff sells Twig, Roxy tries to get Nix to think outside the box and find the means to get "his" dog back.

And then everything changes.

Nix Minus One shows off Jill MacLean's characteristic strong plotting that helped win countless awards and nominations for her other books: The Nine Lives of Travis Keating (Fitzhenry & Whiteside, 2008), The Present Tense of Prinny Murphy (Fitzhenry & Whiteside, 2009) and Home Truths (Dancing Cat Books, 2010).  She creates characters who would be considered ordinary, i.e., less than perfect, and has them deal with troubling, even tragic circumstances.  Roxy, Nix, Blue, and even Mom and Dad, are more reflective of Jill MacLean's readership than the sterile but beautiful people of popular shows and movies.  By making Nix Minus One's characters into "real" people who make some wise decisions, some incredibly poor choices and some that fortuitously leave no permanent scars, Jill MacLean fosters understanding and empathy.

I would like to recognize Nix Minus One as Jill MacLean's first foray into the novels-in-verse genre, heralding a new achievement in writing for her.  While her writing is strong and fluid but laced with vulnerability, Nix Minus One demonstrates the one-two punch nature of novels in verse:  the author's word choice and sentence structure are now enhanced with the form of the writing.  The structure of the verse can intensify the text, or suggest confusion, weakness or apathy, though Jill MacLean always chooses wisely, never overworking her form or content.  So, while the title suggests a subtraction or loss, I believe Nix Minus One demonstrates that Jill MacLean has found the literary means, i.e., free verse, to add to the total experience of one of her stories.  As an equation, that would read,

Nix - 1 =  Jill MacLean²

 ❒  ❒  ❒  ❒  ❒  ❒  ❒  ❒ 

A teaser book trailer for Nix Minus One was uploaded on February 1, 2013 by Erin Woods of Pajama Press to YouTube and can be viewed on CanLit for LittleCanadians Book Trailers page here.

Building Supportive Communities: Social Justice Book List #4

The books listed here can be used to demonstrate how people support others and Build Supportive Communities, another key issue in the teaching of Social Justice.


Picture Books

Bagels from Benny
by Aubrey Davis
Illustrated by Dušan Petričić
Kids Can Press
32 pp.
Age 5-8
2003

Boo Hoo Bird
by Jeremy Tankard
Scholastic Canada
28 pp.
Ages 3-5
2009

Dear Baobab
by Cheryl Foggo
Illustrated by Qin Leng
Second Story Press
24 pp.
Ages 6-8
2011

Don’t Laugh at Giraffe
by Rebecca Bender
Pajama Press
32 pp.
Ages 3-6
2012

Giraffe and Bird
by Rebecca Bender
Dancing Cat Books
32 pp.
Ages 3-6
2010

Grumpy Bird
by Jeremy Tankard
Scholastic Canada
32 pp.
Ages 3-5
2007

Lily and the Paper Man
by Rebecca Upjohn
Illustrated by Renné Benoit
Second Story Press
24 pp.
Ages 4-7
2007

A Man Called Raven
by Richard Van Camp
Illustrated by George Littlechild
Children's Book Press
32 pp.
Ages 7+
1997

Mattland
by Helen Hutchins and Gail Herbert
Illustrated by Dušan Petričić
Annick
32 pp.
Ages 4-7
2008

The Rumor: A Jataka Tale from India
by Jan Thornhill
Maple Tree Press
32 pp.
Ages 5-7
2002

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

The Sidewalk Rescue
by Helen Hutchins
Illustrated by Ruth Ohi
Annick Press
32 pp.
Ages 3-6
2004

Small Saul
by Ashley Spires
Kids Can Press
32 pp.
Ages 3-7
2011

Virginia Wolf
by Kyo Maclear
Illustrated by Isabelle Arsenault
Kids Can Press
32 pp.
Ages 5-10
2012

Weber Street Wonder Work Crew
by Maxwell Newhouse
Tundra Books
24 pp.
Ages 4-7
2010

You’re Mean, Lily Jean
by Frieda Wishinsky
Illustrated by Kady MacDonald Denton
Scholastic Canada
30 pp.
Ages 5-8
2009

Fiction

The Ballad of Knuckles McGraw

by Lois Peterson

Orca Book Publishers

105 pp.

Ages 8-13

2010

Chance to Dance for You

by Gail Sidonie Sobat
Great Plains Teen Fiction
172 pp.
Ages 14+
2011

The Crazy Man

by Pamela Porter

Groundwood Books

214 pp.

Ages 8-12

2005

Crossing to Freedom
by Virginia Frances Schwartz
Scholastic Canada
231 pp.
Ages 10+
2010

crush. candy. corpse.
by Sylvia McNicoll
Lorimer
219 pp.
Ages 12+
2012

 Cuts Like a Knife
by Darlene Ryan
Orca Book Publishers
109 pp.
Ages 14+
2012

Fostergirls
by Liane Shaw
Second Story Press
256 pp.
Ages13-16
2011

I'll Be Home Soon
by Luanne Armstrong
Ronsdale Press
200 pp.
Ages 10+
2012

Love is a Four-Letter Word

by Vikki VanSickle
Scholastic Canada
237 pp.
Ages 9-13
2011

Making Bombs for Hitler
by Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch
Scholastic Canada
186 pp.
Ages 8-12
2012

Not with a Bang

by Gail Sidonie Sobat
Magpie Books
118 pp.
Ages 14+
2012

The Paper House
by Lois Peterson
Orca Book Publishers
108 pp.
Ages 8-11
2012 

The Town That Drowned
by Riel Nason
Goose Lane Editions
273 pp.
Ages 12+
2011

Non-Fiction

Courage and Compassion: Ten Canadians Who Made a Difference
by Rona Arato
Maple Leaf Press
96 pp.
Ages 11-13
2008

Last Airlift: A Vietnamese Orphan’s Rescue from War
by Marsha Skrypuch
Pajama Press
99 pp.
Ages 10-15
2011 

One Hen: How One Small Loan Made a Big Difference
by Katie Smith Milway
Illustrated by Eugenie Fernandes
Kids Can Press
32 pp.
Ages 7+
2008
 

Watch This Space: Designing, Defending and Sharing Public Spaces
by Hadley Dyer
Illustrated by Marc Ngui
Kids Can Press
80 pp.
Ages 13-17
2010