Internment in Canada: A youngCanLit book list

On August 22, 2014, the 100th anniversary of Canada's first internment operations will be commemorated with the unveiling of 100 plaques across Canada.  These historical plaques will be unveiled at 11 a.m. at Ukrainian, Croatian, Serbian, German, and Hungarian churches and cultural centres, museums and other public venues.

While the internment of Canadians of different nationalities began with the enactment of the War Measures Act at the onset of World War I, there are too many individuals and families that were labeled as enemy aliens during both world wars that we should not forget this blemish in our history.  As such, I've prepared a list of youngCanLit and NFB films that either focus on the tragedy of internment or include characters that have been interned.  The majority of these resources involve the internment of Japanese Canadians during World War II, but please recognize that the commemorative plaques are specifically the work of the Ukrainian Canadian Civil Liberties Foundation to help everyone... Remember, Learn, Never Forget Them. (Further details are available at http://www.internmentcanada.ca/news-events.cfm)

As an aside, I'll be reviewing Marsha Skrypuch's newest book, Dance of the Banished, (listed below) in which a young Alevi Kurd from Anatolia is interned during World War I in a camp in Kapuskasing.  That review will be posted on August 22, and Marsha Skrypuch will answer some questions about her book in a post the following day.


PICTURE BOOKS

Flags

by Maxine Trottier

Illustrated by Paul Morin

Fitzhenry & Whiteside

27 pp.

Ages 8+

1999

Naomi's Tree
by Joy Kogawa
Illustrated by Ruth Ohi
Fitzhenry & Whiteside
32 pp.
Ages 8-11
2008

Silver Threads
by Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch
Illustrated by Michael Martchenko
Fitzhenry & Whiteside
32 pp.
Ages 6-8
2004





FICTION

Beautiful Goodbye
by Nancy Runstedler
Dundurn
146 pp.
Ages 10-12
2013

Caged Eagles
by Eric Walters
Orca Book Publishers
256 pp.
Ages 12-15
2001
Sequel to War of the Eagles

Cherry Blossom Winter
by Jennifer Maruno
Dundurn
174 pp.
Ages 10-13
2012

Dance of the Banished
by Marsha Skrypuch
Pajama Press
288 pp.
Ages 12+
August, 2014

Lesia’s Dream
by Laura Langston
HarperCollins
208 pp.
Ages 11+
2003

My Anastasia
by Sharon Stewart
Scholastic Canada
249 pp.
Ages 11+
1999

Naomi's Road
by Joy Kogawa
Illustrated by Ruth Ohi
Fitzhenry & Whiteside
120 pp.
Ages 9-12
2005

Prisoners in the Promised Land: The Ukrainian Internment Diary of Anya Soloniuk, Spirit Lake, Quebec, 1914 (Dear Canada)
by Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch
Scholastic Canada
243 pp.
Ages 11-14
2007

Sabotage
by Karen Autio
Sono Nis Press
293 pp.
Ages 11-13
2013

Stones for My Father
by Trilby Kent
Tundra Books
170 pp.
Ages 9-13
2011

Torn Apart: The Internment Diary of Mary Kobayashi, Vancouver, British Columbia, 1941 (Dear Canada)
by Susan Aihoshi
Scholastic Canada
209 pp.
Ages 10-13
2012

War of the Eagles

by Eric Walters

Orca Book Publishers

224 pp.

Ages 12-15

1998

When the Cherry Blossoms Fell
by Jennifer Maruno
Napoleon
112 pp.
Ages 9-12
2009

The Whirlwind
by Carol Matas
Orca Book Publishers
128 pp.
Ages 12-14
2007

Winds Through Time: An Anthology of Canadian Historical Young Adult Fiction
Ann Walsh, ed.
Beach Holme Publishing
162 pp.
Ages 10+
1998






NON-FICTION

A Child in Prison Camp
by Shizuye Takashima
Tundra
102 pp.
Ages 10+
1976

A Curious Cage: Life in a Japanese Internment Camp 1943-1945
by Peggy Abkhazi
Sono Nis Press
167 pp.
Ages 14+
2002

Italian Canadian Internment in the Second World War (Righting Canada's Wrongs)
by Pamela Hickman and Jean Smith Cavalluzzo
Lorimer
111 pp.
Ages 14-17
2012

Japanese Canadian Internment in the Second World War (Righting Canada’s Wrongs)
by Pamela Hickman and Masako Fukawa
Lorimer 
160 pp.
Ages 14+
2011

The Kids Book of Canadian Immigration
by Deborah Hodge
Illustrated by John Mantha
Kids Can Press
64 pp.
Ages 8-12
2006

Kobzar’s Children: A Century of Untold Ukrainian Stories
Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch, ed.
Fitzhenry & Whiteside
199 pp.
Ages 13+
2006

This Land We Call Home
by Alison Lohans
Pearson Education
189 pp.
Ages 11-13
2007

On a Canadian Day: Nine Story Voyages Through History
by Rona Arato
Illustrated by Peter Ferguson
Maple Tree Press/Owlkids Books
96 pp.
Ages 9-13
2009






FILM

Barbed Wire and Mandolins
Directed by Nicola Zavaglia
Produced by Sam Grana
National Film Board of Canada
46 min., 45 sec.
Ages 14-17
1997

Freedom Had a Price
Directed and produced by Yurij Luhovy
National Film Board of Canada
55 min.
Ages 12+
1994

Obachan's Garden
Directed by Linda Ohama
Produced by Selwyn Jacob and Linda Ohama
National Film Board of Canada
94 min.
Ages 13+
2001



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Additional books more appropriate for adults, such as Blood and Salt by Barbara Sapergia (Coteau, 2011), are available but not listed here because of their unsuitability for youngCanLit readers.  But do seek them out for greater depth into the history of internment in Canada, sadly a less than proud part of our heritage.

Blood Prophecy (The Drake Chronicles, Book 6)

by Alyxandra Harvey

Walker Books/Bloomsbury

978-0-802734297

475 pp.

Ages 14+

2013

Blood Prophecy, the sixth and final book of Alyxandra Harvey's The Drake Chronicles, came out at the end of last year but I couldn't bear to read it.  Ending trilogies is hard enough. Imagine what it's like having committing yourself to getting involved with characters after six books. But it's time.  Time to wrap up story-lines, relationships and clean up the messes from nasty vampires and rogue hunters.

When the various vampire tribes gathered at the Blood Moon (Book 5) to forge relationships and see the new queen crowned, Solange, the youngest of the Drake offspring, was not dealing well with her new vampire-ness, seeming to have gone to the darkside and listening to a voice that encourages her to feed her blood lust (not something her family does).  Sadly, her brother Nicholas and her best friend, Lucy, Nicholas' girlfriend, get caught up in her machinations, which then threaten all the Drakes and relationships between tribes.

While Solange struggles to command her thinking and actions, she begins having bizarre experiences–like time travel or magic–in which she relives the events that the voice in her head, Viola, endured in the 12th c. There are dragons, dungeons, witches, a love interest, a nasty grandmother, and a whole lot of anger.  Luckily, Lucy is sure that Solange is not herself and more likely possessed by another's spirit.  Lucy gets help from all the Drakes and close friends to attempt to rid Solange of Viola, and make things right at the Blood Moon camp where Solange/Viola caused much mayhem.  And did I mention that somebody, dubbed the Dracula Killer, is murdering humans and making it look like the vampires are to blame?

By alternating chapters from the points of view of Solange, Lucy and Nicholas, Alyxandra Harvey provides the means for the characters, and the readers, to put the clues together about Solange's bizarre behaviour, though tracking Solange's actions was rather confusing.  I actually enjoyed the emphasis on Lucy's voice again, as each of the Drake Chronicles books tend to emphasize the budding relationship of one Drake son with a new character, and Lucy and Nicholas' relationship has not been front and center since Hearts at Stake.  Of course, Kieran and Solange do resolve their bumpy love in Blood Prophecy but Lucy and Nicholas' interactions are so much more satisfying.  That said, I think Alyxandra Harvey had a hard time trying to incorporate all the established romances (Hunter and Quinn, Christabel and Connor, Isabeau and Logan) into Blood Prophecy, though they all make appearances.  Because the couples vary greatly in their sensibilities, their cursory participation in the plot, sadly, just wasn't enough for fans of the Drakes.

While Blood Prophecy and Blood Moon to some extent establish the story-line that brings together all the groups, vampire and not, introduced in the earlier books, Books 1-4 are still my favourites, relying more on establishing the Drake family and its interactions with these groups.  With three Drake sons–Sebastian, Marcus and Duncan–left without their own full novels in which they find partners for themselves, The Drake Chronicles ended far too abruptly for me.  I wanted more.  

Luckily, though Alyxandra Harvey has completed the novels of The Drake Chronicles with Blood Prophecy, look for extras at her website and elsewhere.  There are six novellas, including Sound and Fury which is appended to Blood Prophecy, to help take the sting off the end. 

Mister Got To Go, Where Are You?

Written by Lois Simmie

Illustrated by Cynthia Nugent

Red Deer Press

978-0-88995-490-8

32 pp.

Ages 4+

June 2014

Mister Got To Go, resident feline of the Sylvia Hotel in Vancouver and star of Mister Got To Go: The Cat That Wouldn't Leave (2003) and Mister Got To Go and Arnie (2012), is back in his newest story, Mister Got To Go, Where Are You? from Lois Simmie and Cynthia Nugent.  This time, Got To Go is missing.

After nine years enjoying life at the Sylvia Hotel, Got To Go truly appreciates all the little perks, so it's hard to believe that Got To Go would just leave.  While Mister Foster, the hotel manager, has never thought the cat appropriate for the hotel, hence his name, Mister Got To Go's absence is of great concern to everyone at the hotel, including Mister Foster.

Got to Go hadn't planned to leave when he jumps into the leaves in the back of a gardening truck.  But when he jumps off, he doesn't know how to get home.  He makes a quick friend in Jim, a homeless man who shares his fish and chips and cardboard box in the park with Got To Go.  However, after three days, homesickness sets in. But how is he going to get home when he can't even smell the sea?  Poor Got To Go endures hardship upon hardship as he looks for any signs of home.  He gets wet in the rain, cuts his paw on something sharp, is chased by a dog, fights with another cat,  and goes hungry. But when he finally smells the sea again, Got To Go knows the direction he has got to go.

It's delightful to see Mister Got To Go again and in a story in which he is able to find a happy ending, i.e., his home at the Sylvia Hotel.  Lois Simmie's text doesn't anthropomorphize this special cat but rather gives words to the thoughts he must have when lost.  His demeanour is one of calm and quiet determination, coupled with resolve that he will get home, and it's this that will have little ones cheering for him.  Cynthia Nugent gets him right every time, whether he is curious, wet, scared or content. He may not do the big goofy grins of a Cheshire Cat but he is everyone's cat, the cats we love, worry over, spoil, and treat like family.  Maybe that's why we love Mister Got To Go: his story is the happy ending we wish for all the homeless, feline and otherwise.  As much as some may scoff at their contributions to our lives, they are all worthy of our care.  Lois Simmie and Cynthia Nugent get that right in Mister Got To Go, Where Are You?

Just as an aside, the endpapers of the book show Got To Go's extensive travels both from the hotel (front endpaper, below) and back to the hotel (back endpaper) and are a delightful means to track his journey.  Although the maps are reader-friendly, I suspect those who have been to Vancouver and specifically to the Sylvia Hotel will be particularly enamoured.

Red River Stallion: Guest Review 2

by Troon Harrison

Bloomsbury

978-1599908458

304 pp.

Ages 10-14

2013

Dear Troon Harrison,

    First of all, I just wanted to say that your book was awesome! I really enjoyed it and couldn’t put it down. It held my attention throughout the whole book, and that’s saying something, because I like novels that are exciting, and your’s fit the bill! I am an extremely soft-hearted person, and I felt so bad for Amelia and her beloved family, especially when the letter from Amelia’s father was hidden, and the family had thought that he had abandoned them.
    Throughout the book, I was able to connect to many of Amelia and Charlotte’s experiences. I can remember as a younger girl being so captivated of a gorgeous horse, and not being able to look away, just like Amelia when she saw Foxfire. I also can remember being so desperate to have a guide that I would look in the rarest spots, just as Amelia looked for her pawaken. By the end of the book, I can infer that Amelia realized that she didn’t need a pawaken, and that she was strong enough to face her own problems.
    Out of ten, I would rate your book a 9 because it was very exciting and I wanted the book to go on and on forever. One slight area that was not as enjoyable for me was how I had to reread some sections over and over before they made sense. Overall though, I loved your book and I beg you to write another one about Amelia and Charlotte’s adventures by the Red River with their beloved father and Foxfire.

Sincerely,

Grace D
Age 12

Red River Stallion: Guest Review 1

by Troon Harrison

Bloomsbury

978-1599908458

304 pp.

Ages 10-14

2013

Red River Stallion is a moving, deep story that perfectly portrays the struggle to find one's identity and destiny.  The author was able to capture how difficult it is to find one's purpose and future in the world, using the life of Amelia Otterchild, and kept me engaged throughout the entire read.

Red River Stallion is centered around a young Cree girl named Amelia, who is alone to look after her younger sister since the death of her mother and the disappearance of her father.  She is able to get a glimpse of happiness when she befriends a beautiful stallion the she presumes to be her soul guardian, but the only way for Amelia to remain with him is to travel with her sister to the Red River Valley, the last known location of her father.  As she journeys, frightened and hopeful, Amelia is faced with challenges of all kinds, from raging storms to sickening grief.  But by making new friends and accepting truths of the past, Amelia perseveres to continue her search for her father, comforted by the love of her family and close companions.

What was most enjoyable about Red River Stallion was the character depth.  Amelia's outside appearance showed courage, curiosity and a deep passion for horses.  But the inner conflict she felt was also very powerful, a battle between grief from the past and hope for the future.  I thoroughly enjoyed reading about all of these feelings inside of her, and seeing the way she changed as the good began to overpower the bad.

I also enjoyed the culture that was woven into the Red River Stallion story.  Through reading about Amelia and her adventures, I discovered many interesting truths of First Nations history that I had not been aware of before reading.  Their beliefs, their habits, and their very lives were expertly scattered throughout the story, and kept me fascinated cover to cover.

All in all, Red River Stallion was an expertly written, wonderfully detailed story that kept my interest through every chapter.  It was bursting with culture, inner conflict and themes of hope, renewal and friendship.  I can confidently rate it with nine stars out of ten, and would certainly recommend it to any reader.

Niki, Age 12

Work: An Occupational ABC

by Kellen Hatanaka

Groundwood Books

978-1-55498-409-1 (hc)

40 pp.

Ages 3-7

For release August, 2014

(My apologies to Kellen Hatanaka and Groundwood for the inability of my scanner to accurately reproduce the colours in the illustrations of the book.  Discrepancies are solely my own. So, readers, you'll need to get your hands on the actual book to fully enjoy the breadth and contrast of colours within.)

I'm sure a lot of readers will initially react to an ABC book with, "Not another ABC book!" and maybe some publishers react that way as well.  But I'm glad Groundwood Books didn't and I know that youngCanLit readers won't once they open the bold and inviting Work: An Occupational ABC from artist, now author-illustrator, Kellen Hatanaka.

As in all picture books, the text must work well with the illustrations as a cohesive entity, not just a bunch of words with a bunch of pictures in a 32-page format. (Sadly, there are books like that published daily.) Kellen Hatanaka has effortlessly partnered the names of a variety of occupations, both traditional and exotic, with his illustrations, providing graphic details of each occupation embracing the first letter of that occupation.  For example, the P for Postal Worker page (see above right) includes the postal worker carrying her stamped and string-tied letter P as a heavy parcel, with a rural mailbox and shrubbery and flowers scattered around. The emphasis is on: 1) the letter and 2) its association with the worker and 3) the name of the job. Here children will see 1) the letter P, 2) marked as a mailing and carried by 3) the postal worker.  For the very youngest, that's all that is needed. For children in Kindergarten and older, the details become a cache of hidden information.  And kids will always see these sooner than most adult readers, so let them discover and discuss and persuade you of their meaning.

The collection of occupations is broad and fascinating, undoubtedly leading to much discussion.  From the aviator, to the horticulturalist and the detective and oceanographer, and finally to the xenologist, yogi and zookeeper, readers will be intrigued by the possible careers out there. And look for Kellen Hatanaka's enigmatic details of each occupation in single sentence "Want Ads" at the conclusion of the book.  

But, as Kellen Hatanaka is first and foremost an artist and designer, I'd like to attempt (poorly, I'm sure) to describe the perfection of his graphics in Work: An Occupational ABC.  By using silk screen printing for the illustrations, Kellen Hatanaka has created unassuming images that ensure clarity, allowing young readers to identify elements easily.  From stylized flowers and trees, and faces lacking details, to a German shepherd  and a walrus, everything is identifiable and still encouraging of inquiry.  Moreover, the palette of rose, salmon, sea green, olive, with the occasional black and blues, feels like a colour embrace, completely non-threatening and absolutely calming.

Work: An Occupational ABC is both an informative and evocative ABC book, sure to lead children to consider new careers, but it is also a book of art that should be appreciated regularly. Hopefully the future will bring Kellen Hatanaka's artwork to more youngCanLit so that I may add him to our already impressive collection of youngCanLit's Who's Who of Illustrators. He will surely deserve a place there.

Glory (The Dust Chronicles, Book Three)

by Maureen McGowan

Skyscape

978-1477817261

312 pp.

Ages 13+

June 2014

Please read this review only if you've already read Deviants and Compliance, Books One and Two respectively, in Maureen McGowan's The Dust Chronicles.  I'd hate for you to miss out on the twists and turns of the plot that have led the way to Glory.

Glory Solis has experienced quite a trajectory from her dismal life in Haven hiding her brother Drake's deviance as well as her own, and believing that their father Hector had murdered their mother before he was expunged to outside Haven, ostensibly to attempt to survive attacks by Shredders.

Glory, her best friend Jayma and Glory's former dating partner Cal have now joined Drake and Hector in Concord, having escaped the clutches of the evil Mrs. Kalin, who uses mind control to manipulate the masses.  But, although Burn, the young Freedom Army (FA) fighter with whom Glory is romantically entangled, has helped them escape, his apprehension about hurting her when his deviance arises is pulling them apart.

A well-orchestrated Shredder attack on Concord, when Rolph and the FA are away, has Glory suspecting Mrs. Kalin, even more so when she taps into the mind of a female Shredder.  This Shredder, who Glory hides away in a concealed cellar to limit her access to Dust, had been a Haven employee before entering Hospital, Mrs. Kalin's domain, and then sent out to

"Find the girl.  Bring the girl.  The President needs the girl." (pg. 77)

While the FA works at forming treaties with another Outside community before launching its ultimate attack on Haven, Glory's focus is on finding her missing father; resolving her attractions to both Burn and Cal; helping the female Shredder, Caroline, get off the Dust; and easing Burn's conviction that he is a monster, having been abandoned by his family for this reason. Add the hostility of the revenge-seeking Zina, a long-lost Shredder relative, Jayma's newly-found Deviance (or gift), and the death of a significant character, and Maureen McGowan has brilliantly composed a spectacular conclusion to The Dust Chronicles. The writing is tight, the subplots intricate, and the resolution gratifying.

But, beyond the story, I think the success of Glory and the entire series is the flawed nature of the characters.  Regardless of any deviances, they are imperfect, making both poor and better choices; conflicted by what they see or hear and what they feel; readily jumping to conclusions, often incorrectly; and continuing to try to resolve situations well. And they don't know in whom to place their trust. Trust is a very fragile commodity.

In a dystopian world in which time is measured relative to the coming of the Dust–BTD represents "before the Dust"–perspective and perceptions are flawed, based on limited communications and movement, as well as wholesale propaganda about the Dust and the ensuing social hierarchy.  It's scary to see how easily a dystopian world arises after a cataclysmic event.  (This is especially frightening when I consider the current climatic evidence of global warming.)  And, even though there are supernatural elements that wouldn't correspond to anything in our world, it is reassuring to know that there are those  who care about the welfare of others, first and foremost, and work towards ameliorating prejudices, addictions, and hierarchies that hide greed and aggression.  The people of Haven, Concord, Houston, and Fort Huron are too realistic to be discounted but Maureen McGowan presents both possibilities (e.g., mind control) and impossibilities (e.g., displaying protective scales) to disquiet and reassure the reader.  Couple that with an ingenious plot and a little romance, and that's a hefty accomplishment.  

New covers for the entire Dust Chronicles

Maureen McGowan will be reading at this year's Eden Mills Writers' Festival. Come out on September 14, 2014 to meet Maureen McGowan and other youngCanLit authors.  It's always a great time!