Jellybean Mouse

Written by Philip Roy

Illustrated by Andrea Torrey Balsara

Ronsdale Press

978-1-55380-344-7

32 pp.

Ages 4-8

September, 2014

I fell in love with Happy the Pocket Mouse when he first appeared in Philip Roy's Mouse Tales (Ronsdale, 2014) and I continue to delight in the tender-hearted relationship between this quirky-whiskered and curious mouse and his housemate, John.

In Jellybean Mouse, Happy is seriously bored but the only exciting adventure on their agenda that day is a trip to the laundromat to wash clothes i.e., not very exciting at all. Happy goes along with John but sees the potential for excitement all along the way: at the bowling alley, the skating rink, and the grocery store.  But, of course, John keeps them on course, regardless of Happy's relentless queries.

Ah, but the laundromat offers a wonderful new option: a jellybean machine.  And though Happy must deal with a few obstacles, his determination is interminable.  He's a curious child who asks, wonders, listens, and ponders, and looks for a way to get what he wants without being selfish or breaking the rules.  Happy's innocence and positive attitude provide him with the hope to find something good in just about anything, and Philip Roy's words share that unpretentiousness superbly.  Honestly, Happy is that precious.

Jellybean Mouse is the simple story of a guardian and his ward, albeit a man and a mouse, and the pure, uncomplicated life they lead, finding joy in the simple pleasures.  Philip Roy gives John and Happy the perfect compassionate relationship to which most of us could only aspire.  And Andrea Torrey Balsara continues to provide the only illustrations that could epitomize John and Happy: the calm, steadfastness of John and the thoughtful, inquisitive Happy.  I don't know whether it's her palette of colours (Happy has a lovely mauve hue to his fur) or the straggly nature of her lines, as in Happy's whiskers, or the softness of John's eyewear and Happy's roundish belly and massive, interested eyes.  All I know is that, courtesy of Philip Roy and Andrea Torrey Balsara, Happy is now as firmly entrenched in my heart as he wanted to be in that jellybean machine.

A Brush Full of Colour: The World of Ted Harrison - Book Event (Victoria)

Join co-authors

Margriet Ruurs and Katherine Gibson

for a presentation and book-signing of 

their incredibly beautiful biography

A Brush Full of Colour: The World of Ted Harrison

by Margriet Ruurs and Katherine Gibson

An Ann Featherstone Book

Pajama Press

978-1-927485-63-7

40 pp.

All ages

September, 2014

Reviewed here

on

Monday, December 1, 2014

7:30-9:30 p.m.

(Doors open at 7:00 p.m.)

at

Saanich Centennial Branch

Greater Victoria Public Library

3110 Tillicum Road

(by Pearkes Arena)

Tickets

$5 and $4 for students

Available at School House

2014 Douglas Street

or

at the door

(Purchasing tickets in advance is recommended to ensure seating)

I expect that this will be a very special event and I encourage anyone who loves beautiful books, artwork, Canadian landscapes, biographies, children's books and so much more to attend.

The Fabulous World of Mr. Fred

by Lili Chartrand

Illustrated by Gabrielle Grimard

Fitzhenry & Whiteside

978-1-55455-346-4

32 pp.

Ages 5+

September 2014

The award-winning Monde fabuleux de Monsieur Fred (Dominique et Compagnie, 2012) has finally been translated into English, introducing new readers to the beautifully illustrated story of friendship, imagination and stories.

Pierrot is a daydreamer, a young boy who loves stories and using his imagination.  Coming across an older man sitting on a park bench and reading an invisible book, the boy introduces himself and joins the man, Mr. Fred.  Instead of treating the man as crazy, Pierrot encourages Mr. Fred to share the stories in his book.  Invited back, Pierrot enjoys Mr. Fred's magical stories, delighting in their mesmeric quality and the joy the story-teller derives.  Finally Mr. Fred feels comfortable to disclose his own story, revealing a tragedy that leads him to meeting Pierrot.  And, though Pierrot tries to excite other children about Mr. Fred and his book, they laugh at him.  That is, all but one little girl, Lila.  Sadly Lila never meets Mr. Fred.  But his friendship and stories become the catalyst for Pierrot and Lila's friendship and future.

Lili Chartrand's lovely story about the healing nature of friendship and the gift of imagination is enhanced with Gabrielle Grimard's expressive illustrations. Her use of watercolours gives the images an ethereal fluidity, though the intense gouache and definition with pencil help ground the story in bright reality.  The Fabulous World of Mr. Fred easily melds intensity and lightness of text and pictures to share a story of similar depth and tenderness.

The Sweetest Thing You Can Sing

by C. K. Kelly Martin

Dancing Cat Books

978-1-770864115

256 pp.

Ages 13+

September, 2014

The Sweetest Thing You Can Sing, as a title, suggests the lightness of song and joy. But those moments are few and far between in the actual story. That's because The Sweetest Thing You Can Sing is a story of secrets, confusion, anger, and grief, with only a few bars of a sweet song that may be heard in the background, leaving you hoping the song will make its way to the forefront and be sung loud and clear and passionately.

When Serena LeBlanc's older brother, Devin, trades a life of Mensa brilliance at university for drugs and life on the street, she could never have foreseen the impact it would have on her and her family.  Having endured Devin's plunge into drugs, theft and erratic behaviour, culminating with his disappearance, Serena's parents seem to have disassociated themselves from any life without Devin.  Mom is constantly on eBay purchasing new Swarovski figurines and Dad just seems to go through the motions of life. Her eldest brother Morgan, a celebrity VJ at MuchMusic, lives with his partner Jimmy in Toronto, but still tries to offer the support they all need to remain an intact family.  Serena, not yet sixteen, loses almost thirty pounds and begins dating Jacob Westermark, leaving behind her old friendships, and enjoying a new popularity.

But recognizing an incident at a party as an attempt at sexual exploitation, Serena swears off Jacob and guys in general, finding new friends in girls Nicole and Genevieve who have been humiliated by their boyfriends too.  Bonding with the girls over their disappointment in boys provides Serena some refuge from her parents' detachment, as does a part-time job as a cashier at Total Drug Mart.  But two events change everything for Serena.

A young man who regularly drops into Total Drug Mart begins to show an interest in Serena.  But Serena is torn between being loyal to her friends and their boyfriend-less status and becoming involved with a really nice guy, Gage Cochrane.  Worse still, Serena doesn't know how to be herself around Gage.  She still sees herself as the chubby girl who would need to throw herself at a guy to keep him interested.  Gage, on the other hand, seems fairly well-adjusted and is not impressed with Serena's sexual antics.

Then, while attending one of Jimmy's art shows in Toronto, Serena spots Devin on the street.  But when he flees from her, catching a streetcar, Serena is left with more questions about who her brother has become and whether he wants to come home ever.

It's painful to read Serena's attempts to understand and find her brother, especially as she examines her relationship with him and how she sees herself.

...I can see with absolute clarity how the tangled mess of my former blubber, personal insecurities, and stupid need for some kind of male appraisal have shaped me into a person I don't want to be. (pg. 114) 

As she did in My Beating Teenage Heart, Yesterday and Tomorrow, C. K. Kelly Martin expertly weaves a story based on the typical confusion of the teen years but with an atypical, devastating situation that impacts that confusion all the more.  In The Sweetest Thing You Can Sing, she imbues the story with a grittiness and harshness about young relationships, especially in the shadow of social media exploitation, and a young man's severance from his family, and creates a series of scenarios you hope you'll never have to experience.  You won't necessarily like Serena (or at least I didn't, at the beginning) but you'll understand how she has become the person she has.  Her life is messy but it's not until she takes some responsibility for that mess and faces that she can't force things to turn out the way she wants that life begins to feel better.  She can't make Devin come home.  She can't make her parents change.  She can't make Gage act like she thinks he should.  Serena cannot make her life all sweet and lovely but she can control herself and her choices and that makes things all the sweeter.  C. K. Kelly Martin gets that very right and, without making Serena's life a Broadway musical, she allows her to find a song that is sure to become sweeter. 

Kissing Frogs: Book Launch (Toronto)

Join 

and 

debut author 

Alisha Sevigny 

for the launch 

of her young adult book

Kissing Frogs

978-1-927746-66-0

231 pp.

Ages 12+

Reviewed here

Interview with Alisha Sevigny 

on

Sunday, November 23, 2014

7 - 9 p.m.

at

College Street Bar

574 College Street

Toronto, ON

Alisha Sevigny will be reading from Kissing Frogs, 

and signing copies of her book which will be available for purchase (cash only).

Jon Klassen: Author/Illustrator Event (Toronto)

Jon Klassen,

author and illustrator of


award-winning picture books

I Want My Hat Back 

This is Not My Hat

and 

illustrator of

Sam and Dave Dig a Hole

will give a short presentation about his work as well as sign his books

on

Tuesday, November 18th, 2014 

5pm – 7pm 

at

Little Island Comics 

742 Bathurst Street

Toronto, ON

Kissing Frogs: Interview with author Alisha Sevigny

Yesterday, I reviewed Kissing Frogs, a new YA novel by Alisha Sevigny and today the author has kindly agreed to answer a few questions about her book and her writing for CanLit for LittleCanadians. Thanks to Colleen McKie at Fierce Ink Press for arranging for this author extra.

Author Alisha Sevigny

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HK:  There is a strong environmental theme to Kissing Frogs.  Would you consider this the most important message you wanted to convey when you were writing the book or was it just one of several you wanted to focus on?

AS:  When I started writing the book this was definitely the main message I wanted to convey. However, as the story and characters evolved it was interesting to see different layers emerge. Themes of self-acceptance and self-definition came up, as well as being open to different people, places and experiences. The book even addresses bullying, which was never an intention but sometimes your characters get ideas of their own!


HK:  So, let’s talk about frogs.  Do you have a background in biology or zoology, or did your interest in these little guys come from another experience?  And, why frogs?

AS:  I don’t have an extensive background in biology but have always enjoyed it and been interested in animal conservation. The reason why frogs figure so prominently in the books is that I wrote it while traveling through Panama, where I learned about what’s happening with frogs there and all over the world. And the scary truth is they’re rapidly going extinct, mainly in part to a fungus called Chytrid. Panama’s national symbol, the golden frog, is one of the species that is believed to now exist only in these mini-arks that house some of the last survivors of their kind.


HK:  Kissing Frogs speaks a lot about self-acceptance, with Jess not sure how she prefers to be seen: as a brainiac or as uber-popular.  Which of these two were you most like in high school and would you have preferred to be otherwise?

AS:  I definitely leaned more towards the scholastic side of things, though I did love drama and acting in the school plays. I was a bit of a mish-mash I suppose; it’s hard to see your younger self objectively! I don’t think I would’ve preferred to be anything other than what I was because all those experiences made me who I am today.


HK:  This is your debut book.  Did you foresee it coming together easily or with difficulty, and how would you describe the actual experience of writing a book from conception to conclusion, through edits and finally publication?

AS:  The original story idea hit me as soon as I arrived in Panama, but it was definitely a process. I wrote the book in about 5 months and then there was a lot of going back and forth with edits with my agent and her intern at the time. And then more edits. And then more. Then we submitted it and ended up getting a deal with the US publisher, Swoon Romance, first, then the Canadian publisher, Fierce Ink Press. And then there were more edits. And then some more. Did I mention there were edits?


HK:  One of my favourite questions to ask authors is the following: Would you rather produce one book of extraordinary importance that becomes a classic but one to which all your writing is forever compared, or would you prefer to author many different books for different audiences and which could not be compared to each other?

AS:  Oooh, that’s a tough one. Maybe the second? I feel like there would be so much pressure with the first one. And I do have lots of ideas bubbling in me for different books and genres!


HK:  What other writing projects do you currently have in the works, and do you see yourself sticking with YA writing?

AS:  I definitely have ideas for other projects (and a couple unfinished manuscripts ;) that lean more towards the new adult/women’s commercial side of things but for now I’m focusing on YA; I love the genre and writing for kids and teens. Getting them involved in reading has always been a passion of mine. I was the BIGGEST bookworm when I was younger. My mom used to get so annoyed with me for reading ALL the time that she’d hide my books. No lie.

  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~  

Many thanks to Alisha Sevigny 

for answering my questions and 

allowing us to post them here for everyone's reading pleasure. 

CanLit for LittleCanadians wishes her all the best 

with the publication of her debut novel.