Best Friends Through Eternity: Book Launch (Burlington, ON)

Join 

Sylvia McNicoll

author of numerous middle-grade and young adult novels

including

crush. candy. corpse

Lorimer 

978-1-4594-00627 

219 pp. 

Ages 12+ 

2012

Dying to Go Viral

Fitzhenry & Whiteside

978-1554552719

232 pp.

Ages 12+

2013

Revenge on the Fly

Pajama Press

978-1-927485-56-9

224 pp.

Ages 8+

2014 

for the release of her newest young adult book

Best Friends Through Eternity

Tundra Books

978-1-77049-710-8 

192 pp.

Ages 12+

Sunday, February 15, 2015

 2:00 p.m. 

at

 A Different Drummer Books 

513 Locust Street

Burlington, Ontario

Call or email to reserve an autographed copy

905.639.0925

diffdrum@mac.com

Sylvia McNicoll promises Indian food, a demonstration on sari dressing, a reading and autograph session.

No-Matter-What Friend

by Kari-Lynn Winters

Illustrated by Pierre Pratt

Tradewind Books

978-1-1896580838

32 pp.

Ages 3-6

2014

How Kari-Lynn Winters is able to express the magnitude of a lifetime of friendship in a mere 24 lines, some of only one or two words, is beyond me.  But she does so with her choice of understated vocabulary and its affective quality.

When a boy interrupts his playing with his peers to stop and spend time with his old dog, he enjoys the fond memories of being with his no-matter-what friend.  The turquoise ball from toddler days continues to be an important part of their play, even once the boy is able to ride a bike, climb trees and ski. And still the dog–maybe a cross between a Great Pyrenees and a Newfoundlander–with the jowly face and thoughtful eyes stays by the boy's side.  But Bud is growing old while the boy is growing up, and the boy's beckoning of Bud to come and play must be amended to respect all that the two mean to each other still.  Sweetly, the boy knows how to be a no-matter-what friend to Bud as well.

I became enamoured with Pierre Pratt's unique art with Gustave (Simard, 2014) in which the heavily-inked illustrations helped impose the sombre tone of that picture book. However, in No-Matter-What Friend, Pierre Pratt's ink-outlined elements are softened by lines of diffuse edges and fill of warm colours that complement the friendly nature of the boy-dog relationship. Appropriately, the association of Kari-Lynn Winters' endearing text with Pierre Pratt's art depicts fully the wealth and breadth of the two characters' companionable love.

Sweetest Kulu

Written by Celina Kalluk

Illustrated by Alexandria Neonakis

Inhabit Media

978-1-927095-77-5

32 pp.

Ages 0-6

2014

The baby addressed as Kulu–an Inuktitut term of endearment–is cradled as softly in the embrace of the Arctic's natural elements, floral and faunal, as the book cover above rests in the illustration of its green end papers.  Gently, securely, safely, lovingly.  And the words that are sung to the child from the lulling poetry of the text convey even more the expanse of caring and respect afforded the child in his/her Arctic milieu. 

From the Sun bathing the child in "ribbons of warm light" to the Wind who "had learned your name, charming Kulu, and invited the world to meet you",  Kulu is welcomed by a multitude of visitors that come to greet the child and gift Kulu with positive attributes of being loving, helpful, tender, creative, patient and more.  Each gift bestowed becomes the song the world sings to Kulu "because you are true love."

I can imagine the words of Sweetest Kulu as a lullaby to reassure Kulu to accept the riches of the world and the goodness within to lull the child into the sweetest of slumbers. Author Celina Kalluk is an Inuit throat singer and the lyrical quality of Sweetest Kulu is evident in every verse. Her words are as beautiful as the sentiment with which they are infused.

Adventurous Snow Bunting gifted you seeds from Arctic cotton,
and flowers for you to plant and grow with,
reminding you to always believe in yourself,
happy Kulu. (pg. 8)

I have never heard of artist Alexandria Neonakis, a Nova Scotian illustrator currently residing in California.  Sweetest Kulu is only the second children's book she has illustrated but I suspect that the demand for her artwork will increase exponentially.  Her use of colour and line to create a myriad of textures and feelings, all with an Arctic flavour, are so compelling that I'm convinced the child is perfectly safe at the head of a great muskox or snuggled by a polar bear beside her cub.  

Sweet Sweetest Kulu has just been selected, justifiably so, for the USSBY 2015 Outstanding International Book List, representing the best of children's literature from other countries, only one of 42 books for younger readers from pre-K to Grade 12.  Looks like others have welcomed Sweetest Kulu and the work of Celina Kalluk and Alexandria Neonakis as warmly as the story's child has been embraced.

In a Cloud of Dust

by Alma Fullerton

Illustrated by Brian Deines

Pajama Press

978-1927485620

32 pp.

Ages 4-8

For release March, 2015

Like so many children who live in isolated communities in Africa, Anna accepts the need to travel long hours if she is to attend school.  The opportunity for schooling is worth it.  While others may be playing football during lunch break, Anne completes her homework which she cannot do at home as she always arrives home after dark.  This day, however, she has missed the arrival of the bicycle library and all the bicycles are snatched up by her classmates.

But, Anna still recognizes the value of these donated bicycles and goes out of her way to help her friends learn how to ride, experiencing their joy vicariously.  However, by accompanying them on their rides home, she finds her own journey takes much less time,  especially when her friend Mohammad shares his with her.

In a Cloud of Dust provides a glimpse into the lives of children who must travel long distances for the chance to attend school. Alma Fullerton's text is modest in its quantity but weighty in its simple message of compassion and support, similar to her A Good Trade (Pajama Press, 2012) and Community Soup (Pajama Press, 2013) picture books.  And, while I look forward to seeing more of Alma Fullerton's own artwork in future endeavours, Brian Deines' illustrations are incomparable, effectively portraying the dusty and lengthy distances over Anna must travel to school. Because of his reliance on oils, Brian Deines' illustrations are highly evocative of the landscape and mood of the remote areas of Anna's Tanzanian home, providing less detail and more ambiance than other media might provide, particularly in the brush of the illustrator of Bear on the Homefront (Innes and Endrulat, Pajama Press, 2014).

In the hands of Alma Fullerton and Brian Deines, the story of Anna and her travels to and from school are never lost In a Cloud of Dust.

Review, Rant or Something Else

Recently I was disheartened to hear about a number of reviewers–and I use that term very loosely–who have gone beyond sharing their thoughts on books and deemed themselves to be the voice of authority in declaring a book to be something less than worthy of publication.

There was a review posted online that began with a series of expletives. Nice, huh? Another purports a recently-announced award nominee to be garbage. Finally, there's the headliner who has decided that a major award-winning book is undeserving, slamming the efforts of the writer but also, perhaps unknowingly, all those of the jury–writers themselves–who'd read numerous books to produce an exemplary short-list before selecting a winner. I have several questions for the writers of these reviews.  If you are one of these "reviewers", please feel free to take this little quiz.  The questions are multiple choice so you won't have to struggle to find the right words, just pick them out of the line-up.

The Reviewing Books Quiz

1. I review books to:

❍ share my reading.
❍ make money.
❍ deflate egos.
❍ practise my spelling.

2. When I read a book and love it, I always:

❍ share with others so they might have an opportunity to explore a new book.
❍ stay silent so that I can keep it my little secret.
❍ burn it so no one will ever know that I was weak enough to show pleasure.
❍ find a way to focus on the book's or author's weaknesses since nothing is perfect.

3. When I am not enjoying a book, I:

❍ stop reading it immediately and never think of going back to it.
❍ continue reading it in case it gets better.
❍ go online and make sure everyone knows how much I didn't enjoy it.
❍ burn it so it will never see the light of day again.

4. When I finish a book that I didn't like, I:

❍ don't bother publishing a review.
❍ write a review about the storyline and positives I did find in the book.
❍ write a review that tells everyone exactly how I feel.
❍ go to the website of the author or the publisher and, focusing on my outrage for the book's content/style/message, pull no punches about my feelings for the book.

5. My favourite reviewer is:

❍ the one who tells me briefly about the book's plot and writer's craft.
❍ the one who tells me everything so I don't even have to read the book.
❍ the one who tells it like it is, showing no restraint in their use of profanities and comparison to other lowly tomes.
❍ me.

6. I believe that authors

❍ have laboured for their craft and, even if the book isn't my favourite, I don't have the right to slam their efforts.
❍ should be prepared for criticism if they want their books published and read.
❍ are full of themselves and need a dose of reality to remind them they're nothing special.
❍ waste their efforts.

Scoring:
If you need me to tell you what the right answers are, you should not be a reviewer.

I was once told that readers use reviews to help them decide where to spend their dollars so if a book isn't any good, we need to be forthcoming in our assessments of books.  Luckily I don't review for that organization as I don't believe this to be true.  I believe that readers are smarter than that, recognizing that no single reviewer holds the truth about a book, any book, and sometimes the only way you know if it's worth spending your money on it is to buy the book.  Reviewing is about sharing, and no one wants to share poisonous fruit.

Just an FYI, this was a rant, not a review.

One Hungry Heron

by Carolyn Beck

Illustrated by Karen Patkau

Fitzhenry & Whiteside

978-1-55455-361-7

32 pp.

Ages 3+

October 2014

If you're fortunate to have a cottage near water or access to a marshy area or pond, One Hungry Heron should accompany you and your littlest ones on your next trek there in off-winter seasons.  Carolyn Beck's newest book, expertly illustrated by Karen Patkau who excels at capturing the natural world in digitally-created collages, helps guide the eyes of children who are learning their numbers to see the heron, catfish, dragonflies, beavers, water walkers, snakes, frogs, snails, ducks and turtles and their interactions across the pond.

Carolyn Beck uses rhyming text to count each animal, from the solitary heron amongst the cattails to the ten tiny turtles on a log, as well as using evocative descriptors and action words to lend texture to each animal's double-spread.

Nine paddly ducks
dabble in the reeds.
They flap and quack
and snack on weeds. (pg. 20)

Although One Hungry Heron is a counting book, for numbers 1 through 10, there's a complete turnaround when the rain comes, and zero is introduced, with the assortment of animals amalgamated in a final image.

Coupled with the distinct textures and subtle colours within the vegetation, water and substrates of Karen Patkau's collages, One Hungry Heron is a fluid visual and auditory composition linking outdoor scenes familiar to many Canadians with basic counting by one's, forwards and back. 

Caravaggio: Signed in Blood

Written by Mark David Smith

Tradewind Books

978-1-896580-05-0

152 pp.

Ages 11-15

2014

Before seeing the cover, the title Caravaggio Signed in Blood caused me great trepidation, as I anticipated a gory historical novel filled with violence and conflict.  But, though it has some violence and conflict, Caravaggio Signed in Blood is much more. Essentially a fictionalized account of the events which led to the 17th century artist's removal from Rome and the circumstances by which he signs but one canvas amongst his rich collection of artwork, Caravaggio Signed in Blood embeds a story of injustice within the context of Italy's social structure during the first half of the 1600s.

Surprisingly, Caravaggio is not even the main character of the book.  Beppo, a fifteen-year-old boy indentured to the merchant Constantino Sparta, is the book's central character.  Beppo knows Constantino is a bit of a crook, reselling refurbished wine barrels, as well as smuggling illegal editions of popular books, even stealing some himself.  When the powerful Tomassoni brothers, Ranuccio and Giovan, learn of this scheming, they demand Constantino give them a percentage. But Constantino refuses and is murdered by Ranuccio, leaving Beppo accused of the murder.  And then, when Ranuccio threatens Caravaggio who insults him, the artist and expert swordsman defends himself and accidentally kills the arrogant Tomassoni.  Now, Beppo and Caravaggio are on the run together.

With Beppo insisting on serving Caravaggio, the two attempt to evade the vengeful Giovan Tomassoni, moving from Roma to safer locations, and hopeful of Caravaggio continuing to follow his artistic vocation.  Add a love interest, sword-fighting lessons, knights, squires and some Barbary pirates, and the plot conclusion of Caravaggio Signed in Blood is hardly predictable.

Though Tradewind Books is not often on my radar, it should be, having published numerous youngCanLit authors and illustrators whose work I respect, including Beverley Brenna, Sheree Fitch, Kari-Lynn Winters, Rachna Gilmore, Alyxandra Harvey, and James Heneghan, to name just a few.  So I'm pleased that author Mark David Smith reached out for my feedback on Caravaggio Signed in Blood.  There are few books of historical fiction pre-18th century, with most focused on the 19th and first half of the 20th centuries, and fewer yet that can capture the appropriate mood and comportment respectably.  Caravaggio Signed in Blood provides a convincing story about a specific period of Caravaggio's life but enhances that tale by incorporating the swashbuckling and romantic adventure of an indentured teen boy.  Though not a long read, Caravaggio Signed in Blood will definitely grab readers and carry them along on the run with the two passionate Italians as they navigate the treacherous power hierarchy of the time.