#CanLitChoices: Alternatives for Hatchet

Hatchet
by Gary Paulsen
Bradbury Press
195 pp.
Ages 11+
RL 6.3
1987

Hatchet, recipient of the 1988 Newbery Honor Book and winner of the William Allen White Children's Book Award for 1990, as well as the basis for A Cry in the Wild film, is a favourite novel read by young people across Canada and the U.S. It is the story of thirteen-year-old Brian Robeson who must learn to survive in the northern Alberta wilderness after the pilot of his small plane has a heart attack and dies, crashing the plane.

Themes upon which teachers focus lessons include the following:
• survival (man vs. nature)
• perseverance
• attitude
• fear

But we have a plethora of youngCanLit that can fill the same novel study bill and, of course, I would like to promote them here.  Each one of these deals with the same themes but in different ways and are all the better for the variety of storylines covered.  This listing includes classics and hi-lo reads, as well as middle-grade and YA titles.  There’s something for every reader who wants an adventure story set in the wilderness, many in the wilds of Canada.

Camp Wild
by Pam Withers
Orca Book Publishers
104 pp.
Ages 10-14
RL 3.8
2005
Fourteen-year-old Wilf runs away from summer camp to stay alone in the woods but ends up with a couple of unwanted followers and a fight for survival.
Teachers guide available at http://digital.orcabook.com/teachersguides-campwild-teaching-strategies/

Chocolate River Rescue
by Jennifer Kent McGrath
Nimbus
122 pp.
Ages 8-12
RL 3.9
2007
Three boys rough housing on the ice of the Petitcodiac River in New Brunswick face danger when the ice breaks away, sending them out towards the Atlantic.

Cut Off
by Jamie Bastedo
Red Deer Press
340 pp.
Ages 12+
RL 4.0
2015
Teen Indio McCracken is sent to a wilderness-based rehab camp, which includes a 50-day canoe trip, to help him with his tech addiction.



The Darwin Expedition
by Diane Tullson
Orca Book Publishers
128 pp.
Ages 12+
RL 2.5
2007
After going off run when snowboarding, two boys must deal with an accident, a bear tracking them, impending weather dangers and hunger to survive.

Frozen Fire: A tale of courage
by James Houston
Aladdin
139 pp.
Ages 12+
RL 5.9
1977/1992
Determined to find his father who has been lost in a storm, Mathew and his Inuit friend Kayak brave wind storms, starvation, wild animals, and wild men during their search in the Canadian Arctic.

The Hill
by Karen Bass
Pajama Press
256 pp.
Ages 12+
RL 4.1
March 2016
After a plane crash, a privileged teen is helped by a Cree young man when his decisions have the two pursued by Wîhtiko, the legendary Cree monster.

Island: Shipwreck, Survival, Escape
by Gordon Korman
Scholastic Canada
144 pp., 144 pp., 160 pp.
Ages 8-13
RL 4.6, 4.9, 4.8
2001
Six kids must survive after they are shipwrecked on a deserted island with no food and very few supplies.

Lost in the Barrens
by Farley Mowat
McLelland & Stewart
244 pp.
Ages 12-16
RL 7.1
1956
Jamie MacNair and his Cree friend Awasin are separated from others during a canoe trip to the remote barrens and must find the means to survive the winter in the harsh environment.

Timberwolf
by Caroline Pignat
Red Deer Press
206 pp.
Ages 11-14
RL 4.5
2011

In this historical fiction, a young man awakens in the snow, knowing neither his name nor his story but find his way back to himself and survive, with the help of a young Anishnaabeg man.

Being Me (A Rosie the Red Book)

by Rosemary McCarney

Illustrated by Yvonne Cathcart

Second Story Press

978-1-927583-93-7

24 pp.

Ages 4-8

April 2016

Still sporting the red cape from Tilt Your Head, Rosie the Red that helps empower and define her, Rosie the Red returns in her second story. This time she is thinking about what she should be when she grows up when she is realizes that that way of thinking negates any contribution she can make as a kid.  “That made Rosie feel unimportant…not very useful…a little smaller…as if she would only matter when she got big.”

A walk with her dad introduces Rosie to the local food bank where the manager, Mr. Santino, shows them around the busy warehouse and allows them to help pack cartons. While there, Rosie spots her friend Sam and his mother getting a box of food. Because he’s obviously embarrassed, Rosie spends the rest of the day thinking about how she could make him feel better.  With a tilt of her head–her standard thinking mode–Rosie comes up with a plan to help the food bank and Sam both.

Rosemary McCarney’s picture books consistently impart positive messages and, in Being Me, Rosie the Red is a great vehicle for teaching kids about food banks and that those who avail themselves of its offerings are no less than those who have enough food to eat without help.  By having Rosie acknowledging Sam’s artistic ability, she’s saying that everyone has strengths and everyone needs help with something, whether it is drawing a poster or getting enough food to eat.  That constructive and optimistic attitude is represented in Yvonne Cathcart’s cherry illustrations with their upbeat reds, greens, turquoise and golds.  The art is as sunny as Rosie’s approach to making life worthwhile and fair for all which is an important lesson to foster citizenship and community.

From Being Me
by Rosemary McCarney, illus. by Yvonne Cathcart

Kabungo

by Rolli

Illustrated by Milan Pavlović

Groundwood Books

978-1-55498-804-4

173 pp.

Ages 7-10

April 2016

It’s a different world when your best friend is a cavegirl but Beverly is the very best of friends to Kabungo who lives in a cave on Main Street in Star City.  Beverly has learned much of Kabungo’s vocabulary–sungo for night, sunup for day, sniff for follow and Belly for Beverly–but she still wants to teach Kabungo about living in the “civilized” world. Whether it’s teaching Kabungo the alphabet, or that it’s wrong to steal, Beverly does her best, often with a grain of salt and a whole lot of sugary fun.

I would have told her that flea powder wasn’t for eating, but I never tell anyone anything more than a hundred times.  It’s my personal rule. (pg. 13)

Kabungo, the book, is divided into eight chapters with an odd assortment of titles–Shark Toofs, Targur, Vibbles, Fundersticks, Himplepotamus, Flimsy Tree, Hopping Bird Day and Trigger Cheats!–that play on Kabungo’s ability to anunciate English words because of a scarcity of teeth.  (For a bit of fun, say the chapter titles aloud and see if you can discern what Kabungo is really trying to say.) Each chapter is an anecdote in the story of Kabungo and Beverly’s friendship.  From Kabungo’s desire to make jewelry with teeth scavenged at a retirement home, to her struggling with certain letters of the alphabet Beverly is teaching her, her affection for her new kitten Bun, a visit to Miss VeDore’s mansion and pumpkin field, or Kabungo’s knack for creating a family from an odd assortment of people and branches she comes upon, it's all in day's friendship for these two.

Regardless of how much she seems to understand, Kabungo is an astute and absorbing young girl of ten, and a delight to meet in Rolli’s Kabungo (okay, maybe not in person, as she does have fleas and isn’t into personal hygiene or etiquette).  Same goes for Beverly whose perceptive observations, some via her Aunt Ev and Uncle George, will serve her well in life and her friendship with Kabungo, as well as others who heed her wisdom.

Apologies are heavy.  They’re boulders. It’s hard work pushing a boulder, even if it’s just across the room. A lot of people give up halfway and lose a friend forever. (pg. 85)

As my Uncle George always says, sooner or later, even impossible takes a nap. (pg. 27-8)

Very wise for a ten-year-old.

Rolli has written a witty story for the pre-middle grade reader for whom the early reader may be too easy and MG books too mature.  It’s comical in its word play, likeable in its characters–Kabungo, Beverly, Mr. and Mrs. Gobshaw, Miss VeDore, and more–and entertaining in its short stories. Having a best friend who’s a cavegirl makes for a world that is hardly boring. And, contrary to her teacher who thinks Beverly’s definition of boredom– “when everything turns out like you expected” (pg. 56)– to be incorrect, I think Beverly knows exactly what boring is and accurately recognizes that her friendship with Kabungo is anything but predictable.

Sky Pig

Written by Jan L. Coates

Illustrated by Suzanne Del Rizzo

Pajama Press

978-1-927485-98-9

32 pp.

Ages 4–7

April 2016

Ollie is a little pig with a big dream and, though he doesn’t speak (he is after all a pig and pigs can’t talk), his friend, Jack, a boy with a big heart and a bigger imagination, tries to help Ollie achieve his dream.

Ollie from Sky Pig by Jan L. Coates,

 illus. by Suzanne Del Rizzo

First Jack fastens leafy branches onto Ollie’s back and they climb to the top of a very high hill. Even though a fast run and a jump has Ollie believing that he’s flying, an “Oooooomph!” and a “Plop!” make it evident he did not.  Having Jack create a kite with some garden stakes, twine, a feed sack and scraps of fabric is Ollie’s next plan to become airborne.  A couple of oinks and another “Oooooomph!” and “Plop!” again foretell the futility of their endeavour. Finally, taking their cues from the geese, chickens and other birds, Jack fashions a set of wings for Ollie. Made from an assortment of papers, including maps and wrapping paper featuring airborne creatures, and miscellaneous gears and leather, Ollie takes to the sky like a kind of steampunk flyer.  Alas, that flight ends similarly.  Even a Mary Poppins-like contraption of umbrellas is unsuccessful.

It’s only when the two make use of an already-tried-and-true flying machine that Ollie is able to stay aloft and experience the joys of floating in the sky, even if only for a short time and at a cost of $5.

Dreamers can dream but, with a friend like Jack, Ollie’s dream that a pig could fly comes true.  It takes a little determination, a lot of imagination and being in the right place at the right time but Ollie’s dream, courtesy of Jack’s friendship and piggy bank, becomes a reality.  Jan L. Coates’ story is uplifting like much of her previous work including A Hare in the Elephant’s Trunk (Red Deer Press, 2010), The Power of Harmony (Red Deer Press, 2013), and The King of Keji (Nimbus, 2015), and even more so with Suzanne Del Rizzo’s spectacular art, previously enjoyed in Skink on the Brink (Fitzhenry & Whiteside, 2013) and Gerbil, Uncurled (Fitzhenry & Whiteside, 2015).  The doughy art (plasticine with polymer clay) with mixed media collage features adds the textures and colour to elevate the story even higher.  Beyond the cuteness of Ollie and Jack is a rich landscape of green pastures and trees, chickens and groundhogs, and flowers and dandelion fluff and sweet details of a chicken protecting her egg in a life-vest or basket and thwarting a mouse that tries to get too close.   There’s so much more to Sky Pig than making a pig fly and young readers will love going along for the ride.

From Sky Pig by Jan L. Coates, illus. by Suzanne Del Rizzo

_________________________________________

There will be two great opportunities to check out Sky Pig with author or illustrator.

Illustrator Suzanne Del Rizzo will be participating in the I Art Books Exhibit and Sale of Children's Book Illustration on April 30, 2016 at Blue Heron Books in Uxbridge, ON. Details here.

Author Jan L. Coates will be launching Sky Pig on May 7, 2016 at The Box of Delights Bookshop in Wolfville, NS. Details here.

The Hill

by Karen Bass

Pajama Press

978-1-77278-002-4

256 pp.

Ages 12+

March 2016

Karen Bass, the award-winning author of Graffiti Knight (Pajama Press, 2013) and Uncertain Soldier (Pajama Press, 2015), takes writing flight with The Hill, a chilling tale of endurance in northern Alberta, blending a survival story with the supernatural of Cree legends.  It’s hauntingly gripping YA and I think it's her best story yet.

Privileged Jared Frederickson is going to spend a mandatory three weeks with his dad when his dad’s private plane in which the teen is travelling from Edmonton to Yellowknife crashes in a mosquito-infested swamp in the northern Alberta bush.  He and the unconscious pilot are discovered by Cree teen, Kyle Badger, who was nearby at their moose camp with his Kokum (grandmother), Moshum (grandfather) and little brother Sam.   Jared and Kyle, both fifteen, are so different in their attitudes, physiques, and family that it’s not surprising that they disagree as to the best course of action.  Sadly, Jared is determined that if he climbs to the top of the adjacent hill he could get cell reception and call for help.  Though Kyle thinks they should stay at the accident scene, especially since his Kokum had always warned him that “no Cree, no person evers walks on that hill” (pg. 20), he follows Jared knowing that his Kokum would be ashamed of him for not helping the boy.

So begins a treacherous journey both onto the ominous hill and into the supernatural world.  After a night on the hill where, of course, cell reception is non-existent, the two return via Kyle’s notched-tree path to the swamp where everything is different: the jet is gone, the mosquitoes are gone, the swamp is smaller as in drier years, and there is a forest fire in the area.  Kyle is obviously freaked out–“Sometimes scared is the smartest thing you can be” (pg. 29)–though Jared, with his better-than-anyone attitude, ridicules Kyle for not knowing where they are.  Returning to the moose camp, the two see Kyle’s Kokum, as if behind a grey curtain of fog, praying for him and then warning them to run.  Kyle believes that they’ve entered the spirit world and, based on the stories he’s been told, that they’ve woken up Wîhtiko, the monster of Cree legends who craves human flesh.

The two boys must now work together, no easy feat for a spoiled rich kid who’d always gotten his way and knows nothing of the outdoors and for a hulky First Nations teen who refuses, admirably, to be a lackey to anyone but learned well from his grandparents of respect and integrity and perseverance.  Outrunning Wîhtiko is just the beginning of their foray into the supernatural world and one which they must survive if they are able to return safely to their own corporeal one without bringing harm to others.

In addition to a gripping action-rich plot of frightening circumstances, getting the voices of Jared and Kyle and the tone of the story right are Karen Bass’ greatest strengths in The Hill.  She balances the heart-pumping pace of a looking-over-your-shoulder chase with the antagonistic sparring between Jared and Kyle.  The two are so different in what they have, what they know, and who they are that it’s only fate in the form of a plane crash that could bring the two together. Though it is evident that Kyle has much to offer in the way of outdoors experience and familial grounding, Jared learns that he too has some value and can be integral in their escape.  Fortunately for them, and those who read this story, Karen Bass demonstrates that even the most of awkward of allies can achieve great things when they work together, whether it is to outsmart a blood-thirsty monster or finding your way home.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Tomorrow 

April 12, 2016

from 7-8:30 p.m.

author Karen Bass

will be reading and signing copies of

The Hill 

at 

Owl’s Nest Books 

815A 49 Ave SW

Calgary, AB 

(403) 287-9557

 It's a great opportunity to get a signed copy and hear a reading of The Hill from the author who made it so frightening.

2016 CBC Shakespeare Selfie Writing Contest: April 11-29

CBC Books is once again offering its Shakespeare Selfie Challenge for students of Gr. 7-12 who are Canadian residents.  The challenge is to write a modern-day monologue or soliloquy by a Shakespearean character based on a news event that took place between April 2015 and April 2016.

The judge will be none other than one of our favourite youngCanLit authors, Kenneth Oppel, whose award-winning books include Silverwing, Airborn, Half Brother and The Boundless.

Details for the Challenge can be found at CBC Books website here including:

• a list of possible topics;
• the rules and regulations;
• discussion and videos differentiating between soliloquies and monologues;
• the link for submitting entries as of tomorrow, April 11, 2016, 

Here's what students and teachers need to know:

WHAT IS THE CHALLENGE?
Write 200-400 words as a modern-day soliloquy or monologue of one of Shakespeare's characters as he/she would think aloud to himself/herself or speak to another character about a prominent news event that took place between April 2015 and April 2016. Students can submit as many different soliloquies or monologues as they choose to write.

WHEN DOES IT TAKES PLACE?
Monday, April 11 at 9 a.m. ET to Friday, April 29 at 6 p.m. ET. 

WHO CAN ENTER?
Two separate age categories of students who are Canadian residents will be judged:

• Grades 7-9
• Grades 10-12 

WHAT CAN BE WON? 

• An iPad mini for each category's grand prize winner.
• The school library of each grand prize winner will receive 50 YA books from Canadian publishers Penguin Random House, Groundwood Books, Scholastic Canada, Raincoast Books, Great Plains Teen Fiction, HarperCollins Canada, Arsenal Pulp Press, and Simon & Schuster.

This is a fabulous opportunity for young people to get into some purposeful creative writing (something teachers are always eager to present to their students).  Don't miss out!

Morrow will soon be upon us

I prithee, do not tary

Draw paper and ink

And starteth writing!

Festival of Trees 2016: Scheduled events

This month, young readers are voting for their favourite books in the Ontario Library Association's Forest of Reading program, and next month these readers' choice awards will be announced at Festival of Trees celebrations in London, Sault Ste. Marie and Toronto.  For those whose children are voting but haven't committed to attending one of the ceremonies, rethink that decision with this listing of workshops by youngCanLit authors and illustrators.  What a phenomenal opportunity for young people to meet and learn from our outstanding contributors to young CanLit.  Full details are available at the website Forestfestivaloftrees.ca/festivals/

Awards Ceremony 10-11a.m.

Workshops 11:15-11:45 a.m.

• Janet Wilson, author/illustrator of Our Heroes: How Kids are Making a Difference
• Emil Sher, author of Young Man with Camera
• Kevin Sylvester, author of Baseballology: Supercool Facts You Never Knew

Workshops 12-12:30 p.m.

• Lorna Schultz Nicholson, author of Fragile Bones: Harrison and Anna
• Liam O'Donnell, author of Tank and Fizz: The Case of the Slime Stampede
• Wesley King, author of The Incredible Space Raiders from Space!

Workshops 12:45-1:15 p.m.

• Karen Bass, author of Uncertain Soldier
• Joel Sutherland, author of Haunted Canada 5: Terrifying True Stories
• David Skuy, author of Rocket Blues

Workshops 1:30-2:00 p.m.

• Charis Cotter, author of The Swallow: A Ghost Story
• Jennifer Mook-Sang, author of Speechless
• Kathleen Cook Waldron, author of Between Shadows
• Eric Walters, author of Hope Springs

Awards Ceremony 10-11a.m.

Workshops 11:15-11:45 a.m.

• Kevin Sylvester, author of Baseballology: Supercool Facts You Never Knew
• David Skuy, author of Rocket Blues

Workshop 12-12:30 p.m.

• Alma Fullerton, author of In a Cloud of Dust

Workshops 12:15-12:45 p.m.

• Eric Walters, author of Hope Springs, Walking Home
• Joel Sutherland, author of Haunted Canada 5: Terrifying True Stories

Workshop 12:45-1:15 p.m.

• Daphne Greer, author of Jacob's Landing

Workshops 1:15-1:45 p.m.

• Janet Wilson, author/illustrator of Our Heroes: How Kids are Making a Difference
• Elly MacKay, author/illustrator of Butterfly Park

Workshop 1:30-2:00 p.m.

• Natalie Hyde, author of Glow-in-the-Dark Creatures

White Pine Award Ceremony 10-11 a.m.

Workshops 10:30-11 a.m.

• Eric Walters, author of Walking Home
• Susin Nielsen, author of We Are All Made of Molecules
• Sharon E. McKay, author of Prison Boy

Workshop 11:15-11:45 a.m.

• Sandra Bradley, author of Henry Holton Takes the Ice

Workshops 11:30 a.m.-12 p.m.

• Elly MacKay and Claudia Dávila, author/illustrators of Butterfly Park and Super Red Riding Hood
• E. K. Johnston, author of The Story of Owen, Dragon Slayer of Trondheim
• Jeyn Roberts, author of The Bodies We Wear

Red Maple Award Ceremony 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.

Workshop 12:15-12:45 p.m.

• Alma Fullerton and Sangeeta Bhadra, authors of In a Cloud of Dust and Sam's Pet Temper

Workshops 12:30-1:00 p.m.

• Don Aker, author of Delusion Road
• Jennifer Gold, author of Soldier Doll

Workshop 12:45-1:15 p.m.

• Caroline Pignat, author of The Gospel Truth

Blue Spruce Award Ceremony 1-2 p.m.

Workshop 1:15-1:45

• Lorna Schultz Nicholson, author of Fragile Bones: Harrison and Anna

Workshops 1:30-2:00

• Karen Bass, author of Uncertain Soldier
• Allan Stratton, author of The Dogs
• Emil Sher, author of Young Man with Camera

Silver Birch Non-Fiction Award Ceremony 10-11a.m.

Workshops 10:15-10:45 a.m.

• Eric Walters, author of Hope Springs
• David Skuy, author of Rocket Blues
• Alison Hughes, author of Lost in the Backyard
• Wesley King, author of The Incredible Space Raiders from Space!
• Chris Earley, author of Weird Frogs
• Sharon E. McKay, author of The End of the Line
• Joel Sutherland, author of Haunted Canada 5: Terrifying True Stories
• Margriet Ruurs and Elizabeth McLeod, authors of A Brush Full of Colour: The World of Ted Harrison and Colossal Canada: 100 Epic Facts and Feats

Silver Birch Fiction Award Ceremony 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.

Workshop 12-12:30 p.m.

• Sue Carstairs, author of Saving Turtles: A Kids' Guide to Helping Endangered Species

Workshops 12:15-12:45 p.m.

• Kallie George and David J. Smith, authors of The Magical Animals Adoption Agency: Clover's Luck and If: A Mind-Bending New Way of Looking at Big Ideas and Numbers
• Liam O'Donnell, author of Tank and Fizz: The Case of the Slime Stampede
• Kevin Sylvester, author of Baseballology: Supercool Facts You Never Knew

Workshop 12:45-1:15 p.m.

• Charis Cotter, author of The Swallow: A Ghost Story

Silver Birch Express Award Ceremony 1-2 p.m.

Workshops 1:15-1:45 p.m.

• Kathleen Cook Waldron and Jennifer Mook-Sang, authors of Between Shadows and Speechless
• Gordon Korman, author of Masterminds
• Jordan Stratford, author of The Wollstonecraft Detective Agency: The Case of the Missing Moonstone

Workshop 1:30-2:00 p.m.

• Caroline Fernandez and Natalie Hyde, authors of Boredom Busters: 50+ awesome activities, recipes, experiments, and more and Glow-in-the-Dark Creatures

Author Kevin Sylvester hosting an awards ceremony

Cérémonie de remise des Prix Tamarac 10-11 a.m.

Atelier 10:15-10:45 a.m.

• Katia Canciani, Le voyage en Chine
• Alain Raimbault, Idées de génie - tome 1 - Championne d'Expo-sciences?
• Andrée Poulin, Un bain trop plein

Atelier 11:15-11:45 a.m.

• Nadya Larouche, Comme un tour de magie
• Joannie Beaudet, L' île de Cosmo le dodo: La potion magique
• Dominic Langlois, Le trésor de Memramcook
• Jennifer Couëlle, L'homme sans chaussettes
• Caroline Merola, Ça commence ici!

Cérémonie de remise des Prix Tamarac Express 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.

Atelier 12-12:30 p.m.

• Dominique de Loppinot, Les vers de terre d'Ester
• Danielle Verville, La fée des poils
• Renée Robitaille, Douze oiseaux
• Jean Beaudry, La Gang des hors-la-loi
• Sylvie Roberge, Le vol TS-236

Atelier 12:45-1:15 p.m.

• Karine Gotton et Mathieu Lampron, Les Mutamatak -tome 1 - Les superhéros
• Marie-Andrée Arsenault, Les souvenirs du sable
• Rhéa Dufresne, Un clic de trop

Cérémonie de remise des Prix Peulplier  1-2 p.m.

Atelier 1:30-2:00 p.m.

• Lydie Colette, NOA - À la rencontre des enfants du monde!
• Laurent Chabin, La momie du Belvédère