Smiley: A Journey of Love

Written by Joanne George

Fitzhenry & Whiteside

978-1-55455-412-6

56 pp.

For all ages

October 2017

Anyone who has ever asked me to review a book and to whom I have sent my review policy knows that I generally do not review books about animals.  It is far to difficult for me emotionally to know of the hardships that animals are enduring in real life and even in fictionalized accounts. If you look back over my years of reviewing, you could count the number of animal books I've reviewed on one hand. That said, I wanted to do a brief review of Smiley: A Journey of Love as it is a nominee of the 2018 Forest of Reading's Silver Birch Express Award.

Smiley's tragic beginnings start in an Ontario puppy mill where he was born without eyes and with genetic dwarfism.  He was rescued by the author Joanne George and others at the vet clinic where she worked.  I'm in sobbing tears recalling the horrors that that little dog must have endured when he and others were found. Fortunately, with much love and patience, Smiley was able to survive and flourish under Joanne George's care.

No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted. - Aesop

The book, peppered with photographs and inspirational quotations, shares Smiley's story from rescue to rehabilitation, including surgery, training and introduction to new situations, places, other animals and people.

From Smiley: A Journey of Love 

by Joanne George

As Smiley becomes part of Joanne George's family and welcomes others into it–her husband and son come after him–the small Golden Retriever shared his wonderfulness with others by becoming a St. John Ambulance Therapy Dog.

The end result of kindness is that it draws people to you. - Anita Roddick

From Smiley: A Journey of Love 

by Joanne George

The process of becoming a therapy dog is involved but everyone knew that Smiley was special and would provide much comfort.  He could give that which he had been denied at birth but had had been nurtured through Joanne George and her family. From hospitals to nursing homes and seniors and children, Smiley has brought love and compassion and calm to those in need.

Smiley: A Journey of Love truly is a story of love, of two loving spirits, Smiley and Joanne George.

From Smiley: A Journey of Love 

by Joanne George

•••••••••••••

After posting this review, I learned that Smiley, who has his own Twitter account @Mysmileydog, passed away on October 14, 2017.  Do check out all the photos on his Twitter feed, of Smiley as a pup, meeting Justin Trudeau, being honoured time and time again.  Let me echo the sentiment posted the day after his passing: "I hope you are running free today, and you can see all the beauty in heaven."

Prince of Pot

Written by Tanya Lloyd Kyi

Groundwood Books

978-1-55498-944-7

216  pp.

Ages 13+

September 2017

I live in the middle of a forest.  On a grow-op. With bears.  And I get shot at on my way home. (pg. 61)

This is definitely living on the edge.  Isaac Mawson's family has been keeping a marijuana grow-op for forty years, starting with Isaac's grandfather Walt who is now debilitated by a stroke.  Their rustic lifestyle includes a cabin with few amenities and a quintet of bears as companions and homeschooling until Isaac and his older sister Judith reached Grade 8. But, though he's in town regularly for school–he's in his final year–and for the grow's supplies, and to see his sister who'd been desperate to leave, Isaac has always found solace in the woods, as well as his artwork.

Once we're in the trees, my lungs expand.  I suppose most people relax when they open their front door and smell dinner cooking.  For me, it's as I step into these hemlocks. (pg. 51)

Then, on one of his routine scouting expeditions, he meets Sam Ko, a new student at his high school and Isaac is smitten.  Sam is a big personality with lots of grit and guts and a flair for drama, on stage and in life.  Too soon he's crushing on the sixteen-year-old and she's bringing him more attention than he wants, bragging about his interactions with a bear (it was the lovely tame Hazel, a bear his father had rescued) and dragging him to her home and parties and sharing his special places with her friends.  And then he learns her dad is a RCMP corporal.  Isaac is torn between having Sam in his life and keeping his family and their lifestyle safe from attention, especially of the law enforcement variety.

Tanya Lloyd Kyi may be better known for her numerous books of middle-grade non-fiction (e.g., Canadian Girls Who Rocked the World, Whitecap Books, 2011; 50 Underwear Questions, Annick Press, 2011; Eyes and Spies, Annick, 2017) but her collection of teen fiction is growing.  Prince of Pot is her fourth YA book and Tanya Lloyd Kyi capably tackles typical teen issues like first loves, grief, and independence with less common ones of pot grow-ops, teen pregnancy, and dyslexia, grabbing her readers with the familiar and the unusual.  Tanya Lloyd Kyi astutely recognizes that for some the atypical is the familiar, and by writing about these unusual circumstances, she's actually letting many teens see themselves in her writing.  Isaac's situation of living in the woods and helping with his family's grow may seem foreign to many of us but, you can bet, somewhere there is a young person who knows that life, those fears and restrictions of living outside of the law. But there's another who knows the dangers of habituating wild animals such as bears, and another who is infatuated with another and doesn't know how to reconcile the conflict of being with that person and the life they want to or need to live.  This is what works in Prince of Pot.  Tanya Lloyd Kyi makes readers completely sympathetic to Isaac's life with his family and the grow and even his actions which can be criminal or gut-wrenching or wholly innocent.  While my heart broke at a turn of events that should never, ever happen in real life, I could see how the story was leading to that moment.  I know Prince of Pot is just fiction but I suspect somewhere someone is living this kind of life.  I can only hope that, while we enjoy the book as an entertaining read, this story might provide guidance to living well, both within the family and independently, as well as within the law and outside of it, if that so happens.

Orca Book Publishers: Multi-author book launches (Victoria, BC)

Orca Book Publishers

 will be launching their newest fall books

on

Wednesday, November 22, 2017

at 

7:30 pm

at

Munro's Books

Victoria, BC

Books being launched include:

You Hold Me Up

Written by Monique Gray Smith

Illustrated by Danielle Daniel

Ages 4-8

32 pp.

Speaking Our Truth: 

A Journey of Reconciliation

Written by Monique Gray Smith

Ages 9-13

160 pp.

Black Gold

Written by Sara Cassidy

Illustrated by Helen Flook

Orca Echoes

Ages 7-9

96 pp.

A Fair Deal: 

Shopping for Social Justice

Written by Kari Jones

Ages 8-12

48 pp.

Medusa's Scream

Written by Melanie Jackson

Orca Currents

Ages 10-14

144 pp.

Firewall

Written by Sean Rodman

Orca Soundings

Ages 12+ (RL 4.1)

144 pp.

Hit the Ground Running

Written by Alison Hughes

Ages 12+

216 pp.

Munro vs. the Coyote

Written by Darren Groth

Ages 12+

288 pp.

There's a picture book, non-fiction, hi-lo fiction, YA and an early reader.

There's something for everyone, 

and all ages are welcome.

Captain Monty Takes the Plunge

Written by Jennifer Mook-Sang

Illustrated by Liz Starin

Kids Can Press

978-1-77138-626-5

32 pp.

Ages 3-7

October 2017

"Monty the Malodorous was a fearsome pirate who sailed the six or seven seas.  He was brave.  He was bold." (pg. 5)  But he couldn't swim. And he certainly didn't join his mates for their weekly soakings in the ocean for a cleansing.  "This attitude earned him much respect (and a great deal of personal space)." (pg. 7)

But then Monty spies the lovely mermaid Meg.  He gives her gifts and tells her jokes and she shares her knowledge of the sea and sky with him. Though he wishes to invite her onto the ship for dinner, she declines, declaring him smelling "like stinky boots." Monty is devastated.

From Captain Monty Takes the Plunge 

by Jennifer Mook-Sang 

illus. by Liz Starin

Yet when Meg is snatched by a mega-octopus, Monty swallows his fear and takes a leap of faith and throws himself into the sea.  In a lovely twist of fate, Monty and Meg save each other and Monty becomes a sweeter-smelling swimming pirate.

From Captain Monty Takes the Plunge

by Jennifer Mook-Sang

 illus. by Liz Starin

Captain Monty Takes the Plunge is Jennifer Mook-Sang's first picture book, though she's enjoyed much success with her first middle-grade novel Speechless (Scholastic, 2015).  The same humour she used to amuse readers in that novel is evident in Captain Monty Takes a Plunge with its stinky and heartsick pirate, motley crew of a parrot, elephant, bear, rabbit and otter, and ocarina-playing mermaid.  The message of conquering one's fears is wrapped in a buoyant tale of camaraderie, infatuation, and courage.  That same buoyancy comes through in American Liz Starin's illustrations which blend bright colours for her characters with soft subtleness in the sky and sea backgrounds.

From Captain Monty Takes the Plunge 

by Jennifer Mook-Sang 

illus. by Liz Starin

Take your own plunge with Captain Monty to see that fears can be conquered with a little assistance, a lot of courage and a sizeable commitment to helping others. Yar-har-har!

Once in a Blue Moon

Written and illustrated by Danielle Daniel

Groundwood Books

978-1-55498-975-1

32 pp.

Ages 4-7

October 2017

We know that some things happen very rarely and they are cause for celebration and note.  These are things which we recognize as happening "once in a blue moon."  I'd like to recommend that we add any book from Marilyn Baillie picture book award-winning author-illustrator Danielle Daniel whose work was last enjoyed in I Am Canada: A Celebration (Scholastic, 2017) and her debut book Sometimes I Feel Like a Fox (Groundwood, 2015).

From Once in a Blue Moon
by Danielle Daniel

In four-line verses that always start with the line "Once in a blue moon", Danielle Daniel recognizes an extraordinary natural event of rainbows, fireflies, trees, Northern Lights, a painted turtle and more. Accompanying the verse is an illustration on the right side of the double-spread page as seen in the image above.

Once in a blue moon,
floating across the river,

I spy a large brown owl

hooting down at me.

From Once Upon a Blue Moon
by Danielle Daniel

Like the rarities it celebrates, Once in a Blue Moon shines light on nature's wonders.  Some, like double rainbows, a tree, and a shooting star, may be seen in urban settings whereas others, like the Northern Lights and moose, are more likely to be witnessed in remote areas.  Regardless, Danielle Daniel's bold colours and shapes, strong in message and line, extol simple wonders that you don't have to travel to the far reaches of the world to see.  There is an organic feel to her art, perhaps a folkloric vibe or a reflection of Danielle Daniel's Métis heritage.  Whatever the nature of her artistry, Danielle Daniel has given us a picture book to encourage appreciation of what we do have and are able to behold regularly in Canada and it is Once in a Blue Moon.

From Once in a Blue Moon

by Danielle Daniel

Sam & Eva

Written and illustrated by Debbie Ridpath Ohi

Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

978-1-4814-1628-3

40 pp.

Ages 4-8

October 2017

Young artists Sam and Eva may create in different media–she uses paint, he uses chalk–but it's all about the art.  That is until Sam's velociraptor goes after Eva's marmot.  Then it's "game on" between the two creative children as their artistic creations battle it out for wall space and story dominance.

From Sam & Eva

by Debbie Ridpath Ohi

The story starts with Sam busily creating when Eva offers to collaborate with him, though she mistakenly calls his velociraptor a pony.  Oops.  Needless to say, Sam is not impressed and declines her offer and erases her contribution. But then she paints her own creature, a marmot, which he identifies as a cat and allows his hungry velociraptor to attack.  

From Sam & Eva

by Debbie Ridpath Ohi

But, with a duelling paintbrush, Eva creates a friend for her marmot which comes to its defence.  Not to be outdone, Sam adds an ominous companion of his own.  Then as each changes their artwork and adds new components to outdo the other, the artwork gets away from them both.  It is only with a little cooperation and teamwork that Sam and Eva can escape the mayhem and start a new artistic course.

From Sam & Eva

by Debbie Ridpath Ohi

Oh, Sam and Eva, you little darlings! They're friends but they want to be independent and creative and, like play can do, it gets a little out of hand.  I'm sure there's an adult somewhere who would love to declare, "It's all fun and games until someone gets hurt!" Or a velociraptor goes after a little marmot.  And, even though the text is subtle and the dialogue effective in drawing the two together and apart, Sam & Eva is so well illustrated that it could work as a wordless picture book. 

I first reviewed a book illustrated by Debbie Ridpath Ohi five years ago (I'm Bored, written by Michael Ian Black, Simon & Schuster, 2012) and was charmed by her creations.  She was able to create a potato with attitude!  Though I would never consider the children to have attitude, Sam and Eva are emotive in their play: happy, pleased, proud, startled, distressed, angry and frustrated.  And Debbie Ridpath Ohi conveys that with just the slightest of lines and shape.  Even the flowers have facial expressions. It's wondrous!

From Sam & Eva

by Debbie Ridpath Ohi

(Book jacket)

Be sure to pay attention to details in Debbie Ridpath Ohi's illustrations.  Look for the chuckling monsters and the monster with scissors or the one grabbing Eva's hat.  Even the endpapers tell a story. The front endpaper is a blank wall awaiting work by chalk while the back endpaper is a kaleidoscope of colour from both paint and chalk.  

We know that art brings joy and that happiness is multilayered when it comes from children learning through play and cooperation and from the artistry of Debbie Ridpath Ohi.  Enjoy and learn.

Sam & Eva sticker from Debbie Ridpath Ohi

Mine!: Book launch (Waterloo, ON)

Please note: This event was postponed on November 3 by the author.  I will update when I have details.
•••••••••••••••••
Join 

 fiction and non-fiction author

Natalie Hyde

for the launch of her new middle-grade novel

MINE!

Written by Natalie Hyde

Scholastic Canada

9781443146609

240 pp.

Ages 9-12

September 2017

on

Saturday, November 4, 2017

at

1-3 p.m.

at

Earth Sciences Museum

University of Waterloo

(Map at https://uwaterloo.ca/map/pdf/map_bw.pdf 

shows the Earth Sciences Building 

and parking lots, 

including free parking in X Lot or $5 parking in Q)

Three will be:

• a book reading

• Q & A

• book signing

• light refreshments

• gold panning (!)

• Mine Tunnel tour

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Like her previous middle grade fiction Saving Armpit (Fitzhenry & Whiteside, 2011) and I Owe You One (Orca, 2011), Natalie Hyde is putting her humour to work!  And this time it's about a gold claim in the Yukon and saving a family's reputation.


If it weren't for bad luck, Chris Dearing would have no luck at all. 

Chris Dearing comes from a long line of losers. Bad luck has plagued the Dearing family for generations. Now his dad's about to lose everything, and Chris's only hope lies in the wild rivers of the Yukon. What is up there other than moose snot and mosquitos the size of bats? Gold! Specifically, a gold claim Chris’s grandfather was swindled out of years ago. 

With the help of a tough-talking biker and an ex-con muffin baker, Chris is in a race against time to claim the long-forgotten family fortune. Will he strike out like the rest of his family, or will he strike gold and finally get a chance to rewrite Dearing history?

The stakes are high and the hi-jinx even higher in this laugh-out-loud novel from acclaimed author Natalie Hyde!

 (Retrieved from Scholastic Canada website at http://www.scholastic.ca/books/view/mine)

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

Details about this event are available at

 https://uwaterloo.ca/earth-sciences-museum/events/mine

(including a lovely picture of Natalie Hyde panning for gold!)