Wash On!

Written by Michèle Marineau

Illustrated by Manon Gauthier
Translated by Erin Woods

Pajama Press

978-1-77278-018-5

40 pp.

Ages 4-7

April 2018

Though most of us wash off any dirt and colours that stain our skin, a little twist of words and fate have colour splotches washing onto little Petronilla in Quebec author and translator Michèle Marineau's newest picture book Wash On!

From Wash On! by Michèle Marineau, illus. by Manon Gauthier

Petronilla is known in her family to have "a talent for chaos" and probably more so when compared to her perfect sister Babette.  But nothing could have prepared her mother for the twist of process when colours from the washcloth during a bath begin to transfer to Petronilla's skin and then her mother and the whole bathroom.  Joyously, Petronilla continues to exclaim, "Wash on! Wash on! Wash on!' regardless of her mother's demands she say "Wash off!" When her father, Babette and dog come to see what's going on, the colours continue to transfer from one object to another.  Although the family thinks they'll just stay in the house until Petronilla drops her new mantra, no one could foresee the weeks that would pass as the child refuses to relinquish her powerful chant.

From Wash On! by Michèle Marineau, illus. by Manon Gauthier

Finally, the family visits the doctor who declares a case of acute coloritis, a condition so contagious that the whole planet becomes infected.  But, as lovely as all the colours are, everything blends in with everything else and no one can differentiate between objects. Even their dog is hard find except when his bark alerts them to his feeding time.  That is, until they can not locate him because there is no bark.  It is only then, when she is desperate to find their dog, that Petronilla changes her tune and finds "Wash off!" just as useful in enacting change in her home and around the world.

From Wash On! by Michèle Marineau, illus. by Manon Gauthier

Wash On! may be based on a silly situation in which colours are transferred rather than cleaned off but the story actually has several powerful messages hidden in that imaginative scenario.  First, Wash On! focuses on the joie de vivre of a world filled with colour. We all need a little colour in our lives, though some people need more and some need less.  But like anything, it is possible to have too much of a good thing, as everyone learns, including Petronilla.  Once the colours explode and there is no contrast and no way to differentiate objects, that joy is lost, like the dog, in an overabundance of stain.  Splashes of colour are wonderfully invigorating and therapeutic but excesses are debilitating and even harmful.  Second, Governor General award-winning author Michèle Marineau recognizes the power of children in defining the world and their need to manage their own circumstances.  Her family may think of Petronilla as chaotic but she seems to just want a hand in determining the life she will lead.

Michèle Marineau tells powerful stories in her native French language and this translation by Pajama Press's Erin Woods highlights that poignancy with merriment and spirit.  That same boldness is depicted with daring by Manon Gauthier's mixed media illustrations. Manon Gauthier, whose artwork I've raved about in Pajama Press's Elliot (Julie Pearson, 2016), All the World a Poem (Gilles Tibo, 2016), Good Morning, Grumple (Victoria Allenby, 2017) and Middle Bear (Susanna Isern, 2017), continues to do amazing things with gouache, pencil and paper collage, ever different and totally wonderful.

Wash On! may say a lot about living a life in colour but it also reminds us about moderation and having control over the lives we lead.  Young readers will laugh at the silliness of the family's situation but we can all learn a lesson or two from Petronilla and her splashy world.

Forest of Reading Kid and Teen Committees: Applications due April 20

Do you 💜 reading?

Are you in Grades 4-8 or in high school?

Do you live in Ontario?

Do you want to help choose books that other kids will want to read?

Then

the Ontario Library Association's

Forest of Reading

has a committee for you!

Last year's Forest of Reading Kid Committee brought readers in Grades 4 through 8 together to talk books and produce an exceptional summer reading list for those readers of the Silver Birch and Red Maple reading programs.

This year the Ontario Library Association's Forest of Reading program is again asking students to apply to be on the 2018 Forest Kid Committee and on the inaugural Forest Teen Committee.

Who can apply?
For the Forest Kid Committee: Ontario students in Grades 4-8 (homeschoolers too!)
For the Forest Teen Committee: Ontario high school students

What will you do?
Come together at the Ontario Library Association's offices in Toronto with other readers to select 10-20 titles for a summer reading list. (Check out last year's lists here.) It's a full day of talking books, special treats and making new friends. And it's all about the books!

When will we meet?
Tentatively May 25, 2018 or June 1, 2018

Applications are due April 20, 2018 

and are available online here

Don't miss this great opportunity 

to share your 💜 of Canadian books!

 

The inaugural Forest Kid Committee was a huge success 

and I'm sure those committee members will be reapplying. 

 But you too can become a committee member on the 

Forest Kid Committee or Forest Teen Committee

and help your peers find great books to read.

Apply before the April 20th deadline 

for your chance 

to be part of something great!

My Teacher's Not Here!: Book launch (Burlington, ON) RESCHEDULED

Note this book launch, originally scheduled for April 15, 2018 
has been moved to April 28, 2018 due to poor weather conditions.  

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Author

Lana Button

would love you to join her for story time, crafts and snacks 

to celebrate her new picture book

My Teacher's Not Here!

Written by Lana Button

Illustrated by Christine Battuz

Kids Can Press

978-1771383561

32 pp.

Ages 3-7

April 2018

on

Saturday April 28, 2018

1:00 - 3:00 p.m.

at

A Different Drummer Books
 513 Locust St. 

Burlington, ON

From publisher Kids Can Press's website:

As soon as she arrives at school, Kitty knows there's trouble. “Smiling Miss Seabrooke should be here to meet me. But my teacher is missing and NOT here to greet me.” With no Miss Seabrooke, everyone should be sent home, right? But no! Kitty and her classmates line up as usual and walk into the school building. Kitty's worries build as she wonders how she will get through the day without her teacher. What will she do when her Thermos gets stuck or her jacket won't zip? Miss Seabrooke is the only one who can fix these things. Or is she?

Author Lana Button perfectly captures the fears and uncertainties of a kindergartner dealing with her first substitute teacher. She also models a way to cope, as Kitty steps up to help the substitute --- a “ginormously tall” giraffe named Mr. Omar --- and discovers that sometimes change can be good. Button's playful and lively cadenced rhyming text, together with Christine Battuz's friendly illustrations of a full cast of animal characters at school, make this a terrific picture book for story time. It provides an excellent lead-in to prepare a class for their first substitute, or for a discussion about how it feels when life doesn't go as expected. A celebration of self-discovery and personal development, this book also makes a wonderful choice for character education lessons on kindness, empathy and perseverance. Educators will appreciate the heartfelt depiction of a young child's warm feelings for her teachers.

Retrieved from 

http://www.kidscanpress.com/products/my-teachers-not-here 

on April 5, 2018. 

The Reckless Rescue (The Explorers, Book 2): Book launch (Toronto, ON)

Author of books for middle graders and young adults

Adrienne Kress 

is launching 

the sequel to The Explorers Book 1 

The Door in the Alley

 Written by Adrienne Kress

Illustrated by Matthew C. Rockefeller

Delacorte Books for Young Readers

9781101940051

305 pp.

Ages 8-13

2017

The Reckless Rescue

The Explorers Book 2

 Written by Adrienne Kress

Illustrated by Matthew C. Rockefeller

Delacorte Books for Young Readers

 978-1-101-94009-9

384 pp.

Ages 8-13

April 2018 

on

Saturday, April 21, 2018

3 - 6 p.m.

at

Bakka-Phoenix Books

84 Harbord Street

Toronto, ON

From Penguin Random House Canada website: 

More mystery, more bravery, more danger, and one amazingly reckless rescue await in the second book in the Explorers series! The perfect read for fans of The Name of This Book Is a Secret and The Mysterious Benedict Society!

Reader! Your attention is greatly needed. We have left things unresolved! What began as your average story of a boy stumbling upon a pig in a teeny hat and a secret international explorers society has turned into an adventure of epic proportions.

  *  The bad news: The boy (Sebastian) has been kidnapped by a trio of troublesome thugs.
  *  The good news: His new friend Evie has promised to rescue him!
  *  The bad news: Sebastian has been taken halfway around the world.
  *  The good news: Evie has famous explorer and former Filipendulous Five member Catherine Lind at her side!
  *  The bad news: There's still the whole matter of Evie's grandfather (and the leader of the Filipendulous Five) somewhere out there in grave danger.
  *  The good news: Pursuing Sebastian will lead Evie and Catherine to another member of the Filipendulous Five, who might be able to help!

This missive is a call to action and an invitation to join in mystery, bravery, and danger. There will be new people to meet, new places to see, and some dancing along the way. And one amazingly reckless rescue.

Retrieved from 

https://penguinrandomhouse.ca/books/534143/explorers-reckless-rescue#9781101940099 on April 3, 2018.

Harry's Hiccups: Book launch (Guelph, ON)

Guelph author

Jean Little 

 will be launching 

her new picture book 

Harry's Hiccups

 by Jean Little

Illustrated by Joe Weissmann

Orca Book Publishers

978-1-459815629

32 pp.

Ages 4-8

April 2018

on

 Sunday, April 15, 2018

1:00 - 3:30 p.m.

at

Three Willows Church
577 Willow Road
Guelph, ON
N1H 7H3

Harry tries and tries to get rid of his hiccups. He tries drinking a glass of water upside down, he tries putting an ice-cold key down his back, he gleefully tries eating a spoonful of sugar. But nothing works!

In this charming picture book, written by children's literature legend Jean Little and illustrated by award-winning illustrator Joe Weissmann, Harry is afflicted with a case of the hopeless hiccups. It's not until Harry has a surprise encounter with a different sort of neighbor that it seems like Harry might finally get some relief...hiccup, hiccup...

Retrieved from publisher's website at 

https://www.orcabook.com/Harrys-Hiccups-P1432.aspx 

on April 3, 2018.

The launch

will also feature

Maggie de Vries

with her newest picture book

Swimming with Seals

by Maggie de Vries

Illustrated by Janice Kun
Orca Book Publishers

9781459813212

32 pp.

Ages 4-8

April 2018

Ally isn't able to live with her mother. Instead she lives far, far away, on the other side of the country, with her gram and great-aunt. But one summer Ally goes to stay with her aunt and uncle in the "big city by the ocean" and gets to spend time with her mom. While exploring the shore, watching whales from the boat dipping into the salty water, Ally finds out something important: her mother loves to swim as much as she does.

This is a very personal story. Ally is based on the author’s niece, Jeanie, and Ally's mother is based on the author's sister, Sarah, who went missing from the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver in 1998. Jeanie is like a seal in the water, and Sarah was just the same, but they never got to swim together. In this story, they do. Swimming with Seals is a story that was written for the thousands of children who long to live with their birth parents and will never fully understand why they can't.

Retrieved from Orca Book Publishers' website at 

https://www.orcabook.com/Swimming-With-Seals-P1418.aspx 

on April 3, 2018.

Siuluk: The Last Tuniq

Written by Nadia Sammurtok

Illustrated by Rob Nix

Inhabit Media

978-1-77227-178-2

28 pp.

Ages 5-8

April 2018

The Inuit stories about the Tuniit are of a legendary people akin to friendly giants.  They were considered to be immensely strong, massive in size and gentle in demeanour. It was not surprising then that Siuluk, a very large man of considerable strength who lived quietly by himself, should be considered the last Tuniq by his Inuit neighbours. 

From Siuluk: The Last Tuniq by Nadia Sammurtok, illus. by Rob Nix

When several of the Inuit men taunt Siuluk about his size and strength, he knows they are being mean but he responds with a challenge for them to lift a sheet of rock.  Of course, none can lift the massive rock except Siuluk who lifts it with ease and leaves his legacy in a message he carves into the stone.

From Siuluk: The Last Tuniq by Nadia Sammurtok, illus. by Rob Nix

Though you can read about the Tuniit in Rachel and Sean Qitsualik-Tinsley’s Tuniit: Mysterious Folk of the Arctic (Inhabit Media, 2015) and in How Things Came To Be: Inuit Stories of Creation (Inhabit Media, 2015),  Siuluk: The Last Tuniq takes a different perspective on the Tuniit.  Nadia Sammurtok tells a very simple story about teasing and differences in which a man finds a straightforward but elegant response to dismiss his intimidators.  So while children will learn about Siuluk and his status as the last Tuniq, they will also learn that anyone can be ill-treated by others and still  handle that treatment with self-possession and poise.  Siuluk, who is given graphic life by American illustrator Rob Nix, could have hurt the men who teased him about his size and strength but instead he demonstrated his brawn in a quiet but impactful manner, and even left a message for generations to come.

From Siuluk: The Last Tuniq by Nadia Sammurtok, illus. by Rob Nix

The best part of this story is revealed in Nadia Sammurtok’s afterword in which she reveals that her father had been told as a child a story about a man purported to be the last of the Tuniit who'd allegedly lived close to Chesterfield Inlet in Nunavut.  In fact, there’s a photo of her father, Tom Sammurtok, with Siuluk’s rock.  So it seems that Siuluk: The Last Tuniq, which is also available in Inuktitut, may be a traditional story about the last remaining Tuniq from the oldest community in Nunavut but it’s all the more special for the evidence of its veracity and the life lessons it encompasses.

Krista Kim-Bap

Written by Angela Ahn
Second Story Press
978-1-77260-063-6
176 pp.
Ages 9-13
April 2018

Everyone wants to fit in. They want to be accepted by their peers and appreciated by their family. And eleven-year-old Krista Kim wants the same. Fortunately she has a best friend, Jason, who is a close as a brother. In fact, he’s even better since he appreciates her Korean heritage, especially all the delicious foods, more than Krista’s teen sister Tori who strives not to be seen as Korean. Sadly Krista’s very Korean grandmother adores Tori and doesn’t seem to appreciate Krista’s tomboyish ways or her friendship with Jason.

But everything starts to change after a classmate, Madison, invites Krista to her “Red Carpet” birthday party and Grandma takes Krista to a salon for hair, makeup and eye taping (to create the impression of a double lid) and Tori recreates a Korean hanbok for Krista to wear to the event. Soon Krista is eating lunch with Madison and the more popular girls, and Jason, her dear friend who was like a part of the family, is relegated to her background.

Meanwhile, Krista and her classmates are working on family heritage projects and Krista decides to focus on the foods with which she is familiar. But it’s her Grandma who makes the kimchi and kimbap and the authentic Korean dishes that she loves. So, Krista asks her Grandma to teach her how to cook.

“This food that all Koreans eat is in our hearts.” (pg. 124) 

As Krista learns more about her heritage, particularly through its cuisine, she’s actually learning more about her grandmother, what it means to be Korean for all her family, and what it means to be a friend.

Angela Ahn takes us into the heart of a second- and third-generation Korean family in Vancouver and gives readers a taste of a culture with which many of us are not familiar. Kids growing up in families such as Krista’s will undoubtedly recognize the customs and traditions, the social relationships, and those distinctions that make being Korean different than other cultural heritages. By making Krista’s heritage the background for her maturing acceptance of who she is and what friends she wants in her life, Angela Ahn has rolled this middle-grade novel into a special bundle of substance and flavour, not unlike the kimbap she learns to prepare with her grandmother.