CanLit for LittleCanadians

May 28, 2018

Pulse Point

Written by Colleen Nelson with Nancy Chappell-Pollack

Yellow Dog (Great Plains Publications)
978-1-927855-97-3
192 pp.
Ages 12-15
May 2018

With global warming, many of us acknowledge that things in our world are going awry. Scientists have been warning about its consequences that include increased flooding, droughts, fires, mudslides and more, though it seems too few are listening now and in the world from the time Kaia's elder Mae (whom we would call grandmother) was much younger. But, in their world, when those impacts escalated and became dire, the scientists had prepared and created self-sufficient Cities run on the energy of its Citizens.

Though the Citizens may not consider it to be a problem, happy to be safe under the dome of the City, the social constructs of their new home have been exclusionary and are discriminatory. Only people with the right skills and genetics are allowed to live in the City. Those excluded, called Prims (for Primitives), retreated to the Mountain outside, and the City is constantly on guard and setting Prim Threat Levels. Within the City, each Citizen is connected via a pulse point or microchip implanted in a forefinger to allow for monitoring of energy generation to ensure balance with energy usage. Kaia, who lives with her birth elder Sy, a gardener, and Mae, works as a fetal assessment technician (where defectives are identified for termination) and endeavours to generate extra energy at the gymnasium to share with the elderly Mae. Anyone who cannot produce sufficient energy must undergo balancing, the process by which the Council ensures the City stays in equilibrium.

But Lev, the progeny of an Overseer, Kellan, a fallen hero, and Tar, a Councillor, is smitten with Kaia, though her genetic ranking is far beneath him. With Tar manipulating people and circumstances to ease Lev's path to becoming a leader, and Kaia's pulse point no longer working, essentially taking her off the grid, Kaia makes a decision that will take her from the only life and people she has known into a wilderness and on the run.

Colleen Nelson is well known for her dramatic YA fiction (The Fall, 250 Hours, Finding Hope, Blood Brothers) and Pulse Point is no less suspenseful in its story nor less powerful in its delivery. However, because it is her first speculative fiction and collaborative work with her sister Nancy Chappell-Pollack, Pulse Point reveals layers in characterization and world-building that are new. It's a tense read with all the attributes of great YA: relationship drama, interfering progenitors (i.e., parents), burgeoning romance, secrets, confusion, and conflict. But, all that takes place in a world in which stasis is achieved through the generation of energy and elimination of the unproductive, in which blue eyes are considered a defect, romantic matches are based on genetics, and everyone is monitored (a.k.a. linked) through their fingertips, making Pulse Point a bigger story. Look carefully and you'll see how Pulse Point's worlds could be our own. The two communities, one outside the City and the other under its dome, are a sharp contrast of old ways and new ways and the distrust and clash between the two is inevitable. While Colleen Nelson and Nancy Chappell-Pollack resolve the story, revealing Kaia's origin story and secrets long kept hidden, they also leave a door open for a sequel. It's a good thing because there's still a whole new world that needs to evolve to make things right for Kaia and Lev, and Citizens and Prims alike.

••••••••••••••••

Check back tomorrow for my Q & A with authors Colleen Nelson and Nancy Chappell-Pollack in which they reveal much about their writing process and story lines from Pulse Point. Always an insightful discussion when speaking with Colleen Nelson, we learn more than any blurb on a cover could reveal!

Here are all the stops on this blog tour:

May 28: Stuck in YA Books
May 29: CanLit for LittleCanadians
May 30: Reading Maria
May 31: Chapter by Chapter
June 1: Biblio Virgo

Be sure to check them all out!

May 27, 2018

Ruthless Magic: Online book launch

Megan Crewe

author of multiple books of speculative fiction including her trilogies
Fallen World
and
Earth and Sky

launches her new series

Conspiracy of Magic

with its first book

Ruthless Magic

Written by Megan Crewe

Another World Press

978-1-989114001

352 pp.

Ages 13+

May 30, 2018

Wednesday, May 30, 2018

8 a.m.- 11:30 p.m. (EST)

at

https://www.facebook.com/events/230095127572989/

The online launch which will take place throughout the day will include:
• games
• giveaways
• a virtual book signing (you can request a signed bookplate)
• live chat from 9:30-10:30 p.m. EST, and
• guest authors visits (30 minutes each):

Kristin D. Van Risseghem - 9 a.m.
Olivia Wildenstein - 10 a.m.
Nina Walker - 11 a.m.
Alison Ingleby - 12 p.m.
Tessonja Odette - 1 p.m.
Tiki Kos - 2 p.m.
Merrie Destefano - 3 p.m.
Cordelia Castel - 3:30 p.m.
Jesikah Sundin - 4 p.m.
Kristine Schwartz - 6 p.m.
K.M. Robinson - 7 p.m.
C.L. Cannon - 8:30 p.m.
Julie Hall - 11 p.m.

Get more details about the book at http://www.megancrewe.com/ConspiracyofMagic/ or read Megan Crewe's synopsis on her blog at http://www.megancrewe.com/blog/:

In the contest to keep their magic, the only options may be die… or kill.

Each year, the North American Confederation of Mages assesses every sixteen-year-old novice. Some will be chosen. The rest must undergo a procedure to destroy their magical ability unless they prove themselves in the mysterious and brutal Mages’ Exam.

Disadvantaged by her parents’ low standing, Rocío Lopez has dedicated herself to expanding her considerable talent to earn a place in the Confederation. Their rejection leaves her reeling—and determined to fight to keep her magic.

Long ashamed of his mediocre abilities, Finn Lockwood knows the Confederation accepted him only because of his prominent family. Declaring for the Exam instead means a chance to confirm his true worth.

Thrown into the testing with little preparation, Rocío and Finn find themselves becoming unlikely allies—and possibly more. But the Exam holds secrets more horrifying than either could have imagined. What are the examiners really testing them for? And as the trials become increasingly vicious, how much are they willing to sacrifice to win?

May 25, 2018

Ebb & Flow

Written by Heather Smith

Kids Can Press

978-1-77138-838-2

232 pp.

Ages 9-12

April 2018

If you've been reading this blog for a number of years, you'll know what a fan I am of novels in verse. These are stories told in free verse form and the authors who do it well are highly accomplished at writing with impact and few words. I can now add author Heather Smith to that very short list of accomplished writers of novels in verse. And she is extraordinary.

Ebb & Flow is the story of twelve-year-old Jett who has been sent to spend the summer with his Grandma Jo. Though he has been sent to stay with her because of a troublesome year, Jett is happy to see Grandma, having many positive memories about her before his move with his mother to the mainland.

I remembered

hugs that were big for her size,

her arms growing

like expandable straws. (pg. 9)

Wordplay is the dialogue between the two who love talking in puns, with Grandma telling her story as if she were a character in a series of anecdotes. Sadly, because of the mistakes he made over the past year, Jett sees himself as the villain of his stories, deserving of little goodness, including his grandmother's love. Even away from the negative influence of Junior Dawson, a bully and angry classmate, with whom Jett teamed up, the boy cannot shake the bad thoughts about people and the anger he harbours about his own actions.

In titled chapters of only one or two page verses, Heather Smith subtly reveals Jett's history and the events that led to his relocation for the summer. In fact, Jett's character development is so subtle that the change in Jett from angry and confused boy to responsive and responsible is as inconspicuous as the tides that come in and go out.

Grandma?

Yes?

Why can't things just stay the same?

Because life is like the tides.
In, out.
Back, forth.
Push, pull.
High, low.
You just have to go with the flow, you know?

Yeah...
(pg. 177)

The reader will sense Jett's progression in increments, as slow as when he and Grandma Jo creep along the beach looking for sea glass, and then he's there, asking to visit his father and telling his own story to his grandmother.

Ebb & Flow may refer to Jett's responses to the ever-changing circumstances that impact him, including his own choices and mistakes, but the book makes a powerful statement about resiliency and the power to ride the tidal motion of life. Sometimes you need a little help, like Jett gets from Grandma Jo who never pushes her grandson to come to an epiphany, though she helps him get there with her love and guidance. Ebb & Flow makes it clear that, with forgiveness to others and self, people and relationships can be salvaged and, like sea glass, taken from sharp edges to soft gemstones.

In Grandma's hand,
five pieces of sea glass –
two white, two green,
one red.

I didn't find anything, I said.

You will.
(pg. 26)

May 24, 2018

Sun Dog

Written by Deborah Kerbel

Illustrated by Suzanne Del Rizzo

Pajama Press

978-1-77278-038-3

32 pp.

Ages 4-7

May 2018

Falling asleep at night during the summer can be difficult in the Arctic because the sun never falls below the horizon, hence its moniker of "land of the midnight sun." Imagine being a little pup who knows she's supposed to go to bed with her boy but feels compelled to go outside and play. This is Juno, the Husky pup who lives with her boy in "a red house overlooking a faraway town perched on the edge of an invisible circle at the very top of the world."

From Sun Dog by Deborah Kerbel, illus. by Suzanne Del Rizzo

Juno, born in the spring, loves the sun and playing outdoors, though she yearns to be big like the sled dogs. But when her boy goes to bed, Juno isn't ready to sleep. The pup sneaks out to play but finds the world a strange place to be without her boy. "She feels like an iceberg adrift on a giant sea."

From Sun Dog by Deborah Kerbel, illus. by Suzanne Del Rizzo

But when a polar bear approaches the house whose door Juno left open in her rush to go outside, the little dog finds a storehouse of courage within her big heart and is able to withstand her fear and give warning and, with a little help, keep her boy safe.

Children will love the story of Juno as Sun Dog, not least of which because she is an adorable dog, thanks to Suzanne Del Rizzo's elaborate and emotive dimensional art. But I think that Deborah Kerbel's message that "Juno might be little, but there's a big dog inside her" is an meaningful one for young children who often feel too little to do anything significant and wish to be big so they can stay up late or go somewhere alone or just not be hindered by their youth or size. Juno takes it upon herself to do all those things, though she puts herself and others in danger. Still, that small body holds a big heart filled with love for her boy and life and from that a boundless courage bursts forth. Juno may have been frightened but she did all she could to ensure a happy ending.

The joy of being outside and the beauty of the Arctic landscape are beautifully conveyed through Suzanne Del Rizzo's artwork. I've oohed and aahed over her polymer clay and acrylic paint art that graced her own My Beautiful Birds and other picture books and Sun Dog is no exception. Those summer skies of yellow, pink, purple, and blue, with many shades in between, took me to that land of the midnight sun and the home of children who rarely saw themselves in books. Within that landscape, Suzanne Del Rizzo brought playfulness and charm, with the reality necessary to tell Deborah Kerbel's sweet story.

From Sun Dog by Deborah Kerbel, illus. by Suzanne Del Rizzo

It's lovely for me to review books by creators like Deborah Kerbel and Suzanne Del Rizzo whose work I've seen transform and evolve with each imaginative work. Now, with their collaboration, a charming story has been synthesized from message and art into the brilliant and heart-warming combination that is Sun Dog.

May 23, 2018

Sun Dog & My Deal with the Universe: Double Book Launch (Toronto, ON)

What's better than a book launch?

A double book launch!

Author Deborah Kerbel

is launching two new books

Her first picture book

with amazing plasticine artist

Suzanne Del Rizzo

Sun Dog

Written by Deborah Kerbel

Illustrated by Suzanne Del Rizzo

Pajama Press

978-1-77278-038-3

32 pp.

Ages 4-7

May 2018

as well as

a new middle grade novel

My Deal with the Universe

Written by Deborah Kerbel

Scholastic Canada

978-1443157568

240 pp.

Ages 9-12

May 2018

😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊

Join Deborah Kerbel and Suzanne Del Rizzo

Saturday, June 2, 2018

2 p.m.

Indigo Yorkdale

Yorkdale Shopping Centre

Toronto

There will:

• readings by author and illustrator

• prizes

• refreshments

• plasticine activities, and

• book signings.

A little bit about the books:

Sun Dog, from Pajama Press website at http://pajamapress.ca/book/sun_dog/

Juno and her boy live in a red house at the top of the world. One day Juno will be big and strong enough to help pull a sled across the tundra, but for now she is just a small puppy with a big-dog heart. Small puppies have to go to bed when their boys do, but Juno can’t sleep with the midnight sun shining out across the town. She slips outside to play. Returning to see a hungry polar bear sniffing around the open door, Juno has no time to be afraid. It’s time to find her voice, summon the big dog inside her, and save her beloved boy.

My Deal with the Universe, from Scholastic Canada's website at http://www.scholastic.ca/rights/titles/special/my-deal-with-the-universe/

Maybe "normal" isn't all it's cracked up to be.... All twelve year-old Daisy Fisher wants is to be normal — or at least to not stick out like a sore thumb. But growing up in the house disparagingly referred to as the “Jungle” makes that pretty much impossible. When your parents’ activism brands them as a nuisance and your house is overrun with vines and critters, it’s not so easy to fit in. And it definitely doesn’t help when the neighbours declare your family public enemy number one. Or when your best (and possibly only) friend leaves for summer camp and forgets you exist. Or when your twin brother’s cancer might be growing back.

Will this be the summer Daisy changes things for the better? She can’t help where she lives, but if she could find a new friend, cultivate some courage, and figure out a way to keep her brother healthy, maybe life will finally be normal. Or will it? When her anxiety about her brother getting sick again threatens to boil over just as the Jungle comes under investigation, Daisy has to face down her greatest fears, not to mention the neighbours who are threatening her home. In the process, she learns some surprising truths about herself, and that maybe “normal” isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. My Deal with the Universe is a contemporary middle-grade novel by Deborah Kerbel about tolerance, diversity, individuality, friendship and the strength of family.

May 22, 2018

The Triumphant Tale of the House Sparrow

Written and illustrated by Jan Thornhill

Groundwood Books

978-1-77306-006-4

44 pp.

Ages 9-12

April 2018

If Jan Thornhill's winning of the TD Canadian Children's Literature Award last fall for The Tragic Tale of the Great Auk (Groundwood, 2016) and Jess Keating's winning of the Blue Spruce award this week for Shark Lady: The True Story of How Eugenie Clark Became the Ocean's Most Fearless Scientist (Sourcebooks Jabberwocky, 2017) tell us anything, it is that picture books are as beloved for telling non-fiction as they are for entertaining young readers. With her newest, The Triumphant Tale of the House Sparrow, Jan Thornhill again tells a compelling story of natural history which informs as well as entices us to learn more.

Jan Thornhill's story of the small brown bird which lacks flamboyance but teems with adaptability is a tale of survival, unlike that of the bird of her earlier book, The Tragic Tale of the Great Auk. She begins by telling of the House Sparrow's Middle Eastern ancestor beginning to rely on grain as a food source and losing the need for migration. With the spread of agriculture, the House Sparrow was soon designated a pest for raiding fields and orchards and breeding far too quickly, aiding in its spread. The small bird became such a nuisance that bounties and laws were enacted to speed its elimination.

From The Triumphant Tale of the House Sparrow by Jan Thornhill

But migrating Europeans saw the House Sparrow as a resourceful reminder of home, and the bird was introduced to New York City in the 1800s and then across the country, multiplying far more than expected. Again the exploding population of House Sparrows coupled with its aggressive pursuit of grain pitted the House Sparrow lovers and haters against each other.

From The Triumphant Tale of the House Sparrow by Jan Thornhill

However, it is the actions of humans which have had the most impact on the House Sparrow, though not always intentionally. With the onset of the automobile and the decline of horses, fed with grain, the House Sparrow's populations began to diminish again, and perhaps more so because of changes we've implemented in home construction, in farming, in keeping cats as pets and even in how we eat. Whether these impacts alone explain the decline of the House Sparrow is not known completely. But, it is certain that as much as the little bird may be an omen of our negative impact on the environment, it continues to find ways to adapt and survive.

The Triumphant Tale of the House Sparrow may tell the bird's story of proliferation and decline as an piece of non-fiction, supplemented with a map of the bird's global distribution, an illustrated life cycle and a glossary, but it's Jan Thornhill's telling of that story that is the most compelling. Told as a narrative and strengthened by Jan Thornhill's realistic illustrations, The Triumphant Tale of the House Sparrow gives us lessons in ecology and adaptation, in history and in the impact of humans on the environment, and will be a valuable addition to science classrooms and school libraries everywhere.

From The Triumphant Tale of the House Sparrow by Jan Thornhill

May 19, 2018

2018 Forest of Reading® winners announced at the Festival of Trees

If it's May, then young readers have voted for the winners of the Forest of Reading awards of the Ontario Library Association. Here are their selections for 2018!