Peg Bearskin: A traditional Newfoundland folktale

As told by Mrs. Elizabeth Brewer

Adapted by Philip Dinn and Andy Jones

Illustrated by Denise Gallagher

Running the Goat, Books & Broadsides

978-1-927917-19-0

44 pp.

All ages

February 2019

Peg Bearskin may be big and ugly and hairy but she's clever and that gumption and canniness make all the difference to her life and those of others.

From Peg Bearskin, illus. by Denise Gallagher

Peg Bearskin is one of three daughters but, alas, her sisters are "pretty as ever the sun shined on" and Peg Bearskin is not. As they grow older, her sisters, like many people, want nothing to do with Peg but she persists in following them. It's lucky for them that she does as, when they spend the night at the home of an old woman, Peg's instincts and exploration lead her to discover the woman to be a witch who possesses a decanter that never empties, a lantern that shines for half a mile without fuel, and a swift horse with magic bells for wishing. Realizing that the witch intends to kill her sisters, Peg tricks the old woman and the three escape. 

When the three siblings get older, Peg goes to see a king with three marriageable sons. She promises the decanter to him if he'd allow her oldest sister to marry his oldest son. She only asks for a handful of pepper to achieve her task of acquiring the decanter for him. While the witch's old man uses the decanter, Peg throws the pepper at him and grabs the pitcher.  Similarly, she steals the lantern to secure a husband for her other sister. Finally, she does the same for herself, using a knife and saw to steal the horse with its magical bells.

From Peg Bearskin, illus. by Denise Gallagher

But, the third son is distraught to be married to Peg. Recognizing that perhaps making a wish on a bell might give him what he wants, Peg shares with him the secret of the bells, upon which he wishes for Peg to be beautiful. And, though the reader will see that Peg does not appear to be any different, the prince, who has turned big, ugly and hairy himself, sees Peg as "the most beautiful woman that water ever wet or the sun ever shined on."

Peg Bearskin may focus on Peg's appearance as defining how she is seen but it supersedes that characterization by showcasing how clever she is. She doesn't need to be beautiful in the same terms of her sisters, and Peg Bearskin justifies the phrase that beauty is in the eyes of the beholder because Peg is beautiful by her astuteness. Even in the end, when her husband wishes her to be beautiful, it's not her that must change. 

From Peg Bearskin, illus. by Denise Gallagher

This traditional Newfoundland folktale is derived from Mrs. Elizabeth Brewer's story told to a folklore student in 1976 and is part of the Memorial University of Newfoundland Folklore and Language Archive (MUNFLA) and shared in multiple editions of books on the folktales of Newfoundland. Philip Dinn and Andy Jones adapted it for a storytelling play in the late 1990s and several versions have been published over the years. This edition, illustrated by Louisiana artist Denise Gallagher, lends a folk art feel to the story. With its earthy green tones and beet red touches, Peg Bearskin becomes a true reflection of the folklife of Newfoundland while continuing to focus on the message that beauty should be accepted in its different manifestations. It's storytelling that can be heard in the Newfoundland vernacular of "mudder" and "et" and "spose" and in the supernatural elements of wishing for children, an evil witch, and magical phenomena. There is beauty in all of it and most of all in Peg Bearskin herself.

Girl of the Southern Sea

Written by Michelle Kadarusman

Pajama Press

978-1-77278-081-9

224 pp.

Ages 8-12

May 2019

This is the story of Nia, a girl who lives with her five-year-old brother Rudi and their father in a tin shack along the train tracks of Jakarta, Indonesia. Though at fourteen she has finished middle school, she craves to continue her education, but there is no extra money for the school fees needed for high school. Instead she works to tend to the family: getting her brother to and from school, making meals, cleaning, and preparing batter for their father's fried banana cart. Sadly, it also means bringing her father home from nights of drinking arak (an alcoholic drink) at Jango's hut and cleaning up after Bapak's poor choices. Still Nia tries to see a future, hopeful of saving money for school and writing stories about Dewi Kadita, the Queen of the Southern Sea, who offers life lessons and the promise of a better life from dire circumstances.

But, with any story, there are plot twists and conflicts that challenge characters and wrench the narrative from a smooth path to a satisfying terminus. For Nia, it's a minibus crash from which she alone survives essentially unscathed. In a culture rife with superstitions and a predilection for supernatural stories, Nia's survival is seen as a miracle and consequently their banana fritters attributed with being infused with good luck. But how fortunate is Nia truly?

This is the basis for Michelle Kadarusman's story of Nia, but I cannot convey the depth of the storytelling within Girl of the Southern Sea and it's message for girls to make their own opportunities. (A portion of the book's proceeds go to Plan International Canada's #BecauseIAmaGirl campaign.) Even dealing with her father's alcoholism and weakness of character, and inherent vulnerabilities because of poverty and alarming cultural and social attitudes, Nia is driven to continue her education and write her stories. She stands up for herself–"I am not your promise to give." (pg. 196)– and makes sure that her life becomes the story she wants told.

I am here to live a different story. I am here to write my own story. (pg. 202)

There are so many tragedies in Nia's story that come when others try to impose their lives on her circumstances. There are the corrupt police who assault her father; her best friend Yuli who may be involved in illicit activities as a way to improve her conditions; vigilantes who turn on Nia violently when the good luck they purported she peddled was proven to be lacking; and her father who is willing to choose his own needs over those of his children. Still Nia takes guidance from her mother, via dreams, and from Dewi Kadita, the princess cursed with disfiguring skin conditions relieved only in the Southern Sea, and begins to make a life for herself. Its origins may be saturated in misfortune and tragedy but it will become the story she wants to write for herself and make her the Girl of the Southern Sea.

Paseka: A Little Elephant, Brave : Book launches (BC)

Join 

author Ruth James 

and 

illustrator Kent Laforme 
(Studiostone Creative)

for multiple events to launch

their picture book

 Paseka: A Little Elephant, Brave

Written by Ruth James

Illustrated by Kent Laforme

Page Two Books

978-1-989025-42-0

32 pp.

Ages 5+

May 2019
Reviewed here

Thursday, May 2, 2019
 7 p.m.
Kidsbooks
2557 West Broadway
Vancouver, BC

Monday, May 6, 2019
10:30 a.m. 
Salt Spring Island Public Library
129 McPhillips Avenue
Salt Spring Island, BC
(n.b. illustrator Kent Laforme will not be at this event)

Saturday, May 11, 2019
2 p.m.
Courtenay Public Library
300 6th St.
Courtenay, BC

Saturday, May 18, 2019
1 p.m.
Indigo at Mayfair 
Mayfair Shopping Centre
Victoria, BC

There will be

a reading of the story and craft activities, 
including finger puppet and diorama creation,

and a special photo station with 
a life-sized Paseka illustration

Books will be available for sale and signing.


I reviewed this lovely picture book yesterday here 
and 
emphatically recommend you attend one of the BC launches, 
if you can.
🐘🐘🐘🐘🐘🐘🐘

Paseka: A Little Elephant, Brave

Written by Ruth James

Illustrated by Kent Laforme

Page Two Books

978-1-989025420

32 pp.

Ages 6-10

May 2019

From Paseka: A Little Elephant, Brave by Ruth James, illus. by Kent Laforme

This is Paseka. After she and her mother are attacked by hyenas and separated, Paseka searches for Mama and is drawn to a large grey shape moving quickly along a tree bridge (a log road). Though fooled, the injured Paseka follows the safari jeep into the camp, causing mayhem in her desperation. To help the very young elephant, camp workers tranquilize her and tend to her injuries, and she is taken to an elephant rehabilitation camp.

When released, Paseka bounds to the matriarch, hopeful it is her mama and desperate for milk. But all the elephants need to check out Paseka first, prodding her with their trunks.

Standing quietly, Paseka sucked her own trunk, gaining comfort and helping herself to be brave.

Hungry, she listens as they discuss her, until the matriarch, who knows of Paseka's harrowing story and loss, welcomes her into the herd and matches her with a mother elephant and her older female calf. A mother, a sister, and milk.

From Paseka: A Little Elephant, Brave by Ruth James, illus. by Kent Laforme

Still, there is the solemnity of elephants lost, to poachers and predators, and amongst the bones of poached elephants, little Paseka hears and feels the heart song of her mother that had urged her, before birth, to

Be strong, my Paseka!
Be steady, have courage.
Play every day!

Connected both to her mother in spirit and to the elephants of her new herd, little Paseka learns she has the strength to belong and be saved.

From Paseka: A Little Elephant, Brave by Ruth James, illus. by Kent Laforme

Paseka: A Little Elephant, Brave is loosely based on a true story of an orphaned baby elephant that writer Ruth James heard about when she visited Kenya as a founding member of the African Children's Book Box Society. (Book sales benefit this organization.) While Paseka's true story appends the picture book, the story is not an informational text about vulnerable elephants and poaching. It's an uplifting story about finding one's place through tragedy. It's about holding onto connections with those gone and making new connections to sustain and comfort. And it's about elephants and their bonds, their losses, their resilience, and their spirit.

Ruth James's words are eloquent and emotional, from the attack by the hyenas, to Paseka's heartbreaking search for her mother and for the security and sustenance she desperately requires and finds.

A baby elephant's heart can ache with hoping.

The fragility of Paseka's story is reflected in Ruth James's elegant prose and Kent Laforme's illustrations. Kent Laforme may be more widely known as a Victoria, BC stone carver–he is currently working on a stone sculpture of Paseka (https://www.kentlaforme.com/elephant-dream) –but I hope we see more and more of his exquisite ink and watercolour artwork in children's books. Kent Laforme blends the right mix of reality with heart, telling Paseka's story of tragedy and finding hope, with an atmospheric touch that reveals but doesn't crush. That's a profound accomplishment of artistry for a story that includes predation, death, hunger, and abandonment. Moreover, by emphasizing a palette of purple, the reader is infused with both the regality of these magnificent creatures and the sorrow of the situation.

For those passionate about elephants, about showing compassion for all creatures, and for making a world that embraces all, Paseka: A Little Elephant, Brave will tell you a real story.

From Paseka: A Little Elephant, Brave by Ruth James, illus. by Kent Laforme

🐘🐘🐘🐘🐘🐘🐘🐘

A downloadable Teacher Resource Guide is available at pasekathebook.com.

🐘🐘🐘🐘🐘🐘🐘🐘

Multiple book events for the launch of Paseka: A Little Elephant, Brave will be held in British Columbia in the following weeks. I will post tomorrow with details.

Wings of Olympus

Written by Kallie George
HarperCollins Canada
978-006274-152-3
224 pp.
Ages 8-12
March 2019

It is the journey that is most important. (pg. 107)

Young Pippa adores working with the horses at an Athenian stables but, when she is distracted from her chores after catching a glimpse of Zeus's steed Nikomedes in the sky, she is fired. A foundling, abandoned by her parents with only a coin engraved with a winged horse, Pippa trudges off, needing to find food and shelter. But when she awakens, she discovers she has been transported to Mount Olympus with other children to compete in the Winged Horse Race, an event that takes place every 100 years to choose Zeus's next steed.  Each child has been selected by a god or goddess to ride their winged horse, and Pippa, the only child without an impressive family, has been chosen by Aphrodite to ride Zephyr, a small horse "like a moonbeam." (pg. 40) The other children include Basileus who is to ride the powerful Kerauno for Ares, the shy Timon riding Skotos for Hades, the only other girl, Sophia, rider for Athena, Theodoros riding for Poseidon, and the arrogant Khrys riding for Apollo.

Under the direction of Bellerophon, the hero who'd tamed Pegasus, the child riders learn the many rules for the race, how to train, and how to deal with their gods and goddesses who are constantly squabbling and are willing to bend the rules or even cheat in order to be honoured with having their winged horse selected to replace Nikomedes. While Pippa is falling in love with Zephyr, who is easily distracted by butterflies and such, she is the only one who has not had an opportunity to meet her goddess. Upset with this slight, she and Zephyr fly off and get lost, only to meet the Fates, one of whom suggests Pippa will not win. Pippa is desperate to stay on Mount Olympus and care for Zephyr and so she comes up with a plan to help herself and some friends out. But how will Mount Olympus's immortals react when their rules are ignored, even for a good reason?

Taking a trip to ancient Greece and to visit the immortals who inhabit Mount Olympus is a treat with Kallie George's expressive text and extraordinary story.

The sky was her home now: blue ceilings, courtyards of clouds, and, if she was out late, stars so close and so numerous it was like they were woven tight as linen. (pg. 107)

These are worlds mythological and singular in their attributes but Kallie George invites us into that reality as welcome visitors to see the wonders of Mount Olympus and the imperfection of its inhabitants and the parallels between children then and now. There is the bully who threatens and cheats, the know-it-all child, the boy who misses his family, and the orphaned girl whose heart is teeming with love for horses and specifically Zephyr. They may be wearing belted chitons and sandals but they are young people most of us will recognize. And Kallie George's messages about love and trust are universal and perpetual.

Like the other middle-grade series Kallie George has written, including Heartwood Hotel and Magical Animal Adoption Agency, Wings of Olympus is fated to take off as a new series. There are animals and a unique time and setting and a diaphanous sheath of fantasy. I look forward to seeing where the next books land.

"Nikepteros," she whispered. "Victory in flight." (pg. 107)

••••••••••••••••••

Kallie George is launching Wings of Olympus this Thursday in Vancouver for those of you who know any middle-graders who love horses or mythology or a great story. Details here.

Mya's Strategy to Save the World

Written by Tanya Lloyd Kyi

Puffin Canada

978-0-73526-525-7

200 pp.

Ages 9-12

April 2019
Reviewed from Advance Reader's Copy

She may be dealing with her mother's prolonged absence tending to her ill grandmother, a comic but persistent misunderstanding about her sister's shin pads, a communication project with an annoying boy, and a mission to convince her parents to get her a cell phone, but Mya is still out to save the world because it seems to need it.

Twelve-year-old Mya, eight-year-old sister Nanda and their father seem to be a little lost when Mom heads to Myanmar to tend to her ailing mother. Mya, who aspires to work for the United Nations, uses all her skills in conflict resolution, patience, forgiveness and more to handle the ever-imploding household that can't balance meal preparation, laundry, cleaning and child care. But Mya is also a globally conscious and compassionate girl who, having organized their Kids for Social Justice group with best friend Cleo, worries about many issues, including the Rohingya crisis in Myanmar. However, while she would love to have the support of Cleo, her friend has just been gifted her first cell phone and is way too involved with texting and her crush Drew.

Meanwhile, Mya has been partnered with Ian to work on a communications project for English. As they pursue their project, sometimes in sync and sometimes not, Mya begins to learn a little bit more about effectively interacting with others to get her points across although not without a few misunderstandings and occasional strife. Oh, and did I mention the issues surrounding the mining of cobalt–war, child labour, safety, etc.–which is a key component in electronics like cell phones? Can Mya use all her diplomacy to find a friendly resolution to all the issues–environmental, social justice, family and relationship–with which she is concerned?

Wow, this girl has a lot on her plate: family, friends, school, boys, the world. (Did I mention she gets her period while her mother is away?) Yet, she never curls up and hides her head under the blankets. She's other there doing her bit and trying her best. Even when it seems like no one appreciates her efforts or takes them seriously, she manages. Taking advice from her father,

...if people take small steps in the right direction, the world will slowly shift. (pg. 158)

Mya continues to crusade for herself, others and our world. But Tanya Lloyd Kyi never makes Mya a saint or a tedious rah-rah cheerleader.  Rather, Mya is a stalwart advocate for doing one's best. Moreover, there is a freshness to Mya's social activism and her coming of age story. Tanya Lloyd Kyi could have weighed down the story with social issues that are heart-breaking and alarming or she could have steeped Mya's navigation into puberty with angst and confusion. Instead, she chose to offer hope that those small steps would lead somewhere positive, making those baby steps the first steps to social change and, on  a personal basis, to being a teenager.

••••••••••••••

 
Tanya Lloyd Kyi launches Mya's Strategy to Save the World this week in Vancouver. See details here.

Wings of Olympus & Mya's Strategy to Save the World: Double book launch (Vancouver, BC)

While I'm getting ready to post reviews 

of both these wonderful novels, 

get this Vancouver book event on your calendars

for a double-dose of middle-grade youngCanLit goodness!

••••••••••••••••

Join authors

Kallie George

and

Tanya Lloyd Kyi

for the launches of

Wings of Olympus

 Written by Kallie George

Illustrated by Fiona Hsieh

HarperCollins Canada

978-0-06274-152-3

224 pp.

Ages 8-12

March 2019

and

Mya's Strategy to Save the World

Written by Tanya Lloyd Kyi

Puffin Canada

978-0-73526-525-7

200 pp.

Ages 9-12

April 2019

 on

Thursday, April 25, 2019

at

7 p.m.

at

Kidsbooks

2557 W Broadway 

Vancouver, BC

••••••••••••••••

 

 Look for my reviews today and tomorrow 

for a glimpse at the rich stories of 

Wings of Olympus and Mya's Strategy to Save the World