Ping

Written and illustrated by Ani Castillo

Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

978-0-316-42464-6

48 pp.

Ages 4-8

September, 2019 

Ping is both subtly complex and powerfully simple in its message about communication and connecting with others. It says loads about how to do it, when to do it, and the need to accept how others return that communication. Like the game of ping-pong–the premise upon which the story is based–there is a give and take between communicants that must be respected to ensure successful connections are made.

My friend,

in this life...

...we can only PING.

The PONG belongs to the other.

From Ping by Ani Castillo

Ani Castillo highlights the multitude of ways you can Ping (note that the verb "Ping" is always capitalized). It can include using your voice or painting or using a computer. It can be with small or large gestures, and you can Ping to one or many. But it's the approaches to Pinging that are most impressive. With many adverbs, Ani Castillo recommends Pinging freely, generously, wisely, kindly, persistently, hopefully, and mindfully. However, even with those intentions, you must still wait for the Pong and accept it as given. It may come as expected or not but it will be the basis for new connections regardless.

From Ping by Ani Castillo

Best known for her cartooning, Ani Castillo's illustrations of amorphous characters in Ping will be relatable to all children. They're cute but unrecognizable and could be any person reading this book. But, with Ping, her debut picture book, Ani Castillo has found a voice that communicates with heart as well as art. She helps us see the importance of self-expression but always with thoughtful intent and consideration for the recipients of that expression. In a world of social media and the constant airing of opinions, we need to follow the sage advice that Pinging requires wisdom and responsibility. Regardless of the reciprocating Pong, we must Ping with humanity.  Shouldn't this always be the way with communication?

From Ping by Ani Castillo

Ping is about thoughtful discussion and that is exactly what it will inspire: conversations about how we communicate and how we should. It is learning and teaching in one, all with tenderness and understanding for our need to connect with others and how to do it effectively and with compassion.

Anne's Feelings

Inspired by Anne of Green Gables

Written and illustrated by Kelly Hill

Tundra Books

978-0-7352-6287-4

22 pp.

Ages 0-3

May 2019

While many school curricula mandate the teaching very young children to manage their emotions, it's not always easy for kids when they can't identify those feelings in the first place. They may know the way their tummy feels or if their face gets hot and red, but putting names to those emotions and their origins is not always easy. I think that Kelly Hill's latest board book inspired by Lucy M. Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables can help steer young children to some understanding of basic emotions that include those that are troublesome and those that are uplifting.

From Anne's Feelings by Kelly Hills

In a series of double-spreads of illustration and text, Kelly Hill depicts Anne and a few others as they experience a full range of feelings. They– but mostly Anne–are hopeful, or in the depths of despair, calm or excited, angry, scared, happy, brave, surprised, full of wonder, and loving. From Anne showing hope as she waits for a train that might take her to a real home or excited about ice cream, angry at Gilbert for calling her "Carrots" or showing love for Matthew and Marilla, Kelly Hill's illustrations of each emotion are true to Lucy Maud Montgomery's classic story of the orphan girl who finds a home at Green Gables.

From Anne's Feelings by Kelly Hill

While parents and teachers may be most enamoured with the teachings available in the variety of emotions depicted by the well-loved character, children will be tickled with Kelly Hill's cut fabric and embroidery illustrations. (The book's copyright page and credits on the back cover actually describe the artwork as "created with fabric, thread, embroidery floss, a hint of hope and a drop of bravery.") The artwork is colourful and textured, detailed but without being too busy.

From Anne's Feelings by Kelly Hill

Use Anne's Feelings to introduce lessons about feelings but don't forget to use it as a wonderful bridge to the inspiration for Kelly Hill's whole series of board books which includes Anne's Colors, Anne's Numbers and Anne's Alphabet. Anne would surely support the books that bring "simple pleasures, following one another softly, like pearls slipping off a string."

Gaawin Gindaaswin Ndaawsii, kimotinâniwiw itwêwina, & Nibi Emosaawdang

This September, Second Story Press will release a trio of translations for previously-published picture books of stories based in Indigenous peoples' experiences. By sharing these stories in dual-language editions, the publisher is inviting new readers of Plains Cree, Anishinaabemowin (Ojibwe) and Nishnaabemwin (Ojibwe) to draw personal connections with the text while also encouraging discussion and influence on English-language readers. This is especially meaningful and appropriate as we become more and more aware of the necessity to embrace all cultures and meet demands for multilingual editions of stories.

The English-language editions of the three picture books, both non-fiction and fictionalized accounts based on true events, have all been reviewed here on CanLit for LittleCanadians but here are their translations, presented in dual-language editions, which are set for release September 10, 2019:

Gaawin Gindaaswin Ndaawsii/I Am Not a Number

Gaa-zhibiigeuwaad/written by Jenny Kay Dupuis minwa/and Kathy Kacer

Gaa-mzinbiiged/illustrated by Gillian Newland

Gaa-aankanoobiigewaad/translated by Muriel Sawyer minwa/and Geraldine McLeod

Gaa-waadookaaged/with contributions by Tory Fisher

Second Story Press

978-1-77260-099-5

44 pp.

Ages 7-11

September 2019

English edition (978-1-927583-94-4), 2016

Reviewed here

kimotinâniwiw itwêwina/Stolen Words

omasinahikêw/written by Melanie Florence

otâpasinahikêw/illustrated by Gabrielle Grimard

translated by Dolores Sand êkwa

Gayle Weenie kî-nêhiyawastâwak

Second Story Press

978-1-77260-101-5

28 pp.

Ages 6-9

September 2019

English language edition (978-1-77260-037-7), 2017

Reviewed here

Nibi Emosaawdang/The Water Walker

Gaa-zhi-biiyang miiniwaa gaa-mzinbiiyaang/written and illustrated by Joanne Robertson

Gaa-aankinootimaagejig/translated by Shirley Williams miiniwaa/and Isadore Toulouse

Second Story Press

978-1-77260-100-8

40 pp.

Ages 6-9

September 2019

English language version (978-1-77260-038-4), 2017

Reviewed here

Each of these poignant stories take on issues which are at the heart of the Indigenous experience, whether it be residential schools, loss of language and culture, or environmentalism and activism. The stories are well told and heartfelt but, with these translations, readers will gain a different perspective that opens up possibilities for learning, discussion and impact. I encourage teachers to make use of these editions, even if they have copies of the original English language versions, to promote those discussions and inclusivity, especially in a land where we need to do so much more to build supportive communities.

Sharing Our Truths/Tapwe

Written by Henry Beaver and Mindy Willett
with Eileen Beaver

Photographs by Tessa Macintosh

Fifth House Publishers

978-1-92708352-9

34 pp.

Ages 9-12

May 2019

We can't tell you what to do with the truths we share in this book, but we hope that reading our story will help you get to know us a little better so that together we can make this nation a place we can all be proud of.

With his opening, Henry Beaver explains his intention for Sharing Our Truths/Tapwe. He and his wife Eileen Beaver live in Fort Smith, NWT and through time have taught their children and now their grandchildren about their culture and their ways.  Sharing Our Truths/Tapwe is an opportunity to teach others the same.

From Sharing Our Truths/Tapwe by Henry Beaver, Mindy Willett and Eileen Beaver, photos by Tessa Macintosh

With their grandchildren visiting, Henry Beaver and Eileen Beaver introduce them to a variety of activities, places and learning that comes from living where and as they and their ancestors have. There is the harvesting of salt from the Salt Plains, and trapping of the beaver as well as preparation of its hide and meat. Henry Beaver shows his grandchildren how to set up a mikiwawhp (tipi) and prepare a scared fire circle. As a retired educator, Eileen Beaver shares her teaching about the medicine wheel, smudging, sacred plants and storytelling including her telling of How the Female Moose Lost her Beautiful Antlers. 

From Sharing Our Truths/Tapwe by Henry Beaver, Mindy Willett and Eileen Beaver, photos by Tessa Macintosh

Amidst the richness of their activities and teachings, the authors also share details about the Salt Plains and Wood Buffalo National Park, the Nēhiyaw or Cree, and the Salt River First Nation, as well as including a glossary and short list of Cree words. Sharing Our Truths/Tapwe may only scratch the surface of the teachings that Henry Beaver and Eileen Beaver and other elders can and have shared with others but it's a wonderful introduction that places young readers into their culture. Co-authored by Mindy Willett, who has been integral to the whole The Land is Our Storybook series, and documented in photographs by Tessa Macintosh, Sharing Our Truths/Tapwe shows us the actuality of what it is to be Cree in the NWT and to live on the land.

Tapwe means "it is so" or "the truth" and so it is in this exemplary non-fiction book for young readers which will surely engage and educate.

From Sharing Our Truths/Tapwe by Henry Beaver, Mindy Willett and Eileen Beaver, photos by Tessa Macintosh

••••••••••••••••

The Land is Our Storybook series, which includes several in French translation, is a great starting point for teaching the culture of Indigenous peoples from a child's perspective. There are now nine titles in this series, written at an early reader-middle grade level and featuring photographs that take readers into the heart of Nunavut, the Northwest Territories and Indigenous communities in Canada.

The Playgrounds of Babel

Written by JonArno Lawson

Illustrated by Piet Grobler

Groundwood Books

978-1-77306-036-1

32 pp.

Ages 5-10

August 2019

From JonArno Lawson, the author of the award-winning Sidewalk Flowers (illustrated by Sydney Smith, Groundwood, 2015), comes another important story about differences and communication that demonstrates we are far less disparate than appearances may suggest.

From The Playgrounds of Babel by JonArno Lawson, illus. by Piet Grobler

The story begins with a kerchief-clad woman telling a story to a group of children. Her language, in the hand-drawn speech bubbles, is a series of lines, dots, and shapes. One boy translates for his friend, who clearly does not understand the woman, and so begins an updated version of the Tower of Babel biblical story. The dark-haired translator shares how at one time everyone spoke the same language until they attempted to build a tower to reach God. In response, God sent a dragon to destroy the tower and confounded their speech into many different languages. The boy's fair-haired friend interjects about not believing in God and knowing there's no dragon in the story but his friend persists. He focuses his story, or rather the woman's story, on two girls who suddenly cannot speak to one another.

From The Playgrounds of Babel by JonArno Lawson, illus. by Piet Grobler

Amidst their crying at this turn of events, the girls hug and realize that the songs they'd sung before could be the commonality they need. Though the words are different, they now "had a way to translate, because they knew they were singing exactly the same thing in two different languages."

From The Playgrounds of Babel by JonArno Lawson, illus. by Piet Grobler

Author JonArno Lawson explains the origins of his story in his Author's Note and, while it has a personal foundation from his own childhood and from the inquisitiveness of his own daughter, The Playgrounds of Babel extends far beyond these sparks. It speaks to the opportunities our differences provide to make our world richer not weaker. Throughout the story, a variety of languages are "spoken" from the birds who speak in terms of berries or caterpillars and snakes who speak in Ss as well as backward Ss. Everyone has a language that may be different from another but still allows them to communicate. Even in the world from which the boys and storyteller speak, there is more than just the words. There is imagination and the need to suspend disbelief and to see that God could whistle for a dragon to return to the heavens.

South African artist Piet Grobler provides the illustrations that blend harshness with wonder in a story within a story. I like that the contemporary setting from which the boys and the storyteller speak is dark and stark, until the end, and the world of the two girls is colourful and diverse. It reminds us that the storyteller brings the richness of colour to a story, even if it's one based in conflict or difficulty. Using watercolour and ink (including the dip pen to produce lines of varying thickness), Piet Grobler contrasts the two worlds and changes the reader's perspective repeatedly.

The Playgrounds of Babel has a powerful message about communication and differences but it's also about telling stories and realizing that anything can be real if we believe.

A youngCanLit booklist for World Elephant Day: August 12

I know many a child and adult for whom elephants are a favourite animal. Celebrate the world's elephants and ensure their preservation and protection by instilling an appreciation for these gentle and powerful giants through these books of youngCanLit. Among the picture books, early readers, non-fiction, middle grade and even young adult, there is learning from information, entertainment through humour and much insight into elephants. In other words, there's something for every reader!


Board Books and Picture Books

Fatima and the Clementine Thieves
Written by Mireille Messier
Illustrated by Gabrielle Grimard
Red Deer Press
32 pp.
Ages 5-8
2017
Reviewed here

 

My Dog is An Elephant
Written by Rémy Simard
Illustrated by Pierre Pratt
Annick
32 pp.
Ages 4-8
1994

Nancy Knows
Written and illustrated by Cybèle Young
Tundra
40 pp.
Ages 307
2014

Ollie
Written and illustrated by Paola Opal
Simply Read
24 pp.
Ages 2-5
2020

Paseka: A Little Elephant, Brave
Written by Ruth James
Illustrated by Kent Laforme
Page Two Books
978-1-989025420
32 pp.
Ages 6-10
2019
Reviewed here

Rhinos for Lunch and Elephants for Supper!: A Masai Tale
Written by Tololwa M. Mollel
Illustrated by Barbara Spurll
Clarion Books
32 pp.
Ages 3-8
1991

What Elephant?
Written and illustrated by Geneviève Côté
Kids Can Press
32 pp.
Ages 3-7
2006





Early Readers, Middle Grade Fiction and Young Adult

Big City Otto (Elephants Never Forget 1)
Written and illustrated by Bill Slavin
Kids Can Press
88 pp.
Ages 8-11
2011

Big Star Otto (Elephants Never Forget 3)
Written and illustrated by Bill Slavin
Kids Can Press
96 pp.
Ages 8-11
2015

Big Top Otto (Elephants Never Forget 2)
Written and illustrated by Bill Slavin
Kids Can Press
80 pp.
Ages 8-11
2013

Elephant Secret
Written by Eric Walters
Puffin Canada
352 pp.
Ages 9-12
2018

Follow the Elephant 
Written by Beryl Young
Ronsdale Press
248 pp.
Ages 10-13
2010

Ghost Boy
Written by Iain Lawrence
Laurel Leaf
252 pp.
Ages 12+
2002

Just So Stories (Volume I)
Written by Rudyard Kipling
Illustrated by Ian Wallace
Groundwood Books
64 pp.
Ages 5+
2013
Reviewed here




Non-Fiction

5 Elephants 
Written by Rob Laidlaw
Fitzhenry & Whiteside
88 pp.
Ages 8-13
2014

Animal Aha! Thrilling Discoveries in Wildlife Science
Written by Diane Swanson
Annick
48 pp.
Ages 7-11
2009

Animals That Changed the World
Written by Keltie Thomas
Annick
112 pp.
Ages 8-12
2010

Elephant Journey: The True Story of Three Zoo Elephants and their Rescue from Captivity
Written by Rob Laidlaw
Illustrated by Brian Deines
Pajama Press
40 pp.
Ages 8-13
2015

The Elephant Keeper: Caring for Orphaned Elephants in Zambia
Written by Margriet Ruurs
Illustrated by Pedro Covo
Kids Can Press
48 pp.
Ages 8-12
2017

Elephant Rescue
Written by Jody Morgan
Firefly Books
64 pp.
Ages 10-13
2004

Elephants: Life in the Wild
Written by Monica Kulling
Illustrated by Michael Maydak
Random House Books for Young Readers
48 pp.
Ages 5-8
2000

Endangered Elephants
Written by Bobbie Kalman
Crabtree Publishing
32 pp.
Ages 8-12
2005

Our Future: How Kids Are Taking Action (Kid Activists)
Written and illustrated by Janet Wilson
Second Story Press
32 pp.
Ages 7-12
September 2019

Welcome to the World of Elephants
Written by Diane Swanson
Walrus
32 pp.
Ages 5-11
2011

🐘🐘🐘🐘🐘🐘

The Mostly True Story of Pudding Tat, Adventuring Cat

Written by Caroline Adderson

Illustrated by Stacy Innerst

Groundwood Books

978-1-55498-964-5

128 pp.

Ages 8-11

April 2019

Pudding Tat, so named for the special dessert Farmer Willoughby brought to his Wellington County barn cats on Christmas Day, was always a concern for his mother. White as snow and eyes as pink as his tongue, Pudding could not catch mice or avoid dangers as well as Mother Tat had taught her kittens. But, when his siblings are pushed to leave the barn, Pudding literally gets a flea in his ear that encourages him to do the same. That flea, tired of the loud partying of the others, steers Pudding to water, hopeful of drowning his fellow parasites, while keeping the cat safe as a host. 

From The Mostly True Story of Pudding Tat, Adventuring Cat by Caroline Adderson, illus. by Stacy Innerst

With each new chapter, Pudding and his flea evolve, developing their relationship from one based in parasitism to one of mutualism. Their first major adventure starts in 1901 when they join Annie Edson Taylor for her barrel ride over Niagara Falls. Next, Pudding and his flea travel to Buffalo, New York, and the site of the Pan-American Exposition. En route, they see the discrimination levelled against the African American railway porters and the indentured child street musicians. They are present when President McKinley is shot and when Vincent Bryan and Gus Edwards compose “In My Merry Oldsmobile” – a tribute to Gus’s new car. In 1910, they’re on-board as Walter Wellman and his crew attempt their first cross-Atlantic airship flight. They even survive the sinking of the Titanic in 1912 and a crossing into No Man’s Land at the beginning of the famous Christmas Truce during World War I. While they experience long periods of confinement and hunger, there are moments of opulence, filled with comfort and food. And there is always music to which Pudding Tat is drawn. Relying so much on his hearing, he is lured by songs sung and instruments played, taking him into new circumstances, sometimes comfortable, sometimes perilous. In the end, cat and flea make their way home, having defied all expectations had for and by the visually-impaired feline.

Caroline Adderson, author of award-winning books for adults and children – including Middle of Nowhere (Groundwood, 2012) – blends the right mix of history and fictional narrative to create a story of cooperation, resiliency and risk-taking. She gives Pudding Tat the voice of a modest but heartfelt hero, albeit an accidental one, who experiences big adventures but is surprised by his exploits. He really is a feline Forrest Gump. His poor eyesight and lack of camouflage may make him vulnerable but it doesn’t stop him from living beyond them. With Stacy Innerst’s multi-panelled graphics detailing the breadth of Pudding Tat’s adventures in each chapter, it’s clear that, like the period of innovation in which he lived, the white feline reached beyond his potential and achieved more than expected.

🐈🐈🐈🐈🐈🐈🐈🐈

(A version of this review was originally written and paid for by Quill & Quire, as noted in the citation below.)

Kubiw, H. (2019, May 7). Review of the book The Mostly True Story of Pudding Tat, Adventuring Cat. Quill & Quire. https://quillandquire.com/review/the-mostly-true-story-of-pudding-tat-adventuring-cat/