Notorious: Guest review

Today's review was written by teacher-librarian Elizabeth Cook.

Written by Gordon Korman

Scholastic Canada

978-1-44317-592-0

312 pp.

Ages 8-12

March 2020

Gordon Korman has written another great book for children and adults alike.  Moreover, Notorious is a great book for both Canadians and Americans, as the story takes place on the island of Centrelight which sits in the middle of a river that bisects these two great nations and through which a border that zigzags through town equally divides it.

The story begins with spunky Zarabeth, known by everyone as Zeebee, and her dog Barney Two.  Zeebee inserts herself into the role of official tour guide to Keenan, the new boy in town, often focusing her tours on the history of the gangsters who used to run the island back in the 1920s and 1930s during Prohibition.  Zeebee’s stories about Al Capone, Myer Lansky, and Tommy-Gun Ferguson always contain a dramatic flair and seem to have direct links to every spot in town.  These gangsters were up to all sorts of criminal activities in their time, but it seems that contemporary life on the island might not be any more innocent.  Zeebee is convinced that her first dog, Barney, who was well-known as a town menace, was murdered by someone on the island several months earlier and it's up to her and Keenan to solve the mystery. 

Each chapter of this novel is written from a different character’s perspective, which advances the story in a fun way.  Gordon Korman uses both Zeebee and Keenan to narrate the majority of the story.  I always enjoy seeing how the different characters view the same event, especially when it is a teenager’s point of view.  Zeebee’s over-the-top nature lends itself well to some hilarious stories, while it was quite fun for me to see how Keenan reacted to his first taste of poutine.

Gordon Korman’s Notorious is a great story for students in the middle grades and up.  It is a story about friendship, fitting in, love of pets and, of course, tales of gangsters and lost treasure!  This story will keep you guessing from start to finish with many laughs along the way.  I do have one lingering thought however: if Zarabeth is a Canadian, shouldn’t her nickname be Zedbee? 

n.b. Teachers, you will find a character analysis of Barney One to be quite a fun endeavour with your class!

~ Elizabeth Cook is a teacher-librarian in the Halton District School Board. She is an avid reader and fan of Canadian literature. 

Cooper Clark and the Dragon Lady

Written by Valerie Sherrard

Illustrated by David Jardine

Fitzhenry & Whiteside

978-1-55455-462-1

80 pp.

Ages 7-10

2019

Cooper's friends Jared and Nina like dragons but Cooper does not. He just tries to avoid anything to do with dragons: movies, games, play. But when his regular after-school babysitter, Linda, takes a new job and can't look after him anymore and his parents suggest Mrs. Mulligan, it becomes a whole lot harder to deal with his fear.

Cooper's parents don't know what he knows about the elderly Mrs. Mulligan. Older boys Lenny and Matt have told everyone that she has a dragon with a pointy tongue in her basement and sometimes she lets it run free. So Cooper creates a web of lies to try to get out of going to Mrs. Mulligan's house.  When those don't work, the boy takes evasive actions.  In the end, after a series of missteps, Cooper learns a thing or two, including how to knit, and that all dragons are not the same.

Cooper Clark and the Dragon Lady is an early reader that addresses the power of the imagination to feed fears from gossip and rumours. There really is a dragon in Mrs. Mulligan's basement but it's a version that delights not hurts. Sadly Cooper, like most children, believes those who are older and might know better and this proves to be his undoing. Well, that and his fear of dragons that he doesn't share with his family or friends.

Tackling important issues in early readers is not always easy. You don't have the expressive illustrations of picture books that can carry much of a message or the vocabulary and word count of middle grade or YA novels to delve deep into issues such as anxiety and fears. So, for Valerie Sherrard to speak to young readers at their level of worry and the expression of that worry, she has accomplished much with Cooper Clark and the Dragon Lady. It's a short story that accepts that young children will have fears that seem outlandish to those who are older and that they will find clumsy strategies to deal with those fears. However, those fears are very real. But, with some support from others, and a dose of the truth, those fears can be reconstructed into something less destructive.

Joni: The Lyrical Life of Joni Mitchell

Written and illustrated by Selina Alko

Harper (An imprint of HarperCollins)

978-0-06-267129-5

48 pp.

Ages 4-8

February 2020

Of course there is music in a book about singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell. But Selina Alko brings her own music through her words and collage art resplendent with textures and colours. She tells Joni's story of music with her own.

Joni Mitchell painted with words.

Sitting at her piano or strumming the guitar, she turned the words into songs.

The songs were like brushstrokes on a canvas, saying things that were not only happy or sad but true.

From Joni: The Lyrical Life of Joni Mitchell by Selina Alko

Beginning with Joni's childhood as Roberta Joan Anderson, Selina Alko reveals how a restless child who spent time dancing in nature, painting on her walls and creating melodies on the piano ("Rainbows tipped and jumped and skipped in her head") grew into the musician whose hauntingly emotive songs weave a tapestry of longing, environmentalism and home. After Joni's polio treatment, she continued to paint and also write poetry, while learning to play ukulele and finally guitar.

With a trip to a folk festival in Toronto, she began writing songs, performing and marrying Chuck Mitchell, to become Joni Mitchell.

There was a thunderstorm of feelings, anger and tears, and performing her own songs for the very first time.

Selina Alko makes Joni's life into a musical journey of experiences and events that fuelled each song. There's the plane ride from which she noticed the clouds, leading to the song "Both Sides, Now." And looking out the window on her New York neighbourhood she wrote "Chelsea Morning." Later Joni "painted her feelings" into "Big Yellow Taxi" when she saw the destruction of the natural world for buildings and cars.

From Joni: The Lyrical Life of Joni Mitchell by Selina Alko

With each life experience and song, whose lyrics are embedded in the fabric of Joni's life, Selina Alko reveals the influences that made Joni the singer-songwriter she became. Countless recognizable musicians, including Mama Cass, Neil Young, Graham Nash and Charles Mingus, are showcased as being part of her story, influencing the creation of numerous albums.

From Joni: The Lyrical Life of Joni Mitchell by Selina Alko

CBC radio documentarian Selina Alko stays true to her roots of telling stories about real things and real people with her new picture book, Joni: The Lyrical Life of Joni Mitchell. She tells it with honesty and emotional detail, evoking a story of creativity and musicality. But her storytelling, albeit biographical, is more than about a life's timeline. It is an expressive record of a musician's odyssey, filled with highs and lows, the mundane and the extraordinary, and the artistry. Selina Alko reflects that style of storytelling in her own words, packed with feeling and nuance, but also, perhaps even more so, in her artwork. The illustrations in Joni: The Lyrical Life of Joni Mitchell have depth of colour and shape. The darkness and lightness of Joni's music and the richness of her life are all there in Selina Alko's collage art.

A single reading of this picture book will not suffice for older readers who will want to explore the depth of influences and expression in Joni Mitchell's music, art and life but it will introduce young readers well to an iconic Canadian singer-songwriter who helped shape music with her art.

Be You!

Written and illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds

Orchard Books (An imprint of Scholastic)

978-1-338-57231-5

32 pp.

Ages 4-8

March 2020

With words and art, Peter H. Reynolds is an inspiration of compassion, self-acceptance and living a good life well. In Be You!, which opens with a dedication to Stephanie Germanotta, the song queen of being yourself, Peter H. Reynolds will touch young readers with the positive message to be their best selves.

From Be You! by Peter H. Reynolds

My wish for you –
no matter where your journey leads –
is for you to always...
Be YOU!

In a series of simple directives, Peter H. Reynolds implores the reader to Be ready...to take that next step toward being an amazing human being and to be curious, adventurous, connected, persistent, different, kind and understanding, and brave. He encourages and empowers and accepts that everyone needs different things at different times. It could mean spending time alone, or asking for help, or being patient, because good things take time. 

From Be You! by Peter H. Reynolds

With that openness to possibilities and self-acceptance, he assures that there will be love and you've got this one.

You are ready.
So...go ahead. BE YOU.
Be very, very YOU!

I know that Be You! is a children's picture book but it's actually an empowering and meaningful self-help book for all. Peter H. Reynolds reminds us to be hopeful and accepting of ourselves, knowing that, with time and effort and affirmation, being oneself is pretty good. His illustrations, which rely heavily on watercolours, gouache and ink (though I've read he will use tea and other liquids too!), are emboldening in their colours and line. Life is not for the faint of heart and Be You!'s illustrations remind us to be present and live boldly, even if quietly sometimes. Reading his books–I have reviewed Happy Dreamer (2017), The Word Collector (2018) and Say Something! (2018) here–have always touched me with their compelling but simple messages of goodness. For anyone who needs reminders that it's good to just be yourself and be hopeful of the outcomes, Be You! does that.

From Be You! by Peter H. Reynolds

The Dog Patrol: Our Canine Companions and the Kids Who Protect Them: Guest review

Today's review was written by teacher-librarian Elizabeth Cook.

Written by Rob Laidlaw

Pajama Press

978-1-77278-103-8

52 pp.

Ages 8-12

April 2020

As a librarian in an elementary school, I can attest to how popular non-fiction books on animals are.  My shelf labelled “636.7 Dogs” is always empty, despite how many books I buy.  Children just love their dogs!  Who wouldn’t love an animal widely known as ‘man’s best friend’?  These lovable pets have long captured our hearts and we are curious to know more about them.

Rob Laidlaw’s book The Dog Patrol: Our Canine Companions and the Kids Who Protect Them goes beyond the traditional information of different breeds.  A well-known advocate for animals, Rob Laidlaw, wanted to not only explain how to care for dog companions but to educate readers about some of the dangers these animals can face.  Unfortunately, we may be unknowingly causing some of these dangers to our companion dogs and Rob Laidlaw is helping to educate his readers in hopes of making better informed decisions in the future.  One theme that seemed to resonate with me during this book is the need for dogs to receive the correct amount of activity.  If dogs are kept in a crate for too long, not given enough walks, or play time around the house, it can result in unwanted behaviours or health risks.  The text offers the readers excellent guidelines for proper care and a list of websites for more information to ensure man’s best friend is treated as such.

From The Dog Patrol: Our Canine Companions and the Kids Who Protect Them by Rob Laidlaw

Peppered throughout the books are inspiring stories of young children volunteering and advocating for dogs around North America.  These Dog Patrol stories help readers understand that any person can help.  A perfect example is that of Molly Matlow from Toronto, Ontario who at the age of only 6 years old has raised funds for a variety of animal protection organizations and helps to educate others about animal welfare.  Another Dog Patrol story that opened my eyes was the fundraising and awareness campaign of Brooklyn Bockelmann in Le Mars, Iowa.  She has worked to ensure that all fire departments in Iowa have proper canine and feline oxygen masks to help animals who were exposed to smoke in house fires.  Even the youngest of readers can’t help but be inspired to take action from these stories.

From The Dog Patrol: Our Canine Companions and the Kids Who Protect Them by Rob Laidlaw

This book is an excellent read for children who love animals.  It will help them to better understand all of the care a companion dog needs, how to understand the signals dogs are giving humans, how to find a reputable adoption centre, and so much more.  Many families may not be able to have a dog due to allergies or space restrictions, but they can still be a dog advocate like some of the children in the Dog Patrol profiles highlighted in the book.  I am sure Rob Laidlaw’s The Dog Patrol: Our Canine Companions and the Kids Who Protect Them will inspire readers to support animals in need in their own communities.

From The Dog Patrol: Our Canine Companions and the Kids Who Protect Them by Rob Laidlaw

~ Elizabeth Cook is a teacher-librarian in the Halton District School Board. She is an avid reader and fan of Canadian literature. 

The Moon King

Written and illustrated by Cara Kansala

Breakwater Books

978-1-550818185

36 pp.

Ages 2-7

February 2020 

Newfoundland author and artist Cara Kansala brings the energy of her Maritime home to a story about The Moon King whose dancing unintentionally unleashes the night and its many stars across the land.

From The Moon King by Cara Kansala

In rhyming verse that carries the story like a milky way of celestial elements, Cara Kansala tells of the Moon King's distress at releasing the stars of the night sky onto the land.

They settled on the rocky cliffs 
and tip-toed into caves.
Some drifted into firths and fiords,
some waltzed upon the waves.

The Moon King watched the landscape bloom
with the faintest, starry light.
The sea glowed like a streetlamp,
he had tipped over the night!

In her dazzlingly coloured acrylic paintings, Cara Kansala depicts the Moon King's desperation to return the stars to the heavens, with the help of wildlife woken from slumber. There is the Arctic hare, the moose, the black bear, the fox, wolves and even a whale who are enlisted to help gather the stars before a flock of red birds fly them back up to the night.

From The Moon King by Cara Kansala

And all the birds in all the land,

they each plucked out a star

and flew them back up to the night

where dreams and wishes are.

From The Moon King by Cara Kansala

Though young children will be lulled to sleep with this bedtime story's rhythm, the energy in Cara Kansala's artwork may invigorate them to investigate more closely. There may be a blue, black and turquoise night sky background peeking out from behind each illustration but those brilliant stars and menagerie of Newfoundland fauna urge closer scrutiny. You'll get your little ones to bed eventually but I suspect that it may take several repetitions of The Moon King's reading before it will happen readily. Fortunately with the stars back where they belong, their sleep will be filled with goodness and light.

Violet Shrink

Written by Christine Baldacchino

Illustrated by Carmen Mok

Groundwood Books

978-1-77306-205-1

32 pp.

Ages 3-7

March 2020

Young people may not be familiar with the term "shrinking violet" which refers to those who are shy and uncomfortable in the limelight. But, thanks to Christine Baldacchino's titular character, they will soon learn to accept children who prefer solitude and quiet as just another difference that makes our world stronger with diversity.

From Violet Shrink by Christine Baldacchino, illus. by Carmen Mok

Like most people, there are some things that Violet likes and some things she doesn't. She doesn't like celery in her soup. She doesn't like brand-new crayons that break the first time they're used. (Who does?) But she also doesn't like parties. She likes some parts of parties, like cake and music, but all together with lots of loud people just makes her stomach ache and her head hurt.

From Violet Shrink by Christine Baldacchino, illus. by Carmen Mok

Her dad may use synonyms for parties like "reception" or "potluck" but ultimately Violet finds herself at parties with her dad telling her to just play with the other children and say hello to the adults.

It's not until she has to attend a "shindig" for her cousin that Violet finds an imaginative tactic to help her get through the event. Sadly her father does not understand, believing that it's good for her to get out among others; that is, until she tells him how she really feels about parties. Finally, he allows her to attend these events in a way that is comfortable for her.

From Violet Shrink by Christine Baldacchino, illus. by Carmen Mok

Introverts and shy persons know the unpleasantness of being thrust into loud and crowded social situations. Extroverts may thrive on social interactions but, for a small portion of the population, attending these events can be painful and anxiety-filled.  It's unfortunate that Violet has to spell it out to her father who should have seen how sensitive his daughter was to these circumstances, instead of finding new ways to trick her into attending events. It's a delicate subject for children to try to be themselves but contrary to requests of parents or teachers. Fortunately author Christine Baldacchino knows how to give children voice through her stories. In her debut picture book Morris Micklewhite and the Tangerine Dress (Groundwood, 2014), Christine Baldacchino gave a boy the freedom to enjoy imaginative play that had him sporting a tangerine dress. In Violet Shrink, she allows a little girl to be introverted or shy and still voice her need for quiet and solitude. The text never condemns those that prefer rollicking social events but Christine Baldacchino lets Violet recognize what she needs and then enlist her father's help in meeting those needs.

Carmen Mok's illustrations, a blend of gouache, coloured pencil and graphite pencil, provide a very sombre background to Violet's story, appropriate for a child who is thrust into anxiety-causing situations. Fortunately, there is much that is rosy in her life, from her purple-coloured headphones and the natural world of flowers, water and trees, which Carmen Mok makes colourful and bold and uplifting.

Not all children like being around lots of people and, with Violet Shrink, Christine Baldacchino and Carmen Mok have given introverts and shy children the opportunity to see themselves and be accepted as they are.