Summer Reading Lists of the Forest Kid and Teen Committees

On May 22 and 29, 2020, selected young readers who'd applied to participate on the fourth annual Forest Kid Committee (for ages 9-13) and the third Forest Teen Committee (for ages 14+) came together online to talk books.  From their discussions, which were interspersed with visits from award-winning Canadian authors (Kenneth Oppel, Zetta Elliott, Kelley Armstrong, Natasha Deen, Wesley King, S. K. Ali, Heather T. Smith and Alex Light), these young people produced three extraordinary lists of recommended titles to keep everyone reading Canadian over the summer.  These are their recommendations for their peers in the Silver Birch, Red Maple and White Pine reading programs of the Forest of Reading.

Happy summertime reading!

•••

Silver Birch Readers 
(Ages 8-12, Grades 3-6)

The Case of the Missing Auntie (A Mighty Muskrats Mystery)
Written by Michael Hutchinson
Second Story Press
168 pp. 
Ages 9-12
2020

The Dragon Thief 
Written by Zetta Elliott
Random House Books for Young Readers
176 pp. 
Ages 8-12
2019

Jinxed   
Written by Amy McCulloch
Sourcebooks Young Readers
336 pp.
Ages 8-12
2020

The Journey of Little Charlie  
Written by Christopher Paul Curtis
Scholastic Canada
234 pp. 
Ages 8-13
2018

The Magpie's Library 
Written by Kate Blair
DCB
240 pp.
Ages 9-12
2019

Me and Banksy  
Written by Tanya Lloyd Kyi
Puffin Canada
272 pp. 
Ages 10+
2020

Megabat and Fancy Cat  
Written by Anna Humphrey
Tundra
176 pp.
Ages 7-10
2019

Music for Tigers  
Written by Michelle Kadarusman
Pajama Press
192 pp.
Ages 8-12
2020

Notorious   
Written by Gordon Korman
Scholastic Canada
312 pp.
Ages 9-12
2020

Phantom of Fire (A Dylan Maples Adventure, Book 5)
Written by Shane Peacock
Nimbus
264 pp.
Ages 9-13
2019

The Secret of White Stone Gate (Order of Black Hollow Lane, Book 2)
Written by Julia Nobel
Sourcebooks Young Readers
304 pp.
Ages 8-12
2020

The Sound of Freedom 
Written by Kathy Kacer
Annick
256 pp.
Ages 9-12
2018

Stand on the Sky   
Written by Erin Bow
Scholastic Canada
320 pp.
Ages 9-12
2019

The Taste of Rain  
Written by Monique Polak
Orca
224 pp.
Ages 10-15
2019

Wings of Olympus: The Colt of the Clouds  
Written by Kallie George
HarperCollins
256 pp.
Ages 8-11
2020







Red Maple Readers
(Ages 12-14, Grades 7-8)

Bloom
Written by Kenneth Oppel
HarperCollins
312 pp.
Ages 10-14
2020

Broken Strings
Written by Eric Walters and Kathy Kacer
Puffin
288 pp.
Ages 10-14
2019



 

Don’t Call the Wolf
Written by Aleksandra Ross
HarperTeen
512 pp.
Ages 13+
2020

Just Lucky
Written by Melanie Florence
Second Story Press
248 pp.
Ages 13-18
2019

The Justice Project
Written by Michael Betcherman
Orca
256 pp.
Ages 12+
2019

Kings, Queens, and In-Betweens
Written by Tanya Boteju
Simon & Schuster
384 pp.
Ages 12+
2019

Messenger 93
Written by Barbara Radecki
DCB
240 pp.
Ages 14+
2020

No One Here is Lonely
Written by Sarah Everett
Alfred A. Knopf
352 pp.
Ages 12+
2020

Once Upon An Eid: Stories of Hope and Joy by 15 Muslim Voices
Edited by S.K. Ali and Aisha Saeed
Amulet Books
272 pp.
All ages
2020

Safe Harbour
Written by Christina Kilbourne
Dundurn
264 pp.
Ages 12-15
2019

Sara and the Search for Normal
Written by Wesley King
Simon & Schuster
272 pp.
Ages 8-12
2020

Shadow Frost (Shadow Frost #1)
Written by Coco Ma
Blackstone Publishing
400 pp.
Ages 12-17
2019

The Silence of Bones
Written by June Hur
Feiwel & Friends
336 pp.
Ages 13+
2020

The Sound of Drowning
Written by Katherine Fleet
Page Street Publishing
384 pp.
Ages 14-18
2019

Thicker than Water
Written by Natasha Deen
Orca
144 pp.
Ages 12+
2019







White Pine Readers
(Ages 14-18, Grades 9-12)

Aftermath
Written by Kelley Armstrong
Penguin Teen
384 pp.
Ages 12-18
2018

Ayesha at Last
Written by Uzma Jalaluddin
Harper Avenue
352 pp.
Ages 13+
2018

Be My Love
Written by Kit Pearson
HarperCollins Canada
224 pp.
Ages 10-14
2019

Break in Case of Emergency
Written by Brian Francis
HarperCollins Canada
368 pp.
Ages 14+
2019

The Center of the Universe
Written by Ria Voros
KCP Loft
512 pp.
Ages 14-18
2019

Fight Like a Girl
Written by Sheena Kamal
Penguin Teen
272 pp.
Ages 14+
2020

My Story Starts Here: Voices of Young Offenders
Written by Deborah Ellis
Groundwood Books
224 pp.
Ages 13+
2019

Spin
Written by Colleen Nelson
Dundurn
296 pp.
Ages 12-15
2019

The Starlight Claim
Written by Tim Wynne-Jones
Candlewick Press
240 pp.
Ages 13+
2019

This Pace: 150 Years Retold
Written by Katherena Vermette, Sonny Assu, Jen Storm, David A. Robertson, Rachel and Sean Qitsualik-Tinsley, Kateri Akiwenzie-Damm, Richard Van Camp, Brandon Mitchell, Niigaanwewidam James Sinclair, Chelsea Vowel
Illustrated by Scott B. Henderson, Kyle Charles, Natasha Donovan, GMB Chomichuk, Ryan Howe, Jen Storm, Tara Audibert, Andrew Lodwick
HighWater Press
274 pp.
Ages 13+
2019

Until Niagara Falls
Written by Jennifer Maruno
Dundurn
168 pp.
Ages 9-12
2020

The Upside of Falling
Written by Alex Light
Wattpad
288 pp.
Ages 14+
2020

The Woo Woo: How I Survived Ice Hockey, Drug Raids, Demons, and My Crazy Chinese Family
Written by Lindsay Wong
Arsenal Pulp Press
316 pp.
Ages 15+
2018

You Owe Me a Murder
Written by Eileen Cook
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
359 pp.
Ages 13+
2019






The book lists are posted on the Ontario Library Association's Forest of Reading website:
For Silver Birch readers: http://accessola.org/WEB/Documents/OLA/Forest/Resources/2020/Kid-Committee-List-2020-Silver-Birch.pdf
For Red Maple readers: http://accessola.org/WEB/Documents/OLA/Forest/Resources/2020/Kid-Committee-List-2020-Red-Maple.pdf
For White Pine readers: http://accessola.org/WEB/Documents/OLA/Forest/Resources/2020/Teen-Committee-List-2020.pdf

Don't Stand So Close to Me: Q & A with author Eric Walters

Don't Stand So Close to Me

Written by Eric Walters

Orca Book Publishers

978-1-4598-2788-2 (pdf)
978-1-4598-2789-9 (epub)

116 pp.

Ages 9-14

June 2020

Yesterday author Eric Walter and publisher Orca Book Publishers launched an extraordinary middle grade novel and I was pleased to review Don't Stand So Close to Me here on CanLit for LittleCanadians.  Today I'm pleased to share with you some background into this unprecedented publication and launch via this Q & A with author Eric Walters.  Enjoy!

Eric Walters

HK:  If there was one thing that compelled you to write a story based on the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, what was it?

EW:  Almost immediately I started receiving emails and twitter comments from students, teachers and teacher/librarians asking me if I was going to write a story about the pandemic.  At first, I simply told them it wasn’t something I was contemplating.  As those contacts reached over a hundred, I began to realize that there was both a desire and a need.  Young people needed to see something that reflected their present lives, to understand their situations, and teachers needed something to get their students engaged.



HK:  Though literature can be solely for entertainment and not harbour hidden messages to illuminate or educate, Don’t Stand So Close to Me cannot help but facilitate young readers’ understanding of the circumstances. If there was one message for them to take away from reading the book, what would you like it to be?

EW:  There were some very important pieces of information I wanted incorporated into the narrative including ‘flattening the curve’ and ‘exponential growth’.  I wanted these to be explained in a way that they could understand.  The overall message, however, is about changes, adapting, understanding what’s lost, acknowledging the anxiety of uncertainty, and perhaps more important, remembering what is still with us – family, friendship, human connection and hope.




HK:  Don’t Stand So Close to Me is more than “just” a book. It is an undertaking to involve young people in tackling the pandemic at their own level. It doesn’t require action but it certainly empowers them to look beyond the inconvenience and see the big picture of how they might help reduce the impact of this dangerous virus. If you could choose 3 actions that you would encourage them to take, what would they be?

EW:  It all stems from a basic understanding that, while we’re certainly not in the same boat, we are in the same ocean.  We have a deep connection, and need for that connection, with those around us.  Be kind.  Have faith.  Have hope.
a)    What can you do to show kindness to those in your family?
b)    How can you connect with others in your community to make their lives better?
c)    Change always starts with one person.  Be the person that helps to change your part of the world.



HK:  I applaud your characters who seem to follow the saying that when the going gets tough, the tough get going. But, we know that there are many for whom this pandemic is a struggle. As a former social worker and teacher, do you have any guidance for young people who might be struggling emotionally?

EW:  This pandemic has helped to expose the fault lines in our society.  We are not all blessed with the same support systems – either internally or externally.  Share a gentle word, encourage, make a phone call, a donation. Be kind to each other – and be kind to yourself.  Being kind to yourself may be the hardest.  Don’t judge – support.
    If you’re having problems, reach out to your parents, teachers and friends. It’s a sign of strength to know when you need help.  Be strong enough to reach out.




HK:  The book’s dedication is to your grandchildren whose names are coincidentally that of the three main young characters. But your grandchildren are far younger than Quinn, Isaac and Reese in Don’t Stand So Close to Me. Do the characters share any characters with your grandchildren or are they modelled after other young people you know or have known?

EW:  I love being a grandfather.  My grandchildren are all 2 or under.  Someday they’ll look at this story, see their names, and this will be part of my gift to them, to help bind them together.  You always invest bits of yourself or people you know in your stories.  I REALLY like these characters.  They are caring, capable, funny and thoughtful.  


HK:  Getting a book written and to press is usually a lengthy process. How were you able to complete this process so quickly, especially under the circumstances of everyone working remotely?

EW:  From the very beginning this was an act of trust and partnership.  With just a rough outline my publisher trusted me to craft and complete a novel on a tight schedule. While I was writing they were simultaneously editing, marketing, working on digital strategies, designing a cover and doing all the things necessary to publish a book.  We not only published in record time but created a marketing and promotion path that was more comprehensive than any plan previously attempted with any of my books – or any of their previous books!



HK:  Fingers crossed that this pandemic will be over, some time. Would you consider a sequel to reveal how Quinn, Isaac and Reese and their peers and families managed and look back at how this event has shaped them? Or would you perhaps write another book that addresses life in the aftermath of the pandemic? Or are you just as happy to let Don’t Stand So Close to Me be the end of this story?

EW:  Until you asked this question, I hadn’t thought about it at all!  Maybe I better call Orca before I answer. 
          This story ends with hope.  It’s the best possible place for any of us right now.  I’ve always believed in the power of hope.  At the same time, I strongly believe that you prepare for the worst and pray for the best. 
           I enjoyed those characters so much I would like to revisit them in another story.  I think what the story might be well be dictated by what’s going to transpire in the world.  I choose to believe it will be better. 
          You have to have hope.

•••••••••••••••

Many thanks to author Eric Walters for inviting me to be part of the process of getting Don't Stand So Close to Me to young readers during this challenging time.  

Thank you also to Leslie Bootle at Orca Book Publishers for allowing me to share in this amazing journey to launch.

Don't Stand So Close to Me

Written by Eric Walters

Orca Book Publishers

978-1-4598-2788-2 (pdf)
978-1-4598-2789-9 (epub)

116 pp.

Ages 9-16

June 2, 2020

978-1-4598-2787-5 (pb) 
Available September 22, 2020

In a novel for right now, Eric Walters has found a way to reassure, inform, educate and entertain about life during the COVID-19 pandemic, and all within the safety of a new digital book for middle grade readers.

Thirteen-year-old Quinn along with her neighbour and best friend Isaac and their classmates in Grade 8 are anticipating their spring break and planning their spring dance when the COVID-19 pandemic hits North America. The young teens show a variety of responses to the news that spring break will start a little early and last for three weeks: ambivalence, concern, joy and anxiety. Not unlike most young people, their responses are varied and often contingent about what they hear from family and on the news. Because Quinn’s dad is a doctor and Isaac’s mom is a police chief, these two friends get a very different perspective on staying out of school. 

As the kids begin to accept their new reality which includes online schooling and social distancing, all the COVID-19 related issues are touched upon in a meaningful and authentic way in Eric Walters's story. We read about Dad’s need for PPE and consequent skin reactions, his long working hours and the need to isolate from Mom and Quinn. The very social Isaac must deal with the loneliness of staying at home by himself and find safe ways to connect with others. Their friend Reese is unable to visit with her grandmother in a long-term care facility but the kids find a way to reach out after learning how to make masks. The young people learn of the positives of social distancing and strategies for keeping spirits up and bodies healthy. They are exposed to misinformation and those who disregard protocols and protesters who want to reopen businesses.

When the rest of the school year is cancelled except online, the kids decide to stage a spring dance on their street that abides by the rules of social distancing (chalk drawn boxes on road, with kids bringing their own phones, ear buds, water and snacks), and made possible with a little help from parent chaperones, police, and a neighbourhood that gets on board with making it special. With a highly appropriate playlist including the titular "Don't Stand So Close to Me," Isaac DJ’s the night away, saving one final dance with Quinn.

I loved this story. It covers everything middle graders might be experiencing right now, especially the confusion with different perspectives about the COVID-19 pandemic, from parents, peers, news, social media, etc. and their anxiety for their new routines. Their concerns are very real though they are so different from those of the adults in their lives. Still the kids find a way to do the right thing time and time again and I applaud these fictional characters for their responsibility and humanity. I wondered how the story would end, knowing that we don’t really know how this pandemic will ultimately play out. But Eric Walters's ending was more sweet than bitter and I even cried when Quinn’s dad tells her:

...Don’t underestimate what you did. It was much more than a dance. Tonight, wasn’t normal, but somehow you made it work, and for a few hours, you gave hundreds of people some happiness.  You gave them joy.  You helped them to forget for a little while. And, not just your classmates, but hundreds and hundreds of people on our street.  You gave them hope. You gave me hope.  (pg. 114)

Don't Stand So Close to Me is a positive story about a very negative event. It will take middle grade readers into the pandemic of their experiences, offering them reassurance and hope while educating them about helping everyone survive this pandemic. (The discussion about what flattening the curve means is especially brilliant.) I suggest parents and teachers help bring this novel to the young readers in their lives to offer them the hope and wisdom we all need to get through this.

 😊•😊•😊•😊•😊•😊•😊

Look for my interview with author Eric Walters next here on CanLit for LittleCanadians and learn more about Don't Stand So Close to Me and getting this relevant book written and to press with remarkable efficiency.

😊•😊•😊•😊•😊•😊•😊

Information for teachers and schools:
Orca Book Publishers is offering classroom and school licenses to accompany the ebooks. A teacher who wants to use this book in their Google Classroom platform or enable their whole class to access it from home can buy one copy of the book with a classroom license for $29.99. A school license (so multiple classes in one school would have access to the book) is available for $59.99.  See details at the publisher's website at https://www.orcabook.com

Pirate Queen: A Story of Zheng Yi Sao

Written by Helaine Becker

Illustrated by Liz Wong

Groundwood Books

978-1-77306-124-5

36 pp.

Ages 6-10

March 2020

The Pirate Queen was a woman whose impact was strong but whose details are vague, if not non-existent, and so Helaine Becker has created her story. Whether the Pirate Queen started in poverty and was captured by pirates to become a captain's wife or not, the story that Helaine Becker envisions for this extraordinary woman, born in Imperial China in the late 1700s, is one of making something from nothing, rewriting her story to one of possibilities and taking control. 

In Canton, girls like us were like ink: used and used until we were all used up.

But Fortune had shaken my bones and spun the wheel of my fate.

I had been given something rare: an opportunity.

I was ink, but I could also be the brush. 

From Pirate Queen: A Story of Zheng Yi Sao by Helaine Becker, illus. by Liz Wong

According to Helaine Becker's illustrated creative biography of the Pirate Queen, the girl refused to marry the pirate captain Zheng Yi unless he gave her an equal share in his enterprise. So, when he died six years later, she took command over more than 1800 ships and 70,000 men, never allowing any of the pirates to challenge her. Working with other squadron leaders as a council, she came to dominate the South China's seas and its economy.

From Pirate Queen: A Story of Zheng Yi Sao by Helaine Becker, illus. by Liz Wong

But the Pirate Queen did not restrict herself to the water. She also conquered poorer coastal towns until the emperor deemed it necessary to go after her. Attacks and attempts to starve her and her Red Flag Fleet were unsuccessful, as were attacks by British, Dutch and Portuguese ships.  When she finally decided to retire from the sea, she finds a way to leave free and rich while still thinking of those beneath her.

In the end, I had written my own scroll, using brine and blood as my ink.
I had never dreamed of the sea, but the sea, it seemed, had dreamed of me.

From Pirate Queen: A Story of Zheng Yi Sao by Helaine Becker, illus. by Liz Wong

Though Helaine Becker is a versatile writer of picture books, early readers, middle grade fiction, and non-fiction, I think she has outdone herself in this story of the Pirate Queen. Her author's note makes it clear that little is known about the Pirate Queen, whose name Zheng Yi Sao refers to her simply as "Wife of Zheng Yi" but Helaine Becker writes her a life story of smarts and cunning, seeing chances where others might see despair. But Helaine Becker doesn't just make up a story about Zheng Yi Sao; she gives it life with words and voice–the story is narrated by the Pirate Queen– that make the Pirate Queen real and even eloquent. I can just imagine this young woman with her meagre existence deciding to make something of her atrocious circumstances, believing she had nothing to lose. In the end, she gained much and made a life for herself and others.

If you've been reading CanLit for LittleCanadians, you'll know what a big fan I am of illustrated biographies and Pirate Queen: A Story of Zheng Yi Sao will become an auspicious addition to that genre especially with American illustrator Liz Wong's pencil on bristol board (digitally coloured) art giving the richness of colour and form to the story. It's the telling of a little known historical figure whose impact was extraordinary but seldom discussed. That's about to change. Because of Helaine Becker, the Pirate Queen has had her story told and her fierceness acknowledged for the ages.

Sky of Bombs, Sky of Stars: A Vietnamese War Ophan Finds Home

Written by Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch

Pajama Press

978-1-77278-094-9

224 pp.

Ages 8-12

April 2020

For young readers who have not had the privilege of reading Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch's award-winning non-fiction books about Son Thi Anh Tuyet, a child rescued from Saigon at the end of the Vietnam War and who finds a new life in Canada, Sky of Bombs, Sky of Stars offers an omnibus of the two earlier stories.  

In her first book, Last Airlift: A Vietnamese Orphan's Rescue from War (2011), Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch tells the story of Tuyet, an eight-year orphan in today's Ho Chi Minh City who knows only bombs, soldiers, caring for babies at the orphanage and two visits from a woman and a boy. Convinced she would never be adopted because of a damaged foot and because she did not understand English, she never sees the opportunity presented to her when she is taken with numerous babies onto a plane to head away from the danger and to a new life with the Morris family in Brantford, Ontario.

In the sequel, One Step at a Time: A Vietnamese Child Finds Her Way (2012), Tuyet has become a part of a family with a mom and dad, two sisters and a little brother. She no longer believes she has only been welcomed to tend to the children and, though she is still haunted by nightmares, she has learned to play and be a child again. But she has new fears when she learns that she will be undergoing surgery to resolve her foot and ankle impaired by polio. With her minimal English and her family unable to speak Vietnamese, Tuyet's world continues to be a challenge. Still, with the love and patience of her new family and other special people, she forges ahead, taking new steps forward.

Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch consistently tells stories about young people challenged during historical times and how they rise above the adversity to make lives for themselves. Tuyet's is such a story. She was a little girl alone, feeling her life limited to work and caring for others, never expecting much for herself. But with an airlift out of Saigon and the love of a compassionate family, Tuyet builds something new and begins to see herself as the incredible person she has always been, beyond what service she provides. Fortunately, by putting both Tuyet's stories together in an omnibus, Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch and Pajama Press will help young readers get the whole story, saving them from a search for sequels or determining which book came first.  Sky of Bombs, Sky of Stars truly gives young readers the more complete story of a Vietnamese war orphan's journey from hardships and horror to hope and home.

••••••••••••••••
The two original books

Last Airlift: A Vietnamese Orphan's Rescue from War (2011)
One Step at a Time: A Vietnamese Child Finds Her Way (2012)
were reviewed on CanLit for LittleCanadians originally
on April 9, 2012 and September 9, 2012 respectively.

A Funny Sort of Minister

Written by Dominique Demers

Illustrated by Tony Ross

Translated by Sander Berg

Alma Books

978-1-84688-456-6

96 pp.

Ages 7-11

January 2020 

The unconventional and spirited woman of Dominique Demers's The Adventures of Miss Charlotte has returned and this time she's accidentally delving into politics (hence the ministerial role in the title).

Miss Charlotte is heading by train to see her friends in Saint-Anatole when she accidentally grabs the bag of the Prime Minister, Roger Rarejoy. When she goes to the address with which it is labelled, she is sent away as a crazy lady (she doesn't just tell them outright she has his bag). But the prime minister's son, Gustave-Aurèle, wants to help her find his father and make his father proud, something the boy never feels he has accomplished, no matter how hard he works.  So together Miss Charlotte and Gustave-Aurèle follow the prime minister's schedule, hoping to catch up with him.

But, when the two unlikely companions end up at a car factory and learn the prime minister has not arrived to the impatient crowd, Miss Charlotte takes it upon herself to act as his representative, unveiling a new car and renaming it GA-GA after Gustave-Aurèle. She delights everyone with her lively presentation that includes a song and dance and has them heralding her as the new kind of politician. That is, everyone except the prime minister and his entourage who start to believe that Gustave-Aurèle has been kidnapped by the woman who incidentally reminds the PM of happy times with his own Auntie Josephine.

The hilarity continues with Miss Charlotte and Gustave-Aurèle seeking to get the important papers to the prime minister, particularly those that set out a new policy for education that requires more and more time in school and none for play, with the two parties ultimately converging to a charming reunion between father and son and the realization that play is an important part of learning.

Dominique Demers's original French-language series has charmed countless young readers across the world and we're fortunate that these English translations are being published now. These early chapter books provide straightforward but engaging plots with strong characters and subtle messages about creativity and play, bridging the genre between early readers and middle grade fiction beautifully. The writing draws the reader in immediately, as the distracted Miss Charlotte loses her bag and the Prime Minister, through a series of mishaps, enters the station. Then it's one scene after another, visually explicit and always funny with misunderstanding and confusion, that leads to the story's end when Miss Charlotte disappears with only a letter to tie up her latest adventure.

From A Funny Sort of Minister by Dominique Demers, illus. by Tony Ross

Complemented with the illustrations of well-known British artist Tony Ross, A Funny Sort of Minister will tickle young readers with its cheerful yet silly circumstances while they applaud Miss Charlotte's recognition of the value of learning outside the box, and the classroom.

••••••••••••••••••••••
 

I encourage young readers who are looking for funny early chapter books to consider reading the whole series (two of which I have reviewed):

The New Teacher (2016)

The Mysterious Librarian (2017)

The New Football Coach (2019)
A Funny Sort of Minister (2020)