Hat Cat

Written by Troy Wilson

Illustrated by Eve Coy

Candlewick Press

978-1-5362-1366-9

32 pp.

Ages 4-8

February 2022

 

In a charming little house with a garden rich in trees and plants lived an old man. He loved the squirrels that visited him. In fact, he liked to feed them by placing peanuts in his tweed bucket hat and welcoming the squirrels to sit upon it to feast.

From Hat Cat by Troy Wilson, illus. by Eve Coy

 One day, he'd laid his checked hat down on the bench beside him and a kitten found its way beneath. Appropriately he named the cat Hat. The old man loved Hat. He fed it, played with it and stroked it, welcoming it into his home completely. But the one thing he would not do was allow Hat to go outside. Between not wanting to lose the little cat and not wanting his beloved squirrels to be chased away or hurt, the old man would not allow himself to let Hat outside. And so, Hat stayed inside, longingly looking outside.

From Hat Cat by Troy Wilson, illus. by Eve Coy

Day after day, the old man and Hat and the squirrels had their routine. And then one day, the elderly man did not feed Hat or play with it. Days went by before other people came to feed Hat and talk to him. And on one of those days, Hat slips out. 

From Hat Cat by Troy Wilson, illus. by Eve Coy

What happens when Hat gets outside and when the old man happily returns is the true tale of Hat Cat and one that speaks of companionship and trust.

I've been captivated by multiple books by Troy Wilson (e.g., Goldibooks and the Wee Bear; Little Red Reading Hood and the Misread Wolf; Liam Takes a Stand) and Hat Cat has done the same. As a cat lover and a feeder of backyard red squirrels, I can empathize with the older man's desire to keep both safe and welcomed at his home. They enrich his life with the company they provide and he is given purpose with the care-giving he accords them. Those mutual relationships are so endearing but also tenuous, as seen when the elderly man is ostensibly taken ill and unavailable to both Hat and the squirrels. As a reader, I became anxious for the little cat when days went by without the older man tending to it and was relieved when first alternate caregivers attended the home and Hat and then the man returned. And with that, both Hat and the man have learned that taking a chance on something different is sometimes worth it.

 

Hat Cat is illustrated by England's Eve Coy who provides the charming landscapes of home and garden for the older man, Hat and the squirrels. The settings delight with colour and warmth, the house filled with homey plants, books, furniture and artwork, and the garden lush with planters, flowers and more. It's a place we'd all love to visit and where a man, a cat and some squirrels have made a home.

 

Young readers may recognize a grandparent or elderly neighbour in Hat Cat and the tender relationships between a man and the animals, both domestic and wild, for which he cares. I hope they also see the goodness of caring for others, furred or not, as worthwhile and enriching for all, and something to which we should all aspire. The rewards are certainly priceless.

On the Line: Cover and trailers reveal

 

🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀

Authors

 

 Paul Coccia 

and

 

 Eric Walters 

are set to release their first collaboration

and I'm pleased to reveal its cover here 

and a video about the book.

 

Voilá!

 

 

ON  THE  LINE

Written by Paul Coccia and Eric Walters
Orca Book Publishers
978-1-45982-713-4
312 pp.
Ages 9-13
March 15 2022

Reviewed here

From my review of December 24, 2021:

What's on the line for thirteen-year-old Jordan Ryker? Everything. His parents can't stop arguing. The auto plant where his dad works, being the town's major employer, is shutting down. Even basketball, which is everything to Jordan and his best friend Junior, is somewhat tenuous with the school's new basketball coach who really doesn't know what he's doing. And now Jordan has to figure out how to work with new kids brother and sister Aaron and Tammy who are very different and both want on the boys' basketball team.  

...

This is the first writing collaboration between Paul Coccia and Eric Walters and, having reviewed books by both previously, I can attest to a new synergy to their writing as they bring their strengths in plotting, character development, and voice and meld them with LGBTQ+ issues and sports into something new and important. They've given us a story that challenges young readers to see beyond themselves and from different perspectives and with compassion for the struggles that others may be experiencing. With heart and intention, they've put themselves out there and helped us see from that angle what's really meaningful: friends, family, and fair play for all.

 🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀

 

I'd also like to share a couple of videos about the book. This first was prepared by author Paul Coccia and has been posted by publisher Orca at https://youtu.be/lHMFkieD4ZQ.

 

Posted by Orca Book Publishers on January 31, 2022 on YouTube.

 

 

This second book trailer, created by Daniel Rolo, has also been posted on the Orca YouTube channel at https://youtu.be/KjyDne1gJ7Q.

Posted by Orca Book Publishers on February 7, 2022 on YouTube.

 

🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀

 

March 15, the release date for On the Line, is just 6 weeks away 

so be sure to get your pre-orders in via Orca 

or your favourite book store.

The Groundwood Newsletters: New book resource

Any resource that encourages 

the use of Canadian children's books 

by educators and librarians is good. 

Most publishers provide teaching resources based on their books 

(do check out their websites) 

but Groundwood Books is setting up something a little different 

and I wanted to share that here.

 

Groundwood Books

has teamed up with 

educator, author and children's book advocate

Larry Swartz

for a series of newsletters for teachers and librarians

The Groundwood Newsletters are designed to provide educators, librarians and parents with strategies, tips and information about their fiction and non-fiction books. Each newsletter centres on a single topic, theme or genre with a list of recommended titles to encourage young readers to explore. The series will include lots of great resources such as reading, writing, arts and media responses; a spotlight feature on a Groundwood author/illustrator; a curated book list with annotations; and additional links to the website for more book information and/or teacher guides.

Newsletter #1:

 (set for release Monday)

Finding Friendships, Building Belonging 

and Creating Community Through Picture Books

 

Sign up here 

for the Groundwood Newsletters

 

Eight Days

Written by Teresa Toten

Scholastic Canada

978-1-4431-9002-2

312 pp.

Ages 10-14

January 2022

A lot can happen in eight days. Death, love, journeys and change. And, like it or not, it is what it is.

At almost 14, Sami Stanic has lived through a lot. Since she was three, she has lived with her grandfather Carl in the White Towers apartment building at Thorncliffe Park in Toronto. Carl is a recovering alcoholic, having stopped drinking when he brought Sami to live with him, and Sami is determined to keep it that way. She works at ensuring he stays sober by attending AA meetings with him and by keeping herself apprised of all the programs and readings, and she is determined to prove herself useful. In her own way, she does not want to be abandoned again. But, without knowing it, Sami has become part of the community, regardless of Carl's intolerance to the diverse community that is the Towers now. Her best friends are Nilofer and Tarek (also her crush) and there are lots of people watching out for her, though she doesn't realize it. So when she learns that her mother has died, a woman she'd always thought of as gone already, Sami is both perplexed and ashamed.

 

Within days, Sami, Carl and their neighbour Aggie are heading to Chicago in Carl's '77 Olds, affectionately known as Sophie, to deal with Shannon's funeral arrangements. But the journey becomes an opportunity for truths to finally emerge about all their stories: Sami's first few years, Shannon's issues, and Carl's despair. And their return to Canada may just be a new pilgrimage for all.

Teresa Toten may be better known for her extraordinary young adult novels (e.g., Beware That Girl, Shattered Glass, and The Unlikely Hero of Room 13B) but her voice shines just as brightly in this middle-grade novel. Perhaps it's because Teresa Toten has still focused her story on the foundation of most children's lives: their relationships. For Sami, it's her many relationships that drive her. Her relationships with Carl, with Nilofer, with Tarek, with Aggie, with her mother, and with so many in her community offer some security and comfort, but also some worry and angst, while often leaving her questioning her memories and her feelings.

I'd been whiplashed by every possible human emotion in the past few hours. I liked me better before. Clamped down, in charge. (pg. 253)

Teresa Toten makes sure that Sami's journey does not start and stop with a road trip. It becomes one of self-discovery and tenacity in which Sami sees and hears more from those around her and allows herself to be more. As alone as she may feel, living with a dry alcoholic who could relapse at any time, Sami learns she's part of a big community and one so diverse in its cultures that there is more than enough offering to be the family she needs.

Eight Days may have a road trip story line at its core but the journey is more one of life. But, as with any journey, where you come from is just one part. Where you're heading and where you end up are just as meaningful.

On Baba's Back

Written and illustrated by Marianne Dubuc

Princeton Architectural Press

978-1-61689-912-7

24 pp.

Ages 1-4

January 2022

In a sweet board book perfect for the very young and their caregivers, Marianne Dubuc charms with a story of family, protection, patience, risk-taking and letting go. And it's all with koalas!

From On Baba's Back by Marianne Dubuc

A young Koko enjoys being carried on Baba's back. But Koko does everything a little koala would do while on Baba's back: eat, play, pee, bathe, and go for walks.

From On Baba's Back by Marianne Dubuc

But sometimes the young want to do something different than what their elders have chosen for them to do. When Koko sees a blue butterfly, a "There!" signals to Baba what Koko wants.

From On Baba's Back by Marianne Dubuc

Still, Baba keeps walking so Koko climbs down to follow the pretty insect. And though taking a risk and leaving the protection of Baba's back might not necessarily be the safest decision, what Koko finds brings joy to both Koko and Baba.

From On Baba's Back by Marianne Dubuc

There will always be a time when a child will take their first steps to independence. It may come with first steps literally or by making choices different than their elders or by leaving the intimate protection of family. For Koko, it is all of these. And though Koko's self-assertion could've been a little scary for both Koko and Baba, there's a satisfaction that comes from taking those independent steps, especially knowing that the safety of family is still there at the end of the day. Though these steps can be milestones, Marianne Dubuc keeps the story very simple, with the text perfect for an early reader or for reading to a baby or toddler who will soon learn the limited phrases. Likewise, Marianne Dubuc doesn't overwhelm her artwork with too much of anything. The stars are Koko and Baba, clearly identifiable as koalas by their ears, with an emphasis on only a few other details like an ice-cream cone, a pee puddle, a ball or a butterfly.

While Baba is a term for father in a number of Asian cultures, it also can refer to a grandmother in eastern Europe. Either way, it is a loving elder who can provide protection for the youngest family members and that's what Koko finds on Baba's back: the security and freedom to learn to become independent.

Aggie and Mudgy: The Journey of Two Kaska Dena Childen

 

Written by Wendy Proverbs

Wandering Fox (Heritage House)

978-1-77203-375-5

144 pp.

Ages 8-12

November 2021

They were lost in a void, 

not understanding where they would end up. (pg. 99)

While there are an increasing number of middle-grade books about residential schools, few discuss the journeys that Indigenous children were forced to take from their home to get to those residential schools. Aggie and Mudgy is one such story. But it's also a tale of loss: of family, of names, of culture. And it is as painful as their journey.

 

In contemporary Vancouver, eight-year-old Maddy has found an old photo in her Nan's desk and begs her grandmother to tell her the story of the two little girls. And so Nan does, recounting the story of two young sisters from Daylu, a Kasha Dena community on the BC-Yukon border. As history has shown us, the arrival of those of the Catholic church brought much change, as it did in Daylu, where the First Nations people were first forcibly assimilated by being renamed. 

When we name something, it gives us a kind of ownership, doesn't it? (pg. 96)

Sisters Mac-kinnay and Beep were renamed Agnes and Martha but they called themselves Aggie and Mudgy. Then two years later, the young sisters, only 6 and 8, were taken away by Father Allard to go to school far away. How far away they could not have known.

Though leaving their home would have been frightening, the beginning of their journey starts with some comfort and familiarity as the priest employs two Indigenous brothers to transport them down the Liard River. The landscape, the food and the language are still their own. But after 300 km, their journey after Dease Lake becomes one of newness. As the priest and the girls travel six weeks by mail truck, paddle wheeler boat, steamship and train to the Lejac Residential School at Fraser Lake in central BC, the girls soon realized that their old ways would not be tolerated. Not the language they spoke, not the way they looked, nor the joys they savoured in the outdoors. And if Priest Allard and the nuns who aided them in their journey were not pleased, the children were shamed and beaten.

They couldn't respect different people and cultures, and if the children didn't obey, some priests and nuns could be very cruel. (pg. 47)

The girls' journey with Father Allard was just over 1600 km but it was just the beginning of the inevitable trauma that would be their residency at the Lejac school. Wendy Proverbs could have walked us into that school with Aggie and Mudgy but she knew that the journey of these two Kaska Dena children was important enough to be highlighted. Still, the story is told to enlighten and to acknowledge, not traumatize-it doesn't, though it could have– and by revealing her own personal connection (see "Author's Note" and "Acknowledgements" in Aggie and Mudgy), and giving Nan one as well, Wendy Proverbs has made the sisters' story both restrained and profound. Don't be surprised if a tear is shed.

Because Aggie and Mudgy tells a story within a story, with fiction embracing history, Wendy Proverbs, herself of Kaska Dena descent, has honoured her heritage and her ancestors. In fact, a nod of appreciation should be given to her as she does to others in her acknowledgements for sharing Aggie and Mudgy and purposefully shaking up the universe with truth.

Final appreciation to all of our ancestors who led the way for future generations to speak, dance, create, and indeed disturb the universe. (pg. 130)

CanLit for LittleCanadians celebrates 1M views Contest: Winner announced

On Tuesday, January 11, 2021, 

I launched the 

READY TO CELEBRATE 1M VIEWS CONTEST.

And, though we were thousands off, we reached one million views within about 5 hours.

(I had to change the format as it didn't fit in the sidebar. 😧)

As the rules stated the contest would close at 11:59 PM EST the night that the counter turned over one million views (about 3:08 PM EST), the contest closed that night. Thanks to all who submitted comments on the blog and on Twitter about reviews readers had enjoyed on CanLit for LittleCanadians.

Using a random number generator, a winner was selected and it is.....Elizabeth A. who enjoyed the review of Cherie Dimaline's "The Marrow Thieves." 

CONGRATULATIONS!

👏👏👏

Though I can tell you're in a high school library, I have no other information about you, Elizabeth A. So, if you could submit a comment with your details (email, address), I won't post the comment, just grab the information and delete your comment. And anyone who might know a Canadian high school librarian whose first name is Elizabeth and last name starts with an "A," please leave me a comment below with any info (name, email, school) you can provide. (I won't post the comment but I will get the relevant information from it.)

Thank you again to everyone who participated and helped 

get the blog over that milestone of ONE MILLION VIEWS.

 

 

(And 🤞 that we hear from Elizabeth A. within the week. 

Otherwise, I may have to select another winner. 

Thankfully I still have all the participants' names logged for just that possibility. 😥)