That Squeak

by Carolyn Beck

Illustrated by François Thisdale

Fitzhenry & Whiteside

978-1-55455-293-1

40 pp.

Ages 6-10

September 2015

With Once Upon a Line (Wallace Edwards, Pajama Press, 2015) and Some Things I've Lost (Cybèle Young, Groundwood Books, 2015), That Squeak makes a trifecta of outstanding youngCanLit picture books being released within the month, truly supportive of the idea that we've entered a new golden age of illustrated books (see an upcoming Quill & Quire examining this issue).

There is no trivial writing or illustration here.  There is a subtle darkness behind That Squeak which draws the reader in from page one.  Two boys, Jay and Joe, on their bikes–Jay's with "that squeak"–spend considerable time exploring and delving in the places beyond town and the farmlands, to the woods and the pond therein. "Our place."  But there comes a time when Jay is gone, killed, and his bike remains abandoned and locked up to a school fence, decaying in the elements of the seasons.  But the new boy, Carlos, doesn't know the bike's history or Joe's friendship with Jay or what happened to Jay and his questions and interest in the bike have Joe erupting.

Everything explodes at once.  I hear the sound of your name bounce off the brick wall of the school  Inside my ribs, big and aching sobs suck and heave like tidal waves.  There's snot everywhere.  And so many tears that I can't see anymore. (pg. 22)

It's not until Joe can see beyond his anger and his grief that he opens himself up to learning of Carlos' own story and the two can deal with their hurts together, recognizing the importance of cherishing some things, even a squeak.

Wow.  That Squeak is not a trivial story or a childish read.  It covers important issues of friendship and death, grief and anger, and acceptance and memory.  And Carolyn Beck writes it with the gravity it deserves.  Readers, younger and older, will recognize the solemnity of the story, and François Thisdale's deep illustrations reflect that weightiness.  Just as he capably conveyed the power of words from a cell-bound writer in the award-winning The Stamp Collector (Jennifer Lanthier, Fitzhenry & Whiteside, 2012), François Thisdale effectively uses painting with digital drawing to deliver colour and line blended just as a friendship can be with sorrows and secrets.  And that's what Carolyn Beck and François Thisdale have done in That Squeak: melded depth and lightness together, in words and images.

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Carolyn Beck will also be attending the Eden Mills Writers' Festival on Sunday, September 13, 2015.  It's definitely becoming a go-to event for lovers of youngCanLit!

Once Upon a Line

by Wallace Edwards

Pajama Press

978-1-927485-78-1

32 pp.

Ages 6-9

On sale September 16, 2015

With Once Upon a Line, Wallace Edwards has catapulted himself and his books to the status of must-haves for any home, school or public library.  The USA may have Chris Van Allsburg and most notably The Mysteries of Harris Burdick, but teachers will now be scrambling to use Once Upon a Line instead as the go-to book for story-starters and creative writing projects based on intriguingly unique illustrations that get the creative juices flowing.  And it all starts with one simple and ordinary line.  This line by this pen:

In the introduction to the book, Wallace Edwards recounts the history of Great-Uncle George’s enchanted pen and a line–the line seen above and on the endpapers and in every illustration within–that was the basis for his many paintings, only a handful which exist today and are reproduced within the book.  And, as the reader is told, “Each painting is the beginning of a story, and every story begins with “Once upon a line.” Where each painting’s story goes is up to the reader’s imagination.

From the elaborate entranceway of a mouse to her home that helps her remember…something, someone, somewhere… to the race between the chicken and the egg “until the fluffy one began to…” and an equine-allergic knight who finds a solution, and a rain that brings joy to an elephant and a story from a seagull, Once Upon a Line is resplendent in its fantastical graphic details.   There’s a pajamaed kitten, birds and alligators, a dragon, lush greenery, royalty, a fish or two, several aliens, a compendium of zoological creatures and a variety of candy-kissed vehicles.  And of course, there’s handlebar-moustached and chin-goateed Great-Uncle George, a dashing magician who bears a striking ressemblance to a swashbuckling Musketeer.  And for those who must know where "the" line is in each illustration, Wallace Edwards has kindly appended the book with a cheat sheet to help locate it.

Once Upon a Line is so rich in its visual effects and textual texture that it deserves all the golden stars on its cover (as well as the golden cover font that I reproduced so poorly here) and more. I predict even more shining accolades in Once Upon a Line's future for Wallace Edwards.

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Don't miss a chance at meeting Wallace Edwards who is one of the invited writers attending the Eden Mills Writers' Festival on Sunday, September 13, 2015.  Who knows?  There may even be early release copies of Once Upon a Line on sale there.

Book Launch: 250 Hours (Winnipeg)

Author of

Tori by Design

Great Plains Books, 2011

and

The Fall

Great Plains Teen Fiction, 2013

Reviewed here

Colleen Nelson

and

Coteau Books

launch her newest book

250 Hours

250 Hours

by Colleen Nelson

Coteau Books

978-1-55050-641-9

200 pp.

Ages 12+

For release September 2015

on 

September 19, 2015

at
7 p.m.

at McNally Robinson Books
Grant Park in the Atrium
Winnipeg, MB

Here's the blurb from the McNally Robinson website:

Jess and Sara Jean couldn’t be more different. He’s a loner with a criminal record; a Metis raised on the Reserve; the son of a residential school survivor. She’s from nearby Edelburg, a conservative small town. Abandoned by her mother, Sara Jean cares for her obese grandmother and writes to escape.

When Jess is found guilty of arson, he’s ordered to complete 250 hours of community service, starting with Sara Jean’s neglected garage. Sorting through boxes left by her grandfather, they discover that the secrets keeping their communities apart are the very things that will bring them together.

Looking forward to reading this one!

Eden Mills Writers' Festival: Sunday, September 13, 2015

As a resident of the quaint hamlet of Eden Mills, just outside of Guelph, I love promoting its annual Eden Mills Writers' Festival celebrating the written and spoken word arts.  This year will be the 27th since Governor-General award-winning author and poet Leon Rooke started the festival and, though the festival continues to evolve over the years, it is at its heart an outdoor festival of authors of children's, young adult and adult literature reading from their works.  

Details about tickets (less expensive if purchased in advance) and schedule, and all the authors who will be present are available at the Eden Mills Writers' Festival website here.

If you're around southern Ontario on Sunday, September 13 (the main day event of readings and author events), come on down and visit with a few of our favourite CanLit authors, including the children's and young adult writers and illustrators I've listed below with images of some of their most recent works.

Children's Authors

Carolyn Beck 

Sean Cassidy 

Wallace Edwards 

Debbie Ridpath Ohi 

Jan Thornhill

Kari-Lynn Winters

Magician Ben Caesar and Singer-Songwriter Eddie Douglas will also be on hand to entertain in the Children's Venue.

Young Adult Authors

Lesley Choyce

Megan Crewe

Catherine Egan

Alyxandra Harvey

Norah McClintock

Caroline Pignat

Bill Swan

Caitlin Sweet

We're anticipating a great day, so come out and join us and meet a few of your favourite authors and illustrators, do a little book-buying on Publishers' Way and through The Bookshelf, get a book or five signed, and enjoy a spectacular day!  

Hope to see you there.

Sometimes I Feel Like a Fox

Written and illustrated by Danielle Daniel

Groundwood Books

978-1-55498-750-4

36 pp.

Ages 4-7

August 2015

Danielle Daniel may have written and illustrated Sometimes I Feel Like a Fox to “encourage her young son to connect with his Aboriginal roots” (author bio on book jacket) but the book’s wisdom reaches far beyond the Anishinaabe tradition of totems, inspiring all children to look within and find their own strengths of wisdom, vulnerability, determination, curiosity and more.

In four-line free verses, Danielle Daniel depicts twelve totem animals by identifying the animal, its characteristics, and its purposeful deeds.  From the bravery of the bear to the cleverness of the fox, the author-illustrator represents a child as each totem, with respect and admiration, directing them to help “identify with the positive character traits of animals that may be familiar to them” (Author’s Note; pg. 33) while still emphasizing the interconnectedness of all living things.

As a mixed-media artist (and another upcoming children’s book illustrator I will need to add to my growing lists of youngCanLit illustrators’ Who’s Who!) Danielle Daniel delivers wonderfully textured art of boys and girls in the masks +/- costumes of animal totems (as possible) standing before unique wallpapers of stripes, flowers and patterns.  Her palette is subtle in peaches, turquoises, mustard and taupes but powerful enough to stand out.  While moving with timidity, or joy, or seriousness, bravado or hesitancy, the children model a range of animal totems that reveal more about themselves, though apparently hiding their facial expressions.

Sometimes I feel like an owl,
Intuitive and discreet.
I fly across the dark night sky,
Always watching and listening. (pg. 16)

Sometimes I Feel Like a Fox is lovely and captivating and can so easily reach beyond the gorgeous artwork and natural similes to draw readers into discussions of family and clans, of spirit guides and of introspection and self-awareness.  An amazing feat for “just” a little picture book.

Uncertain Soldier

by Karen Bass

Pajama Press

978-1-927485-72-9

288 pp.

Ages 12+

April 2015

Our doubts are traitors and make us lose the good we oft might win, by fearing the attempt. 

- William Shakespeare, from Measure for Measure, 1.4.

If there’s any message that you can take from the latest young adult book of historical fiction from award-winning author of Graffiti Knight (Pajama Press, 2013) Karen Bass is that it isn’t always easy tell who your friends or enemies are, and even more so during wartime.  And the two young men whose stories are told within Uncertain Soldier, 17-year-old German soldier Erich Hofmeyer and 12-year-old Max Schmidt of Horley, Alberta, find themselves navigating uncertain paths as they attempt to survive as Germans in Canada during World War II.

After his German ship is sunk in the North Atlantic in 1943, Erich is sent to a prisoner-of-war camp near Lethbridge.  As decent as the Canadians seem to be, the camp is run by the German prisoners and specifically high-ranking Nazis.  Because he is reluctant to use his command of the English language to spy for the other German prisoners, Erich is suspected of disloyalty to the Fatherland and repeatedly assaulted in camp.  A consequent hospitalization leads to his removal voluntarily, and that of his bunkmate Johann Nikel, to the logging camp of Henry Lane in northern Alberta.  There, ten Germans deemed not to be pro-Nazi, join Canadian lumberjacks to bring down trees and work the sawmill.  Sadly, but not necessarily surprising, Erich must still endure the prejudice and abuse of other logging camp residents, both German and Canadian, and outsiders,  as well as in the local community of Horley.

Meanwhile, the story’s other protagonist, Max Schmidt, son of a German immigrant farmer, cannot seem to appease his father, who chastizes the boy for not standing up for himself and his heritage, and his peers who bully him with vicious taunts and regular beatings, and locals who look down their noses at his family.  His only respite comes when he runs errands to the logging camp where he is treated kindly by the Lanes and meets Erich with whom he becomes friends.

Though the two young men differ in their ages by five significant years–uncommon for lead characters and friends in youngCanLit–Karen Bass capably creates a friendship based in adversity and support that spans the years, experience and even birthplace.  Max and Erich are very different Germans but their hardships are monumental and the brutality they must endure because of their heritage is beyond wrong.  Each is a prisoner to their fears and the fears of others, challenging their loyalty in every direction.

A book like Uncertain Soldier does not go down easily.  It burns in your throat with the rising bile of injustice and cowardice and the horrors of prejudice inflicted in war and out.  It churns in your gut and then sits like a heavy meal of reality and history.  Sometimes getting beyond that all is tough.  Karen Bass again, as she did in Graffiti Knight, examines an ill-fated part of our history (her author’s note is an especially enlightening and valuable read) and textures it with humanity that makes it a touching story of distressing times.  Uncertain Soldier will blow the historical fiction award juries away with its power.

The Dragonfly Effect (Book 3 of The Hypnotists)

by Gordon Korman

Scholastic Press

978-0-545-50336-5

243 pp.

Ages 9-12

August 2015

When readers last visited with 12-year-old Jackson Opus, the kid had major problems and they all stemmed from the evil Dr. Elias Mako who was determined to manipulate Jax, a powerful hypnotist, into doing his mesmeric bidding.  Thankfully, Book 2 of The Hypnotists, The Memory Maze, ended with Mako being sent to jail, and Jax and his parents being whisked away by the military for their protection.  But, while the Opuses are currently safely ensconced at Fort Calhoun and Jax assists the very serious Colonel Brassmeyer in developing hypnotism as a weapon system as part of HoWarD, the Hypnotic Warfare Research Department, life isn’t as rosy as it might be expected to be.

Jax’s Mom and Dad are bored and miserable, not even able to go bird-watching without getting arrested for leaving without their identification. Not surprizing that Dad has become addicted to the FreeForAll website with its myriad of games and activites, not the least of which is tending to his virtual grass in Lawn Master!  Jax isn’t faring much better, having to deal with the humourless Colonel Brassmeyer, the HoWaRD psychiatrist Captain Pedroia, and the other hypnotists including the nasty Wilson DeVries, former thug for Mako, and eight-year-old orphan and powerful though unskilled hypnotist Stanley X.

In addition to their various activities including bending (hypnotizing) soldiers and each other–which is when Jax realizes how powerful Stanley is–and trying to teach hypnotism to ordinary people, Jax has been recruited to participate in Operation Aurora.  Using remote hypnotism, Jax mesmerizes all 753 volunteer inhabitants at an artificial test community called Delta Prime to stop all activity at a set time.  The collateral damage is frightening to Jax, though Brassmeyer’s miliary sense of duty keeps him from being bothered by it.  Not surprising that when Jax suspects that someone is using remote hypnotism via the FreeForAll website and using the newly-adopted Stanley, the teen hypnotist springs into action, regardless of the army’s intentions for him.

If you’ve read the earlier two books in The Hypnotists series, you’ll know that Gordon Korman keeps readers on the edge of their seats, anticipating the next manipulation by an evil one, or joining in on chase or escape from entrapment or worrying about whom to trust.  Jax’s life is an action-packed adventure he hopes he’ll live through.  And Jax is such a decent kid.  He’s concerned about how miserable his parents are at the cost of his safety.  He’s appalled by Brassmeyer’s relentless experimentation with hypnotism to develop it as a powerful weapon, regardless of the consequences.  And he seems to want to watch out for everyone at HoWaRD, recognizing their vulnerabilities, even the vicious Wilson.

But Gordon Korman is the master of tongue-in-cheek and keeps the reader smiling with his quips and barbs at everything from the military and online games, to bus drivers, and traffic in the Lincoln Tunnel.  

…he noticed Ashton Opus was still playing Lawn Master.  It was almost four hours now!

       In Lawn Master, you could plant, water, fertilize, weed, cut, top-dress, spray, and aerate your virtual lawn.  Dad had just spent the last four hours literally watching grass grow.  It wasn’t even real grass! (pg. 97-8)

But amidst all the skirmishes and problem-solving, Gordon Korman has Jax finding a way, even manipulating it, for himself to lead a “normal” life, and that “happy” ending in The Dragonfly Effect–even though it is important to recognize that, as Jax does, that “It was impossible to command someone to be happy” (pg. 22)–is worth the price, all costs included.