Dojo Daytrip

by Chris Tougas

Owlkids Books

978-1-77147-142-8

32 pp.

Ages 3-7

September 2015

They may be ninjas but they are still children:  boisterous, inquisitive, energetic and rowdy.  And a field trip with Master to a farm doesn't do anything but fuel their fires!  Remember Chris Tougas' six little ninjas from Dojo Daycare (Owlkids Books, 2014)?  Well, they're back and as effervescent as a newly opened pop bottle.

And Master must feel the same way as the six ninjas–never named but each unique and recognizable by hair or lack thereof–explode off the bus and begin to explore and cause ninja mayhem! But, it's Master who continues to find himself in buckets of awkwardness: falling in the pigs' trough, or running from a bull, or spooking a horse.  The little ninjas have just not been paying attention, distracted by the chicks, or other farmyard entities, and

It's a big barnyard disaster!
No one's there to save the Master.
The ninjas all forgot their creed:
Always help someone in need.

But after a few "Yikes!" and "Yee-ow!" moments, the ninjas realize the Master needs help and they jump in to make things right.  It's a full day of activities and activity and rhyming and word play, and it's not surprising that the little ones seem tired on the road home, though a taurine stowaway suggests more mayhem is in their future.

Dojo Daytrip is a fun romp at the farm with Chris Tougas' agile ninjas and their adult wrangler, reminiscent of many school field trips with their "if something can do wrong, it will" moments.  But Chris Tougas twists that story line by having the Master at the heart of the craziness and allowing the little ninjas to solve the problems and go beyond the call of duty.  The Master may be harping on the little ones forgetting their creed but they're just too busy having fun.  Chris Tougas' words are light and rhythmic and work so well with his bold characters and sparse settings.  It's a fast read, perfect for a read-aloud before a school trip, but take the time to notice all the details like the red scarf that riles the bull, or the one farting ninja, or the little chicks that wave good-bye, or the ninja teddy-bear.  There's a richness of details and facial expressions and such that add so much to the simple story of helping out those in need that Dojo Daytrip will be a fun keeper to use in the classroom for field trip prep, for rhyming exemplars and for a pastural past-time without getting on a bus.

Never Give Up & Reptile Flu

Never Give Up: A story about self-esteem

Written by Kathryn Cole

Illustrated by Qin Leng

Second Story Press

978-1-927583-60-9

24 pp.

Ages 5-8

April 2015

Reptile Flu: A story about communication

Written by Kathryn Cole

Illustrated by Qin Leng

Second Story Press

978-1-927583-61-6

24 pp.

Ages 5-8

April 2015

This new  I’m a Great Little Kid series from Second Story Press will be a bonus to teachers or parents looking for a literature-based lesson for teaching positive life values such as communication and self-esteem, especially as there are addenda called “For Grown-ups” that explain the concept on which the book is focused and provide guidance to addressing each.  Each book is a wonderful package of story and lesson, lovingly illustrated by Canadian artist Qin Leng whose artwork graces picture books from the quirky A Flock of Shoes (Sarah Tsiang, Annick Press, 2010) to light-hearted but poignant Hana Hashimoto, Sixth Violin (Chieri Uegaki, Kids Can Press, 2014) and Norman, Speak! (Caroline Adderson, Groundwood Books, 2014).  Now Qin Leng’s light touch will be recognizable as the one that lends an innocent air to the I’m a Great Little Kid series.  Lucky Kathryn Cole and Second Story Press.

In Never Give Up, Nadia watches as her friend Shaun continues to try to ride his two-wheel bicycle.  Learning that Shaun is good at skipping, the very skill she is trying to master, and that he does not give up on his bike and its training wheels, even after a bunch of kids laugh at him, Nadia enlists her father’s help to get Shaun balanced and riding successfully.  Reciprocating, Shaun helps guide Nadia, and funnily enough her father too, to become a successful skipper, even enlisting the help of those children who’d laughed at Shaun before.

With the class studying reptiles in Reptile Flu, Ms. Cosby, their teacher, plans a trip to the museum.  Kamal, for whom “The very though of reptiles sent shivers down his spine”, is less than thrilled.  But, he can’t find the words to tell his teacher, or even his classmates when they display their reptile drawings to him.  Instead, he endures nightmares and has ineffective conversations with his teacher, parents, sister and peers in an attempt to share his fears, all to no avail, until the day of the trip.  Finally, Kamal finds his voice and Ms. Cosby finds a way for Kamal to feel OK about his fears and even enjoy the trip.

Kathryn Cole’s messages in Never Give Up and Reptile Flu are so positive and told in such familiar scenarios that all young readers will easily find themselves empathizing with the characters who try to develop new skills or face difficulties with communication.  And, even better, they will actually see themselves in the book, so incredibly inclusive in the families displayed and the skin, clothing, names, and body types of the children within.  There’s Lin, Kamal, Claire, Nadia, and Shaun.  There are children in leg braces, in head scarves, with glasses and not, thinner, heavier, white, brown, black, poorer, richer–everyone is there!  And they are all given voice to share their likes, their fears, their needs. There is no better way to learn a life lesson than by seeing yourself, sort of, within the safety of a book, where no one can laugh at you or see your mistakes or weaknesses.  If Never Give Up and Reptile Flu are an indication of the wisdom and significance of the I’m a Great Little Kid series¬–even the series name works to promote a positive message!–I think all youngCanLit readers and their parents and teachers should be anticipating more worthwhile titles to add to their libraries, personal and school.

Eco Warrior

by Philip Roy

Ronsdale Press

978-1-55380-347-8

200 pp.

Ages 10+

March, 2015

If readers were ever trepidatious during Alfred’s world-wide adventures in the first six books in Philip Roy’s Submarine Outlaw series, nothing will match the opening scenes of Eco Warrior. In all Alfred’s zealousness for safety and for anticipating all possible outcomes, he could never foresee being set adrift in the ocean, watching the sub still runnng and pulling away from him.  It’s a shocking beginning but brings Alfred to a new appreciation for all he has.

Not surprising that the sixteen-year-old, already on a quest to become an environmentalist, is overhwlemed by the pessimism of an elderly sailor, Margaret, who believes “You can’t save the oceans now.  Nobody can.  It’s too late.” (pg. 30), though she is still impressed by his hope.  That hope takes him to Australia where he meets a passionate barrister who’d fought, unsuccessfully, to prevent a tanker from heading illegally into the Southern Ocean to refuel Japanese whaling ships that actually claim to be doing research!  That innocent conversation has Alfred suspected of sabotaging that tanker, and an outlaw again.

As he evades authorities in Australia and then Tasmania, Alfred becomes enmeshed in the anti-whaling activities of the Sea Shepherd Society, and accepting risks that he normally would not.  And between being swayed repeatedly by a persuasive environmentalist-inventor named Merwin, stalking and then colliding with a tanker, enjoying the company of a mother blue whale and her baby, and witnessing illegal activities asssociated with whaling, Alfred’s experiences in the Southern Ocean are more than plentiful.

It’s exciting to travel alongside Alfred, Hollie and Seaweed in the sub, and to visit continents and oceans worldwide.  Best is that Philip Roy is able to embed the reader in those adventures and onto the sub so easily.  As he has consistently done in all his Submarine Outlaw books, Philip Roy simply tells a story that includes making the setting more than just the time and place.  It is an integral character in the story, creating plotlines that are more than just the filler of many books.  While books can often take readers to new worlds that they could never imagine, Philip Roy takes those same readers to worldly situations and places they might someday experience but get to enjoy safely from within the pages of his books.  Some of those situations are truly harrowing, like Alfred’s near-death dumping into the ocean or the altercations of environmentalists with the illegal whalers and co-conspirators.  Luckily, young readers can immerse themselves in these same scenarios without tragedy and even face them as Alfred does, with the uncertainty of youth  but the wisdom of a seasoned traveller.  An extraordinary feat for Eco Warrior, a book of a mere 200 pages but a captivatingly deep one just the same.

Buddy and Earl

by Maureen Fergus

Illustrated by Carey Sookocheff

Groundwood Books

978-1-55498-712-2

32 pp.

Ages 4-7

August 2015

I’m sure that most friendships don’t start out that way.  There may be those encounters by which individuals become “fast friends” but I suspect many friendships  begin slowly as each tries to figure the other out. Friend? Foe? Agenda? Danger?  In fact, in Maureen Fergus' Buddy and Earl, when Meredith brings a mysterious open box in, Buddy the dog probably wasn't thinking "friend" at all but rather "what?"

A few pokes  and an amiable introduction between Buddy and the rounded creature who identifies himself as Earl has the two chatting away.  But still Buddy doesn't know the "what" that is Earl.  He asks but Earl has an odd assortment of answers to, "And what are you, Earl?" He could be a race car, or a giraffe, or a sea urchin, a talking hairbrush–definitely plausible–or a skyscraper, rhino or mouse.  Nothing seems to work for Buddy who is clever enough to know what Earl isn't.  But when Earl suggests that he is a pirate and Buddy his first mate, the two go off on an adventure that has Mom shaking her head and the two bonded with friendship.

I've adored Maureen Fergus' YA books (The Gypsy King, Razorbill, 2012; A Fool's Errand, Razorbill, 2013; Tomorrow's Kingdom, Razorbill, 2014) but she's showing her versatility in writing picture books, recently winning the Ontario Library Association's Blue Spruce readers' choice award for The Day My Mom Came to Kindergarten (Kids Can Press, 2013), and Buddy and Earl displays the same wonderful voice of innocence and discovery, with a touch of parental attitude.  Whether Buddy is a real dog and Earl another family member, I have no doubt but it really doesn't matter.  The two dissimilar pets demonstrate the ability to make friends no matter where and no matter with whom just by being themselves.  It doesn't really matter whether Earl is a hedgehog, though I suspect he is, and prone to imaginative bursts of creative play or steadfast and thoughtful like the loyal Buddy. The two come together and make something better and bigger:  a friendship.  And that's all it takes to identify Earl in the end and to add a new moniker to Buddy beyond "dog".

I don't know Carey Sookocheff's work but I think we all will soon.  Buddy and Earl is her first picture book and I believe the simplicity and retro style of her artwork, here in muted creams, khaki, orange and powder blue, will endear her work to many.  It has the effortless ambience of child's play to which young children will be drawn.  I imagine that the young will be as charmed by Carey Sookocheff's illustrations as they are to the guessing game that Buddy and Earl play whilst the two strut into their new friendship.  Even better, we've got more adventures to which we can look forward with the two new friends getting into new situations in Buddy and Earl Go Exploring (March, 2016) and Buddy and Earl and the Baby, both from Groundwood Books.

Secrets Blog Tour is coming!

Sh-h-h...  but tell everyone:

Secrets

to be revealed

September 29, 2015

The newest series of seven books, orchestrated by Eric Walters for Orca Book Publishers, is on its way, ready to tell the seven concurrent stories of seven young women raised at the Benevolent Home for Necessitous Girls in the town of Hope, Ontario.  The year is 1964.  When a fire rips through the building, the seven oldest girls–Toni, Sara, Betty, Tess, Malou, Dot and Cady–are each given an envelope with some things, perhaps clues, from their pre-orphanage days.  And therein lie the stories of Secrets.

And if you're the only one who hasn't seen the fantastic notice for the series, here it is:

Starting next Tuesday, blogs across the internet will host the blog tour for the release of Secrets.  I'm pleased to announce that I will be hosting a review of My Life Before Me and a Q & A with the book's author, Norah McClintock.  I was thrilled to be asked and delighted to share the honour with readers of CanLit for LittleCanadians.

Here are the list of books and their stops on the blog tour:

Innocent 
by Eric Walters

Hosted by Lost in a Great Book
Tuesday, September 29, 2015

Shattered Glass
by Teresa Toten

Hosted by Spellbound Book Reviews
Wednesday, September 30, 2015

The Unquiet Past
by Kelley Armstrong

Hosted by Ya Book Shelf
Thursday, October 1, 2015

Stones on a Grave
by Kathy Kacer

Hosted by teenreads
Friday, October 2, 2015

My Life Before Me
by Norah McClintock

Hosted by CanLit for LittleCanadians
Saturday, October 3, 2015

A Big Dose of Lucky
by Marthe Jocelyn

Hosted by Lost in a Great Book
Sunday, October 4, 2015

Small Bones
by Vicki Grant

Hosted by Pop! goes the reader
Monday, October 5, 2015






Mark September 29-October 5 on your calendar and please join me and others in celebrating the release of a series that is sure to get readers (ages 12+) excited about reading, a different era, and the secrets that make for great stories.

250 Hours

Written by Colleen Nelson

Coteau Books

978-1-55-5—641-9

152 pp.

Ages 12+

September 2015

“I don’t want to set them. But it’s like if I don’t do it, something worse will happen.  Watching something burn means I’ve saved a different bad thing from happening.”  He knew it sounded crazy, but maybe she’d understand because there was hurt inside of her too. (pg. 68)

And Jess Sinclair is right.  The hurt that compels him to set fires, hence his 250 hours community service, is also in 18-year-old Sara Jean whose grandmother’s garage is being cleaned out by Jess.  But, while both deal with abandonment issues–Jess by his father eight years earlier and Sara Jean at two months of age by her mother–and have significant relationships with their grandmothers, Jess’s hurt is wrapped up in living with the double-edged discrimination of being Métis as Sara Jean deals with being shackled to small-town life as primary caregiver to her 450-lb. grandmother, Gam.

While the two teens attempt to accept their responsibilities to their families and communities, they yearn to become independent of the hurts that define their lives, and they find themselves drawn to each other, particularly after Sara Jean discovers memorabilia of her Grandpa’s teaching at the local residential school.   But everyone seems to be keeping secrets and the discrimination Sara Jean detects from her boyfriend and his family, her own Gam and Aunt Mim towards Jess and Aboriginal People compels her to learn more, especially after she finds a small pair of moccasins that, unbeknownst to her, Jess is convinced his kokum had made.

Colleen Nelson tells another powerful story (see my review of The Fall, Great Plains Teen Fiction, 2013) in 250 Hours, but focuses on small-town mindedness, the injustice of the residential schools, and family expectations in such a way that the reader will sympathize for Jess and Sara Jean who feel trapped by the stifling suffocation of their histories.  How do you break free to make a new life for yourself when there is so much holding you back?

There’s always a reason to stay.  I guess there has to be better reasons to go. (pg. 69)

Don’t be surprised if you feel enraged by the injustices perpetrated against these young people and against Aboriginal people.  That’s good because we all should be.  I suspect that 250 Hours is a truer reflection of life for many who experience blatant discrimination, whether wholesale as evoked by the residential school situations or  randomly by ignorant individuals, and for youth limited by the influence of family and peers.  Not surprising that everyone seems to know what's best for others. Thankfully, Colleen Nelson makes sure that Sara Jean's and Jess's stories are told, albeit in a fictionalized tale, to give them voice, freedom and limitless possibilities to be themselves.  It’s a powerful story of redemption where none seemed possible.

A Pocket Full of Murder

by R. J. Anderson

Atheneum Books For Young Readers

978-1-4814-3771-4

352 pp.

Ages 9-12

September 2015

R. J. Anderson, best known for her complex young adult fantasy novels involving faeries and magic   (e.g., Arrow, Nomad, etc.) and science fiction (e.g., Ultraviolet and Quicksilver) with romantic entanglements, delves into a very different fantasy with A Pocket Full of Murder.  But, R. J. Anderson is just as skilful in writing the middle-grade fiction immersed in magic and mystery that is A Pocket Full of Murder. 

Life for twelve-year-old Isaveth Breck and her sisters Annagail, Mimmi and Lilet is anything but easy since their Mama, a talented spell maker, has passed and Papa, a stonemason, has been without steady work.  Moreover, because of their Moshite ancestry and beliefs, the Brecks experience discrimination and limited opportunities.  But they keep on keeping on.  Though she had her schooling for becoming a healer interrupted, Annagail works at the shirt factory.  Papa looks for any small jobs, though resentful of a cancelled job for building the new charmery for Tarreton College.  And Isaveth is determined to learn to make Common Magic–different from Sagery, the magic of the Sages and the nobles–and sell her spell-tablets, for light, heat, etc.  just as her mother had once.

While poverty and discrimination may be their greatest concerns, the arrest of Papa for the murder of the governor of Tarreton College, Master Orien, the man who’d initially cancelled his commission for the charm house,  changes everything.  Luckily, Isaveth makes the acquaintance of an eye-patched street-boy named Quiz, who not only defends her from a local bully and also likes to listen to the talkie-play about justice seeker Auradia Champion but is convinced her father is innocent.  And Quiz is determined to help prove it.  Together, Isaveth and Quiz collaborate to infiltrate Tarreton College and the Workers’ Club to whom her father belonged to attempt to solve the of mystery of Master Orien’s death.  

But, R. J. Anderson makes the story more than just a murder mystery by infusing her tale with magic elements and embedding it in a society of unique hierarchy, beliefs, money and transportation.  Everything is fresh and thought-provoking, providing layers of newness to the concept of a whodunit for young readers.  And yet readers will recognize the issues of friendship, trust, independence, sadness, and family that will make it all so familiar and provoke empathy, allowing R. J. Anderson to share much wisdom to middle-grade readers.

You don’t have to be sad all the itime, you know.  It doesn’t make anything better. (pg. 138) 

…he believed things like friendship could be bought and sold so easily.  Everything was negotiable to him, even his principles.  But what was the point of being wealthy, or even comfortabley well off if you had to betray the people who cared about you  to get there?  What was the use of having everything if it cost you your soul? (pg. 335)

A Pocket Full of Murder has a superbly crafted murder mystery charmed with a world of new characters and a curious culture that will surely sustain a succession of plots featuring Isaveth and her compatriots.  And I look forward to revisiting Tarreton and its inhabitants in a new puzzle from R. J. Anderson, who continues to impress with the richness of her plots and the intricacy of her story-telling.