Krista Kim-Bap

Written by Angela Ahn
Second Story Press
978-1-77260-063-6
176 pp.
Ages 9-13
April 2018

Everyone wants to fit in. They want to be accepted by their peers and appreciated by their family. And eleven-year-old Krista Kim wants the same. Fortunately she has a best friend, Jason, who is a close as a brother. In fact, he’s even better since he appreciates her Korean heritage, especially all the delicious foods, more than Krista’s teen sister Tori who strives not to be seen as Korean. Sadly Krista’s very Korean grandmother adores Tori and doesn’t seem to appreciate Krista’s tomboyish ways or her friendship with Jason.

But everything starts to change after a classmate, Madison, invites Krista to her “Red Carpet” birthday party and Grandma takes Krista to a salon for hair, makeup and eye taping (to create the impression of a double lid) and Tori recreates a Korean hanbok for Krista to wear to the event. Soon Krista is eating lunch with Madison and the more popular girls, and Jason, her dear friend who was like a part of the family, is relegated to her background.

Meanwhile, Krista and her classmates are working on family heritage projects and Krista decides to focus on the foods with which she is familiar. But it’s her Grandma who makes the kimchi and kimbap and the authentic Korean dishes that she loves. So, Krista asks her Grandma to teach her how to cook.

“This food that all Koreans eat is in our hearts.” (pg. 124) 

As Krista learns more about her heritage, particularly through its cuisine, she’s actually learning more about her grandmother, what it means to be Korean for all her family, and what it means to be a friend.

Angela Ahn takes us into the heart of a second- and third-generation Korean family in Vancouver and gives readers a taste of a culture with which many of us are not familiar. Kids growing up in families such as Krista’s will undoubtedly recognize the customs and traditions, the social relationships, and those distinctions that make being Korean different than other cultural heritages. By making Krista’s heritage the background for her maturing acceptance of who she is and what friends she wants in her life, Angela Ahn has rolled this middle-grade novel into a special bundle of substance and flavour, not unlike the kimbap she learns to prepare with her grandmother.

Sparks!

Written by Ian Boothby

Art by Nina Matsumoto

Color by David Debrick

Scholastic (Graphix)

978-1-338-02946-8

200 pp.

Ages 7-10

February 2018

Knowing the universal acceptance of dogs as heroes, a cat named August invents a robotic dog suit in which he and feline friend Charlie undertake daring rescues like saving babies from wells, children from tornadoes, and families from fires. The suit also helps keep August from touching the grass (a major phobia since an escape outdoors as a kitten led him to nasty testing at an animal lab) and keeps the cats anonymous from prying reporters and those who might disturb their comfortable lifestyle. However, unbeknownst to them, an evil genius in the guise of a baby named Princess is setting up accidents that require the rescue dog dubbed Sparks to leap into action.  It seems Princess believes that Sparks might be the dog that other animals, under the baby's control, would follow, allowing the heinous alien-infant to conquer the world.

From Sparks! by Ian Boothby, art by Nina Matsumoto

Ian Boothby and Nina Matsumoto, best known as veteran creators of The Simpsons comics, will delight middle graders with this hilarious graphic novel of cats banding together to achieve heroic deeds and fighting an evil baby.  Readers will be tickled by all the characters: clever inventor August, who plays the stock market and buys a house; Charlie, who lives life with enthusiasm and has a fondness for frolicking and attention;  Steve-O, the hyper-chattering squirrel; and the storytelling robotic litter box.  Even Princess who transmits pain via agony pants worn by her pseudo-parent minions is priceless as the koala hat-wearing brain who still needs diaper changes and naps.  Princess is as controlling and scary as any human baby, albeit with creepier toys, and it's so satisfying when (spoiler!) her errant ways are chastized by her real parents.

From Sparks! by Ian Boothby, art by Nina Matsumoto

Sparks! is a fun read that fights stereotypes of cats being self-absorbed, dogs being the heroes, and babies being innocent and safe. Moreover, it provides a sad commentary on the media that creates stories, not just reports them, and the ease with which they manipulate the stories.  In fact, Sparks! is really a story that turns the concept of control on its head.  Of course, young readers might not pick up on all those messages from author Ian Boothby but they'll love the story and Nina Matsumoto's bold graphics that blend the real with the fantastic.  It's obvious Nina Matsumoto knows cats well (a photo of the real August and Charlie in the dedication attests to this).  She gets the joy of rolling in the grass or the pose of the classic butt-lick perfect but then gives an imaginative angle to the technological wizardry and provides vigorous splashes of action and disaster.  The compulsory Zzzzzap! and Ka-Pow with an occasional Ssshhlorp!, Fa-dunk and Sproing add that touch of comic book flavour that kids will enjoy.

From Sparks! by Ian Boothby, art by Nina Matsumoto

I'm pleased that Ian Boothby and Nina Matsumoto (who will be attending this year's Toronto Comic Arts Festival in May) have left the cat flap open for a sequel to Sparks! as I'm sure the amazing duo of August and Charlie have more acts of heroism on which to embark, whether as themselves or in the costume of their canine superhero.

Timo Goes Camping

Written by Victoria Allenby

Illustrated by Dean Griffiths

Pajama Press

978-1-77278-040-6

48 pp.

Ages 5-8

March 2018

It's wonderful to see a new Timo story from Victoria Allenby and illustrated by Dean Griffiths.  This early reader series tugs at my heart with each new story as the rabbit Timo learns new life lessons alongside his friends Bogs, Hedgewick, Rae and Suki.

Suki, the squirrel with the ideas, decides the group of friends should go camping.  Though Timo feels that adventures are "messy and unsafe and not at all sensible," he goes along with the plan.  However, he looks for advice at the Toadstool Corners Library, where it "smelled like paper and ink and comfort," finding good advice in a book called Camping is Fun.

From Timo Goes Camping by Victoria Allenby, illus. by Dean Griffiths

Setting out on their adventure, Timo puts his new skills to use in knotting rope, making a fire, and recalling all the lessons about canoeing and orienteering and more.  But, when little things go wrong, like a tent that won't go up or a dunking in the lake, most of the group enjoys a chuckle, though Suki's teasing and name-calling becomes tiresome to Timo who finally has to call her out on it.

From Timo Goes Camping by Victoria Allenby, illus. by Dean Griffiths

This lovely series of early readers returns an innocence and humility to children's early readers that we haven't seen since Peter Rabbit and Frog and Toad.  There are valuable lessons about friendship and self-acceptance and learning.  But, even more, Timo allows children to share in his learning about friendship and interacting with others, as well as the importance of reading.  From his first book, Timo's Garden (2015), and his second, Timo's Party (2016), the rabbit is learning how to deal with friends and his own insecurities which he is always able to put aside when he takes the opportunities to learn and gain insight from his experiences.

From Timo Goes Camping by Victoria Allenby, illus. by Dean Griffiths

As in all three of the Timo books, Victoria Allenby has made her characters so distinct that their roles in this camping adventure make perfect sense.  Hedgewick is named Chief Chef, Rae is Head Engineer, Bogs is the Toad of Tunes, Suki is the navigator (though more like the one who tells everyone where to go and what to do), and Timo is labelled the camp librarian.  Each has assets that makes the group work effectively, though I'm partial to Timo who wisely finds answers in books.  For an author to create a story rich in characters, atmosphere, plot and positive messages is an astounding achievement for any book but extraordinary for an early reader.  

The story is brought to visual life by Dean Griffiths' artwork, with its textural richness of setting and scene.  Dean Griffiths, whose art illustrates among others Bad Pirate (by Kari-Lynn Winters, Pajama Press, 2016) and Tweezle into Everything (by Stephanie McLellan, Pajama Press, 2013), knows how to adapt his style for an early reader, balancing the story, not becoming the story as it may, and rightly so, in picture books.  

Together Victoria Allenby and Dean Griffiths have made Timo Goes Camping a book that any child would love to take on their own camping adventure, as guide (see the illustration below about using a compass), insurance or pleasant diversion.

From Timo Goes Camping by Victoria Allenby, illus. by Dean Griffiths

⛺⛺⛺⛺⛺⛺⛺⛺

Pajama Press has published a delightful readers' guide for Timo Goes Camping which is available for free download at http://pajamapress.ca/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Timo-Goes-Camping_ReadingGuide1.pdf

Fania's Heart

Written by Anne Renaud

Illustrated by Richard Rudnicki

Second Story Press

978-1-77260-057-5

32 pp.

Ages 7-10

March 2018

When a little girl finds an old heart-shaped book wrapped in a lace handkerchief hidden in her mother's dresser, she could not have imagined the horrors her mother would share and the joy and courage that decades old keepsake memorialized.

Words have power.

There are words that injure and words that heal.

Then there are words that can save your life. 

From Fania's Heart by Anne Renaud, illus. by Richard Rudnicki

When a young Sorale discovers that small fabric-covered booklet of heart-shaped pages that open like wings, her mother finally tells the child the truth about the number tattooed on her arm and the origins of the keepsake.  Her mother, Fania Landau Fainer, reveals that she was a prisoner at the Auschwitz concentration camp and that the heart was a birthday gift constructed by the young women who were like sisters to her.  Fania tells Sorale of the horrific life in the camp, including the near starvation, the grim living conditions, the forced labour and the mistreatment.  And she tells her what happened for her 20th birthday.

"...I told my friends I would soon be an old lady, since my twentieth birthday was fast approaching." 

"But twenty is not old," I said.

"Twenty can be a lifetime.  We were all so worn and rope-thin.  People did not live to be old in that place," said my mother.

From Fania's Heart by Anne Renaud, illus. by Richard Rudnicki

In a small cake of scraps of bread rations, Fania's friends hide the special heart-shaped booklet in which they wrote messages of encouragement and wishes for freedom outside of the camp.

"Their words saved me."

Fania's Heart is a true story.  It is Sorale's story of learning at about age 9 (in 1955) about her mother's incarceration at Auschwitz and an act of defiance and love that gave Fania the courage and determination to survive.  That solitary memento is now an exhibit at the Musée Holocauste Montréal (Montreal Holocaust Museum) which will host the book launch for Fania's Heart this weekend.  Not since Second Story Press's publication of Hana's Suitcase (named the Ultimate Silver Birch Book in 2014) will a story of a historical artifact of the Holocaust touch readers with such sadness and humanity.  Author Anne Renaud who effortlessly weaves stories based on history (including the recently reviewed Mr. Crum's Potato Predicament) reveals so much about a mother's relationship with her child and her past, as well as about her own courage and fortitude that Fania's Heart could be envisioned as an illustrated documentary, not just a piece of creative non-fiction to inform and enlighten. Like the little heart that represents so much more than the few words inscribed on pages created out of sacrifice and secrecy, Fania's Heart is a token of appreciation, realistically but emotionally illustrated by Richard Rudnicki, from a time of war atrocities and a time of familial safety.

From Fania's Heart by Anne Renaud, illus. by Richard Rudnicki

Fania's Heart: Book launch (Montreal, QC)

The Montreal Holocaust Museum
(current home of the historic object highlighted in the book) 

and 

Second Story Press

host

the book launch 

for 

Fania's Heart

Written by Anne Renaud

Illustrated by Richard Rudnicki

Second Story Press

978-1-77260-057-5

32 pp.

Ages 7-10

March 2018

on

Sunday, March 25, 2018

2 p.m. Guided tour of museum
3 p.m. Reading by author Anne Renaud and book signing

at

The Montreal Holocaust Museum
5151 ch. de la Cote-Ste-Catherine
Montreal, QC

Here is the blurb about this lovely illustrated true story–which I will review tomorrow–as posted on the publisher's website:

A tiny birthday card, crafted against all odds within the confines of Auschwitz.

Ten-year-old Sorale discovers a tiny heart-shaped book among her mother’s belongings. Its pages are shaped like four-petaled flowers, upon which are written words in languages Sorale does not understand. Who wrote these words? Where did the heart come from? Why has her mother never mentioned this tiny book before? 

Fania’s Heart reveals the true story of the crafting of the heart, against all odds, within the confines of Auschwitz, and of the women of immeasurable resilience, courage, and loyalty who risked their lives for Sorale’s mother, their friend.

Retrieved from https://secondstorypress.ca/kids/fanias-heart on March 21, 2018.

Eden Mills Writers' Festival: 2018 Poetry Contests for young people

Eden Mills Writers' Festival, one of Canada's foremost literary festivals, will be celebrating 30 years of wonderful readings by and discussion panels with Canadian authors of literature.  But the Eden Mills Writers' Festival offers more than an extraordinary contingent of authors whose words fill our idyllic valley just outside of Guelph. It also hosts a number of writing contests, two of which target children and young adults.

For each contest, a Canadian resident may submit one poem no longer than a single page by the May 30, 2018 deadline.  All details regarding the entry form, prizes, and submission are posted at https://edenmillswritersfestival.ca/contests/.

For elementary students, young writers may enter one of three age categories:

• Primary (Grades 1 to 3)
• Junior (Grades 4 to 6)
• Intermediate (Grades 7 to 8)

For high school students, teens may submit their poem to one of two age categories:

• Junior Teen (Grades 9 and 10)
• Senior Teen (Grades 11 and 12)

If you are a teacher in Canada or know of a young person who loves to write poetry, please encourage them to submit a piece (only one poem of maximum one-page length per person) by the deadline of May 30, 2018.  This is a great way to get young people in Canada writing purposefully and showcasing their burgeoning talents, with a chance to win $25 (for children) or $50 (for teens).

See you at the Festival!

Blue Rider

 

Written and illustrated by Geraldo Valério

Groundwood Books

978-1-55498-981-2

44 pp.

Ages 4-7

March 2018

At first glance, Blue Rider might appear to be a story about a blue horse and a child with a book. But Blue Rider, like the early 1900s art movement–Der Blaue Reiter–it honours, is more about a rejection of the norms and finding new worlds of expression, whether through art or story.

From Blue Rider by Geraldo Valério

This is the story of one young child living in a sombrely coloured city, just one face in one room in one building in a city rife with buildings. 

From Blue Rider by Geraldo Valério

Even when they leave the building, the child is but one among the throngs hurrying, talking, using cellphones, bustling, bustling, bustling. Then the child spots a book, a book with a blue horse on the cover, in an opening amidst the crowd.  They grab it and take it up to their room.

From Blue Rider by Geraldo Valério

Opening that book and seeing that magnificent blue horse charging across the page similarly plunges the child into new worlds of colour and bold lines and shapes and new landscapes.  Page after page, the blue horse is transforming, its mane effervescing into comets of colour and audacious shape, morphing into its scenery, illuminating, animating and revitalizing all.  Finally the horse and the scene almost become one, a mix of brightness and bliss.  At that point, the child is seen mounted on the racing horse, while the dull room is transformed with new forms of colour.

Blue Rider is a wordless picture book, the story told solely through Geraldo Valério's illustrations.  What the reader takes from the plot of the book and its artwork is very personal.  Blue Rider may pay homage to Der Blaue Reiter, the avant-garde art movement that focused on distorted abstractions and gave intensity and movement through form and colour, but it’s also about the value of going outside of societal norms to embrace new opportunities and ways of seeing.  It gives the message that conformity may be soul stifling and that, when possibilities present, it is important to seize them as they provide chances to move into new worlds and enhance life. The book the child discovers takes them away temporarily but permanently enhances their world and consequently those of others to one of colour and vivacity. As all readers and art lovers know, art–written, visual and more–can give life and soul to those lost in mass existence, just as a book does for a child in Blue Rider.

From Blue Rider by Geraldo Valério