CM Magazine: CM Volume 1 Number 16

Volume 1 Number 16

September 29, 1995

Table of Contents

From the Editor

Antepenultimate Free Issue!

Book Reviews

Cook and Color.
Shelley Zarenda. Illustrated by the author & Cheryl Kaplan.
Review by Anne Edwardsson.
Grade 2 - 5 / Ages 6 - 9 (with adult supervision).

The Twilight Marsh and Other Wilderness Adventures.
Todd Lee. Illustations by Jim Brennan.
Review by Harriet Zaidman.
Grade 3 - 5 / Ages 8 - 11.

Something Fishy at Macdonald Hall.
Gordon Korman.
Review by Janie Wilkins.
Grades 4 - 8 / Ages 8 - 14.

The Primrose Path.
Carol Matas.
Review by Dave Jenkinson.
Grades 6 - 10 / Ages 11 - 15.

Traveling On into the Light.
Martha Brooks.
Review by Elaine Seepish.
Grades 8 - 13 / Ages 14 - Adult.

Feature

The Great Canadian Trivia Contest.

Advertising Feature

The Primrose Path from Bain & Cox Publishers.

CM
Editor
Duncan Thornton
e-mail: editor@mbnet.mb.ca

CM
Executive Assistant
Peter Tittenberger
e-mail: camera@mbnet.mb.ca

From the Editor

Antepenultimate Free Issue!

We are now only two weeks away from the last isssue of Volume I, and the offical launch of the new CM. After that -- starting with the October 20th issue -- access to CM will require a subscription (free to anyone in Manitoba).

I thought I'd mention this now to give you a bit of warning, so we can process your subscription in time that you don't miss anything, and most importantly, because it gave me the only chance I've ever had to use "antepenultimate" in a headline.

As always, send any comments, complaints, or suggestions to the address beneath my name.

-- Duncan Thornton, Editor
editor@mbnet.mb.ca

Book Review

Cook and Color.

Shelley Zarenda. Illustrated by the author & Cheryl Kaplan.
Regina: Centax Books from Print West Communications.
ISBN: 1-895292-52-2.

Grade 2 - 5 / Ages 6 - 9 (with adult supervision).
Review by Anne Edwardsson.

excerpt:

". . . the following year I decided to accept a specialist position . . . head of cooking classes. I ran this activity many times a day and it became very popular. I enjoyed seeing kids between the ages of 7 and 12 having fun and learning at the same time. We put together our own recipes, learned to substitute for missing or allergic ingredients, and I was able to learn which recipes appealed most to kids of this age group."

Author Shelley Zarenda had a novel idea for her first book: to combine "simple recipes, as wall as appealing pictures for kids to color . . . while waiting for the food to bake, cook, or cool." Therein lies the problem with this cookbook.

The recipes, although short and simple, call for boiling water or syrup, electric mixers (or the ability to cream ingredients with a spoon), rolling pins, kneading, separating eggs, double boilers, and deep fat frying. Recipes are coded to suggest the level of difficulty: One ice-cream cone = easy, two = medium, and three = hard. The people portrayed in the cartoon style illustrations all appear to be teens, who could handle the required tasks and equipment.

If that is the intended audience however, that age group would most likely be turned off with the colouring concept. The artwork itself is not particularly appealing.

Those young enough to want to "color while they wait," will need adult supervision for many of the tasks. They probably won't relate to the teens pictured or be interested in decorating the flags in the International section.

There is a glossary at the beginning of the book and a page entitled Rules For the Cook, which has safety tips. These will only benefit those who pause to read them -- or who can read and comprehend them. Recipes that include boiling liquids have a note at the bottom: "*Boiling syrup can be very dangerous. DO NOT attempt this recipe unless an adult is there to supervise." It would be better to suggest that an adult help with this step. Also, there could be some first aid advice -- for example, if boiling liquid comes in contact with skin, immediately plunge the affected part into ice water. Similarly, in the Rules section it mentions "be extra careful" when "handling knives or other sharp objects," but it doesn't tell you what that involves.

The primary focus of this book is baking. No doubt the cookies, squares, and desserts will delight kids who enjoy sweets. Also included are some international favourites and a play-dough recipe. However, there are only a handful of savory ideas for breakfast and lunch items like pizza bagels, flapjacks, and so on.

The book doesn't provide nutritional breakdowns (grams of fat, etc.), or suggest using whole-wheat flour instead of all-purpose, or substituting egg whites for yolks. There is a table of contents and an index, the text is easy to read, and ingredients are listed in bold print.

Since this cookbook is doubling as a colouring book, it would be a risky purchase for schools or other group purposes. For keen cooks or fans of doodle art, it might work as a stocking stuffer or birthday gift.

Not recommended.

A. Edwardsson is in charge of the Children's Department at a branch of the Winnipeg Public Library. She has a Bachelor of Education degree and a Child Care Worker III certification, and is a member of the Manitoba branch of the Canadian Authors Association.

Book Review

The Twilight Marsh and Other Wilderness Adventures.

Todd Lee. Illustations by Jim Brennan.
Vancouver: Polestar Press, 1995. 92pp, paper, 10.95.
ISBN 1-896095-07-0.

Grade 3 - 5 / Ages 8 - 11.
Review by Harriet Zaidman.

excerpt:

Bob chucked out loud and at once the furry clowns disappeared. For some time we could hear them following along through the rank swamp grass, snorting and blowing.
"They may have young ones somewhere close," Dad explained. "All these antics could have been to divert our attention and lead us away. Still bored?"
"No way!" I replied excitedly. "That was neat."

The Twilight Marsh is the autobiographical account of Todd Lee's childhood in Northern British Columbia. Lee, who passed away this year, was a tremendously prolific writer of six books and more than fourteen hundred published articles and stories. The Twilight Marsh is a sequel to The Snoring Log Mystery, which also documents growing up in the 'twenties and 'thirties in a much less populated B.C..

Lee's recollections are of a time when children were more innocent and families such as his were isolated in the wilds of the Caribou Mountains. He recalls with wonder the excitement of observing animals and birds in their natural habitat, and the difficulties of life in an untamed wilderness. The boys (Gary and Bob) are good friends, and good sons, and the book exudes the warmth of simpler times gone by. The pressures of today's world did not exist. Gary and Bob have time to explore the wilderness, learning and playing at the same time. He relates adventures seeing a moose, an otter, beavers and barn swallows, and describes his amazement at the beauty of wildflowers:
Bob led the way, moving carefully to avoid sinking into the mud. Finally he pushed through a clump of bushes and came to a stop. "There!"
"Wow!" I gasped. I was completely stunned. For a dozen metres in front of me I saw a bright yellow carpet of flowers clustered on long stalks, swaying gracefully in the breeze. It was like a burst of sunshine filling the glade.
"What are they?" I stammered. I had never seen flowers like these before.
"Snapdragons," Bob replied, pleased by my reaction. . . . "Let's take a bouquet to Mom."
The innocence with which this dialogue is written is perhaps the book's downfall. As genuine as it may be, the style is from another era. Though today's kids read artificial dialogue in popular fiction, this is not a book they would pick up on their own because it lacks a current theme. Lee's efforts are not to be dismissed, however. A teacher can make good use of the books to educate students about the Canada of days gone by and about nature study by reading it (especially to younger students) and popularizing it in the classroom. And perhaps teachers should make a point of using the memories of people who experienced the "real thing" so their students can develop an appreciation for the Canadian heritage.

The black and white pen and ink drawings are accurate and appealing.

Recommended with reservations.

Harriet Zaidman is a Winnipeg teacher/librarian.

Book Review

Something Fishy at Macdonald Hall.

Gordon Korman.
New York: Scholastic, 1996. 192pp, cloth, $17.99.
ISBN: 0-590-25521-5.

Grades 4 - 8 / Ages 8 - 14.
Review by Janie Wilkins.

excerpt:

And then the shadows moved.
Bruno and Boots both saw it at the same time. On the front lawn of the school, behind the old War of 1812 cannon, a lone figure emerging from the thicket.
"Let's go!" exclaimed Bruno. He set off at a gallop, Boots hot on his heels. The two boys descended like avenging angels on the front lawn of the school. They were about halfway to the cannon when the black-clad figure saw them coming. The silhouette bolted, running away from the lights of the Faculty Building and melting into the surrounding darkness.
"After him!" shouted Bruno. "Don't let him get away!"

Gordon Korman is back with another novel in his ever-popular "Macdonald Hall" series. Like the previous six Macdonald Hall novels, the plot again revolves around those infamous pranksters Bruno and Boots -- fun-loving best friends who are always finding ways to play a funny gag on someone or bend the rules of their school. Well, a new school year is beginning and the entire gang of regulars have returned to Macdonald Hall for another term of adventure and mayhem.

But this time the practical jokes quickly start to get out of hand, and it soon becomes evident that there is a phantom prankster on the loose who is intent on wreaking havoc on the campus. The phantom carries many of his jokes too far, and always leaves behind a single brown feather as a calling card.

Because of their previous antics, Bruno and Boots are prime suspects, and soon everyone assumes they are the "phantom." The pair realizes that the only way to prove their innocence is to catch the phantom in action.

Bruno and Boots enlist the help of their friends in solving the mystery and soon everyone becomes a suspect -- including Cathy and Diane from Miss Scrimmage's Finishing School for Young Ladies, and Boots's younger brother Edward.

In the end, finding the true identity of the phantom becomes crucial when it looks as if Mr. Sturgeon (the Headmaster, a.k.a. "The Fish") might expel the boys from their beloved school forever. The phantom's jokes have definitely gone too far . . . Can Bruno and Boots catch him in time, or is this the end of their days at Macdonald Hall?

As in other Korman novels, the plot is fast-paced with lots of hilarious twists and turns. Many of the pranks played by the phantom are outrageous or unique. Students will enjoy the humour and also the sense of mystery: there is enough suspense to keep the story interesting and the book is not as predictable as one might expect. And the ending, where the identity of the phantom is finally exposed, is indeed surprising.

Children and young adults can easily identify with the characters Korman has created. Most of them have both a sense of spunk and adventure and a blend of respect and irreverence for the adults in their life. Many of the characters -- especially the adults -- are stereotyped and one-dimensional, but they are characters the intended audience will enjoy.

Korman is a master at appealing to this audience; he can write at their level without writing down to them. Something Fishy at Macdonald Hall is ideal for students in the upper junior grades, but could just as easily be enjoyed by intermediate students looking for a quick, light read.

This novel would be a useful addition to any library or classroom as it will be a high-circulation item. But you might want to consider waiting a few months for the paperback version and then buying multiple copies: Korman has a large following and anything he writes is sure to be popular with his fans.

Recommended.

Janie Wilkins is currently on leave from her position as an elementary school teacher in Kingston, Ontario to earn a Masters of Library and Information Science from the University of Western Ontario.

Book Review

The Primrose Path.

Carol Matas.
Winnipeg: Bain & Cox, 1995. 152pp, paper, $9.95.
ISBN 0-921368-55-0. CIP.

Grades 6 - 10 / Ages 11 - 15.
Review by Dave Jenkinson.

As in Sworn Enemies and The Burning Time, Carol Matas again displays her ability to spin a good story while writing about tough, hard hitting subject matter. Teen readers will profit greatly by pausing to read the brief quotation from Hamlet that precedes the opening chapter. Ophelia's concern about pastors who preach to others "the steep and thorny way to Heaven," while treading "the primrose path" of pleasure themselves, foreshadows the book's contents.

Like Ask Me No Questions by Linda Phillips, Peter Ringrose, and Michael Winter, the major focus of The Primrose Path is juvenile sexual abuse, but here the abuser is not a parent but another trusted adult, a Rabbi. Matas creates a convincing chain of events leading to the abuse. Following the death of her maternal grandmother, and as a new school year looms, Debbie Mazur, fourteen, moves with her family from the West coast to the East. Debbie's mother, still grieving, finds emotional solace in the charismatic Rabbi of a neighbourhood Orthodox synagogue and decides that Debbie would benefit academically by attending the attached Hebrew school.

As the Mazurs had previously gone to a Reform temple, Debbie initially rebels and feels alienated by the unfamiliar Orthodox rituals and observances. Debbie's attitudes change, though, when she is befriended by four fellow grade-nine girls who seem to enjoy a special relationship with Rabbi Werner, their handsome Hebrew teacher. Werner is also the school's principal -- and the same rabbi who has been providing such support for her mother. But as Debbie comes to discover personally, while tickling and romping with the girls, Rabbi Werner "accidentally" touches their breasts. At first Debbie is embarrassed and tries to explain away the touching, but when Rabbi Werner eventually extends his "tickling" to her "privates," she recognizes his behaviour to be clearly inappropriate.

Matas effectively captures the young teen's ongoing emotional confusion; because she initially enjoys and even wants the Rabbi's attentions, Debbie vacillates about what to do. When she finally confides in her father, Debbie only tells him about the Rabbi's hugging and non-sexual tickling. Though she insists her father take no action, her limited disclosure sets in motion a series of events that culminates in Rabbi Werner having to appear before his board to answer not only Debbie's charges but those of others as well.

Some adults wanting "justice" may be disappointed by the book's ending, for the wrongdoer is not clearly punished; however, Matas realistically reveals what can occur when questions of morality become tangled in adult "politics" and reputation. Matas also adds to the book's impact by entwining Debbie's problems with her parents' marital difficulties. The troubled family situation increases Debbie's vulnerability and limits her parents' ability to respond concertedly.

To help readers unfamiliar with the Jewish faith, Matas provides a six-page glossary of terms encountered in the story.

An excerpt of The Primrose Path appeared in Volume 1, Number 15 of CM magazine.

Highly recommended.

Dave Jenkinson teaches courses in children's and Young Adult literature in the Faculty of Education at the University of Manitoba.

This issue's advertising feature from Bain & Cox Publishers contains ordering information and more material on The Primrose Path.

Book Review

Traveling On into the Light.

Martha Brooks.
Vancouver: Groundwood, 1994. 146pp.
Cloth, 16.95. ISBN 0-88899-220-3.
Paper, 7.95. ISBN 0-88899-237-8.

Grades 8 - 13 / Ages 14 - Adult.
Review by Elaine Seepish.

This is one of those collections of stories that you hate to see come to an end. Brooks captures moments in the lives of young people and skilfully takes the reader "into the light" of their experiences.

We see here kids in trouble, alone, searching, hurting. Sensitive kids who see through the shallowness of some of the adults around them. Kids in the throes of new love and wondering about where relationships will lead. Brooks has a gift for dialogue and delivering first person narrations that feel real.

Especially welcome is a trio of connected stories about characters from her novel Two Moons in August (which I also hated to see end!).

Travelling On into the Light was included in the 1994 Canadian "Notables" list.

Highly recommended for senior and mature junior-high students.

Elaine Seepish is Information Specialist at Instructional Resources Unit, Manitoba Education and Training.

Feature

The Great Canadian Trivia Challenge

Steve Caldwell, the coordinator of the Triva Challenge, has been kind enough to give CM permission to run his weekly Great Canadian Trivia Contest, a great way to motivate students to spend some time in the Library. Here's this week's question, the answers and winners from September 11, and how the contest works:

THIS WEEK'S QUESTION:

This year, for the first time, a Canadian won the Indy Car auto racing championship. The Indy Car championship, for 1995, was a series of 17 races: 1 in Australia, 2 in Canada and 14, including the Indianapolis 500, in the United States.
What is the name of this young Canadian?

Bonus question: The answer to the above question is the fourth Canadian to win an Indy Car race.
What was the name of the first Canadian to win an Indy Car race?

SEND IN YOUR ANSWERS:

Remember, don't post your answers to CM. Instead, send your answers to Steve Caldwell at one of the following e-mail addresses (if possible please use the first of these addresses as The Village is having a few problems):

Steve_Caldwell@colby.on. infoshare.ca
or
stepcald@village.ca

In addition to your e-mail address, please send us your school's name and the grade and/or class that you are in, as well as your postal address.

September 11's Question was:

This is a two-parter. Both parts must be answered correctly to receive credit:

Premier Parizeau of Quebec recently announced the wording for the question to be asked in Quebec's referendum on sovereignty. This is the second referendum to take place in Quebec over the issue of sovereignty.

  1. In what year did the first referendum take place?
  2. What percentage of the vote, plus or minus 1%, did each side receive?
ANSWER:
  1. In May 1980 the people of Quebec voted on a question which was 107 words in length. Essentially it defined sovereignty association and asked the voters to give the government of Quebec permission to negotiate sovereignty association with Canada.
  2. The result of the vote, to the nearest percentage, was -- No: 60% Yes: 40%.

WINNERS:

  1. Ms. Bass's Grade 10 English class, R.D. Parker Collegiate: Thompson, Manitoba.
  2. Chris Maier, Grade 12, Colonel By Secondary School: Gloucester, Ontario.
  3. The Grade 9 class, Vancouver Christian School: Vancouver, British Columbia.
  4. Tim Atlee & Jon Fairbridge, F.R. Haythorne Junior High School: Sherwood Park, Alberta.
  5. Jenny Newman & Nicole Laderoute, F.R. Haythorne Junior High School: Sherwood Park, Alberta.
  6. Ana Tataris, Melanie Sher, Jonathan Shulak, Grade 7 ALP, Lindsay Place High School: Pointe Claire, Quebec.
  7. Jane Scaplan's Grade 6 French Immersion class, Sacred Heart Elementary School: Marystown, Newfoundland.
  8. Lee Shalon, Yorkhill Elementary School: Thornhill, Ontario

about THE GREAT CANADIAN TRIVIA CONTEST:

IT'S BACK!

Welcome to the second year of The Great Canadian Trivia Contest.

The History Department of Colonel By Secondary School in Ottawa, Ontario is sponsoring a Canadian Studies Internet trivia contest.

This contest is designed to appeal to students in Grades 7 - 10 although other grades are more than welcome to participate.

INFORMATION:

Each week a new question will be presented. Students participating in the contest will, in all likelihood, have to do some research to find the correct answer to our weekly question.

Questions are based on some aspect of Canadian Studies. Questions will include the subjects of history, geography, culture, natural science, sports, current events, law and any other aspect of Canadian studies that we can think of.

A new question will be posted every Friday in CM (the trivia contest is also distributed through Schoolnet a few days earlier). Answers must be received by 8:00 a.m. eastern time a week from the following Saturday. Answers will be tabulated, and the correct answer, along with the winners' names, will be posted in two weeks. Thus, there will be a new question each week while the answer and winners will be posted two weeks later.

We plan on offering a few nominal prizes so make sure you let us know where we can reach you. We would also like participants to let us know if they are entering as an individual, a group, or if they are representing a particular class and school. We will try to award prizes for individuals/groups and classes.

Last year we had participants from across Canada and the United States and as far away as China. We welcome all new participants as well as our returning veteran contestants.

Advertising Feature

Bain & Cox Publishers

The Primrose Path

by Carol Matas

Everyone says, tell the truth. But for Debbie telling the truth could turn everything she loves -- her parents, her new friends, her community -- upside down and even against her.

Especially when that truth involves a powerful figure in her community whose attention she once sought out so trustingly -- a man so well respected that even to question his motives is unthinkable.

Debbie's life lately has been full of upheaval: her parents aren't happy, she moves to a new city, she must leave her best friend behind and start at a new school -- but just when it seems she has survived all that change and she begins to love her new school and her new friends, something so upsetting happens that Debbie must make a decision which, either way, may cost her dearly!

In The Primrose Path, Carol Matas explores the dark side of a charismatic leader through the eyes of Debbie, a young teenager coming of age during a pivotal period of her life. It is a story of change and survival as Debbie's community learns to draw on its strengths and unite to restore a young person's faith.

Carol Matas' novels for young adults draw high praise from both her readers and critics. Her novels, Daniel's Story (commissioned by the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum) and The Burning Time, were recently nominated for the Governor General's Award; Lisa and Sworn Enemies were both winners of the Sydney Taylor Award. Carol is currently at work on another historical novel and a sequel (with Perry Nodelman) to the fantasy novel Of Two Minds.

$9.95 paper,
ISBN 0-921368-55-0
136 pp / YA

You can read an excerpt of Chapter Two of The Primrose Path, or read a review of The Primrose Path in CM Volume 1, Number 16.

For more information on Bain & Cox Publishers or to order The Primrose Path:

e-mail: Bain & Cox

phone: (204) 775-2923

or write:

Bain & Cox Publishers
73 Furby Street
Winnipeg, Canada R3C 2A2

Copyright © 1995 the Manitoba Library Association. Reproduction for personal use is permitted only if this copyright notice is maintained. Any other reproduction is prohibited without permission.

Published by
The Manitoba Library Association
ISSN 1201-9364

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