Table of Contents
Book Reviews
What Faust Saw.
- Written and illustrated by Matt Ottley.
- Review by Diane Fitzgerald.
- Preschool - Grade 2 / Ages 2 - 6.
Flikka and the Prince Edward Island Mystery.
- Hazel Birt.
- Review by Donna J. Adrian.
- Grades 3 - 8 / Ages 8 - 14.
- A Time to Choose.
- Martha Attema.
- Review by Michele F. Kallio.
- Grades 7 and Up / Ages 11 and Up.
- The Children of China:
- An Artist's Journey.
- Song Nan Zhang.
- Review by Donna J. Adrian.
- Grades 7 and Up / Ages 12 and Up.
- Criminal acts 1:
-
the Canadian true crime annual..
- Allan Gould.
- Review by Neil V. Payne.
- Grades 9 - 13 / Ages 13 - Adult.
- Writing a Life: L.M. Montgomery.
- Mary Rubio and Elizabeth Waterston.
- Review by Deborah Mervold.
- Grades 9 and Up / Ages 14 and Up.
- Man-S-Laughter.
- Ellen Frith.
- Review by Pat Bolger.
- Grades 10 and Up / Ages 14 and Up.
Features
Notable Web Sites
- Collaborative Book Review Project
- The Great Canadian Trivia Contest
- The Little Math Puzzle
News: Manitoba
- Manitoba Young Reader's Choice Award Luncheon
From the Editor
This issue marks the beginning of CM's expanded coverage; in addition to continuing to attempt to review Canadian materials comprehensively, we are adding reviews of international titles.
There are a few reasons for the change. From a readership perspective, Canadian schools and libraries must make purchase decisions about international as well as domestic titles, but CM was only presenting one part of the story. We also have a growing international readership.
And from a publishing perspective, many Canadian publishing houses also act as distributors for foreign titles -- it doesn't make sense to tell them that they can market some of their books to CM but not others.
There are two important things to note about how we're doing this. First, international titles will be marked off in the Table of Contents with this:
At the same time, Canadian titles will be, uh, flagged with:
So there'll never be a confusion about whether a title is foreign or domestic. Second, we're not cutting back on Canadian reviews, just adding international coverage as well. We won't drop below six Canadian titles a week, and we'll never have more than 40% international content.
Finally, let me say that our first international title, What Faust Saw, from Australia's Hodder Children's books, was one of the best picture books of 1995. It's a pleasure to be able to present a review of it in CM.
If you have any comments or questions, just send e-mail to the address beneath my name.
-- Duncan Thornton
cmeditor@mts.net
Book Review
What Faust Saw.
Written and Illustrated by Matt Ottley.
Rydalmere, NSW, Australia: Hodder, 1995. 32pp, cloth, $19.95.
Distributed in Canada by Raincoast Books.
ISBN 0-77336-0096-4.
Preschool - Grade 2 / Ages 2 - 6.
Review by Diane Fitzgerald.
excerpt:
One night Faust woke up, looked out the window and . . . saw something
very strange.
He tried to wake up Mum . . . and Isabelle . . . and
Clayton . . . even Dad. But they didn't seem to want to WAKE
UP.
What Faust Saw is Australian writer, illustrator, and
composer Matt Ottley's second picture book. Faust is a large hound dog
who wakes up at night to see invaders from outer space land and start to
creep about town. The invaders are truly, inventively, alien -- a mix-up
of plants, dinosaurs, bugs, and pretty much everything else -- and comic
rather than frightening or bizarre.
Good dog that he is, Faust tries to wake his masters -- he brushes
his ears on their faces, sits on their heads, licks their feet, even
pulls the covers off the bed. Nothing works until Faust begins howling in
terror.
But waking the family just makes things worse, because the invaders
hide whenever anyone but Faust is looking. Children will be amused by the
illustrations that clearly show the huge aliens -- some as large as a
brontosaurus -- hiding behind fences, hedges, even other houses, while
Dad, out on the lawn in his pyjamas, looks in all the wrong directions.
Fed up with Faust's seemingly irrational behaviour, his family puts him
outside for the night. Where the aliens are.
Faust decides to run away ("Then they'd be sorry"), but the
aliens pursue him until he finally turns and barks at the them to "Go
away!" The aliens are taken aback, but Faust's bark is so loud that
it attracts the attention of the dog-catcher, who impounds him, where he
is, at least, safe for the night. . . .
In the morning when his family comes to get him, "Faust decided to
forgive them and go home. He also decided that the next time he woke up
and saw something strange . . . he would go back to sleep."
Children, so often unable to communicate their reality to adults,
will enjoy identifying with Faust. And any child fond of animals will
appreciate the illustrations; Faust is not only an excellent comic
character but a very well-observed dog.
Ottley's aliens are just as well done -- weird enough to show why
they would alarm Faust, but appealing and funny in their own right. The
illustrations in general (done as oil-paintings) are full of comic detail
that will continue to give even very young children pleasure for many
readings. And the type twists playfully over the pages, shrinking and
growing to match Faust's alarms and frustrations.
Highly recommended.
Diane Fitzgerald is an elementary-school teacher in Saskatoon.
Book Review
Flikka and the Prince Edward Island Mystery.
Hazel Birt.
Winnipeg: Hazlyn Press, 1995. 150pp, paper, $12.95.
ISBN 0-969-3024-7-9.
Grades 3 - 8 / Ages 8 - 14.
Review by Donna J. Adrian.
While exploring the woods near her Aunt Sanna's home in Prince Edward
Island, her Aunt's cat brings eleven-year-old Flikka a ruby and diamond
necklace. Flikka and her new friend Jay Dee return the necklace to its
owner. She tells the friends that her father had buried the family jewels
and that they had never been found.
In searching through the family mansion, the children find a map and
the hunt is on. A frightening "Dark Stranger" keeps watch on their
activity until Flikka draws his picture for the police and he is
identified. With the cat as their saviour, the children find the treasure
and return it.
Despite the superb accompanying pen-and-ink drawings, the story is
episodic and predictable. There are several chapters that add local
colour -- emphasizing that the setting is real -- but do little to
advance the plot. And Birt's use of dialect is irritating.
But a far more serious defect appears early on:
"Aunt Sanna! Aunt Sanna!" cried Flikka hurrying around the side of
the school, "Did you see that? Did you see how that dark stranger stared
at me?"
"Who stared? Where?" Bewildered, Aunt Sanna looked up from cleaning
her brushes on an old paint rag.
"It was a man riding a bike. A stranger. He looked half-mad!"
"Now, now Flikka, we get a lot of bikers going through here on
their way to the Magdelene Island Ferry. Often they are French people.
Did he look French?"
Does the author truly mean that French people can be identified by looks?
Or that French people, (or bikers) regularly seem half-mad? I truly hope
not.
Unacceptable.
Not recommended.
Donna J. Adrian is a Library Coordinator for the Laurenval School
Board in Quebec.
Book Review
A Time to Choose.
Martha Attema.
Victoria: Orca Book Publishers, 1995. 166pp, paper, $7.95.
ISBN 1-55143-045-2.
Grades 7 and Up / Ages 11 and Up.
Review by Michele F. Kallio.
excerpt:
At that time it hadn't bothered Johannes that his father was a
member of the National Socialist Movement, the only political party
allowed under German occupation. Modelled after the German Nazi party,
the organization was run by Dutch ministers, but was completely under
German control. At first many believed that a better economy would solve
the country's problems. As a result, most farmers became members of the
National Socialist Movement. There were real benefits. The Germans paid
good money for dairy and grain products. Uncle Jan, father's oldest
brother always said, "Hitler pays more for our products than the Queen
ever did." Uncle Jan was a faithful party member.
But as time passed and the war showed no signs of ending, people
began to realize that the Germans were not always that reliable. For one
thing, they paid with money that was worthless. Now, the benefits were
not so clear. Many farmers terminated their membership in the
movement.
Johannes wished his father had given up his membership and joined
the resistance. At first he hadn't seen his father as a traitor. But in
the last two years Johannes had begun to worry. More and more people were
working in the resistance. Now he often wondered if his father was an
informer.
Attema's first novel for young people -- the story of sixteen-year-old
Johannes van der Meer's coming of age in the last years of World War II
-- is an excellent read. Attema evokes the Netherlands of her childhood
with vivid descriptions of farm life in Friesland province.
Readers are drawn into Johannes's uncertainty over how to prove
himself to friends and neighbours. When his best friend joins the Dutch
resistance, Johannes has a chance to prove his loyalty. Torn between love
of country and love for his father, 1944 is indeed a "time to choose"
for Johannes.
The story's mood and flow are consistent throughout. A glossary is
included to explain special terms and aid in pronouncing names. The
attractive lay-out and the well-designed cover illustration (of Johannes
overhearing his father talking with a German officer) are appealing, and
may pique the interest of some who might not ordinarily read a book on
this subject.
A Time to Choose will be an excellent resource for
studies concerning Canadian participation in the liberation of the
Netherlands in 1944-45.
While the book is intended for ages eleven to fourteen, it will
appeal to older readers as well.
Recommended.
Michele F. Kallio is a former teacher/librarian living in Blacks
Harbour, New Brunswick.
Book Review
The Children of China:
An Artist's Journey.
Song Nan Zhang.
Montreal: Tundra Books, 1995. 32pp, cloth, $19.95.
ISBN 0-88776-363-4. CIP.
Grades 7 and Up / Ages 12 and Up.
Review by Donna J. Adrian.
Song Nan Zhang, a former art professor at the Central Institute of Fine
Arts in Beijing, survived the repressive grey society and "re-education"
of Mao Tse-Tung's cultural revolution by dreaming of the freedom of the
nomadic people of China and their colourful costumes. When freed, he
travelled the Silk Road of China and visited these peoples, absorbing the
colour and glow of the children, sketching and photographing them, and
then re-creating their lives in these fifteen beautiful paintings.
This personal journey combines the past with the present, and evokes
the joy of childhood, the daily life of the young nomads, their colourful
clothing, and their freedom. The first and last pictures in the book are
of Zhang's son -- taking his first steps in front of the Sun Temple Park,
and on his father's shoulders, looking triumphantly at the world. Between
are drawings of nomadic children, and their families: riding, playing,
dreaming, tending animals -- each one reflecting freedom and acceptance
of life.
The backgrounds of the paintings reflect the decorative world of the
Orient -- its colour, patterns, and costumes. They combine nature,
people, clothing, history, and tradition. The paintings are realistic,
balanced, and full of intricate detail. Each season of the year is
represented, along with home life and festivals. Faces and activities are
as common and as different as people and nationalities are.
Some paintings are as delicate as impressionist art, others exotic
and oriental. Animals in the paintings are worthy of a Bateman.
The accompanying text is effective story, which enhances the
paintings, explaining the background of the painting and the people.
The book can be used for art, for history, and for social life and
customs of China.
Superb!
Highly recommended
Donna J. Adrian is a Library Coordinator for the Laurenval School
Board in Quebec.
Book Review
Criminal acts 1:
the Canadian true crime annual.
Allan Gould.
Toronto: Macmillan, 1994. 199pp, paper, $14.95.
ISBN 0-7715-9068-7. No CIP.
Grades 10 - 13 / Ages 14 and Up.
Review by Neil V. Payne.
excerpt:
Vancouver, January
UGLY VIOLENCE IN VANCOUVER
It was all a set-up. Parminder Chana got a phone call in his car at 9:00
p.m. from a friend, saying he had to see the man right away, and they
should meet at the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia salvage yard
in New Westminster, where the twenty-one-year-old worked as a night
security guard.
When Chana got to the yard, he was wrestled to the ground and
stabbed, and the following morning his body was found floating in a ditch
nearby. His throat slit, his fingers amputated and his body stabbed
fifty-three times.
Four days later, Chana's seventeen-year-old girlfriend, Jassy Benji,
jumped to her death from the Pattullo Bridge, leaving a suicide note that
read: "When Parmar died, I died."
In the trial, the court learned that Jassy's brother, Rajinder, had
killed Chana because he frowned on his sister dating the man. Faisel Ali
Dean was convicted of second-degree murder after his girlfriend admitted
that he had bragged to her about holding Chana down while Rajinder Benji
stabbed him. Faisel was expected to be sentenced in February.
Gould has set himself the task "to try to capture a year of Crime and
Justice in Canada." This is a large job that could provide a
valuable source of information for both interested readers and students
studying a wide range of related topics.
The author collected his information from a systematic reading of
Canadian newspapers, then distilled the data into a brief chronological
account of each case.
The book itself is organised chronologically, with each case
assigned to the date it came to the author's attention -- in some cases
the date of the crime, in others the date of an arrest; in some the trial
date, or the date of a trial judgement. Each case, once started, is
reported to its completion before another is started.
Interspersed on the pages, with no apparent organization, are
occasional boxes of interesting information about Canadian law, public
opinion, survey results, statistics, and so on.
The book is written in a breezy, fast-paced style that makes
interesting light reading -- like a supermarket tabloids. Criminal
acts 1 is certainly entertaining, but anyone hoping to use it as
a source of reliable information will be totally frustrated.
There is an endless stream of facts, statistics, and quotations in
this book, yet nowhere is any source cited. The "tens of thousands of
newspapers'' searched for information all remain nameless. Surveys,
studies, and sources of statistics presented, if identified at all, are
vaguely attributed to "an Angus Reid poll," "a Statistics Canada
release," or "according to Canada-wide studies."
There is no index provided to names of the accused or the victims,
the type of crime, categories of statistics, or anything else. Readers
searching for a particular case must scan every page to find the
relevant sections.
Criminal acts 1 is replete with unsubstantiated
opinion, editorializing, and emotional catch-phrases. And since the
sources are not cited the reader has no way to evaluate whether the
account is complete, fair, or even truthful.
Karla Homolka graces the cover in living colour beside a brilliant
yellow upper right corner that promises the book "chronicles the
Homolka/Bernardo case." That was no doubt good for sales, but it fails to mention that coverage of the case only goes as far as Karla's conviction
and the media ban.
The idea of Criminal acts is a good one, and the book
could have provided a valuable summary of crime and justice in Canada, a
starting point for many essays and assignments, or a quick reference to
the basic facts of any case or issue in Canadian law. With solid
research, factual rather than opinion-based reporting, careful citing of
sources, and an extensive index, this could have filled a very real gap
in the information available in this area of vital concern.
Unfortunately, in its present form, if it were a Grade 10
assignment, it would earn a "D" and the comment, "this assignment is
poorly organized and incomplete -- I know you can do much better."
Not recommended.
Neil V. Payne is a teacher-librarian at Kingston Collegiate in
Kingston
Ontario.
Book Review
Writing a Life: L.M. Montgomery.
Mary Rubio and Elizabeth Waterston.
Toronto: ECW Press, 1995. 135 pp. paper, $14.95.
ISBN 1-55022-220-1.
Grades 9 and Up / Ages 14 and Up.
Review by Deborah Mervold.
excerpt:
If her novels contain hidden rebellion, her journals pulse with open
resistance, resentment, and depression at the structures of daily life
that caught her ambition in cobwebs. She felt trapped in her marriage,
confined by motherhood, and bound by the need to present a smiling face
of domestic happiness in accord with the romantic novels she was
producing. She was fettered by her own popularity and by the need to
maintain her success in order to supplement her husband's income as a
poorly paid country parson. And she was caught, perhaps unawares, in
another trap; her own facility in creating narratives. To keep her secret
journal going, she unconsciously adapted her life to her narrative skill.
Gradually she began to make life-choices shaped to fit the kind of story
she was prepared to tell in that journal.
So Montgomery's gift for storytelling both twisted and reinforced
the tangled threads of her life. She never undervalued that gift; it
helped her endure considerable trials, which she was then able to convert
into amusing anecdotes and engaging plots. For her writing was a refuge,
a solace, and a joy. . . . Her words have brought pleasure to many, for
through them Montgomery created a circle of friends, a ring of laughter,
and a sense of place.
To an avid L.M. Montgomery fan, this biography provides an unusual glance
into the popular writer and the private person. The contrast between the
painful events recorded in her journal and her optimistic novels and
characters give the reader an understanding of both Montgomery as she
was, and as she wished to be. To anyone unfamiliar with Anne, Emily, Pat,
and Montgomery's many other characters, this biography will encourage
reading and study of this well-loved Canadian author.
The chronological summary that concludes the work is both
interesting and helpful to the reader. It would be a useful reference
when selecting the order in which to read, or re-read, the Montgomery
novels. The extensive list of consulted works would also be helpful in
further study. Photographs add authenticity to the research done by Rubio
and Waterston.
Mary Rubio and Elizabeth Waterston, professors at the University of
Guelph, are co-editors of The Selected Journals of L.M.Montgomery,
Volumes 1, 2, and 3, as well as many other works on
Montgomery. They present a compelling life-story that neither embellishes
nor hides the facts.
Rubio and Waterston have divided the biography into small sections
with headings rather than chapters. The Introduction is the first
section, "The Storyteller's Gift," which leads into "A Story Girl,"
"Western Trip and First Publication," and so on. The problems Montgomery
encounters with her American publisher make for interesting reading, and
the publishing and financial information make this biography more than
merely a record of the events in Montgomery's life.
But the real pull of the work is the blend of Montgomery's personal
and writing life, and the comparison of her journal to her fictional
writing. The readable style and detailed research make this a most
enjoyable study of a writer admired for the heroines she gave to Canadian
literature.
Highly recommended.
Deborah Mervold is a Teacher/Librarian in Shellbrook, Saskatchewan.
Book Review
Man-S-Laughter.
Ellen Frith.
Lantzville, B.C.: Oolichan Books, 1995. 265pp, paper, $l4.95.
ISBN 0-88982-147-X.
Grades 10 and Up / Ages 14 and Up.
Review by Pat Bolger.
excerpt:
Raymonde stood in the middle of the living room stark naked and
bright pink from her hot bath. Stretched out towards William. her
pregnant belly flaunted its protruding navel and its stripe of darkened
skin like a zipper from her breast bone to her pubic hair. William
couldn't fail to notice that that hair had grown back darker, lusher and
more dangerous-looking than ever. . . . Did Raymonde have no shame, he
thought, shuddering, Her old art students would have jumped up and
applauded and cried, "Magnificent!" William, however, could only recoil
in horror. He emitted a little shriek of horror similar to the one he
gave when his shower went cold, and as Raymonde spun around in a jiggling
little dance, crying, "Do you like it?" he fainted. On his way out the
window, the Canadian flag floated free and was later found by three small
boys on a street several blocks away. They took it home to their father,
a staunch Quebec nationalist who cut it up and, bit by bit, burned it in
an ashtray.
Frith makes good use of this sort of deadpan delivery throughout
Man-S-Laughter, undercutting dramatic events with mundane
details like the ardent nationalist burning the late William's flag in an
ashtray. This matter-of-fact tone helps the reader to accept for the
moment the strong element of unreality that characterises both the events
and the characters in the novel.
So characters like the first of Raymonde's doomed husbands acquire a
degree of believability, although the reader still wonders why
anyone would marry Morris Harris, alias Raspberry Mahogany, who
made a habit of teetering on the edge of subway platforms to frighten
bystanders -- until the shocking accident. On the other hand, the
dispassionate tone also makes even the central characters so flat that it
is difficult to care much what happens to Raymonde, her husbands,
children, and friends.
Frith maintains the suspense well, only very gradually revealing
that the apparently innocent and childlike Raymonde has murdered all of
her husbands. The heavy use of flashbacks, rarely in chronological order,
introduces a chaotic element likely to challenge the patience of many
readers.
The cover image, which effectively suggests the novel's emphasis on
the grotesque, is more likely to repel than attract adolescents.
Not recommended.
Pat Bolger is a retired Teacher/Librarian living in Renfrew,
Ontario.
Notable Web Sites
Every week, CM presents a brief collection of noteworthy, useful, or just
interesting sites
we've turned up and actually checked.
Please send us URLs and evaluations of any
web-sites you think deserve the exposure.
Spending too much time on the Web can result in the loss of friends, muscle tone, and pleasant body odour.
- The Tele-Garden
- http://www.usc.edu/dept/garden/
- What's the best thing about science? That's right, robots. This site lets you actually manipulate a gardening robot with an attached camera in another part of the world. Get involved and they'll even let you plant seeds and water the garden.
- Writers in Electronic Residence
-
http://www.edu.yorku.ca/~WIER/
- You still have a week to get your students involved signed up for the Winter term of this program. Their work could be looked at (electronically) by an impressive list of Canadian writers. Just in the secondary school program of WIER, for example, the writers are Susan Musgrave, Trevor Ferguson, and John Gray.
- The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World
- http://pharos.bu.edu/Egypt/Wonders/
- This popular site is immensely well done, a great resource for history and archeology.
The final list of the Seven Wonders was compiled during the Middle Ages. The list comprised the seven most impressive monuments of the Ancient World, some of which barely survived to the Middle Ages. Others did not even co-exist. Among the oldest references to the canonical list are the engravings by the Dutch artist Maerten van Heemskerck (1498-1574), and Johann Fischer von Erlach's History of Architecture.
The site covers the history and background of Seven Wonders individually and collectively, with plenty of hypertext links for deeper information on sub-topics. It's also well-designed, and includes attractive images of the Wonders (disclaimer: "Note: The color painting at the top of the page is of artistic nature and does not necessarily represent an accurate reconstruction of the Wonder")
- AUFORA - UFO Information
- http://ume.med.ucalgary.ca/~watanabe/info/info.html
- AUFORA is The Alberta UFO Research Association. Okay, let's get this straight: there are no alien visitors, and X-Files is not taken from actual U.S. government reports. But there's something fun about UFOs, and AUFORA is one of the more credible kinds of groups that tries to seriously investigate the legitimate phenomenon of UFO sightings. This page has a place to report sightings, links to other UFO pages, and actual pictures of aliens, crop circles, UFOs, and so on (disclaimer: "AUFORA can not guarantee the verity of all pictures").
- SCIENCE THEATER
- http://www.ncsa.uiuc.edu/Cyberia/Expo/theater.html
- This site, from the University of Illinois, requires a bit of patience, but it's worth it for video clips of, for example, "3-D Colliding Black Holes." Also the end of the universe, and more! If you get the feeling that American universities have more money than ours do, you're right; when I was at UIUC in person there were lounges with leather chairs for undergrads.
Copyright © 1996 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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