Mister Got To Go - The cat that wouldn't leave.
How Smudge Came.
Toots and the Upside Down House.
Elephants.
The Secret Under the Whirlpool.
Colouring the Road - Adventures in Everyday Life.
If Sarah Will Take Me.
Dead Man's Ticket.
Death in October.
Over the Top of the World - Explorer Will Steger's Trek across the
Arctic.
Lois Simmie. Illustrated by Cynthia Nugent.
Red Deer, AB; Red Deer College Press, 1995.
32pp., paper, $8.95.
ISBN 0-88995-157-8.
Grades K - 3 / Ages 5 - 8.
Review by Leslie Millar.
*** /4
excerpt:
"My word," he said when he saw the cat. "You are a sorry, soggy sight." He opened the window and the cat stepped in. "You can stay until the rain stops," he said, shutting the window, "Then you've got to go." Mr. Foster was the hotel manager and was used to giving orders. The cat sat down on the wide windowsill and began to lick the rain off his thick, gray fur. He was smiling all over inside himself, for he knew from the moment he stepped inside the Sylvia Hotel that he was a stray cat no longer.
All of Lois Simmie's children's books have received the Canadian Children's Book Centre "Our Choice" award. The Saskatoon writer's other works include Auntie's Knitting a Baby, An Armadillo is Not a Pillow, and What Holds Up the Moon?
Mister Got To Go, based on a charming and true story, tells of a stray cat that wanders into Vancouver's Sylvia Hotel one rainy night. Mr. Foster, the hotel manager, says, "'That cat's got to go' as soon as it stops raining." Seven years later, he is still saying, " That cat's got to go," but Got to Go has become the cat's name and the Sylvia Hotel, his home. Got to Go soon earns his keep as a dog detector - dogs are not allowed at the Sylvia - and hotel mascot. There is also a raucous epic battle between Got to Go and a racoon. This likeable tale will be appreciated by children as young as five. The language and storyline are fairly straightforward and could be read independently by students in grades two and three. The only problem, possibly due to its 'true story' origins, is a narrative which lacks depth and verges on being sentimental. Cynthia Nugent's beautiful watercolours are packed with humorous detail that all ages will enjoy. The lush, rain-soaked urban landscape of Vancouver and the hotel's quaint atmosphere are vividly conveyed. Nugent's characters, particularly Mr. Foster, exude kindness and good humour. The book is as comfortable as an old chair . . . perhaps like one you might find in the lobby of the Sylvia Hotel.
Recommended.
Leslie Millar is a mother and substitute teacher.
Nan Gregory. Illustrated by Ron Lightburn.
Red Deer, AB: Red Deer College Press, 1995.
32pp., paper, $9.95.
ISBN 0-88995-161-6.
Grades K - 3 / Ages 5 - 8.
Review by Leslie Millar.
**** /4
excerpt:
Cindy puts the puppy on Jan's bed.
"Oh my, oh my. A puppy."
"Can you see him?"
"Not really. Just a smudge in the dark." Cindy smiles her slow smile.
"Same when I first saw him. Smudge-in-the-dark."
Nan Gregory has received much acclaim for her children's story, How Smudge Came. It has won both the Mr. Christie's Book Award for Best Canadian Children's Book and a B.C. Book Prize. It has also been honoured as an "Our Choice" selection of the Canadian Children's Book Centre and was placed on the American Bookseller's Pick of the Lists.
The protaganist, Cindy, who appears to have Down's Syndrome, lives in a group home and works as a cleaner in a hospice. One day she finds a puppy and attempts to keep him, secretly. She hides him in her room and takes him to work with her where he is named Smudge by one of the residents. Her secret is discovered, and Smudge is whisked away to the S.P.C.A. by the powers-that-be at the group home. The joy and love of life that a small creature like a puppy can inspire are celebrated against the darker backdrop of early death (the hospice residents) and lack of freedom that living with a mental disability can entail (Cindy's group-home placement). The touching and satisfying resolution is sure to pull some heartstrings.
Children will relate to Cindy's near universal desire for a puppy. Gregory's prose is simple and straightforward. Writing in the present tense, she employs bitten-off sentences that are strangely effective and almost poetic - "Up goes the puppy, tucked into her bag. Home goes Cindy." The story is deceptively simple, really, because Cindy's home and work life, together with her love for Smudge, add up to a full world view.
Governor General Award winner Rob Lightburn's illustrations are beautifully done in coloured pencil on paper. The visual style is cinematic with some illustrations drawn from a close-up perspective and others in long-shot or from overhead angles. The images are soft-focused, shaded in rich but subtle, muted colours over textured backgrounds, an approach which creates a kind of pointillistic effect. Their pale light illuminates this heartfelt tale.
Highly recommended.
Leslie Millar is a mother and substitute teacher..
Carol Hughes. Illustrated by J. Garett Sheldrew, Richard Moore, Anthony
Stacchi, John Stevenson.
London, England: Bloomsbury Publishing, 1996.
192 pp., paper, $16.00.
ISBN 0-679-88653-2.
Grades 1 - 4 / Ages 6 - 9.
Review by Donna Doyle.
**** /4
excerpt:
"But there was no creature. Then the lamp began to sway and Toots spotted the little creature swinging on a cobweb. The creature hooked her legs around one of the branches, climbed up, twirled a loop of cobweb above her head and then threw it over the nearest branch. Then she swung out across the air. It took a moment to realize the most peculiar thing of all- it wasn't just the fact that it was odd to have a tiny person wandering across your ceiling and scattering cobwebs over your lamp, it was that all of this was happening upside down."
Toots is a good story, well told. There's just Toots, her Dad and her teddy bear, Fred. Her Mom has died, and her Dad is totally absorbed in his stamp collection. Most often the only one Toots has to talk to is Fred. The lonely little girl is well-portrayed. Toots find adventure by joining the tiny creatures who live above the ceiling in her house. Good fairies, evil sprites and goblins give Toots an experience she won't soon forget. She makes friends with Olive, a fifth year cadet fairy who has a big heart but problems earning her wings. The two join forces to defeat the goblins and sprites who want to freeze all the pipes in the house. The well-described world above the ceiling is spooky and exciting. Toots shows she can be daring and brave and that, when someone needs her, she's able to help. As Toots returns to the real world below, she finds a way to help herself and finally gets through to her father who has been just as lost as she was. The story has fun, a little fear but not too much, friendship, adventure and a heartwarming ending.
Highly recommended.
Donna Doyle is a writer, former journalist, current video producer living in Arichat, Nova Scotia.
Karen Dudley. Illustrated by Warren Clark.
Calgary, AB: Weigl Educational Publishers, 1997.
64 pp., paper, $12.95.
ISBN 0-91987-83-7.
Grades 3 - 8 / Ages 8 - 13.
Review by Luella Sumner.
*** /4
excerpt:
"Elephants need a lot of space to live, but the ideal elephant habitat needs to have much more than lots of space. Elephants need places where they can find grasses, trees, herbs, and shrubs to eat. They need a good source of water to drink, and steams or pools in which to bathe. They also need wallows to roll in so their skin is protected from stinging insects. The size of a family unit's home range depends on how many of these things are available. Sometimes elephants can find everything they need in a small area. Other times, they may have to travel for many miles to find enough food or water. During the dry season, when food and water are scarce, a family unit's home range may double in size."
This series of books is excellent. Each book is packed with photographs and clear, readable text, and has a glossary, index, and table of contents. A page in each book on 'viewpoints' presents the pros and cons of a controversial question, such as, "Should it be legal to sell ivory?". The 'Folklore' section in each book describes the animal's place in folk tales and legend while "What you can do" gives addresses of conservation organizations. "Twenty Fascinating Facts" is just that, a list of interesting little tidbits of information.
No biographical information is given about the series' authors, but each title lists several consultants who are connected to agencies such as the Kenya Wildlife Fund or the International Wildlife Coalition.
A worthy school and public library addition. Other titles in the series are: Wolves;
Gorillas; Alligators & Crocodiles; Bald Eagles; Black Rhinos; Blue Whales; Elephants;
Giant Pandas; Whooping Cranes; Jaguars; Grizzly Bears; and Great White Sharks.
Highly recommended.
Luella Sumner is Head Librarian at the Red Rock Public Library, Red Rock, Ontario.
Elaine Breault Hammond.
Charlotteltown, PEI: Ragweed Press, 1996.
160pp., paper, $7.95.
ISBN 0-921556-612-6.
Grades 5 - 8 / Ages 10 - 13.
Review by Irene Gordon.
** /4
Maggie, a 12-year-old orphan who is spending a holiday on Prince Edward Island with her great aunt, is lonely and bored. Marc McKay, who lives next door, is also 12 and recovering from a car accident in which he lost his legs. The two unhappy youngsters go canoing together, are drawn into a whirlpool and suddenly find themselves back in 18th century Prince Edward Island. Most of the book tells of the adventures the pair have as Acadian children. The novel's historical portion is tied to the contemporary opening in two ways.
Firstly, Maggie has a strange experience while she is canoing. "Then, above the sound of the surf, she heard another noise. At first it was a hollow, rushing sound ... then over it she heard the sound of wailing. It sounded like a woman's or a child's voice...She raised her paddle ... as she looked around. There was no one on top of the cliff, at least that she could see. But the sound was closer than that. It was very near...the sound ... seemed to be all around her now ... Then ... she could hear a voice ... The voice followed her...It was saying the same phrase over and over. "Ou est-ce-que vous etes?" (pp. 11, 12)
Secondly, Marc's mother is an Acadian, and Maggie goes with the McKays to visit Tante Helen who collects stories of Acadian life. While they are there, Maggie reads one of the stories that Tante Helen has collected. Maggie skimmed over the parts she could not understand, but she could make out the gist of the story. It happened before the deportation of the 1700s. A boy and girl from a settlement had wandered into the woods one day and were never seen again. They had probably been killed by the wild animals that lived in the terrible forest. (p. 24)
When Maggie and Marc escape the whirlpool, they are in a cave. The next thing they know, they are in the woods and have been found by a search party looking for Marguerite and Jean-Marc (obviously the children in Tante Helen's story). Everyone believes them to be Marguerite and Jean-Marc. The remainder of the book tells of their adventures as Acadian children and their struggle to decide whether they should stay there or try to return to their own time. Since Maggie now has loving parents and siblings and Marc has two good legs, they are both tempted to remain in the past, despite knowing about the tragedy of the coming explusion of the Acadians from their homes.
The historical part of the story is interesting and appears to be accurate historically, but one wonders why the author felt the need to use the time travel convention. Why not simply write the story as a straight historical novel? Chapter 10 illustrates a problem that arises when you try to weld modern sensibilities to historical reality. When a bear eats a pig belonging to Marguerite's family, it is a tragedy for a family not far from starvation. A trap is built to try and capture the bear. That night Maggie awakens from a dream and decides to go to see if the bear has been captured. It has, and Maggie feels so sorry for it that she lets it out of the trap. The whole episode is preposterous. Firstly, it is unlikely that she could have snuck out of the tiny cabin without disturbing anyone. Secondly, short of absolute necessity, no one (especially a child) would go out alone in the middle of the night into a forest full of wild animals. Thirdly, Maggie realizes how serious the loss of the pig is to Marguerite's family and that the bear meat will make up for it to some degree, but she still decides that the bear's freedom is more important.
Not recommended.
Irene Gordon, a teacher-librarian who has spent the past 13 years working in a junior high school in Winnipeg, Manitoba, is presently co-editor of the MSLA Journal published by the Manitoba School Library Association.
Donna Doyle.
Hantsport, NS: Lancelot Press, 1996.
84 pp., paper, $6.95.
ISBN 0-88999-591-5.
Grades 10 and up / Ages 15 and up.
Review by Joan Payzant.
*** /4
excerpt:
I stared from the fifth grade row. We were here to praise Christ but my worship was all for Sister Dominica. She was the school principal, the choir leader and my idol. Although only five feet tall, she had the commanding presence of one destined to lead. One look from those piercing blue eyes and her will was done. Sister Dominica had the face of an angel, as finely formed as the tiny porcelain figurines which graced her desk. Her habit was as neat and as exact as her demands. I dreamed of one day being just like her. I would wait after school to run errands for her. If I were lucky she'd let me carry her bag to the car. Usually she'd sit at her desk and listen to Mantovani records until her car arrived. There was the magic of an unknown world about her. I would stand at the back of the room trying to study my catechism so that she would choose me to teach the younger grades. But mostly, I studied Sister Dominica.
This little book is made up of twenty-two articles originally published in various periodicals. The author, Donna Doyle, lives on Isle Madame on Cape Breton Island. Her book is an upbeat collection of her own experiences, well-laced with touches of humour and homespun philosophy. There are nostalgic reflections on her grandparents' Iona home, graduation from teachers college, pregnancy, departure of her first-born for school, the commercialization of Christmas, difficulties in getting published, television arriving on Cape Breton Island, and other memorable experiences. Disillusionment surfaces when an idolized, beautiful nun cruelly treats an impoverished little friend, and when Ben Johnson cheats to win a medal in the Olympics.
A very pleasant book to read at bedtime or for recreational reading in a doctor's office, Colouring the Road may be of limited value in a high school library.
Recommended with reservations.
Joan Payzant is a retired teacher and teacher-librarian living in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia.
Dave Bouchard. Paintings by Robb Terrence Dunfield.
Victoria, BC: Orca Book Publishers, 1997.
32 pp., paper, $l8.95.
ISBN 1-55143-081-9.
Grade 12 and up / Ages 17 and up.
Review by Jo-Anne Mary Benson.
**** /4
excerpt:
If I could walk,
I'd walk down to the ocean
I'd kick off my sandals
And I'd walk on the sand. I'd start in the morning
In the cool of the morning,
I'd walk through mid-day
When sand turns to coal.
You'd see me at sunset,
Alone on the beaches
Near a handful of lovers.
And I'd be walking on air. And though I can't walk,
I can cherish the memories
Of sand in my toes,
Of my weight on the mud. And If Sarah will take me,
I'll show you the place
Where I'd kick off my sandals
And walk on the sand.
Bouchard has a reputation for using innovative approaches that combine his poetry with art. His expertise has been demonstrated in past works including his bestseller, Voices of the Wild. In If Sarah Will Take Me, Bouchard continues this fine tradition by combining his distinctive poetry with a colourful and diverse selection of paintings by Robb Terrence Dunfield.
Bouchard met Dunfield, a popular motivational speaker, at a high school presentation seven years earlier. Dunfield's talk touched on many things including "the youthful sense of invincibility" that preceded an accident that left him a ventilator-dependent quadriplegic at the age of nineteen. It was this chance meeting that provided both the seed of inspiration for this book and the beginning of a very special friendship between Dunfield and Bouchard. Because of this association, the author was able to present a work of poetry that is inspirational and delivered with an incredible depth of emotion.
If Sarah Will Take Me is a story of one man's acceptance of and adjustment to a life that turned out differently than he envisioned it to be. The work is also a tribute to Sarah, Dunfield's wife, who shares with him the everyday joys from nature appreciation to travel.
Bouchard's writing combines a candid conversational style with artistic visually descriptive language. The dual delivery is a superb example of Bouchard's innovative approach. Bouchard brings to light Dunfield's message to embrace the joys of everyday. Dunfield's paintings, which beautifully complement the poetry while illustrating Bouchard's words, demonstrate his versatility as an artist and the influences of the "Group of Seven".
If Sarah Will Take Me is a thought-provoking work of poetry and art. Bouchard proves poetry is not just delicately chosen words but a forum for learning, expression, and innovation. The book has merit both as a subject for academic study and also for the sheer joy of personal reward. A worthwhile addition to both school and public libraries.
Highly recommended.
Jo-Anne Mary Benson is a writer/reviewer for books, magazines, newspapers, and journals.
Peter Trower.
Madeira Park, BC: Harbour Publishing, 1996.
237 pp. paper, $17.95.
ISBN 1-55017-149-6.
Grade 12 and up / Age Adult.
Review by Floyd Spracklin.
*** /4
excerpt:
By the next day, claustrophobia began to set in. Junk tends to insulate you from reality, however sordid or dangerous that reality might be. Without junk's illusory protection, all the unpleasant truths come barging in without knocking. My misguided attempt to play detective had landed me in an impossible situation. I was half in love with a woman who loved junk more than she had loved any man - Angelo, Frankie, or me. There was still only one practical way out of the mess that I could see, and it was time to take it.
Trower is author of eight published books of poetry and Grogan's Cafe, a novel about West Coast logging life. His articles and poetry have been published in a number of periodicals, and his 22 years of experience as a logger have culminated in Dead Man's Ticket. In 1952, Terry Belshaw, an on-again off-again logger who drinks away his hard-earned money around the Vancouver waterfront, finds himself embroiled in a mystery surrounding the death of his best friend, Frankie. Terry's determination to solve Frankie's death leads him to hire out in his dead friend's place - on a dead man's ticket! However, before he does so, he has to take one last swing through Skid Road where he goes head-to-head with wrecked winos, junkie loggers, sexy women, cut-rate hookers, cool cats, zoot-suited rounders, and even his own doppelganger.
Once readers get past the very technical logging industry jargon found in twenty-five percent of the novel, they are in for a compelling tale of adventure and misadventure. Trower's descriptive talents are evident throughout. His poetry introduces each of the book's twenty chapters.
"Schooldays Schooldays tight-cuffed pants and pool days smoking and drinking and messing with junk making the scene with hoods and punks... "(Chapter 13, p. 149)
His images draw readers into the harsh reality of the world he has created. "Carlotta's fantasy of running away to some clean, green place was exactly that - a vain pipe dream that would blow away like spiderwebs in the harsh wind of reality." (p.206) Trower's logging scenes, however, are beyond the comprehension level of any normal reading audience. One such troublesome passage is: "The next morning, Ron jumped off at the trackside tree with the Mouse and the rest of the crew. The crummy jolted on with our chaser, Billy McKinnon, at the wheel. Technically, until the new hooktender arrived, I was now top-hand on the cold-deck show."(p.85)
A glossary of logging terminology would have made this book a stronger piece of writing by drawing readers into this other created world that Trower has constructed. Another help would have been the inclusion of occasional illustrations. Without such aids, five chapters are unnecessary and should be deleted.
Dead Man's Ticket is very graphic both in its content and language and will find a willing and accepting audience among adults, especially those who have considerable knowledge of the logging world or who are willing to do the research themselves.
Recommended with reservations.
Floyd Spracklin, an English Language Arts Department Head and teacher at G.C. Rowe Junior High School in Corner Brook, NF, has been teaching, writing, acting, and reviewing literature and theatrical productions for twenty-five years.
Lowell Green.
Burnstown, ON: General Store Publishing, 1996.
212 pp., paper, $18.95.
ISBN 1-896182-68-2.
Grade 12 and up / Age Adult.
Review by Floyd Spracklin.
**** /4
excerpt:
Phone lines on the evening talk shows across Canada, and a few in American cities hugging the border, were jammed with angry and frightened callers. A concensus was rapidly building. With very few exceptions, the callers were saying the same thing. Enough is enough. Let Quebec go if that's what it takes to bring peace and security back to the country. Many insisted the time had come to demand that the province leave confederation, and furthermore, said several, if anything should happen to that little girl, send in the troops with all guns blazing and keep them there until hell freezes over!
Green, who has lived most of his life in Quebec, is an experienced, controversial writer-broadcaster whose articles and stories have been published in numerous magazines, newspapers, and periodicals. Spanning five days, Death in October is a nail-biter that has its readers rooting both for the young kidnapped Lee Henry and for a peaceful resolution to Canada's persistent problem - will Quebec eventually separate? Grant Henry, Lee's father and a prominent and successful radio talk show host, soon discovers that even his own troubled marriage threatens his daughter's life. Who is the enemy? Whom can Grant trust? The police? Government? All are suspect. Eventually, Grant gathers a few trusted friends to decypher Lee's taperecorded messages in an attempt to locate her and make the decisive attack on her secret location. From Day 1 of the opening chapter and the shocking description of the family dog impaled on Grant Henry's wooden gate to the gripping conclusion, Death in October is a compelling, descriptive story that unfolds like a made for television movie. Green makes his story all the more realistic by molding his own talk show experience and his hobby of raising exotic chickens into the very fabric of the story.
Death in October is an easy read. Each of the novel's five days is further splintered into place, time, and day, eg. "Montreal, 6:54 AM, Day 3". Although the print is quite readable, the book's larger than the usual size does not make it a jam-in-the-hip-pocket or stuff-in-the-purse kind of novel. The very vivid, violent scenes and the language make this an adult novel, but a must read. It is the kind of story that reads like an unfolding visual drama. To the very last page, readers are shocked into considering their own stand on national unity and the consequences of separation. Death in October is suitable for a simple read or for the study of Canadian literature or political science at the university level.
Highly recommended.
Floyd Spracklin, an English Language Arts Department Head and teacher at G.C. Rowe Junior High School in Corner Brook, NF, has been teaching, writing, acting, and reviewing literature and theatrical productions for twenty-five years.
Will Steger and Jon Bowermaster. Illustrated by Allison Russo.
New York, NY: Scholastic Press, 1997.
64 pp., paper, $23.99.
Distributed in Canada by Scholastic Canada.
ISBN 0-590-84860-7.
Grade 12 and up / Age Adult.
Review by Jo-Anne Mary Benson.
**** /4
excerpt:
"What I saw amazed me. A wall of ice, 20 feet tall and as long as a football field, was moving our way as if being pushed by the blade of a giant bulldozer. Blocks of ice as big as cars were falling off the top of the moving wall and being crushed beneath it. It moved toward us, threatening to crush us, too."
In Over the Top of the World, readers are rewarded with a visual and literary account of Will Steger's four month journey from Russia to Canada. The expedition that involved six team-mates, 33 dogs, and two tons of gear used only sleds and canoes to achieve its objective. The group's adventure is superbly documented in this book.
Steger is a world reknowned explorer who has climbed mountains, navigated rivers, and extensively explored polar regions while Bowermaster is an award-winning environmental journalist credited with both books and articles. This dynamic pair have shown themselves to be superb writers of children's literature. Over the Top of the World is a non-traditional children's book that will hold appeal for a variety of age levels as it is written in language that is easy to understand and yet not condescending. The combination of photography, informative sidebars and excerpts from diary entries helps in maintaining a high level of interest throughout the book. The authors' effective use of analogies to illustrate a point makes things more tangible for younger readers. For example, the squeezing of Arctic ice "sounds like a million windows being broken simultaneously". The narrative allows readers to become totally immersed in the excitement of the adventure and vicariously experience the challenges and emotions relating to such an expedition.
The expedition's members were continually challenged by weather, terrain and physical problems. Through their candid diary entries, the authors give readers a reality based glimpse into the obstacles the team encountered on the expedition. An interesting feature, one seldom seen in any expedition book, is the recognition given to the dogs which played a significant role in the undertaking. Individual profiles describe each dog's characteristics, personality and position within the team. Articles on communication, wildlife and Arctic dress provide excellent support information and beautifully complement the book as a whole.
Over the Top of the World could enhance a variety of academic progammes from Geography to English. As it is short, visual and totally rewarding, it can be fully absorbed in one sitting or sampled and savoured piece by piece. Recommended for both public and school libraries.
Highly Recommended.
Jo-Anne Mary Benson is a writer/reviewer for North American books, magazines, newspapers and journals.
Copyright © 1997 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
AUTHORS | TITLES | MEDIA REVIEWS | BOOKSHELF | BACK ISSUES | SEARCH | ORDER | HOME