Groundwood Books Research Articles

“mouth full & dripping with language”: The 2022 Lion and the Unicorn Award for Excellence in North American Poetry

“mouth full & dripping with language”: The 2022 Lion and the Unicorn Award for Excellence in North American Poetry Amy Fish (bio), Krystal Howard (bio), and Carol-Ann Hoyte (bio) Winner: Elhillo, Safia. Home Is Not a Country. Make Me a World, 2021. Honor Books: Grimes, Nikki. Legacy: Women Poets of the Harlem Renaissance. Bloomsbury Children’s Books, 2021. LaRocca, Rajani. Red, White, and Whole. Quill Tree Books, 2021. Luby, Brittany. Mii maanda ezhi-gkendmaanh/This Is How I Know. Illustrated by Joshua Mangeshig Pawis-Steckley, Translated by Alvin Ted Corbiere and Alan Corbiere, Groundwood Books, 2021. In her introduction to The Best American Poetry 2021, Tracy K. Smith writes, “poetry—the best poems of this rough year—courageously named so much of what I felt myself to be witnessing and enduring. . . . [and] reached me as offerings of desperately needed hope and endurance” (xxiii). As the judges this year explored the many works published for young readers, we were struck by the way these picture books, poetry collections, and verse narratives bore witness to the difficulties and beauties of the world. Each of the books the judges chose engages in a kind of witnessing of the past and its impact on the present. The winner and honor books for this year feature the experiences of young people of color coming to terms with their familial and cultural histories and engaging with their fore-mothers, [End Page 315] grandmothers, and mothers. “One of the many things I love about poetry,” U.S. Poet Laureate Ada Limón writes, “is that it’s slippery; it can move in between worlds, it doesn’t have to offer clarity or hope or vision, it only has to make us pay attention to the world.” While many of the works for young readers that we surveyed this year did provide hope in a traditional sense, many did not but instead brought to light painful memories and histories to be witnessed by readers. Limón goes on to say that, “Right now, when so much of the world is full of chaos and suffering, poetry can ground us again and remind us that beauty and wonder and imagination matter. We need to be reminded that awe is essential to our human lives.” Embodying not only endurance, these works invoke awe through their language, music, and imagination.1 Our winner this year is Safia Elhillo’s debut verse novel for young readers, Home Is Not a Country. A fresh take on the YA verse novel, Home Is Not a Country employs the fantastic to explore struggles with race, identity, and culture experienced by the young protagonist Nima. In a recent essay, “Searching for the Words to Describe Myself,” Elhillo, who self identifies as an Arabophone Black person, describes Nima as “a hyphenated American whose origins are a country not named in the book, but which I base on Sudan. The book’s cover art is a photograph of the Sudanese-Somali ceramicist Dina Nur Satti, a Black woman.” An early poem in the verse novel, “My Name,” weaves English and Arabic as Nima attempts to describe herself: nima well really it’s ni’mamispronounced at school to sound likethe middle of the word animal or stretchedinto a whining neema no letter in englishfor the snarling sound that centers my nameits little growl ع (15) Affectionately nicknamed “nostalgia monster” (14), Nima immerses herself in songs and photographs from her parents’ youth while feeling increasingly alienated from her own life and identity. By wishing herself away, Nima conjures the ghost of her alternative self, Yasmeen. While Nima wears her own skin with painful awkwardness—“muttering & burdened by the shadow of an accent/that i cannot manage to make charming” (9)—Yasmeen is a glamorous fantasy, “mouth full and dripping with language/. . . ./jewel of the neighborhood & somehow/a little taller than me/like there are extra bones in her spine” (12–13). This specter self whisks Nima into a city resembling Khartoum during the early days of her mother’s pregnancy—a pregnancy that could result in the birth of either Nima or Yasmeen. In Nima’s fantastical journey, confronting the past means reckoning with alternative futures...

Publishing Children Books by Minority Voices in Canada: The Case of Groundwood Books

In Canada today the children’s book publishing scene is quite different from what it used to be in the 1970s and 1980s. Even if most publishers are small and rely heavily on federal grants the sheer range of publishing houses which feature the multicultural composition of the country for children and young adult readers is vast. The pendulum covers houses such as Annick Press, Fifth house, Second Story, or Theytus Books. The situation forty years ago though was radically different. In those days one of the groundbreaking houses was Groundwood Books. In this article we intend to look into the origins of the project, the wider political, social and cultural context, and three works by minority voices which clearly marked the publishing house’s profile and aspirations (Paul Yee’s Tales from Gold Mountain, Thomas King’s controversial A Coyote Columbus Story and Shirley Sterling’s My Name is Seepeetza). Our aim thus is to afford insight into the part played by Groundwood Books in fostering a new poetics in children’s books within the framework of Canada’s nation-building process.

Representing Death in Children's Literature: Border Crossings

Representing Death in Children's Literature:Border Crossings Maria José Botelho (bio) and Marsha Jing-Ji Liaw (bio) Dekko, Espen. Paws and Edward. Illustrated by Mari Kanstad Johnsen, Kids Can, 2019. 34 pp. $18.99 hc. ISBN 9781525301353. James, Matt. The Funeral. Groundwood Books, 2018. 40 pp. $18.95 hc. ISBN 9781554989089. Quan, Betty. Grandmother's Visit. Illustrated by Carmen Mok, Groundwood Books, 2018. 32 pp. $17.95 hc. ISBN 9781554989546. Young, Cheyanne. The Last Wish of Sasha Cade. Kids Can, 2018. 320 pp. $12.99 pb. ISBN 9781525301407. Borders are material and people made. Borders are constructed and negotiated as humans and environments interact. These four new texts evoke and challenge the border between life and death. The young and adolescent characters deal with the death of family members, a pet, and a friend. The books show how characters observe, experience, commemorate, and, in one case, defy crossing the border between life and death. These books also defy the representation of death in contemporary children's literature by recasting death and grieving as nuanced, complex, and diverse. [End Page 274] The representation of death in children's literature gained prominence in the 1970s because of its use in bibliotherapy: the practice of using books to heal children from emotional and psychological difficulties (Crago). Adults reached for noteworthy children's books like The Dead Bird (Brown), The Tenth Good Thing about Barney (Viorst), and Nana Upstairs and Nana Downstairs (dePaola) to support dialogues about death. These iconic texts showcase child characters' emotional responses and emerging ritual practice and afterlife beliefs. Devereaux A. Poling and Julie M. Hupp's 2008 study of death-themed books notes emotional responses, socio-cultural practices, and biological facts are recurring aspects in rendering death in children's literature (166). Biological facts about death include irreversibility, inevitability, and causality. Socio-cultural practices consist of rituals and afterlife beliefs. "Deathways" like funerals, memorial services, and beliefs about heaven commemorate dying and support grieving (Murphy 170). Characters' emotional responses such as sadness, anger, longing, guilt, denial, and acceptance, however, are the most represented aspect of death in children's literature (K. James 10; Poling and Hupp 170). Death is inseparable from life. Death is socially constructed (K. James 10). Its biological facts, emotional responses, and socio-cultural practices are culturally shaped as characters engage in these plotlines. The materiality—how characters participate and use the networks and resources within contexts—and social practices connected to death offer insights into how cultures work. This review considers four new publications, three picture books and one young adult novel, that engage with these death-related aspects: addressing the illness and death of a pet, the loss of a grandmother, a family funeral, and secret adventures mapped out by a deceased character. We apply this social theoretical understanding of death as we consider the children's books in this review. Paws and Edward (Dekko) brings the reader up close to the biological processes of and emotional response to an ailing pet's end of life. Paws, a large yellow dog who loves to chase rabbits, cats, cars, and airplanes, is centre stage in this text. The third-person perspective offers an expansive view of Paws's waning energy, while the short exchanges between Paws and Edward show their deep connection. Paws just wants to lie down, rest, sleep, and [End Page 275] observe his boy Edward while he loses interest in eating, drinking, and life. Edward notices these changes and gives him hugs as Paws slips into "sleep without dreams." Lightheartedness permeates the beginning of this magical realistic picture book. The cover, when opened, is a large poster of Paws with his owner sitting on his back. In the double-spreads of Paws and Edward's life together, we see the last days of Paws's life. The bold hues and simple line drawings exude a deep affection between these two characters. This story was first published in Swedish before it was translated into English. The Swedish book cover renders Paws and Edward in a plausible scale with Paws walking alongside Edward. The author is a puppeteer, an artform that might have informed the representation of this story. The puppeteer manipulates puppets...

New Books that Promote Diversity and Social Inclusion

Dear Readers,As you can easily imagine, our journal receives regular deliveries from publishers of children’s books who would like to see their new titles reviewed by Deakin writers. For many years now, I have been pleased to open an increasing number of courier boxes filled with children’s books that raise awareness of diversity. The boxes keep coming and so do the books featuring diverse characters, including (but not limited to) LGBTQ youth, people with disabilities, ethnic and cultural minorities, and Indigenous peoples. The number of books written and illustrated by people from culturally, ethnically, and racially diverse backgrounds is also on the rise, and this circumstance bodes well for the future of children’s literature. Indeed, publishers appear eager to let their readers know that they take diversity seriously, and many publishers, such as Groundwood Books and Penguin UK, include a diversity statement or manifesto on their websites. This is good news that should be celebrated. Our fall issue is filled with thought-provoking books that embrace diversity, including Inuit Spirit (containing line drawings by world-renowned Inuit artist, Germaine Arnaktauyok), People of the Sea (describing the role of sea-people in Inuit culture), Isaac and His Amazing Asperger Superpowers! (helping children to understand the Asperger’s/autism spectrum), and many other compelling titles. These books help children appreciate differences in ethnicity, disability, culture, gender, lifestyle, and perspectives. If you read and enjoy a book about diversity, please spread the word and let other readers know about your discovery. We can all help to advocate for diversity in children’s literature by buying diverse books from booksellers and sharing them with young readers. Please spread the word that diversity matters!Best wishes,Robert DesmaraisManaging Editor

Environmental Heroism and the Power of Storytelling in the Novels and Papers of Brian Doyle: “The Infinite Family of Organisms”

Brian Doyle’s much-noted emphasis on environment provides a rich entry-point into his multi-award-winning corpus. Young protagonists’ bonds with nature resonate throughout Doyle’s work, especially as they mature into community leaders exploring eco-social justice. This paper maps Doyle’s developing engagement with environmental and ecosocial justice themes through research in the Brian Doyle Fonds and Groundwood Books Fonds, archives that provide invaluable but as-of-yet underutilized resources for scholars of Canadian children’s literature. It argues that Doyle’s novels develop a vision of interpenetrated social and environmental justice rooted in children’s empowerment as artistic creators and community leaders.

Environmental Heroism and the Power of Storytelling in the Novels and Papers of Brian Doyle: “The Infinite Family of Organisms”

Brian Doyle’s much-noted emphasis on environment provides a rich entry-point into his multi-award-winning corpus. Young protagonists’ bonds with nature resonate throughout Doyle’s work, especially as they mature into community leaders exploring eco-social justice. This paper maps Doyle’s developing engagement with environmental and ecosocial justice themes through research in the Brian Doyle Fonds and Groundwood Books Fonds, archives that provide invaluable but as-of-yet underutilized resources for scholars of Canadian children’s literature. It argues that Doyle’s novels develop a vision of interpenetrated social and environmental justice rooted in children’s empowerment as artistic creators and community leaders.

Focus IBBY: 54.4/2016

Focus IBBY54.4/2016 Liz Page (bio) Introducing the 2016–2018 IBBY Executive Committee Click for larger view View full resolution From left to right, back row: Ferelith Hordon, Carole Bloch, Zohreh Ghaeni, Cristina Vargas, Anastasia Arkhipova, and Ellis Vance; front row: Hasmig Chahinian, Wally De Doncker, Evelyn Freeman, Serpil Ural, and Mingzhou Zhang. Not in the picture: Patricia Aldana, Sunji Jamba, Björn Sundmark, and Liz Page. [End Page 62] The 2016–2018 IBBY Executive Committee was elected by the members at the 2016 General Assembly in Auckland, New Zealand on Sunday, 21 August 2016. From nominations submitted by the IBBY National Sections, the following people were elected to serve for the 2016 to 2018 term of office. Wally De Doncker, from Belgium, was elected to serve for his second term as IBBY President. He trained as a teacher and served as a special teacher of children’s literature. He began writing full-time in 2001, and since then, his books have reached readers in more than thirteen countries in Europe and beyond. For many years, Wally was an active board member of the Flemish Branch of IBBY-Belgium. In 2008 he was elected to serve as a member of the IBBY Executive Committee for the period 2008–2010. He was re-elected in 2010 and served as Vice-President from 2010 to 2012. He is a frequent contributor to publications that deal with the international dimension of children’s literature and is a regular guest in libraries, schools, and other settings where children and adults come to enjoy his readings. Patricia Aldana, from Canada, was elected President of the 2018 Hans Christian Andersen Award Jury. She was born and brought up in Guatemala and moved to Canada in 1971. In 1978 she founded Groundwood Books with a mandate to publish high-quality Canadian and international children’s books for all ages; she remained the publisher until 2012. She was honoured with the Order of Canada in 2010 and has won prizes in Canada for her work in advocating children’s and adults’ freedom to read. She was elected to the IBBY Executive Committee in 1996 and served for four years. She was later re-elected in 2004 and served for one term as Vice-President before she was elected IBBY President in China in 2006, serving for two terms until 2010. In 2014 she was elected President of the 2016 Hans Christian Andersen Award Jury. Patricia is currently President of the IBBY Foundation. Anastasia Arkhipova, from Russia, is a well-known illustrator who has been a member of the Moscow Union of Artists since 1986 and a member of Russian IBBY since 2005. She has served on several international juries, including the BIB Jury in 2007, 2009, and 2015; the Nami Island International Concours 2012 and 2015; and the Hans Christian Andersen Jury for the 2012 and 2014 Awards. In 2006 she was elected to the IBBY Executive Committee and served until 2010. Carole Bloch, from South Africa, is currently the Executive Director of the Project for the Study of Alternative Education in South Africa (PRAESA), an independent research and development unit affiliated to the University of Cape Town. In 2015 she was a founding member and a trustee of the Nal’ibali Trust and in 2014 a member of the South African Ministry of Education reading advisory committee. Under her leadership, PRAESA received the 2014 IBBY-Asahi Reading Promotion Award, and in 2015 PRAESA won the Astrid Lind-gren Memorial Award (ALMA). Hasmig Chahinian, from France, was born and grew up in Lebanon. She is currently in charge of children’s literature from the Arab World at the international division of the French National Centre for Children’s Literature (Centre national de la literature pour la jeunesse—La Joie par les livres) a service of the French National Library. She served as a member of the IBBY Executive Committee for two terms from 2010 to 2014, from 2012 as Vice President. Evelyn B. Freeman, from the USA, retired as Dean and Director of The Ohio State University-Mansfield where she served from 2003 until December 2010. She is currently Professor Emerita in the Department of Teaching...

Don't by L. Trochatos

Trochatos, Litsa. Don't. Illus. Virginia Johnson. Toronto: Groundwood Books, 2014. Print.“Don’t start a food fight with an octopus, it has six more arms than you do” is how Don’t begins its advice of the many things you should not do with particular animals and why. This colourful storybook warns of the potential concequences of engaging in a game of badminton with a frog or playing fetch with a turtle.Don’t is a quick and funny read. It is most suitable for children in preschool or kindergarten but it also works nicely with those in grades 1-2 who are learning to read. Virginia Johnston’s watercolour images are the highlight of this book, punctuating the humour and carrying the story along. The heavy cardboard pages also make it suitable for younger children who will enjoy the images of animals doing various activities. The book could have been a bit longer, my co-reviewers (two young nieces) wanted “more don’ts”. Overall, a very enjoyable read.Recommended: 3 out of 4 starsReviewer: Hanne PearceHanne Pearce has worked at the University of Alberta Libraries in various support staff positions since 2004 and is currently a Public Service Librarian at the HT Coutts Education and Physical Education Library. Aside from being an avid reader she has continuing interests in writing, photography, graphic design and knitting.

News and Announcements

News and Announcements

News, Awards & Announcements

News, Awards & Announcements

Gustave by R. Simard

Simard, Rémy . Gustave. Illus. Pierre Pratt. Groundwood Books, 2014. Print.A young mouse has been playing with his friend, Gustav, just a little too far from home, and tragedy has struck. Pierre Pratt signals despair and disaster in the blackened pages and the first two words, “He’s gone.” The grim grey streets echo a little mouse’s grief and fear, for it is a cat who has seized Gustav. “Run. Escape.” The mouse cries on his way home, worried about what his mother will say.Just a moment… black as the story seems, grim as the dark colours are that echo the mouse’s grief, look back. Look at the eyes of the two little mice as they cling. Are Gustav’s eyes those of a living mouse, or are they those of a toy?All is dark, only to become lighter as the mouse reaches home and tells his mother what has happened. She comforts him, and when he is calm, she takes him to a cupboard where there is another little stuffed mouse with Gustav’s button eyes. The little mouse looks, little mouse eyes to toy mouse’s button eyes. The young mouse finds that he can like his new toy.Rémy Simard’s tale expresses that deep affection for a toy that brings it alive in a special relationship - think of Christopher Robin and Pooh. The loss of that toy may be devastating, but it can be relieved by an understanding adult and the coming of a new companion.A strong short tale completed by sensitive illustrations express first terror and then love and relief. That first childhood loss of a beloved companion, a teddy left on the bus, a doll abandoned at a picnic, whatever the scenario, here is the dark world of that loss and the warm comfort of a new companion.The tale may be seemingly too dark for many young children to read on their own. This is a book to share where re-assurance can make this expression of a first loss a story to appreciate.Recommended: 3 out of 4 starsReviewer: Andrea DeakinAndrea has been involved with books since she was class librarian in Primary School, Student Librarian in Grammar School, student librarian for the Education Faculty when she was a student, and school librarian in schools both in England and in Canada, except for the first two years in Canada where she arrived in 1959. When she retired from teaching ( English and History) she was invited to review in February 1971, and continued to review for press, radio, and finally on the Internet (Deakin Newsletter from Okanagan College) until she retired in 2011. Forty years seemed sufficient- although she still cannot keep her nose out of good children's and YA fare.

Awards, Announcements, and News

Awards, Announcements, and News

Work: An Occupational ABC by K. Hatanaka

Hatanaka, Kellen. Work: An Occupational ABC. Toronto: Groundwood Books, 2014. Print.At first glance, you may look at this book and think it just like the myriad of other ABC books for young children and preschoolers, but you would be delightfully wrong! Yes, of course, each letter from A to Z is represented and indeed each letter is accompanied by an image that characterizes the letter. But that is where the similarities end. Toronto-based designer, illustrator and artist Kellen Hatanaka, who can now also call himself a first time author, has created a beautiful and unexpected piece of art for the youngest readers and it is as much a delight to read as it is to behold. With creamy paper and softly-coloured images, created digitally after first creating ‘hand-drawn patterns and images’, it is reminiscent of a small person’s version of a coffee table book, if said coffee table were in a nursery.It starts out simple enough, with A for Aviator and a full page spread with a boldly-coloured A as well as mountain tops that echo the A’s shape. The next page, however, alerts the reader to the fun in store – B is for Butcher, shown chasing after a group of raccoons who have absconded with a string of sausages. Yes, there are occupations like Grocer and Tailor but there are also the Ice Cream Vendor, K-9 Officer and the Wedding Singer! What’s wonderful to note are the many alternative occupations, some that you may have not have heard of, and that there is a nice mix of women, men, and cultures taking part. For the curious reader, there is a section of funny ‘Want Ads’ which provides a short description of the occupation.This would make a wonderful new baby gift and is an excellent addition to a home or public library.Highly recommended: 4 stars out of 4 Reviewer: Debbie FeisstDebbie is a Public Services Librarian at the H.T. Coutts Education Library at the University of Alberta. When not renovating, she enjoys travel, fitness and young adult fiction.

My Name is Parvana by D. Ellis

Ellis, Deborah. My Name is Parvana. Toronto: Groundwood Books, 2012. Print. In this final book in the The Breadwinner series, we meet the indomitable Afghani protagonist, Parvana, again, at the age of 15. The story begins with Parvana being interrogated in an American military base after she is discovered in a bombed out school. She refuses to acknowledge her captors and remains silent. The story unfolds through Parvana’s flashbacks as she endures the various methods employed to make her talk, including food and sleep deprivation.. We learn that Parvana’s family has left the refugee camp and started a school for girls. It seems their dreams have come true, but there is danger everywhere. New laws are in place to protect women’s rights, but old habits and beliefs, die hard. Threatening notes begin to arrive. Parvana is accosted in the streets. Students and teachers are driven away by the threats, and without students the school will lose its funding. The setbacks continue to pile up until at last we realize why Parvana is alone and imprisoned. Through careful crafting, Ellis creates a story that is heartrending without being horrific. Skillful use of flashbacks and foreshadowing soften the shock of atrocities by giving us clues before they occur. She shows respect for her young readers by giving enough detail for them to understand what is happening without becoming gory. Despite the incredible challenges she faces, Parvana finds hope, and new dream, in the end. This novel also provides a wonderful opportunity to discuss the use of voice in writing. Some people would say Ellis, a white, Canadian woman, has no right to use an Afghani voice. Yet Ellis’ is an educated voice. She has spent time travelling in Afghanistan and interviewing Afghani children. In an interview for Page Turners Book Club, Ellis asserts that she is giving voices to people who do not usually appear in books and providing information for children and teens who are “hungry to find out about how the world works and how they can create their own place in the world”. My Name is Parvana is an appropriate companion for Ellis’ non-fiction book Kids of Kabul: Living Bravely Through a Never-ending War and other information texts about children’s lives in Afghanistan. While Ellis should not be the only voice for Afghani women and children, hers is certainly a powerful and effective one. Her goal of building connections for young Canadians and creating a climate for understanding is laudable. Highly recommended: 4 out of 4 stars Reviewer: Kathy Inglis Kathy Inglis is a teacher-librarian and kindergarten teacher at South Park Family School in Victoria, BC and a Masters student in the Teacher-Librarianship through Distance Learning Program at the University of Alberta. Her favourite part of the job is seeing the excited look on the faces of students who have found that perfect book.

One Year in Coal Harbour by P. Horvath

Horvath, Polly. One Year in Coal Harbour. Toronto: Groundwood Books, 2012. Print. In this sequel to the multiple award winning, Everything on a Waffle, Horvath’s signature quirky humour and insights into human nature emerge once more as we follow 12-year-old Primrose Squarp’s attempts at matchmaking, at finding a best friend, and at generally trying to make life turn out right. The lovable Evie and Bert, who took Primrose in when her parents were lost at sea, sensible Uncle Jack, the entrepreneur who returned to Coal Harbour to look after Primrose, and fiercely independent Miss Bowzer, Primrose’s confidant and owner of The Girl on the Red Swing where everything is served on a waffle, return from the first book to help Primrose navigate life as a ‘tween’ in Coal Harbour. In one year, Primrose learns about defending what she cares about, letting people make their own choices, and accepting the flaws in herself as well as others. Primrose faces some hard lessons but readers will be glad to know that everything turns out, if not perfectly, then as it should, in the end. Horvath broaches issues related to foster children, unfit parents, environmental protests, relationships, and grieving, with honesty and empathy, showing real respect for her young readers’ ability to understand the nuances of these situations. Her characters embody the quirkiness and wisdom of small town life, making them even more believable. Each chapter begins with “What Happened...” or “What Didn’t Happen...” leading the reader along through the traumatic events of Primrose’s year in Coal Harbour, and ends with a recipe Primrose collects for the local cookbook she is writing bringing the tale back to the comfort zone of mundane details. With this marvelous glimpse of the world from the eyes of a 12-year-old girl, peppered with high hopes, frustration, insight and humour, Horvath has done it again. She has left me wanting more. Highly recommended: 4 out of 4 stars Reviewer: Kathy Inglis Kathy Inglis is a teacher-librarian and kindergarten teacher at South Park Family School in Victoria, BC and a Masters student in the Teacher-Librarianship through Distance Learning Program at the University of Alberta. Her favourite part of the job is seeing the excited look on the faces of students who have found that perfect book.

Tecumseh by J. Laxer

Laxer, James. (2012). Tecumseh. Toronto, Ontario: Groundwood Books. Print. A university political science professor may seem an unlikely author of a children’s book on the legendary native leader Tecumseh but York University’s James Laxer’s keen interest in the War of 1812 and the relationship between the Shawnee leader, Tecumseh and British Major General Isaac Brock, make him ideally suited to the task. In 2012, the 200th anniversary of the War of 1812 was marked by the release of two books by Laxer, Tecumseh and Brock: the War of 1812, for adults and Tecumseh by Laxer and illustrated by Richard Rudnicki, for children. In this second book, the reader is presented with richly coloured and detailed illustrations and accessible text depicting the journey of Tecumseh from infancy to his death in 1813. The reader learns about the way of life of his family, the challenges faced when settlers moved into the area, and of course, the major battles in which he played a key role. The text is organized into chronological segments with headings referring to events or significant people in Tecumseh’s life. While there is not a table of contents to guide the reader, the language is appropriate for young readers, as well as a timeline, glossary and clearly labeled maps at both the front and back of the book. Tecumseh was motivated to take action after his father was killed in 1774 by American militiamen advancing on Shawnee land. This constant fear of expropriation led Tecumseh to consider the best options for defending native territory. His military and leadership skills made him a natural choice to head a native confederacy against the determined American colonists. By 1812, when the Americans had declared war on Great Britain, Tecumseh was ready to go into battle to fight for Native lands previously taken by force. He decided that the best choice to do this was to ally with the British under Major General Isaac Brock. Together they strategized and fought at Detroit, Queenston, and Moraviantown. During the short span between August and October, both leaders lost their lives. Their deaths would negatively impact the effort to ensure that there would be Native lands when borders were later drawn between Canada and the United States. Laxer concludes with these words: “In the end, the confederacy did not win. But Tecumseh’s courage, eloquence and steadiness of purpose continue to fascinate people in many parts of the world two centuries after his death. He remains a symbol of justice for the native tribes of North America” (p. 52). Ideal for children aged 8-12, grades 3-7. Recommended: 3 out of 4 stars Reviewer: Anne Rogers Anne Rogers is a teacher-librarian in a K-6 school in Medicine Hat, Alberta. She loves reading, running and cheering on her family in their pursuits.

News and Announcements

The end of summer and the beginning of autumn saw some notable developments in the world of children’s books, particularly in Canada. It is a great delight to announce that The Deakin Review’s namesake, Dr. Andrea Deakin, is one of the joint recipients of the 2011 Claude Aubry Award. Conferred every two years by the Canadian chapter of the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY), the Claude Aubry Award recognizes distinguished service within the field of children’s literature. Dr. Deakin, founder of the Deakin Newsletter (which this Review succeeds), is a prolific reviewer, collector, and critic of children’s literature, whose work has greatly enriched the study and appreciation of the genre. Also receiving the Claude Aubry Award is Chantal Vaillancourt. A resident of Longuiel, Quebec and a longtime promoter of children’s reading, Ms. Vaillancourt was instrumental in creating the Toup'tilitou reading program in daycare centres across Quebec. Her more recent work with the Canadian Children’s Book Centre sees her coordinating the French-language TD Canadian Children’s Literature Award and managing the French-language component of TD Children’s Book Week. No mention of the TD Canadian Children’s Literature Award -- as well as the other awards administered by the Canadian Children’s Book Centre -- can pass without mention of this year’s winners. This October, five titles received these prestigious honours. Plain Kate by Erin Bow (Scholastic), winner of the TD Canadian Children’s Literature Award. I Know Here by Laurel Croza; ill. by Matt James (Groundwood Books), winner of the Marilyn Baillie Picture Book Award.Case Closed? Nine Mysteries Unlocked by Modern Science by Susan Hughes (Kids Can Press), winner of the Norma Fleck Award for Canadian Children’s Non-Fiction.The Glory Wind by Valerie Sherrard (Fitzhenry & Whiteside), winner of the Geoffrey Bilson Award for Historical Fiction for Young People. A Spy in the House (The Agency) by Y.S. Lee (Candlewick Press), winner of the John Spray Mystery Award. The CCBC will also be administering a new award this coming year: the Monica Hughes Award for Science Fiction and Fantasy.In other award news, the International Research Society for Children’s Literature (IRSCL) conferred its prestigious 2011 Award on Picturing Canada: a History of Canadian Children’s Illustrated Books and Publishing. Written by Gail Edwards and Judith Saltman, Picturing Canada has already garnered significant accolades, offering as it does a unique survey of Canadian illustrated works and picture books. The 2011 IRSCL Award confirms the work’s status as a significant contribution to the study of children’s literature. Amid these celebrations, however, the world of children’s literature also lost a major talent. Joanne Fitzgerald, Governor General’s Award-winning illustrator, passed away on August 14, at the age of 55. Fitzgerald’s distinctive style, with its gentle colour palette and cheerful, cartoon-like characters, made picture books such as Plain Noodles, Emily’s House, and Doctor Kiss Says Yes perennial favourites among young readers.

Degradation product emission from historic and modern books by headspace SPME/GC–MS: evaluation of lipid oxidation and cellulose hydrolysis

Volatile organic compounds emitted from a several decade series of bound periodicals (1859-1939) printed on ground wood paper, as well as historical books dating from the 1500s to early 1800s made from cotton/linen rag, were studied using an improved headspace SPME/GC-MS method. The headspace over the naturally aging books, stored upright in glass chambers, was monitored over a 24-h period, enabling the identification of a wide range of organic compounds emanating from the whole of the book. The detection of particular straight chain aldehydes, as well as characteristic alcohols, alkenes and ketones is correlated with oxidative degradation of the C(18) fatty acid constituency of paper. The relative importance of hydrolytic and oxidative chemistry involved in paper aging in books published between 1560 and 1939 was examined by comparing the relative abundances of furfural (FUR) a known cellulose hydrolysis product, and straight chain aldehydes (SCA) produced from the oxidation of fatty acids in paper. The relative abundance of furfural is shown to increase across the 379-year publication time span. A comparison of relative SCA peak areas across the series of books examined reveals that SCA emission is more important in the cotton/linen rag books than in the ground wood books.

Postcards

Postcards Michelle Gonzalez, Jeffrey Brewster, Tanja Nathanael, Tilka Jamnik, Anuradha Sharma, Toin Duijx, and Ines Galling Translated by Claudia Söffner Mario Ramos Le Code de la Route Paris, France: L'école des loisirs, 2010 33 pages, ISBN: 9782211200042 (wordless picture book, 4-10) Well-known Belgian author and illustrator Mario Ramos entertains both children and adults with Le Code de la Route. This wordless picture book is a creative and humorous rendition of "Little Red Riding Hood." A modern-day Red Riding Hood--with red coat, matching hair band, and boots-sets off on her red scooter to granny's house. As she follows the path through the woods, she comes across some unusual traffic signs. The red triangles with black outlines take up an entire page and have images such as three pigs or a wolf. One can pause to imagine what the signs warn of. With the turn of the page, however, the reader is surprised with delightfully colorful and fast-paced scenes. The Three Pigs zoom by on skateboards or the Big Bad Wolf clumsily passes by on roller skates. Red Riding Hood stays focused, diligently yielding at each road sign, to reach grandmother's home safe and sound. Readers will have great fun commenting on familiar characters in a new setting as well as creating dialogue of their own. Michelle Gonzalez [End Page 8] Ningeokuluk Teevee Alego Illustrated by the author Toronto: Groundwood Books, 2009 Unpaged ISBN: 9780888999436 (picture book, 4-8) Ningeokuluk Teevee, one of the most well-known of the Kinngait, Nunavut (Cape Dorset) artists working in the tradition of Inuit art, has written and illustrated a simple, yet elegant book. This story of a young Inuit child's daily life with her Grandmother is autobiographical and tells of the clam digging adventure offered by a low tide. The graphite and colored pencil illustrations beautifully capture the atmosphere of the beach and the marine life introduced. The bilingual text, in Inukititui and English, is a fine introduction to a script that is not Roman. The book includes an illustrated glossary of sea creatures, as well as a pictorial map of Baffin Island. This unique title may be used to expand children's thinking about how people live and work both in a family and in the world. Jeffrey Brewster [End Page 40] Kou Yaginuma Futatsu no Supika [Twin Spica] Vol. 1 Translator: Maya Rosewood First published in Tokyo, Japan: Media Factory, Inc., 2002 English translation published in New York, NY: Vertical, Inc., 2010 188pp. ISBN: 978-1-934287-84-2 (Manga, Science Fiction, 13+) With recent media attention on Naoko Yamazaki, Japan's first female astronaut to join the crew of the international space station, this classic manga is experiencing are surgence in popularity. Now that it is published for the first time in English, Western readers may join 14-year-old Asumi Kamogawa as she realizes her life's ambition to train as an astronaut at the Tokyo Space School. Set in the near future after a tragic rocket accident claims her mother's life, the story follows Asumi as she greets each new challenge with warmth and enthusiasm. Yaginuma's illustrations are a charming complement to his heartfelt and deftly-told story. By turns optimistic and poignant, Twin Spica is a delightful tale for anyone who has ever dreamed of going into space. Tanja Nathanael Janja Vidmar Pink Radovljica, Slovenia: Didakta, 2008. 139 pp. ISBN: 978-961-261-069-2 (novel, 14 +) Pink is the most autobiographical, and therefore unique, novel to date in the literary work of Janja Vidmar, one of the most popular Slovene authors. Despite the third-person narrator, we are drawn to this conclusion by the name of the main character, the precision of the places described in the book, and the recognizable, almost cult-like, details from 1970s Maribor. This unrestrained realism is also experienced in the level of language which the author handles skilfully and boldly. The manifold linguistic registers-from formal literary language to dialect and slang in humorous and always convincing dialogue-give the novel its powerful tone and also serve to emphasize the authenticity of the period, an element that the author...

Windows and Words: A Look at Canadian Children's Literature in English (review)

Reviewed by: Windows and Words: A Look at Canadian Children’s Literature in English Deirdre Baker (bio) Aïda Hudson and Susan-Ann Cooper, editors. Windows and Words: A Look at Canadian Children’s Literature in English University of Ottawa Press. 236. $22.00 The seventeen studies, formal essays, and commentaries that make up Windows and Words were born of a Canadian Children's Literature Symposium held at the University of Ottawa in 1999. According to Aïda Hudson, the participants in the symposium were concerned with two questions: 'What literary legacy do our children have to light up their future? What in the past and in the present in Canadian children's fiction is literature?' Contributors include children's writers Tim Wynne-Jones and Janet Lunn, Groundwood Books artistic director Michael Solomon, and internationally established scholars of Canadian children's literature Judith Saltman, Irene Gammel, and Elizabeth Waterston, among others. The collection begins triumphantly with Wynne-Jones's rumination on the difference between writing for adults and children, offered in a style which makes clear why Wynne-Jones's writing for children rewards close critical study and ranks as some of the best Canada has to offer. 'In children's fiction, a writer tends to show rather than to tell,' he argues. '"After Lydia's phone call, Lyle was hurt and angry." That's a telling sentence. Whereas, "After Lydia's phone call, Lyle photocopied her portrait forty-three times, stapled them to his flesh and threw himself in the fish pond in the lobby of the school." That is a showing sentence.' With effective, memorable examples Wynne-Jones argues for the importance of 'Story in the Aristotelian sense,' transparency of language, and 'the degree to which the story is told.' After this taste of what's currently vibrant and possible in Canadian children's fiction, Saltman, Beverly Haun, and Gregory Maillet offer overviews of what's available. Saltman sketches the trends and patterns in Canadian children's fiction since 1990; Haun discusses the rise of the Aboriginal voice 1970-90; Maillet brings attention to multiculturalism and contemporary children's literature of Saskatchewan. In presenting a rich [End Page 356] array of contemporary voices, these scholars make a convincing, even enticing, case for the quality of Canadian children's fiction produced in the past three decades. It is somewhat disappointing, then, that almost all the close literary analysis that follows focuses on the work of L.M. Montgomery. 'L.M. Montgomery and Everybody Else' is the title of one article, and indeed, it could have been the title of the book. Of its 232 pages of text, almost 100 are devoted to the work of LMM, giving the impression that although there may be many more recent writers of children's books in Canada, they can't merit the same respectful attention now devoted to that Canadian icon. Sandra Becket discusses two Canadian versions of 'Little Red Riding Hood'; Alan West and Lee Harris analyse the Gouldian philosophy in Wynne-Jones's The Maestro; Andrea Mackenzie compares illustrations by Henry Sandham and Michael Martchenko - but otherwise, Montgomery Rules. That said, Irene Gammel's 'The Eros of Childhood and Early Adolescence in Girl Series: L.M. Montgomery's Emily Trilogy' is well worth the reading. Proposing a 'feminist model of body and pleasure reading' for the Emily books, Gammel uses feminist body theory to show how Montgomery's sense of a girl's body and her agency, transgressive for its time (she complained of the restraint she was under in depicting 'a young girl as she really is'), is encoded in images of self-representation such as Emily's journal and 'Emily-in-the-Glass.' Gammel demonstrates that obliquely, Montgomery makes the 'political claim that a girl should be in touch with her body pleasures and should exert agency in claiming these pleasures even if they are socially taboo.' Other essays consider 'Anne Shirley and the culture of imperial motherhood,' Emily as a Wordsworthian child, Montgomery as 'cultural capital,' material facts of Montgomery's historical context, and Anne as Christian convert. In places technical errors mar the text ('this phenomena,' or Nancy Farmer's The Ear, the Eye and the...