The right to an education

Fight to Learn: The Struggle to Go to School 
by Laura Scandiffio

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Children and teens battle poverty, discrimination, violence, and inequality in order to go to school. An inspiring call to action.



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The decline of a big bird

The Tragic Tale of the Great Auk
by Jan Thornhill

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Very well-told.

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Great Spirit does a thing

Minegoo Mniku: the Mi'kmaq Creation Story of Prince Edward Island
retold and illustrated by Sandra L. Dodge
(Acorn Press)


After the Great Spirit creates the world and its people, he also creates Minegoo - a beautiful island on which his people will live. He tells his helper, Kluskap, to place the island on the most beautiful place on earth. Kluskap sets Minegoo on the Shining Waters, in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.

A magical creation story, delicately told in both Mi'kmaq and English. Fine, lightly tinted watercolours enhance the tale, as do the Mi'kmaq quill patterns that edge each page.

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

my read shelf:

Another interesting creation story; this is from the Yerubas:

The Origin of Life on Earth: An African Creation Myth

retold by David A. Anderson

Olorun, the supreme god, told his orishas (assistants) that the entire sky was theirs to explore. But Obatala wanted to do more. He suggested that if something could be built on the waters below, a world of beings could be created. Then the orishas could use their powers to help them. Olorun agreed and told Obatala to create the earth and its people.  

Not Your Princess

#NotYourPrincess: Voices of Native American Women 
by Lisa Charleyboy


My rating: 5 of 5 stars


With stories, poetry, and art, Indigenous women give voice to their anger and resilience in the face of prejudice and stereotypes. Highly recommended.

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Voices from the Titanic

The Watch That Ends the Night: Voices from the Titanic 
by Allan Wolf

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



Many books have been written about Titanic, but none are as powerful or as memorable as this one.



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Turtle Island

Turtle Island: The Story of North America's First People 
by Yellowhorn

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


The history of North America before the arrival of Columbus, which is rightly termed the end of the world. It's a book that should be part of every school curriculum; even an excellent choice for Canada Reads. A wonderful story that ends optimistically; I hope improvements occur during my lifetime.


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Hidden Figures

Hidden Figures: The Untold True Story of Four African-American Women Who Helped Launch Our Nation into Space 
by Margot Lee Shetterly

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Reading about their lives, especially Dorothy Vaughan's, provides good advice on how to advance in one's chosen career.




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Radioactive

Radioactive: Marie and Pierre Curie, A Tale of Love and Fallout 
by Lauren Redniss

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The font and images used in this book were purposefully designed to capture radium's "spontaneous luminosity" and the Curies' fascination with physics and spiritualism. Sparse lines of text suddenly expand into dense passages describing the element's importance to historical events like Hiroshima and Chernobyl and the future. The words flow around art that alternately brightens or darkens, creating pages that are ghostly, mysterious, and erotic. Together they form a biography of outer-worldly proportions.

For teen and adult readers.


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The Indigenous perspective

Urban Tribes: Native Americans in the City 
by Lisa Charleyboy


My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Other recommended books:

• Looks Like Daylight by Deborah Ellis
• The Inconvenient Indian: A Curious Account of Native People in North America by Thomas King
• The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie

my read shelf:

Very highly recommended

Vincent and Theo: The Van Gogh Brothers
by Deborah Heiligman


My rating: 5 of 5 stars

An exquisite portrait of two talented, close-knit brothers.




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Highly Recommended

Loving vs. Virginia: A Documentary Novel of the Landmark Civil Rights Case 
by Patricia Hruby Powell

My rating: 5 of 5 stars









Enchanted Air: Two Cultures, Two Wings: A Memoir
by Margarita Engle

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Beautiful novel-in-verse.








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How a story idea begins

Any Questions?
by Marie-Louise Gay


Children are very curious about story-writing and where authors get their ideas. Their questions inspired picture book author and artist Marie-Louise Gay to create this book, in which she describes her writing process. Sometimes her ideas start with a colour, a word, a phrase, or a doodle. But sometimes she gets stuck. That's when the book becomes interactive, with help from the characters of her many previous books. With their assistance, a story-within-a-story about a shy young giant and a ferocious beast is created.

It's a fun way to introduce kids to the creative writing process. The combination of print and hand-written text is a nice touch too, although I hear that many kids can no longer read cursive. If so, the book makes for a good read-aloud. At the end of the book, Marie-Louise answers some of the questions that she has been asked, like how did you learn to draw, can your cat fly, and are you Stella?

N.B. After five years of posting, it's time to take an extended break, at least for the rest of 2017. I may still post occasionally if I read something good; in the meantime, to know what I've been reading, friend me on Facebook or follow me on GoodReads.

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Roget's word lists

The Right Word: Roget and His Thesaurus
by Jen Bryant and Melissa Sweet


Peter Mark Roget was always scribbling. He made lists of words: Latin words, the four elements, of the weather, in the garden. As he grew up and became a tutor, a doctor, a science lecturer, and inventor, his lists helped him organize his thoughts and speak concisely and clearly. He believed that everyone should be able to find the right word. With his thesaurus, first published in 1852, everyone was able to do just that.

Roget's original thesaurus - 1000 words organized by meaning - is reproduced on the back endpapers. Along with Bryant's pitch-perfect prose and Sweet's list-filled collages, The Right Word is the absolute right biography of a remarkable man.

How a book is written

What Do Authors Do?
by Eileen Christelow


With cartoon panels and cat and dog observers, Christelow takes children through the writing process from beginning ideas to a published book. It'll give them a good idea about all the writing and rewriting that goes into a story, what happens when writers get stuck, the wait for acceptance and rejection letters, the production of the finished book, and how to get readers to buy them. 

A fun look at what an author does and how long it takes to do it!

Love for a brown-sugar boy

A Poem for Peter: The Story of Ezra Jack Keats and the Creation of The Snowy Day
by Andrea Davis Pinkney
pictures by Lou Fancher & Steve Johnson


A joyous, loving ode to a writer who changed the world of children's literature. Keats's importance is eloquently expressed in Andrea Davis Pinkney's emotion-filled verse:



Ezra Jack Keats gave us eyes to see.
Let us celebrate the making 
of what it means to be.

He dared to open a door.
He awakened a wonderland.
He brought a world of white
suddenly alive with color.


To say more would be to spoil a truly wonderful book. 

Highly recommended.

How to find a dragon

John Ronald's Dragons: The Story of J. R. R. Tolkien
by Caroline McAlister
illustrated by Eliza Wheeler


Sometimes it takes years for an idea to grow into a story. Such was the case for John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, author of The Hobbit. He'd been searching for dragons ever since he was young, until he decided to create one for himself.

An imaginative biography of the great fantasy author, with pictures inspired by the stories he invented.

Life in the shtetl

Sholom's Treasure: How Sholom Aleichem Became a Writer
by Erica Silverman
pictures by Mordicai Gerstein


Sholom Aleichem was a monkey and a dreamer who wanted to make people happy. One of twelve children, his life was often hard - his father lost his business, his mother died of cholera, his sharp-tongued stepmother constantly scolded. Yet Sholom was fascinated by his stepmother's inventive insults, and started to write them down. Called "The Sharp Tongue of the Stepmother", it became his first book. It even made her laugh. It set Sholom on the path to becoming a writer.

Written like a folktale, with expressive paintings to match, this is a humourous and charming story.

When The Chickens Went On Strike
adapted by Erica Silverman
illustrations by Matthew Trueman


On Rosh Hashanah, it was the custom to swing a live chicken over one's head to cleanse away bad deeds. Understandably, the chickens are angry and demand an end to the custom. When negotiations fail, it's up to a young boy to find a solution.

Originally told by Sholom Aleichem, this is a funny story that will leave readers smiling.

World religions

The Kids Book of World Religions
by Jennifer Glossop
illustrated by John Mantha


A good primer on world religions, the book is comprised of four sections divided by region. So it decribes religions from India, the Middle East, East Asia, and other continents (Africa, North America, Australia). It covers many of the same religions as in the previous books with the exception of Confucianism and the very brief summaries of Afro-Caribbean, Native North American, and Aborigine traditions.

Fact boxes and simple language make the book an easy read.

Religion from a child's point-of-view

A Faith Like Mine
by Laura Buller


A wide-ranging look at world religions, this book features a cast of international children talking about their respective faith and what they've learned and like about it. Beginning with traditional beliefs, the book examines Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. A closing chapter gives brief summaries of Zoroastrianism, Shinto, Taoism, Jainism, and Baha'i.

As with all of DK Publishing's books, the pages are packed with information that may be intimidating at first. But the format makes the book ideal for casual browsing, and the many pictures are a happy distraction.

Includes a glossary and index.