Historical Fiction: Terror in the Harbour (Penelope)

McKay, S.E. (2001). Terror in the Harbour: Penelope. Toronto : Penguin Books.

To be honest I picked this book because it satisfied my criteria for:
a) Historical fiction
b) Canadian
c) For girls
I had not picked this book because it appealed to me itself. With this in mind I am happy to say that it was an absorbing read. The story quickly hooked me and the descriptions took me to Halifax in 1917 with ease. Whether other books in the Our Canadian Girl series, or even if the three other books in Penelope's series would interest boys is uncertain, but this one definitely did. This is due to the narrative covering several of the categories Jon Scieszka laid down on his website Guys Read. There is at least one explosion (the biggest man made one EVER), war, blood, swearing, and the knocking over of a chamber pot. What else could a guy ask for in a book marketed as written for girls?

Realistic Fiction: Zee's Way

Butcher, K. (2004). Zee's Way. Victoria, B.C.: Orca Book Publishers


Orca publishes levelled readers for older kids. Orca soundings is for tweens and teens, Orca Currents is for middle school students, and Orca Echoes is for kids 7-9. There is also Orca Sports and Orca for young readers. Zee's Way by Kristin Butcher is from the Sounding series, and it shows. The book opens with a bunch of tattooed, punked out teens in some beef with a group of bullying store owners. Given the books racy start I found the ending to be slightly cliché. The book is small, but has an attractive cover. It is just over 100 pages, but the font is large, legible. These features keep it looking like an age appropriate book, but keep it at the appropriate literacy level for those who read reluctantly because of difficulties. Orca books are the best example I’ve found that might get teens reading and draw them away from equally racy TV dramas.

Magazine: ChickaDEE

Aaron. (2009, September). chickaDEE.

I was curious to see how much current format of chickaDEE compared to the one I was familiar with growing up. I am happy to say that the magazine has kept its appeal and was an interesting, albeit much faster read. The issue I looked at was primarily centered on environmental themes there were craft projects with leaves, cut-outs for placing over switch plates that remind to save energy, and an article by David Suzuki's about his dream green home. There seems to be a much heavier emphasis on illustrations and cartooning rather than the traditional photographic content, but all the kids’ magazines I looked at, excluding the celebrity/fashion magazines, seemed to be following this trend. Overall it did seem that there would be enough interesting pieces to keep a child busy for a month until the new issue arrived.

Picture Book: In the Night Kitchen

Sendak, M.(1970).In the Night Kitchen. U.S.A.: Harper & Row Publishing.

This book has endured its fair share of controversy since its initial publication. This is due to Christian outrage over Mickey's accurately drawn nudity and agnostic outrage over the religious parallel between Mickey, Christ, and the resurrection. Regardless, this book is a fun and fanciful tale with illustrations that I still evoke fond childhood memories (the dough outfit and plane that Mickey dons and flies still produce feelings of comfort and ease in me when I see them). I wonder how young kids, especially girls, would react to the nudity, but kids tend to be surprisingly open minded, provided they have a grounded upbringing. There is so much else to look at in the illustrations that Mickey's little penis should not prove to be the sole focus of a reader’s attention...and if it is, so what? Are we going to lie to our children and make them think they are the only ones with genitals? If you have a child who has enjoyed Sendak's Where the Wild Things Are this will be a good follow up read.

Realistic Fiction: Blubber

Blume, J. (1974).Blubber. New York: Dell Publishing

Despite being over 30 years old, this book seems more relevant today than ever. This book is frequently challenged due to the persistent cruelty that runs through the text. The story revolves around Jill, a girl in the fifth grade. There is a girl in Jill’s class, Linda, who has weight issues and after presenting a report on whaling she is dubbed, Blubber. Throughout the book there are issues of peer pressure, mob mentality, children's cruelty towards each other, and so on. In a society that is in the midst of an obesity epidemic the reality of Linda's situation hits home. There are many passages that are hard for even me, a perpetually skinny male, to read, which speaks to Judy Blume's ability to spin a convincing narrative. The reader alternatively feels Linda's pain, spite for the antagonism of her classmates, and relief that this isn't happening to them... but somewhere this story is happening to someone and that is why this book should be read.

Fairy Tale: Truly Grim Tales

Galloway, P. (1995). Truly Grim Tales. Toronto: Lester Publishing.

Priscella Galloway retells eight of the Grimm’s fairy tales under extremely different lenses. The stories are rearranged to be so different from the original versions one is left in the dark sometimes until the final page. The stories also occur in landscapes different than the one described in Grimm’s world. There is a land where people suffer from a disease cured only by a compound found in the bones of a nearby pigmy tribe (this is a revamped Jack and the Beanstalk), or where animals have become gargantuan as a side effect of atomic war (an SF retelling of Little Red Riding Hood). This book is a really interesting read and unlike the original, moralistic Grimm’s tales, these ones have no clear-cut hero and villain and the reader is forced to see things from very fresh perspectives. As the title suggests these tales often do not have a happy ending and are probably better suited for those who are familiar with the brother's Grimm and are nearing the double digits in age.

Realistic Fiction: Eagle Feather- An Honour

Plain, F. (1999). Eagle feather – An Honour. Winnipeg: Pemmican Publications Inc.

Despite being realistic fiction this book by Fergusen plain doesn’t exist in the real world (whatever that is!) The story is from the real world and maybe someday it will all be our own story too. But this book is a memory, an honour. Look at the illustrations! When we read this we are in the storytellers mind. This being said, we have to accept that the memory is sad and that to go into it means that for a time we might be sad too. The ethereal atmosphere of the pictures and the layout of black pages with white writing is comforting against the realistic and direct narrative of the death of the main characters grandfather.

Nonfiction: North Amreican Indian Sign Language

Liptak, K. (1990). North American Indian Sign Language. New York & Toronto: Scholastic Inc.

It is difficult to cover a subject as physically and visually based as that of sign language in a printed medium. This book does well to balance with a pictorial representation, however small, beside each described action and a very colorful, graphic oriented introduction the book can maintain its appeal. Given the fluctuation of acceptable terminology I found the term North American Indian to be a little outdated. As can be noted by the cover the words North American are in a different font colour, seeming to indicate that this might be one book from a series of sign languages from South American, or South Asian "Indians"...however, I have yet to find any of these books.

Native Folktale: Sketco the Raven

Ayre, R. (1991). Sketco the Raven. Richmond Hill, Ont: Scholatic.

This book is a compilation the similair narratives that span the oral traditions of the aboriginals of the Pacific north-west. Ayre writes a series of short stories that combine into an overall "biography” of the trickster Raven. Through each story he illuminates how Raven improved upon our world, be it by bringing fire, or light, or weather cycles.
Ayre does bear a signifigant amount of bias as his stories are based off of the recorded accounts of several European ethnologists, making Ayer’s knowledge third hand. The narrative voice is also masculine and, while many native narratives are either sexless or gender bending, all the major characters in Ayers work are male.
Another break from the style of Native narratives the book is sparse in it's imagery, each chapter bearing a single thematic etching print by Philip Surrey.

Native Folktale: How the Robin got Its Red Breast

Craigan, C. (Illus.) (1997). How the Robin Got Its Red Breast: A Legend of the Schelt People. Gibsons, BC: Nightwood Editions.

This folktale is a beautiful display of art; not a book, but the images of imagination from an oral tradition. The story of the Robin is retold through small paragraphs of text that float within the sublime illustrations of Charlie Craigan, allowing the action of the robin to dance through the pages. Is this is just one tale of many; a tale of one insignificant little bird? Or is this a subtle reminder of the debt of gratitude we should feel for having so many interesting things in the world? The message in this story is subtle, yet clear and suitible for children 5 years old to to 50; Respect the world that has made and cared for you.