tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27920565399806573022024-03-13T12:14:55.342-07:00kisses are more important than ratsShelley Annahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06362581966700785688noreply@blogger.comBlogger304125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2792056539980657302.post-35972165196457075302024-03-01T20:34:00.000-08:002024-03-01T20:34:26.428-08:00Five Book Reviews: Protecting the Prairies: Lorne Scott and the Politics of Conservation by Andrea Olive; Unpoken by Tammy Ottenbreit; A Moment of Clarity: Stories of Lives Lived and Unlived” By F. E. Eldridge; “The Island Gospel According to Samson Grief” by Steven Mayoff; and “My Little Métis Sleepy Horse” written and illustrated by Leah Marie Dorion <p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">“Protecting the Prairies: Lorne Scott
and the Politics of Conservation”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">By Andrea Olive<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Published by University of Regina Press<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Review by Shelley A. Leedahl<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">$32.95<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>ISBN 9-780889-779600<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Andrea Olive’s </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Protecting the
Prairies: Lorne Scott and the Politics of Conservation </i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">ingeniously illuminates
the fifty-year history of Saskatchewan’s environmental policies and conservation
practices (or lack thereof) via a political biography of lifelong
conservationist, activist, farmer and politician Lorne Scott, who began
building bluebird nest boxes as a teen and eventually served as Saskatchewan’s Environment
and Resource minister. (And there’s much of import in between.) Through exhaustive
research and interviews with Scott and his conservationist and political contemporaries,
Olive makes a strong case for why Scott’s considered to be “Saskatchewan’s most
important naturalist,” and her writing’s so dynamic, this reviewer didn’t
notice she was getting a broad education in Saskatchewan politics, as well as
conservationism. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Humble, community-oriented and </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">sans</i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">
secondary education, Scott’s earned so many accolades and awards, there’d not
be a wall large enough to contain them: from the Saskatchewan Wildlife
Federation, Ducks Unlimited, Canadian Nature Federation, and the Whooping Crane
Conservation Association; an Order of Merit (“as an outstanding young citizen”);
a Saskatchewan Centennial Medal; the Saskatchewan Order of Merit; a Governor
General’s Conservation Award; and the Order of Canada … just to name a few.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">He's published numerous newspaper and
magazine articles; worked at the Saskatchewan Museum of Natural History and as
a park naturalist for Wascana Centre Authority (both in Regina); banded tens of
thousands of birds; served on/presided over myriad boards and organizations; and
been a politician. Scott was nominated as the NDP candidate for the Indian
Head-Wolseley constituency in 1990, and elected as government member of the
Legislative Assembly for that area—where he was born, raised, and remains—in
1991. From his service as reeve to his ongoing work with Nature Saskatchewan and
his position of chair of St. Andrew’s United Church Council in Indian Head,
this man’s legacy of volunteerism and his commitments to conservation and community
have earned him glowing praise across the board, from politicians to fellow
farmers in the province where, Olive writes, “most people … seem to be rather
carefree on environmental issues”.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Superhuman? It would almost appear so,
but kudos to Olive for also delivering a balanced perspective. She alludes to Scott’s
complicity (as Environment Minister) with the NDP government on uranium
development, and writes that “climate changes leaves him fumbling”.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Olive is a SK-born political scientist
and human geographer at the University of Toronto Missisauga. Her passions are “environmental
policy” and “understanding how people see and value their relationship with
nature”. Aside from her revered subject, Lorne Scott, she credits writer and grasslands
conservationist Trevor Herriot, author Wallace Stegner, and American
conservationist/ author Aldo Leopold as inspirations. She speaks often of the “western
paradox”—the desire for a sustained, resource-based economy and the reality
that such economy plunders natural resources, habitats, and the creatures who
depend on them.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">After reading Olive’s exquisite book, one
might indeed believe Lorne Scott wears a cape, but no, “To his family and
friends, he is just </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Lorne</i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">—the farmer driving around in an old van with
the licence plate “Nature”. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">THIS BOOK IS AVAILABLE AT YOUR LOCAL
BOOKSTORE OR FROM WWW.SKBOOKS.COM</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p>__________ </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">“Unspoken”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">By Tammy Ottenbreit<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Published by Your Nickel’s Worth
Publishing<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Review by Shelley A. Leedahl <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">$24.95<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>ISBN 978-1-988783-97-0<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">It’s delightfully surprising to
encounter a book penned by someone who’s come to writing after a career in a
completely different field, and find that the book proves well worth the read. Case
in point, </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Unspoken</i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">, by Regina’s Tammy Ottenbreit. A longtime medical
laboratory technologist, Ottenbreit “needed something to challenge her creative
skills” upon retirement, and she found it in writing </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Unspoken</i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">. The mostly
historical novel is based on the “tragic tale of [her] great-aunt,” and
Ottenbreit does her relative’s story justice in this 278-page fictionalized account.
It opens in 1922 Winnipeg, ends in Moose Jaw (2016), and includes a realistic
Atlantic sea-crossing for a group of Hungarians lured to Canada by the promise
of “one hundred and sixty acres for ten dollars”.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">We initially meet Sister Maria, a nun
and midwife at the Sisters of Mercy home (for “the poor and unfortunate
women”), where dead babies are buried with graves “marked with a rock,
handpainted by the older children”. Gulp. We can surmise that contemporary
Clair, in Saskatoon, will have some connection to the empathetic nun. The
former’s on a mission to discover who her deceased father’s biological mother
was. Claire has abandonment issues: her father left the family when Clair was
eleven, and there’s a “beast that gnaws at [her] soul”. She hopes that a DNA
testing kit and diligent research will provide some answers to the mystery of
her father. She has an urn with his cremains, and considers how bizarre it is
that “A man’s entire life [is] taking up less space in the closet than [her]
shoes”.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">It’s two other female characters,
however, that are the story’s main focus. Anna is married with children and
about to board a ship in Liverpool, along with her siblings and their families.
Anna’s daughter, Annie, was born deaf and mute, and her “affliction made her
dear to [her mother’s] heart”. A morbid cliffhanger near the end of Part 1 in
this three-part novel makes it impossible to put the book down.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Ottenbreit’s at her finest when she’s
describing the difficult sea journey across the Atlantic on the </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Bavaria</i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">.
Walking the gangplank to board was terrifying for Anna: “The height hypnotized
me, and the sight of the icy grey water swirling below froze me in place”. The
steerage area “reminded [her] of a burned forest of tall, leafless trees in all
directions. Dim oil lamps hung from hooks …”. The red-bearded deckhand leads
them past the section designated for single men, and warns “Women and children
alike have been grabbed, and no good comes from it”. Indeed, these rough men became
“bolder and more offensive as the days passed”.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">
</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Twenty years after immigrating, the
Hungarian families are celebrating Dominion Day 1921 in Saskatchewan, where
they’ve happily homesteaded between Regina and Moose Jaw. When Ottenbreit
skillfully juxtaposes a sexual assault with “party lights glittered in the
distance,” I know she’s earned a seat at the Authors’ table. For pacing,
plotting, interesting characters and a satisfying ending, </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Unspoken </i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">earns
high marks.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">THIS BOOK IS AVAILABLE AT YOUR LOCAL
BOOKSTORE OR FROM WWW.SKBOOKS.COM</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p>__________ </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">“A Moment of Clarity: Stories of Lives
Lived and Unlived”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">By F. E. Eldridge<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Published by YNWP<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Review by Shelley A. Leedahl<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">$22.95<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>ISBN 978-1-77869-007-5<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Beyond the handsome cover of Saskatoon
writer F.E. Eldridge’s first book, </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">A Moment of Clarity: Stories of Lives Lived
and Unlived</i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">, I discovered bittersweet tales that span decades, cover a rainbow
of emotions, and cross borders both real and metaphorical. Except for one, the twenty-two
stories feature female protagonists … from an Annapolis Valley, NS girlhood in the
1950s to a young woman’s lonely college days in Edmonton, and from work in NWT
to mid-life relationships and concerns in Saskatoon and nearby Dundurn, SK.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The stories are “loosely based” on Eldridge’s
own experiences, which lends extra authenticity to the settings and characters.
These sometimes yearning, sometimes feisty main characters are generally from
large, impoverished but hard-working rural families, and they often have difficult
relationships with their mothers. Solace is frequently found in dogs, ie: Harold,
“a black, long-haired mongrel of uncertain origin” whom character Lily confides
in after her baby sister dies; Reggie, a German shepherd that enjoys road trips
with his widowed owner, Lil Thomas, who operates a herb farm and finds a duffle
bag filled with $90,000 (will she keep it?); and vomiting siblings Opal and
Pearl, seven-year-old “Medium-sized black German shepherds” who “[fidget] like
a couple of restless tap dancers to be let into the backyard”. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">In the first story we meet
fifteen-year-old Tess, one of a family of six children. Tess is responsible for
“mak[ing] the family supper every night” and getting her younger siblings off
to school. Mature beyond her years, she’s the daughter of a hard mother and a
father who suffers his wife’s wrath, and drinks more than he should. When the
children bring home a blind kitten, their father surreptitiously kills it, and—as
suggested in the titular “moment of clarity”—empathetic Tess considers “the
quiet war that must be raging within him”. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Eleven-year-old Lucy also works hard:
she earns money picking fruit and vegetables in the Annapolis Valley, and her
mother insists that the girl “use her summer wages for school clothes and
supplies”. It’s 1961, and Lucy’s thrilled to receive her brother’s hand-me-down
bike, even if it doesn’t have a seat, back wheel or chain. Without the bike, she’d
be walking the three miles to school.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">These characters aren’t always
presented in a positive light. Nan, in “A Sister’s Ambiguity,” steals from her
father and resents her sister, who suffered greatly after drinking lye as a
toddler. Anna Mae pesters her grandma’s boarder to let her try chewing tobacco.
With just a year between them, sisters Laura and Florence get into outrageous
physical fights so often, a social worker steps in and threatens to remove one
of them from home. The hatred extends into adulthood. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">In this book filled with women, it’s interesting
that my favourite story, “Mr. Simpson,” concerns a man. It’s a mental health story—Ralph’s
phobic about bugs—and an example of how when we choose a perspective far
different from our own, the resulting story can be profound. All in all, well
done F. E. Edridge.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">THIS BOOK IS AVAILABLE AT YOUR LOCAL
BOOKSTORE OR FROM WWW.SKBOOKS.COM</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p>__________ </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">“The Island Gospel According to Samson
Grief”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">By Steven Mayoff<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Published by Radiant Press<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Review by Shelley A. Leedahl<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">$25.00<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>ISBN 9-781989-274972<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Buckle up, Readers. PEI’s Steven Mayoff
has penned a clever and entertaining novel that melds Pink Floyd; Judaism; art;
dirty local politics; asinine radio show hosts; a foul-mouthed, riding crop-wielding
webcaster in <i>Anne of Green Gables</i> orange braids; a hurricane; and a trio
of unlikely characters—Judas (yes, <i>that</i> Judas), Fagin (from <i>Oliver
Twist</i>) and Shakespeare’s Shylock. <i>The Island Gospel According to Samson Grief</i>
is an immersive trip that leaps across the fine line between gritty realism and
magic realism, and I’m glad I went for the ride. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Mayoff’s book aptly begins with a Socrates
quote about madness, “which is a divine gift,” and for much of the 347 pages
the First Person narrator and politically-subversive artist-of-some-acclaim, Samson
Grief, wonders if he has indeed gone mad. Grief creates “fantasia(s) of Jewish
iconography set on modern-day Prince Edward Island,” and his most acclaimed work
is </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Anne of Bergen-Belsen, </i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">a painting of a raggedly-dressed Anne Shirley with
burning eyes, tattooed numbers on her skeletal forearm, and a Star of David armband.
She’s standing before a concentration camp fence and a “candy-striped lighthouse”.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">This powerful and controversial work attracts
the attention of “the Supreme One,” and his messengers—Judas, Fagin and
Shylock—spontaneously appear “in gaudy summer shirts and goofy headgear” to protagonist
Grief. They explain—in individually distinct and cracking good diction—that The
Supreme One (aka God) has “seen fit to bless this small red mote [PEI] as the
new Promised Land”. Before that happens, however, Grief must build a synagogue
on the site of a 100-acre garbage dump, which a shady, bolo tie-wearing local
entrepreneur-turned-MLA already has slated for a money-making resort and kids’
camp. This nefarious politician’s daughter is the gal webcamming in the crimson
bodice, and his hijab-wearing ex-wife is the woman Grief’s falling for. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Aside from its hilarious originality,
this novel scores high points for Mayoff’s ability to differentiate the diverse
cast, including the “three boils on [his] psyche’s backside,” whom the author
brilliantly distinguishes through voice. Fagin’s Cockey accent is bang on, and Shylock
speaks thus: “’The man hath been well knocked off-kilter, if not in evidence of
his frame, then most surely in the maze of his brain,” and he also delivers
this apropos gem: “</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">̒</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">What
form doth reality take and what may be said of fiction? Is one a mirror for the
other or are they clothed by the opposite ends of a single thread?’”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Mayoff’s previously published the award-winning
short story collection </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Fatted Calf Blues</i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">, a novel and two poetry
collections. A painterly writer, he explains Grief’s “love at first sight” with
the island’s “cobalt rivers and cerulean bays” and the “endless sky of
washed-out robin’s egg blue.” From farmers’ markets to the Confederation Bridge
to “the slightly concave loneliness of living on an island” and the Crazy
Diamond bar managed by his Pink Floyd-loving, moonshine-selling friends, Mayoff’s
painted a riotous portrait of his beloved PEI, complete with hurricane (“Hurricane
X”) which might indeed usher in “a new beginning” for </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Canada’s smallest province. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">THIS BOOK IS AVAILABLE AT YOUR LOCAL
BOOKSTORE OR FROM THE SASKATCHEWAN PUBLISHERS GROUP </span><a href="http://www.skbooks.com/" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">WWW.SKBOOKS.COM</a></p><p class="MsoNormal">__________</p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“My Little M</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">é</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">tis
Sleepy Horse”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Written and Illustrated by Leah Marie
Dorion<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Published by Gabriel Dumont Institute
Press<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Review by Shelley A. Leedahl<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">$17.50<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>ISBN 978-1-988011-31-8<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Sometimes simplicity’s best, and that’s
particularly true when it comes to the plots for board books written for toddlers
and young children. Prince Albert, SK Métis writer and artist Leah Marie Dorion
keeps it simple—but also beautiful and bilingual—in her board book </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">My Little
Métis Sleepy Horse, </i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">released by Gabriel Dumont Institute Press. The vibrantly-illustrated
story’s Michif translation is credited to Michif language keepers and educators
Irma Klyne and Larry Fayant, both also from Saskatchewan.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The book shares a day in the life of a
nameless girl and her beloved horse, beginning with “My horse wakes up. I wake
up.” The full-bleed illustration opposite this reveals a yellow and orange, groovy-styled
sun with rays like long arms that stretch across the page; cheery, oversized
flowers; and the basic figures of a horse and a black-haired girl wearing a
purple dress. The child’s arms salute the sun, and the colours and stylistic use
of imperfect circles within all the objects—including the grass and the sky—set
the upbeat tone.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Text is minimal, ie: “My horse eats
grass. I eat an apple,” “My horse runs fast. I run fast,” and My horse rests. I
rest”. The words and corresponding illustrations demonstrate the girl’s close
relationship to her horse and the activities they share, ie: jumping and
playing. The horse theme is apropos, as “Horse stories are an important theme
in Métis oral history,” and though any child could certainly enjoy this small, easy-to-hold
book, when Métis children have this story read to them, it “can help reconnect [them]
to their Métis cultural routes on the high plains”. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Dorion’s been writing and illustrating books
for several years, and her numerous titles include </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The Diamond Willow
Walking Stick: A Traditional Métis Story about Generosity</i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> and </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Relatives
with Roots: A Story about Métis Women’s Connection to the Land</i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">. If you’re
already familiar with her award-winning work, you’ll know that “Her artwork
celebrates the strength and resilience of Métis women and families”.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The story comes full circle, with the
child and horse sleeping on the ground— after a fun and active day—beneath dragonflies,
stars, blue and purple circles and the blue infinity symbol that’s featured on
the Métis flag. “The symbol represents the immortality of the nation,” (metisnation.org)
and again, this is fitting, as books like Dorion’s keep the Michif stories and
language alive. This illustration also appears on this sturdy book’s cover. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Translators Klyne and Fayant share
extensive backgrounds in preserving the Michif language. Klyne grew up on the
road allowance east of Katepwa in the Qu’Appelle Valley. She worked for the
Department of Education in Regina and served thirty-two years with Gabriel
Dumont Institute. Fayant, also from the Qu’Appelle Valley Road Allowance, “picked
stones and cut pickets for farmers” in his youth. He lives in Balcarres, SK,
and continues to teach Michif. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">We’ve all heard about “a boy and his
dog”. Thank you, Dorion, for mixing it up, and sharing “a girl and her horse”
story … in two languages.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">THIS BOOK IS AVAILABLE AT YOUR LOCAL
BOOKSTORE OR FROM WWW.SKBOOKS.COM</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p><br /><p></p>Shelley Annahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06362581966700785688noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2792056539980657302.post-62265560104725073312023-12-05T14:27:00.000-08:002023-12-05T14:28:25.489-08:00Five Book Reviews: Jawbone by Meghan Greeley; The Star Poems: A Cree Sky Narrative by Jesse Rae Archibald-Barber; Benny's Dinosaurs by Ashley Vercammen, illustrations by P Aplinder Kaur; Prince Prickly Spine by Tekeyla Friday, illustrations by James Warwood; and Faith in the Fields: Picturesque Ukrainian Churches of Saskatchewan by Fritz Stehwien <p><span style="font-family: arial;">“Jawbone”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">By Meghan Greeley<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Published by Radiant Press<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Review by Shelley A. Leedahl<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">$20.00<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>ISBN 9-781998-926008<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Original. Startling. Candid. <i>Jawbone</i>
is a quick-read novella by Newfoundland writer, performer and director Meghan
Greeley that encompasses the inherent joy and terror of being alive and being in
love. It’s outrageous that a book this polished is the author’s debut title.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">I initially wondered what I was getting
into. Greeley writes: “I was wired shut, and then a man put his latex fingers in
my mouth and cut out the wires with gardening shears”. What? Plotwise, the
narrator—a concertina-playing actor—is recuperating in a small cabin (she told
the Airbnb owner that she was “looking for the loneliest place in the world”) after
an accident left her both physically and emotionally shattered. We know her
boyfriend had moved to California months earlier, and his letters are scattered
throughout the text. The red-haired costumer designer the actor’d been sharing
an apartment with was tantalizingly bizarre, ie: they created a list of tasks
that take approximately a minute to complete, like “</span><i>Microwaving a small
portion of leftovers</i><span face="Arial, sans-serif">”. And the roommate—she of the “smoothest skin”—is difficult
to read. Just friends? More than friends? Then there’s the climactic aquarium incident,
among a crowd and before a bloom of jellyfish. </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;">All in all, Planet Earth seems too alien
to navigate and the narrator wants “to disappear,” so she decides to apply for
a nonprofit-sponsored, never-return trip to Mars, and must create a minute-long
video audition. Trouble is, her jaw’s been wired and speaking’s impossible. For
now, there’s the cabin, where she learns that “twenty-nine showers” is “the
lifespan of a bar of Irish Spring soap if you are rigorous”. For now: memories.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">You can’t help but fall at least a little
in love with this narrator; she bleeds insecurity, strangeness and desire
across every page. Among the things that make her ache: “the smell of wet snow
on pines; the last lines of television shows” and “any mention of the beaches
of Normandy”. She bought a hat “that made [her] feel more like [herself] than
anything ever had before”. </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">Though the premise sounds “out there,” the
story’s completely earthy. The memorable cast is compelling, eccentric and will
say (and do) almost anything, often apropos of nothing. The roommates “drank
gin and put bras on [their] heads and pretended [they] were dumb men”. They
played “Winter” in summer, exhaling smoke from a “half-smoked cigarette” and pretending
“that the smoke was [her] breath, frosting in cold air”. Underneath the stream-of-consciousness
reveries, remembered conversations, and the actor’s eclectic confessions (“My
teeth felt different in California;” she “concoct[s] email passwords from the
things of which [she is] most deeply ashamed”) lies a credible story of simmering
attraction. Readers, you’ll </span><i>feel</i><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> it, too.</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">Looking to kick 2024 off with a fabulous
read? </span><i>Jawbone</i><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> is a book for anyone who has ever “wanted something,
something, something else”. Finally, the cover is another example of how Radiant
Press is producing the most gorgeous books out there. It shimmers. And much like
the text within it, it’s positively radiant. </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;">THIS BOOK IS AVAILABLE AT YOUR LOCAL
BOOKSTORE OR FROM WWW.SKBOOKS.COM</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p>__________ </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" lang="EN-US">“The Star Poems: A Cree Sky
Narrative\ac</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" lang="EN-US">â</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" lang="EN-US">hkos
nikamowini-p</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" lang="EN-US">î</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" lang="EN-US">kiskw</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" lang="EN-US">ê</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" lang="EN-US">wina:
n</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" lang="EN-US">ê</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" lang="EN-US">hiyawi-k</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" lang="EN-US">î</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" lang="EN-US">sik
</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" lang="EN-US">â</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" lang="EN-US">cimowin”</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">By Jesse Rae Archibald-Barber<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Published by Your Nickel’s Worth
Publishing<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Review by Shelley A. Leedahl<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">$24.95<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>ISBN 9-781778-690174<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">It’s innovative, bilingual, and gives
us another kind of Genesis. </span><i>The Star Poems: A Cree Sky Narrative/acâhkos
nikamowini-pîkiskwêwina: nêhiyawi-kîsik âcimowin </i><span face="Arial, sans-serif">is a Cree/English poetry
collection by Jesse Rae Archibald-Barber, a Regina writer, editor and professor
of Indigenous Literatures at the First Nations University of Canada.
Archibald-Barber has ingenuously combined traditional Indigenous creation
stories—The Star stories—with quantum physics, and the result is a star-studded
collection of eye-opening poems.</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">The author essentially contemporizes
Cree oral tradition stories (that “teach us how we are all related to Creation
through the same source of energy and spirit”) by spinning them into poems that
merge with the “spiritual and scientific understandings of the cosmos and the
quantum foundations of reality”. He cites Blackfoot scholar Leroy Little Bear’s
talk on quantum physics and Indigenous spirituality as a major inspiration,
particularly Little Bear’s discussion on “how the quantum superstrings are what
Indigenous cultures have traditionally called </span><i>spirit</i><span face="Arial, sans-serif">”. He also laud’s
Cree educator Wilfred Buck’s video, “Legend of the Star People,” which
describes the “Hole-in-the-Sky—a ‘spatial anomaly’ or a ‘wormhole’ that leads
to and from the spirit world” via the help of Star Woman and Grandmother Spider.
By presenting his work in English </span><i>and </i><span face="Arial, sans-serif">Cree, he simultaneously also helps
keep the Cree language alive.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">This stunning collection’s divided into
two sections: “The Star People” is the stronger of the two. It’s told within a
sweat lodge’s “dome of woven willows” and contains the Creation narrative. Throughout
the book the poet effectively weaves the here and now with the celestial, ie:
“a sudden splash cuts the silence/rocks cracking in the cosmic hearth/the
universe takes its quantum shape/fills itself with its first breath”. This
first powerful poem, “Emergence,” includes: “and I crawl out through the door/a
dazed child, a little spirit/dragging space-time behind me/like an old
blanket”. The three-page piece introduces the “story of the stars/of the
stones/of our grandfathers and grandmothers,” and in following poems we meet
the Star Woman, who “dances/with a blanket made of stars” and Grandmother
Spider, guardian of “the quantum door”. Star Woman “plucked a string” from
“countless self-amplifying loops” and eventually “the galaxy began to
fray/stars spilling out like scattered beads”. The Creator steps in and warns
to respect “the threads” as they “belong to the universe and hold the sky together”.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">Star Woman sees the “earth gleaming in
the starlight”. She wants to go there, and does, in human form. The other Star
Children, hearing her sing, soon follow, and become “the People of the Earth”.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">It's a fascinating braiding of the
traditional and scientific, and some kind of magic happens as a result. The
poems also touch on how “the balance was undone”: the “Paper People” arrived,
the Indigenous “were barred/from walking on the open land,” and traditions were
lost.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">This stanza alone proves this poet’s
prowess:</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">the busker strums a song</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>on
the corner<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">where our light<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>cones overlap<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">and the strings vibrate<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">for a moment<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">as I catch your glance<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>from the window<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>of a passing car.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">THIS BOOK IS AVAILABLE AT YOUR LOCAL
BOOKSTORE OR FROM WWW.SKBOOKS.COM</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p>__________ </o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p><div style="line-height: 200%; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Benny’s Dinosaurs”<br /> </span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Written by Ashley Vercammen, </span><span>Illustrated by P Aplinder Kaur</span><br /><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Published by Home Style Teachers<br /></span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Review by Shelley A. Leedahl<br /></span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">$20.00 <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>ISBN 9-781778-152924<br /></span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 200%; text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">It’s common for children of a certain
age to go through a dinosaur phase—if memory serves, my own son was about seven
when he was passionate about dinosaur books, facts and toys. Prolific Saskatchewan
writer and Home Style Teachers’ publisher, Ashley Vercammen, has tapped into that
possibly universal dinosaur appeal with her colourfully-illustrated softcover</span><i>
Benny’s Dinosaurs</i><span face="Arial, sans-serif">. She’s dedicated the book to her “dinosaur-loving nephew,
Benny”. </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;">
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">On the first page we learn that the
titular “Benny” is a paleontologist about to lead a tour because “It’s a field
trip day!”. A picnic will also ensue. Dressed in a brown uniform with a
ranger-type hat, brown boots and a backpack, the swarthy blond paleontologist
introduces us page-by-page to a variety of well and lesser-known dinosaurs in a
rainbow of colours, and some of the creatures feature spots, horns and
feathers. The story is illustrated by P Aplinder Kaur with playful-looking
dinosaurs—Triceratops is green, Kosmoceratops is blue with fifteen horns and
spikes, Tyrannosaurus Rex is dark pink—and their polka-dotted eggs. P Aplinder
Kaur—also a cartoonist and digital marketer— lives in Kharar, India. Author and
illustrator have teamed before.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">Tour guide Benny engages his audience
with questions and comments, and on each page Vercammen includes the phonetic pronunciation
of the dinosaur being discussed, ie: Giganotosaurus, which “was a little bit
bigger than the T-Rex,” is pronounced “Jai-ga-nuh-tuh-saw-ruhs,” and the
elephant-sized Xenoposeidon is pronounced “Zen-o-puh-sai-dn”). This could be
very helpful for early readers </span><i>and</i><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> older folks. </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">Young children will enjoy the bold,
cartoon-like illustrations, and even at this reviewer’s great age, it’s fun to
learn new things about dinosaurs. I didn’t know that the dinosaur with the
longest name is Micropachycephalosaurus. “Phew, I bet he took a long time to
write his name!” Benny says. Vercammen often includes light humour in her
numerous children’s books. I also didn’t know that Leptoceratops “sometimes walked
on two legs” and “lived in caves,” and that “there are over 700 known dinosaurs”.
On the prairies, the small and light Albertosaurus “often travelled in packs to
stay safe and find food,” Benny explains. And can you name a dinosaur that is
the “the height of an average man”? Perhaps the dinosaur-lovers in your family or
classroom—or this book!—can enlighten you.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">Vercammen lives in Saskatchewan and
writes books to engage “readers of varying English abilities in conversation”. She
regularly markets her titles at book fairs and other in-person events. If you’d
like to see her growing library of books, please consult her website at </span><a href="http://www.ashley-vercammen.ca/">www.ashley-vercammen.ca</a><span face="Arial, sans-serif">. Interestingly,
she’s also published a colouring book version of </span><i>Benny’s Dinosaurs, </i><span face="Arial, sans-serif">and readily
helps other writers publish their stories via her publishing company, Home
Style Teachers.</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><span color="windowtext" face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Benny’s Dinosaurs</span></i><span color="windowtext" face="Arial, sans-serif"> is a treat. </span><span color="windowtext" face="Arial, sans-serif" lang="EN-US">I wonder what this enterprising
author will entertain young readers with next? From haircut and dentist
appointments to the touching sibling story,<i> </i></span><i><span color="windowtext" face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Little Big Sister: Big Little Brother, </span></i><span color="windowtext" face="Arial, sans-serif">Vercammen’s always got surprises up her sleeves, and
she regularly rolls them up to do the hard work of book marketing.</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">THIS BOOK IS AVAILABLE AT YOUR LOCAL
BOOKSTORE OR FROM THE SASKATCHEWAN PUBLISHERS GROUP WWW.SKBOOKS.COM</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">__________</span></p><div style="line-height: 200%; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Prince Prickly Spine”<br /></span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">By Tekeyla Friday, Illustrated by James
Warwood<br /></span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Published by Tekeyla Friday Studios
Publishing<br /></span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Review by Shelley A. Leedahl<br /></span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">$11.99
ISBN 978-1-7772418-4-1<br /></span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> <br /></span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif">How in the world did she come up with
this?</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif">That was my initial reaction to the
multi-talented Tekeyla Friday’s enchanting chapter book, </span><i>Prince Prickly
Spine</i><span face="Arial, sans-serif">. Its royalty, dragon, castles and jousting make it medieval. The
futuristic “Pizza Pads” (for playing music) and Pizza Palms (like cellphones,
they’re used for calls and texting, but also feature a “pepperoni-flavoured
keypad” and are pizza-shaped) give it a sci-fi touch. And the fact that the
story’s protagonist is a kid who’d rather be playing video games than keeping
his room tidy, exercising or “paying attention to [his] tutor” gives it a very
“contemporary kid” feel. And I haven’t even mentioned the prince’s fairy
godfather, Joe Troll, who frequently screws up wishes, but then “Nowadays in
Medievaldom, anyone could apply to be a fairy godparent, as long as they had a
pixie spark”. The Swift Current author delivers a strong dose of humour, and
that works in </span><i>every</i><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> genre. </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">Friday, who is also a stop motion
animation and claymation artist, clearly has a wonderful imagination and knows
just what juvenile readers appreciate in a book: an irreverent child; a
dangerous rescue-the-princess-from-the-dragon mission; and lots of physical
comedy, thanks here to a clumsy young prince. Twelve-year-old Prince Evert
doesn’t behave like a </span><i>real</i><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> prince in any way, shape or form. When his
mother enters his messy, foul-smelling room and confiscates his electronics,
the prince says fine, he’ll “go outside and walk around the moat,” but that
doesn’t cut it with the queen. She sends her lazy, stinking son—he’s not bathed
in a month—on a quest: he must journey to “the Shadow Dragon’s Cave and rescue
Princess Amelia”. Prince Evert says: “Are you batty, woman?” And even worse
luck: he’s not allowed to take his Pizza Palm, so will be relying on an
old-fashioned parchment map: “It looked sort of like a caveman’s drawing of a
GPS.”</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">The prince’s humiliating attire for his
adventure demonstrates Friday’s fine use of similes: “The sock smelled rancid,
like dead, salted fish that had gone rotten”.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">The writing is witty, the characters
delightful, and the book is illustrated in comical drawings by James Warwood,
from Wales. I laughed when I saw the image for the “WANTED ALIVE </span><u>NOT</u><span face="Arial, sans-serif">
DEAD” poster, which included this: “Note: She’s too young to marry.” That’s
just fine with Prince Evert, who only “wanted to play video games and chat on
Medievaldom social media and play MeTube videos,” plus “hang out” with his
bestie, Prince Roman Porter.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">Other characters include the
protagonist’s brother, Don, who calls Evert the “Sloth Prince” and tells Evert
that after the Shadow Dragon eats the prince’s feet, he’ll “have to wear wooden
ones,” and Tilly, the teasing maid. After the prince loses his horse he
connects with his comical fairy godfather, the bulbous-nosed Joe Troll, and the
boy hopes for a magical fix to his situation. Unfortunately, the bumbling troll
has made another mistake. Will someone be “dragon food by sundown”? </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">This book is a royal romp. Enjoyed it! </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">THIS BOOK IS AVAILABLE AT YOUR LOCAL
BOOKSTORE OR FROM WWW.SKBOOKS.COM</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">__________</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Faith in the Fields: Picturesque
Ukrainian Churches of Saskatchewan”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Paintings, drawings and sketches by Fritz
Stehwien<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Published by Landscape Art Publishing <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Review by Shelley A. Leedahl<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">$19.95 ISBN 9-781738-021901<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">Fritz Stehwien
was a German-born Saskatoon artist (1914-2008) whose life and work continue to
be celebrated by many, including his family. The art-filled hardcover </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif">is an
archival project produced by Waltraude and Barbara Stehwien, and in its introduction
we learn that the book “was inspired by two exhibits held at the Ukrainian Museum
of Canada in Saskatoon: Faith in the Fields (1997) and Faith in the Fields II
(1999)”.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">The beautifully-bound book features page
after page of full-bleed, mostly pastel images of the singular churches and
landscapes Stehwien encountered in his adopted home on the Canadian prairies. (The
lifetime artist was forced to serve as a soldier in Eastern Europe during WW II.)</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">This art book also commemorates the “resilience”
of “European settlers encountering the harsh prairie climate”. This resilience came,
in part, due to “their faith and strength,” and memorials to this history are
found in the Ukrainian churches—“revered prairie icons”—still scattered across Saskatchewan.
While some of these architectural delights are now abandoned, others have
become designated heritage sites.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">The artist returned to Europe in 1942, attracted
especially by “the picturesque onion domes in Belarus and Russia”—architecture commonly
replicated in Ukrainian churches on the prairies. Russia’s war on Ukraine in
2022 prompted Stehwien’s family to publish this latest book, which they’ve dedicated
“to the resilience of the people of the Ukraine who are once again required to
draw on their strengths for survival”. </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">The pastel, acrylic and charcoal images
draw the gaze in and make me contemplate what it may have been like to arrive
as a settler on the bare, harsh prairie. Several of the paintings include
neighbouring cemeteries, the graves marked with tall Orthodox crosses. The
landscapes illustrate the seasons as well, ie: barren winter fields, and spring-filled
ponds, as we see in the paintings of the churches in Plainview, Bankend, Fernwood
and Theodore. I admire the sunset-strokes behind the Catholic churches Stehwien
captured in Bodnari and Yorkton.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" lang="EN-US">The book also includes a list of the
Ukrainian churches and the year they were built, as well as a map showing their
locations in Saskatchewan. I find the grand </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif">Ukrainian Orthodox Holy Trinity Cathedral in Saskatoon, where I attended
a very traditional wedding decades ago. Across the page there’s St. George Cathedral,
also in Saskatoon, with several onion-shaped domes crowning its glory. </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" lang="EN-US">I’ve
also personally admired many of these churches from the highway during my
travels across the province, and on page 36 I find All Saints (Orthodox) nestled
between golden-leaved trees and spruces in my hometown of Meadow Lake. Certainly
I remember this domed beauty, but I don’t recall ever entering its doors, and
that’s a pity.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">I’m so pleased that the Stehwien family
has chosen to honour their father’s art and their cultural heritage in this
artistic way. I hope that it </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif">finds its way into the hands and hearts
of those who will cherish it.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">THIS BOOK IS AVAILABLE AT YOUR LOCAL
BOOKSTORE OR FROM THE SASKATCHEWAN PUBLISHERS GROUP WWW.SKBOOKS.COM</span></p></div></div><p></p>Shelley Annahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06362581966700785688noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2792056539980657302.post-73874427866980997002023-11-23T06:06:00.000-08:002023-11-23T06:06:23.012-08:00Five Book Reviews: Towards a Prairie Atonement by Trevor Herriot; The Treasure Box by Judith Silverthorne; Loggerheads by Bruce Hornidge; The Story of Me by Denise Leduc, illustrated by Olena Zhinchyna; and 2 Women 2 Generations 26 Poems by Sheri Hathaway and Louise (McLean) Hathaway <p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">“Towards a Prairie Atonement”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">By Trevor Herriot<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Published by University of Regina Press<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Review by Shelley A. Leedahl<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">$22.95<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>ISBN 9-780889-779648<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Award-winning writer, prairie
naturalist, and birder extraordinaire—Regina's Trevor Herriot requires little
introduction. <i>River in a Dry Land</i>: bestseller. CBC Radio: regular. I’ve
just devoured Herriot’s <i>Towards a Prairie Atonement</i>—an eloquent treatise
on the interconnected injustices that Colonialism and profit-at-all-costs dealt
the prairie M</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">é</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">tis
and all living things dependent upon the Aspen Parkland grasslands. Though compact
in size, this three-part essay dispenses an enormous amount of history, appeals
for a reckoning, and delivers a few slight feathers of ecological hope. Herriot
says he “set [his] heart on telling a story that [would] inspire people to take
a second look at what we all lost, and could yet restore, in our regard for
more sophisticated and nuanced forms of land governance”. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The wisely-woven text begins with a map
of the Saskatchewan and Manitoba rivers and historical sites discussed, and an
edifying timeline that stretches from the 1600s to 2012. These centuries saw
the beginnings of Canada’s fur trade; the North West and Hudson’s Bay Companies
jostling; buffalo’s demise; a plethora of government decisions that greatly
impacted upon the Métis; the plight of Louis Riel; the establishment (and
consequent brutal displacement) of a 250-strong Métis settlement around the Ste.
Madeleine mission north of Fort Ellice; the institution of community pastures in
Saskatchewan and Manitoba via the Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Act (the Canadian
government’s response to the Dirty Thirties); and Stephen Harper’s reckless
gutting of the PFRA, created in 1935 for the “protection and programming for
vulnerable grassland ecosystems”. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">With each of Herriot’s books, it’s not
just what he says (and considering his passion, intelligence and concern, he
has</span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">much to say) that appeals, it’s also </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">how</i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> he says it. Birds
are never far away, and here we find the longspur’s “warm and holy” eggs in his
initial paragraph, where he’s walking, as he’s done for two decades, “onto the
scattered archipelago of native prairie islands surrounded by a sea of cash
crops”.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">His human company in this story includes
fellow grassland naturalist and photographer Branimir Gjetvaj and Michif Elder
Norman Fleury; Fleury provided the book’s “Afterword”. Together they walk and
talk in the Spy Hill-Ellice community pasture among rare birds, “small mandalas
of antennaria in bloom,” and the Ste. Madeleine headstones. At this site years
before, the Métis “spoke the language, sang the songs, and told the stories
that their fur-trading ancestors first voiced in the prairie world”. Even now, Métis
(“new people who were not this and not that,” Fleury says) families gather at the
pasture’s “well-tended” campsite for a summer celebration, and indeed, the
import of community and “how the prairie might bring us together” are part of
what Herriot advocates. The Michif are tenacious.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Colonialism, Herriot asserts, is “an
utterly unreliable narrator” and atonement begins with “recognizing and
honouring what was and is native” but’s been “evicted from the land—native
plants and animals but the original peoples, cultures, and languages too.” I
assert that Herriot’s a completely </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">reliable</i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> narrator, and I’ll never
tire of his imperative themes. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">THIS BOOK IS AVAILABLE AT YOUR LOCAL
BOOKSTORE OR FROM WWW.SKBOOKS.COM</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p>__________</o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“The Treasure Box”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">By Judith Silverthorne<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Published by Your Nickel’s Worth Publishing<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Review by Shelley A. Leedahl<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">$19.95
ISBN 9-781988-783888<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The Treasure Box </span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">is
the fourth Judith Silverthorne novel I’ve read during my decades as a book reviewer,
and again, this Regina-based writer has mesmerized me. I reviewed Silverthorne’s
middle years’ novel, <i>Convictions</i>, in 2016, and must reiterate what I
wrote about that novel, as it absolutely also applies to <i>The Treasure Box</i>:
“This is extremely competent writing, and what's more, it's a story that's hard
to put down.”</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Silverthorne’s credible and likeable ten-year-old
narrator, Augustus Ludwig (aka Gus), has just reluctantly moved from Calgary to
Regina after his parents’ split. Now Gus, sister Hannah and Mom have moved in
with Grandad, who is suffering from intermittent memory loss, and will soon be
transitioning into a seniors’ home. It’s a lot, but there’s more. At school Gus
becomes the target of “serious bonehead” Connor and his gang of “top dogs,” who
mock his name and make school miserable, but their teacher, Mrs. Redmar, has
given the class a family history assignment that may change everything for empathetic
Gus … his curiosity about his own ancestors, his acceptance of the move, and
even his thoughts about his unusual name. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Initially Gus feels that his family
history will be “lame,” as Grandad’s the only relative he knows, but in the first
chapter he finds himself in the attic, where “The bare dim bulb cast spooky
shadows across the slope-ceilinged space” and inside a “scarred, wooden
drop-leaf desk,” he uncovers a carved wooden box—the treasure box. The
disparate items inside, ie: a “snippet of faded blue ribbon,” a coin, and a scrap
of a map possess the ability to transport him back to World War II, and even
much further back, to the 1600s. Each time he dares handle the objects in the
treasure box, he is briefly but viscerally transported to life-and-death scenes
involving his ancestors. But who </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">were</i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> these people, and how were they
connected to the yellowed, German baptism certificate from 1944 that only cookie-baking
Mrs. Kramer (“Vhat do you vant?’”) down the street can translate?</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">There are numerous topical threads in
this novel, and I hope the book’s incorporated into classrooms across the
country. There’s multiculturalism and racism (Gus befriends Yussuf, who’s
family fled Syria, and First Nations’ Issac, who shares his lunch with a classmate
who’s often hungry); aging; divorce; and war. The fascinating historical
elements include The Thirty Years War and the Great Frost of 1709, when birds
froze “like tiny marble statues” in trees and in mid-air. Silverthorne evokes both
a prairie homestead (“A clump of tall aspens grew out of the foundation of the collapsing,
grey-and-weathered barn”) and WW2 trenches (that “heaved with rats”) with equal
success. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Though history’s a major element, the
author consistently keeps us current, as well. Grandad says the war </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">his</i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> father
fought in (for the Germans) was “More real than video games,” and expressions
like “No can do” and “Sounds like a plan” maintain the novel’s present feel. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">And the conclusion: mastery. Congratulations,
Judith Silverthorne. You’ve slayed it again.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">THIS BOOK IS AVAILABLE AT YOUR LOCAL
BOOKSTORE OR FROM WWW.SKBOOKS.COM</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">__________ </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">“Loggerheads"</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">By Bruce Hornidge<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Published by Endless Sky Books<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Review by Shelley A. Leedahl<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">$24.99
ISBN 978-1-989398-97-5<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">In 1993 I was minivanning toward Tofino
with my young family while an anti-logging protest was brewing in the
surrounding forest, and Bruce Hornsby’s “If a Tree Falls” was the soundtrack.
Thirty years later, how ironic to read a detailed memoir by a former BC logger
and get quite a different perspective on that tumultuous “War in the Woods”.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Loggerheads</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">
is a candid account of the “Clayoquot Sound land-use scuffle” between logging
protestors and forestry giant MacMillan Bloedel, and the “world media hype”
that accompanied it. It’s a peppery book, competently written by a man who had (caulk)
boots on the ground: Ex-Clayoquot Sound forest worker Bruce Hornidge, who at
times was “dripping saliva from [his] teeth” while protestors were “[chaining]
themselves to logging equipment and [obstructing] forest workers from doing
their jobs”. In his metaphor-rich account, he says the decade-long forest and
land-use tensions “raged like a forest fire” and “a tsunami of Utopian beliefs
and related misconstruing washed over the West Coast of Vancouver Island from
around the world”. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Hornidge began working for the Kennedy
Lake Logging Division of MacMillan Bloedel Ltd., near Ucluelet, in 1967. He
pulls zero punches regarding how he felt about the demonstrators and
tree-blockades, the “octopus-like bureaucracy,” the media (“There was little
interest in the logger’s point of view from their predominantly urban
audiences”), and “the affected people, the families losing livelihoods,”
including his own family. He writes as well about “fear-style management,”
unions (“a good thing”), fires, and of friends and foes made during his logging
industry life.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Politics aside, the author also
includes much practical information about what it takes to be a tree feller,
with descriptions of bucking, falling (“a noble enough calling”), and the many
ways a tree can end a logger’s life. One must “determine where the tree will
go—and put it there”. Easier said than done. His conversational anecdotes
frequently include drama ie: a chunk of windfall “took my hardhat off my head
as I hit the good old Mother Earth” and “I saw the bar and chain beside my
right eye and ear. My glasses disappeared off my face”. He discusses the brush
aka “crap” (salal bush, ferns, etc.) that makes logging challenging, and
something called “vibration disease” (Reynaud’s Phenomenon), caused by
power-saw vibrations; they could eventually result in finger or hand
amputations. Hornridge also shares the harsh psychological effects of being
considered “a heartless chainsaw-wielding mass murderer of trees”.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">In 1993 the band Midnight Oil visited
the region “to bolster the Clayoquot Protest event”. Greenpeace and a “German
film group” also amped things up: “It seemed the media was dancing for the
protest groups, and the protest groups were acting for the media”.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Regardless of one’s opinion of logging,
it’s undeniable that </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Loggerheads</i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> is insightful, well-documented, and at
times poetic, and as its passionate author—now retired and living in Ontario—fittingly
says, his “personal clarification of events” has been “Written, ironically, not
on tables of stone like commandments, but on paper. From wood.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">THIS BOOK IS AVAILABLE AT YOUR LOCAL
BOOKSTORE OR FROM WWW.SKBOOKS.COM</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p>__________ </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">"</span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The Story of Me”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">By Denise Leduc, Illustrations by Olena
Zhinchyna<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Published by Lilac Arch Press<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Review by Shelley A. Leedahl<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">$11.66<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>ISBN 9781778286933<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Denise Leduc is a chameleon. The
Aylesbury, SK writer easily changes genres, and she writes well in each of
them. Perhaps you’re familiar with her children’s picture books—</span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Poppies,
Poppies Everywhere!,</i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Letting Charlie Bow Go </i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">and </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">In the Prairie
Wind</i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">—or her titles for older readers, like </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Why Not Now?</i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">, </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">My
Sun-sational Summer</i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> and </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">My Wonderful Winter</i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">. Her latest softcover is
</span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The Story of Me</i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">, a journal dedicated to her grandmother “for the
memories she created with me when I was a young child”. Leduc writes that her
“hope for these journals is to provide opportunities for our own reflection and
for sharing between the generations”.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I can certainly get behind that. Even before
reading, I decided I’d share this book with my octogenarian mother, two
provinces away, in Saskatchewan. Though we speak on the phone daily, an
occasional conversational prompt is welcome. As Leduc suggests, “Sometimes
conversations with loved ones … can help get the memories flowing”. </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The Story
of Me</i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> delivers forty prompts to help one “remember stories” from his or her
life, and it includes several spaces for personal notes and attaching photos or
other mementos. Rather than using the book as a journal, I’ll use it to
interview my mother and record her responses.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The book is beautifully illustrated by
Ukrainian artist—and “optimist!”—Olena Zhinchyna, beginning with the cover
painting of yellow blossoms against a purple background. The journal opens with
the question “What are ten things you would tell people about yourself,” and a
series of lines—like a ruled notebook—appear beneath this. On the opposite
page, we find another original, full-bleed floral painting.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The next several pages are headlined
with questions about family names, memories and traditions; holidays; childhood
treasures and friends; birthplace and travels. Many of the aforementioned
questions might be easy to answer, but queries like “What would be a perfect
day inside?” and “If you could be an animal for a day, what would you be? Why?”
require more contemplation, and that’s where things will get even more
interesting.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I appreciated the nature-based
questions, including “What things do you love in nature?” and “What are some of
your favourite places in nature?” Leduc doesn’t just stick to roses and
butterflies, however; she also asks “What is a challenge you’ve had?” and “How
did you handle this challenge?” I wonder what the question “Who have you
loved?” will bring up for Mom.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The book ends on a sunny note, asking
for a list of “Things I am Grateful For”. The illustrations—particularly the
two evocative, wintery landscapes—may aid in contemplation as readers consider
these wide-ranging questions about their experiences. Answering the prompts
could take a few hours or a few weeks.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Christmas and birthdays provide
wonderful opportunities to share activity books like this journal, but really,
no special occasion is required to write about our own lives or to give someone
our undivided attention while they speak about theirs. This book says: </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Go
ahead. You’re important. And I’m listening.</i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">THIS BOOK IS AVAILABLE AT YOUR LOCAL
BOOKSTORE OR FROM WWW.SKBOOKS.COM</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p>__________ </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">"2 Women 2 Generations 26 Poems"</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">By Sheri Hathaway, Illustrated by Olena Zhinchyna<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Welcome Home Publishing<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Review by Shelley A. Leedahl<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">$13.19<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>ISBN 978-1-7388223-4-8<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I like to be surprised. Upon receiving
the slim poetry collection </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">2 Women 2 Generations 26 Poems</i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> by Saskatoon’s
Sheri Hathaway, I noted the book’s short, back cover description: “This is a
mother-daughter project containing verse from two women of very different pasts,”
and I fully expected that Hathaway—a grandmother of eight—had collaborated with
a daughter on this collection of prairie-based poems. I was wrong. This book actually
features the work of Hathaway and her </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">mother</i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">, Louise (McLean) Hathaway, a
former teacher who experienced the Great Depression and World War II. The elder
poet died in 2009. Her daughter explains that she “didn’t know [her] mother
wrote any poems,” but Sheri discovered them after her mother’s death “In her
boxes of books, papers, photos and diaries”. Another surprise: both poets had
published work in local publications. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The book mostly features Sheri Hathaway’s
work; eight poems were penned by her mother, one of which, “Heart Cry,” is a
fine example of </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">showing</i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> emotion, rather than stating it. It begins: “Snow
covers all./The brown mound of cloggy earth,/Our spray of mums,/gold, russet,
and bronze for October,/The wreath of everlasting flowers/from his classmates”.
Readers glean that the poet’s describing a child’s grave. The poem powerfully
ends with three words: “our only son”. I also enjoyed the senior poet’s “My
Childhood Home,” a descriptive piece written in quatrains. Rhyme was more
commonly used when these poems were written, and she’s elected an ABCB rhyme
scheme that doesn’t seem forced, ie: “Beneath the piano window/Stood the organ
and its stool/Round which on Sunday evenings/Hymn singing is the rule”.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Interestingly, in organizing the poems for
this book, Sheri Hathaway has included a prayer poem, “A Prayer for Family,” in
her “Of Faith” section, and her mother’s section begins with “A Mother’s Prayer”.
The latter piece was found “on the back of an old envelope with a grocery list
on the other side and used as a bookmark”. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Christianity and the poets’ personal
relationships with their God is evident in several of the pieces.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The younger Hathaway show’s great
diversity in her subject matter. She begins with two sprightly children’s poems,
includes a humorous poem about being a young bride learning to ski, and also
writes compelling pieces about making marmalade: when the winter sun streamed
through the window, “The jars lit up like light bulbs, glowing orange and
yellow as if lighted from the inside”. The poem “Thoughts from a cancer clinic
waiting room” reveals a strong faith.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">A freelance writer and watercolour artist,
Sheri Hathaway was raised on a farm near Marwayne, AB. I consulted her website
(sherihathaway.com) and learned that she’s “a former teacher and explorer of
other occupations that now add fodder to her articles, poems, books and
paintings.” The small graphics (not the author’s) dispersed throughout the book
add to the generally upbeat tone of the poems, some of which earned prizes in contests.
</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Mother and daughter, different lives,
similar passions for the prairies, poetry, and God’s “pure gold” love.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">THIS BOOK IS AVAILABLE AT YOUR LOCAL
BOOKSTORE OR FROM WWW.SKBOOKS.COM</span></p>Shelley Annahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06362581966700785688noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2792056539980657302.post-13402036418127232832023-11-08T12:22:00.007-08:002023-11-08T12:22:58.667-08:00Three Book Reviews: Wrack Line by M.W. Jaeggle; Haircuts Are No Big Deal by Ashley Vercammen, Illustrated by Putu Putri; and The Four Seasons of Rusty-Belly: Ode to the Seasons and the Birds of Boundary Bay by Danielle S. Marcotte, Illustrated by Francesca Da Sacco<p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Wrack Line”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">By M.W. Jaeggle<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Published by University of Regina Press<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Review by Shelley A. Leedahl<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">$19.95<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>ISBN 9-780889-779532<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">It’s a rare and wondrous thing when,
while reading a poetry collection, I start conceiving poems in my own mind. Vancouver-born
M.W. Jaeggle’s highly distilled first book of poetry, <i>Wrack Line</i>, has done
that for me, and I feel indebted. This is a poet who looks and listens to the
world around him at one already rare level, then amps his senses to an even
higher plane. One cannot help but tumble under the spells he ingeniously casts
with his poems about shorelines, wind, creatures, solitude, silence, loss, and guilt,
and then you look away from the page, reflect upon his finely-crafted lines, and
realize you’ve surfaced—as if from the sea—into gentle sunlight. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">M.W. (Michael) Jaeggle is presently a
PhD student in the Department of English at SUNY Buffalo, but the book’s title,
elegant cover (northern acorn barnacles set against a creamy background) and the
poems within strongly suggest that his heart remains on Canada’s west coast: a “wrack
line” refers to the ecologically-critical organic material (including seaweed
and seagrasses) left on the shore by wind, waves and tides. It also includes less
desirable debris, ie: “blanched Pepsi caps”. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The poet eludes to time and the quality
of being present (“I have found the time,/given myself to it, feel it as it is),
and reverence reverberates through many of these poems. He writes of “an inner
pew,” granite “made to kneel on the colony, prostrate before the sky” and “the
grace which comes/from being that stillness”. Childhood is mined in pieces like
the irresistibly-titled “Poem by Fridge Light,” which concerns the places one
inhabits in childhood—ie: a fort made in the brambles, “its thorns piercing the
hairless legs under our jeans”. In those remembered places “there’s no
wristwatch on a nightstand,/just a mind kidding around/someplace unaware it’s
unawake”. In another poem the narrator ponders the Pacific silver fir: “The
tree presses, bark scours my back,” he writes. “Here, </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I</i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> is no history, Now,/
I am time”.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Form-wise, expect variance, including
prose poems, free verse, poems written in couplets, and the ekphrastic poem “Colville’s
Horses” that comprises the book’s fourth section. In these pieces—inspired, of
course, by Alex Colville paintings— the last line on one page becomes the first
on the next. Alliteration and consonance are frequently employed, and I noted the
poet’s affection for the letter P: palimpsest, parapet, polled, apricity,
parallax. In the long poem “</span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Amor de Lonh</i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">”</span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">we find “There are
teachers of all persuasions/perched in shore pine”.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">One of my favourite poems is “Salmon
Run, Horsefly River,” which reveals the poet’s heightened observation skills: “Five
more red backs dart through/the platinum-glint riffle, where the water’s
surface/is knuckled with granite stones”. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Jaeggle is a discerning poet. He
listens to the sounds of water and “the lulls of sand,” and notices “bait-lathered
hands”. His debut collection’s a metaphorical “basket” of “attentiveness” … and
hope: “while we suture/our broken and partial worlds/with seagrass left behind
by the tide,/each in our own way a historian of waves”.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">THIS BOOK IS AVAILABLE AT YOUR LOCAL
BOOKSTORE OR FROM WWW.SKBOOKS.COM</span></p>__________<p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Haircuts Are No Big Deal” <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">By Ashley Vercammen, Illustrated by
Putut Putri<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Published by Home Style Teachers<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Review by Shelley A. Leedahl<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">$20.00 ISBN 9-781778-152955<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Here’s one young writer who’s on quite
the roll. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Saskatchewan children’s author, English
as an Additional Language teacher, and Registered Behaviour Technician Ashley
Vercammen has once again taken an ordinary experience—this time it’s getting a
haircut—that can be scary for some children and she’s created a cheerful,
step-by-step, illustrated guide to help the experience go more smoothly. Her softcover
book <i>Haircuts Are No Big Deal</i> is good news for anxious children, accompanying
parents, <i>and</i> barbers/stylists! It’s also fun to read and look at. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The story—brightly-illustrated by Indonesian
freelance illustrator Putut Putri in a cartoonish, round-eyed-character-style—is
another in the Home Style Teacher series, and it will be especially helpful for
youngsters or youth diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) who don’t
like to be touched, are anxious in unfamiliar situations and/or are
uncomfortable with certain sounds. As we follow shaggy-haired Charlie and his
mother through their discussion of his pending haircut, we see that the author’s
employed the formula of a) creating a predictable schedule b) breaking down
tasks into small and simple steps c) actively engaging a child’s attention in a
structured activity d) positively reinforcing good behaviour with praise and
physical rewards and e) involving a parent.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Charlie understands that getting his
hair cut at the barber’s is “no big deal,” but his wise mom knows that having a
“practice” will be helpful, and after the haircut </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Charlie will “get [his] prize”. She alerts him
to the experience’s sensory elements, including the sound of the doorbell; sitting
“in the big chair with some of [his] favourite toys, snacks, and shows; having a
“cape” put on him and having his head touched “alllll around;” and facing a
large mirror: “but we can cover it with something fun or make funny faces
together,” she says. Throughout the explanations, Mom smiles and gently further
shares that they will use a timer from home—set for two minutes—while his hair
is cut “with a shaver” by the barber, Emma. Mom promises that she will be with
Charlie “the whole time, just in case [he needs] to pause for a break”.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">As with another of Vercammen’s children’s
books—</span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Dentists Are No Big Deal</i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">—the author again leads her characters (and
readers) right through the actual event. The thirty-minute haircut appointment
is illustrated in a series of eight small, gold-bordered images on a two-page
spread, then Emma sings “Ta Da!” and Charlie’s sporting his handsome new
haircut … and a broad smile. Charlie throws his arms in the air and reiterates
the phrase—bet you can guess it—he’s been using throughout the story.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">In her brief bio notes, Vercammen says
she “enjoys writing books with the aim of engaging readers in conversation”. I feel
this book would be a great early years’ classroom addition. Vercammen’s also a
publisher; she helps others write and publish their own children’s picture
books. Learn more about the growing library of Ashley Vercammen’s thoughtful
and helpful books—or publishing your own—at </span><a href="https://www.ashley-vercammen.ca/" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">https://www.ashley-vercammen.ca/</a><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> .</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">THIS BOOK IS AVAILABLE AT YOUR LOCAL
BOOKSTORE OR FROM THE SASKATCHEWAN PUBLISHERS GROUP WWW.SKBOOKS.COM</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> __________</span></p><p>
</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">"The Four Seasons of Rusty-Belly:
Ode to the Seasons and the Birds of Boundary Bay”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">By Danielle S. Marcotte, Illustrations
by Francesca Da Sacco</span><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Published by </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">É</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">ditions
de la Nouvelle Plume<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Review by Shelley A. Leedahl<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">$14.95
ISBN 9-782925-329046<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I am </span><i><span lang="FR" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: FR; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">très</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> pleased that <i>The Four Seasons of
Rusty-Belly: Ode to the Seasons and the Birds of Boundary Bay </i>flew into my
hands for review. Apart from the important facts that this geographically-specific
children’s book is bilingual, well-written, and educational, I am perhaps <i>especially</i>
pleased that it was illustrated by a real, living and breathing artist, not by Artificial
Intelligence. It really does make all the difference; too often, of late, I’ve noticed
that many writers and publishers are opting to use featureless, clich</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">é</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">d,
computer-generated images in their children’s books, rather than investing in <i>human</i>
talent. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Tsawwassen, BC author and former
Radio-Canada host Daneille S. Marcotte has been publishing books since 2014—nineteen
titles—and if </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The Four Seasons of Rusty-Belly</i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> is indicative of her talent,
I need to get my hands on more of her stories. As indicated by its title, this
is a seasonal story set in BC’s Boundary Bay Park, which is “located on a major
[bird] migration route,” the Pacific Flyway. Each year the park’s “visited by
1.5 million birds from twenty different countries spread over three continents,”
Marcotte explains in the “Did you know” page. I’ve been to Boundary Bay; it certainly
is a phenomenon.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The story begins in spring, and it’s a playful
celebration of nature herself: the soaring falcon, the robin who “sings
breathlessly,” the bees who “daub their stomachs with pollen”. I appreciate the
personification here. When summer arrives, humans visit Tsawwassen Beach, and “big
sister imitates the whales” by floating on her back in the sea and spouting seawater
while a child and his/her “beautiful and serene” mother in a billowing sunhat looks
on from the shallows. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Fall brings pumpkins and “Dead leaves,
without a care in the world,” and “Quiet spirits roam from the ancient rubble,
guardian spirits of the First Nations who once lived here in freedom”. In “the
cold rain of winter,” the child narrator “bring[s] Grandpa to the playground”
and he’s significantly wearing his “favourite” rusty-orange sweater. The colour
ties in with the titular “Rusty-belly” … you’ll have to read the book to find
out which bird species this name refers to, and what other beloved things feature
a “lovely rusty belly” in this softly poetic story.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The book’s dedicated to Francesca Da
Sacco, “a great artist from a great country!” and the gifted Italian illustrator
of this very book. Her watercolour images of herons backdropped by the thematically-coloured
rusty trees is my favourite. Da Sacco does a commendable job of creating illustrations
that will delight both children and adults. For extra fun, readers are invited
to match the various birds in the story with the bird images that appear at the
end of the book, and to create a simple bird feeder from a milk carton
(instructions given).</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Bunnies doing “silly stunts,” views of snow-capped
mountains, a wind-surfer catching air … this is the Boundary Bay I know. Add
the art, the activities and migration information and <i>voilà</i>—<i>Les
quatre saisons de Rousse-Bedaine</i> </span><i><span lang="FR" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: FR; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">est charmant</span></i><span lang="FR" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">!</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">THIS BOOK IS AVAILABLE AT YOUR LOCAL
BOOKSTORE OR FROM WWW.SKBOOKS.COM<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p><br /></p>Shelley Annahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06362581966700785688noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2792056539980657302.post-65690355418966450242023-10-22T14:18:00.006-07:002023-10-22T14:18:46.541-07:00Three Book Reviews: If you lie down in a field she will find you there by Colleen Brown; Alphabet in the Park by Ashley Vercammen, Illustrated by Evgeniya Filimonova; and Dentists Are No Big Deal by Debbie Kesslering and Ashley Vercammen<p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">“If you lie down in a field, she will
find you there”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">By Colleen Brown<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Published by Radiant Press<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Review by Shelley A. Leedahl<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">$20.00<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>ISBN 9-781989-274941<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Colleen Brown’s </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">If you lie down in a
field, she will find you there </i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">underscores that “perception is everything”.
The Ontario-raised writer and artist’s memoir contemplates the mystery of her mother
via disparate childhood memories and family vignettes, many of which are recalled
by Brown’s much older siblings. In delivering these random remembrances, Brown
effectively gives the woman’s “perfectly human and unremarkable” life the warm spotlight
it deserves; this comes in stark contrast to the “death porn” the media spouted
after her mother’s murder by a serial killer. The book is a construction, “a
way to make sense of a life,” and it bucks against the “narrative pull” associated
with writing about violence. Don’t expect a straight line or an ordered
chronology. Do expect to be engrossed by this jigsaw of a memoir that’s often
poetic, frequently philosophical, and presents a yearning for “wholeness”. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Brown was eight when her mother, Doris,
died “suddenly, out of sequence, shockingly and violently”. The killer’s
confession came two years later, and he’s been in a psychiatric institution since
1978 under a “not criminally responsible on account of mental disorder” ruling
(reviewed annually). There are no details about the wheres and hows of the
tragedy. As Brown—a visual artist currently in Maple Ridge, BC as the 2023-26
Artist-in-Residence—explains: “My mother’s life and death must be held separate
for her life to exist as a story.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">This non-narrative is located in and
near Guelph at “the House, the Cottage, the Store,” and these settings provide
a loose frame from which the everyday-type memories hang. The author’s sister,
Vicky, remembers that Doris used Nivea cream to wash her face. Pages later,
Vicky also recalls that their mother “always washed the floors on hands and
knees”. Brother Jim relays how Doris “had a little difficulty driving
sometimes, particularly on the country roads,” and there is levity in
recollections of her driving mishaps. Jim’s next contribution to the collective
story is about the family’s dog having puppies. “Mom was so happy with those
pups,” he says, and siblings Laura and Colleen build on this anecdote with
their own memories about the family’s animals. But it’s not all sweetness. Jim
also recalls their father having Doris committed to “Homewood,” and the author
writes “I learned that husbands putting wives into mental institutions was
popular at the time”. The “post-war, upwardly mobile family” ran a sporting
goods’ business that afforded them a succession of homes, from “an apartment
above the store” to a “big place in the country”—but they lost the business. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">This beautifully-produced book’s many subjects
include feminism, mental health, and forgiveness. Front and centre, however,
are the memories of a mother the author “did not know existed”. Brown writes
with an artist’s sensorial discernment about the domestic—the chenille
bedspread, the new mixer with the “glossy mustard base”—and the natural world—rain
“pointing in the dust and sand”—and in curating these various details and anecdotes,
she greatly reduces the “dark matter” her family’s experienced. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">THIS BOOK IS AVAILABLE AT YOUR LOCAL
BOOKSTORE OR FROM WWW.SKBOOKS.COM</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p>__________ </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">“Alphabet in the Park”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Written by Ashley Vercammen, Illustrated
by Evgeniya Filimonova<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Published by Home Style Teachers<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Review by Shelley A. Leedahl<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">$20.00 <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>ISBN 9-781778-152900<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I’ve reviewed a number of children’s alphabet
books across the decades, so I’m always impressed when a writer puts an
original twist on the traditional “A is for Apple” text. Saskatchewan’s Ashley Vercammen
and her illustrator, Evgeniya Filimonova have done just that. Their 2022-released
</span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Alphabet in the Park </i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">contains a rhyming narrative, it’s interactive, seasonal,
and it offers some original ideas re: ways to explain—and show—the twenty-six
letters that form the English language. The letters actually become characters,
playing along with the children in the book.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">This unique story is set in a park, and
it’s winter. From a visual perspective, this makes for many pages with snowy
white backgrounds, which in turn make the illustrations stand out. On the left
side of each page spread a single letter takes its turn in a solid bold colour.
In choosing a winter theme and selecting one orange-haired girl to appear in
several of the scenes, readers get a sense of continuity. The cast of
characters is culturally inclusive, which is always a bonus in children’s
stories.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Young readers are welcomed to add their
own message to the beginning of the book, and there’s another page at the end
of the book for their input. Spelling is presented as “playing,” and what child
doesn’t like to play? The orange-haired girl (with pink earmuffs) and her
brown-skinned friend start the story with a snowball toss and an invitation: “Do
you want to play a game? Let’s find all the letters. Try to spell your name!” </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Some of the pages ask readers questions
about the illustrations. The A page reads: “What is near the alligator? It has
been playing there all day. I found the letter “A”, hopping on one leg!” I love
this use of personification. Who says a letter A can’t hop, or the blue letter
B can’t cross a yellow bridge? The letter J is wearing a scarf, and the letter
K is on a swing set next to a boy in a snowflake-patterned coat who says he could
“swing all day!”. Imagination is key here, and there’s a wonderful
synchronicity between the words and simple images.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Vercammen doesn’t stick to true rhymes,
which is also welcoming. For example, she rhymes D with “freeze,” F and “left,”
X and “tux”. And again, her letters of the alphabet get up to all kinds of
winter fun in the park on playground equipment and with natural elements (ie: a
snowy hill and a snow fort). The letter N is outfitted with twiggy arms and a
carrot nose, and voila: a snowman. The letter Q becomes a snowball with ease. And
look at that letter S—on the hockey ice “she has already scored twice!” and a
few pages later, W is curling!</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Vercammen’s got a great thing going
here, and with the numerous other books she has written and published with Home
Style Teachers. To see all the books on this young, hard-working Saskatchewan
writer’s growing and impressive list, visit </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.ashley-vercammen.ca/">www.ashley-vercammen.ca/</a>.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">THIS BOOK IS AVAILABLE AT YOUR LOCAL
BOOKSTORE OR FROM THE SASKATCHEWAN PUBLISHERS GROUP WWW.SKBOOKS.COM</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">__________</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Dentists Are No Big Deal” <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Written by Debbie Kesslering and Ashley
Vercammen<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Published by Home Style Teachers<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Review by Shelley A. Leedahl<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">$25.00 ISBN 9-781778-152986<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Writer and publisher Ashley Vercammen
has teamed with another Saskatchewanian, Debbie Kesslering, of Viceroy, on a
new title in Vercammen’s “No Big Deal” series of illustrated books for
children. Vercammen is also a Registered Behaviour Technician, and it’s this
position and her “belief that, with practice, some scary things can become No
Big Deal” that are the impetuses behind the series. Kesserling, a mother of
four who’s worked with “many World Class Dental Therapists, Dentists, Hygienists
and Assistants,” dedicates the story to her “fellow ‘sugar bug catchers’”.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The brightly-illustrated tale begins
with young, bespeckled Nora waking with a smile to her dad’s announcement that
on this “special day,” the girl’s going for a dental check-up. Nora knows that
visiting the dentist is “no big deal,” but she’s not sure what the check-up’s
about. Her father reminds her that “every morning and night we brush our teeth
so we don’t get sugar bugs. But they are very sneaky!”</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">What’s unusual—and wise—is that the
father and daughter go through a pre-appointment practice session, and Rosie, “a
bright red teddy bear,” gets to play along too. A “plastic dentist equipment” set
is used to go through the procedure. Now I don’t know if such a set has in fact
been manufactured to help children battle the dental heebie jeebies, but if
not, what a grand idea! When Nora puts on the glasses “to protect [her] eyes
from the light,” her reaction is “I look like a rock star!”</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The story’s upbeat tone is supported by
the characters’ consistent smiles, brightly-coloured rooms, and pleasant
landscapes viewed beyond windows. I noted that for some of the attributions,
the writers used Nora “Cheered!” Incorporating positive similes is another way
to reinforce the feel-good tone, ie: Dad says that the moving dentist chair is “like
a ride at the park!” Dad, as make-believe dentist, makes his daughter giggle
with a silly face and speaks “calmly,” and Nora’s sure to be clutching Rosie
through every step of the rehearsal. Another way Dad prepares Nora for the
dentist is to use counting, so she’ll know when something new is about to
happen. When it’s time for an x-ray, a timer is set. The polisher is also given
an upbeat spin: “It’s like a toothbrush that shakes and tickles your teeth!” Nora
says, and even Fluoride is given a child-friendly twist. “I want bubble gum
flavoured!” Nora says. And, of course, no child’s visit to the dentist is
complete without a “prize”.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The authors take Nora, Rosie and her
father right through the actual dental visit, as well, and as you might guess,
because the child has been so well-prepared, the appointment certainly is no
big deal. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">There are currently two sets of toddling
twins in my family to buy books for. I believe they and their parents will really
appreciate receiving this fun and practical gift. It dispels fear, promotes
good dental hygiene, and might even make going to the dentist something to look
greatly forward to. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">THIS BOOK IS AVAILABLE AT YOUR LOCAL
BOOKSTORE OR FROM THE SASKATCHEWAN PUBLISHERS GROUP WWW.SKBOOKS.COM<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal">
</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>Shelley Annahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06362581966700785688noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2792056539980657302.post-24612069242624722412023-09-27T19:44:00.006-07:002023-09-27T19:44:27.458-07:00Seven New Book Reviews: "Haunted" by Ruth Chorney; “Family Potluck” by Ashley Vercammen, Illustrated by Putut Putri; “Little Big Sister: Big Little Brother” by Ashley Vercammen, Illustrated by Mario Vianni and P Aplinder Kaur; “Where Could My Baby Be?” by Ashley Vercammen, Illustrated by P Aplinder Kaur; “School Readiness” by Ashley Vercammen, Illustrated by P Aplinder Kaur; “The Sock Momster” by Mari Lemieux, Illustrated by Mario Viani; and “Hunting With My Dad” by Patty Torrance, Illustrated by Putut Putri <p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">“Haunted”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Written by Ruth Chorney<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Published by 7SpringsBooks<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Review by Shelley A. Leedahl<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">$25.00<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>ISBN 978-0-9939757-9-0<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Ruth Chorney’s Saskatchewan-set novel, </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Haunted</i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">,
transports readers to interesting places—geographical and otherwise—and it’s
just the kind of book that makes me wish more Saskatchewan people would read
the good literature that’s being produced within their own province. This engaging
story’s set in the rural community of “Deer Creek, population 1242” in the
northeastern part of the province, where moose roam, a hoodie is called a “bunnyhug,”
and the local </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Co-op’s where you’ll meet neighbours,
friends and the resident hermit/bootlegger. It’s a book about starting over, and
accepting the kindness of neighbours. It’s also about generations of family, guilt,
and doing what needs to be done. And it’s Saskatchewan, so the weather also
gets its share of ink. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">There are elements of the supernatural
in this mostly realistic story, and like that other writer (Stephen King) who
also combines realism and the supernatural to great effect, Chorney scores the
right balance between making her characters and situations appear credible—ie:
protagonist Marny’s husband needs work, so it’s off to the potash mine he goes—and
also preparing us for the suspension of disbelief that’s required when Marny’s four-year-old
sees auras and entities, and her mother, Saige—“a flake most of her life”—hosts
s</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">é</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">ances.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Marny, a young mother of two, is trying
to keep it all together after housing challenges force her and her family to
leave their small apartment “in a somewhat sketchy neighbourhood” in Vancouver
and move into her deceased grandparents’ rural home on three quarter sections. Five-year-old
Griffin’s response to arriving at the “two-storey house with loose railing from
the upstairs balcony banging in the wind” is: “</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">̒</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">It’s
like that Hallowe’en movie’”. This is also the novel’s first line, and Chorney’s
well-wrought descriptions root us in the long-abandoned rural property and flesh
out the neighbours who are keen to help the family settle, like John in his “Dodge
Ram cap,” and Tera, who runs a trail-riding business, and may know more about
her husband’s mysterious disappearance than she’s letting on. Tera and an older
neighbour, Gloria—both well-drawn characters—help Marny plant a garden and
teach her how to preserve vegetables.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Chorney’s wisely chosen to structure
the story via both Marny and Tera’s distinct points of view, and I noted that
especially near the last third of the book, the author does a fabulous job of leaving
cliff-hanger chapter endings: we have to wait to learn how a riveting situation
unfolds, as the chapter’s narrators take turns. This author has formidable
handles on pacing, plot and characterization.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I previously reviewed Chorney’s satisfying
novel, </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Conspiracy—</i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">another Deer Creek novel, with a completely different
plot. In </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Haunted</i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> the Kelvington, SK author again spotlights the relationships
between multi-generational characters and the beauty of the prairie landscape.
Real-world events like COVID, the gentrification of cities, the 1993 “’War in
the Forest’” protests at Clayoquat Sound, and the mass stabbing at the James
Smith Cree Nation find their way organically into this page-turning new novel,
which I really hope you’ll read. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">THIS BOOK IS AVAILABLE AT YOUR LOCAL
BOOKSTORE OR FROM THE SASKATCHEWAN PUBLISHERS GROUP WWW.SKBOOKS.COM</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p>__________</o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">“Family Potluck”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Written by Ashley Vercammen, Illustrated
by Putut Putri<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Published by Home Style Teachers<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Review by Shelley A. Leedahl<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">$20.00 ISBN 9-781778-152931<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Sixteen smiling, digitally-produced
characters—including an infant in arms, a bespeckled elder, a girl in a
wheelchair and a visually-impaired, non-Caucasian boy—surround a potluck-ready
table on the cover of Ashley Vercammen’s children’s book, </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Family Potluck</i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">.
Without reading a word of the story, I’m already applauding the author’s inclusive
definition of “family”. I soon learn that the purple backpack-wearing main
character is the daughter of a teacher, and the potluck will take place at
school. The unnamed girl’s grandma and cousin will also attend in this
the-more-the-merrier story for young readers.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The book’s format will appeal to children
who may be overwhelmed with large blocks of text and “too much happening” in
the illustration department. This story unfolds across full-spread
illustrations, each with a celery-green background for consistency, and large
font text on just the left side of the page. The illustrations are simple and
pleasant. The green chalkboard is wiped clean, there are no toys or other
hazards on the floor, and there’s little else to draw the eye away from the
characters themselves.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">First we meet a student named Bowen and
his mother, Tracy, who “makes the best cabbage rolls”. Turn the page and there’s
Caleb “and his dads,” along with a new baby sister. Before long the look-alike
Jackson family arrives: seven children, Grandpa Harry, and Uncle Joseph, as
well. More culturally diverse students arrive with their potluck offerings filling
the long, draped tables.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Vercammen frequently presents a cast of
diverse characters enjoying themselves in communal situations, and it’s what
she does best. The Saskatchewan instructor, writer and publisher (of this book
and books by other writers) says she “enjoys writing books with the aim to
engage both English as an Additional Language Learners, and Native-English
speakers”.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The adult-child relationships in Family
Potluck extend to “Judy and her nanny” and “Naja’s stepmom” (who barbecues
kabobs). Soon the classroom’s joyfully filled with twenty people across the
age, culture and ability spectrums. The spirit of community is evident, and everyone—except
the one child with closed eyes and a walking stick—is bright-eyed and smiling.
Fittingly, the purple backpack-wearing girl seen at the start gets the last
word, and the last page: her face appears in a circle beside this text: “What
does your family look like? What would you bring to the potluck?” The large
white space beneath and the white page opposite invite little booklovers to
draw their own family and food items.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">This book could become a treasured keepsake
item within a family, with siblings and/or successive generations adding their
own drawings to the book. With its emphases on community and diversity, it
would also be a welcome addition to elementary school libraries.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">This glossy softcover is just one bright
example of how Vercamman weaves a positive message—ie: we can all be friends,
even if we look differently—into her stories for young children. To learn more
about this industrious author—who also offers readings and one-on-one English classes—and
</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Home Style Teachers, see ashley-vercammen.ca..</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">THIS BOOK IS AVAILABLE AT YOUR LOCAL
BOOKSTORE OR FROM THE SASKATCHEWAN PUBLISHERS GROUP WWW.SKBOOKS.COM<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">__________ </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">“Little Big Sister: Big Little Brother”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Written by Ashley Vercammen<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Illustrated by Mario Vianni and P
Aplinder Kaur<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Published by Home Style Teachers<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Review by Shelley A. Leedahl<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">$25.00 ISBN 9-781778-152948<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">As a longtime reviewer, I’ve noted that
some progressive children’s writers are publishing books that tell a good story
while simultaneously addressing the subject of diversity, whether that’s
through stories that highlight cultural diversity; include representations of non-traditional
families (ie: same-sex partnerships); spotlight intergenerational relationships;
or contain depictions of characters who are differently-abled, ie: an Autistic boy
or a visually-impaired girl. I believe this to be a positive trend in the publishing
industry, and these inclusive books deliver a much more accurate depiction of
what contemporary Canadian schools—and society—really looks like.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Saskatchewan writer and Home Style
Teachers’ publisher, Ashley Vercammen, appears to have made it her mission to
be inclusive in her illustrated children’s books. She writes about how
motherhood can mean many different things, how “family” can also include
friends from various cultures, and—in her longer illustrated book, </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">School
Readiness</i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">—what children can expect when they begin school, and how they
should conduct themselves in that sometimes intimidating and/or confusing new setting.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Her illustrated book </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Little Big
Sister: Big Little Brother </i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">features adult siblings Olive and Charlie, and
it’s ingeniously written from the perspectives of both characters: flip the
book over, and you’ll find the same story told from the other sibling’s perspective.
Charlie’s the elder sibling by three years. Vercammen writes that “his brain
works differently, so sometimes he needs a bit of extra help. He has special needs.”
The full-bleed illustrations show a bearded Charlie with shoes “on the wrong
feet” and pants “tucked into his socks,” while his little sister guffaws behind
her hand.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Charlie is forgetful and “always leaves
something behind,” like socks or puzzle pieces. His speech can also be
difficult to understand, but “If you listen carefully or know him well, it’s
easy peasy”.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The story shows the siblings’ close
relationship. Charlie calls Olive daily, cheers her with “pictures of his
puzzles and new creations,” and is always keen to “build snow forts, or play
card games”. (Note: the cribbage board shown on this page has interesting
pegs!)</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">In Charlie’s flipside story, we learn
that he has “some special responsibilities,” like always making sure his sister
“remembers birthdays, anniversaries, or important dates”. “Helping Olive is one
of my favourite things to do as a big brother,” he says. He also addresses the
issue of having others believe he “can’t understand them” (not true), and he
shares how it feels to have his speech misunderstood. Gulp. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">But here’s the kicker: with some quick Googling
I learned that Olive represents the author, Ashley, while her real-life elder brother,
Derrick, appears as Charlie in this touching story. A photo of Vercammen standing
beside Derrick—both radiate joy—closes the book, and adds a visual exclamation
mark. The illustrators have created expressive caricatures to represent the
amiable siblings. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The heartwarming and beautifully-produced
44-page softcover was published in 2022. To view a Youtube video of the pair
reading the story, visit </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iqOEqKAla5Y" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iqOEqKAla5Y</a><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">
. You’ll also find a few other video versions of Vercammen’s feel-good books.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">THIS BOOK IS AVAILABLE AT YOUR LOCAL
BOOKSTORE OR FROM THE SASKATCHEWAN PUBLISHERS GROUP WWW.SKBOOKS.COM<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">__________</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">“Where Could My Baby Be?”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Written by Ashley Vercammen, Illustrated
by P Aplinder Kaur<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Published by Home Style Teachers<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Review by Shelley A. Leedahl<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">$20.00 ISBN 9-781778-152962<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Of the several books I’ve read by Saskatoon
writer, publisher and teacher, Ashley Vercammen, <i>Where Could My Baby Be?</i>
is among the best. Vercammen’s selected motherhood—in its myriad incarnations—as
the subject of a children’s book, and she’s done so with both a generous and a gentle
eye.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The illustrated softcover opens with
the suggestion that the book “is perfect for sparking conversations about
motherhood with your little one,” and I agree. I’ve been reading and reviewing
children’s books for decades, and this is the first I’ve read that presents such
a wide lens re: mothering, and how “there are a lot of ways to do it!”. P
Aplinder Kaur’s initial illustrations show a woman breastfeeding (age-appropriate
depiction for young readers); a woman changing the diaper of an active baby; an
expectant mother having an ultrasound; and an anguished-looking doctor giving a
seated woman—face in hands, supportive partner standing behind with his hands
on her shoulders—the news she does not want.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">This introductory page pulls no punches:
“Being a mom is hard work!” In the following pages we’re introduced to a variety
of women, some visibly pregnant, like red-dressed Verda, who is “so excited to
be pregnant,” and some not, like mauve-clothed Muriel, who’s attending her
surrogate’s ultrasound appointment. Muriel explains surrogacy in child-speak: “That
means the doctors help my baby grow inside a different person”. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Adoption’s addressed from the
perspective of both an adoptive parent, Laural (“I found my baby all the way
across the world!”) and from a woman who gives her child up for adoption
because—as the illustrations suggest—studies and low finances would make parenting
too difficult.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">We also meet Gabriella, a stepmom who moved
into that role “when [her] babies weren’t really babies anymore,” and whose “kids
live with … their biological mom sometimes”. There’s also a Foster mom, and
here the text and illustration work especially well together. The foster mom
says: “Sometimes I see my babies again, and sometimes I don’t. We draw a
picture together to make saying goodbye a little easier”. The block of text is
superimposed over a living room setting, where the Foster mom’s looking through
an album of painted handprints. This scene has personal meaning for this reviewer;
my parents fostered twenty-five children while I was growing up, and mostly, we
never saw them again.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I’m guessing that most mothers and
would-be mothers should be able to relate to this book. There’s a grandmother included,
too, and Melody, a dog mom. “I have some similar responsibilities to a mom,”
she says, but her baby’s kisses “are a little wet”. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">As with other of Vercammen’s books, she
leaves space at the end for children and parents to include their own writing
and art. Here two pages are dedicated to anyone who wants to “Write a letter to
[their] child about how [they] became their mom,” and another two blank pages
to “Draw a picture with your child of things that make you both happy”.
Delightful!</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">THIS BOOK IS AVAILABLE AT YOUR LOCAL
BOOKSTORE OR FROM THE SASKATCHEWAN PUBLISHERS GROUP WWW.SKBOOKS.COM<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">__________ </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">“School Readiness”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Written by Ashely Vercammen,
Illustrated by P Aplinder Kaur<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Published by Home Style Teachers<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Review by Shelley A. Leedahl<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">$25.00
ISBN 978-1-77815-29-9-3<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Ashley Vercammen’s illustrated
softcover, </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">School Readiness, </i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">is—as the title clearly states—a book about
prepping children for their first days of school, and sharing the story with
new students could well ease the jitters that sometimes accompany this transition.
The writer is a Registered Behavioural Technician (RBT) and her book “is based
on the proven techniques of the School Readiness program at Saskatchewan
Behaviour Consulting,” where specialists work with families of children with
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Down Syndrome and other developmental disabilities.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Vercammen also holds a BA in
International Studies from the University of Saskatchewan, and taught English
to students in China. The Redvers, SK-born writer’s education and interests have
informed the text in </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">School Readiness</i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">, published by Home Style Teachers.
The book follows a culturally and ability-diverse group of students as they
consider how to conduct themselves at school, ie: how one uses a “quiet, inside
voice” in the classroom, and how students should raise a hand “to speak or
leave [their] chair”.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">There’s information here for students
who might be anxious about school structure, as well, ie: scheduling. “I can
look at my schedule to know what is happening next” one block of text reads,
and on the opposite page, the bordered text reads: “I can ask, “What’s next?”
if I don’t understand the schedule.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The book is like a step-by-step guide, providing
youngsters with the answers to questions they might have about attending
school. It also includes illustrations that demonstrate lessons, ie: how to tie
shoelaces, and how to properly wash one’s hands. It follows a “When it is time
to do this, then I need to do that” structure, ie: “When it is time to trace, I
need a pencil,” and “When it is circle time, I need to go to the carpet”.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The text also goes into some things beginning
students might learn about at school, ie: the days of the week, seasons and
weather. There are pages that demonstrate how “Everybody likes to play in different
ways,” and here we see how different personalities or abilities are represented:
“Some friends like to take turns,” “Some friends want to play alone,” “Some
friends like to listen to their toys,” and “Some friends want to play pretend”.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Diversity’s common in contemporary Canadian
classrooms, and illustrator P Aplinder Kaur’s large-eyed characters reflect
cultural diversity </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">and</i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> differences in ability: “Some of my friends talk
with their mouth,” “Some of my friends talk with their hands,” “Some of my
friends talk with a device,” and “Some of my friends don’t talk at all”.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The colourful illustrations will engage
young children, and at the end of the book—beneath the affirmation: “Good listening
for your name! You will do great in school!—there’s a space for a child to
include his or her own name in the story.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The prolific Vercammen has published
numerous titles since January 2022. See 222.ashley-vercammen.ca to learn more
about her books, and to discover how she’s helping others publish with Home
Style Teachers.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">THIS BOOK IS AVAILABLE AT YOUR LOCAL
BOOKSTORE OR FROM THE SASKATCHEWAN PUBLISHERS GROUP WWW.SKBOOKS.COM<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">__________</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“The Sock Momster” <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Written by Mari Lemieux, Illustrated by
Mario Viani <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Published by Home Style Teachers<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Review by Shelley A. Leedahl<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">$25.00 ISBN 9-781778-152917<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Hunting With My Dad”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Written by Patty Torrance, Illustrated
by Putut Putri<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Published by Home Style Teachers<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Review by Shelley A. Leedahl<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">$20.00
ISBN 9-781998-218028<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Have an idea for a children’s book,
perhaps featuring your own family members or pets? These days, with numerous self-publishing
companies available to help new authors navigate the steps toward seeing their
own work in print, there are perhaps more books than ever out there vying for coveted
space in a child’s collection of titles. One of the best reasons to
self-publish is that the whole process can happen quickly. With traditional
publishers, writers can wait years to hear back about a manuscript (only to
receive a rejection), or receive an acceptance and then have to wait years for
the book to be released: I had a book accepted by a reputable trade book
publisher in 2012, and it was released in 2019.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Home Style Teachers is a
Saskatchewan-based publisher that offers self-publishing services, including finding
an illustrator for the story, if the author desires. It is the brainchild of Ashley
Vercammen, whose own diverse, illustrated children’s books are included in Home
Style Teachers’ quickly growing list. After having read and reviewed a handful
of Home Style Teachers’ vibrant softcovers, I can attest that they have the
look and feel of a professionally-published book. The illustrations are often
cartoon-style digital images featuring the now ubiquitous large-eyed characters.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Mari Lemieux, a teenaged writer from
Alida, SK has published <i>The Sock Momster</i> with Home Style Teachers. She was
“inspired by her dad’s extravagant bedtime stories and her mom’s constant
reminders to wear matching socks,” and the result is her delightful story
featuring a large-eyed, bob-and-bangs girl who is in a veritable tizzy because
she can’t locate her socks. Her mother (same large eyes, Farrah Fawcett hair)
says: “</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">̒</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Did the sock monster take them?’” Is
Mom being sarcastic, or does she know exactly what’s been happening to her
daughter’s socks? The ending comes as a colourful and shocking surprise.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Patty Torrance’s </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Hunting With My
Dad </i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">is another in the Home Style Teachers’ repertoire. The Tisdale, SK
writer and mother “wanted to write a book that would capture the attention of
small-town Saskatchewan kids”. This is a father-and-son story about rising
early to “hunt buck, doe, and fawn” in the woods. One of the full-bleed illustrations
shows a star-twinkling sky and a white crew-cab truck before a field of round
bales. Attired in orange safety vests, the pair arrive at their camouflage-painted
blind. My favourite text in this rhyming story is when the boy says: “We get to
our blind and sit in our seat. My chairs a bit big so I dangle my feet.” The
hunt is successful, and apart from the suggestion of blood under the buck’s
mouth, not too graphic for young children—especially, I surmise, for those who
are from hunting families. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Torrance’s dedication includes a family
photo; she reveals that her main character is named after her actual son,
Hayden.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Both of these glossy softcover books
for young readers were manufactured by Amazon.ca.. See</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">
222.ashley-vercammen.ca to discover how to quickly get your own book published with
Home Style Teachers.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">THIS BOOK IS AVAILABLE AT YOUR LOCAL
BOOKSTORE OR FROM THE SASKATCHEWAN PUBLISHERS GROUP WWW.SKBOOKS.COM</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>Shelley Annahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06362581966700785688noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2792056539980657302.post-38182627546507561982023-08-29T17:07:00.010-07:002023-08-29T17:09:25.789-07:00Three Book Reviews: “Half-Wild and Other Stories of Encounter” by Emily Paskevics; “#BlackInSchool” by Habiba Cooper Diallo; and "The Amnesia Project” by Payton Todd<p><span face="Arial, sans-serif">“Half-Wild and Other Stories of Encounter”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Written by Emily Paskevics<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Published by Thistledown Press<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Review by Shelley A. Leedahl<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">$24.95<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>ISBN 9781771872485<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">It’s entirely rare that a first book packs
a punch like Emily Paskevics’ </span><i><span style="font-family: times;">Half-Wild and Other Stories of Encounter</span></i><span face="Arial, sans-serif">. The
Ontario writer’s auspicious debut is multi-layered, engrossing, and technically
well-wrought (Paskevics is a graduate of the Humber School for Writers), and it
credibly features the no-nonsense, hunting-and-fishing folks who populate Ontario’s
hardy wilderness communities.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">If you love gothic literature, you’ll devour
these dozen stories. Think taxidermy. Animal fetuses in jars. Hitting a strange
creature with your car on a dark, lonely road. Think “mobile home with its
porch light swinging … The blue painted door is all scratched up from when a
bear tried to get in”. Often characters are fleeing, or someone close to them
has recently died, and the remote landscapes—rife with bears, wolves, coyotes,
harsh climate and dangerous waters—brilliantly parallel the characters’ dire situations,
their psychological turmoil, and the endangered ecosystem. </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">“Bear Bones” is set in Sadowa, where “deer-crossing
signs [are] half-battered with buckshot,” a snowstorm’s afoot, and Louisa’s
gone missing in a “man’s oilskin coat”. There’s a touch of magic realism at
play, but the next story—also featuring loner characters—is 100% dirty realism.
Two unhappy, teenaged outsiders meet in a marshy bird sanctuary. A slingshot’s
involved. The narrator says: “I bought a pair of binoculars from the rummage
sale at the People’s Church in town. One of the lenses was busted, but if I closed
my left eye slightly I could still get a decent view”. </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">Paskevics’ characters are hardcore. They
understand the forest—and perhaps thrive better within it than they do within towns,
cities, and relationships. The women muck through marshes, know bird calls, use
chainsaws, and can identify scat. Evelyn (“The Best Little Hunter”), at age fourteen,
shot, skinned and tanned a black bear, and had been “a card-carrying member of
the [Sadowa Hunting Club] since she was old enough to hold a rifle steady”. Professor
Ladowsky (“My Father’s Apiary”) is divorced, has lost her parents, and has suffered
repeated miscarriages. Back at her father’s cabin, she says: “the surrounding
forest somehow felt like the only family I had left”. </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif">Heidi, from “Predators,” got an education in
the city, but returns home to Sadowa to waitress at a “dingy pub”.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">And here’s Paskevics’ skill re: details.
A woodstove fire fills a room with scents of “smoked cherry wood, beeswax, and
crushed herbs”. Night “comes alive in a rush of dry heat and cricket song. An
acrid note of smoke hangs in the dry air from the wildfires up north”. Sylvia, from
the title story, returns to her deceased mother’s home in the boreal forest and
catches “the scent of spearmint in the overgrown grass by the front steps”.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">“Wolff Island” is marvelously moody—one
of the book’s best: Martin’s wife and child go missing on Wolff Island, where a
warden tells him “You can’t go missing on this island”.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">Paskevics’ “half-wild” characters will
draw you into their woods, and, as the song goes, you’re in for a big surprise.
</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">THIS BOOK IS AVAILABLE AT YOUR LOCAL BOOKSTORE
OR FROM THE SASKATCHEWAN PUBLISHERS GROUP </span><a href="http://www.skbooks.com/" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">WWW.SKBOOKS.COM</a></p><p class="MsoNormal">__________</p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“#BlackInSchool”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">By Habiba Cooper Diallo<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Published by University of Regina Press<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Review by Shelley A. Leedahl<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">$20.95
ISBN 9-780889-778184<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">Young Halifax writer Habiba Cooper
Diallo has much to say about being a Black student at a Halifax high school
that prides itself on being the “most diverse school east of Montreal”.<span style="font-family: times;"> </span></span><i><span style="font-family: times;">#BlackInSchool
</span></i><span face="Arial, sans-serif">is her non-fiction account of the International Baccalaureate student’s frequent
experience with racism, and it clearly airs her frustrations with the “complete
absence of cultural competency on the part of staff/administrators and many students,”
and with the school’s curriculum itself. </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">The writer decries the “graphic whitewashing
of school through posters;” says “Africa, the hashtag, [is] inserted like a
punctuation mark wherever empathy is needed;” and disparages “the Eurocentric
approach to learning”. She writes letters to politicians and administrators,
and creates a petition re: equity for Black students at Dalhousie University.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" lang="EN-US">Interestingly, this unsettling story’s
told via journal entries Cooper Diallo wrote in Grades 11 and 12 (2011-2014). The
author’s articulate and mature, but some of her activities (ie: “chatting for hours
in the mall’s food court” with friends) are also youthful, and she adopts the
Twitter-world’s # (hashtag) in her title—a symbol rarely used in formal
writing—and throughout the book to reiterate her major issues. The hashtag’s effect
is not unlike a fist being pumped in the air. Quotes proliferate, with sources
ranging from Canada’s former Governor General, Miach</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" lang="EN-US">ë</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" lang="EN-US">lle
Jean, to the Mandelas.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">As Dr. Awad Ibrahim attests in his
eloquent Foreword, this book “opens cracks through which we hear a voice of a
young person who is grounded in the real, has a deep understanding of the world
around her in a way that is beyond her age, and who knows what it means and how
to become fully human”. Cooper Diallo’s Introduction reminds readers that she
was “going through a difficult few years” as she was writing these entries, but
rather than simply accept the micro and macro-aggressions she experienced during
high school, she chose “to document, process, and </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">resist</i><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> the constant
abrasions of systemic racism as they rasped against her young body”. She clarifies
that her use of the term “body” also entails Black students’ “mental, emotional,
and spiritual bodies, all of which coalesce to make us human”.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">Cooper Diallo comes by her activism honestly.
Her mother’s photo’s on a poster in the school’s library “for her
groundbreaking work on slavery in Canada”. In the chapter #Legacies, Cooper
Diallo says she attended an “Underground Railroad conference in Detroit” with her
mother, and later considered how though “plantation slavery in the Americas” has
ended, when the writer sees “exploit[ive] images of young children purportedly
from Ethiopia or Mali walking three miles to get water with flies on their
faces as a strategy to capitalize on donor spending from guilt-ridden child
sponsors” who “pay themselves large sums in administrative overhead fees,” she’s
“reminded that [Blacks’] physical autonomy … is compromised” and “at the disposal
of ‘well-intentioned’ white people”. </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">It seems Cooper Diallo’s taken Rosa
Park’s assertion—“You must never be fearful about what you are doing when it’s
right”—to heart. Cooper Diallo:</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">#smartyoungblackwomanusingherpowerfulvoiceforchange.
<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">THIS BOOK IS AVAILABLE AT YOUR LOCAL
BOOKSTORE OR FROM WWW.SKBOOKS.COM</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> __________</span></p><p class="MsoNormal">
</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">“The Amnesia Project”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Written by Payton Todd<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Published by Wood Dragon Books<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Review by Shelley A. Leedahl<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">$19.99 ISBN 9-781990-863264<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">Keeping journals and writing poetry are
common practices among teens, and I commend them for documenting their lives,
even if no one else ever sees the writing. Some of our most exciting and/or trying
experiences may occur during adolescence, and writing’s good therapy. What’s
highly uncommon, however, is for a teenaged writer to have a book published,
and for that book to be a 302-paged, young adult sci-fi novel with a large cast
of well-developed characters, a complex and dynamic plot, and a satisfying conclusion.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" lang="EN-US">Enter Payton Todd and <i>The Amnesia Project</i>.
At age fifteen, the avid writer and student from Wood Mountain, SK won the Wood
Dragon Books’ Young Author Competition. After working with publisher Jeanne
Martinson on successive edits, the attractive, action-filled novel was released.
In an interview with moosejawtoday.com, Martinson said “Wood Dragon worked
around Payton’s school schedule, and she lives on a [cattle] ranch, too, so she
has a lot of chores and obligations.</span><span face=""Open Sans", sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="background: white; color: #333333;"> </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" lang="EN-US">We’re
really proud of this book …”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" lang="EN-US">The futuristic novel centres around
seventeen-year-old Kole Danvers, who finds himself assigned a new name and position—Beta
9X—at the Pacific Acting Authority Council (PAAC). He’s second-in-command within
a team of four other teens, including white-haired Astrid, Alpha to his Beta. Initially
“</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" lang="EN-US">̒</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" lang="EN-US">About
as warm as a glacier. Snuggly as a jackhammer,’” confident Astrid much later “</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" lang="EN-US">̒</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" lang="EN-US">makes
secure places feel safer’”. PAAC is a “post-war military operation that trains
small teams, called units, to neutralize possible threats before they can
spiral out of control and start another war”. But can PAAC be trusted? How have
these young soldiers arrived at the compound? Who is the “</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" lang="EN-US">̒</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" lang="EN-US">new
breed of soldier’” in the “incubation chamber”? And why is Kole having
flashbacks from childhood when the other recruits (save a few) have no memories
of life before PAAC?</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">Unlike Astrid, protagonist Kole lacks
self-confidence. He also recognizes that he’s been craving “inclusiveness,” and
he finds it among his cohorts: tough Astrid; brainy Colin; clownish Allister;
and soft-spoken Maisie. Together the team trains physically and mentally for
their missions, ie: “to rescue a group of young children from a refugee camp an
hour’s flight off compound”.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">I’m most impressed by how deftly Todd
writes action scenes, which could quickly become melodramatic. It’s easy to “see”
the fight scenes, and the author clearly knows about things like “flip holds,”
and the science of flammables. She also uses a number of similes, which elevate
the fiction toward poetry. Of one of Kole’s frequent childhood memories, Todd
writes: “The memory fades like a fast-moving fog, billowing away and just out
of reach”. </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif">When Astrid’s injured during
a mission, the gash on her arm “spits pink bubbles like a science fair volcano”.
</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif">There’s humour, credible dialogue, and
interesting secondary characters. </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">Martinson says the Wood Dragon Books’ Young
Author Competition will be held annually. “Payton is a serious writer who
intends on making the publishing industry her field, and those are the kinds of
writers we really want to zoom in on.” Wonderful!</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">THIS BOOK IS AVAILABLE AT YOUR LOCAL BOOKSTORE
OR FROM THE SASKATCHEWAN PUBLISHERS GROUP WWW.SKBOOKS.COM</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>Shelley Annahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06362581966700785688noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2792056539980657302.post-38453324625761988502023-08-10T17:35:00.009-07:002023-08-10T17:35:43.129-07:00Book Review: The Economy of Sparrows by Trevor Herriot<p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">“The Economy of Sparrows”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Written by Trevor Herriot<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Published by Thistledown Press<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Review by Shelley A. Leedahl<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">$24.95<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>ISBN 9781771872461<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I’m considering what I enjoyed most about
award-winning Regina writer, grassland conservationist, and naturalist Trevor
Herriot’s first foray into fiction.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">His debut novel, <i>The Economy of
Sparrows</i>, conveys the story of pensioner Nell Rowan, a Saskatchewan-born birder
and researcher who—after earning a biology degree at Carleton and working for two
decades as a night janitor cleaning “the bathrooms and hallways of the National
Museum of Nature’s research and collections facility”—returns to her family’s southern
Saskatchewan farmstead and remains dedicated to learning everything possible
about “long-dead bird collector” William Spreadborough, and the other early naturalists
and collectors she read about on her work breaks. Is there some connection
between Spreadborough and her own family? <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">This multi-layered book succeeds on
every level. Firstly, the plot: Nell’s obsession with Spreadborough drives the story,
but there’s also a mother who walked into winter and was never found; a teenaged
foster child with a knack for communicating with animals; interesting rural
neighbours; and Nell’s passion for documenting the birds in her area … her “bird
survey stuff”. Nell tries to remain optimistic, but her faith in policy-makers re:
reports, surveys and environmental assessments (“mostly smoke and mirrors”)
feels “like messages set adrift in bottles on an ocean of apathy”. As a child
she learned that “the beauty of creatures” had the ability to both “stir something
in her” and “comfort”—now her dog’s “expressive face was what got her out of
bed each morning”. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Herriot’s comprehensive knowledge of
birds and prairie conservation is well-served. Chapters begin with a descriptive
excerpt from </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Taverner’s Birds of Western Canada</i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">: this includes facts
about various bird species, as well as the birds’ “Economic Status,” ie: the
Vesper Sparrow is “One of the most beneficial of the sparrows … therefore,
should receive every possible protection.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Make no mistake, this is a highly political
story, right down to “gravel operations ruining their road;” Nell’s dilemma concerning
an application for Century Farm status, considering “settler privilege, broken
treaties, [and] the rest of it;” climate change truths; “No trees, no shrubs,
no grass, no wetlands, just the uniform green of canola;” and, especially, the
critical importance of maintaining habitat for birds and insects. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Herriot’s writing skill is exemplary: “They
passed a shelterbelt of trees surrounding the ruined shell of a house, weathered
to a wasp-nest grey, windows like empty eye sockets.” Melancholy veritably
oozes from this line. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The characterizations of Nell,
fifteen-year-old Carmelita, and several secondary characters are well-wrought
and credible, ie: in Nell’s pasture Carmelita sits on a “waist-high boulder
spangled with orange lichen” and says: “</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">̒</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I
get like four bars here.’”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Certainly Herriot underscores that “Western
civilization [is] at odds with nature,” but all the conservation conversations
aside, this captivating story is not at all predictable. We learn much about
Nell, the “aging naturalist” with “a soft spot for sparrows,” but I couldn’t
have guessed what would progress—and it’s gripping.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">In short, Herriot adeptly pulls
together his storyline’s sticks and strings and builds one hell of a nest. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">THIS BOOK IS AVAILABLE AT YOUR LOCAL BOOKSTORE
OR FROM THE SASKATCHEWAN PUBLISHERS GROUP </span><a href="http://www.skbooks.com/" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">WWW.SKBOOKS.COM</a></p>Shelley Annahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06362581966700785688noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2792056539980657302.post-7799883028351930522023-08-01T13:57:00.001-07:002023-08-01T13:57:30.814-07:00Five Reviews: kâ-pî-isi-kiskisiyân / The Way I Remember” by Solomon Ratt; “nēhiyawēwin awāsi-masinahikanis: A Little Plains Cree Book for Children: A Reference for Teaching the Plains Cree Language” by Patricia Deiter, Allen J. (A.J.) Felix and Elmer Ballantyne; "The School of the Haunted River" by Colleen Gerwing; "Cathedral of Stars: A Memoir of Home & Faith on the Move” by Gloria Engel; and "Always Another River” by Daryl Sexsmith<p><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">“k</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">â</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">-p</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">î</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">-isi-kiskisiy</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">â</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">n
/ The Way I Remember”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">By Solomon Ratt<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Published by University of Regina Press<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Review by Shelley A. Leedahl<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">$25.95<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>ISBN 9-780889-779143<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I went to school with a relative of
educator, writer, storyteller and keeper of the Woods Cree language, Solomon
Ratt, so when his memoir </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">kâ-pî-isi-kiskisiyân / The Way I Remember </i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">became
available for review, I requested it.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Blurbs from Buffy Sainte-Marie (“Sol is
an international treasure …”) and Maria Campbell (“This is an important book …”)
demonstrate that Ratt’s highly lauded for his work in restoring Woods Cree and preserving
the traditional stories he heard near his home community “on the banks on the
Churchill River just north of … Stanley Mission”. Ratt’s 340-page autobiography
is uniquely and significantly presented in Cree th-dialect Standard Roman
Orthography, syllabics and English. The cover features a photo of the smiling
author, and this joviality’s evident in many of his autobiographical stories.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Between ages six and sixteen, Ratt was “Torn
from his family” for ten months each year to attend All Saints Indian Student
Residential School in Prince Albert, SK. The abuse that several thousands of
residential school survivors endured has been documented via the Truth and Reconciliation
Commission of Canada (2007-2015), and the multi-generational legacy of being wrenched
from one’s home has been the subject of several books, but Ratt’s story differs
greatly. He writes: “I was not abused, and I did not lose my language. I still
speak Cree because my parents spoke Cree to me when I would go home in the
summer months.” Hallelujah that.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Home was a northern wonderland where
his family lived off the land … berry picking, canoeing, building a cabin, fishing,
snaring, “[fetching] moosemeat,” storytelling, and enjoying traditional foods
like bannock. The author shares a brief letter—his first written from
residential school:</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">“Dear Mom,</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">How are you? I am fine. School is fun
but I am homesick a lot. Please send bannock.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">He writes that “Each letter ended with ‘please
send bannock’”.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Possessing “full retention of his mother
language” has made Ratt one of a few Cree language pioneers. He learned to read
and write Cree in Contemporary standard spelling (SRO) through studies at Saskatchewan
Indian Federated College. The Cree Syllabics system learned via Dr. Ahab Spence
“rekindled his interest in traditional stories,” like the dozen that appear in
the second half of this book. Oral stories were used to teach, ie: “The Shut-eye
Dancers” teaches one to “Be wary when someone offers you a wondrous gift,” and the
“Wisahkecahk and the Chickadees” teaches respect of sacred ceremony, and explains
why foxes have white-tipped tails.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Ratt writes that if he forgets about the
residential school children who were lost and killed, he will “not show them
honour” and he “will lose [his] soul”. He admits that he “wandered about lost
for a long time” too, but “walked away from alcohol and drugs” thirty years
ago. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">As for my former classmate, when I
reached out to her, she didn’t remember me. She says she’s blocked most of her
childhood, and this speaks volumes. It’s okay that I was forgotten. What’s
important is that I remember her.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">THIS BOOK IS AVAILABLE AT YOUR LOCAL
BOOKSTORE OR FROM WWW.SKBOOKS.COM</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">__________</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“n</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">ē</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">hiyawēwin
awāsi-masinahikanis: A Little Plains Cree Book for Children: A Reference for
Teaching the Plains Cree Language”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Written by Patricia Deiter, Allen J. (A.J.)
</span><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Felix and Elmer Ballantyne; </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Plains Cree Translations by Elmer
Ballantyne, Inez Deiter, May Desnomie, Allen J. (A.J.) </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Felix and Joslyn Wuttunee</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Published by YNWP<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Review by Shelley A. Leedahl<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">$74.95<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>ISBN 978-1-77869-004-4<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I recently reviewed <i>awāsi-nēhiyawēwin
masinahikanis: A Little Plains Cree Colouring Book—Plains Cree People, </i>by Saskatchewan’s
</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Patricia Deiter, Allen J. (A.J.) Felix, and Elmer
Ballantyne. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The colouring book complements the
learned trio’s reference guide for teaching the Plains Cree language, <i>nēhiyawēwin
awāsi-masinahikanis</i>—<i>A Little Plains Cree Book for Children, </i>which I
have also now read and learned from. “Plains Cree is spoken in 43 First Nations
communities in Saskatchewan alone,” and the authors hope is that they, “as Plains
Cree people, will still have [their] language for [their] future generations”.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">In her opening acknowledgements, Deiter
(White Buffalo Woman)—a “non-fluent Plains Cree speaker” and English teacher—extends
gratitude to the six Elders who “provided the majority of Plains Cree
translations” for the reference guide, including her mother, Inez Deiter, “who
provides ongoing support for [her daughter’s] efforts to restore the Cree
language to our youth”. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The reference book follows the themes established
in the Saskatchewan Curriculum Guide for Kindergarten to Grade 12 on Aboriginal
Languages, with a focus on “Useful noun categories, phrases, and some basic
rules for the Plains Cree language,” and an enhanced e-book edition’s also
available. The writers encourage supplementing this resource book with “components
of Cree language programs, including Plains Cree values and laws, the history of
Plains Cree people and local history, as well as songs, games, dances, and arts
and crafts”. Adding other teaching materials like flash cards makes learning
even more fun for children, and it’s recommended. Repetition of words is highly
important when a child’s learning vocabulary and phrases.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Though “The best path to fluency in the
Plains Cree language is immersion,” the authors write that “learning one word,
one phrase, and one sentence at a time is a good place to start” … as someone
who has been studying Spanish since the mid-1980s, I agree!</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The guide begins with instruction on
the sound system. “The Plains Cree alphabet consists of 14 consonants and 7
vowels,” and among the vowels there are both short and long vowels, the latter
indicated by a line (called a <i>macron</i>) over the letter, ie: n</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">ī</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">pin
(summer) and k</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">ō</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">na
(snow). It’s interesting to me that the months of the year are all described by
a corresponding type of moon, ie: February is The Eagle Moon (mikisiwi-p</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">ī</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">sim),
June is The Hatching Moon (p</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">ā</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">sk</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">ā</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">wihowi-p</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">ī</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">sim),
and October is The Migrating Moon (pimih</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">ā</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">wi-p</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">ī</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">sim).</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">As with the colouring book, information’s
included on the extended kinship system of the Plains Cree, which is “an
example of culture and language being intertwined”. Grandparents, for example, “are
anyone your parents refer to as an aunt or uncle”. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The themes of the guide’s twenty-five
lessons are wide-ranging. Lesson 7, for example, is “Morning Routine” (k</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">ī</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">kis</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">ē</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">p</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">ā</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">w
tahki p</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">ē</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">yakwan
ka-t</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">ō</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">tamihk).
Lesson 15 is titled “Let’s make soup,” (osiht</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">ā</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">tahk
mihcim</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">ā</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">poy)
and Lesson 20 is called ‘Picking Berries” (mawisowin). The final lesson is “The
Future of Plains Cree” (tanisi </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">ō</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">ma
nika nehiyawewin), and one of the sample sentences is kis</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">ī</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">hton</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">ī</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">naw
n</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">ē</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">hiy</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">ā</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">w</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">ē</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">win:
(“We are holding on to our language.”) Well done. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">THIS BOOK IS AVAILABLE AT YOUR LOCAL
BOOKSTORE OR FROM WWW.SKBOOKS.COM</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">__________</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“The School of the Haunted River"
<o:p></o:p></span></p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">by Colleen Gerwing<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Published by Endless Sky Books<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Review by Shelley A. Leedahl<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">$24.99
ISBN 978-1-989398-86-9<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">What a surprise. It’s poetic, actually.
During my Saskatoon years, each time I’d launch a book, an affable but
unassuming woman I knew only by sight would attend and we’d make minimal small talk
while she had her copy signed. I moved. Several years passed. I never thought
of her again.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Last week a newly-released
autobiographical novel arrived in the mail. </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The School of the Haunted River</i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">
concerns outdoorswoman Jay, who takes her college-aged niece, Dilly, on a
two-week snowshoeing and camping trip in northern Saskatchewan. I flipped to
the author bio and photo before beginning the novel, and there she was, Colleen
Gerwing, the woman who’d attended all of my Saskatoon launches. I never even
knew she was writing. And I certainly never knew she’d died in 2021; this sad
fact made reading her fine stories-within-a-story even more bittersweet.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">In her “real” life, Gerwing, I learned,
grew up on a farm near Lake Lenore, SK, and her love of adventure was evident from
childhood. In 1977 she hitchhiked to the National Outdoor Leadership School in
Wyoming, and later worked for the Parks Service (mostly in Prince Albert
National Park), ran Wilderness Trips for Women, and shared her zest for outdoor
life via the Saskatoon Boys and Girls Club. Canoeing, snowshoeing, winter
camping … these were her passions. Apparently documenting her adventures was a
passion, too.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">In this reflective novel—the author’s cover
painting of a canoeist in the boreal forest demonstrates that Gerwing was also
a talented artist—the snowshoeing trip provides the frame from which Joy shares
stories about her earlier canoeing adventures during the grueling, solo, five-month
canoe trip that was part of her Outdoor School experience. “</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">̒</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I
was dropped off by plane in a remote area,’” she begins, revealing that the
earlier expedition was near where the aunt and niece are now snowshoeing.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Jay’s solo canoe expedition began at the
Saskquatsch Annie River, northwest of La Ronge, and she was to travel in a
circular route, ending at Silver Feather Lake. Packrider “Cowboy” dropped
provisions along the route every few weeks. The first night, ice and snow still
on the ground, Jay slept beneath her sleek canoe: “</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">̒</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">
… in my sleeping bag, I squirmed like a big grub in a cocoon under trillions of
stars in trillions of galaxies with unfathomable empty space between. I was
nothing. And that made me feel like everything.’” </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">All the wildlife encounters, weather
woes, a “</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">̒</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">scourge
of mosquitoes,’” portage and river challenges, and the hunger one would expect
from an extended, solitary canoe journey are here, but it’s the revelations
about self and humanity that raise this book to a higher level. Gerwing
ingeniously weaves her engaging life-story into an adventure novel and fills it
with life lessons and poetic gems, like “</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">̒</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Sunrise
is a wordless poem,’” “</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">̒</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Gratitude
is a moving target,’” and “</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">̒</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I
could’ve left, but somebody had to look for stars in the sky.’”</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Thank you, Colleen Gerwing, for transporting
us to your sanctuary. Rest well now.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">THIS BOOK IS AVAILABLE AT YOUR LOCAL
BOOKSTORE OR FROM WWW.SKBOOKS.COM</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">__________</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">"Cathedral of Stars: A Memoir of
Home & Faith on the Move”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Written by Gloria Engel</span><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Published by YNWP<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Review by Shelley A. Leedahl<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">$24.95<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>ISBN 978-1-988783-90-1<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Cathedral of</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">
<i>Stars: A Memoir of Home & Faith on the Move</i> by SK-born Gloria Engel
is utterly fascinating. The stories about her peripatetic life—and constant
faith—as a linguist with Wycliffe Bible Translators and the Summer Institute of
Linguistics is indeed hard to put down. The intrepid author asks and adeptly answers
this question: “How can you find a sense of belonging in home and church when
you’re constantly on the move?” Much of this global zinger of a book takes
place in Guatemala, and Engel paints a colourful portrait of the family’s
authentic experiences there. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Now in her eighties, the joy-filled wife,
mother of four boys, linguist, writer and dancer (a verboten activity re: her
strict Lutheran upbringing) experienced “forty-five changes of residence in
five countries,” before settling in Biggar, SK. The anecdotes about her resourceful
family and rural SK upbringing (no indoor plumbing; folks said her father “could
hold machinery together with macaroni”) are compelling, but the Guatemalan
accounts left me gasping.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">First came linguistics training at the
University of North Dakota. Orientation sessions took place in Mexico City,
then it was on to Chiapas, Mexico. After twelve weeks of “jungle survival
training” there—Engel was pregnant and had three young sons at the time—the
writer, her husband (fellow linguist, Ted), and their sons (aged one to six), drove
to Guatemala “to do Bible translation work with Mayan people of the Pokomchi
language group,” and they remained in the highland town of San Crist</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">ó</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">bal
Verapaz for a decade.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Imagine being pregnant and navigating
rapids in a dugout canoe: “We capsized, and our canoe went down the river
without me, while I hung on to a protruding branch.” </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">And that’s Main Base camp, where “several poisonous
snakes were killed”. At Advance Base, her training included a “survival hike”. With
machete in tow, hearty Engel “had to construct [her] own survival bed and build
a campfire for warmth and protection”. Apart from the clothes on her back and a
canteen, her “only equipment was a small food pack, a first-aid kit and a
plastic sheet”. Even so, she says “it was a night of contentment and peace”. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The family also spent years in
Guatemala City, and one riveting chapter concerns the 1974 Guatemala earthquake
and Engel’s epiphany: “I felt as though Judgment Day had come, and God was
there in his terrible beauty and justice. He seemed to be shaking and breaking
the whole world, while cradling me gently in his hand”. Engel was also “roughed
up” during a robbery.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Post-Guatemala and after eight years in
Texas, the husband and wife team were then commissioned by two drastically
different churches in Vancouver: one in the infamous Downtown Eastside, the
other in the wealthy Shaughnessy neighbourhood. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Chapter after chapter, this author astounds
with detailed stories about her family, and how hiking, orchid-hunting,
reading, music and fellowship elevated their lives. Wherever life has taken
Engel, she’s proven that “she’s got the joy, joy, joy, joy, down in her heart”.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">THIS BOOK IS AVAILABLE AT YOUR LOCAL
BOOKSTORE OR FROM WWW.SKBOOKS.COM</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p>__________</o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">"Always Another River”</span></p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Written by Daryl Sexsmith</span><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Published by YNWP<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Review by Shelley A. Leedahl<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">$24.95
ISBN 978-1-77869-014-3<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Prince Albert, SK-raised Darryl Sexmith
is an avid canoe-tripper and former United Church minister who’s built his community—wherever
he’s lived—around his passion for wilderness canoeing and the fellowship group canoe-tripping
naturally inspires. Reading </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Always Another River</i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">, his well-written,
chronologically-told collection of canoe stories—he’s completed over seventy-five
trips and “hasn’t hung up his paddle yet”—stirred fond memories of my own canoeing
experiences. It’s a Canadian thing, eh.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The nineteen chapters are mostly titled
by location, and it’s evident that Sexsmith’s playground has predominantly been
the rivers (and lakes) of northern Saskatchewan, but his lifetime of paddling expeditions
also includes the far north. He’s a former executive director of Canadian Parks
and Wilderness Society’s (CPAWS) Northwest Territories chapter, and in that
role he canoed the South Nahanni and Mackenzie rivers to promote conservation.
He also participated in the 2008 David Thompson Brigade, paddling six-person voyageur
canoes from Alberta to Ontario “to commemorate Thompson’s historic trip of
1808,” a journey also heralded in 1967 with the Centennial Canoe Pageant. How
interesting to read about the grueling paddling across Manitoba’s massive lakes
(with high winds and just five-minute breaks every hour), group dynamics, and
the receptions held in various communities, ie: in Cumberland House, schoolchildren
canoed out to greet the contemporary voyageurs and a banquet of “beef stew and bannock”
was enjoyed.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Sexsmith’s love of paddling began in
1981 with a short adventure on the Churchill River between Stanley Mission and
Nistowiak Falls. The College of Commerce student (ministry came later) and his
fellow paddlers “vowed around the campfire that this would be the first of a
lifetime of trips”. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">That vow was kept,
and more than forty years later, he’s still canoe-tripping with these longtime
friends, and several others. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The writer employs a jocular tone. Of a
fellow canoe-tripper, he says: “We were warned not to use big words with Bill
since he was a kindergarten teacher.” Before an adventure on the Paull River,
the group stopped at the Co-op in Air Ronge to buy fishing licences, because “for
the last two decades they have given away free sunglasses with the purchase of
a fishing licence”. Sexmith selected his “from a wide selection of 1970s styles”.
</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">After studying theology at Queens—“My
classmates always marvelled when I found theological insights in canoeing
books, and my practice preaching often included reflections on the joys of
canoe-tripping”—Sexsmith’s first United Church posting was in Hudson Bay, ideally
“located at the junction of three rivers”. After paddling through the
Clearwater River’s “big-ticket scenery,” he wrote: “One simply knew that God
was real when travelling in the majesty of the Clearwater Valley”. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">There’s classic Canadian shield
camping, “with clean granite sloping gently into the water, making for a
perfect swimming hole”. There are bears, caribou, muskox and moose. Wicked
whitewater, appalling portages, and “[learning] the art of drinking water
through a head net”. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Simply put, this book
is great reading, and you’ll complete these stories knowing with certainty that
nature is surely sacred.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">THIS BOOK IS AVAILABLE AT YOUR LOCAL BOOKSTORE OR FROM WWW.SKBOOKS.COM</span></p><div><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"></span></p>Shelley Annahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06362581966700785688noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2792056539980657302.post-25917061734643238882023-06-21T19:26:00.012-07:002023-06-21T19:26:57.397-07:00Two Reviews: The Ghosts of Spiritwood by Martine Noël-Maw and Wounded Hearts Take a Chance by Debbie Quigley<p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“The Ghosts of Spiritwood”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">By Martine No</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">ël-Maw</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Published by Shadowpaw Press Reprise<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Review by Shelley A. Leedahl<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">$17.99<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>ISBN 978-1-989398-62-3<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I’ve always loved a good ghost story,
and Saskatchewan writer Martine Noël-Maw gives us ghost stories <i>inside</i> a
ghost story in her YA novel <i>The Ghosts of Spiritwood</i>. First published in
2010 in French, the book’s now available in English thanks to Shadowpaw Press
Reprise, and I’m so pleased. The novel was inspired by Grade 8 French Immersion
students at Elsie Mironuck School in Regina, where Noël-Maw conducted six
writing workshops. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The author’s work’s been recognized
with two Saskatchewan Book Awards, and clearly knows how to write well,
beginning with this novel’s opening paragraph:</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">“I still have nightmares about the
events that took place in that abandoned country school near Spiritwood. I’d
seen disembodied spirits before but never like those.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">That’s a grabber. We immediately learn
that our First Person narrator is seventeen-year-old Ethan, the son of a Regina
psychologist. She gave him the exercise of writing about a traumatic experience
earlier that year because, as he says, “it should do me good”. Ethan and his
classmates were to go camping in Spiritwood where they’d “watch the northern lights,”
but rather than taking the bus with the others, Ethan and twins John and
Reggie, plus Ethan’s crush Alex(andra) and whiny Britney had to leave the city
late and were driving up in Ethan’s “recently-inherited” car. “It was my mom’s
old car, a twelve-year-old four-door Corolla,” he writes.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The group made the five-hour trip to
Spiritwood and beyond, but when a deer crossed before them and their car unceremoniously
flipped (no injuries), the teens began walking and more bad news struck: a
prairie thunderstorm broke around them, and true-to-life: no cell coverage. “</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">̒̒</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">We
have to find shelter,’” [Ethan] said. “</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">̒</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Or
at least get off the road if we don’t want to get hit by lightning.’”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">They take shelter in an abandoned country
school near Spiritwood, and shortly after the oft-quarrelling fivesome begin
sharing ghost stories, ie: Alex’s tale about her grandfather, who “‘came to say
goodbye … the night he died,’” and Ethan’s story: “‘Shortly after [Granny’s]
passing, I began seeing a shadow on my bedroom wall at the foot of my bed.’”
This “shadow” appeared to him for the next ten years.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">But those ghosts are not </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">the</i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> ghosts
of the book’s title. When the northern lights appear “like gigantic sails
hanging in the deep blackness,” Ethan whistles (he found a special whistle for
this purpose at the Wanuskewin gift shop) and sets Aurora Borealis dancing.
Then: all hell breaks loose. I suggest reading this fast-paced, dialogue-rich
story yourself to discover who these kids uncovered in the schoolhouse basement
that night.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Despite the seriousness of the plot, the
text is underscored with adolescent humour and sparring. Likeable Ethan’s
strong, credible voice carries the story. There’s an interesting conversation
re: perception, prayer, and the power of the mind, and I appreciated how the
narrator often reflected on the incredulity of his own experience, ie: “I can’t
believe I’m telling a story like this.” This book’s spooky … in all the best
ways.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">THIS BOOK IS AVAILABLE AT YOUR LOCAL
BOOKSTORE OR FROM THE SASKATCHEWAN PUBLISHERS GROUP WWW.SKBOOKS.COM</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p>__________ </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">“Wounded Hearts Take a Chance"</span></p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">by Debbie Quigley<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Published by Endless Sky Books<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Review by Shelley A. Leedahl<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">$9.99
ISBN 978-1-989398-72-2<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Wounded Hearts Take A Chance</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">
is an attractive book with a positive message: women can recover from intense
heartbreak and love again. Written by Debbie Quigley, a “retired healthcare
worker” who writes “simple and real” poetry in what she calls her “whisper-art
form,” this 28-page softcover is a poetic self-help read for those “whose
wounded hearts have been shattered into pieces, those who are afraid to take a
chance on loving another man”.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Across pages topped with light floral
graphics, Quigley unfolds the narrative of a woman who has been “Keeping walls
around her heart” and “Drying her own tears,” but, she writes, “Gazing at the
stars at night” and “Holding a warm hand” are what “We all want,” and she
encourages the reader to “Let someone in [their] life!”.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The thirteen free verse poems are
ordered chronologically as a new relationship blossoms, beginning with a
“first-glance attraction” that results in a dinner date. After this,
“Exhilarated excitement enters her focus/Words of trust being built/Each word a
brick of trust/Bringing her to the point of slowly tearing down the
walls/around her heart”. Once one has “[Packed] away the luggage of the past,”
she is able to “Write the next chapters in [her] life”.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The strongest piece in this slim book
is “Walk in the Woods,” as it contains several concrete images, sensory
details, a simile and a metaphor. In these woods “Trees the size of skyscrapers
touch the sky” and the tails of the accompanying dogs wave “like flags in the
air”. We hear the twigs snap “as each footstep was taken,” and see that
“Mushrooms of all hues added colour bright/To nature’s browns on the deep-woods
floor”. Poetry is all in the details.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The author places high value on the humble
act of holding hands. In her poem “Hand to Hold,” she writes about holding her
father’s hand as a child, “A hand of safety”. Throughout the years, if we’re
lucky, we hold numerous hands, but “Many of us wait a lifetime for that special
hand”.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">It would seem that Debbie Quigley has
indeed found “that special hand,” and the joy in that has resulted in this, her
second book. </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Wind Whispers</i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">, her first collection of poetry, is available
on Amazon. If you’d like to read more work by this Ontario author - who “lives
in a small hamlet surrounded by nature and wildlife” - her poetry also appears
on Author’s Den and in Spiritual Writers Network publications.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Wounded Hearts Take A Chance</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">
was published by Endless Sky Books, founded by Regina author Edward Willett.
Endless Sky Books “is an eclectic hybrid publisher of all kinds of books, from
children’s books to poetry to fiction to nonfiction”. To learn more about
Endless Sky Books – and perhaps learn how you can turn your own experiences
into published poetry – see endless-sky-books.com.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Reading Quigley’s book of gentle poems
is like having a friend assure you that despite your sorrow, if you can open
your heart to love again, everything will be fine.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">THIS BOOK IS AVAILABLE AT YOUR LOCAL
BOOKSTORE OR FROM WWW.SKBOOKS.COM</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p>
<br /></p>Shelley Annahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06362581966700785688noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2792056539980657302.post-56218112992714304222023-06-09T12:11:00.000-07:002023-06-09T12:11:00.930-07:00Four Reviews: Paddling Pathways: Reflections from a Changing Landscape (Edited by Bob Henderson and Sean Blenkinsop); Backwater Mystic Blues by Lloyd Ratzlaff; Small Reckonings by Karin Melberg Schwier; and"awāsi-nēhiyawēwin masinahikanis: A Little Plains Cree Colouring Book—Plains Cree People” by Patricia Deiter, Allen J. (A.J.) Felix, and Elmer Ballantyne, Illustrated by Aleigha Agecoutay <p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">“Paddling Pathways: Reflections from a
Changing Landscape”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Edited by Bob Henderson and Sean
Blenkinsop<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Published by Your Nickel’s Worth
Publishing<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Review by Shelley A. Leedahl <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">29.95
ISBN 978-1-988783-81-9<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">This beautifully-bound
anthology of 21 essays written by paddlers and edited by educators—and intrepid
canoeists and guides—Bob Henderson (ON) and Sean Blenkinsop (BC) deserves a
much longer review than this 500-word assessment. In short: it’s extraordinary.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Paddling Pathways:
Reflections from a Changing Landscape</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> contains a wealth of thought-provoking essays on the rivers,
lakes, and oceans the diverse contributors have navigated via canoe or kayak—often
in groups but sometimes solo—and it examines the paddlers’ interior worlds as
these contemplate being present; history; culture; relationships with plants,
animals and other creatures; Indigenous Canada (land and territorial acknowledgements
and “Settler Responsibilities” are included); ecology; climate change; and, as
Bruce Cockburn contributes in his Foreword, the “soul-expanding space” where
one can get “a glimpse of the world as it was made.” Maps, black and white
photos, and the editors’ numerous “Suggested Reading” lists are superb
accompaniments to the layered essays.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Henderson has
previously published books on heritage travel and outdoor life, and Blenkinsop,
a professor at Simon Fraser University who writes about “wild pedagogies” and
“ecologizing education,” agree that as travelers on land and water, they/we
need to “shift pathways and create narratives that no longer focus on </span><i style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">competing</i><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">,
</span><i style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">completing</i><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">, and </span><i style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">conquering</i><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">” re: our understanding of the natural
world and, indeed, human culture. They invited contributors to select a
“special paddling place/route” and a “personally significant theme,” and the
result is this compendium of erudite, entertaining, often philosophical and
political essays that are delightful to sink into.</span><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Several writers
discuss the “gifts to be found in slowing down,” ie: the discoveries of
cranberries (Anjeanette LeMay) and the “orangish glow of cloudberries” (Beth
Foster). Foster writes that wind and rain altered her group’s 9-day paddle
plans, but the rewards of “focus[ing] on the present” included “an unclouded
blue-sky panoramic vista” and “the profound joy of stillness.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Greg Scutt ponders
Settler history and the connection between river canoeing and fly-fishing in
his second-person piece set it Stikine country, “the largest wilderness area in
British Columbia.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Michael Paul Samson
recounts his kayak trip around Newfoundland at age 22, a pre-wedding adventure
down the Ohio River and into the Mississippi, and “the resilience of the human
race.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Ric Driediger, a guide
for Churchill River Canoe Outfitters, was seeking relaxation on his solo trip.
He considers that he’s perhaps “so addicted to being busy, [he] can’t just
sit,” and he desires to “be lost in time and place and imagination.” Success!
At one point he can’t even remember how long he’s been out. This essay’s
brilliant surprise ending left me gasping.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Kayaker Fiona Hough
speaks honestly of the joys and challenges of taking youth with mental health
issues on a two-week trip in Clayoquet Sound, and how one completes the trip
“freshly clothed in an ocean skin.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Gratitude’s braided
through these essays. Zabe MacEachren writes: “I also like to kiss the palm of
my hand and then place it flat on the ground wherever I have slept.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">This book’s a major
achievement. Please read it.</span><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">THIS BOOK IS AVAILABLE AT YOUR LOCAL
BOOKSTORE OR FROM WWW.SKBOOKS.COM</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> __________</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: arial;">“Backwater
Mystic Blues”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">By Lloyd Ratzlaff<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Shadowpaw Press Reprise<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Review by Shelley A. Leedahl<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">18.99
ISBN 978-1-989398-60-9<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I somehow missed <i>Backwater Mystic
Blues</i>—the contemplative collection of essays by Saskatoon’s Lloyd Ratzlaff—when
it was first published in 2006. Shame on me, for I greatly admired Ratzlaff’s
earlier book, <i>The Crow Who Tampered With Time, </i>and bought several copies.
And shame on me, as—disclaimer—I call this gracious writer a friend.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Fortunately, fate’s found a way to deliver
Ratzlaff’s second essay collection into my hands these many years later, and
like a song you’ve not heard in a long time but, upon listening again, remember
how much you enjoyed, I’m so pleased to hear the distinguished yet down-home voice
of my old Mennonite friend—a former minister, counsellor and educator—once
again. </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Backwater Mystic Blues </i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">has been reborn with Shadowpaw Press
Reprise, a press that publishes “New editions of notable, previously published books”.
Hurray, that.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">These cultivated essays are
reminiscences of a life lived with intention, but also with abundant questioning
(particularly spiritual) and grief (the dissolution of a marriage, career dissatisfaction,
deaths). What you’ll also find here is gentleness, nature keenly observed, scholarship,
and page-by-page evidence of a human who walks through this world with a generous
heart. Disparate essays are tethered via consistently effective writing, ie: the
ability to transport. Here Ratzlaff describes the cellar in his childhood home:</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">“The one naked light bulb scarcely lit
the cellar’s dim edges, where other shelves stood, holding crocks and jars and
bronze canning tubs, where potatoes mouldered in the bin in the northeast,
darkest corner and the upright hulk of the metal bathtub brooded of Saturdays,
when it was wrestled up through the passageway so we could take turns bathing
for church on Sunday.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">As a child it was Ratzlaff’s responsibility
to fetch water from the village well, two blocks from home, and he writes of
the enamel cup he used to dip into the bucket upon its safe return to the
cellar. Years later he “salvaged” this blue cup. “It holds the innocence of
childhood, and the taste of clean cold tin straight to the gut slakes my soul and
puts Time in its place.” </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Ratzlaff was raised in a fundamentalist
sect. “In my early teens, it was a big excursion to attend a Youth for Christ rally
in Saskatoon,” he writes. Decades of wrestling with “The Old Man up there and
his buggers here below” saw Ratzlaff leave a 10-year career in ministry, but he
confesses that he’s been “married—for better, for worse, forever—to the
Christian religion,” and these essays frequently allude to his faith. The
writer also went to Switzerland to honour Carl Jung, gives great consideration
to his dream-world, and set aside his King James Bible for the New English
Bible (Oxford Study Edition); what falls from the pages of that good Book when it’s
reopened years later is nothing short of holy.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Imaginative, educated, a dreamer, and
the kind of guy who finds God in “a gaggle of geese on a sandbar”. I’m so glad
this book found me. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">THIS BOOK IS AVAILABLE AT YOUR LOCAL
BOOKSTORE OR FROM THE SASKATCHEWAN PULBISHERS GROUP WWW.SKBOOKS.,COM</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">__________</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Small Reckonings”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">By Karin Melberg Schwier<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Published by Shadowpaw Press Reprise<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Review by Shelley A. Leedahl<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">$24.99
ISBN 978-1-989398-74-6<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br />
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Sometimes a book is so phenomenal it goes
into multiple printings, either with the original publisher or with a fresh
publisher. Such is the case with Saskatoon author Karin Melberg Schwier’s </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Small
Reckonings, </i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">a Watrous, SK-based novel set between 1914 and 1936, and inspired
by true events. I reviewed this book—for which the writer received a John V.
Hicks Long Manuscript Award for Fiction—when it was first published by Burton
House Books in 2020. A revised edition came out in 2021 with Copestone, and
that same year it earned a Saskatchewan Book Award. This year, Shadowpaw Press
Reprise has released the third edition. This story’s got staying power.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I stand by what I claimed in my initial
review: </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Small Reckonings </i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">deserves a huge audience. Kudos to the multi-genre
writer, and to Regina publisher (and writer) Edward Willett for recognizing
that many well-written books deserve another chance to shine. Excerpts of my
earlier review of this beautifully-crafted and highly enjoyable novel also get
a reprise:</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Melberg Schwier expertly creates individuated
characters readers will care deeply about, including the central figure, Violet,
who, at birth, looks like “a large pink spider,” and of whom the attending doctor
says “</span><a name="_Hlk39074169" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">‘</a><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">There are places for these children.’” Equally
well-drawn are Violet’s doting brother, John; kind neighbour, Hank; and the
Ukrainian Yuzik family. The characters struggle through the Depression, and with
the disparate lots they’ve been dealt.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I know Watrous well, thus it was especially
fun reading the descriptions of this “boomtown”. Homesteader William boasts
that “‘Watrous has wooden sidewalks now, and shops and a bakery. A very decent
butcher. A poolroom and barbershop.’” He says the mineral springs possess “‘healing
powers, so say the Indians’”. I can smell the “sweet scent of [Scandanavian]
rosettes just pulled from hot oil,” and hear the “‘</span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Uff da’</i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">”
exclamations. I easily see the “green apron with yellow rickrack,” and almost
sneeze at the description of the schoolboy “banging erasers at arm’s length on
the bottom step, a cloud of chalk dust drifting away lazily in the afternoon
heat”. I transported as I read about caragana seed pods “snapping and cracking”
in the sunshine, and as the lead siblings spoke of “anti-I-over” and “Simon
Says”. The “forlorn autumn sound” of honking geese was like an echo.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">This book succeeds because the writer’s
learned the difficult art of literary balance … as skilled as she is at penning
descriptive scenes, they never slow the pacing of this taut novel. The book’s structure
is nuanced, and seemingly minor details—like a fishhook caught in an eye—have
resonance. The characters are people we know or can easily imagine. Here’s Hanusia,
the raw Ukrainian midwife, upon the birth of John: “‘So quick first baby! Much
hair. Strong boy, good for farm work. Your husband, he will be happy.’”) And the
plot? Movie potential.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I read with pleasure that Melberg Schwier
has a sequel in the works. I have high expectations for </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Inheriting Violet. </i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Watch
for news of its release at karinschwier.ca.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">THIS BOOK IS AVAILABLE AT YOUR LOCAL
BOOKSTORE OR FROM THE SASKATCHEWAN PUBLISHERS GROUP WWW.SKBOOKS.COM</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">__________ </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">
</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">awāsi-n</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">ē</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">hiyawēwin
masinahikanis: A Little Plains Cree Colouring Book—Plains </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Cree People”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Written by Patricia Deiter, Allen J. (A.J.)
</span><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Felix, and Elmer Ballantyne<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Illustrated by Aleigha Agecoutay<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Published by YNWP<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Review by Shelley A. Leedahl<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">$24.95<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>ISBN 978-1-77869-013-6<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">It’s been said that when a language
dies, a culture goes with it. In Canada several Indigenous languages are in
fact endangered, but the one I grew up hearing in northern Saskatchewan—Cree—remains
one of the most widely spoken Indigenous languages in the country. Still, it’s
important to continue teaching it so Cree youth can connect with their ancestors,
their history, and cultural traditions. I’ll add that it’s also a fine idea for
anyone who lives in northern communities to learn at least a few words of Cree;
my parents took classes because they lived alongside and worked with Plains Cree
people. I picked up a small vocabulary, as well, mostly from friends who lived
on Flying Dust First Nation. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I’m glad that there are educators,
Elders, and Knowledge Keepers who continue to find creative ways to make learning
Plains Cree fun for children. Patricia Deiter, Allen J. (A.J.) </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Felix, and Elmer Ballantyne, t</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">he
three Saskatchewan writers of <i>awāsi-nēhiyawēwin masinahikanis: A Little
Plains Cree Colouring Book—Plains Cree People, </i>have done just that. The
55-page colouring book is a complement to their reference guide for teaching
the Plains Cree language, <i>nēhiyawēwin awāsi-masinahikanis</i>—<i>A Little Plains
Cree Book for Children</i>, published by YNWP in 2022, and Deiter, from the
Peepeekisis Cree Nation, introduces the book by explaining that they “hope to
provide children with the basics of the Plains Cree language with the goal that
we, as Plains Cree people, will still have our language for future generations”.
The Plains Cree translation is credited to Felix and Ballantyne, plus Inez
Deiter, “a Residential School survivor who had to relearn her Cree language”.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The book is simply (no facial features and
mostly no finger definition) but effectively illustrated by Aleigha Agecoutay,
also from the Peepeekisis Cree Nation. A figure or figures appear on each page,
and they are identified by who they are, ie: a child (awāsis), an old man (kisēyiniw),
and/or by their profession, ie: a teacher (okiskinwahamākēw), a fisherman
(onochikinasewew). The large black line drawings feature floral bead work,
braids, regalia, long earrings and horses, and many would be best coloured in
pencil crayons, as crayons would be too thick for some of the finer details,
ie: the doctor and nurse’s stethoscopes, and the bells on the dancer’s jingle dress.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The creators have included good
information about their people and language, ie: the fact that the Cree nation
is “Canada’s largest tribal group,” “Plains Cree is spoken in 43 First Nations
communities in Saskatchewan alone,” and “Everyone older than the speaker will
have a specific term, but anyone younger than the speaker will be addressed as
nis</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">ī</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">mis
(my younger brother or sister)”. There’s a page included on the Plains Crees’
extended kinship system—interesting—and pages dedicated to the “Sound system”
(14 consonants, 7 vowels) and colours.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Hats off to these collaborators for doing
their part in keeping the Plains Cree language alive and well, and doing it in
a way that little learners will love. kinanāskomitināwāw—thank you! </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">THIS BOOK IS AVAILABLE AT YOUR LOCAL
BOOKSTORE OR FROM WWW.SKBOOKS.COM</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>Shelley Annahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06362581966700785688noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2792056539980657302.post-23771981026916138702023-05-24T18:02:00.007-07:002023-05-24T18:02:26.807-07:00Three Reviews: On the Busy Old Ranch (written by Katelyn Toney, illustrated by Rebecca Allen); The Foxholes at the Borders of Sofa Cushions (by Counce Brampton); and The History Forest (by Michael Trussler)<p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">“On the Busy Old Ranch”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Written by Katelyn Toney, Illustrated
by Rebecca Allen<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Published by Bluestem Books<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Review by Shelley A. Leedahl<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">$15.00<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>ISBN 978-1-7388027-0-8<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Katelyn Toney lives the hectic farmer/rancher
lifestyle near Tompkins in southwest Saskatchewan with her husband and four
children, and when she noted a lack of children’s books that depict the
family’s unique way of life, she wrote one. The illustrated board book, </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">On
the Busy Old Ranch</i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">, is a 1-10 counting book with full-bleed illustrations
by Rebecca Allen, rhyming stanzas, and child-friendly but apt portrayals of diverse
ranch families’ chore-filled daily life.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">In a CTV Regina television interview,
Toney said she’d been reading to her kids “every day for the past 15 years,”
and noted that there were “not a lot of books showcasing the life we live out
here raising cattle on the prairies”. She said that there are many farm and
rodeo-themed kids’ books, but what she found “really didn’t depict the
lifestyle” she and her family experience.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The first page spread sets the book’s tone
and two-stanza, rhyming style:</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">On the busy old ranch<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">by the barn in the sun<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">worked a big mama cowgirl<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">and her little cowgirl one.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Feed,” said the mama.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“I feed,” said the one.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">So they both fed the horses<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">by the barn in the sun.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Allen’s colourful, light-hearted illustrations
reveal a large-eyed mother and daughter, both with red braids, forking hay and
feeding the smiling horse, while another horse munches grass against a backdrop
of prairie sky and a tall red barn. The subsequent pages all begin with “On the
busy old ranch,” and include “an old papa cowboy,” “the ranchhand lady,” “the
silly auntie cowgirl” and “some kindly neighbours/and some little cowkids ten”.
I was pleased to see the illustrator’s inclusion of solar power for heating
water and the multi-ethnic cast of characters. Details like an old boot slung
on a fencepost, a grasshopper, and tumbleweeds caught in barbed wire are
familiar sights to this prairie-born and raised reviewer. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Toney’s lively text reveals the many
daily responsibilities on the ranch—like fixing water bowls, loading cattle into
a trailer “through the liner’s rolling door,” and pounding nails into barbed wire
fencing—but there are also pages dedicated to rest (all characters and the
family dog are shown sleeping on the grass beneath a gold-leafed tree); fun
(swinging on the “old rusty gate”), and prayer “And they all prayed for
rain/under clouds that reached to heaven”. In the cute illustration for the
latter, even the gopher has its hands clasped in prayer.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">During the CTV interview, Toney said
the book is “a love story” to the people involved in farmer/ranching, and to
the lifestyle itself. Her website adds that the story is “perfect for rural
kids who want to read a story familiar with their way of life, as well as kids
who would like to learn about life on a ranch”.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The small and sturdy hardcover is ideal
for little hands—and beginning counters—and includes a plug for bedtime reading.
To learn more about Toney and her first book—I’m certain there are more tales to
come—see www.KatelynToney.ca.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">THIS BOOK IS AVAILABLE AT YOUR LOCAL
BOOKSTORE OR FROM WWW.SKBOOKS.COM</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p>__________ </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">“The Foxholes at the Borders of Sofa
Cushions”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">By Counce Brampton<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Published by Your Nickel’s Worth
Publishing<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Review by Shelley A. Leedahl<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">$19.95<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>ISBN 978-1-988783-99-4<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">They say it’s about
the journey, not the reward. In the literary world, the reward might be
considered the publication of a book. For Saskatoon poet Counce Brampton, a
“quiet observer of life” who’s lived most of his adulthood in a group home (as
a result of OCD and other mental health issues), my sense is that it’s always
been about the journey, yet his first poetry collection, </span><i style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The Foxholes at the
Borders of Sofa Cushions</i><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">, has been published, and it opens with a generous
introduction by his friend and mentor, internationally-revered writer Yann
Martel.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Martel began meeting
with Brampton when the former was serving as writer-in-residence at the
Saskatoon Public Library twenty years ago. </span><i style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The Life of Pi</i><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> author quickly
gleaned that Brampton wasn’t seeking “editorial guidance but affirmation and
validation”. Martel continues to provide that today, and explains that “This
book is the result of a wish to safeguard what is essentially Counce Brampton’s
life work, the mark he will leave”.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Interestingly, the
poems appear next to images of their first incarnations, handprinted in
Brampton’s coiled notebook. Where words or lines were struck from the first draft,
they appear with strikelines on the typed pages, as well. Martel’s editing is deliberately
slight: “What we have here are the spontaneous workings of [Brampton’s] mind,
the words and phrases that strike him, the ideas that spring fully formed and
those that evolve from one draft to the next”.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I’m immediately drawn
to the first poem’s strong images and sensory details. “In the Back of a
Seaport Tavern,” includes “A seal’s corpse on a woodplank/gouged and steaming
like fresh asphalt” and “An old bedspring against the yardfence/rusted and
corrupted by old sea salt”. The idea of a bedspring being “corrupted” is inspired.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The poems feel like
dreamspeak, like journal entries. Line are repeated throughout, but “The
repetition is part of the spell,” Martel writes. “The point here is not destination
but movement, a ramble through language.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">We see the poet
experimenting on the page: some lines—and even words—are left incomplete. The
piece “In a room filled with dim ghostlight” (great title) begins thus:</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">In a room filled with
ghostlight</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In a room filled with
dim ghostlight<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In a dim filled<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The second line
reappears—like a ghost—across the next two pages, or contains slight variation:
“In a room filled with nothing and dim ghostlight”.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">On one page, "when”
is the sole word. Another of the briefest offerings is an untitled list of five
words: doorway/streetlight/fender/seashell/drum. Other poems do indeed “ramble
through language,” and what gorgeous language it sometimes is: “The sun shone
down/with a light, italian orange sustenance/on all the townspeople”. And “the
full moon made of fresh pale stone”. I admire “all our hands held the dust of
dreams and crumbled icons” (from “Of failure”).</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The book’s beautifully
produced. The cover is a photo of a worn leather couch in tall grass beside a
river. Logical? Perhaps not, but like Brampton’s work, it’s compelling all the
same. </span><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">THIS BOOK IS AVAILABLE AT YOUR LOCAL
BOOKSTORE OR FROM WWW.SKBOOKS.COM</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p>__________ </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">“The History Forest”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">By Michael Trussler<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Published by University of Regina Press<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Review by Shelley A. Leedahl<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">$19.95<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>ISBN 9-780889-778948<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Books by multi-genre writer and
University of Regina professor of English Michael Trussler make a mark. Take </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The
Sunday Book</i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">, a nonfiction title that garnered two awards in the 2023
Saskatchewan Book Awards. Take </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The History Forest</i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">, the poetry collection
for which Trussler earned the Poetry Award in the same provincial competition. An
admirable trifecta. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I read the latter slowly, and twice: it’s
dense, philosophical, apocalyptic, and often surreal, and I didn’t always know
how to navigate it—something like walking through a forest under the cape of
night. To read Trussler is to have one’s mind stretched; I even remembered
things I’d forgotten, ie: The Twinkie Defence. This dexterous poet quotes myriad
poets and writers; references artworks and philosophers; and had me regularly Googling
(ie: Panpyschism; Ordovician; ekistics; hand-wrestler Candy Pain; Zen monk,
Kenk</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">ō</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">).
Even the line and stanza breaks kept me guessing in this experimental book.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">In Trussler’s poetic universe, a strong
sense of humanity’s vulnerability pervades—and the sturdy conviction that we’ve
doomed ourselves. There’s a “gasoline haze/above the playground” and “peripatetic
plastic straws/washed up on the sand,” will “last far longer than your
great-/grandchildren”. Civilization is “blistered and botched”. God is here, and
equally fearful: “And it may/well be that the only thing I’ll regret, says God
to himself, is/having never run away from home. But where/to hide amidst all
this life that’s heaving?” I don’t know, and Trussler doesn’t pretend to
either.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Time appears to be one of the characters
in this globally-aware collection. “In Japan they’ve made a skating rink/of
crushed centuries and untold/species of fish,” he writes. In a later poem: “Arctic
ice very soon making room for better cables for instant digital connection
between Tokyo and London”. And in the piece “Salvador Dali and the Glacier,”
Trussler asserts that “Ice is losing its various/names and it’s not only avian
malaria that’s on the rise”.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Striking juxtapositions and stream-of-consciousness
are at constant, startling play. In a single poem one finds pencil crayons and a
Zip-loc bag; heroin and “sky-blue vodka bottles;” a “rain-rusted/wheelbarrow
asleep on the heath” and “the Youtube cry of peacocks, flamingoes,/humpback
whales, and antelopes as lithe as wind farms in/Germany”. Yes, “something wyrd
is all around”.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The book’s final section is an essay
titled “Bodhisattva on a Bicycle,” and it begins: “Appearing from nowhere, the
world sometimes catches itself within various mirrors. It takes luck to open
them, and then to listen to what’s gathered inside.” Mirrors play an ongoing
role in this pensive collection. Trussler examines himself, history, the
natural world, the environment, and contemporary society in the looking glass,
and explores “what it means to be alive in this increasingly contradictory and
frightening era in human history”. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">This original, award-winning poet
observes, he questions, he reveres birds. Owls (one’s featured on the cover),
mourning doves, oystercatchers, swallows, red-breasted nuthatches, a “grey
cockatiel,” grebes, bluebirds … </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">“Birds
aren’t here to give me any kind of grace,/but they do give grace, they make me
feel part of the world again.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">THIS BOOK IS AVAILABLE AT YOUR LOCAL
BOOKSTORE OR FROM WWW.SKBOOKS.COM</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>Shelley Annahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06362581966700785688noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2792056539980657302.post-86891771718401638462023-03-24T13:33:00.002-07:002023-03-24T13:33:58.035-07:00Two Reviews: a beautiful rebellion, by Rita Bouvier (Thistledown Press) and Gordie's Skate, written by Bill Waiser, Illustrated by Leanne Franson (Thistledown Press)<p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">“a beautiful rebellion”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Written by Rita Bouvier<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Published by Thistledown Press<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Review by Shelley A. Leedahl<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">$19.95<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>ISBN 9781771872348<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I took an extended pause before opening
<i>a beautiful rebellion</i>, the fourth poetry collection by Saskatoon’s Rita
Bouvier. The M</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">é</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">tis
writer and educator grew up beside the Churchill River, and the cover photo of
a forceful river flowing between forested banks before a backdrop of white sky is
immensely effective. To me, the scene says: <i>Yes, this is the answer to all
that ails us. This is holy.</i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Indeed, a sense of reverence permeates much
of the work in this moving and intimate collection, with its odes to jack pine,
bear, the moon, <i>aunties</i> and other relatives, and “feathery snowflakes/whirling
down from the heavens above”. One of my favourite pieces, “holy, holy, holy,” ingeniously
juxtaposes “waves crashing against the rocky shoreline” with “God/reaching
in and then out again”. Bouvier’s
narrator in “daylight thief at Amigos Caf</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">é</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">”
watches the other patrons-including a dancing child-and considers herself “a
thief … in broad daylight/stealing the sacred … all around me.” </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">This careful poet continually turns to
the natural world for restoration and peace as she considers colonialism, patriarchy,
“the murky waters of truth and reconciliation,” climate change and the pandemic.
She rejoices in “the winged ones,” “the art of gathering/sweet</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">wild berries,” and considers jack pine to
be “medicinal aerosol/a rich biochemical </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">molecular picnic”. Awe and gratitude are
frequently present, as is the perception of humanity’s oneness. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The writing is highly visual, ie: the
aunties wear “sweaters of sky and magenta,” and dew’s personified thus: “droplets
of condensed water vapor/on blades of grass</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">
</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">on a spider’s web/jewel-like/clinging their way back to the earth.”
Lovely, as is Bouvier’s hyper-awareness of sound, evident in “soundscape” (“the
saddest sound you will ever hear/is the faint and mournful sound/of a beaver
crying”) and several other poems.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The use of “Rebellion” in the title immediately
turns my thoughts to Louis Riel, and the leader and “gentle man” appears in the
“supermoon rising” section. Interestingly, his sister, Sarah Riel, lived and is
buried in Bouvier’s home community of </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Île-á-la-Crosse, and the siblings’ paternal grandparents
met there.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> Text in Cree and Michif-languages
spoken in </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Île-á-la-Crosse-organically
weaves through the free verse and the few prose poems.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Above
all, this book feels like an homage to the north, where Bouvier was raised “by
the waterfall place/by the holy springs/by the strait of the spirit/in the
place of peace.” Her poem “a table in the sky” is one of several that paints
the area as a kind of boreal Utopia, and I am </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">there </i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">with the poet at a
lookout in her “childhood island home” as she “waited for the pinpoint of [her]
papa/to return from a day’s work</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">across
the frozen lake.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Ah,
yes. Bouvier’s successfully transported me to her sacred place beside the
river, in the “small village/without many amenities.” And she makes me believe
that if we all had a hallowed place like this to visit, we could, despite our
scars and transgressions, eventually-and in community with the water, the creatures,
and each other-“</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">climb our way … into the light.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">THIS BOOK IS AVAILABLE AT YOUR LOCAL
BOOKSTORE OR FROM THE SASKATCHEWAN PUBLISHERS GROUP <a href="http://www.skbooks.com/">WWW.SKBOOKS.COM</a><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal">__________</p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Gordie’s Skate”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Written by Bill Waiser, Illustrated by
Leanne Franson<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Published by Thistledown Press<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Review by Shelley A. Leedahl<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">$14.95<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><o:p>F</o:p></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">ew athletes in Canadian history are as
iconic as Gordie Howe. Nicknamed “Mr. Hockey,” the Floral, SK-born hockey legend
played professionally for an astounding five decades (plus a single game in a
sixth decade), and a school, campground, football stadium, and hockey arena are
named in his honour. The Gordie Howe International Bridge across the Detroit
River–Howe was the Detroit Red Wings’ star player for 25 seasons–is set to open
in 2024.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">It's fitting that this historically-revered
Canadian be celebrated via the arts, as well, and that one of Canada’s foremost
historians, Saskatoon’s double GG Award-winning Bill Waiser, has shifted genres
(Waiser’s well-known for his non-fiction work) and written an illustrated
children’s book, </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Gordie’s Skate</i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">, to share the story of Howe’s humble
beginnings, his passion to play, and his ultimate success.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Waiser’s successfully transitioned into
the magical world of children’s literature with a compelling story that introduces
us to a young Howe who “would have played [hockey] all day and night if he
could … even in his sleep.” Inspired by Howe’s autobiography </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Mr. Hockey: My </i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Story,
Waiser’s book is set in Saskatoon during the 1930s. The Great Depression was in
full swing, and when a neighbour knocked on the five-year-old Howe’s door with
a bag of items to sell, Howe’s mother bought the sack and “Out tumbled an old
pair of men’s skates.” </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Howe and his sister each grabbed one,
stuffed socks into the toes, and “tried skating by carefully balancing on one
foot.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">This touching softcover is wonderfully
illustrated in watercolours by Leanne Franson from Martensville, SK. Franson’s captured
the era beautifully via the characters’ patched clothing, old cars, and
household images like clothes drying on a line beside a woodstove. One can feel
the old-school winter cold in the images: thick tights and socks, toques, and
layers were </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">de rigeur</i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> in the 1930s. Readers of a certain age will relate
to scenes of red-cheeked children skating on sloughs, in flooded yards, or even
down the streets’ icy ruts. I also delighted in the subtle evocations of prairie,
including telephone poles on the wide horizon, and cattails bordering the Hudson
Bay slough, which “stretched for miles, from the back of [Howe’s] house to the
Saskatoon airport.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Waiser explains in his Author’s Note that
it was actually Howe’s mother’s kindness that “resonated” with him. He says it
was reminiscent of his own parents, “who taught [him] the importance of helping
others.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I’m delighted that Waiser-a longtime University
of Saskatchewan history professor and author of numerous diverse books,
including </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">A World We Have Lost: Saskatchewan Before 1905</i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> and </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Loyal Till
Death: Indians and the North-West Rebellion</i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">, has penned this story for contemporary
children. </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Gordie’s Skate </i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">is a timeless tale …</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">about the early days of a hockey legend; his kind-hearted
mother; about challenging economic times and hard work; and about a bygone,
pre-technological era, when receiving an old pair of skates ignited joy and
passion in an athletic child, and that child grew up to become a household
name.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">THIS BOOK IS AVAILABLE AT YOUR LOCAL
BOOKSTORE OR FROM THE SASKATCHEWAN PUBLISHERS GROUP WWW.SKBOOKS.COM</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p><br /><p></p>Shelley Annahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06362581966700785688noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2792056539980657302.post-24461494512832843062022-11-18T13:31:00.002-08:002022-11-18T13:31:16.014-08:00Three Reviews: Why Not Now? by Denise Leduc, illustrated by Karin Sköld; Something Big by Jenna and Avery Wasylkowski, illustrated by A.E. Matheson; and The Day Petuna Had Pglets in the Strawberry Patch (Adventures of the Barnyard Boys) by M Larson, illustrated by FX and Colo Studio; <p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">“Why Not Now?”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Written by Denise Leduc, Illustrated by
Karin Sk</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">ö</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">ld<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Published by Lilac Arch Press<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Review by Shelley A. Leedahl<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">$17.99<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>ISBN 9781778286933<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I experienced quite the shock when I
began Denise Leduc’s new book, </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Why Not Now?</i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> I’d recently reviewed the Aylesbury,
Saskatchewan writer’s thoughtful children’s books—</span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Poppies, Poppies
Everywhere! </i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">and </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Letting Charlie Bow Go</i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">—and assumed this newest softcover
was also for young readers. I dived right in—without reading the back cover
text—and a glance at the large, well-spaced font also supported my notion that
I was about to read a junior novel. Thus, the book’s first paragraph gave me a
jolt: “Arriving at the Vancouver airport, Frank felt reinvigorated … He was
glad his son, John, had insisted on coming.” What the …? I flipped to the back
cover. Surprise!</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Leduc had me laughing at the genre-flip
and my own presumption; </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Why Not Now?</i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> is a hi-lo (high interest/low
reading level) book for older readers, ie: seniors with dementia. It’s also
part of a </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">series</i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> of hi-lo titles described as “heartwarming tales … especially
crafted for people experiencing cognitive impairment.” With Sköld’s soft and
uncluttered wildlife (bear, eagle), landscape and activity-based illustrations
appearing between each of the short chapters; an engaging, intergenerational
family story starring the grandfather, Frank; and a handful of discussion
questions following each of the ten easy-to-read chapters, Leduc has penned yet
another success.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">As we age and have less years ahead of
us than behind, it’s natural to lose our sense of adventure. Fear and health
issues are among the inhibiting culprits—even good old-fashioned common sense often
prevents us from living our final years to their fullest. In Leduc’s story,
Frank wonders what his life might have been like had he taken more risks. He’s
now travelled to the west coast with his son, John, who “insisted” he come
along to visit Frank’s cherished grandson, Max—who “reminded [Frank] of his
younger self and what might have been”—and to “witness the life [Max] had
created.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Frank had not seen Max for years. Now a
grown man with a fiancée and a career as a helicopter pilot “out here in the
mountains,” Max is elated to host his dad and grandpa for ten days, and tells
“Gramps” that the trip is “all about you.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The author’s discussion questions arise
from the story and include both specific and general questions, ie: “What is
the prettiest place you have lived or visited?” and “Do you like eating fish?
If so, what kinds?” I imagine this story working extremely well in both group settings
and in one-on-one sharing.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I highly suggest you read this heartwarming
and realistic tale to learn about the major adventure that begins Frank’s
visit—he surprises himself and everyone else, and could even be on his way to
becoming a “Youtube sensation.” I will say that Max is seriously impressed with
his grandfather’s spontaneous escapade. “‘Gramps, you are the coolest guy I
know,’” Max says.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Will another adventure follow tomorrow?
Will that little voice inside Frank repeat those three important, titular
words? Leduc shows us that aging can be an amazing adventure.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">THIS BOOK IS AVAILABLE AT YOUR LOCAL
BOOKSTORE OR FROM WWW.SKBOOKS.COM</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p>__________</o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">“Something Big”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">By Jenna and Avery Wasylkowski, Illustrated
by A.E. Matheson<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Published by aemWORKS Publishing<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Review by Shelley A. Leedahl<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">$11.95
ISBN 9-78177-980702<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Illustrator/publisher A.E. Matheson has
done something big. She’s teamed </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">whimsical illustrations and a fanciful
conversation lifted from “real-life” (I’m assuming, as the front cover declares
the story’s a “conversation” between Jenna and Avery Wasylkowski), and created
a delightful—and most unusual!—Christmas-related story that spotlights
childhood imagination and belief.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I hadn’t even reached the first page of
text before I was mesmerized: the book opens with a two-page, full-bleed spread
of a green dragon with translucent wings chained to charcoal-coloured boulders.
His eyelids are heavy, smoke vapours from wide nostrils, and one of his three
grey horns appears like a party hat atop his fringy head. This well-crafted
image inspires curiosity: what exactly </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">is</i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> this clawed creature?</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Turn the page, and one enters a
completely different scene: a realistic family breakfast with a mother, father
and son around a kitchen table. Here, too, I’m slow to flip the page, even
though the opening text’s compelling: “So? Any thoughts on what you’re asking
Santa for Christmas?” (We don’t know which parent’s asking this question, and
this interesting lack of attribution’s another trait that sets this children’s
story apart.) The boy responds: “Yup!—I want a dragon.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 12.0pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The illustrator’s
attention to realistic details and generous use of colour draw me into the
image: Dad’s reading the weather forecast (-15 and sunny) on a tablet; Mom’s in
a housecoat; the salt and pepper shakers are half full; beyond the window above
the gold-piped radiator, it’s winter-morning dark; and there’s a design etched
into the backs of the wooden chairs. All of these specifics cleverly demonstrate
that the illustrator is telling this story <i>along with </i>the
co-writers/conversationalists. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 12.0pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Turn another page and
there’s the dragon again—it’s also featured on the glossy cover—and the child
announcing that it’s not a pretend dragon he’s interested in, he wants “a real
scaly, pointy, fire breathing dragon.” Even the cat on top of the fridge looks
surprised at this response. As the story continues, the mother asks logical
questions, ie: “How in the world will Santa fit that in the sled?” and “What
will this dragon eat?” There are even a few funny pages about the dragon’s
“poop,” and a corresponding illustration shows dad using a driveable snowplow
to scoop the huge pile of dung. The child has a fun answer to each question,
ie: the dragon “eats stars and there are lots of stars. And stop calling him
dragon—his name is Torchy—without an ‘e.’” Again and again, the child
“outsmarts” his rabbit-slippered mother as he gets dressed and prepares to go
to school.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 12.0pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">No bio notes are
included with this book, so I consulted www.aematheson.ca to learn more about
the illustrator/publisher. This “self-taught book person of all trades” has
collaborated with several prominent Saskatchewan writers, including Alison
Lohans and David Carpenter. Matheson works in an academic library, and has “written,
illustrated, designed, published, and hand bound, many books.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Something Big</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">
is a merry, welcome addition to the more traditional slate of children’s Christmas-season
stories.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">THIS BOOK IS AVAILABLE AT YOUR LOCAL
BOOKSTORE OR FROM WWW.SKBOOKS.COM</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">__________</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">“The Day Petunia Had Piglets in the
Strawberry Patch (Adventures of the Barnyard Boys, Book 3)”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Written by M Larson, Illustrated by FX
and Color Studio<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Published by M Larson Books<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Review by Shelley A. Leedahl<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">$13.99
ISBN 978-1-7780956-2-7<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">How delightful to read </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The Day
Petunia Had Piglets in the Strawberry Patch</i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">, the third illustrated children’s
book in The Adventures of the Barnyard Boys Book Series by rural Saskatchewan
writer and environmental consultant Melanie Larson. This glossy-covered and
colourfully-illustrated softcover once again features six-year-old narrator
Finn and his brothers Owen and Dez, and reveals a happy family in an enviable
rural country setting—ah, those bright, sweeping prairie skies—amid a menagerie
of farm animals. As with her previous titles, Larson’s subtle humour emanates
from easy-to-read pages in this well-produced book, and some details in the full-bleed
illustrations also amuse.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The boys’ latest adventure concerns
searching the farmyard for their adopted pig, Petunia. Petunia’s no ordinary
hog … she’s a Kunekune pig: “She has a very short snout and feeds on grass,
like a cow or horse.” On page one, readers learn that Petunia formerly lived at
a petting zoo, but “Her owners couldn’t keep her anymore because she was
getting too big.” Kudos to Larson: I didn’t initially perceive that this largesse
might be a clever clue to the porcine plot.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">It's admirable how Larson puts a lot of
proverbial “eggs in the basket” with her books. Aside from the boys’ adventure,
this is also a counting book: as the children search for the missing Kunekune,
they encounter their family’s litany of working and domestic animals, and each
time discover that the animals have multiplied, ie: Dolly the donkey has a “brand-new
baby donkey,” and at the goat pen, Dez finds “three goat kids with their daddy,
but no Petunia the pig.” The illustration that accompanies the latter page
shows the boys’ barefoot mother doing goat yoga—Downward Dog, to be specific—in
the grass with a kid on her back.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Brother Owen checks the stable and
again, no Petunia, but he does find the “cat Rosie with six baby kittens!” The
image here shows Owen watching the kittens cavort while he reclines on golden
bales; the use of yellow, orange and gold is found on several pages, and it
echoes the “sunny” nature of this story.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Larson’s also included an activity at
the end of the book: young readers are reminded that “Each animal has a job to
do on the farm,” and invites children to flip back and locate the llamas, cattle,
chickens, etc. and to consider their various jobs. Even the cats and dogs play
important roles for farming families, which is something town or city children
may not be aware of. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I was curious to learn more about
Kunekune pigs. A quick Google search unveiled that they are “a small breed of
domestic pig rom New Zealand” with great personalities! They “flop over for a
belly rub at just a simple touch” and “get along well with other animals.” (Wikipedia)</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Readers may wish to check out Larson’s
other titles, including </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Count Them! 50 Tractor Troubles. </i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">And on the subject
of counting … </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">eight</i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> is significant in this </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">new</i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> book’s conclusion.
Can you guess why? </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">THIS BOOK IS AVAILABLE AT YOUR LOCAL
BOOKSTORE OR FROM WWW.SKBOOKS.COM</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>Shelley Annahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06362581966700785688noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2792056539980657302.post-70824569286580297752022-11-04T11:52:00.002-07:002022-11-04T11:52:12.917-07:00Two Reviews: I Never Met A Rattlesnake I Didn't Like: A Memoir by David Carpenter, and Danceland Diary, by Dee Hobsbawn-Smith <p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">“I Never Met A Rattlesnake I Didn’t
Like: A Memoir”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Written by David Carpenter<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Published by Thistledown Press<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Review by Shelley A. Leedahl<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">$24.95<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>ISBN 978-1-77187-227-0<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">When I discovered that Saskatoon’s David
Carpenter was releasing a new memoir, <i>I Never Met A Rattlesnake I Didn’t
Like</i>, I immediately wanted to review it. I knew it would be illuminating,
well-written and downright fun, because this is what I’ve come to expect of
Carpenter’s work, whether fiction or nonfiction, and this latest title’s cleared
the bar. Carpenter’s a bonafide storyteller and a “rabid conservationist,” and his
entertaining stories and mind-broadening research into “this ancient cafeteria
called nature”—and who and what threaten it—is an epiphanic read. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The memoir’s an homage to “creatures
with Fangs, Claws, and Other Pointy Things,” from mosquitos, snakes and weasels
to the apex predators: wolves, cougars and bears. Over eighteen mostly short
chapters that “follow the chain of predation,” we learn about Carpenter’s lifelong
passion and reverence for the winged, finned and four-legged. “I seem to have a
thing for predatory animals,” he writes. “My journals are full of them.” He’s been
keeping field notes for fifty years re: his “sightings of and adventures with
predacious creatures,” from </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">boyhood memories of fishing on Lake
Wabamun, Alberta to adult interactions with rattlesnakes in Arizona and black
bears in Saskatchewan. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Carpenter’s an avid fly fisherman, and
his beloved brown trout get copious attention, too, as does Little Bear Lake, where
in 1997 he and his wife, Honor Kever, bought a ramshackle cabin and transformed
it into an idyllic retreat (difficult septic tank notwithstanding), where fish
and friends are never far away, Kever’s planted trees and bushes, and “Eagles and
ospreys patrol the skies.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Expect offbeat, like Carpenter’s rescue
of a drowning dragonfly (“a biplane with enormous opalescent eyes”), and his
desire to see alligators and rattlesnakes in the wild (missions accomplished in
the US). When it seems the author’s had fun writing, the reader has fun too.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Expect an education. I learned much, including
the differences between weasels, pine martens, fishers, badgers and wolverines.
“In the hockey game of nature, [wolverines] deserve a lot of time in the
penalty box.” And until recently, mosquitoes (“draculating fiends”) killed “more
than a million people annually,” but “Malaria-bearing mosquitoes certainly
delayed the destruction of the Amazon rainforests,” too. Carpenter’s merging of
anecdote and fact works.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">There’s also much here I personally
relate to, ie: the “near-galvanic pain” of a black widow bite (I was bitten in
Sooke, BC) and the “burgeoning” presence of wild pigs (I found a skull near
Middle Lake, SK). Cougars roam my current neighbourhood. Though long thought to
be loners, Carpenter’s enlightened me: sometimes cougar </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">do</i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> “socialize in
diverse groups.” This book: terrific conversation starter.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Where did our fear of apex predators
begin? Perhaps with the Goldilocks story: </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">entitled girl breaks into bears’ home. “[Goldilocks]
reminds us all too well of who runs the show in our present day Anthropocene.
The bears’ habitat is </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">her</i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> playground. The Goldilocks story sums up what
human beings have done to the terrestrial wilderness, the ocean, the
atmosphere, and now the climate.” Maybe, Carpenter posits, “Goldilocks is us.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">THIS BOOK IS AVAILABLE AT YOUR LOCAL
BOOKSTORE OR FROM THE SASKATCHEWAN PUBLISHERS GROUP WWW.SKBOOKS.COM</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p>__________ </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">“Danceland Diary”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">By Dee Hobsbawn-Smith<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Published by Radiant Press<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Review by Shelley A. Leedahl<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">$22.900<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>ISBN 9-781989-274828<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">‘Tis a wondrous thing to watch a writer’s
oeuvre grow. I’ve had the pleasure of following Saskatchewan’s Dee Hobsbawn-Smith
evolution as she’s published enviable books of poetry, short fiction and nonfiction—including
the scrumptious </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Bread & Water: Essays—</i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">and now this hard-working
writer’s earned another literary moniker: novelist. </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Danceland Diary,</i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> the
award-winning author’s premiere novel, is saturated with poetic imagery, a
juicy plot, and longing. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">First-person narrator Luka Dekker’s
been born into an off-colony Hutterite family that harbours dark secrets—indeed,
keeping secrets seems an intergenerational trait for these “gypsy Hutterites,”
and Luka’s got a dandy of her own. It’s been twenty-two years since Luka’s unstable
mother, Lark, abandoned Luka and her sister, Connie, and moved to the west
coast. The girls were raised by their grandmother, the matriarch Anky, and never
saw Lark again. At eighteen Luka left her rural Saskatchewan life to attempt to
find her beautiful and elusive mother in Vancouver. The timing of Lark’s
disappearance eerily lines up with Robert Pickton’s murders of women from
Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. Is there a connection? </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Luka’s thirty when the novel begins.
She has horticulture and botany degrees, and a seven-year-old son, Jordan. Anky’s
dying, and Connie’s called Luka back to Saskatchewan to help care for her. Luka
and her son are “just staying until Anky kicks her clogs.” Every generation of
this family’s plagued by the secrets they’ve held close, but when Luka finds
Anky’s journals and learns what happened to her grandmother at Manitou Beach’s
Danceland on a fateful day in June 1943, the narrator starts snapping puzzle
pieces together.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The novel’s part mystery and part
history—Luka “want[s] to know who [she] is”—and a quiet love story’s percolating
on the side. Readers will root for Luka, who’s lifelong search for her mother parallels
a perennial desire for happiness. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Fittingly, considering Luka’s education and dream
of operating a market garden, Hobsbawn-Smith pays keen attention to what grows
in prairie gardens and fields. Even her similes demonstrate this attention to
flora, ie: at an old-time threshing demonstration, farmers’ wives are “relegated
to the edge of the field like poppies,” a yellow lady’s slipper is a </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">leitmotif</i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">,
and at twelve, Luka “cut off [her] braids with the garden secateurs.” Food,
too, gets spotlighting: these folks eat a lot of </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">kuchen</i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">, and there’s the
usual “sliced ham and coleslaw and homemade buns and squares and colourful
jellied salads” at Anky’s funeral at the “old Hutterite country church” near
the farm</span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">. </i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I clearly see old Reverend Waldman at the service, “a faded,
narrow-gauge man in a freight train of a tweed jacket two sizes too wide,” his
voice “dissipating into the air like a spent train whistle.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">And what’s a proper prairie novel
without descriptions of winter? “Hoarfrost like jewelry on tree branches. Smell
of woodsmoke. Stars, the northern lights. The coyotes’ songs echoing like glass
about to crack.” Fabulous. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">My favourite scene concerns Anky’s
wedding night consummation at the Bessborough Hotel. I read it and howled. Bet
you will, too. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">THIS BOOK IS AVAILABLE AT YOUR LOCAL
BOOKSTORE OR FROM WWW.SKBOOKS.COM</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>Shelley Annahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06362581966700785688noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2792056539980657302.post-66439414968231317502022-10-13T13:45:00.000-07:002022-10-13T13:45:07.120-07:00Four Book Reviews: Letting Charlie Bow Go, by Denise Leduc, Illustrated by Olha Rastvorova; Poppies, Poppies Everywhere! by Denise Leduc, Illustrated by Breanne Taylor; Not Here to Stay by Jesse A. Murray; and Falls Into Place by Jesse A. Murray<p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">“Letting Charlie Bow Go”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Written by Denise Leduc, Illustrated by
Olha Rastvorova<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Published by Lilac Arch Press<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Review by Shelley A. Leedahl<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">$15.99<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>ISBN 9781778286902<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Dogs are extraordinary
companions, but there are consequences to owning—and loving—a dog, and one of
the hardest to bear is the fact that most of us outlive our beloved pets. Farewells
are perhaps especially difficult for those families who’ve had a dog grow up alongside
their children. How to imagine the family without the four-legged member that’s
been there from the beginning? When is the right time to say goodbye? <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">In </span><i style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Letting Charlie
Bow Go</i><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">, a beautifully-produced softcover children’s book by Saskatchewan
writer Denise Leduc and illustrated by Olha Rastvorova, the author journeys
readers through the life and loss of a child narrator’s dog and best friend, an
interestingly-named American Staffordshire: Charlie Bow. The cover illustration—Rastvorova
is especially talented with dog images—shows a child hugging a dog who’s obviously
loving the affection. Though the dog’s face is visible, we only see the child from
the back. What’s remarkable here is that so much emotion’s transmitted through
the cover image alone. It’s impossible not to want to read the story inside.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Leduc instantly establishes
the connection between the young female narrator and Charlie Bow. “We do
everything together,” the girl says. “She sleeps in my bed. Sometimes right on
top of me! She is the snuggliest.” The use of “snuggliest” is endearing and
gives the child’s diction credibility. We learn that the narrator likes to
dress her dog up. “She likes all clothes, except for boots. Charlie Bow does
not like wearing boots.” I’ve not known a dog that does! Including this detail
also gives the story the ring of truth.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">As the book continues we
both see and read about the adventures Charlie Bow enjoys with her family, from
lake swimming to car rides, including a “road-trip right across the country.” The
gorgeous cover illustration shows up again— surrounded by plenty of white space
so it really pops and also gives the words room to breathe on the page—when the
girl admits that Charlie Bow helps her when she’s sad or mad: “ … she is there
wagging her tail and wiggling her bum trying to help me smile.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The story’s tone
changes with this: “She is getting old.” Now Charlie Bow’s tired and “doesn’t
want to eat,” so the concerned family takes her to vet Julie (perhaps real-life
vet Dr. Julie de Moissac, whom I know), but nothing can be done. “The sun is
setting” is an apt metaphor for the dog’s final days.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The remaining pages are
dedicated to dealing with the grief that follows the loss of a dear pet, and
the final page’s past tense echo of the first page is poetic and bittersweet.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">It’s been said that the
risk of love is loss and the price of loss is grief, but the pain of grief’s a
mere shadow when compared with the pain of never risking love. For all the joy they
give us, dogs are worth the eventual consequence of loss—Leduc and Rastvorova make
that beautifully and abundantly clear.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">THIS BOOK IS AVAILABLE AT YOUR LOCAL
BOOKSTORE OR FROM WWW.SKBOOKS.COM</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p>__________</o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">“Poppies, Poppies Everywhere!”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Written by Denise Leduc, Illustrated by
Breanne Taylor<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Published by Lilac Arch Press<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Review by Shelley A. Leedahl<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">$15.99
ISBN 9781778286919<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Some writers make it look easy. Such is
the case with Aylesbury, Saskatchewan writer Denise Leduc, who recently
published </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Poppies, Poppies Everywhere!</i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">, a well-written children’s story
that seamlessly explains the importance of Remembrance Day via a grandmother
and her granddaughter, Charlotte.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">It’s “a frosty November day,” but young
Charlotte wants to go to the playground. “It had monkey bars and slides, her
two favourite things!” Her grandma—depicted uncharacteristically and attractively
with long grey hair and in trendy, rolled-up, stovepipe jeans—has other ideas.
It’s Remembrance Day, and the woman leads Charlotte across the park to purchase
commemorative poppies. “You wear it close to your heart,” she tells her still miffed
granddaughter. After hot chocolate in a coffee shop—Louisiana-based illustrator
Breanne Taylor shows Charlotte kneeling on her chair, as a child might—Grandma
explains that they’re going to attend “a ceremony to show we care.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">It’s noteworthy that Leduc’s not fallen
for the easy shortcut of naming emotions in this important story. When “Charlotte
touched the poppy on her coat,” we know what she is feeling. Through descriptive
writing, we experience the collective quiet when the mayor presents at the WW1
memorial: “The mayor stood at a podium and talked into the microphone. Everyone
was suddenly so quiet you could hear leaves rustle on the breeze.” When a soldier
plays “The Last Post” on his bugle, “Charlotte squeezed Grandma’s warm hand,”
and when the chimes rang out the eleventh hour, some people “had a tear or two
shimmer on their cheeks.” </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">These descriptive details elevate the
story and demonstrate respect—not only for those who fought for Canada’s
freedom, but also for the readers of this book. The writer is essentially
saying: </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I don’t need to spell everything out for the children who read this.
They are smart enough to comprehend what Charlotte is feeling</i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">. Bravo.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">And kudos to artist Breanne
Taylor for making the story inclusive: multigenerational characters from various
cultures and with different physical abilities are portrayed at the parade and ceremony,
where naturally there are “poppies, poppies everywhere!” (I also spotted the
dog Charlie Bow, from Leduc’s excellent </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Letting Charlie Bow Go</i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">, at the parade.)</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Through the both solemn and joyful Remembrance
Day event, Charlotte not only learns why it’s important to honour our veterans,
but she also very much </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">feels</i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> it. And that is one smart Grandma for
gently guiding her through the experience.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">After the story’s satisfying ending, the
author’s included helpful “Questions for Discussion” to encourage children’s independent
thoughts and spark further research into Remembrance Day, ie: “Why are we
silent for two whole minutes?” There’s also a page of Remembrance Day
Activities, ie: “Find and learn a Remembrance Day poem” and “Thank a veteran.”
Such good ideas. Such a smart idea for a children’s book.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Leduc, who moved to Saskatchewan from Ontario,
also writes fiction, non-fiction and poetry. She’s the founder of the
registered charity Prairie Bear Books, which “[brings] books to children and
youth through community partnerships.” Learn more at </span><a href="http://www.prairiebearbooks.org/" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">www.prairiebearbooks.org</a><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">THIS BOOK IS AVAILABLE AT YOUR LOCAL
BOOKSTORE OR FROM WWW.SKBOOKS.COM</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">__________</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Not Here To Stay”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">By Jesse A. Murray<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Published by Off the Field Publishing<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Review by Shelley A. Leedahl<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">$14.99
ISBN 9-781775-194682<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Frank Sinatra famously sang “I did it
my way,” and Saskatchewan teacher and writer Jesse A. Murray can echo this
sentiment when it comes to </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Not Here To Stay, </i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">which echoes the themes of
alienation, unworthiness, freedom, loneliness and a fierce desire to be
remembered that Murray explored in his earlier self-published poetry
collection, </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I Will Never Break</i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The book’s black cover is overlaid with
a white cityscape, as if we’re seeing city lights on a dark night. This is symbolic,
as throughout this book Murray jumps between dark and light musings—some as
short as a single line, several just two or three lines—and in his Introduction
he discusses his search to find a place where he felt he belonged as he wrote
these poems. “I found myself in many different places, and I always knew that I
wasn’t there to stay.” After two months in Nashville, he saw “what it was like
for people that followed their dreams.”</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">This collection reads like an intimate journal.
It’s to be noted, however, that Murray includes the disclaimer that “This book
is a work of fiction.” He admits that the poems appear chronologically as they
were written, and “they are unchanged.” Unedited? Gasp. Many professional
writers assert that much of the magic of writing actually happens </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">during</i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">
the editing, and it’s our responsibility to edit to ensure that readers have the
best experience re: our work. First drafts are just the beginning. What daring Murray
gives us are the raw goods, even if, as in the first line of the second poem in
the book, words are missing: “My mind is like whirlpool,” he writes. During
editing we also find grammatical and tense issues, ie: “When we are young,/We
drowned in our own problems” (from “Wisdom”). </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Stylistically, the poems are centred,
many are columnar and contain rhyming lines. Again, the desire (and failure) to
stand out underscores the work. In “The World Keeps Spinning” he writes: “No
matter what I do, I remain hopeless,/But they don’t even notice.” In the title
poem we read: “ …. I just want to be heard” and “I just want to be great”. While
many of these pieces reflect dark nights of the soul (again, the cover’s apropos),
those white lights also pop through and the narrator’s emotional pendulum
swings to the opposite side: “my rock bottom would be success to everyone else”
and “I see myself as a star …” Several of the titles read like self-help affirmations,
ie: “Go Out And Get It,” “Move Forward,” and “Follow Your Dream”. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Dreams, fresh starts, transience, failed
romance … some will relate to the emotional “revolving door,” and reading this
may help them with their own self-acceptance and evolution toward contentment,
and even joy. That journey begins, however, with an unscathing look at oneself,
because “You can’t love anybody,/When you don’t,/Love yourself …”.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Jesse A. Murray has much to say, and this
“blacksmith of thoughts”—my favourite phrase in the book—does it his way.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">THIS BOOK IS AVAILABLE AT YOUR LOCAL
BOOKSTORE OR FROM WWW.SKBOOKS.COM</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">__________</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">“Falls Into Place”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">By Jesse A. Murray<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Published by Off the Field Publishing<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Review by Shelley A. Leedahl<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">$14.99
ISBN 9-781777-591328<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Saskatoon writer and teacher Jesse A.
Murray recently released his sixth book, the poetry collection </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Falls Into
Place. </i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">While many writers toil several years over a single book, this
prolific writer has self-published five poetry collections between 2020 and 2022—this
could be a record! As the title suggests, his poems just seem to “fall into
place,” and this proved especially true during the global pandemic. “When the pandemic
hit, my life changed. My writing changed. I had to work from home … I started to
go through all of my piles of writing that I hadn’t looked at in years,” he states,
and says that most of the poems in this book were written “before bed”. Transitions
also included a new job, a marriage, and impending fatherhood. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I’m familiar with Murray’s work via two
of his other poetry collections—</span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I Will Never Break</i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> and </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Not Here To
Stay</i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">—and find many similarities here. Physically, they’re large poetry
collections, and the oft-rhyming poems tend toward introspection—and,
specifically, not quite measuring up to the yardstick the narrator’s set for
himself. The first several poems hint at a failed romance, and memories of that
distant lover “who went away” haunt the narrator: “But I don’t know, what,/I’d
actually do,/ If I ever set eyes on you,/ Again.” In his piece “Love Of A
Lifetime,” he blatantly spells out grief: “Who knew the love of a lifetime,/Would
become the regret of a lifetime.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Some of the poems are astoundingly brief,
and readers might question if indeed a piece like the one below, presented in
its entirely, even qualifies as a poem.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-align: center;">Always
Easier</span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">…It’s
always easier,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Said
than done …<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">But Murray, as I’ve learned, is an
individualist when it comes to style and practises re: contemporary poetry. For
one thing, his work is unedited, and this is evident in poems with spelling mistakes
like the ones in “When You Went Away,” where he writes: “The lights are
shinning,/The lights are shinning,/Down on you.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Several of the poems ask questions, ie:
“How are things supposed to look up,/If I’m always looking down?”, “Why do we
look at one thing,/And say it’s something else?” and “Why do some minutes feel
like days,/And some days feel like minutes?” There’s even one poem—aptly titled
“Questions”—that contains only questions, five of them, presented in couplets
and ending with “If you could go anywhere,/where would you go?”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">This young writer is at his best when
he includes concrete images (“When a window is needed,/Put down the
bricks,/Grab some glass,/It’s an easy fix”) and metaphor (“I’m a lonely
lighthouse”). Many of the poems with repeated lines could be set to music.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">There’s much searching across these
pages—for love, a home, and for recognition. One hopes the narrator will
eventually find what he’s looking for, and take his own advice: “You need to
quit searching for things you don’t have,/Quit living in the future, quit
living in the past./It’s all about the things you do have.” </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">THIS BOOK IS AVAILABLE AT YOUR LOCAL
BOOKSTORE OR FROM WWW.SKBOOKS.COM</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>Shelley Annahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06362581966700785688noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2792056539980657302.post-23763861730578854012022-08-03T12:34:00.000-07:002022-08-03T12:34:01.049-07:00Two Book Reviews: Grandfather's Reminder, by Alberta-Rose Bear & Kathleen O'Reilly, illustrated by Lindsey Bear and Buddy: A Farm in the Forest, by Jena Wagmann, illustrated by Alana Hyrtle<p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">“Grandfather’s Reminder”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Written by Alberta-Rose Bear and
Kathleen O’Reilly, Illustrated by Lindsey Bear<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Published by Your Nickel’s Worth
Publishing<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Review by Shelley A. Leedahl<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">$19.95<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>ISBN 9-781988-783826<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Grandfather’s Reminder</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> is a warm and relatively simple contemporary tale with an “oral
storytelling-feel,” but it is an ambitious undertaking: aside from its gentle
teaching about respect for the land and all it provides, the handsome
illustrated children’s book is written in English, Plains Cree and Saulteaux,
and contains an introduction to these languages, plus a glossary. Proceeds from
the sale of the hardcover book go to the Touchwood Agency Tribal Council
Education Fund. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Authors Alberta-Rose
Bear and Kathleen O’Reilly immediately immerse us into the prairie landscape,
and illustrator Lindsey Bear provides the colour and detail in full-bleed
images that depict a chokecherry-picking family in the woods beneath summer-blue
skies. Many of the illustrations are bordered in a floral beadwork design. It’s
August, “well before the leaves started to turn colour” and “the foxtails waved
gently in the wind.” The story’s narrated by a child whose grandfather lives
nearby, and when this <i>nimos</i></span><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">ô</span></i><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">n</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> (Plains Cree)/nimihšōmihš
(Saulteaux) Elder arrives with “white buckets” for everyone, they follow him “behind
his house towards the hill” where “behind the willow trees [there] were rows
and rows of chokecherry bushes.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Grandfather places an
offering of tobacco before the bushes and says a prayer of thanks “in [their
traditional] language” before the foraging begins. The young female narrator
notes a small scar on her grandpa’s arm, and he explains that it is his “</span><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL" lang="AR-SA" style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL"></span>‘</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">reminder.’”
This leads to his childhood story about picking chokecherries with his
grandmother and extended family on “the alkali flats.” In his haste to reach
the best berries, high on the bush, he fell, hurting himself and breaking a
berry-loaded branch. His grandmother used the accident to teach him, as he
explains, to “be happy with who I am and to always care for and respect Mother
Earth, who provides us with what we need.” And as the practice of chokecherry
picking has continued between generations of his family, the berries the
grandmother and grandson deliberately returned to the earth <i>from</i> that
broken branch populated chokecherry bushes for years to come.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I grew up in northern
Saskatchewan and often heard the Cree language spoken, so it was fun to recall
the rhythms of my youth and to try pronouncing some of the words, ie: <i>paskw</i></span><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">âw</span></i><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">in</span></i><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">îmowin</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> (Plains Cree). The
Cree Plains translation is by Solomon Ratt—associate professor of Languages,
Linguistics, and Literature at First Nations University of Canada, originally
from Stanley Mission; and the Saulteaux translation is credited to Lorena Cote—also
a Language and Linguistics professor at First Nations University of Canada—and
Margaret Cote, who was an educator from Cote First Nation. The book’s dedicated
to “the Elders who share their stories of the land, ceremonies, and languages.
And for all the children who continue to learn and carry on these teachings.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Maintaining
traditional languages is an important and honorable responsibility, and it’s
undertakings like the publication of this group-effort story that encourage
youth to learn—in </span><i style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">such</i><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> a fun way—more about “traditional teachings and
values” while also learning vocabulary.</span><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">THIS BOOK IS AVAILABLE AT YOUR LOCAL
BOOKSTORE OR FROM WWW.SKBOOKS.COM</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p>__________ </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">“Buddy: A Farm in the Forest Story”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Written by Jena Wagmann, Illustrated by
Alana Hyrtle<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Published by Your Nickel’s Worth
Publishing<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Review by Shelley A. Leedahl<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">$16.95<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>ISBN 9-781988-783895<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">It’s not uncommon for
children’s authors to transform a scenario from “real” life into a story for a
picture book, and sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. In the case of
Goodsoil, SK writer Jena Wagmann’s new title, </span><i style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Buddy: A Farm in the Forest
Story</i><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">, the actual-experience-to-the-page formula works doggone well.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The retired school
administrative assistant-turned-farmer (and writer!) has paired her talents with
Nova Scotia illustrator Alana Hyrtle—and if I’m guessing correctly, this is
actually a mother-daughter team—to create a heartwarming story with delightful
watercolour illustrations about adopting a scruffy Shih Tzu who’d been
abandoned in the forest by its previous owner. “Buddy” was “definitely not the
handsomest dog they had ever seen—his eyes bulged out of his head, his teeth
stuck out on one side of his mouth, and his little black nose did not sit in
the middle of his face.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Buddy appears on the
cover facing the moon and a star-filled sky above a forest, and it was easy to
fall for the “little bit crooked” canine hero who at one time had a loving
owner, but was passed on to a neglectful man. In time, the “dirty and matted”
dog “who had nobody to play with” even forgot his own name. We empathize as the
dog becomes weak in the forest, and rejoice when a crowing rooster (the dog and
Barred Rock rooster are able to speak to one another) alerts him to the
clearing where Buddy finds “a farm in the forest,” and works his way into the
heart of the female farmer and her family.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I appreciated the
colour and variety of illustrations in this 63-page book for young readers.
They range from a double-paged, full-bleed of the entire farm—complete with
round bales, various animals, a porch swing on the farmhouse verandah, a
weathervane on the barn, and a well-hoed garden—to tiny close-ups, and there
are several illustrations that show Buddy with his five new human “siblings”
and his new “parents.” </span><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I also enjoyed the
humorous touches, especially evident in expressions like “The sight of you
would probably scare the manure out of her!” (this from the anthropomorphic
rooster) and, after the children teach Buddy a repertoire of tricks, the
“farmer’s husband” (love the play on the more common “farmer’s wife”) says
“Well, I’ll be a beaver’s dam!”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">There’s also a
character in the book who is not a fan of the new pet. “Aunt Bea found him to
be so ugly she even refused to eat if they were together in the same room.” Ah,
but here’s the moral: “… it’s what’s inside that makes us beautiful,” the
farmer tells Buddy.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">In Wagmann’s
afternotes we learn that Buddy enjoyed nine years with the author and her
family, a time in which is “destroyed a lot of socks” and “rolled in cow manure
every chance he got.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">This book is
everything an effective children’s title should be: well-written, fun,
relatable, and lovely to look at. Another fine YNWP publication.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">THIS BOOK IS AVAILABLE AT YOUR LOCAL
BOOKSTORE OR FROM WWW.SKBOOKS.COM<o:p></o:p></span></p>Shelley Annahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06362581966700785688noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2792056539980657302.post-72436369106109450252022-05-03T16:26:00.004-07:002022-05-03T16:26:27.562-07:00Book Review: Shoot Out (Jessie Mac Hockey Series) by Maureen Ulrich<p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">“Shoot Out” (Jessie Mac Hockey Series)</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Written by Maureen Ulrich<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Published by Wood Dragon Books<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Review by Shelley A. Leedahl<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">$18.99 ISBN 9-781989-078648<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">In 2009 I reviewed Maureen Ulrich’s YA
novel </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Power Plays</i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">—the first title in her Jessie Mac Hockey Series—and
all these years later it’s been a pleasure to read her fourth and final book in
this action-packed series. As with the earlier books, </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Shoot Out</i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> concerns
hockey: 14-year-old protagonist Courtney’s debut with a U15 boys’ team (Moose)
in Estevan, and her 19-year-old sister Jessie’s second season with the
University of Saskatchewan Huskies Women’s team in Saskatoon. Ulrich’s
successfully “passes” the spotlight back and forth between these two athletic characters:
the siblings’ narratives alternate throughout this adeptly-written novel. Interestingly,
Ulrich’s melded real-life Huskie hockey players and experiences–based on the schedule
and statistics of the 2013-2014 women’s team, for which her daughter
played—with fictional ones, and it’s a win-win. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">There’s plenty to admire, from the
crisp writing to the personal growth of the McIntyre girls, who have much more
to navigate than hockey ice. Romance simmers on the back burner for both gals,
and there are mercurial friendships, family dynamics, educational upsets, and
injuries to attend to. The major conflicts, however, are how young Courtney
will perform on the ice with her male teammates and whether the boys—and their
parents—will actually accept her. Hockey’s one of the most physical sports. Is
she strong enough? Talented enough? What about dressing room protocols? And
even though hazing is forbidden in the Saskatchewan Hockey Association, the
practice continues today, as a few of the rookie hockey players learn in this fast-paced
story. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">One can feel something insidious building.
Will one of the Moose bullies— Brandon or Michael—seriously harm Courtney? Will
it happen at one of the team’s rookie gatherings, where alcohol’s in abundance?</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Jessie’s trials include a difficult psychology
professor, Dr. Kerr. Here Jessie faces the woman in her office to discuss an
exam vs. hockey scheduling conflict: “She has thin lips and perfectly penciled
eyebrows. Beats me why she plucks the hairs out and draws them back in.” I love
this observation, and several of Jesse’s other comments. “Fresh ice smells like
hope,” she thinks at the first game of the Canada West Conference. “Every
weekend is a dogfight in Canada West.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">And this wouldn’t be a realistic Saskatchewan
novel unless there was a nod to winter weather. Jessie and her teammates often
travel to games via bus, and I almost shivered reading “A winter squall pummels
our bus as we retreat westward on the TransCanada Highway. I rearrange my
pillow to stifle the draft sneaking down my neck.” Brrr. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Ulrich clearly knows hockey, inside and
out. Jessie tries to “saucer a pass” that’s intercepted, and another
character—based on real-life former Huskie Julia Flinton—“has a shot like a
howitzer.” And if you’re not hockey literate, not to worry: The Jessie Mac
Dictionary at the book’s end explains all the hockey terms you need to know,
from Assist to Zamboni.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Maureen Ulrich lives and writes in Lampman,
SK. See maureenulrich.ca for more on this fine writer’s work.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">THIS BOOK IS AVAILABLE AT YOUR LOCAL BOOKSTORE
OR FROM THE SASKATCHEWAN PUBLISHERS GROUP WWW.SKBOOKS.COM</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>Shelley Annahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06362581966700785688noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2792056539980657302.post-20634017054316996232022-04-09T15:28:00.003-07:002022-04-09T15:28:49.660-07:00Two Book Reviews: Shimmers of Light: New and Selected Poems by Robert Currie and Baba Sophie's Ukrainian Cookbook, Written by Marion Mutala, Illustrated by Wendy Siemens <p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">“Shimmers of Light: New and Selected
Poems”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Written by Robert Currie<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Published by Thistledown Press<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Review by Shelley A. Leedahl<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">$24.95<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>ISBN 978-1-77187-218-8<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Multi-genre Moose Jaw writer Robert
Currie has been an integral contributor to the Saskatchewan literary scene for
as far back as I can remember, and I’ve been reading – and enjoying – his poetry
and stories across the decades. Currie’s also worked hard behind the scenes as
an educator, Saskatchewan Writers’ Guild board member, and founding board member
of the Saskatchewan Festival of Words. He’s also headed the Saskatchewan Writers’
Guild. In short, Currie’s earned his Saskatchewan Lieutenant Governor’s Award for
Lifetime Achievement in the Arts.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I’m so pleased that Thistledown Press
has released a “Best Of” collection of Currie’s poems. </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Shimmers of Light:
New and Selected Poems </i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">is an attractive highlight reel that begins with a
glowing essay by poetry veteran Lorna Crozier. She lauds Currie for position[ing]
his poems in the local” and “find[ing] a way to rhapsodize the prairies without
ignoring its starkness, its closeness to elemental things, and the long, long
months of cold.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Nine sections are dedicated to previous
poetry collections (including chapbooks), and New Poems – what I’m </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">especially</i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">
interested in - begin on page 211 of this novel-sized book. In the new work,
Currie continues to mine the rich territory of his childhood and adolescence in
Moose Jaw. There are family and sporting memories, including a recollection of
racism against a ballplayer in his poem “The Old Ball Game,” and many of the
poems make mention of the music that impacted the poet, ie: The Gaylords, Pat
Boone, Gene Autry, Elvis Presley, and Johnny Cash.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Currie makes poetry of his first job as
a teen: he worked at a feed lot “forcing cattle into the shoot, a needle jabbed
into their haunches/while [he] attacked those with horns, sliding a two-by-four/over
their necks to hold them, then straining at the/dehorning tool, horns lopped off,
steers bawling.” </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">These mostly nostalgic poems recount
scenes of visceral gore and also frequent tenderness. I smiled at the thought
of the kids in “Back Then” who raided gardens, yes, but they did this “with
care and predetermined rules/two carrots each, always from different rows.” I could
see Currie as a tree-climbing child, hands “sticky with sap” while he watched “the
whole world turn below.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">People </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">do</i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> things in these variously-styled
poems. They walk, rake, play sports, read, watch movies, “dance on the band of
broken pavement” beside the highway and “[ache] with love, honour friendships, and,
in the pieces from the powerful “Klondike Fever” section, they “go blind with
staring,” because “Everywhere on the glacier/snow burns in the sun.” </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">In poet Mark Abley’s Afterword, he discusses
Currie’s poetics and how Currie often “begins with an apparently
straightforward memory and turns it into something unexpected, almost magical.”
I agree.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">When I’d reached the book’s end I
flipped to the first poem again, “Poet’s Walk,” and read: “bright as blood upon
the brambles/as the blackness shoulders in.” Even in his earliest work, I see
this poet was doing a kind of singing. We need more singing. And the world
could use more Bob Curries. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">THIS BOOK IS AVAILABLE AT YOUR LOCAL BOOKSTORE
OR FROM THE SASKATCHEWAN PUBLISHERS GROUP </span><a href="http://www.skbooks.com/" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">WWW.SKBOOKS.COM</a> </p><p class="MsoNormal">__________</p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Baba Sophie’s Ukrainian Cookbook”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Written by Marion Mutala, Illustrated
by Wendy Siemens<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Published by Millennium Marketing<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Review by Shelley A. Leedahl<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">$24.95
ISBN 978-1-7773713-3-3<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I’m no great wonder in
the kitchen and if I </span><i style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">am</i><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> cooking I usually turn to the internet for
recipes. Recently, however, I’ve started buying cookbooks. Two reasons for this:
firstly, each time I click on a recipe online I have to wade through paragraphs
of unnecessary text (ie: “My uncle Bob just loves these blackberry muffins”) before
the author even gets to the ingredients, and secondly, I just love actual books,
and seeing the recipe on a printed page - often beside a photograph of whatever
I’m attempting to make - feels like the right tact. </span><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I was thus duly
pleased when Marion Mutala’s latest book arrived in my mailbox, because this
time the prolific and award-winning Saskatchewan writer has penned </span><i style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Baba
Sophie’s Ukrainian Cookbook.</i><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> I’ve previously reviewed Mutala’s excellent children’s
books and poetry, and I know that from the words to the design, production to
the print, this would be a quality book, and downright practical, too (and I need
all the help I can get).</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The Sophie of the
title is Mutala’s mother, Sophie Marie (n</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">ée Dubyk) Mutala
(1918-2007), who was born near Mayfair, SK. The book’s dedicated to Sophie, and
her daughter’s penned a one-page, glowing tribute. Sophie was “born with a bag
of flour in one hand and a Kaiser deck in the other” Mutala writes, explaining
that even as a child Sophie helped her mother bake and “make perogies, wash
clothes on a washboard, cut wood with her brother using a double-handed saw,
fill mattresses with clean hay to sleep on, and make feather quilts.”</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Yes, it was a different time, but the recipes that follow include
“Ukrainian Specialties, Breads, Main Courses, Desserts, and Beverages” that have
stood the test of generations and are considered mainstays for many, even
Norwegian-German-Irish Canadians, like me. There’s also a section called Canning
and Preservatives, and a Miscellaneous section, which includes two recipes I’ll
not need – for Cooked Playdough and Sugar Starch for Doilies, and two I will:
Non-Toxic Drain Clog Remover and Stain Remover.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Reading through this cookbook reminded me of visiting
Ukrainian friends as a girl in rural Saskatchewan. There are recipes for Perogies,
Pyrohy, Varenyky; Holubsti (Cabbage Rolls); and Borsch. It was also like going
to a community supper, where Carrot Loaf, Potato Casserole, and Saskatoon Berry
Pie are up for grabs. There are also many original recipes included here, like
Sophie’s Homemade Noodles and Mama’s Cookies. The dessert section is the
largest in the book, and I think I gained weight just reading these scrumptious
recipes!<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">There’s also a nod to the familiar, Rosettes, which my Norwegian
grandmother made every Christmas, and in the Bread section, Mutala’s included “Bannock
(In the Spirit of Truth and Reconciliation)”.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Each page is bordered in a colourful Ukrainian-stitch graphic,
and recipe sections are fronted by a colour food photograph. I’m pleased to own
this book, and I’ll be putting it to use – the Low Calorie Soup recipe looks tasty
and would be a good budget meal – this week.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">THIS BOOK IS AVAILABLE AT YOUR LOCAL
BOOKSTORE OR FROM WWW.SKBOOKS.COM</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal">
</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>Shelley Annahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06362581966700785688noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2792056539980657302.post-87066589339440297622022-02-05T14:47:00.000-08:002022-02-05T14:47:49.413-08:00Three Reviews: Blue Moon, Red Herring by Angeline Schellenberg; The Poetry & Lyrics of Jay Semko by Jay Semko; and Race to Finish by Marion Mutala <p> <span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">“Blue Moon, Red Herring”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Written by Angeline Schellenberg<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Published by JackPine Press<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Review by Shelley A. Leedahl<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">$30.00<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>ISBN 978-1-927035-39-9<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Clever, layered, original, fun. These words
leap to mind after reading Winnipeg poet Angeline Schellenberg’s colourful limited-edition
chapbook—bound to resemble a paint swatch—<i>Blue Moon</i>,<i> Red Herring</i>.
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Each of the twenty-five prose poems in
this 2019 collection were inspired by a colour, and the colours themselves appear
where a Contents page normally would. No need for titles when the paint-chip colours
do the work, and each poem’s colour-matched with its sample. What results is candy—for
the eye and the mind. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Schellenberg employs a kind of controlled
stream-of-consciousness in these delightful and deceptively simple poems, but don’t
be fooled: much research went into this. My best analogy: microwaved popcorn. The
poet’s hue-inspired thoughts seem to pop around, but they stay “in the bag” of
her theme, and each poem’s written in a single controlled paragraph. Colours
aside, Schellenberg’s myriad references are gleaned from art, literature, science,
nature, religion, history, philosophy, pop culture, advertising slogans, cliché’s
and personal experience, and this rich gallery of inspirations makes for genius
m</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">é</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">langes.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">In “Magenta” she writes: “like soul
mates and democracy, magenta exists only in your mind”. We also get a miniature
history lesson: “The French dye, christened for the fuchsia flower, was renamed
for Napoleon III’s victory near Magenta, Italy”. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Her piece “Chartreuse” demonstrates her wild
juxtapositions: the colour “coats the roots of grass you chewed at recess,” it’s
“the heart of an avocado,” and it’s “the VW van we could push-start to Mexico,
a bed of Scotch moss where you could lay me down”.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">It's often the final line of a poem
that matters most; get it right, as in the “VW/Mexico/Scotch moss” line above, and
the whole poem sings. Schellenberg’s also been published by the venerable Brick
Books and her work’s earned much critical attention; she knows the import of
endings—and wit. “Grey” ends with: “It’s what comes out in the wash. It takes
no responsibility for teenaged boredom, or ashen faces aging with regret”. “Beige”
is “Less kinky than khaki”. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">And, still
on “Beige”: “Comfy as dumplings and oatmeal, while they say you can be beiged
to death, deep down you know it would be completely painless”. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">More highlights: “Maroon” is “old blood”
and “your Valentine bouquet by March”.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">“Black” is “Any depressed typewriter
key, the raised flag of punk and piracy”. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">“Orange” recalls “A Fanta on the cabin step,
the pulled Fortrel curtains in a rocking van”. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Among several other things, “White” spawns “a
president’s home” and “the satin clinging to your ankles at your first
communion”.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">In “Purple” there are literary
references (“and when I am old, I shall purr” and, for kids, “Dora’s backpack”)
and an allusion to an old song (“One-eyed, one-horned, hazy and a heart of
courage”).</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">“Red” is especially good and nuanced.
It includes “The rainbow’s highest arc to trace the words of Christ,” “A can of
bull says </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">charge it</i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">” (triple-entendre?), and it “Fan’s revolution’s fame”.
</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">This book gets all the stars for
originality and wordplay. I wish I’d written it.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">THIS BOOK IS AVAILABLE AT YOUR LOCAL
BOOKSTORE OR FROM THE SASKATCHEWAN PUBLISHERS GROUP WWW.SKBOOKS.COM</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">__________</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“The Poetry & Lyrics of Jay Semko”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">By Jay Semko<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Published by Wood Dragon Books<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Review by Shelley A. Leedahl<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">$19.99<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>ISBN 9-781989-078631<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">“She ain’t pretty she just looks that
way.” If you’re a Canadian of a certain age, there’s a good chance you’ll
recognize that lyric from the song “She Ain’t Pretty” by The Northern Pikes, a Saskatchewan-based
band that rose to popularity in the 1980s and still records. The Pikes’ bassist
and a vocalist, Jay Semko, also penned many of the band’s songs, and now he’s
released a book that’s “a mixture of song lyrics and ‘stand alone’ poems
written over a 25-year period”.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The Poetry & Lyrics of Jay Semko </span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">begins
with the artist’s abbreviated autobiography. Jay Semko was bullied as a grade-accelerated
child in rural Saskatchewan; became passionate about learning guitar and writing
songs in his teens; and enjoyed career success both with The Northern Pikes and
as a solo artist (ten albums plus music composition for film and television).
We also meet the Jay Semko who is “a recovering addict … living with Bipolar
Disorder”. Sharing his experience “helps [him] immensely, and is crucial to
[his] own personal recovery”.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">“Write what you know” is a common literary
adage and Semko—who’s done much touring—does indeed steer us across the map of his
experience. Many of these offerings feature movement and a desire for change,
and I suspect they may have been written on the road. In the opening piece we
read “the odyssey continues/ghosts of the deer I have killed on the highway/will
come back to haunt me,” and “make up new words/draw a new roadmap” appears in
the next selection. In “Adventure on My Breath,” Semko writes Siberia/at least
that’s how it seems/in a greyhound skating down a highway”.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The singer/songwriter frequently alludes
to mental health issues, and alcohol addiction’s another demon he’s wrestled
with. “Detox, rehab, and psychiatric centres” are a part of Semko’s map;
writing about life’s valleys is good therapy. “Heartaches and Numbers” begins “you
roam these halls every night/the paintings all seem to be haunted”. It includes:
“in a couple of days/you’ll feel so much better/the shakes will wear off”. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">In the notes that follow the poems/songs,
Semko shares that this track from 2010 was written while he was “jonesing,
trying to stay cool,” and “addiction [is] personified in this song”. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The collection includes a few love
poems and pieces about faith and aging, but the death of Semko’s mother is what
informed the most touching of these diverse works. In “My Mother in the Hospital”
he recounts how difficult it was to be on tour “with a busload of other ancient
former vagabonds/preparing to rock across the nation” while his mother was
dealing with terminal illness and was on the home/hospital/palliative care train.
“St. Paul’s/mom now in a coma/the hospital death lady/explaining much too
pleasantly/the science and the inevitable”.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Many of these poems document the artist’s
darkness, but I expect readers will finish the book feeling pleased that they got
to know the Jay Semko who’s survived stormy seas—like all of us—and lives to write
and sing about them. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">THIS BOOK IS AVAILABLE AT YOUR LOCAL
BOOKSTORE OR FROM THE SASKATCHEWAN PUBLISHERS GROUP WWW.SKBOOKS.COM</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p>__________</o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">“Race to Finish”</span></p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">By Marion Mutala<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Published by Millenium Marketing<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Review by Shelley A. Leedahl<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">$19.99
ISBN 9-781777-371319<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Marion Mutala is a literary machine,
with sixteen published books and more on the way. I’ve previously reviewed two
of her children’s books—<i>Grateful</i> and the 175-page, multi-story achievement,
</span><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Baba’s Babushka. </span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The Saskatchewan writer’s latest title, <i>Race to Finish</i>,
is a poetry collection, dedicated to the</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG); the First
Nations children buried in unmarked, residential school graves across Canada;
and the Black Lives Matter movement. It begins with a foreword by artist Kevin
L. Peeace, who relays the experience of presenting in an elementary school and
being asked by a young student: “What was it like being at the residential school?”
Peeace also provided the compelling black and white cover drawing of a bisected
face: one half representing the bricks and tears of the residential school
experience, the other representative of his peoples’ connection to the land and
familial love—at least that’s my interpretation. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Mutala’s poems champion racial equality,
gratitude, positivity, and God, as well as personal experience, ie: “the old wooden
cookstove on the/farm when I was a child” (from “Reminds Me”). Not every poem
is rosy, however. In “God’s Tricks” she acknowledges that “life happens”: “A little
of this and a lot of that and too soon/We are in high school dragging our butts
around,/Tired, wanting to sleep the days away and party/the nights”. And as
life continues, we eventually “look old and tired” and “Our spirit is fried
like a parched desert”.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The writers chooses various styles and structures:
some pieces rhyme, some are a single stanza, and some, like the prosaic “Envision,”
read like miniature pep talks: “Why not envision the best city in Saskatchewan,
in Canada, in the entire world?” </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">“Plain
Lucky”—dedicated to the late writer Wes Funk—contains the everyday dialogue of
two friends enjoying coffee together.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The
piece “Don’t You Think?” repeats the opening line and adds another with each
new stanza. It begins: “I think if you stand in front of a church with a/Bible
held high in your hand, you should open/it,” and in progressive stanzas the
writer advises said Bible-holder/s to read and “use” the words of 1 Corinthians
13:4-8. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Mutala writes from the perspective of
one who is “white privileged,” and she should be commended for addressing systemic
racism in these poems, many of which blatantly articulate that “Black Lives and
Indigenous Lives Matter”. She encourages “other white privileged” folks to
speak up about racial injustice and persecution based on sexual orientation. “Do
not be silent!” she heralds. “Smarten up!”</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">This small book includes an “Open Dialogue”
featuring eight questions, ie: “What are things people can do to promote
reconciliation?” and “What are things people can do to stop homophobia?” and
invites readers to share their stories “so we can listen, understand, and
change to make life better”. It concludes with a “Resources” section.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">A portion of this book’s proceeds go to
Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Want to learn more about the prolific Mutala?
Visit </span><a href="http://www.babasbabushka.ca/" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">www.babasbabushka.ca</a><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> .</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">THIS BOOK IS AVAILABLE AT YOUR LOCAL
BOOKSTORE OR FROM WWW.SKBOOKS.COM<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal">
</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"></span><p></p>Shelley Annahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06362581966700785688noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2792056539980657302.post-202136637819449682022-01-03T16:16:00.004-08:002022-01-03T16:16:25.732-08:00Two Reviews: Table for Four by Eccentric Crops (Colin Smith, Jennifer Still, Steven Ross Smith, Ted Landrum) and kireji: partial portraits & biofictions by christian favreau<p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">“Table for Four”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Written by Eccentric Crops (Colin
Smith, Jennifer Still, Steven Ross Smith, Ted Landrum)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Published by JackPine Press<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Review by Shelley A. Leedahl<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">$30.00<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>ISBN 978-1-927035-40-5<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">JackPine Press has been challenging traditional
ideas re: what constitutes a book since the press’s inception, and with </span><i><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Table for Four</span></i><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">, written by the four-poet collaborative Eccentric Crops—</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Colin
Smith, Jennifer Still, Steven Ross Smith, and Ted Landrum—JackPine once again
reimagines “book” and gives us an imaginative, multi-media chapbook, about the
size of a bread and butter plate. Fittingly, this tasteful chapbook features a
red coaster on the front cover and comes with a large red and white checked
napkin folded inside a back flap that’s held in place with sturdy toothpicks. Also
included: concrete poems, drawings, and a mostly black image with white
pinpoints, titled “napkin braille”. Different? Indeed! Welcome to JackPine
Press. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">This collaborative project’s
interesting on numerous levels. Firstly, contributor Jennifer Still, from
Winnipeg, co-founded JackPine Press in 2002, and in her own work she “[explores]
the intersections of language and material forms”. Both Still and Saskatoon’s
Steven Ross Smith have worked with sound poetry, and both also publish with
traditional publishers. Poet Colin Smith, in Winnipeg, was previously “strongly
allied to the Kootenay school of Writing in Vancouver” and last published </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Multiple
Bippies</i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> (2014). The fourth member of this poetic quartet, Ted Landrum, teaches
at the University of Manitoba and participated in another collaborative chapbook
project in 2018. A diverse group. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I began reading these experimental
poems in the order they appear and noted several words repeated in consecutive poems,
ie: ass, code, harpoon, migraine, falling, flutter(hand), heart, fistful(l), shaped,
meteoric, nature, offer(s), sips(s), orchids, shamble(s), stretch, thin, veil,
stitch(ed) and breath, and I wondered if the poets selected these words in
advance and gave themselves the task of creating their own individual poems
around them, or if each poem was in fact a collaboration. I flipped to the back
and read the poets’ explanation about “What Happened”: “Steven invited us to
make text together. We decided to work with quoted material. We imagined
ourselves sitting at the cardinal points of a table. Jennifer suggested we pass
versions around, widdershins. Numerous constraints were occasionally obeyed.” I
also learned that Still “cut out every line of the sixteen line </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Ur</i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">-text
and wove them into a grid [resembling a tablecloth] because she was interested
in weaving”. The quotations for the former were drawn from disparate places, from
T.S. Eliot’s work to “Claudio at University of Manitoba, Gym Locker Room, July
10, 2017”.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Clearly, these poets were having
great fun, and each member of this “eccentric” quartet shares a poetic interest
in “undermining convention”. The </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">sounds</i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> of words prevail over meaning
here, at least for this reader, ie: in the poem “DIVERSIA CHART” we read: “inner
tango can coin top line snarl” and “legal space race rumble legs love testing
radios”.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Sound words are prevalent, ie: “thin/whine,”
“Birds honk bright code,” “hum low,” and “oinking”. Alliteration abounds, especially
in the poem “AIR” with its alphabetical alliteration, ending with “Wilderness
sings within without”.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The chapbook’s a hoot on the page,
but these works deserve a microphone and a stage.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">THIS BOOK IS AVAILABLE AT YOUR LOCAL
BOOKSTORE OR FROM THE SASKATCHEWAN PUBLISHERS GROUP WWW.SKBOOKS.COM</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p>__________</o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“kireji: partial portraits &
biofictions”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Written by christian favreau<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Published by JackPine Press<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Review by Shelley A. Leedahl<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">$30.00
ISBN 9781927035436<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I have a special interest in reviewing “first”
books, in part because it’s been thirty-one years since my own first book was
published, and though I’ve followed up with another dozen titles, I still meet folks
who claim they liked my first book best. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Today I read Montreal writer christian favreau’s
first book. </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Kireji: partial portraits & biofictions</i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> is an
attractive, hand-sewn chapbook with a cover image of a bird. The book contains
nine free verse poems, a business card-sized note to “Please be gentle while
handling,” and four actual leaves. Leaves? Now that’s a new one for me, but JackPine
Press is all about originality, and favreau’s work definitely fits the press’s
mandate to “publish chapbooks whose form and content are both artistically
integrated and unique”.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">What did I find? Firstly, like fellow
Canadian poet bpNichol—whom favreau quotes in the opening poem, which is comprised
solely of three epigraphs—this new poet also sometimes eschews punctuation. In
his second poem, “the finch,” he writes “Id dreamt/Id screamed/all the while
unheard,” and he includes a measure of treble clef notes, perhaps to emulate
the finch’s song. The poem concerns “relying only on one/self” and how “cutting
out the others is an act of self/preservation”. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Family and how one makes his/her original
way in the world seem to be themes: “I learn to refuse to fly/in linear fashion/to
flit while you blink” he writes in “to my parents”. In this poem two of the
poet’s subjects of interest merge: birds and independence. “I must fight the
urge:/ to fall—/needing you/not to chew my food”. I loved “the blue sky’s enticing
fishhook” in this inquisitive poem that asks “what is?/how can?” and “why that?/
why not?”.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I’m intrigued and delighted by the
creative use of colour in these pieces. We read about “the snow-petaled whites
between her lids” and “red azaleas bloomed in the cracks of my lips” in the
long poem “me (first) / river of forgetfulness”. This is an environmental poem,
with numerous references to nature, place (“stawamus and its rock-formed apron”),
climate change (“unpredictable rainfall” and “oh, the heat/rises two degrees”),
and the part humans play in the planet’s destruction (“blackbird, lift your
frequency/drown the sound of spade/on rock”). The focus on the environment’s a
natural fit for favreau, who is a climate justice organizer as well as a writer.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">While reading this thoughtful,
introspective book, I turned to Wikipedia to learn what </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">kireji</i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> means: “</span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">kireji
</i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">(lit. "cutting word") are a special category of words used
in certain types of Japanese traditional poetry [like Haiku]… … Used in the
middle of a verse, </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">[kireji]</i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> briefly cuts the stream of thought,
indicating that the verse consists of two thoughts half independent of each
other”. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Finally, what’s a first book without a love
poem or two? The poet writes “we were singing/the same aria/I like to think”
but on the same page we find this tender and “just right” image concerning
loss: “a hand on a wrist/holding gently/letting go”.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">THIS
BOOK IS AVAILABLE AT YOUR LOCAL BOOKSTORE OR FROM THE SASKATCHEWAN PUBLISHERS
GROUP WWW.SKBOOKS.COM</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>Shelley Annahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06362581966700785688noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2792056539980657302.post-9716700117317408402021-11-26T14:16:00.001-08:002021-11-26T14:28:21.726-08:00Five Reviews: The Beautiful Place by Lee Gowan; Only If We’re Caught by Theressa Slind; Don’t They KICK When You Do That? Stories of a Prairie Veterinarian by Dr. Gary Hoium; Grandpa’s Garage by Amber Antymniuk; and Stories from the Churchill by Ric Driediger, with Illustrations by Paul Mason <p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“The Beautiful Place”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Written by Lee Gowan<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Published by Thistledown Press<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Review by Shelley A. Leedahl<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">$24.95
ISBN 978-1-77187-208-9<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Saskatchewan born-and-raised writer Lee
Gowan has penned a thick new novel—<i>The Beautiful Place</i>—and it’s a beautiful
thing. Gowan’s three previous novels have garnered much attention (<i>Make
Believe Love</i> was shortlisted for Ontario’s Trillium Award), and his
screenplay, <i>Paris or Somewhere</i>, was nominated for a Gemini Award. Currently
the Program Director of the Creative Writing and Business Communications
department at the University of Toronto School of Continuing Studies, this award-winning
author’s giving readers something completely different with <i>The Beautiful
Place</i>, which delves into the sci-fi world of cryonics; t</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif">he realistic world
of failed marriages, 21</span><sup style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">st</sup><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> Century parenting, and dementia; and the ever-precarious
world of art and art-making. </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">What Gowan’s done here is ingenious: he’s
imagined an ongoing life for Philip Bentley, Sinclair Ross’s protagonist in </span><i><span style="font-family: times;">As
for Me and My House</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">. </span></i><span face="Arial, sans-serif">Gowan’s tri-provincial sequel to that prairie classic’s
told from the perspective of the minister-turned-artist’s grandson, also known
as Bentley. The younger Bentley—a fired, semi-suicidal cryonics salesman, writer,
and father of two daughters from different wives—is approached by a beguiling
woman named Mary Abraham who “met Jesus in a dream and walked with him to a
desert well” and “met Buddha under a tree by a river.”</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">Abraham’s also dreamed about the younger
Bentley, and she’s on a mission: as he’s one of few who know where the cryonics
company, Argyle, keeps the frozen bodies of the deceased, he must reveal this
location so that she can extract her late husband’s disembodied head, because he
posthumously told her that he “wished to be buried and that it was [her] duty
to get him underground.” The younger Bentley must also try to appease his
wise-cracking ex-wife and finance their rebellious 23-year-old daughter’s New
York art school, plus figure out his own place in the world as the grandson of
a famous painter (whose body’s also in The Beautiful Place). Bentley himself doesn’t
believe in cryonics—“a longshot gamble at eternal life”—even though he was Argyle’s
sales manager.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">It’s complicated, as they say, but,
Gowan adeptly directs this cast of disparate characters with their strange
plights, and the often witty dialogue reveals why he’s such a revered writer.
Upon the birth of a daughter, Bentley’s wife says: “She looks like a live roast.”
Another character says “urologists always have such lovely personalities.” Speaking
of his wife’s TV-star ex, the protagonist says: “He wishes he were indigenous;
he wishes he were gay.” And it’s a hoot to read that Philip Bentley lived
beyond Ross’s novel and became an artist with “pictures hanging in the Vancouver
Art Gallery next to Emily Carr.”</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">This book is a complex weaving of the
real and the impossible, of hope and grief, and of dreams and hard realities.
Though the protagonist believes that “The point of existence … was to vanish with
as little trace as possible. Stay out of the frame,” this shimmering and
beautifully-organized novel will ensure that its author, Lee Gowan, will not disappear
within the lexicon of Canadian literary writers.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">THIS BOOK IS AVAILABLE AT YOUR LOCAL
BOOKSTORE OR FROM THE SASKATCHEWAN PUBLISHERS GROUP WWW.SKBOOKS.COM<o:p></o:p></span></p><p>
</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> __________</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Only If We’re Caught”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Written by Theressa Slind<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Published by Thistledown Press<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Review by Shelley A. Leedahl<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">$25.95
ISBN 9-781771-872119<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">In the opening paragraph of </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Only If
We’re Caught, </i><span face="Arial, sans-serif">the debut short story collection by Saskatoon writer (and
children’s librarian) Theressa Slind, readers are viscerally transported to
Aspen Grove, a seniors’ residence—where the hallway “is painted the colour of
cookie dough”—and into the mind of Parkinson’s-afflicted protagonist Margaret, who
can no longer speak. We soon learn that Margaret’s not just any ninety-three-year-old
nursing home resident with a “porous-boned spine curling in on itself” … she’s also
telepathically communicating with a visiting child.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">This bizarre circumstance is typical of
the tales in Slind’s collection of fifteen stories, some of which previously
appeared in literary journals. The borders of normalcy are blurred, and that’s what
makes this collection stand out. Perhaps the finest example of this is “Amygdule,”
about a funeral director, Ben, who “commune[s] with ghosts.” Ben has a crush on
his employee, Alice, who delivers a fountain of black humour. She “arrives in
an eddy of formaldehyde,” and says things like “I like my men ripe” and “Back
to work. Mrs. Chan isn’t going to embalm herself.” This story is also about a
treasure hunt, geology, a fatal accident, and loneliness. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">The common thread between Slind’s
characters is that they all have crosses to bear. Pregnant teen Natalie had
wanted to go to medical school: “But by the time she’d raised the kid and Andy,
well, did they even let you into medical school past thirty?” And Toba, a children’s
librarian whose only child “climbed a neighbour’s two-storey aluminum ladder,
fell, and died.” After the tragedy, guilt-and grief-ridden Toba takes to hiding
behind a hare mask (“This is no Easter Bunny”), both inside the library and
out. When she’s asked to do a TV interview on a sexual health information fair—titled
“Sex in the Library”—the now semi-famous (thanks to her Twitter account, “@Hareofthefields,”
and Youtube) librarian wears the mask. The interviewer metaphorically traps her
with his question: “Tell me, Bunny, what’s with the mask? Let’s get to the
bottom of this. What are you hiding?”</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">Readers cannot guess which direction
Slind’s going to take them in this original short story collection, and that’s
a good thing. Some of the situations made this reader squirm, like realtor and
father Martin Woodrow’s uncomfortable reality in the story “Family Style”.
Woodrow and his wife are about to have dinner with their daughter Amanda and
her fiancé in a Calgary restaurant … and the fiancé is Martin’s former
colleague, Bob, “who’d driven Amanda home from play dates with his own daughter,
Brandi”. We really get the sense of Martin’s despair: a testament to Slind’s
skill.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">The author also slings several comical
similes and metaphors, ie: Ruth “smelled like scented maxi-pads,” and grieving
parents Alex and Trudy, Canadians travelling in Europe: “packed their grief,
carry-on and oversized, and it bumps along behind them over the old cobblestones.”
</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">These edgy, slick and diverse short
stories feature characters in life-changing moments. Slind’s is a welcome new
voice on the map of Saskatchewan literature. </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">THIS BOOK IS AVAILABLE AT YOUR LOCAL
BOOKSTORE OR FROM THE SASKATCHEWAN PUBLISHERS GROUP WWW.SKBOOKS.COM</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">__________ </span></p><p>
</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">"Don’t They KICK When You Do That?
Stories of a Prairie Veterinarian"\</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">Written by Dr. Gary Hoium</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Published by DriverWorks Ink<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Review by Shelley A. Leedahl<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">$19.95
ISBN 9-781927-570746<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">While conducting author visits in schools
over the decades, I’d often ask students what they wanted to be when they grew
up, and, invariably, </span><i><span style="font-family: times;">veterinarian</span></i><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </i><span face="Arial, sans-serif">was a top response. I understand that.
Who doesn’t love animals? Interestingly, Dr. Gary Hoium—veterinarian and author
of </span><i><span style="font-family: times;">Don’t They KICK When You Do That? Stories of a Prairie Veterinarian</span></i><span face="Arial, sans-serif">—never
intended to become a vet. </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </i><span face="Arial, sans-serif">It was “never
a goal or an ambition of mine while I was growing up in rural Saskatchewan,” he
explains in his just-published collection of experiences as a mixed-animal
veterinarian and clinic owner in Weyburn. Instead, Dr. Hoium had his hopes set on
an NHL career, but when that and medical school admission attempts failed, he
applied to the Western College of Veterinary Medicine and was soon on his way
to becoming a vet for the next 36 years. </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">His conversational stories about animal
patients (and their humans) are shared over 41 short chapters, many of them humourous.
The cover image of this conversationally-toned book shows a smiling Dr. Hoium at
work: left hand holding up a cow’s tail while his right arm’s disappeared “up
the south end” of the animal. This in-the-field photo—and that impish grin—set
the book’s light tenor. </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">A few weeks after graduating from the WCVM,
Dr. Hoium was already working for a Weyburn veterinary practice, and one of the
first calls was to treat a sick snake: Dr. Houim’s not a fan of snakes. Another
early call concerned the delivery of twin calves. An emergency C-section was
performed, and Dr. Hoium and a fellow vet discovered that the calves were
conjoined at their sternums. He writes: “ … it sure made for an unceremonious
welcome to the real world for this neophyte veterinarian.” </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">The author’s often self-deprecating: he
alludes to some of his miscues as well as his successes, like the time he
thought he was spaying a cat and “spent the better part of two minutes fishing
with [his] special surgical spay hook in the abdominal cavity” before he
learned the cat was male.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">This witty vet is highly entertaining,
and I imagine he’s been sharing these tales with receptive audiences for years.
The disparate anecdotes provide a close inspection of a rural veterinary
practice <i>and</i> some smalltown characters, like nefarious Terry, the bouvier
des Flandres’ dog-owner who had “sticky fingers,” was frequently drunk, and
referred to Dr. Hoium as “bro”.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">There are strange situations aplenty. A
cat that’s gorged on grasshopper parts; a farmer who kept a calf whose feet had
frozen and fell off (“because she seemed so healthy, we decided to keep her”); untangling
a clump of tail-tied grey fox squirrels in a Weyburn parking lot; a $25,000 ostrich
with a mangled leg; a cat with “a thistle in his pistol”; and the vet’s
unforgettable electric fence jolts … and I’m not even going to get into the
sheltie collie’s rectal issue.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">But back to that cover image. Do they
kick? Read the book, and you’ll find out. </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">THIS BOOK IS AVAILABLE AT YOUR LOCAL
BOOKSTORE OR FROM WWW.SKBOOKS.COM<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> __________</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">“Grandpa’s Garage”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Written by Amber Antymniuk<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Published by Blow Creative Arts<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Review by Shelley A. Leedahl<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">$22.00<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>ISBN 9-781999-546212<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">I’ve noticed that an increasing number
of children’s authors—and particularly new writers—are opting to self-publish.
Alternately, they could wait for months to hear back from a trade publisher regarding
whether a book will be accepted for publication, then wait for up to several
years (I’m speaking from experience: I had a book accepted in 2010 and released
in 2020) for that book to hit the shelves. When one possesses artistic talent
as </span><i><span style="font-family: times;">well</span></i><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> as literary talent, it makes especially good sense to
self-publish, and that’s precisely what Saskatchewan creator and Arts Education
teacher Amber Antymniuk did with </span><i><span style="font-family: times;">Grandpa’s Garage</span></i><span face="Arial, sans-serif">. </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">Antymniuk’s second book for young
readers (or listeners) explores the wonderfully diverse items that appear in “Grandpa’s
Garage,” and each page features rhyming text in a large font, an appealing watercolour
illustration, and enough white space to make the words and images pop. Antymniuk
mostly makes it personal, describing things that I expect actually </span><i><span style="font-family: times;">do</span></i><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> reside
in a relative’s garage, like “farm cats,” “An old radio tuned to the local
station” and “a stack of manuals and a bent fishing fly,” but near the end she writes
“Whether Grandpa’s Garage is a shop or a shed. Or a room beneath the stairs
nearly bumping your head.” This transition away from the personal makes the
story inclusive: anyone who has a grandfather (or grandfather-figure) in their
life with a specific place where items are stored and repaired can imagine the
interior of their own special person’s shop, shed or garage, and experience the
warmth and love within that relationship. </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif">In describing the precise items in “Grandpa’s
Garage,” readers are able to glean not only a fine sense of the place, but also
something of Grandpa’s character and hobbies. We learn that his “big red toolbox
sits organized and neat,” so we can guess that he, too, is organized. The slightly
tatty-looking stools beside the toolbox are there to welcome guests: Grandpa likes
company. Bent nails and “some rusty old pails” demonstrate a frugal handyman.
The colourful image of a fishing fly shows us that Grandpa’s an angler, and an
old, handmade slingshot—one of the “small treasures that grandpa holds dear”—indicates
that he’s nostalgic about his youth. The all-important cover image—a muddy pair
of small, red rubber boots sitting next to a pair of equally muddy men’s work
boots—suggests a warm, generational bond.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">I appreciate how Antymniuk used the often
gentle and tender medium of watercolour to portray items some might not
consider paint-worthy, ie: the business end of a hammer, the rusty pail, a “hanging
trouble light” and a power drill. Lovely contrast.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">Antymniuk grew up near Tisdale, SK, and
now lives and parents in Saskatoon. Her publishing moniker, Blow Creative Arts,
is an homage to her grandparents and their children, all of whom “have had a
lasting impact on the community.” As the author publishes under her married
name, she’s chosen to honour her first family in this unique and lovely way. See
www.blowcreativearts.ca . </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">THIS BOOK IS AVAILABLE AT YOUR LOCAL
BOOKSTORE OR FROM THE SASKATCHEWAN PUBLISHERS GROUP WWW.SKBOOKS.COM</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p>__________ </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">"</span></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif">Stories from the Churchill”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Written by Ric Driediger, with Illustrations
by Paul Mason<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Published by Your Nickel’s Worth
Publishing<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Review by Shelley A. Leedahl<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">$24.95<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>ISBN 9-781988-783727<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span color="windowtext" face="Arial, sans-serif">Ric Driediger’s positively
reverent when he writes about the beauty and challenges inherent in canoeing
Saskatchewan’s vast northern waterways. The owner/operator of Churchill River Canoe
Outfitters in Missinipe, SK may already be known to readers—and fellow canoeists—through
his first book, </span><i style="color: windowtext;"><span style="font-family: times;">Paddling Northern Saskatchewan: A Guide to 80 Canoe Routes</span></i><i style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">. </i><span color="windowtext" face="Arial, sans-serif">Now
this knowledgeable paddler has penned </span><i style="color: windowtext;"><span style="font-family: times;">Stories from the Churchill</span></i><span color="windowtext" face="Arial, sans-serif">, and he
describes it as “the book [he] </span><i style="color: windowtext;"><span style="font-family: times;">wanted</span></i><span color="windowtext" face="Arial, sans-serif"> to write” whereas the earlier book
was the one he “</span><i style="color: windowtext;"><span style="font-family: times;">needed</span></i><span color="windowtext" face="Arial, sans-serif">” to write. There’s a difference. What comes
through the page is that Driediger’s doing exactly what he was meant to, both
professionally and personally, and he knows just how fortunate he is. </span><span color="windowtext" face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span color="windowtext" face="Arial, sans-serif">Even if you never
intend to canoe across a morning-calm lake, brave big-lake wind and river rapids,
portage through “swampy muskeg,” lose yourself in the boreal wilderness, “go
solo” (“a spiritual experience”), or winter camp, this book will inform and
entertain you. It’s well-written in a conversational tone, and includes anecdotes
from Driediger’s own adventures and stories from his clients’ and staff’s experiences,
too.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span color="windowtext" face="Arial, sans-serif">Driediger’s a natural
storyteller, and in this softcover with 20 stand-alone chapters—and occasional
cartoon illustrations by another canoeing aficionado, the author’s longtime friend,
Paul Mason—readers are privy to a canoe-seat view through what the author describes
as the best canoe routes in the world, but this is more than a book about
canoeing: Dreidiger also shares his “philosophy of life” and his “understanding
of the importance of experiencing wilderness.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span color="windowtext" face="Arial, sans-serif">His introduction to canoeing
began in 1972, just after high school graduation. He and his cousin joined a
group of young adults who got a “crash course in canoeing and canoe tripping”
from farmer/canoe instructor LaVerne Jantz, and in one day they went “from
never having paddled to running rapids.” During that initial trip on the
Churchill, Driediger “absolutely fell in love with the rock shoreline, with the
complexity of the lakes, with the moss in the forest, with the knowledge that just
over the hill another lake waited.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span color="windowtext" face="Arial, sans-serif">One intriguing chapter
concerns the writer’s preparations for and experiences with winter camping on
the Churchill River. He awoke one morning—it was -54 degrees Celsius—unable to
put his pants on: they were “flat, frozen solid.” He and his companions used
their axe “to chop pieces of peanut butter, jam, honey, and chocolate,” and
they “ate as [they] walked” because it was too cold to stop.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span color="windowtext" face="Arial, sans-serif">In another chapter,
Driediger’s created a fictional story to explain the discovery of a sewing
machine in the depths of a lake. He demonstrates how canoeing teaches humility
and canoe groups form lifelong bonds. There also harrowing anecdotes about
being stuck in a rapidly-filling culvert; 140 km hour winds and 1.5 metre waves;
fatal lightning strikes; and drownings. Still: “Driving on the highway is far
more dangerous.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span color="windowtext" face="Arial, sans-serif">Canoeing romances, cross-continent
adventurers, respect for First Nations’ neighbours and the land, and the
history of Churchill River Canoe Outfitters … Driediger’s book is a compendium
of captivating stories.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">THIS BOOK IS AVAILABLE AT YOUR LOCAL BOOKSTORE
OR FROM WWW.SKBOOKS.COM</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>Shelley Annahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06362581966700785688noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2792056539980657302.post-42181939528533551652021-10-27T13:59:00.003-07:002021-10-27T13:59:26.668-07:00Three Reviews: Pitchblende, by Elise Marcella Godfrey; Bread & Water, by dee Hobsbawn-Smith; and Girl running, by Diana Hope Tegenkamp<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Pitchblende”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">By Elise Marcella Godfrey<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Published by University of Regina Press<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Review by Shelley A. Leedahl<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">$19.95
ISBN 9-780889-778405<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I didn’t know what <i>pitchblende</i>
was before I read Elise Marcella Godfrey’s same-named poetry collection, but I
certainly do now. To shortcut, merriam-webster.com describes pitchblende as “</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">a brown to black mineral that consists of massive
uraninite, has a distinctive luster, contains radium, and is the chief
ore-mineral source of uranium”. It’s a measure of the poet how Godfrey takes
this radioactive by-product of uranium ore—and the capitalist/colonialist/mostly
male culture surrounding its extraction and usage—and transforms it into a
finely-tuned collection of political, environmental, and investigative poetry.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Godfrey writes from “the traditional
and unceded land of the QayQayt First Nation” on Vancouver Island, and this well-researched,
multi-voiced collection exhibits a deep caring for the earth and its peoples. Her
cry is clear: “the neocolonical machine … promotes profit and industry at the
expense of community and sustainability.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Pitchblende</span></i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> does not read like a first book. Godfrey’s a graduate
of the Master of Fine Arts in Writing at the University of Saskatchewan and her
work’s appeared in journals and anthologies: she’s put in the literary leg work,
and it shows. These poems are saturated with internal and off-rhymes rhymes—ie:
“Mine and refinery,” “Throwing off gamma rays, errant vibrations/that penetrate
in waves,” and “Ancient dust from dying stars. Excision sites, scars”—and the precise
language of mining and the boreal world, ie: “Blueberry, cloudberry, bearberry,
mossberry./Juniper. Currant. Indigo/milk caps, morels, chanterelles. Wild rice.
Lichens.” I appreciate the mouth-watering language of science, too: “Fungus
forms/mycological rhizomes,/foliose, fruticose, squamulose/lobes and crustose structures.”
Ironic how what sounds so pretty—"milky green water, as if golden moonglow
lichen/crushed and glittered into it”—illustrates such ecological devastation.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The poems appear in various forms but
most notable are the erasure poems. Godfrey wrote the collection “after reading
testimonies given at public hearings held throughout Saskatchewan in 1993 on
the territories of Treaties 4, 6, 8 and 10.” These hearings’ transcripts—from mining
industry representatives; biologists; a male-exclusive, federally-appointed panel;
Indigenous Elders; and “a united group of women (who were white settlers)” are
archived, and Godfrey “adapted sections of testimony, while also writing poems
triggered by their content and related research.” The erasure poems spotlight
distinct words which graphically explode across the page, often with just one
or two words on a line, and much space around them. There’s abundant alliteration
throughout, and even onomatopoeia (“Read the radiograph,/its staccato syntax
scrambled”).</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Several poems are written in a
speaker’s voice, ie: “Elder’s Testimony” at Hatchet Lake: “Caribou still come
south/but the government tells us we can’t eat the kidneys/heavy with metals:
cadmium, polonium, cesium, lead./The government says it’s okay to eat the
liver.” A Black Lake Elder’s concerns—“We’re worried uranium will ruin our
water”—are contrasted against Uraneco’s response—“If anything, the region will
be cleaner after we leave.” Call-and-response; it’s highly effective.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">This daring poet puts a finger on
the pulse of a hurting earth, where humans “crack the ancient world’s ribs/for
one last gasp” and “Our sun is set to swallow us.” Powerful, and true. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">THIS BOOK IS AVAILABLE AT YOUR LOCAL
BOOKSTORE OR FROM WWW.SKBOOKS.COM<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">__________</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">“Bread and Water”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">By dee Hobsbawn-Smith<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Published by University of Regina Press<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Review by Shelley A. Leedahl<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">$26.95
ISBN 9-780889-778115<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I know dee Hobsbawn-Smith as a multi-genre
writer, chef, yogi, runner, mother, and yes, as a friend. She and husband Dave
Margoshes hosted me for a reading at their ancestral rural home (“The Dogpatch”)
near Saskatoon years ago, and when dee was touring a poetry collection on
Vancouver Island, I welcomed her at my place. “I’ll cook for you,” she said, “using
whatever you have in the house.” I’m was embarrassed by my uninspired inventory,
yet she whipped a brilliant meal together with my mundane larder. One doesn’t
forget that.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">So yes, I know this dexterous writer,
and expected a great read in her essay collection, </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Bread & Water. </i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The
text behind the gorgeously apropos cover photograph—a chunk of homemade bread
and a glass of water—is wide-ranging, provocative, and, like that heel of
bread, hearty. What I didn’t expect was how much I’d </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">admire</i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> these lyrical
essays which took me back to the Dogpatch, but also to Vancouver, Comox, and
the waters off Vancouver Island; to dee’s Calgary home, restaurants, and the 2013
flood in that city; to Fernie; and to France, where the author trained to be a
chef. (Her upbringing in an RCAF family—“part of a gypsy air force brood”—prepared
her for frequent moves in adulthood.)</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">And yes, these essays concern food, food
culture, the restaurant industry, locavorism, gardens, farmers’ markets,
preserving, and even the import of using appropriate knives, but I’d argue they
give equal space to Hobsbawn-Smith’s observance of and appreciation for the wondrous
natural world. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The Dogpatch and surrounding property deserve
mention, as </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">where</i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> we write </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">influences
the </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">what</i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> and </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">how</i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">. When Hobsbawn-Smith arrived from Alberta, leaving
her career as a chef and food writer behind in favour of literary endeavours, she
found “Every building and field [was] crammed with broken and corroding
evidence of three generations.” She wondered: “How does a writer find what lies
within when the roof leaks?” Yet when she looked out her window, she saw “The
red sun rising. Three deer scudding across the south pasture through the hay
bales” and “Chickadees, snug in their little black bonnets. Words that sort
themselves into a resonant voice.” The land flooded and a spontaneous lake appeared.
She writes: “A large part of my enjoyment is the auditory experience of life
beside a lake: the thrumming of frogs; the lilting melody of chickadees and meadowlarks;
the hummingbirds’ whirring wings” and “the geese honking as they arrive and leave
like metronomes each spring and fall; coyotes carolling each evening.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Here’s wisdom: “Food and cooking are
complicated snapshots of our culture.” The author demonstrates this. And praises
spring vegetables: “Asparagus was hope made tangible, spears spun from fragile ferns
and sunshine after winter’s absolutist mineral-fed root vegetables.” She “carried
home a bunch of living watercress like a bouquet.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">“In cooking, we express our deepest
feelings about the nature of the universe, our deepest faith and connection to
all that is primal and irresistible.” I’ll tell you what’s irresistible—this delicious
book. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">THIS BOOK IS AVAILABLE AT YOUR LOCAL
BOOKSTORE OR FROM WWW.SKBOOKS.COM</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">__________</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">“Girl running”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">By Diana Hope Tegenkamp<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Published by Thistledown Press<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Review by Shelley A. Leedahl<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">$24.95
ISBN 978-1-77187-214-0<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">When a veteran multi-disciplinary artist
pens a poetry collection, it’s likely that the influence of her other art practices
will seep into the pages and make for an original read. This is evidenced in
the case of Diana Hope Tegenkamp, a Saskatoon-based poet who also works with
film, photography, visual and performance art, sound and music. In her debut poetry
book, <i>Girl running</i>, Tegenkamp’s 23-page poem incorporates various fonts,
strike-outs, quotations, footnotes, and superimposed text across a “mountain-like
shape” which is “an outline of the iceberg that sunk the Titanic,” and the
entire long poem is a conversational response to an 1809 textbook (<i>Letters
on Ancient History</i>, by Anne Wilson). So interesting, and so are the questions
it poses about history and subjectivity. “History, a whirlpool,<sup>32</sup>/sucking
in obscure circumstances/with a frightful noise.<sup>33</sup>” <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Tegenkamp also eludes to sculpture,
novels, paintings and films, ie: director Jane Campion’s adaptation of “Portrait
of a Lady,” and there’s a poetic close-up of a poignant scene from “Boys Don’t
Cry,” the 1999 Academy Award-winning movie concerning the tragic, real-life story
about murdered trans man Brandon Teena in Nebraska.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The poems in this book appear in
various shapes and forms, from couplets and tercets to the three, page-long “Loop”
poems, which are dreamy, yummy, stream-of-consciousness prose poems inspired by
Canadian poet Nicole Brossard’s work. Lines from Tegenkamp’s first “Loop”
demonstrate her keen ear and eye, with special attention paid to the wind,
colour, ordinary domestic scenes, the natural world, and philosophic leaps: “The
rise and fall of piano notes, computer’s hum, and backroads where the wind blows
clean through. Pattern of pink blossoms on my living room chair and the animal
nature of letters, forming, begetting, coupling tactile experience and supple
thinking.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">As a prairie poet, light, wind and
winter feature greatly. As a visual artist, these poems are deliberately seeped
in colour, from a father’s “green Pontiac” to “white zinnias” and “cormorants/blue
ghosts on the telephone wire.” I love the space this artist allows around several
lines in her poems. This affords readers time to contemplate lyrical lines like
this: “What about so much light/the mind goes white?”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">These poems often examine seeing and
being seen. The tender first poem ends with “the ongoingness of </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I see you”. </i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">From
“Clouds”: “Touch the tree trunks and tell the clouds:/I see you.” The writer observes
“dark pines rise from the mollusk dawn” (“The Return”), and she includes a sublime
description of winter and a beloved mother’s failing vision: through “her left
eye,/morning seen through/snow granules.” (“Little Winters”). These are also
poems about metaphorical vision, ie: “the feast of geranium petals, red
swoon/across the lawn”.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Tegenkamp’s debut book is luminous, partly
because she juxtaposes the everyday—Mom pours coffee, puts cream and sugar/on
the counter. Wipes the wink with a towel”—with insightful assertions—“Time, she
says, does not flow in even measures,” but mostly because Tegenkamp’s just a
damn fine writer. Several of the poems salute her mother (d. 2018), but these
chiseled poems should resonate with anyone. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">THIS BOOK IS AVAILABLE AT YOUR LOCAL
BOOKSTORE OR FROM THE SASKATCHEWAN PUBLISHERS GROUP WWW.SKBOOKS.COM</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span> </p>Shelley Annahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06362581966700785688noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2792056539980657302.post-28715781399008476902021-10-04T16:20:00.008-07:002021-10-04T16:21:39.749-07:00Three Reviews: The 1-Dogpower Garden Team by Alison Lohans, illustrated by Gretchen Ehrsam; Adventures on the Circle Star Ranch by Jackie Cameron, illustrated by Wendi Nordell; and Baby Rollercoaster: The Unspoken Secret Sorrow of Infertility by Janice Colven <p> </p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“The 1-Dogpower Garden Team”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Written by Alison Lohans, Illustrated
by Gretchen Ehrsam<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Published by Your Nickel’s Worth
Publishing<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Review by Shelley A. Leedahl<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">$14.95<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>ISBN 9-781988-783710<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><i>T</i></span><i><span color="windowtext" face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">he 1-Dogpower Garden
Team</span></i><span color="windowtext" face="Arial, sans-serif" lang="EN-US">—the latest book by multi-genre
author Alison Lohans—is a collaborative effort, and well worth the read. I’ve
not read <i>every</i> book in this talented Regina writer’s veritable library
of titles—28 books, which include YA and adult novels and illustrated children’s
books—but the several I have read demonstrate that this is a veteran writer who
pays close attention to craft and delivers meaningful, heart-filled literature each
time she puts her pen to page. Now Lohans has teamed with illustrator Gretchen
Ehrsam on a unique illustrated children’s story about a girl (Sophie) and her hole-digging
dog (Max), and how a common canine problem transitions into a child’s brilliant
solution.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span color="windowtext" face="Arial, sans-serif">What strikes me first
and foremost is how different this story is—Lohans’ innovative use of language and
humour and Ehrsam’s detailed, black and white prints (surrounded by a moss
green border) coalesce so effectively, after I’d read the book the first time I
immediately wanted to read—and admire—it again.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span color="windowtext" face="Arial, sans-serif">Upon my second
reading, I deduced that part of the magic is Lohans’ use of both simple sentences,
which one might expect in a children’s book—the book begins with “Sophie loved
her dog, Max.”—and surprises within the text, ie: “ … the weeds grew fast, and
her family didn’t have a rototiller.” A rototiller? Mentioned on the first page
of a children’s story? I say </span><i style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Bravo</i><span color="windowtext" face="Arial, sans-serif">!</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span color="windowtext" face="Arial, sans-serif">And it’s not just the
diction here that deserves mention; the realistic characterizations, including
that of credible secondary characters, ie: “Sophie’s dad loved motors and boats,
and watching sports on TV” also merit praise. Dad finds an ad for a “90-horsepower
motorboat”— a “good deal”—in the newspaper, and Sophie’s garden-loving mom responds
that they need a “90-horsepower rototiller.” The family’s laughter sets the tone:
this is a happy home.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span color="windowtext" face="Arial, sans-serif">The tone’s
replicated via the accomplished illustrations. The books on the coffee table
before Dad are titled </span><i style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Calculus for Fun</i><span color="windowtext" face="Arial, sans-serif"> and </span><i style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Philately Today</i><span color="windowtext" face="Arial, sans-serif">. The
neighbour, Mrs. Magruther—awoken by Sophie and Max in the garden late at night—is
shown with a babushka-type-deal on her head. “What’s going on over there?” she
asks. I also noted a heart on several pages: on Sophie’s clothing, in
heart-shaped leaves, on her teddy bear, and hanging on the kitchen wall. And
the portrayal of Max going through his repertoire of tricks “without even being
told” warmed my dog-loving heart.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span color="windowtext" face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span><span color="windowtext" face="Arial, sans-serif">On the facing third
and fourth pages we find Max in Mom’s garden, inadvertently digging up beans where
he sniffs out a buried bone, and thus begins the conflict that drives the plot:
a good dog has a bad habit, and Sophie must solve the problem.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span color="windowtext" face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span color="windowtext" face="Arial, sans-serif">This delightful book
celebrates teamwork, ingenuity, and the bond between a girl and her dog. (Good
boy, Max!) I expect that Lohans and Ehrsam—who are cousins—had an especially
good time working on this story together: that inherently comes across. If you
wish to read more of the award-winning author’s work, see alisonlohans.wordpress.com.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">THIS BOOK IS AVAILABLE AT YOUR LOCAL
BOOKSTORE OR FROM WWW.SKBOOKS.COM</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p>__________</o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">“Adventures on the Circle Star Ranch”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Written by Jackie Cameron, Illustrated
by Wendi Nordell<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Published by Your Nickel’s Worth
Publishing<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Review by Shelley A. Leedahl<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">$14.95
ISBN 9-781988-783703<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span color="windowtext" face="Arial, sans-serif">As a resident of
Vancouver Island, it was a strange synchronicity that I happened to be on the TransCanada
near Swift Current as I finished reading the final chapters of </span><i style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Adventures on
the Circle Star Ranch. </i><span color="windowtext" face="Arial, sans-serif">This lively illustrated novel for young readers is
set in that very area, and writer Jackie Cameron—whose </span><span color="windowtext" face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span><span color="windowtext" face="Arial, sans-serif">family “had horses and raised beef cattle”—also
lives nearby. </span><span color="windowtext" face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span><span color="windowtext" face="Arial, sans-serif">While I shared the
adventures of Ben (nine), Sarah (eleven) and their “fearless dog, Scruffy”
aloud, my partner steered us between golden pastures, where the deer and
antelope were indeed playing, and “dusty country road[s]”and “sagebrush” were
plentiful. So cool. </span><span color="windowtext" face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span><span color="windowtext" face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span color="windowtext" face="Arial, sans-serif">This 60-page ranch-family
story is divided into short chapters, and the age-appropriate language— Cameron’s
a retired librarian/school division resource professional-turned-author—ensures
that juvenile readers won’t struggle as the realistic plot (including a cattle
rustling mystery) unfolds. The siblings argue as siblings do, ie: Sarah says, “Mom,
make him stop!” after Ben threatens to tell the story about Sarah learning to
play the bagpipes: </span><span color="windowtext" face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span><span color="windowtext" face="Arial, sans-serif">when she played the
cows came running toward the house because, as Dad deduced, “when the cows
heard Sarah playing the bagpipes, they thought it was the sound of a calf in
trouble.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span color="windowtext" face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><span color="windowtext" face="Arial, sans-serif">The entertaining book
is full of details and anecdotes that this reader guesses are lifted from “real
life”. The kids do chores, like ensuring the calves “don’t get too far behind”
when the herd’s being moved to the summer pasture; a friend’s dad got caught “between
a barbwire fence and some cows rushing toward the creek” and earned twenty
stitches; and Mom hands Sarah “an old cellphone” before the brother and sister
are about to ride off on their horses (with two Girl Guide cookies each), and tells
her daughter “I just put ten dollars of time on this phone, so take it with you
in case you have to phone me.” Adults “talk about boring things like the need
for more rain, how cool most of the summer has been so far, and the high prices
of gas.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span color="windowtext" face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">There are several food
descriptions, ie: picnic lunches, and the cattle drive lunch, which includes “Grandpa
Joe’s gluten-free sandwiches” and “Carrots and red pepper sticks, apples and
grapes, cookies and granola bars”. It’s easy to imagine the “huge thermoses of
coffee and tea set on the tailgate” as Scruffy—the abandoned dog found while
the brother and sister are out on their horses with “Dad” (who is “[riding] … around
the pastures to see if any fences need fixing”)— darts between the characters
and calves. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span color="windowtext" face="Arial, sans-serif">Wendi Nordell’s detailed
black and white drawings—one or two per chapter—enhance Cameron’s text and tell
stories of their own ie: cowboy-hatted adults sit around a campfire while the
children split into small groups, and a horse checks out the action from beyond
the barn. Kids could have fun colouring the illustrations with pencil crayons. </span><span color="windowtext" face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span><span color="windowtext" face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span color="windowtext" face="Arial, sans-serif">And what about those
cattle rustlers? Ah, you’ll just have to read this endearing “wild west” book
to learn more.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">THIS BOOK IS AVAILABLE AT YOUR LOCAL BOOKSTORE
OR FROM WWW.SKBOOKS.COM</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">__________ </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">“Baby Rollercoaster: The Unspoken
Secret Sorrow of Infertility”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">By Janice Colven<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Published by Wood Dragon Books<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Review by Shelley A. Leedahl<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">$19.99
ISBN 9-781989-078587<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif">’ve just had the pleasure of reading the
well-written, beautifully designed, highly personal and informative book by
teacher/ranch wife/writer Janice Colven about her lifelong yearning to be a
mother and her seven-year journey on the rollercoaster that is infertility.
Throughout the candid, 207-page story, Colven uses the extended metaphor of a
rollercoaster to parallel the ups and downs she and her husband experienced during
this painful time, and the book’s title—</span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Baby Rollercoaster: The Unspoken
Secret Sorrow of Infertility</i><span face="Arial, sans-serif">—reflects their hopeful highs and heart-breaking
lows.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">Colven
writes that she’s always dreamed of becoming a mother. As a child she “loved
baby dolls and everything that went with them,” and her “loving and nurturing
spirit” even extended to the prairie girl wrapping a dead gopher “in a soft, pink
blanket” and strolling it as one would a baby. Later she practised her maternal
skills on younger siblings. “We buy the map to motherhood and have the trip
planned down to the smallest detail,” she writes.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">In her introduction Colven shares that
she wrote this “for the women who are walking the same infertility path,” and “to
provide insight” for those women who “love and support us through infertility”.
Infertility’s a prevalent problem: “one in six women” struggle with it.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">The story includes anecdotes about Colven’s
first teaching job—“in a one-tumbleweed town”—and it details how she met her
husband; her initial suspicions about infertility (“After one year of spinach
eating, laying with my legs in the air, ovulation tracking, and college-level
trying”); and her preposterous interactions with a local doctor (“Dr. Mustache”).
(Colven gives her medical professionals funny, fictitious names, including Dr.
Straight Shooter and Dr. Lucky Strike.) We learn about her diagnosis of endometriosis
and a seven-hour surgery to remove uterine tumours, and later her unfruitful
and expensive dance with in vitro fertilization (IVF), but the medically-themed
chapters are interspersed with chapters about growing up on a farm, where the
author and her brother had to </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">rogue</i><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> (walk “arm length to arm length
through a field of flowering mustard plants” to uncover “defective or inferior
plants”); teaching; and the writer’s relationship with her much more adventurous
younger sister, Rhonda, who becomes her egg donor.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">The book is seamlessly organized, and
includes many sentences that are zingers, ie: “My marriage was in trouble” and “Fertility
is a business, and it preys on childless women when we are most vulnerable” .</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">When grasping at hope, signs like a
single apple on a previously “barren” tree carried huge meaning for the writer.
She writes about her tremendous guilt at not being able to conceive, and frequently
offers support to others. A section on what </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">not</i><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> to say to a woman or
couple without children is most helpful, and readers will appreciate the nod toward
other empowering books.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">American psychologist Carl Roger’s
said “the most personal is the most universal,” and that’s why we need books
like </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Baby Rollercoaster</i><span face="Arial, sans-serif">. They connect us with humanity. They let us know
we’re not alone. </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">THIS BOOK IS AVAILABLE AT YOUR LOCAL
BOOKSTORE OR FROM THE SASKATCHEWAN PUBLISHERS GROUP WWW.SKBOOKS.COM</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">__________ </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>Shelley Annahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06362581966700785688noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2792056539980657302.post-49740056417090972262021-09-10T14:32:00.001-07:002021-09-10T14:32:28.299-07:00Two Children's Book Reviews: Wake up, Jacob! by Neil Sawatzky, and Flowman and the Magic Mullet, written by Konn and Emily Hawkes, Illustrated by Emily Hawkes<p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">“Wake Up, Jacob!”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">By Neil Sawatzky<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Published by Your Nickel’s Worth
Publishing<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Review by Shelley A. Leedahl<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">$14.95<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>ISBN 9-781988-783451<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I’m a huge fan of
collaborating with family members on creative projects, thus was delighted to
read that Neil Sawatzky—the author of the new illustrated children’s book </span><i style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Wake
Up, Jacob!</i><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">—is the father of Heather Nickel, who owns and operates Your
Nickel’s Worth Publishing, and is responsible for bringing hundreds of books
into the world. This father-daughter team has produced a heartfelt softcover that
“parallel[s] the daily activities of a young boy and his grandfather,” and to even
further extend the familial connection, Sawatzky’s dedicated the book to his
own father, and a photograph of the author and his two grandchildren reading a
book together appears inside the back cover.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Here's the truth: I
had a lump in my throat after reading just two pages of this brightly-sketched
story. On page one we find young Jacob’s mother rousting him from sleep in his bed,
and on the opposite page, a healthcare aide in a seniors’ facility is similarly
waking the same-named elder. Child Jacob—in green pajamas, and with his
wide-eyed teddy bear nearby—stretches simultaneously with his white-moustached
grandpa on the facing page. The story continues as the pair greet the day with
their own similar routines, ie: as Jacob and his teddy bear sit on the rug to
watch morning cartoons on TV, Jacob senior sits on a couch to watch the morning
news, and while little Jacob “Downward Dogs” on a yoga mat beside his mother,
Grandpa lifts hand-weights in a chair. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">There’s little text
in this book, and little’s required. The colourful illustrations spread across
most of each page tell much of the story. Easy-to-read black print against a white
background appears at the bottom. As with poetry, less words are more here, ie:
beneath an illustration of young Jacob napping, the text reads simply “Nap
time.” On the corresponding page, Grandpa Jacob’s fallen asleep while reading
in his chair—did I mention the realism here?—and the text beneath this image
is: “Just resting your eyes?” Perfect. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Both the author and
publisher live in Regina, and there are hints of Saskatchewan here, ie: the
green S on the cap of the friend Grandpa’s playing checkers with is a nod to
the Roughriders. The younger Jacob paints an elevator on his easel while his grandfather
paints the finishing touches on an elevator-shaped birdhouse.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I appreciate
several things about this story, including the fact that Grandpa continues to live
a full and happy life while in care (a welcome contradiction re: the negative
stereoptypes often associated with longterm care facilities). The close
emotional bond between the two Jacobs melts my heart. As a bonus, at the book’s
conclusion Sawatzky’s included a list of ten items for young readers to find
within the story. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">As someone who has
frequently worked in seniors’ facilities (providing musical entertainment for
residents), and as a daughter whose own father moved out of his own home and
into care just two weeks ago, this inter-generational, fact-of-life story
deeply resonated, wheelchair and all. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">THIS BOOK IS AVAILABLE AT YOUR LOCAL
BOOKSTORE OR FROM WWW.SKBOOKS.COM<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> __________</o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Flowman and the Magic Mullet”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Written by Konn and Emily Hawkes,
Illustrated by Emily Hawkes<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Published by Emily Hawkes<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Review by Shelley A. Leedahl<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">$23.95 (Hardcover) ISBN 9-781777-641726<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Flowman and the Magic Mullet</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">:
the title’s enough to signal readers that this is going to be a gas. Who doesn’t
chuckle at the mention of a mullet? And the long-flowing locks, large eyes and
toothy smile of the slapshot-shooting hockey player on the cover make me curious
… what kind of hijinks is this mullet-rocking athlete going to get up to? </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">This illustrated children’s book is the
entertaining result of a team effort between Watrous, SK farmer and hockey player
Konn Hawkes and his artistic wife, Emily. The tale concerns superstar hockey
player Greg “The Hair” Flowman and his famous mullet—“His teammates loved it,
his fans adored it”—and what happens when “his magic mullet suddenly disappears
overnight.” <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The story begins with our athletic,
comically-drawn protagonist “Scoring point after point” in his blue, #21 hockey
sweater and matching blue helmet. The text rhymes or off-rhymes, and I’m
pleased at the outset to read an original simile: “He moves on the ice like a
cheetah on skates.” As the story progresses, we learn that Flowman’s the
captain of his Calgary team, and the humour keeps building: “His lettuce is
fresh and the ladies they all stare. His name is Greg Flowman … they call him, “The
Hair.”” But one person is not a fan of Greg’s mullet: his mother. “She’s tried
to cut Greg’s hair countless times in the past. He always runs away. That kid
is shifty, and he’s fast.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The illustrator shows Flowman primping
his long locks in the colourful bathroom, “with mousse and gel and other
products. He looked in the mirror and said, “What a fox!”” I look at the details
in the illustration: the yellow dots in the window that represent a starry
night; the brush with “Hockey Hair” inscribed on it; the mess of hair product
sliding over the bowl of the sink. Discovering these supplemental visual details
really adds to the pleasure of reading this comical story, ie: in the garage,
where Flowman shoots pucks against the wall “as he watched in the mirror,” we
also see tools nicely organized on a pegboard, and note that bowling, football
and basketball are also popular among this family. I see that one of Flowman’s
teammates is (realistically) missing an important tooth!<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">It's not giving away too much to say
that Flowman’s mother does manage to snip off his locks, and though he fears he’s
lost his scoring mojo because of this, he grows his hair back even longer than
before. Then, just when he’s at the top of his game—“His speed was supersonic;
his skills were so sick”—something unexpected happens. You’ll have to read the
book to find out what brings Flowman down, and <i>who </i>sets him straight on
his skates—and in his life—again. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">This satisfying story follows the main
character from childhood through to adulthood, and there’s a hilarious,
hair-related twist on the last page. Readers—hockey fans or not—will get a kick
out of this high-scoring story. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">THIS BOOK IS AVAILABLE AT YOUR LOCAL
BOOKSTORE OR FROM WWW.SKBOOKS.COM</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p><br /></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>Shelley Annahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06362581966700785688noreply@blogger.com0