scholarly journals Wear a Helmet! Healthy Safety Habits by M.E. Salzmann

2016 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sean Borle
Keyword(s):  
Picture Book ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Reading Level ◽  
Older Children ◽  
University Of Alberta ◽  
Balanced Approach ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
The Right ◽  
Age Range ◽  
Average Readers

Salzmann, Mary Elizabeth.  Wear a Helmet!  Healthy Safety Habits.  Minneapolis, MN: Abdo Publishing, 2015, Print.This small picture book is levelled to the third or “transitional” reading level defined in the Sandcastle series.  This series is designed for use in “shared, guided and independent reading and writing activities to support a balanced approach to literacy instruction”.  The subject of the book is health and safety.   Each photograph shows a child doing something that promotes safety:  wearing a bike helmet, a life preserver or a seatbelt.  Other children are shown washing hands, using a pot holder and seated at a computer to illustrate online safety.  The children featured are in the 7-9 age range and are named to allow readers to relate to them more easily.  Younger children will look up to older children pictured doing the right things. The text is short and very simple, designed for children who are not yet fluent readers.  However, for average readers, who might pick up this book in a library, the text would be most appropriate for the lower end of the recommended age 4-9 audience.   There is a brief quiz at the end of the book, aimed at a low comprehension level.  Strangely, some of the definitions in the glossary contain words that are well above the reading level of the book.  For example, the definition of the word “germ” includes the word “organism”.  While this book is designed for reading enhancement programs, it does model useful health and safety ideas, so would be a good addition for school and public libraries.Recommendation:   3 stars out of 4Reviewer:  Sean BorleSean Borle is a University of Alberta undergraduate student who is an advocate for child health and safety.

scholarly journals Kiviuq and the Bee Woman by N. McDermott

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandy Campbell
Keyword(s):  
Picture Book ◽  
School Library ◽  
Public Library ◽  
Reading Level ◽  
Older Children ◽  
University Of Alberta ◽  
Human Skulls ◽  
The University ◽  
Library Collections

McDermott, Noel.  Kiviuq and the Bee Woman. Iqauit, NU, Inhabit Media, 2019. When we last heard of Kiviuq, he had just survived a harrowing encounter with scary monster mermaids or tuutalik (Deakin Review by Kirk MacLeod). In Kiviuq and the Bee Woman, the grandfather who narrated Kiviuq and the Mermaid continues the bedtime story to his grandchildren. Kiviuq begins paddling home, but comes upon a tent where an old woman invites him to rest and dry his clothing. She turns out to be a giant Bee Woman who wants to cut up Kiviuq and put him in her cooking pot. For a bedtime story, both the text and the illustrations are quite scary. Illustrator Toma Feizo Gas lets us see into the dark, dramatic and frightening world of the Bee Woman, who is a determined killer. “She shouted, ‘I am Iguttarjuaq, the Bee Woman, and I am going to kill you with my ulu’.”  The accompanying image shows a woman with pointy teeth and insect mouth pincers, who is shaking a sharp ulu (knife) at Kiviuq. As is the case with many of Inhabit Media’s publications, the reading level is higher than one would expect to find in a picture book. For younger children, this book will need some adult intervention. In addition to the scary content, human skulls talk, the woman eats her own eyelids and “Kiviuq, realized the woman was boiling human meat.” Some of the language is difficult. For example, Kiviuq “fainted” of fright, but “feinted” to get away. McDermott also intersperses many Inuktitut words, which will slow down younger readers. These are defined at the end of the book. Overall, this excellent product from Inhabit Media should be included in public library collections and school library collections, but should probably be placed in collections designed for older children.  Highly recommended: 4 out of 4 starsReviewer: Sandy Campbell Sandy is a Health Sciences Librarian at the University of Alberta, who has written hundreds of book reviews across many disciplines. Sandy thinks that sharing books with children is one of the greatest gifts anyone can give. 

scholarly journals The Sound of All Things by M. Uhlberg

2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sean Borle
Keyword(s):  
Public Libraries ◽  
Picture Book ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Reading Level ◽  
Deaf Children ◽  
Amusement Park ◽  
University Of Alberta ◽  
Deaf Person ◽  
Adult Reading ◽  
Intimate Knowledge

Uhlberg, Myron.  The Sound of All Things, illustrated by Ted Papoulas, Peachtree Publishers, 2016.This is an autobiographical story about Myron, who is the child of two deaf parents, attempting to explain sounds to them as they spend a day at the Coney Island amusement park. The illustrations in this book are spectacular. Ted Papoulas captures not only the detail of the amusement park, the library and fireworks, he also captures whole stories in the expressions on people’s faces. All of the illustrations reflect the 1920s, when Myron was a child. Many of the illustrations have a dark tone to them, using browns for building interiors, street scenes and evenings, adding to a vintage look. For a picture book this text is wordy, dense, and written at an adult reading level. Myron’s voice, however, is authentic. Only the child of a deaf person would be able to write, “My mother’s hands sat silent in her lap.” The text displays the intimate knowledge that Myron has of the deaf world and his struggles to translate sound to his parents. '“What does the ocean sound like?”  “It is loud,” I answered again. “Don’t be lazy,” [my father] signed.  I squirmed in my seat. I didn’t have enough words to tell my father what he wanted to know”'. Because the text is sophisticated for a picture book, it would be appropriate for upper elementary and above.I would recommend this book for public libraries and school libraries and to anyone who teaches deaf children or children of deaf people. Recommended: 3 stars out of 4Reviewer:  Sean BorleSean Borle is a University of Alberta undergraduate student who is an advocate for child health and safety. 

scholarly journals We’re All Wonders by R. Palacio

2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sean Borle
Keyword(s):  
Science Fiction ◽  
Picture Books ◽  
Picture Book ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Small Children ◽  
University Of Alberta ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Right ◽  
Old Friends

Palacio, R.J.  We’re All Wonders. Alfred A. Knopf, 2017This is one of several picture books which R.J. Palacio has spun off her bestselling novel, Wonder, which introduced Auggie, a boy missing his left eye. There are few picture books about children with facial deformities, so this is a welcome addition. In condensing the novel into a picture book, however, much of the positive content has been lost. This is a sad story. Auggie is not accepted by other children. When he feels sad he puts helmets on his dog and himself to isolate himself from people’s stares. However, a child and dog with helmets are likely to attract as many stares. Auggie’s other coping mechanisms include: an imaginary trip to Pluto, where his “old friends” are one-eyed creatures that look a bit like sheep with tentacles, and wishing that “other people can change the way they see”. Given that there is a long science fiction history of scary one-eyed space aliens and monsters, it seems strange that Palacio would associate her character with them.  Wishing that the world was different does not make it different. We do not see the positive things that were in the novel such as people sticking up for Auggie or his intelligence and achievements.Palacio’s artwork is bright and easily accessible to small children. Strangely, though, the final image shows only the right half of Auggie’s face, with the earth replacing his eye, while the left half, that is the focus of the whole story, is missing.This book would be good for classrooms where there are children with physical differences, but it would be important for teachers to add a positive spin to the story. Recommended:  3 stars out of 4Reviewer:  Sean BorleSean Borle is a University of Alberta undergraduate student who is an advocate for child health and safety. 

scholarly journals Esquivel! Space Age Sound Artist by S. Wood

2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sean Borle
Keyword(s):  
Public Libraries ◽  
Picture Book ◽  
Musical Training ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Reading Level ◽  
Sound Art ◽  
Book Reading ◽  
Older Children ◽  
Space Age ◽  
High Level

Wood, Susan.  Esquivel! Space Age Sound Artist, illustrated by Duncan Tonatiuh. Charlesbridge, 2016.This is a picture book that tells the story of Mexican composer, band leader and pianist, Juan Garcia Esquivel.  “Esquivel!”, as he came to be known, came from a poor family and became a very popular and wealthy composer.  He was a pioneer in sound art in the 1950s and 1960s, influencing many later composers of experimental music and sound art. The text is quite ordinary, factual material about the artist, with the exception of words representing sounds. These are often in bright colours, many shapes and sizes and different typefaces.  The differing scripts sometimes make reading the sentences difficult.  Some of the words and concepts are too high level for a picture book and most children at the picture book reading stage will not understand strange, weird and edgy music, so it is likely that this book will be most useful to older children. The artwork is the most interesting part of the book.  The images are all done in black-line, with colour fill being photographs of textures or patterns.  The other unusual part of the work is that Duncan Tonatiuh has drawn people in the style of ancient Mexican art, specifically the Mixtec codex.  Because this art predates the concept of perspective, all of the images are two dimensional and do not have depth.  Also all of the faces are drawn in the style of the ancient artworks.  The faces are all in profile with ears shaped like the number 3, pointy mouths and very flat forehead to nose profiles.  These sorts of details, while interesting to adults, will be lost on small children.The music message of this book is historical, highlighting Esquivel!’s early contributions to sound art.  The work also makes the point that Esquivel! had no formal musical training, showing that music is for everyone.  Because there is little written about this Esquivel! at a children’s reading level this book should be bought for public libraries and school libraries.Highly Recommended:  3 stars out of 4Reviewer:  Sean BorleSean Borle is a University of Alberta undergraduate student who is an advocate for child health and safety. 

scholarly journals The Right Word: Roget and His Thesaurus by J. Bryant

2015 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Cindy Jackson
Keyword(s):  
Picture Book ◽  
Mixed Media ◽  
Growing Up ◽  
Language And Literacy ◽  
Older Children ◽  
University Of Alberta ◽  
Grand Rapids ◽  
The Many ◽  
The Right ◽  
The University

Bryant, Jen. The Right Word: Roget and His Thesaurus. Illus. M. Sweet. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans Books for Young Readers. 2014. Print.Although it is difficult to find the ‘right word’ to describe this book, thanks to Peter Roget, it is much easier … exceptional, marvelous, superb, pleasing, or wonderful. Jen Bryant and Melissa Sweet have teamed up to write their third picture book biography, this time about Peter Mark Roget and the journey that culminated with the publication of his Thesaurus.The story takes us through the life of Peter Roget, from a shy and lonely child to a successful doctor. Peter discovered as a child that books made good friends, and he developed a love of words. Throughout his life and experiences, Peter organized words into lists, enabling him to find the right words when he needed them. With the encouragement of his children much later in life, Peter spent three more years finalizing and organizing his many lists. In 1852, his Thesaurus was published.Complimenting this story is a visual experience comprised of a collage of paintings and mixed media. The effect is entrancing, giving the eye so many wonderful treasures to discover to go along with the text. While the magic of getting the answer to a question you did not know you had may be lost on children who have never seen a Roget’s Thesaurus, it is still a delightful book. Younger children will connect with one of the many aspects of Peter’s life growing up and the wide array of illustrations. Older children will connect with deeper themes, and pour over the many facets of the mixed media illustrations. And don’t miss the timeline, author’s note, and illustrator’s note at the end!As soon as I finished the book, I immediately turned to the beginning to read through again and see what I might discover the second time through.Highly Recommended: 4 out of 4 stars Reviewer: Cindy JacksonCindy loved to read to her children as they were growing up, and now continues to impart her love of stories as a teacher with her grade six students. One of Cindy’s claims to fame is her daughter, who now carries on the tradition of storytelling with HER grade two students! Cindy is currently working on her Masters at the University of Alberta, focusing on language and literacy.

scholarly journals Rescue & Jessica: A Life-Changing Friendship by J. Kensky & P. Downes

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sean Borle
Keyword(s):  
Picture Book ◽  
School Library ◽  
Healing Process ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Reading Level ◽  
Strict Adherence ◽  
University Of Alberta ◽  
Children's Book ◽  
Boston Marathon ◽  
Library Collections

Kensky, Jessica and Patrick Downes.  Rescue & Jessica: A Life-Changing Friendship. Illustrated by Scott Magoon. Candlewick Press, 2018  There are not many children’s books published about amputation, so a new book is always welcome. Jessica Kensky became a double leg amputee as a result of injuries sustained during the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing. Rather than writing a children’s book about amputation, she has written an autobiographical work in the form of a picture book. As a result, this is a strange mix of fiction, where readers hear the service dog’s thoughts, and strict adherence to autobiographical detail that is unnecessary in a picture book. For example, Jessica is depicted as a teenager, closer to the real age of the author, rather than as a young child, to whom young readers could more easily relate. Jessica goes through two amputations in the course of the story, reflecting the experience of the author, but this process is unusual for amputees and unnecessarily complicates the story for early readers. The text is also at a reading level that is higher than one would expect in a picture book, so younger children will need an adult to read the book with them. However, while it has flaws, the book is a comforting and positive story that will give child amputees hope as they see Jessica learn to be active again on her prosthetic legs. Scott Magoon’s simple and realistic illustrations will help children enjoy the dog, Rescue, and his role in Jessica’s healing process. Magoon does a good job depicting the dog in many states:  readiness, happiness, resting, helping, playing and swimming.   This book should be included in public and school library collections. It should also be included in hospital library collections, particularly those where children receive amputation care, such as pediatric cancer clinics and prosthetic clinics. It would be of interest to both children undergoing amputations and their families.  Recommended:  3 out of 4 stars Reviewer:  Sean Borle  Sean Borle is a University of Alberta undergraduate student who is an advocate for child health and safety.

scholarly journals Black Cat Bone: the Life of Blues Legend Robert Johnson by J. P. Lewis

2012 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Allison Sivak
Keyword(s):  
Elementary Education ◽  
Picture Book ◽  
Historical Context ◽  
The United States ◽  
Older Children ◽  
University Of Alberta ◽  
Library And Information Studies ◽  
Poetic Text ◽  
History Of ◽  
The University

Lewis, J. P. Black Cat Bone: the Life of Blues Legend Robert Johnson. Illus. Gary Kelley. Mankato: Creative Editions, 2006. Print.Although this book is designed as a large-format picture book, Black Cat Bone is more likely to appeal to older children (middle school and adolescents) as a poetic text, with its rich illustrations and unusual narrative flow. The foreword of the book addresses a reader who knows some about blues musicians, as well as has some hint of the history of blues music in the United States. The language of the text is not trying to tell a linear story, but to be more evocative of a time, and of some of the historical context. The book actually has several texts: the address of the historical context that bookends the work, the bluesy poems which make up the majority of the text, excerpts from Johnson's own lyrics, and a footer running throughout the book, which provides aphoristic summaries of Johnson's story: “He was destined for legend not a field hand's work.” Each text tells a part of the interpretation of Johnson's story. With the images, it adds up to a faceted narrative of the man and his musical legacy. The illustrations alternate between impressionistic pastels in deep dark colours, reinforcing the air of mystery around Johnson's life as understood by popular culture. Kelley's other illustrative style is reminiscent of Indonesian shadow-puppets, dramatic and exaggerated in their execution. A particularly lovely example is show in full on the cover, a depiction of Johnson and the devil facing each other, each with a hand on the guitar. This image is reproduced in the text, split by the page turn in a clever design turn. Recommended: 3 stars out of 4Reviewer: Allison SivakAllison Sivak is the Assessment Librarian at the University of Alberta Libraries. She is currently pursuing her PhD in Library and Information Studies and Elementary Education, focusing on how the aesthetics of information design influence young people’s trust in the credibility of information content.

Between health and salary: The incomplete regulation of working time in European law

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 370-385
Author(s):  
Vincenzo Ferrante
Keyword(s):  
Health And Safety ◽  
Case Law ◽  
Working Time ◽  
Equal Treatment ◽  
Social Rights ◽  
The European Union ◽  
International Regulation ◽  
History Of ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
The Right

The European Union competences on health and safety of workplace constituted the legal basis for the 93/104 Directive to be adopted (and for the consolidated text of 2003/88 Directive). The Court of Justice has firmly maintained this approach refusing to take into account the history of international regulation on working time, which links together work and salary in perspective to give the workers the right to fair and equal treatment as regards their working conditions (as has been recently proclaimed also by the European Pillar of Social Rights). Building on these general premises, this article analyses the more recent European pieces of legislation and cases related to on-call time and proposes a new model for the definition of working time in the light of CJEU case law.

scholarly journals The Caterpillar Woman by N. Sammurtok

2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sean Borle
Keyword(s):  
Picture Book ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
The Other ◽  
Good Representation ◽  
Older Person ◽  
Classroom Discussions ◽  
Small Children ◽  
Unconditional Love ◽  
University Of Alberta ◽  
Cover Design

Sammurtok, Nadia.  The Caterpillar Woman. Inhabit Media, 2016In The Caterpillar Woman, Nadia Sammurtok tells a traditional Inuit version of “the princess and the frog” story. A kind young woman, Piujuq, trades coats with a woman who is cold. When she puts on the other woman’s coat she turns into a caterpillar. She lives alone because she thinks that no one will want to be around her until an older hunter sees past her strange exterior and marries her. Through the magic of an ancient drum beater, they are “rewarded for their kindness and unconditional love” and become young, strong and beautiful again. The language is too difficult for a picture book, so an older person would need to read this to small children. While the cover design is strangely uninviting and sad, not making the reader want to pick up the book, the rest of the illustration is well done. The pictures convey creepiness where appropriate, such as the darkness of the inside of a tent at night and many sweeping tundra landscapes.In the same way that this book’s cover is not a good representation of its content, the main health message in this book is “don’t judge a book by its cover” or learn to look past superficial physical differences to see the person, their character, and their abilities. The secondary message is that we should be kind to people, no matter what their appearance. These are good lessons for young children to learn. I highly recommend this book for as a starting place for classroom discussions on physical differences.Highly Recommended: 4 stars out of 4Reviewer: Sean BorleSean Borle is a University of Alberta undergraduate student who is an advocate for child health and safety. 

scholarly journals Akilak’s Adventure by D. Kigjugalik Webster

2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandy Campbell
Keyword(s):  
Public Libraries ◽  
Picture Book ◽  
Extended Family ◽  
Reading Level ◽  
Upper Elementary ◽  
University Of Alberta ◽  
Children's Book ◽  
The University ◽  
The Relationship

Kigjugalik Webster, Deborah.  Akilak’s Adventure.  Inhabit Media, 2016.This is a first children’s book from Deborah Kigjugalik Webster, who grew up in Baker Lake, Nunavut.  It is a story of a little Inuit girl navigating the tundra by herself to reach her uncle’s camp.  As the child walks, she is joined by a caribou, who mysteriously knows her grandmother’s saying, “Your destination did not run away, you will reach it soon.”  The conversation between the two is about people changing into animals, but Akilak in the end decides to remain a person.   The story is deceptively simple.  On the surface, children will understand it as a little girl’s adventure.  However, it encompasses several important aspects of Inuit culture:  the relationship between grandparent and child, the importance of extended family support, the prominence of animals and the stories of people taking the shape of animals, the distance of travel across the tundra and the related concept of taulittuq or the sense of moving but not getting closer to your destination.Charlene Chua’s artwork is charming. Each two pages are an image with text overprinted on one page, often shaped to fit around parts of the image.  The images are simple and cartoon-like, but good representations of the tundra and its creatures.  While this is mainly a picture book with an intended audience of children ages 5 to 7, the reading level is upper elementary, so younger children will definitely need an adult to read it to them.Akilak’s Adventure would be an excellent addition to public libraries and elementary school libraries.Highly Recommended:  4 stars out of 4Reviewer:  Sandy CampbellSandy is a Health Sciences Librarian at the University of Alberta, who has written hundreds of book reviews across many disciplines.  Sandy thinks that sharing books with children is one of the greatest gifts anyone can give. 

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