scholarly journals Hana’s Suitcase Anniversary Album by K. Levine

2013 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Linda Quirk
Keyword(s):  
Original Form ◽  
Holocaust Education ◽  
Additional Material ◽  
University Of Alberta ◽  
True Story ◽  
Young Readers ◽  
Children's Book ◽  
Special Collections ◽  
Historical Investigation ◽  
The One

Levine, Karen. Hana’s Suitcase Anniversary Album. Toronto: Second Story Press, 2012. Print. The true story of Hana’s Suitcase began when a teacher named Fumiko Ishioka was inspired to try to answer some of the questions asked by visiting Japanese school children about a suitcase on display in the Tokyo Holocaust Education Resource Center. The suitcase had come from the Auschwitz death camp. Marked with a girl’s name, her date of birth (May 16, 1931), and the German word for orphan (“Waisenkind”), the empty suitcase offered few clues, but Fumiko was determined to learn what she could about the owner of the suitcase Hana Brady. First published in 2002, Hana’s Suitcase told the interrelated stories of a group of curious Japanese children, the remarkable journey of discovery undertaken by their very determined teacher, and the story of an inquisitive and energetic young Czech girl who was among “the one-and-a-half million children who died in the Holocaust”. Author Karen Levine accomplished a great deal with this book.  Not only did she teach readers about how history is discovered, she showed us that those who have been forgotten by history can, in fact, be found again.  Furthermore, she found a way to talk about one of the darkest chapters in human history in a way that is suitable for young readers, producing a remarkable book which is, at the same time, both terribly heartbreaking and profoundly hopeful. We are told that in its first ten years the book was “published in forty-five countries and has been the catalyst for stage and film dramatizations, prose, poetry, and every kind of exploration of the worst and best humanity has to offer.  It has won national and international recognition, and holds the most awards of any Canadian children’s book ever”.  This new edition, Hana’s Suitcase Anniversary Album, includes all of the original content – including the forward by Desmond Tutu – but it offers 64 pages of additional material, including memories from one-time neighbours of the Brady family, and responses to Hana’s story from children, parents, and teachers.  The new material, while very interesting, need not inspire anyone to purchase a second copy of the book.  Nevertheless, the new edition may help to bring this extraordinary book to a new generation of young readers.  This book, in its new or original form, is strongly recommended for readers who are at least 10 years of age. Highly Recommended: 4 stars out of 4 Reviewer: Linda QuirkLinda taught courses in Multicultural Canadian Literature, Women's Writing, and Children's Literature at Queen's University (Kingston) and at Seneca College (Toronto) before moving to Edmonton to become the Assistant Special Collections Librarian at the Bruce Peel Special Collections Library at the University of Alberta.  Her favourite children's book to teach is Hana's Suitcase, not only because Hana's story is so compelling, but because the format of this non-fiction book teaches students of all ages about historical investigation and reveals that it is possible to recover the stories of those who have been forgotten by history.

scholarly journals What Can You Do with Only One Shoe: Reuse, Recycle, Reinvent by S. & S. Shapiro

2015 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Linda Quirk
Keyword(s):  
University Of Alberta ◽  
Everyday Objects ◽  
Young Readers ◽  
Children's Book ◽  
Special Collections ◽  
Non Fiction ◽  
Historical Investigation ◽  
Left And Right ◽  
Do It Yourself ◽  
The University

Shapiro, Simon and Sheryl Shapiro. What Can You Do with Only One Shoe: Reuse, Recycle, Reinvent. Illus. Francis Black. Toronto: Annick Press, 2014. Print.The publisher is promoting this charmingly-illustrated book as one intended to inspire a practical and constructive response to the environmental concerns with which we all must grapple. It is a theme which is oddly underrepresented in children’s books, perhaps because it is difficult to craft an approach which is empowering.This book considers popular contemporary ideas about recycling/repurposing everyday objects which have outlived their initial purpose, but it is not the do-it-yourself handbook that it appears to be. Instead, it is a collection of juvenile short poems with a humorously entertaining tone, but no clear message. Clearly, we should not judge this book by its title or by its covers. One poem makes fun of a toilet-turned-into-a-planter and offered as a gift, while another offers a range of silly suggested uses for a single shoe, including flattening pancakes. There is a poem which describes a tractor pulling a “broom propeller” for street sweeping which doesn’t work very well (“pebbles flying left and right”) and another in which a dog made of bicycle parts is less than satisfying (“he can’t lick my nose”). There are some poems with a less mocking tone, but which offer suggestions that are even more absurd, such as children making musical instruments from rusty cans retrieved from a landfill site or children building their own playground, complete with a swing and a slide, from an old ambulance. Intended for children aged 5-8 years old, I wonder what young readers would make of these poems.The illustrations by Francis Blake are by far the best feature of this book. Going well beyond what is found in the poems, the illustrator has created a marvelous cast of characters that are expressive in a way that is both quirky and charming. While the illustrations deserve four stars out of four, the text certainly does not.Not recommended: 1 star out of 4 Reviewer: Linda QuirkLinda taught courses in Multicultural Canadian Literature, Women's Writing, and Children's Literature at Queen's University (Kingston) and at Seneca College (Toronto) before moving to Edmonton to become the Assistant Special Collections Librarian at the Bruce Peel Special Collections Library at the University of Alberta.  Her favourite children's book to teach is Hana's Suitcase, not only because Hana's story is so compelling, but because the format of this non-fiction book teaches students of all ages about historical investigation and reveals that it is possible to recover the stories of those who have been forgotten by history.

scholarly journals The Fathomless Fire by T. Wharton

2013 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Linda Quirk
Keyword(s):  
Young Adults ◽  
Children's Literature ◽  
Children’S Literature ◽  
University Of Alberta ◽  
Children's Book ◽  
Special Collections ◽  
Non Fiction ◽  
Real Risk ◽  
Historical Investigation ◽  
The University

Wharton, Thomas. The Fathomless Fire. Toronto: Doubleday Canada, 2012. Print. In the first book of The Perilous Realm fantasy trilogy for young adults, The Shadow of Malabron (2010), Will Lightfoot travels to the city of Fable in the land of Story and he is told that it “is not just a world with stories in it,… this world is story” (60).  In this place, Will learns about his own special talents and discovers that he must play his part in the story that is unfolding around him if there is to be any chance of averting catastrophe.  Together with his friend Rowen, her loremaster grandfather, Nicholas Pendrake, and a wolf named Shade, Will undertakes a perilous journey in the hopes that he can help his new friends and find his own way home. The second book of the trilogy, The Fathomless Fire (2012), picks up the adventures of Will, Rowen, and Shade where The Shadow of Malabron left off.  Will returns to the land of Story only to discover that his past exploits have become the stuff of legend, but that the land of Story is imperilled because one story is growing so powerful that it is changing and warping everything, even the past, and there is now a very real risk that this dark story will become the only story “everywhere and for ever.  No one will remember that there was ever anything else before, or imagine that things might be different” (325). This novel is recommended for young adults (16+).  This is an intriguing book for those who are interested in the idea that we are each, as individuals, the product of the stories (or histories) that we tell ourselves and others, and that we have the power to change the narrative.  Thomas Wharton has imagined a complex world of adventure, but one in which meanings can be both unfathomable and unstable.  Like many of the books in this category, “The Perilous Realm” series can be understood by young adult readers but will offer greater depth to moremature and knowledgeable readers.Follow the links below to view my interview with Thomas Wharton videotaped for The Deakin Review of Children’s Literature in December 2012. In this interview, the author discusses two of his earlier novels – Icefields (1995) and The Logogryph (2004) – before turning to the first two books in his The Perilous Realm trilogy: The Shadow of Malabron (2010) and The Fathomless Fire (2012). ¤ Access the interview here: http://youtu.be/aRUVHma7ZS4 Recommended: 3 out of 4 stars Reviewer: Linda Quirk Linda taught courses in Multicultural Canadian Literature, Women's Writing, and Children's Literature at Queen's University (Kingston) and at Seneca College (Toronto) before moving to Edmonton to become the Assistant Special Collections Librarian at the Bruce Peel Special Collections Library at the University of Alberta.  Her favourite children's book to teach is Hana's Suitcase, not only because Hana's story is so compelling, but because the format of this non-fiction book teaches students of all ages about historical investigation and reveals that it is possible to recover the stories of those who have been forgotten by history. For another perspective on this novel, please see the review by Lissa Davies in The Deakin Review of Children’s Literature, Vol. 2, No. 3 (2012).

scholarly journals Underground to Canada by B. Smucker

2014 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Linda Quirk
Keyword(s):  
Martin Luther ◽  
University Of Alberta ◽  
Young Readers ◽  
Children's Book ◽  
Fugitive Slaves ◽  
Special Collections ◽  
The North ◽  
The American South ◽  
Teachers And Parents ◽  
Martin Luther King

Smucker, Barbara. Underground to Canada. Toronto: Penguin, 2013. Print.A reprint of a historical novel first published in 1977, Underground to Canada is the gripping story of two young girls who rely on the secret network of courageous and sympathetic people which helped thousands of fugitive slaves on their dangerous journey from the American south to Canada and freedom. This covert network came to be known as the “Underground Railroad.” In his introduction, award-winning author Lawrence Hill notes that after being in print for decades, “Underground to Canada still serves as a wonderful introduction to a vital and fascinating element of Canadian history.” In an excerpt from his 1967 Massey Lectures reprinted here, Martin Luther King Jr. says, “Deep in our history of struggle for freedom Canada was the North Star. The Negro slave, denied education, de-humanized, imprisoned on cruel plantations, knew that far to the north a land existed where a fugitive slave, if he survived the horrors of the journey, could find freedom.”The subject matter of this novel is challenging, but, in a world which has yet to put an end to childhood slavery, its message is an important one. As Lawrence Hill notes, referring to the institution of slavery and the horrors of the Holocaust, “writers, teachers and parents do no one a favour by pretending that such things didn’t exist.” Written with young readers in mind, this novel avoids delving into the worst elements of the institution of slavery. It is, however, subtle enough to acknowledge the many difficulties faced by former slaves as they began new lives in Canada. In addition to the words of Martin Luther King Jr. and the introduction by Lawrence Hill, this edition includes thought-provoking questions and activities in the back of the book which may help children to think about the novel’s difficult topics, either individually or with classmates. This is a powerful, essential, novel for the education of young readers—it is recommended for readers over nine years of age—but this particular edition is shoddily produced. I could not help but notice obvious significant errors on pages 27, 84, 133, and 151, and I suspect that I could find many more if I tried. While I cannot give such a substandard edition four stars, I whole-heartedly recommend this title and urge readers to choose a different edition.Recommended: 3 out of 4 stars Reviewer: Linda QuirkLinda taught courses in Multicultural Canadian Literature, Women's Writing, and Children's Literature at Queen's University (Kingston) and at Seneca College (Toronto) before moving to Edmonton to become the Assistant Special Collections Librarian at the Bruce Peel Special Collections Library at the University of Alberta.  Her favourite children's book to teach is Hana's Suitcase, not only because Hana's story is so compelling, but because the format of this non-fiction book teaches students of all ages about historical investigation and reveals that it is possible to recover the stories of those who have been forgotten by history.

scholarly journals Miss Moon, Wise Words from a Dog Governess by J. Hill

2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Linda Quirk
Keyword(s):  
Private Household ◽  
Canadian Literature ◽  
University Of Alberta ◽  
Children's Book ◽  
Special Collections ◽  
Non Fiction ◽  
Original Idea ◽  
Historical Investigation ◽  
The University ◽  
Children's Activities

Hill, Janet. Miss Moon, Wise Words from a Dog Governess. Illus. Janet Hill. Toronto: Tundra Books, 2016. Print.This book is disappointing because it lacks the wise (or whimsical) words that it promises and offers only well-worn clichés, like “practice makes perfect” and “remember your manners.” These trite teachings are not offered as part of a story, but simply as a series of lessons. We are told in the introduction that Miss Wilhelmina Moon learned these lessons when she worked for a time as the “governess to sixty-seven dogs on an island off the coast of France,” but we never learn what led her to these insights. The introduction teases us by suggesting that we are about to read about the adventures of a dog governess with an absurdly large number of charges.  Unfortunately, there is no story here so the introduction’s implausible premise just seems odd and the text is nothing more than a list of hackneyed expressions. At the back of the book is a “class photo” of the sixty-seven dogs which is confusing because it seems to suggest that Miss Moon is not a governess in a private household, but a teacher at a school for dogs.Since no story grows out of the clever and original idea of an overburdened dog governess, we are left to focus on the illustrations. Dogs are cute. Children are cute. Illustrations of dogs in various guises—wearing glasses, hats, scarves, capes, or bow ties–and involved in various children’s activities—riding a bicycle, listening to a bedtime story, practicing archery, or taking a bath—can hardly fail to be appealing. Janet Hill’s sometimes adorable illustrations manage to capture something of the character of a range of dog breeds and they are sometimes very cleverly conceived, but they vary significantly in quality and sometimes seem unfocused or unfinished. Even so, the only reason to reach for this book is for the charming illustrations.Recommended with reservations: two stars out of fourReviewer: Linda QuirkLinda taught courses in Multicultural Canadian Literature, Women's Writing, and Children's Literature at Queen's University (Kingston) and at Seneca College (Toronto) before moving to Edmonton to become a librarian at Bruce Peel Special Collections & Archives at the University of Alberta.  Her favourite children's book to teach is Hana's Suitcase, not only because Hana's story is so compelling, but because the format of this non-fiction book teaches students of all ages about historical investigation and reveals that it is possible to recover the stories of those who have long been forgotten by history.

scholarly journals I'm Sad by M.I. Black and D.R. Ohi

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sean Borle
Keyword(s):  
Young Child ◽  
Child Health ◽  
Young Children ◽  
Public Libraries ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Ice Cream ◽  
University Of Alberta ◽  
Young Readers ◽  
The One ◽  
Whipped Cream

Black, Michael I, and Debbie R. Ohi. I'm Sad. Simon & Shuster Books for Young Readers, 2018. This book is about a sad flamingo and his friends, a girl and a potato, who try to cheer him up. This absurd collection of characters talk about whether or not flamingo will always feel sad and what makes them feel less sad. Much of the dialog is silly.  When the potato says that he knows what cheers him up, the picture is of a happy potato and the word “DIRT!!!” in giant letters.  Coming after a discussion of ice cream as a “cheer me up”, “dirt” is unexpected and funny. At the end of the book the flamingo asks, “Will you still like me if I’m sad again tomorrow?” The potato responds with an almost nasty, “I don’t even like you now.”  This response is meant as a joke and the next two pages show uproarious laughter.  However, young children may not understand that it is not usually an appropriate response and some people would find it hurtful.   Debi Ridpath Ohi’s simple illustrations do a good job of presenting expressions and emotions. There are often broken black lines around the images, which, strangely, make the characters, particularly the flamingo, look like they are constantly trembling. Apart from that, the images are fun. The most amusing is the one showing the potato as a fourth scoop of ice cream on a cone, with whipped cream and a cherry on top.  This book might give a sad young child a few moments of laughter and in the end delivers the message that it’s OK to feel a little bit sad. With these two thoughts in mind, this book is recommended for libraries for young children: daycares, schools, and public libraries.   Recommended:  3 out of 4 starsReviewer:  Sean Borle Sean Borle is a University of Alberta undergraduate student who is an advocate for child health and safety.

scholarly journals The Sloth Who Slowed Us Down by M. Wild

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Darilyn Randall
Keyword(s):  
Elementary Education ◽  
University Of Alberta ◽  
Young Readers ◽  
Children's Book ◽  
Division 1 ◽  
Speed Up ◽  
Children's Literacy ◽  
The Moment ◽  
The University ◽  
Descriptive Writing

Wild, Margaret. The Sloth Who Slowed Us Down. Illustrated by Vivienne To, Abrams Books for Young Readers, 2018. You’ll want to make a speedy trip to the nearest bookstore to pick up a copy of Margaret Wild’s The Sloth Who Slowed Us Down. Together with Vivienne To’s illustrations, this simple story about how a little sloth can be a big example could make anyone want to stop and smell the roses. Life seems to speed up every day, work needs to get done faster so we have time to quickly make dinner, quickly exercise, and then quickly move on to the next thing we feel like we need to speed through. In her newest children’s book, Wild’s descriptive prose directly mirrors Sloth as he teaches Amy’s family the importance of taking our time and enjoying living in the moment. Realistically, we are all very busy, moving from one task to the next without indulging in the little things, the happy moments and the details. Everyone from busy families to teachers to even grown-ups with grown-up jobs and responsibilities could benefit from giving this adoring story a read. The colourful but soft illustrations created by To provide new detail and add more expression to Wild’s story each time it’s read. Illustrations of Sloth make you want to snuggle him while you read this story and feel like a child again. Through her descriptive writing, Wild portrays Sloth’s actions quite clearly. She includes phrases, such as “Sloth had a long, leisurely bath. . .” that roll off the tongue in a way that makes you feel like you’re taking your time, but in the best sort of way.  Highly recommended: 4 out of 4 starsReviewer: Darilyn Randall Darilyn Randall is a fourth-year student at the University of Alberta completing her Bachelor of Elementary Education. She is interested in teaching in a Division 1 classroom where she can incorporate children’s literacy into cross-curricular activities.

scholarly journals A Conversation with Joyce Grant

2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Desmarais
Keyword(s):  
Fake News ◽  
University Of Alberta ◽  
Know How ◽  
Young Readers ◽  
Children's Book ◽  
Multimedia Resources ◽  
Experience Teaching ◽  
Comprehension Skills ◽  
Children's Literacy ◽  
The University

Dear Readers,A couple of months ago I had an opportunity to sit down with children’s literacy advocate Joyce Grant and discuss her popular Gabby series of picture books (click here to watch the video). I was really pleased to have the chance to meet with Grant, especially because two of her popular books, Gabby, Drama Queen and Gabby Wonder Girl, were favourably reviewed by Deakin reviewer Leslie Aitken. I was eager to pursue some questions inspired by Aitken's thoughtful comments, especially her description of Gabby, Drama Queen's plot as “imaginative and complex.” Naturally, I was optimistic that I would enjoy reading the entire Gabby series prior to the interview. Now that I have read the series, I can assure readers that the books are delightful, and teachers will certainly appreciate the teacher’s guide that is freely available online to help elementary students to develop reading, writing, and comprehension skills. I met with Grant at the University of Alberta which was one of her stops on an ambitious tour of Alberta’s schools and libraries to celebrate books and reading during TD Canadian Children’s Book Week. She was scheduled to speak at our institution about her experience teaching kids how to spot fake news, and I was glad to hear that she actively encourages kids to read news on her website teachingkidsnews.com that publishes free daily stories for young readers. The website has lots of important stories that are worth talking about and debating, and as we can all attest, kids need to know how to differentiate between real news and stories that deliberately mislead readers for financial or political gain. Grant also publishes a blog called Getting Kids Reading (gkreading.com) that is chock-full of articles, games, crafts, and ideas to inspire kids to read.Grant was a pleasure to interview, and I hope you will take time to watch the video. Aside from answering several questions about the Gabby series, Grant also tells us about her latest projects and how to get in touch. Our new summer issue is filled with many excellent book recommendations, including some reviews of multimedia resources for kids that resulted from a student assignment in the Multimedia Literacies course offered at the University of Alberta’s School of Library and Information Studies.Wishing you all a wonderful summer!Best wishes,Robert DesmaraisManaging Editor

scholarly journals The Adventures of Miss Petitfour by A. Michaels

2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Linda Quirk
Keyword(s):  
Near Miss ◽  
Main Character ◽  
Canadian Literature ◽  
Children's Book ◽  
Special Collections ◽  
Non Fiction ◽  
Anne Michaels ◽  
Historical Investigation ◽  
The Right ◽  
The Village

Michaels, Anne. The Adventures of Miss Petitfour, illustrated by Emma Block. Tundra Books, 2015.  The winner of numerous awards, Anne Michaels has earned her place among Canada’s most talented wordsmiths. Long a respected Canadian poet, her brilliant debut novel—Fugitive Pieces (1996)—brought her international acclaim. The Adventures of Miss Petitfour is Michaels’ first book for children.  Emma Block is a young freelance illustrator who has already established a reputation for delicately feminine and delightfully quirky illustrations. Her work can be seen in children’s books, Hallmark products, and in tableware. This book represents a nearly perfect partnership between the author and the illustrator.Among other things, this is a book about the stories we like to tell and read. The books in the village bookshop near Miss Petitfour’s house are divided into two sections: ho-hum and hum. The former are books in which nothing ever happens, but are “full of interesting facts that would never come in useful” and the latter are adventure books.This charming little book is certainly not ho-hum, but neither does it offer grand adventures. The adventures of the unconventional Miss Petitfour and her sixteen fun-loving cats—all of whom go everywhere with her, quite literally wherever the wind takes them—are adventures of "just the right size—fitting into a single, magical day." These little adventures demonstrate that sometimes “the best things happen” when “things work out differently than you expect.”Young bookworms and aspiring writers will be delighted to find that Michaels offers them a peak behind the curtain, one that reveals some of the key elements in the construction of a story, and explains how these elements function with clarity and wit. For example, in the midst of a major digression in a story about a trip to buy marmalade, we are told that a digression is “when the story wanders off the point and gets lost” and that it can be the best part of a story. Several digressions follow naturally and are clearly marked as such. In another story, we are told that a coincidence “is something that happens at just the right moment,” and that stories use them “to fix up tricky tangles”, following which, coincidentally, the story—about a confetti factory explosion—cleverly and humorously demonstrates the technique several times in rapid succession.The name of the main character—Miss Petitfour—is somewhat unexpected, but the delicate and ornate nature of the French pastry known as a petitfour makes it a suitable metaphor at the heart of a little book that celebrates little everyday adventures, decorative language, and fanciful illustrations in a way that is light and sweet and fun. This book is very highly recommended for children of all ages and is well suited for reading aloud.Highly recommended: four stars out of fourReviewer: Linda QuirkLinda taught courses in Canadian Literature, Women's Writing, and Children's Literature at Queen's University (Kingston) and at Seneca College (Toronto) before moving to Edmonton to become a teaching librarian at University of Alberta’s Bruce Peel Special Collections.  Her favourite children's book to teach is Hana's Suitcase, not only because Hana's story is so compelling, but because the format of this non-fiction book teaches students of all ages about historical investigation and reveals that it is possible to recover the stories of those who have long been forgotten by history.

Circle Nine by A. Hetzel

2011 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Mead-Willis
Keyword(s):  
English Literature ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Rare Book ◽  
University Of Alberta ◽  
Special Collections ◽  
Literary Allusion ◽  
The One ◽  
The University

Heltzel, Anne. Circle Nine. Somerville, Mass.: Candlewick Press, 2011. Print. Why are hapless females in YA novels always named Abby? I don’t know, the amnesiac narrator of Circle Nine would reply. That’s just what it says on my necklace.  So begins Anne Heltzel’s debut thriller: a teenaged girl awakens on the pavement outside a burning building with no memories and no name, save the one she wears in gold around her neck. With her is a mysterious, charismatic youth named Sam, who claims to be her friend. Sam persuades Abby to retreat from the fire and into the woods, where they hide in the safety of his “cave-palace”: a glittering subterranean paradise full of shimmering fabrics and sumptuous furniture. There, the two of them sip pomegranate wine, discuss fine literature, and forswear all contact with the outside world, which Sam likens to an Aleghierian hell (hence the book’s title). We suspect this a fantasy, invented by Abby to protect herself from an uglier cave and an uglier Sam, to say nothing of the ugly events occluded by her smoke-kippered memory. The question is: whose fantasy is it? What sixteen-year-old with cheap bling on her neck would retreat into a happy place wrought with literary allusion, Platonic cave metaphors, and Oriental carpets? This is clearly the reverie of the author herself, still in love with her various muses. Abby’s fantasyland, though out of character, is not necessarily a detriment to the novel itself. Indeed, we could do without the predictable combination of flashbacks and sleuthing by which Abby reconstructs her true identity, and abide instead within her doomed and darkly luminous otherworld. For it is there that Heltzel’s storytelling is at its boldest, her writing most sensuous and wild, and it is here that the novel promises—if only briefly—to be something other than the dreary chestnut about a naïve girl brought low by bad luck and sly men.Recommended with reservations: 2 out of 4 starsReviewer: Sarah Mead-Willis Sarah is the Rare Book Cataloguer at the University of Alberta's Bruce Peel Special Collections Library. She holds a BA and an MLIS from the University of Alberta and an MA in English Literature from the University of Victoria.

scholarly journals Gerbil, Uncurled by A. Hughes

2016 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Debbie Feisst
Keyword(s):  
Picture Book ◽  
Extended Family ◽  
Natural World ◽  
Young Adult Fiction ◽  
University Of Alberta ◽  
Young Readers ◽  
Children's Book ◽  
Hard Time ◽  
Award Winning ◽  
The University

Hughes, Alison. Gerbil, Uncurled. Illus. Suzanne Del Rizzo. Markham, ON: Fitzhenry & Whiteside, 2015. Print.Gerbil, Uncurled is the latest in Fitzhenry & Whiteside’s ‘Tell-Me-More! Storybook’ series and the 2nd title to use award-winning children’s book illustrator Suzanne Del Rizzo’s unique plasticine dimensional illustrations, the 1st being Skink on the Brink. The ‘Tell-Me-More! Storybook’ series is a set of fictional picture books that tell a tale about our natural world and include additional activities and brief informational text.This is award-winning writer Alison Hughes’ first foray into picture book territory, and she succeeds.  The storyline is sweet: Little Gerbil is trying her very best to fit in with her gerbil family by following the Gerbil Mottos. The Gerbil Mottos are the basic life rules that her extended family follow daily, and include keeping one’s whiskers clean and ‘celery tops come to those who wait,’ among others.  Little Gerbil is having a hard time with a specific motto, though; ‘curl up nose to toes’ while sleeping, as she finds it too restrictive and enjoys sleeping stretched out. Little Gerbil confides in wise Grandpa Gerbil who is ‘five whole years old’ and while he is sensitive to her predicament, she still can’t sleep curled up nose to toes though she certainly tries.  But our Little Gerbil is brave, and in her willingness to stand up for herself and question the world, others are able to question the mottos, too.This delightful and visually appealing book encourages young readers to be themselves, ask questions and respond positively to suggestions if it can make you happier.  The factual information about gerbils and other rodents as well as the instructions on making a clay gerbil are great endings to the book.Recommended: 3 stars out of 4Reviewer:  Debbie FeisstDebbie is a Public Services Librarian at the H.T. Coutts Education Library at the University of Alberta.  When not renovating, she enjoys travel, fitness and young adult fiction.

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