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Fixing Delilah

Written by Sarah Ockler

Delilah Hannaford seems to be in a slump. She used to be a good student, but lately she’s feeling out of sync with her life. Her boyfriend isn’t really a great choice. Her mother is a workaholic, and emotionally absent . When her grandmother dies, Del, her mom and her Aunt Rachel immediately travel to Red Ralls VT, her mom’s small hometown, a place they don’t talk about and haven’t been to for many years. Del wonders why her mother and her grandmother fought, after her other aunt ( Aunt Stephanie )died. Why won’t her mother talk about it? Then she finds her Aunt Stephanie’s diary, and decides to keep it to herself. As she reads about her aunt’s relationships and secrets, and especially her depression, Del worries about the same thing happening to her.

When Del’s mother decides they need to stay for the entire summer, to get the house ready to sell, Del doesn’t know if she can handle it. But there are a couple of

things that help Del cope; one of them is Rickie, the boy she used to play with during her childhood summers at her grandmother’s house. Now her feelings for Rickie have changed, and the attraction is mutual. But there seems to be another girl in his life and Del starts to feel that maybe she’s misinterpreted Patrick’s affection for her. Is Emma just his friend or something more? Del has lots of things to work out, and in the end she comes to a better understanding of her aunts and mother, and of herself. Del was a bit self-absorbed and whiny, but I think that’s typical for most teenage girls… especially when it comes to romance. I think this book will appeal to girls in grade 7-10.

Because of Mr. Terupt, written by Rob Buyea

“It’s our bad luck to have teachers in this world, but since we’re stuck with them, the best we can do is hope to get a brand-new one instead of a mean old fart. New teachers don’t know the rules, so you can get away with things the old-timers would squash you for.” This opening line is spoken by Peter, the prankster of his grade five class. There’s also Jessica, the new girl, who always has a book in her hand; Luke, who loves school and gets all As; Alexia, the gossip and troublemaker who starts girl wars; Jeffrey, who hates school; Danielle who doesn’t know how to stand up for herself; and Anna , the outcast– no one ever goes to her house after school.

But when they do get a new teacher(Mr. Terupt), they soon realize he’s not your average rookie. At first they don’t know what to make of Mr. Terupt. He doesn’t let them get away with much, but he still makes the classroom a fun place to be. He has rules, but they seem much easier to follow. Each chapter is told from the point of view of one of the seven students. And then one day, an accident happens that changes everything.

This book really reminded me about some of the special teachers I’ve known in my life. What made Mr. Terupt so special? I love how he handled the students. He was respectful, even when he was disciplining. He knew how to empower the students so they could help themselves. He made learning fun. He even made math fun! He had a good sense of humour. We can’t know what happens each day before and after our students come to school, but it’s good to know that teachers like Mr. Terupt are there for them. We all know teachers like this. This book is great for grades 4-6, and will lead to some good discussions.

Mockingbird

written by Kathryn Erskine

As a girl with Asperger’s syndrome, ten-year-old Caitlin has difficulty understanding emotions and making friends . She prefers things to be black and white - everything else is confusing. Her brother Devon, helps her figure things out. He seems to naturally know how to explain things to her to help her feel better when things get blurry. But then one day Devon, a teacher, and another student are killed in a school shooting, and now nothing makes sense to Caitlin. She refers to this day as “The Day our Life Fell Apart.” Her mother died when she was younger, so Caitlin and her father are each coping in their own way. Whenever someone mentions a concept or word she doesn’t understand, Caitlin turns to a textbook or dictionary. She loves the dictionary. So when she finds the definition of the word “closure”, she realizes this is what she and her father need. In her search for “closure” Caitlin learns a lot about herself, as well as others. She learns that she can actually change some of her behavior. She also learns that life is not always black and white, and sometimes it’s the shades of gray that bring healing.

I loved the characters in this book. Caitlin is so literal-minded, and sucks her sleeve when she feels uncomfortable. She hates recess because kids are always running around and they’re unpredictable. So whenever she’s in an uncomfortable place, she describes it as a “recess feeling”. She studies the emotions chart and knows it by heart. She names her gummy worms before she eats the. She only draws in black and white because when colours blur together she doesn’t know where one starts and the other one ends. Her father broke my heart every time he cried (he cries a lot). I love Mrs. Brooks, the counsellor Caitlin sees every day at school. The dialogue between the two of them was both heartbreaking, and amusing. Everything about the characters felt authentic to me.

This is an important story about loss, empathy, healing and life. It’s so beautifully written - I think it should be in every library. “Mockingbird” was the 2010 winner of the National Book Award.

Shannen and the Dream for a School

Written by Janet Wilson

Published by Second Story Press 2011

How can there still be children in Canada, who have to fight for a proper school, in the year 2011? This is the true story of Shannen Koostachin, and her friends who live in Attawapiskat, a Cree community on the coast of James Bay. Twenty years earlier, a fuel spill resulted in the closure of their school, forcing the children to attend schools in portables. The portables were so cold that the students often couldn’t take their mittens or jackets off, even in gym class. The government had promised to build a new school, but ten years later that promise was still unfulfilled.

Shannen Koostachin was a remarkable girl who decided to do something about this terrible injustice. She and her classmates decided to take a trip to Ottawa, where Shannen made a passionate speech to the politicians. She urged them to take care of First Nations children, not just in Attawapiskat, but in every community where children were attending a proper school. They made a YouTube video about their situation. And they received support from children who lived thousands of miles away.

This is another important title in the “A Kids’ Power Book” series, published by Second Story Press. It includes an epilogue, historical notes, timeline, glossary and a glossary of Cree words. “Shannen and the Dream for a School” is a moving and hopeful story about children making a difference. Like all the books in this series, after reading this story and seeing all the photos, I felt a strong connection with the children and their community.

In 2010 Shannen was killed in a car accident, so she never saw her dream of a new school come to fruition. She was 15 years old. Shannen believed that she and her friends could make a difference, and her dream continues today. This is a must-have book for every school library.

Check out these videos to learn more about Shannen:

Plain Kate written by Erin Bow

Plain Kate Plain Kate is the wood-carver’s daughter, and right from the beginning of this story, you know her life is going to be difficult. Her father dies, leaving her alone and even though Kate herself has an incredible talent as a wood-carver, the wood guild sends another carver to take over the shop. People in the village are dying from a mysterious sickness, and Kate is suspected of witchcraft, because her carvings reveal uncomfortable secrets about people. So off she goes, to find another place to live, with her cat Taggle, her only friend.

Then she meets Linay, a stranger who promises her he’ll grant her a wish if she gives him her shadow. She does so reluctantly, but it comes at a high price. Eventually she realizes that Linay has something to do with the sickness that is spreading from village to village, and she must try to stop him.

This book won the TD Canadian Children’s Literature Award for 2011, and I can see why. There is so much going on in this story – themes of courage, abandonment and belonging.  Although she has some flaws, Kate is not plain at all. Her determination, and true heart make her the perfect heroine. She really wants to find a place where she fits in, and gets close when she joins a group of Roamers, who see value in magic in her carvings. The Roamers are also despised people, and move around a lot. For the first time, she starts to feel like she’s part of a family. But the problem of being suspected of witchcraft follows her, and puts these new friends in danger. I love the dark mysterious characters, and the fears that Kate overcomes. And I especially love her cat Taggle, a funny sarcastic and arrogant cat who cares so much about Kate that he risks his own life to save her.

This is a great original story, and I hope to see more from this author. She has the magic touch.

Order Plain Kate from www.tinlids.ca today.

The Scorpio Races written by Maggie Stiefvater

“It is the first day of November and so, today, someone will die.” Every year, at the start of November in a town called Thisby, riders race their water horses in the sand by the sea and cliffs. It’s a dangerous race because the water horses are not ordinary horses; they come from the sea, they are vicious, unpredictable and they have a taste for flesh.

Nineteen-year-old Sean Kendrick knows this only too well. He’s won the races three times, and is determined to win again. If he wins, he’ll be able to buy Corr, the water horse he is riding in the race. Sean works for a hard man named Malvern, who owns most of the water horses. Although he won’t admit it, he needs Sean to keep the water horses calm and safe. No one can handle the horses like Sean – he’s got a powerful and unusual gift – like a horse whisperer extraordinaire.Then there’s Kate Connolly, also known as Puck. There has never been a girl rider in this race, but even though the people in Thisby are against it, Puck is determined to compete and win. She needs to win to save her family home. And she intends to ride her own mare, Dove.

I have to be honest - I don’t know if I would have bothered reading this book if I just thought it was about a horse race. But it was highly recommended by my amazing friend and publisher rep Janet(who is always right on), and it’s written my Maggie Steifvater - two great reasons to try it.  And I wasn't disappointed!

The story is told from Sean and Puck’s point of view in alternating chapters. Sean was quiet and mystical. I felt like he came from the sea, just like the horses he loved so much. I loved Puck’s determination and how straight-forward she was. A romance develops between them, but it’s a quiet, gentle whisper kind of romance (not the helpless and nauseating kind). Both characters were strong , imperfect, and very likeable.

I was glad the author didn't just turn this into a romance. The characters were strong, but so was the setting - the sea, the cliffs, the cold harsh weather, and the danger of these powerful water horses who were almost impossible to ride.  I loved the mythical quality of this story.  It's so much more than a horse race! This story is about family, courage, and the sacrifice one makes for what they love and believe in. Beautifully written.

Order The Scorpio Races from www.tinlids.ca today.

One of the thousands of things I learned from my old boss Hy Sarick,( from my Children’s Book Store days) , is that you should always replace your light bulbs as soon as they go out. For those of you who have been to Tinlids, you know that that’s not such an easy task. Our ceilings are about 50 feet high, and the lights are those long fluorescent tubes that don’t even fit in my car. But Hy Sarick said “if someone comes into your store and sees those burnt out lights, they’ll think they’re in a dump. “ In fact the first time he came to see my store, I saw him look up. And then he pointed. Up . At the burnt-out light. And shook his head. I of course made some excuse about not having a ladder high enough, but the damage was done.

This week I called my fabulous landlord who sent Giovanni the electrician, and his son ( I can’t remember his name). Anyway, Giovanni is quite the character and will talk to me (actually to anyone , I’m sure) about any topic you can think of. So today, while his son was high up on the ladder, Giovanni was in the Science section, looking at a book on butterflies. As I walked by, he turned to me and said “you know, these are children’s books, but look at me – I’m reading this and I’m still learning something. I know a lot about butterflies already, but it’s never too late to learn more. Did you know the tent caterpillar can be very destructive? I don’t kill them though. I don’t kill anything because I’m a gardener and I figure if God put the spiders there, and the bees , well that means they have a job to do… “ Then he told me about his neighbor who was always spraying chemicals on his lawn to keep it green. And chemicals on his plum tree to keep the worms away… and he went on about this for a bit and talked about nature getting even.

I could have listened to Giovanni all day. First of all, he has the same Italian accent my dad had, so I felt l was related to him….. and secondly, he seemed so taken by the books. He was also really really passionate about electricityand told me all about ballasts and how well made they were - “we replace some ballasts that are 40 years old. Do you know how solid these ballasts are? Feel the weight of this. There’s copper wire in there and lots of good material that we should be re-using. But they sell them to China because we don’t have a good environmental program to support the re-cylcling of this material…..” he was so animated in everything he talked about, from his stories of Italy, to the environment , healthy food, and the future of China.

Like many days, I'm reminded today of how books bring us together. Giovanni dreams of writing his stories down, and especially his invention ideas, that no one has thought of yet.  But he's too busy .   He said to me “you can learn everything I’m talking about , from all these books you’re selling. “ Like I didn’t know this already. But I just smiled and thanked him. Until, just as he was leaving, he stopped, looked up and said “but really, you should always replace your lights right away. Or else the customers will think this is a dump”. True story. Next time I’ll video tape him to prove it.

This May I received an email that I looked at briefly and, since it didn’t seem to be as urgent as the 50 other emails I received that day, I saved it for later.  And then I somehow just kept ignoring it.  I don’t usually do this, so I’m not sure why this particular email just kept getting ignored!  But today, I finally opened it again, followed the link, read the article and thought I would post it here.  

 In light of all the recent threats of branch closures toToronto Public Library, I loved seeing these cool libraries.  I especially love number 5 ( the Netherland library), and the BiebBus Mobile Library which is in a shipping container!  

I wish we had a mayor who believed more in the importance of literacy and community and less in destroying these essential services that bring us together. 

Thanks to Larry Dignan for this link. And sorry for taking so long!

http://www.onlinecollegecourses.com/2011/05/30/the-10-coolest-libraries-for-kids/

The dabbawallas of Mumbai deliver box lunches — called tiffins — to white collar workers all over the vast city. They are legendary for their near-perfect service: for every six million lunches sent, only one will fail to reach its intended destination. The Tiffin is about that one time in millions when a box goes astray, changing lives forever.

When a note placed in a tiffin is lost, a newborn—Kunal—is separated from his mother. Twelve years later, Kunal lives as a virtual slave under the thumb of his foster father, Seth. With danger and oppression making it impossible to stay where he is, Kunal asks his friend Vinayak, an aging dabbawalla, to help him find his birth mother. Vinayak introduces Kunal to the tiffin carriers, and a plan is hatched. Along the way, Kunal learns what it means to be part of a family.

Mahtab Narsimhan won the Silver Birch Award for her first novel, The Third Eye.  It's sequels, The Silver Birch Anklet and The Deadly Conch,have received critical acclaim.  A native of Bombay (Mumbai), Narsimhan lives in Toronto.

I really enjoyed travelling to Mumbai in this story, and experiencing the sights, smells, and sounds of this populous city. Twelve-year-old Kunal has so little and is willing to face so many hardships and danger, in order to find his mother. I think this is a unique survival story that will captivate junior and intermediate students.

Order The Tiffin from www.tinlids.ca today!