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 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!

The Canadian Children's Book Centre (CCBC) is a national, not-for-profit organization, founded in 1976. The CCBC promotes and supports the reading, writing, illustrating and publishing of Canadian books for young readers. With book collections and extensive resources in five cities across Canada, the CCBC is a treasure-trove for anyone interested in Canadian books for young readers.

On Saturday September 17, a panel of authors, illustrators, publishers and booksellers will present sine great tips and views on what it takes to get published. These professionals are donating their time and expertise to raise awareness and funds for the CCBC. Space is limited so register early.

Check out the details

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

THE CANADIAN CHILDREN’S BOOK CENTRE PRESENTS: GET PUBLISHED! SEMINAR

TORONTO, SEPTEMBER 1, 2011:

On September 17, 2011 in Toronto, three panels of experts will discuss how children’s books are written, illustrated, edited, and selected for publication and sale in Canada. There will also be a question and answer period where panel experts will discuss participants’ questions.

CREATORS SHARE THEIR EXPERIENCE:
Award-winning authors Barbara Reid (children’s books), Gillian O'Reilly (non-fiction), Frieda Wishinsky (fiction) and Kevin Sylvester  will talk about the creative process and how their careers took off.

PUBLISHERS TELL ALL:
Margie Wolfe (Publisher, Second Story Press) and Sheba Meland (formerly Publisher of Maple Tree Press) give the inside scoop on the children's publishing industry and what publishers are really looking for in a manuscript.

BOOKSELLERS REVEAL THE INs AND OUTs OF BOOKSELLING:
Highly successful wholesaler Maria Martella (owner of Tinlids Inc.) and sales executive Saffron Beckwith (Vice President of Kate Walker & Co.) explain how booksellers decide which books to showcase in their stores.

WHEN:             Saturday September 17, 2011

9:00am to 12:00pm

WHERE:           Canadian Children’s Book Centre

Room 222

2^nd Floor, Northern District Library

40 Orchard View Blvd

(One Block North of Yonge and Eglinton)

COST:              $75 per participant (includes the CCBC’s best-selling ‘Get Published!’ kit)

Registration is limited. Please register with Dawn Todd by phone at 416.975.0010 ext. 224 or online at www.bookcentre.ca/store/products/get_published_seminar by Thursday September 15, 2011.

All proceeds go to the Canadian Children's Book Centre, a national, not-for-profit organization founded in 1976 to encourage, promote, and support the reading, writing, and illustrating of Canadian Children’s literature.

For further information contact:

Dawn Todd, General Manager

Canadian Children’s Book Centre

416 975-0010 ext. 224

dawn@bookcentre.ca

I’ve done hundreds of booktalks for groups of students, teachers and librarians during my bookselling career and I don’t think there has ever been a booktalk that hasn’t included at least one Groundwood title. What I love about this publisher’s books is that they aren’t “market-led”. They don’t publish books written to a formula. I think Patsy Aldana (publisher of Groundwood) makes some very brave and important choices in the books she chooses to publish. Groundwood books represent voices we would not otherwise hear. Isn’t it wonderful that a child living in a trailer in northern Saskatchewan can see themselves in a book (read Laura Croza’s picture book “I Know Here”). This is just one perfect example of the way our children learn about themselves and others.

So, it’s no surprise that on December 30, 2010 Patsy Aldana, publisher of Groundwood books, was appointed as a member of the Order of Canada. She has been such a strong promoter of literacy in Canada as well as internationally (she was also President of The International Board on Books for Young People IBBY).

I’d like to thank Patsy Aldana for providing us with so many amazing choices, and for reminding us about how much there is still to do in ensuring that every child becomes a reader.

Read the Globe and Mail article.

The Little Hummingbird by Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas (ISBN 9781553655336)

I want to give this picture book to so many people in my life.  It’s my new favourite, and a must-have for all ages. This is a revised edition of the award-winning  Flight of the Hummingbird, based on a South American indigenous story. 

The story is about a huge forest fire, and what one little hummingbird does to fight it.  The elephant, tiger, beaver and many other animals flee. They’re terrified because the fire is so big and they’re so small. The only one who isn’t freaking out, is the little hummingbird.  She goes to the stream, picks up a single drop of water in her beak,and carries it over the fire, where she drops it.  Back and forth, back and forth – she keeps doing this, never resting, never stopping, just picking up a drop of water and putting it on the fire.  Finally Big Bear asks her “ Little Hummingbird, what are you doing”.  And she says “I’m doing everything I can”. 

In the afterword, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Wangari Maathai   “It is not always the largest or loudest that can do the most good.  Little Hummingbird’s efforts are a reminder that the one who is not afraid to act can make the biggest difference”.

I've told this story to five people in the last few days.  It's just that kind of story that you can't help share!   

Meet Isabella. She was our youngest customer this week and she thought Marthe Jocelyn’s board book “Eats” was so good, well, she kind of took it literally. 

      Lucky for Isabella, Marthe Jocelyn has written several exquisite books for babies and preschoolers. "Eats" also comes in picture book format and Marthe and Tom Slaughter (illustrator) have also created "Same Same" and "Over Under".  The illustrations are amazing, high quality design.  A great introduction to art and concepts.  And we're so lucky they are Canadian.  Marthe has also written many novels for older children.

This week I received an interesting email from Lisa Brown, (System Teacher-Librarian for the Huron Superior Catholic District School Board). Apparently some of the students at Holy Family School in Sault Ste. Marie have discovered that Chester the cat has been leaving notes all over the school, and their teacher’s red marker has gone missing! They have alerted the police and posted this notice:

This week I received a gift in the mail. It didn’t come from my true love but I do love Kids Can Press for sending it!

   “Make sure that your heart

   Isn’t too well defended:

   Your heart is designed

   To be broken and mended.”

This poem is from Think Again, a beautiful new collection of poetry written by JonArno Lawson and illustrated by Julie Morstad. It only took a few minutes to read this from cover to cover, but I don’t want to say too much about this book because I think poetry should just be heard, smelled, seen, tasted and felt. Then it should be left alone to linger inside you, until you go back to it.

I will say I’m a huge fan of JonArno Lawson and now of Julie Morstad who did the gorgeous illustrations for this little gem. Check out JonArno’s other poetry books Black Stars in a White Night Sky and Man in the Moon-Fixer’s Mask.

Think Again, by JonArno Lawson, illustrated by Julie Morstad, 9781554534234 $18.95 March 2010 Kids Can Press

order from www.tinlids.ca