February 12, 2004 | Filed under: Children and YA Non-fiction
How tidy is history? It’s a question that every writer of historical fiction must contemplate, especially those who write for the young, for whom the impulse to narrative neatness is strong. The olden-days books that ... Read More »
When the editors of the I Was There series asked Barbara Hehner to author First on the Moon, they certainly chose the right person. Hehner’s writing makes us feel as if we really were there ... Read More »
February 11, 2004 | Filed under: Children and YA Non-fiction
The main character in this story inhabits the awkward social space of two very different worlds. She lives with her widowed father and maternal grandmother in a house where there is money and plenty of ... Read More »
February 11, 2004 | Filed under: Children and YA Non-fiction, Picture Books
Toronto writer Paul Yee offers another story of the Chinese immigrant experience in the New World. Wei Lim is proud of both his grandfather and father (Ba) who perform Chinese opera.In his youth, Grandfather played ... Read More »
February 11, 2004 | Filed under: Children and YA Non-fiction, Picture Books
It’s raining again! What can a little bear do, when his friend is busy writing, and it’s just too wet outside? Nova Scotia writer Maureen Hull’s Bear gets bored, just like a little child who’s ... Read More »
February 11, 2004 | Filed under: Children and YA Non-fiction, Picture Books
Eleven-year-old Jake Grant and his family move from the city to a ranch in British Columbia’s Cariboo district. He is befriended by a plucky tomboy, Willy, and they discover a wild coyote in Jake’s barn. ... Read More »
February 11, 2004 | Filed under: Children and YA Non-fiction
With its luxurious illustrations and subtle, Zen-like story, this book is a treasure. The tale takes place in a garden, where Lucy, the young narrator, is visiting her adult friend, Anna Zinnia. The plot is ... Read More »
February 11, 2004 | Filed under: Children and YA Non-fiction, Picture Books
Robert Adams’ A Love of Reading introduces 18 novels published, for the most part, over the last 10 years. Adams first delivered these reviews to packed theatres in Montreal and Toronto. Chapters on Maguib Mahfouz’s ... Read More »
February 11, 2004 | Filed under: Children and YA Non-fiction, Criticism & Essays
Sheila Munro, the eldest of three daughters, has struggled against low literary self-esteem, for it is not easy being the daughter of one of the world’s greatest living short story writers. Yet it was the ... Read More »
February 11, 2004 | Filed under: Children and YA Non-fiction, Memoir & Biography
Who can resist puppies or dog stories? Guelph, Ontario, writer Natale Ghent’s first book, Piper, includes some high canine drama. Piper is an Australian Shepherd runt born on a farm near Picton, Ontario, where 11-year-old ... Read More »
February 11, 2004 | Filed under: Children and YA Non-fiction