The Deakin Review of Children's Literature
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Gluten Free is Part of Me by L. Oestreich
No full textOestreich, Laurie. Gluten Free is Part of Me. Illustrated by Kayla Gartenberg. Mascot Books, 2018.
Gluten Free Is Part of Me follows a young girl as she describes what it is like living with celiac disease. It presents information in an sensitive way, anticipating and empathizing with children living with celiac disease. The little girl in the story talks about how it can be difficult to attend events where she cannot eat the same foods as other children and how she wishes her celiac disease would go away. She also describes the strategies she uses to stay healthy and to educate those around her. The story is written in verse with simple rhymes and age-appropriate vocabulary for young readers.
Author Laurie Oestreich is a New York-based child and family therapist whose inspiration for Gluten Free is Part of Me was her granddaughter who was diagnosed with celiac disease. She presents an overall positive message, helping children to understand celiac disease and how to manage it successfully. Oestreich uses her story to put celiac disease in the context of a variety of health conditions, such as food and environmental allergies, visual and hearing deficits that people experience. Importantly, the story reinforces to young readers that a health condition is merely one aspect of their being, and not what defines them. At the end of the story, a Note From the Doctor, written by physician, Dr Peter Green, director of Columbia University’s Celiac Disease Center, endorses and reinforces the story’s messages.
The colourful illustrations accompanying the story, complement and enhance the text. Children will enjoy re-reading the story to examine small details in the illustrations, such as the notes on the bulletin board. Artist and photographer, Kayla Gartenberg’s strategic inclusion of anatomical details in her illustrations, introduces young children to body parts and medical vocabulary relevant to the digestive system and to celiac disease.
Highly Recommended: 4 out of 4 stars Reviewer: Maria Tan
Maria is a health sciences librarian at the University of Alberta and a former editorial team member of the Deakin Review. She is the co-author, with Sandy Campbell, of A Selective Collection of Children’s Health Fiction 2014-2016, which is an update of the Children’s Health Fiction Checklist presented in the October 2014 Special Issue of the Deakin Review (Vol. 4, No. 2)
The Remember Balloons by J. Oliveros
No full textOliveros, Jessie. The Remember Balloons. Illustrated by Dana Wulfekotte, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Children – Simon and Schuster, 2018
This beautifully written story tells of a young boy and his dear relationship with his aging Grandfather. Connected through balloons that hold memories and stories, the young boy notices his Grandfather begins to lose his balloons and eventually his memory, even of knowing his beloved grandson. Confused and upset, the young boy cannot understand why this is happening and tries in vain to save his Grandfather’s balloons. Saddened, the boy seeks his parent’s help whereby they show him that he now has a whole new set of balloons—his Grandfather’s. In acquiring these treasured memories, the young boy discovers a new way to be with his Grandfather through retelling him all his old stories.
Illustrated in pencil sketch with minimal colour other than the varied and vibrant balloons, Oliveros speaks to children in a beautifully relatable manner about memories and stories and the connections to the people we cherish. It gently acknowledges the difficult changes in relationships as a loved one experiences the changes of aging and memory loss and guides the reader to find new ways to experience their stories and build new connections.
The subtle acknowledgement of mixed-race families and friend groups also lends itself to a realistic and contemporary view of family and culture, further strengthening the relatability of this story to a wider readership.
Recommended and appropriately written for ages 5-9 years, the book’s themes of keeping our memories close in our varied balloons and maintaining our connections with family even as relationships change, lends itself to a far greater age demographic.
Highly recommended: 4 out of 4 stars Reviewer: Deanna Townsend
Deanna Townsend is currently an Open Studies student and prospective graduate student with the Master of Library and Information Studies program at the University of Alberta. She is currently working in the Learning Commons/Library of an Elementary-Junior High School with Edmonton Public School Board. Her keen area of interest is in the transformation of school libraries/learning commons to modern, usable education spaces that inspire children to explore and learn beyond the classroom
Elmore by H. Hobbie
No full textHobbie, Holly. Elmore. Random House Children’s Books, New York, 2018.
Holly Hobbie’s Elmore is a heartwarming story about a lonely porcupine determined to make friends. His prickly exterior makes the other animals scared of him at first, but through his creativity and inventiveness, he finds a way to help others embrace what makes him unique, all while staying true to himself.
The invaluable lessons that this picture book teaches are remarkable. Readers learn that what makes us different, makes us special; once we accept and appreciate our differences and share what we have to offer, others will get to know, accept, and appreciate us for who we are. This book also teaches its readers to not ‘judge a book by its cover’. Elmore was judged by the other animals because of his prickly quills, but once he celebrated his differences and the other animals learned what made him special, they felt lucky to be his friend.
Hobbie’s use of language is powerful and provides young readers with the opportunity to learn and have discussions about new vocabulary, such as solitude, emphatically, and tuckered out. Hobbie’s whimsical illustrations are adorable and charming, and her realistic portrayal of Elmore’s facial expressions are endearing; readers empathize and grow to love Elmore.
This book is highly recommended as a real-aloud for elementary school educators and parents alike, because it creates opportunities to discuss the hidden messages within the story. Children will be able to make their own connections with Elmore and feel comforted by the fact that making friends isn’t always easy, but others will learn to accept them for who they are, once they accept themselves.
Editor’s note: It is worth reading more about the author and the history of her namesake character. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holly_Hobbie
Highly Recommended: 4 out of 4 starsReviewer: Valerie Mayzel
Valerie Mayzel is a fourth-year student in the Elementary Education program at the University of Alberta. She is very excited to begin her career as a teacher and is looking forward to incorporating a variety of literature in her lessons to support student learning
I Am Enough by G. Byers
No full textByers, Grace. I Am Enough. Illustrated by Keturah A. Bobo, Balzer + Bray-Harper Collins, 2018
I Am Enough by Grace Byers is an uplifting and motivating book about female empowerment and respect for diversity. The consistent message through this book is one of self-worth and embracing differences. Byers emphasizes that regardless of one’s looks, abilities, or beliefs, every child is unique, able, and worthy of respect. Her message encourages children to recognize diversity and show respect and kindness to others. She poetically portrays messages of empowerment through the use of simple simile and rhyme. For example, she writes “Like the sun, I’m here to shine” and later: “...that does not dictate our worth, we both have places here on Earth.” Her use of rhyme allows the book to read smoothly and rhythmically, and simile encourages the reader to think carefully about the message on each page. Many of the messages are simple and clear, while others may require more careful thought and discussion to build meaning from the message. The front cover of her book shows the face of a young girl of colour, which paired with the bold title "I Am Enough" sets the tone of diversity, acceptance, and strength, seen throughout the book.
Byers’ messages of empowerment are complemented and supported by Keturah Bobo’s illustrations. Bobo’s illustrations artistically and realistically depict children from a variety of ethnic backgrounds and abilities. Great thought and detail has been put into the characters in the illustrations, authentically depicting girls from a variety of different races and cultures. This book could be a mirror for children from a variety of backgrounds, allowing them to see themselves in this book. Bobo’s illustrations add a great deal of meaning to this story, as the theme of diversity is not explicitly stated in the text until the end of the book, but is clearly portrayed in the images throughout the pages. The children featured in this story are elementary aged, matching the intended audience. The characters in the foreground are complemented by background images of simple crayon sketches. The use of crayon further appeals to the intended audience of young children.
This is Grace Byers’ first children\u27s book. She grew up in a diverse background of a multiracial family, as well as the child of deaf parents. She wrote this book to empower young girls against bullying and promote an understanding of diversity and the importance of showing kindness to others. Her intended audience is elementary aged children (particularly girls, as females are the focus in the illustrations), however this book is a great read for everyone. The mantra “I am enough” has the potential to resonate with individuals of any age or background, so the message portrayed can appeal to a variety of readers. This book would be an excellent addition to school and classroom libraries.
Highly Recommended: 4 out of 4 starsReviewer: Bethany Semotiuk
Bethany Semotiuk is an elementary teacher and open studies student at the University of Alberta. She has a special interest in early literacy development and plans to pursue graduate studies focused in children’s language and literacy. She enjoys reading children’s literature in her classroom as well as for personal pleasure
Love by M. de la Peña
No full textde la Peña, Matt. Love. Illustrated by Loren Long, G.P. Penguin Random House, 2018.
Newbery Medal-winning author of Last Stop on Market Street Matt de la Peña and New York Times bestselling illustrator Loren Long have teamed up to paint a touching picture of where love lives in each of our lives. Perfect for the child in your life or the child in you, this book ignites a warm feeling deep down inside. Love shines through in all our senses. Through poetic verses we are reminded of what love looks like, what love sounds like, what love tastes like, what love smells like, and what love feels like, physically and emotionally. Who cannot relate to the simple innocence of laughing as you run through the sprinkler on a hot summer\u27s day?
One much-needed two-page spread even highlights the importance of self-love. The gorgeous illustrations are comprised of a compilation of monotype prints, acrylic paint, and pencil. They perfectly complement the words that they accompany, even telling their own hidden stories along the way. It is clear to understand how the pictures connect to the words, the two parts work together to invoke emotions in the reader. The vocabulary and structure, like how the word love is used in a variety of manners and how each page offers a glimpse into different individuals’ lives, may be challenging for younger children to read on their own but with the right facilitation any child can find connections to this beautiful picture book.
Highly Recommended: 4 out of 4 starsReviewer: Bretton Bow
Many Wonderful Book Events to Announce
No full textGreetings Everyone,
It has been a surprisingly rainy summer here in Edmonton and while gardens may be water-logged, many of us have taken the extra time indoors to read—I know I have. The news for this issue includes a few events and highlights some resources for teachers and parents making plans for the fall.
Upcoming Events
Thin Air: The Winnipeg International Writers Festival will be held September 22-30, 2019. The festival includes a school program to highlight writing for children. For more information see the website at https://thinairwinnipeg.ca/
Kingston Writers Fest runs Sep 25-29, 2019. The program includes Youth Programming. See the website for details at: https://www.kingstonwritersfest.ca/kids-teens/festival-field-trips/
The Festival of Literary Diversity (FOLD) Kids Book Fest will be held in Brampton, Ontario on Sep 27-29, 2019. Information is available on the festival website: http://thefoldcanada.org/kids/
Canadian Children’s Book Centre to start a YouTube Channel
According to the CCBC Website: “Plans are underway for a YouTube channel to showcase videos and links to resources about Canadian books for children and youth. Currently the CCBC is collecting videos for the channel. If you have ready-made videos that relate to Canadian children’s books you can email [email protected] with a title, video length and video description and she’ll include it in her database of prospective videos. The project is being funded by the Canadian Council for the Arts with an anticipated launch in 2020.
Book Banks for Teachers and Parents
With the new school year underway, I thought it would be worthwhile to highlight a couple book banks offered by the CCBC. The History Book Bank highlights children’s books by subject, and is broken down by centuries. The Social Justice Book Bank enables searching titles by wide variety of categories that include Indigenous, me too, diaspora and immigration, physical handicaps, mental health, etc. Both these book banks offer great ideas for reading based on subject matter.
Some readers may enjoy this interesting article in The New Yorker about Margaret and Hans Rey, the creators of the Curious George series.
To conclude, this issue of Deakin will be my last issue as the Communications Editor. For the past several years it has been a pleasure to serve on the editorial team of this journal. I have learned a great deal and I believe this journal provides great information about current children’s books and literature within the Canadian context. I wanted to thank our managing editor Robert Desmarais for his guidance and patience over the past few years. I also want to thank all the other editors on our team: Kim, Debbie, Allison, and Janice, and our reviewers and readers. I look forward to submitting book reviews in the future as my time permits.
Best wishes,
Hann
We Don’t Eat Our Classmates by R. Higgins
No full textHiggins, Ryan T. We Don’t Eat Our Classmates. Disney-Hyperion, 2018
This is a messy book. Ryan Higgins\u27 drawings are much messier and less precise than his earlier books about Bruce, the bear. However, when you are Pamela Rex, a Tyrannosaurus rex starting school with a room full of delicious human classmates, things get messy, particularly when you have to spit them out.
Ryan Higgins taps the absurd in both his images and text to keep children laughing. Penelope still wants to eat the children, even though her father “packed her a lunch of three hundred tuna sandwiches." There is also an image of Penelope trying to “make friends at recess,” but she is standing at the bottom of the playground slide with her mouth open. Penelope does eventually learn a small lesson in empathy when Walter, the class goldfish, bites her.
Higgins draws Penelope as a stuffed toy Tyrannosaurus rex, perhaps to prevent children from being frightened. The children are represented by the usual politically correct collection of stereotypes, often identified by clothing. There is one Jewish (yarmulke), one Muslim (hijab), two black (tight curly hair), one Indigenous (braids), one Japanese (the only child with a shirt and tie), and several generic “brown” children. All of the children have dark hair. Blue-eyed blonds are conspicuous by their absence.
In addition to being a fun book, this volume allows every child to claim the moral high ground. Every child can say, “I wouldn’t ever do that!”, because all children know that “we don’t eat our classmates.”
While this is a book about being different, clashes of values, and learning to get along, it is mainly a book that will amuse children. Recommended for elementary school and public libraries.
Recommended: 3 out of 4 stars Reviewer: 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.  
Ocean Meets Sky by T. Fan
No full textFan, Terry. Ocean Meets Sky. Illustrated by Eric & Terry Fan, Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2018.
In this poetic and beautifully illustrated book by the Fan Brothers, readers are invited into a young child’s world of imagination. Finn lives by the ocean and on the morning of what would have been his Grandfather’s 90th birthday, he gazes out to the sea and remembers the words of his Grandfather, “It’s a good day for sailing.” As six year olds are apt to do, he begins to build a boat. Finn’s boat is “hard work,” but takes him on a magical and mystical journey.
Finn’s world becomes more fantastical and the illustrations more surreal with each turning page. When he “finally reaches the place of his grandfather’s stories,” there are no longer any words. Instead one enters into a silence and stillness found not only in the depths of the ocean but in space above. The authors reinforce this silence by imposing pictures of noiseless conveyances, such as hot air balloons, zeppelins and ancient ships over the picture of a great blue whale. This wordless portion of the book not only allows the reader to bring their own stories to the pictures, but celebrates the orality of the Grandfather’s stories by not limiting them to a predetermined text.
What Ocean Meets Sky so poignantly depicts is the sadness and loneliness Finn feels at missing his Grandfather. When he states, “I didn’t think the open sea would be so lonely,” one cannot help but be reminded of Max’s similar look of despondency in Where the Wild Things Are, when he sends the wild things to bed, “without any supper.” And like Max, once Finn resolves his inner turmoil, he is able to return home to “a voice calling to him from far away.” He says goodbye to his Grandfather, whose face is superimposed onto the moon. It is a bittersweet illustration, showing Finn’s love in the smallest gesture of a waving hand.
The book is suitable for readers between four and eight years of age. However the story and illustrations have such depth that I would not hesitate to read it with older children or encourage them to explore it on their own. The Fan Brothers are both alumni of the Ontario college of Art and Design and their detailed and enchanting illustrations make the book worthwhile for readers of all ages.
Highly recommended: 4 out of 4 starsReviewer: Melinda Cooke
Melinda Cooke has been an elementary school teacher for many years. She loves sharing books with her students and delights in the stories as much as her students
The Day You Begin by J. Woodson
No full textWoodson, Jacqueline. The Day You Begin. Illustrated by Rafael López, Penguin Random House, 2018.
Inspired by a poem in her award-winning memoir Brown Girl Dreaming, the Brooklyn based author Jacqueline Woodson wrote The Day You Begin about the moments in a child’s life when s/he feels like an outsider. Throughout the pages, the reader goes on a journey through the eyes of various children and their experiences feeling like outsiders. The children discover that the moment you bravely reach out you will find that “every new friend has something a little like you—and something else so fabulously not quite like you at all.” Written in beautifully poetic text that is perfectly portrayed through the illustrations, this picture book speaks of hope and human connection in the face of fear, a concept easily connected to by all.
Rafael Lopez creates beautiful illustrations to inspire imagination and conjure up the precious richness of our differences. Pages filled with vibrant images of flowers and nature are used to represent the child’s unique qualities spoken of in the text. In contrast, dull colours and minimal images express feelings of difference. The highly relatable experience of trying to measure up is illustrated on some of the pages through the presence of a ruler. Adults and children of all ages will be able to connect in some way with the characters on the page.
Overall, this is a beautifully written book that can be used to discuss the vibrancy we can find in our communities when we cherish our differences and share of ourselves, if only we would begin.
Highly Recommended: 4 out of 4 starsReviewer: Danielle Ford
Danielle is an avid reader of all kinds of books. Currently in her last semester of her Bachelor of Education as an Elementary Generalist, she is looking forward to bringing rich children’s literature into her classroom
The Wall in the Middle of the Book by J. Agee
No full textAgee, Jon. The Wall In The Middle Of The Book. Penguin-Random House Canada, 2018.
Jon Agee is a beloved author and illustrator who, through his many books, has accumulated praise and awards alike. The Wall in the Middle of the Book, is his 23rd book and it’s a beautiful and simplistic story that incorporates his brand of humour and valuable lessons. Agee, however, takes a unique direction with this book in his use of a literary device by breaking the fourth wall to make the story meta. The story follows a knight who explains the situation of there being a wall in the middle of the book that you, the reader, is reading. The knight is content with the situation, as he knows of all the perceived dangers on the other side of the wall including an ogre, who he believes would eat him if he gets caught. The knight is then put into a situation where he has to face his preconceived notions to survive. The fourth wall break was an interesting and engaging metafictive device to use in the story.
The book had simple writing that would juxtapose what illustrations were showing, like when the knight would say how great things were on his side while the water began to rise and danger loomed, adding to the humour. The Wall in the Middle of the Book’s lesson is very useful in today’s world, and the idea of what or who lies on the other side of “walls” in the world, and not assuming what those things or people are like. This book easily could work for a number of audiences based on the simplicity and depth of moral lesson it touches on. This would also be effective in showcasing a dialogue-driven book. This book is an elementary level book that can be universally enjoyed in all classrooms.
Highly Recommended: 4 out of 4 stars Reviewer: Spencer Bair