The Chronicle Herald (Provincial)
Recognizing awesome Atlantic kids
All kids are amazing, writes John Boileau but some rise above the rest and do remarkable things that are worthy of celebrating.
Achieving feats of bravery, setting sports records, or making inventions are some of the cool things the kids in Boileau's new book Amazing Atlantic Canadian Kids: Awesome Stories of Bravery and Adventure (Nimbus Publishing) accomplished before they turned 16 years old.
“I think young kids need role models,” Boileau said in a recent interview. “Young kids should see that you don't have to be an adult to achieve something.”
OLYMPIAN
Among the more than 50 young people Boileau introduces readers to is running star Marjorie Turner-Bailey. One of four children in Lockeport's only black family, Turner-Bailey became one of the youngest Canadians ever to qualify for the Olympics. She represented Canada at the 1976 Montreal Olympics. After winning a silver medal with the 4×100 relay team at the 1978 Commonwealth Games, she retired. During her career, she set four Canadian track and field records.
INVENTOR AND MEDAL WINNER
Readers also meet Rachel Brouwer, a secondary school student from Bedford who invented a new method of killing bacteria in drinking water which requires no fuel and uses material commonly available in developing countries, and Private Tommy Ricketts, who was raised in a fishing village near St. John's. Ricketts became one of only eight people under the age of 18 to receive the Victoria Cross. In 1919, he received the British
Empire's highest military award.
The author of 14 books, Boileau drew on subjects like Ricketts from his previous history books. He wrote about the young military hero in his book, Valiant Hearts: Atlantic Canada and the Victoria Cross. He discovered the other young people through neighbours, reading newspaper articles, and scouring the lists of recipients of Canada's Star of Courage and Medal of Bravery.
“From these stories, it's clear kids should never be taken for granted, for they are capable of achieving great things. All that is needed is the right set of circumstances and the will to succeed,” he wrote in the introduction of the book that is illustrated by James Bentley.
PLENTY TO CHOOSE FROM
Boileau turned to writing after retiring in 1999 from a 37-year career in the Canadian Army. Amazing Atlantic Canadian Kids is his first book for children. With the abundance of stories that exist in the region, some of them so good they deserve to be told again and again, Boileau said the has no lack of subjects for his books.
“I firmly believe that Canadians do not know enough about their history,” he said. “There is a bit of a mission out there to explain history to Canadians.”
Myra Freeman, Nova Scotia's former Lieutenant Governor, hopes Boileau's book sparks a conversation between readers, parents and teachers about the power of overcoming obstacles through tenacity and bravery.
“Educating ourselves about stories of courageous individuals provides inspiration to each of us to make more meaningful decisions. By demonstrating courage ourselves, we can inspire future generations to do the same and make a positive impact on the world,” Freeman wrote in the book's forward.
MORE BOOKS ON THE SHELF
Steven Laffoley, the author of 10 books, including the award-winning biography Shadowboxing: The Rise and Fall of George Dixon, sets his latest novel, Halifax Nocturne (Pottersfield Press), in 1954. A new suspension bridge is being built over the harbor to Dartmouth and its opening brings the promise of a brighter future. But as Halifax police detective Ray Vargas searches the city for a mysterious killer, he discovers he has his own personal bridge to a better future he needs to confront.
DEVASTATING STORMS
Author Dan Soucoup tells gripping stories about the most devastating storms to strike the East Coast, from the 18th century to the present day, in his new non-fiction book. Soucoup recounts the winter blizzards, floods, tornadoes, and even tsunamis in Atlantic Canada's Greatest Storms (Nimbus Publishing). The book includes 25 images as well as descriptions of the 1775 Independence Hurricane, the Saxby Gale in 1869, Hurricane Igor in 2010, the series of blizzards in 1905 that left passenger trains stranded for days in the Annapolis Valley, and Newfoundland's 1929 tsunami.
Author and poet Marjorie E. Favretto released a new book of poetry, Avatars of the Ages: Timeless Words (Austin Macauley Publishers). Inspired by her personal experiences and studies of philosophy and world cultures, Favretto felt compelled to write the book.
Retired history professor Elizabeth Haigh released a biography of a Nova Scotian physician and geologist who is best known for inventing kerosene oil. In her book, Abraham Gesner: The Lure of the Rocks and a Burning Ambition (Tellwell Talent), Haigh, who taught at both Saint Mary's University and Dalhousie University, recounts the life a man raised on a farm in the Annapolis Valley who went on to become a pioneer in the industrial revolution. Aside from producing kerosene, he did geological surveys of the maritime provinces, published books for immigrants, served as Indian Commissioner and later became a lecturer at Dalhousie.
AUTHOR EVENTS
Artist Joy Snihur Wyatt Laking will launch her first children's book, Colours in Winter (Pottersfield Press) at the public library in Truro on Dec. 7 at 10:30 a.m.
Join Lesley Crewe, the author of several novels, including Mary, Mary, Amazing Grace, and Relative Happiness, for an informal writing workshop on Dec. 3 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Open Book Coffee in Halifax. She promises to give some hints about what helped her to write 11 books in 14 years.
Enjoy an evening of storytelling and song on Dec. 5 at 7 p.m. at St. Andrew's United Church in Halifax. Gather 'Round will include Costas Halavrezos and Stephanie Domet reading the following stories: Lighting Up the Dark by Lisa Moore, Wonder about Parents by Alexander MacLeod, and The Reindeer Herder by Amanda Peters. Singer Laura Smith and the Halifax Gay Men's Chorus will also perform.