DEIRDRE BAKER
LITTLE YOU
WHEN I WAS EIGHT
GAMES OF SURVIVAL By Richard Van Camp, illustrated by Julie Flett, Orca, 28 pages, $9.95, baby
There’s no shortage of “I love you, baby” board books but those of Van Camp have a quiet lyricism and poetic flair of their own. Thunder, star, breath and ember provide images for the parents’ love of this small baby — small in body but great in wonder. The clean lines and subtle colour contrasts in Flett’s illustrations are an apt complement to Van Camp’s evocation of love, festivity and natural wonder.
By Christy Jordan-Fenton and Margaret Pokiak-Fenton, illustrated by Gabrielle Grimard, Annick, 32 pages, hc $21.95, pb $9.95, ages 6-9
This picture book adaptation of Pokiak-Fenton’s memoir Fatty Legs focuses on Olemaun’s valiant persistence in learning to read, despite the cruelty she endures at residential school. Whether she’s washing floors, scrubbing pots, or being humiliated by her nun teacher, Olemaun stubbornly works at learning — until at last, thanks to her strong spirit, she becomes “conqueror of evil, reader of books.” As witness to an important part of Canada’s history, this is a good book, but its potency lies in its representation of an indomitable child determined to read.
By Johnny Issaluk, Inhabit, 60 pages, $12.95, ages 7 – teen
Agility, strength and endurance are the aim in the 10 traditional Inuit games Issaluk describes — games which are now part of the international Arctic and Northern Games competitions. Issaluk explains how each game relates to traditional hunting skills. These Inuit sports offer kids the pleasure of novelty, require almost no equipment and can be done in minimal space (having originally been invented for practice in igloos). Clear directions and photographs make this unusual book effective and accessible.
NO BORDERS: KIGLIQANGITTUQ By Darla Evyagotailak and Mindy Willett, photographs by Tessa Macintosh, Fifth House, 40 pages, $19.95, ages 9-14
In this latest The Land is our Storybook series, Willett and 16-year-old Darla Evyagotailak of Kugluktuk, Nunavut, describe Darla’s intergenerational family and way of life. Both modern and traditional Inuit ways come into play — soccer, square dancing, studying on one hand; on the other, a -40C sled and snowmobile journey to camp and fish on the NWT/Nunavut border. Macintosh’s photographs, Darla’s candid voice and Willett’s respectful, informative text give readers a rare, lucid glimpse into a family and a community — an accurate, realistic vision of both sadness and liveliness.
OUT OF THE EASY By Ruta Sepetys, Philomel, 348 pages, $19, teen
There’s nothing northern about this story: it takes place in New Orleans, 1950. Josie Moraine lives in a tiny room in a bookstore. In the mornings, she cleans and polishes for the establishment where her mother works — madam Willie Woodley’s brothel. In the afternoons, Josie works in the bookstore, but it’s her dream to get out and go to college far away — a dream she’s smart enough to achieve, if only she has the luck. Then her mother’s linked to a murder and skips town, and it looks like Josie will be stuck with the underworld aftermath. An engrossing, substantial novel with a rich, multilayered plot and deeply realized characters. Josie’s inner strength, intelligence and heart are entirely compelling, and Sepetys’ tough, smart madam Willie is unforgettable.