New books cover nature, art and the 1980s
Hello Humpback
by Roy Henry Vickers & Robert Budd Harbour Publishing
Roy Henry Vickers has been publishing his popular children’s book series of aboriginal legends for several years now, beginning with Raven Brings the Light. Now, for the first time, he has a book for younger children — a board book. It’s full of stunning Roy Henry Vickers artwork that uses bright colours, aboriginal designs and West Coast nature, combined with simple words and names for animals. Each page of brilliant art has a little bit of texture, so that toddlers can feel the pictures as well as look at them. It’s a beauti- ful little book for the very youngest of little ones.
A Piece of the World
by Christina Baker Kline Harper-Collins
This novel is based on the life of Christina Olson, who was the inspiration behind a famous American painting called Christina’s World. In the painting, a woman crawls across the grass up a hill toward a farmhouse. Olson crawled as an older woman be- cause she had a disease that made it difficult for her to walk. Baker Kline takes the few nuggets that are known about Olson and fictionalizes her life and the life of Andrew Wyeth, the artist, creating an interesting novel in the process. Olson was born in 1893 in Maine and lived in the farmhouse until she died in 1968. Baker Kline is the author of five novels, including Orphan Train, a historical story about orphans who were adopted out of a travelling train. A Piece of the World is a thoughtful book, about the life of a woman who suffered, but who refused to give up.
The Impossible Fortress: A Novel
by Jason Rekulak Simon and Schuster
This is a funny, cute and nostalgic novel about a teenage boy in the 1980s. Billy Marvin isn’t doing so well at high school, but has a passion for programming computer games. He hangs out with his two friends, and they all are determined to get their hands on the latest Playboy magazine, which features Vanna White from Wheel of Fortune. Since it’s the ’80s, the photos aren’t available freely on the Internet; rather, they’re hidden behind an impossible fortress that is the front desk of a nearby stationery store. The pals develop a heist scheme to get their hands on the magazine, but Billy gets sidetracked when he meets the store’s owner, who happens to also love programming computer games. There is much to enjoy and admire in this smart, comedic story.