Author Archives: Margriet Ruurs

Adventures on the Ancient Silk Road by Priscilla Galloway, Dawn Hunter

Adventures on the Ancient Silk Roadby Priscilla Galloway, Dawn Hunter

This is a gripping account of three dramatic journeys that changed the course of history.

The fabled Silk Road conjures up sights, smells and sounds of faraway lands. But traveling the Silk Road took years, and those who set out encountered bandits, starvation and treacherous storms.

“Adventures on the Ancient Silk Road” introduces readers to three great historical figures:

Chinese Buddhist Xuanzang, whose 16-year journey from China to India and back (629-645 AD) is the only source we have for huge chunks of the history and geography of this time. His successful search for Buddhist scriptures changed the course of two great nations.

Genghis Khan, bred from infancy to be a warrior, brought the Mongol clans together. He established the greatest empire the world had seen, which ruled the Silk Road from 1201 to 1227.

And the Italian merchant Marco Polo who journeyed through China from 1271 to 1295. He changed the way Europe saw the world, and his book even inspired Columbus to sail west across the Atlantic Ocean in search of China.

Beautiful photographs and art depicting the ancient routes and peoples bring the stories to life. Maps, sidebars and an afterword that updates the story of the Silk Road are also featured. This is one of those books that is labeled YA or children’s but really is an ‘everybody’ book.

Mr. Pip by Lloyd Jones

For years I kept coming across a scrap of paper on my desk, or in a drawer. The title of a book recommended by someone, I can’t even remember who recommended it.
‘Mr. Pip – the story of a teacher in the South Pacific’ that scrap of paper said. I never threw it out because the title held such promise. 
Then, a few weeks ago, I was cleaning up the shelves in the recycle book depot and there it was. A blue book with a photo of a palm tree and ocean. Mr. Pip by Lloyd Jones.
The book was in terrible shape: stained and possibly mildewed. But the title had so long been with me that I could not bear to part with it. I took it home.
And when I opened the tattered cover, I fell right in. I fell into the story and in love with the characters. What a work of great literature! What spell binding storytelling.
Take Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations, transport it to an island in the South Pacific ravaged by mining, strikes and violence. Enter a young girl and a teacher who shares his love of literature. Weave in intrigue, suspense, some nonfiction and an exotic location.
The story is brilliant, full of beauty and horror. Full of gentleness and violence.
It is the tale of the impact a gifted teacher can have on eager children, the power of a good story to turn someone into a lifelong reader, even to influence a life. It’s even about how a story can claim a life.
It’s hard to sum up the storyline, I won’t even try. This is a book you need to read if you are a book lover, or a teacher, or an admirer of Dickens. To quote from the book itself:
‘You cannot pretend to read a good book.
Your eyes will give you away. So will your breathing.
A person entranced by a book simply forgets to breathe.’
I forgot to breathe throughout this story. A quote from the very last page of this 256 page book:
‘His survival was story. My Mr. Dickens taught every one of us kids that our voice was special, and that whatever else happened to us in our lives our voice could never been taken away from us.’
Lloyd Jones’ voice is special. It makes me want to try his other books.
I hope you will try this one.

Mr. Pip by Lloyd Jones, Random House, ISBN 978-0-676-97928-2

Walking Home, by Eric Walters

Walking Home

  • Age Range: 10 and up 
  • Grade Level: 5 and up
  • Paperback: 304 pages
  • Publisher: Doubleday Canada; 1St Edition edition (September 23, 2014)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0385681577
  • ISBN-13: 978-0385681575

Eric Walters has written over 90 books for children, many of them award winning titles. I have read most of them. But his latest book, Walking Home, did something none of his other books ever had: it made me cry at the end. I found it to be touching, interesting, heart warming and a well written story.

Walking Home is the story of a young brother and sister who become orphaned in a troubled, violent time and region of Kenya. The two decide to walk to the region where their mother grew up, in hopes of finding relatives who will take them in. Rather than be separated by government officials who will place them in different homes, they walk over 200 KM, through Nairobi, through villages and deserted stretches.

Eric Walters did his research for this book. To the extreme.
Not only has he build an orphanage in Kenya, and continues to support it financially as well be involved in many day to day operational decisions. He also took a group of children and walked the entire track described in his book. Putting his own feet in the dust of African roads, eating oranges from roadside stalls and hoping to find water from wells, he was able to make this a story that takes the reader right along. It introduces us to Kenyan customs and beliefs. It shows the landscape and the fabric of African life.

The margins of the book have symbols throughout. These symbols seamlessly combine the paper pages (or the e-book) with additional information online. Videos, interviews, maps and other details all add information to the story.

A portion of the cost of this book will be donated, by the publisher to Creation of Hope, Walters’ orphanage in Kenya.

This title can be complemented in the classroom by Eric Walters’ African picture books: The Matatu, My Name is Blessing and Hope Springs. The latter two stories come directly from the orphanage and are based on the true stories of children living there. Both are heartwarming tales, complemented by back pages with information.

http://www.ericwalters.net
http://ericwalterswalkinghome.com

                            

Better World Books – a good place to order books

Do you ever order books online?

If so, you need to know that with Amazon more books does not mean more publishers or authors. It means less payment to publishers and authors, more monopoly and less choice. With the threat of Amazon becoming the world’s only publisher, printer and distributor we will have no choice, no competition. 

For that reason I used to order from a great online bookseller in the UK – until Amazon bought them up! Your best bet is to order from a local bookstore. 

BUT there is another great choice: http://www.betterworldbooks.com! Free worldwide shipping PLUS they donate to libraries and literacy. Room To Read is one of their sponsors.

Check out the website and see if you can use this bookseller, too.

Sister Anne’s Hands by Marybeth Lorbiecki

Sister Anne’s Hands

Marybeth Lorbiecki (Author), Wendy Popp, Ill.
This is a beautiful, timeless picture book about acceptance, about equality and about racism.

Set in the 1960’s, Anna hears her parents talking about the new, ‘colored’ teacher who is coming to the local Catholic school. 

Anna is excited about seeing a ‘colored’ teacher, imagining purple or green skin.

Anna loves this new, caring teacher who tells beautiful stories, makes wonderful jokes and who manages to make school much more fun. Until a racist joke lands on her desk. Sister Anne shows her students the color of hate, and teaches of love.

The lovely pastel illustrations add to the story and show us the era. Unfortunately, this story is still as relevant today as it was in the ’60’s. A good read and a great starting point for discussion.

  • Paperback: 40 pages
  • Publisher: Puffin; Reprint edition (Dec 21 2000)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0140565345
  • ISBN-13: 978-0140565348

Below Stairs by Margaret Powell

Below Stairs by Margaret Powell

I don’t always like reading ‘adult’ books and usually prefer YA novels. But this nonfiction novel is such a pleasant read, and has inspired such a popular TV series that I want to make sure you hear about it.

I picked up my copy of Below Stairs because it looked promising and I was in need of a comfy December book. It was just that. 
Written in a conversational tone, it feels like Margaret Powell is sitting across from you (in the parlor with a cup of tea), telling her life story. And an interest life story it is. Taking place in 19020’s England, she transports you back to a dull and grey time when classes and ranks were clearly divided. She tells of her youth and the few options she had as she grew older. 

Margaret’s tale of how she entered a life of service as a maid, and a cook, for the upper English class, is spellbinding. A time of dances and tea, dinners and courting. It is a fun story that I couldn’t put down. 

No wonder then that this book is what kick started the very popular TV series Downtown Abbey. I have so many addicted friends… I think you need to read this book. But I am scared to watch the series for I might get addicted to it too…

ISBN-10:0330535382
ISBN-13: 978-0330535380

Shadow Spinner by Susan Fletcher

Shadow Spinnerby Susan Fletcher

I have already used Susan Fletcher’s book Alphabet of Dreams in this review blog. If you haven’t read it yet, treat yourself, this Christmas season, to reading this exquisite Christmas story! An amazing novel.

In this equally well written adventure, a serving girl faces the intrigues of a harem, the dangers of the streets, and the anger of the Sultan himself to find the needed ending to an incomplete story.

Remember Sheherazade, the Queen of stories of 1001 nights? This is the skillfully crafted tale of where she got her stories! As with Alphabet of Dreams, Susan Fletcher is a brave enough writer to take a tale we all know well, and adds the unknown background of the story as her own novel. 


Very talented, spellbinding books and well worth curling up with!

Paperback, Jean Karl Books, 224 pages
Aladdin ISBN 0689830513 (ISBN13: 9780689830518)

Canadian Teacher Magazine

For each issue of Canadian Teacher Magazine, I contribute a column called Can Write. The column features a Canadian writer or illustrator of children’s books.
I love the opportunity to interview, and learn more about, writers from across the country and beyond. The stories of how they became writers, or illustrators, are always fascinating and inspiring. It’s fun to hear the ‘stories behind the stories’ – what triggered a picturebook or how they ended up writing a novel.

Here’s the current issue: http://canadianteachermagazine.com/articles/literacy/CTM_2014_linda_bailey.pdf

and you can go through the archives to read past columns.
Happy reading!

Something from Nothing, Phoebe Gilman

Something from Nothing, Phoebe Gilman

When Joseph was a baby, his grandfather made him a shimmering blue blanket adorned with the moon and stars.
As the boy grows and the blanket wears out, the old tailor recycles it, in succession fashioning a jacket, a vest, a tie and, finally, a cloth-covered button.
But when Joseph loses the button, even his grandfather cannot make something from nothing.

With lovely repetition and internal rhyme, this thoughtfully presented Jewish folktale will captivate readers right through the ending, in which the boy discovers one last way of using what he has.

I especially love the art in this book, which shows a whole new layer of story that is not in the text, as the snippets of fabric fall through the cracks of the floor, helping the family of mice that live below.

This is a wonderful tale to read together, to give as a gift for a newborn and to share with older students as a Jewish fairytale.

  • ISBN-10: 1443119466
  • ISBN-13: 978-1443119467

 Ages 5-11.