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Books + Travel = The Best!

A while ago I started a post about to amazing books I find as I travel. You can read about those earlier titles here: https://www.margrietruurs.com/books-as-windows-to-the-world/

I keep finding fabulous books as I travel, books that help me to learn more about the world in both fiction and nonfiction. Here are some more of my all time favourites that I am grateful to have come across:

A beautiful book about Mongolia: Hearing Birds Fly by Louise Waugh. This nonfiction story is an account of living with nomads and describes much of their lives in detail. Walking the Gobi by Helen Thayer describes the incredible feat of an American couple that walks across the country. Their endurance is amazing and the book shares lots of details about Mongolia and its people. I recognized places I visited.

In Saudi Arabia I gained a better understanding of the difficulties faces by women, by reading In the Land of Invisible Women: A Female Doctor’s Journey in the Saudi Kingdom by

Qanta Ahmed. As a female within the country, she describes the culture and its strong traditions in such intricate detail

that it feels as if you’re right there with her.

One of my favorite books ever I found just before visiting Jordan: Married to A Bedouin by Marguerite van Geldermalsen is the facinating story of how this young woman traveled from her home in New Zealand to Jordon, where she fell in love and married a bedouin man. She ended up living most of the rest of her life in a cave in ancient Petra where she raised her children and became part of the community. When we visited Petra, we met  her as she was signing books, and had a delightful discussion with the author.

While in Turkey I was given a copy of a graphic novel about growing up in this country in the ’60 and ’70’s. Dare to Disappoint: Growing Up in Turkey by Ozge Samanci is a fascinating insight look at growing up in a turbulent country.

I gained a deeper understanding of children’s life in a slum in Kenya, and of the importance of family, by reading Walking Home by Eric Walters. Having seen the immense slum, the city of Nairobi and the vastness of Kenya, it was all the more impressive to read about the author walk with orphans across the country.

Finding Lien by Bruce Logan is a fictional story placed in Cambodia but it is a very realistic tale of the child sex trade. The bravely told tale is a scary part of the country’s culture but also one that creates awareness as you travel there.

I haven’t yet been to Zimbabwe, Botswana or India but feel that I’ve been there after reading Barefoot Over The Serengeti by David Read which gives a great impression of what it was like for the author to grow up in this wild and beautiful country. Twenty Chickens For A Saddle, by Robyn Scott is a wonderful, and funny, account of a childhood spend in Botswana as are of course the Number One Ladies Detective Agency books by Alexander McCall Smith.

Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts and Secret Daughter by Shilphi Somaya Gowda are stories about India that stay with you and become part  of you as a reader.

And finally a book that makes me want to visit Bhutan: Married to Bhutan: How One Woman Got Lost, Said I Do and Found Bliss by Linda Leaming who did all this things in addition to writing her spellbinding book.

Happy travel, happy reading!

Books to Share in February

These books are always good but particularly fun to share in February. They focus on friendship (Valentine), time and just plain fun. I also try to list lesser known books rather than all the well known titles.

(P) = picturebook

Valentine Hearts: Holiday Poetry by by Lee Bennett Hopkins and JoAnn Adinolfi (poetry)

• It’s About Time, Pascale Estellon (nonfiction)

• PoPo’s Lucky Chinese New Year by Virginia Loh-Hagan (P)

• A World of Kindness by Editors and Illustrators of Pajama Press (P)

• Maggie’s Chopsticks by Alan Woo (P)

• Sterling, Best Dog Ever by Cassie, Aidan (P)

• Meet Viola Desmond by MacLeod, Elizabeth (nonfiction)

• The Word Collector by Reynolds, Peter H.

• Red Is Best by Stinson, Kathy

• Happy Valentine’s Day, Mouse! by Laura Numeroff 

• Love the Baby by Layne, Steven L.

• Nut and Bolt by Cock, Nicole DeClerc

• The Giving Tree by Silverstein, Shel

• Zoom by Banyai, Istvan

• Pete the Cat: Valentine’s Day Is Cool by James Dean

• The Other Author Arthur by Fitch, Sheree (early reader)

• Goodnight, Sweet Pig by Bailey, Linda (poetry)

• Effie by Allinson, Beverley

• Hooray For Diffendoofer Day! by Seuss, Dr.

• Dear Mr. Henshaw by Cleary, Beverly

• Whoever You Are by Fox, Mem

• Koala Lou by Fox, Mem

And finally a review of a wonderful new picturebook coming out in April 2020: The Word For Friend by Aidan Cassie is the story of a little kid, no wait, it’s a little pangolin – who moves to a new country. She likes trying new foods and seeing new sights but when she gets to her new school, she does not speak the language. How do you make friends if you can’t understand them? This is a lovely story of making friends, trying new things and learning about the world. The fictional story is accompanied by nonfiction information on esperanto, a world language as well as information on pangolins.

 

Books About Books

As a writer, I love books about books, libraries and reading. One of my all-time favourites is Jeremiah Learns To Read by Jo Ellen Bogart, as is The Wednesday Surprise by Eve Bunting – both are beautiful picture books about illiteracy.

I like picture books like The Library Lion by Michelle Knudson, or The Girl Who Hated Books by Manjusha Pawagi and Too Many Books by Gilles Tibo.
I admired entire novels based on fairytales, like Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine. One of my favourite novels about a school library is The Tiny Hero of Ferny Creek Library by Linda Bailey where brave Eddy the bug saved the school library by knowing how to read. 

I hope you have read Souperchicken by Mary Jane Auch? It’s a very funny story about a chicken who saves lives by learning to read.

I wasn’t sure if I’d like Ink Heart by Cornelia Funke because it is fantasy, and I’m not fond of fantasy. But, in a Harry Potteresque way, I found the book spellbinding and was fascinated by the plot, and the good writing. I’m not sure I’ll read all books in the trilogy but I did very much enjoy the first book.

And then I saw the book I just finished reading: Ban This Book by Alan Gratz. I read it in two evenings and loved it. This is a brilliant, funny story based on a very real concern, that of banning books in school libraries. Gratz skillfully deals with both sides of the issue in a great way. He leaves the power to solve the problem to the kids but manages to show parental concern, the responsibilities of school boards and – most of all – the importance of having a real librarian in the school library and the influence books can have on a child’s life. The book shows how school libraries can be critical to the development of children. His main character grows and changes throughout the story. Gratz neatly quotes real titles, real authors (Dav Pilkey is a visiting author in the story) and real book banning cases, wrapping up all loose ends in a satisfying manner. Highly recommended for kids, activists, parents, school administrators and all library lovers.

January Books!

 

Any book can be read at any time. But some books are particularly suited for a certain time of year. Here are my recommendations, both picturebooks (P) and novels (N), for January. For my selections I focused on the weather, on new beginnings and just books that felt like… well, January books:

  • I Stood Upon A Mountain, Aileen Fisher (P)
      • The Boy Who Walked Bacwards by Ben Sures (P)  (http://www.bensures.com/book-publication/)
  • January’s Sparrow by Patricia Polacco (P)
  • No Fixed Address by Nielsen, Susin (N)
  • The Lost Words by Macfarlane, Robert (P)
  • The Mitten by Jan Brett (P)
  • One Year in Coal Harbor, Horvath, Polly (N)
  • An Orange in January by Dianna Hutts Aston (P)
  • Today Is the Day by Walters, Eric (P)
  • If Kids Ruled the World by Bailey, Linda  (P)
  • Something Else by Cave, Kathryn (P)
  • Countdown by Mikaelson, Ben (N)
  • Something From Nothing by Gilman, Phoebe (P)
  • It’s Raining Pigs and Noodles by Prelutsky, Jack (poetry)
  • Northern Lights: The Soccer Trails by Kusugak, Michael Arvaarluk (P)
  • Nightjohn by Paulsen, Gary (N)
  • The Wednesday Surprise by Bunting, Eve (P)
  • Sleepy Bears by Fox, Mem (P)
  • Selina and the Bear Paw Quilt by Barbara Smucker (P)

Stay tuned for lists for each month as well as for global and nonfiction themes.

Book to Read (Aloud) during December

Books are wonderful to share aloud any time. But these books are especially fun to read in December. In this list, I didn’t include well known classics like The Polar Express or The Grinch Who Stole Christmas by tried to give you some of my favourite titles that you might not know yet:

  • The Teachers’ Night Before Christmas by Layne, Steven L.
  • You Are Stardust, Kelsey, Elin
  • Yetsa’s Sweater, Olsen, Sylvia
  • The True Story of Santa Claus, Walters, Christina
  • How Do Dinosaurs Say Happy Chanukah? by Jane Yolen
  • My Name Is Blessing, Walters, Eric
  • Emma’s Cold Day, Ruurs, Margriet 
  • When Santa Was a Baby, Bailey, Linda
  • Christmas, From Solstice to Santa by Nikki Tate & Dani Tate-Stratton
  • Island Santa by Sheryl McFarlane
  • Amos’s Sweater by Lunn, Janet
  • Little Crooked Christmas Tree by Michael Cutting 
  • Stone Fox by Gardiner, John Reynolds
  • Angel Mae: A Tale Of Trotter Street by Shirley Hughes
  • Christmas, Dick Bruna
  • Children of the Yukon by Harrison, Ted
  • Owl Moon by Yolen, Jane 
  • Thomas’ Snowsuit by Munsch, Robert
  • Baseball Bats for Christmas by Kusugak, Michael Arvaarluk
  • Peter Spier’s Christmas! by Spier, Peter
  • Gifts by Bogart, Jo Ellen
  • Wombat Divine by Fox, Mem
  • Letters from Father Christmas, J. R.R. Tolkien
  • The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey by Susan Wojciechowski
  • Thank You, Santa by Margaret Wild
  • The Baker’s Dozen: A Saint Nicholas Tale by Aaron Shepard

And finally a novel: Alphabet of Dreams by Susan Fletcher.  One of the novels I most admire for writing style and research. This is the incredible tale of two children who travel along with the three kings on their way to Bethlehem. A book that adults will enjoy as much as older teens.

Powerful (true) Novels

Here are some powerful novels I enjoyed reading. Hope you (or your (pre)teen readers) will, too.

The 2004 Asian tsunami lead Canadian author Eric Walters to write his novel Wave (Doubleday Canada, ISBN 978-0-385-66443-1), a juvenile fiction novel. Sam and his parents leave his sister behind in snowy New York to spend Christmas on the beach in Thailand. Little did they know that their lives were about to change forever. The first part of the story is written in the voice of 12 year old Sam, the latter part in Beth’s voice – making this a book that will appeal to both boys and girls. Once the tsunami hits, the book becomes a page turner.

Walters uses a similar natural disaster – the earthquake in Haiti, to pen another novel based on a current event that will bring reality to students who have heard about it and seen it on TV. In Shaken (Doubleday Canada, ISBN 9
78-0-385-67081-4) 15 year old Josh and a church youth group travel to Haiti to help, not knowing that a devastating earthquake will change minds and lives forever. (Also available as e-book.)

And two more powerful books written in the first person; both gripping personal narratives showing the importance of keeping a diary.

The Story of My Life (Simon & Schuster, ISBN 1-4169-0670-3) was written by Farah Ahmedi, an Afghan girl who shares an insight into her childhood in Afghanistan where the classrooms only have a chalkboard and where it is difficult for a girl to get an education. Farah’s life is forever changed when, en route to school, she steps on a landmine. The book was voted Winner of America’s #1 Story. 

Similarly powerful is the novel The Bite of the Mango by Mariatu Kamara with Susan McClelland (Annick Press, ISBN 978-1-55451-158-7). Mariatu lived in Sierra Leone where war changed her childhood. During an attack by child rebels, Mariatu lost both hands. Her amazing story is well written and brings home the reality of war but also of hope and human resilience. Mariatu now lives in Canada and serves as special representative for UNICEF.

Books With International Appeal

While conducting author visits to international schools around the world, I often come across amazing books, titles that children in many countries will enjoy. Here are some of my favorites to share with students in different cultures:

GIFTS, a picture book written by Jo Ellen Bogart and illustrated in plasticine by Barbara Reid. Published by Scholastic, ISBN-13 978-0-590-24935-5

A grandmother travels around the world, sending back gifts to her granddaughter. From Africa she sends ‘a bilboa seed and the roar of the jungle king’. While in India, the lyrical, poetic text says “What would you have me bring?” “Just something nice, like curry and rice, and a sitar’s twang and twing.” The elaborate plasticine illustration is rich with elephants, mosques and fruits.

The book takes young readers from Mexico to the Arctic, from Australia to Switzerland and places in between. A perfect ‘gift’ for those who like to travel!

For students in grades 4 and up, I highly recommend FOLLOW THE ELEPHANT, a novel by Beryl Young, published by Ronsdale Press. ISBN 978-1-55380-098-9.

The mother of thirteen-year-old Ben is concerned. Since losing his father, Ben is spending way too much time playing video games and refuses to talk about his feelings. Then Ben’s grandmother decides to take him along to India, on her quest to locate a long-lost penpal. Together they travel from Delhi to Agra, from Varanasi to Mahabalipuram and places in between, using different modes to transport. While starting off reluctantly, Ben soon learns about different cultures and religions. He finds out about elephant gods and explores caves, making friends along the route, not only discovering about the world around him but much about himself. Students who have lived in different places will identify with Ben.

I was introduced to one of my all time favorite books by a librarian in Singapore:THE LONDON JUNGLE BOOK, written and illustrated by Bhajju Shyam, published by Tara Books. ISBN 13: 9788186211878

This is a large, illustrated book and will appeal to children as much as it will to adults. A tribal artist from the Gond Community in India, Bhajju Shyam had never left the village of his birth. He was, however, invited to come to London to paint murals in an Indian restaurant. The book is his diary, in words and images of his impressions, ideas, and emotions while living in a world city, among a different culture. Using Gond idioms as they have never been used before, he turned London into a strange bestiary, bringing the signs of the forest to bear on the city. This appealing blend of nonfiction, legend, and personal narrative makes for an unforgettable read.

Let Me Tell You My Story…

Let Me Tell You My Story, Refugee Stories of Hope, Courage and Humanity
Compiled by ‘Their Story is Our Story’

If you have enjoyed reading and using my book Stepping Stones, A Refugee Family’s Journey, you will appreciate this gorgeous book (for adults).

“I want to have my own family…”
Layla from Ethiopia shares how she left her home in search of work, a better place to live. She tells how she walked for days and days with her baby on her back.
Parsa had to flee Iran because he loved music and the Islamic police persecuted him for singing. “Now I am in Germany and I go to music school and can achieve my dream.”

This large, coffee table art book is full of gorgeous photos and heart wrenching stories.
The people are real. They share their life experience on one page, recorded by volunteers who felt it was time that we put a face to the term ‘refugee’.
Some of the images are beautiful oil paintings or sketches by Elizabeth Thayer. “Art has the power to bring people together,” she says, I hope that my work will others understand the challenges refugees face, encourage empathy, and inspire others to find their own way to come to the rescue.” That is the message throughout this gorgeous book. Information on Fleeing, Borders, Asylum and more inform the reader and create a better understanding of the humanity of refugees and the urgent need for all of us to work together to help bring people home.

A portion of the proceeds of each volume sold will fund awareness of refugees worldwide.
For a peek inside and more details, go here: https://www.amazon.ca/exec/obidos/ASIN/1641700491/bookfrompubca-20

  • Hardcover: 232 pages
  • Publisher: Familius (Nov. 20 2018)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 9781641700498
  • ISBN-13: 978-1641700498

The Power of a Library

 

I read THE BOY WHO HARNESSED THE WIND thinking it would be a story of inventory and innovation. It was. But it also was much more.
William Kamkwamba grew up in a very poor, but loving, family and village in Malawi. I could picture him walking along the dusty roads, trying to find enough money to attend school.
But he has to drop out and spends years working and studying on his own, hanging on to the dream that, one day, he will be able to return to class.
Meanwhile he hangs out in a tiny local library, with books donated by the USA. Not only is this William’s story, to me it also is the story of the amazing impact books can have on a person’s life.

If William had not had access to books and a kind librarian, he might never have achieved what he did: to invent a wind mill, to build batteries, to create power for his home and village and to be ‘discovered’ by scientists and the technology community that brought worldwide attention to this young man.
He deserves all of the credit, but so does the library, the librarian and the people who donated the books.

The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind is available as a nonfiction novel, a picture book and now also as a major motion picture.