Amphibian

Amphibian
By Carla Gunn
Published by Coach House Books
Reviewed by Martha Beach

Phineas William Walsh is nine. He lives with his mom. He likes to dance to the Celtic happy music with his mom, not that it happens very often any more. Phin also seems to have an encyclopedic knowledge of plants, animals, and the natural world. He can tell you anything you want to know about frogs, dogs, whales, the endangered species list, ants, and much more. He has thousands of facts that he could recite off the top of his head and he understands the workings of nature and the planet better than most adults.

But what Phin doesn't understand is why his dad left and rarely comes home, why he isn't allowed to watch The Blue Channel, why his grandfather died, or why that waste-of-space Lyle has to pick on him every day at school.

To make all that not-understanding even worse, Phin is worried sick about the future of the planet and what humans all over the world are doing to the plants, animals, and land around them. He doesn't understand why the rest of the world isn't loosing sleep because a quarter of all of earth's animals are on the Red List of Threatened Species. To top it all off, his fourth grade teacher surprises the class with a new pet: a White's Tree Frog! So now, Phin has to worry about how to rescue and free this poor little frog that is all cooped up in a class aquarium.

This novel is gripping, extremely sad, and hilariously funny. As the story progresses, you are drawn more deeply into Phin's many turbulent worlds filled with worry, love, hatred, and good intentions. It's the story of a young boy who is trying to balance the lightness and darkness in his own world, all the while trying to save the whole world.

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The Arrival

The Arrival
By Shaun Tan
Published by Arthur A. Levine Books
Reviewed by Martha Beach and Lisa Tran

The story of immigration is one so universal that it transcends language.

Shaun Tan understands this in his unique graphic novel, The Arrival, a full story of a man who leaves behind his family in order to immigrate to a new country - all told through a series of pictures.

Follow the main character from page to page, place to place, and watch as he journeys through his new and strange world without saying a word. The detailed drawn images are realistic. They evoke a sense of loneliness, bewilderment, frustration, fear, and joy that many immigrants experience when adjusting to a new culture.

A story told without words, The Arrival will capture the imagination of all who behold its beautifully illustrated pages.

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Where The Streets Had a Name

Where The Streets Had a Name
By Randa Abdel-Fattah
Published by Scholastic Canada
Ages 13+
Reviewed by Martha Beach
   
    Hayaat and her family used to own a beautiful olive farm. Her father worked hard and loved the olive grove. She and her siblings played happily and her mother was incredibly creative.

But everything changed drastically one day when they received a demolition notice from the Israeli army. Since then, Hyaat and her family have been living in a tiny apartment in Bethlehem.
Her two little brothers, a sulking father, nagging mother, talkative grandmother, and wedding-fevered sister are all packed into a few rooms, sometimes for days at a time when a curfew is issued by the Israeli Army.

Her new home, school, and shops are situated behind a huge impenetrable wall that divides the West Bank. Unfortunately, Hayaat and her family are on the wrong side of the wall.

When Hayaat's beloved grandmother becomes ill and expresses her urge to feel the soil of her home once more before she dies, Hayaat and her friend Sammy set off on the adventure of their lives.

Battling roadblocks, dealing with gun-toting and intimidating soldiers, Hayaat and Sammy must travel only a few miles, but find themselves in an entirely different world.

Author, Randa Abdel-Fattah deals with loss, friendship, family, war, and an extremely delicate political subject with grace, humour, and truth. Readers are sure to be submersed right from the beginning of the book. They will feel sadness, happiness, and the dusty road that Hayaat and Sammy are travelling on.

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The Secret of Your Name (Kiimooch ka shinikashooyen)

The Secret of Your Name (Kiimooch ka shinikashooyen)
By David Bouchard
Reviewed by Martha Beach
Published by Fitzhenry and Whiteside

Through story and spectacular art and music, this book is a moving tribute to a group of people who have lost so much. The Secret of Your Name is a call to the people of Canada to remember and help others to regain a solid cultural identity.

In this beautifully illustrated book, the author explores what it means to be Métis. He tells the story of his own identity and that of many other Métis people. The book strongly stresses the need to uphold cultural traditions and takes a look at the meaning and identity of the Métis in Canada.

The book includes a double narrative- one written in English or French, and one written in Michif, the language of the Métis people. The text also comes with a CD of traditional Métis music: John Arcand's “Master of the Fiddle.”

The book may be a picture book, but it's definitely a book for all ages. It's a story for anyone who wants to learn about one of Canada's unique cultures.

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The Mitochondrial Curiosities of Marcels 1 to 19

The Mitochondrial Curiosities of Marcels 1 to 19
By Jocelyn Brown
Ages 12 to 16
Published by Coach House Books
Reviewed by Martha Beach

We meet Dree while she's on her way to her dad's pancake brunch memorial, after he's had a fatal heart attack. It is also Dree's fifteenth birthday, but she's not really thinking about that little fact.

Mostly she's thinking about Edmonton's awful bus system, her ugly hand-made skirt, and the special fund her father promised her for her birthday. With that money, Dree will be out of Edmonton, on the WestJet Flight 233 to Toronto and more specifically, on her way to the upcoming Renegade Craft Fair.

Dree is not really very social and she's not very interested in Biology, or English, or Social Studies-actually she's not very interested in school at all. Dree likes to make things and she keeps a blog about how to actually do DIY crafts without spending money on fancy art supplies. The Renegade Craft Fair in Toronto is her chance to start over, away from Edmonton and the misery of high school.

But Dree comes to realize that her father may not have left her this special account. He left behind a lot of other things though-an ex-wife, two daughters, a new wife, debt, and a whole lot of open-ended questions that Dree feels the need to answer.

The answer to these questions can not be easily answered. While trying to solve the mystery surrounding her father, Dree encounters fire, family scandal, a new friend, and nineteen tiny sock-creatures named Marcel.

The Mitochondrial Curiosities of Marcels 1 to 19 is a smart young-adult novel. It's a coming-of-age story about a young woman who is looking for the correct way to grieve a lost father.

The Allergy-Free Cookbook

The Allergy-Free Cookbook
By Alice Sherwood
Published by DK
Reviewed by Lisa Tran

The Allergy-Free Cookbook is unique. There are no dismal, “special diet” versions of recipes. Instead there are dishes from around the world that center on ingredients other than eggs, dairy, gluten, and nuts.

It may seem like gluten-free and dairy-free diets are mere trends or the latest gimmicks for quick weight loss, but for many, these food intolerances and allergies can be life threatening. That's why Allergy-Free Cookbook is different. Sherwood is a real mom who prepares real meals for a son with real food allergies.

This cookbook has more than 100 recipes for meals, snacks, and lunchboxes as well as for suppers and birthday parties. By experimenting with polenta and potato flour, for example, Sherwood has invented a gluten-free crunchy shortcrust pastry.

With  The Allergy-Free Cookbook, everyone's invited to dinner!

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Tumbleweed Skies

Tumbleweed Skies
By Valerie Sherrard
Published by Fitzhenry and Whiteside
Reviewed by Martha Beach

Ellie never met her mother, she died when Ellie was young. Ellie's father is forced to take a job as a travelling salesman with the Marvelous Cookware Company in order to support them both.

So, while her father travels and sells in hopes of making ends meat, Ellie is forced to stay with a very bitter grandmother who doesn't want her around- or at least that's how it seems. 

Grandmother Acklebee has had a hard life, with many disappointments, but Ellie only begins to understand why that is near the end of her stay. 

The story takes place on a farm in the middle of the praries near Moose Jaw, as wide as the sea and as dusty as a desert.  Grandma Acklebees farm is dusty, faded, old and sun-baked. Ellie's grandmother makes Ellie do numerous chores, often working all morning before having a chance to sit down.

Uncle Roger is Grandma Acklebee's only son, and Ellie's only relief and her only friend, despite there being a little girl a few farms away who Ellie occasionally gets to play with.

Written from the perfect view-point of a child, with funny emotions and immature details and thoughts, this novel is bound to have kids hooked and charmed within the first chapter.

Ellie makes it through her time at the old faded farm, and while she's there, Ellie learns quite a lot about her Grandmother Acklebee and her own mother, but even more important, Grandma Acklebee learns about herself.

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies
By Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith
Published by Quirk Classics
Reviewed by Martha Beach

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies is the original, classic text written by Jane Austen, but which a slight ghastly twist. It is certain to entice even those who never really like Jane Austen's romantic, flowery stories.

We find out right from the start that an unknown plague has befallen the small and quiet English village of Meryton. Many people die. But then they return to life!

Elizabeth Bennet, the original heroin of Pride and Prejudice, is still with us in this zombie version and is determined to wipe out all the risen-from-the-dead enemies.

But quite predictably, the dashing and arrogant Mr. Darcy quickly distracts her.

The story following their romantic encounter is of course, just as the original romance was, a delightful comedy with friendly sparring between lovers. But along with lovers' sparring, slightly more violent and gory sparring takes place as Elizabeth attempts to defeat the zombies that have taken over her town.

This text comes complete with 20 of the original illustrations by C.E. Brock, a tone classic romance, one very humorous relationships, and a good portion of blood and gore. 


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Off the Grid

Off the Grid: Modern Homes and Alternative Energy
By Lori Ryker
Published by Gibbs Smith
Reviewed by Martha Beach

This text looks at the ecological and cultural problems associated with modern energy usage. The author looks at comprehensive ways to have a beautiful house but use much, much less energy and power.

For houses of many different incomes and in many different places, this text gives homeowners ideas for improving their home's energy usage, having eco-friendly reconstruction projects and power-saving tips.

The author shows us how to avoid hooking up homes to city services. She includes tips and ideas on how to choose and incorporate “off the grid” technologies into your home. The book looks ideas as simple as rainwater collection to wind turbines, micro-hydro power and geo-thermal energy.

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The Thief Lord

The Thief Lord
By Cornelia Funke
Ages 12+
Published by Scholastic Canada

The Thief Lord tells the tale of Prosper and Bo, two orphaned brothers who have run away from their aunt and uncle. When their mother was still alive, she often spoke of Venice as a magical city, and so the two boys decide to flee to Venice.

There, they meet the Thief Lord who runs a ring of street children who dabble in petty crimes, in the Oliver Twist style.

The two brothers become close with the Thief Lord and the other children in his colourful family, but they quickly discover that the Thief Lord has a dark secret. Soon Prosper, Bo, and the rest of the gang are thrown into circumstances beyond their control. They embark on an adventure throughout the meandering canals and narrow alleyways of Venice.

This modern classic has become one of the most popular children's novels of the past decade. It has the perfect mix of adventure, mischief, magic, and friendship, and is bound to keep your students turning pages.

Lighthouses of Atlantic Canada

Lighthouses of Atlantic Canada
By David Baird
Published by Red Deer Press
Reviewed by Martha Beach

Currently, Canada's east coast has several hundred lighthouses, and this beautiful text, Lighthouses, features nearly 250 of them.

There is a huge amount of information included in this text. It is complete with full-colour photographs, historical and cultural facts, and even directions of how to reach the lighthouses that are accessible to the public. Also included are special in-depth chapters that focus of different types of lighthouses and well as how the actual lights themselves work.

And, while Lighthouses includes a lot of information and photos, it is still a good size, about the size of a textbook: big enough to have detailed pictures and a nice layout, but not as enormous as a coffee-table book.

The real treats though are the stories surrounding each of the lighthouses. The stories included by the author are accounts of personal sacrifice, heroism and ingenuity, and are as much a part of the buildings as wood it is made out of.

From the well-known Peggy's Point Cove to remote parts of Atlantic Canada, there are stories, photos and facts galore.

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Sushi- Taste and Technique

Sushi - Taste and Technique 

By K. Kimiko Barber
Published by DK

For those who want to try their hand at something new, this sushi cookbook is a fully-illustrated guide to making many different kinds of sushi.

Designed to be simple to follow and easy to read, Sushi-Taste and Technique shows how to prepare eggs, veggies, and rice.
For those who aren't too squeamish, there are guides on how to cut and gut fish and octopus and how to prepare them for eating.

Recipes for makizushi, hand rolls, vegetarian sushi, and much more are all included.

There are over 450 colour photographs, step-by-step recipe guides, tips on how to buy the freshest ingredients and sushi etiquette tips.

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Kenk: A Graphic Portrait

Kenk: A Graphic Portrait
By Richard Poplak
Published by Pop Sandbox
Reviewed by Martha Beach

Kenk is a journalistic graphic novel that details the life of Igor Kenk, who is now known as the world's most prolific bike thief.

In the summer of 2008, Kenk was arrested in Toronto when almost 3,000 bicycles were seized from him. They were all assumed to be stolen, although only a couple hundred were able to be legitimately claimed by Torontonians. It was one of the biggest news stories of the year.

The illustrations in the novel are taken from never-before-seen documentary footage of Kenk that was filmed during the year leading up to his arrest.  They are raw images of a man who was both loved and hated.

Kenk is an amusing and thought-provoking graphic portrait of a bigger-than-life character living in a changing city, both affected by the forces of economic crisis and gentrification. The Queen West neighbourhood changed drastically in the decade that Kenk lived there, but Kenk didn't change with it.

In Kenk, we see a changing Toronto through the eyes of someone who has a lot of good ideas and good intentions, but has gone about it in the worst way. After reading Kenk: A Graphic Portrait, you may understand why Igor Kenk did what he did, you may understand that he wanted to help people and benefit his city, but he simply went about it in the completely wrong way.

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Muskoka

Muskoka
By Mike Grandmaison
Published by Key Porter
Reviewed by Martha Beach

Get ready for a long-weekend of barbeques, canoeing, hiking, swimming and campfires with this gorgeous coffee-table book. It is a beautiful and stunning photographic portrait of one of Canada's vacation wonderlands.

For this book, Mike Grandmaison, an award-winning Canadian photographer, has turned his photographic eye to the summer playground of Ontario's cottage haven, Muskoka.

Muskoka means “land of the red earth” and this area of Ontario stretches from the eastern wilderness of Algonquin Park to the western shores of Georgian Bay Islands.

Featured in this text are images of forest's rugged beauty, clear, pristine lakes and settlements of the photographer's favourite cottage destinations. Each photo is crisp, clean, and contains colours and hues of all shades from the natural world, from the orange skies of a late-august sunset to the clean, blue water on a hot summer's day.

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The Life and Love of Trees

The Life and Love of Trees
By Lewis Blackwell
Published by Chronicle Books
Reviewed by Martha Beach

Trees are a vital part of life, just like the sun and the air.
Without trees human kind simply would not have survived. But not only are trees completely essential for shelter, construction and nutrients, they have been an inspiration for art and religion throughout history and all over the world.

The Life and Love of Trees is a beautiful and breathtaking collection of photographs that were taken during a journey from the boreal forest at the edge of the Arctic to rainforests.

The text is simple and accessible, yet written eloquently, so it is interesting yet comprehensive.
This photographic series features huge, ancient bristlecones and fresh-leaved tiny seedlings. The trees in this book are beautiful, scary, charming and rare, and your eyes are bound to widen at these gorgeous photographs of much-needed and much-loved plants: trees.

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Tattoos and Indigenous Peoples

Tattooing: Tattoos and Indigenous Peoples
By Judith Levin
Ages 12+
Published by Rosen Publishing Group
Reviewed by Martha Beach

Tattoos are popular among many different cultures and have many different meanings. Tattoos and Indigenous Peoples looks at the nature of indigenous and tribal peoples and their uses of tattoos. Tattoo traditions of Japan, India, the Arctic, the Americas, Polynesia and Oceania are also examined.

Ancient cultures and tribes have used tattoos to mark milestones in life. Today, tattoo artists pride themselves on being their own tribe of sorts. Modern tattoo artists have the purpose of perpetuating this old and interesting art form.

The Tattooing series studies anthropological significance of tattoos in culture, permanence of tattoo images, and the innovation of tattooing over the years.

The book is easy to understand, very clearly laid-out and includes several colour photographs. It also includes an overview of the anthropologists who studied tattoo meanings and symbols, which can have different meanings in different places of the world.

Tattooing closes with a discussion of how tattoos can now be seen as a revival or a fashion choice among modern people who can choose their style and identity more freely than could early indigenous peoples.

Learn more about this type of artistic expression and its historical roots with this book about tattoos from many cultures around the world.

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Love Struck

Love Struck
By Chantel Simmons
Published by Key Porter Books
Reviewed by Lisa Tran

Poppy Ross leads a seemingly perfect life. She's a successful career woman, working as an image consultant and is married to her devoted husband, Parker.

All of that quickly changes however, when Poppy discovers Parker is having an affair. Before she can confront him, he is conveniently struck by lightning and loses his memory. In an attempt to save her marriage, Poppy remakes herself in the mistress' image.

Poppy's question to become Parker's perfect woman has hilarious and disastrous results. Her misadventures mirror many of the inner struggles shared by women everywhere. Love Struck is a tale of love, loss, friendship, mischief, determining one's self-worth, and many “She did what?!” moments.

You will laugh and you will cry and then laugh some more.

If you enjoy the likes of Sophie Kinsella and Jennifer Weiner, you will surely love Chantel Simmons' sophomore title, Love Struck.

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Stolen Child

Stolen Child
By Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch
Published by Scholastic Canada
Ages 9-14
Reviewed by Martha Beach

Coming to Canada after spending five years in a Displaced Persons camp in Austria is a huge change for Nadia. She moves into a new house in Brantford, Ontario, which takes some getting used to. But she is now safe in Canada, away from Europe and away from the war.

But soon after she arrives, Nadia starts to have dreams, nightmares, and flashbacks of the war years in Europe. Are they simply nightmares or they memories? This is what Nadia has to find out.

While Nadia adjusts to her present and future life in Canada in a new house, a new school, new customs, new neighbours, and even new parents, she must also deal with her past. She must try and remember what happened to her in the old country before she can feel safe and comfortable in her new one.

For her first summer in Canada, Nadia spends day times with Miss MacIntosh, a neighbour on her new street who teaches her how to speak English.

But when Nadia starts school in the fall, her classmates tease her and are mean and unfriendly. simply because she isn't Canadian in their eyes. They call her the “Hitler girl” because of her blonde hair and blue eyes.

But Canada is Nadia's new home and she will have to let go of her old life and make a new one in Canada.

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Power: Ethical Debates about Resources and the Environment

Dilemmas in Modern Science- Power: Ethical Debates About Resources and the Environment
By Kate Ravilious
Ages 12+
Published by Smart Apple Media 
Reviewed by Martha Beach and Lisa Tran

You're probably spending much of your leisure time outdoors this summer. But are you really noticing the environment around you?

Read up about the natural resources we use and the debates surrounding them in this week's Book Bag selection.

Everything in our world is connected and has an effect on the natural world-from the electricity used to power your air conditioner to the gas you use to drive to the cottage.

Dilemmas in Modern Science series is eye-opening understanding of ethical issues surrounding modern science and technology. Power: Ethical Debates about Resources and the Environment focuses on controversial issue surrounding our resources.

Power presents both sides of environmental issues involving natural resources, including environmental ethics, power and energy, renewable resources, transportation, travel, wood, and water use. Each section focuses on a different issue, and, after providing students with facts about the different problems, the students are asked questions that they can debate about and attempt to answer.

The questions will get students thinking, talking and paying attention to important ethical issues about the power they use every day.

So, while you're cooking that burger on your grill, think about where the propane you're using came from and how its journey may have affected the environment around you.

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Bug Zoo

Bug Zoo
By Nick Baker
Ages: 8+
Published by DK
Reviewed by Martha Beach

The summer is the perfect time to get outside and explore the wildlife. Bug Zoo is perfect for kids who want to get outdoors and learn about the world around them.

This text teaches young readers how to turn backyard bugs into pets. It's a hands-on guide to nature and backyard bugs. Kids can learn to construct an ant farm or spider house, make a bee box, or wormery. This book is the perfect guide to making a zoo of insects, spiders, worms, and other common creepy-crawlies. It describes the bugs in detail and shows the correct ways to capture and care for backyard bugs.

Bug Zoo includes facts about natural history, bug biology information, inexpensive project ideas, over 150 colour photographs, diagrams, and tips on where to find bugs in the local park or in your own backyard.

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