Walters, Eric. Today is the Day. Illus. Eugenie Fernandes. Toronto: Tundra Books, a division of Random House of Canada, 2015.Eric Walters, who has written a wealth of realistic fiction for Canadian children, now takes young audiences into the realm of fictionalized reality. The decision to fictionalize is warranted; the unvarnished truths with which he deals are stark enough for an adult’s comprehension, let alone that of a child. A former teacher and social worker, Walters established The Creation of Hope, a foundation which runs an orphanage in the Mbooni district in Kenya. He works with hundreds of children who have lost parents to a wide variety of causes including HIV/AIDS. Children arrive at his orphanage because any extended family members whom they might have are too impoverished or frail to provide for them. Today is the Day is set in the orphanage.Walters’ gift as a writer is the ability to create a positive, hopeful and believable moment in a harsh reality. His young protagonist, Mutanu, has awakened to a day of celebration, a day when all one hundred fifteen young residents of the orphanage would receive gifts and treats and visits from extended family. Even more exciting than these events for Mutanu and each of fifteen others, this day, July 12, was to be declared their official birthday. Such were the circumstances of their early lives that no record of their birth exists. Now, for the very first time, Mutanu’s “… coming into the world was not forgotten but was a cause for joyous celebration.”Eugenia Fernandes’ illustrations convey the expansiveness and beauty of the Kenyan landscape, the humbleness and simplicity of the orphanage. Her line drawings are generally realistic in perspective, whimsical in content. Her color palette is cheerful and sunlit. In large part, her work creates the mood of hopefulness in this book.Extensive end notes explain the purpose and setting of the Creation of Hope foundation and, as well, provide photographs of the orphanage. The background to this story is explained, and we are introduced to the real Mutanu and some of her friends. There is no direct appeal for funds in the book itself; however, the publisher’s notes indicate that “A contribution to The Creation of Hope will be made by the author and publisher based on sales of this book in Canada.” It seems a worthy cause.Highly Recommended: 4 out of 4 starsReviewer: Leslie AitkenLeslie Aitken’s long career in librarianship involved selection of literature for school, public, special and academic libraries. She was a former Curriculum Librarian at the University of Alberta.
International Adoption Comparative Legal Research – Child Adoption in Georgia, Issues for Legislative Harmonization
