scholarly journals The Hawk of the Castle: A Story of Medieval Falconry by D. Smith

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Arwen Thysse
Keyword(s):  
Public Libraries ◽  
Picture Book ◽  
Visual Aids ◽  
Medieval Studies ◽  
University Of Alberta ◽  
Bachelor Of Arts ◽  
Nuanced Understanding ◽  
The University ◽  
Attention To Detail ◽  
Secondary Text

Smith, Danna. The Hawk of the Castle: A Story of Medieval Falconry. Illustrated by Bagram Ibatoulline. Candlewick Press, 2017. The Hawk of the Castle is a picture book that tells a story centered on the practice of medieval falconry, and it is told from the perspective of a young girl whose father is the falconer of a castle. Upon picking up the book, the reader will immediately be drawn into Bagram Ibatoulline’s beautiful acrylic gouache illustrations, which not only vividly portray the content of the story, but also complement the work by depicting technical aspects of falconry that a reader might not easily imagine without visual aids. The great attention to detail and realistic style of the illustrations lends itself to the historical setting of Danna Smith’s story—a vivid world that was once as real and familiar to its medieval inhabitants as our world is to us. The author’s note communicates the dedication of Smith to her story as it not only describes her own expertise as a falconer who was trained, like the girl in the story, by her father, but also gives insight into the history and sources she consulted to provide further understanding of the art of falconry as it was in the past and as it is now. The book is designed with two levels of reading in mind: the primary text, written in short rhyming verses, is one that a child might easily read on their own or with assistance. The secondary text, found in textboxes on each page, provides a more challenging and technical text which could be used at an adult’s discretion in order to provide a child with a more nuanced understanding of the aspects of falconry being described. This design is effective as it illuminates, in varying levels of complexity, a subject that is unlikely to be familiar to most readers. In addition to these two levels of reading, Smith also provides a list of resources for further information, allowing her book to become a gateway to even more complex and detailed understandings of falconry and the medieval period. In this way, The Hawk of the Castle, also becomes a means for readers to learn about an aspect of medieval life and society outside of more popular stories about princesses and knights in shining armour. Together Smith and Ibatoulline have created a beautiful book that allows readers to encounter an ancient pastime through a story about medieval falconry, and for that reason it would be a good addition to both school and public libraries. Highly Recommended: 4 stars out of 4Reviewer:  Arwen Thysse Arwen Thysse is a graduate of the University of Alberta Bachelor of Arts program and graduate of the University of Toronto’s Master of Medieval Studies program. She is also an avid musician, and enjoys children’s books.

scholarly journals The Mad Wolf’s Daughter by D. Magras

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Arwen Thysse
Keyword(s):  
Middle Ages ◽  
Public Libraries ◽  
Young Girl ◽  
Modern World ◽  
Important Lesson ◽  
Medieval Studies ◽  
Her Family ◽  
University Of Alberta ◽  
Bachelor Of Arts ◽  
The University

Magras, Diane. The Mad Wolf’s Daughter. Kathy Dawson Books, 2018. The Mad Wolf’s Daughter is a children’s novel set in thirteenth-century Scotland that tells the story of Drest, a young girl who goes on an adventure to save her father and brothers after they are captured by invading forces. Diane Magras tells an engaging adventure story that sweeps you along with Drest as she tries to navigate a frightening world without her family—learning whom she can and cannot trust, and coming into her own as a young girl who can best adults through both her strength and her intelligence. Written for children, particularly girls of around the same age as Drest (12 years old), this story provides many insights into life, family, and friendship that both children and adults might find extremely powerful. For example, over the course of the story, Drest comes to understand that “you can’t always control your legend”—an important lesson in our modern world where rumour can spread so fast. The story emphasizes that you have to be true to yourself despite what people may be saying around you, and that it is this belief in one’s own self that can guide you through the roughest of times. As details around the lives of Drest’s family and the families of Drest’s friends are revealed in the story, Magras builds another powerful message about how it is ok to differ from and, indeed, disagree with people you love. Magras, aware that certain aspects of the medieval world in which she places her story may be unfamiliar to her audience, includes a glossary of terms as well as an author’s note that discusses the historical setting in greater detail. In particular, Magras does a good job of indicating that gender roles were not as fixed in the Middle Ages as is often assumed, and introduces the reader to the great variety of roles and indeed agency that women could have in the medieval period. Despite these positive traits, Magras’ story does seem to lack some depth to its world and only scratches the surface of the medieval context that she researched for the story. However, the exciting plot and vivacious characters satisfactorily carry the novel’s interest. Overall, this is a good adventure book which also offers a point of departure for readers to explore the medieval world in more detail. Therefore, this book would be a good addition to school and public libraries. Recommended: 3 out of 4 starsReviewer:  Arwen Thysse Arwen Thysse is a graduate of the University of Alberta Bachelor of Arts program and graduate of the University of Toronto’s Master of Medieval Studies program. She is also an avid musician, and enjoys children’s books.

At the Heart of It: Dene dzó t’áré by R. Taniton & M. Willett

2012 ◽  
Vol 1 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandy Campbell
Keyword(s):  
Public Libraries ◽  
Picture Book ◽  
Health Sciences ◽  
Way Of Life ◽  
Book Series ◽  
University Of Alberta ◽  
Bear Lake ◽  
The People ◽  
The University

Taniton, Raymond and Mindy Willett.  At the Heart of It: Dene dzó t’áré.  Markham, On:  Fifth   House, 2011.  Print. Indigenous author Raymond Taniton is a member of The Sahtugot’ine, or the “people of Great Bear Lake”.  In At the Heart of It, Taniton invites readers into his world.  We meet his family, see the Sahtu Region where he lives, meet the elders in the community, learn how to make a traditional hand drum, learn some games and read some of the stories.  The stories are particularly important. This book is the most recent in Fifth House’s “The Land is Our Story Book” series, all co-authored by writer Mindy Willett. Taniton concludes this volume by saying, “The land is our storybook. It is our school, our library, our church. It is where we learn our stories and where we discover who we are as true Dene people. The land is at the heart of it all”.  And in this book Taniton and Willett do succeed in helping us to understand “the land”. This is a picture book, an educational book and a celebration of what it means to be Satugot’ine. Tessa Macintosh’s photographs are used throughout. The top of each page has a border image of the beaded toes of twenty-one moccasins. Often a large image will form the background of a page with text and other images superimposed.  For example, for the story “The Lake is the Boss”, the background is an image which looks out through the mouth of a cave.  The story is about a giant wolf that lived in the cave. The text, along with smaller images of the island that the wolf became when he turned to stone, is superimposed on the cave photograph.  The images and text, taken together, form many lessons for young people.  The stories provide metaphorical and philosophical lessons, but the book also provides practical lessons, such as the illustrated steps to making a drum.  As a whole, the book celebrates Raymond Taniton’s family, the Sahtugot’ine people and their way of life.   Highly recommended for elementary school and public libraries. Highly Recommended:  4 out of 4 starsReviewer:  Sandy CampbellSandy is a Health Sciences Librarian at the University of Alberta, who has written hundreds of book reviews across many disciplines.  Sandy thinks that sharing books with children is one of the greatest gifts anyone can give.

scholarly journals On the Shoulder of a Giant: an Inuit Folktale by N. Christopher

2015 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandy Campbell
Keyword(s):  
Public Libraries ◽  
Picture Book ◽  
Bowhead Whale ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Quality Work ◽  
University Of Alberta ◽  
The Difference ◽  
The University ◽  
The Impact

Christopher, Neil.  On the Shoulder of a Giant:  an Inuit Folktale. Iqualuit:  Inhabit Media, 2015. Print.This is another in a series of works designed by Neil Christopher, one of the founders of Inhabit Media, to preserve traditional Inuit stories.  In this book he retells a story, which is known in various forms all across the Arctic, of a giant who adopts a hunter as his son.  This giant, named Inukpak,  is one of the inukpasugjuit or “great giants” of Inuit stories.  Inukpak is so big that he can walk across the Arctic in “just a few days” and when he stands in the sea the water "never come[s] up past his knees". He is so big that he thinks that the hunter is a lost child, so he adopts him and carries him on his shoulder.This is a simple retelling, designed to teach about the mythical giants and to explain why the story is found in many cultures across the Canadian Arctic.  However, it also models a big person/small person relationship in which small people do not correct or talk back to big people.  Children will relate to the hunter, who is treated as a child and because the story is told from the hunter's perspective.  The giant sometimes doesn't recognize the impact of his own actions.  For example when he runs back to shore, he creates waves that swamp the hunter, but the giant thinks the hunter has been playing in the water.  "The hunter wanted to tell the giant that he had not been playing in the water.  He also wanted to explain to Inukpak that he had caught a bowhead whale, not a sculpin.  But, once again, the little hunter did not want to argue with a giant, so he just said, 'Okay.' "This is mainly a picture book. The illustrations run over two-page spreads with text over-printed on them.  Jim Nelson does a good job of presenting the difference in size between the giant and the human.  Inukpak is presented as a happy fellow, with black shaggy hair and a full beard.  Children will be amused by the giant picking up a polar bear by the scruff of its neck, like a kitten. The images are realistic and the backgrounds are lovely representations of Arctic landscapes. Overall, this is an enjoyable and high-quality work that should be included in elementary school libraries, public libraries and libraries specializing in Arctic children’s books.Highly Recommended:  4 out of 4 starsReviewer:  Sandy CampbellSandy is a Health Sciences Librarian at the University of Alberta, who has written hundreds of book reviews across many disciplines.  Sandy thinks that sharing books with children is one of the greatest gifts anyone can give. 

scholarly journals The Assassination of Brangwain Spurge by MT. Anderson & E. Yelchin

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Arwen Thysse
Keyword(s):  
Public Libraries ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Age Group ◽  
Medieval Studies ◽  
The World ◽  
Bachelor Of Arts ◽  
Third Person ◽  
Person Account ◽  
The University ◽  
Narrative Function

Anderson, M.T. and Eugene Yelchin. The Assassination of Brangwain Spurge. Candlewick Press, 2018. The Assassination of Brangwain Spurge throws the reader into a topsy-turvy wonderland with the gripping adventure of two unlikely heroes, Brangwain Spurge and Werfel the Archivist. These two historians find themselves caught in a myriad of misunderstandings as they meet at the crux of a diplomatic mission between their warring nations of elves and goblins. An elfin historian turned diplomat and spy, Spurge must confront his own deeply entrenched prejudices against goblins, while his enthusiastic and well-intentioned goblin host, Werfel, attempts to guide him through an unfamiliar culture. Through a series of entertaining mishaps and cultural misunderstandings, M.T. Anderson and Eugene Yelchin use their vivid characters and narrative style to craft an enjoyable story with underlying messages about cultural conflict and the ways in which prejudice colours our view of others. Most commendable in this book is the authors’ brilliant use of visual and text media to craft a work showing how individuals can understand the same events in wildly different ways. The mixed media drawings not only add a striking visual force to the novel, but they also serve a narrative function by showing the world through the eyes and imagination of Spurge. It becomes clear that Spurge’s understanding of his experiences conflicts with the more objective third-person account of events, illustrating how Spurge’s view of the world has been heavily skewed by his institutionalized prejudices. As Werfel quite wisely says: “Isn’t it so fascinating how in different countries, we have different views of the same events?” This book is appropriate for the intended age group of individuals aged ten to fourteen, but it can also be enjoyed by older teens and adults. With its compelling design and timely messages, this book would be an excellent addition to school and public libraries.  Highly Recommended: 4 out of 4 starsReviewer: Arwen Thysse Arwen Thysse is a graduate of the University of Alberta’s Bachelor of Arts program and the University of Toronto’s Master of Medieval Studies program. She is also an avid musician, and enjoys children’s books.

scholarly journals Saila & Betty by C. Rooney

2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandy Campbell
Keyword(s):  
Public Libraries ◽  
Picture Book ◽  
Learning Tools ◽  
University Of Alberta ◽  
Reading Materials ◽  
Reading Text ◽  
Level I ◽  
Upper Level ◽  
The University

Rooney, Christina. Saila & Betty, illustrated by Ali Hinch. Inhabit Education, 2016.Inhabit Education has launched a series of text levelled readers, called the Nunavummi Reading Series.  Saila and Betty has been levelled using the Fountas & Pinnell Text Level Gradient Level: I, which makes it appropriate for upper level Grade 1.   It is a picture book with two to three sentences per page including simple dialog.  The sentences get progressively more difficult through the book.  Ali Hinch’s comic-like artwork is black-line with bright colours for infill.  The animals all show animation and emotions.   While this is primarily a reading text, it contains a wellness message, as well.  The story is a simple one about birds, who fly very well and seals, who swim very well discovering that while their strengths are different, and they are not very good at each other’s strengths at all, they can still be friends and have fun together. It is great to see curriculum materials being developed with Arctic themes.  These will be very valuable learning tools in Arctic classrooms and as supplementary reading materials in southern classrooms.  Highly recommended for elementary school libraries and public libraries. Highly Recommended:  4 stars out of 4Reviewer:  Sandy CampbellSandy is a Health Sciences Librarian at the University of Alberta, who has written hundreds of book reviews across many disciplines.  Sandy thinks that sharing books with children is one of the greatest gifts anyone can give.

scholarly journals Better Together by Sh. & S. Shapiro

2011 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tami Oliphant
Keyword(s):  
Public Libraries ◽  
Picture Book ◽  
Musical Instruments ◽  
Read Aloud ◽  
University Of Alberta ◽  
Library And Information Studies ◽  
Information Studies ◽  
Soccer Team ◽  
The University ◽  
Mixing Water

Shapiro, Sheryl, and Simon Shapiro. Better Together. Illus. Dušan Petričić. Toronto: Annick Press, 2011. Print. This concept book is infused with a cheerful, slightly mischievous spirit as the authors and illustrator explore a wide variety of, and a broad notion of, mixes. Kids might be familiar with many of the mixes—mixing cinnamon and sugar to spread on toast, mixing water and dirt to create mud, mixing blue and yellow to make green or mixing water and flour to create glue. Other mixes are more abstract—mixing up each team member’s different skills to make a great soccer team or mixing up musical instruments to make raucous music. Each mix is explained by a playful, rhyming poem that is easy-to-read and delightful to read aloud. The writers themselves decided to mix things up—the book is this husband-and-wife’s first collaborative effort and their obvious pleasure in wordplay is apparent. For example, the first poem, which explains what mixes are, contains the line “You stir and squoosh them, squish and moosh them” to create a brand new thing. The lively text is supported by the equally zippy illustrations. The first illustration is a highlight as Petričić shows how mixing the separate ingredients of ideas, paper, and drawings can produce a wonderful new thing: a picture book. The mix of vivid illustrations and energetic text has created a fun book that both kids and parents will enjoy. The book is recommended for children ages 4-7. Recommended: 3 out of 4 stars Reviewer: Tami Oliphant Tami works as a research librarian at the University of Alberta Libraries and for the School of Library and Information Studies at the University of Alberta. She earned her Master of Library and Information Studies from the University of Alberta and her doctorate from the University of Western Ontario. She has worked in academic libraries, public libraries, communications and planning, and as a sessional lecturer and researcher at the University of Alberta and the University of Western Ontario. 

scholarly journals InvisiBill by M. Fergus

2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Leslie Aitken
Keyword(s):  
Public Libraries ◽  
Picture Book ◽  
Peanut Butter ◽  
Reading Level ◽  
University Of Alberta ◽  
The One ◽  
The Individual ◽  
End Of Grade ◽  
The University ◽  
Scientific Name

Fergus, Maureen. InvisiBill. Illus. Dušan Petričić. Tundra Books, 2015.The plot of this amusing picture book is simple: Bill would like someone at the dinner table to pass him the potatoes; he is repeatedly ignored. Bill mutters,                “What am I. Invisible?... PLEASE PASS THE POTATOES!”In response, Mother continues checking messages on her “whatchamacallit,” and Father answers his “thingamajiggy.” (We have to admire the use of the terms “whatchamacallit” and “thingamajiggy;” Fergus deftly avoids the stale dating that comes with naming current technologies!) The story proceeds: Bill’s brother declares the scientific name for potatoes to be “SOLANUM TUBEROSUM.” His little sister begins to juggle the tubers. No one passes the potatoes. Bill’s fate is sealed; he becomes invisible.The romp through Bill’s family’s solutions and sorrows as they try to regain their invisible child and brother is complemented by the witty cartoons of Dušan Petričić.  Only a few of these drawings are large and distinct enough to share in a group storytelling session; none-the-less, they would be much appreciated by the individual reader.That reader might easily be a child of eight years of age—the approximate age of “Bill,” as Petričić depicts him. By the end of grade three, and certainly at the grade four reading level, most children could handle independently such passages as the one below:               Bill was in no mood to eat dinner with his family who had, after all, caused his invisibleness. So he took three peanut-butter-and-pickle sandwiches up to his room and spent the evening with his gerbil, Gerard.The humour in this story, however, is not for the exclusive delight of the primary school-aged; if you are a “middle child” of any age, you might just think that Maureen Fergus wrote the book with you in mind!Home, school, and public libraries should find this a popular addition to their collections. Depending on the ages involved, it might also prove a helpful gift for that once-youngest child whose family position has been “reordered” by a newcomer. Reviewer: Leslie AitkenRecommended: 3 out of 4 starsLeslie Aitken’s long career in librarianship involved selection of children’s literature for school, public, special and academic libraries. She is a former Curriculum Librarian for the University of Alberta.

scholarly journals Dream Away by J. Durango and K. Belle Trupiano

2013 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandy Campbell
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Milky Way ◽  
Public Libraries ◽  
Picture Book ◽  
The Moon ◽  
University Of Alberta ◽  
Young Readers ◽  
Iambic Pentameter ◽  
The University

Durango, Julia, and Katie Belle Trupiano.  Dream Away.  New York:  Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2011.  Print. This is a delightful picture book with a gentle rhyme designed to lull children to sleep.  Reminiscent of “Moonbeam on a Cat’s Ear”, the father and child dream of sailing through the cosmos in an “old paper boat”.  They have a magical crew of a knight, a winged horse, two winged cats (pixies) and a dog.  As they wander through the heavens they are chased by the animals of the constellations.  Eventually, even the clouds and the moon fall asleep.  The rhymes are predictable - moon/balloon, seas/breeze, float/boat – the iambic pentameter rhythm is strong and regular, so pre-readers will quickly memorize the story and want to “read” along. While the colours in the illustrations are strong, all of the figures are soft-edged and rounded, giving everything a cuddly appearance.  The images often add content to the story.  For example, when the text reads, “We played with a bear, an archer, a hare.  A dragon gave chase, but the crew won the race”, the images show us a constellation bear throwing a ball of light and the boy on the edge of the boat, ready to swing at it with his baseball bat.  As they “glide down a glimmering slide”, we see the boy holding on to the winged horse’s tail, while the horse tows the boat down the Milky Way.  The moon is a balloon tied to the back of the boat.  In the final pages of the book, we see that most of the things in the story, the planets, cats, dog, winged horse and baseball bat are all objects in the boy’s room and he is wearing a paper hat shaped like the boat. This is a lovely, peaceful lullaby that is highly recommended for public libraries and small children’s rooms everywhere. Highly Recommended:  4 stars out of 4Reviewer:  Sandy CampbellSandy is a Health Sciences Librarian at the University of Alberta, who has written hundreds of book reviews across many disciplines.  Sandy thinks that sharing books with children is one of the greatest gifts anyone can give.

scholarly journals The Orphan and the Polar Bear by S. Qaunaq

2012 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandy Campbell
Keyword(s):  
Polar Bear ◽  
Public Libraries ◽  
Picture Book ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Human Form ◽  
University Of Alberta ◽  
The Common ◽  
Push Down ◽  
The University

Qaunaq, Sakiasi.  The Orphan and the Polar Bear.  Iqaluit:  Inhabit Media, Inc., 2011. Print.One of the common themes in Inuit stories is that of the orphan child alone on the land.  In this version, told by Arctic Bay elder Sakiasi Qalinaq, who learned his stories from his grandmother, the orphan is abandoned by hunters from his village and adopted by a village of polar bears.  The bears teach him to hunt and survive on the land and, when he is grown, return him to his people.  The image on the cover of the book showing the child riding the polar bear is an iconic one. This mythological relationship between child and polar bear is also found in non-Inuit literature, most notably in Philip Pullman’s The Golden Compass. In the bears’ village the orphan is trained to hunt and survive on the land.  The bears also teach him their traditional wisdom.   For example, when one of the bears wants to go “push down” some humans because they “look so silly standing on their skinny legs”, a wiser elder bear says, “Never talk that way…don’t make humans our enemy.  Stay clear of them and their camps.” The book is primarily a picture-book. Unlike many of the other books of Inuit legends published by Inhabit Media, the pictures are not scary.  Rather they are quite beautiful.   The extra width of the landscape format gives artist, Eva Widermann, the opportunity to spread her illustrations across two pages reflecting the wide expanses of the Arctic.  Text usually takes up one corner or a few lines of a page.  Widermann’s images are realistic.  However, because this story is from a time when animals could shape-shift into human form, she sometimes gives the bears human postures and gestures.  For example, in the image on page 15, the polar bear is standing with a harpoon grasped in its front paws, handing it to the orphan.  Bears are also shown in their human form in three images. In the image on page 20, depicting the inside of an igloo in the bears’ village, a woman with human form is tending the fire.Overall this is a lovely rendition of the story.  While designed for an elementary school audience, anyone with an interest in traditional Arctic tales will enjoy it.  Recommended for elementary schools and public libraries. Recommendation:  4 out of 4 starsReviewer:  Sandy CampbellSandy is a Health Sciences Librarian at the University of Alberta, who has written hundreds of book reviews across many disciplines.  Sandy thinks that sharing books with children is one of the greatest gifts anyone can give.

scholarly journals Akilak’s Adventure by D. Kigjugalik Webster

2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandy Campbell
Keyword(s):  
Public Libraries ◽  
Picture Book ◽  
Extended Family ◽  
Reading Level ◽  
Upper Elementary ◽  
University Of Alberta ◽  
Children's Book ◽  
The University ◽  
The Relationship

Kigjugalik Webster, Deborah.  Akilak’s Adventure.  Inhabit Media, 2016.This is a first children’s book from Deborah Kigjugalik Webster, who grew up in Baker Lake, Nunavut.  It is a story of a little Inuit girl navigating the tundra by herself to reach her uncle’s camp.  As the child walks, she is joined by a caribou, who mysteriously knows her grandmother’s saying, “Your destination did not run away, you will reach it soon.”  The conversation between the two is about people changing into animals, but Akilak in the end decides to remain a person.   The story is deceptively simple.  On the surface, children will understand it as a little girl’s adventure.  However, it encompasses several important aspects of Inuit culture:  the relationship between grandparent and child, the importance of extended family support, the prominence of animals and the stories of people taking the shape of animals, the distance of travel across the tundra and the related concept of taulittuq or the sense of moving but not getting closer to your destination.Charlene Chua’s artwork is charming. Each two pages are an image with text overprinted on one page, often shaped to fit around parts of the image.  The images are simple and cartoon-like, but good representations of the tundra and its creatures.  While this is mainly a picture book with an intended audience of children ages 5 to 7, the reading level is upper elementary, so younger children will definitely need an adult to read it to them.Akilak’s Adventure would be an excellent addition to public libraries and elementary school libraries.Highly Recommended:  4 stars out of 4Reviewer:  Sandy CampbellSandy is a Health Sciences Librarian at the University of Alberta, who has written hundreds of book reviews across many disciplines.  Sandy thinks that sharing books with children is one of the greatest gifts anyone can give. 

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document