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Margriet Ruurs

GLOBAL BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS

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Fake news, war, food production… they are all current topics in the adult world. These brand new books give a child information on these current issues.

The Quiet Hunt, written by Jean E. Pendziwol and illustrated by Risa Hugo is an absolutely lovely picture book that reminds us where food comes from. Before supermarkets and shops, our ancestors would hunt. They gathered berries and fruits and knew just what was safe to eat and what was not.

Through sharing knowledge, we still can hunt and gather today as we go into the woods and search the streams. A great poetic story to share before going on a nature walk.

ISBN 978-1-77306-767-4, Groundwood Books

Ribbon Rescue is a brand new picture book by Robert Munsch, illustrated by Shaikara David. Jillian is a Mohawk girl and has a beautiful new ribbon dress, made by her grandmother. But when Jillian leaves home, people rush by en route to a wedding, looking for help . She helps them all and her ribbons come to the rescue: as a shoe lace, as hair ribbons, even to tie up a gift. But when Gillian finally makes it to the church, her dress is a mess. How will she solve her problem? The story wraps up, in typical Musch style, with a satisfying ending.

ISBN 978-1-0397-1384-0, Scholastic Canada

The Sea We Call Home, written by Dominique Demers and illustrated by Gabrielle Grimard, is a whimsical tale of two sweet characters named Little Gnouf and Mirabelle. They have learned about sea creatures from The Big Book of the Sea. Enchanted, they set off in search of the sea. They are amazed by the seaside and soon discover a baby sperm whale, stranded on the beach. With the help of sand crabs and seagulls they set it free and reunite it with its mother. This picture book has a fairytale feel while also giving nonfiction facts about whales. It is beautifully designed with large print.

ISBN 978-1-77278-367-4, Pajama Press

Fake Gnus by Leslie Helakoski is a fun, humorous romp through real and fake facts. Scoop Jackson is a reporter and has to figure out if the information he hears is real or fake. He soon discovers that the pen for the gnus at the zoo is empty. Where are the gnus? Using facts, Scoop is able to separate facts from fiction to determine if the rumours or true or not. Are the gnus climbing the Empire State Building? No! Gnus can run, reaching speeds of up to fifty miles an hour but they cannot climb.  At the end of the hilarious story, readers find statements and need to determine if these are real or fake. Another page helps young readers to question, to look for information and not take anything for granted. A great introduction for young students to doing research and using your brain to distinguish between real information, AI and fake news.

ISBN 978-1-77946-050-9, Groundwood Books

Eleven Out of Ten by Stacey Matson is a wonderful novel for elementary readers to sink their teeth in. Albie and Lake are not just cousins and neighbors, they are also best friends. But when Lake suffers a terrible accident, the two are separate for this first time. 

Albie’s parents are so concerned about Lake and her family that they don’t realize the toll this takes on Albie. Albie struggles with the fact that she is having fun and making new friends while her best friend is in a coma. No matter how often she tells her parents that she wants to see her, she is told that no one is allowed in the ICU and that she can’t go to the hospital. Instead, she has to go to day camp and can’t share any of her experiences with her friend. 

The story is well written and realistic with a satisfying ending. A great novel for young readers to sink their teeth into!

ISBN 978-1-0397-0879-2, Scholastic

Planting Sunshine by Andrée Poulin, illustrated by Enzo, is an unusual, short novel. Written as free verse poetry, with each page being a poem, this is the story of a child puzzled by war. War enters his home on TV. Theo wonders why there is war, why people kill each other, and his parent has no answers. 

His neighbor has lived through a war. She makes the best perogies and suggests that Theo plants sunflowers. But at school Theo’s friends argue and want to play war. War gives Theo nightmares until his dad realizes that Theo needs to talk about his fears. A girl paints white doves in a quiet protest to war. Once Theo can talk about it and finds small ways to protest as well, he feels much better. He knows that he can’t change the world, but doing what you can to prevent war does help.

This is a wonderful book to help students discuss war, to talk about their own fears, to look for answers together and even to find small ways to protest war anywhere.

ISBN 978-1-77946-138-4, Groundwood Books

Margriet Ruurs writes books for children in Canada and visits International Schools around the world. Her next book is called More Than Books, Why The World Needs Libraries (Orca Books).

www.margrietruurs.com

Margriet Ruurs

GLOBAL BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS

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Diversity, how others live, choices you may have to make… These are the themes that tie these books together. From a picturebook about heritage to a teen novel about different viewpoints. Happy reading and sharing with students!

Grandma, Cho Cho and Me, written by Morgan Christie, illustrated by Paulica Santos is a lovely picturebook that celebrates diversity. As a young girl and her grandma prepare a big Jamaican breakfast, she learns about her heritage. As the tradition is handed down from generation to generation, the foods, the dishes and the stories help her to form an image of ancestors and her own place in the world.

ISBN 978-1-77306-751-3, Groundwood Books

A Life Like Mine is a brilliant visual celebration of human life on our planet. The contents is organized in four main categories: Survival, Development, Protection and Participation. Within these areas, chapters cover essentials all children need, like water and food, war and peace, education and housing. Kids can find out what it is like to grow up on an Australian ranch or in a village in Rwanda. How do people in other countries cook and eat? What kind of religions are there? 

Breathtaking photos complement text boxes and personal narratives of children around the world. This handbook to life on earth is a valuable tool for any classroom.

The book was produced in association with UNICEF. This book was first published by DK Publishers in 2002 but should still be readily available. 

ISBN 0-7894-8859-0

Fly Away Home by Betty Quan, with art by Akin Duzakin is a beautiful multi-leveled picturebook that can be used by readers of all ages. The lyrical text focuses on birds – different birds on each page. While goldfinches leave home, while hummingbirds buzz with news, and magpies cloud the sun the art shows a second story. People walk, in long lines, in small groups. They follow the same paths as the birds, leaving home in search of a new place to live. And where birds allow other species to live amongst them, the people also find homes. We follow a girl and her mother throughout the story. And as they find a new home, so do the birds make new nests. A lovely, subtle story to share with students who have come from many different backgrounds.

ISBN 978-1-77306-962-3, Gorundwood Books

A Time to Choose by Martha Attema is a novel based on an angle of World War II which is not often discussed. We are all familiar with what went on in a room in a house in Amsterdam during German occupation, where people lived in hiding. A Time To Choose is the story of 16 year old Johannes who is Dutch. His movements and life, too, are restricted by the enemy’s rules and regulations. Even though his family lives on a farm, there is not enough food and soldiers can take anything they need for warfare purposes. Johannes’ father is a collaborator with the enemy. How does this effect Johannes and the rest of his family? During the final year of the war, Johannes is old enough to make his own decisions and listen to his own conscience. As he joins the underground resistance, he struggles with what it is right and with his father’s decisions. Johannes faces dangerous situations as he decides to help those who need it. An eye opener for readers of all ages and a story applicable to wars in the world today.

ISBN 1-55143-045-2, Orca Books

Julia and Romano by Eric Walters is a great, contemporary novel for teens. The seed for this book was planted when the author was asked, by a highschool student in a small town on Vancouver Island, what he would write about their town. Walters, not one to shy away from a challenge and always full of ideas for stories, immediately came up with a realistic plot that would appeal to students in this BC town. 

Julia has to move with her mom, away from all of her friends, from Toronto to Campbell River in BC. Cody has lived there all of life. Julia becomes good friends with Cody and it isn’t until their friendship blossoms into something more, that the two discover that their parents represent very opposing sites of a picture: a mom who is a lawyer fighting for the environment and a father who owns the local logging company.

This realistic page turner is a true Romeo and Juliet saga. It not only paints a good picture of life in a close knit town, it is also a good story for readers to curl up with.

ISBN 978-1-77086-823-6, BCD Young Readers

Margriet Ruurs is a writer of many awardwinning books for children. She conducts author presentations to International Schools worldwide.

www.margrietruurs.com

Margriet Ruurs

GLOBAL BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS

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War, refugees… these are not easy topics to write about for children. But books are powerful tools to share stories of war and to show what it is like to live as refugee. These capable authors and illustrators convey the stories, creating tools for parents and educators to use to show what life can be like – sorrowful but also hopeful. Not only are these books stories of war, they are also stories of friendship, compassion and how we can help one-another.

The Capybaras by Alfredo Soderguit is hands-down the most impressive picture book I have come across in recent months. I could fit this story into the category ‘friendship’, or ‘finding home’ but, even though it is not mentioned anywhere in the story, ‘refugees’ is probably the most applicable label. The chickens were content to live in their cozy coop. They did not intend to share it with anyone. Until the large, unfamiliar capybaras show up. The chickens don’t want to build fences, but neither do they plan to invite them. But… it is hunting season. Reluctantly they agree to let them stay until it’s safe to go home. They do tell their young ones not to mingle. But of course, two of them do. And after the little cabybara saves the little chicks life, do the chickens realize it’s fine to share and benefit from each other. An amazing parallel to humans… ISBN  978-1771647823

A Sky-Blue Bench by Bahram Rahman has beautiful art by Peggy Collins. Dedicated to the children of Afghanistan, this is the story of Aria who lost a leg to a landmine but who knows she can do anything, even carpentry. Finding it too hard to sit on the floor of her classroom, Aria collects wood and learns the skills needed to build herself a bench. A bench so beautiful that all the girls in class want to learn how to build furniture. A heartbreaking and heartwarming story all at once. ISBN 978-1-77278-222-6, Pajama Press

In A Feast For Joseph, by Terry Farish and Od Bonny, illustrated by Ken Daley, Joseph and his mom reminisce about the way food was shared with many others around the campfire in the refugee camp. Now they eat alone in their apartment. But Joseph wants to celebrate and share their food with friends. Will his grandmother come from Africa? Will his neighbours show up if they cook for them? A lovely picture book about food and customs and the simplicity of sharing. ISBN 978-1-77306-438-3, Groundwood Books

What The Kite Saw, written by Anne Laurel Carter, illustrated by Akin Duzakin. After the tanks and the soldiers come and take away the men, a young boy wishes he had wings so he could see where his father was and what was happening beyond his town.He builds a kite, and many other children do too, to send a message of hope into the sky. Inspired by Palestinian children, this is a universal story of war and hope. ISBN 978-1-77306-243-3, Groundwood Books

Stealing Home, J. Torres and David Namisato is a graphic novel for middle grade. Not only tells this book the story of Sandy, love for baseball. It is based on the true story of Japanese internment camps during World War II. After the bombing of Pearl Harbour, the attitude of Sandy’s friends and their family towards his Canadian-Japanese family changes. Suddenly they won’t play baseball with him anymore. Their relatives lose jobs and homes. Eventually Sandy and his family are taken away to live in remote ‘ghost towns’. With nonfiction information in the back, this graphic novel brings renewed awareness to young readers of a dark period in history. ISBN 978-1-5253-0334-0, Kids Can Press

Story Boat by Kyo Maclear, with art by Rashin Kheiriyeh.  When you have no home, when you are walking towards a new place, ‘here’ is a different concept. ‘Here’ is home and ‘here’ changes all the time. A cup, a blanket can mean home. They can also let your imagination roam, help you tell stories, sing songs about ‘home’. A lovely, award winning book that will encourage children to think and write about what ‘here’ means to them. ISBN 978-0-7352-6359-8, Tundra

When My Name Was Keoko, by Linda Sue Parks is the impressive story of war in Korea. I grew up in Europe and have heard and read much about World War II in Europe. But I did not realize how similar this was to life in (South) Korea under Japanese occupation. This book was an eye-opener for me, told in two voices – Keoko and her brother who are both given Japanese names and can no longer speak their own language. A gripping novel and important story that makes a good read for older children, even for adults. ISBN 978-0606247160

Margriet Ruurs is the author of 40 books for children. She conducts author presentations at international schools around the world. www.margrietruurs.com www.globetrottinggrandparents.com