The Dam

I used to play on a dam.

Dad worked for Ontario Hydro and when I was in grade 2, we moved to Fraserdale. It was an isolated community. Before there was a Polar Express,  we had the Polar Bear Express that ran through our railroad station on its way to Moosonee. We were the last town before you got here.

Ours was a hydroelectric dam, tapping the power of the Little Abitibi River. As youngsters we ran all over town and into the woods. There was an old boat docked on the dam and we played on it, using our imaginations to fuel our play. Near it was a plaque, on which was written Rudyard Kipling’s poem “The Sons of Martha”, in celebration of the care and dedication of workers–engineers, mechanics, and builders–to provide for the safety and comfort of others.

I got all sentimental about these halcyon days of my youth after reading David Almond’s new picture book The Dam.

A father and daughter go out with a fiddle to sing in the abandoned buildings soon to be covered with water. The language is beautifully poetic and the illustrations, by Levi Pinfold, are exquisite.

Publisher’s Summary: Kielder Water is a wild and beautiful place, rich in folk music and legend. Years ago, before a great dam was built to fill the valley with water, there were farms and homesteads in that valley and musicians who livened their rooms with song. After the village was abandoned and before the waters rushed in, a father and daughter returned there. The girl began to play her fiddle, bringing her tune to one empty house after another — for this was the last time that music would be heard in that place. With exquisite artwork by Levi Pinfold, David Almond’s lyrical narrative — inspired by a true tale — pays homage to his friends Mike and Kathryn Tickell and all the musicians of Northumberland, to show that music is ancient and unstoppable, and that dams and lakes cannot overwhelm it.

Although the dam is still there, the town where I lived is gone. They moved everyone out  and tore down the houses. Workers now commute in and, as I understand it, stay in a bunkhouse. It is sad to think this town of my youth no longer exists.

Despite the initial sepia tones of The Dam, the book ends more happily than my own tale. Although the residents of the Northumberland community no longer live in their homes, the area has been reclaimed by nature and the people still come.

Lest we forget

We get today off in observance of Veteran’s Day. When I began booktalking Monday, I was wearing a poppy I knit a few years ago. I told the kids that I will always think of November 11 as Remembrance Day and growing up, we always wore a poppy on Remembrance Day . I told them about my experiences as a school girl and Girl Guide attending Remembrance Day ceremonies in town halls and at cenotaphs. About getting weepy reciting “In Flander’s Fields” and visiting the War Museum in Ottawa.

Monday, I shared The Great War: Stories Inspired By Objects From The First World War by David Almond, Ursula Dubrovsky, Timothée de Fombelle, Michael Morpurgo, John Boyne A.L. Kennedy, Marcus Sedgewick , Adèle Geras, Tracy Chevalier (Goodreads Author), Frank Cottrell Boyce, and Sheena Wilkinson.

Tuesday, I went more local, talking about A Death Struck Year  by Makiia Lucier.

Wednesday, we looked the war from a child’s perspective in John Boyne’s Stay Where You Are & Then Leave.

And Thursday, we looked the war from a horse’s perspective in War Horse by Michael Morpurgo.

 

 

 

 

Fiction/Nonfiction Pairing: The Great War

I’ve had the First World War on my mind since before the 100th anniversary of its start, almost two years ago. Quite a bit was done and written in the months just before August 2014, and there have been trickles since. This week, I’ve become enamored of a delightful pair of books that look at the Great War through a literary lens.

The Great War: Stories Inspired by Items from the First World War is a collection of modern stories, written by an amazing array of  contemporary YA authors (David Almond, Michael Morpurgo, John Boyne, AL Kennedy, Marcus Sedgewick, Adele Geras,Tracy Chevalier, Frank Cottrell Boyce, Sheena Wilkinson, Ursula Dubrovsky, Timothee de Fombelle) and illustrated by Jim Kay.

Publisher’s Summary:A toy soldier. A butter dish. A compass. Mundane objects, perhaps, but to the remarkable authors in this collection, artifacts such as these have inspired stories that go to the heart of the human experience of World War I. Each author was invited to choose an object that had a connection to the war—a writing kit for David Almond, a helmet for Michael Morpurgo—and use it as the inspiration for an original short story. What results is an extraordinary collection, illustrated throughout by award-winning Jim Kay and featuring photographs of the objects with accounts of their history and the authors’ reasons for selecting them. This unique anthology provides young readers with a personal window into the Great War and the people affected by it, and serves as an invaluable resource for families and teachers alike.

In a powerful collection, eleven internationally acclaimed writers draw on personal objects to bring the First World War to life for readers young and old.

That collection of short stories would pair nicely with this collection of biographies of 12 men and three women, who participated in the First World War, and who later gained fame in other ways.

In the Fields and Trenches:The Famous and the Forgotten on the Battlefields of World War I is written by Kerrie Logan Hollihan and published by the Chicago Review Press.

Publisher’s Summary: When it started, many thought the Great War would be a great adventure. Yet, as those who saw it up close learned, it was anything but. In the Fields and the Trenches traces the stories of eighteen young idealists swept into the brutal conflict, many of whom would go on to become well-known 20th-century figures in film, science, politics, literature, and business. Writer J. R. R. Tolkien was a signals officer with the British Expeditionary Force and fought at the Battle of the Somme. Scientist Irène Curie helped her mother, Marie, run twenty X-ray units for French field hospitals. Actor Buster Keaton left Hollywood after being drafted into the army’s 40th Infantry Division. And all four of Theodore Roosevelt’s sons—Kermit, Archibald, Quentin, and Theodore III—and his daughter Ethel served in Europe, though one did not return.In the Fields and the Trenches chronicles the lives of heroes, cowards, comics, and villains—some famous, some not—who participated in this life-changing event. Extensive original material, from letters sent from the front to personal journals, brings these men and women back to life. And though their stories are a century old, they convey modern, universal themes of love, death, power, greed, courage, hate, fear, family, friendship, and sacrifice.

Together, these two books give readers a glimpse into the impact of The Great war on ordinary lives.

TGIF

At last, it is Friday. It has felt like it should have been Friday since Tuesday. I can hardly wait to do nothing tomorrow.

By nothing, of course I mean read and knit. I can’t talk about the knitting projects because they are top secret holiday gift items. Let’s just say I discovered a new yarn company, Biscotte Yarns, that I love.

This is the Morris Committees last weekend to discuss nominees and we will make our final pitches for books on Sunday. Next week, we vote to select our five finalists. They will be announced officially on December 1st, I believe. Then, the rereading begins. I need to know those five books inside out so I can articulately debate their merits when we meet in January to choose the winner.

In the meantime, I have a ton of good books on my to read pile, none of which are Morris related. This weekend, I hope to tap into a few of them.

          

Have a great weekend. You’ve earned it.

 

Strange boys on journeys and the Oliver Jeffers connection

Yesterday, I lazed on the couch and read The Boy Who Swam With Piranhas  by David Almond.

You should read it too.

It is the story of Stanley Potts,  a boy who leaves home and joins the circus after his uncle commits an act of treachery. He meets eccentric carnival characters , including Pancho Pirelli, the man who swims in a tank full of perilous piranhas. Stanley has an affinity for fish. When Pirelli learns this, he offers to teach Stanley to swim with the piranhas and become a professional performer. Stanley  must decide whether to pursue this option or return to his aunt and uncle. The book is marvelously illustrated by Oliver Jeffers.

As I read the book a niggle was niggling my brain. This all  felt a bit familiar. And then I realized why.

Jeffers also illustrated The Terrible Thing That Happened to Barnaby Brocket by John Boyne. This is also a tale of a boy who leaves home on a journey. I wrote about this book on May 18th.Barnaby is a boy who floats and decides he needs to leave home to become the person he was meant to be. I had considered this for my teacher book club last year.

One thing I particularly liked about The Boy Who Swam With Piranhas  was that the US publisher didn’t Americanize the story. This might be a turn off for a small number of readers, but I think most will love the British humor. The book will appeal to readers who like humor,  satire and books in which the bad guys get theirs in the end and each character receives their own kind of redemption. This would be a fun read aloud in a 3-5th classroom.