On Dec. 30, the Governor General of Canada announced 60 new appointments to the Order of Canada, Canada’s highest civilian honor. Established in 1967, the Order of Canada is the centrepiece of Canada’s honours system and recognizes a lifetime of outstanding achievement, dedication to the community and service to the nation. I was thrilled to hear that Canadian author and literacy advocate, David Bouchard was named as “Member of the Order of Canada for his contributions as an author of children’s books and an advocate who has championed the cause of reading and writing, and who has shared his pride as a member of the Métis community through his stories.”
A former teacher and principal, Bouchard is British Columbia’s best-selling author and single most sought-after public speaker. He has written over 25 best-selling children’s books which have won several prestigious awards, among them: the Governor General’s Award for The Song Within My Heart, the Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award for Voices from the Wild, the Red Cedar Award for The Great Race and the Amelia Frances Howard-Gibbon Award for Illustration for The Dragon New Year. His books have also been short-listed many times for Canada’s most illustrious awards.
Each year David Bouchard travels extensively, championing the cause of literacy to students, parents and educators. During these events, Bouchard shares his perspective: “We do not need new curriculum or harder working teachers in order to get our students to read. We need parents, teachers and administrators who read. The key lies in modeling.” He outlines respective roles and responsibilities that will ensure that all children are given the gift of reading. He inspires and leaves his listeners with a concrete plan and the rejuvenation needed to face literacy issues head on.
“The greatest gift we can give our children is the gift of reading. There is no magic in giving it. There is no toy or program that will do the job for us. It takes time, commitment and most of all, fire. We cannot hope to light a fire in the hearts of others without a fire burning in our own. Light and stoke yours, then spread the flame fast and furious. Let literacy be your legacy.” says David.
On Jan. 21st David will be the keynote speaker for Literiffic Day at my son’s school, an event which I am looking forward to attending!
As part of its celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month (Sep 15–Oct 15), the University of Texas-Pan American Multicultural Center organized a contest in honor of the role Hispanic elders play in the fabric of family and community life. For a chance to win one of three scholarships, students of any nationality were encouraged to write about the influence of a Hispanic elder in their lives and the significance of their relationship.
The stories that best demonstrate intergenerational strength will be announced tonight, at a “Hispanic Heroes” ceremony in honor of the scholarship recipients and the relatives, teachers, mentors and community members who inspire them.
In many cultures throughout the world, including the Hispanic one, elders are indeed the most revered and respected people, and it’s always heartwarming to come across narratives that speak of their importance in young ones’ lives. In a recent interview for PaperTigers, writer Pam Muñoz Ryan spoke fondly of her grandmother’s influence:
“My grandmother, Esperanza Ortega Muñoz, was really the hub of the entire family. Everybody seemed to congregate at her house. As a young girl, I observed the influence that her affection had on people and how her traits carried over to others in the family. When I became an adult and a writer and looked back on her story, I realized how remarkable it was.”
Ryan’s words point to the fact that our elders are so often nurturers, role models, mentors. They are family and community historians that connect us to our roots by providing the necessary link between cultural heritage and present day customs.
For parents, teachers and caregivers looking to foster this special intergenerational connection, PaperTigers’ annotated reading list of grandparents/grandchildren books should prove helpful. We can’t think of a better way to end our Hispanic Heritage Month celebration than by encouraging children and adults to honor the Hispanic elders in their lives and communities—on heritage month and all year long!
… to Yohannes Gebregeorgis of Ethiopia Reads, who has been named one of CNN’s top 10 heroes of the year - voting is now taking place to choose the Number One!
I blogged about Yohannes’ book Silly Mammo a few weeks ago, and his amazing donkey-drawn library in Ethiopia - and it’s great to see such recognition for his work.
PaperTigers’ current Book of the Month, Alfredito Flies Home by Jorge Argueta and illustrated by Luis Garay (Groundwood 2007) is the story of Alfredito and his family’s return to El Salvador for the first time in four years, since arriving as refugees in San Francisco. The writing bubbles over with happiness and excitement as readers/listeners are carried along by Alfredito’s narration of events – the preparation, the flight and the hectic, happy holiday itself.
This opens the way for young readers/listeners to empathise with Alfredito’s experiences, even if they have never been in his situation themselves. They will then also be able to engage with those other moments which give pause for thought: such as the allusion to the family’s original journey to America under the guidance of “Señor Coyote”; the visit to his grandparents’ graves; or the underlying reality of separation, with some family in America, some in El Salvador.
For children who have parallel experiences to Alfredito’s, on the other hand, Alfredito’s story is invaluable: as Debbie of American Indians in Children’s Literature pointed out in her review.
Luis Garay’s sensitively attuned illustrations make this book extra special and provide plenty of details both within and outside the narrative – so there’s a lot to discuss. I would recommend this book be shared at least the first time children are introduced to it – not only because its tone so lends itself to being read aloud but also because of the discussion and/or questions it will provoke.
Within the opening chapters of Finding Miracles, readers soon realize that within a conventional high school setting, a young girl who does her best to appear conventional is under tremendous pressure to maintain that appearance. Milly is pretty, smart, popular, and plagued by a skin allergy that breaks out when “her real self” threatens to emerge.
Milly was born Milagros, adopted by her parents in an (undisclosed) country of Latin America where they served as Peace Corps volunteers. All that she has from her birth parents is kept in a handcrafted mahogany box, which was found with her when she was left at an orphanage as a newborn infant. Millie ignores these remnants from her origins, living her North American life with the only family she has ever known, until a handsome political refugee from her birth country, Pablo, comes to her high school as a new student.
At first this book seems as though it will be a typical high school “girl meets boy” story, but Julia Alvarez is far too skillful a novelist to stick to this well-worn territory. Swiftly the reader is drawn into Milly’s expanding world, as she reveals her adoption to her friends, begins to explore her origins through her friendship with Pablo and his parents, and learns that her most distinctive feature, her beautiful eyes, are inherited from the women of Los Luceros, a village in her home country.
As Milly returns to visit the country of her birth, Finding Miracles takes on a tone rarely found in young adult fiction, illuminating political repression, struggle, and rebellion through the stories of the women of Los Luceros, one of whom was Millie’s mother–but which one? And does it really matter?
In her journey to learn how to be Milagros as well as Milly, this extraordinary young woman learns that her home can be in two countries and that family is an expandable concept, encompassing the parents she knows and loves as well as the parents who loved her and whom she will never know. The issues that she comes to terms with are presented in this novel as threads in a compelling story, examined thoughtfully while never overwhelming the plot, providing springboards for discussion between students and teachers, children and parents, or girls who read and enjoy the book together with their friends.
Mexico is currently in the midst of its Día de los Muertos celebrations and there are some wonderful pictures appearing on various blogs, which highlight the color and exuberance of the festival – such as this at Zocalo de Mexican Folk Art; while Sue at Cottage in the Cedars recalls a past visit to Mexico and gives lots of background information. There are some great children’s books around – I blogged about some last year (including author René Colato Laínez’ as yet unpublished Magic Night, Noche Mágica). My Readable Feast has a new post about the Global Wonders dvd, with an extract to view about The Day of the Dead –it’s also worth scrolling down through the tag to her previous posts too, both for suggestions for children’s books and to see some very impressive home-made sugar skulls…
A new book, Abuelos, by Pat Mora and illustrated by Amelia Lau Carling (Groundwood, 2008), explores a less well-known tradition which carries traits of both Spanish and Pueblo cultures, and which is celebrated further north, in the mountains of New Mexico, around the time of the Winter solstice.
“Los abuelos” are not only grandfathers, in this context they are scary, sooty old men who come down from the mountains once a year to makes sure the children have been good. At the time of the abuelos’ visit, villages have a big party, sharing music and food around a huge bonfire, and men dress up to tease the children.
In this delightful story, the preparations and the party are seen through the eyes of Amelia, our narrator, and her older brother Ray, who have only recently moved to the village. Amelia’s feelings are mixed – she loves the excitement but she’s not completely convinced that the abuelos are wholly mythical. Her father reassures her that it’s fun to be have a scary feeling sometimes – like at Halloween – because actually “No one is going to hurt you”. Ray teases and scares Amelia unmercifully but at the actual party, she’s the one who courageously leaps in to push an abuelo away from him…
The writing and the illustrations together perfectly capture both the magic of this tradition seen through Amelia’s young eyes and the warmth of the village community set against the cold, winter landscape. Monsters loom large, whether in caves up in the snowy mountains, or in the form of masked villagers – certainly all enough to convince Amelia to do anything her mother asks her straight away!
This is a great new addition to the bookshelf, whether for a cosy winter’s bedtime or for those in hotter climes wanting to escape the mid-December heat – as Pat herself says in her author’s note at the end: