Spring 2008 Volume 22 - No. 1 - BC BookWorld

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32 BC BOOKWORLD SPRING 2008reviewsSHORT LISTAGES 8+Dangerous Crossings by AntoniaBanyard (Annick $9.95)Born in South Africa, AntoniaBanyard emigrated from Zambia whenshe was four. She grew up mainly inNelson and now lives in Vancouver.Dangerous Crossings is her collection often true stories of harrowing journeysand escapes from an 18th century upper-classPeruvian woman who getsstranded on the Amazon River to a teenagerwho crosses war-torn Germany insearch of his family. 978-1554510863AGES 10+Rebel’s Tag by In K.L. Denman(Orca $9.95)In K.L. Denman’s Rebel’s Tag, the storyrevolves around Sam, an angry youthwho expresses his feelings by spray paintingthe sign of Aquarius, his tag, whileclimbing on rooftops. Sam is disturbed bythe disappearance of his grandfathersoon after Sam’s father is buried. Whenthis grandfather starts writing to Sam, andleads him on a frustrating scavengerhunt, Sam’s distress bubbles to the surfaceand he is nabbed for spray painting.Sam must make the leap from rebellionto forgiveness. 978-1-55143-740-8AGES 9-12Becca at Sea by Deidre Baker(Groundwood $18.95)Children’s book reviewer DeidreBaker, a teacher of English at Universityof Toronto, has used her summers atHornby Island as the basis for Becca atSea (Groundwood $18.95), a YA novelabout a girl named Becca who visits hergrandmother’s rustic cabin on the GulfIsland during her mother’s pregnancyand comes to enjoy her outdoor adventures.Baker is also the co-author ofA Guide to Canadian Children’s Bookswith Ken Settington. 978-0-88899-737-1ALSO NOTED-----------------------------------------------Diane Tullson, Lockdown(Orca $9.95) 978-1-55143-676-0--------------------------------------------------Robin Stevenson, Dead in the Water(Orca $9.95) 978-1-55143-962-4--------------------------------------------------Polly Horvath, The Corps of theBare-Boned Plane (Groundwood $9.95)978-0-88899-851-4--------------------------------------------------Julie White, High Fences(Sono Nis $9.95) 978-1-55039-063-3--------------------------------------------------Duane Lawrence, Sammy Squirrel& Rodney Raccoon (Granville Island$12.95 ) 978-1-894694-54-4--------------------------------------------------Nan Gregory, Pink (Groundwood$17.95) 978-0-88899-781-4--------------------------------------------------Sylvia Olsen & Ron Martin,Which Way Should I Go? (Sono Nis$19.95) 978-1-55039-161-9--------------------------------------------------Pam Adams, From Blossom toBlondie (Self-published $15.75) 978-0-9684415-6-5--------------------------------------------------Penny Draper, Peril at Pier Nine(Coteau $8.95) 978-1-55050-376-0--------------------------------------------------Iain Lawrence, Gemini Summer(Random House $21) 978-0385-73089-1A DANISH IN WARTIMEChocolate éclairs, the Resistance &fleeing the Nazis in 1943AGES 8 TO 10Honey Cake by Joan Betty Stuchner(Tradewind $16.95)David Nathan lives abovethe family bakery, rightnext door to his bestfriend Elsa and her family’s toystore. David’s Papa still does thebest baking in the city and Mamais making her special honey cakefor Rosh Hashanah to welcomethe Jewish New Year but very littleis sweet or rosy in Copenhagenin 1943. Three yearsearlier, just before Passover,the Nazis had invadedDenmark.Now the grownupsare always anxious and secretive,and even David’solder sister Rachel is evasiveabout her mysteriouscomings and goings.Then David is asked to make adelivery of chocolate éclairs—arare treat with cream and butterso scarce—and learns his sister isin the Resistance, blowing upbuildings and railway tracks. Rumoursare circulating. Bad thingsare happening all over occupiedEurope. People are disappearing.Especially Jews. Every dayKing Christian X defiantly rideshis horse through Copenhagen’sstreets but as Rachel says, “Thingshappen that even kings can’tstop.”Yet Mama still bakes thehoney cake and the morning beforeRosh Hashanah David sitswith Papa in the synagogue.Soon, though, Rabbi Melchiormakes a terrifying announcement.“The Nazis plan to roundup Denmark’s Jews tonight. Wemust go home and prepare forour escape.” David’s bundled inlayers of clothing and Mamasnatches up her cake—she’s notabout to leave it behind for theNazis—and the Nathan familyhurries to the train station. Ifthey head to the coast, if theyescape detection on a fishingboat, if they make it to Sweden,they might just be safe. If…Inspired by a friend’s story,Honey Cake is the fourth children’sbook for Vancouver storytellerand librarian’s assistantJoan Betty Stuchner. Stuchner,who also wrote The Kugel ValleyKlezmer Band and teaches parttime at a Jewish school, providesa recipe for the spicy, coffee-flavouredhoney cake and anafterword relating an intriguinghistory of the Danish Jews.Artist Cynthia Nugent, whotaught herself to paint and drawfrom library books, traveled toCopenhagen to research and flavourher illustrations. Visitingthe city, she says, “made historycome alive.” 978-1-896580-371AGES 4 TO 8I, Bruno by Caroline Adderson(Orca $6.95)Caroline Adderson,known for her muchlaudedadult fiction includingA History of Forgettingwhich addressed the malignantlegacy of Hitler’s madnessthrough a gay hairdresser andhis female apprentice and SittingPractice which delved into thesexual life of a wheelchairboundwoman with spinal cordinjury, has written her first bookfor young children. In six shorttales I, Bruno relates the adventuresof Adderson’s son Patrick,the “boy inspiration.” Energeticillustrations by Helen Flook reveala stalwart defenderof dragonsdisguised-as-fire-hydrants,the Queenin all his white-gloveand red-velvet-capeglory and a reluctantprimary-gradeprinter who cleverlycomes up with aone-letter moniker for himself.LOUISE DONNELLY978-1-55143-501-5AGES 12+In Pain & Wastings by Carrie Mac(Orca $9.95)In Pain & Wastings, CarrieMac, a paramedic who’sworked Vancouver’s darkerside, continues the trademarkgrit and grind of Charmed, Crush,and The Beckoners. In this latestbook for reluctant teen-readersfifteen-year-old Ethan isstunned to discover the ambulancestation is right in the middleof the Downtown Eastside.He’d willingly agreed to theride-along in the ambulance butsuddenly the alternative to goingto court for breaking into anamusement park isn’t looking socushy. It’s not the area’s notorietyfor “drugs and prostitutesand poverty and violence” that’sgot him spooked. It’s that Mainand Hastings, or Pain andWastings as it’s more accuratelycalled, is only a few blocks away.He doesn’t want to rememberwhat happened there, all thoseyears ago, but as the twelve-hourshifts drag on and Holly, theparamedic, lets on she knew hismother, the demons descend.978-1-55143-904-4AGES 4 TO 8Mush and the Big Blue Flowerby Laurie Payne (Oolichan $21.95)Born and raised in England,Laurie Payne settledin the Shuswap Valleyin the 1960s. A widely exhibitedartist, sculptor and painter,he has writtenhis firstchildren’sbook, Mushand the BigBlue Flower,about a boywho is persuadedheLaurie Paynehas lost hisvoice. Thisallegorical fantasy, illustrated byRuth Campbell, also features amagic flying teapot that transportshim as he searches for hismissing voice. 978-088982-242-5Louise Donnelly writes from Vernon.KIDLITCynthia Nugent illustration from Joan Betty Stuchner’s Honey CakeCover art for Carrie Mac’s Pain & WastingsHelen Flookillustration fromI, Bruno byCaroline Adderson
33 BC BOOKWORLD SPRING 2008reviewsIT SHOULD BECHEWASSENChewassen, Tsawwassen or Chiltinm:The Land Facing the Sea by GwenSzychter ( tel:604-946-4890; $35 )Having self-publishedtwo books on Ladner,Gwen Szychter is backwith Chewassen, Tsawwassen orChiltinm: The Land Facing the Sea,an illustrated guide to buildingsand early settlers of Tsawwassen,excluding Point Roberts.Szychter explains her oddchoice of title: “I would havemuch preferred to be using theolder and more pleasing‘Chewassen’ to refer to this area.However, it has been known verballyand popularly since 1946by the spelling ‘Tsawwassen,’with no standard pronunciation,a situation that was dumped onus by a nameless, faceless bureaucratat the GeographicBoard of Canada, to be appliedto ‘the beach near PointRoberts.’ I have, therefore,opted for the name and spellingof modern usage, eventhough I like it not at all. Thefinal variation, Chiltinm, is whatthe Corboulds perceived as theIndian name for the area. Foryour own personal enjoyment,I’d like you to know that theworking title of this book was‘Tsawwassen: From Picnics toPotatoes to Palm Trees.’ I am notsure why I chose to go with amore formal title in the end, butI certainly acknowledge that I’vechosen to convey a Euro-Canadianview of the land.”FREE REIN TOFREE SPEECH978-0-9680951-4-0The Host and the Parasite: How Israel’sFifth Column Consumed America byGreg Felton (Dandelion/The Author $40)Dedicated to the WorldWide Web, “the lasthope for a free press,”Greg Felton’s The Host and theParasite: How Israel’s Fifth ColumnConsumed America is ostensibly anattempt to provide the impartialreader—folks who remainperplexed by petropolitics andnew & established writersongoing hatreds withinthe so-called HolyLand—with a livelyprimer on how theworld has gone to hellin a handbasket in theMiddle East. Abouthalfway through his vituperativebut compellingbarrage ofpro-Palestinian historicalanalysis—in whichhe pummels the allegedcollusion betweenthe Bush/Cheney “oilochracy”and the state of Israel—Felton sets out to debunkthe “demonized”image of Osama binLaden. For that reasonalone, some Jews, andmany non-Jews, will preferto dismiss Felton’sprolonged screedas hate literature,as unforgivable anti-Semitism. But it should be notedthat Felton’s disdain for so-calledmainstream media is equally intense.The vast sweep of Felton’soverview is not dissimilar toNaomi Klein’s one-size-fits-allanalytic approach to debunkingneo-liberalism and its collusionwith the World Bank. If you canscrape together enough facts tosuit your argument, youcan hold the courtroomof public opinion spellboundwith your zeal. Togive both sides of an argument,on the otherhand, runs the risk ofbeing dismissed as wishywashy.Felton, an inveterateletter-to-the-editor guy,does dish out a host ofintriguing details that neverseem to get aired on CBS orCNN and all those other newsoutlets that run the gamut ofopinion from A to B. For instance,Felton points out thatCondoleeza Rice, Bush’s Secretaryof State, was a director ofChevron from 1991 to 2001. Sowho knew that Chevron, as aparting gesture, named a$1,500Creative Non-FictionContestThree winners will each receive $500 plus payment for publication in Event 37/3. Other manuscripts may be published.Final Judge: Timothy Taylor is an award-winning journalist and bestselling author. He is a columnistwith The Globe and Mail and the recipient of three National Magazine Awards.Writers are invited to submit manuscripts exploring the creative non-fiction form. Back issues of Eventwith previous winning entries and judges’ comments are available for $7.35 (inc. GST and postage).Note: Previously published material cannot be considered. Maximum entry length is 5000words, typed, double-spaced. Include a separate cover sheet with the writer’s name, address,phone number / email, and the title(s) of the story (stories) enclosed. Enclose a SASE (Canadianpostage / IRCs / US$1). Douglas College employees are not eligible to enter.Entry Fee: Each entry must be accompanied by a $29.95 entry fee (includes GST and a one-yearsubscription or extension; make cheque or international money order payable to Event). Americanand overseas entrants please pay in US dollars.Deadline for Entries: Postmarked by April 15, 2008.P.O. Box 2503, New Westminster, BCCanada V3L 5B2Phone: (604) 527-5293 Fax: (604) 527-5095Email: event@douglas.bc.caVisit our website at http://event.douglas.bc.ca136,000-ton tanker CondoleezaRice? Upon her ascension to theWhite House, Chevron changedthe name to the less noticeableAltair Voyager.Felton traces how someChristians in the U.S. have cometo view Israel’s ascendancy as theillumination of biblical prophecy—God’swill in action—tothe continuing detrimentof Palestinians.Felton writes forthe Arabic/EnglishCanadian Arab News.A falling-out with hisArizona-based bookpublisher has resultedin him sellinghis own book directlyfrom his home.“Real power doesnot lie with the White House orCongress,” he pronounces, “itlies with the Jewish, Christianand Straussian pressure groupsthat tell the president and Congresswhat to do.”It’s up to each reader to decidewhether or not Felton’s filibusterof fury is usefulcommentary or a missile from acrackpot. 978-1-893302-97-6GOALIANISLA NDINDIESClearingland in WestVancouver,1915While serving on the West Vancouver Heritage Advisory Committee, ElspethBradbury has produced a coffee table book on the forestry of that area asa fundraiser for the Lighthouse Park Preservation Society, West Vancouver:A View Through the Trees (District of West Vancouver $40). The collaborativeeffort, that includes extensive historical information, was edited by Valerie Frith.Bradbury credits the help of publishing insiders Don and Barbara Atkins, JimDouglas, Rob Sanders, Mark Stanton, historian Doreen Armitage, projectcoordinator Hugh Johnston and dozens of others. 978-0-9784147-0-2Greg FeltonA ROUBLE FORHIS THOUGHTSLooking Through Glasnost by Gil Parker(Victoria: Aware Publishing $21.95)After 1991, when the communisthierarchy of 74years collapsed throwingthe Soviet Union into turmoil,the market economy failed tomaterialize and western moneydisappeared into the hands ofthe oligarchs. The expectationsof the people were dashed, theirpersonal savings erased by successivedevaluations of the rouble.Gil Parker’s Looking ThroughGlasnost describes a dozen personalvisits by the former engineerand mountain climber,prompted by a Rotary Club ‘sister-city’initiative in 1988. Overa 15-year period, Parker exploredGeorgia, Lithuania,Uzbekistan, and Russia east towest, befriended many Sovietcitizens, learned Russian andcame to understand the crumblingCommunist model and thefaltering democracy that replacedit.978-0-9736906-1-3We areelebratingC10thAourREX & NAPOLEONCurious Little World: A Self-Imposed Exileon St. Helena Island by Rex Bartlett(Gabriola Island: Toppermost Books$21.95)Rex Bartlett’s Curious Little World: ASelf-Imposed Exile on St. Helena Islandmainly recounts how he andhis partner Cynthia Barefoot went to liveon the tiny island where Napoleon died,halfway between Africa and SouthAmerica. They bought an abandonedhouse sight unseen, lacking plumbing,electricity and telephone.As an ex-musician, Bartlett’s self-deprecatingcharm is as appealing as theexotic locale of his memoir. He recallsbeing Neil Young’spaperboy in Winnipegand travellingto buy guitarstrings in Hibbing,Minnesota, BobDylan’s birthplace,hoping the stringswould bring themNapoleon luck in their newband.“But just outside of Hibbing, werounded a curve in the highway and approacheda huge banner strung acrossthe road. The sign didn’t say, ‘Welcometo Hibbing, Bob Dylan’s Hometown’ likeit should. Instead it said, ‘Welcome toHibbing, World’s Largest Open Pit IronMine.’ I knew right then that I had beenwrong. The sign was a sign. Well, obviouslythe sign was a sign. Anyone couldsee that the sign was a sign, but I couldsee that the sign was an omen.“The silver strings would not bring usfame. They would hold no magic. I staredat the vast obscene open pit iron mineand realized that my piercing Joan-of-Arc-sy vision had been nothing more thana post-Klik hallucination. Chastened andhumiliated, we returned to the Winnie-The-Pooh Capital of the World.”978-0-978-3927-0-3[P.O Box 319 Gabriola Island, BC V0R 1X0]ALSO RECEIVEDColleen O’Connor, Cry of the Phoenix(Cat’s Eye Enterprises $19.95)978-0-9783988-0-4---------------------------------------------------Terry Julian, The Seduction of SurveysIn Canada’s Federal Elections (SignaturePublishing $14.95) 978-1-4251355-4-6--------------------------------------------------Bruce Batchelor, Book Marketing Demystified(Agio $14.95)978-1-897435-00-7---------------------------------------------------Eleanor Millard, Journeys Outside andIn (Self-published $24.95) 0-9782817-0-5---------------------------------------------------Anne Brevig, Years on the 7 Seas (SevenSeas Press, $36.95) 0973758201---------------------------------------------------Glen Lovett, The Adventures of Jasper:Lost in Skookum Valley (Lovett Pictures$18.95) 978-0-9783116-1-2nniversaryOpen year-round with over 25,000 titlesplus a great selection of Canadian authors,art supplies and gifts.Join us for readings and book launches.76 Madrona Drive Galiano Island BC V0N 1P0250 539-3340 ltrent@uniserve.com
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Spring 2008 Volume 22 - No. 1 - BC BookWorld

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