Fallout: Spies, Superbombs and the Ultimate Cold War Showdown by Steve Sheinkin

World War II has ended with the United States and Russia emerging as the two dominant world powers. For the United States, that domination is partly due to the dropping of the atomic bomb on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. But now the race is on to dominate in the age of nuclear weapons.

In June, 1953, paper boy Jimmy Bozart was collecting for his paper route. He often was tipped an extra nickel or dime. From the two retired teachers on the top floor of the apartment building, Jimmy was given a quarter and five nickels. But on his way down the stairs, he slipped and the change spilled. Jimmy found the quarter and four of the nickels. The fifth nickel was in two parts: the back and a hollowed out front containing what looked like a tiny piece of film.

Jimmy raced home, wondering if the strange nickel was somehow connected to Soviet spies. The Cold War was intensifying and any bit of information might help. By 1953, the Soviets and United States were locked in a deadly race to build atomic and nuclear weapons of mass destruction.

Eventually the nickel came to a classmate's father who was a detective in the New York police and he passed it on to the FBI. They questioned the two teachers and did further investigation into the origins of the nickel but were unable to determine anything. The film was sent to code breakers in Washington, D.C. Meanwhile, the man who actually crafted the nickel was living in Brooklyn, not far from Jimmy Bozart's family. That man was Rudolf Abel, a Soviet spy who had entered the country via Canada.

It wasn't until August, 1949 that the Soviets successfully tested their first atomic bomb, a weapon they were only able to make after stealing the technology from the United States. In early 1950, President Harry Truman announced the United States was working on a new, more powerful bomb, a hydrogen bomb or H-bomb. Abel was working to steal that technology in the hopes of giving the Soviets an advantage.

But the H-bomb would become a reality very quickly. Edward Teller, a Jewish physicist who fled Germany during the war, came to work at a secret lab called Los Alamos in New Mexico. After working on creating the atomic bomb, Teller along with other scientists wondered if it were possible to make a big bomb by fusing atoms together. It was Teller and Stanislaw Ulam who solved this problem. In November 1952, the United States successfully tested a H-bomb. By 1956, the U.S. would have 3,700 bombs. By 1959, the U.S. had over 12,000 bombs.

In the months after Josef Stalin's death in 1953, Nikita Khrushchev managed to seize control of power in Soviet Russia. He was determined to see the spread of communism throughout the world. In 1955, the Soviets successfully tested their own hydrogen bomb. The nuclear arms race was now on. Like the U.S., the Soviets began stockpiling bombs and building planes and rockets to deliver those bombs.

As both the United States and the Soviet Union continued to develop, test and stockpile nuclear weapons, a series of events over 1960 and 1961 would draw the superpowers into the ultimate nuclear showdown. 

Discussion

With Fallout, Steve Sheinkin continues the story of the arms race and the development of weapons of mass destruction that began during World War II and was told in his book Bomb. In this book, he follows the events that led up to the showdown between the Soviet Union which was placing nuclear missiles in Cuba and the United States, the intended target of those missiles.

The series of events were many and all connected. The first was the capture of U2 pilot Francis Gary Powers who was on a final reconnaissance flight over the Soviet Union on May 1, 1960. These flights, in the era before satellites, had provided the United States with valuable military intelligence about the Soviet build-up of weapons.

The second was the growing alliance between Khrushchev and the new leader of Cuba, Fidel Castro. President Eisenhower considered Castro a growing threat not only to the U.S. but also to other countries in South America. The third was the election of John F. Kennedy as President of the United States in November, 1960. He was the youngest president ever elected to the office and he was relatively inexperienced. Khrushchev saw him as weak and immature but it was Kennedy's reluctance to escalate the conflict that helped avert a war.

The fourth event was the invasion of Cuba by the United States with the intent to remove Fidel Castro. There was evidence the Soviets were sending military supplies to Cuba. After much planning and denial by the U.S., the invasion occurred at Bahia de Cochinos, the Bay of Pigs and was a massive failure. 

This was followed by the successful launch by the Soviets of a cosmonaut, Yuri Gagurin, into space - the fifth event. It meant the Soviets now had the potential capability to send a nuclear warhead over the ocean to America. 

Finally, the building of the Berlin wall served to increase tension dramatically in Europe. This was the one place where communism and the free world directly faced off. After World War II, Germany was a country divided: West Germany was democratic while East Germany was a communist dictatorship. Similarly, the capital of Germany, Berlin was also split in two. East Berlin was part of communist East Germany while West Berlin was part of democratic free West Germany. Life in East Germany and East Berlin was difficult as both were oppressive, police states. As a result, people fled from east to west and by 1962, over a thousand a day were leaving. This infuriated Khrushchev who wanted to take over the entire city of Berlin. To stop the drain of people, Walter Ulbricht suggested building a wall between East and West Berlin.

These events were all important catalysts. But it was the fact that the Americans had bases all over Europe including a new operational one in Turkey and that the Soviets were still behind in the nuclear arms race that led Khrushchev to undertake what he later admitted to his son, was "a bluff". "The missiles in Cuba had always been a bluff....The goal was to give the Americans a taste of their own medicine, to make them live with a bit more fear. That would even out the global balance of power. The Soviets could refocus on driving the Americans out of Berlin, and the march to Cold War victory would continue from there."  

It was unbelievable that it was this irresponsible "bluff" which brought the world to the brink of  nuclear war. It seems President Kennedy and Soviet naval Captain Vasili Arkhipov who was the chief of staff for the four Soviet subs near the naval blockage and who had seen the horrors of radiation poisoning from the K-19 nuclear submarine disaster, were the two men who likely prevented nuclear war. Kennedy couldn't imagine starting a nuclear war, despite intense pressure from his military staff and Arkhipov refused to allow the launch of a nuclear missile from one of the subs.

Fallout is well researched, and a fascinating read. The events are told in three parts bookended with a Prologue and an Epilogue. Each part presents black and white photographs of the major players in the events described. Sheinkin does an excellent job of portraying all the moving parts of these events including Russian spies, world leaders, and ordinary citizens including a young paper boy. Despite being well written, this is a book for much older readers and adults. The events are complex and all interconnected.

Sheinkin undertook the research and writing of this book before being interrupted by the pandemic. Nevertheless, he was able to continue his research and talk to Francis Gary Powers Jr. as well as Dr. Sergei Khrushchev, son of Nikita Khrushchev. Dr. Khrushchev was able to provide valuable insights into the events from the Soviet perspective.

Fallout is a must-read for those who want to understand Europe as it exists today and the current events unfolding between Russia and Ukraine.

Book Details:

Fallout: Spies, Superbombs and the Ultimate Cold War Showdown by Steve Sheinkin
New York: Roaring Book Press     2021
341 pp.

June Almeida, Virus Detective! by Suzanne Slade

June  lived in Glasgow, Scotland with her parents and her younger brother, Harry who was just a baby. June loved school because she loved learning. Science was her favourite subject and she loved to share what she learns with her parents and Harry. When June was ten years old, Harry became very sick and died. It was a difficult time for June and her family.

As she grew older, June's passion for science grew. June loved to read science fiction and her easy manner helped her gain many friends. She loved to photograph nature, having a keen eye for details. Unfortunately June's dream of attending university to study science was just a dream. Her family could not afford to send her to school and so she left her studies at age sixteen to help her family financially. 

Instead she got a job in a hospital lab where she used a microscope to examine samples from hospital patients. When her family moved to London, England, June found another job in a hospital lab. In London, she met her husband, Henry. After they married, June and Henry decided to emigrate to Toronto, Canada where she was hired to work in a new research lab. In this lab, June began working with an electron microscope that magnified samples 25,000 X . An electron microscope uses a beam of

electrons to view samples. It is able to create very detailed pictures based on how the electrons behave when they hit the sample. June hoped to obtain clearer images of what she was researching.

To do this she decided to use the electron microscope to take images of viruses surrounded by antibodies. 

In 1960, June gave birth to a baby girl and then eventually returned to her research as well as authoring papers. This led to a job offer from a scientist at a hospital in London, England, so they returned to the city. 

A researcher named David Tyrell asked June if she could investigate what seemed to be a new virus that had given a boy a very bad cold. Using a technique called negative staining to prepare the virus sample, June then put it into the electron microscope. The virus was different from any she'd seen before with tiny dots around it. This virus was similar looking to two other viruses she'd seen from animal samples. June's paper on these viruses years ago had been dismissed, but her work confirmed the existence of a new virus. June and the other doctors decided to call the virus a corona virus because of the crown of dots surrounding it.

Henry wanted to return to Canada but June did not want to give up her work in London. They divorced and June continued working on many different viruses. Her work allowed doctors to develop medicines to help people sick from certain viruses. After retiring from her research, June continued to learn, teaching herself to play the flute and to use a digital camera. 

Discussion

June Almeida, Virus Detective is a timely picture book given the Covid-19 pandemic. June Almeida is virtually unknown, yet she was an accomplished woman researcher and scientist who discovered a new family of viruses, the corona virus. However, SARS, MERS and Covid have all made people across the globe more aware of corona viruses and the severe illness they can cause. It was June Almeida who laid the groundwork for research into these unusual viruses.

June Hart was born in 1930 to Jane and Harry Hart in Glasgow, Scotland. June's younger brother died of diphtheria when he was six years old. June was ten and his death drew June into an interest in science and medicine. June was a good student, passionate enough about science that she won the science prize at Whitehall School. Because she couldn't afford to continue on, June left school at sixteen to work. She trained as a laboratory technician at the Glasgow Royal Infirmary. During her time there, she was also able to complete further technical certification. 

June moved to London in 1952 when she was twenty-two years old.She met her first husband, Enrique Rosalio (Henry) Almeida. Their shared love of classical music drew them together and they married in 1954. They emigrated to Canada in 1956 and four years later, June gave birth to her daughter, Joyce. In 1964, the couple returned to London where she found work as an electron microscopist with Professor Waterson at St. Thomas Hospital. Unfortunately, Henry wanted to return to Canada but June's work was beginning to gain recognition and she refused to leave. They divorced in 1967.

June began to realize that she needed a university degree to further her research so she obtained her M.Phil. in 1970 and in 1971 her D.Sc. from the University of London. As Suzanne Slade mentions in this picture book biography, June began using what is called immune electron microscopy to study viruses. 

As time went on and June's reputation grew, David Tyrell , head of the Health Common Cold Research Unit asked June to look at a virus, B814 that he and his team had isolated from school boys who had colds. When June viewed them using the electron microscope she recognized that they were similar to other viruses she had previously seen in mice and chickens. These viruses had "spikey projections" on their surface that gave them the appearance of having a crown or "corona". June considered these a new family of viruses and Almeida, Tyrell and Waterson labelled them as corona viruses. These viruses were mostly ignored for years because they were not believed to cause serious illness. We now know differently.

Slade provides many of the important details of June Almeida's life, a story of determination and resiliency.  Lacking the financial means to obtain the education she would need to work in the field of science, June set out to work in a hospital and gain the experience she needed. Her hard work, attention to detail and abilities soon resulted in better work, opportunities to participate in research and publish papers. Eventually she was able to attend university and get the education she needed to advance in her profession.

Although June made many major contributions to medical science - the use of morphology to classify viruses and discovery of a new family of viruses, the corona virus - were probably her most significant. Readers might wonder what benefit pictures of viruses offered to scientists and medical practitioners. Visualizing a virus helps work out its morphological characteristics and has allows scientists to devise methods of treating persons who are infected. For example,  June's work on the rubella virus, which can cause congenital birth defects, helped doctors understand how the virus interacted with the immune system. Slade writes that "Her pictures helped scientists develop medicines that could attach to viruses and block them from making people sick." 

June Almeida is yet another brilliant woman scientist, in a long list of brilliant women scientists whose stories are being recovered and told to a new generation of girls. Picture books like June Almeida, Virus Detective, serve to inspire young girls,  that careers in science are possible, and that they have significant contributions to make! 

In researching and writing this picture book, Suzanne Slade was able to talk with June's daughter, Dr. Joyce Almeida who answered questions and provided much primary source material. Slade has included a detailed note titled "More About June", a timeline of June Almeida's life, and a Selected Bibliography. The illustrations were created digitally by Elisa Paganelli. 

You can read more about June Almeida's life and her work from the What Is Biotechnology website.

Book Details:

June Almeida, Virus Detective by Suzanne Slade
Ann Arbor, Michigan: Sleeping Bear Press 2021

Torpedoed! The True Story of the World War II Sinking of "The Children's Ship" by Deborah Heiligman

On September 9, 1940, Nazi Germany commenced bombing London. World War II had been going on for almost one year, but the United States was not yet involved. At first the Germans bombed military targets but when the RAF (Royal Air Force) fought back, they began bombing civilian targets such as the city of London, the port of Liverpool and other English towns. To escape the bombing, British citizens hid in underground bunkers, and subway tunnels. The Blitz, as the bombing came to be called, was supposed to be the prelude to an invasion by the Nazis to secure England. Hitler had already invaded Austria, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, Norway, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, and France. 

When the bombing began, people hid in basements, bomb shelters or in the subway. The bombing in London often lasted most of the  night. After the "all clear" sounded in the morning, people came out of their shelters to see the devastation. For some families like the Grimmonds, they would discover their home was a pile of rubble. Five of the Grimmond children, thirteen-year-old Gussie, "and her younger sisters, Violet, ten, and Connie, nine, and two of her little brother, Eddie, eight, and Lennie, five" were slated to sail from Liverpool to safety in Canada as part of a government program to protect the nation's children. 

The Children's Overseas Reception Board (CORB) was sending British children to safety in other countries such as Canada, Australia, New Zealand or South Africa. Thousands of children had already been sent out of England to safety. Although the ships had Royal Navy warship escorts, this was risky as German U-boats were targeting ships in the Atlantic. In fact, U-boat 48, which would play a part in this story, had already left its home port of Lorient, France.

On Thursday, September 12, 1940, Gussie Grimmond and her siblings along with the other CORB children waited on the Liverpool docks to board their ship, the City of Benares. There was fifteen-year-old Bess Walder, along with her younger brother, ten-year-old Louis. nine-year-old Jack Keeley and his six-year-old sister Joyce, who was unhappy about travelling on the boat. There were other children on the City of Benares such as eleven-year-old Colin Ryder Richardson who was "traveling alone, all the way to New York, to live with friends of his parents." Fourteen-year-old Beth Cummings was also on the ship, sent by her mother to what she hoped would be safety. There was Marguerite Bech along with her children, Barbara who was fifteen and her younger siblings, Sonia and Daniel.

To the children, the SS City of Benares was a luxury ship.The almost-new ship was a steam-powered ocean liner that had carried passengers to India. When Ellerman Lines, the owner of the ship offered it to the British government for use in the CORB program, it was repainted grey and had defensive artillery guns installed. There was some discussion about identifying the ship as having children on board but CORB decided against this. It was decided that the SS. City of Benares would travel as part of a convoy with military escort ships. On board, were ninety children, the British crew numbered forty-three, while there were one hundred sixty-six lascars, or Indian sailors who were bakers, cooks, porters, and crew. Most of the Indian crew were Muslim and poor. Very little is known about them as after the tragedy their fate was mostly ignored.

The ship set sail, after a short stay in the Mersey River waiting for it to be cleared of mines, on Friday, September 13, 1940. The SS City of Benares was under the command of Captain Landles Nicoll but Admiral Edmond McKinnon, commodore of the convoy was also on board. The Benares was the lead ship in a convoy of nineteen vessels that included oil tankers, steamships and freighters. They were accompanied by HMS Winchelsea, and the corvettes, Gladiolus and Gloxinia.

The City of  Benares reached the open water of the Atlantic, where there was a gale blowing. Meanwhile, U-boat 48, now at sea for five days, went deep to avoid the storm. On September 17, the HMS Wichelsea, Gladiolus and Gloxinia left the convoy. Captain Nicoll wanted to leave the convoy, as the Benares was the fastest ship in it, and could easily sail quickly into safer waters. Unfortunately, he was overruled by Admiral MacKinnon. It would be a decision that would have terrible consequences.

Near the convoy, unknown to MacKinnon and Nicoll, was German U boat U-48 commanded by Kapitanleutnant Heinrich Bleichrodt. The U boat had sighted the lead ship in the convoy but because of the bad weather, had to delay attacking it. But when the storm abated for a time in the evening of September 17, 1940, U boat U48 sent two torpedoes towards the Benares. They missed. A minute later, at 10:01 P.M., a second torpedo made a direct hit. The ensuing tragedy and loss of life would end the transport of children to Canada during World War II.

Discussion

It's very evident that Heiligman has done a considerable amount of research in order to be able to tell the story of the sinking of the City of Benares. The story is made personal, the human element the main focus, by telling the stories of some of the children where possible, who were passengers on the ill-fated ship. These were children, already stressed by war and bombing, who faced life and death decisions on their own. It must have been both daunting and terrifying. 

Heiligman ably portrays life in Britain during the Blitz, which helps readers understand why parents might have made the choice to send their children far away to safety in another country, while knowing the threat of German U boats. The author sets the stage for the voyage, explaining the process of being selected by CORB for the program, what it was like for the children and their families as they parted ways, and their time on the SS City of Benares up to the disaster. The retelling of the sinking,  the childrens' attempts to abandon ship and the struggle to survive in the frigid cold of the Atlantic make for sobering reading.

To achieve this, the author used a considerable number of resources. For example in her Select Bibliography at the back of the book, Heiligman lists Interviews from the Imperial War Museum Sound archive as one of her sources. These interviews are of some of the children who survived. The author herself also interviewed John Baker, Sonia Bech Williams and Maggie Paterson. A full list of the cast of people involved is provided at the front of the book. At the back of the book, After The Voyage informs the reader of what happened to some of the children who did survive.

Readers will be drawn into this novel by the realistic cover, and the opening A Note To Readers in which the author was asked if she wanted to learn more about a custom made red child's life jacket. As Heiligman notes, it is a story "...full of drama and despair, triumph and joy."

Torpedoed! is well-written and well worth reading. The sinking of the SS City of Benares is an event that is mostly forgotten this side of the Atlantic. Heiligman's account was published in 2019, prior to the 80th anniversary of the disaster.

Book Details:

Torpedoed! The True Story of the Word War II Sinking of "The Children's Ship" by Deborah Heiligman
New York: Henry Holt and Company 2019
292 pp.

Just Being Dali: The Story of Artist Salvador Dali by Amy Guglielmo

In this picture book, the unusual life of Salvador Domingo Felipe Jacinto Dali i Domenech is presented. He was born in a seaside town in northern Spain.

Salvador liked to dream. When he was six years old, his budding creativity showed itself in his desire to be a cook. However, his father, tired of Salvador's messes, put an end to that. So Salvador startd pretending he was a king, but this also was discouraged by his father.

Salvador was a quiet, shy boy who liked to play alone and wear his king costume to school. This led to being teased by the other students. Instead of doing his lessons, Salvador spent his time in class doodling. When he became ill, his parents sent him to recover at the home of artist Ramon Pichot. While there, Salvador received lessons from Pichot on how to paint. Salvador realized that being an artist would allow him to be who he wanted to be. It was Pichot who persuaded Salvador's father to make him a studio.

 

In his new studio, Salvador sketched and painted the visions in his head and portraits of family and friends.. Eventually he went to study at the art academy in Madrid. There he continued his odd ways, growing his hair long and wearing elegant clothing. But his art won over the other students who became his friends.

At the art academy, Salvador first worked on imitating the techniques of the art masters. Soon he wanted to try something different. So when he was asked to do a painting of the sculpture of a woman he painted a pair of scales. His unwillingness to follow the rules saw Salvador expelled from the academy. Despite this he continued to make are, creating unique paintings. He moved to Paris where he met similar minded artists who combined fantasy and reality in their work. They called themselves surrealists. This was just the beginning for Salvador Dali who would find the support he needed to create some of the most unique and strange art ever.

Discussion

Just Being Dali tells the story of surrealist painter, Salvador Dali. The focus is on Salvador's unique way of looking at the world, even as a child, that led him ultimately to his passion as an artist. Despite encouragement from his parents and teachers to follow the rules and conform, Dali was determined to do things differently. His way involved painting the world as he saw it, using a mixture of reality and fantasy and this led him into the surrealist movement in 1929. The overriding lesson in Just Being Dali is for children to discover who they are and to be themselves, not what others might want them to be.

Illustrator Brett Helquist's artwork, done in oil,  recreates a few of Salvador Dali's more famous works while also helping to tell his story. This picture book includes a detailed Author's Note that offers a bit more information on Salvador Dali, a Selected Bibliography as well as a list of art recreated in the book.

Book Details:

Just Being Dali: The Story of Artist Salvador Dali by Amy Guglielmo

New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons        2021

We Must Not Forget by Deborah Hopkinson

We Must Not Forget is a compilation of the stories of Holocaust survivors for young readers. It is the story of the persecution of Jewish youth in Germany, France, the Netherlands and Poland and their acts of resistance.

We Must Not Forget is not an exhaustive account but chooses to tell the stories of  a number of survivors who were boys and girls at the time of the Holocaust. The book is divided into three major parts: Part One is true stories from Germany and the Netherlands, Part Two tells the stories of those in France and Part Three focuses on Poland. Their stories are too complex and varied, and their telling here could never do them justice. Instead, a brief summary of those people who suffered and survived will be given.

 

Part One Fleeing From Evil, Hiding From Horror  the focus is on four stories. Hopkinson profiles Fred Angress who fled Germany with his parents when he was fourteen years old. They settled in the Netherlands because that country had been neutral during World War I. When Germany invaded the Netherlands in 1940, Fred was able to get a job with the Jewish Council that would prevent him from being transported to Mauthausen death camp. Fred tried to use this position to help others. But in 1943, the final transport of Jews was about to begin and Fred knew he had to go into hiding. 

Chella Velt Meedcoms Kryszek and her sister Flora as well as her father and stepmother went into hiding with the arrival of the Nazis in the Netherlands. The family was eventually transported to Westerbork, a transit camp near the Dutch border. With the help of an old friend, Chella and Flora  were able to get transported to Vught, at least delaying their transport to a death camp. There they were able to work in the Philips factory but they were both eventually sent to Auschwitz where they endured many horrors.

Gertrude Michelsohn Sonnenberg along with her younger sister Herta and their parents were deported in 1941 from Hanover Germany to the Riga ghetto in Latvia. They were able to survive multiple "selections" and as the war began to end, forced marches. They were saved by the intervention of Count Folke Bernadotte of Sweden who had them transported to Denmark and then to Sweden.

In Part Two, Families Torn Apart, the experiences of Ruth Oppenheimer David, Hanne Hirsch Liebmann and her husband Max Liebmann and Alfred Moritz are told. Ruth's life was saved through the rescue effort of the Kindertransport. Ruth's family was deported to the Gurs internment camp in France. Her younger brother Michael was rescued from Gurs by two Scandinavian helpers while her sister Feodora was taken by the Jewish resistance group OSE (Oeuvre de Secours aux Enfants) and placed in semi-hiding. Sadly her parents, Moritz and Margarete Oppenheimer were murdered immediately upon arrival at Auschwitz. 

Hanne and her mother were also sent to the Gurs internment camp. There she met and fell in love with Max Liebman who along with his mother had been deported from Mannheim, Germany. Both managed to escape to Switzerland and we married after the war in 1945. Their mothers were murdered at Auschwitz.

Alfred Moritz along with his younger brother Ernest and their parents lived in Becherbach, a small village in southeastern Germany. They fled to Luxembourg and then to France. As the Vichy government began allowing the Germans to proceed with their policies against the Jews, Alfred's parents decided to have the OSE take the two boys into hiding at their children's home located at Chateau Le Masgelier in central France. Even here, Alfred and his brother were not safe and they were eventually removed to the more remote location of Vernoux-en-Vivarais. They stayed in this village for eighteen months until the Allies landed in Normandy on June 6, 1944. They were reunited with their parents, a rare Jewish family that survived the war intact.

In Part Three, Desperation and Defiance tells the stories of survivors and resisters from Poland. Not content to be herded into ghettos and then sent to the death camps, Polish Jews fought back. Paula Burger and her younger brother Isaac lived with their parents in Novogadek, Poland. Paula's father, Wolf Koladicki managed through his many connections to stave off being sent to the Novogrudek ghetto. He was eventually able to get his children out of the ghetto (their mother had been murdered by the Nazis) and to safety in the Naliboki Forest. There the Bielski partisan group led by Tuvia Bielski worked to save Jews and fight back.

Ten-year-old Bronka Harz Kurz lived in Kolomyja, part of Poland at that time. Her family were forced into the Kolomyia ghetto. When she was eleven, Bronka, her mother, aunt and cousin escaped to the forest. They were captured and sent back to the ghetto and escaped a second time. But Bronka's mother was recognized at the train station and Bronka and her mother were sent back again to the ghetto. A third attempt was successful. They spent the war posing as Christians.

Wloda Blit Robertson and Helly Blit were smuggled out of the Warsaw ghetto. Because their mother was part of the Jewish council, the two girls were exempt from being transported to the work camps in the east, which in reality, were extermination camps. They were hidden by a Polish Catholic couple.

Vladka Meed (born Feigele Peltel) and Benjamin Meed (born Benjamin Miedzyrzecki) helped plan and lead the Warsaw ghetto uprising.

Discussion

We Must Not Forget is a timely resource geared towards middle and upper grade students but can also be read by teens and adults. Recently it was reported that a significant number of American and Canadian students believe the Holocaust was fabricated.  "One in three of our respondents stated that they believed that the Holocaust was fabricated or not reported in a way that was accurate to what actually happened,” said Alex Lerner, researcher and assistant professor of political science at the U.S. Naval Academy." 

In Canada, January 27 is Holocaust Remembrance Day and an increasing number of schools are beginning to incorporate age-appropriate material on this significant historical event into the school curriculum. As fewer and fewer Holocaust survivors remain each year, it is important their stories be told. Remembering and learning from the past means preventing future atrocities.

We Must Not Forget incorporates survivor and resister stories with many black and white photographs, allowing young readers to put faces to those who suffered in the Holocaust. This is important because in the age of disruption and misinformation, the photographs help to humanize those who died. The stories are divided into three parts, according to country, each part beginning with a title page, a section  providing a short bio of those whose stories are featured and a page highlighting key dates. At the end of most of the personal accounts, there is a Look, Listen, Remember section that features primary sources, audio recordings and video. 

The book also contains a Glossary, a Selected Timeline of World War II in Europe, a a Look, Listen, Remember: Resources to Explore. The last section offers an extensive list of resources that includes museum websites and online resources, and links to oral histories, articles and interviews. There is a Bibliography which highlights resources of special interest to young readers, Source Notes and an index.

We Must Not Forget is probably best suited for students in Grade Six and up, given the extensive amount of information covered. A map showing the various European countries at the beginning of the war and the areas occupied by Nazi Germany would have been especially useful. Bur overall, this is a wonderful resource to help inform younger readers about the Holocaust so that these kinds of atrocities do not happen again.

Book Details:

We Must Not Forget: Holocaust Stories of Survival and Resistance by Deborah Hopkinson
New York: Scholastic Focus       2021
346 pp.

 

 

Under Amelia's Wing by Heather Stemp

Under Amelia's Wing is the second book in the Ginny Ross series. 

Ginny arrives in Lafayette, Indiana, in August 1936, after a six day journey, to attend Purdue University. She is enrolled in the Mechanical Engineering program. University president Dr. Edward C. Elliott has hired Ginny's mentor, Amelia Earhart to provide career counselling and to be a part-time aviation counsellor.

At the train station, Ginny meets another student, Mabel Anderson. Together they make their way to the university and to the Women's Residence. Miss Schleman, director of the residence suggests they room together which Ginny and Mabel agree to. Mabel is very impressed that Ginny not only has met Amelia Earhart but that she has also helped her on her transatlantic flight.

The next morning, Ginny takes Mabel to the Purdue University Airport. As Ginny is admiring the Lockheed Vega in the hangar, they meet a boy named Matt Baker who is attempting to fix an engine. Ginny assesses the engine and quickly fixes the problem. This impresses both Matt and Captain Aretz, the airport manager. He invites Ginny to return to the airport the following day to share what she knows about engines. 

When Ginny does return to the airport with her friend Mabel, Cap has her run through servicing a Taylor Cub, the plane they use for training, while he watches. Impressed at her knowledge and skill in doing the servicing, Cap takes Ginny on a short flight over the campus. This flight thrills Ginny and makes her determined to become a pilot.

The next day classes begin and Ginny's first class is Engineering with Professor Malcom Jones, who happens to be Mabel's uncle. She assures Ginny that her Uncle Malcolm is a kind man. The class turns out to be a nightmare: Ginny is moved to the back of class and laughed at by the boys. However, one boy asks her to meet him at Frank's Coffee Shop on State Street after class. That boy turns out to be Jamie Baker, Matt Baker's brother. Ginny also meets Eddie Elliott, son of President Elliott. Eddie tells Ginny that his father wants to invite her when Amelia Earhart arrives at the university. When Ginny explains to Mabel how her uncle behaved towards her in class, Mabel brushes her concerns off as her uncle being strict. This leaves Ginny feeling confused.

Ginny decides the best plan is to "lay low, do my work, and leave the classroom as fast as I could." Both Jamie and Jack Stinson another boy in her class are willing to stick up for Ginny. However, Professor Jones continues to ridicule her, accusing her of writing notes to Jamie. After class both Matt and Ed suggest that Ginny fight back by showing what she can do and that she belongs in the class. The only positive news is a letter from Amelia Earhart telling Ginny that she has finally arrived at Purdue in her new Lockheed Electra.

The next morning Amelia is at breakfast in the Women's Residence. Amelia is staying in the guest suite on the first floor. Miss Schleman invites all of the women to a special presentation by Amelia on her transatlantic flight. As Amelia is leaving, she stops by Ginny's table to warmly greet her. Ginny's first class this day is physics taught by Professor Abernathy. He is impressed that Ginny knows about celestial navigation and is very friendly and supportive.

Ginny and Mabel meet Amelia at the Purdue University airport where Ginny is able to  inspect Amelia's new Lockheed Electra 10E. Unfortunately, Mabel learns that her beloved Uncle Malcolm has been harassing Ginny to force her to drop out of his engineering course. This upsets Mabel so much that she runs away from Ginny, refusing to talk to her. 

However, the situation with Professor Jones continues to deteriorate during the semester, despite Ginny's efforts to lay low. He accuses her of being a liar and a fraud. The situation reaches a crisis over Ginny's end-of-semester exam. Added to this is a heartbreaking letter from her friend Llewellyn. Even as her situation begins to be resolved at Purdue, Amelia's disappearance at the end of her flight around the world is a second blow to Ginny. With her mentor gone, Ginny must now find a new path forward to persevere in her dream of becoming a pilot.

Discussion

In this second installment of the Ginny Ross series, Ginny begins her studies at Purdue University with the goal of becoming a pilot. To help her is mentor and famed woman aviator, Amelia Earhart. It was Amelia who helped Ginny gain admission to Purdue.

This novel is set in the pre-war period, from 1936 to 1940. Ginny encounters stiff opposition from her engineering professor, Malcolm Jones, the uncle of her new friend, Mabel. This sets up the first crisis in the novel when Professor Jones removes a sheet from Ginny's exam, effectively failing her. While opposition and discrimination were common for women in science and engineering during the early 20th century, tampering with an exam seems an extreme tactic. During the first half of the 20th century, quotas were a significant reason women were unable to attend university or college but women were admitted to engineering programs. Much of the discrimination came after graduation: most women weren't given the same opportunities and recognition as their male counterparts. A woman might graduate with a degree in science but found she was often given lab work instead of a teaching and research position. World War II would begin to change that, but it wouldn't be until the late 1960's and 1970's that the situation would really change. In the novel, Ginny meets this challenge with fortitude and resiliency, forging on with the support of several male friends and help from the university president.

When Amelia Earhart is lost at sea, her disappearance and its effect on Ginny is profound. Stemp doesn't really provide her young readers with much information about the disappearance, but instead focuses on how Ginny struggles to cope with the loss of her mentor and friend. This presents a realistic picture of events at the time, as Amelia's disappearance was and remains today an unsolved mystery. All we know is that she never made it to Howland Island and most likely crashed into the sea. The remains of Amelia Earhart and her navigator Frederick Noonan and their Lockheed Electra have never been found despite extensive searches. 

Instead, the story moves on, as Ginny completes her her engineering degree and aviation training. When she graduates, along with friends Mabel, Jack, Jamie and her friend Matt, war looms in Europe. With everyone enlisting, Ginny has to decide what her contribution to the war effort will be, since women pilots are not allowed in the United States Air Force. 

Stemp has crafted a beloved, strong heroine in Ginny Ross. As in the first novel in the series, Ginny shows her mettle when she refuses to let Professor Jones bully her into quitting his engineering class. Instead, she fights back going to the Dean of Engineering and then the President of the university. In this regard, Ginny was fortunate, as most women would not have had the support and friendship of people in significant positions. Nevertheless, she is determined and accomplished, proving both academically and technically that she belongs in the Purdue aeronautical engineering program. This is another characteristic of systemic discrimination that women in science and engineering encountered: they often had to produce superior results compared to their male counterparts.

Stemp provides readers with a map of Purdue University as it looked in 1935. As with the first book, Under Amelia's Wing also includes some of the last photographs of Amelia Earhart, taken during her time at Purdue University. However, there is no information on Amelia Earhart's world flight nor of her disappearance in July, 1937. Readers can  find more information from the Amelia Earhart Collection in the University of Purdue archives. There is no information provided about the novel's cover image but it is from the Purdue University collection, taken in 1936 and shows Amelia Earhart sitting on top of the Lockheed Electra with a group of women aviation students.

The third book in the Ginny Ross series will most likely focus on the war years and should offer a fitting conclusion to her story. .

Book Details:

Under Amelia's Wing by Heather Stemp
Halifax: Nimbus Publishing     2020
253 pp.

Rescuing Titanic: A true story of quiet bravery in the North Atlantic by Flora Delargy

In this new picture book about the sinking of the Titanic, Flora Delargy focuses on the Carpathia, the ship that came to the rescue in the hours after the disaster.

The story begins with a pictorial of the key crew and passengers of the Carpathia and to a lesser extent, the Titanic. For the Carpathia, there is Captain Arthur Rostron and First Officer Horace Dean. For the Titanic, Captain Edward Smith, wireless operators Jack Phillips and Harold Bride.

The setting is that of the Hudson River Harbor, in New York in the  golden era of steam travel. Steamships offered a relatively fast way (under eight days) to cross the Atlantic. 

On April 10, 1912, the "grandest ship ever to take to the ocean, the RMS Titanic departed from Southhampton bound for New York."  Meanwhile, on April 11, 1912, the RMS Carpathia, captained by Arthur Rostron was preparing to depart from Pier 54 on the Hudson River. Her destination was the cities of Genoa, Naples, Trieste and Fiume. The Carpathia's journey would take eleven days. Her passengers were mostly American tourists or Europeans who lived in the United States.

At 11pm on Sunday, April 14, the Carpathia was making steady progress crossing the Atlantic Ocean. The last of the passengers were being settled into their cabins, the night was clear and cold. But on the Titanic, an iceberg had been sighted dead ahead. An attempt to avoid it failed and the ship struck the iceberg on her starboard side. Captain Smith was told but within the first ten minutes, five forward compartments had flooded. Thomas Andrew, the ship's designer informed the captain that the ship was doomed and would sink within ninety minutes.

From their Marconi Wireless Room, wireless operators Jack Phillips and Harold Bridge frantically sent out distress signals. In the Carpathia's wireless room, Harold Cottam was preparing to retire when he received the Titanic's SOS distress signal. He immediately told First Officer Dean and together they raced to Captain Rostron's cabin to inform him. Rostron immediately set into action, ordering the ship to turn around and head to Titanic's reported position.

Carpathia would arrive over two hours after the Titanic sank, but would save seven hundred and six passengers and crew, thanks to the efforts of Captain Rostron and the crew of his ship. 

Discussion

For those fascinated by the tragedy of the sinking of Titanic, Rescuing Titanic offers a retelling from a fresh perspective, that of those on the Carpathia.

In this account, Flora Delargy focuses on the details of the ship and the actions of the crew and passengers as the rescue of Titanic was undertaken. Delargy notes that as the Carpathia raced to the Titanic, Captain Rostron had his crew undertake a number of preparations both above and below deck. He is portrayed as competent and professional. His crews' preparations were focused on getting survivors out of the lifeboats quickly and safely, setting up makeshift hospitals and increasing the Carpathia's speed as much as possible. At the same time, Captain Rostron was not reckless: he worried about the safety of his crew and his ship as it navigated the iceberg infested waters. Many of these small but important details are not often told in the sinking of the Titanic. And once all of the survivors were on board, Rostron was careful to protect his traumatized passengers. The wireless operators were under his strict orders not to divulge the names of any survivors to news reporters. When Carpathia arrived in New York bay it was surrounded by the boats of news reporters desperate to interview Titanic's survivors. Captain Rostron did not allow any to board his ship. Delargy

To tell the Carpathia's story, Delargy has crafted many interesting illustrations, rendered in watercolor and ink. Some of the illustrations are very basic such as those portraying the key crew and passengers, the tools of navigation used by the crew of a ship and the different decks and areas of the Carpathia. Other illustrations, such as the pages that portray the Titanic frantically messaging nearby ships, the Titanic shooting flares as it lowers lifeboats, the Carpathia navigating the ice field, and the survivors seeing the shadow of the Carpathia as she arrives, capture the atmosphere of that night, brilliantly clear, and cold. One feels the vastness of the ocean and the danger too. Other illustrations portray the hurried preparations on the Carpathia in contrast to the almost ambivalent atmosphere on Titanic as her passengers struggled to believe the unsinkable ship was actually sinking.

Rescuing Titanic is sure to appeal to Titanic fans who might want a different perspective on the disaster that occurred almost one hundred and ten years ago. It is well written, with a lively attention to detail, and evocative illustrations. Delargy has included a Glossary, Sources and suggestions for Further Readings.

Book Details:

Rescuing Titanic: A true story of quiet bravery in the North Atlantic by Flora Delargy
Beverly, MA: Wide Eyed Editions      2021
75 pp.

Rock by Rock: The Fantastical Garden of Nek Chand by Jennifer Bradbury

 Nek Chand lived in the busy city of Chandigarh, India. Ned was homesick. He was one of millions of Indians who had been displaced due to the partition of India into two countries: India for Hindus and Pakistani for Muslims. The northern part of India became Pakistan, a country for Muslims. Nek and his family were Hindu and no longer welcome in their village so they fled south to India. Nek missed his village with its beautiful rosewood trees.

Years later, Nek began exploring the patch of forest near the edge of the city. He began to clear the forest of fallen branches and winding vines. He brought in stones, placing them in rings or using them to line the paths he made. Soon Nek began to collect other materials as well including broken dishes, tiles, discarded cement powder and wire bangles. He spent time hunting through the rubble of the villages that the new city had been built on.

From these discarded items, Nek began creating beautiful things: figures made from wire, concrete, bangles, animal figures from cloth. He made paths and tunnels, arches and stairs. As time passed, Nek continued to plan. Until one day his secret garden was discovered. Workmen planning a new road hacked their way into Nek's garden and were stunned at what they found. 

The city leaders were supportive of what Nek Chand had created and they offered him a job working full time on his rock garden. Soon his garden was open to the public and people came in large numbers.

When one city official grew jealous and tried to destroy the garden, the people came forward to protect their beloved space.

Discussion

Nek Chand Saini was born December 15, 1924 in Shakargarh "township" located in what is now Narowal District, Punjab, Pakistan. When he was born his town was located in the Gurdaspur district in British India. With the Partition in 1947, Nek and his family moved to India. In 1951 Nek began to work as a road inspector for the Public Works Department.

In 1958, he began collecting rocks, discarded and recyclable items from the villages that were being demolished to make way for the new city of Chandigarh. In 1965 Nek was working creating his garden in secret at night and on weekends in forest reserve. He was inspired by the building of Chandigarh, watching how the concrete was being used. Building in the reserve was forbidden but Nek began creating sculptures and settings of Indian life. 

It wasn't until 1975 that his garden was discovered by city workers. At first city officials wanted the garden destroyed but pressure from the people managed to save his work. Eventually the garden was designated a "Rock Garden" and opened to the public in 1976. At this time, Nek was given a salary and was asked to work full time designing the garden. 

With the recognition of the area as a special garden, Nek began to design his space in earnest, creating plazas, a waterfall, paths and over five thousand concrete figures. He also created a miniature village. Some of his statues have been exhibited in shows around the world. In 1997, the Nek Chand Foundation was created to protect and administer the garden. Thousands of people visit the Rock Garden of Chandigarh every day. Nek passed away in 2015 at the age of ninety. You can read more about the different phases of Nek Chand's work in the garden in an  article published in the Winter/ Spring 2000 issue of The Folk Art Messenger.

 Jennifer Bradbury presents all the interesting details of Nek's story in an easy to read manner, accompanied by the colourful digital artwork of illustrator Sam Boughton. The story of Nek Chand, not well known outside of India, will inspire young readers as they learn about a man struggling to cope with displacement and loss. Bradbury writes that Nek's missing his village,  "...moved from his heart into his hands, and his hands knew what to do." Creating the garden helped heal Nek from his experiences of the Partition. Nek took his disappointment and loss, channeling it into a creative endeavour that brought people together. His resourcefulness at using discarded materials allowed him to create a space where people could explore, come together and enjoy. This was important for a country like India, where differences had resulted in the partition of a country into two new countries, separating people of different religions . Instead of making a monument to differences, Nek Chand created a space for everyone, based on his own country's culture. Nek Chand's garden remains a space where people can come together.

Readers will find  more information in A Note and a Timeline located at the back of the book, both of which include a few photographs. 

Nek Chand garden image credit: https://www.greatgardensoftheworld.com/gardens/rock-garden/

Book Details:

Rock by Rock The Fantastical Garden of Nek Chand by Jennifer Bradbury
Toronto: Atheneum Books For Young People    2021

The Queen's Wardrobe by Julia Golding

The Queen's Wardrobe presents the life story of Queen Elizabeth II, ruling monarch of Great Britain while also providing an interesting history of the clothing she has worn throughout her reign.

Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor was born on April 21, 1926 to the Duke and Duchess of York. Her family called her Lilibet. Lilibet's great-great-grandmother was Queen Victoria and her uncle Edward was to be the next ruler of England. 

Elizabeth was christened in a gown Queen Victoria had made for her first child in 1841. It was designed and sewn by Janet Sutherland, daughter of a Scottish coalminer. Janet was eventually awarded the title of Embroiderer to the Queen for her exquisite work.  The baptismal gown was retired in 2004 after being worn by sixty-one royal babies!

Throughout her life, Elizabeth's clothes reflected her position within the royal family and the activities she took part in. Unlike her brothers, Elizabeth and her sister Margaret did not attend school, and were taught by their governess, Marion Crawford. They often wore matching coats, dresses or long gowns when they attended public events.

 

In 1936, Elizabeth's grandfather, King George V died and his eldest son Edward became king. However, Edward wished to marry an American divorcee, Wallis Simpson, something not allowed at that time. He abdicated and Elizabeth's father, Albert became king in 1937. Elizabeth wore a specially designed gown for his coronation. 

During World War II, Elizabeth's wardrobe was more practical: her clothing was made from cloth purchased with ration coupons and were plain. When she joined the Auxillary Territorial Service, she wore a khaki uniform and  even overalls!

When Elizabeth married on November 20, 1947, she had to buy the material for her wedding dress using ration coupons. England, like the rest of Europe was still struggling to recover economically from the war. Her gown was designed by Norman Hartnell and made from Chinese silk embellished with crystals and pearls. 

 

In 1952, her father King George VI died while Elizabeth and her husband were on tour in Kenya. She returned home to be crowned Queen. Once again designer Norma Hartnell crafted her gown, in white satin, decorated with the emblems of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Throughout the decades of her reign, Queen Elizabeth's wardrobe changed somewhat but often did not reflect current trends. She continued to wear a hat, an accessory most women in the early 20th century wore. Today, the Queen continues to wear hats, or scarves when she "dresses down" and loves practical, comfortable clothing.

Discussion

 

The Queen's Wardrobe offers not only a biography of Queen Elizabeth II but also some interesting facts about her wardrobe, crown jewels and customs.

 

Readers are invited into this picture book by the exquisite cover with its gold accents, created digitally by illustrator Kate Hindely. Golding traces each era of Queen Elizabeth's life, focusing on the most important events while describing the clothing she wore during that time. There are plenty of interesting facts sprinkled along the way. For example, about Elizabeth's baptismal gown, Golding writes, "The silk was woven in London, the lace came from Devon, and the gown was designed and sewn by a Scottish coalminer's daughter, Janet Sutherland." Of the Queen's coronation gown Golding writes, "The embroidery alone took the workers 3,500 hours over three months."  Golding mentions the designers who created Elizabeth's unique outfits. Of her wardrobe in the 1970's Golding states, "The designer Hardy Amies, who had been making clothes for the Queen since the 1950's, brought some more daring looks into the Queen's wardrobe around this time. He created her two most famous Silver Jubilee outfits: a pink day dress and matching hat with dangling blossoms,and the white beaded gown that appeared on nearly all the souvenirs from that year."

Although illustrator Kate Hindley does a good job of portraying the Queen's outfits using digital media, this picture book would have benefitted greatly from a few photographs of the Queen's more important pieces such as her wedding and coronation gowns.

Nevertheless, The Queen's Wardrobe is a fascinating and informative account of Britain's longest serving monarch. Elizabeth has just reached her  Platinum Jubilee, her 70th year as Queen of England.

Book Details:

The Queen's Wardrobe by Julia Golding
London, England: Two Hoots      2021

As Long As The Rivers Flow by Larry Loyie

One day ten-year-old Lawrence's papa returns from checking his trapline with a surprise - a baby owl - and owlet he has found beneath a tree. Unable to find its mother, Papa has brought it home and tells Lawrence and his younger sister, Maruk to care for it, feed it wild meat until it is big enough to return to the forest. They decide to fix a place in the shed for the owlet to roost. Lawrence suggests they call it Ooh-Hoo, which means owl in their language. Every day the children feed Ooh-Hoo pieces of uncooked rabbit meat, bring him clean water and keep the shed clean. At night the children take him out to play: he loves hanging upside down on the clothesline.

 

Soon Papa and Grandpa work on the wagon, greasing the axels in preparation for the journey to the summer camp near the river. While Lawrence and his family eat moose stew and fresh bread inside their log home, Mama talks about taking the vegetables and the canvas tarp for drying berries. She tells Papa that Kokom has heard "that children are being taken from their families and put in school far away." This puzzles and worries Lawrence because he doesn't want to leave home. 

The time to leave for summer camp arrives. While Lawrence and his mother retrieve the remaining vegetables from last summer from the root cellar, his Uncle Louis hitches Blackie and Nellie, their horses to the wagon. With Papa and Uncle Lois leading the way on foot to clear branches that may have blown down, Grandma and Grandpa sit in the front seat of the wagon. Maruk will stay behind with Aunt Jenny to look after Ooh-Hoo. Accompanying Lawrence's family is another wagon with Auntie Rose, Uncle James and his cousins Clara, Leo, William and Sammy.

The two families camp at the same spot on the river every year. Lawrence and his cousin Sammy go swimming after rubbing down the horses. Grandpa and Grandma set up the lean-to for sleeping, laying canvas tarp and blankets over the spruce boughs. During the summer camp, Lawrence helps pick tasty saskatoon berries and works on his bush skills. But it is while out with his kokom looking for medicinal plants that Lawrence has his greatest adventure!

But when they return home from their summer camp, Lawrence and his  sister learn that they will be taken away from their home to go to a school far away. They must go otherwise their parents will be sent to prison. When the day arrives, both Lawrence and his sister cry as they are put into the truck with its high sides. 

Discussion

As Long As the Rivers Flow offers young readers a window into the life of a young Cree boy before he is taken way to a residential school. Ten-year-old Lawrence doesn't attend school but is busy learning the ways of his people; learning bush skills, how to care for animals, medicinal herbs and so forth. Life is simple, carefree, and almost idyllic. It is a life that includes many generations of his family, his grandparents, uncles, parents and siblings and it is a life in which knowledge and oral history are passed from one generation to the next.

Loyie fills his account with many pieces of  Indigenous knowledge and ways of life. For example, while out on a walk with his kokom, Lawrence is told,  "When it is dried, this rat root is good for a sore throat or a cold. Chew a small piece or make a tea with it. I always carry rat root wherever I go." His father encourages him to practice certain skills that will enable him to be a good hunter. "There's a family of beavers living in the river. They come up for food early every morning and late in the evening. If they smell you, they will dive down and go somewhere else. See if you can fool them." Descriptions of preparations for summer camp, making the beds in the lean-to portray a simple but practical way of life in the bush. The sense of community is demonstrated after his grandmother kills an attacking grizzly bear;  the bear is taken back to camp, the meat cut into portions, smoked and dried to be shared with all the families.

Loyie's detailed account of his last journey to his family's summer camp gives readers some sense of what he lost by being forcibly sent away from his family to school. It's not just the cultural knowledge that was never learned, but the time spent with parents and grandparents, the experiences of living with family and community over the years that were forever lost. 

 

The lovely water colour illustrations by Heather D. Holmlund capture the beauty of the land where Lawrence and his family lived. This beautiful artwork also captures the wide range of emotions from the joy of Lawrence and Marluk when they are shown the owlet, Lawrence's quiet patience by the beaver pond, the grief of his mother and grandmother over their children being forcibly removed to the childrens' sadness as they are driven away in the truck.

The title, As Long As The Rivers Flow is a reference to what Lawrence's grandfather tells him during a family gathering, " This land has always given us what we need to live...Like they told us long ago, as long as the rivers flow, this land is ours. It is up to all of us to care for it..." Despite the injustice of the residential schools, Lawrence worked to reclaim his Cree heritage in an effort to heal.  The Epilogue, at the back of the book is filled with black and white photographs of Lawrence and his siblings, the residential school and his grandparents. Lawrence attended St. Bernard's Mission residential school in northern Alberta. He would not return home until he was fourteen-years-old and struggled to fit in to a very changed world as an adult. He taught himself to type and had a successful career as a First Nations author. 

As Long As The Rivers Flow won the Norma Fleck Award for Canadian Children's Nonfiction. Lawrence (Larry) Loyie passed away in 2010 after a lengthy battle with cancer.

Book Details:

As Long As The Rivers Flow by Larry Loyie
Toronto: A Groundwood Book    2002

Stealing Home by J. Torres

In the summer of 1941, the Asahi baseball team were the pride of Powell Street, the champions of the Japanese community in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Asahi helped the Japanese cope with life a culture that was mostly unwelcoming.

Because the Asahi were smaller players, they developed a strategy they called "Brain Ball", of bunting and stealing bases, to win against teams with much larger, stronger players.But during the summer, the Asahi were knocked out of the season playoffs in the semi finals. Sandy's father felt it was an omen.

In December, 1941, the Japanese attacked the American naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawai'i. Sandy's parents listened intently to the radio report, his father looked worried. The attack would change everything in Sandy's life. Before the attack he attended school, read comics and loved to listen to the radio show called the Lone Ranger. Sandy also attended Japanese classes. He loved watching baseball, especially watching the Asahi play and to play catch with his father.

When Sandy returns to school on Monday, December 7 though, he finds a very different situation. Their teacher has to remind students that their Japanese classmates are their friends. Later in the week at the park, Sandy and his friends Charlie and Hiro are turned away from playing ball with the other kids. They are called names and have rocks thrown at them.

In January, 1942, Sandy hopes to play ball with his father at the park but he is told that he is too busy with his patients. His father has a busy doctor's practice on Powell Street. In February, a notice is posted that people who are Japanese are not allowed to be in areas on the coast. At dinner, Sandy's mother, Mariko tells his father that there are camps being built in ghost towns. This scares Sandy and Ty.

In March, Sandy's parents are forced to give up their radio, their car and their camera. They are also forced to follow a curfew, making it difficult for his father to visit his patients. His father's visit to the women's dormitory at the old exhibition grounds is deeply upsetting as he sees the terrible conditions Japanese women and children are forced to live in. When James receives a call to see Mr. Takahashi, Mariko refuses to let him go, because of the curfew. Mr. Takahashi dies, leaving Mariko deeply distressed and James so angry he yells at her and leaves the house. Sandy is angry at how his father behaved and doesn't want him to come home. By April, the RCMP show up at their door informing them that their father has been sent to "where he's needed most" and they are to pack two suitcases and board the train.

Sandy's  mother frantically packs their bags, taking only what's needed, the rest supposedly to go to the "custodian" for "safekeeping". What Sandy, Ty and their mother did not realize is that this would be their last day in their home - ever.

Sandy believed they were going to see Papa, but that was not the case. The long train ride, followed by a ride in the back of a truck led them to a camp, with shacks, no electricity and no running water. The bare shacks, the poor food and the harsh living conditions are to be their home, their prison. 

Discussion

Stealing Home is a graphic novel about the internment of Japanese Canadians during World War II. Written by award-winning Filipino-Canadian comic book writer, J. Torres, Stealing Home focuses on  the period leading up to the internment and the early years in the camps. 

The novel, with its realistic illustrations by comic book artist, David Namisato, focuses on how the bombing of Pearl Harbor impacted Canadians of Japanese heritage. They were already marginalized in Canadian society but had managed to find a way to lead mostly normal lives. In the novel, Sandy explains how he and his friends and even his normal reticent father found enjoyment in their local Japanese baseball team. Sandy led a mostly normal life, attending school and playing catch with his father. There were hints that his father, a doctor, was not completely accepted into Canadian society as he had to practice medicine at the local Japanese hospital.

However, because of the bombing, all Japanese living in Canada became suspect, with the Canadian people and the Canadian government viewing them as potential threats. The results of this fear were curfews, confiscation and incarceration: the loss of personal possessions such as cameras, radios and cars and eventually  the loss of businesses, farms and their homes. But Stealing Home shows the effects on families like Sandy's. He watches as his parent's marriage is strained, with his father yelling at his mother and hardly coming home. Sandy loses his friends at school and is no longer welcome to play with the other kids. With his mother and younger brother Ty, Sandy is forced to travel to the interior to what was really a prison, and live in appalling conditions.

And yet, Stealing Home is also a testament to the ingenuity, resiliency and courage of many Japanese Canadians. In the novel, Sandy finds hope and solace in playing baseball, a sport that has always helped his community. After recovering from a serious illness, Sandy learns that the Japanese have made a baseball diamond in the camp and that his father is playing the position of right fielder. Sandy states that for himself and the other Japanese in the camp, baseball is a metaphor for life. "It was about dealing with whatever is thrown your way..."  For Sandy and the others in the camp, "...baseball was the one thing they were able to steal back. It did not discriminate against us. It did not impose any limits on us. It helped us forget everything that was wrong in the world. Even if just for one moment in time." Baseball gave the Japanese Canadians in the camps, back their humanity and their dignity. May we always remember the dignity and humanity of all peoples with whom we share this planet.

Torres has included an Afterword by Susan Aihoshi, author of Torn Apart: The Internment Diary of  Mary Kobayashi, which provides  further information on the internment of Japanese Canadians from a personal perspective. It should be noted that the Vancouver Asahi team was inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in 2003.

Book Details:

Stealing Home by J. Torees
Toronto: Kids Can Press   2021
111 pp.

A Terrible Tide by Suzanne Meade

It is early in the evening of Monday, November 18, 1929 on the Burin Peninsula, located on the southern tip of Newfoundland. Celia Rose's family are preparing to celebrate her thirteenth birthday with everyone home for this special dinner. Her sister Winnie, who has a limp due to a bad leg is helping set the table for seven. Celia has just set down the last of the new porcelain plates her father purchased last year when the floor begins to shake. As the shaking intensifies, the everyday plates fly out of the cupboards to the floor, 

Celia's father orders everyone out of the house. Celia's older sister Viola, her fifteen-year-old brother Eddie, Winnie, her younger brother Eddie, and her mom Addie and her father George, all grab their coats and run outside. Celia's family, along with their neighbours, watch as buildings sway and boats bob wildly. After the shaking stops they all wonder what might have happened. An explosion or low flying planes? No one seems to know.

After their home is checked by Celia's father, they return home, wary that the shaking might start again. Celia worries about their dog, Boomer, a huge black Newfoundland Lab, who hasn't been seen since the shaking began. Celia and her family go down to the Taylor's General Store when Eddie arrives with the message that Uncle Ray has called on the telephone. Before Celia gets a chance to talk to her uncle, the shaking resumes and they have to hang up.

On their way home, Celia's Uncle Bert meets them to ask her mom to come and tend to Nan who has fallen and cut her head. When her mom returns, Celia asks to go search for Boomer but she is told to go to bed. However, Celia can't sit still, so under the premise of using the outhouse she grabs her coat and boots and heads outside. Down at their dock, Celia meets Eddie who reassures her that Boomer is able to take care of himself. At the dock, Celia hears a strange sucking sound as well as a low rumble. When she walks to the end of the dock, she sees the water in the bay has drained away and the boats laying on their sides in the mud.

Suddenly Celia hears voices yelling to run fast. She turns and is shocked to see at the end of the bay, a frothing wall of water racing towards her. As she sprints up the shore past her home, Celia notices the door of her family's home wide open and hopes they have fled. Ahead she spots her mother, Viola pulling Winnie and Henry to higher ground. Can she make it to safety before the wave crashes into her and her family?

Discussion

A Terrible Tide is a short novel by Canadian author Suzanne Meade about the 1929 tsunami that killed twenty-eight people in Newfoundland. The tsunami was the result of a magnitude 7.2 earthquake along two faults on the Grand Banks of Newfoundland. The quake caused an enormous submarine landslide that disabled twelve submarine transatlantic cables. It also caused a tsunami that was comprised of three waves which crashed into the coast of the Burin Peninsula. The residents of Newfoundland had no warning of the impending tsunami, as the region had no buoys to measure water height. Twenty-five of the deaths were due to drowning, while three others died of injuries sustained in the disaster.

A Terrible Tide captures the initial terror of the earthquake as the people of the Burin Peninsula struggled to understand what was happening, the devastation the tsunami caused and the difficulties the residents of Taylor's Bay endured in the days immediately afterwards.  The story is told through the eyes of thirteen-year-old Celia Rose, who is struggling to find her place both in her family and in the community. The novel covers the time period from 5:00pm on Monday, November 18, 1929 until Tuesday, November 26, 1929, a little over a week. Meade highlights some of those struggles which included the lack of warm clothing and even proper boots, the destruction of most of the food supplies including winter supplies stored from gardens, a lack of fresh water due to fouling from sea water, the loss of most homes and most of the fishing boats and gear. 

 

The destroyed telegraph cables, left the Burin Peninsula isolated and unable to contact the outside world for help. As conditions continue to deteriorate, Celia's father and mother debate whether he should attempt to travel by boat to get help. Celia and her family, along with others in the town, struggle to find enough food to eat, relying on turnips and a few ducks. Without proper fishing gear and likely because of the tsunami, they are unable to catch fish. Without medical aid, they only watch as young Henry becomes desperately ill from a wound on his leg. Despite all of this, the residents find the time to enjoy a dance, to raise their spirits and bring the survivors together.

When help does finally arrive, Celia's father makes a life changing decision to leave their community and start over elsewhere. This is a difficult thing for Celia to accept. She is devastated because it means leaving behind some beloved members of her family. But her mother tells her, "Oh, my child, it's the way of life. A family must grow and change. We could never stay together forever."

This well-written story offers younger readers a glimpse into life in the early 20th century on a remote part of Canada's East Coast (Newfoundland would become a Canadian province in 1949).  It is a story of resiliency and courage, of self-sufficiency and community. Meade includes a Historical Note at the back, complete with black and white photographs of the aftermath of the disaster.

Book Details:

A Terrible Tide by Suzanne Meade
Toronto: Second Story Press   2021
185 pp.