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Attack on Pearl Harbor: The True Story of the Day America Entered World War IIWritten by Shelley Tanaka, original paintings by David Craig On the quiet Sunday morning of December 7, 1941, at 7:55 a.m., the Empire of Japan surprised the United States with an attack on the American naval base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. In just two hours, many of the American ships and aircraft were destroyed, 2 388 Americans were dead, and the United States was at war. Attack on Pearl Harbor vividly recreates what it was like for those who actually lived through the experience. From interviews or written accounts, Tanaka pieces together the events leading up to the attack, the attack itself, and its aftermath from interviews or written accounts of young people who were present: Peter Nottage, an 11-year-old citizen of Hawaii who witnessed firsthand the Japanese attack on the Kaneohe Naval Air Station; Kazuo Sakamaki, a young Japanese naval officer who was part of the underwater attack on Pearl Harbor; George DeLong, a nineteen-year-old seaman who was trapped for 32 terrifying hours in the U.S.S. Oklahoma, one of many American ships hit by Japanese bombs; and Commander Mitsuo Fuchida, who led the air attack on Pearl Harbor. Also included are accounts of the attack and its impact from a Hawaiian schoolgirl and a Japanese American teenager. Archival photographs, maps, diagrams and David Craig’s original paintings enhance Tanaka’s historically accurate and balanced retelling. Attack on Pearl Harbor is an excellent and exciting read about what President Franklin Delano Roosevelt called “a date which will live in infamy”, the event that changed the course of World War Two and has an impact on us still today. |
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by Candace Savage Well, partner, pull up a chair and let yourself be inspired by the unbeatable cowgirl spirit in "Born to be a Cowgirl". If you've ever longed for the cowboy way of life or have actually been lucky enough to have tasted that life, you can not help but be touched by the words and research of Candace Savage. It's like a walk down a wing in the |
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By Deborah Ellis Parvana, age 11, and her family live in Kabul, Afghanistan’s capital city, in a bombed-out apartment building. Life in Afghanistan is difficult with the Taliban in power. The Taliban has strict rules, especially for women. Women are not allowed to appear in public without being covered from head to toe in a burqa (a tent-like garment), and accompanied by a man. Parvana and her sisters are not allowed to go to school. Each day Parvana accompanies her handicapped father to the market, where her father reads, translates and writes letters for other people. Besides helping her father walk, she tries to sell some things as well. One evening after supper, soldiers come into their apartment and arrest the father. He remains in prison for a long time without any charges brought against him. In the meantime, the family has to survive somehow. It is decided that Parvana can pass for a boy if dressed in boys’ clothing and her long hair cut off. She continues to sell stuff at the market, read letters for other people, and buys food for the family. All the time Parvana is nervous about being discovered by the Taliban that she is really a girl. This book provides readers in grades 5 to 7 with a look at what life was like in Afghanistan, before the United States declared war on the Taliban and terrorists. |
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By Gary Fagan Daughter of the Great Zandini is set in Paris during the late 19th century. Paris is a place of many kinds of entertainment and magical shows are very popular. The Great Zandini comes from a long line of great magicians and is considered to be the finest magician in the world. As the story opens he is preparing to introduce his son, Theodore, who he has chosen to carry on the family tradition. However, Theodore has not interest in being a magician and in fact is unable to consistently perform even the simplest trick. His young sister , Fanny, has been practicing magic for many years and has developed amazing skills that her father refuses to recognize. When a reporter for a Paris newspaper writes that the Great Zandini is no longer able to perform magic Zandini plans what will be his greatest performance to prove the reporter wrong and introduce Theodore as the next great magician. Fanny disguises herself and performs magic on the streets as a way of advertising the upcoming performance by her father. She is soon noticed by the reporter and soon he has challenged the Great Zandini to take on the newcomer who has shown so much talent. The resulting contest not only reveals Fanny’s many talents but her love for her father. Children will enjoy reading this short novel on their own but would also find it an interesting read-aloud. |
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By Arthur Slade It is the dirty thirties in southern Saskatchewan. The prairies are dry and there are dust storms roaming free across the land. Matthew, Robert’s seven-year-old brother, disappears on his way from their dust-ridden farm to town where he had planed to buy some chewing gum. Matthew is not the first child to disappear, nor will he be the last. But he is the one who has a brother with the courage to try and solve the mystery of his disappearance. Matthew’s search takes him on many peculiar and curious (Ray Bradbury type) adventures, all leading to Abram Harisch, a stranger who has mysteriously appeared in their small town. Harsich dazzles the townsfolk with magic mirrors, exotic butterflies and talks them into investing in a rainmaking machine. Robert eventually follows the clues to the place where Abram Harsich has been living and finds Matthew and the other children in a state of suspended animation. A great opportunity to explore the following topics with your class: propaganda, advertising, the desperation of farmers and families in the dirty thirties, and staying true to oneself and one’s family in spite of intense pressure to do otherwise. |
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Eh? To Zed : A Canadian AbeCedarium By Kevin Major “Artic, apple, aurora, Anik / Bonhomme, Bluenose, beaver, bannock / Canadarm, Cavendish, Chinook, caribou” is the text of the first three pages of this book. And if you know what all these words mean you WIN $10.00 (just kidding!). There are so many ways to enjoy this title. First read it just for fun. The words are rhythmic and alliterative which makes for fun and some frustration. Second look at the great pictures (they can help you figure out what some of the words mean), some are funny, some represent great Canadian art, while others portray our varied history. Third use it as a contest try and guess what all the words mean or which or our great Canadian artists are represented. With the odd exception such as ‘Zamboni’ – which is not a Canadian invention, although every Canadian has probably seen it clean the ice in at least one arena if not on ‘Hockey Night in Canada’ - the words are connected to Canada’s lifestyle (dory, lumberjack) geography (Iqaluit, Jasper) and creativity (Canadarm, Imax). The illustrations are based on cultural artifacts, folk and fine art. For example ‘spud’ is represented by a Mr. Potato Head made to resemble Stompin’ Tom Connors, or a flip book that mixes the three Greenes - Graham, Nancy and Lorne; or reproductions of Tom Thompson’s jack pine or Ted Harrison’s illustrations from Dan McGrew. The uses for this title in the classroom are endless: Language Arts for a copy-cat book, Social, Art, Phys Ed skipping rhymes… Just make sure you share this one with your class! |
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By Polly Horvath I live in Coal Harbour, British Columbia. I have never lived anyplace else. My name is Primrose Squarp. I am eleven years old. I have hair the colour of carrots in an apricot glaze (recipe to follow), skin fair and clear where it isn't freckled, and eyes like summer storms. So begins the tall tale of Primrose Squarp, the only person in Coal Harbour who knows that her parents did not perish at sea during a terrible storm. Primrose has a terrible time convincing the other residents that her parents indeed are alive and will return as soon as they are able. For all practical purposes, at least for the time being, Primrose is an orphan, and there's no great clamoring of prospective adopters. Initially she is cared for by Miss Perfidy, a mothball-scented elderly lade. The town council is eventually able to locate a relative, Uncle Jack, who reluctantly takes Primrose into his care. Primrose's experiences bring her into close contact with Miss Honeycuit, the school councilor, who is the closest thing Coal Harbour has to a psychiatrist, which isn't very close at all. Primrose finds true sanctuary at a restaurant called The Girl On The Red Swing, where everything--including lasagna--is served on a waffle, and where the proprietor, Miss Bowzer, offers a willing ear, as well as sage advice. Through a mixture of eccentric humor and probing philosophy, author Polly Horvath makes Primrose's search for peace and understanding a most memorable one. |
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By Barbara Greenwood Time and his older brother, Roy, are heading off to the Klondike Gold Rush. Times are tough at home in Seattle, and getting worse. The boys are certain that once they've 'struck it rich' their problems will be over. They prepare carefully for their trip, but nothing can prepare them for the hardships they face on the torturous trip from Seattle to the Yukon. Blinding snowstorms, a hazardous mountain range and raging rapids stand between the prospectors and their chance to hit 'paydirt'. Even so, Roy is determined to come back a rich man. Tim, a budding writer, is looking to find the story of a lifetime. Their year in the gold fields is filled with exhausting travel, backbreaking work and bitter feuding. The boys meet many interesting characters who face their own set of challenges. As the two brothers face increasing tensions and hardships, even all the gold in the world may not be enough to save their relationship. It seems the only true companionship for Tim is his dog, Pal, who becomes a 'bone of contention' between the brothers. Interspersed amidst the story of these two brave boys are additional stories, information and activities that bring history to life. Barbara Greenwood has written both an exhilarating adventure and an invaluable resource for anyone studying the Klondike Gold Rush of 1899. It is also an excellent recreational read, as Tim and Roy's story is enhanced by the factual information included. |
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by Lyn Thomas To quote a line from the book itself - "what is black and white and read all over?" THIS cool new book by Lyn Thomas , that's what!. Aptly entitled, Ha, Ha, Ha, this book is overflowing with a miriad of one liners, hilarious jokes, clever riddles , amazing facts, baffling brain teasers, amusing puzzles, & surprising optical illusions. It is |
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By Barbara Hehner Illustrations by Mark Hallett “Will this ancient giant come back to life?” This intriguing question is posed on the cover of Ice Age Mammoth. Read the well-researched information inside this first title in the new Ice Age Animals Series to discover where and how these amazing creatures lived, how they evolved and the probable cause for their extinction. Also you will learn about the mammoth’s ancient relatives, comparisons of mammoths with mastodons and the possible causes of ice ages. Barbara Hehner, Canadian author and editor, describes the discovery in 1977 of the baby mammoth, Dima, in the Siberian gold mines. The discovery of the Jarkov Mammoth twenty years later by Dolgan reindeer herders in Siberia was even more significant. For the first time in history scientists had an adult mammoth body to study in ideal lab conditions. Read how scientists used the modern day hairdryer to thaw parts of this mammoth that they wanted to study. Did you know that there is a “Pleistocene Park” in the world today with headquarters at the Northeast Science Centre in a remote part of Siberia which was once a giant mammoth steppe? Here an international team of scientists are attempting to turn back the clock by building a true balanced ecosystem to create a new mammoth steppe. Hehner takes us one step further by discussing the controversial subject of cloning. Perhaps some day there will be cloned mammoths roaming in Pleistocene Park. |
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By Virginia Frances Schwartz If I Just Had Two Wings is a novel about a young slave’s search for freedom during the early days of the American Civil War. Thirteen year old Phoebe is a slave on a plantation in the Southern United States who spends her days picking cotton and dreaming of freedom. A new slave on the plantation, Liney, who has already been severely punished for trying to escape once, encourages Phoebe to join her when she makes her next attempt for freedom. Phoebe’s mother warns her that thinking of freedom leads to trouble, but Phoebe decides she must take a big risk and leave the life of a slave behind. Liney and Phoebe are encouraged to try escaping by Old Willie, an Underground Railroad conductor, who uses songs to teach them the coded messages needed to travel the Underground Railroad. Phoebe and Liney and her two children run from the plantation and begin their four month flight to safety in Canada. They encounter many harrowing adventures and meet other slaves trying to reach freedom as they travel from one station to the next. They make the trip with “maps in their heads” and traveling only at night along rivers , through swamps and over mountains. This very well researched novel portrays the hardships of slavery and the risks many were willing to take to achieve freedom. If I Just Had Two Wings is the winner of the 2002 Geoffrey Bilson Award for Canadian Historical Fiction for Young People |
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By Eric Walters Long Shot is a beginning sports novel featuring lots of action and interesting characters who have to deal with both sport and friendship challenges. When best friends Nick and Kia attend the city wide rep basketball tryouts, they discover a number of surprises. Firstly Kia is the only girl in attendance and secondly the easy going, friendly coach that helped make last years team so much fun has retired. There are also a number of new players who may have more than enough talent to replace some of the players like Nick and Kia who were members of last year’s team. The new coach, who missed out on a promising pro career due to a serious injury, is demanding and uses a series of aggressive coaching techniques that the young basketball players and their parents find hard to accept. As a final test for making the team the coach has his young athletes play against an older, more experienced team. When the coach refuses to accept the team’s loss, Nick and Kia question and challenge the leadership of the coach and their own commitment to basketball. The dialogue in Long Shot is consistent with that of young athletes and will be a great read for readers who are interested in sport stories. The basketball scenes are exciting and the use of unfamiliar basketball jargon is limited. Long Shot is the fourth in Eric Walter’s basketball series for young readers. The previous titles include Three on Three, Full Court Press and Hoop Crazy. |
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By Brian Doyle Mary Ann Alice McCrank, has the soul of a poet, and is named for a bell that rings out the good times and the sad times in the little town she lives in. The sleepy little town of Martindale on the Gatineau River in Quebec, is about to become not so sleepy. A dam is to be built that will change the river and all that live by it. The Paugan Falls will disappear, the caves under the falls will fill with water, important fossils and rocky formations will be lost, much farmland will be under water and people may lose their homes. This story is made wonderful by the fascinating characters that live on the Gatineau River. The most fascinating person narrates the story and that is Mary Ann Alice. She tells us the loves of her friends and neighbours in a way that will make you laugh and cry. She makes everyday events interesting, important and educational. Everyone needs to know the many uses of binder twine, and you'll learn a lot about building a dam. Characters to watch for: Mean Hughie who has an interesting tussle with a lawyer; Jackie Boyle, a classmate of Mary Ann Alice's who hasn't been blessed with a lot of brains; the teacher Patchy Drizzle and his miserable wife, Victoria; Algonquin Art and his funny game of WRONG!; Ferryman Fitzpatrick who has been known to pull up not quite to the sore to let off his drunken passenger, and may more! While reading this book, Mary Ann Alice McCrank will become your friend and you'll wish you could go boating with her on her beloved river. |
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Eva Wiseman March 19, 1944 was a date that Marta would remember all her life. The Germans invaded Budapest and the rest of Hungary on that day. The first personal impact of World War II on Marta’s life was the closing of her Jewish school. And on that same day, a letter arrived for her physician father ordering him to report for service as a ditch digger. As a result of her father’s leaving, her grandmother comes to stay with Marta, her mother, and her brother, Ervin. Restrictions on Jews (when & for what they could go outside of their houses) come rapidly and make Marta’s world smaller. They are forced to wear a yellow star on all their clothes, identifying them as Jews. Food rationing and a shortage of food become real life issues, as earning money becomes harder. Marta gets dismissed from a job working as a seamstress, as anger towards Jews increases. But all the while Marta maintains a strong friendship with a Christian neighbour boy, Peter. Even after Marta and her family are forced to move out of their own house and move in with her Aunt Miriam, that friendship continues – despite public and family displeasure. Deporting of Jews away to unknown places becomes commonplace. How long can they avoid being deported? Can a Swedish diplomat, Raoul Wallenburg, help to save Marta and her family? Marta goes off in search of the elusive Raoul.. |
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By Diane Swanson The cover of Burp! declares this to be “The most interesting book you’ll ever read about eating” and indeed it fulfills that promise. This book is one of the series, “Mysterious You” written by Diane Swanson who grew up in Lethbridge, Alberta and now lives in Victoria, B.C. Along with accurate information about the digestive system, it includes easy-to-do activities and unusual tidbits of trivia. Did you know? · Rats can’t vomit. They don’t have the necessary muscles. · 19-year-old Jay Gwaltney in 1980 spent 89 hours eating a birch tree 3.4 m (11 ft.) tall. · Your small intestine is up to 7 m (23 ft) long – coiled and folded to fit inside you. Read this fascinating book to discover more crazy facts about food and eating. You will find out how your body breaks down food, why you have cravings, and what foods are the worst offenders in allergic reactions. Next time your stomach rumbles, you’ll know why. Zany illustrations by Rose Crowles, also from Victoria, B.C., add to the appeal of Burp!. Teachers will find this book to be an interesting resource in additional to the more serious materials for the Alberta Learning Personal Health Curriculum under Health and Life Skills. |
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Dear Canada: A Prairie as Wide as the Sea By Sarah Ellis Ivy Weatherall and her family leave a comfortable life in England and travel to Milorie, Saskatchewan to start a new life on Uncle Alf’s ranch. When they arrive Ivy and her family find that Uncle Alf has greatly exaggerated the riches of Canada and that his ranch is really a failing farm with a small sod house. Ivy records in her diary the hardships and joys of her family learning how to run a farm in 1926 Saskatchewan. She records the joy of making new friends, learning how to raise and preserve much of their own food and the disappointment of the frequent failure of their crops because of the harsh, unpredictable environment. Ivy chronicles how the family eventually gives up trying to farm and moves to town where they have more success running a boarding house and doing other odd jobs such as shoveling out outhouses. Ivy matures quickly as she learns that being responsible not only helps her family succeed but leads to her own successes. A Prairie as Wide as the Sea is a great read-aloud for students in grades 3 and 4 studying pioneer life. A Prairie as Wide as the Sea is one of a number of books in Scholastic’s Dear Canada Series. Written by well known Canadian authors, these books tell stories from the point of view of girls living in different parts of Canada at different times in Canadian history. |
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By Linda Granfield Where Poppies Grow gives a realistic picture of what life was like both as a Canadian soldier in Europe and a family member at home in Canada. When World War I started in August of 1914 everyone thought the fighting would be over by Christmas and the soldiers safely home in celebration. At the beginning of the war no one could imagine that millions of people would die and that the entire world would be changed forever. Every page is illustrated with photographs of real people from the war years along with documents, postcards, posters, and maps. The concise descriptions with the photographs and documents are both interesting and suitable for upper elementary and middle school students. Adults will also find this an interesting walk through the past. All of these materials do an excellent job of introducing young people to a very complex topic. The book is organized under headings that will interest children and give them a balanced idea of what is was like to live in these very turbulent years. Topics covered include: War; Over the Top; On Flanders Fields; The Trenches; Warfare on the Seas; Warfare in the Air; Propaganda and Patriotism; Keep the Home Fires Burning; A Child’s World; Spies and Traitors; Man’s best Friend; The Budding of Remembrance; and more. This is the third non-fiction book that Linda Granfield has written about War. Her other books for children are In Flanders Field: the Story of the Poem by John McCrae and High Flight: A Story of World War II. |
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By Bob Mackin Soccer: The Winning Way is an informative book about a sport which continues to grow in popularity among Canadian youth each year. The book begins with an overview of all necessary equipment from clothing to balls, and moves into proper nutrition and stretching exercises. It covers all the fundamentals of the game. many pages include a "tip" in the side bar. In the section entitles "Receiving" the tip reads: "Heading doesn't have to hurt. Practice with a small, light ball. Keep your eyes wide open and your mouth sealed shut. bend your neck, bite down with your teeth, and clench your jaw." The most attractive part of the book is the use of colour photographs on each page. Thirty-five children from the British Columbia Soccer Association in Burnaby and Surrey have been photographed to demonstrate the various techniques and fundamentals of the game. In addition, full-page action photos of professional players add to the excitement! Soccer: The Winning Way will definitely appeal to the avid soccer player and fan, and with the abundance of well photographed live action shots, it might even tempt others to join the sport! |
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Wild Girl & GranWritten by Nan Gregory, illustrations by Ron Lightburn "I am a princess in the castle keep. I am a pirate on the high seas. I am a cowboy on the lone prairie. I am a wild girl alone in my stouthearted tree. Up I climb. Look south, the flat sea sparks in the distance. Look west, the wind flaps Canada at the flagpole. Look over, my house through the trees. When strangers invade, I curl up, still as an acorn. They pass under, watching where their feet go. No one sees me. No one." Except Gran. Wild Girl’s Gran finds her because they speak the same language of imagination. Together, while Wild girl perches in her Garry oak and Gran knits squares named "Sparks on the Sea", "Bee Song" and "Chocolate Lily", they travel wherever their imaginations take them. They are kindred spirits, the best of friends. But Gran becomes ill and passes away and Wild Girl finds herself without her beloved companion. As she tries to deal with her loss, Wild Girl shuns her mother’s attempts to reach out to her until the day they scatter Gran’s ashes. Wild Girl’s mother begins telling stories about Gran and Wild Girl suddenly realizes that there is something that she and her mother share – their love for Gran. Nan Gregory’s poetic prose, accompanied by Ron Lightburn’s paintings, beautifully tells this story where shared imagination forms lasting bonds and how love helps ease a painful loss. |
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By David Suzuki This important book explains how everything on Earth is connected. For instance, did you know the next breath you take could contain dinosaur breath? Find out about his interesting concept in the chapter on air. It has only taken 150 years for the quality of our air to deteriorate to the state it is in now, with much of the damage being done in the last 50 years. Your family's car runs on the remains of creatures that lived long before the dinosaur age. Coal, oil and gas are one-time gifts. When these fuels are gone, there won't be any more - at least not for another few hundred million years. Because the damage to our earth is escalating so quickly, this book is an important one for the younger generation to read- you can make a big difference in he future. We are made of water, air and the food we eat from the Earth's soil. It is a mistake to think of the environment as something "out there", separate from us. We are the Earth. This is a book written to show what we - especially the youth of today - require to survive. We need clean air, water and soil ant eh sun's energy to stay alive. We need love to make us human. We need to have sacred places, wildernesses we treasure because they feed our spirit. As you read this book you need to open your mind to ways you can make this world a better place for yourself and all the other children who will inherit the earth. |
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