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THE TRAIN

Name: THE TRAIN
Author: Jodie Callaghan
ISBN: 978-1-77260-129-9

by Jodie Callaghan ; illustrated by Georgia Lesley ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 24, 2020

Keeps a critical memory alive.

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In present-day Nova Scotia, a young Mi’gmaq girl hears an important story from her uncle.

Now that she is old enough, Ashley enjoys walking home alone after school, taking time to look for pretty stones and other treasures. One afternoon, Ashley recognizes her uncle where the train station used to be and runs to greet him. As they stand near the overgrown, weedy tracks, he tells her he is waiting for the train. Ashley can’t help but giggle, as she knows no train has traveled here for many years. But Uncle’s eyes tear up, so she asks him why he is so sad. Uncle then tells her the story of when his mother, Giju’, sent him and his siblings to meet the train as they often did when it arrived with rations from off the reserve. However, this time Giju’ made sure they took their winter coats and cried because she knew what they didn’t: that their lives would be changed forever. The children were herded onto the train and taken to a residential school, where their identities were stripped away. Even now, decades later, Uncle goes to the track to wait “for what we lost that day to come back to us.” Through Uncle’s story, Callaghan (Mi’gmaq) presents a harsh topic in a gentle way. Lesley’s soft color palette and expressive characters blend beautifully with the story without lifting its heaviness.

Keeps a critical memory alive. (glossary, note) (Picture book. 4-8)

Pub Date: March 24, 2020

ISBN: 978-1-77260-129-9

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Second Story Press

Review Posted Online: Nov. 23, 2019

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2019

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S FAMILY

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IMANI'S MOON

by JaNay Brown-Wood ; illustrated by Hazel Mitchell ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 14, 2014

While the blend of folklore, fantasy and realism is certainly far-fetched, Imani, with her winning personality, is a child...

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Imani endures the insults heaped upon her by the other village children, but she never gives up her dreams.

The Masai girl is tiny compared to the other children, but she is full of imagination and perseverance. Luckily, she has a mother who believes in her and tells her stories that will fuel that imagination. Mama tells her about the moon goddess, Olapa, who wins over the sun god. She tells Imani about Anansi, the trickster spider who vanquishes a larger snake. (Troublingly, the fact that Anansi is a West African figure, not of the Masai, goes unaddressed in both text and author’s note.) Inspired, the tiny girl tries to find new ways to achieve her dream: to touch the moon. One day, after crashing to the ground yet again when her leafy wings fail, she is ready to forget her hopes. That night, she witnesses the adumu, the special warriors’ jumping dance. Imani wakes the next morning, determined to jump to the moon. After jumping all day, she reaches the moon, meets Olapa and receives a special present from the goddess, a small moon rock. Now she becomes the storyteller when she relates her adventure to Mama. The watercolor-and-graphite illustrations have been enhanced digitally, and the night scenes of storytelling and fantasy with their glowing stars and moons have a more powerful impact than the daytime scenes, with their blander colors.

While the blend of folklore, fantasy and realism is certainly far-fetched, Imani, with her winning personality, is a child to be admired. (Picture book. 5-8)

Pub Date: Oct. 14, 2014

ISBN: 978-1-934133-57-6

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Mackinac Island Press

Review Posted Online: July 28, 2014

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2014

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

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IT'S NOT EASY BEING A GHOST

From the It's Not Easy Being series

by Marilyn Sadler ; illustrated by Stephanie Laberis ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 13, 2024

Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet.

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A ghost longs to be scary, but none of the creepy personas she tries on fit.

Misty, a feline ghost with big green eyes and long whiskers, wants to be the frightening presence that her haunted house calls for, but sadly, she’s “too cute to be spooky.” She dons toilet paper to resemble a mummy, attempts to fly on a broom like a witch, and howls at the moon like a werewolf. Nothing works. She heads to a Halloween party dressed reluctantly as herself. When she arrives, her friends’ joyful screams reassure her that she’s great just as she is. Sadler’s message, though a familiar one, is delivered effectively in a charming, ghostly package. Misty truly is too precious to be frightening. Laberis depicts an endearingly spooky, all-animal cast—a frog witch, for instance, and a crocodilian mummy. Misty’s sidekick, a cheery little bat who lends support throughout, might be even more adorable than she is. Though Misty’s haunted house is filled with cobwebs and surrounded by jagged, leafless trees, the charming characters keep things from ever getting too frightening. The images will encourage lingering looks. Clearly, there’s plenty that makes Misty special just as she is—a takeaway that adults sharing the book with their little ones should be sure to drive home.

Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet. (Picture book. 4-6)