Colleen Sydor

This is a lovely picture book about three cleverly named fisherman—Peter, Santiago, and Ahab. (Kids won’t get the Biblical and literary references, but adults who read the book to youngsters will have an extra chuckle.) Author Colleen Sydor spares few similes to describe the trio. Among other things, they’re as “salty as the bottom of a pretzel bag”, “weathered as a twisted stick of driftwood”, and as tough as “three wrinkled pickles in a very old jar.” Illustrator Brooke Kerrigan does a terrific job providing each of the fellows with distinctive features: Peter wears a rusty red newspaper-print slouch beanie; tall, moustached Santiago sports a pale blue mariner’s cap and a red-and-white-striped scarf, while short, roly-poly, wide-faced Ahab prefers going hatless and favours suspenders to hold up his trousers..

While the men are happy enough with life on the sea, they each have a longing to go other places. Peter would like to ride atop a camel in a vast sea of sand. Santiago would like to fly like his seagull friends in a sea of clouds—viewing the ocean from a hot-air balloon. Ahab would like something entirely different: to stand in a sea of multi-coloured Dutch tulips.

One day the ocean offers them something wondrous, something that might allow them to pursue their dreams: a large albino lobster. Recognizing beauty when they see it, the men decide that rather than tossing it back, they’ll bring it to shore—alive—for others to marvel at.The lobster ends up being transferred from a bucket to its own glass aquarium in the village’s local diner, The Fishermen’s Net. From there, word of the unusual creature travels, attracting the attention of biologists, photographers, and even a man from Ripley’s Believe It or Not. The fishermen become almost famous; they’re endlessly interviewed over a period of three days.

Then the offer of money comes—a large sum that would allow each fisherman the chance to pursue his particular dream. But is the lobster even theirs to sell? The offer is doubled, then tripled. What will Peter, Santiago, and Ahab do? Where do their values lie? Sydor provides a satisfying conclusion after giving her characters a night to sleep on it.

This is an attractive Canadian picture book, which appeared on a children’s choice literary award list a few years back. The illustrator favours shades of muted blue, green, and warm beige. The ocean breeze is suggested in almost every image of the outdoors. (Strangely, though, Ahab’s tasseled night cap remains absolute still—as though it’s as heavy as he is!) With its lively and rollicking language, the book would be useful for teachers to introduce different kinds of figurative language—similes, metaphors, alliteration, and idioms—to students. Having said that, I feel that the author’s word choice is occasionally a little cutesy and over the top: “the sun got snoozey”; “Peter listened to the distant thrum of waves kissing the shore”.

The book inadvertently raises some interesting questions, however. No one in the book considers eating the white lobster, but surely any number of more regular looking ones are boiled to death at The Fishermen’s Net. What makes one animal beautiful, worthy, and precious, while others go into the cooking pot? This is a kid’s book, of course, and the question of eating other lobsters isn’t raised . . . but still. Many kids are familiar with lobsters. They see them in grocery stores where the creatures swim about in large tanks. I have to say it can be uncomfortable looking their way. For them, unlike Sydor’s “lily white” rarity, the writing is on the wall.… (más)

When her wheelchair-bound Granddad must move into a nursing home, a young girl is determined to dislike the boarder who comes to stay in his old room. But it's difficult to be angry with the quiet Timmerman, who is invariably kind and gentle to all. Even Henrietta - the girl's dog, who doesn't "take to just anyone" - comes to like him. But when Timmerman is seen late at night, with a shovel and a sack, rumors begin to fly, and the girl discovers that "it wouldn't always be easy liking him..."

With a quiet, contemplative tone, and lovely artwork by Nicolas Debon, Timmerman Was Here is a sensitive portrayal of a young girl's discovery that friendship comes in many forms, and that things are not always as they seem. Timmerman's final gift, to the girl and to the town, is a moving reminder that we shouldn't assume the worst, simply because someone is a little different. This is a wonderful little book, unassuming but deeply satisfying!… (más)

Tuesday evening, November 9th, the 2010 winner of the Marilyn Baillie Picture Book Award was announced at The Canadian Children’s Book Centre’s gala. Jury members’ comments were as follows, ““This is a sublimely humanistic and memorable story about the way we discover the difference between truth and appearances… Dramatic pictures equally involve the reader, while the artistic use of dark and light further affect our emotional response… This intriguing tale with a twist delves exceptionally well into values and perceptions, the rational and the irrational, achieving a conclusion that is profoundly self-affirming for the child… This emotionally rich and suspenseful story is capped by an uplifting ending that will stir hearts from 8 to 80… A perfect pairing of text and illustration.”

Written from the perspective of a young girl, we share her nervousness as a stranger arrives at her home. The stranger moves into a bedroom, recently vacated by the girl’s grandfather who has gone to live in a residence for seniors. The young girl is not happy about the stranger’s arrival but as she watches and interacts with him, she discovers a gentle heart. When the stranger is discovered walking the neighbourhood at night (with a spade and a burlap sack), gossip abounds. The neighbours speculate that he could be a bank robber or responsible for the death of a cat.

Timmerman Was Here is a lovely, thought-provoking story that encourages the reader to rethink assumptions and stereotypes. Highly recommended.

Suggested for children 4 – 8

On our list of Wonderful Canadian Picture Books
http://goo.gl/bxDAro… (más)