IT is Easter Sunday and the Eponymous Bunny has somehow overlooked me.
Actually he probably took one look at my hips and thought "enough already!" ...
And although I have now graduated from crutches to one of grandpa's discarded walking sticks this morning, I can still barely hobble so there has not been a great deal of hopping about like Spring lambs chez nous to honour the season -I'm stiff and sore from doing nothing on the sofa all day yesterday, and Patrick is stiff and sore from waiting on me so splendidly.
And it's raining.
And the grandbabies don't arrive until tomorrow
So without sounding too melancholy - cheerful has always been my default mode - I will just say that today isn't the riot of fun that everyone else is describing on facebook this morning.
So I was delighted out of all proportion by the kind word which arrived in my in-box just now thanks to the miracle of Google alerts...from The Charlottetown Guardian in Canada.
I have never heard of Charlottetown - indeed I would scarcely heard of Canada except for my youthful devouring of the Anne of Green Gables series which I loved...
(Which I still love, and which can still reduce me to tears when Matthew dies.)
But it seems Charlottetown has heard of me - and likes me: or at least likes Pirate Gran which is in many people's minds the same thing - although I am not convinced that anyone ever confused A A Milne with Winnie the Pooh.
I have never thought of Pirate Gran goes for Gold as recommended Easter reading, but the kind reviewer at The Guardian has persuaded me otherwise, commending it for "abounding in joy"...
I'm a big fan of abounding in joy - and a big fan of kindness.
So my thanks go to Elizabeth Cran for a short-but-lovely review - and - as the thunder crashes overhead - for spreading some Easter joy herself...
Easter joy found within these books
Published on April 19, 2014
ALTHOUGH none of these four books is specifically about Easter, all of them abound in joy.
And joy is supposed to characterize the 50-day Easter season.
Two of these books are for the children, two for older children, teenagers to you.
All originate in St. John’s, which sometimes seems Canada’s capital for good books for young and old. Their names are: Pirate Gran Goes for Gold by Geraldine Durrant, illustrated by Rose Forshall (Breakwater Books, $12.95); The Wonderful Dogfish Rachet by Tom Dawe, illustrated by C. Anne MacLeod (Pennywell Books, Flanker Press, $19.95); Buried Truths by Alice Walsh, no illustrations (Tuckamore Books, Creative Book Publishing, $11.95); and Amelia and Me by Heather Stemp (Pennywell, Flanker, $17.95).
For the youngest — though not the baby, try Pirate Gran. The second in its series, it tells how Gran wants to win some event at the Olympics, and how she and her crew train. But, in the end, “... Gran says the most important thing isn’t winning, it’s taking part and having fun.” Originating in Britain, the stories about Gran have been successfully exported to Newfoundland — and beyond.
A true event from the ‘30s, The Wonderful Dogfish Racket is a longish cheerful poem by a famous Newfoundland writer and a well-known illustrator of children’s books. Suddenly the peaceful waters of Crosshanded Cove are invaded by dogfish, a species of small shark which eats all other edible fish.
What the people of Crosshanded Cove and what finally stops this plague is the story. And C. Anne MacLeod’s wild and graphic illustrations act it out before our eyes. Addictive. Not for the squeamish or the genteel.
Although Alice Walsh is a popular writer who has written many good books for almost all ages, we cannot recommend Buried Truths. Simply it’s too stressful throughout. The more peaceful episodes, such as the scene in the restaurant, the finding of the goudge (chisel) made by a Maritime Archaic Indian, and the final party still are not truly peaceful. And the stresses are of all kinds, including that one’s father who’s supposed to have drowned long ago is alive and well, and anxious to meet his daughter whom he thought had been aborted. None of this is light reading for persons of any age. Perhaps it’s meant to prepare the reader for adult life.
Walsh is a good writer, her characters are believable, and her plots are well constructed, but... read at your own risk. “Amelia and Me” is much better book. Based on a true story, it tells of a Ginny girl in the small town of Harbour Grace who desperately wants to become a pilot, at a time when most people thought this was for men only. Then Amelia Earhart arrives there with her plane, and finally Ginny’s prospects brighten. It’s a positive story, despite plenty of stress, including the effects of the Depression, lots of joy and reconciliation at the end. Happy Easter to all. Elizabeth Cran is a freelance writer who writes a book review column for The Guardian.
To comment or to send her books to review, write her at her new address: 95 Orange St., Apt. 101, Saint John N.B., E2L 1M5, or call her at 506-693-5498.
Actually he probably took one look at my hips and thought "enough already!" ...
And although I have now graduated from crutches to one of grandpa's discarded walking sticks this morning, I can still barely hobble so there has not been a great deal of hopping about like Spring lambs chez nous to honour the season -I'm stiff and sore from doing nothing on the sofa all day yesterday, and Patrick is stiff and sore from waiting on me so splendidly.
And it's raining.
And the grandbabies don't arrive until tomorrow
So without sounding too melancholy - cheerful has always been my default mode - I will just say that today isn't the riot of fun that everyone else is describing on facebook this morning.
So I was delighted out of all proportion by the kind word which arrived in my in-box just now thanks to the miracle of Google alerts...from The Charlottetown Guardian in Canada.
I have never heard of Charlottetown - indeed I would scarcely heard of Canada except for my youthful devouring of the Anne of Green Gables series which I loved...
(Which I still love, and which can still reduce me to tears when Matthew dies.)
But it seems Charlottetown has heard of me - and likes me: or at least likes Pirate Gran which is in many people's minds the same thing - although I am not convinced that anyone ever confused A A Milne with Winnie the Pooh.
I have never thought of Pirate Gran goes for Gold as recommended Easter reading, but the kind reviewer at The Guardian has persuaded me otherwise, commending it for "abounding in joy"...
I'm a big fan of abounding in joy - and a big fan of kindness.
So my thanks go to Elizabeth Cran for a short-but-lovely review - and - as the thunder crashes overhead - for spreading some Easter joy herself...
Easter joy found within these books
Published on April 19, 2014
ALTHOUGH none of these four books is specifically about Easter, all of them abound in joy.
And joy is supposed to characterize the 50-day Easter season.
Two of these books are for the children, two for older children, teenagers to you.
All originate in St. John’s, which sometimes seems Canada’s capital for good books for young and old. Their names are: Pirate Gran Goes for Gold by Geraldine Durrant, illustrated by Rose Forshall (Breakwater Books, $12.95); The Wonderful Dogfish Rachet by Tom Dawe, illustrated by C. Anne MacLeod (Pennywell Books, Flanker Press, $19.95); Buried Truths by Alice Walsh, no illustrations (Tuckamore Books, Creative Book Publishing, $11.95); and Amelia and Me by Heather Stemp (Pennywell, Flanker, $17.95).
For the youngest — though not the baby, try Pirate Gran. The second in its series, it tells how Gran wants to win some event at the Olympics, and how she and her crew train. But, in the end, “... Gran says the most important thing isn’t winning, it’s taking part and having fun.” Originating in Britain, the stories about Gran have been successfully exported to Newfoundland — and beyond.
A true event from the ‘30s, The Wonderful Dogfish Racket is a longish cheerful poem by a famous Newfoundland writer and a well-known illustrator of children’s books. Suddenly the peaceful waters of Crosshanded Cove are invaded by dogfish, a species of small shark which eats all other edible fish.
What the people of Crosshanded Cove and what finally stops this plague is the story. And C. Anne MacLeod’s wild and graphic illustrations act it out before our eyes. Addictive. Not for the squeamish or the genteel.
Although Alice Walsh is a popular writer who has written many good books for almost all ages, we cannot recommend Buried Truths. Simply it’s too stressful throughout. The more peaceful episodes, such as the scene in the restaurant, the finding of the goudge (chisel) made by a Maritime Archaic Indian, and the final party still are not truly peaceful. And the stresses are of all kinds, including that one’s father who’s supposed to have drowned long ago is alive and well, and anxious to meet his daughter whom he thought had been aborted. None of this is light reading for persons of any age. Perhaps it’s meant to prepare the reader for adult life.
Walsh is a good writer, her characters are believable, and her plots are well constructed, but... read at your own risk. “Amelia and Me” is much better book. Based on a true story, it tells of a Ginny girl in the small town of Harbour Grace who desperately wants to become a pilot, at a time when most people thought this was for men only. Then Amelia Earhart arrives there with her plane, and finally Ginny’s prospects brighten. It’s a positive story, despite plenty of stress, including the effects of the Depression, lots of joy and reconciliation at the end. Happy Easter to all. Elizabeth Cran is a freelance writer who writes a book review column for The Guardian.
To comment or to send her books to review, write her at her new address: 95 Orange St., Apt. 101, Saint John N.B., E2L 1M5, or call her at 506-693-5498.