Nonfiction 10 for 10

#nf10for10 is an online celebration of nonfiction picture books. Whether you'd like to contribute or just pop into see what others are featuring, I strongly recommend doing so.

Click on this link to follow along at Enjoy and Embrace Learning blog or twitter with the #nf10for10 hashtag.

Every year I find out about new and sometimes older picture book titles that teachers, librarians, booksellers and parents are giving and reading to children.

My picks are pretty eclectic this year.  It's a list of picture books I enjoyed, found beautiful or made me chuckle.

So in no particular order...


#1. The Butterfly Garden by Laura Weston
      A lift-the-flap book that portrays the life cycle of the monarch butterfly in a beautiful and unique way. This is a black-and-white board book with flaps that open into brightly coloured butterflies, caterpillars, leaves and flowers. Recommended for Kindergarten to grade 2.

#2. Picture the Sky by Barbara Reid
     Barbara Reid's illustrations always amaze me. Composed from clay, she creatively conveys every mood she describes. In this book, the reader is shown variations in the light from skies in different landscapes at different times of the day and night and everything in between. Would be a great mentor text for art and language arts classrooms. Recommended for Kindergarten to grade 2.

#3. The True Adventures of Esther the Wonder Pig by Steve Jenkins, Derek Walter, and Caprice Crane.
      A few years ago Esther the Pig had an adult book written about her. This picture book tells young readers how she came to live in the family that took her in and what life is like living with a  650 pound pig. Emphasis is on lots of love. Lots of love!  Recommended for Kindergarten to grade 3.

#4. Hawk Mother: the Story of a Red-Tailed Hawk Who Hatched Chickens by Kara Hagedorn
     This book is filled with fantastic photographs detailing the journey an injured red-tail hawk lived through, from a wildlife rehabilitate centre to living with a human who tries to give her a life that is as authentic as possible. To that end, Shineshine (the hawk) was given a couple of chicken eggs to hatch after several years of trying to hatch her own infertile eggs. The question would she see these chicks as her's or potentially, as a meal? Excellent nonfiction writing with additional information and glossary.  Recommended for grades 2 to 6.

#5. Welcome to Country: a Traditional Aboriginal Ceremony by Aunty Joy Murphy 
       Written by a Wurundjeri woman from Australia, we learn about the importance of the welcoming ceremony as cultural greeting offered by Elders to visitors to enter onto their traditional lands.The illustrations are reminiscent of bark paintings. Emphasizes the importance to connecting to the land and respecting the people and ancestors of that land.
Recommended for grades 1-6.

#6. The Secret Kingdom: Nek Chand, a Changing India, and a Hidden World of Art by Barb Rosenstock.
      A creative, little boy loves the stories he learns from his family that reflect the rich Indian culture of his village. This is India in 1947 at the time of partition when Hindus and Muslims were separated into two countries. Nek and his family are forced to leave their homes. Moving to a new city that seemed devoid of the culture he loved, Nek collects and re-purposes trash and constructs his own village from it over a period of year.This renown folk artist has up to 4000 people a day visit his Rock Garden of Chandigarh. You need to check out the Foundations website to see some of his sculptures and how he changed the landscape. Amazing! Recommended for grades 3-7. Great book to tie in to units about recycling trash into art, science units about waste in our world and social studies units about India and partition. 

#7. Inky's Amazing Escape: How a Very Smart Octopus Found His Way Home by Sy Montgomery
     I've a soft spot for stories about octopues since reading Sy Montgomery's book, The Soul of an Octopus. This book conveys the intelligence of this marvelous animal while he learn about how they live. This one has the added bonus of an adventure story as a rescued octopus finds his own way back to the ocean from an aquarium that had been his home. Recommended for grades 3-6.

#8. The Brilliant Deep: Rebuilding the World's Coral Reefs by Kate Messner and Matthew Forsythe
      Recounts how Ken Nedimyer was fascinated with oceans as a boy. He noticed that corals in the Florida Keys were in distressed and dying. Through his interest and endeavors he discovered a way to cultivate introduced corals into areas that were in dire need of help. Beautifully illustrated. Recommended for grades 3-6.

#9.  Around the World in Numbers by Clive Gifford and Josh Hurley.
      Divided by continent, the reader who loves trivia will enjoy this book. Lots of statistics are given for a range of eclectic things related to specific countries or specific areas in countries. Examples: 1,500 paintbrushes and 66 tons  of paint are used repaint the Eiffel Tower; 38,000,000 motorbikes are the most popular form of transport in Vietnam; 2.25 gallons of water can be held in an African elephant's trunk; 100,000,000 leather slippers are made in Morocco every year; 5.9 million pounds of maple syrup were stolen by thieves in Canada in 2012, etc. Because such large areas are covered there are not a lot of details for any one country. Good for browsing. Recommended for grades 4-7.

And....

#10.  Mama Africa!: How Miriam Makeba Spread Hope with Her Song by Kathryn Erskine.
       Born in South Africa apartheid was enforced, Miriam uses her amazing voice to sing songs of protest to raise awareness and protest the oppression that black South Africans live  under. This picture book tells of the trials and tribulations that she endured. Extensive author's notes, timeline, glossary, bibliography and additional reading list are included. Recommended for grades 4-7.

100 Years Ago Today

Today is November 11^th, 2018 one hundred years-to-the-day that World War I ended with the signing of the armistice.

The Vimy Oaks: a Journey to Peace by Linda Granfield tells the true story of a young Canadian soldier, Leslie Miller, who fought in France during World War I.  Based on his field journals, Granfield extracts snippets of text that describe his observations and experiences as he goes about doing his job as a member of the Signals Corps.  Many of the excerpts are descriptions of the landscape noting the beautiful woods and large trees or the terrible devastation wrecked on the countryside by the constant bombardment from both sides.  On April 9, 1917 the battle for Vimy Ridge began and while fighting in this area, Leslie Miller collected a number of acorns that had been blasted from oak trees, mailing them home to Canada.

After returning to Ontario, he started life again as a farmer. Miller planted the acorns he had sent home during the war. This becomes significant in 2004 when Monty McDonald, a family friend to the Millers, traveled to France and Belgium to see the battlefields of both wars. He noticed, while visiting the National Vimy Memorial, that the landscape, though green and forested again, was missing oak trees. He wondered if the trees that grew in Canada from the acorns collected by Leslie Miller could be used to re-establish the oaks at Vimy Ridge.

The Vimy Oaks Repatriation Project was launched with the intention of having oak trees once again growing at Vimy Ridge in time for the 100^th anniversary of the end of World War I, November 11^th, 2018. The book describes the process by which the Canadian oaks are being propagated and then taken to France or planted across Canada.

The book has been illustrated by Brian Deines but also contains numerous photos of people, places and things from that time period. I especially love the photo of Leslie Miller’s field journal that shows a couple of sketches he did of the trees he admired and his beautiful cursive penmanship. It provides lots of context that will help readers understand what was happening and some of the significance of those events. The connection between the past and the present is perfectly encapsulated here. 

Also included are a glossary and index.

I recommend this book for the middle grades when doing units about trees, Remembrance Day, Canadian history, World War I but also looking at topics of peace. The planting of these oak trees is such a wonderful symbol of healing, peace and remembrance.

“They will call upon us to remember the past – and a Canadian soldier who once held hope and rebirth in the palm of his hand.” (p.33)

Doing the Right Thing

I’ve two recommendations for today’s post that promote understanding for what it’s like to be Black in the United States today.

The first one is by Jason Reynolds’, Long Way Down. This story takes place in an elevator as it descends seven floors in an apartment building and Will, the protagonist, is on his way to avenge the death of his older brother Shawn.  He’s struggling with THE RULES that govern the lives of black men and boys in his big city neighbourhood: No Crying – No Snitching – Get Revenge. As the elevator goes down seven floors, seven ghosts who knew Will and his family and experienced gun violence too, visit Will and offer subtle guidance that will help him make up his mind about his next set of actions.

Jason Reynolds is a fantastic writer. This story, told in narrative verse, took me to a place that I had no way of knowing about and gave me a glimpse into the mind of a young man like Will. Reading about gun violence and gang-related murder in the news does not provide much insight as to how this kind of thing continues to be perpetuated.  It’s the strength of a novel like this that allows me to feel the pain and the hopelessness that must consume young black men when they feel that have no choice but to live by THE RULES.

The next book, The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas has been getting lots of well-deserved attention in review journals and blogs. It was a National Book Award Finalist. Again, this story puts the news reports that we hear nightly, into a perspective that is totally relatable and gives new resonance for the Black Lives Matter movement.

Starr is a sixteen year-old high school student who lives in a poor, black neighbourhood but goes to a predominately white school in another part of town. She’s working out how to mesh the two people she must be to live in two vastly different universes. When a friend, a young, black man, Khalil is shot by a white police office while with Starr one night, everything changes.

By telling people, school mates, police, journalists and neighbours about what happened that night puts Starr in a precarious situation. Those fighting for the rights of black people see this as an opportunity to create awareness and demand justice. Those in positions of power are cautious about the information Starr provides as it will jeopardize the police officer. Starr fears that if her classmates know she is the witness that will jeopardize her place in the school.The desire to do the right thing is strong and eventually overcomes Starr's fears.

Again, this was a compelling story that opened a world that I will never experience firsthand. There is considerable profanity (tons of f-bombs) used by almost all the characters but this made it feel very authentic. The ending is also very realistic, sadly.

I highly recommend both of these books for grades 9 and up and for adults. Amazing reads!

Interest in Pinterest

Today's blog falls in the category of a--

 PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT.

Many of you know that I curate Pinterest boards that list books found in the Doucette Library and tie-in with the Alberta Education curriculum.  My focus has been mostly on elementary science, social studies and math. For science and social studies, I have created individual boards for every grade and every topic. For math, I did not organize resources according to individual grade level but rather grouped books by topic such as Number Sense, Measurement, Patterns and so on. I've included fiction and nonfiction books, DVDs and a few websites on these boards.

Recently, I've been busy adding more resources to these boards to keep them up-to-date and more complete.

I've also added several new boards based on requests by student-teachers around specific topics. These are Fractured and Adapted Fairy Tales and Activists and Activism K-6 and Activists and Activitism 7-12.

Also, I've just added several boards that correspond with the social studies curriculum for grades 7 to 9. Again, each topic has it's own boards and include: 

   Canada: Origins, Histories and Movement of People 
7.1 Toward Confederation
7.2 Following Confederation: CanadianExpansions

   Historical Worldviews Examined
8.1 From Isolation to Adaptation: Japan
8.2 Origins of a Western Worldview:Renaissance Europe
8.3 Worldviews in Conflict: The Spanishand the Aztecs 

   Canada: Opportunities and Challenges
9.1 Issues for Canadians: Governanceand Rights
9.2 Issues for Canadians: EconomicSystems in Canada and the United States

These boards predominately list nonfiction resources but do include fiction when something was available.

I hope to add boards that will correspond to the junior high science curriculum later this summer.

If you have any recommendations for resources that correspond with these or any other curriculum topics, please drop me a line. I'm always keen to add resources to the Doucette collection that will connect with Alberta Education's curriculum.

Passel of animal books

Well, another academic school year is over. With exams finished up last week, we’re officially in ‘summer mode’ for the next 4 months. Fewer students around means it’s catch-up time here in the Doucette Library.

So I’m getting caught up with reading a backlog of picture books. I’ve read a fair number of animal books recently and I thought I’d give a few recommendations for the ones I liked best.

Starting with--

Clara: the (mostly) true story of the rhinoceros who dazzled kings,inspired artists and won the hearts of everyone…while she ate her way up anddown a continent! By Emily Arnold McCully

Not many Europeans knew what a rhinoceros looked like in the 1700s but Clara, an orphaned baby rhino changed that for many people. Brought from India by a Dutch sea captain to Europe, they traveled for 17 years to Holland, France, Italy, England and Germany entertaining people from all walks of life. I see this book as a great discussion starter and for research, too. How were animals treated in the past? What parts of Clara’s story have been ‘tinkered’ with? How much food does a rhino really need? There are lots of possibilities.

Elephant Journey: the true story of three zoo elephants and theirrescue from captivity by Rob Laidlaw

I love stories where animals, in dire straits, are given new leases on life such as described in this book.  We learn about three elephants from the Toronto Zoo who are moved to California to take up residence in a sanctuary. It’s quite a feat of organization and transportation to get Toka, Iringa and Thika to their new home and how they adjusted to a life outside a small, cold zoo enclosure.  I recommend this for elementary grades.

Follow the Moon Home: a tale of one idea, twenty kids and a hundredsea turtles by Philippe Cousteau and Deborah Hopkinson.

Turtles are endlessly fascinating creatures faced with a myriad of challenges for survival. One such challenge is getting to the ocean from their beach-sand nests. Along beaches where there has been significant development, lights from homes and hotels often mislead the baby turtles in the wrong direction, away from the ocean. This story focuses on the efforts of a young girl to save these turtles by having the people living along the beaches turn off their bright lights when the turtles are hatching. This has a great combination of science and social activism for upper elementary grades.

Glow: animals with their own night-lights by W.H. Beck

This one introduces us to the topic of bioluminescence featuring mostly deep ocean creatures. The photos are pretty amazing. Elementary students will likely find this one quite appealing.

Otters Love to Play by Jonathan London

There is something very appealing about otters – cute faces, lanky, bendy bodies and their playful behavior are irresistible.  Great book for early elementary grades about otter’s habitat and seasonal changes in behavior. Illustrations really give a good sense of their playful natures and body movements.

And, lastly—

The Tragic Tale of the Great Auk by Jan Thornhill

This now extinct bird had at one time numbered in the hundreds of thousands in the North Atlantic. Outlined here are the conditions that came together over a period of time that contributed to the bird’s demise: namely the bird’s inability to fly, the northern waters they inhabited for cold water fish and few viable spots for laying and hatching eggs, climate change and human hunting (for food and collectability once it became rare). The author lays out the interconnectedness of these conditions, the impact of the birds on local peoples and their legacy. I highly recommend this for middle grades.

Harbingers of spring

Spring is just around the corner here in Calgary. Despite the little snow flurry we had this morning the temperatures are rising and the snow is melting. And the University of Calgary awaits the arrival of a mating pair of peregrine falcons any day now.  According to the webpage dedicated to tracking the falcons, they had already arrived by this time last year.  The falcons have been using a high ledge on a campus building since the mid 1990s to nest and raise their young. Check out their website for more information.

I always feel like the arrival of peregrine falcons is a triumph somehow. As recently as 1995 they were still considered endangered in Canada and now, are ‘watched’ for further decline even as their numbers increase. The pair that resides here on campus always seem successful at raising their chicks and I love to hear them calling to each other as I walk across campus.

This means that I buy many books and artifacts for the Doucette Library’s collection that focus on these exceptionally beautiful, resilient birds. Here are a few recent purchases:

The title of this book, Maggie, the One-Eyed Peregrine Falcon: a true story of rescue and rehabilitation by Christie Gove-Berg pretty much tells the whole story. It’s an interesting story about the lengths that a rescue team go to save Maggie, ensure her wellbeing and eventually, give her a job to teach children about falcons. The many photographs and clearly written short paragraphs make this a terrific classroom resource for early elementary grades.

In Skydiver: saving the fastest bird in the world by Celia Godkin relates how the peregrine falcon became endangered through the use of DDT. A clutch of eggs are taken from a pair of falcons in the wild by scientists who raise them to either stay in captivity to breed or be released back into the wild. We learn about the dangers, resiliency and efforts to save this breed of falcon.  Good for grades 1-4.

Queen of the Sky by Jackie Morris is another recent book but is best suited for higher grades. This is a story of a rescued bird by a woman who nurses ‘Hiss’ back to health eventually releasing her back to wild. The artwork is brilliantly done with woodcuts, watercolour drawings and photographs. The art paired with the narrative of the struggle to nurse the falcon and the growing bond between the bird and her rescuer makes for an interesting story. This is a wonderful book to share with grades 9 and up.

Another very informative book is Falcons in the City: the story of a peregrine family by Chris Earley. This particular family of falcons decided to roost and nest on the balcony of a high-rise building in Chicago. There are some amazing photographs taken from the balcony of the chicks hatching, growing and flying. Close-ups of the birds as they fly and glide by the balcony are captivating. Students in elementary grades will learn all about falcon behavior, habitats, food and challenges to survive in an urban environment.

The last book I’ll recommend is the Peregrine’s Journey: a story of migration by Madeleine Dunphy. Here we learn what it takes for a female falcon to make an 8,000 mile journey from Alaska to Argentina. Again, this book is appropriate for elementary grades.

Pair these books with the Doucette Library’s peregrine falcon puppet, replica skull, replica egg and talon to have a variety of interesting resources to complement this component of your spring unit.

Handful of books

I’ve had a soft spot for this book, Hands by Boris Cyrulnik, photographs by Tiziana and Gianni Baldizzone for a really long time. I often try to find reasons to bring it into my various workshops. It’s a beautiful coffee table book with loads of photographs showing close-ups of activities that hands do every day. Listen to the how the chapters have been organized: Hands of Pleasure, Hands of Beauty, Hands at Work, Hands of the Heart, Hands of Ritual, and finally By Hand… There are many beautiful images here that I think have lots of classroom potential.

Beautiful Hands by Kathryn Otoshi and Bret Baumgarten is a recent picture book that does the same thing; it asks what things will your hands do today? Will they plant seeds? Or maybe plant ideas? Or touch hearts? Will they lift spirits? Or stretch imaginations? Will they reach for love? Or peace, truth, dreams? 

The illustrations are unique using brightly coloured handprints to create images of birds, flowers and butterflies.

Using these two books together in a classroom would provide opportunities to explore the concepts the books embody as well as the actions that these hands engage in. At the youngest grades in social studies in Alberta where the focus is on identity, family, school and community, self, uniqueness and belonging, these books will start conversations. They could also be mentor texts that model work that students can engage in. Having students photograph the activities that they, their friends and family members do every day allows them to develop an understanding about what people do.  Hands, also speak to an individual’s identity and uniqueness.

I love the idea of how we use the word "hand" and the images that come to mind: hands up, hands off, hands on, hand out, hand-me-downs, a hand up, hands on, handful, handy, helping hands, heavy handed, show of hands, ‘talk to the hand’, shaking hands with the devil. What others come to your mind? There is both play and power with these words and the images they create. Hands create but they also destroy. Hands can be loving but also hurtful. Exploring binary opposites is a great way to introduce a kind of tension in a unit that will engage students.

Other books that would tie-in beautifully with these book titles would be:

These Hands by Margaret H. Mason is a history lesson embedded in a warm story about an African American grandfather telling his grandson all the things he could (tie shoe laces, play the piano) and could not do (not touch the dough at the Wonder Bread factory). It’s a gentle story about the civil rights African Americans had to organize and fight for.

Nadia’s Hands by Karen English is about a little girl worried about what her classmates with think of her and maybe tease her about having mehndi designs on her hands in preparation for an aunt’s traditional Pakistani wedding. This story speaks to culture and identity, about being one's self and belonging.

Sister Anne’s Hands by Marybeth Lorbiecki is a favourite of mine. Again its set during the civil rights movement in the United States and shows how a beloved teacher (an African American nun) makes a teachable moment out of a cruel, thoughtless act by one of her students to show how small acts of hate can lead to the big acts of societal discrimination.

Hands & Hearts by Donna Jo Napoli is about a mother and daughter who have a fun-filled day at the beach. They enjoy playing in the waves and sand, building castles and swimming.  They also happen to use their hands to speak with each other. There are 15 words introduced in American Sign Language.

Hands by Lois Ehlert is brilliantly designed with a hand glove shaped book. It speaks to all the activities that the busy hands in this household get up to: Dad is busy making a bird house and Mom is busy sewing. The narrator is given his or her own work space and is taught some the skills that Mom and Dad use in their activities. This book connects with the maker mind set that is now being promoted in schools here in Calgary.

These are only a few that would work well at the elementary level. 

A Moral Dilemma

The Plot to Kill Hitler: Dietrich Bonhoeffer, pastor, spy, unlikely hero by Patricia McCormick tells an important and lesser known story about one of a group of men who risked their lives to assassinate one of the most diabolical dictators. A better known co-conspirator is Claus Schenk Graf Von Stauffenberg.

But this book focuses on Dietrich Bonhoeffer. We learn about his life, of his privileged childhood from a large, loving German family, of being quiet and introspective from an early age and that eventually he was drawn to theology and ordained as a minister. His academic work about the role of the church in the lives of ordinary people as a force of good was well respected.  Experiences working with the poor and underprivileged children in Barcelona, Harlem, New York and Berlin became defining periods in his life.

While Dietrich Bonhoeffer was in New York he meet Martin Luther King Jr. and others who later became leaders in the American civil rights movement and became aware of segregation. He saw firsthand how “separate but equal” played out in the lives of African Americans.

When he returned to Berlin in 1931, support for the Nazi party was growing and Bonhoeffer could see parallels between the anti-Jewish sentiments of Nazi supporters and the Jim Crow laws in America. He was concerned enough to speak out against the Nazis. In 1933, after Hitler became chancellor, Bonhoeffer is told by his brother-in-law, Hans von Dohnanyi, the Nazis were about to increase and implement a more active exclusion of Jews from German society.

Bonhoeffer felt that the clergy had an obligation to help those in need including those being persecuted by the Nazis. He did not have the support of most of his fellow clergymen as the Nazis had already approached them with offers of political influence and standing in return for their allegiance to Hitler. To speak out against the Nazis and Hitler was treason.

During the mid-1930s he travelled to other European countries attempting to convince church leaders to try and protest against the Nazis with no takers. By the early 1940s, while working as a double agent, Bonhoeffer tries to get information out to Great Britain and other European countries about the atrocities perpetuated by the Nazis hoping to gain support for the conspiracy to kill Hitler.

In the author’s note, Patricia McCormick tells us of her interest in this story because of the paradox of a pacifist clergyman who would become involved in a conspiracy to kill.  She asks, “How could a man of faith justify murder?” This is an interesting element to the story. For Bonhoeffer and a few others involved in the conspiracy, it presented a moral dilemma. Is treason a sin? How does a person appease their conscience when they are about to commit a mortal sin?

This well researched biography helps us understand the path that led Dietrich Bonhoeffer to his decision to act against the state, Hitler, church and his own peace-loving beliefs. It includes a timeline, references, bibliography, index, photos and sidebars with supplemental materials. I recommend this for grades 6 and up.

This book would pair well with other books about others who resisted the Nazis and sought to aid those who were persecuted, such as

His Name was Raoul Wallenberg by Louise Borden – recommended for middle grades

The Boys Who Challenged Hitler by Phillip Hoose – recommended for grades 9 and up.

The Grand Mosque of Paris by Karen Gray Ruelle and Deborah Durland DeSaix] – for middle grades

In My Hands by Irene Gut Opdyke – recommended for grades 8-12

Potential beyond imagining

Ada’s Violon: the story of the recycled Orchestra of Paraguayby Susan Hood and illustrated by Sally Wern Comport is a book I’ve been waiting for ever since I first heard and watched a video about this orchestra.

The Landfill Orchestra

What an amazing concept!

It works on so many levels. An extremely poor community in Paraguay is built around the recycling of garbage taken from a local landfill. As both the video and book explain, to own a valuable instrument is impossible because of the risk of theft. Because instruments are expensive to buy, it’s difficult for everyone to have an instrument of their own to play. The solution is to construct instruments from recycled materials, again derived from the landfill, instead.

The book provides more backstory than the video. It focuses on Ada Rios (shown in the video) and her family of recyclers giving us a sense of what the community is like: very poor with few opportunities of a better life and the threat of gang life as a way out. Though she does go to school, there aren’t many opportunities to go beyond the boundaries of her community, until the day her grandmother sees a sign advertising music lessons and encourages Ada to go. Immediately, Ada selects the violin as her instrument of choice.

The story continues with how the instruments were constructed and it’s fascinating to see them in the video. Paint cans, oil drums, forks, pipes and packing crates are all used to fashion these beautiful music makers.

With lots of practice, these novice musicians become good enough to perform in front of local audiences. Word spreads and they hold concerts for international audiences in other countries.

What a success story.

In terms of classroom connections, this kind of story has so many possibilities. There’s the grade 4 science unit on waste and our world which often ties into recycling. There’s the grade 3 social studies unit about quality of life that would work well with this story.  This would make an interesting book to bring into a fine arts classroom. I can see connections to the STEM/STEAM and maker movements, too. Or even a story from which to draw inspiration for activism at local levels.

This would definitely work across the elementary grades. Highly recommended.

Living Your Dream

It takes courage to follow your own path and ignore those who try to dissuade you from pursuing your dreams.

This thought really hit home last week when I was listening to CBC reporters recalling their favourite moments from the Olympic Games in Rio.

Paul Hunter was describing the impact of swimmer Kylie Moss' (bronze medal winner) comments about wanting to inspire other young Canadians to follow their dreams, to ignore those who say you can't win an Olympic medal. That really resonated with him. That’s when it struck me about how much gumption it takes to just keep on going when you’ve taken on such a huge challenge. That takes a lot of courage, in my opinion.

So here are a few recommendations of books with characters (real and otherwise) who do have the courage to achieve their dreams:

TheAbsolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie

Junior is an American Indian growing up on the Spokane Indian Reservation. With encouragement from one of his teachers he decides to go to an all-white school off of the rez. This takes tremendous courage as he receives little support from those on the reservation who see him as a traitor nor those at the school in town who see him as if he was “Bigfoot or a UFO”. This is an opportunity to make a better life for himself but it isn’t easy. Recommended for grades 9 and up.

Amazing Grace by Mary Hoffman

A little girl who loves to act is excited to take on the role of Peter Pan in a school play. But she’s told that because she’s a girl she can’t be Peter Pan. Then she’s told that because she’s black she can’t be Peter Pan. But with some help from her Nana she puts her mind to doing the best she can in auditions and is given the part. Recommended for grades 1 to 3.

Echo by Pam Munzo Ryan

I so enjoyed this book of three different characters in three different places from slightly different but contiguous time periods. Each of the children in these stories have musical ability with ‘potential’ to be great. But their circumstances (wartime Germany, homeless orphans in America, and migrant workers in California) don’t easily allow them to pursue them. However, due to their own tenacious characters (plus some lucky breaks) their futures do result in opportunities allowing them to live their passion. Recommended for middle grades.

Firebird by Misty Copeland

A young girl dreams of becoming a ballerina and Misty Copeland, a real-life African-America ballerina encourages her to follow her heart and shows that hard work and determination can make it happen. Recommended for grades 1-4.

For the Right to Learn: Malala Yousafzai’s Story by Rebecca Langston-George

Malala Yousafzai is a Nobel Peace Prize recipient. Her persistent canvasing for the rights of children, especially girls, to education put her life in great danger. Despite being shot by Taliban supporters because she refused to quit school and spoke out against the Taliban, she continues endorsing and fighting for children to go to school. Recommended for grades 3 to 6.

The Shadow Hero by Gene Luen Yang & Sonny Liew

This graphic novel is about a wanna-be super hero. Well, he’s a reluctant wanna-be at best as it’s his mother who really pushes him to step up to the plate. But eventually Hank grows in to the role of “The Golden Man of Bravery”. This one really connects persistence, ability and courage with pursuing your dreams. Lots of wry humour, too. Recommended for grades 7 and up.