Canadian calamities – Part 3

 With the 100^th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic fast approaching, this might be an opportune time to introduce students to Canada’s biggest maritime disaster, the sinking of the Empress of Ireland in 1914.  Into the Mist: the story of the Empress of Ireland by Anne Renaud (910.9163 ReI 2010) tells the story.

The beginning of the book may leave you wondering -- what does the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) have to do with an elegant ocean liner in the early 1900s?

As it happened, a young Canadian government commissioned the CPR to unite the country coast-to-coast to fulfill its promise to link the province of British Columbia with the rest of Canada.  Once accomplished, the ambitious company looked for ways to expand their business.  In addition to transporting European immigrants to farms in the West, they decided to develop a mail service across the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, spanning just over 19,000 kilometers from Britain to the Orient (Japan and China) via Canada.

The Empress of Ireland was one ship in a series of ‘Empresses’ built to obtain this government contract.  These were big ships built for speed, with room for 1,550 passengers and luxurious fittings for those travelling first-class. The book includes lots of statistical data (size, weight, quantities of food, etc.) about the ship as well as stories of some of her passengers.  She ferried a number of celebrities such as Rudyard Kipling, John McCrae, Robert Baden-Powell plus actors, politicians and royalty.  There are a number of narratives about less famous people too, immigrants who were travelling to Canada to start new lives.

Unfortunately, this Empress was short-lived, crossing the Atlantic for only eight years (1906 to 1914) before sinking in the St. Lawrence River.  A collision with a coal freighter resulted in the huge ship sinking in just minutes, killing most of her passengers (840) and crew (172).

A recent newspaper article in the Calgary Herald (Sunday, March 4, 2012, p.A6) ran a half-page article about the Empress of Ireland and how few people know her story.  It was suggested that this maritime disaster is Canada’s equivalent to the sinking of the Titanic.  The relative obscurity of this story is the result of people’s preoccupation with the start of the First World War. I’m sure I’m not alone in never having heard this story prior to reading this book. 

One of the more intriguing stories is about a curse that followed Captain Kendall, captain of the Empress of Ireland at the time she sank. There’s nothing like the titillation of a curse to engage students.  Captain Henry Kendall, prior to taking charge of the Empress of Ireland, captained another ship that carried two infamous fugitives running away to Canada.  Disguised as father and son, the two were apprehended due to the eagle eyes of Captain Kendall.  Dr. Crippen cursed the Captain as he and his girlfriend were arrested for the murder of his wife.

The many newspaper clippings and black and white photographs show us the interior of the ship, first-class passengers enjoying the ship, and personal portraits of individuals and families, most often immigrants coming to Canada. 

Overall, it was an interesting read though I’m unsure whether students would gravitate to this book on their own.  The cover is dark and, in my opinion, not very enticing.  The organization of the book is occasionally problematic with details about passengers interspersed between sections of information. The side boxes which provide relevant information about the time period are occasionally disruptive to the flow of the book. However, if not a great cover-to-cover read, it will be excellent for research.

Canadian calamities – Part 2

Today’s offerings are fictional accounts of two Canadian disasters.

A Terrible Roar of Water by Penny Draper (823 D79T3 FIC) recounts the impact of an earthquake and a tsunami on the east coast of Newfoundland in 1929.  The Burin Peninsula is scattered with many small remote, outport communities that rely upon the sea for their livelihoods.   Draper does a good job setting up the characters, drawing a clear picture of the people, culture and landscape that comprise one specific community.  The focus of the story is the impact of the disaster on the community rather than on character development.  Which doesn't mean that you won't get a good sense about Murphy, a twelve-year-old boy who has only two wants: to become a fisherman like his uncle  and father (who died in a fishing accident) and to have his mother come back from St. Johns  to live with him.  He's fairly thoughtful (though he doesn't always remember his promises to sort-of friend Annie) and is keen to build a house and boat dock of his own as a way to entice his mother to return to the village . After the tsunami recedes, the worsening weather conditions make the villagers realized their vulnerability .  Their winter provisions, homes and most possessions have disappeared and help may be a long time coming.  (I was left wondering if all Canadian disasters are followed by a snow storm.  See Monday's posting about the Halifax explosion for more on snow storms.) This is an interesting historical read and may appeal to kids in grades 4 to 7.

Another novel focussed on a water disaster is Safe as Houses by Eric Walters (823 W176S2 FIC).  Hurricane Hazel caused massive devastation in Southern Ontario in 1954.  This story is really focussed on one night of severe flooding, as three children barely cope with the rising water.  As with A Terrible Roar of Water there’s not much in the way of character development or in the way of setting.  We know that Weston, Ontario is a smallish town with new houses being built along the river valley.  It’s been raining heavily for days and the water is running fast and furious.   Twelve-year-old Lizzie is babysitting David and Suzie, waiting for their parents to return from Toronto.  The weather is so bad that they can’t get back and Lizzie is left to manage for the night.  She’s horrified to find that water has flooded the main floor of the house and is rising very quickly.  The streets are impassable so the kids go to the top of the house.  The unfinished house proves a blessing as sitting in the rafters means they don’t have to deal with the elements – at least, not yet.  Eventually, the water rises high enough to cause Lizzie and David to look for a way through the roof. Once perched on the roof the house slowly begins to shift from its foundations, instigating a daring jump into the river to hopefully catch hold of a few trees still able to withstand the river.  The children are eventually rescued.  This is based on a true story which the author includes a portion of at the end of the book.  Good tension is built even as we anticipate what will happen; wonder how the kids will manage and if they survive.  This quick read will work with grades 5 to 9.

Canadian calamities – Part 1

By coincidence, I’ve been reading a few books lately that seem to focus on various Canadian disasters. Maybe not the happiest of topics but tragedy and heroics do make for riveting stories.  The next few blogs will highlight a few of the better reads I’ve come across, nonfiction and fiction.

Blizzard of Glass: the Halifax explosion of 1917 by Sally M. Walker (971.6225 WaB 2011) is a fabulous, detailed account of the massive explosion that devastated the waterfront areas of Halifax Harbour in the early 20th century.

December 6^th, 1917: it’s an ordinary morning.  People are busy at home getting children off to school, cooking and starting the day’s chores, going to church while others are busy at work along the waterfront, in warehouses or shops and offices further back into town.  In the harbour , two ships (one loaded with explosive materials used to make bombs for Allied troops in World War I), collide. Shortly afterwards, an explosion produces a gigantic cloud of smoke, intense heat (9,032 degrees Fahrenheit), and powerful, fast-travelling shock waves (5,000 feet per second) killing hundreds of people instantly and obliterating a vast area close to the harbour.

After reading nearly two hundred accounts told by survivors, Sally Walker fills her book with anecdotes of several families living in the area.  We learn what mothers, fathers and children were doing that morning.  Walker builds tension, as we know that disaster looms and we wonder who, out of these few families, will survive and who will not.

The aftermath is horrific to read about.  A tsunami, then a snow blizzard cause even more devastation and deaths in addition to hampering the efforts of relief workers.  Stories about the heroic efforts by medical personnel in the immediate area and as far away as Boston are memorable.  Overwhelmed by the sheer number of the injured and dead, doctors, nurses, soldiers, firefighters and ordinary citizens barely cope.  Compassion, kindness and perseverance rule the days following.

I found this a gripping read.  However, I do wonder what kids will make of it.  The profiles of the families and photographs help us connect on a personal level, making it more real, but it may be that the amount of detail will deter some younger readers.  The book will be invaluable to students doing research about this event but I’m not sure if those in the middle grades will gravitate to it on their own.  Don’t get me wrong, I highly recommend this book.  I also think there are some great science concepts about waves (explosions, tsunami) that could be incorporated as the author includes substantial information.

I would love to get some feedback about students’ response. Drop me a line if you get a chance.

 Today is Nonfiction Monday.  Stop by Rasco from RIF for this week's roundup.

Beyond poignant

Requiem: poems of the Terezin Ghetto by Paul B. Janeczko  (811.JaR 2011) is a beautiful collection of poems written “as solemn songs to the memory of the people who died within the walls of Theresienstadt.” (p.94) 

For some, this will read much like a novel written in narrative verse.  Janeczko writes poems from the perspective of  different people, most are Jewish prisoners, some are Nazi guards, and others are by local town’s people telling some aspect of what has happened to them because of the Terezin Ghetto.  Janeczko informs us that the poems are based on his research and include events that did transpire but the characters are derived from this imagination.  Except for one.  The poem by Valtr Eisinger/11956 (p.38) was found amongst letters Eisinger had written and Janeczko located published elsewhere. (See the author’s note and list of selected sources for more information.) 

Peppered throughout are sketches and drawings that were drawn by inmates from Theresienstadt and found after the war. The Terezin Ghetto was where many artists, musicians and intellectuals from Prague were sent.  Nazis were somewhat lenient about inmates producing art, as it served their interests to purport that Jewish culture was being encouraged to flourish.

The poems and drawings that comprise this slim volume are haunting and unforgettable.

I highly recommend this book for grades 8 and up.  
                                                                    

To learn more about the Terezin Ghetto and art produced during the Holocaust, look to some of the following titles for additional information:

 As seen through these eyes: a Hilary Helstein film (700.458 As 2009 DVD)

Brundibar by Tony Kusher, illustrated by Maurice Sendak (782.1 KuB 2003 PIC BK)

The Cat with the yellow star: coming of age in Terezin by Susan Goldman Rubin (940.5318 RuC 2006)

Fireflies in the dark: the story of Friedl Dicker-Brandeis and the children of Terezin by Susan Goldman Rubin (940.5318 RuF 2000)

Hana’s suitcase: a true story by Karen Levine (940.5318 LeH 2002)

Terezin: voices from the Holocaust by Ruth Thomson (940.5318 ThT 2011)

Highest, deepest and farthest reaches of the Earth

I find travelogues fascinating.  If done well, you get a taste of a foreign land, what the people are like, exotic landscapes with a few good stories about trials, tribulations and perhaps near misses, thrown in to enthrall us.  Nothing like armchair travel to whet the appetite for the real thing -- maybe.

 

Into the Unknown: how great explorers found their way by land, sea, and air by Stewart Ross, illustrated by Stephen Biesty (910.9 RoI 2011) is a captivating read (though I can’t say these stories made me want to join many of the expeditions – great to read about but I’m willing to let others forge the way).

We are given brief glimpses into fourteen journeys, spanning from the Greeks in 340 BC sailing to the Arctic until 1969 with two Americans landing on the moon.  Many of the explorers like Marco Polo, Captain James Cook, Christopher Columbus, and Edmund Hillary are well known.  But also included are lesser known Mary Kingsley, the father and son team Auguste and Jacques Piccard, Admiral Zheng and Pytheas.   Whether exploring Africa, the waters of the south Pacific, the highest reaches of the atmosphere or the deepest ocean trenches, we get a sense of Earth’s vastness and the appeal that the unknown holds for a few intrepid souls.

Each section includes a few pages detailing what we know about the explorers, a little about the historical, social or political context of the voyage, the technology used for travel (boats, balloons, submersibles, rockets) and for navigation, and maps. Mesmerizing foldouts depict highly detailed cross-sections of the vessels used.  Illustrator Stephen Biesty does an excellent job.  Pulling out each section feels somewhat like opening a treasure map.

This book would be an excellent addition to a unit on explorers, providing enough information to be useful for report writing, and promoting geographical and historical thinking. Overall, this is an engrossing book to get lost in, especially looking at the illustrations.

Great resource for middle school grades, 4-9.

Today's Nonfiction Monday event is being held at 100 Scope Notes.

Kind of the same

*Same, Same but Different by Jenny Sue Kostecki-Shaw (823 K8475S PIC BK)

*Mirror Mirror by Jeannie Baker (823 B1743M PIC BK)

*A Country Far Away by Nigel Gray (823 G793C PIC BK)

            Three books that are similar, yet -- different.

Each of these picture books compares the lives of two children (coincidentally, all boys) from a western culture (North America, Europe or Australia) with that of a boy from either Africa or India.

All take a different approach in illustrating how each child lives day-to-day.

A Country Far Away uses a single sentence that applies to either child’s life, depicted in a series of panels running across the top or the bottom of the page depending on where the boy lives. For example, when a baby sister is born in each family, we see a midwife arriving by donkey in the African village and children crowding into the family’s hut to visit mom and the new baby.  The urban, western family awaits the arrival of the baby in a hospital, with dad, brother and grandparents visiting after the baby is born.

 In Same, Same but Different the story alternates between correspondence and drawings exchanged between the two boys, comparing and contrasting their lives. Elliot lives in an American city with his mom, dad and baby sister, whereas Kailash lives in an Indian town or city with his extended family (23 members) plus their animals (cattle, goats, chickens, dogs, rabbits and birds).  Elliot has a dog and a pet fish.

Mirror, Mirror is a single book but has two wordless narratives, independent stories that can work side-by-side or separately.  Two stories, beginning at each of the book’s covers, are read either left-to-right (Australian story) or right-to-left (Moroccan story), depicting the events that occur for an average family from each of these countries. The stories overlap by the end, emphasizing that in this world of mass globalization we are all connected.  The Moroccan family has traded a hand made carpet for a computer and the Australian family has purchased the same carpet for their living room.

All three books are enjoyable and suitable for grades 1-4.