Journal articles on the topic 'Edmonton Public Library'

Abstract Objective – To explore the types and nature of assistance library customers are asking library staff for in a large Canadian urban public library system. Methods – A qualitative study employing transaction logging combined with embedded observation occurred for three-day sample periods at a selection of nine branches over the course of eight months. Staff recorded questions and interactions at service desks (in person, by phone, and electronically), as well as questions received during scheduled and non-scheduled provision of mobile reference service. In addition to recording interaction details and interaction medium, staff members were also asked to indicate briefly the process or resources used to resolve the interaction. Survey data were entered and coded through thematic analysis. Results – The survey collected 6,099 interactions between staff and library customers. Of those 6,099 interactions, 1,920 (31.48%) were coded as pertaining to technology help. Further analysis revealed significant library customer need for help with Internet workstations and printing. Conclusions – Technology help is a core customer need for Edmonton Public Library, with requests varying in complexity and sometimes resolved with instruction. The library’s Internet workstations and printing system presented critical usability challenges that drove technology help requests.

The space of the municipal library is changing. Libraries are no longer the traditional haven for quiet contemplation. In many cities across North America and the UK, municipal libraries have become a central social hub, a social service provider and a place of shelter for the marginal. In combination with technological advances and the hovering threat of budget cuts, the space of the library and the multiple publics it serves has becoming increasingly debated. We argue that the library and its changing mandate can be usefully understood through a property lens. The library is not only public space, we argue, but also public property. The manner in which the library, as public property, is enacted, is complicated most immediately by the competing conceptions of the ‘public’ that the library is to serve, but also by the ambivalent relationship between the ‘public’ and the ‘private’, and by the spatiality of the library itself. We demonstrate these complications in the context of changes to the sleeping policy in the Edmonton Public Library in Alberta, Canada (2014–2015).

Even though libraries don’t “sell” things for money, we still want customers “buying” into us by using our materials and services. In this column, Tina Thomas shows how merchandising and following the lead of for-profit businesses has increased circulation at the Edmonton Public Library.—Editors

Adopted in the late 1930s, the Library Bill of Rights grounded the profession in the core value of intellectual freedom. This core value was challenged in the 1930s, the 1960s, the 1990s, and again in recent years by calls for social responsibility within our ranks. The re-occurrent discomfort with upholding intellectual freedom is particularly evident today in the case of public library third party meeting room bookings by controversial speakers. Both the Toronto Public Library and the Vancouver Public Library (as well as the Edmonton Public Library for lending its support) have come under scrutiny by both specific voices within the field as well as the community more broadly. This is not the first time, nor will it be the last time, that publicly funded libraries are faced with controversy surrounding intellectual freedom. Using critical information theory, this presentation examines important questions: How is intellectual freedom defined, redefined and confined today? What is the relationship between the core value of intellectual freedom and sister core values such as social responsibility, diversity and democracy? How do we uphold professional ethics (e.g., IFLA Code for Librarians and Other Information Workers) in instances when our personal, professional, institutional and/or association commitments do not align? As a 2019-20 SLIS research assistant, these questions are rooted in my ongoing academic explorations with Dr. Samek of the nature and extent LIS curricula (for both professionals and paraprofessionals) prepares graduates to negotiate the perpetually complicated core value of intellectual freedom from a position of confidence, and not fear, defensiveness or divisiveness.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to elaborate the long tail of topical search queries, including the influence of current events, posed to a large, urban public library discovery system. Design/methodology/approach Search queries from the months of June, July, August and September 2014 (1,488,339 total queries) were collected from the Edmonton Public Library’s BiblioCommons database using Google Analytics and exported to Excel. The data were then analyzed using descriptive statistics, frequency counts and textual analysis to explicate the long tail of search, (including the most popular searches) and to explore the relationship between topical search queries and current events. Findings The findings support the long tail theory, as the aggregate tail of topical search queries comprised the vast majority of the total searches and current events exert some influence on the nature and frequency of topical searches. Research limitations/implications Data collection was limited to four months of the year; thus, comparisons across the year cannot be made. There are practical implications for public libraries in terms of marketing and collections, as well as for improving catalogue functionality, to support user search behaviour. Originality/value Not much research attention has been focused on the nature of topical search queries in public libraries compared to academic libraries and the Web. The findings contribute to developing insight into the divergent interests of intergenerational public library users and the topics of materials they are searching for.

This paper presents the findings of an environmental scan conducted as part of a Digital Exhibits Intern Librarian Project at the Edmonton Public Library in 2016. As part of the Library’s 2016–2018 Business Plan objective to define the vision for a digital exhibits service, this research project aimed to understand the current landscape of digital displays in learning institutions globally. The resulting study consisted of 39 structured interviews with libraries, museums, galleries, schools, and creative design studios. The environmental scan explored the technical infrastructure of digital displays, their user groups, various uses for the technologies within organizational contexts, the content sources, scheduling models, and resourcing needs for this emergent service. Additionally, broader themes surrounding challenges and successes were also included in the study. Despite the variety of approaches taken among learning institutions in supporting digital displays, the majority of organizations have expressed a high degree of satisfaction with these technologies.

PurposeThis paper aims to discuss traditional conceptions of information literacy as created within an academic context to address information needs within this context. It seeks to present alternative realities of information use outside the academic sector, and to suggest that information literacy instruction within academia does not go far enough in preparing students for the information society beyond university. The aim is then to follow this by discussion of appropriate information literacy models to prepare young people for information use in a variety of workplace environments.Design/methodology/approachAs an example of the application of appropriate information literacy models for successful workplace information use, the Edmonton Social Planning Council youth internship program is examined through a case study of two successful internship projects.FindingsThis youth internship program provides young people with skills that are highly relevant to their information environment outside the academic sector. It provides them with a framework for interacting with information that can be applied in any academic or non‐academic setting in which they find themselves.Practical implicationsThe program described could serve as inspiration for other public, private or nonprofit organizations to collaborate on similar initiatives. It also serves to remind academic librarians of core information best practices that must be conveyed through library instruction if students are to become good information citizens.Originality/valueWhile information literacy instruction receives much attention in the academic sphere, it is necessary to take a broader view of information use throughout the lifetime of information users and the instruction required to prepare students adequately. The paper focuses on these issues.

In the last 30 years, the town of Tresigallo has to come to terms with the legacy of its dissonant heritage. The rediscovery of its history happened gradually. It began in 1985 with the organization of conferences that encouraged a public debate about its founder Edmondo Rossoni, a minister during the fascist era, and the buildings he commissioned in Tresigallo. The town's historical and architectural value, in that its unique identity in relationship with a denied past, had to be first recognized at a community level. Public administration's take-over has not always granted the protection of these rationalist structures: some demolitions happened even in the early 2000s. Between late 1980s and 2000s, an increasing number of architects, local historians, photographers, and artists became interested in the town’s history due to its almost wholly preserved 1930s architectural and urban features. Restoration works and raising research on rationalist architecture have pointed out that the town should be considered a cultural asset to be preserved and valued. This paper examines some urban regeneration projects undertaken by the public administration, such as the former G.I.L. (Gioventù Italiana del Littorio) being converted into a public library and Public Baths made into an exhibition space. It also investigates the touristic and cultural development of the territory through the organization of cultural events and the use of social media.

The article provides an overview of the works of E. De Amicis published in Russian and stored in the collections of the Fundamental Library of the Herzen State Pedagogical University. Most of the publications contain certain book signs, by which you can find out the history of the existence of each copy and trace the path of their entry into the library. The books of E. De Amicis were very popular, therefore they were present in almost every library oriented to the children’s readership: libraries of state institutions (for example, the library of employees in the Ministry of Finance, the library for employees of the State Bank) and various educational institutions (schools, colleges, institutes), public children’s libraries and personal collections. Recommendations for the purchase of books by E. De Amicis for reading to children came from both official departments of the Ministry of Public Education and specialists in children’s literature as part of various indexes and on the pages of periodicals. The main attention is paid to translations and editions of the most popular story “Cuore”, as well as editions of individual stories extracted from it. Their number was difficult to name already at the beginning of the 20 th century.

In the inaugural Spotlight on Music Collections column, Carolyn Doi interviews Raquel Mann, Digital Public Spaces Librarian at the Edmonton Public Library. In this interview, Mann speaks about the EPL's “Capital City Records: Edmonton Local Music” digital public space, as well as “Voices of Amiskwaciy”, a space for sharing and celebrating local Indigenous content, “Edmonton Stories: A Canada 150 Digital Storytelling Project” and “Open Data at EPL”.

This paper presents the findings of the community consultation and research conducted as part of the Digital Exhibits Intern Librarian Project at the Edmonton Public Library in 2016. The research project aimed to understand the local context for a new technology service in Edmonton, including the capacity for content creation and partnership among community organizations aligned with the Library’s mission. The study consisted of a survey and a series of semi-structured interviews. Findings include identification of various audiences and topics for digital projects, prioritization of Library and community partner roles in digital project collaborations, and identification of major components of digital exhibits as areas of project management workflows. Cet article présente les résultats d'une recherche et d'une consultation communautaire menées dans le cadre du Digital Exhibits Intern Librarian Project de la bibliothèque publique d'Edmonton en 2016. Ce projet de recherche visait à mieux comprendre le contexte local pour un nouveau service technologique à Edmonton qui comprend la capacité de créer du contenu et d'établir des partenariats avec des organismes communautaires alignés à la mission de la bibliothèque. Un sondage et une série d'entrevues semi-dirigées ont été utilisés lors de cette étude. Les résultats incluent l'identification de divers auditoires et sujets pour des projets numériques, la priorisation des rôles de la bibliothèques et des partenaires communautaires au sein des projets numériques collaboratifs, et l'identification de principales composantes des expositions numériques en tant que déroulement de projet.

This paper presents an overview of the design, implementation, and findings of an exploratory project to evaluate customer experience at Edmonton Public Library (EPL). The EPL Intern Librarian Project had three objectives: to establish the current state of customer experience at EPL, identify pain points, and develop recommendations for improvement. The study used the ethnographic methods of Customer Journey Mapping and Service Blueprinting to directly engage with customers and staff to produce visual documents reflecting respondents’ customer experience at EPL. In order to gather data for Customer Journey Maps, participants were simultaneously observed and interviewed as they completed different activities in the library. During the creation of the Journey Maps, pain points were identified. Interactive focus groups and interviews with EPL staff members unpacked pain points and informed the creation of corresponding Service Blueprints. Based on the findings, a number of recommendations were proposed to improve the customer experience including enhanced digital wayfinding,clearly identifiable catalogue stations, and revised website FAQs. Suggestions for applying these methods include the use of multiple techniques for participant recruitment, focusing on specific library activities, and actively promoting the project internally.

This paper reports on an investigation of user queriessubmitted to the Edmonton Public Library discoverysystem to identify seasonal and temporal queries.Using Google Analytics data and text analysis tools,this study examines how user queries change overtime, particularly during summer months, weekdaysand weekends.Cette étude rend compte d’une enquête sur lesrequêtes d’utilisateurs soumises au système derecherche de la Bibliothèque publique d’Edmontondans le but d’identifier les requêtes qui sontsaisonnières et marquées par le temps. Nous avonsutilisé les outils d’analyse de données et de texte deGoogle Analytics pour examiner la façon dont lesrequêtes des utilisateurs changent au fil du temps, enparticulier pendant les mois d’été, en semaine etpendant les fins de semaine.

The policy brief is an instrument that can be used both in the workplace and in educational settings to tie knowledge to a call for action. This paper reflects on an MLIS candidate’s experience of creating a policy brief to call on school libraries to become key players in promoting peaceful societies. This paper outlines the context in which the policy brief was created, offers a reflection on the learning experience of writing a policy brief, and includes the policy brief itself. The brief begins by contextualizing a particular public school board, Edmonton Public Schools (EPS) in Canada, as one whose policies aim to serve a diverse population. Canada is a multicultural nation with the highest population growth of the G7 countries and immigration accounting for two-thirds of that growth. This paper argues that the library, with social justice values at its core, is well situated to enable EPS to move toward such a vision, but that current EPS policy has not protected libraries. The brief argues that EPS should commit to ensuring that every school has a library, staffed with an LIS-trained teacher-librarian. The overarching goal of the brief is to demonstrate that school libraries can become a hub for global citizenship that facilitates and spearheads a drive for social justice in Edmonton’s children and youth—the leaders of tomorrow.

The Government of Canada identifies numeracy as a foundational skill for work, learning, and life. Libraries have historically been champions of literacy; however, the role of libraries in developing numeracy skills is understudied. Specifically, there is a critical gap in studying numeracy programs offered by public libraries. This exploratory study examines the state of numeracy programming at five major urban public libraries in Canada (Calgary Public Library, Edmonton Public Library, Bibliothèques de Montréal, Ottawa Public Library, and Toronto Public Library) to understand the types and varieties of numeracy programs that they offer. The frequency of programs, the intended age range, and the program content are the main foci of this paper. The researchers examined 1166 program listings by scraping programming information from the five libraries’ websites. The data was collected for the second week of December 2015 and relied on programming descriptions from libraries' websites. Results showed that a total of 65 programs (5.6% of total programs) covered numeracy related skills. Overall, the options to learn about numeracy concepts were very limited at all of the libraries in the sample. Calgary offered the highest number of children-focused numeracy programs, while Toronto offered the greatest number of adult-focused numeracy programs. “Math/mathematics” was the most common term used to describe numeracy-related programs. This exploratory study underscores the need for greater investigation of numeracy programming in public libraries.

This issue’s installment of News, Awards, and Announcements is shorter than usual for a few reasons. Firstly, many of the world’s book awards were announced in the previous issue and there seems to be a bit of a lull between the excitement of awards, the concentrated reading time of summer, and the calls for award submissions in the early fall. Secondly, we have to admit that Canada’s beautiful springtimes may be the only season where even avid book readers are distracted by the weather - summer, fall, and winter are definitely reading seasons but spring beckons us outdoors (hmm, I wonder if anyone has researched “reading seasons”...).Illustrator-in-residence at Edmonton Public Library - Apply now!www.ibby-canada.orgCall for submissions - Illustrator-in-residence at Edmonton Public Library.Although the deadline is nigh, there might still be time to get your application together to spend October 2016 engaging library patrons in art activities. The residency is funded by the family of Joanne Fitzgerald (1956-2011) and administered by IBBY Canada (INternational Board on Books for Young Peoplewww.ibby-canada.org/2016-joanne-fitzgerald-illustrator-in-residence-program/Canadian Children’s Book Centre Author-Illustrator Directorybookcentre.caDo you know about the CCBC’s “Author & Illustrator” directory? It allows you to search artists by a number of criteria such as craft, genre, curriculum links, province, booking availability, and grade level. For example, a search of Alberta YA authors in the vicinity of my postal code brings up profiles of Jim Sellers and Marty Chan with their publications, genres, websites, and a description of the workshops they offer. Strangely, however, there are mysteries in the search results. Although the full index shows more than 150 entries, choosing categories in the profile browser seems to display a maximum of six even when choosing “all” from the drop down menus. If you are an artist, becoming a CCBC Professional Creator Member allows you to add your profile.Festival of Trees 2016 - Ontario Library Associationhttp://forestfestivaloftrees.ca/If you are a spur-of-the-moment type person, you might have time to get to the Festival of Trees - a “rock concert” for readers. The culminating event for Ontario’s Forest of Trees reading program, the activities take place in London (May 13), Toronto (May 17&18 for English, May 19 for French), and Sault St. Marie (May 27). Happy Spring,David Sulz, Communications Editor (outgoing)David is a Public Services Librarian at University of Alberta. He is liaison librarian to Religious Studies, Economics, and Social Work as well as international liaison for China. He has university studies in Library Studies, History, Education, Asian Studies, Japanese language, and Economics which he’s used in various settings including teaching in schools and museums. His interests include several forms of physical activity, music, home improvements, and things Japanese.

Chan, Marty. Fire and Glass. Richmond Hill, ON: Clockwise Press, 2016. Print.Kristina Mah finds herself in an unenviable situation at the start of grade nine: her father has abruptly abandoned Kristina and her mother, and they are forced to move from the familiarity of the suburbs to a small inner-city apartment. The transition to her new school takes some time - it’s old, rundown and all the students are addicted to their phones - but eventually she finds a new friend in Dylan, her grade’s resident iconoclast who cares little for social norms. Just when her life seems to be acquiring some semblance of normalcy, things take a turn at Mackenzie King School. After confirming with Dylan that the spooky interactive white board images are not merely a figment of her imagination, the pair further explore the school and accidentally free an evil Djinn into the halls. Kristina and Dylan’s ensuing adventures revolve around saving their families and school from this spirit.Fire and Glass is Marty Chan’s 15th book, and follows up his work on the Ehrich Weisz Chronicles series. As a radio presenter, playwright and self-anointed “professional liar”, Chan’s multiple talents have led to a distinguished profile in the Edmonton community. Fire and Glass kicks off a new series, Keepers of the Vault, which Chan is writing specifically with reluctant readers in mind. The action begins quickly, the plot is fast-paced, and the humour hits the mark; all in all, Fire and Glass is well positioned to re-engage junior high students with reading.Chan is adept at bridging the reality-fantasy gap by equipping his characters with modern technologies that help them to solve ancient, fantastical problems. While at times the suspense in Fire and Glass seems slightly contrived, later pages offer enough compelling spookiness and mystery to keep the reader intrigued. With a cliffhanger ending, fans will be eagerly anticipating the next entry in the series. Short paragraphs and chapters make this title an attractive choice for struggling readers, though its reach will extend to fantasy fans.Recommended: 3 Stars out of 3 Reviewer: Kyle MarshallReviewer biography: Kyle Marshall is the Assessment & Research Librarian for Edmonton Public Library. He graduated with his MLIS from the University of Alberta in June 2015, and is passionate about diversity in children's and youth literature.

Greetings everyone! Welcome to another issue and a round-up of children’s literature news. It has been a long and cold winter in Edmonton, but it seems to be finally winding down. There are some award and event news to share with you as well as some podcasts. I happen to be a big podcast lover and and my favourite ones help me get through the winter darkness with insightful ideas and discussions. It thought it would be fun to highlight a few children’s literature podcasts that may interest our readers. Here’s wishing you all a warm spring! AWARDS Alberta Literary Awards were announced by the Writers’ Guild of Alberta. The books shortlisted for the R. Ross Annett Award for Children’s Literature include: Jenny Keith (Edmonton) – Day Cat, Night Cat Mike Kerr (Calgary) – Crafty Llama Nhung Tran-Davies (Calmar) – Ten Cents a Pound Shortlist reading events will be held this spring in Edmonton on May 5 and in Calgary on May 15. The BC Book Prize shortlists have been announced, and titles shortlisted for the Sheila A. Egoff Children’s Literature Prize include: Learning to Breathe by Janice Lynn Mather The Journey Forward, A Novella on Reconciliation: When We Play Our Drums, They Sing! / Lucy and Lola by Monique Gray Smith and Richard Van Camp Nice Try, Jane Sinner by Lianne Oelke No Fixed Address by Susin Nielsen Very Rich by Polly Horvath Those shortlisted for the Christie Harris Illustrated Children’s Literature Prize include: The Nameless City: The Divided Earth by Faith Erin Hicks, Robert Bateman: The Boy Who Painted Nature by Margriet Ruurs Illustrated by Robert Bateman, Sir Simon: Super Scarer by Cale Atkinson; Sparks! by Ian Boothby Illustrated by Nina Matsumoto Sterling, Best Dog Ever by Aidan Cassie Full details can be found at the BC Book Prize Website. EVENTS Me and Mr. Carnegie: 16th Albert Lahmer Memorial Lecture The Osborne Collection of Early Children's Books, Lillian H. Smith Branch, Toronto Public Library April 25, 2019, 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm See more at: Canadian Children’s Book Centre CHILDREN’S AND YA PODCASTS YA Write Every month, Amy Mathers talks to YA writers about their inspiration as a writer and their latest books. Picturebooking A Podcast About Creating and Sharing Picture Books The Yarn A narrative adventure. The Yarn takes listeners behind the scenes of children's literature, and lets them look at all the threads that must be weaved together to create a book. The Children’s Book Podcast Hosted by Matthew Winner, elementary school librarian and co-founder of All The Wonders. The Children's Book Podcast features insightful and sincere interviews with authors, illustrators, and everyone involved in taking a book from a drawing board to bookshelf. Books Between A podcast about books for tweens around the ages 8-12. The podcast offers trending topics, author interviews, and recommendations.

Greetings all,It has been a long winter in the Edmonton Area so we are very happy to be welcoming spring weather and warm temperatures! This issue’s news items are a bit of a mixed bag of recaps and award announcements:Recap of TD Canadian Children’s Book Week & Lana Button TD Canadian Children’s Book Week was held May 5-12 across Canada. Events across the country featured 400 readings to 28,000 children in 175 communities. At the University of Alberta we featured Lana Button on May 9th for a presentation, showcasing her newest picture book, My Teacher’s Not Here! To read more about Lana Button check out the UAlberta Library Blog: Library News. To read more about other Book Week events see: http://bookweek.ca/CCBC AGMCanadian Children’s Book Centre is holding its Annual General Meeting 2018 on June 14, 2018. This year’s guest speaker is veteran publisher Jim Lorimer. CCBC members and the general public are welcome to attend.WHEN: Thursday, June 14, 2018 at 6:30 pmWHERE: Room 200, Northern District Library40 Orchard View Blvd.Toronto, Ontario The American Library Association Announces Youth Medal Awards for 2018 The annual ALA Medal Awards for 2018 were announced in February. Notable award winners were as follows:John Newbery Medal for the most outstanding contribution to children’s literature: Hello, Universe written by Erin Entrada KellyRandolph Caldecott Medal for the most distinguished American picture book for children: Wolf in the Snow illustrated and written by Matthew CordellCoretta Scott King Book Awards recognizing African American authors and illustrators of outstanding books for children and young adults: Piecing Me Together written by Renée WatsonMichael L. Printz Award for excellence in literature written for young adults: We Are Okay written by Nina LaCourStonewall Book Award – Mike Morgan & Larry Romans Children’s & Young Adult Literature Award given annually to English-language children’s and young adult books of exceptional merit relating to the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender experience: Little & Lion written by Brandy Colbert and The 57 Bus written by Dashka SlaterFor a full description of all award winners see the announcement on the ALA website.Finally, as some food for thought I thought this article from the Family section of The New York Times (April 16, 2018) might be of interest to some our readers. Perri Klass, M.D. writes about how Reading Aloud to Young Children Has Benefits for Behavior and Attention.All the best for an enjoyable spring!Hanne PearceCommunications Editor

Brown, Don. Drowned City: Hurricane Katrina and New Orleans. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2015. OverDrive Read. Web. 21 Mar. 2016.While it wasn’t the “big one” that meteorologists had predicted for New Orleans, the havoc wreaked by Hurricane Katrina’s landfall on August 29th, 2005 was monstrous in proportion. Many will surely remember the news stories, but Drowned City gives the reader an as-it-happened view of the various hardships faced by the residents and rescuers. Stories from all walks of life are here - the heroic acts of residents with boats who saved their neighbours, the hospital patients kept alive by friends and family after generators lost power, the forced separation of pets from owners, and the trains and cargo ships turned away as a result of mishandled organizational efforts. Throughout the story, Brown subtly explores the racial politics of the event, including Gretna’s police force turning away displaced New Orleanians, and George W. Bush comfortably surveying the chaos and squalor in the city below from his private jet. Once the streets had drained, the dead were accounted for - all 1,833 of them.Drowned City has already been featured on year-end lists from Kirkus, School Library Journal and Publishers Weekly. Rather than approach the story with a harshly dogmatic invective, Brown’s compassionate, matter-of-fact prose exposes the situation for what it was - a catastrophe that impacted millions of lives, featuring both acts of heroism and gross incompetence. Matching the text are the author’s gritty watercolours, crafted with a muted palette that effectively sets the tone of the book. This combination is used to illustrate the struggles that dogged survivors: stifling heat and stench without the reprieve of air conditioning.New Orleans’ recovery story remains complex; though rejuvenated tourism spending far surpasses pre-Katrina levels, its African American populations have dropped significantly since the storm. Brown’s book evocatively captures the event that changed everything for this great city and is a prototypical example of the power of graphic novels for historical subjects. A must for library collections.Highly recommended: 4 out of 4 starsReviewer: Kyle MarshallKyle Marshall is the School-Aged Services Intern Librarian for Edmonton Public Library. He graduated with his MLIS from the University of Alberta in June 2015, and is passionate about diversity in children's and youth literature.

Oliveros, Jessie. The Remember Balloons. Illustrated by Dana Wulfekotte, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Children – Simon and Schuster, 2018 This beautifully written story tells of a young boy and his dear relationship with his aging Grandfather. Connected through balloons that hold memories and stories, the young boy notices his Grandfather begins to lose his balloons and eventually his memory, even of knowing his beloved grandson. Confused and upset, the young boy cannot understand why this is happening and tries in vain to save his Grandfather’s balloons. Saddened, the boy seeks his parent’s help whereby they show him that he now has a whole new set of balloons—his Grandfather’s. In acquiring these treasured memories, the young boy discovers a new way to be with his Grandfather through retelling him all his old stories. Illustrated in pencil sketch with minimal colour other than the varied and vibrant balloons, Oliveros speaks to children in a beautifully relatable manner about memories and stories and the connections to the people we cherish. It gently acknowledges the difficult changes in relationships as a loved one experiences the changes of aging and memory loss and guides the reader to find new ways to experience their stories and build new connections. The subtle acknowledgement of mixed-race families and friend groups also lends itself to a realistic and contemporary view of family and culture, further strengthening the relatability of this story to a wider readership. Recommended and appropriately written for ages 5-9 years, the book’s themes of keeping our memories close in our varied balloons and maintaining our connections with family even as relationships change, lends itself to a far greater age demographic. Highly recommended: 4 out of 4 stars Reviewer: Deanna Townsend Deanna Townsend is currently an Open Studies student and prospective graduate student with the Master of Library and Information Studies program at the University of Alberta. She is currently working in the Learning Commons/Library of an Elementary-Junior High School with Edmonton Public School Board. Her keen area of interest is in the transformation of school libraries/learning commons to modern, usable education spaces that inspire children to explore and learn beyond the classroom.

Russo, Meredith. If I Was Your Girl. Flatiron Books, 2016.At 18 years old, Amanda is taking a cautious approach to her new lease on life. Assigned the male gender at birth and named Andrew, Amanda endured bullying as a child and disappointment from a father who viewed his “son” as effeminate and ill-equipped to handle life’s challenges. Post-transition life in Atlanta wasn’t much easier, and a traumatic instance of violence led Amanda’s mother to decide to send Amanda to live with her father in small-town Tennessee. While the rural American South might not seem like an accepting environment for a transgender teen, Amanda is keeping her past sex a secret.As Amanda decides not to reveal her past to the Lambertville locals (known in the transgender community as going “stealth”), she starts to live the life of an average teenager for the first time. Her beauty attracts much attention from boys, and she finds friend groups with both the in crowd and social misfits - all of whom appear to be harbouring secrets of their own. As things get increasingly serious with her boyfriend Grant, Amanda grapples with sharing her own history.Russo’s debut novel depicts a round protagonist with whom all teens should be able to relate, on some level. As a trans woman herself, Russo deftly depicts teenage belonging and the politics of going stealth, while acknowledging that she intentionally chose a character that could easily “pass” to demonstrate the conflict. Moreover, the author’s note sends an inspirational message to trans youth that validates the uniqueness of their experience and the importance of self-love.Although Russo occasionally falls into YA romantic cliches, it’s not as though the genre is overflowing with romantic storylines featuring trans characters. If I Was Your Girl is a vital and timely addition to YA literature, and should have a place in every library for transgender, cisgender and non-binary teens alike to discover.Recommended: 3 stars out of 4Reviewer: Kyle MarshallKyle Marshall is the Planning, Assessment & Research Analyst for Edmonton Public Library. He graduated with his MLIS from the University of Alberta in June 2015, and is passionate about diversity in children's and youth literature.

Colleen, Marcie. Penguinaut. Scholastic, 2018. In the book Penguinaut, Marcie Colleen uses the story of a hopeful penguin to convey a message about adversity to young children. It is a story about a small penguin named Orville who overcomes challenges in order to achieve his big dream of going to space. Emma Yarlett’s illustrations are creative, entertaining, and fun. They help the reader understand just how small little Orville is in comparison to all of his other animal friends, reinforcing the idea that one should not be afraid of failure when achieving their dreams, despite any challenges they may face. It is evident that Marcie Colleen decided to use the style of text, paired with the illustrations, to help add enthusiasm, detail, and voice. The words “big” and “bigger” are in large capital letters, and sound effects are bolded. Speech bubbles are used for dialogue instead of quotation marks. The sentence “He was all alone” is accompanied by an illustration of stars in the dark outer space. And a picture of a note given to Orville by his friends to show their support is written in handwriting, including a hand-drawn picture. Penguinaut is a heart-warming book that offers lessons about adversity, resiliency, and friendship. Considering the length of the book, I believe there is room to explore these topics by including some additional detail to the story of Orville, the penguin. The messages this book conveys makes Penguinaut a good addition to an elementary school or public library. Recommended: 3 out of 4 starsReviewer: Erika Metcalfe Erika is a grade one/two teacher in Edmonton and is currently completing her Master of Education at the University of Alberta. When she is not teaching or studying, Erika is on the hunt for new books to read to her students!

Mike, Nadia. Viivi’s New Kamiks, illustrated by Ali Hinch, Inhabit Education, 2016. This delightful book is part of Iqaluit-based Inhabit Education’s Nunavummi Reading Series, a made-in-Nunavut approach to a levelled reading program which aligns to the curricular outcomes in Nunavut but also fits with more southerly educators’ needs to infuse daily activities with multiple perspectives including Inuit. The series is appropriate for lower elementary grades and provides both fiction and non-fiction titles ranging from level 4 (late kindergarten) to level 11 (grade 3) which build on readers’ skills as they move progressively from simple sentences to more complex short stories and informational texts. All titles in the series are written from an Arctic, and most often an Inuit, perspective. The titles are also levelled using the widely accepted Fountas & Pinnell Text Level Gradient to grade guided reading materials.Viivi’s New Kamiks, a Level 9 in the series, follows Viivi as she prepares for her ninth birthday. She is very excited and wants a pair of kamiks, traditional Inuit caribou and seal skin boots still worn in the North. Viivi needs to show her parents that she is responsible enough to own a pair of kamiks, as they require care. Can Viivi prove to her parents that she can care for these beautiful boots?This and other titles in the Nunavummi Series would be excellent additions to all elementary school libraries as well as school-based levelled reading programs. Highly recommended: 4 out of 4 starsReviewer: Debbie FeisstDebbie is a Public Services Librarian at the H.T. Coutts Education Library at the University of Alberta. When not renovating, she enjoys travel, practicing her Spanish language skills and the Edmonton amateur music scene.

Dawson, James. This Book is Gay. London: Hot Key Books, 2014. Print.As North American jurisdictions play host to battles over proposed sex education curricula, barriers to providing basic sexual health information to youth are becoming painfully evident. In the place of strong classroom instruction, many governments expect parents to engage in these conversations, but even progressive parents may feel inadequately prepared for discussing sex education with their LGBT children. Similar issues exist surrounding cultural identification and attainment; where most youth simply observe or take part in family and societal practices, queer youth must undertake greater lengths to self-educate and identify.Enter James Dawson’s publication, This Book is Gay, which serves as part sex education, part cultural information manual for all things LGBT. With strong credentials as a former teacher and YA author, Dawson also deployed an international survey and conducted interviews to add statistics and quotations that expand and diversify the experiences captured within the book. The book covers a vast array of topics complete with catchy chapter titles, including terminology (“The Name Game”), homophobia and transphobia (“The Fear” and “Haterz Gonna Hate”) and, a topic of interest to most LGBT teens, same sex education (“The Ins and Outs of Gay Sex”). Within these chapters is a balance of reader empowerment, stereotype dismantling, community building and jokes - lots of jokes - to keep the reader entertained and informed throughout. Adding to the levity and frankness of Dawson’s tone are illustrator Spike Gerrell’s ebullient comics (think lightning bolts retreating from a gonorrhea patient’s groin).An uplifting read that will inform and entertain all types of readers, I highly recommend This Book is Gay. The book does use certain colloquialisms native to Dawson’s United Kingdom, but these should serve as only very minor distractions - or even points of curiosity - to the non-British reader. This Book is Gay would work as a very thoughtful gift to a newly out or questioning teen, but there needs to be a place for it in every junior high and high school library. As a stand-in for a funny, frank and extremely knowledgeable older sibling, this book should do the trick.Highly Recommended: 4 out of 4 starsReviewer: Kyle MarshallKyle Marshall is the School-Aged Services Intern Librarian for Edmonton Public Library. He graduated with his MLIS from the University of Alberta in June 2015, and is passionate about diversity in children's and youth literature.

Bitskoff, Aleksei. Icky Mr. Fox and the Missing Friend. IckyPen Ltd, 2017. Vers. 19.0.1. Apple App Store, https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/missing-friend/id1236379583?mt=8. Age range: 0-5Price: $2.79.Also available in a Lite version with ads at no cost. This simple, quirky digital text takes children on a journey to rescue Mr. Mole from Icky Mr. Fox and builds early digital navigation and vocabulary skills. Children experience the story read aloud, with the text displayed on the screen along with charming illustrations. The app features some interactive elements. Many objects on the screen are clickable and the name of the object appears in writing and is spoken aloud. Other interactive elements include the ability to make the sun rise, turn lights on and off in a room, or move characters in one direction or another. The interactions are intuitive and young children should easily be able to identify the interactive features and navigate the interface. The app somewhat replicates the experience of reading a book, moving from screen to screen with the touch of an arrow. The illustrations are highly appealing, with adorable characters, painterly background illustrations and harmonious colour schemes. The tone of the illustrations and sounds is gentle and pleasing, and would not stretch the tolerance of parents for annoying levels of noise. The language and storyline are simple and lack creativity, but keep the interest of a child with a certain level of suspense. The app enables children to follow a story in sequence, to recognize the relationship between sound and text, and encourages them to build fine motor skills and touch-screen computer skills. Children touch the screen to make text and sound appear and swipe to make characters move. Children in the higher end of the age range may build early reading or text decoding skills through seeing and hearing words. The stated age range for the app is 0-5; children aged 2-5 would benefit most. This app is fun for both adults and children and is an engaging way for children to learn digital skills. Children can find more adventures featuring Icky Mr. Fox created by the same developers. Recommended: 3 out of 4 starsReviewer: Merran Carr-Wiggin Merran Carr-Wiggin’s experience at Edmonton Public Library includes positions as a Summer Programmer, in the Children’s Department, and at the Strathcona Branch. She is a candidate in the Master of Library and Information Studies program at the University of Alberta, and her work as an actor includes theatre for young audiences.

Autumn is not only a gloriously colourful time of the year, it is a time when a plethora of children’s book related events and awards take place. Just see what is happening in the next few months:IBBY: “Silent Books: Final Destination Lampedusa” travelling exhibit In response to the international refugee crisis that began last year, the Italian arm of the International Board on Books for Young People has launched a travelling picture-book exhibit to support the first children’s library on the island of Lampedusa, Italy where many African and Middle Eastern refugees are landing. After stops in Italy, Mexico, and Austria, the exhibit is currently touring Canada. It premiered in Edmonton at the Stanley A. Milner Library in August. Next are three Vancouver locations: UBC Irving Barber Learning Centre (Oct. 1 to 23), Vancouver Public Library central branch (Oct. 8 to 18), and the Italian Cultural Centre (Oct. 10 to 22). Then the North York Central Library in Toronto from Nov. 2 to Dec 11. Recognizing Lampedusa island’s cultural diversity, the exhibit comprises exclusively wordless picture books from 23 countries, including three from Canada:“Hocus Pocus” by Sylvie Desrosiers & Rémy Simard’s (Kids Can Press), “Ben’s Big Dig” by Daniel Wakeman and Dirk van Stralen’s(Orca Book Publishers)“Ben’s Bunny Trouble” also by Wakeman and van Stralen (Orca Book Publishers). Other books are drawn from an honour list selected by a jury of experts from the 2015 Bologna Children’s Book Fair including Ajubel’s “Robinson Crusoe” (Spain), Ara Jo’s “The Rocket Boy”(Korea), and Madalena Matoso’s “Todos Fazemos Tudo” (Switzerland), among others. The full catalogue can be viewed online.TD Canadian Children’s Book Week.Next year’s TD Canadian Children’s Book Week will take place from May 7-14, 2016. Thirty Canadian children’s authors, illustrators and storytellers will be touring across Canada visiting schools, libraries, bookstores and community centres. Visit the TD Book Week site (www.bookweek.ca) to find out who will be touring in your area and the types of readings and workshops they will be giving. If your school or library is interested in hosting a Book Week visitor, you can apply online starting in mid-October.Shakespeare Selfie CBC Books will once again be running the Shakespeare Selfie writing challenge in April 2016. Shakespeare took selfies all the time but instead of a camera, he used a quill. And instead of calling them "selfies," they were called "soliloquies."The challenge: Write a modern-day soliloquy or monologue by a Shakespearean character based on a prominent news, pop culture or current affairs event from the last year (April 2015-April 2016). It can be in iambic pentameter or modern syntax with a word count from 200 to 400 words. There are two age categories: Grades 7-9 and 10-12. Details at: http://www.cbc.ca/books/2015/10/the-2016-shakespeare-selfie-writing-challenge-for-students.html Awards:The winners of this year’s Canadian Jewish Literary Awards, celebrating Jewish literature and culture in Canada, have been announced. Amongst the nine awards is one for Youth Literature which was awarded to Suri Rosen for “Playing with Matches” (ECW Press). See all the award winners here: http://www.cjlawards.ca/.The Canadian Children's Book Centre administers several awards including the TD Canadian Children’s Literature Award, the Marilyn Baillie Picture Book Award, the Monica Hughes Award for Science Fiction and Fantasy and the Norma Fleck Award for Canadian Children’s Non-Fiction. This year’s winners will be announced on November 18, 2015. http://www.bookcentre.ca/awardThe Fitzhenry Family Foundation has revealed the winners of its Lane Anderson Awards for the best Canadian science books published in the previous year. Selections are made based on a title’s pertinence to science in today’s world and the author’s ability to relate scientific issues to everyday life. Prolific Halifax kids’ science writer L.E. Carmichael was awarded the YA prize for “Fuzzy Forensics: DNA Fingerprinting Gets Wild” (Ashby-BP Publishing), about using forensic science to fight crimes against animals. Uxbridge, Ontario–based environmental journalist Stephen Leahy received the adult prize for “Your Water Footprint” (Firefly Books), which examines human usage of the valuable natural resource. http://laneandersonaward.ca/The Edmonton Public Library has named Sigmund Brouwer (author and Rock & Roll Literacy Show host) as the winner (by public vote) of Alberta Reader’s Choice Award. Sigmund’s “Thief of Glory” (WaterBrook Press) is about a young boy trying to take care of his family in the aftermath of the 1942 Japanese Imperialist invasion of the Southeast Pacific. The prize awards $10,000 to an Alberta-based author of a work of excellent fiction or narrative non-fiction. http://www.epl.ca/alberta-readers-choiceHarperCollins Canada, the Cooke Agency, and the University of British Columbia have announced the shortlist of the annual HarperCollins Publishers/UBC Prize for Best New Fiction awarded to students and alumni of UBC’s creative writing program, and offers the winner literary representation by the Cooke Agency and a publishing contract with HarperCollins Canada.“Between the Wind and Us” by Iranian-Canadian writer Nazanine Hozar, the story of a young abandoned girl set during the political unrest of 1953–1979 Iran.“Learning to Breathe” by B.C.-based Janice Lynn Mather, a young adult novel about a Caribbean teenager’s struggle to establish herself in a new city and home life.“At The Top of the Wall, Alight” by Sudbury, Ontario, author Natalie Morrill, which follows a Viennese Jew separated from his family during the Second World War. An early version of this novel was previously nominated for the award.Novelist and University of Guelph writing professor, Thomas King, and L.A.-based author, graphic novelist, and musician, Cecil Castellucci, have been named winners of this year’s Sunburst Awards for excellence in Canadian literature of the fantastic. Castellucci won in the YA category for “Tin Star” (Roaring Brook/Raincoast), the first novel in a planned series about a teenager who struggles to survive parent-less in a space station where she is the only human, and which played scene to a brutal assault that haunts her memory. King won in the adult category for his novel “The Back of the Turtle” (HarperCollins Canada), for which he also received a Copper Cylinder Award from the Sunburst Society last week. The book follows a First Nations scientist who finds himself torn after he’s sent to clean up the ecological mess his company has left on the reserve his family grew up on.Be sure to save October 28th on your calendar for the GG book awards announcement. Of course, “GG” stands for Governor-General. The short lists can be viewed here:http://ggbooks.ca/books/. There are categories in both English and French for both children’s text and illustration books.Online ResourcesPodcast: Yegs and Bacon: Episode 22: the full audio from our recent Indigenous Representation in Popular Culture panel. In the audio, you’ll be hearing from (in order of first vocal appearance) Brandon, who introduces the panelists, James Leask, Richard Van Camp, Kelly Mellings, and Patti Laboucane-Benson. Recorded on Monday, September 28th, 2015. http://variantedmonton.com/category/yegs-and-bacon/European Picture Book Collection: The EPBC was designed to help pupils to find out more about their European neighbours through reading the visual narratives of carefully chosen picture books. Here you can find out about how the project began, the theoretical papers that have been presented on European children's literature, and how the materials were initially used in schools. http://www.ncrcl.ac.uk/epbc/EN/index.aspMore next time around,Yours in stories, Gail de VosGail de Vos is an adjunct professor who teaches courses on Canadian children's literature, young adult literature, and comic books & graphic novels at the School of Library and Information Studies (SLIS) at the University of Alberta. She is the author of nine books on storytelling and folklore. Gail is also a professional storyteller who has taught the storytelling course at SLIS for over two decades.

New Year. In this edition of the news I am highlighting several online resources as well as conferences, tours, and exhibits of possible interest.First of all, I highly suggest you sign up at the Alberta School Library Council's new LitPicks site (aslclitpicks.ca). It is free, filled with promise, and includes only books recommended by the reviewers. The reviews are searchable by grade level and genre (e.g., animal, biographical fable, fantasy, humour, historical, horror, verse, realistic, mystery, myth) and include all formats. The reviews include curriculum connections and links to relevant resources. Library staff review titles based on engagement of story, readability, descriptive language, illustration excellence and integrity of data, and source for non-fiction titles. The target users are teachers, teacher-librarians, library techs, and others working in libraries. School library cataloguers can provide a link to the review from within the catalogue record.Another recommended resource is CanLit for Little Canadians, a blog that focuses on promoting children's and YA books by Canadian authors and illustrators. The blog postings can also be found on Facebook. (http://canlitforlittlecanadians.blogspot.ca/)First Nation Communities READ is another resource for your tool box. It is an annual reading program launched in 2003 by the First Nations public library community in Ontario and includes titles that are written and/or illustrated by (or otherwise involve the participation of) a First Nation, Métis, or Inuit creator and contain First Nation, Métis, or Inuit content produced with the support of First Nation, Métis, or Inuit advisers/consultants or First Nation, Métis, or Inuit endorsement. Julie Flett's Wild Berries - Pakwa Che Menisu, available in both English and Cree, was the First Nation Communities Read Selection for 2014-2015 and the inaugural recipient of the Periodical Marketers of Canada Aboriginal Literature Award. (http://www.sols.org/index.php/develop-your-library-staff/advice-consulting/first-nations/fn-communities-read)This resource should also be of great value for those schools and libraries participating in TD Canadian Children’s Book Week in 2015. Each May, authors, illustrators and storytellers visit communities throughout the country to share the delights of Canadian children’s books. Book Week reaches over 25,000 children and teens in schools and libraries across Canada every year. The theme for this year is Hear Our Stories: Celebrating First Nations, Métis and Inuit Literature, celebrating the remarkable variety of topics, genres and voices being published by and about members of our First Nations, Métis and Inuit (FNMI) communities in Canada. On a personal note, I will be touring as a storyteller in Quebec as part of this year’s Book Week tour.Freedom to Read Week: February 22-28, 2015. This annual event encourages Canadians to think about and reaffirm their commitment to intellectual freedom, which is guaranteed them under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. This year’s Freedom to Read review marks the thirtieth anniversary of its publication and of Freedom to Read Week in Canada. It was first published in 1984 to explore the freedom to read in Canada and elsewhere and to inform and assist booksellers, publishers, librarians, students, educators, writers and the public. To commemorate Freedom to Read’s thirtieth anniversary, some of our writers have cast a look back over the past three decades. As usual, the review provides exercises and resources for teachers, librarians and students. This and previous issues of Freedom to Read, as well as appendices and other resources, are available at www.freedomtoread.ca.Half for you and Half for Me: Nursery Rhymes and Poems we Love. An exhibit on best-loved rhymes and poems and a celebration of the 40th anniversary of Alligator Pie held at the Osborne Collection in the Lillian H. Smith Library in Toronto until March 7, 2015.Serendipity 2015 (March 7, 2015). An exciting day exploring the fabulous world of young adult literature with Holly Black, Andrew Smith, Mariko Tamaki, Molly Idle, and Kelli Chipponeri. Costumes recommended! Swing Space Building, 2175 West Mall on the UBC campus. (http://vclr.ca/serendipity-2015/)For educators: Call for entries for the Martyn Godfrey Young Writers Award (YABS). An annual, juried contest open to all students in Alberta in grades 4 through 9. Students are invited to submit their short stories (500-1500 words) or comic book by March 31, 2015 to the YABS office, 11759 Groat Road, Edmonton, AB, T5M 3K6. Entries may also be emailed to info@yabs.ab.ca.Breaking News: The Canada Council for the Arts has revised the Governor General’s Literary Awards Children’s Literature categories (in consultation with the literary community) in the wake of controversy regarding graphic novels. The revised category titles and definitions:The new Children’s Literature – Illustrated Books category will recognize the best illustrated book for children or young adults, honouring the text and the illustrations as forming one creative work. It includes picture books and graphic novels, as well as works of fiction, literary non-fiction, and poetry where original illustrations occupy at least 30% of the book’s space.The Children’s Literature – Text category will recognize the best book for children or young adults with few (less than 30%) or no illustrations. http://www.bookcentre.ca/news/governor_general%E2%80%99s_literary_awards_revisions_children%E2%80%99s_literature_categoriesGail de Vos, an adjunct instructor, teaches courses on Canadian children's literature, Young Adult Literature and Comic Books and Graphic Novels at the School of Library and Information Studies for the University of Alberta and is the author of nine books on storytelling and folklore. She is a professional storyteller and has taught the storytelling course at SLIS for over two decades.

Foley, Jessie Ann. The Carnival at Bray. Ashford, CT: Elephant Rock Books, 2014. Print.Amidst the grunge scene of 1993 Chicago, 16 year-old Maggie Lynch moves with her family to Ireland to live with her mother’s newest romantic partner. This transition from the relative anonymity of big-city life to a small town on the Irish Sea presents some adjustment issues for Maggie. The weather, scenery and accents all differ from back home, but most of all she misses her beloved Uncle Kevin, with his rock star ambitions and habit of quoting famous literature. Eventually, Maggie finds a small circle of friends in Bray - bookish and disciplined classmate Aíne, sweetly charming Eoin and pious nonagenarian Dan Sean - who help her to weather the storms of drama circling her volatile family life.When she stumbles upon a message from the past, Maggie is jolted from her everyday teenage anxieties to a more pressing adventure, taking her on a whirlwind trip to the continent. Along the way, she finds the love and happiness that have eluded her since her move to Ireland. Maggie’s experiences culminate in a newfound confidence that permits her to live with the intention and purpose she has sought.Jessie Ann Foley received a 2015 Printz Honor for this classic coming-of-age story, with intensely evocative storytelling that brings to life both the time - early 90s grunge music culture - and place - small town Ireland. The Carnival at Bray sets itself apart from other Irish settings in that the reader experiences the countryside from the fresh perspective of a young, untraveled American teen who is enamoured with the light, sea and bucolic landscapes that surround her. Foley tackles popular YA themes - teenage sex, parent-child relationships and drug addiction - with a candid yet tactful style that respects her audience’s maturity. If anything, the strength of her writing might leave the reader craving a more thorough exploration of Maggie’s relationships, which at points are incompletely examined. Foley’s story will appeal to grunge music enthusiasts and fans of coming-of-age novels, especially those who have enjoyed works by Jandy Nelson or Rainbow Rowell.Recommended: 3 out of 4 starsReviewer: Kyle MarshallKyle Marshall is the School-Aged Services Intern Librarian for Edmonton Public Library. He graduated with his MLIS from the University of Alberta in June 2015, and is passionate about diversity in children's and youth literature.

Williams Beckhorn, Susan. The Wolf’s Boy. Disney-Hyperion, 2016.Shortly after he is born, Kai’s parents discover his clubfoot and decide to abandon him to a pack of nearby wolves. Rather than become a meal for the wolves, they care for him until his mother comes to reclaim him to a human upbringing. Yet still, Kai’s childhood in the human village is not exactly easy for someone whose foot is considered to have made him tabat (cursed). He is dogged by taunts from his peers, who call him “Wolfboy”, and reproaches from his father, who is quietly ashamed of his son’s perceived limitations. Banned from taking part in hunting, Kai toils doing children’s work and harbours a secret artistic streak. His loneliness is eventually placated when he adopts a local wolf club (Uff) but, eventually, their existence in the village becomes untenable and Kai sets out with Uff on a dangerous adventure of self-discovery. Along the way, they learn to hunt, meet a giant Ice Man and develop a friendship that is believed to be impossible between humans and wolves.The Wolf’s Boy is Beckhorn’s second foray into prehistoric children’s fiction, following her 2006 novel Wind Rider. Here, she fashions a fairly complex story for young readers, with liberal usage of the villagers’ fictitious language that is seemingly unsupported with definitions (until the reader stumbles across the book’s glossary of term definitions). These challenges, however, will reward advanced readers looking to hone their reading skills on more advanced prose. Beckhorn quickly departs from The Wolf Boy’s familiar Jungle Book beginnings to establish the novel as a memorable work in its own right, and she uses beautiful, descriptive language to tackle bullying, promote body diversity and even explore the ancient beginnings of humans’ fears of “otherness”.Given Beckhorn’s success at using a prehistoric setting to illustrate the depth and genesis of human relationships with animals, it’s almost surprising that authors have not mined this territory consistently before. With certain appeal for children interested in prehistory, dogs and survival stories, The Wolf’s Boy will reward strong readers.Recommended: 3 out of 4 starsReviewer: Kyle MarshallReviewer biography: Kyle Marshall is the Planning, Assessment & Research Analyst for Edmonton Public Library. He graduated with his MLIS from the University of Alberta in June 2015, and is passionate about diversity in children's and youth literature.

Silverberg, Cory and Fiona Smyth. Sex is a Funny Word: A Book about Bodies, Feelings, and YOU. New York: Seven Stories Press, 2015. Print.“Having a penis isn’t what makes you a boy. Having a vulva isn’t what makes you a girl. The truth is much more interesting than that!”In a watershed year for transgender activism, Cory Silverberg and Fiona Smyth have broken ground with their trans-inclusive sex education book Sex is a Funny Word. This new release follows a cast of four 8-10 year old kids, including gender queer Zai, as they learn about and explore that strange and funny word - sex. Throughout the book, Smyth’s illustrations employ bright, opaque and high-contrast colours to great effect, and readers are exposed to characters of wonderfully diverse abilities, races, shapes and sexualities.It is however reductive to merely draw attention to the diversity in Sex is a Funny Word, as a wide gamut of topics are discussed with age-appropriate aplomb, including anatomy, “touch” and relationships. Silverberg’s opening notes to adult readers provide tips for co-reading the book with children, explaining that the text is meant to be read over many sittings to aid comprehension and reflection. By bookending each chapter with interactive questions, readers identify and reflect on personal morals anchored in four concepts - trust, respect, joy and justice. These questions do the hard work for parents, who can defer to one of the lively and inquisitive characters for discussion points. Moreover, the only sexual activity mentioned in this book is masturbation, so even the most squeamish adult readers should feel comfortable co-reading Sex is a Funny Word.Sex is a Funny Word is the second of a three-part, age-specific sex education series written by Silverberg and illustrated by Smyth. Those with younger children can find reproduction discussed in What Makes a Baby, while intercourse will specifically be covered in the series’ next title. For a positive, fun and healthy introduction to these concepts, parents and librarians will be well-served by seeking out Sex is a Funny Word for their collection.Highly Recommended: 4 out of 4 starsReviewer: Kyle MarshallKyle Marshall is the School-Aged Services Intern Librarian for Edmonton Public Library. He graduated with his MLIS from the University of Alberta in June 2015, and is passionate about diversity in children's and youth literature.

Lai, Thanhha. Listen, Slowly. New York: HarperCollins Children’s Books, 2015. Print.Twelve year-old Mai wants nothing more for her summer vacation than to spend her days on the beach hanging out with her best friend, getting to know her first romantic crush. Instead, her parents expect Mai to chaperone her grandmother (Bà) on a return trip to Vietnam to uncover the secrets of her grandfather’s disappearance and death in “THE WAR” over 40 years ago. Despite being raised in a home that carried on some Vietnamese traditions, Mai’s parents could not have prepared her for the heat, mosquitoes or infrequent Internet access in her grandfather’s rural northern village. In a display of her preteen angst, Mai immediately starts counting down the days until she can return to the known comforts of life back home in California.With time, however, her language skills improve and she begins to form relationships in the community, particularly with Ut, a girl her age with a serious interest in frogs, and Minh, the local teenage translator with a Texan drawl he acquired through his international studies in the United States. In Mai’s ensuing journey she travels across Vietnam, from the rural rhythms of her ancestral village to the colonial splendour of Hanoi and the humid chaos of Ho Chi Minh City. The nation’s contrasts provide her with an unforgettable summer that far surpasses anything she could have imagined with her initial Laguna Beach plans.After receiving a 2011 National Book Award and 2012 Newbery Medal Honor for Inside Out and Back Again, Thanhha Lai’s second novel continues to explore Vietnamese-American experiences. In contrast to her first book’s focus on a refugee family’s journey, Listen, Slowly examines the frustrations of a second-generation American attempting to reconcile her Vietnamese cultural deficits. Mai’s path to settle within her bicultural identity is an experience familiar to thousands of children her age, who are raised in part with traditions from their parents’ country yet never fully feel immersed in that culture. In her protagonist, Lai has created a relatable character who eventually, and maybe reluctantly, shows capacity for adaptation and resilience in the face of adversity.Lai depicts a vibrant Vietnam with verdant landscapes and mouth-watering descriptions of the nation’s notoriously fresh cuisine. The novel’s humour generally hits the mark, including a hilarious passage of cultural colonialism in which Mai convinces young Vietnamese girls to transform their comfortable underwear to thongs. While the disruption of the story’s pace during philosophical Vietnamese translations might test the patience of young readers, this challenge will be welcomed by many. Overall, this story of adventure, family history and bicultural identity is one that should have a home in all school and public libraries.Recommended: 3 out of 4 StarsReviewer: Kyle MarshallKyle Marshall is the School-Aged Services Intern Librarian for Edmonton Public Library. He graduated with his MLIS from the University of Alberta in June 2015, and is passionate about diversity in children's and youth literature.

Chan, Arlene. Righting Canada’s Wrongs: The Chinese Head Tax and Anti-Chinese Immigration Policies in the Twentieth Century. Toronto: James Lorimer & Company Ltd., 2014. Print.This is a non-fiction book about the history of Chinese immigration and settlement in Canada. It takes the reader through a very long historical period that starts from the time the Chinese first stepped foot in Canada in the eighteenth century, through struggling under racial discrimination in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, to attaining redress and public apology as captured in the title “Righting Canada’s Wrongs”.The title suggests a very serious topic that may not appeal to some readers looking to read for pleasure. However, this is an excellent resource for students doing a school or family genealogy project, or for those with an inquisitive mind. Once the book is opened, the photographs will definitely catch the attention and spark the interest of the reader. The author has skillfully used over 200 rare archival and modern day photographs and real-life audio accounts to make this book into an educational and thought-provoking audio-visual historical document. The only drawback is that the reader has to go back and forth between reading the book and going online to listen to the audio. While the book gives a good account of Chinese Canadian history, it missed the struggles and successes of the Prairie Chinese whose experiences are well-captured in the rich collection of rare archival materials housed in the Bruce Peel Special Collections Library of the University of Alberta, the Glenbow Museum, and the Edmonton Archives.The first chapter introduces the reader to the story by providing a brief historical background. Young readers may not be familiar with the two Opium Wars, British Columbia joining the Canadian Confederation, the First and Second World Wars, and the Chinese head tax redress campaign. Therefore, it will be very helpful if these events can all be put into historical perspectives by specifying the year of occurrence. The back of the book contains valuable references, such as: a “Timeline” diagram, a Glossary, a list of suggested reading, a list of visual credits, and an index to aid the readers. The “Timeline” diagram effectively chronicles significant historical events relevant to the story being told. However, it is inaccurate to say that Hong Kong becomes a British Colony in 1898. Hong Kong is a general name to mean the Island of Hong Kong and its surrounding islets, the Kowloon Peninsula, and the New Territories. Historically, Hong Kong Island was ceded to Britain in 1842, the Kowloon Peninsula ceded in 1860, and the New Territories leased for 99 years from 1898 to 1997. A similar inaccuracy is in the caption for a photograph on page 52 taken in Kowloon. At that point in history, it was a British Colony and not a part of China. This book is more suitable for young readers of grade five and above. They will get more out of reading this book if they are guided by parents or teachers who can help them better understand and appreciate the complex issues and historical occurrences. Recommended: 3 out of 4 starsReviewer: Helen Kwan Yee CheungHelen Kwan Yee Cheung has a B.Soc.Sc. from the University of Hong Kong and an MA from the University of Alberta. She has a diverse background of business, social work, psychology, personnel, and intergovernmental relations, having worked in the provincial and federal public service for twenty-five years. She has curated an exhibition “Painted Faces on the Prairies” for the Bruce Peel Special Collections Library of the University of Alberta in 2014 and currently working on a second project about Chinese merchants in the Canadian West as the Library’s guest curator.

Awards, Announcements, and News HarperCollinsCanada announced that Sandy Nichols from Calgary, AB, was the winner of the Illustrate “Alligator Pie “Competition that launched in October 2013. Nichols’ proposal was the unanimous choice of the competition judges, who selected it from more than 60 entries. Nichols has officially signed on with HarperCollinsCanada to illustrate the special anniversary board book edition of Dennis Lee’s famous poem “Alligator Pie.” You may wish to follow Amy’s Marathon (and if so moved, contribute to her fund raiser as well). Amy Mathers’ goal is to raise money for the Canadian Children’s Book Centre (CCBC) to endow a Canadian teen book award to be presented at the yearly Canadian Children’s Literature Awards gala. Amy will collect fundraising pledges for which donors will receive a charitable tax receipt. As stated on her website: "Inspired by Terry Fox’s and Rick Hansen’s Canadian journeys, Amy Mathers decided to honour her passion for reading and Canadian teen literature while working around her physical limitations through a Marathon of Books. Realising that Terry Fox could run a kilometre in six minutes during his Marathon of Hope, she figured out that she could read ten pages in the same amount of time. Thus, on her journey, ten pages will represent one kilometre travelled across Canada. Amy will be reading teen fiction books from every province and territory, exploring Canada and promoting Canadian teen authors and books by finishing a book a day for each day of 2014. She will write a review for each book she reads, and invites people to share their thoughts on the books she reads too." http://amysmarathonofbooks.ca/ Consider attending the upcoming Serendipity conference in Vancouver: Children’s Literature in a Digital Age ( Saturday, March 8 2014 at UBC). Presenters include illustrator Paul Zelinsky, Canadian authors Arthur Slade and Hadley Dyer, two high profile teacher-librarian bloggers John Schumacher (Library Journal) and Travis Jonker (School Library Journal) and author Tim Federle. “From practical advice on using literature-based apps with children to learning how authors and illustrators are using social media and electronic publishing, Serendipity 2014 is a must-attend event for educators, librarians, researchers and literature lovers looking to the future of books for young people.” http://vclr.ca/events-2013-14/serendipity-saturday-march-8-2014/ Saturday, May 3, 2014 is another day to mark on the calendar; the University of British Columbia will host “I Will Be Myself”: Identity in Children’s and Young Adult Literature, Media and Culture. This is a one-day conference showcasing graduate student research that explores, questions, and analyzes the issues surrounding identity in various elements of children’s and young adult literature. Keynote speaker is Dr. Phillip Serrato. The conference fee is very reasonable and includes refreshments and a catered lunch. http://blogs.ubc.ca/iwillbemyself/ For those of you in the Calgary area, plan on attending "When Worlds Collide 2014" from August 8-10, 2014 at the Carriage House Inn. This is a festival for readers, writers, artists and publishers of commercial and literary fiction, including genre, YA, Children’s books, and Poetry. Guests of honor include Diana Gabaldon, Jacqueline Guest, Mark Leslie, D.J. McIntosh and Brandon Sanderson. http://www.whenwordscollide.org/ The 2014 Alberta Readers’ Choice Award (ARCA) has now received 45 titles from a variety of Alberta authors, all vying for a $10,000 prize provided by the Edmonton Public Library (EPL). With this submission list finalized, EPL is now turning to its colleagues across the province for help in shaping a ten-item longlist that will be provided to our jury in February. If you are a staff member in an Alberta library—whether public, academic, government, law, school system or other—we want to hear from you. We’ve set up a poll at the following site: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/QXZCCRZ. Please note that we are only counting ballots that have institutional e-mail addresses listed, so please make sure that you’re listing your work e-mail. This vote will remain open until end-of-day, February 5th and results will be made public on Thursday, February 13th.www.epl.ca/2014-ARCA-submissions. The ALAN Review posted the following Calls for Papers and Proposals which may be of interest for those of you working with young adult materials. Fall 2014: Stand Your Ground: Fostering Independent Thought and Action. We believe that, as educators, we sometimes need to be our own best allies as we fight to teach in ways we know to be good and right and true-and increasingly uncommon in an age of commonality. We need to know how to defend our selection of materials and our practices as we stand our ground in the face of scripts and censors, standards and accompanying tests. In this issue, we invite educators to band together and unite around our shared commitment to kids and stories, to offer our own evidence-based support for the innovative work we do in our classrooms and libraries, to celebrate the ways in which we encourage our own students to think independently and act in good conscience, even when the odds feel daunting. Please send manuscripts to: alan-review@uconn.edu . General submissions are also welcome by the deadline of March 31, 2014. The ALAN Review also notes that "Stories from the Field" invites readers to share a story about young adult literature. This section features brief vignettes (approximately 300 words) from practicing teachers and librarians who would like to share their interactions with students, parents, colleagues, and administrators around young adult literature. Please send your stories to:alan-review@uconn.edu. That is it for this time around. Last word (reminder/suggestion): Become actively involved with the National Reading Campaign, celebrating the joy of reading in all kinds of ways. “Tell us why reading matters to you, and learn what you can do for reading! Because when Canada reads, Canada grows.” http://www.nationalreadingcampaign.ca/Gail de VosGail de Vos, an adjunct instructor, teaches courses on Canadian children's literature, Young Adult Literature and Comic Books and Graphic Novels at the School of Library and Information Studies for the University of Alberta and is the author of nine books on storytelling and folklore. She is a professional storyteller and has taught the storytelling course at SLIS for over two decades.

News and Announcements1) Canadian Children's Book News, Spring 2015 IssueIn recognition of the TD Canadian Children's Book Week and its theme "Hear Our Stories: Celebrating First Nations, Métis and Inuit Literature," this issue explores several facets of this vibrant part of children's literature. It includes a profile of author David Alexander Robertson and a look at the publishers and market for First Nations, Métis, and Inuit stories.2) TD Canadian Children's Book Week (May 2- May 9, 2015) is the single most important national event celebrating Canadian children’s books and the importance of reading. More than 28,000 children, teens, and adults participate in activities held in every province and territory across the country. Hundreds of schools, public libraries, bookstores, and community centres host events as part of this major literary festival. It is organized by the Canadian Children’s Book Centre, in partnership with the Storytellers of Canada/Conteurs du Canada.3) Free Comic Book Day (May 2, 2015) takes place annually on the first Saturday in May. It is a single day when participating comic book specialty shops and public libraries across North America and around the world give away comic books absolutely free to anyone who comes into their shops! For more information: http://www.freecomicbookday.com/Home/1/1/27/9924) Canadian Authors for Indies Day (May 2, 2015)Authors across Canada support independent bookstores by volunteering as guest book sellers. To see who may be in your local indie book store, go to http://www.authorsforindies.com/5) Storytellers of Canada/Conteurs du Canada conference: Where Languages Meet (July 2-5, 2015). This year’s conference is in Lévis, Quebec where a rich storytelling tradition awaits. La Maison Natale Louis Fréchette – birthplace of one of Quebec’s most celebrated poets – hosts the SC-CC conference which proudly brings a range of vibrant programming in both official languages storytellers and listeners. http://www.storytellers-conteurs.ca/en/conference/storytellers-conference-2015.html6) Words in 3 Dimensions Conference 2015: Intersections (May 22 to 24, 2015)Held at the Chateau Lacombe Hotel in Edmonton for this second edition, the conference connects writers, editors, publishers, and agents from across Canada. This weekend focuses on how and where a writer’s work with words intersects with other disciplines. http://www.wordsin3d.com/7) The 2015 Storytelling World Resource Awards (storytellingworld.com/2015/) includes the following Canadian titles :Stories for Pre-Adolescent Listeners: Not My Girl: the True Sotry of a Daughter's Cultural Adjustmentsby Christy Jordan-Fenton and Margaret Pokiak-Fenton (Annick Press)Stories for Adolescent Listeners: Hope Springs: a Story of Complassion and understanding by Eric Walters (Tundra Books)8) IBBY Canada (International Board on Books for Young People, Canadian section). Stop, Thief!, illustrated by Pierre Pratt and written by Heather Tekavec (Kids Can Press, 2014), is the winner of the Elizabeth Mrazik-Cleaver Canadian Picture Book Award. Pierre was also nominated [again] by IBBY Canada for the prestigious Hans Christian Andersen Award.” www.ibby-canada.org/elizabeth-mrazik-cleaver-pratt/And now, a plethora of shortlist announcements:1) The 2015 Alberta Literary Awards ShortlistWinners will be announced and awards presented at the Alberta Literary Awards Gala on Saturday, May 23, 2015. The celebration will take place at the Chateau Lacombe Hotel (10111 Bellamy Hill Road) in Edmonton alongside the 2015 Words in 3 Dimensions Conference: Intersections (see above).A full list of award categories and nominees can be found at http://writersguild.ca/2015-alberta-literary-awards-shortlist/2) R. Ross Annett Award for Children's Literature (www.bookcentre.ca/awards/r_ross_annett_award_childrens_literature) Victor Lethbridge– You're Just Right (Tatanka Books)Leanne Shirtliffe– The Change Your Name Store (Sky Pony Press)Richard Van Camp– Little You (Orca Book Publishers) 3) 2014 Science in Society Book Awards Shortlists. Two annual book awards honour outstanding contributions to science writing. One is for books intended for children ages 8-12; the other for book aimed at the general public. Winners will be announced on Canada Book Day, April 23, 2015. http://sciencewriters.ca/awards/book-awards/Zoobots by Helaine Becker, Kids Can Press.Starting from Scratch by Sarah Elton, Owl Kids Books.It’s Catching by Jennifer Gardy, Owl Kids Books.The Fly by Elise Gravel, Penguin Random House.If by David J. Smith, Kids Can Press.4) 2015 Atlantic Book Awards ShortlistThe full shortlist for the eight different book prizes comprising the 2015 Atlantic Book Awards can be found www.atlanticbookawards.ca. Below are the nominees for the Ann Connor Brimer Award for Children’s Literature and the Lillian Shepherd Award for Excellence in Illustration. Winners will be announced Thursday, May 14, 2015.Ann Connor Brimer Award for Children’s LiteratureJack, the King of Ashes by Andy Jones (Running Goat Books & Broadsides)Flame and Ashes: The Great Fire Diary of Triffie Winsor (Dear Canada series) by Janet McNaughton (Scholastic Canada Ltd.)The End of the Line by Sharon E. McKay (Annick Press Ltd.)Lillian Sheperd Award for Excellence in IllustrationSydney Smith (nominee) Music is for Everyone by Jill Barber (Nimbus Publishing)Michael Pittman (nominee) Wow Wow and Haw Haw by George Murray(Breakwater Books)Nancy Rose (nominee) The Secret Life of Squirrels by Nancy Rose (Penguin Canada)5) Newfoundland and Labrador Book Award shortlist.During even-numbered years, these awards honour fiction and children’s/young adult fiction books; odd-numbered years recognise poetry and non-fiction. The winners will be announced May 27, 2015. This year’s list of finalists for the Newfoundland and Labrador Non-fiction Award are all first-time authors (http://wanl.ca/literary_awards)Alan Doyle for Where I Belong: From Small Town to Great Big Sea (Doubleday Canada)Janet Merlo for No One to Tell: Breaking My Silence on Life in the RCMP (Breakwater Books)Andrew Peacock for Creatures of the Rock (Doubleday Canada)Three acclaimed Newfoundland poets are shortlisted for the E.J. Pratt Poetry Award:Michael Crummey for Under the Keel(House of Anansi Press)Mary Dalton for Hooking (Véhicule Press)Carmelita McGrath for Escape Velocity (Goose Lane Editions)6) 2015 Information Book Award Shortlist announced by the Children’s Literature Roundtables of Canada. Voting Deadline: Saturday October 31, 2015.Any Questions? by Marie-Louise Gay.(Groundwood Books). A Brush Full of Colour: The World of Ted Harrison. by Margriet Ruurs & Katherine Gibson (Pajama Press).Do You Know Komodo Dragons? by Alain M. Bergeron, Michel Quintin, and Sampar. Illustrations by Sampar. Translated by Solange Messier (Fitzhenry & Whiteside).Dreaming in Indian: Contemporary Native American Voices. edited by Lisa Charleyboy and Mary Beth Leatherdale (Annick Press). Not My Girl. by Christy Jordan-Fenton and Margaret Pokiak-Fenton. Illustrated by Gabrielle Grimard (Annick Press). The Rat. by Elise Gravel (Tundra Books). Shapes in Math, Science and Nature: Squares, Triangles and Circles. by Catherine Sheldrick Ross. Illustrated by Bill Slavin (Kids Can Press). Take Shelter: At Home Around the World. by Nikki Tate and Dani Tate-Stratton (Orca Books). Tastes Like Music: 17 Quirks of the Brain and Body. by Maria Birmingham. Illustrated by Monika Melnychuk (Owl Kids). We All Count: A Book of Cree Numbers. by Julie Flett (Native Northwest).For more information about voting and submissions please contact the Information Book Award Chair, Kay Weisman at weismankay@gmail.com7) IBBY Canada (International Board on Books for Young People, Canadian section).Stop, Thief! illustrated by Pierre Pratt and written by Heather Tedavec (Kids Can Press, 2014) is the winner of the Elizabeth Mrazik-Cleaver Canadian Picture Book Award. Pierre was also nominated [again] by IBBY Canada for the prestigious ans Chrisitan Andersen Award. (www.ibby-canada.org/elizabeth-mrazik-cleaver-pratt/)-----Presented by Gail de Vos. Gail is an adjunct professor who teaches courses on Canadian children's literature, young adult literature, and commic books and graphic novels at the School of Library and Information Studies (SLIS) at the University of Alberta and is the author of nine books on storytelling and folklore. She is a professional storyteller and has taught the storytelling course at SLIS for over two decades.

This paper is part of a larger project exploring Australian literary responses to the Great War of 1914-1918. It draws on theories of embodiment, mourning, ritual and the recuperative potential of writing, together with a brief discussion of selected exemplars, to suggest that literary works of the period contain and lay bare a suite of creative, corporeal and social impulses, including resurrection, placation or stilling of ghosts, and formation of an empathic and duty-bound community. In Negotiating with the Dead, Margaret Atwood hypothesises that “all writing of the narrative kind, and perhaps all writing, is motivated, deep down, by a fear of and a fascination with mortality—by a desire to make the risky trip to the Underworld, and to bring something or someone back from the dead” (156). She asks an attendant question: “why should it be writing, over and above any other art or medium,” that functions this way? It is not only that writing acquires the appearance of permanence, by surviving “its own performance,” but also that some arts are transient, like dance, while others, like painting and sculpture and music, do “not survive as voice.” For Atwood, writing is a “score for voice,” and what the voice does mostly is tell stories, whether in prose or poetry: “Something unfurls, something reveals itself” (158). Writing, by this view, conjures, materialises or embodies the absent or dead, or is at least laden with this potential. Of course, as Katherine Sutherland observes, “representation is always the purview of the living, even when the order it constructs contains the dead” (202). She argues that all writing about death “might be regarded as epitaph or memorial; such writing is likely to contain the signs of ritual but also of ambiguity and forgetting” (204). Arguably writing can be regarded as participation in a ritual that “affirms membership of the collectivity, and through symbolic manipulation places the life of an individual within a much broader, sometimes cosmic, interpretive framework” (Seale 29), which may assist healing in relation to loss, even if some non-therapeutic purposes, such as restoration of social and political order, also lie behind both rites and writing. In a critical orthodoxy dating back to the 1920s, it has become accepted wisdom that the Australian literary response to the war was essentially nationalistic, “big-noting” ephemera, and thus of little worth (see Gerster and Caesar, for example). Consequently, as Bruce Clunies Ross points out, most Australian literary output of the period has “dropped into oblivion.” In his view, neglect of writings by First World War combatants is not due to its quality, “for this is not the only, or even the essential, condition” for consideration; rather, it is attributable to a “disjunction between the ideals enshrined in the Anzac legend and the experiences recorded or depicted” (170). The silence, we argue, also encompasses literary responses by non-combatants, many of whom were women, though limited space precludes consideration here of their particular contributions.Although poetry and fiction by those of middling or little literary reputation is not normally subject to critical scrutiny, it is patently not the case that there is no body of literature from the war period worthy of scholarly consideration, or that most works are merely patriotic, jingoistic, sentimental and in service of recruitment, even though these elements are certainly present. Our different proposition is that the “lost literatures” deserve attention for various reasons, including the ways they embody conflicting aims and emotions, as well as overt negotiations with the dead, during a period of unprecedented anguish. This is borne out by our substantial collection of creative writing provoked by the war, much of which was published by newspapers, magazines and journals. As Joy Damousi points out in The Labour of Loss, newspapers were the primary form of communication during the war, and never before or since have they dominated to such a degree; readers formed collective support groups through shared reading and actual or anticipated mourning, and some women commiserated with each other in person and in letters after reading casualty lists and death notices (21). The war produced the largest body count in the history of humanity to that time, including 60,000 Australians: none was returned to Australia for burial. They were placed in makeshift graves close to where they died, where possible marked by wooden crosses. At the end of the war, the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) was charged with the responsibility of exhuming and reinterring bodily remains in immaculately curated cemeteries across Europe, at Gallipoli and in the Middle East, as if the peace demanded it. As many as one third of the customary headstones were inscribed with “known unto God,” the euphemism for bodies that could not be identified. The CWGC received numerous requests from families for the crosses, which might embody their loved one and link his sacrificial death with resurrection and immortality. For allegedly logistical reasons, however, all crosses were destroyed on site. Benedict Anderson suggested the importance to nationalism of the print media, which enables private reading of ephemera to generate a sense of communion with thousands or millions of anonymous people understood to be doing likewise. Furthermore, Judith Herman demonstrates in Trauma and Recovery that sharing traumatic experience with others is a “precondition for the restitution of a sense of a meaningful world” (70). Need of community and restitution extends to the dead. The practices of burying the dead together and of returning the dead to their homeland when they die abroad speak to this need, for “in establishing a society of the dead, the society of the living regularly recreates itself” (Hertz qtd. in Searle 66). For Australians, the society of the dead existed elsewhere, in unfamiliar terrain, accentuating the absence inherent in all death. The society of the dead and missing—and thus of the living and wounded—was created and recreated throughout the war via available means, including literature. Writers of war-related poems and fiction helped create and sustain imagined communities. Dominant use of conventional, sometimes archaic, literary forms, devices, language and imagery indicates desire for broadly accessible and purposeful communication; much writing invokes shared grief, resolve, gratitude, and sympathy. Yet, in many stories and poems, there is also ambivalence in relation to sacrifice and the community of the dead.Speaking in the voice of the other is a fundamental task of the creative writer, and the ultimate other, the dead, gaze upon and speak to or about the living in a number of poems. For example, they might vocalise displeasure and plead for reinforcements, as, for example, in Ella M’Fadyen’s poem “The Wardens,” published in the Sydney Mail in 1918, which includes the lines: “Can’t you hear them calling in the night-time’s lonely spaces […] Can’t you see them passing […] Those that strove full strongly, and have laid their lives away?” The speaker hears and conveys the pleading of those who have given their breath in order to make explicit the reader’s responsibility to both the dead and the Allied cause: “‘Thus and thus we battled, we were faithful in endeavour;/Still it lies unfinished—will ye make the deed in vain?’” M’Fadyen focusses on soldierly sacrifice and “drafts that never came,” whereas a poem entitled “Your Country’s Call,” published in the same paper in 1915 by “An Australian Mother, Shirley, Queensland,” refers to maternal sacrifice and the joys and difficulties of birthing and raising her son only to find the country’s claims on him outweigh her own. She grapples with patriotism and resistance: “he must go/forth./Where? Why? Don’t think. Just smother/up the pain./Give him up quickly, for his country’s gain.” The War Precautions Act of October 1914 made it “illegal to publish any material likely to discourage recruiting or undermine the Allied effort” (Damousi 21), which undoubtedly meant that, to achieve publication, critical, depressing or negative views would need to be repressed or cast as inducement to enlist, though evidently many writers also sought to convince themselves as well as others that the cause was noble and the cost redeemable. “Your Country’s Call” concludes uncertainly, “Give him up proudly./You have done your share./There may be recompense—somewhere.”Sociologist Clive Seal argues that “social and cultural life involves turning away from the inevitability of death, which is contained in the fact of our embodiment, and towards life” (1). He contends that “grief for embodiment” is pervasive and perpetual and “extends beyond the obvious manifestations of loss by the dying and bereaved, to incorporate the rituals of everyday interaction” (200), and he goes so far as to suggest that if we recognise that our bodies “give to us both our lives and our deaths” then we can understand that “social and cultural life can, in the last analysis, be understood as a human construction in the face of death” (210). To deal with the grief that comes with “realisation of embodiment,” Searle finds that we engage in various “resurrective practices designed to transform an orientation towards death into one that points towards life” (8). He includes narrative reconstruction as well as funeral lament and everyday conversation as rituals associated with maintenance of the social bond, which is “the most crucial human motive” (Scheff qtd. in Searle 30). Although Seale does not discuss the acts of writing or of reading specifically, his argument can be extended, we believe, to include both as important resurrective practices that contain desire for self-repair and reorientation as well as for inclusion in and creation of an empathic moral community, though this does not imply that such desires can ever be satisfied. In “Reading,” Virginia Woolf reminds that “somewhere, everywhere, now hidden, now apparent in whatever is written down is the form of a human being” (28-29), but her very reminder assumes that this knowledge of embodiment tends to be forgotten or repressed. Writing, by its aura of permanence and resurrective potential, points towards life and connection, even as it signifies absence and disconnection. Christian Riegel explains that the “literary work of mourning,” whether poetry, fiction or nonfiction, often has both a psychic and social function, “partaking of the processes of mourning while simultaneously being a product for public reception.” Such a text is indicative of ways that societies shape and control responses to death, making it “an inherently socio-historical construct” (xviii). Jacques Derrida’s passionate and uneasy enactment of this labour in The Work of Mourning suggests that writing often responds to the death of a known person or their oeuvre, where each death changes and reduces the world, so that the world as one knew it “sinks into an abyss” (115). Of course, writing also wrestles with anonymous, large-scale loss which is similarly capable of shattering our sense of “ontological security” (Riegel xx). Sandra Gilbert proposes that some traumatic events cause “death’s door” to swing “so publicly and dramatically open that we can’t look away” (xxii). Derrida’s work of mourning entails imaginative revival of those he has lost and is a struggle with representation and fidelity, whereas critical silence in respect of the body of literature of the First World War might imply repeated turning from “grief for embodiment” towards myths of immortality and indebtedness. Commemorating the war dead might be regarded as a resurrective practice that forges and fortifies communities of the living, while addressing the imagined demands of those who die for their nation.Riegel observes that in its multiplicity of motivations and functions, the literary work of mourning is always “an attempt to make present that which is irrefutably lost, and within that paradoxical tension lies a central tenet of all writerly endeavour that deals with the representation of death” (xix). The literary work of mourning must remain incomplete: it is “always a limiting attempt at revival and at representation,” because words inevitably “fail to replace a lost one.” Even so, they can assist in the attempt to “work through and understand” loss (xix). But the reader or mourner is caught in a strange situation, for he or she inevitably scrutinises words not the body, a corpus not a corpse, and while this is a form of evasion it is also the only possibility open to us. Even so, Derrida might say that it is “as if, by reading, by observing the signs on the drawn sheet of paper, [readers are] trying to forget, repress, deny, or conjure away death—and the anxiety before death.” But he also concedes (after Sarah Kofman), that this process might involve “a cunning affirmation of life, its irrepressible movement to survive, to live on” (176), which supports Seale’s contention in relation to resurrective practices generally. Atwood points out that the dead have always made demands on the living, but, because there is a risk in negotiating with the dead, there needs to be good reason or reward for doing so. Our reading of war literature written by noncombatants suggests that in many instances writers seek to appease the unsettled dead whose death was meant to mean something for the future: the living owe the dead a debt that can only be paid by changing the way they live. The living, in other words, must not only remember the fallen, but also heed them by their conduct. It becomes the poet’s task to remind people of this, that is, to turn them from death towards life.Arthur H Adams’s 1918 poem “When the Anzac Dead Came Home,” published in the Bulletin, is based on this premise: the souls of the dead— the “failed” and “fallen”—drift uncertainly over their homeland, observing the world to which they cannot return, with its “cheerful throng,” “fair women swathed in fripperies,” and “sweet girls” that cling “round windows like bees on honeycomb.” One soul recognises a soldier, Steve, from his former battalion, a mate who kept his life but lost his arm and, after hovering for a while, again “wafts far”; his homecoming creates a “strange” stabbing pain, an ache in his pal’s “old scar.” In this uncanny scene, irreconcilable and traumatic knowledge expresses itself somatically. The poet conveys the viewpoint of the dead Anzac rather than the returned one. The living soldier, whose body is a site of partial loss, does not explicitly conjure or mourn his dead friend but, rather, is a living extension of his loss. In fact, the empathic connection construed by the poet is not figured as spectral orchestration or as mindful on the part of man or community; rather, it occurs despite bodily death or everyday living and forgetting; it persists as hysterical pain or embodied knowledge. Freud and Breuer’s influential Studies on Hysteria, published in 1895, raised the issue of mind/body relations, given its theory that the hysteric’s body expresses psychic trauma that she or he may not recollect: repressed “memories of aetiological significance” result in “morbid symptoms” (56). They posited that experience leaves traces which, like disinterred archaeological artefacts, inform on the past (57). However, such a theory depends on what Rousseau and Porter refer to as an “almost mystical collaboration between mind and body” (vii), wherein painful or perverse or unspeakable “reminiscences” are converted into symptoms, or “mnemic symbols,” which is to envisage the body as penetrable text. But how can memory return unbidden and in such effective disguise that the conscious mind does not recognise it as memory? How can the body express pain without one remembering or acknowledging its origin? Do these kinds of questions suggest that the Cartesian mind/body split has continued valency despite the challenge that hysteria itself presents to such a theory? Is it possible, rather, that the body itself remembers—and not just its own replete form, as suggested by those who feel the presence of a limb after its removal—but the suffering body of “the other”? In Adam’s poem, as in M’Fadyen’s, intersubjective knowledge subsists between embodied and disembodied subjects, creating an imagined community of sensation.Adams’s poem envisions mourning as embodied knowledge that allows one man to experience another’s pain—or soul—as both “old” and “strange” in the midst of living. He suggests that the dead gaze at us even as they are present “in us” (Derrida). Derrida reminds that ghosts occupy an ambiguous space, “neither life nor death, but the haunting of the one by the other” (41). Human mutability, the possibility of exchanging places in a kind of Socratic cycle of life and death, is posited by Adams, whose next stanzas depict the souls of the war dead reclaiming Australia and displacing the thankless living: blown to land, they murmur to each other, “’Tis we who are the living: this continent is dead.” A significant imputation is that the dead must be reckoned with, deserve better, and will not rest unless the living pay their moral dues. The disillusioned tone and intent of this 1918 poem contrasts with a poem Adams published in the Bulletin in 1915 entitled “The Trojan War,” which suggests even “Great Agamemnon” would “lift his hand” to honour “plain Private Bill,” the heroic, fallen Anzac who ventured forth to save “Some Mother-Helen sad at home. Some obscure Helen on a farm.” The act of war is envisaged as an act of birthing the nation, anticipating the Anzac legend, but simultaneously as its epitaph: “Upon the ancient Dardanelles New peoples write—in blood—their name.” Such a poem arguably invokes, though in ambiguous form, what Derrida (after Lyotard) refers to as the “beautiful death,” which is an attempt to lift death up, make it meaningful, and thereby foreclose or limit mourning, so that what threatens disorder and despair might instead reassure and restore “the body politic,” providing “explicit models of virtue” (Nass 82-83) that guarantee its defence and survival. Adams’ later poem, in constructing Steve as “a living fellow-ghost” of the dead Anzac, casts stern judgement on the society that fails to notice what has been lost even as it profits by it. Ideological and propagandist language is also denounced: “Big word-warriors still played the Party game;/They nobly planned campaigns of words, and deemed/their speeches deeds,/And fought fierce offensives for strange old creeds.” This complaint recalls Ezra Pound’s lines in Hugh Selwyn Mauberley about the dead who “walked eye-deep in hell/believing in old men’s lies, then unbelieving/came home, home to a lie/home to many deceits,/home to old lies and new infamy;/usury age-old and age-thick/and liars in public places,” and it would seem that this is the kind of disillusion and bitterness that Clunies Ross considers to be “incompatible with the Anzac tradition” (178) and thus ignored. The Anzac tradition, though quieted for a time, possibly due to the 1930s Depression, Second World War, Vietnam War and other disabling events has, since the 1980s, been greatly revived, with Anzac Day commemorations in Australia and at Gallipoli growing exponentially, possibly making maintenance of this sacrificial national mythology, or beautiful death, among Australia’s most capacious and costly creative industries. As we approach the centenary of the war and of Gallipoli, this industry will only increase.Elaine Scarry proposes that the imagination invents mechanisms for “transforming the condition of absence into presence” (163). It does not escape us that in turning towards lost literatures we are ourselves engaging in a form of resurrective practice and that this paper, like other forms of social and cultural practice, might be understood as one more human construction motivated by grief for embodiment.Note: An archive and annotated bibliography of the “Lost Literatures of the First World War,” which comprises over 2,000 items, is expected to be published online in 2015.References Adams, Arthur H. “When the Anzac Dead Came Home.” Bulletin 21 Mar. 1918.---. “The Trojan War.” Bulletin 20 May 1915.An Australian Mother. “Your Country’s Call.” Sydney Mail 19 May 1915.Anderson, Benedict. Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism. 2nd ed. London: Verso, 1991.Atwood, Margaret. Negotiating with the Dead: A Writer on Writing. New York: Random House, 2002.Caesar, Adrian. “National Myths of Manhood: Anzac and Others.” The Oxford Literary History of Australia. Eds. 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