I have not been as up-to-date as I might have been with posts about what is now last year’s Reading the World Challenge.   This is partly due to time generally running away with me, and also being unable to keep proper track of our three Challenges running at once… So did we manage it? Well, I have to admit that unless we put all our efforts together, we didn’t quite; and we also went over on the time… reading aloud time is sadly having to jostle with other evening activities, and Saturday morning Book Sessions are now relegated to the holidays for the same reason. But that’s okay – we certainly read a broad range of books that might not have got to the top of the to-be-read pile otherwise…

Here are details of the rest of the books we all read (you’ll have to go back to here, here and here to find out the first ones…)

Together we read Goodbye Buffalo Bay by Larry Loyie with Constance Brissenden (Theytus Books, 2008). Even though I’d read it before, it was very hard to keep my composure for some of this traumatic but ultimately uplifting story, all the more engaging because it is both autobiographical and narrated in “Lawrence’s” engaging teenage voice. The first half of the book deals with Lawrence’s last year at a Residential School for First Nation children in Canada; and the second part is about how Lawrence then sets about finding himself again after leaving. It was the first time my two had become aware of residential schools and it provoked a lot of discussion about the treatment of First Nation people both in Canada and elsewhere. And as well as the ethical discussion, there was also plenty to talk about as regards Lawrence’s actual, individual experience. We all loathed Sister and we loved Sister Theresa. Then later, Lawrence’s different itinerant jobs, such as firefighting and working at a sawmill, were heroic in the boys’ eyes, and they were delighted at the end that his ambition to become a writer had so obviously come to fruition. We all of us cannot recommend this beautifully written story highly enough – and I would say that it would be a perfect book for reluctant readers, boys especially, as it is fairly short and succinct.

We also read and enjoyed Golden Tales: Myths, Legends, and Folktales from Latin America by Lulu Delacre (Scholastic, 2006) and Myths and Legends of Aotearoa, which I blogged about recently; and Little Brother and I read together the powerful and moving Grandfather’s Story Cloth/ Yawg Daim Paj Ntaub Dab Neegwritten by Linda Gerdner and Sarah Langford, illustrated by Stuart Loughridge (Shen Books, 2008).

Older Brother and Little Brother both read Señor Cat’s Romance: and Other Favorite Stories from Latin America by Lucia Gonzalez and Lulu Delacre, as I mentioned here. Older Brother is just coming to the end of Where in the World by Simon French (Little Hare, 2002); Little Brother read American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang (First Second Books, 2006), filched from Older Brother, and he’s still quoting it; The Rabbits by John Marsden, illustrated by Shaun Tan; and Animal Poems of the Iguazu by Francisco X. Alarcón, illustrated by Maya Christina Gonzalez (Children’s Book Press, 2008).

So we were very nearly there in terms of reading – it was the time limit that really got us. Let’s see how we do this year. I’ll be posting details of the 2011 Reading the World Challenge soon…

And very well done to all of you who managed to complete it; I hope you’ll be joining us again – and it would also be great for readers to persuade the young people in their lives to take part. The 2010 Spirit of PaperTigers book set would definitely make a great springboard – and there’s still a chance for you to win one in our 1,000th Post Draw taking place next week. The deadline is Wednesday 19th January and you’ll find full details here.

WordFest: Banff-Calgary International Writers Festival is an annual literary festival taking place Oct. 9 – 14, 2007 in Alberta, Canada. One of Canada’s premier literary festivals, WordFest 2007 features over 75 writers of local, national and international stature and will attract more than 12,000 individuals.

Children’s and young adult’s literature will be highlighted in the First Calgary Savings Book Rapport Programme. Festival Director Anne Green tells us:

“Book Rapport brings students up-close and personal with their favourite authors, which is a rare and fantastic opportunity for them. Students can hear the authors read, ask them questions, while teachers have a creative way to bring life into literature.”

Anne adds that this year’s Book Rapport Programme offers a superb line-up of KidLit writers, including the following award winning Canadian authors:

Canadian superstar Kenneth Oppel. Oppel, recipient of numerous prestigious literary awards, is the author of the million-copy-selling Silverwing Saga and has more than twenty children and young adult books to his credit. “To have Ken Oppel attend WordFest is great news for Calgary’s schools, students and families,” says Anne.

First nations writer Larry Loyie and his partner Constance Brissenden. In 2003, Loyie and Brissenden won the Norma Fleck Award for Canadian Children’s Non-Fiction for their children’s book, As Long as the Rivers Flow which was inspired by Loyie’s Cree childhood and the true story of his grandmother’s confrontation with a grizzly. As Long as the Rivers Flow is about a First Nations boy’s last summer spent with his family in the bush before being taken to residential school. The second book in this series When the Spirits Dance recounts the dramatic changes to the boy’s life when his father is sent overseas in World War 2.

Quebec writer Michel Noël. Noël has over fifty books to his credit and has written several award-winning books for young people, including Pien, which won the 1997 Governor General’s Award for French language children’s literature. His novel Good for Nothing, winner of the Geoffrey Bilson Award for Historical Fiction for Young People, takes place in northern Quebec in 1959 and is the story of young Métis who seeks to establish his own identity and find out more about the mystery surrounding his father’s death. The book provides compelling insights into many issues faced by First Nations people during this time (residential schools, racism, land claims etc.) as well as the ongoing struggles of native communities today. Noël was named Citizen of the World by the Canadian Association for the United Nations for his work in seeking better understanding among people.

For those of us who can’t attend WordFest in person, we can still take part! Pop culture writer Hal Niedzviecki will be writing the first official WordFest blog. Niedzviecki describes it as “a gossipy insider look at what’s going on and where to be, what’s not to be missed, who is who, and the opportunity to have your questions answered.”