Rachna Gilmore, illustrated by Pulak Biswas,
The Flute
Tradewind Books, 2011.

Ages 5-8

“Long ago and far away” begins this beautifully written story from the pen of award-winning writer Rachna Gilmore, transporting her young readers to the realms and codes of magic that may be familiar to them in fairy-tales.  The hope that, in the vein of fairy-tale, whatever bad things happen along the way, all will come well in the end, will help them to empathise all the more with the young Chandra’s trials and tribulations.

A terrible flood carries away little Chandra’s parents, after they have put her in a tree to keep her safe and given her the flute her mother loved to play.   When the waters recede, her aunt and uncle reluctantly take her in but treat her cruelly and even throw the flute into the river (the aunt’s malignant smile in the illustration here will chill the heart of any reader).  Without it, Chandra feels more alone than ever but stoically carries out her gruelling daily chores through the harsh winter and scorching summer.  Then one day, she hears a flute filling the air with music of hope, comfort and love – and food magically appears before her.  When her aunt and uncle find out, their only thoughts are for themselves; and when the monsoon arrives, they force her to stay in the river rather than joining them on the safe high ground.  This potentially cataclysmic act of cruelty is actually the catalyst for change that Chandra needs for her happily-ever-after.  Her hopes, as well as the hope of young readers who have been willing for a happy ending, are fulfilled.

Accompanying Gilmore’s narrative are Pulak Biswas’ stunning illustrations.  Using only blocks of primary color, texture and detail are created through the overlying black.  The varying moods of the familiar river and the clouds bringing the monsoon, or the gentle wave of musical notes creeping in at the top of the page all convey the atmosphere of the story.  The illustrations root the story solidly in the Indian setting alluded to in the text, such as the monsoon and Chandra herself, named after the moon.

In a world where young people have great awareness of natural disasters and difficulties around the world, The Flute is a very special book that combines a timeless quality with a particular relevance to today’s children.

Marjorie Coughlan
February 2012

HOT OFF THE PRESS!!

PaperTigers is thrilled to announce we will be taking part in the Vancouver Children’s Literature Roundtable Conference “Serendipity” this coming February in Vancouver, BC, Canada. PaperTigers Editor Marjorie Coughlan will be flying in from the UK and joining me at this exciting event which will focus on the Year of the Dragon: Asian Themes for Young Canadian Readers. For those of you in the Vancouver area this is a definitely not-to-be-missed conference: the three featured speakers are Allen Say, Rachna Gilmore and Paul Yee!

The following details have just been released and registration is now open:

Serendipity 2012
Year of the Dragon: Asian Themes for Young Canadian Readers

Saturday, February 25, 2012; 8:30 am – 3:30 pm (includes lunch & snacks)
The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC.
Neville Scarfe Building; Room 100

Featuring:

Rachna Gilmore,  Allen Say  and  Paul Yee

With Special Guests:

Tanya Kyi, winner of the 2011 Roundtables of Canada Information Book Award,
Marjorie Coughlan and Corinne Robson, Editors from PaperTigers.org
Joseph Wu, origami master, and
the fabulous dance troupe, Shiamak’s Bollywood Dancers

 ”We are kicking off the weekend celebration of literature and literacy for young people with what we hope is the inaugural event of a soon-to-be-great Serendipity tradition:

 The Gala Evening Event

February 24, 2012; 6:30pm
University Golf Club,
5185 University Boulevard, Vancouver, BC.

Co hosted with the British Columbia Literacy Council, the featured speaker is Dr. Lee Gunderson from the Department of Language and Literacy at the University of British Columbia, who will be presenting on ‘Comprehensibility and Children’s Literature: Reading in Multilingual Classrooms.’

To register to attend Serendipity and/or the Gala Evening Event click here or visit www.vclr.ca. Early bird rates are in effect until  January 21st  but don’t wait too long to purchase as the events are sure to sell out!  We do hope you will be able to join us!”

This year, unusually, feast days from many of the world’s religions have fallen around these last few days – so, as Time put it:

unlike some holy days — say, Christmas, which some non-Christians in the U.S. observe informally by going to a movie and ordering Chinese food — on this particular Friday, March 21, it seems almost no believer of any sort will be left without his or her own holiday…

Today I focus on two books, which each in their own way explore the celebration of one of these religious festivals against a different cultural background.

Mina’s Spring of Colors is a very special story about a young Indian girl who, although she now lives in Canada, is determined to throw a Holi party for her school-friends and neighbors: they won’t just watch the celebrations but participate in them. The book is aimed at 8-11 year olds, though younger children could enjoy having it read to them. It will certainly fill their heads with ideas about how to throw their own Holi party. The author Rachna Gilmore said in an interview with PaperTigers:

I have wonderful memories of Holi – memories of the physical excitement and dread and anticipation of getting others with coloured powders and water and also trying to dodge them in return, the shrieking, hysterical laughter and the wild delight. I don’t know of any readers who have put on a Holi party for themselves, but oh, I do hope some have. Kids love the idea and I know it would be an absolute blast. In one of the libraries I have visited to do a reading, the librarian was very keen on the idea, but of course, we couldn’t use coloured water and powder, so instead, we sprinkled each other with sparklies and squirted those cans that spurt multicoloured streamers. It was great fun.

There are some great pictures from this year’s celebrations in India here (and I can’t resist these from a couple of years ago too!); and you can find out more about Holi here.

Charlotte chose Amelia Lau Carling’s gorgeous, autobiographical picture-book Sawdust Carpets/Alfombras de aserrín as the subject of her first post for the PaperTigers blog, back in May last year; and it’s well worth pointing it out now as a special book for Easter. It exemplifies a harmony of both diversity and fusion of cultures, as we learn about the celebration of Holy Week in Guatemala through the eyes of a young Amelia. Her parents had fled China during the Second World War and had made their new home in Guatemala, as described in Carling’s first book, Mama and Papa Have a Store. As well as insight into her family’s participation in the festivities, we learn about the incredible carpets made of dyed sawdust and millions of flower petals, which everyone joins in making to celebrate Easter:

They are offered up as a sacrifice in anticipation of the procession that will destroy them by marching through the painstaking and fantastic creations.

So whatever you may have been celebrating these last few days, we send you best wishes – do tell us about any special traditions you have, from whatever part of the world you come from; and if you have any favorite books to recommend…

Chad Stephenson, San Francisco Friends School librarian, has been working on an extensive school project about Diwali, the Hindu winter Festival of Light, celebrated on November 9 this year. In a ‘Personal View’ piece he’s contributed to the PaperTigers website, Chad gives us the scoop on the celebration of Rama’s victorious return from Lanka with his kidnapped wife, Sita. His article is chock full of great Diwali-related reading recommendations, including Hanuman, by Erik Jendresen and Joshua M. Greene, illustrated by Li Ming, and, for background and context, Uma Krishnaswami’s award-winning Monsoon, illustrated by Jamel Akib. Here’s a PaperTigers review of another book on Chad’s list.

Canadian Rachna Gilmore‘s Lights for Gita isn’t on his list, but it will shed yet more light on the Diwali’s real meaning: Gita’s difficulties settling into her life in Canada are exemplified by not being able to celebrate the holiday the same way she would have back home.

While cookbook authors seduce with rapturous descriptions of sizzling butter and caramelized onions, children’s book authors and illustrators cook up things in a differently enticing way. Bound between hard or soft covers, stories to satisfy the appetite of hungry readers abound. But too many book choices can be as overwhelming as an abundant produce aisle or farmer’s market. Just what is that Samurai Shortstop all about? And what of The Arrival, First Daughter or Mismatch? Discovering new books and writers is as exciting as trying an unfamiliar new fruit.

Identifying quality children’s literature, multicultural literature in particular, can be a time consuming task. Luckily, we have many tried and true sources to help us recognize the special tastes of Paul Yee or Laurence Yep, Rachna Gilmore or Mitali Perkins.

For a feast of book and book-related offerings we hope you’ll turn to us, of course. We also recommend CCBC (Cooperative Children’s Book Center), ALAN (Assembly of Literature for Adolescents), the Edge of the Forest, School Library Journal and the Horn Book. And the ever-growing garden of great Kidlit blogs such as Shen’s Blog and The Fire Escape, to name just two.

In the world of children’s literature pickings are never slim. Hungry readers are lucky to be so well fed.