Month: January 2025

Evidence!

Sophie Rosen

Hopkinson, Deborah. Evidence!: How Dr. John Snow Solved the Mystery of Cholera. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2024.
In 1854, cholera struck London, England. People were dying and everyone thought it was caused by something in the air they breathed. John Snow, a doctor, thought otherwise and proved it. The source of the problem was contaminated well water. Accompanied by a lengthy afterword, this informative picture book is useful both as a read-aloud for younger children and a fascinating independent reading book for older students. 
The author has written many books: novels and picture books, fiction and non-fiction. Generally, they are well-designed with the format not distracting from the story. Unfortunately, this one is slightly marred by the font; it is too small the match the style of a picture book and too formal to match the mood of the illustrations.  Nevertheless, the book is highly recommended for readers ten years old and up.

More books to expand general knowledge

The Runaway

Sophie Rosen , ,

Vo, Nancy. The Runaway. Toronto: Groundwood Books/House of Anansi Press, 2024.
During the 1800s, many people contracted cholera, a disease caused by bacteria in contaminated food or water. It was a major cause of death when people were spreading west across America, and there was no cure. In this quiet story, a boy runs away after his mother dies of the sickness. He is taken in by a family and helps them by working the land on their settlement until his older sister arrives to take him home.
That’s the plot line: short. And the words are few. But the book is brilliant. Right from the beginning, even before the title page appears, the story starts in the pictures. So much is told in those softly coloured illustrations. This is not a book to rush through quickly. Take a deep breath, relax, and start noticing all the clues that show what is happening in both the outer and inner world of the main character. Highly recommended for readers seven years old and up, especially for teachers looking for a read-aloud to show students how to make inferences.
P.S. Make sure to notice that the boy’s name – Jack – isn’t mentioned until the very last page. Now why could that be? 

More historical fiction

More stories about runaways

The Boy and the Elephant

Sophie Rosen ,

Blackwood, Freya. The Boy and the Elephant. New York: Random House Studio, 2024.
There is something wonderfully relaxing about ‘reading’ a wordless picture book. Everything except the page in front of me disappears as I look at the illustrations and tell myself the story. Skimming is impossible, so time slows down. And this story of a little boy trying to save the trees on a piece of city land is incredibly suitable for a book that requires readers to slow down.
What is happening in the pictures? How can you tell? What else do you notice? How does this story remind you of your own experiences? What do you think the author wants you to remember? The gentle picture book is recommended as a read-aloud to inspire conversations with children 5 to 8 years old. 

More wordless picture books

Where Butterflies Fill the Sky

Sophie Rosen , , ,

Marwan, Zahra. Where Butterflies Fill the Sky. New York: Bloomsbury Children’s Books, 2022.
How does it feel to be stateless? How can someone can belong to no country, at all? What future is there for people born in a country that will not permit them to receive medical care, go to public school or college, or get married?
This quietly wistful picture book tells the story of a little girl leaving the land of her birth and moving to a new country. The layout of the sentences on the pages – spread out across the full-page illustrations – add to the feeling of floating from one place to another. The soft dreamy colours of the ink and watercolour drawings add to the feeling of not truly belonging anywhere. In an extensive afterward, the author explains why her family left Kuwait to immigrate to New Mexico. She also explains the memories and symbols shown in her illustrations. Highly recommended as a read-aloud for children 5 years old and up and for older students learning about world politics.

More stories of migrants

More picture book memoirs

Using picture books and novels to learn about the world 

Zia’s Story

Sophie Rosen , ,

Qayumi, Shahnaz. Zia’s Story. Vancouver, BC: Tradewind Books, 2024.
What makes a story appealing to me? It’s not the plot line. It’s not the characters. It’s not the setting, even though I enjoy historical fiction. It is the voice that makes a story come alive. The character’s voice, rather than the author’s voice inserting itself and destroying the illusion required for me to become immersed in an alternate world.
Zia’s Story starts a bit stiffly, all in grammatically correct sentences and narrated in a straight-forward matter-of-fact style. But rapidly, that voice becomes real, the entirely believable voice of a reporter recording events of political upheaval.
Twelve-year-old Zia, the main character, watches his father being arrested shortly before the Russian army withdraws from Afghanistan. He witnesses the changes as the Taliban take over his country. He explains how he and his mother flee to Pakistan, only to encounter more political machinations. He relates how the two of them finally find safety in Canada. At the end, the story lives in my mind as nonfiction.
And the story is based on true events: the author and her son had to leave Afghanistan and find refuge in Canada. But what makes the writing magical is that voice of a twelve-year-old giving a report on what he has experienced. It’s unforgettable. Highly recommended for readers 10 years old and up. 

More stories of refugees

More stories set in Afghanistan

More stories set in Pakistan

More stories of political conflict

Tips for recognizing good writing