Difficult Topics in Books

Reading Toward Reconciliation ~ a Blog Blip

For some time now, September 30 in Canada has been commemorated as Orange Shirt Day. It is now also the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, remembering and honoring First Nations people who were torn from their families and taken to residential schools, too many never to return. In the spirit of Truth and Reconciliation, …

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LION OF THE SKY by Ritu Hemnani — Book Recommendation

Title: LION OF THE SKY   Author: Ritu Hemnani   Publisher: New York: Balzer & Bray/HarperCollins, May 7, 2024   Genre: Middle Grade Fiction   Audience Age: 9 to 12   Themes/Topics: Partition of India and Pakistan, Indian Independence 1947, family, political conflict, religious intolerance It is an honor to share this amazing book with you today. Thank you, Ritu, for …

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THE LONGEST LETSGOBOY by Derick Wilder, illustrated by Catia Chien — Book Recommendation

Title: THE LONGEST LETSGOBOY Author: Derick Wilder Illustrator: Catia Chien Publisher: San Francisco, CA: Chronicle Books, October 2021 Genre: Picture book Audience Age: 3 to 8 years Themes/Topics: dogs, dying, love, pets, hope Opening Sentences:  Mewmew wakes me, rumbledrumming my tummy. I strrrrretch my oldbones. Synopsis: This lovely, moving, heartfelt story tells of a much-loved old dog’s last day, from the …

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HEARTS UNBROKEN by Cynthia Leitich Smith

Title: Hearts Unbroken Author: Cynthia Leitich Smith Publisher: Somerville, MA: Candlewick Press, 2018 Genre: YA Fiction, #ownvoices Audience Age: 14 to 18 years Themes/Topics: Friendship, romance, Native American history and issues, racism Synopsis: Lou (short for Louise), is a high school junior in current-day Kansas. By the time the book ends, she is a senior. …

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Thinking About the 100th Anniversary of the Armistice — with reflections on Rilla of Ingleside by L.M. Montgomery

Yesterday, November 11, 2018, was the 100th anniversary of the signing of the treaty that ended the 1914-1918 war, usually called World War I, known then as “the war to end all wars.” We all know now that although that name was filled with hope, that hope was quickly dashed. In ceremonies in many countries, …

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