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This charming children's book tells the story of a ladybug who
lost her dots.
The story is told in free verse, with rhymes that will appeal to
young children. But older ones will also find this book fascinating.
Victor Pavlov includes a full page of different types of
"Lady Beetles" found in North America, carefully
depicted in color with full descriptions, along with interesting
facts about these on the back cover.
Who knew a ladbug had so many different names?
Read an excerpt at www.victorpavlov.com,
where you will also see Victor's exceptional paintings. He is a
Fellow of the Ottawa Watercolour Society, and has been featured in
their juried exhibitions.
Polka Dot Troubles is available from the website as well as
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Theresa Jobateh is a survivor of an almost-fatal assault, but even
before she completely healed, she turned to writing as an outlet.
She has a blog, Deep
Blonde Thoughts, maintains a free online writing discussion group
called Writ 'n' Read
(at the Natonal Capital Freenet), and contributes regularly to a
number of Ottawa area publications.
A tireless volunteer with Ottawa Independent Writers, we often
wonder how she juggles those duties with a full-time job, as a single
parent living with and supporting three grown children and two lazy cats.
The Year of the Rabbit
is a young-adult novel which took four years to bring to write. It's
fiction, written under a pseudonym, chronicling the relationship
between a young priest and his precocious "love child," who
discovers her paternity.
Those of us who read early chapters were captivated by the family
connections (and disconnections!), how well Theresa has captured the
1970s in Ontario cottage country, and the enduring, positive message
of the book.
Available from Amazon. |
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Dinner at the Dog Pound,
by Sylvia Adams,
with illustrationg by Ben Chung, is a charming story for children
featuring Wagstaff O’Gogg, a little mongrel dog. Wagstaff tires
of eating his owner’s diet food and runs away. Taken to the City
Pound, he discovers to his surprise that all stray dogs are treated
to a daily banquet. Deciding to stay, he finds a wonderful,
surprising new life. Order from the author, or from Trafford.
Sylvia is an award-winning poet
and novelist, so check out her other books on her website.
Colin
Morton is another Ottawa award-winner. His newest book is The
Hundred Cuts: Sitting Bull and the Major. You'll find links to
his poetry, novels, essays and reviews on his website, including a
CBC prize-winning series.
Hanns Skoutajan
fled from the Nazi takeover of Czechoslovakia with his parents in
1938 - 39 .
A new documentary film based on
his book, Uprooted
and Transplanted,
revisits some of
the milestones on that journey in search of a new home, first to
Scotland then to western Canada.
Sudeten German refugees from Hitler were settled on abandoned
homesteads. Hanns’ parents were city people who had had
no experience with farming, let alone living far from the basic
amenities to which they had been accustomed, e.g.. electricity,
plumbing, water. Three years after the outbreak of war they left the
farm and came east where his father was retrained and found work in a
war plant in eastern Ontario established by Thomas Bata who had also
fled from Czechoslovakia.
Hanns’ choice of vocation, the ministry in the United Church of
Canada, was strongly influenced by that odyssey from tragedy to
freedom. He often likened it to the flight of the Israelites from
Egypt, indeed, a segment of the film using animation retells that
biblical story.
The
account also returns to Europe after the war and tells of the fate
of the 3.5 million ethnic Germans who were “cleansed” from
the Sudeten area of Czechoslovakia.
The 50 minute documentary is called Hitler's German Foes, begins
on Parliament Hill as Hanns in his clerical robes quotes the well
known words of the German cleric Martin Niehmuller in which he
condemns inaction against the abuse of human rights, “.
....finally they came after me and there was no one left to defend
me.” Unfortunately the story told by Hanns continues to be
timely many years after the events he describes.
Hitler’s
German Foes is a Norflicks Production, directed by Tom Gregor
and filmed by Czech Television. It is available from Ashland Video
Corporation : Stage 13 , 629 Eastern Ave., Toronto , M4M 1E4.
Both the DVD and Hanns' book are available from him via e-mail.
The Neglected Garden,
by Alberte Villeneuve-Sinclair,
Ottawa area author and novelist. See cover and read
mini-review on the FICTION page.
Mary Harrington Bryant's memoir
of teaching in the NWT from 1944-48 includes being diagnosed with
polio during her time in the north. Four
Years and Then Some is available from the
author. E-mail her at: jbryant7@rogers.com.
Paul Mackan's new book is
called Dream Girl, Dream.
Saralee is full of questions. But when she asks, Why is God invisible?
no one can provide an answer. So she issues God a challenge: I
will never pray to you again until you tell me why! This is
a charming story for all ages. Published by
Publish America.
Neven Humphrey lost his left eye to cancer soon after birth, and a
few months later doctors diagnosed myopia in the right eye. He
lost almost all his sight in that eye, but surgery allowed him to
gain distance vision, at the price of losing reading vision.
Nevertheless, Neven started writing in 1990, but only seriously
considered writing a book ten years later. His first novel, To
Save a Wolf! was published in 2005, The Honourable Athletes
(a book of short stories) in 2008, and More Honourable Athletes
in 2010. A third book in the series, Still More Honourable Athletes
is in the works. Contact him via
Ottawa Independent Writers, or at neven_humphrey@hotmail.com
