As Long as the Rivers Flow by Larry Loyie

Loyie, L. and Brissenden, C. (2002). As long as the rivers flow. Toronto, Ontario: Groundwood Books.

Summary:

As Long as the Rivers Flow is a semi-autobiographical tale of Larry Loyie’s experiences living in Alberta the summer before he is sent to a residential school. The book shows Lawrence’s love of his family, heritage, the land, and the animals. Lawrence helps save an owlet, spends time with his family and comes face to face with a bear. It also portrays the hardship and the sense of loss that the young children and their parents went through while the children were forced to attend these schools.

Advisory Information:

Themes:

a. Loss and Estrangement: The latter part of the book, takes on a more serious note, outlining what Larry went through during and following his stay at the residential school in Alberta.

b. Cultural Values: The book shows how First Americans treated the land and animals in the story. While out in the forest, Lawrence and his kokom encounter a bear. When the bear dies, Lawrence tells us how his kokom respects the bear’s spirit as well as how the bear will provide support for the village.

c. Importance of Family: Family dynamics is also an important aspect of this story. Lawrence is has a close relationship with his mother and father as well as his grandparents.

Age Recommendation:

I would recommend this book for older intermediate readers, aged 8-12.

Other Information:

This book was illustrated by Heather D. Holmlund.

Along with Larry Loyie, Constance Brissenden, Larry’s partner, helped write this book.

Winner of the 2003 Norma Fleck Award for Canadian Children's Nonfiction.

Reaction:

I was taken with the overall mood of this story. Understandably there is a sadness that prevails throughout the story, especially if one reads the Epilogue documenting Larry’s experiences. Compared to Shi-shi-etko, I think this story was better at examining the heartbreak that families went through when children were taken away to the residential schools.

Dead Man's Gold and Other Stories by Paul Yee

Yee, P. (2002). Dead man’s gold and other stories. Toronto, Ontario: Groundwood Books.

Summary:

Dead Man’s Gold and Other Stories, is a collection of ten stories which chronicles the lives of men and women who traveled from China and Hong Kong to Gold Mountain. Each character shows a different side of the people who came to Gold Mountain, some are rich, others poor. Each story is unrelated to the others, and describes how characters face hardship, greed, disillusionment, and for a few, still feel happiness in their new worlds.

Advisory Information:

Overall Themes of the Short Stories:

a. Death
b. Spirits
c. Honor
d. Discrimination
e. Disillusionment

Age Recommendation:

Due to the older themes, I would encourage intermediate to advanced readers to read this book, aged 10-14.

Other Information:

The book’s illustrations were completed by Harvey Chan.

Reaction:
Heavily inspired by Chinese cultural anecdotes and morals, Dead Man’s Gold and Other Stories transports the reader to the past. While most of the stories do not end with a “happy” ending, it is interesting to see how culturally Gold Mountain was viewed. For many people Gold Mountain was an illusion of wealth and prosperity. I thought that Yee did an excellent job establishing this theme throughout his stories.

Hana’s Suitcase on Stage by Karen Levine and Emil Sher

Levine, K. & Sher, E. (2006). Hana’s suitcase on stage. Toronto, Ontario: Second Story Press.

Summary:

This story chronicles the lives of siblings Hana and George Brady, and the director of Tokyo Holocaust Education Resource Center, Fumiko Ishioka, taking place in the late 1930s and 1940s as well as the early 2000s. Hana and George Brady were young Jewish children living in Nove Mesto, Czechoslovakia during the 1930s and 1940s when German occupation of Czechoslovakia changed their lives forever. Forced to move to concentration camps, the Brady family is dislocated. Over 70 years later, Fumiko Ishioka living in Tokyo, Japan opens a Holocaust Education Resource Center where she begins to uncover Hana’s and George’s story.

Advisory Information

Themes:

a. Holocaust: This book looks at how Hitler’s discrimination and genocide affected young Jewish children and Europe as a whole. The book goes into detail about the conditions of the concentration camps and later to death camps like Auschwitz. It talks about displacement of families and friends over time and countries and how children were cheated out of a childhood.

b. Love: Throughout Hana’s story there is evidence of love, compassion and kindness. There are examples of Hana’s family giving to the poor, Hana and her brother looking out for each other, and George’s love for his sister that motivated him to tell her story to Fumiko Ishioka.

c. Dedication: Fumiko Ishioka does not give up in her search for Hana and George, despite overwhelming odds.

d. Fighting Racism and Intolerance: Fumiko Ishioka’s Tokyo Holocaust Education Resource Center promotes the idea that it is our duty as people to ensure that another Holocaust will never be repeated. The ideas of compassion and respect for all cultures are examined through Ishioka’s students at the center and the awareness of Hana’s story through the creation of a play.

Age Recommendation:

I would recommend this book to intermediate readers aged 8 to 14. I think that early readers would not necessarily understand some of the themes and events of the story. In order for this book to have an impact on children, they need to have a better understanding of the context of the time period as well as abstract ideas such as genocide, racism, and so forth. Furthermore, since this book is about the Holocaust the themes presented in this book are for more mature readers. While the pictures are simply of Hana, her family or her drawings, the text can be graphic for early readers.

Other Information:

Note about the text: This book included both the original story by Karen Levine and the play by Emil Sher.

This story has multiple settings. Places include: Tokyo, Japan; Nove Mesto, Czechoslovakia; Terezin (also know as Therecienstadt), Czechoslovakia; Prague, Germany and finally Toronto, Canada.

Reaction:

I found the transitions between Fumiko Ishioka’s searches for Hana’s background with the stories behind Hana’s life to be an effective means of connecting the two stories. As a reader we not only see Hana’s life but can also realize the effects that the Holocaust left on its survivors. After 70 years George is still grieving and tied to the past. Ishioka’s quest for finding information is also evidence of how identities are still stolen and missing today due to Hitler’s policies. I think that this book is a must for anyone studying the Holocaust.