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CM . . . . Volume XVII Number 18. . . .January 14, 2011. 
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Emily Carr. (My Life).
Bryan Pezzi.
Calgary, AB: Weigl, 2011.
24 pp., pbk. & hc., $10.95 (pbk.), $23.95 (hc.).
ISBN 978-1-77071-605-6 (pbk.), ISBN 978-1-77071-599-8 (hc.).
Subject Heading:
Painters-Canada-Biography-Juvenile literature.
Grades 2-4 / Ages 7-9.
Review by Suzanne Pierson.
****/4
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Don Cherry. (My Life).
Tina Schwartzenberger.
Calgary, AB: Weigl, 2011.
24 pp., pbk. & hc., $10.95 (pbk.), $23.95 (hc.).
ISBN 978-1-77071-626-1 (pbk.), ISBN 978-1-77071-25-4 (hc.).
Subject Headings:
Hockey-Canada-Biography-Juvenile literature.
National hockey league-Biography-Juvenile literature.
Sportcasters-Canada-Biography-Juvenile literature.
Grades 2-4 / Ages 7-9.
Review by Suzanne Pierson.
****/4
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Sidney Crosby. (My Life).
Danielle LeClaire.
Calgary, AB: Weigl, 2011.
24 pp., pbk. & hc., $10.95 (pbk.), $23.95 (hc.).
ISBN 978-1-77071-602-5 (pbk.), ISBN 978-1-77071-596-7 (hc.).
Subject Heading:
Hockey players-Canada-Biography-Juvenile literature.
Grades 2-4 / Ages 7-9.
Review by Suzanne Pierson.
****/4
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Terry Fox. (My Life).
Bryan Pezzi.
Calgary, AB: Weigl, 2011.
24 pp., pbk. & hc., $10.95 (pbk.), $23.95 (hc.).
ISBN 978-1-77071-604-9 (pbk.), ISBN 978-1-77071-598-1 (hc.).
Subject Heading:
Cancer-Patients-Canada-Biography-Juvenile literature.
Grades 2-4 / Ages 7-9.
Review by Suzanne Pierson.
****/4
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Craig Kielburger. (My Life).
Bryan Pezzi.
Calgary, AB: Weigl, 2011.
24 pp., pbk. & hc., $10.95 (pbk.), $23.95 (hc.).
ISBN 978-1-77071-603-2 (pbk.), ISBN 978-1-77071-597-4 (hc.).
Subject Headings:
Free the children-Juvenile literature.
Children's rights-Juvenile literature.
Human rights workers-Canada-Biography-Juvenile literature.
Grades 2-4 / Ages 7-9.
Review by Suzanne Pierson.
****/4
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David Suzuki. (My Life).
Bryan Pezzi.
Calgary, AB: Weigl, 2011.
24 pp., pbk. & hc., $10.95 (pbk.), $23.95 (hc.).
ISBN 978-1-77071-601-8 (pbk.), ISBN 978-1-77071-595-0 (hc.).
Subject Headings:
Environmentalists-Canada-Biography-Juvenile literature.
Broadcasters-Canada-Biography-Juvenile literature.
Grades 2-4 / Ages 7-9.
Review by Suzanne Pierson.
****/4
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excerpt:
Who is Sidney Crosby?
Sidney Crosby is a professional hockey player. He is one of the best players in the National Hockey League (NHL).
Crosby loved to play hockey while growing up. Soon, people noticed his skills on the ice. As Crosby got older, people compared him to well-known Canadian hockey player Wayne Gretzky.
Gretzky is called “The Great One.” Many people call Crosby “The Next One.” (From .)
The series, “My Life,” fills a much needed niche – biographies of famous Canadians for beginning readers and researchers. Yahoo! As a bonus, four of the six are living. Young readers may even know who some of these people are.
Although the books are written by three different authors, each book follows a similar pattern. The cover is a close-up of the famous Canadian and his or her name - easy for a beginning reader to identify. The books include facts about their families, their successes and their challenges. A timeline near the back of each book will help students sort out the important events in the person’s life.
Each book is organized under the same chapter headings, although they are sometimes in a different order. For example, David Suzuki begins with “Who is David Suzuki?” and then covers “Growing Up,” “Influences,” “Overcoming Obstacles,” “Practice Makes Perfect,” “Key Events,” “Achievements and Successes,” “What is a Scientist?” “Timeline,” “Write a Biography,” “Find Out More,” and ends with a “Glossary/ Index.” The other books all use the same organization.
The “Write a Biography” chapter reinforces the use of libraries and books for finding information. It instructs students to choose a person they find interesting and visit a library to “find out if your library has any books about this person.” It also includes some research questions to guide young readers to write a biography on their own. The specific steps to writing a biography will be very useful to keep students on track and should lead to good success when they begin to work on their own.
The “Find Out More” section includes suggested websites where students can also find further information about the famous Canadian in each book. Because these books are aimed at beginning researchers, and because website urls are constantly changing, it might have been a good idea to include a web searching strategy, such as ‘Go to www.askkids.com and enter the name of your person in the search box.’
The books are nicely laid out with clear text on a white background bordered by a design specific to the famous Canadian. For example, the border in Don Cherry is a yellow plaid while the border in Craig Kielburger is a green strip of paper dolls with adult and child dolls holding hands. The books are also well illustrated with simple maps and clear and colourful photos. Where appropriate, some historic black and white photos have been included also.
Major strengths of the series are the accessibility and consistency of the information. It will be fairly easy to use this series with a small group of students to introduce them to biographies because the books are all organized with the same information. You can, for example, ask the students to find out where their famous Canadian was born and know that they will all find that information on page 6 in the chapter titled “Growing Up.”
If there is a weakness in the series, it is that there are five famous Canadian men and only one famous Canadian woman. I may be biased, but perhaps Sidney Crosby could have represented the sports field and Don Cherry could have been replaced with a book about Thérèse Casgrain, or Roberta Bondar, or Emily Stowe, or so many worthy others. Each book does include a page listing three other notable Canadians in the same field as the subject of the biography. Several of these additional listings are women. For example, Sidney Crosby includes Cassie Campbell in its list of “Hockey Players Through History.”
Emily Carr introduces students to one of Canada’s most famous artists. Usually photos of Carr show her as a somewhat eccentric looking mature artist. The cover photo of this book shows her at a younger and more conventionally stylish age.
Don Cherry tells the story of this famous hockey sportscaster from his early hockey career as a player and a coach to his current role as co-host of Coach’s Corner on Hockey Night in Canada. Photos show Cherry in some of his most flamboyant suits.
Sidney Crosby will appeal to young hockey players and fans. Photos of Crosby hoisting the Stanley Cup and showing off his 2010 Vancouver Olympic gold medal may be very familiar to young readers.
Terry Fox will be an excellent addition to your collection, especially if your school or community participates in the Terry Fox run each year. Fox is labeled a “Health Hero,” which is defined as “people who want to help cure cancer and other diseases.” Rick Hansen, Michael J. Fox, and Steve Fonyo are the other “Health Heroes Through History.”
Craig Kielburger tells the story of the young activist from his first awareness of child slavery to his current work with Free The Children, an organization he started when he was 12-years-old. Several of the photos show Craig looking incredibly young. Students who read this biography will have to let go of the idea that they are too young to make a difference.
David Suzuki includes several black and white photos from Suzuki’s early life, including a photo of a Canadian internment camp like the one where he and his family lived after they were ‘relocated’ during World War II. Fortunately for the world, this information is in the chapter “Overcoming Obstacles,” which Suzuki clearly has.
With their large, clear black on white text and copious photographs, these books will be an excellent addition to libraries looking for entry level biographies of famous Canadians.
Highly Recommended.
Suzanne Pierson is a retired teacher-librarian, currently instructing Librarianship courses at Queen’s University in Kingston, ON.
To comment on this title or this review, send mail to
cm@umanitoba.ca.
Copyright © the Manitoba Library Association. Reproduction for personal use is permitted only if this copyright notice is maintained. Any other reproduction is prohibited without permission.
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