________________ CM . . . . Volume XXI Number 6. . . .October 10, 2014

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Bario Leblieux: The Right to be Taught in French or English. (The Charter for Children).

Dustin Milligan. Illustrated by Cory Tibbits.
Ottawa, ON: DC Canada Education Publishing, 2014.
27 pp., pbk. & hc., $11.95 (pbk.), $16.95 (hc.).
ISBN 978-1-926776-91-0 (pbk.), ISBN 978-1-926776-92-7 (hc.).

Subject Headings:
Canada-Languages-Law and legislation-Juvenile literature.
Linguistic rights-Canada-Juvenile literature.

Grades 2-6 / Ages 7-11.

Review by Suzanne Pierson.

**** /4

   
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Little Courthouse on the Prairie: The Right to Play and Be Free. (The Charter for Children).

Dustin Milligan. Illustrated by Meredith Luce.
Ottawa, ON: DC Canada Education Publishing, 2014.
28 pp., pbk. & hc., $11.95 (pbk.), $16.95 (hc.).
ISBN 978-1-926776-89-7 (pbk.), ISBN 978-1-926776-90-3 (hc.).

Subject Headings:
Civil rights-Canada-Juvenile literature.
Play-Canada-Juvenile literature.

Grades 2-6 / Ages 7-11.

Review by Suzanne Pierson.

**** /4

   
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The Two Two-Eyed Potatoes: The Right to Choose a Best Friend. (The Charter for Children).

Dustin Milligan. Illustrated by Cory Tibbits.
Ottawa, ON: DC Canada Education Publishing, 2014.
24 pp., pbk. & hc., $11.95 (pbk.), $16.95 (hc.).
ISBN 978-1-926776-49-1 (pbk.), ISBN 978-1-926776-50-7 (hc.).

Subject Heading:
Freedom of association-Canada-Juvenile literature.

Grades 2-6 / Ages 7-11.

Review by Suzanne Pierson.

**** /4

   
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An Unusual Thrill on Parliament Hill: The Responsibility to Respect the Rights of Others. (The Charter for Children).

Dustin Milligan. Illustrated by Meredith Luce.
Ottawa, ON: DC Canada Education Publishing, 2014.
27 pp., pbk. & hc., $11.95 (pbk.), $16.95 (hc.).
ISBN 978-1-926776-93-4 (pbk.), ISBN 978-1-926776-94-1 (hc.).

Subject Heading:
Civil rights-Canada-Juvenile literature.

Grades 2-6 / Ages 7-11.

Review by Suzanne Pierson.

**** /4

   

excerpt:

Olivia looked to her right. The polar bears had formed a crowd in the far corner and had started chatting loudly with each other.

The tour guide told them to stop and pay attention, but one of the polar bears replied:

We’re allowed to form groups and have a meeting!
It’s our right in the Charter – a most wondrous thing!
We can meet any time; we can form groups anywhere;
We can protest anything, without so much as a care! (From
An Unusual Thrill on Parliament Hill.)

 

Clever, quirky, humorous and informative – again! I’m a huge fan of this series. Buy them all.

internal art     With the release of these four books, author Dustin Milligan has completed his mission. Seven years ago, as a first-year law student, Milligan identified a need for material to teach young children about the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and he decided that he would be the one to fill that need. And just for fun, he would have the characters in his books talk in rhyming couplets. Move over Shakespeare.

      Amazingly, Milligan has maintained his cleverly humorous and quirky writing style throughout the series. And now the series is complete with 14 books, each dealing with an important charter right and set in a different province or territory. The fourteenth book brings many of the characters from the other books to Parliament Hill to learn that even Charter Rights have limitations.

internal art      The illustrators of these latest four books, Meredith Luce, and Cory Tibbits, also illustrated previous books in the series. Each has a distinct style, using bright colours and plant and animal characters to bring even more fun to the storyline. Many of the characters have names that are plays on words of the names of famous Canadians, such as a hockey playing blueberry, Bario Leblieux, and a singing potato, Mashin’ Tom Connors.

     “Note for Parents and Teachers,” which appears at the back of each book, quotes the section of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms which is the focus of that book. The notes restate the story in a succinct summary to clarify the intent of the story. There are also some higher level thinking questions for children to consider and discuss with their parents and teachers. For example:

1. Are best friends important? How do Taylor and Jordan feel when they are not allowed to be best friends?
2. Are Taylor and Jordan boys or girls? Does it matter? Compare the Best Friends Rule to the same-sex marriage law.
3. At the end of the story, Taylor and Jordan are still different from the other “best friends” in the warehouse. Do you think they will continue to struggle with being treated respectfully even after they are allowed to be best friends?
4. What can you do to ensure that all friendships are respected in your community? (From
The Two Two-eyed Potatoes)

     Bario Leblieux: The Right to Be Taught in French or English is set in Nova Scotia. Young hockey player, Bario Leblieux, struggles to maintain his French language in an Anglophone environment. This story explores the right to minority language education.

internal art      Little Courthouse on the Prairie: The Right to Play and Be Free is set in Manitoba. Bison Sherriff Buffy is a talented hoofball player who decides to use her authority to rule all other sports illegal and to imprison all the other players in the Bison Pen. This story explores the right to liberty, “the freedom to act and pursue his or her interests without oppressive restrictions from the state.”

      The Two Two-Eyed Potatoes: The Right to Choose a Best Friend is set in Prince Edward Island. Taylor and Jordan both have two eyes, and, under the rules of their community, they are not allowed to be best friends. This story looks at the right to “equal treatment and freedom from discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.”

      An Unusual Thrill on Parliament Hill: The Responsibility to Respect the Rights of Others brings many of the characters from other books in the series together for a tour of Parliament Hill. In many ways, this book is the most important book of the series. All of the different groups on the tour are experts on some specific Charter Right, but, when all of the interest groups ignore and disrespect the others, no one is happy.

You’ve gotten our lessons on rights confused.
Rights must be valued – they must not be abused!
For our rights and freedoms to be protected,
Certain limits must be respected!

internal art     I am very happy that this series has maintained its high standard of humour, and information. I highly recommend these four new books along with the other 10 in “The Charter for Children” series. These quirky stories open the door for some meaningful discussion with young people to help them know and understand their rights. Importantly, these books counsel students to stand up for their rights by working within the law, but also to remember that others have rights too. Olivia sums it up well.

A right is something we can never neglect. The main rule is that it’s all about RESPECT! (From An Unusual Thrill on Parliament Hill.)

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.
Published by
The Manitoba Library Association
ISSN 1201-9364
Hosted by the University of Manitoba.
 

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