Books

“Mapping Memories is a book/DVD of first-person narratives by youth with refugee experiences”. The accompanying Mapping Memories website contains videos and activities that explore the themes of identity and personal experience with an emphasis on creativity and authenticity.

The Book Thief is life-altering. Markus Zusak creates vivid characters who become embedded in your psyche and beg you to hold them close to your heart. Claimed by my grade 8 students to be their “favourite book of all time”, it is rich with powerful and impeccably crafted writing. Narrated by Death, The Book Thief is set in Nazi Germany and tells the story of Liesel Meminger, an orphan girl who befriends an unlikely Jew, hidden in her basement. (Submitted by Kim Hardy, CVRHS).

The Omnivore
This is a free (British) website that specializes in gathering book reviews from various newspapers about newly released books (paper & digital). “The Omnivore” offers a huge range of titles in both fiction and non-fiction categories.

A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki is currently short-listed for the 2013 Man-Booker Prize. Ruth discovers a Hello Kitty lunchbox washed up on the shore of her beach home. Within it lies a diary that expresses the hopes and dreams of a young girl. She suspects it might have arrived on a drift of debris from the 2011 tsunami. With every turn of the page, she is sucked deeper into an enchanting mystery. Meanwhile, we also read about how, in a small cafe in Tokyo, 16-year-old Nao Yasutani is navigating the challenges thrown up by modern life. In the face of cyberbullying, the mysteries of a 104-year-old Buddhist nun and great-grandmother, and the joy and heartbreak of family, Nao is trying to find her own place – and voice – through a diary she hopes will find a reader and friend who finally understands her. (Submitted by Abigail Anderson).