By the Rivers of Brooklyn by Trudy Morgan-Cole

The first book I read by Trudy Morgan-Cole was Esther: A Story or Courage and I absolutely loved it.  By the Rivers of Brooklyn is only the second book by her that I've read, and while it is nothing like the first, I thoroughly enjoyed it too.

I am a big fan of historical fiction, and, being a proud Newfoundlander, I especially like finding a good historical fiction book that is based in Newfoundland, or about Newfoundlanders.  In By the Rivers of Brooklyn, Trudy Morgan Cole tells the story of three generations with Newfoundland roots, starting in 1924.  The story concentrates mainly on the women, with the men being mostly in the background.  It tells about how many family members had to leave Newfoundland for work and how some never did come back to stay.

The story starts with a girl searching for the illusive trunk in the attic that holds information about her family history.  I think it's something we all do in one way or another.  She never does find the "trunk" but there is a scene near the end of the book that does tie back to the opening scene in a really neat way.

Though totally different from the first book I read by Trudy Morgan Cole, this book, like the first, has left me wanting to read more of her work.

"This is a work of fiction."

Ever read that in the front of a book?  It usually continues with "Any resemblance to any persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental."  There have been a number of times when I've read that and thought, "Yeah, right!  That's a fine way to cover your behind."  And that's really what it is, at least I think.  Trudy Morgan Cole also thinks so.  She says so in the front pages of her book By the Rivers of Brooklyn.

Trudy also reminds as that often "writers mine their own lives for material."  In talking about her book she says "This book, finally, is pure fiction, and its story includes things that really happened in my family and in other people's families and a few things that may never have happened in any family."  I love that honesty, and I think it is true of all fiction books.

BTW, I am enjoying the book and you may find it referred to in a few more blog posts in the future.  I already have another planned out in my head.  :)

Nursery Rhymes of Newfoundland and Labrador by Robin McGrath

I picked up this book during a recent visit to our local library thinking that it might be a book I could share with my little one.  In light of that, I found this quote from the introduction interesting: "Contrary to popular belief, nursery rhymes are not written by or for children - they are generally part of the adult world and are co-opted by children who appreciate their simplicity or are merely fascinated by the enigmatic sound of the words."   While there are rhymes in Nursery Rhymes of Newfoundland and Labrador that I would share with little one there are some that I wouldn't and I'm glad I decided to read it myself before sharing it with her.

Robin McGrath did not actually write the poems in the book but she did compile and edit them.  There is a fair bit of history packed into the rhymes and I found it interesting to read.  I like the addition of the notes at the end of the book, though I would have preferred the notes actually included by the rhymes they are about. The notes make the rhymes more meaningful.

One is Canada by Maxine Trottier

I just finished reading One is Canada to Little One.  I did not particularly enjoying reading the book but Little One was quite smitten by the illustrations.

The book was illustrated by Bill Slavin and we were part way in the book when Little One exclaimed "He is a good drawer!  Who drew the pictures?"  She is 4, remember, and I was a bit shocked with this exclamation.  I hadn't noticed the pictures at all.  I turned to the front of the book and told her the illustrators name and continued reading the book, but I kept getting interrupted with her exclamations about how great the pictures were.  At one point she exclaimed, "I have to tell him he's a good drawer."  :)  I think I'm going to have to look for more books illustrated by Bill Slavin.

Maxine Trottier, though not born a Canadian, became a Canadian citizen in 1974.  She lives in my home province, Newfoundland and Labrador.  I skimmed a list of her books and I will be making a point of checking out more of them.

This book caught my eye during our recent library visit because it is a Canadian book and it is a book about numbers.  I've been making a conscious effort to expose Little One to numbers and math concepts lately because it's something I haven't really put much effort into so far.  As I said earlier, however, I did not enjoying reading the book.  After reading it I read on the inside flap of the dust cover on the book that it is "a rhythmical read-aloud".  It may just be me, but I didn't find it rhythmical at all. Having said that, however, I do think I will go back to this book again.  There is a lot of history and geography wrapped up in this picture book.  It would make a great jumping off point for further learning.

This book counts towards the following reading challenges:  Canadian Authors Challenge, Newfoundland Authors, and Young Readers Challenge

Fish 'n' Ships by Ed Smith

Ed Smith is a local author that has written a number of books, but I had never read any of his books.  I had, however, read his column.  He writes a weekly column that is published in our local newspaper, as well as a number of other newspapers in our province.  I enjoy the humor and style of writing in his column so I thought it was about time I tried one of his books.

Fish 'n' Ships is the book I chose to try first and I really, really enjoyed it. The sub title for the book is "A brief twisted history of Newfoundland...sort of" and that's just what it is.  I learned a lot about the history of our province through the book, but I also laughed a lot.

This book counts towards the Support Your Local Authors, Newfoundland Authors, Canadian Authors, and Support Your Local Library challenges.

Books that I have read by Newfoundland Authors

To encourage people to consider joining my 2010 Newfoundland Authors Reading Challenge, I thought I'd share some books by Newfoundland Authors that I  have read in the past.  I may reread some of the same books this year or I may read other books by these authors.

Trudy J. Morgan Cole`s Esther: A Story of Courage is a book that I loved.  I seriously couldn`t put it down.  If anyone is looking for a book to count for the Biblical Fiction challenge I would suggest this one.  I was thinking about using it for the the Flashback Challenge but then I discovered her blog and learned about all the other books she`s written and I want to taste some of them first.

Kevin Major`s No Man's Land is another that I really, really enjoyed.  It's another I'm considering for the Flashback Challenge.  I originally read it because it was required reading for my son for highschool.  He loved it and I'm thinking about rereading it with my daughter after Christmas as part of her schooling.  It could also be counted for the Historical Fiction Reading Challenge and I think it would fit the Young Adult Reading Challenge.

As Near to Heaven by Sea is another of Kevin Major's books that I enjoyed, even though it is a history book instead of a novel.  I'm also considering doing this one with my daughter as part of her schooling in the New Year.  It would count for the Flashback Challenge.

I also read Blood Red Ochre by Kevin Major, but this is one of those books that doesn't especially suit my reading taste.  I think it is a very good book, but a little out of my comfort zone. It would make a good choice for someone participating in the Young Adult Reading Challenge

I think I read a couple other Kevin Major books but I can't remember for sure if I read them or just thought about reading them.  I may look at more of his as possibilities for some of the challenges.

Cassie Brown's Death on the Ice was required reading for either a high school or university course, or maybe both.  I remember enjoying it somewhat but also not liking some things about it.  It would be a good fit for someone looking for books for the Historical Fiction Reading Challenge.  I am consider re-reading it or reading one of her other books.

Earl Pilgrim is a great story teller and from the books that I've read by him over the years I've found that he was improving as a writer.  Will Anyone Search for Danny? is the first book that I read by him and while I really enjoyed the story, I did not enjoy the writing.  Some other books that I've read by him are The Captain and the Girl, The Day of Varick Frissel, and The Curse of the Red Cross Ring.  I think I read some others too but I can't remember for sure.  Many of his books would count for the Historical Fiction Reading Challenge.

This is just a small sampling of some of our Newfoundland Authors, there are many more, and I will be posting about more of them in the near future.  If there is a particular Newfoundland Author that you enjoy I'd love to hear about it.  Also, please consider joining my 2010 Newfoundland Authors Reading Challenge and spreading the word about it.

2010 Reading Challenge - Newfoundland Authors

I've searched high and low but I can't find a challenge to read Newfoundland Authors in 2010, so I've decided to issue my own challenge. :)

Newfoundland and Labrador is my home province. I love it. I know there are a number of authors from Newfoundland and Labrador and I've read some of them. To be perfectly honest, I haven't always enjoyed books written by Newfoundlanders. I have read a few that I've liked, but the ones I haven't especially liked are more numerous. I think it is a matter of my own taste in books rather than a reflection of the quality of our writers. I don't especially like books that are full of crude language and questionable behavior and many of the books that I've found by Newfoundlanders seem to have both. Regardless of that, however, I want to make an effort to read more books by Newfoundlanders in 2010. I'm hoping I'll find more that I actually enjoy. I am not going to set a goal of a particular number, just going to see how many I've actually read by the end of the year.

If you are interested, you are welcome to join me in this challenge. I haven't a clue about the wonderful Mr. Linky that I've seen on other pages for people to use in joining challenges. If I happen to learn I will add it to this post, but at least for now you can simply leave a comment on this post letting me know that you are planning on joining the challenge. If you should happen to write reviews of the Newfoundland authors books that you read, I'd love for you to share links to those, too, throughout the year.

To help myself and anyone else that might be interested in this challenge, I will make a post in the near future with a list of Newfoundland authors and books. If you have authors or books that could be added to the list, feel free to tell me about them in a comment on this post.