Polio, pandemic parallels poignant

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This article was published 19/03/2022 (1642 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Local author Harriet Zaidman has written a contemporary middle grade novel about the 1953 polio epidemic in Winnipeg. While it focuses on poliomyelitis, Second Chances (Red Deer Press, 288 pages, $15, paperback) has unmistakable similarities to reactions to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Dale, the main protagonist in Zaidman’s novel, is a Grade 8 student and a goalie on the local Bantam B hockey team. He dreams of an NHL career. But when he’s stricken with polio and ends up in an iron lung at King George Hospital, his hopes are dashed.

The most gripping scenes take place in the hospital. But there is also the conflict between Dale and his father, who rejects the polio vaccine and refuses to let Dale’s younger brother get vaccinated. There’s also Charlene, the Métis patient who causes Dale to question his own commitment to anti-racism.

Zaidman is to be lauded for both championing the scientific verity of vaccines and speaking against the discrimination of Indigenous families in Winnipeg. Readers ages 9-12 will find enjoyment as well as education in this novel.

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Lawrence Hill is well known for his adult books, especially The Book of Negroes, but his first children’s novel, Beatrice and Croc Harry (HarperCollins, 384 pages, $23, hardcover) has become a bestseller as well.

With a enchanted forest, creatures that talk and a small girl with brains and resiliency facing an evil giant trying to get into her brain, this story has all the ingredients of a classical fairy tale. Yet Beatrice, who is Black, battles racism as well as hostility, and promotes vegetarianism and peace between nations.

Croc Harry, a huge crocodile who is Beatrice’s best friend (despite having tried to glue his jaws shut), and Horace the rabbit, who can Jump “as far as the moon” add to the diversity of the novel.

Hill, who divides his time between Hamilton, Ont. and Woody Point, N.L., has written a tale that is part myth, part philosophy and partly just fun for mid-level readers ages 9-12.

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Sharon M. Draper’s mid-level novel Out of My Mind scored highly when it was released in 2010. Featuring Melody, a 12-year-old student with cerebral palsy, she continues her story in Out of My Heart (Atheneum, 352 pages, $23, hardcover).

Unable to walk or talk, Melody communicates through a digital speaking device. Despite her challenges, she is exceptionally intelligent and has a photographic memory. When she finds a special camp for children with disabilities online, Melody makes friends for the first time and finds activities tailored for her.

There is a lot of information about the accessible activities at the special camp. But there is also much about Melody’s emotions and fears as she challenges sports such as swimming and horse-back riding. This novel may give children with disabilities hope while offering others a new understanding of their lives.

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Ottawa native Jen Lynn Bailey’s This is The Boat that Ben Built (Pajama Press, 40 pages, $23, hardcover), with art by Montreal-born Maggie Zeng, takes Ben into a lake full of Canadian wildlife.

Ben floats through a memorable day in his hand-built wooden boat. But when an owl startles the heron and leads to a quick reversal of the creatures in the forest, Mom joins him in the boat. For readers who want to learn more there’s extra info on each of the wild creatures.

The rhyming text is catchy and fun, based on the beat of This is the House that Jack Built: “This is the moose all wobbly and slim / that strolls by the black bear taking a swim.” Zeng’s digital pictures are large and colourful.

Early readers (ages 4-7) will enjoy chanting along with the text.

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Helen Norrie is a former teacher/librarian with a love for children’s literature.