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THE CROOKED TREE
Esther Bender. illustrated by Edna Bender. Scottdale: Pa. Herald Press, 1996. paper. 32 pp.
The protagonist in this attractive book is an oak tree, whose more-than-two- hundred-year life in the Appalachian Mountains is portrayed in story and pictures. The story begins, fittingly, with an acorn and traces the tree's adventures, including the circumstances leading to its deformity and seasons of steady growth.
Around the oak tree's story, Bender weaves her themes of history, ecology, growth in spite of adversity, racism and the worth of all living things. She parallels, sensitively and hopefully, the changing relations between native Americans and white people with the oak tree's growth and maturity.
Edna Bender's paintings blend superbly with the text, reinforcing and animating the oak tree's story. Writer and artist--they are not closely related--have lived on or within sight of the Appalachians, and both have conscientiously researched the historic background to this story.
This serious book offers children an introduction to an aspect of American history, and at the same time, highlights themes that retain contemporary relevance. Children, and adults who read to children, will welcome this reflective alternative to the more upbeat, jazzy treatments of current issues.
THE GLADYS ELEGIES
Barbara Nickel. Regina: Coteau Books, 1998. paper. 81 pp. $10.95.
Readers who follow the development of Mennonite literature may turn immediately to the third section of The Gladys Elegies. In "Komm Essen" Nickel applies her creative art to a retelling of family stories as they unfold on the Canadian prairie or, earlier, on the Russian steppes. Themes of faith, suffering, relocation are considered along with personal exploration of various family relationships. The taste of Mennonite ethnic food and flavour of Mennonite customs pervade these poems:
Father opens the Bible,
Word of God before we can eat--
I want Mother's jelly spread
tart and sweet on my tongue
not the weight of broken bread.
These are pleasant poems. However, I was more taken by "The Gladys Elegies", a series of sonnets in which Nickel recreates imaginatively the lives of twin sisters who were presented to New York in 1931. These are intelligently crafted sonnets where form fits content admirably and sound blends with substance. The invented circumstances in the individual poems set the context for subtly drawn tensions in the lives of Gladys and her twin:
We clasped our hands cast for rainbow trout.
You hauled one in--I raised the stick and hit
its judging eye, like Father's, shot with soot.
("Marion, 1935: To my Twin Sister")
Strongest of all are "The Rosary Sonatas", a poem cycle for which Nickel received the Malahat Review long poem prize. Responding to a sound recording of Heinrich Biber's Rosenkranz Sonaten, the poet builds her pieces around images of a woman tuning and playing her violin. She alludes at the same time to key events in the life of Christ, inspired by the copper etchings included in Biber's score. Her own experience with music becomes evident in the exquisite blend of rhythm and images. Both sophistication and grace are present in these poems, where clear sound undergirds the visual, evoking spiritual echoes:
Breath is snatched.
Not music but notes on a page and muscle
That loses its skill for a judge.
The bow that yielded tone
now kills it.
(Sonat VII in F-Major iii. Variations)
Nickel's poems demonstrate her consistent control over craft and a confident voice. This is an impressive debut.
SARAH KLASSEN, A WRITER AND RETIRED SCHOOL TEACHER, IS A MEMBER OF RIVER EAST MB CHURCH IN WINNIPEG.
TOPPER'S VERY BEST HAT: A SPECIAL GIFT FOR JESUS.
Pat Verbal. Illustrated by Kathy Penner. Winnipeg and Hillsboro, Kan.: Kindred Productions, 1998. 42 pp. $14.95.
"What kind of hat should a boy like me wear to a place like a church?" This question is the gateway into the world of a child who loves to pretend and play dress-up with his huge hat collection. By including the crown of thorns Jesus wore and the gold crown of the believer in heaven that Topper learns about in church, it is also the gateway into the gospel at a child's level.
This approach, coupled with the charming illustrations, catches the attention of younger children and lends itself well to child-adult discussions. Children as young as two will enjoy talking about the pictures, though for some discussion is more suitable than reading. Younger school-aged children also will enjoy this read-aloud book.
Three phrases, "my army hat . . . . it's patriotic", "my confederate hat", "Foreign Legionnaire's hat", give the book a militaristic flavour that some readers with strong peace convictions may find objectionable. On the other hand, the adult has the opportunity to address these issues and suggest the power of Jesus to transform attitudes.
Printed on sturdy paper, this book will attract--and stand up to--repeated readings. Recommended for home and church libraries.
HILDEGARD BANDSMER IS CHILDREN'S PASTOR AT CENTRAL HEIGHTS CHURCH IN ABBOTSFORD, B.C.
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