iLit Remix: A Revolution of Text Forms

Reference

Tamaki, Mariko

Hopkinson, Nalo

Tsabari, Ayelet

Chong, Kevin

Munroe, Jim

Chan, Marty

Poplak, Richard

Powers, Steve

Barwin, Gary

O'Neill, Heather

Blake, Becky

White, Melanie

Dimaline, Cherie

Miller,Jeff

Mahadevan, Anand

Thammavongsa, Souvankham

Dawson, Willow

Villegas, Halli

Cooke, Rachel

Proulx-Turner, Sharron

Basu, Arjun

Jackson, Lyanda

Malika, Jamilah

Olson, Geoff

Rahman, Kashfia

Sanderson, Steven Keewatin

Stewart, Adhimu

Words, Language & Grammar

McGraw-Hill/Ryerson

Shortlisted for the Scotiabank Giller Prize and nominated for the Governor-General's Award for Literature, a hilarious, swashbuckling yet powerful tale of pirates, buried treasure and a search for the Fountain of Youth, told in the ribald, philosophical voice of a 500-year-old Jewish parrot.
Set in the years around 1492, Yiddish for Pirates recounts the compelling story of Moishe, a Bar Mitzvah boy who leaves home to join a ship's crew, where he meets Aaron, the polyglot parrot who becomes his near-constant companion. From a present-day Florida nursing home, this wisecracking yet poetic bird guides us through a world of pirate ships, Yiddish jokes and treasure maps. But Inquisition Spain is a dangerous time to be Jewish and Moishe joins a band of hidden Jews trying to preserve some forbidden books. He falls in love with a young woman, Sarah; though they are separated by circumstance, Moishe's wanderings are motivated as much by their connection as by his quest for loot and freedom. When all Jews are expelled from Spain, Moishe travels to the Caribbean with the ambitious Christopher Columbus, a self-made man who loves his creator. Moishe eventually becomes a pirate and seeks revenge on the Spanish while seeking the ultimate booty: the Fountain of Youth. This outstanding New Face of Fiction is filled with Jewish takes on classic pirate tales--fights, prison escapes, and exploits on the high seas--but it's also a tender love story, between Moishe and Sarah, and between Aaron and his "shoulder," Moishe. Rich with puns, colourful language, post-colonial satire and Kabbalistic hijinks, Yiddish for Pirates is also a compelling examination of mortality, memory, identity and persecution from one of this country's most talented writers.

Yiddish for Pirates

Literature & Fiction

Humor & Satire

Random House Canada

Vintage Canada

Nothing the Same, Everything Haunted: The Ballad of Motl the Cowboy

A middle-aged Jewish man who fantasizes about being a cowboy goes on an eccentric quest across Europe after the 1941 Nazi invasion of Lithuania in this wild and witty yet heartrending novel from the bestselling author of Yiddish for Pirates, shortlisted for the Scotiabank Giller Prize. Motl is middle-aged, poor, nerdy, Jewish and in desperate need of a shave. Since having his balls shot cleanly off as a youth in WWI, he's lived a quiet life at home in Vilnius with his shrewd and shrewish mom, Gitl, losing himself in the masculine fantasy world of cowboy novels by writers like Karl May--novels equally loved by Hitler, whose troops have just invaded Lithuania and are out to exterminate people like Motl. In his dreams, Motl is a fast-talking, rugged, expert gunslinger capable of dealing with the Nazi threat. But only in his dreams. As friends and neighbours are killed around them, Motl and Gitl escape from Vilnius, saving their own skins. But they immediately risk everything to try rescue relatives they hope are still alive. With death all around him, Motl decides that a Jew's best revenge is not only to live, but to procreate. In order to achieve this, though, he must relocate those most crucial pieces of his anatomy lost to him in a glacier in the Swiss Alps in the previous war. It's an absurd yet life-affirming mission, made even more urgent when he's separated from his mother, and isn't sure whether she's alive or dead. Joining forces, and eventually hearts, with Esther, a Jewish woman whose family has been killed, Motl ventures across Europe, a kaleidoscope of narrow escapes and close encounters with everyone from Himmler, to circus performers, double agents, quislings, fake "Indians" and real ones. Motl at last figures out that he has more connection to the Indigenous characters in western novels than the cowboys. An imaginative and deeply felt exploration of genocide, persecution, colonialism and masculinity--saturated in Gary Barwin's sharp wit and perfect pun-play--Nothing the Same, Everything Haunted: The Ballad of Motl the Cowboy is a one-of-a-kind novel of sheer genius.

Dramas & Plays

WINNER OF THE CANADIAN JEWISH LITERARY AWARD FOR FICTION "There are few voices in Canadian writing as original as Barwin's." Toronto Star &nbsp; A wild and witty yet heartrending novel from the bestselling author of Yiddish for Pirates, winner of the Leacock Medal for Humour and shortlisted for the Scotiabank Giller Prize. Motl is middle-aged, poor, nerdy, Jewish and in desperate need of a shave. Since having his balls shot cleanly off as a youth in WWI, he's lived a quiet life at home in Vilnius with his shrewd and shrewish mom, Gitl, losing himself in the masculine fantasy world of cowboy novels by writers like Karl May--novels equally loved by Hitler, whose troops have just invaded Lithuania and are out to exterminate people like Motl.&nbsp; As friends and neighbours are killed around them, Motl and Gitl escape from Vilnius, saving their own skins. But they immediately risk everything to try rescue relatives they hope are still alive. With death all around him, Motl decides that a Jew's best revenge is not only to live, but to procreate. In order to achieve this, though, he must relocate those most crucial pieces of his anatomy lost to him in a glacier in the Swiss Alps in the previous war. It's an absurd yet life-affirming mission, made even more urgent when he's separated from his mother, and isn't sure whether she's alive or dead. Joining forces, and eventually hearts, with Esther, a Jewish woman whose family has been killed, Motl ventures across Europe, a kaleidoscope of narrow escapes and close encounters with everyone from Himmler, to circus performers, double agents, quislings, fake "Indians" and real ones. Motl at last figures out that he has more connection to the Indigenous characters in western novels than the cowboys. An imaginative and deeply felt exploration of genocide, persecution, colonialism and masculinity--saturated in Gary Barwin's sharp wit and perfect pun-play--Nothing the Same, Everything Haunted: The Ballad of Motl the Cowboy is a one-of-a-kind novel of sheer genius.

The Racing Worm Brothers

Children's Books

Animals

Annick Press

One day, Aaron and Ryan decide to adopt a pair of worms. They have a wonderful afternoon playing with their worms--named Pinky and Worm, by the way--but soon realize that what these little guys really want to do is race. The boys do everything they can to help: encouraging them, nurturing them, and making maps and sleep-stations to plant en route. Somehow things don't seem to move along terribly fast, and the boys actually lose track of their small squirmy buddies!

The Magic Mustache

In this hair-raising spoof of Jack and the Beanstalk, Gary Barwin tells the story of a nosey nose that knows to follow his nose. On the way to market, the nose trades a pair of glasses for a magic mustache. During his adventures, he steals a magic mouth's stash of treasure right out from under its nose and discovers that a nose with a good head on its shoulders can rise to great heights. 
 This hilarious book contains the best of bad puns and clever wordplay, and will have kids and parents laughing out loud.

Grandpa's Snowman

Grandpa's Snowman is a playful and touching story about the loving and mischievous bond between a boy and his grandfather. 
 A young boy practices his violin, then goes to sleep for the night. The next morning he wakes to discover a world of newly fallen snow. He hurries to join his friends playing outside, but his mother reminds him that he must first practice his violin. When she is not looking, he sneaks out the window and, together with his friends, builds a snowman. A series of family photographs shows the passage of time as this boy grows into a young man, marries, has a daughter and, all too quickly, becomes a grandfather. 
 Grandfather and grandson share a sense of playfulness; they are two boys playing together and enjoying each other's company, despite the grandfather's increasing age. As time passes, Grandfather becomes confined to bed, but his grandson brings home a remarkable surprise that captures a part of the grandfather's childhood and provides a way for him to share in the fun of a snowy day. 
 The wordless story is told through a series of illustrations that speak for themselves. The book is perfect for sharing, and encourages readers to discover its story and tell it together.

Growing Up & Facts of Life

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Books by Barwin, Gary