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Review by Michelle Shaw
https://reviews.skbooks.com/rainbow-makes-a-promise-a/ Marion Mutala really is a creative dynamo. A Rainbow Makes a Promise is her twentieth book and once again she beautifully combines poetry and music into a kaleidoscope of creativity. Saskatchewan author Mutala is perhaps best known for her national best-selling and award-winning children’s book series, Baba’s Babushka: Magical Ukrainian Adventures, which was recently collected in a beautiful 175-page illustrated limited edition hardcover. But she’s also written poetry (her second book of poetry, Race to Finish, was published in 2021), a cookbook (Baba Sophie’s Ukrainian Cookbook) and even a crime novel set in Saskatoon (The Mechanic’s Wife). In an interview a few years ago, she said, “it seems the more I write the more ideas flow.” And that really seems to be true. A Rainbow Makes a Promise celebrates the rainbow as a symbol of peace, love, and hope. Each page explodes with colour. The pictures are big and bold, and each page is bordered by a beautiful, colourful geometric Ukrainian embroidery motif. Mutala uses a variety of artwork styles throughout the book, including photos, watercolours, hand drawn illustrations and AI generated images. The words of the book are simple but many of them resonated with me long after I closed the book, such as “I have never seen a war that helps the world to live” and “It is time to stand up to evil and never give up the fight” — those pages are appropriately illustrated with superheroes! At the back of the book there is a QR code which the reader can scan and listen to Mutala herself singing the words of the song. Sheet music is also provided so the book really can be an immersive experience as you play and sing along yourself. If you’re only just discovering Marion Mutala’s work or you’re a long-time fan, I think you’re going to enjoy A Rainbow Makes a Promise. Review by Michelle Shaw
reviews.skbooks.com/babas-over-the-moon/ Award-winning author Marion Mutala’s new book is, quite literally, a love song to her new grandbaby Oliver. I’ve had the pleasure of reviewing a couple of Mutala’s other books and each one has been a unique delight. In Baba’s Over the Moon, Mutala showcases her skills not only as a writer but also as a singer and songwriter. The book reads like a poem but at the back of the book is a QR code that you can scan that takes you to a page to hear Mutala singing along to an accompanying guitar. If you’re musically inclined, you can follow along as sheet music is also provided. The words of the book are simple and heartfelt. Mutala beautifully blends repetition, rhythm and rhyme to create a wondrous sense of expectation as Baba contemplates the arrival of her new grandbaby. What will he look like? What will his name be? When will he arrive? At the very back of the book there is a colourful word cloud created by Kate Hodgson — all synonyms for the word grandmother, such uGogo, Oma, Baba, Grootmoeder, Kohkom, Abuela, and Grandmère. I think it’s a wonderful way to introduce children to other cultures through a familiar word. Illustrator Katerina Davidenko has done a great job on the inside artwork. The pictures are bright, friendly and happy — they really draw you into the book. Interestingly, the cover illustration by Wendy Siemens has a very different feel to the rest of the illustrations. The cover illustration is beautiful, but it seems epic and grand whereas the inside illustrations are more childlike. Both illustrators make wonderful use of colour, and their work beautifully supports the love expressed in the words of the book. This is Mutala’s 19th book. She has a master’s degree in educational administration and taught for 30 years. She is also the author of the national bestselling award-winning children’s book series, Baba’s Babushka. Review by Shelley A. Leedahl
reviews.skbooks.com/race-to-finish/ Marion Mutala is a literary machine, with sixteen published books and more on the way. I’ve previously reviewed two of her children’s books--Grateful and the 175-page, multi-story achievement, Baba’s Babushka. The Saskatchewan writer’s latest title, Race to Finish, is a poetry collection, dedicated to the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG); the First Nations children buried in unmarked, residential school graves across Canada; and the Black Lives Matter movement. It begins with a foreword by artist Kevin L. Peeace, who relays the experience of presenting in an elementary school and being asked by a young student: “What was it like being at the residential school?” Peeace also provided the compelling black and white cover drawing of a bisected face: one half representing the bricks and tears of the residential school experience, the other representative of his peoples’ connection to the land and familial love—at least that’s my interpretation. Mutala’s poems champion racial equality, gratitude, positivity, and God, as well as personal experience, ie: “the old wooden cookstove on the/farm when I was a child” (from “Reminds Me”). Not every poem is rosy, however. In “God’s Tricks” she acknowledges that “life happens”: “A little of this and a lot of that and too soon/We are in high school dragging our butts around,/Tired, wanting to sleep the days away and party/the nights”. And as life continues, we eventually “look old and tired” and “Our spirit is fried like a parched desert”. The writer chooses various styles and structures: some pieces rhyme, some are a single stanza, and some, like the prosaic “Envision,” read like miniature pep talks: “Why not envision the best city in Saskatchewan, in Canada, in the entire world?” “Plain Lucky”—dedicated to the late writer Wes Funk—contains the everyday dialogue of two friends enjoying coffee together. The piece “Don’t You Think?” repeats the opening line and adds another with each new stanza. It begins: “I think if you stand in front of a church with a/Bible held high in your hand, you should open/it,” and in progressive stanzas the writer advises said Bible-holder/s to read and “use” the words of 1 Corinthians 13:4-8. Mutala writes from the perspective of one who is “white privileged,” and she should be commended for addressing systemic racism in these poems, many of which blatantly articulate that “Black Lives and Indigenous Lives Matter”. She encourages “other white privileged” folks to speak up about racial injustice and persecution based on sexual orientation. “Do not be silent!” she heralds. “Smarten up!” This small book includes an “Open Dialogue” featuring eight questions, ie: “What are things people can do to promote reconciliation?” and “What are things people can do to stop homophobia?” and invites readers to share their stories “so we can listen, understand, and change to make life better”. It concludes with a “Resources” section. A portion of this book’s proceeds go to Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. Review by Toby A. Welch
https://reviews.skbooks.com/mechanics-wife-the/ The cover of The Mechanic’s Wife is what initially drew me in. Illustrated by Olha Tkachenko, it is a vibrant illustration of two women with an older model blue GTO between them. Things get even better once you crack the book open. We immediately delve into the life of DD, a Ukrainian detective based in Saskatoon. Her backstory is fully fleshed out in a way that makes it impossible to do anything but continue reading. The meat of this book is the story of Dwayne and Marianne. Married almost two decades, one of them isn’t thrilled with the life they have built together. Let’s just say some things happen, bringing DD, the leading criminal investigator in Canada at the time of the story, and Raunchy, her associate, into their lives. The two tackle the case of what really took place between Dwayne and Marianne. On a side note, it’s hard not to like DD’s quirky sidekick, Raunchy. He is endlessly entertaining and provides another level to the story. Fun characters like Raunchy make any book a better read. Author Marion Mutala is a resident of Saskatoon. She has penned seven children’s books, one young adult work, one book of poetry, and two works of adult fiction including The Mechanic’s Wife. Several of her children’s books have won awards. Her late grandparents emigrated from Ukraine to Canada in 1912 and her Ukrainian heritage plays a big role in most of her books. That is certainly the case in The Mechanic’s Wife with its numerous Ukrainian references. As a Saskatchewanian, I thoroughly enjoyed how familiar all the locations in this book felt. The book is set in Saskatoon and while the author is clear that this is a work of fiction, it is clear how many of the locales are true places in Saskatchewan. That is so cool, like watching a movie with scenes that were shot in places you have visited. There is even a mention of Gerry Zerbecky, a Saskatoon artist. While The Mechanic’s Wife could’ve used a heavier hand by the editor, at its core it has all the essential elements of a great book – characters you grow to care about and a story that draws you in and keeps you there. It’s a quick, fun read you can finish in one sitting. Two thumbs up! Review by Joanne Peters
CM: Canadian Review of Materials Volume XXVII, No. 24 https://www.cmreviews.ca/node/2127 Excerpt: Baba’s Babushka: Magical Ukrainian Adventures is a compilation of four books, three of which, Baba’s Babushka: A Magical Ukrainian Christmas; Baba’s Babushka: A Magical Ukrainian Easter and Baba’s Babushka: A Magical Ukrainian Wedding, have been previously reviewed in CM. The fourth title, Baba’s Babushka: A Magical Ukrainian Journey, is new and will be the principal focus of this review. [...] In Baba’s Babushka: Magical Ukrainian Adventures, Marion Mutala traces Baba’s life story from girlhood to adulthood, connecting it with Natalia’s learning of and understanding the source of the Ukrainian traditions which are an important part of her life. The series is stronger for having all four stories in one collection. Rather unusual for a series, three different artists have illustrated the stories, and, in A Magical Ukrainian Journey, Olha Tkachenko’s illustrations are soft but colourful. In all four stories, the full-colour illustrations face each page of text which is bordered by a geometric Ukrainian embroidery motif, and, unlike the previous three books, this collected volume is paginated and sturdily bound. As with the previous three releases, there’s a “Glossary” and pronunciation guide for those readers with minimal knowledge of Ukrainian. A special recipe or two follows the ending of each of the four stories, and this book is no exception. Baba and Dido’s homecoming would have been a very special event for their Ukrainian relatives, and perhaps Baba Sophia would have enjoyed a torte for which her recipe is included. While boys also feel great warmth and love for their babas (and didos), Baba’s Babushka: Magical Ukrainian Adventures is likely to be read and enjoyed by girls. The book is definitely a worthwhile acquisition for elementary school libraries and resource collections in schools which offer Ukrainian language programing and for public libraries serving communities with significant Ukrainian-Canadian populations. Highly Recommended Reviewer: Joanne Peters is a retired teacher-librarian living in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Treaty 1 Territory and Homeland of the Métis People |
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