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Caroline Stellings

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This is an interesting story coming out of Ontario Canada. This story is about a Mennonite girl and her family‘s tradition of baking cookies and snacks from a cookbook they’ve passed down through generations. Two big cookie companies are in the middle of a lawsuit and the big city lawyers want this recipe book to prove that a crunchy and chewy cookie were invented well before the big-name company patented it. What’s most interesting about this story is it’s based on true events that took place in 1986 when Nabisco and another famous cookie company had this actual thing happen. Over all this is a fun and short listen. It’s got a little bit of adventure, and a little bit of heart,.… (mere)
 
Markeret
LibrarianRyan | Jan 24, 2022 |
An original fairy tale set in Newfoundland, The dot com Leprechaun (both written and illustrated by Waterdown, Ontario author and artist Caroline Stellings) tells the story of Lucy, a young Newfoundland girl who is about to face the loss of her beloved ocean-side family home (times are tough on the Bonavista Peninsula, and Lucy's parents are simply unable to continue to make the required payments on their home). While distracting herself with her computer, Lucy encounters a leprechaun (a leprechaun who has actually been magically transported into her computer by the volatile and moody witch Elfrieda, and who requires Lucy's assistance). Before moonrise, Lucy must go down to the eerie root cellar of her house, retrieve the silver satin shoes the leprechaun has made for Elfrieda, and then convince the witch that these shoes fit, that the leprechaun did not make shoes too small for Elfrieda's big feet. Otherwise, the witch will cast a spell, forever turning the leprechaun Caboto (Caboto, not Rumpelstiltskin, as stated by the leprechaun himself) into a cyber-leprechaun. Will Lucy be brave enough to venture into the creepy, uncanny root cellar? Will she have enough courage to help Caboto, and perhaps, by helping him, also help herself and her family?

With an engaging text and evocative, lovely illustrations, Caroline Stellings deftly combines traditional folklore, historical detail and modern computer-lingo (all framed by the specter of poverty, of a family about to lose their home, their ocean-side sanctuary). Both emotionally poignant and gently witty, both historically informative and fantastical, The dot com Leprechaun weaves a magical, sweetly enjoyable tapestry of text and image. Narrative and illustrations not only show the fantasy, the pathos, the humour of the story-line, they are also evocative of the sights, sounds, the very presence of Newfoundland (no mean feat, considering that the author has actually never been to Newfoundland).

Recommended for children interested in magical creatures, especially leprechauns and other "Little People" The dot com Leprechaun would also be a good first introduction to Newfoundland history (particularly John Cabot, whose background and achievements are presented in an excellent and informative authors's note, along with details about the historical significance of root cellars).

Furthermore, I believe that this story could also be a wonderful way to gently, but firmly introduce younger children to some of the current economic woes facing many Newfoundlanders (the threat of losing their homes, the fact that with the decline of the fisheries, many Newfoundlanders have been forced to leave the island and find work elsewhere, such as Ontario and Alberta).
… (mere)
½
 
Markeret
gundulabaehre | Mar 31, 2013 |
The story revolves around Rosy, who intends to be the first half-Mohawk girl to win an Anne-of-Green-Gables-look-alike contest.“Rosy figured that although Anne of Green Gables was an orphan, it was a fair trade for getting to live on an unpolluted island with the ocean and a haunted wood at her door, rather than in a rental house on a dead-end street in Hamilton.”But The Contest isn’t all about Rosy. Which is where things get all Avonlea-ish. Because Avonlea wasn’t all about Anne (of Green Gables) either.There’s her mother, who is raising Rosy and her brothers (Ben, Patrick and John) on her own — like Marilla, but Marilla had Matthew’s help, even if he wasn’t supposed to interfere.And then there’s Jay and Sebastian, who work at The Tangerine Coiffure. And then there is Mrs. Rodrigues, who trades Portuguese sweet bread and a macaroni casserole for a wash-and-set and cleans their house in exchange for a colour, whereas Mr. and Mrs. Wing run The Golden Leaf Chinese and get trims in exchange for a Number 7 Special.All of these characters come to play a role in the story. Because, as you might have guessed, Rosy is not a shoe-in for the contest winner. Though, happily, I didn’t guess the outcome of the story’s crisis; I was afraid it would veer closer to Pollyanna-ish-ness than Anne-ish-ness, but Caroline Stellings did good.More here if you're interested.… (mere)
1 stem
Markeret
buriedinprint | 2 andre anmeldelser | Sep 15, 2011 |
The story revolves around Rosy, who intends to be the first half-Mohawk girl to win an Anne-of-Green-Gables-look-alike contest.

“Rosy figured that although Anne of Green Gables was an orphan, it was a fair trade for getting to live on an unpolluted island with the ocean and a haunted wood at her door, rather than in a rental house on a dead-end street in Hamilton.”

But The Contest isn’t all about Rosy. Which is where things get all Avonlea-ish. Because Avonlea wasn’t all about Anne (of Green Gables) either.

There’s her mother, who is raising Rosy and her brothers (Ben, Patrick and John) on her own — like Marilla, but Marilla had Matthew’s help, even if he wasn’t supposed to interfere.

And then there’s Jay and Sebastian, who work at The Tangerine Coiffure. And then there is Mrs. Rodrigues, who trades Portuguese sweet bread and a macaroni casserole for a wash-and-set and cleans their house in exchange for a colour, whereas Mr. and Mrs. Wing run The Golden Leaf Chinese and get trims in exchange for a Number 7 Special.

All of these characters come to play a role in the story. Because, as you might have guessed, Rosy is not a shoe-in for the contest winner. Though, happily, I didn’t guess the outcome of the story’s crisis; I was afraid it would veer closer to Pollyanna-ish-ness than Anne-ish-ness, but Caroline Stellings did good.

More here if you're interested.
… (mere)
1 stem
Markeret
buriedinprint | 2 andre anmeldelser | Apr 9, 2011 |

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Værker
17
Medlemmer
86
Popularitet
#213,013
Vurdering
4.0
Anmeldelser
5
ISBN
27

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