Deborah Kerbel

This is one of those books that takes us out of the bubble of pretending that animals don't die every day in service to humans -- as test subjects, as food, as collateral damage -- and while I don't rejoice in that knowledge, I am grateful for it. I was not expecting this when I picked up the book. I appreciate that it is a clear explanation about the history of Diabetes and the discovery of Insulin. I also appreciate that it's a tremendously good book about the history of medicine. I show more appreciate that it doesn't shy away from tough subjects, and that Fred mourned his test subjects. It's almost more of a picture book than a graphic novel, so I don't think of it as a particularly deep level of narrative or character development. show less

The wonderful My Deal With The Universe by Deborah Kerbel was one of my vacation reads this year and it was absolutely perfect. Published by Scholastic Canada it's the story of Daisy and her brother Jack and their house, lovingly referred to as The Jungle.

Daisy and Jack are twelve year old twins, living with their parents, Nate and Frieda, in a house that is so covered in vines it looks "like the plant version of Cousin Itt". It's the end of the school year and summer is just beginning. show more Things are seemingly looking down for Daisy. Jack, who is in remission, has had to go back to the doctors for some mysterious appointments. Daisy's best friend Willow is headed off to camp for the entire summer and the miserable neighbours are making life difficult again. With unexpected friendships, a lot of love, and a whole lot more strength, Daisy soon discovers the power of being different.

This story is full of colourful and eclectic characters. There is the house which stands as a character in its own right. From the evil Pitt's to biker Grappa and everyone in between, there is not a "normal" character in this story making it accessible and relatable to a wide audience. Some of my favourite parts are the swear words Daisy has created for herself: "fajizzling" just love it! Deborah Kerbel has absolutely nailed the voice in this story. Daisy comes across as any twelve year old girl, with her own language and fierceness. At it's heart My Deal With The Universe is a touching story about owning your differences and appreciating the colourfulness of the world we all share. Without the colourful characters we meet everyday, our lives would be dull and unimaginative. Through Daisy, Deborah Kerbel show us it's okay to let the world know our true selves and to be proud of who we are and where we come from, whether that's in a perfectly manicured property or an overgrown jungle. Put My Deal With The Universe on your summer reading list. show less

Let's face it, high schoolers can be real assholes. Not all of course, but with the pressure to be in, sometimes the only way of being cool is by bringing others down. Girl on the Other Side by Deborah Kerbel is a short, gut-punch of a book featuring the intertwining of characters Lora Froggett and Tabby Freeman, two girls who lead drastically different lives. Tabby is basically a queen bee, think Mean Girls. Lora is a social outcast. Basically all of the kids at school would make it their show more mission to pick on Lora, they would trip her, call her Frog Face, make fun of her clothes. I should mention, Lora is not your average YA girl. She comes from a family with no money at all, her mom has MS, I think, so Lora has to basically take care of her siblings while her dad is working. Oh my god, let me just tell you I cried like a small child during the majority of Lora's chapters because I could relate. I was never as big of a victim as Lora was, but I dealt with mean kids when I was in high school, I come from a humble background, and yes I did babysit my sisters while my parents were at work. It's really, really hard, so I definitely love that I could relate so much to Lora.Onto Tabby, basically Tabby is a ring-leader in let's pick on Lora. Well, Tabby gets a dose of her own medicine. I loved seeing Tabby's character development, to see how her character changes. I liked Tabby, she showed me that while being rich definitely has it's perks, girls like her have their own troubles too. I feel like too often we think the grass is greener on the other side, yet never stop to think what sort of private struggles one might have.I felt this book was incredibly relevant, as so many teenagers are bullied. I hate that fact, hate it. No child deserves to have their self-esteem assaulted on a daily basis. I thought Girl on the Other Side was an emotionally-charged read. It had such a powerful message for such a short book. Unfortunately, though, I think those who could learn from the message aren't really the type who read books for fun. It is my opinion that this book has a place in all middle/high school libraries, as it's one I feel most teenagers should read, and perhaps get the message that we should treat all with kindness, because you never ever know what sort of shit they may be going through.While reading this book, I recommend grape juice, as grape juice is bitter sweet, and Girl on the Other Side had a few sweet moments interspersed with the heartbreak bitter moments. show less

This is a very brief, attractive, oversize nonfiction book for older children that memorializes eight “endlings”—the last known survivors of their species. The diverse animals remembered were each known to humans—from Martha, the last passenger pigeon, who died in 1914 to Toughie, the last Rabbs’ fringe-limbed tree frog, who died in 2016. Most died in captivity. Habitat loss due to deforestation, pesticide use, pollution from industry or agriculture is the most common cause of show more species extinction. However, some animals have died out because humans introduced alien species to unique and sensitive habitats. Then, of course, there was overhunting.

Overall, the text is short on details and raises many questions. The vocabulary is relatively sophisticated, making the book suitable for kids 8 to 12. Included within are Aimee Van Drimmelen’s colourful portraits of the animals, which appear to be rendered in watercolour. Each profile provides the creature’s scientific name and begins with a rhyming quatrain. I honestly didn’t care for these snappy little rhymes, which seemed trite and even irreverent. I felt that, if anything, the poems trivialized the animals’ lives. Here’s the one about Toughie, the tree frog:

This handsome endling rests in peace.
Oh, fine amphibian!
Sweet Toughie has now hopped away
into oblivion.

Really? Why could the author not have composed something about the special qualities of the species to which the animal belonged? If anything, that would have underscored her message about the importance of the animals’ lives.

Kerbel ends with some sobering details and statistics. She lists thirteen creatures that may be extinct by 2050 and states that in less than a hundred years 50 percent of all species on Earth could be gone forever.

To her credit, she provides a list of seven practical things kids can do, from recycling and planting trees or habitat gardens to reading about the issues and talking about them with friends, classmates, and parents.

I think there’s value in brief books like this that don’t overload children with information, and to see individual named creatures does have power. I hate to quote him, but in this case Stalin’s observation, “One death is a tragedy; a million is a statistic,” really does apply.

Thank you to Net Galley and Orca Books for providing me with a digital advance reader copy, which I compared with a final hardback copy. show less