Manjhi moves a Mountain by Nancy Churnin illustrated by Danny Popovici

Publisher blurb: When a mountain separates Dashrath Manjhi's poor village from schools and hospital, he sees a solution no one else can imagine. Using only a hammer, chisel, and twenty years of exhausting work, Manjhi shows that one determined person can wear down even the most massive of problems.

This is an incredible true story - one I only just discovered today.

Here are a few facts which will expand on the publisher blurb above.

• Manjhi was born in 1934 and he died in 2007
• A mountain blocked Gehlar a village near Gaya in Bihar, India from another village called Wazirgani.
• Wazirgani had running water, doctors, a school and jobs. People in Gehlar live in poverty.
• Manjhi's wife, Falguni Devi, fell on the mountain trail. She died because Manjhi could not reach medical help in time.
• Manjhi decided their village needed access to Wazirgani and so he worked with hand tools after work each day chipping away at the mountain.
• He cut a road 360 feet long, 30 feet high and 25 feet wide. It took him 22 years.
• This book has won numerous awards and has been translated in to 18 languages. 

Here is the road carved by hand by Manjhi:

Image Source: Wikimedia Commons

Churnin’s prose has an elegance appropriate for her inspiring tale, which is based on a true story. Popovich’s double-page illustrations use a warm palette and are nicely composed. Kirkus

Here is a set of teaching notes from the publisher Creston Books. My friend at Kinderbookswitheverything collects picture book biographies in her school library. The power of these stories comes when you read about wonderful people who do amazing things and yet are often people you may have never heard of. For example I discovered Maria Merian through the biography Summer Birds and Emmanuel's Dream the story of Emmanuel Ofosu when I read the book by Laurie Ann Thompson. These are not related to the book I am discussing here today but they are powerful stories which linger with me.

I am keen to see another book by Nancy Churnin which compares the lives of Anne Frank and Martin Luther King Jr. who were born in the same year. "Both faced ugly prejudices and violence, which both answered with words of love and faith in humanity. This is the story of their parallel journeys to find hope in darkness and to follow their dreams." Booktopia

When Jays fly to Barbmo by Margaret Balderson illustrated by Victor G Ambrus

"The whole of Continental Europe was now in the hands of the Germans. Little Denmark had been completely over-run. The Dutch army had surrendered. France had collapsed. Now only Britain remained as the last block against Hitler's dreams to complete European conquest. It left little scope for optimism. We realized that we were a small nation of relatively few people. How could we fight back against the powerful monster that had overtaken us?"


Several years ago a friend mentioned When Jays fly to Barbmo was one of her all time favourite books. I was curious. Then I made some discoveries.  This book was the 1969 CBCA Book of the Year. I was in Primary school when it won and this was a time I devoured books set in Northern countries such as Avalanche by A Rutgers van der Loeff. Why had I never heard of this book? Luckily I found a mint condition second hand copy a couple of weeks ago. Last weekend I sat down and read the whole book in two sessions.

Let's begin with the title.  Here is a jay in the snow in Norway.

Jays fly (migrate) - no as you can see this bird species does not migrate - well as far as I can discover. You can see it here in this photo in the snow. I guess in a simple way the title means "when pigs might fly".  The place Barbmo is explained in a glossary at the back of this book "In north Lapp this word has two meanings (i) the place where migratory birds live in winter and (ii) a place of fictitious delights."

The little bird is also a gift given to Ingeborg by a reclusive man who works for her father.  He loves to carve and he gives her a little wooden jay. She keeps it safe through all the twists and turns of these confusing times.

The setting for this book is Norway World War II. Norway is invaded by Hitler and Ingeborg's life is in turmoil. Adding to this terror are the seasonal hardships of living in this remote location. Living so far north means there are months of 24 hour darkness and months of 24 hours daylight.

"Morning was no different from night. ... if the weather continued to show a cloudless face all morning, we were at least assured of a period of struggling grey dawn round about noon. ... Then everybody would give thanks and we would all, little by little, start airing our summer personalities again."

"One morning I chanced upon a small yellow flower thrusting its head bravely above the snow. I plucked the bloom gently and turned it over again and again in my hand marvelling as I always did, at how a life so infinitely fragile could have survived the cruel grip of our Arctic winter and be born a thing of such exquisite perfection."

Ingeborg needs to understand her heritage, understand the complex relationships of the people in her life and move from her childhood into the beginning of adulthood. Here is a detailed review where you can read more plot details. This is a book for an older/junior high school, sensitive reader with stamina. The print size is small and the historical setting, while beautifully described, will be unfamiliar to most Australian children. The illustrations by the famous Victor G Ambrus are wonderful. Here is a copy of the original review in the Canberra Times from July 1969.  If you are looking for a similar title you could take a look at Belle and Sebastien. The relationship between Ingeborg and her Aunt reminded me of Inge Maria in The Girl who Bought Mischief.

The crazy man by Pamela Porter

In 2012 I visited one of my favourite book shops - Woozles in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.  While I was there (this was my second visit) the manager recommended The Crazy Man because it is an award winning Canadian book and because we had been talking about verse novels.

The Crazy Man is a wonderful verse novel - and if you have been reading my blog you will know I adore this format - they are always such powerful narratives.

The Crazy Man was first published in 2005 but my edition is from 2011.  This book is not in our school library but you might be lucky and find it in a high school or public library collection here in Australia - I hope so.

The book opens with a terrible farm accident.  Emmie is very badly hurt.  Her dad blames himself but takes his anger out on their dog Prince.  "... my daddy tied Prince up to the tractor shed and shot him with his hunting rifle."

The only visitor to the hospital is her grade six teacher Miss Tollofsen.

"She got out of her car with a fist full
of lilac flowers, and I found out
we had something in common.

Mum put them in a glass of water
and I got to smell them.  Dark purple ones
and light purple ones, Some still
     tight little buds.
Even some white ones, and they all
smelled a little different.

She bought the whole spring day inside
when she did that."

With her Daddy gone, Emmie and her mum need help on their farm.  It is planting time.  Nearby there is a hospital - a mental institution.  The year is 1965 and the air is thick with prejudice and gossip.  This is a book about healing and acceptance.  Amos, who comes to help on the farm, is healed and so is Emmie.  The people in this small town also learn a little about acceptance of difference.

Listen to Pamela talking about her book and reading an extract.  Here is a detailed review.

If you enjoy The Crazy Man you should also read Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse and Love that dog by Sharon Creech.  You might also look for A corner of the Universe by Ann Martin.

I will finish off with another quote so you can get a sense of the power of this writing.  In this scene Emmie has gone to Souris pool.

"Once I was in, I moved like a fish,
    kicking and squirming,
no heavy shoe to lug around. I turned 
somersaults
in the water.  I floated on my back
and raced underwater,
like nothing had happened
to change me forever."