Up Home by Shauntay Grant

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Up Home was written by Shauntay Grant. It won Best Book Award from APMA and Hackmatack Children's Choice in 2009 and also the winner of the 2009 Lillian Shepherd Memorial Award for Excellence in Illustration. This book has 32 pages and published by Nimbus Publishing in May 5tt, 2008. The setting of the story is in Nova Scotia, Canada.[1]

Summary

Happy memories sparkle in this journey through poet Shauntay Grant's childhood visits to North Preston, Nova Scotia. Her words bring to life the sights, sounds, rhythms, and people of a joyful place, while Susan Tooke's vibrant illustrations capture the warmth of one of Canada's most important black communities.[2]

A real community, complete with vividly drawn portraits of real residents, comes to life in Shauntay Grant and Susan Tooke’s Up Home, a tender portrayal of Grant’s memories of growing up in the close-knit black community of North Preston, Nova Scotia. [3]

Pros

This is a beautiful book of childhood memories of a Black woman living in North Preston, Nova Scotia, Canada. It's a lovely story, and some Black history is included in it. Gorgeously illustrated using real people as models. The background information about the history of North Preston, Nova Scotia, and its settlement by African American Loyalists, Maroons, and refugees is an appreciated added bonus, not only for the historical data it presents but also because it touches on the fact that many of these settlers have faced racism and marginalization (a topic not really covered by and in the text proper and thus doubly appreciated). Highly recommended for anyone, both children and adults with an interest in picture books about the African Canadian (African Nova Scotian) experience. Up Home is recommended for anyone who enjoys lovingly lyrical homages to childhood, community, and close family ties. A beautifully illustrated, poetic celebration of childhood memories of growing up in North Preston, Nova Scotia, a community significant in African-Canadian history.[4]

Throughout, each and every one of the many faces portrayed is photographically exact. There are also scenes of great beauty, such as one of a few people bent over soft, vivid green meadow grass as they fill pails with blueberries. By the end of the book, readers have learned much about the community’s natural environment, culture, and the steadfast love that its people share for each other. It is appealing to all ages and this is an unusual and touching book.[3]

References

  1. Up Home. goodreads.com. Retrieved February 1st, 2021
  2. Up Home. Retrieved February 1st, 2021
  3. 3.0 3.1 Zwarenstein, Carlyn. Review: Up Home. Retrieved February 1st, 2021
  4. Up Home. goodreads.com. Retrieved February 1st, 2021