Historical Fiction

 Summary of the book 

The storybook "I Know Here" is about a young girl living in a remote area in Saskatchewan, Canada. The girl lives in a trailer with her family; her dad is a dam builder, and she has found out the dam is almost built, and her family will be moving to the city of Toronto in the summer. The girl states that she knows the road she lives on, the woods she plays in, and the pond she catches frogs. She does not know the city of Toronto. When the girl and her classmates go to school, they talk about the families of the dam workers moving to Toronto; the teacher shows the kids on the map where Toronto is. The girl states she does not know Toronto, only as the red star on the map. The teacher suggests that the kids draw a picture to take to Toronto. The girl decides to draw what she knows, the road she lives on, the hills, the woods, and the pond she catches frogs in; she decides to take the memories she made to Toronto by drawing what she knows (Croza & James, 2013).  

 

Evaluate Genre/ Illustrations:

The book "I Know Here" is based on the life of the author Laurel Croza. As a child, she moved from place to place, and most places were like remote areas of Saskatchewan. Knowing this information, the story is historical fiction because it occurred in the author's childhood when living cultures differed from today. The illustrations in the book were bright and vibrant. The pictures represented the words narrated in the story by the girl, showed the memories of the street where the girl lived, her dad in the truck coming home to have lunch with the family, and many more as she thought about being faced with moving to another city. Matt James did the illustrations. James is a painter, author, illustrator, and musician (BookRoo, 2023). James' work has won many awards, Boston Globe-Horn Book Award, Marilyn Baillie Picture Book Award, New Mexico Book Award, and Governor General's Award for Illustration. James won the Marilyn Baillie Picture Book Award based on his illustrations in "I Know Here" (BookRoo, 2023). James wrote The Funeral and is illustrated for many books such as "When Comes The Moon," "The Stone Thrower," and "The Northwest Passage," along with several others (BookRoo, 2023).

 

Motivational Activities:

 After reading this book, an activity could be included where students draw or create their own place they know and the important memories they would want to take with them. This activity is a great way to show how each person's lifestyle may vary. Have students present their drawings to the class and discuss what they consider the "I know here" place in their life. 

 

After reading the book, students could use a map to find Toronto City and Saskatchewan, Canada. The students visually could see how far Saskatchewan is from Toronto City. Students could also find their state and see how far they are from Toronto City. Questions to ask students after reading the book could be, What places are important to the girl? The teacher can discuss who is telling the story of "I Know Here"? What are some things that happen in the girl's life that are different in our lives? 

 

Personal comments/ Author background information

I liked the view of the story; many families experience moving from location to location depending on available employment. I like that the story shows the emotion of what one feels when moving to a new area. The illustrations showed in detail the things that the girl recalls from memory. The pictures show outdated trailers, TVs, and trucks, representing a time in the past when traveling as dam workers were needed for areas such as Saskatchewan to obtain electricity. The book's author is Laurel Croza; she lives in Toronto, which was interesting; she experienced much moving during her childhood. The story "I Know Here" is based on her childhood experience (Laurel Croza, 2018). The book "I Know Here" has won several awards, including the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award, Ezra Jack Keats New Writer Award, and Marilyn Baillie Picture Book Award. Croza also wrote the sequel "From There to Here" and "The Whirlpool" (Laurel Croza, 2018). 

 

References

Matt James. Children’s Book Author & Illustrator. (n.d.). https://bookroo.com/creatives/matt-james

Croza, L., & James, M. (2013). I know here. Groundwood Books.

News. Laurel Croza. (2018). https://www.laurelcroza.com/news