(bossymarmalade has a post about this if anyone’s interested.) It’s just, I look back, at all the Canadian Kid’s lit books I was given back in elementary school, and wonder how much I must have absorbed from them, a Canada that had no place for someone who looked like me. I mean, I suppose this isn’t shocking since this is a Canadian children’s novel and Canada is our Great and Forever White North.

Basically, white is clearly default and in case we readers get any different ideas, our cover of All-White Campers will be there to remind us of our mistake. Skin colour is rarely described, but if mentioned at all it’s always “pale” or “white”, and other times they’d go red from angry or being sunburnt, etc etc.

If the cover doesn’t tip off this impression then the very Anglo-type names of all the cast would probably do the trick. Wow, this novel comes off as very white.However, some other things that I was completely blindsided to when I was a child: Thinking back, Rudy may have been one of my many influences in getting all attached to snarky characters causing chaos wherever they went, with a touch of sullenness. And I still enjoy reading about Rudy very much. The jokes were still laugh out loud funny and I had to actually pause midway through the book because I’d be losing my breath from too much laughter. And rereading this novel was just as fun as it was when I was twee. Childhood happiness for about the price of a toonie. The Re-visiting Experience: Wandering around a secondhand book store, I stumbled upon a copy of this novel. Every time I remember this book I find myself smiling in happiness. To this day I thank the heavens that I was late into the book choosing and wound up with this diamond in the rough. I was hooked by the time Rudy wrote his letter of typhoid and being chased by bears and various other outrageous lies about his camping experience. One chapter into the novel and I could not be parted from its yellowing pages. 5 self proven wrong.)Īnyhow, filled with pessimism, I cracked over the yellowing pages and decided to get my ISU done and over with. In my mind, there was no conceivable way this sorry state of a novel could possibly be good. Here I was, stuck with the ugly novel no one wanted. I can no longer remember the reason why I was late in choosing the books, but by the time I got there, all that was left was these old, yellowing books called I Want To Go Home by Gordon Korman, with a crumbling cover so faded I could barely make out the cover image. (Idea from Taste Life Twice)īlast from the Past: I was in Grade 5 and we had one of those Independent Study Units things where you pick from a select booklist a novel to read and do write-ups for. In which I will talk about one of my childhood novels and my reaction rereading them. Whut 2 posts in one day?! the world's surely gonna end.

I want to go home korman