Orphaned by the Adana massacre in 1909, Mariam and her siblings, together with their friend Kevork and his aunt, travel home to Marash hoping to find their remaining family still alive. Six years later, when the teens face deportation from Turkey, they are torn apart despite their best efforts to stay together. One thing sustains them throughout their horrifying ordeals — the hope that they might one day be reunited.
A sequel to the highly successful The Hunger, Nobody’s Child is a stirring and engaging story set during the Armenian Genocide, one of the twentieth century’s most significant events.
Continue reading “Nobody’s Child”
Author: Marsha
I write historical fiction, mostly from the perspective of young people who are thrust in the midst of war.
Daughter of War
Daughter of War is a gripping story of enduring love and loyalty set against the horrors of Turkey during World War I.
Teenagers Kevork and his betrothed Marta are the lucky ones. They have managed so far to survive the Armenian genocide in Turkey, and both are disguised as Muslims. But Marta is still in Turkey, pregnant with another man’s child. And Kevork is living as an Arab in Syria.
Kevork yearns to get back into Turkey and search for Marta, but with the war raging and the genocide still in progress, the journey will be impossibly dangerous. Meanwhile, Marta worries that even if Kevork has survived and they are reunited, will he be able to accept what she has become? And what has happened to her sister, Mariam, who was sold as a slave to the highest bidder?
Continue reading “Daughter of War”
Near North librarians rock!
Thanks, Karen Upper, for this great photo of my signing at the OLA Bookstore at the OLA Superconference! I am surrounded by awesome Near North librarians!
Thank you also, for this great review of Underground Soldier, and the book trailer, and the youtube reading!
lovely review for The Best Gifts from Midwest Review
“The Best Gifts” is a lovely book about precious gifts of love and life from loving parents to each other and to their child. Filled with golden-tinted, faintly exotic portraits of a loving family and friends, “The Best Gifts” begins with the birth of a special baby girl, Sara, who receives many gifts to celebrate her birth. But the best gift comes after everyone leaves, having been thanked for their thoughtfulness, and the new family cuddles quietly together while the baby feeds at her mother’s breast, surrounded by swirls of fragrant sandalwood scent and love. The story continues with the little girl growing up, leaving and beginning a loved family of her own. The bes
t gift her parents give her to celebrate the birth of her son, Sam, is a love-worn story book filled with precious memories of the best times of her childhood. Again the young family retires after putting all the thoughtful gifts away thankfully, and cuddle while baby Sam drinks his mother’s milk and falls into a happy sleep, surrounded by a light scent of sandalwood. “And Sara knew, as she always had … that the best gifts can never be bought.” “The Best Gifts” is a lovely book that celebrates life and love and supports a precious beginning of life nurturing through breastfeeding.
Source Citation (MLA 7th Edition)
“The Best Gifts.” Children’s Bookwatch Jan. 2014. General OneFile. Web. 2 Feb. 2014.
Best moment of the OLA superconference
The very best moment of the OLA Superconference? It came after the Thursday morning Forest of Reading winners’ panel discussion.
I had spoken of my Ukrainian mother-in-law, who lived through WWII, surviving both the Nazis and the Soviets. Just before she died, asked me to write about her experiences in WWII, because she had never seen them in a book. We usually only see the Nazis as the enemy, not realizing that for Eastern Europeans, there were two genocidal dictators targeting them — not just Hitler, but Stalin as well. She was my inspiration for Stolen Child, which led to Making Bombs and Underground Soldier.
After the talk, many people came up and hugged me, openly weeping. Three sisters, whose late Latvian mother was also subjected to Nazi and Soviet oppression. Thursday was her birthday. They’ve been able to amass much documentation about her life and her community. I want them to write her story. A Bulgarian librarian friend, whose history is similar. Ekaterina, please write your family’s story! My books are their stories as well. We get such a sanitized version of WWII history in the western world, largely because we allied ourselves with Stalin.
And of course, what’s happening in Ukraine now — deja vu all over again. Putin is holding off until after the Olympics. I dread what will happen then.
OLA Superconference
It was a fun and busy time at the OLA Superconference. It started bright and early with the Forest of Reading breakfast on Thursday, and then the winners from last year gave a panel discussion on what their win meant to them. The photo below, taken by Joanne Levy, shows me at the far left, Wesley King (Red Maple Fiction winner), Martin Springett (Blue Spruce winner), Brit Trogen and Kari Trogen (Silver Birch Express winners). Not visible is Jeyn Roberts (White Pine Winner) Bill Swan (Red Maple non-fiction winner) and Rob Laidlaw, (Silver Birch non-fiction winner). Helen Kubiw, Forest of Reading co-chair can be seen in green behind the panel. Angela Thompson, her co-chair, is not visible.
I did four separate signings, two on Thursday and two on Friday. The photo below is of Christie Harkin and myself at the Fitzhenry & Whiteside booth on Friday. I was signing The Best Gifts and When Mama Goes to Work. Christie was my editor for both books.
I also signed at the OLA bookstore on Thursday. I was signing Making Bombs for Hitler, as it was the Silver Birch winner last year, plus One Step at a Time, as it’s a Silver Birch nominee this year. I also signed Underground Soldier at the booth since it was brand new and a companion novel to Making Bombs for Hitler. The store ran out of Underground Soldier!
I also signed at the Goodminds.com booth. They had all three books in my WWII trilogy available, plus One Step At A Time and When Mama Goes to Work. They sold out of Underground Soldier too!
My fourth signing was at the OBPO booth with Pajama Press, signing One Step at a Time. Richard Jones, president of Pajama Press, gave a great prep talk to everyone waiting in line for their book. It was really great the way he gave background info on One Step, as well as Last Airlift, the companion book.
Teaching Guide: Last Airlift
One Step at a Time: Teaching Guide
Fab review of When Mama Goes To Work from CM
________________ CM . . . . Volume XX Number 20. . . .January 24, 2014
excerpt:
When Mama Goes to Work, written by Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch and illustrated by Jessica Phillips, is a sweet book for young children, one that introduces them to the idea of a working mother. The story features a diverse collection of mothers and their children as they go through a typical working day, from getting ready for the day, to reading stories at bedtime. Since children sometimes suffer from separation anxiety once a mother goes back to work after being home for a while, it is important that a book about working mothers keeps the topic upbeat for children. Forchuk Skrypuch and Phillips do a great job keeping the topic light for a young child.
The illustrations are especially striking in this book The colours are vibrant with clear lines and varied scenes. This makes When Mama Goes to Work a great language learning tool for really young children. Parents or caregivers can read this book to a young child and point out common items in order to form connections with the child and to increase vocabulary skills. With slightly older children, the illustrations can be used to create personalized stories to which children can connect. Jessica Phillips does a wonderful job of creating cheery images that help keep the book positive since many children suffer from separation anxiety when a mother goes/returns to work. Another strong feature about this story is the diversity that is featured in both the illustrations and the language. Diversity is expressed through ethnicity and occupations. This book expresses the various occupations available to a woman from doctor and business woman to construction worker. Even the front cover displays this variety well. Overall, When Mama Goes to Work is a well-written, well-illustrated book for young children. School-aged children may not appreciate this book as they have probably already experienced the issues that young children with working mothers may face. As a working mother with young children myself, I found this to be a great book to share. It opened up a dialogue with my son about what I do when I work and how much I miss him. This book would make a great addition to any children’s collection and could work well in a group story-time session with related activities and discussion for toddlers and pre-schoolers. Highly Recommended. Rhiannon Jones is a health librarian at the University of Calgary. In her spare time, she reads and re-reads books to her three children who teach her that something new can be gleaned from multiple tellings.
To comment on this title or this review, send mail to cm@umanitoba.ca. Copyright © the Manitoba Library Association. Reproduction for personal use is permitted only if this copyright notice is maintained. Any other reproduction is prohibited without permission.
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Since this is a book that would appeal to younger children, the focus is not on a sequential plot, but rather a repetition that seems designed to calm a child. The repetition is particularly strong because young children can begin to see patterns between their day at daycare or school and what their mother does at work. The wording emphasises how much a mother loves and thinks of her child during the day and is very happy and positive. The repetition of “Mama smiles” and “I smile” is a fantastic way to reinforce the idea of a cheerful separation.