When I Was a Child

Sheila Martindale is poetry editor of Canadian Author and Bookman and
the author of No Greater Love.

All 11 stories in this anthology deal with the theme of kids and adults
relating to each other (in some cases, not very well). Some of the
topics are a little heavy. In Thomas Wharton’s piece, a young boy dies
in an avalanche. Another death occurs in Tim Wynne-Jones’s story about
a boy who goes mute after his father disappears. George McWhirter’s
story about a young boy’s efforts to save a dying dolphin is
juxtaposed with hints about his abusive home life. Patrick Roscoe
recounts the somewhat depressing tale of a lonely child and an old doll.


Kids’ relationships with a parent’s new partner are examined in
contributions by Tammy Armstrong and W.D. Valgardson. Allison Acheson
describes a girl’s feelings toward her grandmother, who is about to be
placed in a nursing home. On the lighter side, Leon Rooke contributes an
invigorating story about a young teen who is hired to assist a blind
man. Barbara Nickel’s moving and delightful two-part story revolves
around Bach’s Concerto for Two Violins. Sarah Ellis tells an
out-of-this-world tale, while Welwyn Wilton-Katz gives us guardian
angels.

All the writers seem to have a good handle on what goes on in the minds
of adolescents, and the quality of the writing is consistently high.
Recommended.