Silver Threads [Hardcover]

Grade 2-5 - This story describes how a brave young husband and wife leave Ukraine to avoid war, only to find themselves confronted with it again in Canada. They take their devotion to one another, their commitment to hard work, and their beloved traditions from the old country with them to their new home. Even when Ivan is placed in an internment camp, Anna lives in hope that the good luck of the spider's web in her house will restore their happiness. As the story unfolds, readers will find themselves learning about several interesting facets of Canadian history, including immigration, the Canadian frontier, the effect of World War I on settlers, and the imprisonment of Ukrainians as enemies. The language is simple enough for younger children to understand in a read-aloud, but the social and political history may be more appropriate for older students. Martchenko, who is well known for his cartoon illustrations, creates a different mood here. Without losing his unique style, he renders artwork that sensitively depicts this lovingly told story and captures period details. - Corrina Austin, Locke's Public School, St. Thomas, Ontario, Canada
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Gr. 2-4. Drawing on her grandparents' experiences as immigrants in early-twentieth-century Canada, Skrypuch tells a moving picture-book story of prejudice, suffering, and strength. A young couple flees their Ukrainian village to escape the husband's forced conscription in the foreign emperor's army. The couple crosses the ocean and finds a new home on the Canadian prairie. When World War I breaks out, the husband tries to enlist for Canada, but, instead, he is arrested as an enemy and interned until long after the war is over. The detailed watercolor paintings show the pioneers' story: both the big picture of the train steaming across the flat, empty Canadian prairie, and the close-ups of the harsh labor, the racism, and the wife struggling alone to keep things going. Add this to the stories of refugees' hardships; it shows the racism then and now. Hazel Rochman
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"A classic fable about the power of love."
-- Macleans

"Remarkably, Ms Skrypuch has retrieved an all-but-forgotten indignity in Canadian history without bitterness. . . This is a book that every Canadian grade school library should own."
-- Kingston Whig Standard

"Canadian readers of all stripes like Silver Threads."
-- Edmonton Journal

"It was not at all hard for me to become enthralled, immediately, with Silver Threads. "
-- Ukrainian Weekly

Taras Shevchenko writing award winner

Canadian Children's Book Centre Our Choice Favourites selection

Ontario Library Association "Best Bet for 1996"

Silver Threads is the magical story of Anna and Ivan, two young newly-weds who escape poverty and hardship in Ukraine to start a new life on the Canadian frontier. As they struggle to build their homestead, World War I breaks out. And when Ivan volunteers to fight for his new homeland, tragedy strikes. While Anna works and waits alone, hope comes from an unexpected source.

Based on true events, Silver Threads is a stirring lesson in history and a heart-warming tale of love and faith.

Marsha Skrypuch is the author of many books for children, including Silver Threads, The Best Gifts, Enough, The Hunger and Hope's War. Among the numerous writing awards won her novel about the Armenian genocide, Nobody's Child, was nominated for the Red Maple Award, the Alberta Rocky Mountain Book Award, the B.C. Stellar Award; and it was listed by Resource Links as a Best Book.