Permalink: http://www.cmu.ca/media_archive/index.php/2011/cmu-press-releases-two-children’s-books
December 15, 2011… CMU PRESS is pleased to announce the release of two children’s books: On the Zwieback Trail by Lisa Weaver, Julie Kauffman and Judith Rempel Smucker, and David’s Trip to Paraguay, by Miriam Rudolph.
On the Zwieback Trail is an alphabet book, with each letter devoted to a different aspect of Russian Mennonite history, including the origin of Mennonite Central Committee, the history of the Mennonite people in Russia and the role of non-violence in the Russian Mennonite tradition, in addition to a number of personal anecdotes, unique historical artefacts, songs and recipes compiled by the author and designers.
“We hope that this book will spark family conversations about faith and cultural heritage,” said author Lisa Weaver. “We made the information accessible to children, but inviting to adults as well.”
In addition to writing On the Zwieback Trail, Weaver has a previous book, Praying With Our Feet, published by Herald Press in 2005. Julie Kauffman is the designer behind Simply in Season and both the designer and co-author of Simply in Season Children’s Cookbook (published by Herald Press in 2005 and 2006, respectively); Rempel Smucker has done a variety of design work for Mennonite Central Committee, including Consider the Threshing Stone, published in 2008 by Pandora Press.
David’s Trip to Paraguay is written and illustrated by Miriam Rudolph, a professional artist and printmaker from Winnipeg, Manitoba currently residing in Minneapolis. The book follows the true story of Rudolph’s grandfather’s immigration from Altona, Manitoba to Loma Plata, Paraguay in the 1920s.
Rudolph’s illustrations are constructed from acrylic paint and handmade coloured papers that beautifully demonstrate the contrast between the white Manitoba winter and the lively, bright buildings, forests, and creatures in Paraguay, where Rudolph was born. “I put some of my own love for Paraguay in the book, although I must admit that I’m quite at home in Canada now,” said Rudolph. The illustrations display Rudolph’s unique visual style, a style influenced by maps, memories, and way-finding. “I had a lot of fun making all the illustration panels fit together so that the whole long journey became more apparent,” she said.
The subject of her book, the small, South American country of Paraguay, has played an important part in Mennonite history since the early 20th century. “Moving around seems to be a common Mennonite theme,” said Rudolph. “I hope that the book might put Paraguay on the map for some people, since it is rarely talked about. I often get asked, ‘So, where exactly is Paraguay and what is it like?’ Maybe the book will at least partially answer that question. It is such a beautiful, but also poor, forgotten little country. I wanted to somehow show it to people.”
CMU PRESS is an academic publisher of scholarly, reference, and general interest books at Canadian Mennonite University. Books from CMU PRESS address and inform interests and issues vital to the university, its constituency, and society. Areas of specialization include Mennonite studies, and works that are church-oriented or theologically engaged.
For CMU PRESS information, contact:
cmupress@cmu.ca
204.487.3300
500 Shaftesbury Blvd, Winnipeg MB Canada R3P 2N2
TO ORDER:
Contact CMU Bookstore: 204.487.3300 or cmubookstore@cmu.ca
On the Zwieback Trail Lisa Weaver, Julie Kauffman, Judith Rempel Smucker
CMU Press 2011 – 72 pages, hardcover, $25.00
ISBN 978-0-920718-92-6
On the Zwieback Trailis a delightful and informative children’s alphabet book of Russian Mennonite history, lovingly assembled as attractive collages of artefacts, historical narratives, photographs, recipes, and personal anecdotes of the past. Every page has something new to offer—whether it’s the meaning of the word “Anabaptist”, the role tractors played in the story of Mennonite Central Committee, or a delicious recipe for fluffy zwieback, this alphabet book is sure to charm and educate children and adults alike.
David’s Trip to Paraguay /Davids Reise in das Land der vielen Farben Miriam Rudolph
CMU Press 2011, 32 pages, hardcover
English and German, $22.00
ISBN 978-0-920718-91-9
This is a gorgeous book by an exciting young artist, inspired by the extraordinary journey made by her grandfather from Canada to Paraguay in the late 1920s. David, a farm boy from Southern Manitoba, is excited when his family, in search of a new home, decides to leave wintry and white Canada behind to start a long journey by train, ship, and oxcart to South America. Along the way he takes in colourful impressions of New York’s skyscrapers, the ocean, flying fish, crocodiles, foreign cities, and many more exciting things that let him know he is going the right way. This is an exceptional children’s book, but also a beautiful art work for all ages. In addition, the dual-language text (English and German) adds a valuable educational dimension.