Sylvia Olsen

Author and knitter Sylvia Olsen explores Canada's history, landscape, economy and social issues on a cross-country knitting-themed road trip.

Toques, mittens and scarves are all associated with northern climates, but the quintessential garment of Canadian knitting is surely the bulky and distinctly patterned West Coast cardigan. In the early twentieth century, Indigenous woolworkers on southern Vancouver Island began knitting what are now called Cowichan sweaters, named for the largest of the Coast Salish tribes in the region. Drawing on their talents as blanket weavers and basket makers, and adapting techniques from European settlers, Coast Salish women created sweaters that fuelled a bustling local economy. Knitters across the country copied the popular sweaters to create their own versions of the garment. The Cowichan sweater embodies industry and economy, politics and race relations, and is a testament to the innovation and resilience of Coast Salish families.

Sylvia Olsen married into the Tsartlip First Nation near Victoria, BC, and developed relationships with Coast Salish knitters through her family’s sweater shop. Olsen was inspired to explore the juncture of her English/Scottish/European heritage and Coast Salish life experiences, bringing to light deeply personal questions about Canadian knitting traditions. In 2015, she and her partner Tex embarked on a cross-Canada journey from the Salish Sea to the Atlantic Ocean with stops in more than forty destinations to promote her books, conduct workshops, exchange experiences with other knitters and, Olsen hoped, discover a fresh appreciation for Canada.

Along the way, with stops in urban centres as well as smaller communities like Sioux Lookout, ON, and Shelburne, NS, Olsen observed that the knitters of Canada are as diverse as their country’s geography. But their textured and colourful stories about knitting create a common narrative. With themes ranging from personal identity, cultural appropriation, provincial stereotypes and national icons, to “boyfriend sweaters” and love stories, Unravelling Canada is both a celebration and a discovery of an ever-changing national landscape. Insightful, optimistic, and beautifully written, it is a book that will speak to knitters and would-be knitters alike.

Reviews
"I love this book, for what it says about the artisans of the past and the present, for what it says about what gets passed on from family to family and between different cultures, for what it says about our country and the people who inhabit it. This book knits us together, not only with strands of wool but with compassion, intelligence, caring and storytelling of the most appealing kind." — Lorna Crozier, author of Through the Garden, March 2021

Additional Information
224 pages | 5.50" x 8.50"

The seating on the bus is different this year. That's because Raedawn and I and Sherry and Steve crossed the line.

In the face of ignorance and racism, Vince and Raedawn try and find out what has happened to Dune.

Things have changed since Raedawn and Vince started going out and the racial boundaries in town have slipped a bit. But when Dune, who never took sides, disappears, Raedawn is determined to find out where he has gone -- or what happened to him. Fighting against ignorance and hate, they track Dune down and find he is in more trouble than they thought and that nothing is black and white.

Educator & Series Information
Fry Reading Level: 2.4

Recommended for ages 12+

This is an Orca Soundings book. Orca Soundings are short, high-interest novels written specifically for teens. These edgy stories with compelling characters and gripping storylines are ones they will want to read.

Additional Information
100 pages | 4.25" x 7.00"

In this sequel to Murphy and Mousetrap, Murphy and his three friends, Danny, Jeff and Albert, are making the transition from the tribal elementary school to the community middle school. They are all trying out for the middle school's soccer team, and they're pretty confident that The Formidable Four will all make the team. But once the tryouts begin, Albert, the tribal-school superstar, plays like a second stringer. Murphy's new friend, Molly, is determined to help the boys find out what's wrong with Albert, but when they discover the truth, they realize that Albert is playing a whole different game.

Reviews
"A novel of courage and achievement told from the point of view of four native youths who must learn to cope with life off the reserve and their friend's illness…Many life lessons are taught with meaningful thematic messages, values and spirit…Highly recommended for primary/junior male readers both for recreational reading and for literature circles or discussion groups." — Resource Links, October 2010

Educator & Series Information
This book is part of the Orca Young Readers series, which are award-winning, bestselling chapter books for ages 8–11. Titles in this series include historical and contemporary stories with age-appropriate plots.

Additional Information
136 pages | 5.00" x 7.50" 

The year is 1957, and Bobby lives on the Tsartlip First Nation reserve on Vancouver Island where his family has lived for generations and generations. He loves his weekend job at the nearby marina. He loves to play marbles with his friends. And he loves being able to give half his weekly earnings to his mother to eke out the grocery money, but he longs to enter the up-coming fishing derby. With the help of his uncle and Dan from the marina his wish just might come true.

Educator Information
Themes: contest, family, fishing, Indigenous.

Educator & Series Information
This book is part of the Orca Young Readers series, which are award-winning, bestselling chapter books for ages 8–11. Titles in this series include historical and contemporary stories with age-appropriate plots.

Additional Information
128 pages | 5.00" x 7.50"

When Molly learns a talent competition is coming to town, her friend Murphy (A Different Game, Murphy and Mousetrap) becomes her manager. Molly is certain she is a good singer—she has been singing in her head for as long as she can remember. She doesn't sing out loud because of a promise she made to herself. Years ago, Molly vowed that her mom would be the first one to hear her sing. The only problem is, Molly knows nothing about her mom, who left when Molly was a baby. With the talent competition only weeks away, she has to decide whether to break her promise to herself and let her voice out into the world, or wait for her mother's uncertain return before singing for anyone else.

Reviews
"An elementary school audience [will be able to] relate to Molly's struggles...Recommended." — CM Magazine, February 2013

"In this small book with a lot of story packed into it, readers will enjoy the high drama...[and] relate to Molly’s uncertainty as she tries something completely new." — School Library Journal, May 2013

"An accessible, easy-to-read text with surprising depth...Deals quietly with issues like race, class, various kinds of sickness, and how families differ. The novel should generate lots of conversation in a class or reading group...A smart selection for anyone who has ever struggled with a secret or worried about being different. It's also an inspiring story of a girl who's learning to get along despite difficult circumstances. Many readers will identify with and enjoy Molly's story." — Resource Links, April 2013

Educator & Series Information
Themes: singing, competition, friendship, family, absent parent.

This book is part of the Orca Young Readers series, which are award-winning, bestselling chapter books for ages 8–11. Titles in this series include historical and contemporary stories with age-appropriate plots.

Additional Information
136 pages | 5.00" x 7.50"

Neekah is thrilled that she can finally learn to knit like her mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother before her. But knitting a toque for Grandma Dorothy is not as easy as she had imagined. A lyrical celebration of the tradition of Cowichan knitting among the Coast Salish peoples and the joy of creating something with your hands.

Neekah’s great-grandma, Mumma, knit all her life. Her Grandma Dorothy knits, her mom knits, and all her aunties knit. Even some of Neekah’s uncles knit. And Neekah wants to knit too. Every year she asks her mom if she can learn, and every year she hears, “Be patient. Your hands aren’t quite big enough yet.”

At last Neekah is ready to learn, her head and heart bursting with the colourful patterns and designs she will create with the wool. She sits down with her mom, holding the wooden needles Grandpa Carl has made for her and the wool from Auntie Joni’s wool shop. But knitting a toque for Grandma Dorothy is not as easy as she had imagined.

From award-winning author Sylvia Olsen comes a lyrical celebration of the tradition of Cowichan knitting among the Coast Salish peoples and the joy of creating something with your hands. Combined with Sheena Lott’s exquisite watercolours, families will love to share this cozy, loving story that carries the clicking of knitting needles down through the generations to a young girl holding her first set of needles.

Reviews
“This gentle and inspiring story—with outstanding illustrations—will be read over and over again. Love threads itself through the book as knowledge and skills are passed among generations: love of family, love of learning, love of tradition; plus perseverance, the joy of discovery, creativity, and the importance of patience. A simply wonderful book.” —Meg Swanson, Knitting designer, author, and owner of schoolhousepress

“Neekah’s Knitting Needles reminded me of my childhood and the great times I had with my grandfather, Xaniimastan (Peter Mitchell), sitting on his lap while he taught me cultural songs from the bighouse. I really enjoyed reading about a young person who wanted to learn and how knitting taught her our cultural lessons about never giving up and about Respect, Patience, Generosity, Hard Work, Love, and Caring. I was lifted up when I read how proud she was to give away her first toque.” —XanIImastan, TIm HarrIs, Stz’uminus First Nation Principal, W̱ SÁNEĆ Leadership Secondary School

Educator's Information
Recommended for ages 6 to 8.

Additional Information
8" x 10" | 40 Pages

No Time to Say Goodbye is a fictional account of five children sent to aboriginal boarding school, based on the recollections of a number of Tsartlip First Nations people. These unforgettable children are taken by government agents from Tsartlip Day School to live at Kuper Island Residential School. The five are isolated on the small island and life becomes regimented by the strict school routine. They experience the pain of homesickness and confusion while trying to adjust to a world completely different from their own. Their lives are no longer organized by fishing, hunting and family, but by bells, line-ups and chores. In spite of the harsh realities of the residential school, the children find adventure in escape, challenge in competition, and camaraderie with their fellow students.

Educator Information
Recommended for ages 12+ by the publisher.

Additional Information
175 pages | 5.25" x 7.75" | Paperback

On a fresh spring day, young Yetsa, her mother and her grand-mother gather to prepare the sheep fleeces piled in Grandma's yard. As they clean, wash and dry the fleece, laughter and hard work connect the three generations. The reader joins this family in an old, but vibrant tradition: the creation of a Cowichan sweater.

Additional Information