Close Ups

Rating:
Summary: Enthusiastically recommended reading for teens
Review: Aptly edited by Red Deer Press' Children's Book Editor Peter Carver, Close Ups is a very impressive anthology of stories for teen readers featuring the literary storytelling talents of Bonnie Blake, Rick Book, Martha Brooks, Anne Carter, Gillian Chan, Brian Doyle, Sarah Ellis, Bernice Friesen, Linda Holeman, Jillian Horton, Sheley A. Leedahl, Alsion Lohans, R.P. McIntyre, Kevin Major, Kathy Stinson, Budge Wilson, and Tim Wynne-Jones. These are totally engaging stories where the characters grow in wisdom and understanding whill dealing with problems of family, friendships, and self discovery. Close Ups is enthusiastically recommended reading for teens, and a highly desirable addition to highschool and community library teen reading lists and short story collections.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Alternative To Short Stories By Dead Men
Review: I use several of these wonderful stories in my English 10 and 11 classes. (I explored adopting this as our new anthology, but unfortunately, Red Deer Press says that the title has gone out of print.) My favourites include Budge Wilson's "The Metaphor," Kathy Stinson's "Babysitting Helen," and Rick Book's "Saying Good-Bye to the Tall Man." My students have enthusiastically embraced these stories.

I have gone on to explore these author's individually, and am very grateful to Close-Ups for introducing me to the work of Budge Wilson and Rick Book. Their own anthologies are wonderful.

This book should be seriously considered by all Canadian English teachers. It's a shame that it is being let out of print.