Words At Large

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The casualties of war aren’t just on the battlefield: it takes its toll on the home front as well.

In her latest book, Off to War: Voices of Soldier’s Children (Groundwood Books), author Deborah Ellis lets the children of North American soldiers serving in Iraq and Afghanistan tell their own stories. The children, ranging in ages from seven to 17, candidly express the personal concerns and struggles they face in their daily life while a parent is far away facing a war. Their stories are sad, scared, angry and funny, and reveal how war has marked their lives.

In this feature interview from The Next Chapter, Ellis talks to Shelagh Rogers about Off to War and the children she interviewed for the book.

Ellis is an award-winning children’s writer and has written extensively about the effects of war. Her books have been published in 17 languages and she regularly donates the royalties from her book to charities supporting children and women. The royalties from Off to War are being donated to the Children in Crisis fund of the International Board on Books for Young People.

There’s more in the podcast of The Next Chapter: hear columnist Victor Dwyer’s review the Scotiabank Giller Prize finalists based on the first paragraph of each book. And listen in on a conversation between the legendary Alice Munro and Deborah Treisman, fiction editor of The New Yorker.

First aired November 8, 2008 on The Next Chapter. [runs ??]

Catch The Next Chapter on Saturdays at 3 p.m. EST (3:30 NT) on CBC Radio One, or listen online.

Coming up
The 2009 edition of Canada Reads is gearing up. On November 25, look for the website launch with a new line-up of celebrity panelists and five great books you won’t want to miss. In the meantime, check out the official website for a behind-the-scenes look at how the annual program is put together.