The Stamp Collector is a children's picture book (recommended for ages 8 and up) by Jennifer Lanthier and François Thisdale. It was published in 2012 by Fitzhenry & Whiteside.The Stamp Collector at WorldCat A French language edition, Le Collectionneur de Timbres, was released in October, 2013.Le Collectionneur de Timbres at WorldCat The theme of the book is freedom of expression.
Plot
A city boy finds a discarded postage stamp that unlocks his imagination; a country boy is captivated by stories. When they grow up, the two boys take different paths—one becomes a prison guard, the other works in a factory—but their early childhood passions remain. Their lives intersect years later when the country boy's stories of hope land him in prison, guarded by the city boy.
The rules prohibit the guard and writer from talking. As the years pass, the writer's story spreads around the world and letters of support from faraway places begin to arrive. The guard is fascinated by the beautiful stamps and intrigued by what they suggest about the prisoner he watches. With time, the guard feels compelled to deliver first the stamps and eventually the letters, as evidence to the writer that the world has not forgotten him.
A unique friendship begins. The writer grows ever weaker while the guard begs him to tell him his stories and promises to share them. After the writer's death the guard courageously leaves his post and journeys to a distant but safe library where he puts pen to paper and begins to share the stories.
Although the setting of The Stamp Collector is unnamed, the postmarks and Chinese characters used in the illustrations suggest a thinly-disguised China.
Freedom of expression activism An afterword in the book explains the concept of freedom of expression and the work done by International PEN and other charities on behalf of writers and journalists imprisoned or at risk.Booknews, Fall 2012, Volume 35, No.4., Senta Ross, Review of The Stamp Collector, The Canadian Children’s Book Centre It is also disclosed that a portion of all proceeds from its sales “will support PEN Canada in its efforts to bring hope to writers in prisons around the world.” PEN Canada is the Canadian arm of International PEN.PEN in the Community, PEN Canada Home Page, http://pencanada.ca/news/connecting-and-sharing-stories-in-the-community/The Stamp Collector Gives Proceeds to PEN, August 27, 2012, Kasey Coholan, PEN Canada Home Page, http://pencanada.ca/news/the-stamp-collector-gives-proceeds-to-pen/
Lanthier says the story was inspired by the writer Nuremuhamet Yasin, who was sentenced to ten years in a Chinese prison in 2004 for writing a short story called “The Wild Pigeon.”Free the Wild Pigeon, International PEN Uyghur Center, http://www.uyghurpen.org/wild-pigeon-campaign.html Lanthier advocated for his release while volunteering for PEN Canada. At a meeting of PEN advocates, Lanthier met the exiled journalist Jiang Weiping, who had spent six years in a Chinese prison for a series of investigative articles he wrote exposing the corruption of the government official, Bo Xilai. Lanthier says that encounter led her to write The Stamp Collector.The Stamp Collector: A Review and Interview, February 10, 2013, Josanne La Valley, PEN American Center Home Page, http://www.pen.org/interview/stamp-collector-review-and-interviewNorth Toronto Post, February 1, 2013, Rosie D'souza, "Telling Toronto's Stories", p.52. In the afterword Lanthier explains “We asked Mr. Weiping if there was any point in writing letters to prisoners who weren’t allowed to see them. He said yes – because the guards collect stamps.”
In June 2013 The Stamp Collector won the Huguenot Society of Canada Award, presented by the Ontario Historical Society, honouring the book for bringing “public awareness to the principles of freedom of conscience and freedom of thought.”2012 Honours and Awards Recipients Announced, Press Release, Ontario Historical Society website, July 4, 2013 "http://www.ontariohistoricalsociety.ca/user_files/users/56/Media/ohs_honours_and_awards_press_release_2012-13.pdf"
Illustrations
Thisdale's illustrations blended traditional drawing and painting with digital imagery. Chinese landscapes were creatively blended with vistas, creating a combination of realism and imagination.CM Magazine, Volume XIX, No. 12, November 23, 2012, Ellen Heaney, Review of The Stamp Collector, The Manitoba Library Association Layered into each image are Chinese characters, bright stamps and ghostly postmarks.
One image, that of the discarded stamp found by the city boy in the opening pages and saved for its beauty, recurs throughout the book and serves as the metaphor carrying the book's political message. Thisdale based the image on this particular stamp on The Temple of the Sun in Chaoyang District, Beijing, China. During the 2008 Summer Olympics, at the behest of the IOC, The Temple of the Sun was one of three locations designated by Chinese officials as official protest zones. All applications to protest there were denied or withdrawn and no protests took place. At least two persons who applied to protest were arrested and sentenced to reeducation.Protest Application Brings Labor-Camp Threat, Woman Says, Ariana Eunjung Cha, The Washington Post, August 21, 2008Peter Foster, The IOC plays appeaser in Beijing, Telegraph Blogs, August 20, 2008
Awards and honours
Winner - 2014 Golden Oak Award, OLA Forest of Reading, Ontario Library AssociationCanadian Children's Book Centre Website, June 5, 2014, IBBY Honour List 2014 for The Stamp Collector, International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY)IBBY website, February 19, 2014 Winner - 2014 Great Books Award, Canadian Toy Testing Council (CTTC),Canadian Toy Testing Council website, November 5, 2013 Finalist - 2013 TD Canadian Children's Literature Award, Canadian Children's Book Centre (CCBC)Canadian Children's Book Centre website, September 6, 2013, "http://www.bookcentre.ca/news/finalists_ccbc_awards_2013" Finalist - 2013 Marilyn Baillie Picture Book Award, Canadian Children's Book Centre (CCBC) Winner - Huguenot Society of Canada Award, Ontario Historical Society Finalist - 2013 Libris Award – Young Readers' Book of the Year, Canadian Booksellers Association (CBA)" Canadian Booksellers Association website, May 8, 2013, " Winner - 2013 Crystal Kite Award, Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) - Americas DivisionSociety of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators website, April 30, 2013, "2013 Crystal Kite Award Winners " Ezra Jack Keats 2013 New Writer Honor [Jennifer Lanthier], Ezra Jack Keats Foundation, March 4, 2013, ReutersThe Stamp Collector selected as 2013 Ezra Jack Keats New Writer Award Honor Book, March 5, 2013, The Canadian Children's Book Centre website, http://www.bookcentre.ca/news/the_stamp_collector_selected_2013_ezra_jack_keats_new_writer_award_honor_book Finalist - 2013 Amelia Frances Howard-Gibbon Illustrator's Award [François Thisdale], Canadian Library AssociationCanadian Library Association website, March 1, 2013, "Canadian Library Association Announces 2013 Amelia Frances Howard-Gibbon Award Shortlist" Nominee - 2014 Silver Birch Express Award, OLA Forest of Reading, Ontario Library AssociationOLA Website, October 15, 2013, Notable Books for a Global Society Award 2013, International Reading Association (IRA) - Children's Literature and Reading Special Interest Group Best Bets 2012, Ontario Library Association - Canadian Materials CommitteeCanadian Children's Book Centre website, February 6, 2013, OLA 2012 Best bets USBBY 2013 Outstanding International Books, United States Board on Books for Young People (U.S. National Section of International Board on Books for Young People)School Library Journal, February 2013, Maria Salvadore, "The Literary Equation: USBBY's Outstanding International Books connect kids worldwide"United States Board on Books for Young People Heather's Kids Pick, Indigo Books and Music
Critical reviews BookDragon(Smithsonian Institution, Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center)] Quill & Quire Magazine Reading Today (International Reading Association (now International Literacy Association)) Perfect Nostalgia (Blog) Reading Matters (Blog) CanLit for Little Canadians (Blog) CM Magazine (Canadian Review of Materials) Bookish Notions (Blog) Bookpage Albany Times Union The Record (Kitchener-Waterloo) Teach Magazine
External links The Stamp Collector at Fitzhenry and Whiteside Limited, Publishers The Stamp Collector at Jennifer Lanthier personal page François Thisdale personal page
References