The Stamp Collector
Cover Illustration by François Thisdale
AuthorJennifer Lanthier
IllustratorFrançois Thisdale
CountryCanada
LanguageEnglish
Genrechildren's fiction
PublisherFitzhenry & Whiteside
Publication date
2012
Media typePrint (Hardcover)
Pages32
ISBN978-1-55455-218-4 (first edition, hardcover)

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.[1] A French language edition, Le Collectionneur de Timbres, was released in October, 2013.[2] 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.[3] 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.[4][5]

Lanthier says the story was inspired by the writer Nuremuhamet Yasin,[4][5] who was sentenced to ten years in a Chinese prison in 2004 for writing a short story called “The Wild Pigeon.”[6] 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.[7][8] 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.”[9]

Illustrations

Thisdale's illustrations blend traditional drawing and painting with digital imagery. “Detailed Chinese landscapes are creatively blended with dreamy, imaginative vistas”[3] creating a “riveting combination of realism and imagination.”[10] 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.[11] 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.[12][13]

Awards and honours

Critical reviews

References

  1. ↑ The Stamp Collector at WorldCat
  2. ↑ Le Collectionneur de Timbres at WorldCat
  3. 1 2 Booknews, Fall 2012, Volume 35, No.4., Senta Ross, Review of The Stamp Collector, The Canadian Children’s Book Centre
  4. 1 2 PEN in the Community, PEN Canada Home Page, http://pencanada.ca/news/connecting-and-sharing-stories-in-the-community/
  5. 1 2 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/
  6. ↑ Free the Wild Pigeon, International PEN Uyghur Center, http://www.uyghurpen.org/wild-pigeon-campaign.html
  7. ↑ 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-interview
  8. ↑ North Toronto Post, February 1, 2013, Rosie D'souza, "Telling Toronto's Stories", p.52.
  9. ↑ 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"
  10. ↑ CM Magazine, Volume XIX, No. 12, November 23, 2012, Ellen Heaney, Review of The Stamp Collector, The Manitoba Library Association
  11. ↑ Eckert, Paul (2008-08-06). "Protesters bypass China's official protest zones". Reuters.
  12. ↑ Protest Application Brings Labor-Camp Threat, Woman Says, Ariana Eunjung Cha, The Washington Post, August 21, 2008
  13. ↑ Peter Foster, The IOC plays appeaser in Beijing, Telegraph Blogs, August 20, 2008
  14. ↑ Canadian Children's Book Centre Website, June 5, 2014, "The Stamp Collector wins 2014 Forest of Reading® Golden Oak™ Award | Canadian Children's Book Centre". Archived from the original on 2014-07-14. Retrieved 2014-06-11.
  15. ↑ IBBY website, February 19, 2014
  16. ↑ Canadian Toy Testing Council website, November 5, 2013
  17. 1 2 Canadian Children's Book Centre website, September 6, 2013, "http://www.bookcentre.ca/news/finalists_ccbc_awards_2013"
  18. ↑ " Canadian Booksellers Association website, May 8, 2013, "
  19. ↑ Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators website, April 30, 2013, "2013 Crystal Kite Award Winners Archived 2013-08-13 at the Wayback Machine"
  20. ↑ 2013 Ezras Jack Keats New Writer and New Illustrator Book Awards Winners Announced, March 4, 2013, Reuters
  21. ↑ The 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
  22. ↑ Canadian Library Association website, March 1, 2013, "Canadian Library Association Announces 2013 Amelia Frances Howard-Gibbon Award Shortlist"
  23. ↑ OLA Website, October 15, 2013, "Current Program Year". Archived from the original on 2013-12-04. Retrieved 2013-10-15.
  24. ↑ Canadian Children's Book Centre website, February 6, 2013, OLA 2012 Best bets
  25. ↑ School Library Journal, February 2013, Maria Salvadore, "The Literary Equation: USBBY's Outstanding International Books connect kids worldwide"
  26. ↑ United States Board on Books for Young People
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