A Kaleidoscope for June A 'coming of Age' novel by Antoinette Trysennaar Villa Paperback Only $11.99

A Kaleidoscope for June is a delightful coming of age novel, set in rural Ontario, Canada in the late 1950’s.

The author weaves fiction with historical events of Canadian history, such as Hurricane Hazel, the Springhill Coal Mine disaster and the Red Scare, bringing that era to life for readers. Additionally, the narrator, Willy Velthuizen, raises questions about the mores, conventions and standards of her community. These questions form the underlying theme of A Kaleidoscope for June and propel Willy from girlhood to young adulthood.

September 11/58 before school
Dear June Bride,

I got this diary for my birthday today and I’m so happy because now I can write and tell you things that I can’t tell anyone else. Now June, I don’t want you to think my life is one big sob story, because it isn’t. I just want to be able to put down on paper what I really feel and think when I think and feel it.

Let’s start with the color of my hair, my eyebrows, and my eyelashes. They are all white blonde, and when I was in grade one, one of the grade eight boys used to call me Albino. I didn’t know what it meant then, but I found out and hate my hair color now because of it.

My name, Wilhelmina Velthuizen, is the other complaint I have. I was born in Holland and my family came to Canada when I was a baby. I don’t remember anything about Holland, but I still have a Dutch name. They call me Willy for short. That’s a boy’s name in Canada, so I don’t like it any better. I complained about it to my mother recently and she said, “Why Willy, Wilhelmina was the name of the Dutch Queen when you were born. You were named after her. It’s a lovely name.”

I said to her, “But Mom, if you were gonna name me after a queen, why couldn’t you name me after the English Queen, ‘Elizabeth’? Now that’s a pretty name!”

No response.

“OK, ok, I know there’s nothing I can do about my name, Mom, but what about my hair? I’m so foreign looking with my white blonde braids. Couldn’t I have a ponytail and bangs like Canadian girls have instead of braids and no bangs like I’ve had since I was in grade one?”

My mother sighed and thought for a moment. Then she said, “OK, Willy, for your 13th birthday, you can have a ponytail and bangs instead of your braids.” So, that and this diary were my birthday presents this year and I am so happy to have both.

Still September 11/58 Evening

When Johnny and I got home from school today, we went and picked fresh corn from the garden because on my birthday we are allowed to have as much corn on the cob as we want for dinner — as long as we pick it and husk it ourselves.

In the garden Johnny said to me, “I’m going to eat eleven cobs of corn tonight because I’m eleven years old, and you should eat thirteen, Willy.” I didn’t think that was a very good idea.

“I could never eat thirteen cobs of corn, Johnny,” I said, “even if they were all young and tender and I am sure Henny could never eat fifteen either.”

Later, our Mom noticed us shucking lots of corn and said, “You children are so crazy about corm but just corn and pot roast is not filling enough for dinner. I’ll have to cook potatoes for myself and for Dad too.”

Johnny laughed and told her, “If you ate thirty-nine cobs of it, Mom, and Dad had forty, it would be filling enough.” She just raised her eyebrows at him and started peeling potatoes.

Johnny, Henny and I actually ate only six cobs each and we still had room for the chocolate pudding with whipped cream that I made for dessert.

One of my hobbies, June, is reading the Eaton’s and the Simpson’s Sears catalogues. We get both and do most of our wardrobe shopping from them. I like looking at them to see how many different things there are in the world, but also to learn new words for colors. All the fabrics and clothing are shown in their various colors and I have learned ever so many different words to describe colors.

So this is my plan, June, I’m going to have a “Color of the Day” every day in my diary to tell you a new one every time I write to you. That way, my diary will be a kaleidoscope of colors as well as a kaleidoscope of sketches of my life just for you.

Today’s Color of the Day will be maize. It’s a pretty light yellow color like June sunshine. More than anything, I would like to have my own bedroom and I would like to have it painted in maize. That way, as soon as the light comes in, in the morning, my room would look sunshiny, whether the sun is out or not.

I found out that maize means corn in Spanish. From the look of it, I’d say young corn, which is pretty and delicious. The Dutch word for cornstarch is “maizena” … I see the connection. Love from Willy with a ponytail and bangs.