CHASE DUFFY is a junior high student living in central Alberta with his mother, father and younger sister.
He’s on the school track team, vying for a position as top long-distance runner, and he’s well on his way. His friends already call him Superman. When he isn’t practicing with Coach Taylor, Chase is running alongside his Grandfather’s canola field – always looking for a leg up on the competition.
Through his weekly adventures, Chase is learning all about canola and its importance in his everyday life – from the crop’s earliest harvests (as told in the educational storybook, Fields of Home) through to its nutritional value and cooking properties, all the way to the future of the country’s only “Made in Canada” crop.
Chase also enjoys storytelling, and in addition to his blog, he’s writing his first novel.
You can follow Chase weekly on his blog, where he talks about writing, running and canola, or check out his Facebook (Chase Superman Duffy) or Twitter (@SupermanDuffy) profiles.
The Chase Duffy Books
FIELDS OF HOME
Copyright ©2010
Dawn Ius, writer
James Grasdal, illustrator
Alberta Canola Producers Commission, publisher
Canada $4.95 (includes GST)
Fields of Home is an entertaining children’s story-comic book targeting eight to eleven year-olds. Chase, a young track and field athlete is charged with taking lunch to his grandfather who is scouting his Alberta canola field.
On a very hot day, Chase, in a mental competition with his track rivals, over exerts. That’s when he meets Mr. Slovonuk from Shellbrook, Saskatchewan – the farmer who first brought rapeseed from Poland to Canada.
Fields of Home is part fantasy, relying on a tween’s belief in ‘perhaps’. And intertwined are the historical facts about canola, rapeseed, the transition from one seed to the other, and the man who started it all.
GOTTA JET
Copyright ©2012
Dawn Ius, writer
James Grasdal, illustrator
Alberta Canola Producers Commission, publisher
Canada $4.95 (includes GST)
Gotta Jet is an entertaining children's graphic-novel written especially for eight to eleven year-olds and is the second novel featuring the adventures of the Chase Duffy character.
In this story, Chase attends the jet car races with his Grandpa and meets the owner and driver of the world's first and only jet car powered by canola biodiesel.
Back at home, Chase and his Grandfather build a soapbox race car for Chase - but will it be fast enough to beat Gordon "Lightening" Smith's car? Maybe it will be faster than even Superman!
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IT'S A BLAST!
Copyright ©2013
Dawn Ius, writer
James Grasdal, illustrator
Alberta Canola Producers Commission, publisher
Canada $4.95 (includes GST)
It's a Blast! is an entertaining children's graphic-novel written especially for eight to eleven year-olds and is the third novel featuring the adventures of the Chase Duffy character.
In this story, Chase enlists the help of former Canadian astronaut Robert Thirsk to discover whether canola seeds can grow in outer space.
It's a Blast! is out of this world!
TASTING MY STORY
Copyright ©2013
Dawn Ius, writer
James Grasdal, illustrator
Alberta Canola Producers Commission, publisher
Canada $4.95 (includes GST)
Tasting My Story is the fourth book in the Chase "Superman" Duffy series of adventure stories, published by the Alberta Canola Producers Commission.
Part mystery-adventure, part cookbook, Tasting My Story is sure to capture the imagination of young minds - and get kids excited about spending time in the kitchen.
The Chase Duffy adventure books can be purchased by contacting the Alberta Canola Producers at 1-800-551-6652 or by emailing reception@canola.ab.ca.
Chase Duffy Book News
Book 4 in the Chase Duffy series, Tasting my Story, launches JULY 10, 2013 in Calgary at the Calgary Stampede.
For Teachers
The Alberta Canola Producers Commission has an impressive range of curriculum-friendly FREE resources for Alberta teachers, including the StoryScapes unit for Grade 5 Language Arts and Social Studies.
This StoryScapes mini-unit is based on an adaptation of the Storyline strategy, a method that encourages students to build and explore understandings and deepen their appreciation and knowledge of topics or concepts.
The Storyline approach fosters critical and creative thinking, democratic practices and skills, curiosity and self-directed learning - all essential 21st century competencies.
It is based on the basic elements of story, a structure familiar and comfortable to children. Storyline strategy integrates literacy skills and helps children apply their learning in authentic and self-directed contexts.
For Grade 5, the Storyscapes study guide is an excellent complement to the Chase Duffy adventure books. To order it - or additional educational resources - contact the ACPC at 1-800-551-6652 or by email at reception@canola.ab.ca.
Hey Teachers! On Twitter? Follow Chase @SupermanDuffy for daily tips and links for educators.
