Every Little Scrap and Wonder: A Small-Town Childhood

by Carla Funk

Carla Funk grew up in a place of logging trucks and God, pellet guns and parables. Every Sunday, she sat with her mother and brother in the same pew at the Mennonite church while her dad stayed home with his cigarettes and a fridge full of whiskey. In these tender, humorous stories, Funk stitches together the wondrous and the mundane: making snow angels and carrying sacks of potatoes, tossing pig bladders like footballs, and vying for the Christmas pageant spotlight.

Part ode to childhood, part love letter to rural life, Every Little Scrap and Wonder offers an original take on the memories, stories, and traditions we all carry within ourselves, whether we planned to or not.

Genres: Memoir, Canada, Nonfiction, Audiobook, Canadian Literature

240 pages, Hardcover

First published October 15, 2019

About the author

Born and raised in Vanderhoof, B.C., one of the earliest Mennonite settlements in the province, Carla Funk now lives and teaches writing in Victoria, where she served as the city’s inaugural poet laureate from 2006-2008. Her previous books of poetry include The Sewing Room and Apologetic.

Reviews

[Joanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a delight: sweet but not cloying, it is a series of short memoirs of the author's childhood in a small town in northern British Columbia. Her childhood was happy, her family large and loving, her snapshots of events charming to read. There are laugh-out-loud stories, like the time when, as a child, she won a 50-pound bag of potatoes in a town contest. There is tenderness, and poignancy, but it all comes together so beautifully. This was a great book to read during this time of pandemic stress; it reminded me that life can be good again.

[Maya · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is essentially a collection of short essays about the author’s experience of growing up in a Mennonite family in Vanderhoof, BC. It is very beautifully and tenderly written, a lovely ode to the bittersweetness of childhood and all the curiosity, wonder, and painful learning that accompanies it. I kept expecting something either tragic or groundbreaking to happen, or for it to be an expose of small town religious communities. None of that happened, and I’m glad: instead I found a nuanced and poignant chronicling of a normal life, with all its little thrills and pleasures and disappointments, stories and vignettes from Funk’s childhood which are very relatable while being personal to her. This is a lovely read, and pays reverential tribute to childhood in all its mundane and magical glory.

[Cathryn Wellner · Rating 4 out of 5]

The language of Carla Funk's memoir is testament to her talent as a poet. She begins with a lyrical line, "Every September, as the last green of summer dropped to umber and rust, and the winds chilled toward frost, we ushered in the fall with a bonfire." Her memories of childhood are ripe with details so rich I could close my eyes and smell the annual ritual of pig slaughter and hear her mother moving about in the kitchen.

Her Mennonite mother was a storyteller who adhered to the teachings of her faith. Her father had a more practical, prosaic bent. She inherited the best of both and writes about them with loving candour.

Funk's memoir is not a linear re-telling of her childhood in Vanderhoof, the geographical center of British Columbia. Rather, it moves through the seasons, gathering bits from family, community, and the land. The result is a lyrical crazy quilt, all angles and colours and fine stitching.

[Yen-chun Chen · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is a book with lots short story about her childhood memory. The following stories are the one I think are interesting.

"The Typewriter" - love the poem that bus driver wrote for Carla Funk and the effort he put in

"Christmas Eve, Loop Road" - the children and the mother can't fit in the father's side family. remind me when we were children we prefer one side of relatives than the other.

"Gloria" - very typical story as you seen in some American TV show or movie

"Target Parctice" - the hate & love relationship between sibling

"Butchering Day" - the killing & sharing pig remain me Chinese traditional village as whole village share a pig as festival"

"Where I Come From" - the author wrote "my mother referred to everything as a "peeter,' as in "what you pee with". Everyone had a peeter, and you kept your peeter covered and quiet. Very funny way to describe the private part in past time.

[Debbie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a great book of her childhood memories! I was taken back to my own childhood reading this book. I am from the same town and near the same age . I grew up Mennonite background but didn’t go to Mennonite church . I loved the memories of pig slaughter day as we did the same thing . So many curious wonders of a little girl took me back to the same place trying to remember my own wonders . Excellent book . Couldn’t put it down as I waited for her next adventure . Her curiosity and her tenacity. Her mom’s curt replies to most situations and the ice cream from the dump was my favourite story . Thank you for such a wonderful book Carla Funk.

[LibraryCin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a memoir of the author’s childhood, written as a series of essays. Carla Funk grew up in Vanderhoof, British Columbia in a Mennonite family, in the 1980s(?).

This was ok. I’m not a big fan of long paragraphs and this had more than I’d like. It took a bit to realize each chapter was a different essay/topic, rather than the book being a chronological memoir. What I liked was the familiarity. My dad’s family (I grew up in Southern Saskatchewan) was Mennonite, so there were familiar names (so many names got used over and over!), some German words, and food.

[Evelyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was NICE! Short stories with beautiful language, each story about a time in a young girl's life.
Carla Funk wrote this memoir about her years growing up in a small BC town. I could relate to many details. A pleasant way to spend a week.

[Cheryl Hebb · Rating 2 out of 5]

While beautifully written, it was just a bunch of random memories that involved a lot of dead animals being butchered, and children being brainwashed by the church, and hypocritical, misogynistic parents. Not my cup of tea.

[CyGrrl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beautiful writing but sometimes a little too vivid. I enjoyed a few of the stories.

[Nik von Schulmann · Rating 3 out of 5]

A short series of 'essays' of growing up Mennonite in Vanderhoof. The stories were all evocative but ultimately not memorable.

[Edeana Malcolm · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a really well-written and interesting memoir.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A memoir set in a Mennonite community, Vanderhoof BC. I loved this fierce and curious little girl.

[Cathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. It read like short stories so I would read it between other books. A real story about real people.

[Lily Quan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was one of my favorite reads of 2020. The writing is vivid, descriptive and touching. Perfect for weekend reading, with a mug of tea.

[Pippa Moore · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderfully descriptive stories about growing up in a Mennonite family in Vanderhoof, BC. Really a collection of short stories, like photos of a bygone time.

[Sabrina · Rating 5 out of 5]

The fact that the author is a poet shines in every sentence of prose, bursting with vivid imagery. A wonderful collection of memories.

[Donna Hartmann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved the writing style, so packed full of delightful details.

[Lindsay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loving, funny as hell, and a beautifully cobbled together gem!

How did the book make me feel/think?

Loving, funny as hell, and a beautifully cobbled together gem!

How did the book make me feel/think?

Wonderous!

When I cracked open the book, I never thought I would fall in love with a book about a young Mennonite girl’s experience growing up in a rural community in Northern British Columbia—but I did.

The writing is exquisite. The book reads like a stupendous poem that is much grander than any poem I’ve ever read—I have nothing against poetry—shooting it quickly, like a bladder ball being tossed around, to the top of my favourite list.

What’s not to love?

Carla Funk’s writing has instilled a desire to head to Vanderhoof and drink in the community where her story lived. And boy, girl, in this case, did it live.

EVERY LITTLE SCRAP AND WONDER stitches together a rich tapestry, dropping readers literally into Carla’s young life, examining where she came from, swaddling together her Mennonite heritage in creating a lavish quilt. The quilt reminded her of everyone who’s shared blood with her. The stories within, in poetic expertise, profoundly and hilariously touch on everyone she’s shared blood, draped in the quilt’s warmth. Somehow, Carla adroitly splices together a story of a family coming together for the annual butchering of pigs—amazingly, despite being grotesque to the max, it is fall-out-of-you-chair funny, ending in warm hearts and a bladder ball.

EVERY LITTLE SCRAP AND WONDER trips into family life, sharing the bond + competition of sibling rivalries. The book speaks volumes about what many of us experience growing up, highlighting all the love and dysfunction in a gloriously relatable fashion that will leave you wanting one more word.

Did I say I love this book?

I love this book.

EVERY LITTLE SCRAP AND WONDER is gross, dirty, perhaps disgusting—but without question, it is loving, funny as hell, and a beautifully cobbled-together gem.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Even now, I sleep beneath a patchwork crazy quilt stitched from the denim of my dad's grease-stained, worn-out jeans, the corduroy of my brother school pants, my mother's closet full of skirts and slacks and blouses-- all those flowers, all those greys and greens and blues-- and my childhood Sunday dresses, salvaged cut and finally made to fit."
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Thoughts~
An illuminating memoir!
Funk grew up not far from where I did but her life was much different from mine. In Every Little Scrap And Wonder she reflects on her childhood, growing up in a Mennonite community in a small logging town in British Columbia. Telling stories of her girlhood and family.

I wasn't sure if this book would be for me seeing as I did not grow up with any religious inclinations but I found myself curious from the first page and ended up really enjoyed it! The way she pulled together all these different stories of her childhood to paint the picture for the reader of her at times odd and more traditional upbringing was wonderfully done. Funk is a poet, and this really showed in her prose. Her writing is tender, vivid and beautiful.

Thank You @greystonebooks for sending me this book and for all the wonderful #canlit they are publishing but also for getting British Columbia stories like this one out there too. It's so refreshing!
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[Janilyn Kocher · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cute engaging read. The author shares recollections of her childhood. She shares memories of her parents, her relationship with her brother. Much of the material was easy reading. A few sections were little sluggish, but overall it's a nice glimpse into,the author's past. Thanks to Edelweiss for the early read.

[Vontel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read the first section, skipped through the rest of the book & read the afterward. Interesting tale of experiences in a cultural era & small town location which many have not experienced.
I'm not sure if I'll re-request to finish it(cannot renew at library, in demand). I have read a number of memoirs recently and have backlog of library books to read.

[Marlies · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautifully written collection of memories sticking to the creative idea of creating a quilt with words.
I was so curious about Funk’s current life and how these past events have shaped her as an adult.

[Sandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was rich with deftly woven vignettes of a small-town childhood, some familiar and some of another time and place. All of them written with otherworldly wisdom. Carla is such a gifted writer of poetry and prose.