Reviews

Young readers’ reviews

by Jo-Anne Elder and Lisa Doucet

MISSION PELOCHON

Audrey Borduas-Tremblay Bouton d’or Acadie (Ages 4-8)

Confetti and Frisotti are two sisters, likely anteaters, who love each other and love to play with their stuffed toys. Confetti’s favourite stuffed animal is

Pelochon, a little lamb with a bell.

One day, Confetti can’t find Pelochon. The two sisters don detective uniforms and set off to solve the mystery of the animal’s disappearance. Their thorough investigation leads them on a search through jars of pickles in the cupboard, behind the couch and finally over a mountain of laundry into the bathroom.

As we follow them on their mission, we leave the house, stuffed animals and cupboards and embark on a magical journey over the waves on an ice floe. The washing machine has been transformed into an aquarium filled with fish.

The detectives look through the porthole and there they find Pelochon, held in the arms of an octopus. They carefully rescue their soaking friend.

This picture book is in the Trottinette collection for children aged 4 to 8. Younger children will also enjoy the pastel illustrations of familiar toys and household objects: a sock that has strayed from its mate, small items of clothing hanging on the line, a ball that has rolled away…

The language is creative, not overly simple, and there are a few novel words for French Immersion and probably francophone children to learn. The style is rhythmic and interesting, with short sentences, little repetition and a variable rhyme scheme.

Text and illustrations are by Audrey Borduas-Tremblay, based in Quebec City. She has a certificate in visual arts and a broad and constantly evolving artistic practice. This is her first publication. I hope we’ll see more of her words and pictures.

C POUR CIRQUE

Elena Martinez, illustrations by Daniela Zekina Bouton d’or Acadie (Ages 0-4)

This is the third alphabet book published by Bouton d’or Acadie, following Ah! pour Atlantique and B pour Bayou. C pour Cirque presents the world of the circus, from acrobats to zoom. It has been placed in the Poussette collection, designed for very young children up to four. In fact, this book will charm children of all ages as well as adults with its sophisticated illustrations—many of which would make beautiful posters—and unusual words.

Each letter is accompanied by one of Daniela Zekina’s colourful, detailed images, and presented in a heading and 15 words or more of Elena Martinez’s text, about half of which start with or feature the letter.

The single-word headings—Attraction! Bravo! Champion!— set the enthusiastic, superlative tone of the entries, as though the circus master (Monsieur Loyal) is shouting through a megaphone to draw in spectators.

The choice of words shows inventive creativity, more like the play of tongue-twisters than lessons in common read-aloud words. For instance, excerpts of the six-line P (Première!) text translate roughly as “On the platform, a pantomime Pierrot with a powdered face adopts a pose… and presents with poetry the prestigious cast…”

S (Sensation!) starts with “a suddenly silent stage.” Of course, X is for Xylophone, but it also introduces the reader to a xerus, and the word adrenaline pops into the description of an admirable acrobat.

Elena Martinez lives in Montréal. Her Spanish background and interest in multiculturalism is reflected in her diverse and resonant word choices. She also published Les Sept Amis with Bouton d’or Acadie in 2017.

Daniela Zekina was born and raised in Bulgaria and graduated from a fine arts academy in Sofia before moving to Quebec more than 20 years ago. She has illustrated many children’s books and exhibited work in Europe and North America.

MERMAID LULLABY

Briana Corr Scott

AND AFTER IT RAINS

Joanne Schwartz, illustrated by Angela Doak Nimbus Publishing (Ages 0-3)

Two delightful and visually arresting new board books for the very youngest of readers will make their way into homes and hearts this season. Briana Corr Scott’s Mermaid Lullaby is a gentle, lilting bedtime ode to the sea and its denizens. The soothing verse rolls easily off the tongue and has a light, musical cadence, while the illustrations are soft and diffused with warmth and light.

The opening pages depict a joyful and diverse group of baby mermaids frolicking in the sea with loving mer-moms ever near. But when the sun goes down and bedtime draws near, even merbabies must rest whilst seabirds soar and playful seals swim nearby. The beautiful expression of light on the water and the soft and richly hued illustrations, with their filigreed lines, work perfectly with the text to evoke just the right tone for bedtime.

In After It Rains, author Joanne Schwartz and illustrator Angela Doak have together crafted a charming and exquisite counting book celebrating the wonders to be found in the wake of the rain. From the ONE big puddle in the backyard to the FIVE snails on the fence post and SEVEN bands of colour in the rainbow that fills the sky with its beauty, Schwartz highlights the many delightful discoveries there are to make and to share after the rain.

Doak’s exquisite and uncluttered collage illustrations are playful, brightly coloured and add just the right amount of visual texture to each page to provide depth and dimension. This is ONE counting book that countless numbers of children and parents will savour and enjoy.

LANA LLAMA AND MR. BEAGLE CLIMBS SIGNAL HILL

Lori Doody Running the Goat Books & Broadsides (Ages 3-7)

Lori Doody’s latest offerings feature a new animal friend who learns to value her uniqueness and another adventure for an already beloved character. In Lana Llama, when Lana realizes she is not like the other members of her flock, she becomes self-conscious and tries her best to make herself more like them. But when she becomes aware of a bully who has been harassing her pals, she knows that she is just the one to take a stand for her sheep friends.

Meanwhile, Mr. Beagle and a whole host of his neighbours decide to hike up Signal Hill and do some whale watching in the latest book in his series. Along the way, it becomes clear that someone is stealing snacks from the hikers’ backpacks! Once again, Mr. Beagle puts his deductive skills to the test.

Both of these books use spare, succinct text along with cleverly detailed illustrations to tell their tales and engage their readers. Mr. Beagle follows his predictable pattern, in which he formulates a suspicion, eventually discovers the culprit(s) and their motives end up eliciting sympathy and support from Mr. Beagle and the rest of the hikers. Understated humour, precise and fine-lined artwork and a caring, close-knit community make Mr. Beagle’s story a cozy and whimsical delight.

The uncluttered and cheerful illustrations in Lana Llama adeptly convey Lana’s feelings that she doesn’t belong because she is different and her desire to make herself fit in. The straightforward and uncomplicated message about the value of being yourself is delivered simply as Lana decides to stand up for her friends and learns that standing out from the crowd can be a good thing. Valuable life lessons in playful, quirky and distinctively illustrated packages, these new additions to Doody’s ouevre will be warmly welcomed.

SING IN THE SPRING!

Written by Sheree Fitch, quilt art by Deb Plestid Nimbus Publishing (Ages 4-8)

A jubilant collaboration that bursts with colour and life, this book captures the many-faceted wonders of spring, and the awe that they enkindle. With mama’s hum-along song to “bring in, ring in, sing in the spring” as a joyous refrain throughout, Fitch adroitly describes how even in the stillness and storminess of winter, whilst many creatures sleep, signs of spring nestle beneath the earth.

Soon the snow and ice will melt and river waters will flow once more and birds and blooms and all of nature will begin to stir. The spring rains and mud puddles and hummingbirds reappearing like magic will bring freshness and new life in this time of new beginnings, with its “heart sparkly/gold glittery/glad shimmery LIGHT on EVERYTHING!”

The author revels in not only the beauty of the natural world but also in the musicality of her chosen words, and in the ability of imagery and imagination to bring to life these wonders all around us. The poetry flows like the waters that ripple and break free from winter’s icy grip, and her carefully crafted word-pictures are a joy to read aloud and savour. Her observations are detailed and expressive, infused with reverence.

The artwork is similarly evocative, richly textured and filled with delights to engage all of the senses. Plestid’s exquisite quilts add another layer of depth as they capture the warmth and light and life that emanate from the text. Intricate, infused with colour and radiant light, perfectly precise in their rendering of a myriad

of tiny details, each image is its own marvel that is meant to be pored over.

ONE SUMMER IN WHITNEY PIER

Mayann Francis, illustrated by Tamara Thiebaux-Heikalo

AND SWEETGRASS

Theresa Meuse, illustrated by Jessica Jerome Nimbus Publishing (Ages 4-9)

Young Mayann Francis is facing a long and lonely summer ... until she discovers helping her parents cook traditional Caribbean meals and treats, embroidering and helping her father get organized for Sunday services. When she comes up with a plan to help her sister’s baseball team earn money to buy proper team uniforms, everyone pitches in to make her fundraising efforts a huge success. Francis warm and loving ode to life in a small community where friends and neighbours are akin to family deftly captures a spirit of place and time. Tamara Thiebaux-Heikalo’s loose-lined and detailed watercolour illustrations lend an air of nostalgia to the story with its uplifting message and evocation of a bygone era.

In Sweetgrass, Auntie takes her two nephews to pick sweetgrass. She explains what they should wear and why, and that they need to bring sacred medicines to leave as an offering of thanks to Mother Earth and to the sweetgrass. She shows them how to clean the sweetgrass and how to braid it, and imparts important life lessons like picking only as much as you need and saving some to share with others. The threesome share a very special day, savouring the beauty of the world around them, the time with each other and this very sacred tradition. Readers will be touched by their familial bond and by the deep respect for nature and for this beloved cultural tradition that Auntie shares with the boys. The illustrations are rich and vibrant and infused with warmth as they depict the highlights of this day.

DAPHNE’S BEES

Catherine Dempsey, Illustrated by Veselina Tomova Running the Goat Books & Broadsides (Ages 8-12)

Daphne’s 10th birthday is a very special day indeed. It is the day that she gets her very own bee hive! After opening her presents (including a bee suit and a set of beekeeping tools) she gets to work building her hive. In the ensuing weeks, Daphne and her grandmother lovingly tend to the new hive with Gramma patiently explaining many things about the inner workings of the colony. Daphne eagerly watches the busy bees and when wasps

Mr. Beagle has a nose for mystery in Lori DooDy’s delightful picture-book series, and he knows that the best solution to any problem is community, inclusion, and acceptance. Follow all of this charming canine sleuth’s adventures!

7981927197800, $11.95 9781927917312, $11.95 9781927917428, $11.95 Cdn

Published by Running the Goat, Books & Broadsides. Distributed in Canada by Nimbus Publishing. For more information, visit www.runningthegoat.com

threaten the hive she and Gramma are there to help. Then, as the fall months draw to a close, the two carefully prepare the hive for the coming winter. Bursting with information, this book is a gentle story that celebrates the bond between a young girl and her grandmother while also conveying the genuine awe and wonder that the bees enkindle in both beekeepers. As Gramma guides and teaches Daphne, readers learn many things about the creation of a bee hive, the roles of the different bees and how they function, and how Daphne and Gramma are able to help protect the hive. Veselina Tomova’s vibrantly hued and richly textured illustrations magnificently depict Daphne’s excitement as well as the intricate world of the bees and the hive. Lush and light-infused, the images bring to life the beauty of the landscape and capture a sense of quiet joy. A lovely offering that is perhaps more instructional than strict story, this book provides a fascinating introduction to would-be beekeepers.

CITY STREETS ARE FOR PEOPLE

Andrea Curtis, illustrated by Emma FitzGerald Groundwood Books (Ages 8-12)

City streets are remarkably busy places! While modern transportation vehicles rely largely on fossil fuels that are a major factor in global warming, it hasn’t always been this way and it doesn’t have to continue. Andrea Curtis provides fascinating information about the types of vehicles that have been used at different times and in different places. She discusses the importance of safe, affordable and efficient public transit options that don’t negatively impact the environment and that encourage people to spend less time in cars, and what is needed to create cities that are more pedestrian-friendly. This is a thorough overview of the ways in which transportation affects all of our lives, impacts our individual cities as well as the global community as a whole and the many questions we need to contemplate as we envision new possibilities.

Informative and engaging, this book invites young readers to recognize that transportation is a key issue for many people, and the importance of providing options that meet peoples’ needs while also addressing the environmental impact that transit vehicles have had on our planet. Clearly written and accessible, it also looks at the ways in which safer city streets create happier, healthier individuals and communities. Emma FitzGerald’s whimsical and delightfully detailed illustrations perfectly depict the energy and vitality of these streets with their myriad of activities of daily life. The playful perspectives and deft linework create wonderfully dynamic and expressive scenes that are teeming with motion and life. Using thin, loose and sketchy lines and energetic compositions, FitzGerald’s images manage to be both playful and instructive.

THE TALES OF DWIPA

Prajwala Dixit, illustrated by Duncan Major Breakwater Books (Ages 9-12)

This evocative and lively retelling of a series of traditional tales from India is filled with profound truths that are as relevant today as they were when they were originally written. Set on the fictional island of Dwipa where animals converse freely with one another, Mima and her canine companions Lok and Neena share a number of adventures that unfold in a series of four stories. They encounter fish who refuse to adapt to changing circumstances, a hare who demonstrates the value of “mind over might” and unexpected friendships that remind readers that we all have our own individual strengths. With a distinctly Newfoundland flavour, these stories are filled with a range of colourful characters from Barasingha the caribou and Elee the vole to Timi the transgender orca whale. Mima, Lok and Neena learn valuable life lessons from their interactions with all of these creatures.

Dixit has skillfully given these folktales a fresh and contemporary resonance while remaining true to their original spirit. Mima and her animal friends encounter situations where those who refuse to accept change and to embrace the unknown suffer the consequences. They learn about a power-hungry wolf whose egotism was his undoing and about an orca whale who betrays their dearest friend but also finds the courage to boldly proclaim their truth to the entire pod. The messages are both timely and timeless in their appeal. Duncan Major’s loose, organic and free-flowing illustrations with their subdued, earth-toned palette capture a sense of the enduring and universal nature of these tales as well as the elements that give them their more uniquely Newfoundland twist.

A BEND IN THE BREEZE

Valerie Sherrard Cormorant Books/DCB (Ages 9-12)

After several days at sea in a lifeboat, Pascale Chardon is relieved to finally land on the tiny island of TeJÉ where she is warmly welcomed by its residents. Pascale is their very first visitor and the islanders hope that she will prove to be the Long Awaited, the stranger whose arrival has been foretold. According to legend, the Long Awaited will be able to tell the people of TeJÉ what their future holds... 17 days after his/her arrival. Pascale can’t believe

that she might truly be the one they have been waiting for. But as she makes friends and settles into the rhythms of daily life on the island, she begins to wonder, along with all the islanders, if it might be true. Yet as the days pass, despite how much she grows to care for her new friends and neighbours, she just yearns to return to her home and family.

With a fairytale-like quality, this whimsical tale offers gentle reflections on the importance of friendship, forgiveness and community. As Pascale gets to know the people of TeJÉ she witnesses their tremendous kindness and love for one another as well as many of their heartaches, fears and insecurities. If Pascale is the Long Awaited, the islanders know that it is imperative that she find only peace and unity in their village. But even though she sees evidence of imperfection in their midst, more importantly Pascale is struck by the ways in which they come together to support one another in difficult times, to offer comfort and to try to understand and forgive when mistakes are made. Sherrard has created a touching reminder that “your hearts create the world around you.”

DECODING DOT GREY

Nicola Davison Nimbus Publishing (Ages 15+)

Living in a dingy basement apartment with a menagerie of animal friends (including gerbils, a gecko, a rat and an injured crow), Dot Grey spends most of her time at the animal shelter where she works, a job that she dearly loves and a place where she feels at home. There she can avoid her father’s ongoing efforts to get her to visit her mother in the hospital, her poor mum who is now but a shell of the woman she once was before the accident. Dot can’t bear to see her now, can’t bear to see her father around her. So she quietly avoids the things that hurt her and immerses herself in her work. Then Joe starts volunteering at the shelter and, despite her best efforts, Dot’s colleagues seem determined to befriend her. But ultimately, even the important work of the shelter can’t shield her from the painful realities of her life: those that she has been hiding from all along as well as those that she only now discovers.

With precise, deliberate prose and deft characterizations, Davison’s first young adult novel is a masterful exploration of grief and resilience and finding one’s way. It is quietly powerful, and the relationships are understated but intricate and true to life in their imperfection. The gritty depiction of the animal shelter and the grim situations that they face is offset by the fierce love and commitment of the motley crew of people who work there, their genuine care for animals and the bonds that they form with one another. Dot’s story is at once one of heartache and loss, as well as of love and friendship and forgiveness. ■ LISA DOUCET is the co-manager of Woozles Children’s Bookstore in Halifax. She shares her passion for children’s and young adult books as our young readers editor and book reviewer.

now: Everybody’sDifferent on Everybody’sStreet en français!

$16.95 | ISBN 978-2-89750-230-0

Something’s abuzz this spring… Daphne’s

Bees

written by Catherine Dempsey illustrated by Veselina tomoVa

an informational storybook about beekeeping from Running the Goat

9781927917503 / $14.99 Can distributed in Canada by Nimbus Publishing for more information visit:

www.runningthegoat.com