National Treasure: Barbara Reid

Barbara Reid is another one of Canada's great children's authors, and may be familiar to many of you, whether you know of her full range of books or not. Many of her books are favourites, but only one small and lesser-known set have gone into a series, making her somewhat less well-known than she ought to be. She is an illustrator of other people's books as well as an author/illustrator, so you may even have seen her art without ever having read what she has written herself. Either way, you should just make sure you know she has a good handful of wonderful books to be discovered.

What's so special about her, that I should call her a national treasure? I first became aware of her for her illustrations, which are phenomenal. A master of plastiscine, she shapes, blends, and texturizes with more detail than anyone I have seen in this medium, and even, sometimes, incorporates little bits of found stuff into the images, giving them an extra dimension of real life. Not only are her details incredible, but she has a gift for faces, something I always appreciate in an artist. So after enjoying her work on Jo Ellen Bogart's Gifts and Beverley Allinson's Effie, most notably, I began to notice her own work, and loved it even more. It turns out that as great as her genius for the image, her skill as a storyteller matches it. She uses lovely storytellerly details that give her stories a feel of modern fairy tales, and when she uses rhyme, she does it with skill and a nice, readable metre. Treasure, indeed. Here are some of my favourites:

Subway Mouse

This is one of her tales that is at once thoroughly modern, taking place in a subway system inhabited by a gang of tattooed mice, yet retains something of the air of a classic tale in its journey and its delightfully satisfying ending. Toronto readers will recognize a lot of details, and this work is an example of her incorporating lots of scraps of real objects that work perfectly to bring her already nicely detailed world that much closer to perfection.

The Golden Goose

I adore this twist on fairy tales and their often-spoiled princesses. Here, a pragmatic and earth-loving girl is completely misunderstood by her loving but status-conscious father, who wants to buy her some happiness and in his attempts, destroys the very things that she loves. In the end, her story fortunately intersects with that of a young man who has found a golden goose and is being tailed by a gaggle of greedy townspeople. The two hit it off perfectly, and are able to return her favourite places to the little patch of what they consider heaven. Her father may be left scratching his head, but he's happy she's happy, and all is well with a nice, modest couple. Sweet, full of great values without talking about them, and charming in its execution, I have given this as a gift more than once.

The Party

Anyone who has attended a big family party will appreciate how well she picks up on what goes on, from an aunt's big smooch to chasing around with cousins to the sleepy ride home later than usual. it's note perfect, and the rhyming works nicely, something I always watch for.

Zoe's Sunny Day / Rainy Day / Windy Day / Snowy Day

This set of simple books tells about what Zoe gets up to in different types of weather, and make a great introduction to talking about weather. Perfect for toddlers and early preschoolers, they are short and capture what it's like to be a young kid at the mercy of the outdoors and your mother's dictates.

Sing a Song of Mother Goose

She may not be an author in the truest sense of the word here, but she has put together one of my favourite collections of nursery rhymes, right up there with those illustrated by Rosemary Wells and by Kady MacDonald Denton, some illustrious (ha!) company, if ever there was.

Fox Walked Alone and Two By Two

These stories are both about Noah's Ark, but the Fox version is told from the point of view of the fox. Reid has said that she wrote it partly to try to answer some of the many questions the story had raised for her. If you are planning to introduce a child to this tale, one or both of these would be a wonderful way to do it.

Fun With Modeling Clay

In this how-to art book, Reid shares some of her tips and tricks to teach kids how to play with clay. Imagine, lessons from the master... A great way to extend her stories, to bring the concept of illustration home more fully to children, or add an extra dimension to an author study.

Originally posted on Better Than a Playdate.

Rediscovery: The Lovely Leo Lionni

Lio Lionni is one of those classic children's authors that is too often overlooked, having peaked in popularity some time back. His illustrations have an older feel, which I think contributes to this underappreciated status, as newer books are often more vibrant, but his stories are wonderfully told and his characters are charming enough to overcome their subdued coluor palette.

I am certainly guilty of this myself, as I am always enjoying new books and falling back on those classic authors that I really love, and only really reading a couple of his stories on a regular basis. This year, though, I have discovered a few other books of his, and decided to introduce them to Pumpkinpie. One I read just last week surprised me by being really funny - not something I had associated with him! I just goes to show you - there are treasures right under your nose, if you only open them to find out.

Here are a few highlights:

A Color of His Own and Fish is Fish

These are stories of acceptance, as well as great friendship. The first features a chameleon in search of his own colour. It's sweet, and has the bonus of introducing colours. The second sees a fish and a frog who are friends but go separate ways as the frog gains legs and travels the world on land. When he returns and tells the fish about the world, the fish wants to see, too, and tried to leave the pond, only to be rescued by the frog and in the end, learns that 'fish is fish" and that he is in the perfect place for him right where he is.

The Alphabet Tree

This story has the feel of a legend as it tells how the letters in the alphabet tree learned to come together to form words, and finally carry a most important message to a president. It is also the perfect illustration of the concept of print awareness, or the understanding that letters and words have meaning. Add it to your reading for preliteracy benefits, as well as the peacenik message at the end.

Swimmy and Inch by Inch

In each of these two classics, a tiny creature manages to confound a would-be predator through cleverness. Swimmy mobilizes a group of fish to work together, while the inchworm outwits a bird all on his own. Both are great stories of the plucky underdog coming out on top by using their smarts. Who doesn't love that?

Alexander and the Wind-Up Mouse

I remember this story from when I was a child, though it used to get confused in my head with William Steig's Sylvester and the Magic Pebble. It is, in fact, something like a cross between that and the Velveteen Rabbit, both wonderful stories, and is delightful in its own right, with a slightly eerie and magical atmosphere.In it, a mouse learns a lesson about seeing the benefits of his own situation, and finds a friend.

Frederick

This lovely winter tale emphasizes that while we need food and drink, we also need to feed our souls in the long dark months. Using colours and words, Frederick helps his brother mice weather the cold weather. Lovely, and a great way to talk about the value of things like poetry and imagination.

The Biggest House in the World

This is another tale of accepting your lot, but stands this opposite being prideful and showy. In it, a father snail tell shis son about a snail who grew the biggest, most beautiful shell in the world, and was very proud of himself, until he discovered that it was so heavy, he could not move to a new cabbage leaf, and withered away. The small snail understood the wisdom of keepinghis shell small and easy to move, and told the tale to any who asked about his modest home.

The Extraordinary Egg

A case of mistaken identity leads to a really very funny incongruity in this short, simple book. I never realized Lionni could do funny, so I was surprised and totally delighted by this simple and cute story..

Originally posted on MommyBlogsToronto/Better Than a Playdate.

National Treasure: Phoebe Gilman

First in a random series on great Canadian authors.

Phoebe Gilman did not start out as Canadian, nor did she start out as an author. In fact, she was born in New York, and traveled to a few different countries before settling in Toronto to teach at the Ontario College of Art (now OCAD) while she tried to get her first book published. Fifteen years after she started out, she found success, and The Balloon Tree has become something of a modern Canadian classic.

Gilman nearly always illustrated her own work, the exception being The Blue Hippopotamus, and has illustrated for others as well, as in the fantastically interactive Jean Little picture book Once Upon a Golden Apple, which is made all the more magical with Gilman's work sharing the page. Her illustrations are wonderful - rich and full of fine details in her folk and fairy tales, looser, more child-like, but still with interesting details in her fluffier fare.

She said in the charming biography at her own website that she preferred the words to the pictures, even though she thought of herself as an artist rather than a writer, and also mentioned that her favourite stories were fairy tales, but that she'd cover the illustrations if they didn't match the ones in her own head. This rings perfectly true with her work, some of which is definitely fairy-tale-inspired and all of which is illustrated wonderfully.

It is a huge shame that publishers did not find her sooner, allowing her a longer career before her death at 62 from Leukemia some six years ago, because her books are wonderful. Go, find a few, and share this treasure with your wee ones.

Top Picks:

Something From Nothing

This traditional jewish tale is wonderfully told, with storyteller style touches that make it perfect for sharing and participation. It's a great story on its own, as Joseph's blanket shrinks ever smaller until it is a mere button, but Gilman has added a secondary storyline in her highly detailed illustrations that may evade notice the first read or two, but will be a favourite addition to the reading of the story once it is discovered. This is my favourite version of the story, in fact.

The Balloon Tree

A favourite of ours in the princess category, it satisfies the girly need for a pretty young princess in a gown and a castle while giving it a medieval richness that defies the frothy pink of some princesses. even better, the princess is a young girl, but rather than flounder around, when the bad guy strikes, she takes action and saves the day with a little help from her friends and her father. It's a great story, with beautifukl illustrations that even a not-so-girly girl would probably enjoy.

The Gypsy Princess

I featured this in an earlier princess post as an example of a story that undercuts the whole princess thing even while feeding the craving for princess-themed things. In it, a young gypsy girl wishes to be a princess, and given the chance, she takes it, only to discover that her fantasy is just that. In reality, the formal princess life is not all she had imagined, and she runs back home to her vibrant campfire home.

Jillian Jiggs [and sequels]

Pumpkinpie has been thrilled and obsessed with this series this past month since I brought home the five-pack. We have read two or three every night and thankfully, with Gilman's facility for rhyme and metre, as well as fun little details in the illustrations, they haven't worn out their welcome yet. Over the series, Jillian Jiggs puts on a play with a growing cast, loses everything in the snow, sews assorted little stuffed pigs, fights a monster, and gets awfully distracted while trying to clean up her room. She entirely relateable, and lots of fun in these light romps.

Look to Gilman also for girl pirate themed books Grandma and the Pirates and Pirate Pearl.

Find Gilman and other great Canadian authors at your local public library!

Originally posted on MommyBlogsToronto/Better Than a Playdate.

The New Yorker Connection

Since the 1920's, consistently, some of the great lights of American literature have been counted among the contributors to the great literary magazine, the New Yorker. So, too, with the world of children's literature in America. Turns out that the same sense of humour and drawing style that works so well in the magazine's famous cartoons, decorative illustrations, and covers is a perfect match for children's books. They are intelligent, funny, and just wry enough to make the kids' parents laugh, too. Perhaps that's why some of my very favourites are counted among the contributors. Here is a roundup of some names you may recognize if you've been a fan yourself.

E.B. White
Hired in 1921 as editor, he was one of the magazine's most famous editors and the co-author of the iconic guide to writing style known as Strunk & White (though actually titled Elements of Style). He is also the author of a trio of the most beloved of children's novels. Responsible for the sweet and simple joys of Stuart Little, the bittersweet take of Charlotte's Web, and the lesser-known but not lesser Trumpet of the Swan. He has a wonderful way with touching detail, with great characters, and with creating deep connections.

William Steig
Well, you know, I've mentioned Steig before and love him dearly, but have I mentioned that he is not only a brilliant children's author of more than thirty picture books and novels (including the Caldecott winner Sylvester and the Magic Pebble and kids' fave Doctor DeSoto), but also a cartoonist and regular contributor of both cartoons and covers to the New Yorker? His work appeared beginning as wearly as 1931 and he continued to work with the magazine until his death in 2003. Well, it seems his gently comic stylings span the ages, darlings, and he wins at any point, if you ask me. It seems I'm not alone, as New York's Jewish Museum is running an exhibition of his work that is on until March 16th. Man, I wish I could get there.

James Thurber

James Thurber was kind of an accidental addition to the magazine, a discovery of E.B. White's who ended up contributing a goodly body of work in the form of cartoons and covers in the 1930s and 1940s. In fact, he became so beloved a fixture that a section of wall covered in his drawings was moved with the magazine's offices more than once. In children's literature circles, though, he is best known for his Caldecott-winning fairy tale Many Moons. Lesser known but no less delightful are the equally wonderful tale of The Great Quillow, The Night the Ghost Got In, The 13 Clocks (fiction), The Wonderful O (fiction), and many adult titles, as well.

James Stevenson

James Stevenson joined the roll of contributors in the 1950s, quickly becoming so prolific that one editor said he turned in more material than they could print, and could easily have filled a whole magazine on his own each month. Indeed, he continued to contribute for decades, in cartoons, written pieces, and covers alike. His picture books reflect this fertile mind, and cross-pollination occurs, as he used a lot of comic book techniques in many of them, with frames and speech bubbles adding another layer to the text. I find his picture books hilarious, though hard to share with a group because of the comic strip elements. Included are The Worst Person In the World, What's Under My Bed?, Monty, Clams Can't Sing, Don't Make Me Laugh, and about a hundred other picture or poetry books, all illustrated in his inimitable style.

Robert Kraus

Robert Kraus was a noted New Yorker cartoonist in the 1950s and 60s, sketching out over 400 cartoons and some 21 covers before turning more of his attention to picture books. He is the author of beloved childhood standards Whose Mouse Are You, Musical Max, and Leo the Late Bloomer.

Sydney Hoff

Hoff brought his recognizable bold-lined style to numerous cartoons in the 1930s to about 1960. He is also an old favourite among children's authors, one whose books remain as popular today as they were when our parents were children. They include Danny and the Dinosaur, Sammy the Seal, Julius, Barkley, Stanley, and host of other goodies, mostly found in the beiginning to read section.

J.J. Sempe

Sempe may not be familiar from the children's literature you grew up with unless you were in a more intensive french programme. He is the author of the French children's favourite series about Petit Nicholas, along with Goscinny (of Asterix & Obelix fame). As well as cartoons, he contributed a regular humourous travel piece for some time, as well as many covers. In fact, I saw one of his on an issue just last month, and he is still going strong.

Frank Modell

Modell was a prolific cartoonist for decades, with pieces published from the 1950s to the 1990s. He illustrated children's books for other authors as well as his own, which include picture books such as Seen Any Cats?, Skeeter and the Computer,and Ice Cream Soup. He also created books celebrating New Year's, April Fool's Day, a book for Valentine's Day that remains one of my favourites, One Zillion Valentines.

In addition to these prolific and long-time contributors, several major children's figures have been regular creators of covers and smaller inside artworks. They include:

Ludwig Bemelmans

You do know this name, don't you? Let me refresh your memory: In an old house in Paris, all covered with vines lived twelve little girls in two straight lines. The smallest one was Madeline. His stunning artwork has graced covers and added charming accent to many a page over the years.

Jules Feiffer

A contributor of cover art, Feiffer is also the author of picture books Bark, George! (a favourite of mine), I Lost My Bear, and Meanwhile ---, as well as fiction for older children, plays and humour for adults, and so on. The man has range, people. Plus, he's hilarious.

Maurice Sendak

Another major star in children's literature, Sendak was a contributor of covers and decorations, as well as occasional collaborations. Sendak, of course, being the author of everything from The Night Kitchen to Where The Wild Things Are, as well as illustrating everythign from Little Bear to Swine Lake. The man is a mcuh-hailed genius.

Edward Gorey

Gorey was another contributor of artworks, as well as the illustrator of many books both for children and adults. He has written some books as well, though many of them have a slightly more adult sensisbility, or at least will suit a child somewhat older or more sophisticated then your average preschooler. His illustrations for many of Edward Lear's nonsense verses work brilliantly, and perhaps my favourite among his picture books is The Shrinking of Treehorn, while the middle-grade mystery The House With a Clock In Its Walls benefitted from his atmospheric penwork, as well.

Douglas Florian

A fantastic comic poet, Florian also has lovely simple picture books perfect for early vocabulary or rhyming, not to mention contributing a cartoon or two to the magazine.

Ian Falconer

The author of the much-loved Olivia books has also contributed a handful of covers over the past decade or so.

William Joyce

The wonderfully warped mind that created Dinosaur Bob, George Shrinks, and Rolie Polie Olie has also turned out a number of New Yorker covers since the mid-nineties. I love his retro-futuristic sensibility.

William Wegman

His hilarious and instantly recognizable wiemeraner photo art was used for the cover of the 75th anniversary issue. Somehow the sense of humour exhibited in his kids books fits like a glove here.

Maira Kalman

The illustrator of Ooh La La! Max in Love! and other fun children's books brought her wild and kinetic painting style to New Yorker cover art several times in the past dozen years.

Roxie Munro

Munro's detailed, precise style is what makes her a great illustrator for kids books like The Inside Outside Book of New York and others. Detail is also something that has been a feature of those cover artists who have really drawn people in and contibuted over and over again through the years. With over a dozen covers to her credit, she's no exception.

J. Otto Siebold

Siebold has one of those styles that is impossible to mistake for someone else's. Kooky, cool, and somewhat disjointed, he often brings his offbeat sensibility to children's books like the newer holiday favourite Olive, the Other Reindeer, as well as a suitably bizarre recent pop-up of Alice in Wonderland.

Originally posted on MommyBlogsToronto/Better Than a Playdate.

Author Spotlight:: William Steig

William Steig is one of those classic names in children's literature, one that you know, but may overlook in the face of newer, splashier books. Which, let me tell you, would be a huge mistake. The man is sheer genius. Like several children's book authors and illustrators, he was a New Yorker illustrator, and was once dubbed "The King of Cartoons" by Newsweek. He has, alternately, won the Caldecott medal and Newbery honours for his children's books. And, the guy's got range. He has silly books (Pete's a Pizza is a favourite in heavy rotation at our house right now), books of alphabetical puns (CDB?), books of cartoons for adults (and a hilarious one for kids, Grownups Get To Do All The Driving), a whole host of lesser-known books (Shrek, anyone?), but best of all are his story books.

This master storyteller employs just the right mix of the magical, of dry wit, of unusual vocabulary used to perfect effect, of quick thinking and good character, and of good winning out in the end, yet without making a heavy point of it. Through it all, it's adventurous, it moves along and keeps you guessing, just as a story should, and his wonderful small-scale drawings add charm to the whole. His picture book stories were favourites of mine, but I have also just discovered the pure delight of his longer fiction novels, which are episodic in the way that makes them a nice read to share with an slightly older child, perhaps 4 or 5 years and up. This handful of titles are those of the wonderful story variety, the better-known classics, but I am finding (to my great joy) that he was incredibly prolific, so if you enjoy these, there is a great treasure awaiting you.

Brave Irene

Young Irene's mother has fashioned the most gorgeous gown to be worn at a fine ball, but she falls ill the night it is to be delivered, and gives up hope. Irene, knowing that this gown is her mother's last chance, is determined to get it there. She tucks her mother in, leaves a note, and goes out into a blizzard, arriving as the ball is beginning. This story is about bravery, love, and being rewarded for your good character and hard work, though it does not feel preachy in the least (nothing will turn me off faster!). Instead, it is a cozy tale with a feel-good ending that could be shared with any child.

The Amazing Bone

Young Pearl is on the way home, reveling in a perfect spring day, when she happens upon a talking bone. As they wander through the woods chatting, she is accosted by robbers, and the bone scares them off, but when a fox finds the pair, he is not so easily fooled and Pearl and her bone must come up with a plan for her escape. I love this, like many of Steig's stories, for the appreciation of nature, for its fairy tale quality and inclusion of some magical elements, and for the likeable characters who outwit bad guys. (Zeke Pippin, about a pig and his magic harmonica treads much the same territory, with similarly excellent results.) Steig's language, too, makes my heart sing. This wonderful tale was awarded a Caldecott honour, so it seems I'm not alone.

Sylvester and the Magic Pebble

Sylvester loves collecting rocks and, finding a most unusual one, discovers it is magic. He accidentally turns himself into a rock, and despairs as he loses hope of someone finding him. Meanwhile, his parents search and mourn, until one day, by happy coincidence, they reverse his spell and are thrilled to have their son back in their arms. This lovely tale of magic, of loss and reunion, of love and family, has all the makings of a classic, including the illustrious Caldecott medal.

Doctor De Soto

What is a dentist mouse to do when a fox with a toothache begs for treatment? Kind-hearted Dr. De Soto decides to take him in and quickly finds that the fox is likely up to no good. The fox must return for the fitting of his false tooth, giving Dr. De Soto and his wife time to hatch a plan to save their tiny hides. This story has the perfect degree of suspense for kids, and is a great modern fairy tale, with its ingredients of good vs. bad, its clever hero, and its use of that archetypal bad guy, the fox. This Newbery honour book has a sequel, too, in Dr. De Soto Goes to Africa.

Dominic

One of his few longer chapter books, along with the Newbery honouree Abel's Island, this book contains many of the same elements that make his picture books so magical, but allows for a number of episodes in Dominic the dog's adventures, making it perfect for a read-aloud with a child ready to move into longer stories with fewer illustrations. As Dominic goes into the world seeking his fortune, he takes great pleasure in the smells and semsations of the natural world around him, enjoys expressing himself by playing the piccolo, and gets into interesting situations one after another. Some of these are the makings of great friendships, while others are run-ins with the notorious Doomsday Gang, over whom he triumphs time and again. Dominic helps others along the way and is at hart a good guy, though he is not without self-interest, making him a very likable fellow. Steig claims to be influenced greatly by Pinnocchio, and here you can see that resemblance in the story's structure. This Christopher Award winner is also packed with wonderful and rich vocabulary, making the sharing of it a bit of an exercise in explanation (but a great way to do it!) as well as a true pleasure for anyone who really appreciates the use of language.

These and other fantastic tales can be found at your local library!

Originally posted on MommyBlogsToronto/Better Than a Playdate.

Meet Bill Martin!

What do picture books Brown Bear, Brown Bear, Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, Barn Dance, and Old Devil Wind have in common? They are all by the incredibly prolific but oddly low-profile author Bill Martin, Jr. Martin has often written with partners, and has been illustrated by a wide-ranging variety of artists, meaning that his books do not have the kind of instant recognizability that a partnership like the Munsch-Martchenko pairing breeds. He has, certainly, had a few books that have turned into a series of well-known spin-offs, but many stand alone. With some 30 titles published in the last 25 years, though, it would be an unfortunate oversight not to introduce you to a few of my favourites.

Fire! Fire! Said Mrs. McGuire, ill. Vladimir Radunsky

In much the same style as the classic Drummer Hoff, a team tackles a fire, each adding their own comment. This book was first illustrated by the Caldecott-winning Richard Egielski in 1996, and was last year re-issued with new illustrations by Vladimir Radunsky. I am a fan of Egielski’s style, which is bright and populated with humourous people, while Radunsky’s features a darker palette and some rather fetching mice.

Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?

Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear?

Panda Bear, Panda Bear, What Do You See?

ill. Eric Carle

The classic Brown Bear and its series are well-known favourites, featuring Carle’s distinctive collage art. Brown Bear focuses on common animals and colours, Polar Bear takes on more exotic animals and their sounds, and finally Panda Bear introduces a number of endangered animals. I find Panda Bear has lost some of the rhythm of the original, as the animals become more specific and their names more elaborate, but children love it all the same and it is a great way to introduce these animals and talk about the danger of their disappearing.

With Michael Sampson, his sometime collaborator, Martin has also produced Adam, Adam, What Do You See? (ill. Cathie Felstead), which uses the same rhythm to introduce bible stories, giving the bible verse that tells the full story for each couplet.

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom

Chicka Chicka ABC (board book)

Chicka Chicka 123

with John Archambault / Michael Sampson, ill. Lois Ehlert

The well-known Chicka Chicka books (are a great introduction to the alphabet, with a fun rhythm and clear images of the letters. Kids love this! I like the abbreviated board book version for younger kids. I find the counting version charming until 20, however the jump to counting by tens seems abrupt and unexplained, so ultimately this is not my favourite book for numerals.

The Maestro Plays, ill. Vladimir Radunsky

This book is another fun play with language and rhythm, full of crazy words. It could be a great way to talk about music appreciation or about adverbs! Radunsky’s illustrations elevate it into a kinetic circus of playing, and help it over a few rough spots, but overall the pacing builds to a rousing crescendo that makes the whole thing exciting.

Swish!, with Michael Sampson, ill. Michael Chesworth

This great narrative of a basketball game works like few sports poems I’ve read. It builds excitement with perfect pacing and a moment of suspense at the last second. The illustrations are perfect, adding an element of cartoon movement and personality in the players’ faces. I have read this to large groups and had them on the edge of their seats. A sports fan of any age would love this one.

A Beasty Story, ill. Steven Kellogg

This funnier, cosier take on the classic Dark, Dark Room tale is a wonderful collaboration, starring Kellogg’s mischievous mice, who make the ending funny, rather than spooky. (And, you know, anything Kellogg touches turns to gold. The man’s a genius.)

I Love Our Earth, with Michael Sampson, ill. Dan Lipow

Slightly reminiscent of "America the Beautiful," this lovely verse highlights the colours, wonders, and seasons of the earth, all elevated by Lipow’s stunning photography. I love this book.

Here Are My Hands, with John Archambault, ill. Ted Rand

This classic is a great one for introducing body parts – I use it for class visits all the time. The illustrations are fun, and the lilting rhyme works well. My only complaint is that ears are,perhaps, occasionally used for more than “washing and drying.” But not always.

Listen to the Rain, with John Archambault, ill. James Endicott

This lovely book plays with language to suggest the sounds of rain. Pitter-patting, soft rain, roaring thunderstorming rain, and the “fresh wet silent after-time of rain.” The sounds drawn out of the words are beautiful and evocative, making this a perfect book for sharing in a rainy season.

Old Devil Wind, ill. Barry Root

A cumulative tale, in which a ghost wailing sets off a chain of noises that grows until the wind blows everyone away. A great not-so-spooky tale for Hallowe’en or a child who likes a little chill.

A Beautiful Feast for Big King Cat, with John Archambault, ill. Bruce Degen

A cute rhyming tale of a little mouse who teases a cat until the cat gets the better of him. Trapped, the mouse talks his way out of a bad situation, and learns “that teasing the cat is dangerous play.” Much as I tend not to like a moral, this one is a fun read, and not too heavy-handed.

The Turning of the Year, ill. Greg Shed

A quick romp through the delights of the year, made golden by the stunning paintings that accompany each month.

Find these and other wonderful stories at your local library!

Originally posted on MommyBlogsToronto/Better Than a Playdate.