Learning with Animals (5 in the series: The Alphabet with Wild Animals, Opposites with Polar Animals, Colors with Tropical Animals, Shapes with Ocean Animals, Numbers with Farm Animals) written and illustrated by Mélanie Watt. Kids Can Press, 2005. ISBN 1-553337-833-4, 1-55337-831-8, 155337-829-6, 1-55337-832-6, 1-55337-830-X. Ages under 36 months.
Young children love animals, and this group of five books presents more than seventy different and unusual animals in their environments. With a different animal theme in each book, children will learn their alphabet, colours, numbers, opposites and shapes while enjoying the bright, colourful and engaging pictures and the few words on each page. Some of the books have a summary at the back to review and reinforce concepts (numbers, alphabet, shapes). The books are small enough for small hands to hold and made of sturdy cardboard that will withstand many hours of learning fun.
The Boy Who Loved Bananas. written by George Elliott, illustrated by Andrej Krystoforski. Kids Can Press, 2005. ISBN 1-55337-744-3. Ages 4+
Children will go ape over this book. Matthew laughs himself silly when he watches the monkeys at the zoo, and then decides that he will eat only bananas, with hilarious results. His parents try everything to stop his monkeying around, but nothing seems to work, until he learns that elephants love peanuts. The creative and funny story, coupled with the expressive, colourful illustrations captivated kids of all ages. There is lots of action and outrageous silliness with many new and interesting words that appeal to young readers.
Hello, Fire Truck!, Hello, School Bus!, Hello, Freight Train! Written by Marjorie Blain Parker, illustrated by Bob Kolar. Scholastic Canada, Inc., 2004, 2005. ISBN 0-439-59890-7, 0-439-59889-3, 0-439-59891-5. Age 3-6 years
Hello world! These easy-to-read books help young children understand the world around them by introducing different cars on freight trains, how to take the school bus, and fire safety. With large type and just two lines per page, the rhythmic text keeps the story rolling along. The illustrations are also simple, very colourful, and friendly with smiling trains, trucks and buses. A wide range of ages can appreciate them; the young ones will enjoy the simple pictures and the rhyming text being read to them, older children can read back to their parents, and review the word list at the back of the book.
Orphans in the Sky. Written by Jeanne Bushey, illustrated by Vladyana Krykorka. Red Deer Press, 2004. ISBN 0-88995-291-4. ages 5+
This uniquely Canadian book tells an Inuit fable about the creation of lightning and thunder. An orphaned brother and sister are left behind in camp by accident, so they decide to live with the stars because their animal cousins are not suitable. While there, they learn how to create lightning and thunder to show their families when they return. Will the orphans return to earth or stay in the sky? With terms like nanook, tuktu, netsirq and a simple description of Inuit life in the arctic, young children learn about this part of Canada. The full page pictures add greatly to the appeal, with their rainbow of colours and textures. The clear text on pure white paper is enhanced by additional black and white sketches.
Sun and Storms - Canadian Summer Weather by Nicole Mortillaro. Scholastic Canada Ltd., 2005. ISBN 0-439-95745-1 Ages 6+
Extreme weather can be both interesting, and scary, and this child-friendly book de-mystifies summer weather, with easy-to-understand explanations and real examples. Each chapter, presented on a different colour, presents a single topic, so the book doesn’t have to be read cover to cover. Learn all about wind and sun, rain and clouds, thunder and lightning, tornadoes, hurricanes and heat waves. The weather trivia, weather records and a phonetic glossary to explain the terms are especially appealing. Photographs clearly illustrate the impact of extreme weather, and the easy-to-understand colourful schematics explain, in simple terms, the concepts. This would be a great addition to any home resource library for young children.
38 Ways to Entertain Your Parents on Summer Vacation. Written by Dette Hunter, illustrations by Kitty Macaulay. Annick Press Ltd., 2005. ISBN 1-55037-886-4. Ages 6+
Kids in charge! When Lily and her brother hear that Mom and Dad will be bored without TV and a computer at the summer cottage, they take responsibility to keep their parents busy. This unique book combines a story with 38 simple, fun crafts and activities that will cure anybody’s cabin fever. Children can easily complete most of the craft and activity ideas on their own, because they come complete with easy-to-follow diagrams, recipes and tips. The activities require nothing more than what’s in the house and a desire to have family fun.
Any Pet Will Do by Nancy Shouse. Orca Book Publishers, 2005. ISBN 1-55143-354-0. Ages 7-11.
Jeremy, like many children, really wants a pet, and he starts a pet-sitting business to try out different animals. Each animal is eliminated from his list for some reason; will he ever find one that suits him? Early readers enjoy the hilarious and humourous adventures of Jeremy. Each chapter describes Jeremy’s antics with one type of pet, almost a story on its own, making it easy for the reader to read just one chapter at a time, if necessary. The few illustrations add to the enjoyment and help young readers envision what they are reading. Children will identify with Jeremy’s yearning for a pet, and will laugh as they follow his journey through the animal kingdom.
Broken Circle by Christopher Dinsdale. Napoleon, 2004. ISBN 1-894917-15-4. Ages 8-12
The present and the past merge in this fascinating story of native culture. Jesse, a twelve-year old boy with Native American ancestry grudgingly embarks on a camping trip with his Uncle Matthew and cousin Jason. He unexpectedly has a vision one night, is transported back 400 years and transformed into a white-tailed deer. Can he save his people from being destroyed by warfare? Although this story is based on historical fact, it has everything to keep the young reader captivated: excitement, adventure and suspense with the added bonus of learning a lot about history and life of native people.
there you are. By Joanne Taylor. Tundra Books, 2004. ISBN 0-88776-658-7. Ages 9-11
What does it take to make a friend? Jeannie Shaw is very lonely and wishes with all her heart she can find just one good friend in the families that are slowly returning to the area. Through hardship and surprises, humour and near tragedy, Jeannie finds friendship in the most unexpected way. Readers will enjoy going into the past, and learning how life was so very different "way back then", what life is like in a small village in Cape Breton, after Word War II, as well as the ups, downs and challenges of friendship, and how it can be found in the most unusual places.
The Mona Lisa Caper written by Rick Jacobson, illustrated by Laura Fernandez and Rick Jacobson. Tundra Books, 2005. ISBN 0-88776-726-5. Ages 9+
What does it feel like to be a painting on a wall in a famous museum, and then enjoy a holiday in your home country? Vincenzo Paruga takes the Mona Lisa from the Louvre to return her to her home country because he truly believes she would be happier there among her people. Based on a true story of the theft in 1911, and delightfully told through the eyes of the famous painting, this story presents some ideas and possibilities behind the facts. The soft water colours, invoking feelings of the era and the action, complete the package of this charming book.
Bon Hiver, mon petit ouson chéri written by Alain M. Bergeron, illustrated by Fabrice Boulanger. Éditions Michel Quintin, 2004. ISBN 2-89435-245-X. Ages 3-8.
Time for bed! But baby bear creatively finds many excuses not to go to bed and Daddy bear tries, in vain, to get the little one in bed. In the end, who is that sleeping in baby bear’s bed? A situation known to almost all parents and children, this loving, gentle and humourous treatment is a pleasure to read. Soft water colours enhance the text by creating an aura of love and gentleness because even though daddy bear gets more desperate as the story progresses, and his eyes get heavier and heavier, never is there are harsh word spoken or angry face shown.
La Terre, La Lune et le Soleil by Pierre Chastenay. Éditions Michel Quintin, 2004 ISBN 2-89435-271-9 Ages 9+
Out of this world! This gem of a book makes complicated concepts easy to understand and fun to read for young audiences. Written by a real astronomer, it explores many topics associated with our world and how it interacts with the sun and moon, including earth’s structure, the atmosphere, rainbows, sundials, season, lunar phases, lunar surface and structure, star life cycle, sun’s importance and solar eclipses. Each section is short enough to be read and understood, without having to read the whole book, and is enriched by many photos and diagrams and hands-on experiments to provide additional learning for those wanting to understand further. Even non-space nuts will enjoy reading snippets in this book and understanding one more thing about our world and skies.