Ivy Lost and Found

 

Ivy Lost and Found

by Cynthia Lord

Ivy was Anne the librarian's doll when she was a young girl. But now she has moved to Anne's library to be its newest Book Buddy--a toy that can be checked out just like a book. Ivy isn't sure she wants to be borrowed, though. She'd rather go back to just being Anne's favorite toy. Fern, a child who visits the library with her stepfamily, also wishes things could go back to the way they were, when Fern had her dad all to herself. When Fern takes Ivy home, an unexpected outdoor adventure helps both of them find confidence and belonging in their changing worlds. This heartwarming story by Cynthia Lord, with a classic feel and gentle illustrations by Stephanie Graegin, is the first in a chapter-book series that pairs friendly toys with child characters who need them.

Lost and Found Cat: The True Story of Kunkush's Incredible Journey

 

Lost and Found Cat

by Doug Kuntz and Amy Shrodes

In August of 2015, an Iraqi family fled their home, traveling by car and on foot along with their cat, Kunkush. When the family reached Greece, Kunkush escaped from his carrier. They searched for him for hours, but finally had to continue on their journey. Volunteers found the feline a few days later and became determined to reunite him with his owners. 

Abalone Woman

 

Abalone Woman

By Teoni Spathelfer

Abalone Woman is the third book in the Little Wolf series for young readers. Here, Little Wolf has a bad dream but it reminds her to learn more about Indigenous culture and the importance of passing on knowledge to the new generation. When Little Wolf encounters injustice in her community, she turns to her family for the strength to fight back.

Local author Spathelfer has all three picturebooks at the Richmond Public Library:

Abuelita and Me

 

Abuelita and Me

By Leonarda Carranza

An empowering story of a girl and her grandmother travelling by bus across the city when racist slurs are directed at the grandmother, Abuelita. How the two decide to react to this situation gives an example of a way to maintain dignity and respond with positivity when someone is being mean. 

Out Into the Big Wide Lake

Out Into the Big Wide Lake

by Paul Harbridge

Kate is going to visit her grandparents on the lake for summer, just as her mother did when she was Kate's age. Except Kate has Down's Syndrome, so will she be able to travel on her own and be without her parents for an entire summer?

The story is full of details and juicy language - "puck, puck, puck! Out into the big wide lake" It's here where Kate helps her grandfather make deliveries by boat and where Kate learned from her grandmother how to drive the little boat.

One day, Kate's grandfather is sick. Can Kate make the deliveries all by herself? Well, let's give it a try and see!!

Stuntboy, In The Meantime

Stuntboy, In The Meantime

by Jason Reynolds

Stuntboy, in The Meantime is a heavily illustrated novel that also includes some comic strip sections, and the writing and the art are both bursting with vibrant energy and fun. Portico Reeves is ten and lives in an apartment building that he considers a castle, which he loves because there are all kinds of different people with different stories living behind all of the doors. His best friend, Zola, lives there, as does his nemesis, Herbert Singletary the Worst, who constantly verbally attacks Portico and Zola. Portico has a lot of anxiety, mainly because his parents have decided to take two new apartments, one upstairs and one downstairs, and are fighting a lot about what items each will take. Portico is a sweet, anxious kid who desperately wants to protect other people from pain (his secret superhero identity is "Stuntboy," who takes the dangerous falls for all the people around him), but right now, his parents' marriage is imploding and he can't stop it or take away their pain. Stuntboy, In The Meantime is silly and funny and sweet.

A Gift for Nana

A Gift for Nana

by Lane Smith

Rabbit wants to find the perfect gift for his Nana, and embarks on a quest adventure, asking various animals advice. The illustrations are etheral, created with paints and wax. 

In the end, Rabbit finds the perfect gift and Nana loves it. A bit predictable, but sweet nonetheless.

The Stray and the Strangers

The Stray and the Strangers

by Steven Heighton

Kanella is a scrawny orphan doggie who timidly slinks around the wharfs, waiting for scraps. Eventually settling uphill in a camp, the story of the refugee situation on the Greek island of Lesvos is told through the close perspective of Kanella, the dog with the white-socked paws, whose name means cinnamon. She helps out with the newcomers, bonds with a little boy, and grows quietly fat. When the refugee camp is dismantled, Kanella needs to find a new forever home ... and she does.

Based on a true story, Kanella was the heart of the largest ever refugee community of over 20,000.

The Big Bad Wolf in My House

The Big Bad Wolf in My House

By Valérie Fontaine

A serious "issues" book, The Big Bad Wolf in My House takes a look at domestic abuse by turning it into a fable. Children experiencing such terror will be able to relate, and how crucial it is for children to be able to see themselves in books! There certainly is a derth of picturebooks on domestic abuse; this one could be used especially well in theraputic environments. For those who read without the firsthand experience, it will respectfully teach on this important topic with the help from the illustrations of hand-painted gouache textures combined with painting using a digital pastel brush.

The story ends with hope when the mother and daughter go to a women's shleter.

We Adopted a Baby Lamb

We Adopted a Baby Lamb

By Lori Joy Smith

This delightful and satisfying story is that of a family who moved to the country and ended up adopting a baby lamb, smaller than any of their three cats.The illustrations are black-and-white cartoon-style drawings with touches of red, placed on bright yellow. The fun, child-like typeface mimics hand printing, making this picturebook even more joyful and friendly. A story that could serve as a substitue for your own family adopting baby farm animals!

Chains

Chains

By Laurie Halse Anderson

When their former owner dies, Isabel and Ruth should be free. Instead they are sold to a cruel Loyalist couple in New York City. There, 13-year old Isabel struggles to protect her younger sister and soon she discovers that the island of New York makes for an ideal prison from which escape is near impossible. With the Revolutionary War beginning and England taking over the city, Isabel is torn between aiding the Colonists or the Loyalists. Both sides fail slaves, continually using them. To find her own way Isabel must use her head and determine who she can trust and how to use what little power she has. Tories, loyalists and spies ... Wonderfully written!

Outside Inside

Outside Inside

By LeUyen Pham

I'm not crying, you're crying! Outside Inside is all about the pandemic bringing people everywhere indoors."Something strange happened on an unremarkable day just before the season changed. Everybody who was outside ... went inside." Pham's artwork is gentle and gorgeous and will help children understand and process the pandemic. The best testament to essential workers and the power of community to come out of the pandemic.

Dad By My Side

By Soosh

Browsing for a good Father's Day book, I stumbled upon Dad By My Side by author illustrator Soosh. The first thing to strike me was the vast difference in size between the burly, husky dad and the petite girl. In an author note, Soosh explains how this is on purpose in order to accentuate the way the daughter views her father -- as a sanctuary, a force of all good, and a source of wisdom. Shown in a variety of activities, dad is constantly present and willing to try his hand at anything, from hula hooping to sewing a dress to cheering each other up when they're sad. 

Warm watercolour vignettes were initially posted on Instagram and quickly garnered over 2 million views per week, propelling the publication of Dad By My Side. Soosh now has her second book out, Mermaid and Me, and it's equally charming.

Carmela Full of Wishes

Carmela Full of Wishes

By Matt de la Peña, illustrated by Christian Robinson
It’s Carmela’s birthday! Already it’s a great day when she wakes up because she's finally old enough to accompany her big brother on his errands. The two head out into their busy, Hispanic neighbourhood, past street vendors, the Elote Lady, the 99 cent store, and graffiti on the walls. Along the way, Carmela finds a dandelion, and her imaginative mind goes wild with the endless wishes she could make by blowing on it. As the two siblings go out scootering, it’s fun for Carmela, but it’s not a choice they have as their mother works in housekeeping for a fancy hotel, and their father is a day laborer who is no longer home. Carmela soon becomes worried that she’ll make the wrong wish on her dandelion puff, but her brother ultimately shows her that when one dream gets crushed, there is always hope. 

 

Illustrator Robinson portrays the wishes Carmela considers as papel picado decorations, like those hung for her birthday. Her wishes include a candy machine, her mother being able to sleep in one of the hotel beds she makes every day, and her father getting his papers fixed so he could come home. This is the second de la Peña–Robinson collaboration after Last Stop on Market Street and it is just as tremendous and important. It touches on immigration, class, and loss without dwelling on them. Carmela’s Spanish-speaking community is most certainly portrayed as a vibrant place of possibility, as Robinson’s acrylic painted collage cutouts show street vendors, workers in the fields, and sweeping views of the sea. Skillfully designed and developed, Carmela’s story radiates. 

Eyes That Kiss in the Corners

 

Eyes That Kiss in the Corners

By Joanna Ho

When a little girl notices her eyes look different from her friends’ eyes, she wonders why she has to be different. They all have big, round eyes "like sapphire lagoons with lashes like lace trim on ballgowns". She realizes that her eyes are like her family's eyes, and she slowly gathers strength and power in the knowledge that mother, her grandmother, and her little sister all have eyes that "kiss in the corners and glow like warm tea, crinkle into crescent moons, and are filled with stories of the past and hope for the future." Indeed, she is set down the path of self love, strength and acceptance.  

We all need stories like Eyes That Kiss in the Corners no matter what our race. If our eyes kiss in the corners, then this book can act as a mirror, a place one can see themselves. If our eyes do not kiss in the corners, then stories such as this one act as a window to the world and facilitate acceptance.

The illustrator, Dung Ho, presents vibrant images that have been digitally created and pair beautifully with the poetic prose. The author, Joanna Ho has an author page where she talks more about her own struggle with not feeling as if she fit into the world's standard of beauty. As she explains, this is essentially a book about love. "It is the story of the love shared between generations, the love we must develop for ourselves, and the love that we use to create change in the world."

Saturday

Saturday

By Oge Mora

Oge Mora, the Caldecott Award Honor recipient for Thank you, Omu!, does a quick turnaround for another cheery picturebook, this one named Saturday. Ava and her mom set out to relish in their one day of the week spent together, as her mom works six days a week. What happens when they venture out begs the questions, how will you deal with life’s little road bumps?

Oge Mora's illustrations are vibrant collages created from paint, papers, textures she scans and photoshops, old book jackets she cuts up, sewing patterns, old paintings, china markers, and pastels.

The List of Things That Will Not Change

The List of Things That Will Not Change

By Rebecca Stead

Divorce brings a wave of change to families, so Bea is dealing with her parents’ divorce by creating a list with them -- a list of things that will never, ever change. They create the list and tell Bea that even though their family may look different in the future, it will still be her family. One change she is actually looking forward to is that her dad is engaged to be married to his boyfriend. Bea loves Jesse! She’s even more exhilarated by the thought of having a new sister, and is sure Sonia will feel the same way, but Bea discovers not everybody experiences the same emotions. Fortunately her trusty green notebook with its list may just help her find her way.

The Barren Grounds

The Barren Grounds

By David A. Robertson

 

Morgan is a thirteen-year-old foster kid who was taken away from her mother when she was only three. She has lived with many different families, none of whom have ever made her feel truly at home.  By the time she moves in with Katie and James, she is just plain angry.

Eli is about a year younger than Morgan, but he was only taken from his family recently.  He remembers everything about them and his Indigenous community.  He misses them desperately, but now he must live with Katie and James too.

The good news is, Katie and James really want to be good parents and try their best to welcome Morgan and Eli into their home.  But when they buy Morgan a pair of moccasins to help her connect with her First Nations culture, Morgan loses her cool.  What do these white parents know about her culture anyway?

As Morgan and Eli try to find their footing in their new home, they discover a secret passageway in the attic.  After Eli disappears through the portal, Morgan goes after him.  Plunged into a blizzard, Morgan has no idea where to go.  When Ochek appears, he guides her to his home village where she finds Eli warm and dry.

But Ochek’s village is dying.  His world, known as Aski, is in perpetual winter, and there’s nothing left to eat.  As Morgan and Eli get to know Ochek, a fisher (who wears clothes and talks) and his squirrel companion, Arik, they decide to stay and help them get back to the Green Time, when the sun shone and game was plentiful.

Told as an allegory about the loss of Indigenous lands and culture, The Barren Grounds is a riveting fantasy novel.  Not only do the characters go on a quest through a wondrous landscape, but they also learn valuable lessons about their own strength of character and their own culture.  By the time Morgan and Eli return to their foster home, they are changed people, connected to the land, to their Indigenous communities and to each other.

The Barren Grounds is book one of the Misewa Saga.  Highly recommended!

When You Trap a Tiger

 

When You Trap a Tiger

By Tae Keller

"Long, long ago, when tiger walked like man..."

The summer before grade 7, Lily, her sister, and her widowed mother move in to take care of their elderly grandmother, Halmoni. We first meet the family on their drive up from California to Washington State when Lily sees a tiger in the middle of the road and talks to it. Soon bedtime stories swirl with reality as Lily wonders what is true and what is false. Trapping and striking a deal with this tiger, she agrees to find the story jars, open them, and (this is the hardest part) listen to their stories. Thinking by doing so, Halmoni will be healed, Lily listens to these stories fueled by Korean folklore. Ages 10-14.

Newbery Award Winner.

When Stars Are Scattered

When Stars Are Scattered

By Victoria Jamieson and Omar Hassan

When Stars Are Scattered is a warm and welcoming graphic novel that introduces us to two brothers, Omar and Hassan, who are from Somalia but staying in a Kenyan refugee camp after their father dies in the Somalian Civil War and they are separated from their mother. This is based on a real-life story that the author, Victoria Jamieson, wrote after collaborating with one of the brothers, Omar. Omar is the one who takes care of his younger brother because Hassan has special needs, and their story continues on for years in this novel until Omar is nearly an adult. Through Omar’s narration, we find out how traumatic their lives have been, and how he wants to have hope for the future, enough for both brothers. Ages 9-12.