Our Fort

Our Fort

Our Fort by Marie Dorléans 

It’s spring! Warm and green, the great outdoors beckons, especially when you’ve built a fort to play in with your friends. Our Fort is the story of three friends who set out one day to visit their secret fort at the edge of the woods. The weather looks fine, but no sooner have they left home and walked into the hills than the sun disappears behind the clouds. Crows fly by, calling, and the wind begins to blow. Suddenly the day turns into night. It’s a storm! Will the friends make it to shelter? Will their fort survive the storm? Marie Dorléans’s illustrations capture the sensory pleasures of nature, as well as its capriciousness, while her story reminds us of the simple joy of being with friends and sharing a great adventure.

The Buddy Bench

 

The Buddy Bench

The Buddy Bench by Patty Brozo

A group of empathetic students recognizes that the playground sometimes feels lonely. Their solution? A ‘Buddy Bench' to ensure everyone has a friend.

The Buddy Bench inspires discussions on kindness, building relationships and social skills, empathy, coping with loneliness, and easing into the new school year.

In a Jar, Out of a Jar

In a Jar

Out of a Jar

While in Marcero’s In a Jar, little bunnies Llewellyn and Evelyn collected things they loved. When moving homes separates them, they remain connected through teir collections. In Out of a Jar, Llewellyn is trying to contain his huge emotions. When he is extremely frightened, exuberantly excited, or steaming mad, he shoves all his color-coded emotions into jars and locks them in a closet. Yet, it isn’t long before he discovers the dangers of his methods.

The Boy with Flowers in His Hair

The Boy with Flowers in His Hair

by Jarvis

A sweet, beautiful picture book with an embosed cover, vivid colors and large font for easy reading. 

David is a gentle boy with flowers in his hair. The children at his school all love him, especially his best friend.But one day David comes to school with a hat because all his flowers have fallen off. He is sad and some of the children stay away from him, but not his best friend who has a wonderful idea on how to help him be bright and colourful again.

The story isn’t so much about the flowers but about the friendship the two best friends had and how caring, selfless, and thoughtful David’s best friend truly is.

The Boy with Flowers in his hair is heart-warming, poignant, and remarkable. A darling story about friendship and inclusion that will have you thinking. 

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.

Lights on Wonder Rock

 

Lights on Wonder Rock

by David Litchfield

On the evening little Heather ran away from home into the woods, she sat on a big, sturdy rock and watched the sky. Flickering her flashlight aimed toward the stars, she wanted to let whomever was out there, know she was there, too. When a mesmerizing UFO with purple and pink lights lands and she meets a friendly alien, Heather travels with them into space, only to return abruptly to be with her parents again.

What follows in the wordless panels of dark, rich forests and time passing, is a longing throughout Heather's life for all things extraterrestrial and to reconnect with her friend.

A satisfying story with a happy ending.

What a Nice Car!

What a Nice Car!

By Anita Bijsterbosch

Anita Bijsterbosch is back with a charming tale of Mouse, who found a red convertible on the side of the road. One by one, he invites animal friends to hop in and join the search for the car's owner. Mouse's hat blows off, leading them to meet Elephant, who is looking quite sad.

Friends and teamwork accompany colourful pictures for an adventurous ride!

Brave Molly

Brave Molly

By Brooke Boynton-Hughes

This wordless picturebook tells the story of a girl troubled by a fear of being social. Soon, these monsters take form and begin following her down the sidewalk when she walks to the bus stop, and on to school. Readers can trace Molly's steps through the forest and cheer her on as she yells to banish the fear monsters. A solitary monster attempts a comeback, but the power of friendship squashes that one on school grounds.

Love, Violet

Love, Violet

By Charlotte Sullivan Wild, illustrated by Charlene Chua

A trailblazing book that normalizes feelings between two girls. I haven't seen another picturebook that embraces a young child's feelings for someone of the same sex quite the way this one so boldly does. Tender and sweet, it's the story of shy Violet and her crush with the snow-sparkling eyelashes, Mira.

Lovely language and a strong story arc, Love, Violet should be your choice for Valentine's Day.

Samira Surfs

Samira Surfs

by Rukhsanna Guidroz, illustrated by Fahmida Azim  

11-year-old Samira and her family are Rohingya refugees who have traveled by boat to Bangladesh. Unregistered, they must live outside the camp, are banned from formal employment, and are resented by some of the locals. This middle-grade novel starts off at Samira’s new home, “made of bamboo choppy by Baba’s bare hands”, a leaky roof, and a single room for their family of four. The tightly woven verses take us to the beach where Samira sells eggs to beach-goers. She would love to use some of the money for school, but her father wouldn’t send her even if they could afford it because she’s a girl. Fortunately, her older brother, Khaled, gives her English lessons.

We cheer for Samira as she sets out with quiet determination to show everybody how she can work to make money for their family, learn English, and learn to surf. After meeting a group of girl surfers at a local surf club where there’s an announcement for a contest with a cash prize, Samira is empowered to overcome her fear of water that developed after her grandparents died falling into the water from the boat when coming to Bangladesh.

Azim’s lively illustrations bring Samira’s world to life, highlighting both the beauty of Bangladesh and Samira’s spirit.  

Verse novel. 9-14

 

“I’ve learned that belonging, having a home, having a country, means everything, is everything.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Rock From the Sky

The Rock From the Sky

By Jon Klassen

Deadpan humour for the picture book crowd? Author and illustrator Jon Klassen is your go-to. The Rock From the Sky is his newest, following the crowd-pleasing trilogy of I Want My Hat Back, then This Is Not My Hat which won both the Caldecott and the Kate Greenaway Medals, and last We Found a Hat. 

The Rock From the Sky brings together adorable characters -- a turtle, an armadillo, and a snake. Turtle and armadillo sport bowler hats, a nod to surrealism as well as to Laurel and Hardy. Visually, here is another Klassen masterpiece, with the illustrations telling much of the story. This helps the reader to always stay two steps ahead of the characters, adding the perfect amount of tension. In this story, a rock, nay a giant boulder, is falling from the sky, and armadillo finally convinces turtle to move away from his favourite spot seconds before the big boulder crashes there. 

That's only part one out of three. Filled with emotions and comedy, this 96-page book presents a contemplation on friendship, fate, and intuition. A dry humour delight for kids and grown ups both.

Deadman's Castle

Deadman's Castle

By Iain Lawrence

Igor and his family have been on the run since he was a young boy.  After witnessing a terrible crime, his father had to take his family into hiding to avoid the terrifying Lizard Man, who seems to track them down wherever they go.  Igor and his family have lived in many different places.  Eventually they always “bug out”, leaving town in the middle of the night so that they won’t be found.

But as Igor gets older, he craves a more normal life.  At age twelve, he finally starts attending regular school.  Although he dresses differently than the other kids and he lives by very strict rules, he starts to make some friends.  Both Angelo and Zoe accept Igor’s weirdness, but sometimes they also push him to break the rules.

Unbeknownst to his parents, Igor and his friends make several trips to Deadman’s Castle, a creepy, abandoned place in the woods.  Zoe knows all the ins and outs of Deadman’s Castle, and although Angelo and Igor aren’t too keen, they begin exploring it with her.

As time goes on, Igor begins to break more and more of his parents’ rules.  After all, he just wants to hang out with his friends and be a normal kid.  Little does Igor realize that he’s putting himself and even his friends in danger.  Will he ever get to live life without fear of the Lizard Man?

In a Jar

In a Jar

By Deborah Marcero

Deborah Marcero studied visual arts at university and creative writing in graduate school, and although she did not set out to write children’s books, she can now look back and clearly connect the dots that led her to such tour de forces as her latest, In a Jar.

Llewellyn is a collector. Into glass containers he stores regular collectables such as leaves and heart-shaped rocks until the day he walks down to the river and meets a new bunny friend, Evelyn, sharing with her a jar full of “the color of tart cherry syrup”. This “cherry light” is just one of the intangible things Llewellyn and Evelyn begin to gather together, as their world fills with friendship, the sound of the ocean, the wind just before the snow falls, snowball fights and rainbows.

On the fateful day Evelyn tells her friend their family is moving; the two bunnies’ friendship becomes even more resilient. When Llewellyn sends Evelyn a jar stuffed with a meteor shower and it explodes all around her in a burst of magical realism, we see the strength of friendship. Alluring language, sophisticated drawings, and a marvelously vivid experience for all!

Trespassers

Trespassers

By Breena Bard

Gabby Woods and her family visit their cottage by the lake every summer and they always have a great time.  The kids spend their days kayaking, canoeing, fishing and swimming, and evenings are spent around the fire or inside playing charades. 

But this summer feels different.  Gabby and her brother Simon feel pressured to hang out with the new neighbour kids, Paige and Bryan.  But Paige and Bryan are into things like shoplifting and blowing up firecrackers.  Gabby especially feels uncomfortable around Paige.

When the kids come across an abandoned mansion at the edge of the lake, they start to wonder why no one lives there.  The mansion was apparently designed by a famous architect who built it for his glamourous wife.  But one day, the couple disappeared.

Gabby, ever the voracious reader, decides to write a mystery story based on the missing couple and their empty home.  Soon Paige gets involved in helping Gabby with the story.  She insists that the only way they will ever know more about this local mystery is by breaking into the abandoned house. 

Of course, Gabby thinks that’s a crazy idea, but it still sounds enticing.  Soon Gabby and Paige are piecing together a murder mystery that they believe happened right there at the lake.  But once they start digging around in someone else’s business, the two girls could find themselves in real trouble.

Trespassers is a whodunit mystery that is also a graphic novel.  Perfect to read on your summer vacation or under the covers with a flashlight!

The Thief Knot

The Thief Knot

By Kate Milford

Marzana and Nialla are best friends who live in the Liberty of Gammerbund, just outside of Nagspeake.  Although the Liberty is a known haven for former smugglers, including Marzana’s mother, the girls feel that nothing exciting ever happens and they are dying for an adventure!

When Marzana learns that a girl called Peony Hyde has been kidnapped, she and Nialla decide that they are going to crack the case.  But first they need a crew.  They begin to confide in other kids who may be able to help: Emilia knows her way around all the secret passages in and out of their school, J.J. is a magician, and Ciro is a camofleur.  They are even able to recruit Meddy of Greenglass House fame.  They call themselves The Thief Knot.

The kids are all sworn to secrecy but determined to find the missing girl.  Shy Marzana becomes the leader of The Thief Knot and thrives in that role.  But as danger creeps closer and closer, Marzana wonders if she can really lead a bunch of kids through this dangerous but thrilling mystery.

The Thief Knot is part of the Greenglass House series.  If you love mysteries and adventure, with a little twist of magic, this series is highly recommended!