Short Stories

Short Stories

 A fun, short book that is just the perfect amount of silly and ridiculous.

The Day the Babies Crawled Away

The Day the Babies Crawled Away by Peggy Rathman

A boy follows fives babies who crawl away from a picnic and saves the day by bringing them back.

Everybody in the Red Brick Building

Everybody in the Red Brick Building

by Anne Wynter, illustrated by Oge Mora

A clever, cumulative story of a chain effect of sounds that wakes up a community of neighbors (including one cat) starting from the bottom of an apartment building travelling all the way to the top. But just as the noises reach a climax, the author brings down the energy as the onomonopedia sounds travel back to the first floor. Goodnight! This is a super fun bedtime book that children will be begging to read for many years to come.

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!

Cat Problems

By Jory John, illustrated by Lane Smith

Grouchy cat has problems. Sometimes he gets dry food - not wet! Sometimes the other cat is in his spot. Or his other spot. Or his third spot! And sometimes the vacuum cleaner turns on and becomes a furocious monster!

The worst part is the squirrel who mocks him from the outside world, informing him that he has it MUCH better on the inside.

Absolutely the most hysterical book of 2021, whether or not you have a cat at home.

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.

Fake Blood

Fake Blood

By Whitney Gardner

As Grade 6 begins, A.J. is feeling a little left behind.  His two best friends, Ivy and Hunter, have had amazing adventures throughout the summer, like bungee jumping and climbing to the top of Mount St. Helens.  A.J.’s summer consisted of reading 10 books and winning some cool shades from the library.

A.J. knows he can’t compete with Ivy and Hunter, but what he really wants is to impress Nia, the girl of his dreams.  When he and Nia are partnered up for a project, he is thrilled.  It turns out they have lots of things in common.  For one thing, they both love to read.

But there’s something different about Nia too; she is obsessed with vampires.  A.J. decides that if he can make Nia believe he is a vampire, she will want to hang out with him even more.  A.J. starts putting on makeup that makes shadows under his eyes, and even putting fake blood in his mouth.  

Nia actually starts to believe that A.J.’s vampire traits might be real.  Turns out Nia has a secret side as well.  Much to A.J.’s chagrin, she’s destined to be a vampire slayer.

Can the two of them ever really be friends?

This graphic novel is hilarious.  I laughed out loud many times while reading it.  But underneath all the fun, it’s really about a boy who wants to be accepted and to be able to accept himself.

Highly recommended!

Harold & Hog Pretend for Real!

Harold & Hog Pretend for Real!

By Dan Santat

Harold the elephant and Hog are best friends.  They can’t wait to pretend to be Elephant and Piggie!  But Harold is too carefree to be Gerald, and Hog is to careful to be Piggie.  What will they do?  When they suddenly get the idea to switch roles, they start to feel like the real Elephant and Piggie!

From the Elephant & Piggie Like Reading series, this book is perfect for brand new readers!

Bear Country: Bearly A Misadventure

Bear Country: Bearly A Misadventure

By Doreen Cronin

That crazy Chicken Squad is back with another mystery to solve.  

This time, their caretaker, Barbara, is missing!  She hasn’t kept to her usual routine, and now she’s not home.  The Chicken Squad soon discovers that young Anna McClanahanahan’s hamster is missing too.  Then they get reports of a headless bear and strange noises coming from town.

The Chicken Squad enlists some of its animal friends for help. They must get to town to find out what’s going on!  Find out how the Chicken Squad brings the whole town to a screeching halt in this fun-filled adventure!