What's in the Cookie Tin?

Written by Yolanda T. Marshall

Illustrated by Golnoush Moini

Chalkboard Publishing

978-1-77105-884-1

36 pp.

Ages 3-8

2024 

 

Who doesn't have an assortment of cookie tins kicking around the house? Whether they were the packaging in which biscuits were purchased or tins specifically purchased to store cookies, most people have at least a couple. But what is inside a cookie tin cannot be discerned until that lid is removed. And when a tin displays an assortment of tasty treats, what would most children anticipate? 

From What's in the Cookie Tin?, written by Yolanda T. Marshall, illustrated by Golnoush Moini

Olivia and Benjamin head over to their grandparents' home, looking forward to their grandfather's wacky pranks and the hugs they get from Grandma. But they are especially keen to go through their father's childhood toys in the guest bedroom. That is, until Benjamin spots a blue and gold cookie tin on a shelf. Their struggle to open the tin–those tins can be a struggle for little hands–is interrupted by lunch.

From What's in the Cookie Tin?, written by Yolanda T. Marshall, illustrated by Golnoush Moini

Surprisingly, they revisit that cookie tin when Grandma goes to mend a tear in Olivia's dress. But why would Grandma want cookies to repair a torn dress? The surprise is on Grandma, though, much to the delight of the children because Grandpa had another trick up his sleeve.

From What's in the Cookie Tin?, written by Yolanda T. Marshall, illustrated by Golnoush Moini

Yolanda T. Marshall speaks to so many with this playful and yet innocent story of a cookie tin. That cookie tin, with which many who have ever enjoyed butter cookies from a tin will be familiar, brings joy and laughter through a little fun, a lot of tastiness, and a family-load of affection.  And Yolanda T. Marshall, who also wrote the recently reviewed Hot Cross Buns for Everyone!, not only tells a charming intergenerational story, but she also gives us a story of a black family. Though the number of stories with persons of colour are ever increasing, it's lovely to read a story that would allow black children to see themselves and their families as typical and sweet and lighthearted, as every child should.

 

Golnoush Moini, an illustrator and 2D animator from Vancouver, keeps that playfulness in her prominent colours and well-defined shapes. It's also refreshing how dark-skinned Golnoush Moini makes her characters, not trying to appease non-BIPOC who narrow-mindedly expect families of lighter skin. From the grandparents to the grandkids, the characters in What's in the Cookie Tin? are convincing real in appearance and activities.

This cookie tin is busy, getting opened by grandparents, children and parents, and swapped between cookie vessel and sewing kit. And yet it's a bigger story. Yolanda T. Marshall includes "Cookie Tin Memories" at the conclusion of her story in which educators share their own fond remembrances of cookie tins that held everything from buttons to craft supplies to loose change and even baked goods. (Butter cookies were often housed in these blue tins and Yolanda T. Marshall includes a recipe for them too.) But no one knows what's in the cookie tin until that lid is pried off and the secrets within revealed and share. So, what's in your family's cookie tins?

Funny Pages Festival: 2025 (Halifax Public Library)

 

If you're fortunate enough to live in Halifax and environs, then be prepared to listen and read and laugh with some of Canada's funniest writers and illustrators of books for young people. Touted as "Canada's only festival celebrating books that crack kids up!", Funny Pages, the brain child of funny writer Vicki Grant, returns to Halifax Public Library this April. Two days of events for preschoolers to young people in Grade 6 are scheduled. Full details can be found at the Funny Pages website but here is some basic info about dates and times and scheduled presenters (with information about some of their books).

 

Time and Dates:

 

Little Funny Pages

For Preschoolers to Grade 3:    

Thursday, April 24, 2025
10 AM to 2 PM
Halifax Central Library

For Grades 3-6:     

Friday April 25, 2025

9:30 AM to 2:30PM

Halifax Central Library

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Scheduled Presenters:

 

 

Paul Gilligan

King of the Mole People

Rise of the Slugs

Pluto Rocket: New in Town

Pluto Rocket: Joe Pidge Flips a Lid

Anna Humphrey

Megabat

Megabat is a Fraidybat

Bee & Flea and the Puddle Problem

Bee & Flea and the Compost Caper

Fluffle Bunnies: Buns Gone Bad

Fluffle Bunnies: Big City Buns

 

 

 

Andy Tolson

How to Kidnap a Mermaid

How to Rescue a Unicorn (coming in 2025)

How to Wrestle an Octopus (coming in 2026)

 

Mitali Banerjee Ruths

Archie Celebrates Diwali

The Party Diaries: Awesome Orange Birthday

The Party Diaries: Starry Henna Night

The Party Diaries: Lucky Mermaid Sleepover

The Inside Scouts Help the Brave Giraffe

The Inside Scouts Help the Strong Cheetah

 

 

 

Leslie Gentile

Elvis, Me and the Lemonade Stand Summer

Elvis, Me and the Postcard Winter 

 

 

 

Michelle Robinson

How to Wash a Woolly Mammoth

She Rex

Lobster's Vacation

Do Not Mess with the Mermaids

 

 

 

Yolanda T. Marshall 

Big Birthday Wishes

Hot Cross Buns for Everyone! 

What's in the Cookie Tin?

C is for Carnival

 

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It's time to take humour seriously and let the professional share their funny pages with young readers. Head to the Funny Pages website for details and contact info.

Ins and Outs

Imagined by Elizabeth Withey

Illustrated by Salini Perera 

Orca Book Publishers

978-1-4598-3835-2

32 pp.

Ages 3-5

March 2025 

 

You'll notice that, instead of indicating Elizabeth Withey as the author above with the words "Written by," I've repeated the words "Imagined by" as they appear on the front cover of Ins and Outs. This is because Ins and Outs is primarily a concept book that reinforces the idea of positioning i.e., being in and out. The text is limited to two words: "in" and "out." But Elizabeth Withey, a Calgary author, journalist and visual artist, doesn't need more words. She has envisioned fabulous pairings of circumstances that many children will recognize to easily pick up on the concepts of in and out.

From Ins and Outs, imagined by Elizabeth Withey, illustrated by Salini Perera

The first combination of in and out involves a child snug in bed, in the house, while outside the bedroom window a cat prowls in the dark and a luna moth takes flight. From a school yard to cycling on the street, playing in a garden or with a playground parachute, a diverse group of children show things that happen outside and inside, and in and out of a wide variety of places and things.

From Ins and Outs, imagined by Elizabeth Withey, illustrated by Salini Perera

Elizabeth Withey gives young children many opportunities to grasp the concept of "in" and "out" from both obvious and not-so-obvious scenarios. The "inside" and "outside" are the obvious like the children who are standing outside the school or the cat that exits the bedroom to head outside. But Elizabeth Withey has also imagined cold breath going in and condensed exhalation going out, and a nail in the road that will soon be "in" a bike tire and allow air out. The use of a hearing aid to allow sound in and the use of sign language to allow words out is a one of the most thought-provoking of circumstances. As such, the learning of the concept of in and out becomes an interactive read with every double-page spread offering chances to find more and more examples than the most obvious.

From Ins and Outs, imagined by Elizabeth Withey, illustrated by Salini Perera

Because the text is so sparse, the illustrations must provide much of the basis for the learning of the concept, and artist Salini Perera's digital illustrations provide that basis handsomely. She ensures that the big idea of "in" or "out" is evident but then provides little details that enhance the messaging about the concept. With art lively both in content and form, Salini Perera, whose illustrations were reviewed in Beautiful You, Beautiful Me, helps children see the ins and outs of our world.

From Ins and Outs, imagined by Elizabeth Withey, illustrated by Salini Perera

It's different to read a concept book that isn't a board book, especially one that focuses on such a basic concept. But I guess all concepts are basic until you understand them.  Still, Elizabeth Withey and Salini Perera have imagined a refreshing way to teach the idea of position and get children to think even more deeply about how it can be demonstrated in the most unusual of activities.

The One and Only Question

Written by Norma Charles and Andrea Charles

Illustrated by Ken Daley

Groundwood Books

978-1-77306-965-4

32 pp.

Ages 4-8

March 2025 

 

Most children starting at a new school worry a bit, or a lot. They know what they've experienced previously, good or bad, and project in onto the next school, worrying that it could be worse or at least not as good as the last school. The worry and anticipation can be heartbreaking. But if that worry is wrapped up in remembered racism, it can be multiplied and overwhelm, and that first day might be envisioned as the worst day ever. Zeke does just this.

From The One and Only Question, written by Norma Charles and Andrea Charles, illustrated by Ken Daley

For Zeke, his great worry is that he will be called the "N-word" as he'd heard at his old school. And getting ready for that first day seems to herald the worst day possible. He can't wear his favourite shirt. He can't find his hair pick. The cat doesn't want him to leave. And it's raining.

From The One and Only Question, written by Norma Charles and Andrea Charles, illustrated by Ken Daley

When he finally gets on the bus, it's stuffy and smelly. And, although one boy stares at him, no one speaks to Zeke. Once in his class, a hot portable, his teacher demands all the students' attention and has no patience for Zeke's nervousness. Every moment, he anticipates hearing the N-word, "But nothing happens...yet."

From The One and Only Question, written by Norma Charles and Andrea Charles,  illustrated by Ken Daley

After lunch, the kids run around the track. When he's approached by one boy, Zeke waits for that horrific word, even balling up his hands into fists. But Jay only tells Zeke that he's really fast for a nine-year-old. And on the bus ride back, there's a new driver, a man of colour, who greets the boy and asks about his first day, and Zeke gets an invitation from Jay to join him playing basketball. With that, Zeke's outlook flips, hopeful that...

Tomorrow could be even better.

He just knows it.

Stories like this are heartbreaking, knowing that young children of colour hear racial slurs levelled against them at school where they should feel safe. For Zeke to anticipate the worst is more than disappointing. It's tragic. And it's even more so because it's based on the experience of Norma Charles' and Andrea Charles' grandson and son. The text of The One and Only Question conveys with such poignancy Zeke's apprehension for a horrible day, even at a new school where everything should feel fresh. Instead of expecting goodness, new friends, and positive beginnings, his viewpoint and mood are fearful, and cannot help but cloud every interaction he has, from riding the school bus or eating his lunch, to playing outside. He anticipates "the worst day ever" and understandably sees everything through that lens. But Norma Charles and Andrea Charles also give Zeke the opportunity to pull back that fatalism and see a positive interaction when someone reaches out to him and then when others do the same. He's not rooted in the belief that things will only be horrible. He sees around his fears and looks at these interactions from a different perspective and sees what he likes. That's both courageous and strong.

 

I don't know if Ken Daley's African-Caribbean roots helped him connect with the child in Norma Charles's and Andrea Charles's story, but he shows us a boy whose worry is deep and his experiences with racism palpable. Ken Daley, who also illustrated I Am Cherished and Granny's Kitchen, gives us a boy whose body language expresses his anger, his despair, his fear, and finally his relief and even joy. The art keeps the colours around Zeke bright and bold, like the strength that is within the boy, though around him it might be raining or dull or worrisome.

From The One and Only Question, written by Norma Charles and Andrea Charles,  illustrated by Ken Daley

I'm very pleased that no one ever used the N-word in The One and Only Question, though I'm not naive enough to think it's not a common slur heard by Black children and adults. (Norma Charles and Andrea Charles include ideas for students, caregivers, and teachers on how to handle racism and bullying.) But Zeke demonstrates how past trauma with that smear can impact all future dealings. Thankfully some new people in his life demonstrated that he doesn't have to worry about hearing it from them, and he can begin to enjoy the positives that can come from new beginnings.

Mystery at the Biltmore #2: The Classified Catnapping

Written by Colleen Nelson

Illustrated by Peggy Collins

Pajama Press

978-1-77278-336-0

136 pp.

Ages 7-10

April 2025 

 

Things are certainly exciting at the Biltmore, the residence that Elodie LaRue lives at on the Upper West Side in New York City. Who knew that after her first case, The Vanderhoff Heist, that there would be another mystery to solve at the Biltmore during the same summer? And her next would begin with a murder! (Just kidding. It's just a movie.)

 

The courtyard of the Biltmore has become a movie set for a film that features the most famous feline resident of the building. Bijou, the very wealthy heir to the fortune of fashion designer Lucien Saint Martin, lives in a swanky apartment with her nanny, Paula Benson, who has had to leave her family, notably her 10-year-old daughter Tiya, in Queens. While visiting her mom, Tiya is tasked with getting a driver and car to pick up Bijou at her pet grooming salon while Paula is busy prepping for Bijou's big eighth-birthday bash. But Tiya arrives late at Spaw and learns that Bijou has already been picked up. So, the child asks Elodie and her sidekick Oscar, an aspiring stuntman and magician, to find Bijou before the party that night.

From Mystery at the Biltmore: The Classified Catnapping, written by Colleen Nelson, illustrated by Peggy Collins

The Biltmore has no shortage of suspects, from the regular residents like Mrs. Fineman and her noisy Pomeranian Lawrence, and Bianca Winthrop Parker Saint March, the niece of Bijou's cat daddy, to Freddy the doorman, and those associated with the movie, like the animal trainer, Bijou's agent, Bijou's biographer, and even stuntman Lance Beauregard. But Elodie and Oscar have to follow the clues, ask the right questions, and figure out the motive before they can catch the wrongdoer, hopefully before Paula finds out.

 

Colleen Nelson keeps young readers guessing with each chapter focused on another character. She puts out a number of red herrings–including of the fishy variety–but always helps the reader see the logic in Elodie and Oscar's thinking, never surprising them with unfair plot elements. Colleen Nelson actually makes the mystery solvable as the story progresses, but you have to pay attention. Elodie does, and she is always able to figure out who did the crime.

From Mystery at the Biltmore: The Classified Catnapping, written by Colleen Nelson, illustrated by Peggy Collins

The mystery is paramount and novel, and perfect for an early middle-grade reader. Mysteries can become convoluted and difficult to dissect but Colleen Nelson actually keeps the plot fairly linear, with no curve balls or weird surprises, thereby allowing the reader to follow with Elodie and Oscar, and Carnegie, her West Highland Terrier, as they unearth what everyone is and was up to. Then add some charming spot art from Peggy Collins, some word play like puns–who doesn't like Spaw as the name of a pet grooming salon?–an assortment of crazy stunts and magic tricks courtesy of Oscar, and The Classified Catnapping becomes an entertaining middle-grade cozy that will have young readers eager for another visit to the Biltmore.

 

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Mystery at the Biltmore #1: The Vanderhoff Heist (2024)

Mystery at the Biltmore #2: The Classified Catnapping (April, 2025)

Mystery at the Biltmore: The Vanderhoff Heist

Written by Colleen Nelson

Illustrated by Peggy Collins

Pajama Press

978-1-77278-327-8

136 pp.

Ages 7-10

2024

 

Multi-family residences like hotels, resorts and apartment buildings are fabulous settings for elaborate mysteries, in which a host of suspects can be found within the residents, and Colleen Nelson has found a spectacular setting in her fictional historical residence, the Biltmore, on New York City's Upper West Side. It's loaded with character and characters that make the story rich in personality, both straightforward and intricate in its plotting, and playful in its delivery.

 

It's summer and Elodie LaRue has once again been abandoned to her nanny Miss Rosa by her globe-trotting art crime investigator parents. Determined to make something interesting out of her summer, Elodie posts notices that she is a detective available for hire. The very next day, she is contacted by Agnes, the housekeeper for the world-famous landscape architect Mrs. Vanderhoff whose sapphire earrings have disappeared from a velvet tray in her room. As Agnes is being blamed, the housekeeper encourages Mrs. Vanderhoff to hire Elodie and find the real culprit. 

From Mystery at the Biltmore: The Vanderhoff Heist, written by Colleen Nelson, illustrated by Peggy Collins

With the help of Carnegie, her West Highland Terrier, and a new resident and aspiring stunt person Oscar Delgado, Elodie sets out to solve the mystery of Mrs. Vanderhoff's missing jewels. Along the way, readers meet a menagerie of extraordinary people at the Biltmore, both employees and residents and visitors, as well as an assortment of furry and feathered friends. With so many potential suspects, Elodie and Oscar must put their little grey cells to work and sift through the clues to find the thief.

From Mystery at the Biltmore: The Vanderhoff Heist, written by Colleen Nelson, illustrated by Peggy Collins

I've often declared how challenging it is to write for early and early middle-grade readers. Getting the right mix of appropriate vocabulary and plot to meet their needs and interests without talking down to or above them is difficult. However, if Colleen Nelson has shown us anything, it's that she can write it all. She's written picture books, YA, non-fiction, and middle-grade novels. She's been nominated for countless awards, including the Governor General's Award, and won several readers' choice awards such as the Silver Birch award of the Forest of Reading and the Shining Willow award of the Saskatchewan Young Readers' Choice Awards. Her skill in getting the voice of her characters right, whether kindergarteners (Teaching Mrs. Muddle), middle graders (e.g., The Undercover Book List) or teens struggling with violence, addictions and bullying (e.g., Finding Hope, The Fall, Blood Brothers) or even a dog (e.g., Harvey Comes Home) allows her to create a plethora of worlds in which kids and teens face challenges, some more troubling than others, and find something inside that allows them to prevail. Here, Colleen Nelson has given readers a child whose world may be one of comfort, living at the Biltmore, having a nanny, loving her dog, and feeling secure enough to explore solving mysteries in safety but she also lets us see Elodie as a child who misses her parents and wants to have friends and not waste her summer doing nothing. Fortunately, Elodie's a go-getter and solving a mystery or two is what she's interested in doing. And she's good at it. She knows how to ask questions, how to look at the evidence, even outside-of-the box, and how to follow through. She's going to be an amazing detective. (Hopefully her parents will notice too.)

 

The plot, which feels very much like Only Murders in the Building without the murders, is both intricate and straightforward, perfect for the audience. But adding to Colleen Nelson's story is the darling spot art of Peggy Collins, the author-illustrator of the award-winning Harley the Hero. The art adds little bursts of colour to the book and helps readers envision the Biltmore and all its characters, improving readability and comprehension.

 

The second book in the Mystery at the Biltmore series releases in April (The Classified Catnapping) and I'll be reviewing it next so you can see where the series is going. Colleen Nelson has confidently transitioned Elodie from a potentially bored child to an emergent detective who is willing to help those in her building get the answers they need to their pressing mysteries. With Carnegie, Oscar, Miss Rosa and the others at the Biltmore, she'll be busy and gratified that the LaRue Detective Agency will have new mysteries to solve.

 

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Mystery at the Biltmore #1: The Vanderhoff Heist (2024)

Mystery at the Biltmore #2: The Classified Catnapping (April, 2025)
 

Vancouver Writers Fest: Youth Writing Contest 2025

Recently, I posted about the Sheree Fitch Prize for teen writers in New Brunswick. So I'm very pleased to share a writing contest for youth from the West Coast. Vancouver Writers Fest also has a writing contest but for BC youth in Grades 5 through 12. Details for entering the contest are posted below as well as VWF website at https://writersfest.bc.ca/youth/youth-writing-contest.

 

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WHO MAY ENTER?

There are two contests open for submissions:

• An elementary school youth writing contest is open to students in Grades 5-7 (in school or home-schooled) who reside in British Columbia
• A high school youth writing contest is open to BC students in Grades 8-12 (also either in school or home-schooled)

 

 

WHAT TO SUBMIT?

The contest is looking for previously unpublished short stories and personal essays: 

• 1,000 word limit (for the elementary school youth writing contest) 
• 1,500 word limit (for the high school youth writing contest)

Formats for entries:

• Use .doc, .docx, or .pdf files
• Use standard margins, 12-point font and double spacing. 
• Do not put your name anywhere in the file itself or in the file name. (Judging is blind.) 

 

 

HOW TO ENTER?

Submit by the deadline of Saturday, May 31, 2025 through the following links:

• For the elementary school youth writing contest: https://writersfest.bc.ca/elementary-school-contest-entry
• For the high school youth writing contest: https://writersfest.bc.ca/high-school-contest-entry

(Links are also posted on the VWF website at https://writersfest.bc.ca/youth/youth-writing-contest) 

HOW WILL SUBMISSIONS BE JUDGED?

Entries will be judged blind. (So don't put your name anywhere in the file uploaded or even in the file name. Your name will be linked through your entry form at the links above.)

 

This year's judges are:

• Jamie Fong, Children’s Librarian at Vancouver Public Library (for the elementary school youth writing contest)
• Shannon Ozirny, Head of Youth Services at the West Vancouver Memorial Library (for the high school youth writing contest)

 

 

WHAT ARE THE PRIZES?

For the elementary school youth writing contest:

• First prize winner receives $100 and publication in the VWF Books & Ideas Newsletter, plus social media shout-out, and a certificate from Vancouver Writers Fest
• Second prize winner receives $50 and publication in the Books & Ideas Newsletter, and a certificate from Vancouver Writers Fest

For the high school youth writing contest:

• First prize winner receives $200 and publication in the Books & Ideas Newsletter, plus social media shout-out, and a certificate from Vancouver Writers Fest
• Second prize winner receives $100 and publication in the Books & Ideas Newsletter, and a certificate from Vancouver Writers Fest

 

Good luck to all young writers in British Columbia!