May 29, 2024

Wild Trails to the Sea

 
Written by Penelope Jackson
 Illustrated by Elena Skoreyko Wagner
Nimbus Publishing
978-1-77471-273-3
32 pp.
Ages 4-8
April 2024
 
Wild Trails to the Sea is a reflection of parents who are hopeful for children to enjoy play in the natural worlds of shorelines, oceans, and forests but it reads like a love song to their children, to nature and all its elements, and to curiosity and exploration. 
From Wild Trails to the Sea, words by Penelope Jackson, art by Elena Skoreyko Wagner
The day begins with a mother carrying her young daughter and looking out the window at the dawn and hoping "the peepers always wake you a little too early." And then there are a multitude of days of outdoor play, with parents watching and interacting and showing and learning as their little ones explore wild areas. It's taking off your shoes to feel the sand and rocks beneath your feet. Or tasting spruce tips. Or leaping into freezing waves. It's going from spring when the first mayflower opens to the summer of bathing suits and hot sands, and then to fall when they "climb the tallest hill to watch whirls of colour tumbling toward the ocean" and winter to fling pebbles onto an icy pond. It's a full year and life in the outdoors for this family and these children, and one that will become a tradition for generations.
From Wild Trails to the Sea, words by Penelope Jackson, art by Elena Skoreyko Wagner
Halifax's Penelope Jackson has a story to tell, whether of her own childhood or that of other children. She tells it with an almost perceptible sigh of contentment and respect and awe. The natural world is one of wonder, one of extraordinary treasures to be appreciated. Penelope Jackson's text is written in free verse but it is still rhythmic without rhyming. Her words are cadenced, almost like a song, and it is a song of hopes for children to experience their natural worlds and for nature to be recognized and valued. And it is the promise that that wonder will extend beyond themselves.
I hope that when you are grown
and making pathways of your own
you still follow every salty wind...
and walk the wild trails to the sea.
That sensibility of Penelope Jackson's words is matched with Elena Skoreyko Wagner's collage art. With an eye to both colour and shape, Elena Skoreyko Wagner, originally from Nova Scotia and now of the UK, creates vignettes that are so textured that they seem almost tangible. Whether it's a child's hair being tossed by the wind, or the layers of spruce and pine tree branches in a forest, or smoke curling from a bonfire, Elena Skoreyko Wagner has found a way to bring a new dimensionality to the people and landscapes of Wild Trails to the Sea.
From Wild Trails to the Sea, words by Penelope Jackson, art by Elena Skoreyko Wagner
We may not all have access to a maritime location, but we all have opportunities to get out and play and discover. While Wild Trails to the Sea speaks to one family and the joy and experiential learning of outdoor play, it reminds us that there is much promise if we just open our eyes and take in our surroundings for more than just a backdrop to our structured and scheduled lives.
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May 27, 2024

The Not-So-Simple Question (A Holly-Mei Book, #3)

Written by Christina Matula
Inkyard Press
978-1-335-00999-9
272 pp.
Ages 8-12
April 2024 
 
Isn't it lovely that we get to visit with Holly-Mei and her friends and family once again? The twelve-year-old who Christina Matula introduced us to in The Not-So-Uniform Life of Holly-Mei and allowed us to join in her new life in Hong Kong is a little older, well-situated at Tai Tam Prep, and becoming familiar with her new home. But with all those important changes, Holly-Mei is now becoming a teen, and The Not-So-Simple Question is her coming-of-age story.
 
Holly-Mei and her family have now been in Hong Kong for nine months and she is in the last few months of her Grade 7 year. There are lots of important events still to come like Experience Week during which Upper Grade students travel to other Asian locations for a week of learning. It's a great opportunity for Holly-Mei to discover more about her Taiwanese heritage–her mother and Ah-ma, grandmother, are Taiwanese while her father is British–by visiting Taiwan. She's also hoping that it will help her clarify who she is, feeling less than others because of her mixed heritage. And then there's the problem with boys. Her friend Gemma is determined to have an end-of-year prom to which the girls must bring dates. Holly-Mei is obviously well liked by her friends, including Dev and Theo, but, unlike her younger sister Millie who is all about popularity and acting grown-up, Holly-Mei isn't ready for dating, and she doesn't know how to reconcile her feelings with the demands of her friends.

Holly-Mei has a lot on her plate but that is what it often feels like when you are entering your teen years. It's a balance of moving from childhood to adulthood and navigating when and how much you're wanting to change. But coupled with that is Holly-Mei's confusion about her heritage and feeling that others judge her by how she speaks Chinese, who her parents are, and if half of anything is enough for her to be her true self. It's no wonder the girl is feeling on edge and confused. And with Holly-Mei, that uncertainty often leads her to misunderstanding or saying the wrong thing. Thankfully, Holly-Mei's story is in Christina Matula's capable hands, and she ends it with understanding, acceptance, and accord. (And we get to take a wonderful trip to Taiwan to see the sights, the culture, and the food. Always the food!)

The first Holly-Mei book was just recommended by young readers of the Red Maple Forest Kid Committee for their summer reading list and it's nice to know that there are two more books in the series to reach for after you've enjoyed The Not-So-Uniform Life of Holly-Mei. With The Not-So-Simple Question, we get to see how Holly-Mei has ended her Grade 7 year, after a full year of learning to deal with new friends, with sports competition, with sibling interactions, with misunderstandings, and more. With that learning has come an appreciation for who she is and the kind of person she wants to be. She's still learning to be the best version of herself but she's on the right path, and Christina Matula lets us tag along on Holly-Mei's journey of self-realization and growing up, while enjoying the sights and cultures of Hong Kong and Taiwan.
From The Not-So-Simple Question, written by Christina Matula
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Holly-Mei Books

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May 25, 2024

2024 Forest Kid Committees: Summer Reading Lists

In early May, selected young readers who'd applied to participate on the eighth annual Forest Kid Committees (for ages 9-13) came together online to talk books.  From their discussions, which were interspersed with visits from award-winning Canadian authors Natalie Hyde and Erin Bow, these young people produced two extraordinary lists of recommended titles to keep everyone reading Canadian over the summer.  There are graphic novels, fantasy, historical fiction, picture books, short stories, non-fiction, humour, and more. These are their recommendations for their peers in the Silver Birch and Red Maple reading programs of the Forest of Reading®.

Happy summertime reading!
 
😎 📚 😎 📚 😎 📚

 
Silver Birch Readers
(Ages 8-12, Grades 3-6)
 
Bird Brain     
Written by Joanne Levy        
Orca Book Publishers 
192 pp.
Ages 9-12
2024

Blue to the Sky
Written by Sylvia McNicoll
DCB
232 pp.
Ages 8-12
2024
 
The Grace of Wild Things    
Written by Heather Fawcett
Balzer + Bray   
360 pp.
Ages 8-13
2023
 
The Grover School Pledge     
Written by Wanda Taylor        
HarperCollins   
176 pp.
Ages 8-12
2023
 
How to Be a Goldfish    
Written by Jane Baird Warren        
Scholastic Canada        
248 pp.
Ages 9-12
2022
 
More than Words: More Than Words: Navigating the Complex World of Communication
Written by Valerie Sherrard and Natalie Hyde
Illustrated by David Jardine
DCB
152 pp.
Ages 9-12
2023
 
Nish North and South    
Written by Isabelle Picard        
Scholastic Canada
304 pp.
Ages 10-14
2023 

Nutshimit    
Written by Melissa Mollen Dupuis    
Illustrated by Elise Gravel    
North Winds Press (Scholastic Canada)
88 pp.
Ages 6-8
2023 
 
PAWS: Gabby Gets It Together 
Written by Nathan Fairbairn
Illustrated by Michele Assarasakorn
G. P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers 
176 pp.
Ages 8-12
2022
 
The Racc Pack (Book 1)    
Written by Stephanie Cooke    
Illustrated by Whitney Gardner    
Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers    
185 pp.
Ages 7-10
2024

The Secret Diary of Mona Hasan    
Written by Salma Hussain        
Tundra Books      
296 pp.
Ages 10-14
2022

The Song That Called Them Home    
Written by David A. Robertson    
Illustrated by Maya McKibbin    
Tundra Books   
52 pp.
Ages 4-8
2023

Tegan and Sara: Junior High    
Written by Tegan Quin and Sara Quin    
Illustrated by Tillie Walden    
Farrar, Strauss and Giroux 
304 pp.
Ages 10-14
2023

Waking the Dead and other Fun Activities     
Written by Casey Lyall        
Greenwillow Books
288 pp.
Ages 8-12
2024
 
We the Sea Turtles: A Collection of Island Stories     
Written by Michelle Kadarusman
Pajama Press   
208 pp.
Ages 8-12
2023

Wednesday Wilson Fixes All Your Problems (Wednesday Wilson, Book 2)
Written by Bree Galbraith    
Illustrated by Morgan Goble    
Kids Can Press   
144 pp.
Ages 6-9
2022

 

 
 
Red Maple Readers
(Ages 12-14, Grades 7-8)
 
The Celtic Deception (A Jump in Time, Book 2)    
Written by Andrew Varga        
Imbrifex   
302 pp.
Ages 12+
2023
 
Champions of the Fox (Thieves of Shadow, Book 3)
Written by Kevin Sands
Puffin Canada
464 pp.
Ages 8-12
2023
 
Daughters of the Dawn     
Written by Sarena and Sasha Nanua        
HarperTeen    
560 pp.
Ages 13-17
2022
 
Flight Plan    
Written by Eric Walters        
Orca Book Publishers   
320 pp.
Ages 12-17
2023
 
House of Ash and Bone   
Written by Joel A. Sutherland        
Tundra     
336 pp.
Ages 12-17
2023
 
Leon Levels Up (Orca Currents)    
Written by Paul Coccia        
Orca Book Publishers    
112 pp.
Ages 9-12
2024
 
The Not-So-Uniform Life of Holly-Mei (Holly-Mei, Book 1)    
Written by Christina Matula
Inkyard Press        
288 pp.
Ages 8-12
2022
 
Out of the Valley of Horses    
Written by Wendy Orr        
Pajama Press    
224 pp.
Ages 8-12
2024
 
Slugfest    
Written by Gordon Korman
Scholastic Canada 
296 pp.
Ages 9-12
2024
 
S'More Magic (Witches of Brooklyn, Book 3)    
Written and illustrated by Sophie Escabasse    
Random House Graphic    ‎ 
240 pp.
Ages 8-12
2022
 
Something More    
Written by Jackie Khalilieh
Tundra     
336 pp.
Ages 12-17
2023
 
The Song of Wrath (Bones of Ruin, Book 2)    
Written by Sarah Raughley
Margaret K. McElderry Books        
432 pp.
Ages 12+
2023
 
The Space Between Here and Now    
Written by Sarah Suk        
Quill Tree Books  
320 pp. 
Ages 13-17
2023
 

 

 

The book lists are posted on the Ontario Library Association's Forest of Reading website:

 
 
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May 24, 2024

2024 Forest of Reading® winners announced

Over the past week and a bit, the Ontario Library Association's Forest of Reading®, a readers' choice award program, announced the winners at its annual Festival of Trees at Harbourfront and virtually. (All are available to view at here.)

Here are this year's winners and honour books for each reading program, as voted by young readers from JK to Grade 12.
 


•••••••••••••••••••••••••



Winner
Benny the Bananasaurus Rex
Written by Sarabeth Holden
Illustrated by Emma Pedersen
Inhabit Media


Honour Books:
 
How to Party Like A Snail
Written by Naseem Hrab
Illustrated by Kelly Collier
Owlkids Books





 
  
Cocoa Magic
Written by Sandra Bradley
Illustrated by Gabrielle Grimard
Pajama Press







Winner
Rock? Plant? Animal? How Nature Keeps Us Guessing
Written by Etta Kaner
Illustrated by Brittany Lane
Owlkids


Honour Books:
 
Deep, Deep Down
Written by Lydia Lukidis
Illustrated by Juan Calle Velez
Capstone Editions

The Skull: A Tyrolean Folktale
Written and illustrated by Jon Klassen
Candlewick












Winner
Apartment 713
Written by Kevin Sylvester
HarperCollins


Honour Books:

PAWS: Mindy Makes Some Space
Written by Nathan Fairbairn
Illustrated by Michele Assarasakorn
Razorbill


 
Swept Away: Ruth Mornay and the Unwanted Clues
Written by Natalie Hyde
DCB






Winner 
Animal Eyes: How Creatures See and How Their Eyes Have Adapted to Their World
Written by Françoise Vulpé 
Firefly Books


Honour Books: 
 
The Raven Mother
Written by Hetxw’ms Gyetxw (Brett D. Huson)
Illustrated by Natasha Donovan
HighWater Press

IsThisAnOlogy?
Written by Amanda Bulman and Ruth Lawrence 
Illustrated by Leon Chung
Breakwater Books



 



Winner
The Fort
Written by Gordon Korman
Scholastic Canada


Honour Books:

The Last Saxon King
Written by Andrew Varga
Imbrifex Books

 
 

Squire
Written by Nadia Shammas
Illustrated by Sara Alfageeh
Quill Tree Books













Winner
Pieces of Me
Written by Kate McLaughlin
St. Martin’s Press/ Macmillan


Honour Books:
 
As Long As the Lemon Trees Grow
Written by Zoulfah Katouh
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

 

 
Only This Beautiful Moment
Written by Abdi Nazemian
Balzer + Bray










Winner/Lauréat
L'oiseau rouge
Écrit et illustré par Élodie Duhameau
Les 400 coups
 
 
Honour Books/Livres distingués:

Pas de chevaux dans la maison!
Écrit par Mireille Messier
Illustré par Anna Bron
Orca

 
C'est mon corps!
Écrit et illustré par Élise Gravel
Scholastic













Winner/Lauréat
La chambre numéro 7
Écrit par Martine Latulippe
Illustré par Isabelle Malenfant
La courte échelle
 

Honour Books/Livres distingués:

Mina et sa bête
Écrit et illustré par Caroline Merola
La courte échelle
 
Alerte: culottes meurtrières! Fausses nouvelles, désinformation et théories du complot
Écrit et illustré par Élise Gravel
Scholastic
 
 
 
 
 
 
 



Winner/Lauréat
As-tu peur du loup?
Écrit par Véronique Drouin
Illustré par Lucille Danis Drouot
Bayard


Honour Books/Livres distingués:
 
Zipolaris 1: La nuit des morloups
Écrit par J.L. Blanchard
Fides

La balance du vide
Écrit par Julien Leclerc
Héritage jeunesse
 





 


Congratulations to everyone!

•••••••••••••••••••••••••

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