The Story Hunter

Written and illustrated by Barbara Reid

North Winds Press (An imprint of Scholastic Canada)

978-1-0397-1033-7

32 pp.

Ages 3–8

February 2026 

 

 I am a story hunter. I carry stories. (pg. 33)

 

The Story Hunter is like nothing I've read from Barbara Reid. Her stories are treasures of brightness and joy, often of everyday life, whether it be gardening (Watch It Grow: Backyard Life Cycles, 2019), the weather (Picture the Sky, 2017), bedtime songs (Sing a Song of Bedtime, 2015), trees (Picture a Tree, 2013), or playing in the snow (Perfect Snow, 2009). But The Story Hunter, inspired by Barbara Reid's visit to see the cave art in the Vézère Valley, is a story from tens of thousands of years ago. It may be fiction, but it is rich in history of people and place and storytelling.

From The Story Hunter, written and illustrated by Barbara Reid

This child is part of a community of hunters and gatherers. They follow the animals across valleys in the shadows of mountains, camping when the animals stop. And when they stop, they work together to make shelter, to prepare food, to gather wood, and to care for children.

From The Story Hunter, written and illustrated by Barbara Reid

But when the hunters pack up to go, they are led by Grandmother because she knows where to look. They are not hunting animals for food; they are looking for the stories. Using lamps made of stone with depressions to carry fire, the hunting party enters into the blackness of caves in their search.

We are swallowed.

Our feet find smooth places, 

rough places, slippery places. 

Our lamps find marks that 

jump and hide. (pg. 14)

From The Story Hunter, written and illustrated by Barbara Reid

There are stalactites and stalagmites, dripping water and pools in openings, until they reach a cavern where the walls are covered in animals that play in their light. (pg. 19) The hunting party revels in the paintings they find, with the child especially enamoured with that of a mammoth, before adding their own story marks, with their preparation of red ochre. There is gratitude and revelry for the stories that were told and would be told.

 

I think that we forget that stories have been told for thousands of years and in a multitude of forms. And just because they are in form with which we are generally unfamiliar to interpret fully, they are stories that impart meaning just the same. Whether they are records of hunts or wishes for good ones, places of ceremony, or spiritual narratives, these pictographs tell much about the people who put them there. This child and his people are hunters, but more than just those of animals.

From The Story Hunter, written and illustrated by Barbara Reid

Barbara Reid's text is one of reverence and community. The togetherness of all members, from the child to his grandmother, is what makes the community work, whether hunting for stories or looking for food. Her text depicts that admiration for people, past and present, and what they have done and are still doing. That honour is portrayed in their words ("Our home holds all we need," says Grandmother. "If we look."; pg. 2) and in Barbara Reid's art. The world is far greater and more important than the individual people. The vastness of the sky, the land, and all who live there is evident. Even when they enter the confined space of the caves, the walls are the focus, lit with an orange glow from their lanterns or torches. Barbara Reid knows where we should look, and she directs us there.

 

While the artwork was "made with modelling clay that was shaped and pressed onto illustration board" with acrylic paint used for special effects, it has a very different feel from the majority of Barbara Reid's books. In fact, I was very surprised to read this art credit on the copyright page, convinced Barbara Reid had employed a different art technique. But, though appearing more two-dimensional that other picture book illustrations of Barbara Reid's that I have reviewed, it works for a story about pictographs which are painted onto rock surfaces, not carved. It's in keeping with the story, just as her use of colour emphasizes the natural tones of an outdoor world and the darkness of an indoor cave. Always perfect, Barbara Reid knows how to take us to a place, whether now or 15,000 years ago. The stories will be told and found and told again, no matter their form.

Family Literacy Day 2024: January 27

 

From https://abclifeliteracy.ca/all-programs/family-literacy-day/

On January 27, 2024,

it will be 25 years since 

the first Family Literacy Day was celebrated.

This day was established to

"raise awareness about the importance of reading and engaging in other literacy-related activities as a family." 

The importance of connecting reading with family 

has been known for a long time, 

and the research proves that encouraging children in reading 

by sharing in their learning

 can make a big difference to their achievement in school.

 

 

Help your children be their best by reading with them and encouraging them in reading activities by participating in  

Family Literacy Day 

on January 27th 

and every day of the year.

This year's Honorary Chair is

 

author-illustrator 

Barbara Reid

 

 

Barbara Reid will be presenting a virtual presentation (via Zoom)

that gets kids involved in making their own art. 

The event is free but you need to register through ABC Life Literacy.

Also, a collection of free resources 

which includes everything 

from posters to an activity book, bookmarks and stories, 

can be found at the 

ABC Life Literacy website

at 

https://abclifeliteracy.ca/all-programs/family-literacy-day/

I Love You More

Written by Emil Sher

Illustrated by Barbara Reid

North Winds Press (Scholastic Canada)

978-1-4431-7580-7 

32 pp.

Ages 0-8

December 2021/January 2022

We know that telling someone you love them is special but how to express the measure of that love? In Emil Sher's newest picture book, which could only have been given the depth of emotion that Barbara Reid's textured art could convey, it's a game of whimsical comparisons and heartfelt declarations that demonstrate that there are so many ways to love.

From I Love You More by Emil Sher, illus. by Barbara Reid

From an early morning greeting–"I love you more than flowers love noses" through breakfast and a walk to school, a mother and child express their love and witness those expressions by others. From the schoolyard to the classroom, and a mom's lunch on a park bench, there are so many vignettes that show connections and affection. Parents and caregivers are there for the children before school–"I love you more than laces love shoes"–and picking them up after school to return home, with everything showing closeness and linkages. ("I love you more than stars love wishes" and "I love you more than pianos love hands" were two of my favourites.) And as the day ends, with mum falling asleep on the couch, a child uses words and actions to express his love.

From I Love You More by Emil Sher, illus. by Barbara Reid

Emil Sher explains the word game that he and his family played comparing affection with a connected pairing like erasers and mistakes, runways and planes and answers and question marks. Not only does I Love You More communicate loads of messages of things that go together, it offers light-hearted word play off of which Barbara Reid's artwork bounces in delight. Using her trademark plasticine in bright colours and detailed settings inside homes, multi-storey buildings, schools and on streets, Barbara Reid gives life to Emil Sher's text. There a calico cat that cuddles, cleans and plays, neighbours that enjoy their balconies and children unique in their own ways. Not only do we see the city in all its glory, we see the life that gives and feels love.

From I Love You More by Emil Sher, illus. by Barbara Reid

The first reading of I Love You More will give young readers some laughs for the playful pairings and affection conveyed as well as the basis for playing their own word game. But subsequent readings–and there will be more readings–will give them opportunities to delve into the illustrations' details and give them food for thought about what it means to be connected.

Watch It Grow: Backyard Life Cycles

Written and illustrated by Barbara Reid

North Winds Press (Scholastic Canada)

978-1-4431-7559-3

32 pp.

Ages 4-8

December 2019

This one may have been released just after Christmas but any picture book by Barbara Reid, the grande dame of plasticine art, could not be overlooked, especially one that will be a valuable teaching tool for young biologists.

From Watch It Grow: Backyard Life Cycles by Barbara Reid

For four species, Barbara Reid illustrates their complete life cycles in three double-page spreads each. There is the monarch butterfly which transforms from egg to caterpillar to chrysalis and butterfly. There is the sunflower which grows from the recognizable hard-shelled seed through germination with root and stem and two cotyledons, to leaves and finally flower and seed again.

From Watch It Grow: Backyard Life Cycles by Barbara Reid

The third species is the green frog which lays many eggs from which tadpoles hatch, and then develop into organisms with back legs and then front legs. The final species is the white oak growing from an acorn which will take root, produce a seedling which grows into a sapling and finally a mature tree. To summarize the cycles, Barbara Reid provides a one-page illustration of each at the end of her book.

From Watch It Grow: Backyard Life Cycles by Barbara Reid

This may be the content of Watch It Grow: Backyard Life Cycles and it is important content for teachers who will be helping young children investigate the relationships between different stages of the same organism.  But Watch It Grow is more than a child's picture book as teaching tool, and that's because the art is that of Barbara Reid.  Watch It Grow: Backyard Life Cycles becomes a celebration of life and the seasons, as plant and animals grow and develop through their life stages. Into each life cycle's story, Barbara Reid brings in a landscape of pond or backyard, woods or meadow, all with the textural and accurately-coloured richness of her plasticine art. Young children will be reaching out, as they always do with Barbara Reid's art, to touch the leaves or the caterpillar or a flower, certain that its softness or fuzziness or crispiness will be palpable and maybe even sonorous.

I know teachers and parents will want to have this book in their library for the teaching of life cycles, which Watch It Grow: Backyard Life Cycles will do flawlessly, but don't ignore the artistry of its illustrations. Young readers will certainly be enamoured with Barbara Reid's art and this will only cultivate further learning.

Picture the Sky: Art show and sale (Toronto, ON)

Last August, 

author/illustrator Barbara Reid

the Queen of plasticine art

launched her newest picture book

Picture the Sky

Written and illustrated by Barbara Reid

Scholastic Canada

9781443163026

32 pp.

Ages 3-8

2017

Now youngCanLit readers and art enthusiasts can enjoy

  Picture the Sky

through Barbara Reid's amazing art 

in an Art Show and Sale

which runs from

  Saturday, March 3, 2018 - Thursday, April 12, 2018

with 

special events 

on the official launch day

Sunday, March 4, 2018

1 p.m.:  Launch of the Art Show and Sale

2 p.m.:  Story time

at

The Young Welcome Centre

Evergreen Brick Works

550 Bayview Avenue

Toronto, ON

Totsapalooza 10 Festival (Toronto, ON)

presents 

Totsapalooza

the tenth anniversary of

its annual festival 

of

 picture books, indie rock bands and DIY crafts

 for kids aged 2-8  

on

Saturday, February 3, 2018

1 - 4pm 

at 

Revival Nightclub 

783 College St.

Tickets:

Limited number of Early Bird tickets:

 $12 Adults / $8 Kids 

After they are sold out:

 $18 Adults / $12 Kids

https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/totsapalooza-turns-ten-tickets-41030174356

Authors in attendance include:

Dennis Lee

who will launch his new collection of poems for children, 

Good Night Good Night

and

lead a sing-a-long of his Alligator Pie 

Barbara Reid

who will read her latest book Picture The Sky 

and 

present Sing a Song of Mother Goose 

with musical support from indie-rockers

Nadia L. Hohn

who will launch Malaika's Winter Carnival,

the sequel to Malaika's Costume

Other in attendance will include:

Drag Performers JP (Fay Slift) and Kaleb (Fluffy Soufflé) who will read and lead an activity with children as part of Drag Queen Storytime;

Rock trio Communism;

The Woodshed Orchestra, a horn, rhythm and vocal ensemble, who will perform a mash up of classic dance styles from around the world;

Choreographer Ann-Marie Williams of Movement Lab who will get the kids dancing;

DJ Castlefrank (a.k.a. Matt Blackett of Spacing Magazine) who will keep the party going with kid-friendly beats;

and

Wanda’s Pie-in-the-Sky who will sell healthy, handmade snacks from their pop-up bakery.

Get your tickets online now 

and 

have something special to share at Christmas and then in February!

I Am Canada: A Celebration

Written by Heather Patterson

Illustrated by Jeremy Tankard, Ruth Ohi, 
Barbara Reid, Jon Klassen, 
Marie-Louise Gay, Danielle Daniel, 

Ashley Spires, Geneviève Côté, 

Cale Atkinson, Doretta Groenendyk,
Qin Leng, Eva Campbell and
Irene Luxbacher

Scholastic Canada

978-1-4431-6304-0

Ages 3+

32 pp.

May 2017

With Canada celebrating 150 years since Confederation in 1867, there will be a plethora of books published solely for the purpose of memorializing that historic milestone for our relatively new country.  Though there has and will be sufficient backlash for praising the birth of a nation amidst the traditional habitation of this land by its Indigenous Peoples, I like to think that we can simply celebrate our land as it is, warts and all, as a glorious amalgamation of peoples and cultures.  This picture book, based on the poem by Heather Patterson and illustrated by thirteen outstanding illustrators, does just that.

The poem, written by Heather Patterson in 1996 and originally put to photographic interpretation (Scholastic Canada, 2006) reads as follows (I've separated lines as they appear in this edition; any errors are solely mine):

I am Canada.

I run, I swim,

I skate, I dance.

I skim over snow

on my toboggan.

I have space.

I read, I learn,

I draw, I dream.

I stay out late and see the

northern lights.

I have time.

I watch, I touch, I listen.

I make up my mind.

I decide to build a castle.

I am free.

I am Canada.

I am cool in summer

and cozy in winter.

I am springing in the spring

and floppy in the fall.

I eat pizza and pierogis

and peppers.

I eat meatballs and muffins

and mangos.

I am quiet,

I am curious,

I am friendly,

I am funny.

I explain, I explore, I enjoy,

I share, I sing, I celebrate.

I am Canada.

Each artist prepared a double-spread illustration to correspond with 1-4 lines of the poem and it's a delightful interpretation and showcase of Canada and its artistry by way of its creators, its landscape and its people.

Portion of illustration by Jeremy Tankard

in I Am Canada: A Celebration

by Heather Patterson

Jeremy Tankard, author-illustrator of Grumpy Bird and Hungry Bird, begins with a drawing of children hiking outdoors heading towards a blazing maple tree.  Ruth Ohi, author of recently reviewed Fox and Squirrel The Best Christmas Ever, brings a lightness of touch in style and content with everyone–families, pets, wildlife–enjoying the outdoors.  Plasticine artist Barbara Reid (Sing a Song of Bedtime) lends her craftsmanship to a winter scene of tobogganing, reminiscent of her award-winning Perfect Snow. Transplanted Canadian Jon Klassen (This is My Hat) focuses on his own outdoor scene of a lone house among bare winter trees amidst the wide open spaces of pristine snow, touched by a single child.  

Creator of Stella and Sam and Princess Pistachio, Marie-Louise Gay plays on the imaginative play that comes from books and learning with daydreaming children envisioning clouds of animals and skies of seas.  Danielle Daniel who burst onto the youngCanLit scene with her award-winning Sometimes I Feel Like a Fox honours our northern regions with a display of brilliant northern lights enjoyed by humans and wildlife alike.  Ashley Spires, author of Binky the Space Cat and The Thing Lou Couldn't Do, moves us to the warmth of a summer on B.C.'s shores for rest and recreation on the sand and in the water.

Simplest of all illustrations is award-winning artist Geneviève Côté's depiction of freedom, a child riding a blue loon embellished with a northern, a forested and an aquatic environments.  Her art, seen in her Mr. King and Piggy and Bunny series, has everything about Canada in the subtlest of depictions.

Illustration by Cale Atkinson 

in I Am Canada: A Celebration 

by Heather Patterson

But there's still more.  Cale Atkinson, illustrator of Vikki VanSickle's If I Had a Gryphon, lends his artwork to an exposé of Canada's four seasons and Doretta Groenendyk (A Harbour Seal in Halifax) provides a multicultural smorgasbord for a diversity of peoples and other animals.  (Have fun picking out all the foods displayed. I counted at least 17!) Perfect for the quiet stylings of prolific illustrator Qin Leng (A Family is a Family is a Family) is a spread about a walk in the woods of Mount Royal in the fall.  Eva Campbell, who illustrated Eric Walters' The Matatu, celebrates exploration and fireworks in her illustration.

Illustration by Qin Leng 

in I Am Canada: A Celebration 

by Heather Patterson

The culminating illustration is from Irene Luxbacher (Mr. Frank) and is perfection as the finale, with a blending of landscapes, indoor and out, and the anticipation of travel across this country.

Portion of illustration by Irene Luxbacher 

in I Am Canada: A Celebration 

by Heather Patterson

While Heather Patterson's words set the tone, it's the artwork of these Canadian illustrators that gives them substance and context.  I Am Canada is truly a celebration of all that is right in our country: the land and its people and the lifeblood they create.

************************************

A French-language version, Le Canada, C'est Moi, uses Geneviève Côté's illustration for its cover. 

Sing a Song of Bedtime

Written by Barbara Reid

Scholastic Canada

978-1-4431-4684-5

32 pp.

Ages 0–6

October 2015

The Grande Dame (without the elderly factor) of plasticine art is our Canadian treasure, Barbara Reid, winner of some of the biggest national and international awards for children’s books and illustration and she’s back with her delightful take on bedtime rhymes and lullabies.  Adults and children alike will recognize the familiar rhymes but Barbara Reid’s illustrations show the reader a wholly unique and delightful perspective on some old favourites.

We know the words of the thirteen rhymes:  “Are You Sleeping/Frère Jacques”, “Little Boy Blue”, “Row, Row, Row Your Boat”,  “Sleep, Baby, Sleep”, “There Was an Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe”, “Diddle, Diddle, Dumpling, My Son John”,  “Wee Willie Winkie”, “Jack Be Nimble”,  “The Man in the Moon”, “Star Light, Star Bright”, “A Wise Old Owl”, “Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear” and “Hush, Little Baby.” And the text is large and bold, perfect for night time reading when the lights are low and adult readers may be becoming more visually-challenged.  But it’s always Barbara Reid’s artwork that will draw new readers and art lovers.

Her illustrations include a variety of characters, from children of colour, languidly-boating frogs, cherubic babies, a pajamaed raccoon, and a family of teddy bears, with gorgeous backgrounds of oceans, blue fields under moon-shine, cornfields, cherry blossoms, and wisteria branches.  And I haven’t even mentioned the detailed textiles, like comforters, blankets (look at the images in the baby blanket above), and rugs, and softness a plenty.  Sing a Song of Bedtime is a visual celebration of textures and colours that will serenade every and any child into fulfilling slumber and sweet dreams.

Celebrate World Read Aloud Day (March 5) with youngCanLit authors

If you're fortunate enough to have someone read aloud to you this day, enjoy.  Or if you can read aloud to a child, a class, a loved one, then do it.  The intimacy of words dispersed from one person to another is something that can rarely be duplicated.  But, if you'd like to listen to a youngCanLit author read aloud from his or her own work, enjoy these selected readings for World Read Aloud Day, several of which were produced by our wonderful Canadian Children's Book Centre. (n.b. There are so many more youngCanLit authors reading from their books on the Canadian Children's Book Centre channel including Kathy Stinson, Richard Scrimger, Patricia Storms, Marsha Skrypuch, Sylvia McNicoll, Richard Scarsbrook, Rosemary McCarney, Karen Krossing, Stephanie McLellan, Kari-Lynn Winters, Rick Revelle, Maggie de Vries, Cora Taylor, Helaine Becker, Amanda West Lewis, Jan Coates and Beverley Terrell-Deutsch.  Whew!  The CCBC has done an astounding job of getting our youngCanLit authors and illustrators to read from their own books.  Well done, CCBC!)



Jan Andrews: Rude Stories 
Tundra, 2010

Uploaded by Jan Andrews on November 9, 2010 to YouTube.

Marty Chan: The Ehrich Weisz Chronicles: Demon Gate

Fitzhenry & Whiteside, 2013

Uploaded by Canadian Children's Book Centre on February 24, 2014 to YouTube  

   

K.V. Johansen: The Storyteller and Other Tales     
Sybertooth, 2008

Uploaded by SybertoothInc. on April 18, 2011 to YouTube.

K.V. Johansen: Torrie and the Pirate Queen
Annick, 2005

Uploaded by SybertoothInc. on April 18, 2011 to YouTube.

Barbara Reid: Perfect Snow         
Scholastic Canada, 2009

Uploaded by BarbaraReidAuthor on February 16, 2014 to YouTube.

Arthur Slade:  Jolted        
HarperCollins, 2008   

 Uploaded by the Canadian Children's Book Centre on February 24, 2014 to YouTube.   

Kevin Sylvester: Neil Flambé and the Tokyo Treasure 
Simon & Schuster, 2012         

Uploaded by the Canadian Children's Book Centre on February 27, 2014 to YouTube.

Robert Paul Weston: Prince Puggly of Spud and the Kingdom of Spiff

Razorbill, 2013 

Uploaded by the Canadian Children's Book Centre on February 24, 2014 to YouTube.   

 Happy World Read Aloud Day!