Levi's Gift

Written by Kathy Stinson

Illustrated by Ellie Arscott

Nimbus Publishing

978-1-77471-498-0

32 pp.

Ages 3–7

November 2025 

 

Kathy Stinson's latest picture book, beautifully illustrated by Ellie Arscott, tells the story of Levi, a boy who loved to play his violin while his brother Ezra played the accordion. But that was before the war came, and Levi and his family are forced from their home. The yellow star on Levi's shirt tells us more of his tragedy. By the time he is sixteen, the war is over, and his family is gone, as is his home. But he dreams of getting a violin again and making music.

From Levi's Gift, written by Kathy Stinson, illustrated by Ellie Arscott

Frugality and hard work help him buy a violin again and he "poured his great sadness about all he had seen and all he had lost in the war." (pg.9) With time, he emigrates, marries and has a child for whom he plays the beloved Brahm's "Lullaby" that he'd played with his brother. For many years, Levi plays his violin, but when his hands grow stiff and it becomes difficult to play, he stores his violin away.

 

When a call goes out for donations of used musical instruments for a school, Levi hesitantly decides to take his violin out of storage and give it away. When he receives a letter from a little girl who invites him to visit her at her school, Levi learns that his violin and the music played on it have the capacity to heal in many ways.

From Levi's Gift, written by Kathy Stinson, illustrated by Ellie Arscott

Kathy Stinson, award-winning author of picture books, non-fiction, and middle-grade and YA novels, has a lovely connection with stories of the violin (e.g., The Man with the Violin, 2013; Dance with the Violin, 2017), and Levi's Gift is another wistful story of those touched by music and the playing of the violin. But, with Levi's Gift, Kathy Stinson also reminds us of the many losses that happened during the war. For Levi, that violin was more than just an instrument. It was a connection to his past, to his family, to happy times, and more. It was a joyful connection to a time before. To give up his violin, even to a worthy cause, was a challenge for Levi. Yet, that gift begat a new one, with Levi making a new connection and one that related to his past. I was tearful realizing how Levi's story had come full circle with different characters, with a different violin, and in a different place, but with quiet consequence and subtle benevolence. 

Ellie Arscott, who illustrated Night Walk (Sara O'Leary, 2020), A is for Anne (Mo Duffy Cobb, 2023), and The Warmest Blanket in the World (Tamara Levine, 2025), has a lightness to her artwork that works well with gentle stories such as Levi's Gift. Ellie Arscott uses paint and pencil to give context for Kathy Stinson's words, showing us more than just people and place. She gives the reader history and ancestry as well as story, and there's much tenderness reflected in her illustrations. Levi may be an elderly man but making connections with his past and with others is what elevates him. Ellie Arscott's  use of pastel colours, particularly blues and pinks, keeps that softness of feeling and story.

From Levi's Gift, written by Kathy Stinson, illustrated by Ellie Arscott

Through their words and art, Kathy Stinson and Ellie Arscott remind us that music and generosity contribute and communicate beyond the immediate. You never know when a simple act of giving can touch another and in unexpected ways. For Levi, it is magical, even spiritualistic. (Once you see his reaction to the girl's playing of the violin, you'll understand.) I could see Levi's Gift being based on a true story, but, even if it isn't, this story offers hope that sometimes that which is lost returns in a different way to reconnect us to the past and to complete us in the now.

The Warmest Blanket in the World

Written by Tamara Levine

Illustrated by Ellie Arscott

Second Story Press

978-1-77260-410-8

24 pp.

Ages 6-8

February 2025 

 

While most of us are already thinking about the warmth of spring and summer, there will be many, particularly the elderly, for whom the change of seasons will not necessarily bring that which would warm their fingers and toes. For those with poorer circulation and other health issues, particularly those associated with aging, cold feet and hands can be problematic. And young Frida wishes she could do something to help her amazing great-grandmother Ama who says she feels like she lives in a refrigerator.

From The Warmest Blanket in the World, written by Tamara Levine, illustrated by Ellie Arscott

Frida enjoys visiting her great-grandmother as much as the older woman relishes seeing the child, telling her each time, "Do you know you've made my day? You're one special kid!" Ama tells Frida stories about her life and the importance of women fighting for their rights. (Frida even attended a protest with Ama once.) They sing songs together and they snuggle under her blanket. But even that blanket doesn't keep Ama warm enough. So, Frida gets some advice from her mom, her grandmother and her aunt.

From The Warmest Blanket in the World, written by Tamara Levine, illustrated by Ellie Arscott

Frida recalls what she'd learned of muskoxen which reminds her aunt, a knitter, of a mill in Nisku, Alberta where Tanis, an Inuk woman from NWT, prepares qiviut, the wool that comes from muskoxen. This wool is said to be the warmest in the world. 

From The Warmest Blanket in the World, written by Tamara Levine, illustrated by Ellie Arscott

Frida writes Tanis and explains how much she loves her great-grandmother and how much Ama has done to make things better for girls and women. Now Frida wants to help her. The response she gets is far greater than some skeins of wool.

From The Warmest Blanket in the World, written by Tamara Levine, illustrated by Ellie Arscott

There are a lot of layers to Tamara Levine's story of The Warmest Blanket in the World. There is a sweet intergenerational relationship between Ama and Frida. There is a story of activism and doing good and supporting the rights of others, particularly women and girls. There is also a story of compassion and sharing. And there's the story of the muskoxen and how the Inuit have spun the wool of these Arctic animals into yarn and clothing. That's a lot of stories, and Ottawa's Tamara Levine weaves them all together in a story of family. This is more than a story of a blanket. It's about who needs what, who can help, and why we should help. 

Ellie Arscott, who illustrated the award-winning Night Walk, keeps the lightness of family and the warmth of a blanket and affection in her artwork, done in watercolour and ink. There is realism, when she depicts the muskoxen on the tundra and in the sepia images of suffragettes fighting for the right to vote. But there is a quaintness in the patterns of blankets and bed linens, in the calico cat and in the coziness of their homes. Ellie Arscott keeps it all bright and homey.

 

The Warmest Blanket in the World is a tender story of family and kindness. It's wrapped in qiviut and embedded with affection and humanity. It doesn't get any more warm-hearted than that.

A is for Anne

Written by Mo Duffy Cobb

Illustrated by Ellie Arscott

Pownal Street Press

978-1-778124549

24 pp.

Ages 0-3

For release February 28, 2023

 

A is for Anne is a concept book that is ever so Canadian, set in the late 1800s and on Prince Edward Island, and offering an opportunity to learn the alphabet and a historical perspective of our world. From horse-drawn carriages to games and activities, A is for Anne takes us into a different time and place.

From A is for Anne by Mo Duffy Cobb, illus. by Ellie Arscott

Some of the letter designations are simple enough, like A is for Anne, who waits by the train, and B is for Brown, a horse with a mane. Young children will understand and appreciate the I is for ice cream and J is for July but many of the references are far more esoteric, requiring a knowledge of L. M. Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables novel–"M is for Matthew, the real reason we're here" and "N is for natural, a father so dear"– or include sophisticated and dated terms like "decree," and "cordial." This does not take away from the elegance of A is for Anne, but I think it extends its readership to all ages, from the very young who are learning their alphabet to older readers who have already read Anne of Green Gables.

From A is for Anne by Mo Duffy Cobb, illus. by Ellie Arscott

Mo Duffy Cobb, co-founder of PEI's boutique publisher Pownal Street Press, captures all the nuances of Anne's story from the child's arrival in Avonlea to her relationships with Marilla, Matthew, Diana, and Gilbert. She takes readers into Anne's enthusiasm for the island's beauty from its poplar trees by a stream, the blossoming cherry trees, and yellow skies tinged with pink, and her joie de vivre for the potential of her new life. Mo Duffy Cobb shares with us Anne's foibles and her heart. And she does it all in polished rhymes, giving rhythm to her refined text.

From A is for Anne by Mo Duffy Cobb, illus. by Ellie Arscott

Though not from PEI, illustrator Ellie Arscott delivers the reader to Anne's home in place and story. From its landscape and its people and the story of the freckled child looking for a home, Ellie Arscott's watercolours with ink depict a world of softness, of place and people. The pace of life is slower than today and simpler in scope but full in sentiment and connection, as is the original story.

I know that parents and teachers will first see A is for Anne as the alphabet board book that it is, but I hope that others will see it as a tribute to the classic story, giving us both rhyme and art to see Anne and her creator from a different perspective.

Night Walk

Written by Sara O'Leary

Illustrated by Ellie Arscott 

Groundwood Books

978-1-55498-796-2

32 pp.

Ages 3-7

September 2020

I think a lot of us have sleepless nights, nights during which we are "owl-eyed" and our heads churn. When this little girl can't sleep, her dad offers her a solution in a Night Walk.

 

From Night Walk by Sara O'Leary, illus. by Ellie Arscott

So pulling on boots, hat and coat over her pajamas, the child joins her father in a walk "just to be out." As might be expected, everything looks different at night, as they walk "from one island of light to the next like explorers," peeking into the lit windows of people's late-night lives. There's the variety store's sad-looking woman joyously welcoming a baby in her apartment above. There are people at restaurants or eating at home. Others are walking dogs or cycling or traveling by bus. One man plays his violin to his pets on his deck decorated with fairy lights.  Everywhere there is life and colour, sound and quiet.
 

From Night Walk by Sara O'Leary, illus. by Ellie Arscott

A final stop on their Night Walk takes the child and her father to the playground where she recognizes that this community of people and places, which she usually only experiences in the daylight hours, is her home and where she wants to be.

From Night Walk by Sara O'Leary, illus. by Ellie Arscott

 

Sara O'Leary loves to give us a child's perspective on the ordinary which becomes extraordinary through their eyes and she has done the same with Night Walk. By seeing her community, one she passes through regularly during the day, at a different time and lit from outside by the moon and streetlights and from within by lamps, the child sees differently and is amazed. It's this wonder that Sara O'Leary, whose previous works include A Family is a Family is a Family and When I Was Small, captures in the depth and simplicity of the child's words and thoughts. They are told from her perspective and with her voice, and the fascination with this new world is unmistakable.

From Night Walk by Sara O'Leary, illus. by Ellie Arscott

This is Toronto artist Ellie Arscott's first picture book but she matches the marvel of the child's experience with illustrations that reflect the sweeping landscape of the neighbourhood. In her watercolour and ink artwork, Ellie Arscott takes the homes and businesses and people in the community from the backdrop into the all-around i.e., foreground, middle ground and background. The reader will still always be able to pick out the child in her bright red vest but Ellie Arscott makes us feel like we are seeing the world from the young girl's point of view and it is this world that is the star of Night Walk.

I hope that there will always be someone to guide a young child on a Night Walk of discovery, safe in their community and open to all the lights that shine.