A Door Is to Open

Written by Kyo Maclear

Illustrated by Julie Morstad

Tundra Books

978-1-77488-744-8 

48 pp. 

Ages 3–7 

April 2026 

 

Doors come in all sizes and shapes. They can be opened and closed. They can protect and invite. They offer so many possibilities. And Kyo Maclear and Julie Morstad show us the promises that come with those doors.

From A Door Is to Open, written by Kyo Maclear, illustrated by Julie Morstad

Kyo Maclear begins her reflective exploration of doors and all they entail with the simplest of functions. As a child opens a blue door, a mother cat and a trail of kittens, each a little different, follow. But there are many doors still be put to work. There are doors that are knocked upon, doors to walk through (into a birthday party), and to close. There are house doors, classroom doors, frosty doors and tent doors. There are automatic doors, turning doors, clear doors, and colourful ones. And there are doors that are organic portals used by animals, both on land and in the water, opening to places of shelter and family.

From A Door Is to Open, written by Kyo Maclear, illustrated by Julie Morstad

But doors can be as imaginary as they are real.

Some doors are made of words
and lead to places you’ve never imagined. (pg. 17)

And all these doors can make us feel different ways, whether nervous or calm, excited or creative. Each offers something.

From A Door Is to Open, written by Kyo Maclear, illustrated by Julie Morstad

I could not have predicted that a book about doors would make me feel so much. While many may see doors as barriers, Kyo Maclear gets on the other side of doors and revels in the potential that each presents. I've always appreciated the physical nature of doors, but never have I really looked at what doors offer. With this new perspective, all readers, young and old, are invited to think about what these physical and intangible portals bring to our lives. And Kyo Maclear presents this perspective with few but powerful words—I love writers who use few words to tell big stories (probably explains why I love novels in verse)—and helps us to see more than a barrier.

From A Door Is to Open, written by Kyo Maclear, illustrated by Julie Morstad

But, with few words, Julie Morstad's illustrations have to be equally powerful, imparting the story graphically. Her art uses pencils, coloured pencils, markers, and watercolours, and then assembled digitally. Because of the variety of media, Julie Morstad's art unlocks details and insight, showing us feeling, opportunity, and children as they live. 

From A Door Is to Open, written by Kyo Maclear, illustrated by Julie Morstad

A Door Is to Open is a triumph of perspective in storytelling. Not only are we invited to think more about doors and see the promise of their structure and function, both real and imaginary, Kyo Maclear and Julie Morstad have invited us to see more than doors. They've opened something else for us. They let us see possibility.

Julia, Child

by Kyo Maclear

Illustrated by Julie Morstad

Tundra Books

978-1-77049-449-7

32 pp.

Ages 4+

July 2014

The real Julia Child, chef extraordinaire and one of the authors of Mastering the Art of French Cooking (Knopf, 1961), would be delighted by Kyo Maclear's latest picture book, though there is a cheery disclaimer that states that "the story contains no true knowledge of (the real) Julia Child" (pg. 1).  Julia, Child may not be the real Julia Child's story but the little girl who looks to sweeten the lives of others with culinary treats provides a savoury tale.

From the taste of an extraordinary sole meunière at a young age, Julia's love of French food was whipped up, and her friendship with another young gourmet, Simca, feeds that passion. The two girls enjoy shopping for food and ideas at the market and experimenting in the kitchen, learning cooking and baking from the experts.  The girls'  goal is to continue cooking happily together even as adults.

But the adults they see around them look harried and starved for the joy of childhood.  And so Julia and Simca attempt to sauté, sizzle, simmer, and fricassee that joie de vivre back into the lives of the grown-ups they know.

The subtle message and word play of Julia, Child is what made me such a fan of Kyo Maclear's first pseudo-bio picture book, Virginia Wolf  (Tundra, 2012).  Within Julia, Child, we are slathered with rich essences of joyous play in the kitchen and life.

"They cooked extra slowly to bring out the flavor of not hurrying.  They used delicate spices so the worries would disappear and wonders would rise to the surface." (pg. 16)

Julie Morstad, award-winning illustrator of How To (Simply Read, 2013) and Singing Away the Dark (Simply Read, 2011), adds her own whimsy to Julia, Child, emphasizing the methodical nature of cooking with her delineating ink lines and the wonder of childhood in her warm, bright gouache.  While Julie Morstad's lines provide that definition and structure, her choices and frugal use of colour play up the extraordinary nature of the true joy of childhood.  The collaboration of Kyo Maclear with Julie Morstad to create Julia, Child is as inspired and scrumptious as Julia and Simca's recipe for reviving youth. Bon appétit!

Annual Fall Author/Illustrator Breakfast (Vancouver)

The Vancouver Children's Literature Roundtable

 presents 

its annual fall

Author/Illustrator Breakfast

on

Saturday, October 19, 2013

8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.

at the University Golf Club

5185 University Boulevard, Vancouver, BC

with special guests

author and illustrator  

Julie Morstad

nominated for a 2013 Governor General's Literature Award for Illustration

for her book How To (from Simply Read Books)

author and illustrator  

Julie Flett

and

storyteller and author  

Richard Van Camp

Ticket sales end October 15

Get details and register online at

www.vclr.ca

When I Was Small series

On April 4, 2012, I reviewed Sara O'Leary's delightful picture book When I Was Small, illustrated by Julie Morstad, published by Simply Read Books (2011).

Today, I learned that When I Was Small is just the newest of three books by Sara O'Leary and Julie Morstad which are all based on young Henry and his curiosity.  The three books are:

When I Was Small

Written by Sara O'Leary
Illustrated by Julie Morstad
Simply Read Books
978-1-897-476-38-3
32 pp.
Ages 4-8
2011

Where You Came From

Written by Sara O'Leary
Illustrated by Julie Morstad
Simply Read Books
978-1-894965-46-0
32 pp.
Ages 3-8
2008

When You Were Small

Written by Sara O'Leary
Illustrated by Julie Morstad
Simply Read Books
978-1-894965-36-1
32 pp.
Ages 2-6
2005

I will need to check out the first two books in this lovely series, but you can do that here, courtesy of the book trailer uploaded by Simply Read Books on May 18, 2012, recently showcased on a School Library Journal blog.

Published on May 18, 2012 by simplyread1 to YouTube 

 

When I Was Small

Written by Sara O'Leary
Illustrated by Julie Morstad
Simply Read Books
978-1-897-476-38-3
32 pp.
Ages 4-8
2011

My photo of When I Was Small does not do justice to the pervasive delicacy of Sara O'Leary's book.  Holding the cloth-spined hardcover book with its unadorned font and images, the reader will feel whisked away to the simpler time of childhood.  No matter whether the reader is eight or fifty years of age, When I Was Small will embrace the wonder of being little and the unconditional affection of a parent.

Henry's curiosity about his parents' childhoods is satisfied with his mother's "recollections" of being younger.  She shares with him a wealth of reminiscences: having a lady bug as a friend; wearing the same size shoes as her doll; playing jump rope with a piece of yarn.  But her accounts become fantastical experiences in Julie Morstad's pen and ink drawings depicting the mother when she was small. Not just small as in young but literally small à la Thumbellina.  Innocent observations of a mother, speaking to her young son, loving in her affection for her child and in her long-gone youth, are transformed into delightful intimacies for both mother and son.  Sara O'Leary is frugal with her words, binding the experiences to youth, still many years away from the weight of adult words and worries.  Likewise, Julie Morstad uses watercolours sparingly to enhance her ink illustrations but perfectly to capture the brightness of youth with the washed-out tones of another time.

Anyone who argues that the book in any form other than electronic is becoming obsolete needs to bring a copy of When I Was Small into their life.  The sheer pleasure of holding a story that is as delightful in its jacket as it is in its heart is very rare today and should be cherished.  Sara O'Leary's When I Was Small is just such a singular luxury.