Wait Like a Seed

Written by Erin Alladin

Illustrated by Tara Anderson

Pajama Press 

978-1-77278-359-9

32 pp.

Ages 4–8 

March 2026  

 

Understanding life cycles, particularly of plants, can be a challenge for young children because of the extended time needed for a seed to progress through its stages. Kids may get the idea of a flower but knowing how a flower came to be and what it can produce is far more difficult. Using simple rhyming verses, bold words, and additional info pages, Erin Alladin leads young readers through the parts of a plant and how that plant can produce a new plant or hundreds.

From Wait Like a Seed, written by Erin Alladin, illustrated by Tara Anderson

The story is set up with text and a drawing of the seed or plant as it is developing opposite an illustration of the children, and occasional orange tabby, watching the plant grow. From a seed waiting for the spring rains to fall, through rooting, sprouting, and growing leaves, buds, flowers, and pods, the milkweed plant goes through its life cycle. 

Smile like a flower,

Giving and grand.

Smile like a flower

'Til the butterflies land. (pg. 14)

The children wait and watch and delight in what they get to witness over the seasons, from spring rains to winter dormancy. And because the monarch butterfly is tied to milkweed plants, children can also witness the development of eggs to larvae, to caterpillars and further. 

From Wait Like a Seed, written by Erin Alladin, illustrated by Tara Anderson

While I don't usually review paperback releases of previously published hard copy books, I never got to see Wait Like a Seed when it was released last year. And seeing this new edition, I really wanted to share Erin Alladin's latest. She has a lovely talent of telling stories, particularly those related to the natural world. (See her Outside You Notice, 2021.) By blending the life cycles of the milkweed and the monarch butterfly with the experiences of two young children, Erin Alladin gives us a personal story with which young children may be familiar. And with her rhyming text, she makes an educational book into a charming read with a tempo that balances with the pace of the plant's development.

From Wait Like a Seed, written by Erin Alladin, illustrated by Tara Anderson

But without Tara Anderson 's coloured pencil illustrations, Wait Like a Seed would not have the colour and shape to carry readers effortlessly through the milkweed's life stages. Instead of a book of non-fiction, Wait Like a Seed is the story of two playful children as they swing, pop milkweed pods, build a snowman, and play with their cat. She gives them joy and curiosity.

From Wait Like a Seed, written by Erin Alladin, illustrated by Tara Anderson

I know that teachers and parents will want to use Wait Like a Seed as a teaching tool for life cycles and the seasons, but don't forget the soft poetry that sweeps through the book. It tells its own story of imaginative and educational play, helping children to grow in their own way.

Double-Up Day!

Written by Kari-Lynn Winters

Illustrated by Dave Whamond

Pajama Press

978-1-77278-361-2

32 pp.

Ages 3–7

May 2026 

 

What's Double-Up Day? It's a new tradition that Brandon's big brother wants to start when he realizes all the good things Brandon gets on his birthday. If they double up the goodies and the play, there's more for everyone, with a math lesson on addition to add to the fun.

From Double-Up Day!, written by Kari-Lynn Winters, illustrated by Dave Whamond

When he sees his little brother getting a large birthday gift, Brandon's older brother wonders why there's one for Brandon "...and none for me?" (pg. 5). So, he suggests Double-Up Day, a day on which they double up everything. Thus, one cake becomes 1+1 cakes which makes, "Two berry-licious, yummy-in-my-tummy, birthday cakes to decorate!" (pg. 9) (Note that all numerical terms are bolded in red to emphasize the math going on.)

From Double-Up Day!, written by Kari-Lynn Winters, illustrated by Dave Whamond

After the cakes, there is a doubling-up of party hats, tails on the pin-the-donkey game, popsicles, balloons, balls, running of laps, swinging in the playground, bounces on a trampoline, and finally naptime stories. (Naps seem a requirement for a very young Brandon and a very tired Grandpa.) With each new activity, young readers will learn how to double up numbers one through ten and enjoy some rhyming onomatopoeia as things are wiggly-jiggly, bouncy-wouncy, uppy-puppy, and more.

From Double-Up Day!, written by Kari-Lynn Winters, illustrated by Dave Whamond

The day may end with only one book and a special aunt but the learning that happened through the sharing of Brandon's special day will not be forgotten by readers.
 

Kari-Lynn Winters has used her picture books to bring joy and play to learning, whether it's about the arts (Hungry for the Arts: Poems to Chomp On, 2022), engineering (Hungry for Engineering: Poems to Gnaw On, 2024) or science (Hungry for Science: Poems to Crunch On, 2015), all written with Lori Sherritt-Fleming and illustrated by Peggy Collins or Dave Whamond. Or Kari-Lynn Winters just wants us to have fun, and she gives us stories that make us smile and laugh and still consider what's happening in the story. (For example, What If I'm Not a Cat?, illustrated by Kelly Collier, from 2023, comes to mind.) Or she tells stories that are sensitive in their messaging and perceptive in their subjects like French Toast (illustrated by François Thisdale from 2016). Whatever Kari-Lynn Winters decides to write becomes a story that will matter. Double-Up Day! matters because of its teaching and the learning that will happen, but it's its delivery that matters. The story is festive and upbeat, and, though I was annoyed with Brandon's nameless big brother who selfishly decides to make himself part of a birthday not his own—I'm personally triggered by narcissists who want all attention on them no matter the event—Kari-Lynn Winters ensures that he redeems himself by helping Brandon have more fun than he would have had by himself.

 

Kari-Lynn Winters may give the fun in her playful words, but Dave Whamond gives us it in the silliness of his illustrations. Dave Whamond has written and illustrated his own books (e. g., Oddrey, 2012; Rosie's Glasses, 2018; Hugo's Haunted Handbook, 2024) as well as for those of others, most notably Robert Munsch (e. g., School Rules!, 2020; Think Big!, 2021). But he always brings the silliness of children at play and the frivolity of life. Whether it's a trampolining dog, dripping popsicles, watchful-eyed squirrels, bunny slippers, or kids finding fun in familiar activities, Dave Whamond lets us know that everyone is having a jolly good time.

From Double-Up Day!, written by Kari-Lynn Winters, illustrated by Dave Whamond

If I was still teaching and I knew little ones would miss celebrating their summer birthdays with their school friends, Double-Up Day! would be a great story to read to celebrate double (or even triple) birthdays before the end of the school year. Kids could enjoy a great book, learn about doubling and addition, and having a birthday celebration all in one go. Sounds like a win + win = double win for everyone!

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.

 

🏢 🏢 🏢 🏢 🏢

 

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.

 

🏢 🏢 🏢 🏢 🏢

 

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

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

Mystery at the Biltmore: Book launch (Winnipeg, MB)

Colleen Nelson 

author of picture books, middle grade, non-fiction and YA

 

 

is launching her newest book

 

Mystery at the Biltmore

Written by Colleen Nelson

with illustrations by Peggy Collins

Pajama Press

978-1-772783278

104 pp.

Ages 7-10

October 8, 2024 

on

Sunday, October 27, 2024
 

3:00pm - 4:00 PM

 

at

Whodunit New And Used Mystery Bookstore

163 Lilac St.

Winnipeg, Manitoba

 

 

An early middle grade novel, with illustrations, Mystery at the Biltmore is the first in a new series by Colleen Nelson (Book 2, The Classified Catnapping, releases in April 2025), and is described as "Only Murders in the Building meets Harriet the Spy." (Publisher's page at https://pajamapress.ca/book/mystery-at-the-biltmore-2/)

Here's a bit more about the book to really pique a mystery lover's interest:

The Biltmore in New York City is full of mysteries, and Elodie LaRue, a novice detective, plans to piece together the clues and solve the case of the missing jewels.

Left behind by her globe-trotting detective parents once again, Elodie decides to prove she’s worthy of joining them on a case by setting up her own detective agency at her renowned Upper West Side home, The Biltmore.

When a pair of sapphire earrings mysteriously disappear from Mrs. Vanderhoff’s apartment, Elodie is asked to solve the case. Elodie begins her investigation the way any good detective would, looking for clues and potential suspects. With twists, turns, and suspects galore, will Elodie be able to prove she has what it takes to solve a crime? Or will the LaRue Detective Agency fail on its first case? As Elodie, her dog Carnegie, and new friend Oscar (a self-proclaimed parkour master) delve deeper into the mystery, they encounter a quirky cast of characters, an array of clues, and a little bit of fun.

(From Pajama Press book page at
https://pajamapress.ca/book/mystery-at-the-biltmore-2/)

 

If you're fortunate enough to live in the area of Winnipeg, this would be a fabulous opportunity to grab a new mystery book, get it signed by the author, and start a new series that is sure to please all young mystery lovers.

Mystery at the Biltmore (October 2024)

The Classified Catnapping (April 2025)

Bunny Loves Beans

Written by Jane Whittingham

Pajama Press

978-1-77278-301-8

24 pp.

Ages 2-5

April 2024

 

Concept books tend to be simple because they are trying to push learning of a new concept like the alphabet or numbers. But Jane Whittingham has taken concept books to a new level with Bunny Loves Beans, giving our young children a book about colours, foods, and animals. And it's all told with loads of bold and colourful photographs. Bunny Loves Beans, in Pajama Press's trademark padded hardcover with rounded corners and extra-heavy paper, will be a pleasure to read over and over and over again as those little ones learn new concepts and become encouraged to read for themselves.

From Bunny Loves Beans by Jane Whittingham

 In a series of double-page spreads of photographs of animals and children with foods, Jane Whittingham, whose earlier picture books include Wild One, Queenie Quail Can't Keep Up and A Good Day For Ducks, introduces a colour, always in bold font, and an animal, also in bold font, before connecting to the child, with the emphasis on the word "me." The pattern to the text, as well as the emphasis on only colours, the animal and the child will allow the young reader to pick up on the concepts being introduced so that they may ultimately connect words they hear with words they see. It's very clever and multilayered without the confusion that can arise with melding too many concepts together. Moreover, by using sensory words with which children will be familiar, like sweet, crunchy, squishy and drippy, the concept learning becomes even better embedded.

From Bunny Loves Beans by Jane Whittingham

The colours taught are orange, gold, white, black, pink, yellow, blue, red, and green, and the animals associated with the foods of those colours are the groundhog, bee, monkey, fox, puppy, parakeet, chipmunk, pony, and bunny. With an overlying message of healthy food being colourful and good for everyone, Jane Whittingham's Bunny Loves Beans teaches a lot.

Healthy colors,

vibrant colors,

Yummy in my tummy colors– 

Colors for the animals,

And colors for me!

From Bunny Loves Beans by Jane Whittingham

Bunny Loves Beans is a great introduction to colours and foods and to show children that they are connected to other animals who also partake in those healthy foods. Better yet, even if the child can't read yet, the learning can be reinforced independently by using the endpapers which depict various colours with foods, some in addition to those in the main text, to help them make those same connections. Bunny Love Beans will teach the concepts but also encourage little ones to start reading by making connections with words, colours, foods, and animals, and always relate it back to them. If they didn't like beans or carrots before, they might just want to eat them now.

The Sun Never Hurries

Written by Roxane Turcotte

Illustrated by Lucie Crovatto

Pajama Press

978-1-77278-307-0

40 pp.

Ages 3-7

June 2024 

 

Just like each grain of sand, every moment of your day is precious. 

Little Charlie may be of a generation that wants to eat at restaurants or drive everywhere but a day with her grandfather, Papa Jo, teaches her the value of taking the time to savour every moment and experience, making for a far richer adventure.

From The Sun Never Hurries, written by Roxane Turcotte, illus. by Lucie Crovatto

Charlie's day with Papa Jo begins with him showing her an hourglass, explaining that it helps him remember that a day is an almost infinite number of moments to enjoy and cherish. At lunchtime, instead of heading to a restaurant, Papa Jo enlists Charlie's help to peel vegetables for a delicious soup. Afterwards, instead of getting in the car and heading to the village, they stroll together through wildflowers. An excursion to an island becomes a series of small adventures: in the rowboat, on the beach, watching birds and dragonflies, and more. When the day ends and time has drained from the hourglass, there is still one more encounter with that unhurried sun to cap their day together.

From The Sun Never Hurries, written by Roxane Turcotte, illus. by Lucie Crovatto

We should all be taking the time to appreciate every moment, from cooking a meal to reaching a destination, to being fully present. Too many adults rush here and there and multitask and worry about not getting everything done. Too many children are rushing from one activity to another, expecting instant satisfaction from people, food, and experiences. There is great value in being mindful of the moment, whether with another or doing mundane tasks or feeling feelings. Roxane Turcotte gives us the encouragement to stop and enjoy the moments with Papa Jo and Charlie, and step back from anticipating what to do next, or how quickly can we do it, or how much we've accomplished. Through Papa Jo's words and examples, Charlie and young readers will relax and pause a little more, and appreciate everything the sun, the outdoors, the world has to offer.

 

Quebec's Lucie Crovatto gives us the warmth and luxury of the sun in all her illustrations. Imbued with cheerful yellows and oranges, whether in the carrots and potatoes, Charlie and Papa Jo's outfits, or the sunshine and the sunset, Lucie Crovatto makes us feel safe and content. However, her palette is not restricted to these colours because she takes readers outdoors with her characters: to walk in colourful meadows, to row over pale green waters, or to sway on an elaborate branch swing in a lush forest. No matter the setting, the art embraces and soothes, reminding us to feel and see and listen and truly experience each moment.

From The Sun Never Hurries, written by Roxane Turcotte, illus. by Lucie Crovatto

As Charlie learns throughout her day with Papa Jo and especially when it comes to sunset, the sun never hurries, and neither should we.

 

• • • • • • •

The story is also available in its original French language edition, Le sablier de Papijo (Dominique et compagnie, 2022).

If You See a Bluebird

Written by Bahram Rahman

Illustrated by Gabrielle Grimard

Pajama Press

978-1-77278-284-4

32 pp.

Ages 5-8

October 2023

 

When families are displaced, whether from war, natural disasters, persecution, or something else, making a new home is not always easy, especially for children. And the good memories of that original home may make one long for what once was. But home is not just a place. It is the family too, as an Afghan boy learns from his grandmother and a visiting bluebird.

From If You See a Bluebird, written by Bahram Rahman, illustrated by Gabrielle Grimard

Ali and his parents and Nana had to flee Kabul, Afghanistan after war broke out. They travelled by foot, bus, and eventually escaped via plane, taking very little from their home. Now, in Canada, they live near an ocean, and Ali and Nana ride bikes to collect blackberries. But Ali misses Kabul, noting that the blackberries are not as deliciously sweet as the mulberries back home. Nana points out to him that though they are different they are not bad.

From If You See a Bluebird, written by Bahram Rahman, illustrated by Gabrielle Grimard

When they take a break from their berry-picking, they see a bluebird, and Nana reminds him that if you see a bluebird and make a wish before it flies away, your wish will come true. Her wish, for their family to be together and safe, had already come true. But his wish is for the fighting to stop in Kabul so that they might return home. It is then that Nana reminds him that home "is the love we have for each other."

 

It would be tough for a child to give up the familiar and the sweetness of his life in Kabul, with his mother playing her ghichak, his toys on a swing, gathering mulberries, and sitting on the tree's branch to look out over his neighbourhood. But,when he is reminded by his Nana of what home really is, he sees his new situation in a different light. There are now blackberries, his mother has a new instrument, spruce trees line the driveway, and they are safe. He finally appreciates this, shouting out to his parents when they arrive back that, "I am home!"

Bahram Rahman, himself a refugee from Afghanistan, gives us a different perspective of war and escape from war and adjustment to a new living situation in If You See a Bluebird. He has already shared stories in The Library Bus (2020) and A Sky-Blue Bench (2021) but in his latest picture book story, Bahram Rahman demonstrates that escape from a dangerous conflict does not always translate into a rejection of that insecurity. Because there has been loss, of place, people, objects and connection, the substitution of a new home in safety is not necessarily embraced immediately or wholeheartedly. So, Bahram Rahman shows us that a little boy can miss the wonderful things he remembers of his Afghan home but learn to lean towards something different and new that is nonetheless home.

From If You See a Bluebird, written by Bahram Rahman, illustrated by Gabrielle Grimard

Gabrielle Grimard, who also illustrated The Library Bus, has such a sensitive touch for making us feel Ali's hesitation at embracing the new place as home, holding such strong positive memories of Kabul. She gives us the bleakness of the danger when the soldiers come and the family flees but Gabrielle Grimard brings in the birghtness and colour when Ali and his family are safe and happy, whether in a Kabul without war or in Canada.

If You See a Bluebird offers the hope one needs when going through change and especially when challenged with hardships. It's a reminder that with love and family, all can be endured. And making a wish when a bluebird lingers might just help as well.

The Imaginary Alphabet

Written and illustrated by Sylvie Daigneault

Pajama Press

978-1-77278-299-8

64 pp.

Ages 5-10

September 2023

 

Though Sylvie Daigneault describes The Imaginary Alphabet in her preface as a work that started during the pandemic lockdown, she recognizes that it is a book of playfulness and unbounded imagination. It might have been a gift to have this luscious picture book to entertain children during that tenuous time, but its joyful art and interactive nature will be a welcome read anytime.

From The Imaginary Alphabet by Sylvie Daigneault

Based on the 26 letters of the alphabet, Sylvie Daigneault has created a book of hidden pictures within. For each letter, all works of art themselves, there is a fantastical illustration filled with items that begin with that letter, as well as a quirky phrase that alludes to some of those hidden items. For example, A, a botanical piece of acorns, is accompanied with the phrase Agile Alligators Attempting an Arabesque, pointing at the alligators and the arabesque they are performing. But there are more A words to be found, like the accordion, an albatross or two, an anchor, apples, and an axe. There are even more A items and Sylvie Daigneault generously provides lists for each letter at the conclusion of her book.

From The Imaginary Alphabet by Sylvie Daigneault

The text, like the art, is sophisticated, and children may need some adult participation to help them find all the items depicted for that letter. For example, the cover art, taken from the letter F, may have little ones finding the frog, the ferrets, the fan, the fairies, and the fire but I suspect the fascinator, fern and the flounce might be more challenging for them to pick out. For that reason, I think The Imaginary Alphabet shouldn't be limited to five- to ten-year-olds, as indicated, but a gorgeous and captivating book for all ages. (For art lovers, I could see keeping The Imaginary Alphabet on a coffee table for guests to peruse, which they will be drawn to do, when it's spotted.)

From The Imaginary Alphabet by Sylvie Daigneault

The Imaginary Alphabet is extraordinary in its art and its premise. Sylvie Daigneault, originally from Montreal and now of Toronto, has gone beyond the illustrations she created for books like The Good Garden: How One Family Went from Hunger to Having Enough and C is for Canada, and exploded into a new realm of art for children's books. Very reminiscent of Wallace Edwards's fanciful and extravagant art, Sylvie Daigneault goes all out in her pencil illustrations, giving textures and form to the incredible, and making The Imaginary Alphabet a literary feast of everything, from animals and plants to foods and landscapes. It's beyond a concept book and a search-and-find book. It's an art book that will inspire discussions, inquiry, and exploration of Sylvie Daigneault's craft, and make readers smile for lemurs with lollipops, the overdramatic ocelots, and the unicycle-riding unicorn, and that's only L, O, and U.

Percy's Perfect Friend

Written by Lana Button

Illustrated by Peggy Collins

Pajama Press

978-1-77278-281-3

32 pp.

Ages 3-6

April 2023

 

Many very young children will be trying to fit into new school situations next month as they start schools and daycares for the first time or perhaps attend a new school because of a move or recent immigration. Finding a way to fit in and make friends can be very difficult, especially if the other kids have already established friendships. This is the situation for Percy when he joins a new class, and finds an unusual but perfect friend to help him fit in.

From Percy's Perfect Friend, written by Lana Button, illus. by Peggy Collins

The kids in Percy's new class are definitely having fun at their dress-up and imaginative play but he feels very alone and apart from the group. When he spots a fluffy pink cat, he introduces himself and, as part of his own play, names her Miss Petticomb.

From Percy's Perfect Friend, written by Lana Button, illus. by Peggy Collins

Cuddling his new pink friend, he "hears" her whisper that she wants a friend to play with and accommodates her. All morning she rests in his arms, being the friend he needs. But, when he places Miss Petticomb down to do some art, she disappears. He discovers the other kids have taken Miss Petticomb to be a guest at their tea party. It's only when he attempts to rescue her that Percy realizes that the pink cat can be the friend that brings them all together if they use their imagination and show a little flexibility.

From Percy's Perfect Friend, written by Lana Button, illus. by Peggy Collins

As an early child educator, Lana Button has seen how children play and more importantly how they enter play and make connections with other children. Many adults assume that children will just organically know how to make friends and fit in. As a teacher, I too have seen parents who encourage their young children to "Just go and play with those kids" without realizing how big a step that is for many children, just as it is for the rest of us. In Percy's Perfect Friend, Lana Button models for children how to engage with new friends by scaffolding that interaction with a perfect pink friend, although any toy might work as nicely. She sees the kids as they are, some exuberant and extroverted and others reserved and perhaps even anxious. A toy, whether pink or blue, soft or hard, can be that catalyst for meaningful and playful interaction.

Peggy Collins, the author-illustrator of the Blue Spruce award-winning picture book Harley the Hero, brings her cheerful digital artwork into the play-based classroom or preschool of young children. Her young characters represent all children of different abilities and ethnicities, energies and interests, and places them in a room of colourful tables and chairs, costumes and toys, teapots and books. It's an invitation to look and play and see, perfect for any child trying to find what interests them.

If you have a little one heading to preschool or a new school this fall and who may be anxious about making friends, Lana Button and Peggy Collins will show them how Percy did it and how he probably made more than one perfect friend in doing so.

A Flower is a Friend

Written by Frieda Wishinsky

Illustrated by Karen Patkau

Pajama Press

978-1-77278-280-6

36 pp.

Ages 3-6

May 2023

Many will be enjoying their gardens this summer whether through their labours or just sitting in the glory that is a collection of blooms and greenery. But Frieda Wishinsky makes us look a little more closely into her garden to see the flowers and their friends.

From A Flower is a Friend, written by Frieda Wishinsky, illus. by Karen Patkau

Page after page of glorious digital art by Karen Patkau brings us up close to the rose and zinnia, cornflower, magnolia, and irises to see the blooms in their bold colours and their dazzling forms. But it's the association with their flower friends that needs to be seen. With each blossom is an insect or a bird, mammal or reptile, or something else, that interacts with the flower.

From A Flower is a Friend, written by Frieda Wishinsky, illus. by Karen Patkau

Frieda Wishinsky and Karen Patkau reveal a variety of mutualistic relationships, with Frieda Wishinsky giving us the ideas and spirit and Karen Patkau giving us the colour and form. There is the periwinkle-hued morning glory with its visiting dragonfly, the mouse in a tulip, and a bat calling upon the crocuses. And in her dual text, one that stipulates what the flowers do and a subtext that has young readers ponder the relationships, Frieda Wishinsky invites children to look more closely and consider how pollination happens, how a flower can draw animals to it, and how both plant and animal can benefit each other.

Spread our perfume.

 

How could a spider 

help the Queen of the Night flower?

 

From A Flower is a Friend, written by Frieda Wishinsky, illus. by Karen Patkau

A Flower is a Friend will be a lovely book for teaching STEM with regards to the growth and changes in plants and the interrelationships of living things. Even though the story is appended with notes on each animal and its role related to the plants, it's the inquiry lessons about these interactions that will fuel discussions and learning.

Coupled with Karen Patkau's illustrations, A Flower is a Friend transforms from creative non-fiction to gorgeous coffee table book that any reader would love to peruse. Her art is created of shapes so curvaceous and colours so vibrant that the garden could be a surreal landscape of the imagination. But Karen Patkau is such a pro at digital illustration that her flowers could almost be photographs. (Her art of the roses almost fooled me into thinking it was a photo.)

 

We know friendships go both ways, and these flowers and their friends demonstrate that they do, helping each other to the benefit of both. There is science behind it, but A Flower is a Friend shows us that there is also great beauty with that science.