Sometimes I Feel That Way Too

Written by Hannah Beach

Illustrated by Rebecca Bender

Plumleaf Press 

978-1-069093561

36 pp.

Ages 4–8

January 2026 

 

Giving voice to your feelings is not always easy and it is especially challenging for children who don't always have the words to do so. Hannah Beach, an emotional health and play-based learning consultant, gives both an appropriate and playful means by which children might express those feelings, especially with Rebecca Bender's lively artwork to give them context.

From Sometimes I Feel That Way Too, written by Hannah Beach, illustrated by Rebecca Bender

A child awakens and sees their teddy bear snuggled up against the dog, and declares that, "Sometimes I feel that way too." In a series of double-page spreads, this child goes through their day, sensing how a balloon might be excited, or how a lone tree leaf in autumn might feel sad, or how all the boots lined up at school feel like they belong. In each case, he expresses the circumstances in which he might feel the same way. At school, at home, or on a walk in the rain, at play, at learning, or eating, this little boy feels a lot and can always find something that mirrors his feelings. Sometimes they're joyous and exuberant emotions like the popping of popcorn, but sometimes they're less so like when they feel lonely, angry or disappointed. In each case, the child sees something in their everyday life that reflects that feeling.

From Sometimes I Feel That Way Too, written by Hannah Beach, illustrated by Rebecca Bender

The words Hannah Beach uses, via her little character, are words that young children will understand, as are the feelings. Whether it's a snail tucked up in their shell, or a lonesome orange that doesn't get picked for a snack, or a stacking block game that topples, it's all seen from this child's point of view. Illustrator Rebecca Bender does the same, emphasizing what the child sees and feels. Her artwork, created with a soft blend of gouache, watercolour, pencil, collage, and digital media, emphasizes the child who appears throughout the day, inside a school or home and outside, displaying a full range of emotions. We see that range in his face, in his eyes, in his body language, and in his smile. Rebecca Bender makes us see all the feelings he's feeling. Just as she has consistently done in all her books—including her award-winning Giraffe and Bird series (see Giraffe and Bird Together Again [2018]) and How Do You Feel? (2016)—Rebecca Bender gives us a lightness to a big message. 

From Sometimes I Feel That Way Too, written by Hannah Beach, illustrated by Rebecca Bender

If you're a teacher or a parent who wants to help a child express their emotions in their own terms, Sometimes I Feel That Way Too would provide a perfect starting point. Children could find their own examples of what looks sad or lonely, angry or disappointing from within their own activities and experiences. Feelings are very personal, so it only makes sense to connect them to a child's own daily life. And, when they communicate those feelings in their own way—this child likes to draw the items that mirror his emotions—those who care for them will be better equipped to help.

From Sometimes I Feel That Way Too, written by Hannah Beach, illustrated by Rebecca Bender

The Halifax Explosion: 6 December 1917, at 9:05 in the Morning

Written by Afua Cooper

Design and illustration by Rebecca Bender 

Plumleaf Press

978-1-7782428-0-9

36 pp.

All ages

For release August 2023

 

On December 6, 1917, two ships collided in Halifax Harbour. The Mont-Blanc was carrying munitions, and the Imo was carrying war supplies. When the two collided, the devastation was extraordinary. Almost 2000 individuals lost their lives, with approximately 9000 injured, and whole communities disappeared. Buildings collapsed, fires erupted, and a tsunami was created. Certain stories from the explosion are memorialized, like Vince Coleman's telegraph message that saved 300 train passengers from certain death. But there are so many stories, and the ones of African Nova Scotians who lived or died in the explosion need to be recognized. So, Dr. Afua Cooper has done just this in her free verse poem.

From The Halifax Explosion: 6 December 1917, at 9:05 in the Morning by Afua Cooper, design and illustration by Rebecca Bender

Her poem begins with naming the two ships and their purposes for being in Halifax Harbour. The text is differentiated with different coloured fonts, bolding of certain words and enlarged text for emphasis. Dr. Afua Cooper's words don't just tell, they emote. The explosion as a result of the collision in monumental.

The sound of

          terror

   The sound of death

Armageddon

The angel blowing the trumpet of destruction (pg. 10-11)

Its destruction is palpable in her words. 

And the City of Halifax gave one long

                           piercing scream

into the bowels of the Earth

           And the Earth moved furiously

                        Belched and vomited

                                         flames (pg. 12)

But then she speaks of the people, and specifically the Black people of Halifax. Some got to work like Clement Ligoure, a Black doctor from Trinidad, though his efforts were not dignified with the support he required. Some were lost and never returned, like Edward Hickey, a dock worker, and little Aldora Andrews. Some survived but with devastating injuries. And many others lived but had everything they'd worked their lives for taken away. Yet, they had greater fights ahead because "Old Jim Crow raised his nasty head". (pg. 19)

From The Halifax Explosion: 6 December 1917, at 9:05 in the Morning by Afua Cooper, design and illustration by Rebecca Bender

The Halifax Explosion was a tragedy. And it was all the more crushing for the racism African Nova Scotians were still subjected to in its aftermath. With The Halifax Explosion: 6 December 1917, at 9:05 in the Morning, Halifax's seventh poet laureate, Dr. Afua Cooper, goes beyond the event and instead goes with the people. She does give the basic facts, including in the "Historical Note" at the end, but her poem does more than just recount the tragedy. With powerful and weighty words, she makes us see and feel for the disaster and how African Nova Scotians were impacted. Her words come from a place beyond the archives. Unlike most picture books in which the illustrations carry much of a story's weight, The Halifax Explosion rests squarely on Dr. Afua Cooper's words. (The poem in its entirety is posted at the conclusion of the book.) Perhaps that's why there is much austerity in the cover and the artwork. The impact of the devastation is well-documented, and key photographs were used to support the details. However, by blending historical photographs with only occasional illustrations by Rebecca Bender, the book goes beyond the reality and extends to the humanity, even if that benevolence was sadly lacking towards African Nova Scotians at the time.
 

There is power in Dr. Afua Cooper's poem of African Nova Scotians whose stories are little known and perhaps less remembered. However, remembered they should be. There are those whose legacies are solid in Canadian history beyond the Halifax explosion, such as Viola Desmond and Dr. Clement Ligoure, but then there are those whose deaths are perhaps not even recorded, or their injuries and losses disavowed. Dr. Afua Cooper tells us their names and about their families. She acknowledges them. The last words of her poem are "Does Halifax remember?" With her poem, they are less lost and truly commemorated.

From The Halifax Explosion: 6 December 1917, at 9:05 in the Morning by Afua Cooper, design and illustration by Rebecca Bender

Ballewiena

Written and illustrated by Rebecca Bender

Pajama Press

978-1-77278-137-3

32 pp.

Ages 4-7

June 2022

Let's get some joy in our lives. Dance, dogs, and fulfillment will do just the trick with Rebecca Bender's Ballewiena.

From Ballewiena by Rebecca Bender

Dotty dreamed of being a ballet dancer. She knew how to plié, assemblé and pirouette. She could chassé, glissé and do a pas de chat (even though she was a dog). But Ms. Austere did not appreciate Dotty's moves and, while she trained Dotty's poodle sibs Jazzebelle and Miffy for the upcoming Golden Bow Talent Show, she took the dachshund to the Canine School of Obedience. 

From Ballewiena by Rebecca Bender

But obedience school was not for Dotty who "tried, she really did, but something inside her made her spring up into an elegant entrechat." Despondent, Dotty runs into the park after class and meets Louis-Pierre, a squirrel and an acrobat. Louis-Pierre invites Dotty, whom he calls Pitou, to work out with him and teaches her, by some unusual pedagogical means, the value of practice in gaining skills.  

From Ballewiena by Rebecca Bender

Still, when the Golden Bow Talent Show comes around, Dotty is expected only to watch from the audience. But, Louis-Pierre has other ideas and liberates Dotty to show off her skills and reveal her true ballerina self.

Young readers will know Rebecca Bender's storytelling from her award-winning Giraffe and Bird series (e.g., Giraffe Meets Bird; Giraffe and Bird Together Again; Don't Laugh at Giraffe) but she does as well by dogs as she does with giraffes, birds, hedgehogs and ducklings (e.g., How Do You Feel?) and more. She makes us care about her characters who are all expressive and one-of-a-kind, whether they are pets or wild. That's because her stories are those lived by children. Dotty may be a dog but she could be any child who feels her dream is being stifled and who wants to express herself through dance. I suspect that Rebecca Bender is a herself ballet parent, one who has learned much from attending classes with little ones. In fact, I myself learned much about ballet through the text of Ballewiena but also in her incredible endpapers that depict a variety of ballet movements and their phonetic pronunciations. Yes, Ballewiena is about ballet, and would make a great gift for any child who enjoys dance classes, but it has important messages about following your aspirations and being true to yourself while ensuring that you put the work in so it becomes a goal and not a pipe-dream.  

Rebecca Bender's illustrations, created with gouache, watercolour, pen and ink, as well as digital media, carry those messages through worlds of colour, shape and attitude. Her assortment of canine and other characters conveys a depth of personality beyond the dance. (I was especially taken with Louis-Pierre who, with his sweatband and drawstring workout pants, has a je ne sais quoi quality that is adorable, even as he coaches Dotty through rigorous training.)

Whether you're a dancer, an appreciative fan or neither, Ballewiena reminds us to follow our passions and dance fully in our lives.

Duck Days

Written by Sara Leach

Illustrated by Rebecca Bender

Pajama Press

978-1-77278-148-9

120 pp.

Ages 7-11

November 2020

 

Third grader Lauren who is autistic is delighted to have a real friend in Irma, a little girl who'd arrived from Sweden the year before. Still, there is still some hesitation about her first time visiting Irma at her home. A lover of routines and the predictable, Lauren is reminded by her father to "go with the flow" (pg. 10)–which she visualizes with a hand gesture that looks like waves rippling on the water–when things might not necessarily go to plan. However, though Lauren and Irma have much in common, from their interests in insects to a love of reading and Swedish meatballs, a casual statement made by Irma that her neighbour Jonas is her friend sends Lauren's mind off into a tizzy.

 

From Duck Days by Sara Leach, illus. by Rebecca Bender

Lauren utilizes her strategy of focusing on things she likes and her square breathing to stop herself from overreacting but she still politely refuses to play with Jonas, a fifth grader, when he invites them to join him in bike riding and trying out his obstacle course of ramps. 

From Duck Days by Sara Leach, illus. by Rebecca Bender

When all the Grade 3 students learn that they will be participating in a day-long mountain biking event at school, Lauren is unnerved, embarrassed that she still uses training wheels and convinced that she'll never be brave enough to go without. Fortunately with some very gentle nudging from her parents and Irma, a new strategy from Jonas to think like a duck and let words flow off of her like water, Lauren is able to expand her friendships, face her fears about riding her bike with training wheels at school and trying new things.

Author Sara Leach introduced young readers to Lauren, a young child living with Autism Spectrum Disorder, in Slug Days (2017) and Penguin Days (2018) and, with each new story we get to celebrate Lauren's successes in developing coping strategies that give her the comfort to endure typical childhood situations from school to spending time with relatives to making new friends and keeping them. Though it's evident that Lauren becomes uncomfortable with anything that detracts from her routines primarily as a result of her ASD, Sara Leach helps young readers see that anyone can use a little help when having a hard time. Most children do better with routines and the predictable and have worries about friendships and looking foolish. So while Sara Leach helps them understand some of the challenges faced by children with ASD, she also encourages them to find coping strategies, including visualization and focusing on breathing, to help get through uncomfortable or irregular circumstances.

From Duck Days by Sara Leach, illus. by Rebecca Bender

Accompanied by the charming pencil and digitally-rendered artwork of Rebecca Bender whose illustrations have graced her own picture books like Giraffe and Bird Together Again and How Do You Feel?, Duck Days will captivate early readers with both the familiarity and distinction of Lauren's circumstances and recognize that being brave is in everyone.

 

Penguin Days

Written by Sara Leach

Illustrated by Rebecca Bender

Pajama Press

978-1-77278-053-6

104 pp.

Ages 7-10

November 2018

Eight-year-old Lauren of Sara Leach's Slug Days (Pajama Press, 2017) has returned and now the young child on the autism spectrum must find new coping strategies beyond the school and home situations with which she contended in her first book.

From Penguin Days by Sara Leach, illus. by Rebecca Bender

Lauren and her parents and baby sister Lexi have driven from western Canada to North Dakota for the wedding of her Auntie Joss, who is getting married to Almost-Uncle Charlie. It's a long drive but far better than a repeat of the screaming plane fiasco years earlier. But the travel stress is just step one in the journey that Lauren must take to act as Auntie Joss's flower girl. She must also prepare herself for the many people who will be present, including her cousins: Sophia, 12; Zoe, 10; and Kevin, 9.

I didn't want to have a restful summer. I wanted to have a fun summer with Irma ... I had to meet my cousins instead. Which wasn't restful at all. It made my insides feel like squirmy snakes. (pg. 25)

But Lauren's unrest moves into the realm of confusion when Kevin mentions that he has to wear a penguin suit (slang for a tuxedo) and Lauren thinks wearing a penguin onesie would be preferable to the itchy purple flower girl dress she must wear. Unfortunately, when she learns that Zoe and Sophia will also be flower girls, and she twirls in her dress like Sophia, she makes herself dizzy and throws up.

From Penguin Days by Sara Leach, illus. by Rebecca Bender

The reactions of those around her embarrass her and she dashes outside and encounters Kevin who takes her to see the cows in the barn. Though he warns her about being in the barn, she climbs onto fence and falls into a stall with calves. In the mayhem of her screaming, the calves run out and Almost-Uncle Charlie comes to the rescue.

From Penguin Days by Sara Leach, illus. by Rebecca Bender

From the dress to the barn and the rehearsal and its dinner, things always get resolved when Lauren remembers to use her strategies like square breathing or focusing on things she likes to talk about, like lizards and penguins, and when those around her consider how stressful new situations are for her and attempt to make things work for Lauren. But there are many circumstances which Lauren must endure first in order to get through to the other side of okay. Thankfully Sara Leach shows us that Lauren can have slug days when everything goes wrong, and penguin days when she has to dress up and get along with people she rarely sees, and still have wonderful butterfly days when all is right with the world. With the addition of Rebecca Bender's charming black-and-white illustrations that depict Lauren in all her moods, Penguin Days becomes a story of resiliency and overcoming anxiety and stressful situations for all children, with ASD and not.

From Penguin Days by Sara Leach, illus. by Rebecca Bender

Giraffe and Bird Together Again

Written and illustrated by Rebecca Bender

Pajama Press

978-1-77278-051-2

32 pp.

Ages 4-7

November 2018

Friends don't always see eye to eye, or nose to beak. But, sometimes it's because of these  differences that the friendship is made even more special. Little ones who know Rebecca Bender's other books in this collection, namely Giraffe and Bird (DCB, 2010), Don't Laugh at Giraffe (Pajama Press, 2012) and Giraffe Meets Bird (Pajama Press, 2015), already understand the basis for this extraordinary friendship. And, even with a plot that has Bird missing, you know Rebecca Bender won't disappoint her readers. She helps the two find their way back to each other.

From Giraffe and Bird Together Again by Rebecca Bender

Bird loves adventures, Giraffe does not. But when Bird is absent for awhile, Giraffe begins to worry that something has happened to Bird and decides to follow the feathers. Even when he gets tangled in vines when searching through a dark forest, Giraffe is compelled to go on. Even when Giraffe goes up a craggy mountain upon which he tumbles backwards and needs the help of a couple of mountain goats, he is determined to find his friend. From his high vantage point, Giraffe glimpses a shiny sign and "a small and beaky someone next to it." Finding Bird stunned from a collision with the sign, both are happy to be reunited. Unfortunately, Giraffe fails to notice the quicksand nearby. Now it's Bird turn to help out. By distracting his friend and enlisting the help of others, Giraffe makes it home safely.

Everyone loves Giraffe and Bird. The two animals are so different yet so understanding and accepting of those differences. Giraffe stretches beyond his comfort zone to help his little friend, and Bird recognizes when Giraffe may be in need of help. Even in the end, the two find a compromise to help them continue to be friends and honour those differences. 

Bird will wander a little less...

if Giraffe will explore a little more.

 

From Giraffe and Bird Together Again by Rebecca Bender

One of the best elements of Giraffe and Bird Together Again is the artwork. Rebecca Bender's use of colour to place the reader in the forest, on the mountain and looking out over the plain is extraordinary. It's warm and rich in tone and evocative of a setting many of us in Canada will never experience. But, of course, it's her characters that draw the reader back every time. Generally using only body language and eyes, Rebecca Bender lets the reader see what Giraffe and Bird are thinking and feeling. Frustration, joy, distress and relief are all there in those few elements. It's impossible not to fall in love with Giraffe and Bird. Moreover with details like Bird hiding under a traditional Canadian work sock or Giraffe in knee pads and helmet or the weird assortment of detritus lodged in the quicksand, kids will seek and find and laugh.

From Giraffe and Bird Together Again by Rebecca Bender

Rebecca Bender's Giraffe and Bird was recently honoured as the selection for the 2018 TD Grade 1 Book Giveaway. That means every child in Grade 1 in Canada should have received their own copy of that special first book (unless their school board sadly opted out of the program). The enduring affection between these two unlikely friends continues to endear them to young children, perhaps seeing something of themselves in Giraffe or Bird. Whether sensitive to teasing, or homebody or adventurer, there is something of everyone in these two characters, and we're so glad that Giraffe and Bird are together again.

From Giraffe and Bird Together Again by Rebecca Bender

A World of Kindness

from the Editors and Illustrators of Pajama Press

(including Ann Featherstone, Brian Deines, Tara Anderson, Wallace Edwards, François Thisdale, Kim La Fave,      Manon Gauthier, Dean Griffiths, Suzanna Del Rizzo and Rebecca Bender)

Pajama Press

978-1-77278-050-5

32 pp.

Ages 3-7

October 2018 

Whether a child dealing with a mean classmate, nastiness on social media, or world leaders striking out at others, it's evident that our world needs more kindness. But being kind is not always inherent; sometimes, often, it needs to be taught or even inspired. As Aesop affirmed, "No act of kindness, no matter how small, is every wasted." Let us be kind.

In fourteen double-spreads of text and image, the editors and illustrators of Pajama Press spark discussions about how kindness can manifest and how we should examine our own actions for kindness. Starting with "Are you kind?", the book asks questions while suggesting ways of being kind. From "Do you wait your turn?" and "Will you help someone younger...or older?" to "Are you gentle with animals big...and small?" young readers are asked to look within for evidence of their own kindness.

From A World of Kindness, illustration by Kim La Fave

From A World of Kindness, illustration by Tara Anderson

Children see how to be kind while being asked about being kind. Ideas about saying "Please" and "Thank you" and "I'm sorry" are demonstrated as important, as are sharing, helping, being supportive and compassionate. A World of Kindness covers the simplest acts of thoughtfulness and yet makes the significant and critical point that "a little kindness grows into a world of kindness."

From A World of Kindness, illustration by Manon Gauthier

The text of A World of Kindness is endearing and straightforward, and will work well with young preschoolers and children in primary grades. But it's the illustrations, some from already published works and some original art, that will carry the message. Children will see kindness in the hugs, the sharing, and the love that seasons these pages. (There are different heart shapes throughout the book, reminding us what is at the heart of kindness.) The illustrations, like Suzanne Del Rizzo's amazing polymer clay book cover art, depict all children and are aimed at children's experiences with animals, peers, siblings, elders, and parents, and include those during all seasons in Canada and in other global locales including Sri Lanka (Kim La Fave's art from When the Rain Comes), Tanzania (Brian Deines's illustration from In a Cloud of Dust), and Jordan (Suzanne Del Rizzo's art from her My Beautiful Birds). A World of Kindness shows kindness in its own inclusivity.

A World of Kindness will undoubtedly be used as a tool for teaching and instilling kindness, especially as Pajama Press has provided a downloadable poster (https://pajamapress.ca/resource/a_world_of_kindness_extra_content/) and teaching guide (https://pajamapress.ca/resource/a_world_of_kindness_teaching_guides/) on its website. Moreover, with all royalties going to Think Kindness, a project that aspires to inspire kindness in schools and other communities, purchasing A World of Kindness is a win-win for all.  But, at its heart, A World of Kindness is a compendium of beautiful messages in words and art to help make our world, starting with our youngest readers, a place of graciousness and goodwill.  With such benevolence, this picture book will triumph with purpose.

Slug Days

Written by Sara Leach

Illustrated by Rebecca Bender

Pajama Press

978-1-77278-022-2

120 pp.

Ages 7-10

October 2017

Slug Days is told in the first-person narrative of a young girl on the Autism Spectrum Disorder. Lauren, who is probably seven or eight years of age, gives her commentary on several days at school and home, recounting both her slug days when she feels slow and slimy and people get angry with her and her occasional but glorious butterfly days, when she earns stickers in her school agenda and goes for ice cream with her mom.  Sadly, there is much that breaks Lauren’s routines and confuses her sensibilities resulting in those icky slug days: her bus driver is away, someone is sitting in her bus seat, her shoelace bows don’t match, she misses reading time, or her classmates don’t want to play with her.

From Slug Days 

by Sara Leach 

illus. by Rebecca Bender

Even though her teachers know the behaviours typical of ASD and how best to help her, Lauren doesn’t always interpret their actions as helpful, challenging them and even being convinced that they make her have slug days.  When a new girl from Sweden joins the class, Lauren comes to understand that she has the capacity to make butterfly days for herself and someone else.

From Slug Days 

by Sara Leach 

illus. by Rebecca Bender

Sara Leach makes Lauren’s voice young and blatant, focusing on what is important to the child and often ignoring what others deem priorities.  Who the girl is, is undisguised.  She needs her routines and obsesses about things that others might ignore.  She finds security in sticky messes and speaks her mind in an effort to be honest not disrespectful or challenging.  It's usually how others respond to her that gives her the most grief.  Often times she is misunderstood or challenged or ridiculed for her differences and, though she can overlook much, as a strategy to coping, she is as affected by others as most of us are, sadly leading to those slug days.

The voice is the most compelling element of Sara Leach's Slug Days, as it should be.  Here is Lauren's story, up close and personal.  Whether readers can empathize is not on Sara Leach but on the readers themselves because the author makes it clear and it is an arresting text spoken true by a child on the spectrum. Regardless, it’s evident that Lauren's life is full and complex and often wholly unpredictable.  But, with an arsenal of strategies, she will hopefully have fewer slug days and expand her days, as well as those around her, to those of butterflies.



(A version of this review was originally written for and published in Quill & Quire, as noted in the citation below.)



Kubiw, H. (2017, October). [Review of the book Slug Days by Sara Leach]. Quill & Quire, 83 (8): 26.

Triple book event: Blue Heron Books (Uxbridge, ON)

For animal lovers and those who love children's books

(today is World Children's Book Day)

think about attending a triple book launch 

this weekend

with authors

Jennifer Maruno

Rebecca Bender

and

  Suzanne Del Rizzo

for

their recently published books of youngCanLit 

Mooses's Roof

Written by Jennifer Maruno

Illustrated by Laurel Keating

Creative Book Publishing

978-1-771031004

32 pp.

Ages 4-7

March 2017

How Do You Feel?

Written and illustrated by Rebecca Bender

Pajama Press

978-1-77278-013-0

32 pp.

Ages 2-5

November, 2016

Reviewed here

My Beautiful Birds

Written and illustrated by Suzanne Del Rizzo

Pajama Press

978-1-77278-012-3

32 pp.

Ages 6-10

March 2017

Reviewed here

on

  Saturday, April 8, 2017

from 11 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.

at

Blue Heron Books

62 Brock St. West

Uxbridge, ON

How Do You Feel?

Written and illustrated by Rebecca Bender

Pajama Press

978-1-77278-013-0

32 pp.

Ages 2-5

November, 2016

Little ones often have difficulty differentiating between feeling, the emotion, and feeling, the sense of touch, and Rebecca Bender, creator of the award-winning Giraffe and Bird books (Giraffe and Bird, Dancing Cat Books, 2010; Don’t Laugh at Giraffe, Pajama Press, 2012; Giraffe Meets Bird, Pajama Press, 2015), has some fun word play with that to compare textures of a variety of animals.

The little hedgehog guides the story, going from animal to animal–toad, snake, duckling, rabbit, snail, and kitten– asking how it feels.  Each animal answers with a descriptive adjective –bumpy, smooth, fuzzy, silky, slimy and soft–and a simile that expresses and clarifies what each feeling is like.   And then all the animals turn things around and ask, "Hedgehog, how do YOU feel?"  Though they suggest a variety of textural synonyms for prickly,  the hedgehog does a fun shift in declaring he feels…"happy, like a hedgehog having his tummy tickled!"

From How Do You Feel? 

by Rebecca Bender

Pajama Press has started putting out these lovely padded-cover books for preschoolers that are so much more inviting to hold than ordinary board books.  With its soft, cushioned cover, the parade of animals within and the repetitive text, How Do You Feel? will become a popular read-aloud book for parents and teachers of preschoolers and kindergarteners.  The rhythm and predictability of the text offers great opportunities for little ones to suggest answers to each question.  It’s a great teaching tool.  I can just imagine parents and teachers asking, just as they often play that game asking what a dog or cat says, how a snake or a kitten feels.

From How Do You Feel? 

by Rebecca Bender

But, kids will see beyond the content of the book and fall in love with Rebecca Bender’s adorable creatures. Every one of them has darling eyes–all bright, some laughing, several inquisitive–and bodies of evocative textures that will delight little ones who will want to reach out and touch.  They’ll be surprised to only stroke paper but Rebecca Bender’s illustrations will still give readers starting points for further discussions.  It could be about the sense of touch–and the other senses as well– or about synonyms and the thesaurus or about similes and metaphors.  How Do You Feel? may be targeted for the pre-reader who will be charmed by the whole package of art and text, but teachers should look beyond the cuteness and see the book as having applications far beyond the very youngest.  That's how I feel.  How do you feel? 

I Art Books Exhibit and Sale of Children's Book Illustrations: Uxbridge, ON

Come celebrate Authors for Indies Day

and kick off an art exhibit and sale extraordinaire

with youngCanLit illustrators

Rebecca Bender

Suzanne Del Rizzo

Jan Dolby

Eugenie Fernandes

on

April 30, 2016

10 a.m. - 5 p.m.

Blue Heron Books

62 Brock St. W.

Uxbridge, ON

Take advantage of this unique show
to meet 4 extraordinary youngCanLit illustrators
and pick up a lovely piece of art (and perhaps a book or two)


Even if you can't make the April 30th show, 

the art exhibit is on 
from April 24, 2016 to May 15, 2016

See you there!

Giraffe Meets Bird

Written and illustrated by Rebecca Bender
Pajama Press
978-1-927485-35-4
32 pp.
Ages 2-5
May, 2015

Rebecca Bender’s award-winning duo, Giraffe and Bird, from Giraffe and Bird (Dancing Cat Books, 2010) and Don’t Laugh at Giraffe (Pajama Press, 2012), have returned in Giraffe Meets Bird and young readers will finally learn how the two unlikely but perennial friends came to be.

When little Bird emerges from his shell in the very tree which Giraffe has enjoyed, the two begin the dance of friendship, a fascinating play of learning more about each other’s personality quirks.

Then, not unlike many a friendship, a conflict creates a turning point. Scratching himself against the tree, Giraffe accidentally pitches little Bird into the grass, not far from a reclining lion! Giraffe springs into action, saving Bird and ensconcing them safely back in the tree (I know!) to wait out the departure of their potential predator. But then what?

As a teacher I might be tempted to use the text of Giraffe Meets Bird to demonstrate the richness of synonyms (e.g., fascinated/tickled, surprised/amazed, cross/angry) as the pair of creatures respond similarly but differently to their circumstances. Or I might focus on the value of sharing and thinking of others. But as a reader and lover of children’s illustration, I prefer to revel in a charming story about an unlikely friendship. Rebecca Bender’s story is sweet and hopeful and enchanting. But it’s her artwork that would charm birds out of the trees. (Oh wait, it already has!) Bird is a bundle of lime fluff, with a singing stance worthy of any Idol wannabe, whereas Giraffe has the wide-eyed wonder–and gorgeous lashes!–of a lanky and clumsy juvenile. They are young and naïve and innocent and generous of heart. And the rich turquoise sky and the flirty acacia tree (I used the book's endpapers of acacia branches as a frame for the book cover above) will transport young readers to a very real savannah, even one with a lion and elephant or two.

Rebecca Bender could have taken Giraffe and Bird on another adventure with a life lesson about friendship, but I am so glad that first she made sure that Giraffe Meets Bird and had the two became the extraordinary friends they are today.