Greetings, Floof!

Written by C. J. Hong

Illustrated by A. J. Smith

Kids Can Press

978-1-5253-0723-2

32 pp.

Ages 3-7

June 2024

A tiny pink fluff ball of an alien called Floof has arrived on our planet and scientific investigator Dr. Greta Goodnote is ready to meet and greet the explorer from Ploof. But it's going to take a little help from readers to really get to know the alien named Floof. 

From Greetings, Floof!, written by C. J. Hong, illustrated by A. J. Smith

First, though, Floof must come out of his spaceship. So, Dr. Greta encourages readers to give him a Ploofian hello by raising their arms and jiggling them. (Lucky we have a scientist to help guide us.) When Floof finally emerges, it's to cuddle a couple of bunnies the reader has pointed out to him. When the rain comes, readers are again enlisted, first to blow about the clouds and then to help a very fluffy Floof to return to his pre-ultra-poofing self. (This requires everything from blowing, and then closing and opening the book, and even shaking it gently.) And when he enjoys his first kiss, Floof is encouraged to pay it forward in his own Ploofian way.

From Greetings, Floof!, written by C. J. Hong, illustrated by A. J. Smith

By making readers part of the story, needing to help greet Floof, to locate animals to cuddle, to blow away rain clouds, to de-poof Floof, and more, C. J. Hong makes Greetings, Floof! an interactive story. While this is generally more difficult with picture books that are read aloud to children, rather than chapter books in which they might make choices of how the story continues, C. J. Hong keeps young readers enthralled, waiting for their next task in helping little Floof out. Not only are they learning empathy and cooperation, but they also see that science is something as basic as building knowledge through observation, experimentation, and application. 

 

American artist A. J. Smith has created an incredibly cute alien in his digital artwork but Floof is still very different. So Ottawa's C. J. Hong's story of the little guy inspires inquiry, coupled with open-mindedness for those who look and speak differently. Because of that, C. J. Hong ticks off all the boxes for a story of science, communication, compassion, and acceptance while demonstrating that kindness can bridge worlds, even planets.

From Greetings, Floof!, written by C. J. Hong, illustrated by A. J. Smith

Eerie Tales from the School of Screams

Written and illustrated by Graham Annable

First Second

978-1-250-19503-6

368 pp.

Ages 8-13

July 2023

School has never been so scary and it's all courtesy of the scary stories told by the kids in Eerie Tales from the School of Screams. Or is it?

From Eerie Tales from the School of Screams by Graham Annable

As child after child is called to tell their eeriest story, Davis and his sister Emily are far more reluctant. So, Alvin goes first with his story of "The Village That Vanished." His story involves two government officials looking for the village of Wattersburg to collect unpaid taxes. The men end up in a field of sheep where an elderly man finds them and invites them to a lone cabin where he tells them what happened to the 232 people of Wattersburg. It's a story about a town that made a pact with the original amphibious people with whom they trade livestock for fish until an unfortunate accident ruins everything. 

From Eerie Tales from the School of Screams by Graham Annable

After Alvin tells his tale, his classmates critique it before Janine tells her story of "The Face in the Forest." Now told in shades of orange–the classroom scenes are greenish, and Alvin's story was coloured in olive drab–Janine's story focuses on little Luanne who lives with her abusive uncle and aunt since her father died, leaving his lottery winnings to her which would become available on her 18th birthday. One day as she gathers wood, she discovers a head who speaks to her. He doesn't remember much but he helps her locate his limbs and more. Determined to sew him back together, she goes to fetch a needle and thread but is accosted by her aunt and uncle from whom she defends herself. Distraught, she returns to the forest, where she does a good turn for the man with the separate body parts and he in turn for her.

From Eerie Tales from the School of Screams by Graham Annable

Bernie's story, "The Ghastly Ghost Chase", illustrated in red, features some kids, a ghost and a drone, while Emily finally tells her science fiction story, "The Infinite Loop of Lunacy", about an alien breach on a spaceship. Finally, Davis is ready to tell his story "The Door to Demons" which the teacher criticizes for not being fictionalized. The kids find out soon enough how right she is.

From Eerie Tales from the School of Screams by Graham Annable

A cover in black and red generally signals a book of horror to me and Eerie Tales from the School of Screams does deliver on the scariness of horror and the creepiness of monsters, aliens, the unknown and more. But, Graham Annable who has delighted young readers with his graphic novels about sloths Pete & Ernesto, always keeps it light and droll. There's a cheekiness to the individual stories and to the big story in which they are embedded. A head propped up in the woods looking to be reunited with its limbs, a grandfather with wild tufts of hair, and kids chasing a scaredy ghost tone down the revulsion of multi-limbed monsters, amphibious creatures, and body-swapping aliens. And he gives them saucy lines like the head telling Luanne "Don't be a stranger!" (pg. 107), Janine telling Alvin that she's not buying his story (pg. 76), or Poppi declaring "Stupid diabetes" (pg. 282) as he looks at his vegetable snacks. For lovers of scary stories, Graham Annable delivers multiple tales that surprise and chill without being gruesome. And his illustrations match that balance of frightening with entertaining. He keeps the landscapes austere whether it's a space ship, a field, a house or a classroom. The characters, human and not, are the stars, with their clothes boldly coloured compared to the backgrounds and their expressions and actions propelling the stories on. 

Eerie Tales from the School of Screams might become a hit for Halloween but really it's a weirdly fun read for anytime a middle-grade reader might like to be entertained with some fast-paced stories, quirky characters and the very familiar task of getting up in front of a class to tell a story. OK, it's a little different from most classroom activities but you'll only know how very different when you read the book. Do read it. It's worth the spine tingles.

Gnome is Where Your Heart Is

Written by Casey Lyall

Greenwillow Books (Imprint of HarperCollins)

978-0-06-323982-1

304 pp.

Ages 8-12

May 2023

You believe in aliens, right? Lemon Peabody certainly does, and she's determined to prove that her Grandpa Walt was telling the truth when he claimed he'd met one named Gnemo over thirty years ago. In fact, she's so sure that she's making Project Validation her summer project, even if she must hide it from her father Patrick, a true non-believer, who was humiliated by his father's claims, especially when everyone in the town started putting out green-faced, red-capped garden gnomes. Now, Lemon's parents are insisting that she partake in a normal activity for the summer. So, she and her best friend Marlo join the Junior Forest Rangers because it offers her the opportunity to investigate the very woods where Grandpa famously met Gnemo and chatted with her.

Unbeknownst to Lemon, the Gnar Five, a ship of the Interplanetary Natural Archives Alliance is out on a mission when forced to land on the Isolated Community of IC 525-1 a.k.a. Earth, a planet with restricted access. As Chief Gneelix tries to repair their ship, Captain Gnemo, Commander Gnilsson, Doc Gnog, and Ensign Gnedley attempt to stay under cover of their shields and follow protocols. But the Captain can't inform HQ of their situation because their external comms are down. And though Ensign Gnedley knows he's supposed to follow the emergency measures handbook, he'd joined the Alliance to see the universe. After all, Commander Gnilsson was able to go out and investigate, even returning with a miniature gnome statue that he is convinced speaks to an encounter with the locals, strictly against protocols.  

As Lemon and Marlo and their new friend Rachel, a science fan, pursue the clues to find evidence of the aliens and maybe even meet one, thus vindicating Walt, Lemon knows time is running out. Her grandfather's Alzheimer's is slowing making him more forgetful and agitated, and Lemon would do anything to help him. But Gnedley has his own problems, knowing that he's been seen by the Humans and worried that Captain Gnemo may be hiding a secret. Can both alien and human help each other?

 

Casey Lyall has always given us a good mystery in her Howard Wallace P. I. middle-grade novels and humour in her picture books Inky's Great Escape and A Spoonful of Frogs but in Gnome is Where Your Heart Is she blends that humour with some sci-fi and a solid intergenerational relationship that warms the heart. Gnome is Where Your Heart Is feels like E.T. meets Cocoon meets Star Trek. There's a crew of interplanetary travellers, with a clever captain, a right-hand commander, an acerbic engineer, and an inexperienced ensign. There's a child trying to help their grandparent against their parents' wishes. And there's a trio of friends investigating alien activity. There's fun and wit and angst and resolution. Best of all, there's humour. From the cheeky Gneelix–who, when asked for more power, suggests "Should I get out and push?"–or the irritated Marlo–"Tell me why you broke into my room at rude o'clock in the morning"–there is honest but saucy humour. But could we expect anything less in a story with gnome-looking aliens, magic mushrooms, and scrummy marshmallows? I think not.

For middle-graders who enjoy speculative fiction firmly based in the reality of family and friends, albeit with a cloud of Alzheimer's, and told with humour, distinct characters–both human and not–and the buzz that comes with the unknown, Gnome is Where Your Heart Is checks all the boxes for a lively summer read.

Thrive (The Overthrow, Book 3)

(If you haven't, I encourage you to read Bloom and Hatch, Books 1 and 2 in The Overthrow series, first. You'll want to know the whole story. Really.)

 

Written by Kenneth Oppel

HarperCollins

978-1-4434-5691-3

404 pp.

Ages 10-14

May 2021

 

First there were the black grasses, strangling vines and pit plants (Bloom, 2020). Then came the eggs that developed into mosquito birds, giant water striders and horrific mega-worms (Hatch, 2020). Now, in the conclusion to Kenneth Oppel's The Overthrow trilogy, the cryptogens themselves are coming to invade. But will they succeed in overthrowing humans for the planet?

Being a teen is hard enough but, for Anaya, Petra and Seth who have dealt with strange allergies and physical ailments all their lives, things have gotten a lot stranger since learning that they have cryptogenic DNA that has given them extraordinary powers but also unconventional bodies. Anaya is a runner, with unusual body hair and claws. Petra has an affinity for swimming and has scaly skin and a tail. Seth is a flyer with razor-sharp wings and a powerful sound weapon. During the horrific experimentation on the kids and others like them at the hands of the nasty Dr. Ritter, they learned that they are able to telepathically communicate with each other and Anaya was able to connect with the cryptogen she calls Terra. 

 

This connection has lead to the arrival of a ship, at the conclusion of Hatch and the beginning of Thrive, from which a trio of rebel cryptogens have emerged. Terra, who is a runner and scientist as well as pilot, is accompanied by another scientist, a swimmer for whom Petra uses the pronouns ze and zir, and a flyer who was a military leader, hence their moniker of him as the general. Together the three cryptogens had formed an alliance, and a rebel movement of several hundred was established to overthrow the flyers who have used their sound power to keep runners and swimmers enslaved to them. 

The rebels admit that Anaya, Petra and Seth, as well as the other hybrid children, had been implanted with DNA to help produce a virus to destroy the flyers' ability to use sound as a weapon and thus to help them defeat their oppressors. Now the rebels have come to earth to retrieve that hidden DNA.

 

While Petra helps the swimmer to get materials needed to repair their ship and Anaya works with Terra to develop the virus, Seth worries for Esta, a hybrid flyer such as himself, with whom he'd bonded at Dr. Ritter's bunker facility. Learning that Esta, like most hybrid cryptogens, is being detained at an internment camp, Seth sneaks out to rescue her and ends up captured along with Esta and others by the primary ship of invaders. Now Seth has to decide whether he agrees with Esta who believes the cryptogen commander, a flyer, really has their best interests at heart, or whether a rebellion against the flyers is necessary to stop the oppression of the runners and swimmers and an invasion of earth.

Kenneth Oppel pounds out his story of an alien invasion and rebellion with little respite for the reader, just as there was none for the trio of teens who are thrown from one alarming situation to the next. Even before the initial arrival of terrifying plants and menacing creatures, Anaya, Petra and Seth have had to manage their physical stresses. Now with the menace of extraterrestrials, they have to balance being seen as both threats and saviours, and doing what they can, what they want to and what they'd rather not. There's always some new threat with which they must deal and, as they are punched with pressure after pressure, as each new creature and knowledge is revealed, Kenneth Oppel takes the reader with them. As such, Thrive is an intense read, throwing the reader along with the story's characters, from one dangerous situation to the next, manoeuvring on a flying platform, being swallowed by a wall, fighting off a wolverine squid or plunging through the atmosphere in a pod with limited oxygen. The action is relentless and it's not until the very end that Kenneth Oppel lets us know how The Overthrow, the series and the operation, actually turns out. I won't give away the ending but I will reassure that the wild ride that is Thrive leaves room for a sigh and a promise for resolution.

He was half human, half cryptogen, but for the first time in his life, he was starting to feel whole. (pg. 404)

• • • • • • •

The Overthrow (a.k.a. Bloom Trilogy) 

Bloom (2020)

Hatch (2020)

Thrive (2021)

Planet Hockey: First Star of the Game

Written by J. Torres

Illustrated by Tim Levins

Scholastic Canada

978-1-4431-2889-6

132 pp.

Ages 8-12

October 2020

After catching an edge, falling into the goalie and breaking his arm, Isaac is desolate about costing his team the hockey game. As he recovers, he gets into playing a multiplayer online game called SHOT a.k.a. Super Hockey Online Tournament at which he excels. However, months later, after he has recovered, Isaac refuses to return to hockey, gratified to reach the top of the online game's ranking as GOAT789. But the universe seems to have a different plan for Isaac.

From Planet Hockey: First Star of the Game by J. Torres, illus. by Tim Levins

As popular as hockey may be in Canada and elsewhere on our planet, it's also a favourite on Galaxia where its Supreme Leader, Emperor Mad Maroon, claims to be the self-proclaimed #1 hockey fan in the universe. But playing in the Galaxian Hockey League is intensive. Teams like the Streek, the Blast, the Muck, the Crag and the Stalks overwhelm the last place team, the Zeazide Pods, with their extraordinary speed, hitting and powers like electricity and the stink of gas. On a planet where the more hockey games you lose, the more taxes you pay, and the last place team cleans everyone else's gear, the Pods are determined to improve their chances. Unfortunately, paying so much in hockey tax, all they can do is purchase an outmoded robotic scout, SKOU7, that mistakenly captures Isaac and his new neighbour Lily to help out the team.

From Planet Hockey: First Star of the Game by J. Torres, illus. by Tim Levins

Lily, an extraordinary goalie, is happy to help out the Pods, sympathetic to their plight, though Isaac is reluctant, worried they'll learn he's not any good at playing the actual game anymore. But with Lily's enthusiasm and determination to help the Pods, and Isaac's finesse at online hockey which allows him to coach and play strategy, the teal-coloured and tentacled creatures with heart finally become stars of the game.

From Planet Hockey: First Star of the Game by J. Torres, illus. by Tim Levins

For kids who love a good hockey story and graphic novels, Planet Hockey: First Star of the Game is sure to score big. And for those who aren't big sports fans, it still has something that is in short supply nowadays and makes for an entertaining middle-grade read: humour. From an alien emperor who considers himself the Boss of Everyone (really) to the best hockey player who is actually a goat, not just the GOAT (Greatest Of All Time), and hockey players called Crowsby, Grootzky and Stickenheiser, J. Torres will score giggles and snorts while sharing lessons in reaching beyond your fears and helping others, even aliens.

From Planet Hockey: First Star of the Game by J. Torres, illus. by Tim Levins

The fun is even livelier because of Tim Levins's illustrations, having created J. Torres's characters as "normal" humans and outrageous aliens of all shapes and colours. It's entertaining checking out every new element, like a flying ref with a red goal light, a colour commentator with the head of a microphone and arena snacks like Mackerel Jacks and rockcorn.

If you’re missing playing hockey or watching hockey, take in a game or two at Planet Hockey and find out who the First Star of the Game really is. (Hint: it’s not the goat.)

The Lunch Club: It Came from the Basement

Written and illustrated by Dom Pelletier

English text by Dina Ginzburg

Scholastic Canada

978-1-4431-8271-3

136 pp.

Ages 7-10

October 2020 

 

Tia's nervousness at attending a new school, Pleasant Valley Elementary, is not assuaged when she meets a red-haired boy in braces who makes her the butt of his jokes in multiple classes. But when the opportunity comes to work together, it's nice to have a cheeky friend to help you save the world from an alien.

From The Lunch Club: It Came from the Basement by Dom Pelletier

Unbeknownst to Tia and Leo, the night before she arrives at the school, a turnip-shaped space craft lands near the school and a green-tentacled creature begins controlling the custodian, Mr. Bob. His strange behaviour is first noted by the kids at lunch the next day when they both end up in a room labelled "Philately Club" supervised by a nerdy man who sleeps most of the time. Tia, looking for some peace, and Leo, writing lines for poor behaviour, observe Mr. Bob collecting food scraps and saving them in his mop bucket while muttering gobbledygook.

 

From The Lunch Club: It Came from the Basement by Dom Pelletier

 

Following the custodian, the two discover a moustached and tentacled green creature consuming all the food scraps. When they seek the help of the Philately Club's supervisor, they learn that Mr. Peabody is the official guardian of the club that was created hundreds of years ago to fight the forces of darkness. Oh, and collect stamps.

From The Lunch Club: It Came from the Basement by Dom Pelletier

Sleuthing around the school, Tia and Leo discover the creature, now intelligible after devouring an English dictionary, intends to conquer the school, and take over the world as Emperor Zaralgax the First. When they witness it plopping out a number of colourful eggs, the two know they need to act fast. Armed with a weird assortment of gadgets, from a slingshot and flashlight, magnifier and shield, Tia and Leo, with a little help from Mr. Peabody, take on the green menace and thwart its evil plan.

From The Lunch Club: It Came from the Basement by Dom Pelletier

Kids will laugh themselves silly over The Lunch Club: It Came from the Basement. They'll know a sweet Tia with her unicorn shirt and funny guy Leo who'll do anything for a laugh. (Eating glue sticks is what got him assigned to writing lines.) And they'll know about fitting in and being brave and scared and why peanut butter isn't allowed in schools. Between the laughs in Dom Pelletier's words ("We're in a bad dream!" "Well, we are in school..."), including a commercial break for organic turnips, and the hilarious cartoons, this middle-grade graphic novel will have them snorting and whooping with every page. 

I'm delighted that Dom Pelletier's French-language graphic novels Les Timbrés will now be available to English readers. As of this month, there will be three French-language titles in the series (see below) and but I think young English readers thirsty for a good laugh and irreverent humour, which is what they'll get with this series, will eagerly await the next titles. (The Curse of the Scarewolf is hinted to be coming soon.)

Hatch

Written by Kenneth Oppel

HarperCollins Canada

978-1-44345-688-3

416 pp.

Ages 10-14

September 2020

 

When readers first met Anaya, Petra and Seth in Bloom, Book 1 in Kenneth Oppel's The Overthrow trilogy, the three teens were helping to battle an alien invasion of plants–black grass, vines and pit plants–that threatened their community on Salt Spring Island and around the world. They had also discovered that they all dreamed of special powers–running, swimming and flying, respectively–that corresponded with the unusual growths that had plagued their bodies, namely claws and excessive hair for Anaya, a tail and scaly skin on Petra, and bony growths akin to wings for Seth.  Now a new threat has arrived.

From a weird rain that deposits eggs, strange new creatures develop that Dr. Weber and the others look to study. But then the military, as led by Colonel Pearson alongside the new Dr. Ritter, having learned of the kids' cryptogenic DNA, announce that brain scans reveal transmitters in their brains, and fear that they have been communicating with the cryptogens who intend to invade. The kids are "detained as a threat to national security under the War Measures Act" (pg. 33) at a secret underground bunker with other young hybrids who are numbered and classified as runners, swimmers and flyers. 

This did not seem like a good sign. If you gave someone a number, it was because you were taking away their home. And once you took away someone's home, it was a lot easier to take away whatever you wanted. (pg. 41)

Under the direction of Dr. Ritter, the young people are measured and tested and drilled to develop their skills. Meanwhile, Anaya, Petra and Seth make new friends within their groupings, with Petra meeting the muscular Darren who is convinced they are being trained to be soldiers and Anaya making the acquaintance of the brilliant Charles. But it's Seth fraternization with the quiet Esta that becomes the most intense, as he makes a real connection with her though she evokes dissension between the friends with claims of the flyers' superiority.

But everything changes when Anaya is taken to the surface and allowed to connect with the cryptogens to pinpoint their location. Instead she learns that they can communicate telepathically and she is able to do so with a cryptogen, learning why they are targeting Earth and involving the hybrids.

Kenneth Oppel got our attention with Bloom but he keeps us breathless with the unrelenting action in Hatch. From dealing with dangerous and toxic plants to evolving insects of massive destruction force (the worm has a mouth with "spiraling blades that looked like the turbine of a drilling machine"; pg. 10) and the protagonists learning more about their capabilities, and sadly also their shocking predilections, Hatch reveals a precarious world where aliens i.e., cryptogens look to communicate with humans through hybrid beings like Anaya, Petra and Seth. But who is friend and who is foe both on earth and from other worlds is ever-changing and poses problems for all as the kids try to do the right thing for their families, communities, planet and themselves.

Hatch, as did Bloom, brings one story to an end but introduces a new one with its last words. When the third book in the trilogy, Thrive, finally drops in May 2021, we hope Kenneth Oppel will finally share with young readers the true nature of the aliens and whether they, or even some of them, offer hope or harm. Eight months seems almost too long to wait when the world is in the balance because of an alien invasion.

 

The Overthrow series from Kenneth Oppel:

Bloom (February 2020)

Hatch (September 2020)

Thrive (May 2021)

Alien Nate

Written and illustrated by Dave Whamond

Kids Can Press

978-1-5253-0209-1

64 pp.

Ages 6-9

April 2020

It all started with a pizza. A pizza that NASA scientists had accidentally left on board Voyager 1 in 1977 and which a ship from Vega found. Now the Vegans want more of that pizza. (Pizza is pretty great.)

Alien Nate was chosen for the mission. When he crashes his space-ship on Earth, he is discovered by kindly Fazel who, when approached by two Men in Beige suits, grabs Nate and makes a run for it, with a little help from a mysterious figure. 

From Alien Nate by Dave Whamond

Fazel decides to take the purple alien to school, covering his antennae with Dad's back-up toupee. Nate is enamoured with learning, rather than just having knowledge plugged into his head, and he loves all earth food but pizza is his favourite, except "the pineapple one. Who puts pineapples on a pizza. I mean, that's just...odd."

From Alien Nate by Dave Whamond

After his boorish classmate Frank discovers Nate is an alien, Fazel creates the Secret Alien Society to keep him quiet. Together they learn much about Vega, which Nate misses terribly, regardless of its technological brilliance and lack of imagination, and is desperate to find a way back to it.

Don't get me wrong...I love it here on Earth. I mean, you're only a one-star planet on Galaxy Advisor, but you've timed your rotation around the sun to match your calendar year. Unheard of! Plus, you have penguins, and they're so cute...

From Alien Nate by Dave Whamond

After a tasty "corn as fuel" misstep and a whole lot of brain power, plus a secret agent with girl power and booster cables, Nate evades the Men in Beige and finds his happy ending. 

Alien Nate may be classified as an early-reader graphic novel but this little pizza-craving alien has been sent by Dave Whamond to make us all laugh and appreciate imagination and pizza. The same chuckles that have drawn me to Dave Whamond's Reality Check cartoons and his earlier picture books (such as Nick the Sidekick, Rosie's Glasses, and Oddrey) will tickle those funny bones with the puns, the play on popular culture (like the blandness of Vegan food, the Men in Beige, and Galaxy Advisor ratings) and commentary on creativity, learning, always being plugged in, dealing with bullies, and diversity. The text is clever and sweet and readers will rise to support Alien Nate and Fazel in their growing friendship, in their sharing of cultures and more. 

Of course, being a graphic novel, Alien Nate does not disappoint with its illustrations. Dave Whamond's pen and ink with watercolour art is as cheeky as the story, vivid in its colours (his trademark pink-purple-periwinkle always make me smile) and inviting readers to see a story from different perspectives like front, back, above, background and up-close. It's all in good fun and in good taste too. (I can smell the pizza, and doughnuts and popcorn...)

Meet Alien Nate for a giggle or twenty and do some honest learning about the value of creativity to develop a real world of friends.

Bloom

Written by Kenneth Oppel

HarperCollins Canada

978-1-4434-5031-7

312 pp.

Ages 10-14

February 2020

Many Canadians would recognize Salt Spring Island as a popular tourist destination off the coast of British Columbia. But what's happening on this Gulf Island in Kenneth Oppel's latest middle grade novel, Bloom, would have most running away. Unfortunately, there will be nowhere safe to run.

All teens have their angst but Anaya, Petra and Seth have challenges that are unique. Anaya Riggs may have to deal with acne and asthma but she also lives with severe allergies to just about everything: gluten, dairy, eggs, smoke, dust, pollen, etc. Her former friend and all-around popular girl Petra is allergic to water and cannot allow it to contact her skin without developing a burning rash or hives. New kid Seth Robertson, who has been moved from foster home to foster home, is now living with an elderly couple Mr. and Mrs. Antos on their farm and always wears long sleeves to hide the scars that track up and down both arms. 

Then a hard rain comes down for several days and changes everything. Anaya's allergies improve and her acne clears up. Petra can wash with this rainwater–she collects as much as she can–without any reaction. And a strange black grass begins to grow just about everywhere around the world and at an alarming rate.

Pretty much all anyone talked about now was the black grass. How it was crowding out crops, how nothing killed it. You couldn't go on your phone or turn on the TV without people talking about how it was showing up everywhere, and what was this stuff, anyway? (pg. 50)

Attempts to eradicate the grass by mowing or chainsawing it or applying herbicides or fire are futile or dangerous. Anaya's father, a botanist at the Ministry of Agriculture's experimental farm, is working hard to identify the plant, including those germinated in the water Petra has collected, and even Anaya gets involved collecting soil from the school yard, one of the few sites without the black grass. Soon enough, though, the schoolyard becomes a minefield of pit-plants that swallow prey, whether it be a deer or humans. Oddly, Petra, Anaya and Seth are not affected by the pit-plants' acidic walls or tranquilizing gas emissions.

As Mr. Riggs and a research associate head out to the eco-reserve on Cordova Island where the black grass appears to be dying, the three teens are taken by Dr. Stephanie Weber, a scientist with CSIS, to a military base in Vancouver in the hopes of learning what makes them special and possibly developing a vaccine. But what is discovered about the teens is much scarier than anyone ever anticipated.

The word "bloom" suggests something unhurried and beautiful and captivating. The plants in Bloom are nothing like that. They are aggressively growing, violent in their attacks and devastating in their effects. Worse yet, the last line in the book is a harbinger that more, perhaps even worse, is still to come in the next books in The Overthrow series. (Book 2 in the series, Hatch, is set for a fall 2020 release while we'll have to wait until the summer of 2021 for the final book, Thrive.) Bloom is thrilling and scary, a story with all the hallmarks of an edge-of-your-seat cliff-hanger–although you'd more likely be hanging by vines above a lake rife with machine-gun water lilies–blending a survival tale with an action-adventure involving clashes with dangerous life-forms. 

Though Anaya, Petra and Seth, as well as the parents, social workers, and military, carry the story forward, Kenneth Oppel's plot steals the story. It's bizarre, it's compelling and you can't read fast enough to learn what is happening. Kenneth Oppel may resolve Bloom to readers' satisfaction–we do learn what the plants are and how the teens are different–but there's obviously so much more to their story. I'm looking forward to an even more twisted plot when we revisit the kids and the source of Bloom's plants in Hatch and Thrive.

Out of the Blue

Written and illustrated by Wallace Edwards

Scholastic Canada

978-1-443-148726

32 pp.

Ages 3-7

August 2018

The message of Wallace Edwards's newest picture book, a story deceptively simple but unusually rich in context and imagery, is all about differences and finding commonalities to evoke compassion. Out of the Blue may be aimed at ages 3 to 7 but it's a directive that should be picked up by all of society.

Ernest is a rhino (Wallace Edwards does illustrate great rhinos, as well as elephants, zebras, lions, cats, mice, etc.) who gets his kite stuck in a tree.  While he contemplates a solution to his problem, he gets a fleeting glimpse of an aerial object (really it's a UFO) and hears a loud noise in the sky. Worrying that someone might need his help, Ernest embarks on a trek, with the help of a large egret, across the plain and then alone up a treacherous mountain. When he discovers the space ship and bumps into a green amorphous alien, both he and the creature are terrified of the monster each sees in the other.

From Out of the Blue by Wallace Edwards

When they both venture out to eye the other, they attempt to communicate. But, as with all whose languages are different, Ernest and the creature endeavour to find commonalities, whether in the shape or colour or emotion of their communiques.

From Out of the Blue by Wallace Edwards

Displaying their dialogue bubbles as puzzle pieces that struggle to find the means to fit, Ernest and the creature finally discover that they may each be familiar with different things but they both love. And what the alien needs help with is his transport which has lodged in the ground. Ernest is happy to help his new friend who, in turn, offers his support, courtesy of some extraordinarily malleable appendages, before waving goodbye.

And there were no more monsters, only friends.

Because Out of the Blue is about communication and perception, Wallace Edwards was astute to have little text in the story.  The reader is given the opportunity to interpret the story and the dialogue between the two creatures, familiar and not, while still recognizing their fears, troubles, and helpfulness. Moreover, extra activities from Scholastic include What Would You Say? and Take Turns Telling the Story offering children the opportunity to create their own discussions between Ernest and the alien.

Scholastic Canada's extra activities for Out of the Blue by Wallace Edwards

Wallace Edwards's stories always have a surreal quality to them, particularly in the art that brings the familiar, like rhinos and trees and mountains, into the realm of the fantastic. Yet Ernest, who is very earnest in his endeavours to help and communicate with the other-worldly creature, is very real and down-to-earth in his efforts and his feelings. Fortunately, he sees beyond the monster he assumes the unfamiliar being is and instead finds a friend. 

Out of the Blue shares a positive message that fits into our troubled times of suspiciousness and antagonism. Too many see the differences as strife when it would seem that we're more alike than we often know. Thank you Wallace Edwards for reminding us of this.

Gordon: Bark to the Future!

A P.U.R.S.T. Adventure

Written and illustrated by Ashley Spires

Kids Can Press

978-1-77138-409-4

72 pp.

Ages 7-10

May 2018

Gordon, the dog who first appeared in Ashley Spires's Binky Takes Charge (Kids Can Press, 2012) as a new recruit to P.U.R.S.T. (Pets of the Universe Ready for Space Travel), is now at the heart of his own adventure, and it's up to him to save the day.

From Gordon: Bark to the Future! by Ashley Spires

When the aliens (insects) attack in full force, the easily-distracted but tech-savvy canine is the only one of his team to escape to the lab behind the couch.  His only choice is to use his prototype device to send himself back five days earlier to stop the alien invasion before it begins.

But he must be careful not to change anything else.

If he changes the past too much, he could jeopardize the future, which is, technically, his present because he's in the past.

Holy Hair Balls, that's confusing. (pg. 17)

But Gordon soon realizes that he's gone back 5 years and Binky is but a kitten without space accreditation, Gracie (Binky's sidekick) doesn't live next door and Gordon hasn't even been born! Worse yet, his device is out of allofuzzium fuel. Contacting P.U.R.S.T., which is still the felines-only F.U.R.S.T., has the cats freaking out and abandoning headquarters.  It really is up to Gordon alone.

The past needs a poop scoop because this place stinks. (pg. 31)

Gordon makes it back but then realizes he has made a serious revision in the time continuum and must return to truly make things right.

From Gordon: Bark to the Future! by Ashley Spires

I've loved Binky since he appeared in his first adventure, Binky the Space Cat (Kids Can Press, 2009), and cherish every new adventure in his family of books.  Even with Binky only being a secondary character to Gordon's adventure in Gordon: Bark to the Future! (as also happened in Fluffy Strikes Back, Kids Can Press, 2016), the hilarity of pets striking out to save their humans charms even a steadfast cat-lover such as myself.  Gordon has spunk and brains, and even though his attention is sometimes lost to the need for play and food, he comes through with fun and invention. Ashley Spires always, always delights with her illustrations and stories. Look at Gordon in the illustration above trying to swing his way to the top of the roof, only to slide down the wall past the oblivious kitten that is Binky. The art is direct, effective and effusive with story and sensation.

The space pets of P.U.R.S.T. are still fighting those dastardly aliens and keeping their humans safe in Gordon: Bark to the Future! but, with time travel in their arsenal, it's a whole new world of fighting back. Good boy, Gordon!

Sparks!

Written by Ian Boothby

Art by Nina Matsumoto

Color by David Debrick

Scholastic (Graphix)

978-1-338-02946-8

200 pp.

Ages 7-10

February 2018

Knowing the universal acceptance of dogs as heroes, a cat named August invents a robotic dog suit in which he and feline friend Charlie undertake daring rescues like saving babies from wells, children from tornadoes, and families from fires. The suit also helps keep August from touching the grass (a major phobia since an escape outdoors as a kitten led him to nasty testing at an animal lab) and keeps the cats anonymous from prying reporters and those who might disturb their comfortable lifestyle. However, unbeknownst to them, an evil genius in the guise of a baby named Princess is setting up accidents that require the rescue dog dubbed Sparks to leap into action.  It seems Princess believes that Sparks might be the dog that other animals, under the baby's control, would follow, allowing the heinous alien-infant to conquer the world.

From Sparks! by Ian Boothby, art by Nina Matsumoto

Ian Boothby and Nina Matsumoto, best known as veteran creators of The Simpsons comics, will delight middle graders with this hilarious graphic novel of cats banding together to achieve heroic deeds and fighting an evil baby.  Readers will be tickled by all the characters: clever inventor August, who plays the stock market and buys a house; Charlie, who lives life with enthusiasm and has a fondness for frolicking and attention;  Steve-O, the hyper-chattering squirrel; and the storytelling robotic litter box.  Even Princess who transmits pain via agony pants worn by her pseudo-parent minions is priceless as the koala hat-wearing brain who still needs diaper changes and naps.  Princess is as controlling and scary as any human baby, albeit with creepier toys, and it's so satisfying when (spoiler!) her errant ways are chastized by her real parents.

From Sparks! by Ian Boothby, art by Nina Matsumoto

Sparks! is a fun read that fights stereotypes of cats being self-absorbed, dogs being the heroes, and babies being innocent and safe. Moreover, it provides a sad commentary on the media that creates stories, not just reports them, and the ease with which they manipulate the stories.  In fact, Sparks! is really a story that turns the concept of control on its head.  Of course, young readers might not pick up on all those messages from author Ian Boothby but they'll love the story and Nina Matsumoto's bold graphics that blend the real with the fantastic.  It's obvious Nina Matsumoto knows cats well (a photo of the real August and Charlie in the dedication attests to this).  She gets the joy of rolling in the grass or the pose of the classic butt-lick perfect but then gives an imaginative angle to the technological wizardry and provides vigorous splashes of action and disaster.  The compulsory Zzzzzap! and Ka-Pow with an occasional Ssshhlorp!, Fa-dunk and Sproing add that touch of comic book flavour that kids will enjoy.

From Sparks! by Ian Boothby, art by Nina Matsumoto

I'm pleased that Ian Boothby and Nina Matsumoto (who will be attending this year's Toronto Comic Arts Festival in May) have left the cat flap open for a sequel to Sparks! as I'm sure the amazing duo of August and Charlie have more acts of heroism on which to embark, whether as themselves or in the costume of their canine superhero.

The Winnowing

Written by Vikki VanSickle

Scholastic Canada

978-1-4431-4886-3

312 pp.

Ages 12+

September 2017

“If powerful people believed in a theory, it became real.  It didn’t matter if it was crazy.” (pg. 292)

In Marivic Stone’s world, there are many beliefs that are accepted as real.  There’s the Infertility Crisis that was only resolved by SuperGen, a hormonal shot developed by the Barton Five scientists. There are the stigmatizing changes at puberty that include the Adolescent Physical Impairments a.k.a. imps which produce bizarre traits of superhuman eyesight or hearing or speed or strength, and the ACEs, Adolescent Chronosomniatic Episodes, which are vivid night terrors.  No wonder young people who begin to experience the imps and ACEs are eager to be winnowed at their local center for adolescent health to stop the progression of these horrors.

When the ACEs and imps arrive for Marivic, she is fully prepared to be checked into the Barton Center for Adolescent Health, the facility to which best friend Saren Silver had only gone the day before.  Though she doesn’t know what to expect, as those winnowed have memory impairment, and though she knows complications can lead to death, as they did for Saren’s older brother Lex, Marivic sees the winnowing as a rite of passage in which she is eager to engage.  But things seem less clear when a group of new intakes, including Marivic and Saren and classmates Kamal, Quin, and Tavi, are invited to a covert “Dis-orientation.”  There a young teen, Abbot, tells them that everything they’ve been told about the winnowing and Barton is untrue and that the organization called Winfree, the People for a Winnowing Free World, wants to help them escape before they come to harm. Most of the teens scoff at the idea of the authorities conspiring to hide the truth about the winnowing, ACEs, imps and more but, after learning the next day that Saren died during her winnowing, Marivic goes rogue–“Mrs. Silver could be sad for both of us.  I was going to be angry.” (pg. 121)–and joins Kamal in escaping the facility.

But getting out is just the beginning.  In addition to Abbot, who harbours a secret about his own origins, Marivic and Kamal are introduced to Dr. Lowry, one of the original Barton Five, who reveals the source of the SuperGen and her research on the ACEs; Ren, a young man with whom Marivic is able to communicate telepathically; and Daisy, the proprietor of the Starlight Diner and adopted mum of Abbot.  There are a lot of theories to sort through regarding the truth and lies about the winnowing and SuperGen but some answers will only come when Marivic breaks back into Barton.  She may be on a rescue mission, but she has no idea that she is the key to blowing open the whole conspiracy.

Reaching adolescence is never easy but not as problematic as in Vikki VanSickle’s first novel of speculative fiction for teens.  Just as the term winnowing suggests–cleaning of the chaff from the grain–the adolescents are sanitized from the effects of puberty.  But it’s the wholesale acceptance of the need for this process that is so alarming.  It’s easy to understand how a crisis, like infertility, can establish fear but it’s this fear that allows government and experts to make recommendations that are accepted as necessary.  There’s a type of internal terrorism to promote compliance.  Only when anomalies such as death at winnowing and the existence of those conceived without benefit of SuperGen–Abbot is one of these Naturals–contradict the accepted belief system that the faith and submission are shattered.  But it takes courage and conviction to see beyond the established way of doing things and Vikki VanSickle makes sure that readers see Marivic as someone who is enlightened enough to question these incongruities as important.

In fact, it’s Marivic who is astute enough recognize that it’s the fears of those who are different that are the source of the problems, leading to paranoia and violence.  Whether it’s seeing the Naturals like Abbot as a threat–“…if superhuman is the new normal, then where does that leave me?” (pg. 238)–or seeing danger from those only seeking refuge, fear distorts thinking and creates the very problems they hope to avoid.

Vikki VanSickle has lots to say about fear, distrust, manipulation, and blind submission but also about defiance, courage and winnowing the irrational to reveal the truth.  What The Winnowing teaches us is that there is a need for caution in construing meaning within the realm of fear, as well as for openness and respect for all.

Look for my Q & A with author Vikki VanSickle tomorrow as part of the blog tour celebrating the release of The Winnowing.  Vikki VanSickle reveals much about her path to writing speculative fiction and her enthusiasm for sci-fi and The X Files.

The Clouded Sky: Book 2 of the Earth & Sky Trilogy

by Megan Crewe

Razorbill

978-0-670-06813-5

343 pp.

Ages 13+

May 2015

When YA author Megan Crewe introduced her newest trilogy with Earth & Sky last fall, I don’t think she could have anticipated the positive response she would get to it.  While still speculative fiction like her wildly-popular Fallen World series, Earth & Sky took us into true science fiction, with teen Skylar meeting and helping alien Traveler Win to procure the parts of a weapon that would destroy the time field generator that his fellow Kemyates had been using for millennia to experiment with Earth.  When we last encountered Skylar, she had agreed to accompany Win and other interplanetary rebels–leader Thlo with Isis, Mako, Pavel and Jule–on a spaceship headed to their space station home orbiting their devastated planet of Kemya. There, Skylar would assist the rebels in recreating the weapon–based on her memories and the parts she and Win discovered and the addition of the power source kolzo–so that it could be used to destroy the time field generator.

But, though she is trying to help, Skylar’s presence is not easily explained or even acceptable, until they contrive to have Skylar play the role of Jule’s pet, a common acquisition by richer Kemyates.  Win isn’t pleased but he accepts this as the means by which Skylar can evade the scrutiny of the Enforcers and still be safe, even allowing her the freedom to learn Kemyate and practise navigation simulations in the privacy of Jule’s private apartment.

However, two unexpected circumstances begin to alter Skylar’s contribution to the mission.  First, several mishaps suggest that there is a traitor amongst the group and Thlo charges her with making observations of the rebel group.  And then, unbeknownst to Win with whom Skylar had been becoming close but now sees only occasionally, Jule and Skylar become romantically involved.

Skylar is questioning everything she is seeing and hearing and experiencing.  And her increasing fluency with their language enables her to overhear much which would normally be kept from her.  She needs to know who is sabotaging the mission and putting herself and others at risk.  And who can she trust?  What about Win and what about Jule?  Skylar may be a teen trying to help save her world and put things to right but she needs to learn how to navigate more than just a jet-pod.  Does Win still care about her?  Is her relationship with Jule, Win’s nemesis, a consequence of her “pet” status, as is not uncommon between Kemyate owners and their Earthlings, or something special?

The Clouded Sky may refer to the hazy violet-red clouds that contaminate the air over the “vacant, dust-strewn wasteland” (pg. 343) that is the uninhabitable Kemya but it is even more applicable to the murkiness of truth and deception that Skylar must steer through if she is to accomplish her one true purpose: to stop Kemyate scientists from continuing to alter Earth’s history and to degrade the fabric of her world.  She is strong and focused and, though she allows herself to enjoy the closeness of an unexpected romance and of caring friendships with several rebel Kemyates, Skylar knows the dangers that lie within and outside, and that her role in everything is very tenuous.  But that’s how Megan Crewe writes it.  She keeps the readers wondering and worrying and expecting and disbelieving throughout the story, never giving any hints to her startling ending.  But Megan Crewe has always kept us on the edge of our reading chairs, and she does so again in The Clouded Sky.  And that final line will undoubtedly shock you as it did me.  Luckily, I’ve seen photos of the third book in the series, A Sky Unbroken, which will be out soon and I know Megan Crewe will be at this weekend’s Eden Mills Writers’ Festival so here’s hoping we know sooner, rather than later, the upshot of all that was Earth & Sky and The Clouded Sky.