I'm Not Sydney!

Written and illustrated by Marie-Louise Gay

Groundwood Books

978-1-77306-597-7

40 pp.

Ages 3-6

March 2022

 

Why is Sydney not Sydney? It's because he's a sloth. And while his tree looks like a deciduous tree of Canada, the child imagines himself in the lushness of a tropical forest. As a sloth, he is happy to smile, sleep and daydream his days away, though his companion, Sami, scampering up the tree, sees herself as a spider monkey.

From I'm Not Sydney! by Marie-Louise Gay

As sloth and spider monkey enjoy their new personas, little Edward, ready for baseball, responds with the most charming of answers when they tell him of their exploits.

"Well, well," said Edward. "How about that?"

With that, he's down on all fours, his elephantine form disappearing into the tall grass of the savanna, feeling the sun, hearing the grasshoppers and smelling the grass and earth.

From I'm Not Sydney! by Marie-Louise Gay

Anamaria becomes an anteater and quiet Brigitte a bat and the quintet of friends play at make-believe animals until the elephant's trunk–or was that a water hose?–drenches them with water and laughter. They may return home when called for dinner by their parents but their imaginings carry them through their meals, bath time and sleep, with Brigitte even staying up, anticipating her flight into the night.

From I'm Not Sydney! by Marie-Louise Gay

Oh, to be a child with the freedom of play and imagination. For Sydney, Sami, Edward, Anamaria and Brigitte, a tree and meadow become the ground for creating a new world or two, and allows them the abandonment to visualize themselves as different in body and behaviour. They don't just pretend. They become. And Marie-Louise Gay lets us peek at them at their play, turning their realities into new worlds, as true as those in which they are called for dinner and given baths. Marie-Louise Gay, creator of the popular Stella and Sam and Princess Pistachio series, always, always, takes us to the heart of children's play of imagination, revealing both their innocence and sophistication in visualizing that which may not be there. In both words and art, she makes worlds resplendent in butterflies, caterpillars and birds among overgrown flora profuse with flowers with the children as stars in their own worlds, created or not. They are the gardeners of those daydreams, cultivating and nurturing life from whatever seeds are present. Whether those worlds last but a day or are ones they will revisit regularly is all up to them as well as the pen and watercolours of Marie-Louise Gay.

From I'm Not Sydney! by Marie-Louise Gay

Fox and Squirrel Help Out

Written and illustrated by Ruth Ohi

North Winds Press (Scholastic Canada)

978-1-4431-6320-0

32 pp.

Ages 2-7

August 2018

Teaching young children about empathy is not always easy because our expectations of when they should express empathy does not always jive with their feelings that empathy is necessitated. Programs like Roots of Empathy–a program in which babies visit classrooms so that students might develop their own emotional literacy–work well because children have a natural empathy for babies and those smaller and more vulnerable than themselves. That's why Ruth Ohi's latest picture book, Fox and Squirrel Help Out, her fourth Fox and Squirrel book, provides a literary model for teaching empathy while charming little ones with the honest and endearing friendship of two special friends.

From Fox and Squirrel Help Out by Ruth Ohi

When something falls onto Fox's head, squeaking frantically and loudly, the two friends are flummoxed as to how to help the little creature. Though Fox sees beyond the noise and delights in the bat's warmth and softness, he recognizes the need to appease Squeak. Like a parent or babysitter trying to calm a restless baby, Fox and Squirrel try food and entertainment but it's only when Fox rocks back and forth on one leg that the little guy is calmed and comforted.

From Fox and Squirrel Help Out by Ruth Ohi

Squirrel may be a little disgruntled because Fox insists on focusing on Squeak's needs but it's upon Squirrel's head that Squeak finds the coziness necessary for sleep. But that's only before his real family comes looking for him and Fox and Squirrel must say goodbye.

I know that everyone thinks they can write a picture book but they can't. I get a lot of picture books for review by writers who have not learned what it takes to make one great. Ruth Ohi knows how to do it right, with each and every book she creates. (Check out Kenta and the Big Wave and Shh! My Brother's Napping as two important examples of her work.) Fox and Squirrel Help Out checks off all the boxes: it tells a charming story, with simple but impactful text, which is enhanced with unique illustrations that tell more about the characters and their motivations than the words alone. Ruth Ohi's artistic style which blends daintiness with cartoons invites readers in to her scenes. (Has anyone ever thought of how awesome stuffies of Fox and Squirrel would be?)

From Fox and Squirrel Help Out by Ruth Ohi

I could tell you that Fox and Squirrel Help Out has an important message about the empathy needed to "babysit" a young one who is away from its own family, but anyone who reads the story will get it. The book doesn't preach or need to in order to impress lessons upon the reader.  What is does do is share an anecdote of two friends spending time with another who needs their help. Sure there's acceptance of differences and appreciation of diversity of needs–Squirrel's attempts at entertaining, while adorable, just don't cut it with Squeak– but it's the two friends working together that continues to create the intimacy necessary to speak to children, here helping young ones see that they have the capacity to make things right in the world just on their own scale. It would appear that Fox and Squirrel Help Out more than just a young bat.

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If you head to author-illustrator Ruth Ohi's website at http://www.ruthohi.com/fox-and-squirrel-activities, you can get a variety of Fox and Squirrel activities, including bookmarks, cut-outs for stick puppets, etc. for Fox and Squirrel Help Out, as well as the other three books in the series.

Bat Citizens: Defending the Ninjas of the Night

Written by Rob Laidlaw

Pajama Press

978-1-77278-039-0

48 pp.

Ages 8-12

March 2018

Today is Bat Appreciation Day and Rob Laidlaw's newest children's non-fiction book about protecting animals and animal welfare is THE book that needs to be read today and forever.  Bat Citizens: Defending the Ninjas of the Night takes the story of bats from tragic ecological stories to empowering children to become global citizens in helping protect this oft-misunderstood animal.

From Bat Citizens: Defending the Ninjas of the Night by Rob Laidlaw

Rob Laidlaw, biologist, animal activist and award-winning author (including of No Shelter Here: Making the World a Kinder Place for Dogs, Pajama Press, 2011 and Cat Champions: Caring for our Feline Friends, Pajama Press, 2013), may be advocating for bats, but he knows the best way to do so is to educate young readers about these animals and dispel erroneous misconceptions first.  So, he weaves the book's information about types of bats, their biology, habitats, food, predators, and the numerous challenges to their survival with a look at those who champion their needs.

From Bat Citizens: Defending the Ninjas of the Night by Rob Laidlaw

Rob Laidlaw introduces young people whom he refers to as Bat Citizens who tirelessly advocate for, research on, and provide for bats around the world.  There's Christian Spaur in Ohio who championed the installation of bat boxes, and Sarah Corton who has been surveying bats for the dangerous white-nose syndrome and creating lesson plans for teachers.  And there's four- and five-year old brother and sister who raised money for the Organization for Bat Conservation by selling hot chocolate.  These young people are doing more than their share to help.  To that same end, Rob Laidlaw discusses various bat challenges, like white-nose syndrome, disappearing habitat, and human activity, but provides solutions to all, including directing readers how they can help.

From Bat Citizens: Defending the Ninjas of the Night by Rob Laidlaw

 The book is well-organized and colourful with numerous photographs on every page.  Throughout the book, there are information boxes about "Bat Facts", suggestions of ways to help out in "Batty Ideas" and a comprehensive glossary.  The detailed table of contents and index just top off the impressive organization of Bat Citizens: Defending the Ninjas of the Night, making it a strong non-fiction selection for young readers and animal advocates everywhere. And did I mention the cool poster on the reverse of the dust jacket?

I may be reviewing Bat Citizens: Defending the Ninjas of the Night today because of the day's designation but this title is sure to be saved and read and referred to beyond April 17 because it is more than an encyclopedia about bats.  It is a book about being a citizen of the animal world, our world, and about celebrating young people who already understand that and have stepped up to defend those whose world we share.