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.

 

The Way Downtown: Adventures in Public Transit

Written by Inna Gertsberg

Illustrated by Mike Lowery

Kids Can Press

978-1-77138-552-7

44 pp.

Ages 4-8

2017

I've waited too long to review this gem of a non-fiction book that can be used to teach transportation, mapping, communities and so much more.  With the stories and art blending together into a fascinating depiction of travel on water and land within the city of Zoom, The Way Downtown includes everyone and their need to get around safely and efficiently.

From The Way Downtown: Adventures in Public Transit

by Inna Gertsberg 

illus. by Mike Lowery

(image from mikelowery.com)

Dr. Brodie is our first traveller, making her way from her island home by ferry and then cycling to the museum where she works.  In addition to learning about ferries and water transport, the reader learns about cycling and bike sharing.  Young Robbie is visiting his Aunt Raisa and he travels with her by bus and subway, all the while taking photographs of the urban wildlife.  Agent Theodore Rybka is on a mission to deliver an important package.  He takes multiple train and subway rides to remain incognito and confuse would-be followers of the spy. The busking Zanies family are heading to Great Park, like all our travellers, to perform.  Though public transit aficionados, using monthly transit passes, they lose Zach along the way and learn the efficiency of relocating separated parties. Finally, Boris, the guide dog, takes his visually impaired partner Guy via sidewalk and light rail train to meet their friend Leslie.

From The Way Downtown: Adventures in Public Transit 

by Inna Gertsberg

illus. by Mike Lowery

These are but 5 stories out of a billion taking place because of public transit in the city of Zoom but they give a snapshot of how different people live their lives and get around, whether visiting, working, or playing.  Readers will learn about all manner of public transit: how to use it, what to expect, paying for it, etiquette, and more.  From Lost & Founds, to repairs that take place, as well as guide dogs, The Way Downtown is an informative and entertaining read about getting around in the city. It's a fun look at the everyday concept of travel by public transit (none of the stories have travellers in cars) to see the benefits and intricacies of urban movement from place to place. Though I might see Toronto, my hometown and the residence of author Inna Gertsberg, in the city of Zoom, I suspect that Zoom could be any and every city with multiple public transit provisions, a great park and other urban features likes hospitals, a zoo, museum and observatory.

From The Way Downtown: Adventures in Public Transit

by Inna Gertsberg 

illus. by Mike Lowery 

(image from mikelowery.com)

Mike Lowery, who illustrated Maureen Fergus's award-winning The Day My Mom Came to Kindergarten (Kids Can Press, 2013) and Andrew Larsen's A Squiggly Story (Kids Can Press, 2016), gets in the busyness and complexity of an urban centre like Zoom which keeps all its people moving via many modes of public transit.  There's lots to notice and details to pick out and Mike Lowery makes The Way Downtown an urban Where's Waldo? of movement and stories being lived.  The organization of the book which resembles a graphic novel with information embedded in maps, graphic organizers and more is both inviting and comprehensive, as well as engaging.

From The Way Downtown: Adventures in Public Transit

by Inna Gertsberg 

illus. by Mike Lowery

Take a worthwhile foray into public transit, whether in a classroom with young students learning about transportation and communities (the glossary provided is worthwhile) or with your own children before a trip or to see themselves in and about their own neighbourhoods, by getting on board The Way Downtown: Adventures in Public Transit.

That Squeak

by Carolyn Beck

Illustrated by François Thisdale

Fitzhenry & Whiteside

978-1-55455-293-1

40 pp.

Ages 6-10

September 2015

With Once Upon a Line (Wallace Edwards, Pajama Press, 2015) and Some Things I've Lost (Cybèle Young, Groundwood Books, 2015), That Squeak makes a trifecta of outstanding youngCanLit picture books being released within the month, truly supportive of the idea that we've entered a new golden age of illustrated books (see an upcoming Quill & Quire examining this issue).

There is no trivial writing or illustration here.  There is a subtle darkness behind That Squeak which draws the reader in from page one.  Two boys, Jay and Joe, on their bikes–Jay's with "that squeak"–spend considerable time exploring and delving in the places beyond town and the farmlands, to the woods and the pond therein. "Our place."  But there comes a time when Jay is gone, killed, and his bike remains abandoned and locked up to a school fence, decaying in the elements of the seasons.  But the new boy, Carlos, doesn't know the bike's history or Joe's friendship with Jay or what happened to Jay and his questions and interest in the bike have Joe erupting.

Everything explodes at once.  I hear the sound of your name bounce off the brick wall of the school  Inside my ribs, big and aching sobs suck and heave like tidal waves.  There's snot everywhere.  And so many tears that I can't see anymore. (pg. 22)

It's not until Joe can see beyond his anger and his grief that he opens himself up to learning of Carlos' own story and the two can deal with their hurts together, recognizing the importance of cherishing some things, even a squeak.

Wow.  That Squeak is not a trivial story or a childish read.  It covers important issues of friendship and death, grief and anger, and acceptance and memory.  And Carolyn Beck writes it with the gravity it deserves.  Readers, younger and older, will recognize the solemnity of the story, and François Thisdale's deep illustrations reflect that weightiness.  Just as he capably conveyed the power of words from a cell-bound writer in the award-winning The Stamp Collector (Jennifer Lanthier, Fitzhenry & Whiteside, 2012), François Thisdale effectively uses painting with digital drawing to deliver colour and line blended just as a friendship can be with sorrows and secrets.  And that's what Carolyn Beck and François Thisdale have done in That Squeak: melded depth and lightness together, in words and images.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Carolyn Beck will also be attending the Eden Mills Writers' Festival on Sunday, September 13, 2015.  It's definitely becoming a go-to event for lovers of youngCanLit!

In a Cloud of Dust

by Alma Fullerton

Illustrated by Brian Deines

Pajama Press

978-1927485620

32 pp.

Ages 4-8

For release March, 2015

Like so many children who live in isolated communities in Africa, Anna accepts the need to travel long hours if she is to attend school.  The opportunity for schooling is worth it.  While others may be playing football during lunch break, Anne completes her homework which she cannot do at home as she always arrives home after dark.  This day, however, she has missed the arrival of the bicycle library and all the bicycles are snatched up by her classmates.

But, Anna still recognizes the value of these donated bicycles and goes out of her way to help her friends learn how to ride, experiencing their joy vicariously.  However, by accompanying them on their rides home, she finds her own journey takes much less time,  especially when her friend Mohammad shares his with her.

In a Cloud of Dust provides a glimpse into the lives of children who must travel long distances for the chance to attend school. Alma Fullerton's text is modest in its quantity but weighty in its simple message of compassion and support, similar to her A Good Trade (Pajama Press, 2012) and Community Soup (Pajama Press, 2013) picture books.  And, while I look forward to seeing more of Alma Fullerton's own artwork in future endeavours, Brian Deines' illustrations are incomparable, effectively portraying the dusty and lengthy distances over Anna must travel to school. Because of his reliance on oils, Brian Deines' illustrations are highly evocative of the landscape and mood of the remote areas of Anna's Tanzanian home, providing less detail and more ambiance than other media might provide, particularly in the brush of the illustrator of Bear on the Homefront (Innes and Endrulat, Pajama Press, 2014).

In the hands of Alma Fullerton and Brian Deines, the story of Anna and her travels to and from school are never lost In a Cloud of Dust.