Nightmare Jones: Poems

Written by Shannon Bramer

Illustrated by Cindy Derby

Groundwood Books

978-1-77306-946-3

56 pp.

Ages 9–12

October 2025

 

It's the time of year when the frightening and the strange are everywhere, whether in movies and stories, or in costumes and activities. Nightmare Jones will fit in beautifully with this collection of 28 poems which are steeped in darkness and will introduce unease and even reflection.

 

The titular poem, "Nightmare Jones," is about a scary swashbuckler who also dances. Other poems with chilling characters include "Chatterbox" about a collector of teeth, "Ghost in the Mirror," and "If She Was a Monster." And there are spiders and more spiders and insects and worms and more. 

Iridescent Flies and Beetles
of Dung and Doom
are Fools for Blood, come sing
inside me. Sing! Sing! Sing!
Di-dum-di 

(p. 47, from "The Strangest One")

From Nightmare Jones: Poems, written by Shannon Bramer, illustrated by Cindy Derby

Poet Shannon Bramer also writes of the scary things called feelings, whether it be about being lonely as in "Badlonely," that tenuous relationship with home ("The Scariest Word I Know"), or grief  as in "Sorrow." Shannon Bramer may present her poems to shake us up with the images she creates with her eloquent and powerful words, but she also makes us feel things that we might not want to feel. Still, her poems are elegant and sophisticated, and deep in their darkness and weightiness.

From Nightmare Jones: Poems, written by Shannon Bramer, illustrated by Cindy Derby

Several of Shannon Bramer's poems are prose poetry, and these are personal reflections about the moon ("Moon Song"), roses ("Loading Roses"), and a friend ("Button Rose"). Even in these she makes us feel for her insights and incidents.

From Nightmare Jones: Poems, written by Shannon Bramer, illustrated by Cindy Derby

San Francisco's Cindy Derby adds the right touch of ominousness, and she accomplishes this with a blend of powdered graphite, watercolour, gouache, colour burst powder, and pastels. With those mediums, the splattering and bleeding of colours just makes everything a little more unsettled.

 

Maybe you'll want to read these poems for Halloween, or maybe anytime you want a little chill, but Shannon Bramer deserves to have Nightmare Jones read throughout the year. Her words remind me of a deep pool that can be a little scary because of what might lurk beneath the surface, but there's a calm beauty that can be found within as well. I encourage you to take a dip.

Anne of Green Gables: The Chapter Book Collection

Adapted by Kallie George

Illustrated by Abigail Halpin

Tundra Books

978-1-774887905

Ages 6–9

October 2025

 

Last year, the world celebrated the 150th anniversary of the birth of Lucy Maud Montgomery, the author of Anne of Green Gables. That book, published in 1908, continues to enamour its fans and new readers. While the book and its sequels have captivated readers of all ages, its language, particularly vocabulary, is more challenging for younger readers since it is generally more suitable for those 12 years of age and older. But it would be a shame for those younger readers to miss out on the enchantment that is Anne. To that end, Kallie George, writer of the Heartwood Hotel and The Magical Animal Adoption Agency series, and illustrator Abigail Halpin have found the perfect means to introduce early readers to this red-haired star.

Now, Tundra Books is releasing a boxed set of the six previously-published books of stories adapted by Kallie George and illustrated by Abigail Halpin from the Anne of Green Gables story. These are the six books that are included in the set:

1.    Anne Arrives (2018)
2.    Anne's Kindred Spirits (2019)
3.    Anne's School Days (2021)
4.    Anne's Tragical Tea Party (2022)
5.    Anne Dares (2023) 
6.    Anne Dreams (2024)
 
By dividing up Anne's story into six short (64-72 pages long) books, Kallie George's adaptation is manageable as well as thorough. And with Abigail Halpin's illustrations, the books are enriched with colour and detail.  

From Anne Arrives, adapted by Kallie George, illustrated by Abigail Halpin

Anne's story begins with Anne Arrives. All the key elements of Anne's beginnings, from Matthew picking her up at the station and being surprised by her being a girl, to Marilla's wanting to return Anne to the orphanage, and the altercation with Mrs. Rachel Lynde are included. There is a sweeter tone to the story than perhaps the original, though Anne's angst at being returned to the orphanage and her anger at having her hair compared to carrots are evident. 

That night, she cried herself to sleep. Not even the beautiful cherry tree outside her window made her feel better. (Anne Arrives, p. 27)

From Anne's School Days, adapted by Kallie George, illustrated by Abigail Halpin

Anne's Kindred Spirits focuses on the girl's friendship with Diana, while Anne's School Days highlights her relationship with Gilbert Blythe. Anne's Tragical Tea Party centers on Anne and Diana's relationship, from an infamous tea party that becomes a disaster because of some misguided sharing of cordial to Anne's redemption by caring for Diana's little sister.

The final two books in this adaptation show us Anne as she grows as a person, first finding the courage to take on some daring exploits including public speaking (Anne Dares), and then daring to dream of being a raven-haired beauty and going to college (Anne Dreams)

From Anne Dreams, adapted by Kallie George, illustrated by Abigail Halpin

Without giving us every part of Anne's original story, Kallie George gives us the key anecdotes and a true sense of Anne the girl. Her spirit and the foibles come through loud and clear in the stories, the dialogue and her thoughts. Making Anne the full character she is while using a reduced vocabulary and simpler text is an achievement, and it is one that young readers will appreciate, especially once they get to read the original. 

 

Abigail Halpin complements the story of Anne with her illustrations which are rendered in graphite, watercolour and coloured pencils and then coloured digitally. The artwork is plentiful, at least once on every double-page spread, and contribute greater detail than can be provided in the limited text needed for early readers. From Marilla's distress at Anne's green hair in Anne Dreams to the period clothing of the girls—oh, those puffy sleeves Anne wanted so desperately (Anne Dares)—Abigail Halpin takes us into the lives of Anne and her friends and family and to visit Green Gables, the schoolhouse and the Lake of Shining Waters. 

 

These six books have given us Anne. Her story may look a little different because of the text and the artwork but Anne, in all her splendour and simplicity, is truly here. And now, younger readers can meet her and experience why the world adores her.

"I am not changed," Anne said to Marilla. "Not really. I've grown and branched out. But me, the real me, is just the same. Where I go or how much I change on the outside won't make a difference." (Anne Dreams, p. 58)

Life in the Wild: The Collected Adventures of the Bear, the Moose and the Beaver

Written and illustrated by Nicholas Oldland

Kids Can Press

978-1-5253-1292-2

200 pp.

Ages 4-8

September 2024

Nicholas Oldland's Bear, Moose and Beaver have returned and they're in an amazing collection of six previously published books so young readers won't just be introduced to these characters but really get to know them.

The six stories included in this collection are Big Bear Hug, Making the Moose Out of Life, The Busy Beaver, Up the Creek, Walk on the Wild Side, and Hockey in the Wild. Playing up some fun puns, Nicholas Oldland truly takes us into the wild lives of his trio of friends.

From Life in the Wild, written and illustrated by Nicholas Oldland

Big Bear Hug is a story of how a bear loves to give hugs to everyone and everything but most especially trees. But when a man with an axe arrives to chop down one of the most beautiful trees, the bear has other ideas.

From Life in the Wild, written and illustrated by Nicholas Oldland

Making the Moose Out of Life has a moose who starts to wonder if he's missing out on life and decides "to take life by the antlers." (p. 49) Instead, a sailing misadventure leads to new experiences, a new friend, and the catalyst for courage to try new things.

 

A very busy but careless beaver learns the error of his ways when hospitalized after a tree-felling mishap in The Busy Beaver. However, his rehabilitation for his injuries gives him the opportunity to make right his mistakes.

From Life in the Wild, written and illustrated by Nicholas Oldland

Up the Creek's tale focuses on the three friends learning to cooperate on a canoeing trip filled with disasters and bickering. It is only through teamwork that the bear, moose and beaver can survive.

 

The theme of cooperation is revisited in Walk on the Wild Side when a mountain hike becomes a competition that becomes dangerous.

From Life in the Wild, written and illustrated by Nicholas Oldland

Finally, in Hockey in the Wild (reviewed here in 2020), the trio anticipate the start to their hockey season on the ice but patience is necessary to keep themselves safe to enjoy their winter pastime.

 

In all these stories, Nicolas Oldland infuses his characters with honest friendships while they learn lessons in patience, cooperation, teamwork, compassion and more. And he does so by example, not by preaching. Nicholas Oldland ensures that each animal is unique, quirky in their own ways, and yet willing to change when needed to help others and help themselves grow as individuals.

From Life in the Wild, written and illustrated by Nicholas Oldland

Teachers and parents may love the stories for the important lessons Nicholas Oldland imparts but kids will adore them for the silliness of these very realistic stories–who hasn't had a competition with a peer or sibling that ended in disaster?–and Nicholas Oldland's digital art. The simplicity of the shape and lines of his characters and settings make everything easily recognizable but it's the details in the expressiveness of his characters' faces and gestures that will be more relatable and still very cute. Whether chagrined at a capsized canoe or standing in a bathing suit on an ice-covered lake, the bear, moose and beaver emote according to all life's circumstances and tell children that they know how they feel.

 

Nicholas Oldland offers readers a great opportunity to take a comprehensive walk on the wild side with the bear, the moose and the beaver in Life in the Wild because whether it's winter or summer, spring or fall, there's always something happening, including ways to live in the not-so-wild.

Marvellous Munsch!: A Robert Munsch Collection

Written by Robert Munsch

Illustrated by Michael Martchenko

Scholastic Canada

978-1-0397-0696-5

184 pp.

Ages 3-8

August 2024 

What's better than a Robert Munsch-Michael Marchenko picture book? Six! In Marvellous Munsch!, young readers are treated to a hard cover collection of six fabulous stories by Robert Munsch, illustrated by Michael Marchenko. So instead of trying to decide which picture book to give them for Christmas, get Marvellous Munsch! for an assortment of wild tales about ice fishing, wildlife, getting muddy, story writing and consumerism. And all stupendously ridiculous!

 

The six stories in Marvellous Munsch! are, in the order of their presentation:  Give Me Back My Dad!, Down the Drain!, Moose!, Put Me In a Book!, Too Much Stuff! and Hugs.

In Give Me Back My Dad! a father and daughter have the tables turned on them while ice fishing. As with each story, Robert Munsch also describes how he came to write the story.

From "Give Me Back My Dad!" in Marvellous Munsch!, written by Robert Munsch, illustrated by Michael Marchenko

In Down the Drain!, a fiasco in the bathtub becomes a dangerous but funny game of blackmail as water spills out and about and threatens everything. In Moose!, a moose comes to visit, and Luke has some difficulties getting his family to believe him. (Robert Munsch's note about the story has some interesting variations of the story he tells.) Put Me in a Book! focuses on a girl whose wish to become part of a book becomes a humourous reality but not how she expected.

 

At this time of year, Too Much Stuff! would seem a cautionary tale about consumerism but more about packing for air travel and how everything that seems necessary and can't-live-without may have happy consequences. Finally, Hugs! is exactly as it suggests: a story about a child who takes hugs from a variety of animals, all distinct but perhaps a little bizarre. (A porcupine? A skunk? A snail?)
 

Robert Munsch's stories have never failed to charm with the diversity of his characters, the circumstances of their outrageous situations, and their emphatic and repetitive vocalizations, like "Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish!" in Down the Drain and Cheryl jigging her line "up and down and up and down and up and down and up and down" in Give Me Back My Dad! There's a reason he's a favourite of children around the world and Marvellous Munsch! reminds us of the wonderful medley of stories that he has told.

From "Give Me Back My Dad!" in Marvellous Munsch!, written by Robert Munsch, illustrated by Michael Marchenko

While kids, either those remembering stories told decades ago or new audience or readers to Robert Munsch's stories, will be enthralled with the laughs and the silliness, they'll recognize the art of Munsch's long-time collaborator Michael Marchenko. Though Robert Munsch has worked with other amazing illustrators, including Dave Whammond, Mike Boldt, Janet Wilson, Dušan Petričić and Jay Odjick, Michael Marchenko is the artist whose work is quintessential for Robert Munsch stories. He gets the goofiness of the stories in the scale of the circumstances, the shock and animation seen in characters' faces, and the liveliness of their stories. Michael Marchenko matches Robert Munsch's word for art and never gives us pause. And there's a telling note about their collaborative process at the of Marvellous Munsch!

From Marvellous Munsch!, written by Robert Munsch, illustrated by Michael Marchenko

If you know little ones who haven't been introduced to Robert Munsch and Michael Martchenko's books–is that possible?–then they're in for a treat with Marvellous Munsch! It's the book that keeps on giving, with six tales to make them laugh at the ridiculous and the familiar. And if they already know of this dynamic youngCanLit duo, then there will be more reading and laughter in their future, whether for bedtime reads or Christmas tree snuggles.