If I Could Draw...

Written and illustrated by Patricia Storms

 ‎ DC Canada Education Publishing

978-1-834140667

36 pp.

Ages 4–8

April 2026 

 

A boy is bored. He is dismayed that he can't draw and that's what's holding him back from eliminating that boredom. If only he could draw, all would be well.

From If I Could Draw..., written and illustrated by Patricia Storms

 He then imagines all the wonderful things he would draw if he could draw. There would be dancing skyscrapers, unicorns playing ukuleles, and robots that served desserts. (Yum!) But as he imagines all the things he would draw, his little brother interrupts him, wanting to play. 

From If I Could Draw..., written and illustrated by Patricia Storms

In fact, he's so delighted to hear his big brother's ideas that he draws them, giving his brother the tangible art he so longs to create. What comes from that is a mutual admiration of their skills to imagine and to draw making a collaboration to chase away any boredom.

From If I Could Draw..., written and illustrated by Patricia Storms

Patricia Storms's story is one of creativity and self-awareness. It's reminds young children to identify the skills they have and not focus on the ones they don't have. (There will always be things we can't do.) Even better, she lets a younger brother help his older sib recognize what he himself cannot see. This lovely sibling relationship is one of support, not competition. And even though the older brother is initially reluctant to engage with his younger sib, he is moved by his words and takes the time to listen. By doing so, he learns to see his little brother's drawing skills and accept appreciation for own imagination. 

From If I Could Draw..., written and illustrated by Patricia Storms

Patricia Storms has both written and illustrated her own picture books (e.g., Never Let You Go, 2013), written picture books illustrated by others (e.g., The Dog's Gardener, 2021), and illustrated those authored by others (e.g., Moon Wishes, 2023). She obviously has no problems with the drawing component or the writing part. Still she reminds us that sometimes we forget what we can do when we can't do something else. And Patricia Storms helps us see the misery of not being able to do something—those illustrations lack colour and life—but also the brightness and fun when one is free to visualize and create.

 

I'm glad that Patricia Storms continues to delve into her creativity by exploring her art, both written text and visual art, to give colour and shape to the joy of a child's imagination. By showing us the different skills of two siblings, Patricia Storms reminds us to try, to play, and to collaborate if we are to find inventiveness.

The Great Gathering Place

Written by Naomi McIlwraith

Illustrated by Onedove

Kids Can Press

978-1-5253-1010-2

32 pp.

Ages 4–8

June 2026 

 

We all need safe places. Whether it's a place to gather with others, to teach and learn, or to celebrate or honour our ancestors, a gathering place can be that safe place for Indigenous peoples. It enables connection with community and culture both spiritually and earthly. This is the story of The Great Gathering Place.

From The Great Gathering Place, written by Naomi McIlwraith, illustrated by Onedove

Naomi McIlwraith, a Métis educator and writer, invites readers to join her to "meet our friends and relatives, and we'll visit and talk for hours and days, just as the breeze and the leaves talk for hours and days." (pg. 4) They'll travel by a big red canoe to visit and give thanks, to feast, to share lessons, and to be kind.

From The Great Gathering Place, written by Naomi McIlwraith, illustrated by Onedove

At the Great Gathering Place, there are opportunities to look back and forward. It's about recognizing those like Grandfathers, Sky and Buffalo; Grandmothers, River and Antelope; Cousins Moose and Sturgeon; and River and Fire. It's looking at learning from each other, even if it means disagreeing, but always with gentleness, kindness, and love. 

From The Great Gathering Place, written by Naomi McIlwraith, illustrated by Onedove

The Great Gathering Place may be a concept of Indigenous cultures, but it is one that we all could recognize in our own ways. It's appreciating that which gave us life and which guides us. It's about lessons learned and still to be learned, and about gratitude which needs to be expressed. Naomi McIlwraith makes the journey to this safe spot accessible for all, even including Cree translations (with pronunciation guides) of key ideas. Her rhythmical text, though not rhyming, reflects the flowing nature of water and the heartfelt thankfulness for everyone and everything that impacts our lives. Naomi McIlwraith makes it seem very natural and yet gloriously profound.

 

The art by Onedove, a Cree and Métis illustrator, may have been created digitally but it feels traditional. I wouldn't have been surprised to read they'd used oil or acrylic, or gouache and watercolour. Onedove takes us to the rivers, lands, and skies where the Great Gathering Place brings people together. Their landscapes are rich in natural elements and colours, with much in reds and oranges, and their people are of diverse backgrounds. Inclusiveness through Onedove's art and Naomi McIlwraith's text is evident.

 

The Great Gathering Place may be a state of mind where we connect with others, but it's more than that. It is a place of safety where we can find ourselves, and others, and bring about healing, learning, and spiritual renewal. It's a place that makes us more of ourselves.

Together: A Book about Community

Written and illustrated by Elise Gravel

North Winds Press (Scholastic Canada)

978-1-0397-1283-6

40 pp.

Ages 6–9

October 2025

 

As Canadians head into their Thanksgiving weekend, many will be thinking about the concept of community. What is a community? Why should we have communities? Do I have a community? How do I make a community? While a big concept in general, community will be a vague concept for young children. They might know the benefits of community, but grasping the nuances of community may be more challenging. Thankfully, Elise Gravel, author-illustrator of concept books like It's My Brain! (2024),  It's My Body! (2022), and Everybody! (2021), is heartily up for that challenge.

 

From Together: A Book about Community, written and illustrated by Elise Gravel

In Together: A Book about Community, Elise Gravel begins with statements about living in groups because it makes us feel safe and wanted. She show her colourful monsters helping those in need with medical attention, or sharing their food with those without, or lending a hand as needed. She even depicts one monster helping another who is being bullied for being different. The message is clear: Together we are better, safer, and happier.

From Together: A Book about Community, written and illustrated by Elise Gravel

Still, Elise Gravel is realistic in accepting that we don't always like other people, whether it is because they make us feel inadequate or unsafe. But, by rectifying injustice, sharing, and helping others, we build communities that are strong and safe and in which everyone feels respected.

From Together: A Book about Community, written and illustrated by Elise Gravel

Elise Gravel's little monsters again help young children understand a challenging concept like community. It's clear that her message is that we all belong and, with that belonging, comes strength and goodness. She doesn't make Together: A Book about Community a preachy book about getting along with others—although that message is clear—or how to make a community. Instead, Elise Gravel presents it as something to consider. In other words, if you help build community, these are the great things that happen for you and others. And because Elise Gravel's monsters are so adorable and completely unscary, as well as diverse in so many ways, the idea is demonstrated with delightful humour and unusual clarity. Togetherness has never been so much fun or so understandably constructive.

From Together: A Book about Community, written and illustrated by Elise Gravel

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.

Willa and Wade and the Way-Up-There

Written by Judith Henderson

Illustrated by Sara Sarhangpour

Kids Can Press

978-1-5253-0842-0

40 pp.

Ages 5–7

June 2024

 

Willa is an ostrich and Wade is a penguin, and though they are both birds, neither can really fly though they would really love to. So, they ponder "the distance between the here and the there." (p. 6) And since they seem to have a good grasp of basic science of flight, they consider what it would take to set themselves aloft.

From Willa and Wade and the Way-Up-There, written by Judith Henderson, illustrated by Sara Sarhangpour

First, Willa considers the concept of lift, while Wade wonders about velocity. How to get lift? How to ensure speed? They try ballet because ballet makes you light on your toes. No luck with flight. Then they try pogo sticks but it wasn't until sliding downhill that the two experienced a brief lift off the ground.

From Willa and Wade and the Way-Up-There, written by Judith Henderson, illustrated by Sara Sarhangpour

Next, they consider liftoff. That requires them to jump off a cliff. Of course, they become airborne, but it is, of course, temporary. It's not until they apply some scientific principles to their problem solving and engineer something that the two feel the magnificence of the way-up-there.

From Willa and Wade and the Way-Up-There, written by Judith Henderson, illustrated by Sara Sarhangpour

Judith Henderson, who has given us stories including the Big Words Small Stories series and This is a Dog Book!, knows how to give us the subtle humour with understated plots. Willa and Wade and the Way-Up-There is sweet and playful and emphasizes determination and camaraderie without flagrant slapstick humour or irreverence. Instead, Judith Henderson tells a story that invites early readers to think outside the box when problem solving. With digital illustrations by Toronto's Sara Sarhangpour, Willa and Wade and the Way-Up-There keeps its light tone and the focus on the two friends. Because everything is so understated, from the text, the art, and the messaging, young readers will just be entertained, pleased with their ability to read a book that is a step up from picture books–in their estimation, anyway–and still be given the opportunity to think about how they approach a dilemma or question that doesn't have an obvious answer. And it might also make them think about flight and concepts like lift and speed.

The way-up-there that Willa and Wade aspire to enjoy is not unlike the many ambitions we all have and, if two flightless birds can find a way to fly, then we can do our best to aim high and find solutions too.

 

Everyone Gets a Turn

Written and illustrated by Marianne Dubuc

Princeton Architectural Press

978-1-7972-2729-0

60 pp.

Ages 3-6

March 2024 

Turtle, Hare, Bear and Mouse are spending a beautiful day in the forest, when they discover an egg. They decide they will each take turns caring for it. 

From Everyone Gets a Turn, written and illustrated by Marianne Dubuc

At Mouse's house, a voice from within the egg declares that it is cold so Mouse hurries to remedy that. First, Mouse lays a fire and then he wraps the egg in a scarf and a hat. Mouse is very kind and accommodating,

The next day Mouse takes Little Egg to Bear's house. But Bear's lifestyle is a little more active, and while he exercises Little Egg cracks. Though it's apparently too tight inside the shell for Little Egg now, it needs a little help to get out. When Little Bird finally emerges, exhausted for her efforts, Bear offers comfort.

From Everyone Gets a Turn, written and illustrated by Marianne Dubuc

Then, it's on to Hare's house where the rabbit is surprised to see a bird, not an egg. But now Hare has to meet another need for their new ward: food. And though Hare has a stacked pantry, it's a bit of a mystery what Little Bird will eat.  

 

Finally Little Bird is taken to Turtle's place, a house of wonders. It’s filled with trinkets that have stories and that sparkle and that amaze Little Bird and make her dream.  

From Everyone Gets a Turn, written and illustrated by Marianne Dubuc

But when Turtle wakes up the next day, he is bereft that she is missing. All the friends are in tears, until they realize that Little Bird’s absence is just the next step in the bird’s development. Gone from one place, or four places, does not mean gone forever.

 

Each of the friends gets a turn with Little Egg/Little Bird and each excels at giving their ward exactly what she needs, whether it’s a little warmth, a little assistance in cracking the shell, sustenance, or the inspiration to dream. Like parents who must support and encourage their children until they are ready to become independent, the four friends learn to work together to be everything Little Egg/Little Bird needs until she can do for herself. And just because she has become independent, it doesn’t mean that she longer wants them in her life. Marianne Dubuc gives us a story that all parents will need to learn sometime in their children’s journey to adulthood. Her message is one of love and support but also the courage to let them fly and be their own selves. 

 

Marianne Dubuc has always created soft worlds, just as she did in On Baba's Back, Bear and the Whisper of the Wind, and Little Cheetah's Shadow. Like Beatrix Potter, who could see worlds and relationships within the animals of the natural world, Marianne Dubuc takes us into their homes, the forests, and the meadows with her subtle use of ink, watercolour, and coloured pencil. She shows us ourselves as we are or could be: friends, parents, children, good people. And she teaches sophisticated lessons of sharing and caring delivered by sweet creatures who are uniquely themselves, while being supportive and cooperative. And though a message about sharing and taking turns may seem paramount according to the title, Everyone Gets a Turn also speaks to the steps we all take in our development, going from needing to be nurtured to shifting to self-actualization.

Who's Hockey?: A 'Hockey is for Everyone' Book about Acceptance

Story by Jeff McLean

Drawings by Nicola Pringle

Words by Terri Roberts

Game Seven Media

978-1-7773056-0-4

40 pp.

Ages 4-9

November 2022

The question may be Who's Hockey? but the answer is "Everybody!"

Cam and her family have just moved, again, and, though each move is a new adventure, it's also a challenge, especially with leaving behind her hockey team and finding new friends with whom to play. The first morning at the new house, Cam and her dog Gordie are outside promptly, dragging her net and sticks and gear out onto the basketball court in the park. But it's just the two of them and she's ready to head home after shouting out "Doesn't anyone play hockey around here?" and hearing crickets.

From Who's Hockey? by Jeff McLean and Terri Roberts, illus. by Nicola Pringle

But, from her back yard, Lidia hears Cam and when Cam mentions she's looking for hockey, Lidia asks, "Who's Hockey?" Cam proceeds to tell Lidia, and also her little brother Cooper, about the greatest game on earth and they help Cam recruit a few more players in the park.

From Who's Hockey? by Jeff McLean and Terri Roberts, illus. by Nicola Pringle

Soon they almost have two full teams, but no one knows about hockey or how to hold a stick or play. Cam is happy to teach them everything about her favourite game and Gordie is happy to be part of the action.

From Who's Hockey? by Jeff McLean and Terri Roberts, illus. by Nicola Pringle

It's a full day of learning and fun and making new friends. If Who's Hockey? shows readers anything, it's that hockey can be for anyone and everyone and sometimes fitting in means sharing what you like as much as conforming to what others are all about. 

The story of Who's Hockey? comes from former pro hockey player Jeff McLean–co-creator with Dean Petruk of PRIDE hockey tape– with Newfoundland's Terri Roberts putting it to words. The basis for it are the principles of the NHL of which acceptance of all who love the game is but one. Cam offers anyone the opportunity to learn to play the game regardless of age, size, backgrounds, and abilities. It's about having fun and playing together. Alberta illustrator Nicola Pringle makes sure that everyone is included and accepted. Whether right-handed or left-handed, a person of colour or not, wearing glasses, a hijab, or a ball cap, all are welcomed and encouraged to be part of a team and have fun. There is joy in the playing and there's joy in the story of Who's Hockey?, ensuring that young readers will get the positive message about opening themselves up to new things and new people for the opportunity for good things to happen.

A Day for Sandcastles

Written by JonArno Lawson

Illustrated by Qin Leng

Candlewick Press

978-1-5362-0842-9

48 pp.

Ages 4-8

May 2022

 

JonArno Lawson has the words, as his picture books like The Playgrounds of Babel and  Leap! have demonstrated, but he doesn't need the words. As his award-winning Sidewalk Flowers and now A Day for Sandcastles show us, his storytelling can go beyond text and, with the skill of an amazing artist like Qin Leng, a story rich in characters, activity and feeling is told.

From A Day for Sandcastles by JonArno Lawson, illus. by Qin Leng

It's a day at the beach for this family of five. As they disembark from a bus, mum and dad coming up the rear, the three children race to through the grassy dunes, arms raised in cheer. There's a red-haired girl in a red-striped bathing suit, and older brother in navy patterned board shorts and a small child in green T-shirt and yellow shorts. Having found the remnants of a washed out sandcastle, they retrieve their pails and shovel and begin to work on their own.

 

But, as focused as they are on their creative endeavour, beach life teems around them. There are the swimmers and the sunbathers, the runners and the volleyball players. There are older women and toddlers, lovers walking hand-in-hand, and friends taking selfies. And there's also the splash of water and a wind-blown sun hat that damage their multi-castle structure with moat, compelling them to take a break and join their parents for lunch.

From A Day for Sandcastles by JonArno Lawson, illus. by Qin Leng

The children, though, are determined and look to rebuild their sandcastle. Together they fill buckets, mould turrets and dig out shapes. Even a toddler who sits herself down in the midst of their creation does not deter them from their work and adding flourishes of shells, twigs and other found objects.

From A Day for Sandcastles by JonArno Lawson, illus. by Qin Leng

But time and a tide wait for no one, and the children's numerous efforts must ultimately be left behind as they take their weary and sun-kissed bodies back to the bus for the trek back home.

For those who know the pleasure of a day at the beach, whether outside their own door or a bus ride away, A Day for Sandcastles is a day of possibilities. It's a day filled with play and family togetherness, cooperative fun and creative building. It's enjoying the positives and accepting the setbacks as natural and moving forward–or backward from the tide!–to dream of what sandcastles might be. JonArno Lawson gives us a full day at the beach with the companionship of siblings and the quiet but never-failing support of parents. He gives us the promise of a wide-open day as they step from the bus and the satisfying fatigue of a day well lived. We're there for the lapping cool water, the mild frustration of an errant sunhat, and the warmth of the sun on our backs. It's a day bursting with life and JonArno Lawson has given it to us without words.

Of course, without Qin Leng's watercolour and ink artwork, we couldn't envision this beach or these children on this day. Her media are perfection for a day at beach, giving us the fluidity of splashing water, the summer bustle of a diverse group of people and animals on a beach, and the heat of a sun warming sand and people. Qin Leng's skilled artistry transports us to this beach with this family and these strangers to share in a day of outdoor recreation.

There is far too much in A Day for Sandcastles to share in a single review. It will be up to you to visit that beach with your own children, students or family, and discover the minutiae of one day with these people at this one beach to build your own sandcastles, with sand or otherwise.

Brady Brady: Teammate Turnaround

Written by Mary Shaw

Illustrated by Chuck Temple

Scholastic Canada

978-1-4431-6373-6

32 pp.

Ages 4-8

September 2019

Brady is called Brady, Brady because he needs to be called multiple times to get his attention. That is, except for hockey. The anticipation of his team, the Icehogs, starting their season has the boy and his buddy Chester excited and practising enthusiastically. But after tryouts for the season, Chester is placed on another team and is ready to give up on hockey. Can Brady help his friend see that playing the game is the fun part and that they'll always be best buddies?

From Brady Brady: Teammate Turnaround by Mary Shaw, illus. by Chuck Temple

After Chester learns that he has been placed on another team, he dumps all his goalie equipment at the front of the arena with a note, "Free equipment. No longer needed." While the two wait in Chester's dad's car, Brady reminds him that "We're gonna win the Stanley Cup together one day" and "We can still play hockey together. On my backyard rink, in my basement, on my driveway." But when the boys rush back into the arena to retrieve Chester's equipment, it's already gone. 

From Brady Brady: Teammate Turnaround by Mary Shaw, illus. by Chuck Temple

So begins a search for the missing goalie pads, stick and bag. They enlist the help of a group of kids hanging out in the lobby to search the change rooms, the washroom, the concession stand and finally the lost and found room. High up on a shelf, the equipment sits. But reaching it becomes a problem for the children. Together, working as team, they construct a human pyramid to retrieve Chester's equipment, before he realizes that these kids are the Rink Rattlers, the team to which he has been assigned.

From Brady Brady: Teammate Turnaround by Mary Shaw, illus. by Chuck Temple

Chuck Temple's diverse kids with the quirky smiles and palpable enthusiasm for hockey are the right composite of cartoon and lifelikeness, quirky and real to keep the story fun, funny and truthful. So many kids love playing sports but dread playing with kids they don't know. We all love the familiar to some degree, especially in new situations. By making Chester's story about finding friends to help him out, before even heading onto the ice, Mary Shaw upholds the quote (attribution vague) that "There are no strangers, just friends you haven't yet met." It's no surprise that Chester feels comfortable playing with the Rink Rattlers now that he knows who they are and that his friendship with Brady is not at stake. 

Ultimately, Chester "knew it didn't matter what uniform he was wearing as long as he was playing the sport he loved." With their overwhelming enthusiasm for hockey, these kids would make any team, whether Icehogs or Rattlers or something else, remarkable because they knew how to work together to accomplish something great.

••••••••••••••••

A number of Brady Brady stories have been published, including 3 collections and several French-language versions. Check them out at Scholastic Canada or at the Brady Brady website.

One Wild Christmas

Written and illustrated by Nicholas Oldland

Kids Can Press

978-1-5253-0203-9

32 pp.

Ages 3-7

September 2019 

Nicholas Oldland's animal friends from his Life in the Wild series of picture books are back and this time the trio of friends are anticipating their favourite time of year and preparing for the finest celebration.

From One Wild Christmas by Nicholas Oldland

A beaver, a moose and a bear have their traditions which many children will recognize. There's the cooking of the food–check out the moose's apron that reads "I ❤️ X-Moose"– hanging the stockings, putting up lights, wrapping presents and getting a Christmas tree. Finding the right tree is not easy but they finally locate a beautiful pine. However, "the bear loved all living things, especially trees" and he was not going to let the beaver chop it down. When it becomes evident that moose and beaver are determined to have that perfect tree–there is quite a tussle!– the bear finds a solution, as suggested by a little cardinal, that allows the trio to celebrate the holiday without harming a living tree.

From One Wild Christmas by Nicholas Oldland

At this time of year, many families fortunate enough to have the opportunity to celebrate Christmas with a tree must be considering their options. The choices would seem to be endless: fake or real, spruce or fir or pine, green or silver, cut or potted. Even within families, the discussions, nay arguments, can seem endless. Fortunately Nicholas Oldland's characters who are a family of their own find a way to enjoy a beautiful tree by taking their celebration to the wild, hence One Wild Christmas. 

From One Wild Christmas by Nicholas Oldland

The message about conservation and the natural world is charming, as are Nicholas Oldland's characters and whimsical settings. (Readers may recognize the artwork from the Hatley and Little Blue House apparel companies which are run by Nicholas Oldland and his brothers.) Simple in line and shape and even colour, his artwork, rendered in Photoshop, is uncluttered but natural and inviting while rustic, not unlike the pine the trio of friends discover. In the basic outdoorsy colours of brown, black and green with blue for the sky, Nicholas Oldland's setting reminds us that we are outside in the wild. Still, the only bird and a sled and Christmas accessories bring in the bright reds and colour to offset the organic world and bring a celebration of friendship, family and environment to life.

🌲🌲🌲🌲🌲🌲🌲🌲

Read about all the books in the Life in the Wild series at Kids Can Press here.

Life in the Wild series by Nicholas Oldland

King of the Mole People (Book 1)

Written and illustrated by Paul Gilligan

Henry Holt & Co.

978-1-25017-134-4

272 pp.

Ages 8-12

August 2019

...I was never aiming for popular. All I wanted was to somehow claw my way up the ladder to a comfortable middle rung. (pg. 116)

Doug accepts that he's weird but he hates it, especially when bullies like Ed and Ted and popular girl Becky and her Binkettes call him so. But what makes him weird?  He lives in Dreadsville Manor adjacent to a graveyard. His father's prime cooking ingredient is eels. And he's been crowned King of the Mole People after King Zog (there are actually 16 O's in his name) disappears. It's no wonder he craves normalcy. So he makes a plan to participate in school activities, crush on a girl, get a friend, learn to tell jokes and even just eat regular sandwiches for lunch. Unfortunately his good efforts continue to be thwarted.

From King of the Mole People by Paul Gilligan

His friend Simon is becoming less friendly. His efforts at school participation at the rocket club, the school play and at soccer club are epic fails. And he keeps getting summoned to the underworld of the Mole People–crowns etched in the dirt or with mud–where the Royal Advisor, Croogoolooth, both manipulates and disrespects Doug. Fortunately his Royal Guard, a trio of Mole People, support his efforts and continue with the last king's positive attitude about the Up-worlders.

From King of the Mole People by Paul Gilligan

But things above ground and below are getting more weird. Kids are disappearing into holes, at least temporarily, and Doug is welcomed into groups that had rejected him earlier. Below ground, the Mole People have been helping themselves to Up-stuff and clogging their world below with everything from bicycles to fencing, stage lights and water jugs. Keeping his two worlds separate becomes harder and harder, especially with classmate Magda spying on him and with the Underworld in danger of attack by Mega-worms. Worse still, Doug is compelled to help those who trusted him, even if he has to negotiate with the Slug People, the Mushroom Folk, and the Stone Goons to achieve cooperation.

From King of the Mole People by Paul Gilligan

With the right blend of humour, irreverence and weird fantasy, Paul Gilligan will get middle-graders rolling on the floor with belly laughs for his story and his illustrations. His characters are goofy, their circumstances bizarre and his plot lines both ludicrous and entertaining. It's impossible not to laugh at a dad who makes eel pudding or a society where O's in your name denote status or where a king's throne is a painfully pointy rock. Yet in all this absurdity there is an ordinary that most children will understand. Most children just want to fit in. So with a message of self-acceptance, whether it be for a human or a Mole Person, King of the Mole People speaks to many children who will understand when Doug is eventually pleased to return to his "regular level of unpopularity" and accept his differences as normal.