Double-Up Day!

Written by Kari-Lynn Winters

Illustrated by Dave Whamond

Pajama Press

978-1-77278-361-2

32 pp.

Ages 3–7

May 2026 

 

What's Double-Up Day? It's a new tradition that Brandon's big brother wants to start when he realizes all the good things Brandon gets on his birthday. If they double up the goodies and the play, there's more for everyone, with a math lesson on addition to add to the fun.

From Double-Up Day!, written by Kari-Lynn Winters, illustrated by Dave Whamond

When he sees his little brother getting a large birthday gift, Brandon's older brother wonders why there's one for Brandon "...and none for me?" (pg. 5). So, he suggests Double-Up Day, a day on which they double up everything. Thus, one cake becomes 1+1 cakes which makes, "Two berry-licious, yummy-in-my-tummy, birthday cakes to decorate!" (pg. 9) (Note that all numerical terms are bolded in red to emphasize the math going on.)

From Double-Up Day!, written by Kari-Lynn Winters, illustrated by Dave Whamond

After the cakes, there is a doubling-up of party hats, tails on the pin-the-donkey game, popsicles, balloons, balls, running of laps, swinging in the playground, bounces on a trampoline, and finally naptime stories. (Naps seem a requirement for a very young Brandon and a very tired Grandpa.) With each new activity, young readers will learn how to double up numbers one through ten and enjoy some rhyming onomatopoeia as things are wiggly-jiggly, bouncy-wouncy, uppy-puppy, and more.

From Double-Up Day!, written by Kari-Lynn Winters, illustrated by Dave Whamond

The day may end with only one book and a special aunt but the learning that happened through the sharing of Brandon's special day will not be forgotten by readers.
 

Kari-Lynn Winters has used her picture books to bring joy and play to learning, whether it's about the arts (Hungry for the Arts: Poems to Chomp On, 2022), engineering (Hungry for Engineering: Poems to Gnaw On, 2024) or science (Hungry for Science: Poems to Crunch On, 2015), all written with Lori Sherritt-Fleming and illustrated by Peggy Collins or Dave Whamond. Or Kari-Lynn Winters just wants us to have fun, and she gives us stories that make us smile and laugh and still consider what's happening in the story. (For example, What If I'm Not a Cat?, illustrated by Kelly Collier, from 2023, comes to mind.) Or she tells stories that are sensitive in their messaging and perceptive in their subjects like French Toast (illustrated by François Thisdale from 2016). Whatever Kari-Lynn Winters decides to write becomes a story that will matter. Double-Up Day! matters because of its teaching and the learning that will happen, but it's its delivery that matters. The story is festive and upbeat, and, though I was annoyed with Brandon's nameless big brother who selfishly decides to make himself part of a birthday not his own—I'm personally triggered by narcissists who want all attention on them no matter the event—Kari-Lynn Winters ensures that he redeems himself by helping Brandon have more fun than he would have had by himself.

 

Kari-Lynn Winters may give the fun in her playful words, but Dave Whamond gives us it in the silliness of his illustrations. Dave Whamond has written and illustrated his own books (e. g., Oddrey, 2012; Rosie's Glasses, 2018; Hugo's Haunted Handbook, 2024) as well as for those of others, most notably Robert Munsch (e. g., School Rules!, 2020; Think Big!, 2021). But he always brings the silliness of children at play and the frivolity of life. Whether it's a trampolining dog, dripping popsicles, watchful-eyed squirrels, bunny slippers, or kids finding fun in familiar activities, Dave Whamond lets us know that everyone is having a jolly good time.

From Double-Up Day!, written by Kari-Lynn Winters, illustrated by Dave Whamond

If I was still teaching and I knew little ones would miss celebrating their summer birthdays with their school friends, Double-Up Day! would be a great story to read to celebrate double (or even triple) birthdays before the end of the school year. Kids could enjoy a great book, learn about doubling and addition, and having a birthday celebration all in one go. Sounds like a win + win = double win for everyone!

Hello Humpback! and One Eagle Soaring

Hello Humpback!

Illustrated by Roy Henry Vickers
Text by Robert Budd
Harbour Publishing
978-1-55017-799-2
20 pp.
Ages 2-6
2017

One Eagle Soaring

Illustrated by Roy Henry Vickers
Text by Robert Budd
Harbour Publishing
978-1-55017-828-9
20 pp.
Ages 2-6
2018

After my last review in which I applauded the recently published Sockeye Silver, Saltchuck Blue, the third book in the A First West Coast Book series by Roy Henry Vickers and Robert Budd, I thought it imperative that I give some attention to the first two books. Published in 2017 and 2018 respectively, Hello Humpback! and One Eagle Soaring focus on their own concepts–these are concept books after all–but still with a Pacific Northwest flavour and honouring First Nations.

From Hello Humpback!, illustrated by Roy Henry Vickers, text by Robert Budd

Hello Humpback! celebrates a variety of West Coast features in Robert Budd's subtle rhyme and Roy Henry Vickers's illustrations. From animals such as the humpback whale, the salmon, the raven and a myriad of sea creatures such as the steelhead, ratfish and sea urchin, to plant life but also the land and the water, Hello Humpback! is a salute to the Pacific Northwest.

From Hello Humpback!, illustrated by Roy Henry Vickers, text by Robert Budd

Counting in One Eagle Soaring also becomes an homage to the wildlife of the British Columbia coast. In rhyming text, children can count one eagle, two moose, three orcas, four bees, five sea lions, six bears, seven swans, eight robins, nine frogs, and ten owls. But the text is far more sophisticated, emphasizing the actions undertaken by the wildlife and the development of vocabulary with words like pollinate, wander and serenade.

From One Eagle Soaring, illustrated by Roy Henry Vickers, text by Robert Budd

Robert Budd's text is as fluid as Roy Henry Vickers's art. One puts forth important ideas in understated rhyme and the other conveys it in rich colours and line that embed readers in a West Coast state of mind and heart. The effect is heartfelt but informative, with the stunning artwork both calming and still emotionally charged, incorporating both the traditional and the contemporary to full effect.

I urge all parents, grandparents and teachers of the very young to share the West Coast environs through Roy Henry Vickers and Robert Budd's trio of board books. There will be  learning about animals, numbers, colours and more but the discussions about place will teach even more.

At the Pond

Written and illustrated by Werner Zimmermann

North Winds Press (Scholastic Canada)

978-1-4431-4287-8

32 pp.

Ages 2-5

September 2018

On Wednesday, At the Pond became a nominee for a Governor General's Literature Award for Children's Book Illustration and today I want to share why this superb book of art is a worthy contender.

From At the Pond by Werner Zimmermann

At the Pond is a counting book at its simplest. One fish...two fish...and upwards to ten. But At the Pond is more art book than concept book. It is a compendium of beautifully rendered paintings that take the reader to see a pond up close and very personal. Every double spread is an opus of the natural world in colour and shape. The depth of realism that reflects the pond's life, botanical and zoological, is dramatic and intimate. From the goldfish to the water lilies, leopard frogs, insects that include water striders and dragonflies, and the great blue heron from whom the pond life scatters, At the Pond is a literary pond study for those for whom ponds are not readily accessible and even for those fortunate to have them in their backyards.

From At the Pond by Werner Zimmermann

Werner Zimmermann blends green and blue watercolour pigments to give life to the pond's water. There's a dynamic component to essentially still waters–ponds are after all defined as bodies of standing water–that comes from the strokes of his brushes and blending of tones, tints and shades. There are seemingly hundreds of greens in Werner Zimmermann's pond. Moreover, his depiction of the living components in the pond are natural and accurate and filled with life. (Watch the flowering of the water lily for evidence of this.)

From At the Pond by Werner Zimmermann

Teachers may well use At the Pond for counting or for STEM lessons, but for me, it's a study in extraordinary art of the natural world, bringing the outdoors in and sharing a glimpse of life At the Pond.

Canada 123

Written and illustrated by Paul Covello

HarperCollins Canada

978-1-44345-813-1

30 pp.

Ages 2-5

September 2017

For little ones who are only discovering that they live in Canada, Canada 123 will take them on a fun romp through the cultural and physical landscapes that define us.  It's fun and comprehensive and bold in colour and message.

From Canada 123 by Paul Covello

From the icy landscape of 0 zero degrees, each double-spread shows the number in numerical value and word with an appropriate Canada attribute.  There’s 1 flag, 2 official languages, 3 polar bears, 4 seasons, 5 farms (including crop, dairy and wind), 6 hockey players (diverse in gender and race), 7 geese (yes, Canadian), 8 Mounties (similarly diverse in gender, skin tone and head gear), 9 whales, and 10 sled dogs.  Then Paul Covello jumps to 25 fishing boats, 50 train cars, and 100 snowflakes (there truly are 100).  Finally, the back endpapers sum up Canada in 10 provinces, 3 territories, 1 country.

From Canada 123 by Paul Covello

Canada 123 has a little bit of everything that is Canada including urban and rural scenes, Arctic, Pacific and Maritime displays, and sights from across the country.  Paul Covello's illustrations are vibrant and upbeat and dramatic and the lines and textures smooth, perfect for our youngest non-readers and readers.  It's a great introduction to counting and Canada and is a worthwhile addition to my booklist of Canada picture books (which I'll now amend to include this Canada 123).

From Canada 123 by Paul Covello

Going for a Sea Bath

by Andrée Poulin

Illustrated by Anne-Claire Delisle

Pajama Press

978-1-927485-92-7

32 pp.

Ages 5-8

March, 2016

What is it with so many kids and baths?  For Leanne, “It’s so boring! It’s annoying! It’s a pain!”  But her father has an idea (or more than several) how to make it more fun and it has him running back and forth to bring the sea in to her bathtub.

There’s one turtle, then two eels, three clown fish, and four seahorses.  At the four seahorses, Leanne is exclaiming, “Taking a bath is exciting! It’s the best!”  But her father, delighted in  making his daughter happy, continues to feed her requests for more or different with five shrimps, six hermit crabs, seven sea urchins, eight anemones, nine starfish and ten octopi.  Needless to say, that bathtub becomes a little crowded and they must find a solution to a new problem.

Taking a bath has never been so much fun!  The repartee between father and daughter is priceless. There is such warmth and affection that it’s easy to see why Leanne’s father would take such delight in his daughter’s joy.  He’s a little goofy, with his paunch, flat feet and receding hairline, but he’s all about being a good dad.  And little Leanne, with her head full of curls and splattering of freckles, is the quintessential inquisitive child with eyes and heart wide open.

Though Andrée Poulin’s text is based on counting, and would be a fun way for parents or teacher to help young children with numbers,  Going for a Sea Bath is so much more than that.  It’s a fun romp at bath time, with a tub full of different sea creatures, while looking at their behaviour and physical characteristics (though I didn’t know octopi knew how to use a toilet or that the hermit crab would enjoy playing with toilet paper!) Andrée Poulin, whose award-winning The Biggest Poutine in the World I recently reviewed here on CanLit for LittleCanadians, is staggerinly effective in her story-telling, whether for the very young or middle-grade.

From Going for a Sea Bath by Andrée Poulin, illus. by Anne-Claire Delisle

But the precious factor for Going for a Sea Bath goes beyond priceless because of Anne-Claire Delisle’s illustrations. The details in all the animals and in the scenes she composes of Leanne and her father amongst the backdrop of the bathroom are so full that I continue to look back on the book and find more and more features that delight.  From the shrimp draped in Leanne’s hair and the reclining turtle to the octopus squeezing shampoo from a bottle, Anne-Claire Delisle’s artwork is charming.

And, if there isn’t enough to love about this book, teachers will love talking synonyms with the adjectives, like magnificent, phenomenal and super-stupendous, that Leanne’s father uses to describe each new idea.  Going for a Sea Bath is  some kind of wonderful!

One Hungry Heron

by Carolyn Beck

Illustrated by Karen Patkau

Fitzhenry & Whiteside

978-1-55455-361-7

32 pp.

Ages 3+

October 2014

If you're fortunate to have a cottage near water or access to a marshy area or pond, One Hungry Heron should accompany you and your littlest ones on your next trek there in off-winter seasons.  Carolyn Beck's newest book, expertly illustrated by Karen Patkau who excels at capturing the natural world in digitally-created collages, helps guide the eyes of children who are learning their numbers to see the heron, catfish, dragonflies, beavers, water walkers, snakes, frogs, snails, ducks and turtles and their interactions across the pond.

Carolyn Beck uses rhyming text to count each animal, from the solitary heron amongst the cattails to the ten tiny turtles on a log, as well as using evocative descriptors and action words to lend texture to each animal's double-spread.

Nine paddly ducks
dabble in the reeds.
They flap and quack
and snack on weeds. (pg. 20)

Although One Hungry Heron is a counting book, for numbers 1 through 10, there's a complete turnaround when the rain comes, and zero is introduced, with the assortment of animals amalgamated in a final image.

Coupled with the distinct textures and subtle colours within the vegetation, water and substrates of Karen Patkau's collages, One Hungry Heron is a fluid visual and auditory composition linking outdoor scenes familiar to many Canadians with basic counting by one's, forwards and back.