The Scariest House on the Street

Written by Joel A. Sutherland

Illustrated by Terry Pearson

North Winds Press (Scholastic Canada)

978-1-0397-1917-0

32 pp.

Ages 3–8

July 2026 

Author Joel A. Sutherland is known for scary. He has written the Haunted Canada series, the Haunted Canada Graphic Novel series (e.g., Haunted Canada Graphic Novel: Four More Terrifying Tales, 2025), titles in the Haunted series like Field of Screams (2020), and his standalone stories like Summer's End (2024) and Screamers (2022). He delights middle-grade readers and teens with stories that frighten, twist, and terrorize. Joel A. Sutherland is our Canadian version of R. L. Stine. And now he's ready to amuse our youngest readers with a story of monsters that will entertain without frightening.

From The Scariest House on the Street, written by Joel A. Sutherland, illustrated by Terry Pearson

Monsters Willow and her friends Violet, Harry, and Gill love playing at the abandoned house at the end of Shivers Street. But they are aghast when someone moves in and cleans up the place. There are no spiderweb anymore, or rats, or holes. And it smells lemony fresh. 

It was much scarier than Willow could have imagined. (pg. 9)

From The Scariest House on the Street, written by Joel A. Sutherland, illustrated by Terry Pearson

They imagine who might have moved in. Could it be gnomes, or zombies, or perhaps a sasquatch? When they're invited to a Halloween Party at 13 Shivers Street and compelled to go—parents can be so unrelenting—they dress up in their most terrifying costumes, and head out to meet Bronwen, a bubbly swamp creature, a tiny vampire named Fiona, and a werewolf named Charles. But it is Halloween. And our monsters and their new neighbours may be surprised to learn they are not what the other expected.

From The Scariest House on the Street, written by Joel A. Sutherland, illustrated by Terry Pearson

In a story about the scariest house on the street, Joel A. Sutherland won't scare little ones as much as amuse them with a story about monsters who think dressing as a doctor, astronaut, business person, and fisherman is scary. What will be funny to those readers will be monsters frightened of humans and vice versa, sort of. Without telling kids to accept others who might be different, Joel A. Sutherland twists their perceptions about those who are different—reminds me a lot of Frederic Brown's 1954 short story, Sentry—and shows them finding interest in their differences. Differences give richness to a community, and the new neighbours on Shivers Street definitely give it life. (Pun intended.) 

This is Joel A. Sutherland's first picture book, and he sets the tone perfect for young children. Nothing scary, lots to charm, and a story with an understated message about acceptance of those who are different. That same aspect comes through Terry Pearson's digital illustrations which give us not-so-scary monsters, a Halloween party of epic games and food, and characters that are colourful, a little naive, and sweetly distinct. Kids will definitely want to try to emulate those costumes and that party this Halloween, and, with Terry Pearson's artwork, they'll have all the visuals needed to pull them off.

From The Scariest House on the Street, written by Joel A. Sutherland, illustrated by Terry Pearson

I know it's a little early to be thinking about Halloween but, for many kids, the anticipation is part of the fun. Bring them some hilarity early with ideas for that holiday from The Scariest House on the Street and with a story that will remind them to see past differences and find the authentic, human or monster.

Still Friends

Written by Troy Wilson

Illustrated by Mike Deas

Orca Book Publishers 

978-1-4598-4257-1

32 pp.

Ages 3–5

May 2026 

 

When a dog makes a new friend in the park, he can't help but compare her to his old friend. But is that really fair? After all, maybe his new friend has different stuff to offer.

From Still Friends, written by Troy Wilson, illustrated by Mike Deas

When we first meet this adorable beagle, he's with a wonderfully quirky woman with a red ball cap who plays with him, speaks to him, walks him on a long retractable leash, and gives him treats and lots of scratches. But his new friend is a little different. She sits stoically on a bench-like plinth, never speaking and never moving. Just "stone-cold silence."

From Still Friends, written by Troy Wilson, illustrated by Mike Deas

He's a little put off by her silent treatment and soon realizes that she offers a different kind of friendship, to him and a group of pigeons. She offers shelter and support. She never scolds or frowns at him. She definitely doesn't dress him up in silly costumes. And she always listen.

From Still Friends, written by Troy Wilson, illustrated by Mike Deas

This little beagle learns soon enough that none of them is perfect, including himself, and each offers something that makes them a dependable friend to have.

Troy Wilson, author of Liam Takes a Stand (2017), Little Red Reading Hood and the Misread Wolf (2019) and Goldibooks and the Wee Bear (2021), has written a picture book that is both subtle and candid. It reminds me of the old saying by Joseph Parry (and later adapted into a Girl Guide song) to "Make new friends, but keep the old; Those are silver, these are gold." This beagle has a person who is with him all the time, doing the fun stuff and the discipline stuff too. They are the friend and parent, companion and teacher. But for the beagle to expect his new friend, a stone statue of a girl or young woman seated with her hands in her lap, to be the same is just an innocent confusion of what makes a friend. With observation and insight, the beagle realizes that his still friend could still be his friend regardless of how different she is from his old friend. (Hope you're picking up on the puns and word play in Still Friends.) 

From Still Friends, written by Troy Wilson, illustrated by Mike Deas

Even though Troy Wilson likes to play with words, adding some humour to a story about accepting friends as they are, Still Friends asks readers to reflect on their own friendships, just as this beagle has. Because he has done so, through observation and with insight, his life is richer for his awareness. That same lightness and delicacy with a shade of circumspection comes through in Mike Deas's artwork which was created with pastel and pencil crayons with ink outlines. As in his many books in the Scholastic Canada Biography series (written by Elizabeth MacLeod), the early reader Two Tales of Twenty-Six: Liam and the Letters, Walter and the World (written by Stephanie Simpson McLellan, 2024), and his own Sueño Bay Adventures with Nancy Deas), Mike Deas gives us texture and life, even in a story that has to balance brightness with gravitas. He is an illustrator whose style can give us the playfulness but with a sheen of weight in the messaging. It's that same juxtaposition of the beagle's two friends that shows up in Mike Deas's art and complements Troy Wilson's story so well.

 

Next time your child or a student is struggling with friends and wondering if they can be friends with others, give Still Friends a read. It will help them understand that there are many friends out there and by appreciating our differences, including our own imperfections, it will help us establish rock-solid relationships, not just win popularity contests.

A Deadly Inheritance

Written by Kelley Armstrong

Tundra Books

978-1-77488-803-2 

424 pp.

Ages 14+

March 2026 

 

Understanding where you fit in the world is rare here. Embracing it is even rarer. (pg. 45)  

For seventeen-year-old Liliana Green, getting by since her mother died recently is everything to her. That and avoiding the Illinois Department of Child and Family Services. She works two part-time jobs, works hard at school to get that full scholarship to college in September, and she sells stuff to make rent. When lawyer Cecilia Robbins appears on her doorstep and announces that Liliana to be the grandchild of the billionaire Chamberlains, Liliana's financial troubles appear to be over. She's whisked away to Westdale, her mother's alma mater and a school that only admits the wealthiest of students. 

 

Of course Liliana has lots of questions, especially why her mother never went to her parents for help, but once she's at Westdale, Lili just has more questions. She may be enjoying the perks of being part of a billionaire family—". . . I'll enjoy what I can, while I can" (pg. 20)—but she still has to navigate meeting new peers who see her as the new Chamberlain girl. She becomes friendly with Maddox Moreno, son of a tech wizard, and Theo Dubois, son of an actor and a director, although the two boys have a cool relationship with each other. And Lili is invited to join Allegra Khan, Polly Reeves, and Isolde Brandt in the Lilith society, one of four societies on campus. 

Soon Lili is being recruited to join the race for that year's Optima, a prestigious competition that would win her a place in an elite networking group outside the school. Even before she has agreed, she's targeted and told to watch herself. Would her competitors really try to eliminate her? But Lili has another mystery to solve when she learns her mother was the Dux (leader) of the Liliths, and ran away with her father before she graduated. Why did they run away? What does it have to do with the death of a scholarship student? And what secrets is Westdale keeping?

 

Like many boarding schools, Westdale is a microcosm of good and bad and ugly. There is a clear class structure and distinct peer groups. There are secrets from the past and mysteries from the present. There are rules to be broken and a system to work in. And there is danger hiding everywhere. Kelley Armstrong takes us into a school of the fabulously wealthy and lets us watch as the students form alliances and friends, tread cautiously around others, and do what they can to safeguard themselves and support those for whom they care. But no one is ever safe. So, as we learn more about the secrets behind Liliana's parents, Rose (Rosalyn) Chamberlain and Will Green, and several suspicious deaths, including that of Maddox's sister and that of a friend of Rosalyn's, Kelley Armstrong twists and turns the reader into believing no one is to be trusted. She gives us all the clues but she cleverly tangles us into seeing connections where there are none and ignoring key players because they seem inconsequential. Still, even if you pay attention, Kelley Armstrong will surprise you, both with her ending and the solution to the mystery. And there's nothing better than the unraveling and intertwining of plot threads leading to a refreshing and a gratifying denouement, which is what you always get with Kelley Armstrong's suspenseful reads.

A Friend is a Friend is a Friend

Written by Sara O'Leary

Illustrated by Qin Leng 

Groundwood Books

978-1-77946-026-4

32 pp.

Ages 3–6

April 2026 

 

A concern for many children entering a new situation, whether a new school, a new sports activity, or even a new neighbourhood, is whether they'll make any new friends. For this child, heading off to camp, the worry is very real, but she's hopeful of learning some new strategies from her peers.

From A Friend is a Friend is a Friend, written by Sara O'Leary, illustrated by Qin Leng

Without ever asking a question—or does she?—a little girl gets different perspectives from other children. As the diverse and colourfully dressed children play on a massive tree, they are quoted about their friends and the basis for those friendships. The first piece of advice is about asking questions because that's how you learn if you have things in common with others. It might be a birthday, a favourite colour, or the need for quiet.

From A Friend is a Friend is a Friend, written by Sara O'Leary, illustrated by Qin Leng

The variety of their experiences is rich, as are the friends they have. For one child, their best friend is their grandfather because they share stories. It could be a friend who supports you or one that you appreciate for the type of person they are. There are children who don't speak the same language but understand each other just the same. There is a child whose friend was a he and is now a she and that's okay since they still like doing the same things. There is a shy child, lifelong friends, and one who has an invisible friend. There are so many children, and they all make friends differently and make different friends. The richness of their experiences is only matched by the individuality of their friendships.

From A Friend is a Friend is a Friend, written by Sara O'Leary, illustrated by Qin Leng

Sara O'Leary, author of A Family is a Family is a Family (2016) and A Kid is a Kid is a Kid (2021), gets to the heart of friendships by showing children that there is no right way to make a friend and be a friend. Her message is one of joy in the diversity of who we are and how we make friends. Without telling kids how they can make friends, she allows children to express their own feelings about their processes, giving them voice. (All responses by children to the unasked question of making friends are placed in quotation marks.) By giving them voice, Sara O'Leary lets young readers take what they want from the guidance of their peers, perhaps to help them make their own friends. And, with the wisdom of a compassionate adult, she reminds readers that, "It turns out that the best way to make a friend is to be one." (pg. 29)

From A Friend is a Friend is a Friend, written by Sara O'Leary, illustrated by Qin Leng

A Friend is a Friend is a Friend has been illustrated by Qin Leng, as in the earlier books in this collection. Qin Leng's art, created with ink, marker, and watercolour, are distinct, both light in marks and bright in mood. She does well with stories with young children, giving them innocence, playfulness, and wonder. By making all the children unique in their demeanours and expressions, and by keeping them joyful and natural in the familiarity of play, Qin Leng helps reflect Sara O'Leary's emphasis on diversity and individuality.

  

There will always be those children who make friends very easily, never worrying about how to do it or if they can do it. But there are others for whom it is an uncertainly and even a fear, and A Friend is a Friend is a Friend will help them. Best of all, it's a sweet story without being a contrived teaching tool. And if your little one is heading to summer camp, or to kindergarten or a new school this fall, or you're planning on moving house, A Friend is a Friend is a Friend will reassure those for whom finding a friend may be more of a challenge. It reminds them that they can do it.

 • • • • • • •

 

A Family is a Family is a Family (2016)

A Kid is a Kid is a Kid (2021)

A Friend is a Friend is a Friend (2026)

Mabel Makes (^Up) a Friend (The Elephant in the Room)

Written and illustrated by Cyndi Marko

Penguin Workshop

979-8-217-04951-6

96 pp.

Ages 5–8

Releases August 26, 2025

 

Grade 2 is turning out to be a rough year for Mabel. Her friends Bea and Flora are in the other Grade 2 class and, because her family recently moved, Mabel travels on a different school bus than they do. And her teacher, Mrs. Crabgrass, sometimes keeps Mabel in at recess to do her homework that she forgets to do. But then Mr. Elephant comes into her life.

 

On her way home and then at her house, Mabel starts to see an elephant hiding, sometimes in a moving box, under a lampshade, or behind a shower curtain. She's confused so goes to ask her family about the elephant, but her dad is too busy with the twin babies, her mom is busy writing her book, and her Goth teen sister speaks only in spooky old poetry.

From Mabel Makes (^Up) a Friend, written and illustrated by Cyndi Marko

When he finally speaks to her, wondering who imagined him into existence, he chooses the name Mr. Elephant, and the two start sharing how they live their lives. After they determine he is not her fairy god-elephant, Mabel interviews him and in a playful way learns about elephants: where they live, what they eat, and what they do. When playing a video game becomes a little rambunctious, he seems to be the one creating mayhem. That mayhem continues when Mr. Elephant accompanies her to school the next day.

From Mabel Makes (^Up) a Friend, written and illustrated by Cyndi Marko

At school, Mabel gets into trouble for causing the art easels to fall, for not doing her homework—Mr. Elephant ate it because it had a smudge of peanut butter on it—and for her lack of focus. But when her friends Bea and Flora affectionately call her weird—"Oh, Mabel, I love how weird you are!"—Mabel is concerned until Mr. Elephant reminds her that they actually want to spend time with her, inviting her to a movie.

From Mabel Makes (^Up) a Friend, written and illustrated by Cyndi Marko

It's pretty obvious that Mabel is missing her friends and hasn't made any new ones. (In fact, the next The Elephant in the Room book has Mabel's parents signing her up for the scouting club called Lightning Bugs to help make new friends.) Not only is she lonely, she's also having a hard time focusing. She may create an imaginary friend who comes in handy to explain the messes she makes, the chaos she creates, and the school work that doesn't done. But Mr. Elephant doesn't take away her worries that she doesn't fit in or that maybe others don't like her. Cyndi Marko not only lets us see Mabel from the perspective of her teacher, her friends, and her parents, she also allows us to see what Mabel is seeing and feeling both from her own point of view and that of Mr. Elephant. He helps refocus her but also plays the scapegoat. His role is multifaceted and, though he may be a creation of her imagination, he is a real part of her. 

From Mabel Makes (^Up) a Friend, written and illustrated by Cyndi Marko

I've loved Cyndi Marko's storytelling since she published her Kung Pow Chicken series, another early graphic novel. These books and Mabel Makes (^Up) a Friend demonstrate that Cyndi Marko knows her early readers and gives them what they'll love: laughs, characters, and issues with which they can relate. Mabel seems to get into trouble at school while her family is too busy to see that she needs some support. But Mabel's troubles are multi-faceted in that she's feeling lonely, worrying, feeling ignored, and always seems to have the wiggles. She needs some help. Sadly, the only one who seems to provide it is the elephant she imagines for herself. But Cyndi Marko addresses what Mabel is going through while keeping it funny and clever and even providing facts about elephants. Her illustrations are very cute, especially her characters. Mabel and the other humans have stick arms and legs but their faces and bodies make them easily differentiated. And it's easy to see the emotions of sadness, confusion, silliness, and more in those faces and in their body language. Even with uncomplicated illustrations which are perfect for the audience of early readers, Cyndi Marko gives us more story and more feeling. 

 

Mabel Makes (^Up) a Friend, with its delightful artwork and important story, packs a lot into 96 pages. Not only will it entertain, it will teach science, reassure those fidgeting kids that accidents happen, assist kids in finding help, and maybe even encourage parents and teachers in becoming aware that, when little ones are challenged, sometimes they have to find their own supports, such as envisioning a bow tie-wearing pachyderm who is delighted to be picked for the job.

No Purchase Necessary

Written by Maria Marianayagam

HarperCollins

978-1-4434-7261-6

256 pp.

Ages 9–12

January 2025 

 

Ajay Anthonipillai and his parents and sister Aarthi recently moved to Bridge Creek to be closer to some family and save money. It's now a three-hour commute for Appa to the city where he is studying for his master's in civil engineering, but the Tamil Sri Lankan family understands the sacrifices that must be made to succeed. While understanding that money is tight and that his parents have very high expectations for him, Ajay really wants to fit in. And so, when taunted by alpha classmate Jacob Underson to steal a Mercury chocolate bar in Scary Al's convenience store, Ajay does it. This one mistake changes everything for Ajay.

 

Jacob refuses the chocolate bar since Ajay hid it in his pants, so Ajay eats the chocolate himself. "It tasted like bliss and guilt." (p. 25) But there's more than candy in the package. There's also the message on the wrapper that tells him he's won Mercury's $1 million Grand Prize. He knows all the good that money would do his family, including helping his aunt's family in Sri Lanka but Ajay knows he doesn't deserve it. In fact, if he hadn't taken it, his classmate Mindy Yu would've won it, grabbing the next bar after him. 

What to do? He has learned much from karate about integrity and respect, as he had from attending Catholic Church with Father Freddie, so Ajay is torn about what to do. Return the wrapper to Scary Al? Give it to Mindy? Confess to his parents? Cash in the ticket? Even as Ajay vacillates between all his options–not unlike Robert Frost's poem "The Road Not Taken" for an assignment with which Ajay is struggling–he ends up working for Scary Al at the store, becoming friendly with Mindy who helps him with his English assignment, and fighting and then collaborating with his tormentor Jacob. 

But lies have a life of their own. Some lies beget other lies. Or the lies morph into something completely different. And they can always be exposed. Whether it's because someone lets something slip or the liar is overcome with guilt or because the truth was known all along, lies do unravel, and for Ajay, it's just a question of when and how, not if.

 

Maria Marianayagam, herself a Sri Lankan-Canadian, undoubtedly drew from her own cultural experiences to give life to Ajay and his family. The high regard for education and family and hard work are evident, all solid foundations for Ajay and Aarthi. But these same values are challenged when they intersect with the culture of their new home, in which kids defend themselves when bullied, do extracurricular activities, and try to fit in with their peers. The balancing act of being different people, one at home and both a peer and your parents' child at school is a precarious one and one that challenges Ajay. Maria Marianayagam does not make Ajay a perfect kid who handles it all. She makes him real, struggling with himself and others, trying to do what's right though it might make life harder, and wishing for a break occasionally to just be himself. When Ajay and Aarthi can finally unmask themselves to their parents, it's both refreshing for all and illuminating.

 

Winning a million dollars seems like a dream but for Ajay it becomes a nightmare of conflict between honour and want. Thankfully, the rules of his family and those of the dojo and his faith help guide him to make the best choice and ultimately to enrich his life in unforeseen ways.

The Outsmarters

Written by Deborah Ellis

Groundwood Books

978-1-77306-857-2

248 pp.

Ages 9–13

August 2024

 

We refuse to outmean them and we can never outspend them. We have to outsmart them. (p. 14) 

When you live in a small town and everyone knows your business, you have to be smart or even smarter to get through. Twelve-year-old Kate has to be very smart because her life is so convoluted, and she doesn't even know the half of it. She lives with her Gran after Kate's mom Alyssa abandoned her for her latest boyfriend and her addiction, but Gran is as curmudgeonly as they come. For a woman who runs The Junk Yard, a junk business that carries everything from toys to books, hardware and kitchen stuff, Gran is hardly a people person, and she passes on the hard lessons on life and business that she's learned to Kate. So, to make some money, Kate decides to set up a Philosophy Booth in an old shack on the property and charge "seekers" $2 to get answers to life's questions. Using a roulette wheel and cards with quotes from 32 philosophers from Buddha to Ovid, Kate starts making and saving her money so that she can help Mom leave her latest boyfriend, if she ever gets back in touch.

 

Through her six-week suspension from Grade 6 and into the summer, Kate reads a variety of people, from the crusty Ms. Prawn, their neighbour, who is always complaining about them and their cat Bargain, to junk yard customers Mrs. Doris Blight and Mrs. Jean Rutherford, and a teen Landon who needs advice about getting "them" off his back. Her advice always seems pertinent, and some seekers take it to heart. Without knowing it, Kate is opening up her world to new people and even friends, whom she's going to need when she learns some truths about her mother, Gran, and others.

That's the trouble with thinking. One you get started, it's damn hard to stop. (p. 73) 

Deborah Ellis has always tackled challenging issues in her writing, whether it be non-fiction or fiction and even short story collections. Her most recent books (e.g., Sit, Step, and My Story Starts Here: Voices of Young Offenders) look at everything from detention and abuse, to conflict and poverty. Similarly, some of her most popular books, including The Breadwinner series and Three Wishes: Palestinian and Israeli Children Speak, started important dialogues on children's lives in Afghanistan and the Middle East. While an Ontario location may seem more familiar to many North American readers, the story within is just as gripping as those in unusual settings because of the issues with which Kate a.k.a. Krate (you'll need to read the story to find out why) grapples. From abandonment by a mother with a drug addiction to bullying at school and a reluctance to connect with others as learned from those seemingly broken by life, Kate has been challenged. But, while Deborah Ellis never sugar coats life's challenges, she shows readers through Kate and Gran and Kate's seekers and new friends that there are opportunities to amend choices and open their once-closed worlds a little.

There are a lot of crusty characters in Deborah Ellis' The Outsmarters–of which Kate and Gran are but two–but when you've spent much of your life hurt and scarred by others and their actions or you're worried that someone is trying to take advantage of you or intends harm, that crust becomes a shield. But a shield is a defense and outsmarting someone is an offensive move, getting them before they get you. It's sad to think that outsmarting someone or putting up a shield are the go-to moves for someone as young as Kate but, be sure assured, that her experiences take her to where she can walk with others, accepting help and being an ally as needed.

Otis & Peanut: Forever and Ever

Words by Naseem Hrab

Drawings by Kelly Collier

Owlkids Books

978-1-77147-497-9

80 pp.

Ages 6-8

April 2024 

 

Like the classic early readers about Frog and Toad, Otis and Peanut have many stories to tell. The unlikely friendship of the long-haired guinea pig (Otis) and the naked mole rat (Peanut) is fodder for three more stories in Otis & Peanut: Forever and Ever that cover everything from cake to memories, gardening and absent sisters.

From Otis & Peanut: Forever and Ever, written by Naseem Hrab, illustrated by Kelly Collier

In the story titled "The Cake," Peanut surprises Otis with a luscious three-layer strawberry cake based on his sister Pearl's recipe. Though Peanut wants to dig in, Otis wonders what they are celebrating. Apparently, Peanut's answer of "celebrating cake with cake" doesn't cut it and is determined to save it for a special occasion. But would there ever be a good enough reason to eat cake?

From Otis & Peanut: Forever and Ever, written by Naseem Hrab, illustrated by Kelly Collier

The second story, "The Dream," has Peanut at home enjoying a breakfast of toast and jam when he discovers his last jar of strawberry jam made by Pearl. After eating, he is inspired to plant some strawberry seeds his sister had given him. After watching some kids play in the sprinkler and dreaming of when he and Pearl did the same, Peanut retrieves his own sprinkler to water his garden but to also reminisce and enjoy.

"The Collection" is Naseem Hrab's final story for Otis & Peanut: Forever and Ever, and says more about memories than the earlier chapters. While Peanut grieves the loss of his sister Pearl and finds himself remembering her in everything from baking to eating and playing, it is Otis who helps him to see the value in keeping memories as tangible objects. Otis himself keeps scrapbooks of memories and demonstrates to Peanut that, no matter how important the memories are, sometimes you can forget them. So, Peanut finds a way to keep his own memories, both happy and sad, safe and make new memories with his friend.

From Otis & Peanut: Forever and Ever, written by Naseem Hrab, illustrated by Kelly Collier

There is a gentleness to Naseem Hrab's stories of Otis and Peanut that invites young readers to see their own lives within the stories of the guinea pig and the mole rat. Children will be familiar with celebrating with cakes, planting a garden, playing in a sprinkler, and keeping bits and bobs of photos, ticket stubs, etc. as memories. They'll also know what it is to be a friend and have a friend. So, by nature of these stories, not only will they practise their reading and make connections between text and illustrations, they'll be making meaningful connections between the story and their own lives, learning about empathy, acceptance, cooperation and more.

Kelly Collier, who illustrated the first Otis & Peanut book, uses the same colour palette of turquoise and chartreuse with splashes of pink as she did in the first. It works to keep the overall effect uncomplicated but focused. Whether it's the cake or the jam and the garden or the keeping of memories, one emphasis is evident and not the background of detailed characters and settings or the jibber jabber of extraneous text. Together Kelly Collier and Naseem Hrab remember who their audience is and ensure that their reading and storytelling needs are met.

Because children have so much happening in their lives, whether it's a daily occurrence like picking clothes or reading books, or special events like a birthday party or performing at a recital, there are loads of stories that Naseem Hrab and Kelly Collier can share through Otis and Peanut. Whether it's to teach them about being a good friend, or to reflect the young lives of these readers, Otis and Peanut are there, as are we, to watch and learn. 

Otis & Peanut (2023)

Otis & Peanut: Forever and Ever (2024)

Scaredy Squirrel Gets Festive (Scaredy's Nutty Adventures)

Written and illustrated by Mélanie Watt

Tundra Books

987-0-7352-6961-3

88 pp.

Ages 6-9

October 2023

 

In six perfect chapters, Scaredy Orville Squirrel (abbreviated appropriately as S.O.S.) prepares for Christmas. Starting in July, he makes a checklist to ensure a perfect holiday. Once December arrives, it's time to start checking things off his list. With a little help from his friends– Ivy, a rabbit, Rash, an armadillo, and Timber (Tim), a beaver–Scaredy gets to work with decorations. A mishap with a toboggan almost has their tree festooned in pickles and clown noses, but with some effort and a lot of paint, they get the perfect decorations.

 

Next Scaredy Squirrel enlists his friends to secure the area from holiday troublemakers like nutcrackers, abominable snowmen, last-minute shoppers, and elves.

 

From Scaredy Squirrel Gets Festive, written and illustrated by Mélanie Watt

His plan for a gingerbread house that will last forever–though Ivy questions that intent with "Seriously? I doubt gingerbread can last past Easter"–is put into action to construct a sturdy, albeit inedible, masterpiece.

From Scaredy Squirrel Gets Festive, written and illustrated by Mélanie Watt

While Scaredy has already gotten the perfect gifts for his friends, he gets to wrapping them as they debate what to get for him. Then it's only his Christmas Eve get-together, prepping for Santa's visit, and waking to Christmas morning surprises. Though he couldn't plan for everything, it still is a perfect Christmas for Scaredy Squirrel.

Two things about Scaredy: he's always prepared, and he always does things with safety in mind. Scaredy Squirrel Gets Festive is loaded with checklists, plans, files, instructions, and profiles that ensure that things get done and done well and in a timely fashion. From "Scaredy's Christmas TO-DO List" to his instructions on "How to Wrap the Perfect Gift," Scaredy has it covered. (Mélanie Watt even gets the reader primed for Scaredy's predilections with "The Holiday Reader Quiz" before the story even starts, just to make sure the reader is prepared to proceed to the next pages. I got 5 points.)

From Scaredy Squirrel Gets Festive, written and illustrated by Mélanie Watt

As we learned in the first Scaredy Squirrel book, Scaredy is always scared about his safety, and that's why he insists his friends wear painter's suits when painting, why there's a fire extinguisher handy, why they wear masks while varnishing, and why he's so prepared. Still, with his friends who are all a little bit different, whether calm and wise, or bold and impetus, Scaredy is both given reasons to continue to be cautious and reasons to indulge a bit more.

Mélanie Watt has always taken a tongue-in-cheek approach to Scaredy's overcautious nature. Children reading her stories, whether the original picture books or whether the chapter book graphic novel series Scaredy's Nutty Adventures, will both see the wisdom of Scaredy's caution but will laugh at his extreme reactions, from panicking and playing dead when supposedly exposed to a pointy elf or wearing gloves to prevent paper cuts when wrapping gifts. They'll be familiar with many of activities Scaredy and his friends undertake in Scaredy Squirrel Gets Festive and so will understand both the nature of his fears and the silliness of his responses, regardless of whether they are brash like Rash or guarded like Scaredy.

From Scaredy Squirrel Gets Festive, written and illustrated by Mélanie Watt

The stories and the humour within have and will always delight young readers, but it's all so much more when Mélanie Watt adds her artwork. Her heavily-outlined characters and objects make them pop off the page but also complement the bold text of Scaredy's lists and instructions. There is nothing subtle about the illustrations or Scaredy so anything less than bold, bright, and lively just wouldn't work. Moreover, Mélanie Watt knows how to add the humour into her drawings, like the helmet Rash undoubtedly needs to wear to keep him safe, the cat mask Rash dons when he can't find a respirator mask when they're varnishing, or Rash's roving toad Chucky who seems to pop up in unexpected places. 

 

It's just the right time now to start your holiday season off, and, with Scaredy and his friends, it'll be easy to get festive. Just watch out for those pointy elves, and Gary the germ, and those last-minute Christmas shoppers, and...

• • • • • • • 

 

Scaredy's Nutty Adventures series

Scaredy Squirrel in a Nutshell

Scaredy Squirrel Gets a Surprise

Scaredy Squirrel Gets Festive

Monster vs. Boy

Written by Karen Krossing
Charlesbridge
978-1-62354-356-3
240 pp.
Ages 10+
July 2023

 

...people believe the strangest things, especially when they're scared or upset. I think the stories people share are part truth and part not-truth. The hard part is figuring out which is which. (pg. 126)

This is a story about a boy and a monster. Yes, a real monster that lives in his closet. I know you'll say that monsters don't exist but in the town of Morsh (from "monstrous marsh") where 11-year-old Dawz lives with his little sister Jayla with their uncle Pop, there is a history of monster sightings. Problem is that Dawz hasn't really seen the monster because he doesn't go into that large bedroom closet. Still, his fears about it are very real, especially as the kids were abandoned by their mother after she got weird, talking about a monster with yellow feathers and a scorpion tail.

As Karen Krossing tells her story from two perspectives, we know Dawz is right about a monster living there. Mim is small, with purple scales, gray fur, two hearts, several horns, and she can release smoke and ash from her nostrils. She loves the nest she has built among the boxes and bags. Most of all, she loves when the grown-up opens a book and tells a story from it. She thinks it's absolutely magical.

Books were powerful. Wonders dwelled inside them. Wonders that Mim was missing, alone in her dusty closet. (pg. 6)

But Mim didn't understand how something in the book turned into a story told aloud. She had a book in her nest, and nothing happened when she opened it. Her aim was to learn how to make the book work for her.

But Dawz and Mim's status quo is disturbed when Pop decides to clean the closet and excavate some aprons Dawz's mom had made long ago for the annual Baker's Brawl baking contest which she used to enter with her brother and which Dawz now entered with his best friend Atlas. When Mim tries to scare them away, Dawz realizes that only he can see and hear her. With her nest eliminated–"Her world had cracked open... (pg. 41)"– Mim ventures out, grabbing a pillowcase, a sock, and a book, and finds herself pursued by Dawz and company, including Ronny the pest control guy and Officer Rashmi.

As Mim befriends a cat she calls Raar and struggles to find a new nest, deal with her hunger and her surprising growth, Dawz and Thea, one of Atlas's moms, cope with their injuries from encounters with Mim. It takes a while but both Dawz the Horrible, as Mim calls him, and Mim will need to find their way back to each other in order to alleviate their fears, understand their needs, and appreciate the other for whom they are.

While some readers may pick up Monster vs. Boy because of the promise of a horror story, Karen Krossing's latest middle-grade novel is more a reflection of what we see and fear in others before we know them. Dawz has a lot of baggage because of what he remembers of his mother before she abandoned them and, with his nightmares of monsters, he has essentially created one that lives in his closet. On the other hand, Mim knows the comfort of her closet nest and has no interest in the outside except for the opportunity to hear the stories that come from books. When forced out, she tries to make connections, such as with the cat, but finds herself drawn back to the familiar even if it makes her nervous. Because neither understands the other, until the end, they interpret their actions as threatening or horrible and try to prevent further dangers to themselves. There's much learning about themselves and others as the two go from monster vs. boy to monster and boy.

But beyond the conflictual theme of her story, Karen Krossing also reminds us of the magic of books and reading. Whether being a writer who puts words to paper or a listener who has the words read aloud to them, the process of reading is miraculous, taking us from the mundane to the fantastic. Even the text of a recipe, which Dawz reads to Mim, enthralls her. It's the translation of letters to words to meaning that elevates books from paper and ink to the extraordinary, and even a purple-scaled monster knows this. 

So, open your own closet and see what opportunities there are for new learnings and relationships. Taking a chance on the unknown may be trepidatious but the rewards can be so un-horrible.

Tegan and Sara: Junior High

Written by Tegan Quin and Sara Quin

Illustrated by Tillie Walden

Farrar, Straus and Giroux

978-0-374-31301-2

304 pp.

Ages 10-14

May 2023

The names Tegan and Sara are well known to many as the Canadian Indie-pop duo but also producers of the TV series High School, based on their own secondary school experiences. Their Wikipedia page is loaded with accomplishments, collaborations, awards, and activism. But, for Tegan Quin and Sara Quin to become who they are today, they had to navigate the ups-and-downs of the middle grade years and puberty, all while trying to maintain their most important relationship, that of identical twins. This is the story of those Junior High highs and lows.

From Tegan and Sara: Junior High, written by Tegan Quin and Sara Quin, illus. by Tillie Walden

It's the beginning of their Grade 7 year and everything is new for the twins. First, their mom Sonia and stepdad Bruce have moved houses to be closer to the girls' dad, Steve. That means leaving their old friend Faiza and making new friends. But the girls will now be in separate classes so there is an added element of anxiety that their lives are more separate than they're used to. And Tegan and Sara are very close. Still, though they may be identical in their appearance, they do differ in their personalities. (Illustrator Tillie Walden tries to keep the two different in the artwork, when she can, by drawing Sara in red and Tegan in blue, though most of the illustrations are in violet.) So, when they meet Noa, Chloe, Vincent, and Avery, it's Tegan who becomes fast friends with Noa, much to the annoyance of obnoxious Avery who claims Noa as her own best friend and to the disappointment of Sara who is less concerned with becoming popular and more with remaining friends with Faiza.

From Tegan and Sara: Junior High, written by Tegan Quin and Sara Quin, illus. by Tillie Walden

But then Sara meets Kaito from her science class and his friend Roshini and things take another turn. While the twins navigate puberty–and all the surprising changes that come with it–and friends and family, two significant developments arise. First, the girls discover a guitar and start delving into song writing and performing. Second, they both develop crushes, Tegan on Kaito and Sara, much to her surprise, on Roshini. While doing things differently is normal, the twins rely on each other for support, and when things start to go awry, whether it's one getting her period and not telling the other or one exposing secrets that should not have been shared, Tegan and Sara find themselves in conflict. Can they be there for each other to get through the bad times and celebrate the good or will people and other things come between them?

From Tegan and Sara: Junior High, written by Tegan Quin and Sara Quin, illus. by Tillie Walden

Junior high and middle school is always tough. There are so many changes happening for young people, both inside and outside of their bodies, and figuring them out is even tougher when they don't always know whom to trust for support. Tegan Quin and Sara Quin certainly represent what middle graders might be going through as they confront new circumstances at home, at school, with friends and with their own bodies. But what Tegan and Sara understand best is how it feels to be and live with an identical twin. It's that relationship that is key to them becoming the successful musical duo they have and getting through those middle grade years undefeated. Yet their story highlights the fact that Tegan and Sara are their own people with their unique likes, dislikes, insecurities, worries, skills, and more, and, in the context of middle grade angst, they show grit.

Tegan and Sara: Junior High will be a welcome graphic novel for middle grade readers who may or may not know the twins as the singer-songwriters they are, but they will know the uncertainty of figuring out themselves with the coming of age. Tegan Quin and Sara Quin may be telling their story, but it's a story that goes beyond the autobiography and becomes more about encouragement and illustration for getting through.