Mallard, Mallard, Moose

Written and illustrated by Lori Doody

Running the Goat Books & Broadsides

978-1-927917-16-9

44 pp.

Ages 3-7

April 2018

The title sounds like the game Duck-Duck-Goose but, although there are ducks and a goose, the hero of the story is a moose and this is no game. It's about finding a home.

From Mallard, Mallard, Moose by Lori Doody

A moose is wandering the streets of St. John's, Newfoundland. It happens. But, he's accompanied by two mallards who follow him everywhere. He's perplexed by their attentions and "It was beginning to put him in a foul mood." His wanderings are not aimless: he's looking for a new home for his ducks. But, like Goldilocks, somethings just don't fit. A park has swans that make the mallards nervous. The downtown has pigeons. The harbourside has seagulls and even a menacing chicken. Location after location don't seem to work for the ducks. Even the restaurant Mallard Cottage looks to have potential until they check out the menu which apparently highlights wild game. (Oh dear!) It's not until a goose, which Lori Doody identifies as a Graylag Goose, a Eurasian species that is only rarely found in North America, agrees "to take the mallards under his wing" that the moose know his quest is complete.

From Mallard, Mallard, Moose by Lori Doody

Like her previous picture books Capelin Weather and The Puffin Problem (Running the Goat Books & Broadsides,  2017), Lori Doody embeds the reader in a Newfoundland setting of hilly streets, buildings of colourful clapboard siding, shorelines, animals and whimsically-named businesses. Her art is the centrepiece of Mallard, Mallard, Moose though the story itself is charming and feasible. That's the thing with Mallard, Mallard, Moose.  You know the story could be true. Moose in Newfoundland? Yep. Mallards too? Yes. One species imprinting on another? It's happened. And the Graylag Goose, which extraordinarily was a resident of St. John's for ten years, probably encountered more than a few mallards. This could be their story, and Lori Doody makes it all the more authentic with her folksy fine art. The mixed media on paper allows her to emphasize the depth of colour and the simple lines of a St. John's landscape and transport readers to a storefront window or park bench to observe the goings-on. It's bold and humble and concrete and pragmatic, and it works so well.  I love the drama and the earthiness of the story and art in Mallard, Mallard, Moose and I expect and hope that we'll continue to see Newfoundland in Lori Doody's picture books in the future.

The Spirit Trackers

Written by Jan Bourdeau Waboose

Illustrated by François Thisdale

Fifth House Publishers

978-1-92708-311-6

32 pp.

Ages 4-8

November 2017

It's been far too long since the CanLit world has welcomed a book from Jan Bourdeau Waboose, a First Nation Anishinaabe of the Ojibway Bear Clan of northern Ontario.  Adding to her stunning collection of picture books which includes SkySisters, Morning on the Lake and Firedancers, Jan Bourdeau Waboose's telling tale of Ojibway traditions and the relationship between children and their uncle is breathtakingly illustrated by François Thisdale, award-winning artist of The Stamp Collector, Missing Nimâmâ, and French Toast.  The Spirit Trackers is a magnificent story in words and art, melding together First Nations and an intergenerational relationship with legends and spirits and the wonder of children.

Illustration by François Thisdale 

used in The Spirit Trackers by Jan Bourdeau Waboose

Two cousins are awed by the stories told by their uncle of their clan, the Moose Clan, and their heritage of extraordinary trackers but it's the story of the Windigo that truly captures their attention.  His story of the Wandering Night Spirit of Winter is a warning to the boys. 

"Watch out for the Windigo on a winter night.  It has a heart of ice, and its teeth are like steel.  It will eat anything in its way!" 

"Even the best Trackers disappear in Windigo's footsteps."

In the night, the boys are awakened by a Thump! Bang! and, upon seeing a black shadow cross the window, are convinced the Windigo has visited their uncle's house.  The next day, however, evidence in the snow and on a tree compel the two to put their tracking skills to work.  But far from the house, hearing a sad cry that "slices the air like a trapper's knife" the two are immobilized with terror.  It may not be the Windigo but the boys demonstrate the aptitude in tracking and their reverence for the natural world, especially for an animal they know to honour.

Jan Bourdeau Waboose infuses her atmospheric text with the companionship of family and an appreciation for traditions and legends of First Nations. Because of that, an occasion of storytelling becomes more; it becomes a lesson in caution and curiosity and heritage. Tom and Will are apt students at their Uncle's knee, listening, hearing and learning.  Resplendent in snow, the frigid medium of trackers, The Spirit Trackers is an appropriate visual and textual read for the winter season.  Artist François Thisdale makes sure that his illustrations transport readers to that frosty season and to a life of snowshoes, moosehide clothing, and ravens.  Combining photographs, drawings and paint with digital imagery, François Thisdale lends a supernatural essence to the story, perfect for a pair of boys already spooked by their disquietude about the Windigo but determined to follow the path of their tracker ancestors into the unknown winter stillness shattered by a haunting cry.

Illustration by François Thisdale 

used in The Spirit Trackers by Jan Bourdeau Waboose

Whether you believe in the Windigo is irrelevant.  The boys believe, as does their Uncle, and in the stillness and cold of winter, it's a story, like The Spirit Trackers, that has much to teach.

❅❅❅❅❅❅

The illustrations included in this review are derived from illustrator François Thisdale's Facebook page at Thisdale illustration.

Wade's Wiggly Antlers

Written by Louise Bradford

Illustrated by Christine Battuz

Kids Can Press

978-1-77138-615-9

32 pp.

Ages 3-7

May 2017

Wade loves his antlers.  They look like trumpets and are the basis for much imaginative play with his squirrel, fox and bird friends.  But when he feels them wiggle, he panics and races home (hoping that doesn't jostle them!) to his mother.  She reminds him that they'd already talked about his antlers falling off and then growing new ones in the summer but Wade is distraught, knowing all the wonderful things he does with them: paddles for ping pong; perches for friends; mitts for softball; and hooks for kite-flying.  Desperate to hold onto his antlers, Wade keeps himself from fun with his friends so as to prevent the antlers from falling off.  But, after days of life on the sidelines, Wade realizes he's already missing out on fun with his friends and vows to start living again, come what may. (And we all know what comes because growing up is all about change.)

From Wade's Wiggly Antlers

by Louise Bradford

illus. by Christine Battuz

Your little ones will probably not be worried about losing their antlers but there are changes that may cause them anxiety, such as losing their baby teeth.  Yes, it may be natural and something that happens to all children but that dismissal will not alleviate the stress that can arise.  His mother is wise enough to have prepared Wade for the inevitable loss of his antlers but she also consoles him with the knowledge that he would grow new antlers in time. She is a very wise mother.  But Wade still needs to work through this in his own way, and thankfully Louise Bradford allows him to do so with the support of his family and friends.  There's even a party with colourful cupcakes to celebrate when his first antlers are lost.

From Wade's Wiggly Antlers 

by Louise Bradford

illus. by Christine Battuz

Louise Bradford's text is very comprehensive in evoking Wade's distress and his mother's wise reassurances but it's Quebec illustrator Christine Battuz who uses her digital art to create playful scenes of Wade with his family and friends.  She capably gives him expressions of delight and concern and surprise with but a few strokes of her digital artistry.  Even his little friends are expressive in those same emotions and more, including the tiny blue jay and cardinal that flit around the larger animals. Christine Battuz uses bright colours and bold patterns to energize her illustrations, even in the cool sobriety of winter, the time of moose antler shedding. See if Wade's sweater with contrasting wrist and waist ribbing, along with his dotted scarf, don't bring a smile to your face.  

From Wade's Wiggly Antlers

by Louise Bradford

illus. by Christine Battuz

While it may seem silly to release a winter-based book in May, Wade's Wiggly Antlers is actually a timeless book since kids will be losing their first teeth all year round (unlike moose who shed their antlers between December and March).  Let Wade and his friends help lighten your own children's anxieties, whether it be about loose teeth or some other growing up change, or, if they're fearless, use Wade's Wiggly Antlers to teach some science about seasonal changes and ecology.  Either way, there's some playful learning to be had.

From Wade's Wiggly Antlers

by Louise Bradford

illus. by Christine Battuz