Butterfly Sea

Written by Cynthia Mackey

Illustrated by Marie-Laure Couët

Tielmour Press

978-1-998426-22-5

42 pp.

Ages 4–8

January 2026

 

When a child takes her camera and heads out to photograph butterflies, she sees more than might be expected.

From Butterfly Sea, written by Cynthia Mackey, illustrated by Marie-Laure Couët

It's early morning. With a sea and grass and flowers nearby, there is lots to engage this little girl and her baby sister. While she patiently and quietly situates herself to watch for butterflies, the toddler becomes a side show of activity. But the toddler's play becomes visual poetry with every new permutation. She's a mermaid asking for ice cream when her teal blanket gets knotted into a tail, and then a pirate, and a shark. And while her older sister is tasked with watching her, ensuring she is safe and fed, the photographer does not lose focus.

From Butterfly Sea, written by Cynthia Mackey, illustrated by Marie-Laure Couët

Always mindful of her purpose, the young photographer watches and sees. But she sees with more than her eyes. She sees with her heart and her imagination. When the toddler appears swinging a branch, the photographer sees a pirate searching for treasure. She will "hand her maps and whisper golden secrets, promising riches and jewels on faraway beaches." (pg. 13)

From Butterfly Sea, written by Cynthia Mackey, illustrated by Marie-Laure Couët

With time and patience and dedication to both caregiving and observation, the child photographer gets what she'd waited for and enjoys a visual display for all the senses.

From Butterfly Sea, written by Cynthia Mackey, illustrated by Marie-Laure Couët

At first glance, the story of Butterfly Sea is a simple one of two children who've gone out to play, one hopeful of photographing butterflies. But the story is so much richer because Cynthia Mackey tells it with imagery and imagination that takes a simple story to one of pirates and sharks, kaleidoscopes and flowers. And it's told with lyricism that makes a simple outing into something magical.

 

The credits tell us that Marie-Laure Couët's art was created digitally, and I'm astonished as the textures of paper and paint suggests watercolour. How Marie-Laure Couët was able to achieve the subtle nuance of watercolour on textured paper, perfect for an adventure into nature, is beyond me. But the texture of that digital art mirrors the organic nature of the seaside and the meadows and everything else in between, and there is a sweetness there that reflects the relationship both between children and between children and nature.

 

This is the second book written by Cynthia Mackey that I have reviewed—If a Bumblebee Lands on Your Toe (2025) was the first—and I'm beginning to sense a theme. It might be the bewitching quality of insects, all around us but never really observed, or the power of the natural world to invigorate our lives, or the connection between species, or . . . maybe it's all of the above and none of the above. Maybe it's just the luxury of children at play, each in their own way, but told through the lens of fascination with observation.

Queenie Quail Can't Keep Up

Written by Jane Whittingham

Illustrated by Emma Pedersen

Pajama Press

978-1-77278-067-3

32 pp.

Ages 3-7

Release March 2019

Queenie Quail may always be the last one to catch up to her parents and nine siblings when the flock goes out but she's the first to see danger when it's lurking in the grass. Seems being a dawdler has its advantages.

From Queenie Quail Can't Keep Up by Jane Whittingham, illus. by Emma Pedersen

Whether quail or human child, the dawdler is not an uncommon concern for parents. And for Mama and Papa Quail, keeping ten little ones together is always necessary when snakes and foxes and raccoons and cats–oh my!–are always searching for prey.
With the rhythmic sounds of heads "bob bob bob"-ing and the "tap tap tap" of little feet, the "ten round bodies went hurry hurry hurry" but Queenie can't keep up, no matter how often they stop to cheep at her.  She's distracted by the pink blossoms and the green grass and the shiny stones and the fuzzy caterpillars and more.

From Queenie Quail Can't Keep Up by Jane Whittingham, illus. by Emma Pedersen

But one morning when she stops to admire a feather, she spots

An unusual flash of orange.
A furry kind of orange.
A moving kind of orange.

Finally given reason to hurry, Queenie alerts her family and her parents squawk into action. Not surprising that Queenie's siblings learn the value in stopping to really see along their daily treks from then on.

Though quails are usually very quiet unless startled, Jane Whittingham gives them voice in Queenie Quail Can't Keep Up and your little ones will enjoy the repetitive chirps of the quails as they move and urge Queenie to hurry. Moreover, by boldly colouring certain phrases or words, including those repeated three times in succession, even non-readers will be able to pick up on key words and read along. Beyond the text, the story content has important embedded messages about sticking together for safety as well as taking the time to really see along the journey.  Queenie Quail may be a challenge for her family because she doesn't march to the same drummer as they do but that same difference also makes her an asset. Her observational skills and appreciation of what she sees around her is a testimonial to the benefit of mindfulness, taking in the moment and all it entails.

Queenie Quail Can't Keep Up is Toronto artist Emma Pedersen's first picture book and she does Queenie and her family, as well as Jane Whittingham, proud. Though Emma Pedersen ensures that the quail are truly quail-like, with their head plumes, known as topknots, of which Queenie's is bi-coloured, and elongated bodies for adults and rounded-bodied young, she has given them her own personal stamp of cuteness. In fact, with the adorable facial expressions on the chicks and parents, Emma Pedersen anthropomorphizes the quails just enough to help children see themselves and their families within. Similarly, the landscapes Emma Pedersen creates of stylized plants are both real and fantastical, enriching each page of the story.

From Queenie Quail Can't Keep Up by Jane Whittingham, illus. by Emma Pedersen

While the basis of Queenie Quail Can't Keep Up may be appear to be a scolding at an errant youngster, it delightfully turns into a lesson about the value in stopping to smell the grass and the blossoms and see the amazing in our surroundings, to the betterment and safety of all.

Rosie's Glasses

Written and illustrated by Dave Whamond

Kids Can Press

978-1-77138-991-4

32 pp.

Ages 3-7

September 2018

Many of us know that feeling of waking up with a black cloud hanging over our heads. You've woken up late, it's raining outside and everything is grey.  Life has no colour. If anything can go wrong, it does. How does a child pick themselves up to see beyond the noise and strife and bad luck and gloom that pervades everything at home, on the street and at school?

From Rosie's Glasses by Dave Whamond

If you're little Rosie, you're fortunate to spot a colourful butterfly which leads you straight to a pair of round pink glasses that offer you a rosier perspective on your world. The blasé street scene now reveals flowers and bees and families with ice cream and singing birds and multi-coloured balloons. The park is filled with friendly chatter and play and joyful wildlife. At home, there's a new puppy.  

From Rosie's Glasses by Dave Whamond

Now waking up is vibrant and enthusiastic and Rosie, the darling with the rabbit-eared pigtails, sees rainbows and music and colour everywhere.  But, Rosie's new perspective may be in jeopardy when she loses her new glasses. Or is it?

From Rosie's Glasses by Dave Whamond

Rosie's Glasses may play on the premise that rose-coloured glasses tend to make life look better than it really is but Dave Whamond would not give Rosie the perspective of optimism without a bit of reality.  Her day really does start out poorly and things are dreary and unfortunate. Her pigtails even droop! But the magic that comes from those glasses is extraordinary, helping Rosie see the goodness in her reality, not just the bad.  Even when she has lost the glasses, Rosie has been infused with a dose of encouragement–the new puppy helps too–that will help her see the good and the bad, even on inevitable grey days of her future.

I know I always go on and on about Dave Whamond's illustrations from his picture books like Oddrey (Owlkids, 2012) and My Think-a-Ma-Jink (Owlkids, 2009), his first graphic novel Nick the Sidekick (Kids Can Press, 2018) and, of course, his syndicated cartoon Reality Check (see samples at his website at http://davewhamond.com/reality-check/) but the art is fabulous! It draws the eye everywhere to reveal details in faces and in buildings, in scenes and in actions. With Rosie's Glasses being a wordless picture book, readers, children and adults alike, will be able to linger on illustrations and find more and more to discuss and contemplate. 

Rosie's Glasses is a story that offers encouragement on observing life from different perspectives and it's a buffet of colour and activity.  Teachers and parents will undoubtedly, as they should, take advantage of the book's value in teaching visual literacy but there's much more to the story and the art. So, be sure to smell the roses along that pedagogical path because there's much more here than a lesson. There's life: the good, the bad and the rosy.

From Rosie's Glasses by Dave Whamond