Love, Panda

Written by Elaine Su

Illustrated by Charlene Chua

Orchard Books (An imprint of Scholastic)

978-1-5461-7958-0

32 pp.

Ages 4–8

July 2026 

 

Who wouldn't love to cuddle a super-squishy stuffie of a panda? Apparently Baby Lou does, but Panda, who has always been Benny's, is having none of it.

 

After Panda gets left in the baby's room, Baby Lou is smitten. But Panda, distressed by the unfamiliar, from diapers aplenty and the baby sucking on its ear, begins a letter campaign to get his original boy, Benny, to retrieve him. 

Illustration by Charlene Chua from Love, Panda, written by Elaine Su

In letter after letter, delivered by Dump Truck, Panda describes what he has had to endure—the elephant mobile, a lift-the-flap book, annoying parents who are thrilled with the baby's simplest efforts—and begs Benny to come and get him. But, with each new letter, Panda begins to appreciate Baby Lou and even recognize things familiar to his time with Benny. By learning Baby Lou's routines and finding the familiar, Panda finds it's not so bad after all.

Illustration by Charlene Chua from Love, Panda, written by Elaine Su

Elaine Su's bio speaks of her own favourite stuffie which has since been passed down to her own children. There's always one toy, especially a stuffed one, that is fondly remembered as bringing comfort. (Mine was a pink and green stuffed snake named Horace.) But, what happens when a child outgrows it, and another child covets it? In Love, Panda, the stuffie has something to say about that. Without realizing it, Panda's perspective changes. He learns to recognize that different isn't bad and that perseverance can help one transition from the scary and unknown to something unexpected good.

Illustration by Charlene Chua from Love, Panda, written by Elaine Su

Without Charlene Chua's digital art, Panda would never be so adorable and heartwarming. She gives him the textures and expressions of the sweetest of stuffies. His shape and cushiony appearance will remind young readers of Squishmallows toys, but his facial expressions, from his eyes and brows to his mouth, give us the full range of feelings. He's distressed, he's surprised, he's resigned, and he's joyous.

 

I know Panda is a stuffie and his dilemma—being unceremoniously adopted by a new child—will not be a familiar one to most children, but Love, Panda is a lesson in persevering through that which might seem unimaginably challenging. Perhaps, for children, it will attending a new school, accepting a new baby, or welcoming a new teacher when one goes on maternity. For children, different can be overwhelming. But with time and with the clarity that can come with getting thoughts down on paper, they can triumph. Panda did, and he's not even mobile.

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 Door Is to Open

Written by Kyo Maclear

Illustrated by Julie Morstad

Tundra Books

978-1-77488-744-8 

48 pp. 

Ages 3–7 

April 2026 

 

Doors come in all sizes and shapes. They can be opened and closed. They can protect and invite. They offer so many possibilities. And Kyo Maclear and Julie Morstad show us the promises that come with those doors.

From A Door Is to Open, written by Kyo Maclear, illustrated by Julie Morstad

Kyo Maclear begins her reflective exploration of doors and all they entail with the simplest of functions. As a child opens a blue door, a mother cat and a trail of kittens, each a little different, follow. But there are many doors still be put to work. There are doors that are knocked upon, doors to walk through (into a birthday party), and to close. There are house doors, classroom doors, frosty doors and tent doors. There are automatic doors, turning doors, clear doors, and colourful ones. And there are doors that are organic portals used by animals, both on land and in the water, opening to places of shelter and family.

From A Door Is to Open, written by Kyo Maclear, illustrated by Julie Morstad

But doors can be as imaginary as they are real.

Some doors are made of words
and lead to places you’ve never imagined. (pg. 17)

And all these doors can make us feel different ways, whether nervous or calm, excited or creative. Each offers something.

From A Door Is to Open, written by Kyo Maclear, illustrated by Julie Morstad

I could not have predicted that a book about doors would make me feel so much. While many may see doors as barriers, Kyo Maclear gets on the other side of doors and revels in the potential that each presents. I've always appreciated the physical nature of doors, but never have I really looked at what doors offer. With this new perspective, all readers, young and old, are invited to think about what these physical and intangible portals bring to our lives. And Kyo Maclear presents this perspective with few but powerful words—I love writers who use few words to tell big stories (probably explains why I love novels in verse)—and helps us to see more than a barrier.

From A Door Is to Open, written by Kyo Maclear, illustrated by Julie Morstad

But, with few words, Julie Morstad's illustrations have to be equally powerful, imparting the story graphically. Her art uses pencils, coloured pencils, markers, and watercolours, and then assembled digitally. Because of the variety of media, Julie Morstad's art unlocks details and insight, showing us feeling, opportunity, and children as they live. 

From A Door Is to Open, written by Kyo Maclear, illustrated by Julie Morstad

A Door Is to Open is a triumph of perspective in storytelling. Not only are we invited to think more about doors and see the promise of their structure and function, both real and imaginary, Kyo Maclear and Julie Morstad have invited us to see more than doors. They've opened something else for us. They let us see possibility.

The Mountain That Wouldn't Move

Written and illustrated by Sandra Dumais

Owlkids Books

978-1-77147-649-2

32 pp.

Ages 4-7

April 2026 

 

Ah, perspective is everything. And for Bear, she sees everything negative in her life brought on by the shadow of a mountain under which her forest spreads. She intends to do something about it.

From The Mountain That Wouldn't Move, written and illustrated by Sandra Dumais

At a forest meeting, Bear tries to gather support from Rabbit, Cardinal, Fox, and other animals. Initially, the others are less concerned than Bear. But when she emphatically decides to move the mountain, they all agree. 

From The Mountain That Wouldn't Move, written and illustrated by Sandra Dumais

The mountain, a large grey landform with a cap of snow and a serene face of eyes, mouth, and rosy cheeks, is unyielding. (It is a mountain after all.) No matter which direction they push or how, the mountain stands still. Unlike the others, Bear cannot tolerate giving up. She comes up with some inventive schemes involving balloons, and sails, and even putting the mountain up for sale. It isn't until her friends carry her around the mountainside and upwards to see a different side and a glorious sunset, that the mountain that wouldn't move is accepted for what it is.

From The Mountain That Wouldn't Move, written and illustrated by Sandra Dumais

Montreal's Sandra Dumais takes a different perspective on perspective, by having Bear literally moved to see a different one. Asking someone to see something differently can't always be done effectively. However, putting them in a different viewpoint can do wonders to see a different perspective. Sandra Dumais's story may be read by children to help them be open to other points of view, but she also offers all of us the opportunity to see differently, beyond our initial outlooks and opinions. For children, it might be seeing others from a different point of view, or seeing circumstances like losing a game, being disappointed with their parents' decisions, or making a mistake from a different standpoint.

 

Sandra Dumais uses a variety of art media including pencils, gouache, digital collage and acrylic paint to create sweet and playful illustrations of animals who reflect frustration, joy, nonchalance, and even despondency. Bear is particularly emotive, drawing others into her disquietude, as is the mountain itself, an enormous gray rock, which is depicted as serene and even unassuming. Much of the story is told in the actions, or passivity, of Sandra Dumais's characters—yes, that includes the mountain—from their shapes, colours, and expressions.

 

The mountain may not have moved but when Bear finally did, a new perspective was found, and this made all the difference. 

Just a Minute!

Written by Josée Bournival

Illustrated by Luke Ives

CrackBoom! Books (Chouette Publishing)

978-2-89802-605-8

32 pp.

Ages 4-7

May 2025 

 

How long is a minute? If you ask an adult, they will say 60 seconds or 1/60th of an hour. But for children, it can be measured by what can happen in that time, good or bad. So, a minute can seem like an eternity or a flash, depending on how they are feeling.

From Just a Minute!, written by Josée Bournival, illustrated by Luke Ives

Josée Bournival, well-known Quebec radio and TV host as well as author of adult and children's books, examines the concept of a minute from the perspective of different children. As diverse as the children and the families is the variety of ways to see a minute. First she looks at times when a minute seems like a long time, from waiting in line for a washroom or being told to wait when wanting something from an adult or when you can't fall asleep.

From Just a Minute!, written by Josée Bournival, illustrated by Luke Ives

But then there are those times when a minute just isn't long enough, like when playing with friends or getting a cuddle from your mother or watching a sunset. In those cases, time just flies by.

From Just a Minute!, written by Josée Bournival, illustrated by Luke Ives

Finally, a minute can be long enough to do things like brush your teeth or walk across the road and even change your whole life, like the moment you meet a new baby in the family. Sometimes we lose minutes through anger and arguing, but also through daydreaming. Ultimately, though, "when we line them up, one after the next, minutes make up our lives."

Whatever you way you look at a minute, good, bad, or neutral, it's time that comes and goes and brings with it something from which we learn, gain comfort, emote, interact, and so much more, all of which go into making our lives fuller. Josée Bournival covers the concept of a minute not as a unit of time but as a dimension of living, never judging or grumbling about time spent in any activity and always recognizing the fullness of a life that is both brimming with moments of different qualities.

From Just a Minute!, written by Josée Bournival, illustrated by Luke Ives

Montreal's Luke Ives ensures that all those moments of minutes of play and affection, learning and stressing are included but always with gentleness and good nature. Even standing in a line for a portable toilet does more than draw attention to the uncomfortable child, showing us people living their lives in moments of biding their time, either patiently or impatiently. His cartoon images keep the message light and amusing, always familiar in their circumstances and recognizable in the children's sentiments.

 

It may take you more than a minute to read Just a Minute! but whether a young child reading for themselves or an adult reading aloud to a child, the minutes spent reading this picture book will be worthwhile and completely satisfying.

 🕐🕑🕒🕓🕔🕕🕖🕗🕘🕙🕚🕛

 

A French-language version, Une (petite) minute!, is also available.

Une (petite) minute!

Written by Josée Bournival

Illustrated by Luke Ives

CrackBoom! Books

978-2-89802-572-3

32 pp.

Ages 4-7

May 2025

 

The Bigfoot Field Guide to Campers (and Other Mysterious Creatures)

Written and illustrated by Jami Gigot

Kids Can Press

978-1-5253-1263-2

36 pp.

Ages 4-7

Releases May 2025

 

Ah, the mysterious Bigfoot. Mythical beast or elusive recluse? Whatever it is, many fear an encounter with the massive creature. But what if it encountered us? Does it have a similar perspective?

From The Bigfoot Field Guide to Campers (and Other Mysterious Creatures), written and illustrated by Jami Gigot

In its field guide to mysterious creatures, Bigfoots believe that there "is one species that is so dangerous, and so treacherous, that Bigfoots have come to fear them above all others..." It's the nasty camper. Ever since campers invaded the home of the Bigfoots with their click-flashers, and moved their rock collections, peed in their gardens and contaminated their waters, Bigfoots have been forced to move deeper into the forests. But the Bigfoots have a guide to help each other deal with these troubling visitors. 

From The Bigfoot Field Guide to Campers (and Other Mysterious Creatures), written and illustrated by Jami Gigot

First step for Bigfoots is identification, easily accomplished by hairless faces and limbs, odours and noises. Once identified, the aim is to avoid being seen. In the case of the Bigfoot giving this advice, everything goes awry when a young camper spots the Bigfoot as he spots her. Guideline #3 recommends camouflage if spotted but he's kind of big, and the child finds him. And though he tries to remain calm and play dead–these are Guidelines #4 and #5–her tickling makes it difficult to remain secretive. 

Bigfoot knows to never eat a camper's food or let them use their click-flasher on you and to never let their guard down on a camper–they are NOT warm and cuddly creatures–but things take a turn when the camper becomes distressed recognizing the absence of the other campers. Can Bigfoot follow all the guidelines, or will he be able to show kindness to an upset child who sees a friend in the big guy and not a monster?

From The Bigfoot Field Guide to Campers (and Other Mysterious Creatures), written and illustrated by Jami Gigot

Vancouver's Jami Gigot may have meant this picture book as a tongue-in-cheek look at how we perceive the mythical Bigfoot but by turning it around and helping us see how Bigfoots may perceive us, Jami Gigot gives us a lesson in tolerance and kindness. It starts as a story of conflict between Bigfoots and campers, but it flips and opens up into a story of acceptance. Both Bigfoot and the child see beyond their fears and misconceptions and find something special that is mutually beneficial. 

Jami Gigot, who also wrote and illustrated Star Boy: Inspired by the Life and Lyrics of David Bowie, Imagination Vacation, and The World in Our Backyard, keeps the simplicity that would come of a homemade field guide. Her art, rendered in coloured pencil and digital paint, keeps a sweetness to Bigfoot–he looks more scared of the camper than she does of him– as well as to the goofy, young campers who may not have learned to be intolerant or fearful of others who are different from them. 

Whether Bigfoot or a camper, there may be a surprise in the woods for you. Be prepared with compassion and tolerance and you might just have an unexpected encounter with a new friend. But shhh! Let's keep that a secret.

Everybelly

Written and illustrated by Thao Lam

Groundwood Books

978-1-77306-764-3

40 pp.

Ages 3-6

April 2025 

 

When did we learn to judge people based on how they look? When do we learn that bellies are not seen as beautiful or that because someone is different that they don't belong? Young children are often accepting of everyone, until or unless they are taught otherwise. For this child, the people whom she sees at their local pool are a rich mosaic of professions, preferences, and looks, and she appreciates all of them.

From Everybelly, written and illustrated by Thao Lam

Maddie and her mama go down to the community pool to swim. Everybody is there, from Stan and Dan who bake cookies, Vibhuti who is in a band, and Mr. Mendoza who talks to his daughter in Argentina on Sundays. There are artists and shopkeepers, students and the elderly. There are those with a walker or a prosthetic leg, or using a pool lift to move them from their wheelchair into the water. Everyone is there and enjoying the pool in their own way. Some float on inflatables, while others swim, and some just relax poolside. They are different and they are beautiful.

From Everybelly, written and illustrated by Thao Lam

It's obvious that Maddie notes everything and everyone. Whether it be how bellies can be used as tables for phones or drinks, or that bellies can stretch bigger and bigger until they pop like her friend's mom's who's giving her another brother. (Uma wanted a dog.) Maddie knows that there are some who work hard to keep their bellies flat though she likes when her belly is full because her mother works hard to keep them fed. (Maddie thinks about all the foods she would fill her belly with, from jelly beans and gimbap, to gỏi cuốn, and fried chicken.) Every belly is different, supported by bodies that vary in their abilities, their challenges, their attributes, and their clothing and adornments that include scars and tattoos. With all these people, Maddie's world is richer and more colourful.

From Everybelly, written and illustrated by Thao Lam

Everybelly is a tribute to the diversity of people that make our lives fuller. By seeing all the people whom she knows and even those she doesn't, Maddie is learning empathy and an appreciation for a wide variety of cultures, bodies, preferences, and more. She may notice what they look like, such as the size of their bellies, and what they are doing, like breastfeeding, but she accepts them as part of her community. Thao Lam, who both wrote the text and illustrated Everybelly, gives us the words to help see the innocence and openness of Maddie's perspective–like her claim that Mr. Popov was keeping time with his broom on the ceiling as she tap-danced (!)–and her acceptance of her world as full and vibrant. For her, this is the norm, and she relishes it.

From Everybelly, written and illustrated by Thao Lam

But beyond Maddie's words and thoughts, Thao Lam has given the child and her community exuberance via the artwork. Thao Lam's cut-paper collage as seen in earlier books like One Giant Leap and The Paper Boat is even bolder and splashier, giving greater depth and texture to a setting that is basically a pool and poolside. But that setting is all the richer for the people that inhabit the space, even if only temporarily. There are so many different bathing suits, hats, towels, and sandals. They are colourful and patterned. Some like burkinis hide more than others and some leave it all out to be seen. I could spend hours poring through the book, finding details that intrigue, like the heart surgery scar on one gentleman, the pigeons eating spilled popcorn, or the imprint of sunglasses left on a sunburned belly. Thao Lam lets us see this community in all its glorious bodies and lives to appreciate a mother-daughter relationship and a communal appreciation for diversity.

Milo the Knight

Written by Grégoire Laforce

Illustrated by Charlotte Parent

Milky Way Picture Books

978-1-990252-35-8

48 pp.

Ages 4-8

October 2024

 

Milo is a brave knight who comes from a long line of knights. His armor means everything to him, and he is proud to wear it. And he always wears it just in case a dragon attacks their colony. Those silly jesters could waste their time on frivolous activities, but Milo is determined to keep everyone safe from the bad out there.

From Milo the Knight, written by Grégoire Laforce, illustrated by Charlotte Parent

One day while outside the castle walls, Milo is caught in a horrific rainstorm. It goes on and on, raining and raining, and Milo keeps going. It's only when the rain stops, and Milo is still struggling to keep going that he realizes that his beautiful armor has rusted until it seizes completely.

From Milo the Knight, written by Grégoire Laforce, illustrated by Charlotte Parent

A wandering jester offers Milo help, but he initially refuses. After all, he is a knight and not a silly jester. But the jester suggests that the only way to help Milo is for Milo to remove his armor. Even though he is both shocked to consider this and fearful of not being able to protect the colony–something which he already could not do–Milo opens his visor, looks into the jester's eyes and is moved to tears.

From Milo the Knight, written by Grégoire Laforce, illustrated by Charlotte Parent

But the armor does not survive, falling into useless pieces, while Milo emerges for the first time to feel the warmth of the sun and the stirring of the wind. By shedding his armor, Milo also sheds his fears and his mistrust.

 

Gatineau's Grégoire Laforce, former military, seems to have something to say about the roles we play in a community, from the protectors to the entertainers. No one is only one thing. And to restrict yourself by putting on a shield of armor that keeps you separate from others and from experiencing a life that is full and varied can be harmful. Milo only knew about being a knight, as did his ancestors. He didn't know otherwise. It was only the jester with his own perspective and suggestion that Milo remove his armor–an armor that was doing him harm at that point–that Milo becomes open to another life. Perhaps this was Grégoire Laforce's experience too, going from the military life of service and security to having kitchen parties with his family at home, as his bio reveals. It probably wasn't as easy as just removing a uniform but, as with Milo and the jester, a little outlook can bring big change.

From Milo the Knight, written by Grégoire Laforce, illustrated by Charlotte Parent

Montreal artist Charlotte Parent, who illustrated Mireille Messier's The Magic Cap, uses coloured pencils to give Milo the Knight both a bright contemporary feel as well as a medieval tone appropriate for a story about a knight. Her use of colour that range from pinks and purples to oranges and greens keeps the story light and bright as do the patterns she uses to decorate borders with floral motifs and scenes of activity. Milo the Knight could've been a darker tale of perceived fears and wariness of others and even injury, but Charlotte Parent makes it a story of revelation through her radiant colours and emotive lines and shapes.

Milo the Knight thought his life had been determined and he would serve as he had been born to do so but a change in circumstance and an openness to see beyond the obvious gives him the opportunity for more in his life. His service was admirable, but it was time to live for himself and enjoy that which he'd never experienced before. Whether he becomes Milo the Jester or Milo the Vagabond or something else entirely, he's taken off his armor and left himself free and receptive to more possibilities.

 

The Brass Charm

Written by Monique Polak

Illustrated by Marie Lafrance

North Winds Press (Scholastic Canada)

978-1-4431-5758-2

32 pp.

Ages 5-9

September 2022

 

Everyone has troubles in their lives sometime. Some are horrific and life-changing, some are temporal but seem overwhelming.  Most of us cannot see past our own issues when we're immersed in them. It's that bubble of now. It is probably especially the case for young children many of whom, thankfully, have not had to endure great hardships. So, when the roof of their home is destroyed in a storm, Tali is devastated.

From The Brass Charm by Monique Polak, illus. by Marie Lafrance

As the family heads to stay with Oma while repairs may be undertaken, Tali's mother reminds her that "People survive worse" and to "Think of Oma." Tali knows her grandmother survived World War II but she never talks about it. Still Tali is "too sad to think of anyone" but herself, even when she meets a little neighbour girl who obviously craves some company. That is, until her Oma shows her a tiny brass charm of a monkey man and shares a memory of her own hardship.

From The Brass Charm by Monique Polak, illus. by Marie Lafrance

Telling her story in the third person, Oma tells of a girl forced to leave home and sent to a prison called Terezin. The people kept there were worked tirelessly and fed very little and on the day of her birthday, the child was overcome with how her life had changed for the worse. A woman, hearing her cry, bestows upon her a small brass charm of a monkey man that a stranger gave her when her own life had seemed stormy. Now Oma remembers that lady whose own life had been difficult and could still find "it in her heart to be kind to a stranger."

 

In a message of paying it forward, Monique Polak has Tali sharing the story of the brass charm with Elodie, the little neighbour girl, bolstering them both through their challenges.

From The Brass Charm by Monique Polak, illus. by Marie Lafrance

In a story within a story, Montreal author Monique Polak is actually telling her mother's own history of surviving Terezin as a child and receiving the charm. Because of Terezin's history and its common role as a transit camp for those moved onto other concentration camps, as Monique Polak's Afterword details, the woman who shared that charm was never seen again. Yet the kindness she extended in such trying circumstances, just as Tali's Oma did for her grandchild, speak to a strength of character beyond the typical. It speaks to empathy and compassion and feeling beyond self. And for Tali to listen and learn and then apply that lesson to another makes that small brass charm a greater gift than any gold or diamond trinket could replace.

From The Brass Charm by Monique Polak, illus. by Marie Lafrance

There is a lesson from history here with Tali's Oma remembering Terezin and an experience from World War II. But it is in the context of connecting with others and a grandmother-granddaughter relationship. Not surprising that, even with a story that includes both historical and contemporary scenes, Marie Lafrance whose artwork was rendered with graphite on paper before digitally coloured and texturized via collage, is able to meld the two time periods by focusing on the child in each. It's Tali's experience and then her oma's when she was a child. It is from their perspective: what they see, what they feel, how they respond. So when the two come together in the present, as elderly woman and young child, they are feeling and understanding as the same. And Marie Lafrance gives the two similarities in their physical appearances, with the golden curls of their hair and delicate chins and ears, and makes it clear they are related. But she also gives a softness to a hard story, a story of destruction and hatred, loss and generosity. By keeping the dark grey tones for the camp and the storm and using soft colours of blues and rose and such for everything else, Marie Lafrance emphasizes the tenderness of being there for others, not the damage of the negative.

I can't think of a gentler way to introduce children to the Holocaust and Nazi concentration camps than a reading and discussion of The Brass Charm, though its story is far greater than those historic concepts. Read for a memorial day such as the International Holocaust Remembrance Day (January 27) but also for lessons about empathy and the goodness of paying it forward. The best acts of kindness do not require recompense or recognition. They come from making someone's life a little easier, whether during storms, times of trouble or now.

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Author Monique Polak will be launching her new book on November 20, 2022 at 2 PM at the Gelber Conference Centre, Musée de l'Holocauste Montréal / Montreal Holocaust Museum. Reserve your free tickets at Eventbrite here.