Showing posts with label picture book. Show all posts
Showing posts with label picture book. Show all posts

August 13, 2026

All the Water on Earth (CitizenKid)

Book cover of “All the Water on Earth”, written by Rochelle Strauss and illustrated by Madelyn Goodnight shows a girl with her feet in the water looking up into the sky.
Written by Rochelle Strauss
Illustrated by Madelyn Goodnight
Kids Can Press
978-1-525310881 
40 pp.
Ages 5–8
June 2026
 
Kids Can Press's CitizenKid series has brought world issues to the attention of young readers for over twenty years. The series is all about making children global citizens who are aware of how children live in other countries, of environmental issues, and of their own roles in making the world a better place. Because of scarcity, pollution, and waste, water is an important global issue, and All the Water on Earth focuses on its importance to life and in our lives.
A girl sits in a green meadow alongside deer, rabbits, and flowers, beside a river of blue water with fish and frogs.
Illustration by Madelyn Goodnight in All the Water on Earth, written by Rochelle Strauss
Using a picture book format, Rochelle Strauss tells the story of water: where it is, what it does and how it's used, why we need it, how it connects us, and what we can do to ensure that there is enough clean water for all. Her text is comprehensive and yet uncomplicated. Instead of loading her book with facts and maps, infographics and tables, Rochelle Strauss makes it into a story. It's the story of water: past, present and future.
Ocean water surrounds a seal on an ice floe while a girl skates on ice.
Illustration by Madelyn Goodnight in All the Water on Earth, written by Rochelle Strauss
I love this format for bringing information through storytelling. Rochelle Strauss is an accomplished writer of non-fiction for the CitizenKid series (e.g., Tree of Life: The Incredible Biodiversity of Life on Earth, 2004; One Well: The Story of Water on Earth, 2007; The Global Ocean, 2022) and can tell a story in a multitude of ways. This picture book format is perfect for younger readers and will be a great introduction to water. (Additional references, including discussion questions, will help teachers direct science lessons on the topic.)
Discussion questions and information about the CitizenKid series of books are posted above blue water with orange striped fish.
From All the Water on Earth, written by Rochelle Strauss, illustrated by Madelyn Goodnight
Because All the Water on Earth is told as a picture book, the illustrations are key. Oklahoma's Madelyn Goodnight, a member of the Chickasaw Nation, created the artwork with graphite, coloured pencils, watercolour paper, and digital painting software. She gives an innocence to the scenes of children playing by the water, in puddles, and on the ice. She also takes us to a well in Kenya, to farmlands and gardens, and to cities where water is used in industry, energy production, and more. The naturalness of her illustrations matches water's commonplace essence while still demonstrating the complexity of its nature.

Introduce young children to water in all its greatness with All the Water on Earth. They will learn and become aware of water's many capacities and forms, beyond what may come out of a tap or a water bottle. Perhaps with a new appreciation for water and our connections to it, young readers will become truer citizens concerning all the water on Earth.

August 11, 2026

I Will Not Walk to School

Book cover of "I Will Not Walk to School" by Naseem Hrab and Kelly Collier shows the partial head of a green monster with annoyed eyes and a sharp-toothed frown. Below this, his legs, black sticks with green, three-toed feet, have been added.
Written by Naseem Hrab
Illustrated by Kelly Collier
Kids Can Press
978-1-5253-1439-1
40 pages
Ages 3–7
May, 2026
 
School will be starting again soon and undoubtedly there are parents and guardians wondering how challenging it will be to get little ones to school. (Maybe not so little ones too.) Perhaps children are nervous about starting a new school or a new class, or maybe school has always been a challenge for them, whether academically or socially. But what if they like school?
A hairy, green monster argues with a bird about going to school.
Monster does not want to get out of bed in this illustration by Kelly Collier from I Will Not Walk to School, written by Naseem Hrab
We’ve seen collaborations between Governor General Award-winning writer Naseem Hrab and illustrator Kelly Collier (e.g., Otis & Peanut series, Snail and Stump series), but now we’ve got Monster, a little one, who doesn’t like going to school. It’s not school he hates—he actually loves school— but it’s the getting there that is the problem. But today is Pancake Breakfast Day and, with pepperoni pineapple pizza pancakes on offer, it may be enough to get him going. But Monster is a pro at delaying. Even prodded by Bird, it is unclear whether he will get to school to enjoy those tasty treats.
A hairy, green monster tries to delay going to school by insisting on all the things he forgot and needs to bring like an umbrella, a camera, a tennis racket, and stuffed animals.
Monster tries delaying his walk to school in this illustration by Kelly Collier from I Will Not Walk to School, written by Naseem Hrab
With characters unlike any Naseem Hrab and Kelly Collier have created, I Will Not Walk to School understands every parent who has to get a child ready to go to school, to go to bed, or to do anything they don’t want to do. It’s about perseverance, patience, and prodding. Young readers will laugh at Monster’s antics, from not wanting to leave his stuffie Captain Donutface behind to the need for repeated potty breaks. Perhaps they’ll even be familiar with his strategies for avoidance or for delay. I Will Not Walk to School may not change their own behaviours, but they’ll get a chuckle, as will their parents, about how exasperating they can be, and how creative too, when attempts are made to coax a child, or monster, to do which they are reluctant to undertake. 

August 03, 2026

Mother Boo: Poems from Spookytown

Book cover of "Mother Boo: Poems from Spookytown" shows a ghost and bats above houses that show a werewolf, skeletons, and a pumpkin-headed person in windows
Written by Vikki VanSickle
Illustrated by Jennica Lounsbury
Tundra Books
 978-1774886182
48 pp.
Ages 4–8
July, 2026 
 
Mother Boo may sound a little scary but she's really a friendly old ghost and the titular character in one of Vikki VanSickle's poems from October County and Spookytown. After a welcoming poem, "Welcome to October County," Vikki VanSickle shares 13 more poems about the fall season and the happenings that come with Halloween. 
The residents of Spookytown
are just like you or I.
They love a thrilling story —
or better yet, a rhyme. (pg. 5)
Ghosts, witches, skeletons, and other Halloween characters walk and float among the houses of October County.
Illustration by Jennica Lounsbury from Mother Boo: Poems from Spookytown, written by Vikki VanSickle
In "Mother Boo," the ghostly grandmother-like spirit always seems to be around to help out, whether it's shutting a window from howling winds, blowing the clouds away on Halloween, or comforting a child. She's actually quite sweet and motherly.
An elderly ghost floats above a crying animal, chases rain clouds away and scares a dog
Illustration by Jennica Lounsbury from Mother Boo: Poems from Spookytown, written by Vikki VanSickle
The other poems include, "The Secret to Flying," "Countdown to Halloween,""The Year in Moons," "Ugga Bugga Baby," and "Ghosts Go A-Spooking." None are frightening but all are entertaining, leaving readers and future Halloweeners smiling and wishing the holiday of trick-or-treating wasn't so far away in time.
A witch with a black cat flies away on her broomstick.
Illustration by Jennica Lounsbury from Mother Boo: Poems from Spookytown, written by Vikki VanSickle
Vikki VanSickle could have emphasized the scarier aspects of this seasonal holiday, but she knows her audience. (Her earlier picture books, like How to Decorate a Christmas Tree [2023] and Teddy Bear of the Year [2020], can attest to this.) She gives them rhymes that carry them from parties and pumpkins, to ghosts and werewolves but without terror. Instead, young readers will imagine ghostly goings-on and things that might go bump in the night just like them. Vikki VanSickle even throws in a few poems that emphasize concepts like the alphabet and numbers, and varies her poetry to include limericks, an acrostic, and quatrains. I know Mother Boo: Poems from Spookytown will become a favourite read in October, but it will be incredibly useful for lessons for poetry units too. 
Children in costumes of a skelenton, a ghost, a cat, and a vampire go trick-or-treating.
Illustration by Jennica Lounsbury from Mother Boo: Poems from Spookytown, written by Vikki VanSickle
With illustrations created by Hamilton's Jennica Lounsbury, Mother Boo: Poems from Spookytown keeps the holiday theme in content and colour, with only a smidgen of the creepy. Her characters are recognizable as ghosts or children in costumes, and she always gives them expressions that are placid or gleeful. Nothing to fear from these characters. Even Mother Boo is more grandmotherly than ghostly. And by using a limited palette of black and white with gray, and oranges, Jennica Lounsbury ensures that children will recognize Mother Boo: Poems from Spookytown as a book dedicated to Halloween.

Whether you wait until October—don't—or get Mother Boo: Poems from Spookytown now for some upbeat rhyming fun, this picture book will usher in some pumpkiny poetry and some spirited schooling that children will appreciate.

July 30, 2026

Pipa:m̓: The Touch of the Frog

 
 
A green frog sits on a leaf on the book cover of "Pipa:m̓: The Touch of the Frog" 
Written by Joseph Dandurand
Illustrated by Elinor Atkins
Nightwood Editions
978-0-889715004
32 pp.
Ages 6–8
June 2026 
 
As part of his series Kwantlen Stories Then and Now, author Joseph Dandurand, himself a member of the Kwantlen First Nation, tells the story of a clever young girl who helps her community through her relationship with a frog.
Two boats rest on the shore with a bright sun in the background. There are baskets on the shore.
Illustration by Elinor Atkins from Pipa:m̓: The Touch of the Frog, written by Joseph Dandurand
The community is preparing for the first fish of the season. Fires are made and nets are mended. Tsa'kwi'ah is a small girl who tries to help but she is too small. After the men go out, Tsa'kwi'ah walks along the river and sees a green frog. She smiles at it and it at her. When she touches it, she becomes strong and tall. Now she can outrun the other children and she can carry heavy fish.
A bare-footed girl with long dark hair is wearing a blue dress and a red cape. She stands in a forest.
Illustration by Elinor Atkins from Pipa:m̓: The Touch of the Frog, written by Joseph Dandurand
Months later, when many of the villagers, including Tsa'kwi'ah's mother, are sick with red spots and high fevers, Tsa'kwi'ah recalls how the green frog helped her. Taking the frog to her mother and everyone in the village who was sick, Tsa'kwi'ah has them touch the frog and become healed. 
A green frog sits in a tree with pink flowers.
Illustration by Elinor Atkins from Pipa:m̓: The Touch of the Frog, written by Joseph Dandurand
It is known that there are naturally occurring antibiotics secreted from the skin of some frogs so the notion of the touch of a frog being therapeutic is not far-fetched. But, as in all storytelling, it's the germ of an idea that becomes a fuller story. As Pipa:m̓: The Touch of the Frog is told by a member of Kwantlen First Nation, I presume that this is traditional story that has been told many times and through many generations. Whether or not the details are exact—did Tsa'kwi'ah really become stronger and taller or just healthier and older?—is irrelevant. Joseph Dandurand tells the story about community, about healing from unusual sources, and about a connection with the natural world. It's about helping where and when you can, and finding your opportunities to be useful.  
A girl holds a green frog out to an elderly Indigenous woman as she sits among other community members.
Illustration by Elinor Atkins from Pipa:m̓: The Touch of the Frog, written by Joseph Dandurand
Pipa:m̓: The Touch of the Frog is a deeply traditional story, so Elinor Atkins's artwork complements it with her brightly coloured illustrations that blend the traditional with the organic. Elinor Atkins, also a member of the Kwantlen First Nation, tells more about the story and the community, using line, shapes and colour to take readers to Tsa'kwi'ah's home.

Though 
Pipa:m̓: The Touch of the Frog  is the first of the Kwantlen Stories Then and Now that I have reviewed, there are four earlier books with more stories to tell. I encourage young readers and those who teach them to look at the whole series. As traditional stories, they keep the stories of a people alive and put to paper that which is usually shared through oral storytelling. 
 
 • • • • • • •
 
Kwantlen Stories Then and Now
Five book covers, from left to right, of The Sasquatch, the Fire and the Cedar Baskets; A Magical Sturgeon; The Girl Who Loved the Birds; The Bears and the Magic Masks; and Pipa:m̓: The Touch of the Frog.
The Sasquatch, the Fire and the Cedar Baskets (2020)
A Magical Sturgeon (2022)
The Girl Who Loved the Birds (2023)
The Bears and the Magic Masks (2024)
Pipa:m̓: The Touch of the Frog (2026)

July 28, 2026

Love, Panda

A baby cuddles a panda stuffed animal who holds a note that reads, "Help." Additional letters and envelopes decorate the side.
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. 
A baby in a crib hugs a large panda bear stuffed animal.
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.
A baby turns pages in a lift-the-flap book as a stuffed panda looks on.
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.
A baby grabs a large panda bear stuffed animal while playing with a dump truck, blocks, and more toys.
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.

July 27, 2026

2026 Sheila Barry Best Canadian Picture Book of the Year Award: Shortlist announced

A crow with a grape in its mouth and three other grapes on the ground sits next to the text "Vancouver Children's Literature Roundtable"
Logo of the Vancouver Children's Literature Roundtable
The Vancouver Children's Roundtable (VCLR) is an organization that promotes Canadian children's literature with events, awards, and more. One of its awards is the Sheila Barry Best Canadian Picture Book of the Year Award which was first granted in 2021 and which was named for the late Sheila Barry, the esteemed Groundwood publisher and editor. The $2500 cash award is given to an English-language picture book written by a Canadian citizen or landed immigrant and published by a Canadian publisher. The winner will be announced in late August.
 
Here are the titles of exceptional picture books shortlisted for this year's Sheila Barry Best Canadian Picture Book of the Year Award: 
 
A red-haired child in yellow rubber boots looks into rain puddles.

Head Full of Clouds
Written by Joanne Schwartz
Illustrated by Afsaneh Sanei
Tundra Books
978-1774881613
40 pp.
Ages 4–7
 2025
 
A man with Japanese kasa hat and kimono rushes past a mosquitoe and a green pond with a carp and pink lily,

A Pond, a Poet, and Three Pests
Written by Caroline Adderson
Illustrated by Lauren Tamaki
Groundwood Books
978-1-773068930
32 pp.
Ages 3–7
2025
 
An older woman in a ribbon skirt, a child in a red T-shirt, and a woman look upon a display of shoes and candles.

Little Shoes
Written by David A. Robertson
Illustrated by Maya McKibbin
Tundra Books
978-1-77488-172-9
48 pp.
Ages 3–7
2025 
 
An older man and a boy holding a guitar stand in front of a green couch.

The One About the Blackbird 
Written by Melanie Florence
Illustrated by Matt James
Tundra Books
978-1-774882665
40 pp.
Ages 4–8
2025  
 

July 24, 2026

The Old Man, the Boy, and the Dog: An Inuit Retelling of an Aesop's Fable

Book cover of The Old Man, the Boy, and the Dog: An Inuit Retelling of an Aesop’s Fable shows a boy and an older man with a dog pulling a sled through the snow in an Artic community.
Written by Kevin Kaukuarjuk Qamaniq-Mason 
Illustrated by Vienno (Vinicius Xavier)
Inhabit Media
978-1772276411 
28 pp.
Ages 6–8
June, 2026 
 
When Aesop wrote his fable titled "The Miller, His Son, and the Donkey," he wouldn't have been writing about a northern setting such as Nunavut, the home of author Kevin Kaukuarjuk Qamaniq-Mason (though perhaps more like the home of Brazilian illustrator Vienno). By adapting one of Aesop's fables to a northern landscape, Kevin Kaukuarjuk Qamaniq-Mason is able to teach an important moral lesson in a fresh and northernly way.
A boy helps his grandfather raise sled dogs in a northern environment of snow. Scenes show the dog as a pup, and growing up and learning to obey and to pull a sled.
Illustration by Vienno from The Old Man, the Boy, and the Dog, written by Kevin Kaukuarjuk Qamaniq-Mason
Anguti is a boy who helps his grandfather, Ittuq, raise sled dogs. When Anguti's aunt needs a dog to help her with her work, they select one of their most promising sled dogs, hitch him to a small qamutiik (sled) and head off to deliver the animal.
Two women sew skins outdoors, as an older man sits on a sled being pulled by a sled dog. A young boy speaks to the man on the sled.
Illustration by Vienno from The Old Man, the Boy, and the Dog, written by Kevin Kaukuarjuk Qamaniq-Mason
But, as proud as Anguti is of this strong and clever animal, he listens to others they pass who all have something to say. First, a man building an iglu questions why the dog isn't pulling anyone on the sled. When Anguti gets on the sled, two women comment that the older grandfather shouldn't be walking while Anguti sits. So, at Anguti's urging, his grandfather gets on the qamutiik instead. Of course, someone has another opinion about the dog and how much it can pull, and Anguti gives in again. His grandfather has some wise words about not being able to please everyone—“Grandson,” said Ittuq, “when you try to please everyone, you please no one.” (pg. 13)—which is a lesson his grandson learns too late.
A boy, alongside an older man, both wearing parkas, pulls a sled dog who sits on a sled. Others in the snow, all in winter outer clothing, play or work.
Illustration by Vienno from The Old Man, the Boy, and the Dog, written by Kevin Kaukuarjuk Qamaniq-Mason
As with all Aesop's Fables, Kevin Kaukuarjuk Qamaniq-Mason wraps an important message in the story. It doesn't matter whether the story is told in Ancient Greece, in Nunavut, or in Toronto, because everyone knows how common it is to have others impose their opinions on us and for us to want to please them. Often we trust others before that which we already know to be true. (Anguti knew the dog was smart and strong but continued to feel the need to prove it to others.) But, by setting the story in Nunavut, Kevin Kaukuarjuk Qamaniq-Mason speaks to those children for whom the Arctic is home and familiarizes others with its landscape and its people. 
Speaking to an older man in a winter parka, a small boy, also in a parka, points to a sled and a brown and white sled dog. They all stand in a snowy landscape.
Illustration by Vienno from The Old Man, the Boy, and the Dog, written by Kevin Kaukuarjuk Qamaniq-Mason
Illustrator Vienno (a.k.a. Vinicius Xavier) puts the reader directly into that wintery landscape of snow and cold. But, even more so, he puts us into an Indigenous community where a man uses a pana (snow knife) to build an iglu, where a girl dries fish, and where boys chip ice for drinking water. These are people who are just going about their day, and Vienno's bright art helps the reader feel part of it.
 
With a timeless lesson about trusting your own judgement and disregarding opinions that may be harmful, The Old Man, the Boy, and the Dog respects the classic while giving it new life with a northern setting, with an Indigenous community, and with a handsome dog that will captivate children.
 

July 13, 2026

The Scariest House on the Street

Book cover of "The Scariest House on the Street" shows four little monsters in front of a pink house
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.
Four young monsters play on the street at night
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)

Four young monsters stand on the sidewalk outside a newly-cleaned scary house
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.
A girl ghost slips through closed door into a pretty pink room
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.
Four costumed children and monsters eye a table with Halloween goodies like candies, gummy worms, finger cookies, and eyeballs in green mash
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.

July 06, 2026

Wait Like a Seed

Book cover of "Wait Like a Seed" by Erin Alladin and illustrated by Tara Anderson shows a girl holding an open milkweed po
Written by Erin Alladin
Illustrated by Tara Anderson
Pajama Press 
978-1-77278-359-9
32 pp.
Ages 4–8 
March 2026  
 
Understanding life cycles, particularly of plants, can be a challenge for young children because of the extended time needed for a seed to progress through its stages. Kids may get the idea of a flower but knowing how a flower came to be and what it can produce is far more difficult. Using simple rhyming verses, bold words, and additional info pages, Erin Alladin leads young readers through the parts of a plant and how that plant can produce a new plant or hundreds.
A little boy gardens seeds germinating in the soil
From Wait Like a Seed, written by Erin Alladin, illustrated by Tara Anderson
The story is set up with text and a drawing of the seed or plant as it is developing opposite an illustration of the children, and occasional orange tabby, watching the plant grow. From a seed waiting for the spring rains to fall, through rooting, sprouting, and growing leaves, buds, flowers, and pods, the milkweed plant goes through its life cycle. 
Smile like a flower,
Giving and grand.
Smile like a flower
'Til the butterflies land. (pg. 14)

The children wait and watch and delight in what they get to witness over the seasons, from spring rains to winter dormancy. And because the monarch butterfly is tied to milkweed plants, children can also witness the development of eggs to larvae, to caterpillars and further. 

A girl looks at the milkweed plant and flowers as well as a monarch butterfly and caterpillar
From Wait Like a Seed, written by Erin Alladin, illustrated by Tara Anderson
While I don't usually review paperback releases of previously published hard copy books, I never got to see Wait Like a Seed when it was released last year. And seeing this new edition, I really wanted to share Erin Alladin's latest. She has a lovely talent of telling stories, particularly those related to the natural world. (See her Outside You Notice, 2021.) By blending the life cycles of the milkweed and the monarch butterfly with the experiences of two young children, Erin Alladin gives us a personal story with which young children may be familiar. And with her rhyming text, she makes an educational book into a charming read with a tempo that balances with the pace of the plant's development.
The life cycle of the monarch butterfly
From Wait Like a Seed, written by Erin Alladin, illustrated by Tara Anderson
But without Tara Anderson 's coloured pencil illustrations, Wait Like a Seed would not have the colour and shape to carry readers effortlessly through the milkweed's life stages. Instead of a book of non-fiction, Wait Like a Seed is the story of two playful children as they swing, pop milkweed pods, build a snowman, and play with their cat. She gives them joy and curiosity.
A girl touches the pods of a milkweed plant
From Wait Like a Seed, written by Erin Alladin, illustrated by Tara Anderson
I know that teachers and parents will want to use Wait Like a Seed as a teaching tool for life cycles and the seasons, but don't forget the soft poetry that sweeps through the book. It tells its own story of imaginative and educational play, helping children to grow in their own way.

June 29, 2026

The Wise Pickle

A grean pickle with two eyes on the book cover of "The Wise Pickle"
Written by Sarah Howden
Illustrated by Sabina Hahn
Tundra Books
978-1-77488-698-4
40 pp.
Ages 4–8
June 2026 
 
When is a pickle more than pickle? In Sarah Howden and Sabina Hahn's picture book, it's more than a pickled vegetable when it falls from the sky and imparts wisdom to those who seek its knowledge of life. 
A pickle lays on the ground beside an outdoor wall
From The Wise Pickle, written by Sarah Howden, illustrated by Sabina Hahn
When a pickle lands next to a dry cleaner and begins to speak, recognizing that it had lived a lot of life, it is overheard by a rat. Surprised by a talking pickle, other animals, including a small bird, a worm, a chipmunk and a mouse, gather. But it's the pickle that starts the discussion with, "You might ask me, What do you have to say, pickle, that's so important? Why do you think you're so wise?" (pg. 10)
A rat and a small bird look at a pickle laying on the ground
From The Wise Pickle, written by Sarah Howden, illustrated by Sabina Hahn
As the animals ask about its life, there is a deep discussion of purpose, journey, and choices. The animals provide a pillow, food—unnecessary—and even summon a dog to ultimately eat the shrivelling pickle, thereby fulfilling its métier to provide food. But fate—or was that a gull?—intervenes, and the wise pickle's end is deferred with a new pathway to be taken.
 
If Sarah Howden's story tells readers anything it's that things can always change. You might see yourself on one path, when something changes, sometimes without personal liability, and a new path opens up. It may lead to the same outcome, but maybe not, and being flexible helps to see the positives in the new direction. 
A rat, a worm, a small bird, a chipmunk, and a mouse watch a shrivelling pickle on a pillow
From The Wise Pickle, written by Sarah Howden, illustrated by Sabina Hahn
But Sarah Howden doesn't just give us a deeply philosophical look at life's journey—there's also a look at who we revere and why. She also tells her story with a dry humour, which is bolstered by NYC's Sabina Hahn's pencil and watercolour art. Sabina Hahn keeps the humour, claiming she used pickle brine in her illustrations. Still, it's the starkness of her art that elevates Sarah Howden's story from cute to meaningful. There's a pickle that expresses itself with only its eyes, animals that show concern and reverence for the brined cucurbit, and connection between all of them.
 
Looks like there's a new guru in town—by way of falling off of someone's plate—and it has some life lessons to share. I will still enjoy my garlic dill pickle, but I may never look at it the same way, thanks to Sarah Howden and Sabina Hahn.