What Grew in Larry's Garden

Written by Laura Alary

Illustrated by Kass Reich

Kids Can Press

978-1-5253-0108-7

32 pp.

Ages 4-7

April 2020

What Grew in Larry's Garden is far more than meets the eye, or the tongue, in this picture book about fruits and vegetables that help build community.

Larry, a teacher, has a small but impressive garden next door to young Grace who likes to help him.

From What Grew in Larry's Garden by Laura Alary, illus. by Kass Reich

There were buttery yellow carrots and purple potatoes. Rainbow chard and scarlet runner beans. Rosy tomatoes the color of ripe peaches. And black ones with red insides.

Together they garden, nurturing the plants and enjoying harvests. When problems arise, like bugs and squirrels, Larry always says, "We can figure this out." His positivity and efforts lead him to encourage his students to grow their own tomato plants from seed and to gift them to others, explaining in letters why they'd been chosen. From gifts of thanks or apologies or to helping them face their fears, Larry was actually allowing his students to connect with others.

From What Grew in Larry's Garden by Laura Alary, illus. by Kass Reich

But when a neighbour adds a big panel to the top of his fence, blocking the sun out of Larry's garden, it's Grace who figures out a way to make things right, echoing back to Larry that he will just need to "Wait and see" what her idea is.

From What Grew in Larry's Garden by Laura Alary, illus. by Kass Reich

Laura Alary based What Grew in Larry's Garden on Toronto teacher Larry Zacharko's project to use tomato plants to help his students connect with their community. Although this endeavour is but a portion of the story of What Grew in Larry's Garden, the whole story is supportive of the need to build community, whether it is by gifting a tomato plant, helping others, making compromises or reaching out to those who seem immovable. Laura Alary makes sure to communicate through her text that community comes with time and effort and is worth both.

Versatile artist Kass Reich–she has written and illustrated a series of Hamster concept books as well as provided art for the Megabat series and other picture books–uses gouache and coloured pencils to bring Larry's garden and his community to life. She uses colour and shape to embrace the reader in a neighbourhood of picturesque houses and arboreal splendour and a garden so textured with life that it's hard to believe there's room for Larry and Grace and a ginger cat to work and play. Fortunately, their efforts at creation and connection produce far more than a garden of fruits and vegetables. They also create a closeness of people and place.

What Grew in Larry's Garden is rosy reciprocity, budding bonds and sprouts of support. Ah, for every garden to be this lush. 

From What Grew in Larry's Garden by Laura Alary, illus. by Kass Reich

The Clothesline

Written and illustrated by Orbie

Translated by Karen Li

Owlkids Books

978-1-77147-390-3

64 pp.

Ages 5-8

October 2019

From The Clothesline by Orbie

Reggie is five and lives in an apartment above a corner store. When he gets his allowance for doing chores, he races down the outside stairs heading to the store, always yanking on a knot that hangs from the adjacent clothesline.  The sound it makes–ftoiiing–is something he enjoys.

From The Clothesline by Orbie

But one day, coins in hand destined for a candy purchase, Reggie races down faster than ever, yanks at that knot but loses his footing and, grabbing at the knot, is propelled halfway across the clothesline. And there he hangs.

My name is Reggie.
I'm five years old.
And I'm stuck in the
middle of a clothesline.

From The Clothesline by Orbie

He knows this is a dilemma. He cannot use his right hand since it grasps his coins. His left hand is hurting and he knows he cannot hold his weight indefinitely. He's scared that he will fall. So Reggie hangs from the clothesline, looking down, up, across and wonders what to do. Of course he shouts for help but his mother does not hear. He tries to move himself along so he might climb down the pole but to no avail. So he waits. Only the cat comes, though it's focused on washing itself.

In the end, Reggie gets down by accident, and with a few scrapes and tears, and learns to avoid getting himself in trouble again while still enjoying the "ftoiiing" he'd always loved.

Originally published in French as La corde à ligne by Quebec illustrator Orbie, The Clothesline translates easily into English. The story is universal after all in that all children "try" things that look like fun but may get them into a spot of trouble. And though he tries to find a solution to his dilemma, thinking through the possibilities and the consequences, thereby giving children an opportunity to see how problem-solving can happen, Reggie must finally accept his fate. Thankfully he is not badly injured and Orbie's lightness of illustration with pen and ink and watercolour conveys that same impression. Ultimately Reggie finds a way to learn and compromise his need for daring with safety, all courtesy of an old-fashioned clothesline.

Little Juniper Makes It Big

Written and illustrated by Aidan Cassie
Farrar Straus Giroux
978-0-374-31045-5
40 pp.
Ages 4-8
July 2019

Juniper is a little raccoon and she's tired of being so little. She sees the disadvantages of being small in a world made by adults for adults. Everything seems to be too high for her to reach, whether it be the sink, the door knob or an elusive jar of cookies. Even when she puts her engineering skills to work, with springboards and stilts, hoppers and heighteners, and cranes and catapults and balloons, "Juniper's efforts fell short." 

From Little Juniper Makes It Big by Aidan Cassie

At school, Juniper realizes that she is actually of average size and even far larger than new student Clove whose size does not hinder her efforts at all. When Clove invites Juniper to her home, the raccoon anticipates lessons in "un-smallness" but she is pleasantly surprised to learn that, at "Clove's home, Juniper was adult-size."

From Little Juniper Makes It Big by Aidan Cassie

Still, it's that grass-is-always-greener scenario because Juniper soon recognizes that she can't enjoy fun activities like swinging, playing dress-up, bouncing on the bed and even playing hide-and-seek when she's far larger than Clove. Nevertheless, Juniper's sleepover at Clove's helps her recognize how her own home was "very, nearly, almost perfect!"

From Little Juniper Makes It Big by Aidan Cassie

Children are always in such a hurry to get bigger, older, taller and have more responsibilities, and the storytelling in Little Juniper Makes It Big suggests, without admonishing, that it's perfectly normal to see another world as more desirable. However, Juniper finally gets the message with the help of the even smaller Clove, whose optimism and determination abound, that her world is perfect for her right now.

Aidan Cassie, whose first picture book, Sterling, Best Dog Ever (Farrar Straus Giroux, 2018) won the 2019 Joan Betty Stuchner–Oy Vey!–Funniest Children's Book Award in the picture book/board book category, again blends the humour of childhood innocence and the determination to be more, or at least our very best. Juniper sees her world as limiting because of her size but, with a change in perspective, courtesy of a tiny squirrel with a voluminous personality and oodles of spirit, Juniper is able to appreciate her home and life in new ways. That's a very positive message, heightened with the humour and charm of Aidan Cassie's illustrations. I was won over by her artwork in Sterling, Best Dog Ever and Little Juniper Makes It Big introduces us to a new gang of cartoon animals in engrossing settings. (Check out the cottage-like setting of the bathroom below.) Her characters have joy and frustration amidst the normalcy of family, home, and school and even little humans will be able to identify with them.  By creating empathy for cute animals who are experiencing what our own children may also be encountering, Aidan Cassie has found a way to teach, delight, reassure and entertain our youngest who just want to make it big too.

From Little Juniper Makes It Big by Aidan Cassie

Ben and the Scaredy-Dog

Written by Sarah Ellis

Illustrated by Kim La Fave

Pajama Press

978-1-77278-044-4

32 pp.

Ages 3-6

April 2018

It's so nice that Sarah Ellis and Kim La Fave's Ben who originated in Ben Over Night (Fitzhenry and Whiteside, 2005) has found a new home at Pajama Press. With its predecessors, A+ for Big Ben (2015) and Ben Says Goodbye (2015), Ben and the Scaredy-Dog solidifies the boy's place in guiding those in preschool and kindergarten to understanding more about the big world of siblings, change, friendships and dogs.

From Ben and the Scaredy-Dog by Sarah Ellis, illus. by Kim La Fave

When Ben's friend Peter moved away in Ben Says Goodbye, the little boy was devastated, not knowing how he could continue with his routines and play. But Ben found the way to deal with that loss, and now he's ready to welcome a new friend–or so he hopes–into the house across the street and into his life. But, as much as he enjoys playing with the new kid, Erv, he is very apprehensive of their very big dog. Thankfully when the neighbours drop by, Max is on a leash. But when Ben is invited to their house where he anticipates the dog will be unleashed, the little boy is surprised to see the dog sitting complacently on a mat in the playroom. Poor Max has his own fears: he's scared of the unfamiliar and very shiny floors. When Erv gets called away, Ben reminds himself of all the things he'd learned about dogs so as not to provoke Max. Fortunately, Ben's way of self-soothing works on Max as well and the two unlikely friends find a way to be brave together.

Sarah Ellis demonstrates that children have enormous potential to learn coping strategies for all manner of fears and anxieties. Ben's fear of dogs is valid, especially for very little children and very big dogs, but by comparing how Ben's siblings see dogs–Robin sees their playfulness, Joe sees them as loving creatures–with how the little boy sees them–"When Ben looks at a dog he sees jaws and teeth. That's a dog to Ben. Jaws and teeth."–Sarah Ellis legitimizes all perspectives. Even the baby-steps approach to dealing with Max lends credence to the ability for children to learn how to cope while trying a multitude of strategies, including self-talk and mindfulness.

From Ben and the Scaredy-Dog by Sarah Ellis, illus. by Kim La Fave

I love Kim La Fave's illustrations of Ben and company. His emphasis on perspective–looking up from a child's point of view and at their eye-level–encourages empathy for Ben's distress and concerns. Even with the bright colours of the kids' clothing and Max's soft expressions, Ben's fear is validated. But, with that lightness of line and colour, Kim La Fave pulls together Ben's thoughtful personality, Erv's playful exuberance and Max's big puppy nature.

It's nice to know, courtesy of Ben and the Scaredy-Dog, that anyone can be scaredy-dog about something and that it can be lightened with a little help from inside and out.

From Ben and the Scaredy-Dog by Sarah Ellis, illus. by Kim La Fave

Bill Bowerbird and the Unbearable Beak-Ache

Written and illustrated by Tyler Clark Burke

Owlkids Books

978-1-77147-154-1

Ages 3-7

32 pp.

March 2017

The bowerbirds of the southern hemisphere have nothing on Bill Bowerbird, style maven and artiste extraordinaire.  His bower has the typical sticks but his collection is festooned with an odd assortment of trinkets and

He has a felt cap and blue boots,
a rooster's comb, a copper flute,
a lion's pride for loot and trash,
a broken bike, a runway sash.

From Bill Bowerbird and the Unbearable Beak-Ache 

by Tyler Clark Burke

He also has a roaring beak-ache and in need of help to alleviate it.  Bill visits the owl who recommends honey; zebras who share their stripes; the town clerk walrus who provides a frozen carrot; and then a frog, a yak, a grouse and a pair of beavers provide their potential cures. Bringing home his assemblage of proffered aids, Bill discovers his beak-ache was caused by an emerging tooth.  So, to share his news and thank them for their help, Bill throws a party.  After all, he has all the best stuff for a celebration!

From Bill Bowerbird and the Unbearable Beak-Ache 

by Tyler Clark Burke

Bill Bowerbird and the Unbearable Beak-Ache is Tyler Clark Burke's debut picture book but, with her quirky multimedia art, I suspect we'll be seeing more of her work, perhaps illustrating others' texts as well.  Watercolour washes, cut-paper collages, and pastel work abound in her own bowerbird version of art: a little bit of everything and a whole lot of sparkle.  The colours are vibrant and showy, and her shapes draw attention and demand scrutiny for details.  Tyler Clark Burke infuses that same ebullience in her rhyming text, whether it be the zebras offering their stripes or Bill groaning with a grand "Wickety-tickety BOO-hoo-hoo."

From Bill Bowerbird and the Unbearable Beak-Ache 

by Tyler Clark Burke

Bill Bowerbird and the Unbearable Beak-Ache is a fun take on a toothache and the value of teamwork to share burdens and even make things better, while introducing young readers to the curious bowerbird and its habits.  Though children will probably not be interested in the fact that there is a bowerbird with a tooth-like bill (!), they will be attracted to Bill Bowerbird and his colourful friends and a story with which many of them will be or become familiar, especially when it ends in a party.