This is a Dog Book!

Written by Judith Henderson

Illustrated by Julien Chung

Kids Can Press

978-1-5253-0493-4

40 pp.

Ages 4-7

June 2021

Gertrude Stein may have written that "A rose is a rose is a rose" but this bunny is working very hard to convince a community of dogs that he isn't. Isn't a bunny, that is.

From This is a Dog Book! from Judith Henderson, illus.by Julien Chung

From the outset, a red stripe-shirted rabbit is told by an enormous dog who spans most of a double-spread that he cannot be part of this book because it's a book about dogs and he is a bunny. And so, the bunny begins to try to convince an assortment of dogs that he is a dog. Though they enjoy the biscuits he brings, they decide to test his doggy-ness.

From This is a Dog Book! from Judith Henderson, illus.by Julien Chung

He is asked to prove he can run and catch a ball, wag his tail, and put on the puppy-dog eyes, performing admirably. And though he gets waylaid with thoughts of treats like lettuce, cauliflower and brussels sprouts, he's always ready to distract his investigators with biscuits.

Ummm...Do you mind if we come back to that question later?

 

In the meantime, may I interest you in a cookie?

From This is a Dog Book! from Judith Henderson, illus.by Julien Chung

Despite his reluctance to undertake in the important doo-doo test, the bunny passes, especially after answering one critical question about being a friend. 

 

Montrealer Judith Henderson, best known for her Big Words Small Stories series, uses dry humour to poke fun at a familiar need to fit in and be included. This bunny just wants to be part of the dog book and proving he's a dog is the only way. While the dogs may have him jumping through hoops–it's only a pun–to prove himself, This is a Dog Book! speaks to our common inclination to be part of a community and participate in that community with others. It also speaks to the efforts many will go to in order to become accepted and the anguish of not being so. This singularity of purpose focuses the story and the art.  So it's not surprising that Julien Chung, also from Montreal, keeps his illustrations, which were rendered digitally, very economical. Except for a few splashes of red, as in the bunny's shirt, a ball, and a biscuit box, the book essentially comprises of black-and-white illustrations of the dogs and a bunny. (Oh, there is one more animal that shows up, still black-and-white though.) Yet, Julien Chung allows us to see a rich and diverse community of dogs: large ones, fuzzy ones, and short-legged ones. Even with few lines, it's evident there's a poodle, a dachshund, and a Shar-Pei. So while the bunny fits in physically–he's just an animal with a small tail, large feet and long ears–he's still seen as a different species. That is, until he isn't. Judith Henderson and Julien Chung let us see that it's not our differences upon which we should focus, it's our similarities that will ultimately unite us.

Now, about the cow...

Short Stories for Little Monsters

Written and illustrated by Marie-Louise Gay

Groundwood Books

978-1-55498-896-9

48 pp.

Ages 5-8

March 2017

Whether they’re your little monsters, rugrats, toads, or anklebiters, you can bet that little children will be up to no good and good when March break comes around in a few weeks.  You can either prepare yourself for those days with these humourous stories or share them with your own little monsters to while away the days or nights with some imaginative fun, or save them when your own creativity is waning.

From Short Stories for Little Monsters 

by Marie-Louise Gay

In nineteen short-stories told on single pages or double spreads (except for the final story "The Secret Life of Rabbits" that needs four pages to show us what magnificent worlds rabbits make), Marie-Louise Gay takes readers into the fantastical minds and play of children.  From imagining what can be seen when eyes are closed ("When I Close my Eyes") or fantasizing that no one sees them when clad in pillowcases ("The Incredible Invisible Boy" and "The Incredible Invisible Twins") or outrunning monsters that lurk in the wild ("Monster!"), Short Stories for Little Monsters celebrates the creativity of children in their minds and their play, alone and with others.  And beyond child’s play, Marie-Louise Gay takes their visualizations into the worlds of cats, snails, trees and rabbits, for example exposing what our feline friends really see in a dust bunny or a chess game  ("What Do Cats See?" and "What Games Do Cats Play?") and giving us  a snail’s-eye view into "Snail Nightmares" (who knew?) and "The Secret Life of Snails."  Of course, amidst all the fun there is still the apprehension of every day life, when the teacher may call on you ("Who? Me?"), that your mother can see all you do always ("Zombie Mom") or that your friends might see through your façade of wisdom ("Rhisonoros") but this is all life, told in the splendour of colour, line, shape and ingenuity of the very original and inventive creator of Stella and Sam, Marie-Louise Gay.

From Short Stories for Little Monsters 

by Marie-Louise Gay

The wealth of stories about imaginative fun and speculation abounds in this compendium of illustrated stories.  The stories are a delight, both humourous and insightful, but it's Marie-Louise Gay's illustrations that will grab readers first, as they always have. (She has been honoured with numerous awards including three Governor General's Awards for illustration in English-language children's books.)  In her artwork, that often resembles the loose frames of graphic novels, she tells of childish diversions but gives them life with her effusive children, and ever-present secondary characters of bunnies, cats, snails, birds and other creatures.  The details are whimsical and ever-present, and children will delight in spotting the stray underwear, the fish that can't add 2 + 2, and the rabbit flying a carrot plane.  And the colours, glorious colours! And the swirls, the patterns, the textures of her lines and watercolours!  There is a gaiety to Marie-Louise Gay's art (it's okay to pun; Marie-Louise Gay does it too) that is like no other, and brings merriment to each story, even if it's about "Lies My Mother Told Me."

It's always a celebration when Marie-Louise Gay publishes a new book but this multi-story illustrated format is certainly unique and worthy of attention.  Moreover, because it's not a book that needs to be read in any order or all the way through in one sitting, I suspect Short Stories for Little Monsters will be appreciated by all readers and listeners, whether they be little monsters or not, who will continuously find nuggets of wisdom and whimsy throughout.

From Short Stories for Little Monsters 

by Marie-Louise Gay

Timo's Party

by Victoria Allenby

Illustrated by Dean Griffiths

Pajama Press

978-1-77278-008-6

48 pp.

Ages 5-8

October, 2016

Bunny rabbit Timo Vega learned in last year’s Timo’s Garden (Pajama Press, 2015) that he needed to spend a little bit more time tending to his friendships rather than obsessing about his garden and he’s learned that lesson well.  With food critic Madame LaPointe coming to Toadstool Corners as part of her search for the best small towns to visit, Timo agrees to host an apple festival in his orchard so that his friend Hedgewick Stump, the hedgehog, can show off his culinary skills.  But as soon as he’s made the offer, the crowd-averse rabbit is regretting his decision.

From Timo's Party 

by Victoria Allenby

illus. by Dean Griffiths

Organizing his tasks into a list of three things–invitations, decorations and games–Timo begins to feel that the Toadstsool Corners Apple Festival might be manageable after all. Though Hedgewick sees the attributes that will make Timo a great host–he is organized, generous and thoughtful–Timo’s other friends, knowing how much he hates big parties, advise him how to be confident and comfortable around lots of people.

With the help of his many friends, Timo is able to pull off a great party, and Hedgewick, with only a small cooking mishap, caters an impressive apple festival.  Like the very different apples and bananas in the recipe at the conclusion of Timo’s Party, Timo and Hedgewick come together spectacularly. Each brings their own strengths to their endeavour and are successful in supporting the other when needed.

From Timo's Party

by Victoria Allenby

illus. by Dean Griffiths

Timo’s Party is an exceptional early reader for imparting an engaging life lesson. But author Victoria Allenby never preaches or instructs the reader how to live life well, or be a good friend or be brave.  Instead, she swathes that message in Timo’s daily experiences, taking advantage of a true story-telling opportunity.  It’s easy to see beyond the anthropomorphized animals–with their clothes, speech, and human endeavours–as just a bunch of friends whose lives the reader is pleased to share.  Though not a fully-illustrated book, Dean Griffiths's artwork helps take the reader into the friendly world of Toadstool Corners.  From the plaid jacketed Timo with his subtle smile and relaxed ears, to the rose-toqued badger Rae and the bustling Hedgewick, Dean Griffiths gives life to the animals in Timo’s Party, taking them from characters to neighbours.  And, let me say, we are all pleased to have been invited to this party, and look forward to more good times in Timo’s neighbourhood.

From Timo's Party 

by Victoria Allenby

illus. by Dean Griffiths

Elliot

by Julie Pearson

Illustrated by Manon Gauthier

Translated by Erin Woods

Pajama Press

978-1-927485-85-9

32 pp.

Ages 5-8

For release March 2016

As soon as I read Elliot, I knew it was something very, very special.  And then I learned that Elliot was a translation (capably handled by Pajama Press' Managing Editor Erin Woods) of a 2014 French-language picture book from Les 400 coups that had already won Le Prix du livre jeunesse des Bibliothèques de Montréal for 2015.  Its subtlety and poignancy ensures its sure status as a winner in English as well!

Elliot is a young rabbit with lots of spirit.  But when he cries, or yells, or misbehaves, like all children are want to do at some point, his parents do not understand his needs.  They seek help as caring parents might and a social worker named Thomas comes and takes Elliot to live with another family “until his parents learned how to take better care of him.”

Everything is different with this new family but best of all they understand when Elliot is hungry, upset or needs attention.  And things are better when Elliot’s parents come to visit, so much so that eventually they are ready to take Elliot home again.  But, when things don’t change at home, Elliot is sent to another family.  Though he gets to visit with his parents, Elliot is told by Thomas that his “parents could never take care of him, because they did not know how.”

But Thomas helps find Elliot a “a forever, forever family”,  one that does more than just understand him, because they love him.

Elliot is a heartfelt story about finding one’s true family, the one that will love and care for you forever. It might be a foster family, it may be the family you’re born into, or it might be the one that ultimately adopts you, as Elliot is fortunate to find.  But Julie Pearson embues the story of Elliot with an underlying sadness, for Elliot who is being a child and for his parents who try to do the best they can for him but can't quite manage it.  And Manon Gauthier’s subtle collages of muted colours, save for Elliot’s red striped shirt, express that sadness and the grayness of tenuous family so movingly.  I defy anyone to read Elliot and not cry for the emotional hardships Elliot braves and cheer for the rosy blush of happiness (with a splash of red text) that comes when Elliot becomes part of a new family.

There are very few picture books that I want to clutch a little tighter and hold onto in my heart a little longer.  Elliot is one that has touched me so.

From Elliot (pg. 27) by Julie Pearson

Timo's Garden

by Victoria Allenby

Illustrated by Dean Griffiths

Pajama Press

978-1-927485-84-2

48 pp.

Ages 5-8

September 2015

Encouraged to sign up for Toadstool Corners’ Great, Green Garden Tour, bunny rabbit Timo begins tirelessly planning and garden-tending to make his flower garden great.  With rhythmic pairings of activity (e.g., “He trimmed and he tidied. He hurried and he scurried.  He raked and he staked. He worked and he worried.”; pg. 19) Timo works with boundless determination and relentless perfectionsim, leaving him with little time for his friends.  Even though tempted by Hedgewick’s spinach cakes, a visit to the lake, and tennis with Suki, it is only when the rains come that Timo realizes he should have been tending to his friends instead of his garden.

With deft pen and colour, author Victoria Allenby and illustrator Dean Griffiths pay homage to the characters–rabbit, hedgehog, mouse, frog, and badger–and gardens and stories of Beatrix Potter while providing a light, cautionary tale of finding the balance in life.  Unlike Victoria Allenby’s fun picture book, Nat the Cat Can Sleep Like That (Pajama Press, 2013), that focused on true cat behaviour, Timo’s Garden will speak to any reader who gets too wrapped up in seemingly-important attentions.  Moreover, Dean Griffiths’ artwork which has graced over 25 children’s books, providing the realism in Lumpito and the Painter from Spain by Monica Kulling and the colourful monsters in Tweezle into Everything by Stephanie McLellan, both from Pajama Press, complements the message of taking the time to smell the roses.  His endearing creatures, vibrant flowers and brilliant garden designs in Timo’s Garden will transport all to an era when time was sweet and friends were riches not to be overlooked.

*   *   *   *   *   *   *
(A version of this review was originally written for and published in Quill & Quire, as noted in the citation below.)

Kubiw, H. (2015, October). [Review of the book Timo's Garden, by Victoria Allenby, Dean Griffiths, illus.]. Quill & Quire, 81 (8): 24.

Winter Moon Song

by Martha Brooks

Illustrated by Leticia Ruifernández

Groundwood Books

978-1-55498-320-9

32 pp.

Ages 4-7

August 2014

Embed a story about the rabbit in the moon within the narrative of a young bunny's questioning about the magic of life and winter, then add the sweetness of a traditional song and illustrate with tender watercolours by Spanish artist Leticia Ruifernández and, like magic, you have Martha Brook's first picture book, the heartfelt Winter Moon Song.

Accompany a little rabbit "not so small as to be a still-doted-upon baby, yet not big enough to be noticed in any significant way" as he makes his way home from a choir practice of the ancient piece "Winter Moon Song".  In the stillness of the winter cold, he contemplates the upcoming gathering, the aging singers in the choir and the rabbit in the moon, and asks his mother how the rabbit got there.

After his mother shares the legend of another young rabbit's sacrifice to the Great Mother, Creator Rabbit, the bunny of our story recognizes that the "Winter Moon Song" can be "a magical path lighting the darkest month" and he sets about to make it so.

Winter Moon Song is as magical as the song within, lyrically written by Martha Brooks and set to the music of cool colour washes by Leticia Ruifernández.  As refreshing as it is share this picture book now, I encourage lovers of youngCanLit to purchase it and reread it with family and children during the dark months of winter when Winter Moon Song will truly raise its voice.