Benjamin's Thunderstorm

Written by Melanie Florence

Illustrated by Hawlii Pichette

Kids Can Press

978-1-5253-0320-3

23 pp.

Ages 3-7

September 2023

 

Kids often love the rain, putting on rubber boots, splashing in puddles, and more. But Benjamin has a special connection to many elements of a storm that make thunderstorms all the more special for him.

From Benjamin's Thunderstorm, written by Melanie Florence, illustrated by Hawlii Pichette

For Benjamin, the sound of thunder, which resonated like the beating of his grandfather's drum, was the sound of the thunderbirds, piyêsiwak, beating their wings. Though Benjamin also loved the puddles, kâ-wâyipêyâsiki, and the rainbows, pîsimoyâpiya, with all their colours, he loved the beat of the thunder, the same that he experienced as a powwow dancer. And even when he gets called inside by his mother–there is lightning as well as thunder–he finds a creative way to reconnect with that outside storm.

From Benjamin's Thunderstorm, written by Melanie Florence, illustrated by Hawlii Pichette

Melanie Florence may be known for her profound stories based in experiences of Indigenous Peoples, most notably her award-winning picture books Stolen Words (2017) and Missing Nimâmâ (2015), but she takes a more whimsical approach in Benjamin's Thunderstorm. She still embeds her story in Cree language by peppering the story with Cree words for weather events and colours and offers a "Pronunciation Guide" from Dr. Arok Wolvengrey of First Nations University of Canada. But Melanie Florence's story is more about a child enjoying the sensory experience of a thunderstorm, and most notably for the cultural connections he has because of it. 

Hawlii Pichette, a Mushkego Cree urban mixed-blood artist, balances her illustrations with both the playfulness of the story and a depth of culture. The story is one of a child at play and Hawlii Pichette gives us that high spiritedness as Benjamin splashes and dances and delights in the rain. Moreover, Hawlii Pichette's Woodland style of art speaks to her own background, and that of Melanie Florence and Benjamin, giving us landscapes of heavily outlined trees and structures while her lines speak to movement and life. 

The next time there's a rainstorm Benjamin will undoubtedly be revelling in the textures of that weather event, playing outside when safe and inside when not, and appreciating it all the more for the connection he makes with his culture and his family.

From Benjamin's Thunderstorm, written by Melanie Florence, illustrated by Hawlii Pichette

Outside, You Notice

Written by Erin Alladin

Illustrated by Andrea Blinick

Pajama Press

978-1-77278-193-9

32 pp.

Ages 4-7

April 2021

How often do we notice things, especially things in the outdoors, that are right under our noses? Erin Alladin wants us to open our eyes, ears, noses and touch the world to know the wonders that our world holds outside, no matter what your outside looks like.

 

From Outside, You Notice by Erin Alladin, illus. by Andrea Blinick

As children and others participate in the world outside, whether it be a backyard, a park, a playground, a sidewalk or something else, there are so many things to check out, and Erin Alladin makes sure we see it all. Each double-spread asks the reader to notice one attribute of nature like the rain, the soil, leaves or colours, and then info boxes provide brief content related to that focus. For example, when asked to notice "How after the rain everything smells greener," we learn about leaves capturing rain, how a tree's canopy provides cover, why the rain can smell like it does, and why plants get the rain they need.

 

From Outside, You Notice by Erin Alladin, illus. by Andrea Blinick

We discover how animals make the outdoors their homes, how they live, and the sounds they make. We learn about life cycles of plants, from seeds and germination, to flowers and fruits. Above ground and below, along water ways and at farmers' markets, there is so much to see and learn.

From Outside, You Notice by Erin Alladin, illus. by Andrea Blinick

With Outside, You Notice, Erin Alladin has invited the reader to explore and make observations and grow themselves into sentient beings beyond the confines of our indoors. She may provide information tidbits that instruct and direct inquiry, so perfect for science lessons with little ones, but she also asks us to be mindful of our worlds. Outside, You Notice gives us the prompts to stop and smell and look and touch in the moment, wherever that moment may be. The experiences will be as diverse as the children who are doing the noticing, and the learning as fulfilling and filling as can be. With that, a calmness will envelop the reader, taking away the bustle and the tech, as the focus is on the world we too often take for granted.

Outside, you notice

The breath in your body

Your feet on the ground

Your self in the world

Toronto artist Andrea Blinick uses gouache, coloured pencils, collage and chalk pastel to create the diversity of textures, colours and shape that convey the sensory nature of the text and take us into the outdoors. The eyes that see, the dog that sprints, the dandelions being picked, the sweetness of a strawberry about to be eaten–Andrea Blinick takes us there, to appreciate and acknowledge the outdoors and its moments.

 

Whether a child of the city or the country, of a place of rain or sunshine, trees or fields or concrete, there is a world of wonder that is the landscape of our lives. With Outside, You Notice inviting us to explore and appreciate the sensations and marvels of the outdoors, young readers can only flourish.

From Outside, You Notice by Erin Alladin, illus. by Andrea Blinick

A Good Day for Ducks

Written by Jane Whittingham

Illustrated by Noel Tuazon

Pajama Press

978-1-77278-188-5

26 pp.

Ages 1-4

February 2021

From Jane Whittingham and Noel Tuazon, the collaborative duo who brought us Wild One (Pajama Press, 2017), comes a play date on a rainy day that may be A Good Day for Ducks but a great one for young children too.

 

A brother and sister delight in watching the rain from indoors before prepping for their outing into the wet wilds. In simple free verse, Jane Whittingham lets us join the two from indoors to outdoors and back inside.

Getting dressed,

Raincoat, rainboots,

Tug tug, pull pull,

Off we go.

Out they go to jump in puddles, splash down the lane and watch ducks swimming in the pond.

From A Good Day for Ducks by Jane Whittingham, illus. by Noel Tuazon

The ducks "Quack quack, flap flap" and the worms "Wiggle squiggle" before the lightning and thunder come with a "Zig zag, boom bang" and the children hurry home with their mother.

From A Good Day for Ducks by Jane Whittingham, illus. by Noel Tuazon

It's still a good day for ducks as they children get out of their wet things and don cozy outfits and bunny slippers to hop around the room. Finally there's hot cocoa and some painting to remember their outing before they witness the rainbow that culminates their rainy day.

From A Good Day for Ducks by Jane Whittingham, illus. by Noel Tuazon

For very young children who always delight in rainy day play, Jane Whittingham gives words to their amusements. The play is so organic–jumping, watching, feeling, hearing–that Jane Whittingham's repetition of key words, relating to the sounds and actions of the children and the elements of the day, reinforces that simplicity of experience. They "Tug tug, pull pull" on their boots, they "Splish splash, Splish splash" down the lane and are "Waiting, waiting" for their hot drinks to be made. And don't Noel Tuazon's watercolour and ink illustrations just emulate the wetness of the day? There's a fluidity of motion from the children, the rain and nature in general that comes across in Noel Tuazon's lines and shapes that makes the reader feel like they're floating along in the children's ventures. Like the ducklings, we follow along, going with the flow.

From A Good Day for Ducks by Jane Whittingham, illus. by Noel Tuazon

Originally published in 2018, this board book edition of A Good Day for Ducks features "Touch & Feel Raindrops" which your little ones are sure to enjoy, between scoping them out and relishing the sensory feel of their glossy lines. With spring looming and the opportunities for rain across the country inevitable, A Good Day for Ducks will herald more play in the rain and remind us of the value of taking delight in the world around, whether it be wetness from the sky, bunny slippers, hot cocoa, ducks on a pond or mud on a laneway.

Weather, Seasons and Life Cycles in YoungCanLit

Many teachers and parents of primary children look for great resources to help little ones understand the four seasons, weather and the life cycles associated with them. These 50+ picture books and non-fiction titles from Canadian authors and illustrators should fit the bill nicely.

Bear's Winter Party   
Written by Deborah Hodge
Illustrated by Lisa Cinar
Groundwood Books
32 pp.
Ages 4-7
2016
Reviewed here

Ben's Snow Song: A Winter Picnic
Written by Hazel Hutchins
Illustrated by Lisa Smith
Annick Press
24 pp.n
Ages 4-7
1987

Capelin Weather
Written and illustrated by Lori Doody
Running the Goat Books & Broadsides
32 pp.
Ages 3-7
2017
Reviewed here

Changing Seasons (Nature's Changes)
Written by Bobbie Kalman and Kathryn Smithyman
Crabtree
32 pp.
Ages 6-10
2005

Counting on Fall (Math in Nature)
Written by Lizann Flatt
Illustrated by Ashley Barron
Owlkids Books
32 pp.
Ages 4-8
2012

Emma's Cold Day 
Written by Margriet Ruurs
Illustrated by Barbara Spurll
Fitzhenry & Whiteside
24 pp.
Ages 3-7
2001

Hat On, Hat Off 
Written by Theo Heras
Illustrated by Renné Benoit
Pajama Press
24 pp.
Ages 1-3
2016
Reviewed here

If You Hold a Seed
Written and illustrated by Elly MacKay
Running Press Kids
32 pp.
Ages 3-7
2013

Is This Panama?: A Migration Story 
Written by Jan Thornhill
Illustrated by Soyeon Kim
Owlkids Books
40 pp.
Ages 5-8
2013

It's Moving Day 
Written by Pamela Hickman
Illustrated by Geraldo Valério
Kids Can Press
32 pp.
Ages 7-9
2008

Kitten's Autumn
Written and illustrated by Eugenie Fernandes
Kids Can Press
24 pp.
Ages 1-4
2012

Kitten's Spring  
Written and illustrated by Eugenie Fernandes
Kids Can Press
24 pp.
Ages 1-4
2010

Kitten's Summer 
Written and illustrated by Eugenie Fernandes
Kids Can Press
24 pp.
Ages 1-4
2013

Kitten's Winter 
Written and illustrated by Eugenie Fernandes
Kids Can Press
24 pp.
Ages 1-4
2013

Last Leaf First Snowflake to Fall  
Written and illustrated by Leo Yerxa
Groundwood Books
32 pp.
Ages 4-8
2012

The Life Cycle of a Mosquito
Written by Bobbie Kalman
Crabtree
32 pp.
Ages 7-10
2003
Crabtree has almost two dozen life cycle books including for the raccoon, whale, bat, honeybee, and sea horse.

Lily and the Paper Man
Written by Rebecca Upjohn
Illustrated by Renné Benoit
Second Story Press
24 pp.
Ages 4-7
2007

Making Grizzle Grow
Written by Rachna Gilmore
Illustrated by Leslie Elizabeth Watts
Fitzhenry & Whiteside
32 pp.
Ages 4-7
2009

Morning on the Lake  
Written by Jan Bourdeau Waboose
Illustrated by Karen Reczuch
Kids Can Press
32 pp.
Ages 5-8
1997

My Forest is Green
Written by Darren Lebeuf
Illustrated by Ashley Barron
Kids Can Press
32 pp.
Ages 3-7
2019
Reviewed here

Nana's Cold Days
Written by Adwoa Badoe
Illustrated by Bushra Junaid
Groundwood Books
32 pp.
Ages 3-7
2002

A New Duck
Written by Pamela Hickman
Illustrated by Heather Collins
Kids Can Press
20 pp.
Ages 3-7
1999

Once Upon a Northern Night 
Written by Jean E. Pendziwol
Illustrated by Isabelle Arsenault
Groundwood Books
36 pp.
Ages 4-7
2013
Reviewed here

Perfect Snow
Written and illustrated by Barbara Reid
North Winds Press (Scholastic Canada)
32 pp.
Ages 4-7
2009

Picture a Tree
Written and illustrated by Barbara Reid
North Winds Press (Scholastic Canada)
32 pp.
Ages 3-8
2013

Poetree
Written by Caroline Pignat
Illustrated by François Thisdale
Red Deer Press
32 pp.
All ages
2018
Reviewed here

Rosario's Fig Tree  
Written by Charis Wahl
Illustrated by Luc Melanson
Groundwood Books
32 pp.
Ages 4-7
2015
Reviewed here

Run Salmon Run
Written by Bobs & LoLo (Robyn Hardy and Lorraine Pond)
Illustrated by Lori Joy Smith
Bobs & LoLo Books
36 pp.
Ages 3-7
2018

Seasons Before the War
Written by Bernice Morgan
Illustrated by Brita Granström
Running the Goat, Books & Broadsides, Inc.
44 pp.
Ages 7+
2018
Reviewed here

Shaping Up Summer (Math in Nature)
Written by Lizann Flatt
Illustrated by Ashley Barron
Owlkids Books
32 pp.
Ages 4-8
2014

Sizing Up Winter (Math in Nature)
Written by Lizann Flatt
Illustrated by Ashley Barron
Owlkids Books
32 pp.
Ages 4-8
2013

SkySisters
Written by Jan Bourdeau Waboose
Illustrated by Brian Deines
Kids Can Press
32 pp.
Ages 5-8
2000

The Snow Knows
Written by Jennifer McGrath
Illustrated by Josée Bisaillon
Nimbus Publishing
32 pp.
Ages 4-8
2016
Reviewed here

Snowy Sports: Ready, Set, Play! 
Written by Yvette Ghione
Illustrated by Per-Henrik Gürth
Kid Can Press
24 pp.
Ages 3-6
2009

Sockeye Silver, Saltchuck Blue
Illustrated by Roy Henry Vickers
Text by Robert Budd
Harbour Publishing
20 pp.
Ages 2-6
2019
Reviewed here

Sorting Through Spring (Math in Nature)
Written by Lizann Flatt
Illustrated by Ashley Barron
Owlkids Books
32 pp.
Ages 4-8
2013

Stella, Queen of the Snow 
Written and illustrated by Marie-Louise Gay
Groundwood Books
32 pp.
Ages 3-7
2010

Summer North Coming
Written by Dorothy Bentley
Illustrated by Jessica Bartram
Fitzhenry & Whiteside
32 pp.
Ages 5-9
2019
Reviewed here 

A Tree in a Forest
Written and illustrated by Jan Thornhill
Simon & Schuster
32 pp.
Ages 7-11
1991

Tree Song 
Written by Tiffany Stone
Illustrated by Holly Hatam
Annick Press
32 pp.
Ages 4-7
2018

Watch It Grow: Backyard Life Cycles
Written and illustrated by Barbara Reid
North Winds Press (Scholastic Canada)
32 pp.
Ages 4-8
2019
Reviewed here

When the Trees Crackle with Cold: a Cree Calendar: PĪSIMWASINAHIKAN
Written by Bernice Johnson-Laxdal and Miriam Körner
Illustrated by Miriam Körner
Your Nickel's Worth Publishing
32 pp.
Ages 5-10
2016

Which Season Is It? (My World)
Written by Bobbie Kalman
Crabtree
16 pp.
Ages 1-5
2011

Who Likes the Rain? (Exploring the Elements)
Written by Etta Kaner
Illustrated by Marie Lafrance
Kids Can Press
32 pp.
Ages 4-7

2007

Who Likes the Snow? (Exploring the Elements)
Written by Etta Kaner
Illustrated by Marie Lafrance
Kids Can Press
32 pp.
Ages 4-7
2006

Who Likes the Sun? (Exploring the Elements)
Written by Etta Kaner
Illustrated by Marie Lafrance
Kids Can Press
32 pp.
Ages 4-7
2007

 

Who Likes the Wind? (Exploring the Elements)
Written by Etta Kaner
Illustrated by Marie Lafrance
Kids Can Press
32 pp.
Ages 4-7
2006

Winter Moon Song 
Written by Martha Brooks
Illustrated by Leticia Ruifernández
Groundwood Books
32 pp.
Ages 4-7
2014
Reviewed here

Winter's Coming: A story of seasonal change
Written by Jan Thornhill
Illustrated by Josée Bisaillon
Owlkids Books
32 pp.
Ages 5-8
2014
Reviewed here

A Winter's Tale  
Written and illustrated by Ian Wallace
Groundwood Books
32 pp.
Ages 4-8
1997

The Wolf-Birds  
Written and illustrated by Willow Dawson
Owlkids Books
40 pp.
Ages 5-8
2015
Reviewed here