Sarabeth's Garage

Written by Melanie Florence

Illustrated by Nadia Alam

Tundra Books

978-1-774885956

40 pp.

Ages 3–7

February, 2026

 

Sarabeth loves cars. She loves everything about them, from their tires and motors to their carburetors, and engines. She loves the way they look, how they move, and the sounds they make. Her family knows how much she loves being around cars and spending time at her dad's garage. Well, almost all of them understand. Sarabeth's grandmother doesn't. She shakes her head and cringes, telling her what girls should do and what boys do.

From Sarabeth's Garage, written by Melanie Florence, illustrated by Nadia Alam

But Sarabeth doesn't let it bother her. She puts on her blue coveralls with her name stitched on the pocket and helps her dad with oil changes, with fixing flat tires, and by replacing fan belts and spark plugs. And when she gets home, she has to scrub her nails and hands, though some of the grease never goes away. Sadly, her grandmother has something to say about that too.

From Sarabeth's Garage, written by Melanie Florence, illustrated by Nadia Alam

However, when Grandma is leaving, her car sounds terrible, and it belches out smoke. Sarabeth gets to work, and this time when her grandmother tells her, "In my day, little girls didn't know how to fix cars" (pg. 33), Sarabeth has a polite but confident reply 

 

I like to think that we've moved on significantly from those days of telling girls and boys and everyone in between what they can and cannot do. When we impose expectations on people that they either can't or choose not to meet, there is disappointment and even conflict. As a child, Sarabeth doesn't deserve to have her dreams of working on cars negated. It actually wasn't even a dream. She was doing it and doing it well and with confidence and joy. Thankfully Melanie Florence makes Sarabeth a strong character who knows herself and has the support of most of her family. She doesn't let her grandmother take away her passion. And by letting young readers see a child interested in tinkering and making, Melanie Florence supports children, and particularly girls, participating in STEM activities.

From Sarabeth's Garage, written by Melanie Florence, illustrated by Nadia Alam

I may have shared an anecdote from my teaching career but let me tell it again. I remember a girl in Grade 5 telling me that she couldn't do science, and it just about broke my heart. But it also disappointed me that someone had told her that she was incapable of something. I delighted in proving that person wrong. I'm pleased that Sarabeth knew what she wanted to do, and at such a young age. Her passions may change over time, but, as long as she is true to herself, it will be fine.

 

I believe this is the first book illustrated by Toronto artist Nadia Alam that I have reviewed, though she has contributed the artwork for a number of picture books. Her art, rendered in pencil and Photoshop, has a lighthearted edge to it. It is colourful and playful, but it is also thoughtful and revealing. Nadia Alam uses great detail to give Sarabeth's activity an atmosphere of work and interest, while using expressive lines to depict Grandma's displeasure and Sarabeth's parents' support for their child and patience with Grandma's narrow-mindedness.

From Sarabeth's Garage, written by Melanie Florence, illustrated by Nadia Alam

I know that many readers may read Sarabeth's Garage as a far lighter story than some of Melanie Florence's other award-winning books (e.g., Missing Nimâmâ, 2015, and Stolen Words, 2017). But Sarabeth's Garage has an important message in its own right, reminding children to forget those who say what you should do or what you should like or what you should be. If you're not hurting anyone and you're following your passion, do and like and be what you want. Sarabeth did.

The Bear Fairy

Written by Paul Coccia
Illustrated by Fred Blunt
Tundra Books
978-1-77488-558-1 
40 pp.
Ages 3–7 

Releases February 17, 2026

 

Adorable is an adjective I usually use for puppies and kittens, beautiful babies, and sweet children. But now I can use it for bear fairies. Or, at least, the Bear Fairy of Paul Coccia's debut picture book. He may not be the dainty fairy of many tales, but he twinkles with his own brilliance.

From The Bear Fairy, written by Paul Coccia, illustrated by Fred Blunt

Spencer is a red-curled and bespectacled boy who is determined to catch a fairy. He constructs a fairy door in a tree, a daisy chain, and even a box-and-stick trap. His blue-haired friend Mariah is convinced that fairies are only attracted to beautiful little girls like her. 

Surprisingly, it's a littered potato chip bag that ultimately draws a fairy. More surprising is that it is a bear fairy with pink wings and wearing a pink dress. Though he wishes to leave—the chip bag is empty after all—Spencer convinces the Bear Fairy to stay so the boy can show him to Mariah. They spend a day of playing in the park, racing remote cars, and watching TV, with plenty of. snacks. The Bear Fairy may be lots of fun, but he also has his own quirks which Spencer must accommodate, like his tardiness when getting ready.

. . . I'm still sprucing up—

90 percent of being a fairy 

is in the looks, you know. 

It's not all magic dust and 

fluttering around! (pg. 25)

From The Bear Fairy, written by Paul Coccia, illustrated by Fred Blunt

 But when Spencer presents the Bear Fairy to Mariah, herself festooned in a pink dress with pink wings, the girl declares that he's not any of the things expected of a fairy. Worse, she insists emphatically that he's a crummy old fairy because he's pudgy, hairy, and not beautiful.

From The Bear Fairy, written by Paul Coccia, illustrated by Fred Blunt

Spencer will not allow her to slander his fairy and defends the Bear Fairy as the perfect fairy he is.

 

Paul Coccia has a knack for giving us important stories, but always with a lightness that helps soften less than fortunate circumstances. However, his earlier books have all be been for middle grade readers (e.g., On the Line [written with Eric Walters], 2022; I Got You Babe, 2023; Leon Levels Up, 2024) and young adult novels (e.g., Cub, 2019; The Player, 2021; Recommended Reading, 2025). Now, young readers, and those who read to them, can experience that same mastery in storytelling with The Bear Fairy. Not only do we get a story of stereotypes—yes, there are fairy stereotypes—and accepting others as they are, we get humour, cheeky puns, and adorableness. Paul Coccia has given the Bear Fairy, Spencer, and Mariah voices that make them true in their characters. They offer hope that all may be accepted, eventually.

From The Bear Fairy, written by Paul Coccia, illustrated by Fred Blunt

Fred Blunt, a Welsh illustrator, must have a touch of the whimsy himself judging by the art credit that identifies his work as created "with cheap paper, pencils, tatty brushes, ink and a computer." His materials may be downplayed, but his art is nothing but lofty and animated like the Bear  Fairy himself. Fred Blunt keeps the bear fairy cheeky, while Spencer and Mariah are both ordinary and off-the-wall, and creates upbeat landscapes both indoors and outside. There's the colour of wonder, and the lines and shapes of jocularity and fun.

 

I'm glad I met the Bear Fairy, just as Spencer surely is. So what if his fairy is pudgy and hairy? He's also fluffy and cuddly and beautiful. (Those are Spencer's assertions, and I concur.) He's perfect just as he is. And I thank Paul Coccia for introducing us to the Bear Fairy who exemplifies all of us. We are as we are, sometimes seen as the best and sometimes seen as less than perfect. And if we don't fit some stereotype because of our gender, age, appearance, or abilities, then that's on those who reinforce those impressions. We're perfect for those who accept us as we are.

Mr. Beagle and the Georgestown Mystery

Written and illustrated by Lori Doody

Running the Goat, Books & Broadsides

978-1-927917428

44 pp.

Ages 3-7

August 2021

Mr. Beagle first sniffed out a mystery in Mr. Beagle Goes to Rabbittown (2020) and brought his community of Rabbittown together in one of acceptance for diversity. Now Mr. Beagle is visiting his cousin Georgie in the neighbourhood of Georgestown and there's another mystery to solve. 

From Mr. Beagle and the Georgestown Mystery by Lori Doody

Enjoying a walk in the neighbourhood, Georgie tells Mr. Beagle of a spate of break-ins around Georgestown. But the cat burglar wasn't stealing valuables like money (piggy banks, actually) or art; they were taking storybooks. The residents of Georgestown were waking up to emptied bookshelves, saddened to realize there would be no more relaxing reads or bedtime stories for little ones.

From Mr. Beagle and the Georgestown Mystery by Lori Doody

Mr. Beagle puts his head to work to finding the cat burglar, looking throughout the community for possible suspects, from renovators and painters to line workers adept with tall ladders. But it's not until the cat burglar makes their way to Georgie's one night that Mr. Beagle realizes how wrong he was about the who and the why of the burglaries and helps makes things right for the neighbourhood.

From Mr. Beagle and the Georgestown Mystery by Lori Doody

Lori Doody consistently presents readers with important messages in quaint stories with playful settings and characters. She gives us the colour of a Newfoundland community with a diversity of characters–dogs, cats, rabbits, foxes, etc.–and reminds us not to judge too quickly. The end-papers (I used them as background for the book cover above) celebrate the diversity of individuals in Lori Doody's story, always reminding us that differences bring richness to a community. And that community is what is key to Lori Doody's stories. Here, not only does Mr. Beagle solve the mystery of the thefts, he finds a way to turn things around for the thief, get the books returned to their rightful owners and create a neighbourhood meeting place where books might be shared and celebrated by all. With the whimsy of its bold lines and shapes and the vibrancy of its colours and characters, Mr. Beagle and the Georgestown Mystery gives readers a lesson in ignoring appearances and stereotypes and celebrates the benefits of embracing all for the betterment of all. I'd say that's another victory and mystery solved for Mr. Beagle.

 

📗📘📙📕📗📘📙

Author-illustrator Lori Doody talks about her new book in a short video posted at https://youtu.be/eoNVwoxLcNI by publisher Running the Goat, Books & Broadsides.

 

Uploaded by RunningTheGoat on June 28, 2021 to YouTube.