The Most Magnificent Team

Written and illustrated by Ashley Spires

Kids Can Press

978-1-5253-1295-3

40 pp.

Ages 4-8

May 2025 

 

The most magnificent little girl and her dog from The Most Magnificent Thing, The Most Magnificent Idea, and The Most Magnificent Maker's A to Z return and they're still making and building but with colleagues now.

From The Most Magnificent Team, written and illustrated by Ashley Spires

It's another day of doing for our young maker. She and her pug may do lots of things from helping others, snacking and dreaming but coming up with ideas for new builds is at which the child excels. Gathering her materials for her latest idea she heads down to her working space on the street and encounters another child already there. There's another little girl, this one with fabulous hair buns, a green headband, glasses and a grey cat out on the sidewalk with a collection of materials and the start of a house. Impressed with what she sees, our first little girl invites her neighbour to work with her on her new idea.

From The Most Magnificent Team, written and illustrated by Ashley Spires

Although our little girl starts off wanting to take the neighbour's ideas into consideration, the two have very different styles of working. While the girl gets right to work, the neighbour child is all about measuring and calculating and considering and making suggestions for making the idea better but never starting to build her part of the project.

 

Even when the girl just does it all her way, the neighbour girl has criticisms.

 

The neighbor insists her idea will be better.

But that's impossible since the girl's idea is already the BEST.

And you can't make the best BETTER – it's already

THE BEST!

 

From The Most Magnificent Team, written and illustrated by Ashley Spires

Not only does the neighbour criticize, but she also undoes the work of the girl. At this point, they huff off and decide to work on their own projects. But they both feel their projects to be mediocre, more "HMMM" than "WOW" so decide to amalgamate. They combine their efforts and help the other and while they still run into disagreements, they find that taking a breath, consulting their canine and feline assistants and rejigging their concept can lead to something even more magnificent than they imagined.

 

They might do things differently, and

they'll probably disagree sometimes, but they

know that whatever they make together is

sure to be MAGNIFICENT.

 

Working with someone can be challenging the first time. You have to take into consideration their ideas and their way of doing things and it might require some compromise and even relinquishing some control. But what happens when your styles of making are drastically different? The little girl in Ashley Spires's The Most Magnificent Team finds out soon enough that it's not just a question of adding a person to the mix. It doesn't mean your workload will be lessened immediately or that it'll be more fun. It sometimes means more work upfront to get to know them, how they work, how they can contribute and how to deal together when the partnership is challenged. Fortunately, Ashley Spires shows how a partnership or team can develop from individuals through disagreement and into compromise and finally lead to success and achievement. While young children will certainly benefit from reading a story about how a team comes together, whether they are working in a makerspace, on a sports team or in a group on a class project, I believe their teachers and parents would also be helped to understand that kids don't always hit it off immediately and that with time they can find solutions for themselves that work. It might not always be the solution we would have chosen, but if it's a solution that works for all, we have to let them try.

From The Most Magnificent Team, written and illustrated by Ashley Spires

I love Ashley Spires's stories whether it be her Binky the Space Cat or Burt the Beetle series or her standalone books like Larf and Small Saul. Though her approach is playful, and her illustrations whimsical and bright, she handles tough issues of fitting in and trying your best. In The Most Magnificent Team, Ashley Spires gives us two very different children and helps them find a way to work together, a big goal for everyone. Still, Ashley Spires always keeps it good-natured and lighthearted rather than confrontational or competitive. The kids want to work together; they just haven't figured out how to do it yet. But they do and their collaboration becomes a masterpiece for all, assistants included.

 

Being a magnificent creator can be a solitary activity, whether it be building or writing or something else altogether. But it can be the work of a team and, when a team works together, it can be truly magnificent.

Life in the Wild: The Collected Adventures of the Bear, the Moose and the Beaver

Written and illustrated by Nicholas Oldland

Kids Can Press

978-1-5253-1292-2

200 pp.

Ages 4-8

September 2024

Nicholas Oldland's Bear, Moose and Beaver have returned and they're in an amazing collection of six previously published books so young readers won't just be introduced to these characters but really get to know them.

The six stories included in this collection are Big Bear Hug, Making the Moose Out of Life, The Busy Beaver, Up the Creek, Walk on the Wild Side, and Hockey in the Wild. Playing up some fun puns, Nicholas Oldland truly takes us into the wild lives of his trio of friends.

From Life in the Wild, written and illustrated by Nicholas Oldland

Big Bear Hug is a story of how a bear loves to give hugs to everyone and everything but most especially trees. But when a man with an axe arrives to chop down one of the most beautiful trees, the bear has other ideas.

From Life in the Wild, written and illustrated by Nicholas Oldland

Making the Moose Out of Life has a moose who starts to wonder if he's missing out on life and decides "to take life by the antlers." (p. 49) Instead, a sailing misadventure leads to new experiences, a new friend, and the catalyst for courage to try new things.

 

A very busy but careless beaver learns the error of his ways when hospitalized after a tree-felling mishap in The Busy Beaver. However, his rehabilitation for his injuries gives him the opportunity to make right his mistakes.

From Life in the Wild, written and illustrated by Nicholas Oldland

Up the Creek's tale focuses on the three friends learning to cooperate on a canoeing trip filled with disasters and bickering. It is only through teamwork that the bear, moose and beaver can survive.

 

The theme of cooperation is revisited in Walk on the Wild Side when a mountain hike becomes a competition that becomes dangerous.

From Life in the Wild, written and illustrated by Nicholas Oldland

Finally, in Hockey in the Wild (reviewed here in 2020), the trio anticipate the start to their hockey season on the ice but patience is necessary to keep themselves safe to enjoy their winter pastime.

 

In all these stories, Nicolas Oldland infuses his characters with honest friendships while they learn lessons in patience, cooperation, teamwork, compassion and more. And he does so by example, not by preaching. Nicholas Oldland ensures that each animal is unique, quirky in their own ways, and yet willing to change when needed to help others and help themselves grow as individuals.

From Life in the Wild, written and illustrated by Nicholas Oldland

Teachers and parents may love the stories for the important lessons Nicholas Oldland imparts but kids will adore them for the silliness of these very realistic stories–who hasn't had a competition with a peer or sibling that ended in disaster?–and Nicholas Oldland's digital art. The simplicity of the shape and lines of his characters and settings make everything easily recognizable but it's the details in the expressiveness of his characters' faces and gestures that will be more relatable and still very cute. Whether chagrined at a capsized canoe or standing in a bathing suit on an ice-covered lake, the bear, moose and beaver emote according to all life's circumstances and tell children that they know how they feel.

 

Nicholas Oldland offers readers a great opportunity to take a comprehensive walk on the wild side with the bear, the moose and the beaver in Life in the Wild because whether it's winter or summer, spring or fall, there's always something happening, including ways to live in the not-so-wild.

The Animal People Choose a Leader

Written by Richard Wagamese

Illustrated by Bridget George

D & M Kids (Douglas and McIntyre)

978-1-77162-418-3

32 pp.

All ages

October 2024

 

The Animal People Choose a Leader, a picture book based on a short story, is something special. It's obvious from a first glance at the cover. First, there's the author, the late Richard Wagamese, one of Canada's greatest treasures to literature and an Ojibway writer from the Wabaseemong First Nation. Best known for his novels, stories and memoirs, Richard Wagamese had never published a picture book. Illustrated by Bridget George, an Anishinaabe author and illustrator from Kettle and Stony Point First Nation, The Animal People Choose a Leader offers a story, a lesson or five, and beauty.

From The Animal People Choose a Leader, written by Richard Wagamese, illus. by Bridget George

Long ago when only the Animal People inhabited the earth, they decided they needed to choose a leader. And though they spoke of the many attributes needed, from strength and wisdom, to pride and power, they could not decide how to choose until squirrel Ajidimo suggests a race. Horse, Buffalo, Cougar, and Wolverine are all in, convinced that their strengths, whether it be speed or stamina or stealth or something else, would help them win. 

 

It is decided that they would race four times around the lake with Eagle watching from above to count laps. Then Waabooz, the rabbit, decides to race too though everyone suspects that her small size would not help her succeed.  Horse, Buffalo, Wolverine, and Cougar take off, but Waabooz waits and then slowly hops away.

From The Animal People Choose a Leader, written by Richard Wagamese, illus. by Bridget George

As the four primary contenders race to complete their laps, Waabooz takes her time, determined to enjoy the challenge by taking in the land's beauty and considering her paths by smell and observation. Even when the others complete their first laps, Waabooz is far behind, refusing to stop even when Eagle suggests she can't possibly win. Her response?

"It is not honouring the challenge to stop now," she said. "It is a noble pursuit and it asks everything I have."

From The Animal People Choose a Leader, written by Richard Wagamese, illus. by Bridget George

But as Wolverine, Horse, Buffalo, and Cougar go to complete their last lap, Waabooz discovers each unable to continue because of an obstacle or exhaustion or some challenge from which they cannot extract themselves. It is only with the wisdom of Waabooz and her guidance in getting them to work together that the five contenders for leader are able to complete the race together.

 

The Animal People Choose a Leader may share similarities with many other cultural stories in which a race to choose a winner does not turn out as expected but this story goes beyond one of humility and ingenuity. Waabooz is the unlikely winner, and this is obvious to all. But Waabooz has not accepted the challenge to win it. She has taken it on as a worthwhile endeavour, claiming that "It can never be a struggle to engage in a noble cause." Even when the animals complete the race and Waabooz is chosen as leader, her response is not expected. Her intent was to learn which she did. But she shared her wisdom with others so that they might understand what a struggle truly is and how to get out of one's own way. Most of all they learned that when they help each other, they all succeed.

Richard Wagamese's lessons in mindfulness and appreciation of the natural world–"You discover much when you learn to look at things"–extends to those of compassion and empathy, seeing how we can create barriers to our own progress, whether through rushing in or not trusting others or refusing to see something from a different perspective. Wise Waabooz, through Richard Wagamese's insight, firmly embedded in Indigenous voice and culture, gives the reader, young and old, understanding that could help us lead and follow.

Bridget George's Woodland style of art, rich in earthy tones and organic lines of movement, boosts Richard Wagamese's text to story book so simply and yet profoundly, matching the importance of the story with solemn graphic representation. The consequence of his words are reflected in the depth of Bridget George's illustrations, taking it from children's picture book to a tale that can be shared with all.

 

This would be a lovely book to gift anyone at the holidays. From the story within, the Woodland style art, and even the luxurious textured cover, The Animal People Choose a Leader would be a welcome addition to any school or library, public or personal, and one that could be treasured by all. With its timeless lessons and opportunity to appreciate Richard Wagamese's words once more, The Animal People Choose a Leader is an uncontested winner.

Willa and Wade and the Way-Up-There

Written by Judith Henderson

Illustrated by Sara Sarhangpour

Kids Can Press

978-1-5253-0842-0

40 pp.

Ages 5–7

June 2024

 

Willa is an ostrich and Wade is a penguin, and though they are both birds, neither can really fly though they would really love to. So, they ponder "the distance between the here and the there." (p. 6) And since they seem to have a good grasp of basic science of flight, they consider what it would take to set themselves aloft.

From Willa and Wade and the Way-Up-There, written by Judith Henderson, illustrated by Sara Sarhangpour

First, Willa considers the concept of lift, while Wade wonders about velocity. How to get lift? How to ensure speed? They try ballet because ballet makes you light on your toes. No luck with flight. Then they try pogo sticks but it wasn't until sliding downhill that the two experienced a brief lift off the ground.

From Willa and Wade and the Way-Up-There, written by Judith Henderson, illustrated by Sara Sarhangpour

Next, they consider liftoff. That requires them to jump off a cliff. Of course, they become airborne, but it is, of course, temporary. It's not until they apply some scientific principles to their problem solving and engineer something that the two feel the magnificence of the way-up-there.

From Willa and Wade and the Way-Up-There, written by Judith Henderson, illustrated by Sara Sarhangpour

Judith Henderson, who has given us stories including the Big Words Small Stories series and This is a Dog Book!, knows how to give us the subtle humour with understated plots. Willa and Wade and the Way-Up-There is sweet and playful and emphasizes determination and camaraderie without flagrant slapstick humour or irreverence. Instead, Judith Henderson tells a story that invites early readers to think outside the box when problem solving. With digital illustrations by Toronto's Sara Sarhangpour, Willa and Wade and the Way-Up-There keeps its light tone and the focus on the two friends. Because everything is so understated, from the text, the art, and the messaging, young readers will just be entertained, pleased with their ability to read a book that is a step up from picture books–in their estimation, anyway–and still be given the opportunity to think about how they approach a dilemma or question that doesn't have an obvious answer. And it might also make them think about flight and concepts like lift and speed.

The way-up-there that Willa and Wade aspire to enjoy is not unlike the many ambitions we all have and, if two flightless birds can find a way to fly, then we can do our best to aim high and find solutions too.

 

The Not-So-Perfect Plan (A Holly-Mei Book)

Written by Christina Matula

Inkyard Press

978-1-335-42917-9

240 pp.

Ages 8-12

April 2023

 

Holly-Mei thinks she has it all worked out. When she sees how exceptional her field hockey teammate Saskia is, and how much time her best friend Rosie is spending with her crush Henry, and the accolades her younger sister Millie gets for her baking, Holly-Mei is determined to shine too. She plans on organizing her friends into a team for the Grade 7 Inter-School Tri-Tournament that includes an open water swim, a race and a Dragon Dash around Hong Kong. And she plans on them winning it.

But life cannot be sweet all the time (pg. 26)

When Christina Matula introduced Holly-Mei in The Not-So-Uniform Life of Holly Mei last year, the twelve-year-old was trying to find a foothold in her new home of Hong Kong and make friends. She made great friends in cousins Rosie and Rhys, in Henry and his cousin Theo, girlfriends Rainbow, Snowy and Gemma, and even field hockey player Dev who gives her great advice. But we all know that making friends is just the beginning. It's keeping the friends that can be the hardest part. And when all her friends have different plans for the Christmas break, Holly-Mei feels abandoned. Even when everyone returns from their fabulous holidays around the world, Holly-Mei feels left out as they continue with their rugby, ballet, eco-art club and more. So, when the posters go up for the Inter-School Tri-Tournament, Holly-Mei's plan is to bring her friends–or at least Theo, Dev, Gemma, Rhys, Rosie, Rainbow and Snowy–together, to excel and to win. For her, it's all about the win.

But Holly-Mei is so determined to win that she forgets about the fun. She wants to practise swimming and quiz her teammates on Hong Kong trivia to ensure a win. Unlike Saskia whose parents drive her to succeed, Holly-Mei's friends are looking for activities that bring them joy and that doesn't always work with Holly-Mei's plan. Worse yet, Holly-Mei keeps putting her foot in her mouth every time a friend chooses to do something other than practice or drill. Will she hold onto the very friends she is desperate to keep, or will Holly-Mei end up losing those friends in her efforts to win at all costs?

I try so hard, but I feel like no one sees me and I get left behind. (pg. 108)

Though Holly-Mei is living a very privileged life with a loving family, private school, wealthy friends and family, and many, many opportunities, she is still struggling to appreciate herself, both strengths and weaknesses, and accept that others may be different from her. Her "knowledge of self" (pg. 108), as her Ah-ma calls it, is negligible and it drives her to envy and, worse, jealousy and selfishness. But, as with every coming-of-age story, there's the beginnings of self-awareness that will lead to greater maturity and understanding of self and others. Christina Matula lets us follow along with Holly-Mei as she learns about herself and how she interacts with others, becoming a more positive version of herself as a friend, a sister, and a daughter. And she, Christina Matula, makes that journey of self for Holly-Mei and her friends more than lesson-learning. That would be a win in itself, but that accomplishment of self-discovery is achieved through a series of fun ventures that take young readers along the Eight Immortals Trail, to Repulse Bay and Man Mo Temple and enjoying xiao long bao, egg waffles, and bubble tea. (Two recipes, one for Candy Cane-White Rabbit Chip Cookies and the other for Millie's award-winning Chocolate Avocado Cake, are included.)

I think middle-grade readers will enjoy exploring Hong Kong further with Holly-Mei in The Not-So-Perfect Plan but they'll also grab a lesson or two about being a friend and becoming self-aware and that's a gold-medal achievement.

• • • • • • •

 

The Not-So-Uniform Life of Holly-Mei (2022)

The Not-So-Perfect Plan (2023)

🤫 n.b. I just learned there will a third book, titled The Not-So-Simple Question, in the Holly-Mei series.

I Got You Babe (Orca Currents)

Written by Paul Coccia

Orca Book Publishers

978-1-459834705

120 pp.

Ages 9-13

RL 2.1

February 2023

 

Twelve-year-old Mac Riley has lots of ideas. He has lots of big ideas. His ideas are so big that they are almost overwhelming. In fact, his ideas may be just a little too big especially if he can't see that they may be jeopardizing some of his relationships.

 

When Charles Middle School's parent association, headed by Mac's dad, meet to discuss their annual fundraising Fun Fair, students which include Mac and best friend Amy are invited to attend. Mac, with Amy's tech assistance, suggests that they redo their boring Fun Fair with a Pride-themed event that is fresh and inclusive. Mac, who loves a bit of flash, from his clothing to his attitude, suggests everything from a rainbow-striped bouncy castle, a dunk tank and multicoloured cotton candy, to fireworks and a talent show with the winner crowned "Sparkling Crown of the Carnival." Though the committee recognizes that it might be too expensive to have it all and that there might be some pushback, they decide to go ahead. 

But Mac goes a little overboard with his plans, convinced he has something to prove.

"I wasn’t sure they were going to go for the carnival idea. Now that they have, it’s like I’ve got something to prove. It has to be great. It has to make money. People have got to like it. It needs to be epic.” (pg. 19)

Though Amy reminds him that the carnival isn't about him, Mac just steamrolls ahead with his plans, including planning on him and Amy winning the lip sync contest by depicting Cher and Sonny respectively. Amy tries to tell him that she's apprehensive of dressing like Sonny while Mac gets to dress in drag, but he just demands they rehearse daily and that she tries harder. 

Mac might be following the "go big or go home" precept but he doesn't realize that he's acting like the carnival is all about him. He may want to emulate the strong woman that Cher is but, instead of focusing on her iconic nature, he's acting like a diva. Will the Pride Carnival be the inclusive success Mac envisions or is he putting his relationships in jeopardy, and about to suffer the same fate as the famous duo, just to prove something?

If you don't know Sonny and Cher's song "I Got You Babe," take a listen to any version, video or audio, of Sonny Bono's song. It's catchy and heartening and will remind you that support doesn't require anything but being there. The song may be about a romantic relationship, but Paul Coccia's story goes beyond that singular type of relationship. I Got You Babe tells us that whether it's a friendship or a parent-child relationship or even self-love, support with understanding for strengths and flaws helps us through. Mac is imperfect–aren't we all?–but he learns from his mistakes and he does so  because there are those that support him, like his friend Amy and his father and his mother. With that kind of support, anything is possible: growth, love, and even winning a talent show.  And Paul Coccia makes us realize that it's all possible. This hi-lo (high interest, low vocabulary) story may be written at an easier reading level for middle-grade readers but its story is accessible to everyone. Paul Coccia writes a story about kids that are thinking outside the box and wanting to do interesting things. But what they get, in addition to a great school fundraising event, is learning that others have their back and that's something we all need to know.

• • • • • • •

 

Image from Orca Book Publishers

We're going to help get the hype going for this new novel that comes out February 14, 2023. Along with  this review, I'll be posting an interview with author Paul Coccia tomorrow with student Hasini. And here is the book trailer for I Got You Babe from Orca Book Publishers.

I GOT YOU BABE Trailer

Uploaded by Orca Book Publishers on January 23, 2023 to YouTube.

Who's Hockey?: A 'Hockey is for Everyone' Book about Acceptance

Story by Jeff McLean

Drawings by Nicola Pringle

Words by Terri Roberts

Game Seven Media

978-1-7773056-0-4

40 pp.

Ages 4-9

November 2022

The question may be Who's Hockey? but the answer is "Everybody!"

Cam and her family have just moved, again, and, though each move is a new adventure, it's also a challenge, especially with leaving behind her hockey team and finding new friends with whom to play. The first morning at the new house, Cam and her dog Gordie are outside promptly, dragging her net and sticks and gear out onto the basketball court in the park. But it's just the two of them and she's ready to head home after shouting out "Doesn't anyone play hockey around here?" and hearing crickets.

From Who's Hockey? by Jeff McLean and Terri Roberts, illus. by Nicola Pringle

But, from her back yard, Lidia hears Cam and when Cam mentions she's looking for hockey, Lidia asks, "Who's Hockey?" Cam proceeds to tell Lidia, and also her little brother Cooper, about the greatest game on earth and they help Cam recruit a few more players in the park.

From Who's Hockey? by Jeff McLean and Terri Roberts, illus. by Nicola Pringle

Soon they almost have two full teams, but no one knows about hockey or how to hold a stick or play. Cam is happy to teach them everything about her favourite game and Gordie is happy to be part of the action.

From Who's Hockey? by Jeff McLean and Terri Roberts, illus. by Nicola Pringle

It's a full day of learning and fun and making new friends. If Who's Hockey? shows readers anything, it's that hockey can be for anyone and everyone and sometimes fitting in means sharing what you like as much as conforming to what others are all about. 

The story of Who's Hockey? comes from former pro hockey player Jeff McLean–co-creator with Dean Petruk of PRIDE hockey tape– with Newfoundland's Terri Roberts putting it to words. The basis for it are the principles of the NHL of which acceptance of all who love the game is but one. Cam offers anyone the opportunity to learn to play the game regardless of age, size, backgrounds, and abilities. It's about having fun and playing together. Alberta illustrator Nicola Pringle makes sure that everyone is included and accepted. Whether right-handed or left-handed, a person of colour or not, wearing glasses, a hijab, or a ball cap, all are welcomed and encouraged to be part of a team and have fun. There is joy in the playing and there's joy in the story of Who's Hockey?, ensuring that young readers will get the positive message about opening themselves up to new things and new people for the opportunity for good things to happen.

On the Line

Written by Paul Coccia and Eric Walters

Orca Book Publishers

978-1-45982-713-4

312 pp.

Ages 9-13

March 2022

 

"...if you're down twenty points in the last two minutes, you still play your best..." (pg. 52)

What's on the line for thirteen-year-old Jordan Ryker? Everything. His parents can't stop arguing. The auto plant where his dad works, being the town's major employer, is shutting down. Even basketball, which is everything to Jordan and his best friend Junior, is somewhat tenuous with the school's new basketball coach who really doesn't know what he's doing. And now Jordan has to figure out how to work with new kids, brother and sister Aaron and Tammy, who are very different and both want on the boys' basketball team.  

Most unexpectedly, Jordan's dad moves out and reveals that he's gay. In a community where everybody knows everyone else's business, Jordan is not dealing well with it. Junior tries to help Jordan see the courage his dad is showing in being true to himself finally, and Tammy with whom Jordan starts going out is all about supporting social justice issues and even starts a Gay-Straight Alliance club at the school. But it's all too much for Jordan who responds to his parents' separation and his father's coming out with frustration and anger. 

At thirteen, Jordan is already dealing with a lot of new situations. He's thinking about girls but is both intrigued and uncomfortable with them. He's been struggling with an unstable home situation, which then becomes even more dubious as he tries to adjust to two different lives and a father different than the one he thought he always knew. Worse yet, Jordan takes it all personally, convinced that he is the aggrieved party, rather than seeing beyond himself what others may be feeling and experiencing. He can't see the efforts that everyone around him are making to support him and themselves in what they need. Sadly, though Junior, Tammy and others try to help him accept their support, there are some whose homophobic and narrow-minded perspectives on the Ryker family cause more tension for all. 

There's a great story here but it's Paul Coccia and Eric Walters's characters that carry On the Line. With Jordan, they have given us a typical young man in a somewhat unusual familial situation. They've created a kid who loves his family, hates their fighting, is starting to have romantic feelings, and is angry and frustrated because none of his life feels straightforward or easy anymore. I don't know many who would choose to go through puberty again but to compound that tension with confusion about your father and his relationship with you would be overwhelming, as it is for Jordan. Then there's his father who is trying to navigate a new relationship with his son, with his wife, with his community and even a new partner but most of all with himself. There's Tammy who strives for the world to be fair to her and to others. She challenges the school for her right to be on the boys' basketball team. She's all about diversity and inclusion and she wants others to be the same. Even Junior and Aaron are developed into full characters that add contrast and meaning to On the Line.

This is the first writing collaboration between Paul Coccia and Eric Walters and, having reviewed books by both previously, I can attest to a new synergy to their writing as they bring their strengths in plotting, character development, and voice and meld them with LGBTQ+ issues and sports into something new and important. They've given us a story that challenges young readers to see beyond themselves and from different perspectives and with compassion for the struggles that others may be experiencing. With heart and intention, they've put themselves out there and helped us see from that angle what's really meaningful: friends, family, and fair play for all.

The Undercover Book List

Written by Colleen Nelson

Pajama Press

978-1-77278-187-8

224 pp.

Ages 8-12

September 2021 

With the departure of her best friend Sienna to a new home and school, Jane McDonald is not looking forward to her Grade 7 year. But a literary mystery and an undercover friend-making activity may be what she needs to help make the year tolerable. Maybe even more.

In alternating voices and chapters of twelve-year-olds Jane and Tyson, Colleen Nelson brings together two kids with very divergent views on reading. Jane is a voracious reader, a passion she has shared with her best friend Sienna. But, with her dad already posted overseas as a Chief of Staff for a peacekeeping mission and now Sienna moving far away, she is feeling empty. Still Sienna has left her a clue that she hopes will help her friend find other reader friends. Giving Jane the code name X, Sienna initiates the Undercover Book Club by which Jane can leave notes and book recommendations and connect with others. 

The note is found by Tyson, a non-reader and prankster, who discovers the note when sent to the library for a book while he waits for the principal to discipline him. Tyson is not a reader. In fact, he can't even take books of the library since he has not returned some from last year. But when this Mutant-Z aficianado gamer has his Xbox taken away and has nothing else to do, he sneaks out the book in which the first note is found, recommends a book he remembers his teacher reading, and starts on his own reading journey.

Tyson knows X is Jane but she has no idea he's Y. As the two begin an unlikely book friendship, and Jane and her Kid Lit Quiz team struggle to reorganize after Sienna's departure, the Undercover Book Club is born, each reading new books and talking about their choices and learning more about themselves. As they compile a list of extraordinary books–with shout-outs to Canadian authors Kenneth Oppel, David A. Robertson, Monica Hughes and Susin Nielsen among others–it's a journey of self-discovery and self-development and it's all courtesy of reading.

Readers know the richness that stories can bring into their lives. We meet new friends, travel to different places and times, and we learn.  By bringing together a reader and non-reader, Colleen Nelson, an astute writer and undoubtedly understanding teacher, has written about every child out there. The ones that love books will always find something to read but can get so much insight from the perspectives of others. Those that haven't become readers yet often just need the scaffolding of the right book or the right person to bring them to reading. With the Undercover Book Club, Tyson and Jane both find their people among those they would have dismissed originally and enrich their lives beyond just reading.

Colleen Nelson has a natural skill at giving young readers characters who are real, though not always likeable at first, and who are able to change with their experiences and perspectives. It's her characters who have always driven her stories, whether they are in her picture books (e.g., Teaching Miss Muddle, 2020), middle grade (e.g., Harvey Comes Home, 2019) or young adult novels (e.g., Sadia, 20018), and give her plots the foundation for exploration of topics from bullying to abandonment, abuse and empowerment. By letting us see Jane and Tyson from different perspectives and responding to common scenarios, they become even more real.

Thanks for seeing me for who I am. And who I wanted to be, even if I didn't know it. (pg. 258)

For the reluctant reader who doesn't know they're a reader yet and for those who will consume this story with gusto, The Undercover Book List is for them. From its fabulous cover–easily identifiable as that of illustrator Scot Ritchie–through Colleen Nelson's irresistible text and appended notes about authors and books to check out, The Undercover Book List brings reading out from under its nerd status into a mainstream social avocation it can be.

📘📘📘📘📘📘📘

Tomorrow I'll post about Colleen Nelson's hybrid (limited in-person and online) book launch for The Undercover Book List on Friday, September 17, 2021.

📘📘📘📘📘📘📘

The Puck Drops Here (Hockey Super Six #1)

Written and illustrated by Kevin Sylvester

Scholastic Canada

978-1-4431-6348-4

176 pp.

Ages 8-12

September 2020

I don't know if I can safely write this review. I had to take a solemn pledge to never repeat anything I saw to ANYONE under penalty of...I don't know since it's apparently TOO TOP SECRET. But, I'm going to take a chance and brave it because you really need to hear about this book. It's too good to miss. (Though I did read that "There was once a kid in grade four in Canmore who took just a glimpse of, a mere peek at, page one of this book and repeated a single word that appeared on that page. Notice we said, "Was."" Yikes.)

From The Puck Drops Here (Hockey Super Six #1) by Kevin Sylvester

Twins Jenny and Benny, and friends Mo, Starlight, DJ and Karl are all eager to try out for the GOOBERS (Greater Ottawa-Outaouais Brainy Educational Regional School) hockey but Coach Clapper feels they all need to work on something, whether it is teamwork (Benny and Jenny), speed (DJ), physique (Mo), attention (Starlight) or being Karl (yes, he's just too Karl). So, stealing the key to an underground, top-secret hockey rink from his prime minister mom, PM Pauline Patinage, Karl sneaks his friends in for some special practice time. However, unbeknownst to them, government scientist Clarence Crosscheck, who'd been pretending to work on an artificial rink that could be used year-round, has been plotting to take over the world with a freeze ray using special comet crystals called Frozeum 7.

From The Puck Drops Here (Hockey Super Six #1) by Kevin Sylvester

When the kids arrive, Clarence accidentally blasts them, imbuing them with energy that translates into new powers (well, all except Karl, apparently) that would make Coach Clapper thrilled. But Clarence Crosscheck, realizing his machine has failed and learning PM PP is approaching, takes off, but not before releasing his experimentally-developed and hungry Super-Giant Ice Squids from their cage.

From The Puck Drops Here (Hockey Super Six #1) by Kevin Sylvester

In an epic hockey challenge, the Hockey Super Six take on the Ice Squids and the only things they have in common are a passion for hockey and a hunger to win. (Actually the squids just want to win the challenge so they can eat the kids because they really are hungry.)

I need to thank Kevin Sylvester for The Puck Starts Here and for starting this new series. We so need to find laughter in our lives, and The Puck Drops Here had me snickering, giggling, and smiling the whole way through. From his distinctive sketches (very familiar to readers of his award-winning series Neil Flambé) and humour (like the tongue-in-cheek comments between the kids, and story elements like Clarence's one-eyed human-sized hockey puck robot named Ron), all embedded in a hockey story line, Kevin Sylvester ticks all the boxes for a belly-laughs middle grade read about a much-loved sport. It's a little crazy (like the goalies who "are universally understood to be weird"; pg. 24) and a whole lot of funny ("This isn't hockey! This is monkey in the middle!"; pg. 117) and allows hockey viewing via appropriate social distancing.

Young readers will undoubtedly love The Puck Drops Here and this series. (The second book in the Hockey Super Six series, On Thin Ice, dropped last month.) For Christmas, for hockey lovers, for middle graders looking for a laugh, this will be a barnburner for Kevin Sylvester. He definitely scores!

Nibi's Water Song

Written by Sunshine Tenasco

Illustrated by Chief Lady Bird

North Winds Press (Scholastic Canada)

978-1-4431-0789-1

32 pp.

Ages 4-8

2019

Though I've already started reviewing books being released in 2020, I'm still finding gems from last year that I really, really want to bring to the attention of young readers and the adults in their lives. Nibi's Water Song is one such title. Its premise of an Indigenous young person searching for potable water is both a cautionary tale and one of resilience and hope, and supportive of the need for clean water in all communities.

Nibi means water in Anishinaabemowin. Considering this young person's thirst, it is highly appropriate that it is her name. But when Nibi is desperate for water to quench that thirst, she finds no clean water at her home or that of her neighbour, only brown water.

From Nibi's Water Song by Sunshine Tenasco, illus. by Chief Lady Bird

So begins Nibi's search for clean drinking water. When she finds only dirty water in the river, she skips to the next town of "big, shiny houses." Though a nice lady gives her a teeny-tiny plastic bottle of water, she is given no more, no matter how much knocking she does at the doors of the big, shiny houses. Finally she dances in the street with her sign that "Water is Life."

From Nibi's Water Song by Sunshine Tenasco, illus. by Chief Lady Bird

Desperate for more water, thirst overpowering her, Nibi is joined by her friends, all begging for water. Their signs shout "Clean Water" and "We All Need Water."

From Nibi's Water Song by Sunshine Tenasco, illus. by Chief Lady Bird

It is only when their voices are joined together in volume and purpose that the people in the big, shiny houses fall in to help Nibi get clean water.

With a lot of hard work, digging and singing, everyone worked together. And finally, thirsty, thirsty Nibi got her clean water...and she shared with all of her friends.

From Nibi's Water Song by Sunshine Tenasco, illus. by Chief Lady Bird

Nibi's Water Song reminds us that we are part of a larger community, one whose members may not all have water safe for drinking or washing. The United Nations may have declared it a human right to have safe drinking water and sanitation but there are numerous Indigenous communities who have lived with drinking water advisories as well as compromised water and waste water systems for decades. Author Sunshine Tenasco, Anishinabe from Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg, Quebec makes it clear that improvements will only be realized when the people in the "big, shiny houses" get involved. It may only take one person, like Nibi, to step forward and start a movement but it will take a concerted group effort from within and outside these unhealthy situations to make them safe. Still Nibi sings and dances to get the attention needed to address the problem.

Nibi's hope is reflected in the bold and bright illustrations of Toronto artist Chief Lady Bird of the Rama First Nation and Moose Deer Point First Nation. Her colours are vivid and lively, from the blue of the clean water to the greens of the grass. Her characters wear red and pink, and blue and orange, and traditional clothing and regalia like moccasins, fringed shawls, and beadwork. Most important are the flowers that surround Nibi, symbolic of the hope for water, the element that grows and sustains life. Chief Lady Bird's highly-stylized plants surround Nibi and reach forward, stretching to advance her quest for clean water.

The message of Nibi's Water Song is a simple one: everyone deserves clean water. I hope that the words and art of Sunshine Tenasco and Chief Lady Bird will reach all communities to spur to action those of us in our big, shiny houses so that we might help everyone quench their thirst and realize that human right to clean water. 

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Nibi's Water Song is also available as a French-language edition, Nibi a Soif, Très Soif.

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n .b. As of May 2025, there is a dual-language edition with text in both English and Anishinabemowin.

 

Nibi nigomon/Nibi's Water Song

Written by Sunshine Quem Tenasco
Illustrated by Chief Lady Bird

Scholastic Canada
978-1-0397-0067-3
32 pp.
Ages 4-8
2025

Brady Brady: Teammate Turnaround

Written by Mary Shaw

Illustrated by Chuck Temple

Scholastic Canada

978-1-4431-6373-6

32 pp.

Ages 4-8

September 2019

Brady is called Brady, Brady because he needs to be called multiple times to get his attention. That is, except for hockey. The anticipation of his team, the Icehogs, starting their season has the boy and his buddy Chester excited and practising enthusiastically. But after tryouts for the season, Chester is placed on another team and is ready to give up on hockey. Can Brady help his friend see that playing the game is the fun part and that they'll always be best buddies?

From Brady Brady: Teammate Turnaround by Mary Shaw, illus. by Chuck Temple

After Chester learns that he has been placed on another team, he dumps all his goalie equipment at the front of the arena with a note, "Free equipment. No longer needed." While the two wait in Chester's dad's car, Brady reminds him that "We're gonna win the Stanley Cup together one day" and "We can still play hockey together. On my backyard rink, in my basement, on my driveway." But when the boys rush back into the arena to retrieve Chester's equipment, it's already gone. 

From Brady Brady: Teammate Turnaround by Mary Shaw, illus. by Chuck Temple

So begins a search for the missing goalie pads, stick and bag. They enlist the help of a group of kids hanging out in the lobby to search the change rooms, the washroom, the concession stand and finally the lost and found room. High up on a shelf, the equipment sits. But reaching it becomes a problem for the children. Together, working as team, they construct a human pyramid to retrieve Chester's equipment, before he realizes that these kids are the Rink Rattlers, the team to which he has been assigned.

From Brady Brady: Teammate Turnaround by Mary Shaw, illus. by Chuck Temple

Chuck Temple's diverse kids with the quirky smiles and palpable enthusiasm for hockey are the right composite of cartoon and lifelikeness, quirky and real to keep the story fun, funny and truthful. So many kids love playing sports but dread playing with kids they don't know. We all love the familiar to some degree, especially in new situations. By making Chester's story about finding friends to help him out, before even heading onto the ice, Mary Shaw upholds the quote (attribution vague) that "There are no strangers, just friends you haven't yet met." It's no surprise that Chester feels comfortable playing with the Rink Rattlers now that he knows who they are and that his friendship with Brady is not at stake. 

Ultimately, Chester "knew it didn't matter what uniform he was wearing as long as he was playing the sport he loved." With their overwhelming enthusiasm for hockey, these kids would make any team, whether Icehogs or Rattlers or something else, remarkable because they knew how to work together to accomplish something great.

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A number of Brady Brady stories have been published, including 3 collections and several French-language versions. Check them out at Scholastic Canada or at the Brady Brady website.