How to Staycation Like a Snail

Written by Naseem Hrab

Illustrated by Kelly Collier

Owlkids Books

978-1-771476126

40 pp.

Ages 5-8

September 15 2024

 

Snail, from Naseem Hrab's How to Party Like a Snail, is back. And while his many friends are heading to far-off places for their vacations, Snail has other plans.

From How to Staycation Like a Snail, written by Naseem Hrab, illustrated by Kelly Collier

Snail has always appreciated the quiet and serenity of his home. He sees the wonder in everything from a pebble to a map, the trails he leaves and the stars in the sky. He doesn't need the frenzy of travels away from home. So, when he declines his friends' invitations to join them on their party bus headed to the city, Snail stays behind with Stump, finding their own adventures at home.

From How to Staycation Like a Snail, written by Naseem Hrab, illustrated by Kelly Collier

They listen to a waterfall, they smell the smells, and they watch the light and shadows dance with the leaves. And just when they think that they've seen and done everything there is to do, some parachute seeds blow in. These wispy travellers are using the guidebook for Snail and Stump's location and are so delighted in the smells and sounds and "attractions" of their vacation spot that they decide to stay.

From How to Staycation Like a Snail, written by Naseem Hrab, illustrated by Kelly Collier

For children who may never get the opportunity to travel from home and are made to feel that their summer vacations don't count because they didn't go anywhere, How to Staycation Like a Snail validates their experiences and gives them directives on how to staycation with satisfaction. From watching and being mindful, to making new friends and spending time with old friends, Snail's staycation is fulfilling and heartwarming. Naseem Hrab's heartfelt insight into those who aren't party animals but still joyous in their living comes through loud and clear. (Okay, maybe quietly.) As she did in her Governor General award-winning picture book, The Sour Cherry Tree, illustrated by Nahid Kazemi, Naseem Hrab touches readers with heartfelt understanding how we are all different. How we find adventures in our lives or heal or find joy may be unusual but still valid and should never to be diminished with judgment.

From How to Staycation Like a Snail, written by Naseem Hrab, illustrated by Kelly Collier

Kelly Collier, who has illustrated Naseem Hrab's Otis & Peanut books as well as her own, like A Horse Named Steve and The Imposter, has the skill to bring humour and lightness to issues like fitting in and self-acceptance. She takes Naseem Hrab's words and spins them into joy, from seeds applauding the mesmerizing Stick to Stump tossing aside a tumbleweed that blew in near him (that is, after he spent time appreciating this new entity). Snail and Stump have few features to emote, but Kelly Collier makes them so expressive, giving them the ability to show surprise and shock, and distress, happiness and so much more. She brings them and the story to life in colour and line.

As someone who appreciates her home and doesn't feel the need to travel to find satisfaction or new experiences, I'm with Snail and Stump. There's always something wonderful and new to discover even in places with which you are familiar. So, instead of "Bon Voyage," let's wish all the staycationers a "Bon Sejour" and stop travel shaming those who prefer not to do so because...

 

It's hard being the only epic explorer who wants to stay home.

Tout le monde à bord!

Written by Rhéa Dufresne

Illustrated by Marion Arbona

Monsieur Ed

978-1-924663028

32 pp.

Ages 4+

April 2018

Prepare for an explosion for the senses amidst the busyness of the animals as they leave the city for vacations. Tout le monde à bord! has all the hallmarks for a holiday read for little ones with the bustling activity of locating creatures and solving shadow mysteries to keep them engrossed for the duration of travel.

A wild assortment of animals, including a zebra, penguin, giraffe, fish, and aardvark, gloriously rich in colour and shape, gather at the train station to board the train. It's mayhem as they search for their companions and squeeze aboard ready to set out.

From Tout le monde à bord! by Rhéa Dufresne, illus. by Marion Arbona

Parents will recognize the cries of the animals as they wonder if they've forgotten anything, as they urge others to hurry, as they complain that it's going to be crowded, and then the need to wait for that ever late traveller.

Even as the train winds and weaves its way through forests and hills to the sandy desert into the snowy mountains, jungle, sea and marsh, different shadows of creatures appear.  Young ones might think they can identify each animal behind the clouds of dust or hot chocolate steam or whale blowhole stream, but they'll probably be wrong every time. (The shadow creatures in the illustration below certainly look like birds with webbed feet and beaks, but don't be fooled.)

From Tout le monde à bord! by Rhéa Dufresne, illus. by Marion Arbona

And as they travel, the hilarity of their dialogue and outbursts reveal family squabbles, worries, joys, and more. From the penguin chastizing her mate-Je t'avais dit qu'on aurait mieux faut d'aller chez ma mère au Pôle Nord ("I told you it would be better to go to my mother's at the North Pole")–to the vendor selling plankton ice cream at the sea, Tout le monde à bord! is rich in dialogue and commentary. And with Marion Arbona's wonderfully stylized creatures and the assortment of travel spots, Tout le monde à bord is a trip for the visual senses and geographical sensibilities.

Rhéa Dufresne and Marion Arbona are both stars in the Quebec children's literature world. Having collaborated on award-winning titles like Arachnéa (Éditions de l'Isatis, 2012) and La nuit (Éditions de l'Isatis, 2015), as well as on books separately, they are well-known amongst French-language youngCanLit creators and to young readers. But, even though Tout le monde à bord! is a French-language picture book, the simplicity of the story and the bounty of its illustrations make it accessible to both French speakers andthose learning the language. (Teachers, it would also be a superb book for developing visual literacy and using the artwork to help translate the text.)

Whether a holiday in the summer or a winter vacation, take a trip with this motley crew of animals on their vacances. There's lots to experience throughout their journey and your reading of Tout le monde à bord!

Dingus

Written by Andrew Larsen
Kids Can Press
978-1-77138-661-6
208 pp.
Ages 9-12
May 2017

Dork. Doofus. Dingus.  Variations on a theme.  But Andrew Larsen’s narrator, eleven-year-old Henry will have no problems accepting that final moniker after the conclusion of his fifth grade and the beginning of a summer holiday that seems to hold no promise.

Though Henry likes his Gr. 5 teacher Mr. Buntrock–with his stories, laughter yoga and word-of–the-day–the school year has been one of multiple changes, not the least of which is his growing estrangement from his best friend Max.  Though the two boys have always relished their differences–Max is smarter, taller and wealthier–Max has become so immersed in his winning chess team that he has little time for Henry.  Worse still, Max seems to take pleasure is teasing Henry about wearing Max’s cast-off clothes and more, making Henry the butt of his chess team’s jokes.

At home, things are similarly in flux.  Mom who’d had baby Sam a year ago is returning to work which will require more travel, starting with a trip to Las Vegas the last day of school.  Dad, who’d lost his job just before Sam’s birth, has stayed at home to care for Sam and, by default, Henry. And, of course, there is less money for everything and anything, including a pair of much-admired Chad Baker sneakers.

I was mad at Max. I was mad at his new friends. I was mad at my dad for getting me Chad Fakers instead of Chad Bakers. I was mad at myself for being so mad.
   My life officially sucked.
   I was mad at that, too. (pg. 45)

Adding insult to injury, Max gets to go away to his much-loved chess camp while Henry  sees a summer of nothingness ahead of him.  What Henry doesn’t realize is that Dad’s idea of a staycation will bring him a new set of experiences like outdoors movie night, Elvis sandwiches, and bottle rockets, suggesting that change really is as good as a holiday.

It must be rough being a kid for whom everything feels like it’s going sideways.  What’s worse is when it’s things you can’t control like money, baby brothers, and friends as well as  things you can but don’t because you’re a dingus.  But Andrew Larsen realizes that change, like that of the puberty lessons Henry has to endure at the end of Grade 5, is inevitable and rolling with it rather than fighting it is probably a lot easier.

I know there’s a million middle-graders out there right not who are wondering about their summers, the changes their bodies and minds are going through, and the direction that friendships are heading.  It’s a lot on their plates, especially since things don’t always work out at planned.  But, take solace in that, even if you’re a Dingus–and we are all such goofs some time in our lives–that it’s rarely fatal and often educational, just like mistakes and school.

Mr. Postmouse Takes a Trip

Written and illustrated by Marianne Dubuc

Kids Can Press

978-1-77138-354-7

24 pp.

Ages 3-7

April 2017

Mr. Postmouse is the postmaster but he's closing up the post office and going on vacation with Mrs. Postmouse and his mouselings Pip, Milo and Lulu.  But this is a busman's holiday, if ever there was one, because each stop involves a delivery.  Half the fun of Mr. Postmouse Takes a Trip is looking for what package has disappeared from Mr. Postmouse's wagon and to whom it has been delivered.  The other half of the fun is taking in all the intricate details of Marianne Dubuc's astounding illustrations, overflowing with characters, activity and novelty. If you could only take one picture book on vacation, it would be Mr. Postmouse Takes a Trip, for the sheer volume of stories told within the minutiae of each illustration.

The trip, which is more inclusive than a world cruise, begins with the family Postmouse leaving their rural neighbourhood (I recognize the rural mailbox with its flag up) and bidding adieu to Mr. Bear and heading to a campground.  Amidst the woods of hikers and multitudinous fauna, Marianne Dubuc provides a glimpse into the tidy camper of Aunt Claudette and the family's own tent with cozy sleeping bags.

These pen and ink and pencil illustrations of structures from the camper to a department store and volcanic mountain are quintessential to the Mr. Postmouse series, taking down that fourth wall (or mountain side or ground) to expose an interior of intricacy and wonder.  It's a peek into unseen worlds, more whimsy than real (except for the human structures of food trucks and buildings), always imaginative and elaborate.

From Mr. Postmouse Takes a Trip

by Marianne Dubuc

Next stop: the beach.  Take a glimpse inside the sandcastle Lulu is building for Mr. Crab or into the ladybug’s ground hovel or the ice-cream truck of Mr. Panda. Or look for which package Milo is delivering to a seagull.

From Mr. Postmouse Takes a Trip 

by Marianne Dubuc

The trip continues with a foray onto the seas in an extraordinary cruise ship named the Rosetta, a stop on a volcanic island (and delivery for Tarzan to his tree house), a trek through the desert and into a jungle which seems to pay homage to Rousseau. The trip ends with stops in a bustling city, in the mountains, on an ice field, and with a venture into the heavens via hot-air balloon.  With each new destination, the Postmice deliver packages or envelopes, enjoy the attributes of the new locale and readers witness new worlds burgeoning with life and joie de vivre.

From Mr. Postmouse Takes a Trip 

by Marianne Dubuc

I hope Mr. Postmouse, Mrs. Postmouse, Pip, Milo and Lulu think to send lots of postcards–I'm sure Mr. Postmouse has a healthy supply of stamps!–to help them remember their trip because it is certainly a memorable one.  Even locales which may seem ordinary to some readers are teeming with delightfulness and amusing distractions for both Postmouses (Postmice?) and readers.  There’s Mr. Lizard’s dinner on a plate, meerkats playing chess under ground, the operatic cat putting an audience member to sleep, King Kong hiding, a marmot with booties on his ears, and ants in every location.  Without naming places, Marianne Dubuc may have taken everyone on a seven-continent tour via all manner of transportation.  But, it’s not like Mr. Postmouse Takes a Trip is a picture book to support your geography curriculum.  It is there to entertain and tickle, and it does, providing rich discussion fodder and a fascination with all that goes on, both inside and outside around the world.  Bon voyage!

Mouse Vacation

by Philip Roy

Illustrated by Andrea Torrey Balsara

Ronsdale Press

978-1-55380-479-6

32 pp.

Ages 4-8

October 2016

Compromise is tough enough between humans.  Imagine trying to compromise with an adorable mouse who has great imagination and wanderlust but no sense of distance or costs.  Happy the Pocket Mouse has decided the solution to a case of the boredom blues is for him and his human, John, to go some where.

For John, though, going somewhere usually means someplace close to home, like the store or the park.  But Happy has other ideas, and he has lots of them.  So, John recommends that they each make a list of places they’d like to go.  John is thinking the woods and the river, but Happy’s thinking the Taj Mahal and New Zealand.

Finally John introduces the idea of compromise, a meeting in the middle, which Happy jumps on, proposing meeting in Egypt, or Paris or even New York City, all of which John nixes based on cost.  John’s suggestion about an overnight bus ride to the nearest city to see the Tall Ships finally grabs Happy’s attention, especially John’s description of them as “ghosts from the past” (pg. 23).  Still, finally settling down for the night, the excited little mouse checks with John about one potential stop on the way home!

From Mouse Vacation 

by Philip Roy, illus. by Andrea Torrey Balsara

I’ve reviewed every Happy the Pocket Mouse story that Philip Roy and Andrea Torrey Balsara have created: Mouse Tales (Ronsdale, 2014); Jellybean Mouse (Ronsdale, 2014); and Mouse Pet (Ronsdale, 2015).  The foundation of each picture book is the endearing relationship between John and Happy.  John is like the laid-back best friend/dad who radiates subtle wisdom and empathy while Happy is this adorable, adorable innocent whose heart is filled with love and mind brims with imagination.  (I love the sweetness of his response to John’s suggestions: “That’s okay, John, we’ll just go somewhere else”; pg. 5) By having John and Happy working out what it means to take a vacation and finding a way to compromise, Philip Roy has again produced a charming life lesson in a story book.  And Andrea Torrey Balsara flawlessly brings the story to visual completion, ensuring John looks like the man who is wise and caring and Happy is effusive with sweetness and virtue.  But, this time, Philip Roy’s story allows Andrea Torrey Balsara to create wild backgrounds for Happy: on a cow at the Taj Mahal, roasting a marshmallow over a candle while camping, riding a camel in Egypt, or sporting an “I ❤︎ NY” T-shirt.  Still, the magic is in the collaboration, between the text and illustration and between John and Happy.  That's what makes the story, and Philip Roy and Andrea Torrey Balsara have done it again, blending the two into a story of adventure for the mind, the heart and the soul.

From Mouse Vacation 

by Philip Roy, illus. by Andrea Torrey Balsara

See You Next Year

by Andrew Larsen

Illustrated by Todd Stewart

Owlkids Books

978-1-926973-99-9

32 pp.

Ages 3-7

March 2015

I'll bet lots of families are already thinking about their summer plans, and many already know where and when they’ll be vacationing because it’s become an annual ritual.  It’s a ritual embedded in a known car trip, a familiar cottage à la motel, and a proverbial beach.

We’ve been coming to the same place every summer since I was little.
Nothing changes.
That’s why I like it. (pg. 8)

In See You Next Year, the intimacy of the location is only surpassed by the familiarity of the activities.  The very people may change from year to year but the sand-raking tractor, the umbrella-toting visitors, the evening concert at the gazebo bandstand and the beach bonfire are all the same.  However, a new friend,  not unexpected, adds some new milestones to the young girl’s summer.

The rhythm of Andrew Larsen’s text will easily transport older readers to summer holidays as children: the lapping of the waves on the beach, the pattern of the sea of umbrellas , the patter of that inevitable day of rain, the routine of waking, swimming, playing, staying up late and sleeping in.

And Todd Stewart, for whom this is his first picture book, captures the essence of those summer holidays with family in his retro art and minimal palette.  In illustrations in which he could have emphasized a myriad of colours across bathing suits, umbrellas, and blistering heat, Todd Stewart chooses eloquently to underscore the turquoise of the water, the sandy golds of the beach, the midnight blue of a clear sky, or the taupes of a rainy day inside.  It works so well.

I suspect Andrew Larsen may be recreating his own memories or sharing those of his own children.  Either way, summer will seem very familiar and too far in the future until it’s already gone, and a postcard and warm memories are all that are left.  Until next year.

Summer's On: A Young Adult Book List

Young adult fiction may have more mature themes and vocabulary than the books of my earlier summer book lists but, let's face it, they're all about spending time with friends, family, and strangers, at home or elsewhere, and experiencing new things, good or not.  Everyone is living in the moment, often a warm, sunny one! Onward with summer!

           

YOUNG ADULT

Acceleration

by Graham McNamee

Wendy Lamb Books

210 pp.

Ages 14+

2003

Before Wings

by Beth Goobie

Orca Book Publishers

203 pp.

Ages 14 and up

2000

Blues for Zooey

by Robert Paul Weston

Razorbill

272 pp.

Ages 13+

2014

Reviewed here

The Darkest Corner of the World

by Urve Tamberg

Dancing Cat Books

251 pp.

Ages 12+

2012

Finding Melissa

by Cora Taylor

Fitzhenry & Whiteside

184 pp.

Ages 14+

2013

Reviewed here

Finding My Own Way

by Peggy Dymond Leavey

Napoleon

173 pp.

Ages 12-15

2001

The Gravesavers
by Sheree Fitch
Doubleday Canada
336 pp.
Ages 12-15
2005

Grist

by Heather Waldorf

Red Deer Press

228 pp.

Ages 13-16

2006

The Isabel Factor

by Gayle Friesen

Kids Can Press

252 pp.

Ages 12-14

2005

Last Chance for Paris

by Sylvia McNicoll

Fitzhenry & Whiteside

204 pp.

Ages 12-15

2008

Last Summer in Agatha

by Katherine Holubitsky

Orca Book Publishers

185 pp.

Ages 14-16

2001

No More Pranks 

by Monique Polak

Orca Book Publishers

100 pp.

Ages 15-17

2004

Once Every Never       

by Lesley Livingston
Puffin Canada
302 pp.
Ages 12+
2011
Reviewed here

Every Never After

by Lesley Livingston
Razorbill
242 pp.
Ages 12+
2013
Reviewed here

Now and For Never

by Lesley Livingston
Razorbill
280 pp.
Ages 12+
2014

Second Chances

by Brenda Chapman

Dundurn

262 pp.

Ages 12-14

2012

The Silent Summer of Kyle McGinley

by Jan Andrews

Great Plains Teen Fiction

200 pp.

Ages 12-15

2013

Reviewed here

Smokescreen

by Nancy Hartry

Tundra

202 pp.

Ages 12+

2013

Reviewed here

Stolen

by John Wilson

Orca

119 pp.

Ages 10-13

2014

Summer of Fire

by Karen Bass

Coteau Books

295 pp.

2009

Swim the Fly
by Don Calame
Candlewick
345 pp.
Ages 13-15
2009

This One Summer

by Mariko Tamaki

Illustrated by Jillian Tamaki

Groundwood Books

2014

Reviewed here

Three Songs for Courage

by Maxine Trottier

Tundra Books

324 pp.

Ages 15-17

2006

Totally Unrelated

by Tom Ryan

Orca Books

120 pp.

Ages 11-14

2013

Reviewed here

Truths I Learned from Sam

by Kristin Butcher

Dundurn

177 pp.

Ages 12-16

2012

Wave Warrior

by Lesley Choyce

Orca

105 pp.

Ages 11-14

2007

Way to Go

by Tom Ryan

Orca

214 pp.

Ages 14-16

2012

Reviewed here

What Happened This Summer

by Paul Yee

Tradewind Books

178 pp.

Ages 15+

2006

Wicked Sweet

by Mar'ce Merrell

Feiwel and Friends

330 pp.

Ages 14-18

2012

Reviewed here

Wild Orchid

by Beverley Brenna

Red Deer Press

156 pp.

Ages 12+

2005

Summer's On! A Fiction Book List

For readers of chapter books, whether they be early readers or middle grade, these summer reads have something for everyone: vacations with family, going to camp, adventures in the wild, pranks, mysteries, melancholy and humour.  But it's all courtesy of time off school and weather that lets you stay outside longer than other times of the year. Enjoy!  

FICTION

Adventures at Camp Lots-O-Fun

by Marilyn Helmer

Illustrated by Mike Deas

Orca Book Publishers

60 pp.

Ages 8-10

2010

After Peaches

by Michelle Mulder

Orca Book Publishers

106 pp.

Ages 9-11

2009

After the Fire

by Becky Citra

Orca Book Publishers

186 pp.

Ages 8-11

2006

Alberta Alibi

by Dayle Campbell Gaetz

Orca Book Publishers

189 pp.

Ages 9-12

2005

The Archaeolojesters
by Andreas Oertel
Lobster Press
192 pp.
Ages 9-12
2010

As Long as the Rivers Flow

by Larry Loyie with Constance Brissenden

Illustrated by Heather D. Holmlund

Groundwood Books

48 pp.

Ages 7-11

2002

Bat Summer

by Sarah Withrow

Groundwood Books

174 pp. 

Ages 10–13

1998

Becca At Sea  

by Deirdre Baker           

Groundwood Books

176 pp.
Ages 9-12

2007          

The Big Swim

by Cary Fagan

Groundwood Books

128 pp.

Ages 9-12

2010

The Big Tree Gang

by Jo Ellen Bogart

Illustrated by Dean Griffiths

Orca Book Publishers

61 pp.

Ages 7-9

2005

Bye-Bye, Evil Eye

by Deborah Kerbel

Dancing Cat Books

168 pp.

Ages 9-12

2014

Reviewed here

Camp Outlook
by Brenda Baker
Second Story Press
245 pp.
Ages 9-13
2014

Days That End in Y

by Vikki VanSickle

Scholastic Canada

194 pp.

Ages 9-12

2013

Reviewed here

Driftwood

by Valerie Sherrard

Fitzhenry & Whiteside

200 pp.

Ages 10+

2013

Reviewed here

The Fossil Hunters

by Marilyn Helmer

Illustrated by Dermot Walshe

Orca Book Publishers

62 pp.

Ages 6-8

2009

Gemini Summer

by Iain Lawrence

Delacorte Press

261 pp.

Ages 10-13

2006

The Green Man

by Michael Bedard

Tundra Books

304 pp.

Ages 11-14

2012

Greysteel’s Ghost

by Robert Sutherland
HarperTrophy Canada
176 pp.
Ages 9-12
2005

A Handful of Time

by Kit Pearson

Puffin Books

186 pp.

Ages 8-12

1987

I Owe You One

by Natalie Hyde
Orca Book Publishers
126 pp.
Ages 8-11
2011

Johnny Kellock Died Today

by Hadley Dyer

HarperCollins

152 pp.

Ages 9-12

2006

Just J.

by Colin Frizzell

Orca Book Publishers

138 pp.

Ages 9-13

2007

Keep Out!

by Hélène Boudreau
Nimbus
82 pp.
Ages 6-9
2010

Losing Joe’s Place

by Gordon Korman

Scholastic

233 pp.

Ages 12-14

1990

Nobody's Dog

by Ria Voros

Scholastic Canada

150 pp.

Ages 8-12

2012

Reviewed here

Off Track (Sports Stories, #62)

by Bill Swan

James Lorimer

106 pp.

Ages 8-13

2003

One Thing That's True

by Cheryl Foggo

Kids Can Press

128 pp.

Ages 10+

1997

On the Road Again! More Travels with My Family

by Marie-Louise Gay and David Homel
Groundwood Books
141 pp.
Ages 7-10
2008

Out of the Box

by Michelle Mulder

Orca Book Publishers

150 pp.

Ages 9+

2011

Reviewed here

      

The Path of Names

by Ari Goelman

Arthur E. Levine/Scholastic
399 pp.
Ages 10-12
2013

Pete's Gold

by Luanne Armstrong

Ronsdale Press

188 pp.

Ages 10-14

2008

Sabotage

by Karen Autio

Sono Nis Press

293 pp.

Ages 10+

2013

Reviewed here

Siena Summer

by Ann Chandler

Tradewind Books

142 pp.

Ages 12-14

2008

Sky Lake Summer

by Peggy Dymond Leavey

Napoleon Publishing

178 pp.

Ages 9-11

1999

Somebody Else’s Summer

by Jean Little

Viking Canada

180 pp.

Ages 9-12

2005

Summer Days, Starry Nights

by Vikki VanSickle

Scholastic Canada

221 pp.

Ages 11-14

2013

Reviewed here

Summer in the City

by Marie-Louise Gay and David Hormel

Groundwood

150 pp.

Ages 8-10

2012

Summer of Discovery

by Eric Wilson
HarperTrophy Canada
96 pp.
Ages 9-12

1996

The Summer of Magic Quartet

by Andrea Spalding

Orca Book Publishers

Ages 9-12

The White Horse Talisman (Book One)

192 pp.

2003

Dance of the Stone (Book Two)

196 pp.

2003

Heart of the Hill (Book Three)

182 pp.

2005

Behind the Sorcerer's Cloak (Book Four)

227 pp.

2006

The Summer of Permanent Wants

by Jamieson Findlay

Doubleday Canada

241 pp.

Ages 10-14

2011

Summer of Suspense (Science Squad Adventure Series #1).

by Kristin Butcher

Whitecap Books

159 pp.

Ages 8-12

2002

The Summer of the Spotted Owl (A Dinah Galloway Mystery)

by Melanie Jackson

Orca Book Publishers

180 pp.

Ages 9-12

2005

Summer on the Run

by Nancy Belgue

Orca Book Publishers

139 pp.

Age 8-12

2005

A Taste of Perfection

by Laura Langston

Stoddart Kids (Fitzhenry & Whiteside)

214 pp.

Ages 10-13

2002

Travels with My Family

by Marie-Louise Gay     

Groundwood Books
119 pp.
Ages 7-10

2006

Trouble at Impact Lake (The Archaeolojesters, Book 3)

by Andreas Oertel

Lobster Press

185 pp.

Ages 9-12

2011

The Uncle Duncle Chronicles: Escape from Treasure Island

by Darren Krill

Lobster Press

335 pp.

Ages 14-16

2006

The Way to Schenectady

by Richard Scrimger

Illustrated by Linda Hendry

Tundra Books

163 pp.

Ages 9-13

1998

Wishing Star Summer

by Beryl Young

Raincoast Books

136 pp.

Ages 9-12

2001

Zach & Zoe: Bully and the Beagle

by Kristin Butcher

James Lorimer

117 pp.

Ages 7 -11

2009