AlphaBit: An ABC Quest in 8-bit

Written by Chronicle Books

Illustrated by Juan Carlos Solon

Chronicle Books

978-1-4521-7030-5

36 pp.

Ages 2-5

August 2019

Most concept books like those that teach the alphabet struggle to find a unique theme on which to hang that instruction.  But AlphaBit is like no other alphabet book, embedding the teaching of the letters and words that start with those letters in some classic video/arcade game scenarios. It's a trip down memory lane for many and, for young children, it will a new and fresh design motif that links with technology without the complications.

From AlphaBit, illus. by Juan Carlos Solon

For each of the twenty-letters, displayed in large yellow font, common words like apple, banana and castle are posted in a text box. Chronicle Books may have created the lists of words for each letter, but it is Toronto's Juan Carlos Solon, video and gaming artist as well as illustrator, who gives the context for the words. The illustrations, reminiscent of old video games, display indoor and outdoor settings to showcase the words and more. Up to six words may be listed but many more words are illustrated for children to discover. For example, for the letter B, the words bird, bed, banana, buttons and barrels are posted but in the illustration, children will also find books, bowl, bookcase, bell, and bear.

From AlphaBit, illus. by Juan Carlos Solon

The pixel art, so much like the old 8-bit devices, is currently very trendy. You can find online pixel art generators and apps that help anyone create pixelated art. But Juan Carlos Solon goes beyond just illustrating "things" and designs complex scenes in which those alphabet objects are inserted, all based on a quest. From the first double-spread for letters A and B which depicts where the protagonist lives, to stepping outside and discovering a treasure map, our hero embarks on a quest to locate a diamond. There are obstacles from robot enemies and rope walkways over swamps, to ghosts and invaders. And as our hero advances, reaching the diamond, the story finishes off with an X-cellent! Yay! Zoiks! Or does it? Is the quest ever really over?

From AlphaBit, illus. by Juan Carlos Solon

Since everything old–or should I say retro?–is new again, young kids will love sitting down with AlphaBit as much as the adults who will be reminded of Pac-Man, Donkey Kong and Space Invaders from forty plus years ago. I don't know if young children will be familiar with these classic video games but if the Press Start font and Juan Carlos Solon's graphics don't get them curious about them, then hopefully they'll at least enjoy a quest of alphabet discovery.

Second Story Press: 30th Anniversary and Contest

Second Story Press has been celebrating 30 years of publishing children’s fiction, nonfiction and picture books, along with young adult and adult fiction and nonfiction. They've championed feminist rights and social justice stories from the onset. Their books have been honoured with many awards and accolades and they continue to produce outstanding series like Janet Wilson's Kids Are Making a Difference and their Holocaust Remembrance Series for Young Readers as well as a diverse collection of titles for all ages. While I have not been able to review all the children's and YA books from Second Story, I have reviewed quite a few in the last few years including:

• The Stone Rainbow by Liane Shaw (2019)
• Just Lucky by Melanie Florence (2019)
• Our Future: How Kids are Taking Action by Janet Wilson (2019)
• A Friend Like Iggy by Kathryn Cole, photographs by Ian Richards (2019)
• What Makes Girls Sick and Tired by Lucile de Pesloüan, illus. by Geneviève Darling (2019)
• A Cage Without Bars by Anne Dublin (2018)
• Bright Shining Moment by Deb Loughead (2018)
• The Promise by Pnina Bat Zvi and Margie Wolfe, illus. by Isabelle Cardinal (2018)
• Ten Cents a Pound by Nhung N. Tran-Davies, illus. by Josée Bisaillon (2018)
• Krista Kim-Bap by Angela Ahn (2018)
• Fania's Heart by Anne Renaud, illus. by Richard Rudnicki(2018)
• Mr. Mergler, Beethoven, and Me by David Gutnick, illus. by Mathilde Cinq-Mars (2018)
• On the Spectrum by Jennifer Gold (2017)
• The Water Walker by Joanne Robertson (2017)
• Stolen Words by Melanie Florence, illus. by Gabrielle Grimard (2017)
• Breaking Faith by E. Graziani (2017)
• Where Will I Live? by Rosemary McCarney (2017)
• I Am Not a Number by Jenny Kay Dupuis and Kathy Kacer, illus. by Gillian Newland (2016)
• Freedom's Just Another Word by Caroline Stellings (2016)
• Soldier Doll by Jennifer Gold (2014)

If you have a favourite, you might want to get in on Second Story Press's social media contest, another part of their 30th anniversary celebrations.

What do you have to do?
Post on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram (using the hashtag #SSP30Years) a photo of your favourite book from Second Story Press and why you love it

When?
Until 11:59 p.m. on December 13, 2019

Who?
Open to Canadian and American of legal age (sorry young readers!)

Details
Full contest rules are posted here

Also part of their 30th anniversary celebrations, Second Story Press has asked ten guests to share their favourite books. I was honoured to be one of these ten individuals and share with you below the posts that Second Story Press sent out on December 2, 2019.

Read my original review of Stolen Words by Melanie Florence and illustrated by Gabrielle Grimard at https://canlitforlittlecanadians.blogspot.com/2017/09/stolen-words.html

Happy 30th Anniversary, 

Second Story Press! 

Sounds Like Christmas

Written by Robert Munsch

Illustrated by Michael Martchenko

North Winds Press (Scholastic Canada)

978-1-44317-582-1

32 pp.

Ages 3-8

October 2019

Christmas should be a time of love and giving and family and celebration. But for many this seasonal holiday is a time to consume and outdo others in gift-giving and in displays of lights and such.  In Sounds Like Christmas, Robert Munsch with his celebrated illustrator, Michael Martchenko, takes on the competitive sibling rivalry of Lincoln and Georgia as they decorate the family Christmas tree with an odd assortment of unconventional ornaments that create noise, each child trying to outdo the other in their selections.

From Sounds Like Christmas by Robert Munsch, illus. by Michael Martchenko

After Grandma, busy with her baking, asks her two grandchildren to get off their devices and decorate the tree, the two set to work with lights and garland, candy canes and balls. But when Georgia adds a raucous woodpecker to the tree, it sets off a competition between the siblings for bigger and louder. Lincoln adds his large sound effects key chain, and Georgia her talking doll. Lincoln adds the neighbour's barking dog and Georgia grabs her exasperated, and hence loudly yelling, Grandma and sticks her on the tree. The tree becomes a cacophony of

Tweet! Tweet! Tweet!
Bzap! Bzap! Bzap!
Ma-ma! Ma-ma! Ma-ma!
Woof! Woof! Woof!
Aahhhhhhhhhhhh!

From Sounds Like Christmas by Robert Munsch, illus. by Michael Martchenko

But before things can be put to right, their grandfather with his snow blower, both making a clatter, get perched on the tree top and Michael Martchenko displays it all on a double-spread that requires the reader to turn the book sideways to appreciate the vastness of the noisy tree.

From Sounds Like Christmas by Robert Munsch, illus. by Michael Martchenko

With their Grandpa's familiar threat to many children at Christmas about no presents, and most of the noisy "ornaments" quietening down, Lincoln and Georgie withdraw to the kitchen to do their own Christmas cookie baking, sure in their knowledge that Santa Claus is the one to bring gifts. A final illustration reveals a surprise for all except for Lincoln and Georgian, undoubtedly safely tucked away in their beds.

Robert Munsch brings the ridiculous to the ordinary as he has done in so many of his  stories, whether classics like I Have to Go (Annick, 1986) or newer titles like So Much Snow! (Scholastic Canada, 2016). Here he brings Christmas together with enlisting the help of children and just reveals what many of us have known all along. Getting kids to help out may be the hard part for some parents and teachers but it's not surprising to discover that their help isn't always as you envision it. Of course most people would not tackle a job as we might–and that doesn't make it wrong, just different–but by giving a story in which two children go to extremes to ensure an incomparable tree with audio, Robert Munsch gives us a holiday tall tale based in a reality we all know.

It's always a delight to see Michael Martchenko's illustrations accompanying Robert Munsch's words. For many, there is no other illustrator for his works. Michael Martchenko's watercolour illustrations know how to meld the real with the wacky, here showing us kids playing on their technology (their body language is so authentic!) and then displaying a grandmother hanging from the tree by her apron strings. Except for the odd assortment of vocalizing adornments, this could be anyone's Christmas, for those who choose and are fortunate enough to have a tree to decorate.

Happy decorating for the holidays!

🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄

A French language edition, Vacarme de Noël, is also available from Scholastic Canada.

Vacarme de Noël by Robert Munsch, illus. by Michael Martchenko    9781443175838

Nutcracker Night

Written by Mireille Messier

Illustrated by Gabrielle Grimard

Pajama Press

978-1-77278-091-8

40 pp.

Ages 3-7

September 2019

At this time of year, many families will be planning their annual excursion to a performance of the Nutcracker, a ballet scored by Tchaikovsky. Whether your child is fortunate enough to attend or perhaps even perform in it or not, Mireille Messier and Gabrielle Grimard's Nutcracker Night will bring the magic of that performance to the page and hence to every young reader.

From Nutcracker Night by Mireille Messier, illus. by Gabrielle Grimard

A young girl delights in being taken to her first performance of the Nutcracker. From the Swoosh! of the cars and the Beep! Beep! of their taxi, their journey to the ballet begins with a subtle sensory burst. Her dress goes Swish! Swish!, her dad's shoes go Clip! Clop! Clip! Clop! and the two enter the  theatre, and get to their seats while the orchestra tunes up with a Pickle-dee! Zing! Boom! Ding!

Before the ballet has even started, the reader will recognize that Mireille Messier has made this event into an onomatopoeic exploration. The sounds of the audience and the orchestra are only the beginning because soon enough Marie (or Clara) is opening her nutcracker gift on stage and her brother Fritz is breaking it. When the clock strikes midnight with a Bong! or seven, Marie envisions the Christmas tree as colossal, and the mice and the soldiers begin their battle. After a welcome intermission, the Sugar Plum Fairy dances en pointe with a Takka-takka-takka, and the flamenco dancers and Mother Ginger and the polichinelles perform, before an ending that has the crowd applauding Bravo! Brava!

From Nutcracker Night by Mireille Messier, illus. by Gabrielle Grimard

Though the story of the Nutcracker, that of a young girl perhaps dreaming of a nutcracker come to life, is the basis for Mireille Messier's picture book, Nutcracker Night goes beyond a retelling of the ballet's premise. Instead it expands the many audible experiences of the performance and encompasses the whole experience from beginning to end of a special father-daughter occasion. There is the travel to the theatre, the audience's reactions and behaviour, an intermission of food, play and chatter, and an affectionate thank-you from a little girl to her father. And throughout, Mireille Messier invites a read-aloud with sound and expression.

Gabrielle Grimard's artwork, created with watercolour, gouache, oil, coloured pencil and digital media, evokes the magic and the affection of the experience for all participants. From the wide-eyed faces of the children to the action of the ballet, Gabrielle Grimard takes the reader into the theatre to watch, to hear and to appreciate the Christmas ballet.

Head to the ballet with Mireille Messier and Gabrielle Grimard's Nutcracker Night for a different kind of audiovisual experience and one that is perfect for the holidays. Like the nutcracker itself, Nutcracker Night opens up a tale for the season.

From Nutcracker Night by Mireille Messier, illus. by Gabrielle Grimard

The Mostly True Story of Pudding Tat, Adventuring Cat: Guest blog review

Today's review has been submitted by Grade 6 student Bronte L.

Written by Caroline Adderson
Illustrated by Stacy Innerst
Groundwood Books
978-1-55498-964-5
128 pp.
Ages 8-11
April 2019

In The Mostly True Story of Pudding Tat, Adventuring Cat by Caroline Adderson, Pudding Tat is a blind cat who explores 1900s North America, travelling from Wellington County to Niagara Falls, Buffalo, Atlantic City, the Titanic and the Western Front of World War I, with the help of a needy flea.

When Pudding Tat was a little kitten, living in a barn with his family, he decides he would explore the four corners of the world like his ancestors. Pudding Tat may have been blind but his hearing was exceptional. His family couldn’t hear the drunken conversations of the fleas, but he could. Before Pudding Tat leaves the barn to explore the four corners of the world, a flea decides to jump into his ear. This flea was different from the other crazy drunken fleas in that he had taste, though he was bossy, rude, and constantly complaining.  Yet Pudding Tat never gets rid of him because the flea provides him sight, and it’s nice to have some company while exploring the world. As Pudding Tat travels from location to location, he encounters lots of kind owners who care for him while he gives them joy.

The Mostly True Story of Pudding Tat, Adventure Cat is great for grades 5 to 8. It’s full of adventure and fun as well as including “mostly true” accounts of famous North American events. The Mostly True Story of Pudding Tat, Adventuring Cat has 179 pages, making a great light read, with each chapter a new adventure for Pudding Tat and the flea.

I love the concept of the book and the idea that the same visually-impaired cat was a part of all these events and changed peoples' lives. I also found the way Pudding Tat was able to find his way around using his other senses and the flea was very creative. The descriptions were great while not being wordy and I was able to visualize what was going on clearly. I also loved how Caroline Adderson added songs into her writing. I would give Caroline Adderson’s The Mostly True Story of Pudding Tat, Adventuring Cat  9 out of 10.

~written by Bronte L.

Summer North Coming

Written by Dorothy Bentley

Illustrated by Jessica Bartram

Fitzhenry & Whiteside

978-1-55455-465-2

32 pp.

Ages 5-9

November 2019

Though a picture book titled Summer North Coming may seem incongruous for release in November, Dorothy Bentley and Jessica Bartram's book is actually very suitable for this time of year, and just about any, as it examines in verse and art the changing of seasons and activity in the north.

Divided into two parts, Summer North Coming and Winter North Coming, Alberta author Dorothy Bentley takes the reader across muskeg and forests, shores and skies, and inside to experience all with two children.

From Summer North Coming by Dorothy Bentley, illus. by Jessica Bartram

From her first quintain which accompanies the two children paddling through the open water of marshland, Dorothy Bentley immerses us in Alberta's far north.

Fragrant muskeg rose,
tickle my nose
sun climb,
warm shine
summer north coming

Soon the children are picking raspberries in their birch bark baskets, ready for jam-making and spreading on bannock. Then they're swimming in a river and running through rain puddles and dreaming of flight on bats and birds. With the leaves falling and "summer north fading," preparations for winter begin. The family puts on their beaded mukluks and go fishing, and later enjoy a hearty meal.

From Summer North Coming by Dorothy Bentley, illus. by Jessica Bartram

In the later half of the book, winter has set in and the children play in the snow, relish a dog sled run, watch ravens at play, and enjoy some winter camping. Indoors everyone partakes in venison stew and some family games before a final spread which foretells the end of the cold season.

Hills icy sliding,
crash mud landing
sun roams, 
earth moans
winter north melting

Dorothy Bentley makes the seasonal activities of a northern family with some Indigenous roots into a sensory experience. From the berry-stained hands to thunder loud calling and daytime smiles yawning, Summer North Coming is an evocative rendering in words and art of life in northern Canada. Ottawa artist Jessica Bromley Bartram provides the visual for Dorothy Bentley's expressive free verse, giving the illustrations a folksy feel of family who enjoy the outdoors and live with the seasons. The art, which appears to be a blend of watercolour, gouache and pencil crayon, is surprisingly detailed–the trees in the forest are easily identifiable–yet organic in its rounded edges and softness of energy.

Summer may have passed for now and winter is here and not, but Summer North Coming will take young readers through all the seasons as they advance and retreat in the subarctic environment of northern Canada.

From Summer North Coming by Dorothy Bentley, illus. by Jessica Bartram

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.

••••••••••••••••

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.