Oddbird

Written and illustrated by Derek Desierto

Feiwel & Friends

978-1-250-76531-4

32 pp.

Ages 2-6

May 2021

 

When a grey-feathered little bird finds his way to a community of colourful birds who preen and avoid cooling off in a pool for fear of blemishing their appearances, he is chagrined to see his own blandness for the first time. Though he finds a solution, ultimately it's what's inside of him that will unite him with the other birds.

From Oddbird by Derek Desierto

Finding a lovely blue pool in the jungle on a sweltering hot day, a little grey bird is perplexed why the birds surrounding it aren't in the water cooling off. When he dips his toes in, though, the other birds finally notice him.

"He has no color," said one bird.

"Are those even feathers?" said another.

All the birds agreed that Oddbird didn't belong there.

From Oddbird by Derek Desierto

To the screeches of "Out!" and with tears, the little bird flies off. Noticing how much colour there is in the jungle, he fashions himself a fabulous display of colours. When he returns, the other birds are mesmerized by his appearance, showering him with compliments and recognition.

From Oddbird by Derek Desierto

Emboldened with new confidence, the little bird heads to the diving board before plunging into the cooling pool. So happy is he to enjoy the water that he doesn't noticed that all his colourful "feathers" have fall off. The other birds certainly notice, but they also observe how refreshing the pool looks and jump in, disregarding the water's impact on their own appearances.

From Oddbird by Derek Desierto

This is Vancouver's Derek Desierto's debut picture book as an author and illustrator, having previously illustrated for others (e.g., Juno Valentine and the Magical Shoes), but I hope there will be more. I think Derek Desierto was meant to tell stories. His tale of a little unadorned bird feeling out of place in a community of flashy and multi-coloured birds speaks to all of us who feel out of place and try to find ways to fit in. But by fitting in, the little bird gains the confidence to actually accept his colouring as it is and encourage others to enjoy a world beyond the superficial and to look inside to see what really counts.

 

By harmoniously intertwining his messages of self-acceptance and diversity with his vibrant digitally-rendered art, Derek Desierto has made Oddbird even more inspiring. Children know how much they want to fit in and unfortunately they know how often it's based on what they look like and what clothes they wear. With the boldness of his art, colourful and textured with patterns and expressive in shape and form–those eyes shout fear, distress, awkwardness and joy– Derek Desierto draws children into the story and helps them see that fitting in is sometimes more about being oneself than how others see you. Though the little grey-feathered bird may feel like his absence of colour makes him an oddity, his differences are what actually add the colour to this community and that inclusivity is the foundation for connectedness.

2020 Governor General's Literary Awards: Winners announced

 

On June 1st, the Canada Council for the Arts announced the winners for the Governor General's Literary Awards for books published in 2020.

Please join me in congratulating the year's winners in the two categories for young readers. 

Young People's Literature -  Text

The King of Jam Sandwiches

Written by Eric Walters

Orca Book Publishers

Reviewed here

 

 

 

 

 

 

Young People's Literature - Illustrated Books

The Barnabus Project

Written and illustrated by The Fan Brothers 

(Eric Fan, Terry Fan and Devin Fan)

Tundra Books

 

 

Snazzy Cat Capers series: Guest review

 This review was written by teacher Elizabeth Cook.

 

Written by Deanna Kent

Illustrated by Neil Hooson

Imprint (Macmillan)

This series has been sitting in my TBR pile for quite some time and I am regretting how long it has taken me to get to this treasure by Deanna Kent and Neil Hooson. This middle grade series, which blends the text of novels with black-and-white graphic novel artwork, focuses on cat burglar Ophelia Von Hairball V, a fun and fabulous character who is a fusion of master criminal (though she always returns the stolen goods), secret agent and glamorous diva. Because I was instantly hooked by the globetrotting cat adventures, entertaining characters, and witty word play, I devoured the first three books in the series (see details below) in just two days and am already hoping that at least one more book will follow. 

Snazzy Cat Capers 

(Book 1)

Written by Deanna Kent

Illustrated by Neil Hooson

Imprint (Macmillan)

978-1-250211149

240 pp.

Ages 7-10

2018

 

In the first book of the series, we are introduced to Ophelia Von Hairball V.  She is a classy cat burglar who steals only the most precious items from around the world to enjoy at her house. But, after she's played with the trinkets, she always returns them to their owners, since keeping them would make her a criminal! While she loves the glitz and glimmer of her sparkly treasures, it is the thrill of the chase that she enjoys most and she is quite good at it too!  Ophelia Von Hairball V is the #1 rated cat burglar in the FFBI (Furry Feline Burglary Institute). This title is hard earned as the dogs of CCIA (Central Canine Intelligence Agency) are always on her tail, as is her evil uni-browed cousin, Pierre, who regularly ranks at #2 because of his sloppy execution. Though the FFBI provides their agents with access to inventors, Ophelia prefers to work alone, though she finds inventor Oscar Fishgerald Gold, a hard-working goldfish, useful and so she keeps him around...but at a paw’s length. In this book, the FFBI have challenged their cats to steal a rare Himalayan diamond and deliver it to headquarters for the opportunity to earn the top spot. Using her cunning, Oscar's incredible gadgets, a good plan and the ability to think on her paws, Ophelia is determined to hold onto her top ranking, even if she has to evade the CCIA and her evil cousin Pierre to do so.

 

The Fast and the Furriest 

(Snazzy Cat Capers, Book 2)

Written by Deanna Kent

Illustrated by Neil Hooson

Imprint (Macmillan)

978-1-250143471

224 pp.

Ages 7-10

2019

 

The second book in the series starts with the theft of the valuable Secret Claw from FFBI’s vault. This device emits a red laser beam so strong that it can control all of the cats around the world. Naturally, the dogs of CCIA want control of this device to prevent thefts by the cats. Ophelia, as the FFBI's top cat burglar, is tasked with travelling the world to locate the three pieces of the device and return them safely to the Institute's vault. Ophelia plans to use her panache and global connections to help steal the components back, though she knows that the CCIA and her cousin Pierre will be out to thwart her efforts. Luckily, she has her fin-ventor, Oscar, and their loyal invention P.U.G. (Personal Ultra Gadget) to help her.

 

Meow or Never 

(Snazzy Cat Capers, Book 3)

Written by Deanna Kent

Illustrated by Neil Hooson

Imprint (Macmillan)

978-1-250143495

224 pp.

Ages 7-10

2020

In Ophelia Von Hairball V's third book, the feline burglar is presented with perhaps her greatest challenge yet.  Every cat burglar has been instructed to steal the most valuable item they can and bring it to FFBI headquarters for judging within seventy-two hours.  For a cat burglar of her calibre, stealing is the easy part. For Ophelia, though, the real challenge is working cooperatively in a team, as each burglar must work with an inventor to demonstrate that "teamwork makes the dream work." Having fired 16 previous inventors before Oscar Fishgerald Gold, and relentlessly trying to give Oscar the slip on every mission, Ophelia needs to learn how to cooperate with her team if she is to be successful on this mission. Fortunately, Oscar creates many fabulous disguises and inventions to keep Ophelia interested and readers entertained, including the O.M.G. (Ophelia Mew-bile Go) car which boasts endless modes, including pirate, cuppa-tea and leprechaun, and which comes in very handy as they travel across the globe to steal a jewelled purple sceptre. Now if Ophelia can out-manoeuvre her evil cousin Pierre and the CCIA, she is sure to win this competition paws down!

I highly recommend this series for its fun themes of cat and mouse, or should I say cat and dog! Young readers will enjoy delving into Snazzy Cat Capers themselves but older readers will also appreciate the humour and be encouraged to read them aloud to younger children.  I especially enjoyed the oodles of puns including “paw-rtner”, “fin-tastic”, and “hiss-tory.” In fact, almost every chapter title is a clever play on words that will make adults and astute young readers chuckle. Moreover, every chapter is preceded by a quote from Ophelia Von Hairball V that is a misappropriation of a famous line from history. A few of my favourites include: "To be fabulous or not to be fabulous? That is the question. Except it is a ridiculous question because we all know the answer" and "I came. I clawed. I conquered."  The clever wit embedded throughout the series will definitely entertain readers of all ages.

 

 

~ Reviewer Elizabeth Cook is a teacher in the Halton District School Board. She is an avid reader and fan of Canadian literature.  

 

Sonata for Fish and Boy

Written and illustrated by Milan Pavlović

Groundwood Books

978-1-77306-161-0

32 pp.

Ages 4-7

May 2021

I love a good wordless picture book and Sonata for Fish and Boy is a good one. In the hands of illustrator Milan Pavlović, Sonata for Fish and Boy rejoices in the ability of music to endow our spirits and transport us to other worlds.

 

A fish in the water catches a musical note coming from a child playing a violin on a bench beside the water. In their watery and terrestrial worlds of rose taupe hues with minimal splashes of pale teal, the two are together but separate.

From Sonata for Fish and Boy by Milan Pavlović

When the child puts down his violin and lays down on the bench to sleep, the fish catapults itself out of the water and hovering around the child, draws him into the air to journey from the darkness to the colours of new worlds. In a city of buildings and a tall red poppy, the boy and fish witness the liveliness of a community playing, dancing, singing and listening to music. Bold reds and pinks, orange and blues, green and purples create a glowing landscape of song and energy.

From Sonata for Fish and Boy by Milan Pavlović

Then they continue to travel through flocks of singing and mesmerized birds to the planets, bouncing from one to another as the music accompanies them. Next they enjoy a crossing through a park with people flying balloons, children eating ice cream, and a musician playing a concertina. Finally a trip through a field of giant dandelions leads the boy and fish to a cottage where an orchestra of animals plays with relish, before leading them into a storm that tosses both in its darkness.

From Sonata for Fish and Boy by Milan Pavlović

In the end, an old man discovers his violin at the bench from the story's beginning and, playing it once again, is reunited with his piscine friend.

Artist Milan Pavlović needs no words to tell this story of the transformative nature of music, how it enriches our lives and moves us through and to places hitherto unknown. I know that Milan Pavlović has embedded clues to several important pieces of music such as Gustav Holst's "The Planets", Camille Saint-Saëns's "The Carnival of the Animals", and Bohuslav Martinů's "The Romance of the Dandelions", but I challenge young readers, especially music students, and the adults in their lives to discover the Easter eggs that may hint at other important classical works. (The park scene with the balloons stumped me completely.) 

From Sonata for Fish and Boy by Milan Pavlović

With sound conveyed in the colours and shapes, Milan Pavlović allows the movements of this sonata to carry readers through quiet reveries and joyous exuberance, imaginative frolics, and tempestuous storms (perhaps Tchaikovsky's "The Tempest"). This sonata may have started for a child soloist but it becomes one for a duo of friends, taking them through time and place, and bringing new joys into their lives, just as music has always done.

Outside, You Notice

Written by Erin Alladin

Illustrated by Andrea Blinick

Pajama Press

978-1-77278-193-9

32 pp.

Ages 4-7

April 2021

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

 

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

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

 

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

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

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

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

Outside, you notice

The breath in your body

Your feet on the ground

Your self in the world

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

 

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

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

Thrive (The Overthrow, Book 3)

(If you haven't, I encourage you to read Bloom and Hatch, Books 1 and 2 in The Overthrow series, first. You'll want to know the whole story. Really.)

 

Written by Kenneth Oppel

HarperCollins

978-1-4434-5691-3

404 pp.

Ages 10-14

May 2021

 

First there were the black grasses, strangling vines and pit plants (Bloom, 2020). Then came the eggs that developed into mosquito birds, giant water striders and horrific mega-worms (Hatch, 2020). Now, in the conclusion to Kenneth Oppel's The Overthrow trilogy, the cryptogens themselves are coming to invade. But will they succeed in overthrowing humans for the planet?

Being a teen is hard enough but, for Anaya, Petra and Seth who have dealt with strange allergies and physical ailments all their lives, things have gotten a lot stranger since learning that they have cryptogenic DNA that has given them extraordinary powers but also unconventional bodies. Anaya is a runner, with unusual body hair and claws. Petra has an affinity for swimming and has scaly skin and a tail. Seth is a flyer with razor-sharp wings and a powerful sound weapon. During the horrific experimentation on the kids and others like them at the hands of the nasty Dr. Ritter, they learned that they are able to telepathically communicate with each other and Anaya was able to connect with the cryptogen she calls Terra. 

 

This connection has lead to the arrival of a ship, at the conclusion of Hatch and the beginning of Thrive, from which a trio of rebel cryptogens have emerged. Terra, who is a runner and scientist as well as pilot, is accompanied by another scientist, a swimmer for whom Petra uses the pronouns ze and zir, and a flyer who was a military leader, hence their moniker of him as the general. Together the three cryptogens had formed an alliance, and a rebel movement of several hundred was established to overthrow the flyers who have used their sound power to keep runners and swimmers enslaved to them. 

The rebels admit that Anaya, Petra and Seth, as well as the other hybrid children, had been implanted with DNA to help produce a virus to destroy the flyers' ability to use sound as a weapon and thus to help them defeat their oppressors. Now the rebels have come to earth to retrieve that hidden DNA.

 

While Petra helps the swimmer to get materials needed to repair their ship and Anaya works with Terra to develop the virus, Seth worries for Esta, a hybrid flyer such as himself, with whom he'd bonded at Dr. Ritter's bunker facility. Learning that Esta, like most hybrid cryptogens, is being detained at an internment camp, Seth sneaks out to rescue her and ends up captured along with Esta and others by the primary ship of invaders. Now Seth has to decide whether he agrees with Esta who believes the cryptogen commander, a flyer, really has their best interests at heart, or whether a rebellion against the flyers is necessary to stop the oppression of the runners and swimmers and an invasion of earth.

Kenneth Oppel pounds out his story of an alien invasion and rebellion with little respite for the reader, just as there was none for the trio of teens who are thrown from one alarming situation to the next. Even before the initial arrival of terrifying plants and menacing creatures, Anaya, Petra and Seth have had to manage their physical stresses. Now with the menace of extraterrestrials, they have to balance being seen as both threats and saviours, and doing what they can, what they want to and what they'd rather not. There's always some new threat with which they must deal and, as they are punched with pressure after pressure, as each new creature and knowledge is revealed, Kenneth Oppel takes the reader with them. As such, Thrive is an intense read, throwing the reader along with the story's characters, from one dangerous situation to the next, manoeuvring on a flying platform, being swallowed by a wall, fighting off a wolverine squid or plunging through the atmosphere in a pod with limited oxygen. The action is relentless and it's not until the very end that Kenneth Oppel lets us know how The Overthrow, the series and the operation, actually turns out. I won't give away the ending but I will reassure that the wild ride that is Thrive leaves room for a sigh and a promise for resolution.

He was half human, half cryptogen, but for the first time in his life, he was starting to feel whole. (pg. 404)

• • • • • • •

The Overthrow (a.k.a. Bloom Trilogy) 

Bloom (2020)

Hatch (2020)

Thrive (2021)

48 Grasshopper Estates

Written by Sara de Waal

Illustrated by Erika Medina

Annick Press

978-1-77321-484-9

40 pp.

Ages 4-7

April 2021

 

Like walking through a new neighbourhood, checking out the houses and apartments, shops and services, heading to 48 Grasshopper Estates is an eye-opener of community, seeing the people who live there and make a home with their neighbours. But it's also about the children of 48 Grasshopper Estates, separate in their apartments, but united in common tasks, even if they don't know it.

From 48 Grasshopper Estates by Sara de Waal, illus. by Erika Medina

Sicily Bridges, who lives at 48 Grasshopper Estates, is a maker. She is a maker of cookies, music, crafts and imaginative play. In the care of Mrs. Rubenstein, after Sicily's mother has gone off to work with a "skirt swish, forehead kiss," Sicily begins writing down her ideas for the day's creations: a lake submarine, a unicorn castle, a spaceship with a built-in supersonic sandwich maker. But all her ideas tell her to add one more thing she'll need to make today: a friend.

From 48 Grasshopper Estates by Sara de Waal, illus. by Erika Medina

Focused on her making, Sicily is oblivious to a little boy and his family who have just moved into 48 Grasshopper Estates. As she gathers materials on the street, in the garbage and recycling area and elsewhere, he too scours his new home for bits and bobs.

 

Since one of her tasks today is to make a friend, Sicily creates them, including a fuzzy one, a freckle-speckled friend, one with four toes, one with big ears, and another with too-big pants. She makes even more friends, imaging them all to be lovers of soup, unlike Sicily who prefers a peanut butter and cheese sandwich for lunch. Meanwhile, the little boy works tirelessly on his own creation, solo.

Sadly Sicily's friends will be unable to accompany her in her spaceship to Mars as they are all afraid of heights. So she decides to give her friends to her neighbours, matching them with the attributes she has observed in each.

From 48 Grasshopper Estates by Sara de Waal, illus. by Erika Medina

Now devoid of her created-friends, Sicily sees a box of materials outside one apartment door. With a knock on a door and an introductory question, a collaboration is made and Sicily ticks more than one item off her maker list.

BC author Sara de Waal also ticks all the right boxes with her story of imaginative play and friendship. There are so many positives of a young girl who loves to make stuff and dream stuff up and who uses her community as fodder for her creations, whether it be the materials she can uncover or the inspiration for them. With the right bits, Sicily can create just about anything because her imagination tells her she can. She thinks outside the box and is encouraged by Mrs. Rubinstein to do so. Still when she decides that none of her newly-made friends will be able to accompany her to Mars because of their acrophobia, those creations are the means by which she truly does make friends, creating a positive impact on others and for herself.

This self-confidence of childhood exploits is affirmed by Erika Medina's illustrations of diverse and engaged characters who collect, construct, observe and interact. Her gouache artwork boldly invites the reader to peek into the worlds of a painter or a dog-walker, of the elderly and the children who turn visions into tangible projects. There is life in this neighbourhood of 48 Grasshopper Estates which feeds itself and creates more community.

The story of 48 Grasshopper Estates may be about a little girl who imagines and engineers and meets a friend and collaborator because of those enthusiasms but it's important to see beyond the obvious that opening oneself up to possibilities, including people, is what is truly creative.