Burt the Beetle Doesn't Bite!

Written and illustrated by Ashley Spires

Kids Can Press

978-1-5253-0146-9

56 pp.

Ages 5-8

June 2021

While I may be cursing the mosquitoes and horseflies that are biting right now, award-winning author-illustrator Ashley Spires is showing her appreciation for the wealth of insect species inhabiting backyards and in particular a ten-lined June beetle called Burt.

From Burt the Beetle Doesn't Bite! by Ashley Spires

Showcasing Burt's attributes from his feathery antennae ("It's a style choice") to his all-natural furry belly, Ashley Spires introduces us to the insect often called a watermelon beetle. But when Burt notes the superpowers of ants, hawk moths, termites and stink bugs, he struggles to recognize what makes him so amazing. He tries to wink, tap dance, climb walls and fly but usually ends up on his back with legs flailing in the air. 

From Burt the Beetle Doesn't Bite! by Ashley Spires

But like any child looking to identify their own strengths rather than focusing on their weaknesses, Burt perseveres and finds his sticky legs and his huggable nature a gift to some insects trapped in a spider web.

From Burt the Beetle Doesn't Bite! by Ashley Spires

With colourful humour such as calling a spider web "fancy bum string" (pg. 43) and bold illustrations that are both charming and surprisingly accurate (except for their faces, of course), Ashley Spires teaches, entertains and grabs readers' attentions. There may be countless books about insects but Burt the Beetle Doesn't Bite! educates without droning on about insects' defining characteristics like habitat, eating, and reproduction. Instead kids will learn about the ten-lined June beetle but also about ants and dragonflies, the Australian tiger beetle, hawk moths, echolocation, spraying of toxins and more. And if that's not enough, the end papers display "cards" depicting insects according to their superpowers from "Super Stingy" and "Super Bright Bum" to "Super Annoying" (that's the mosquito!) and "Super Deadly Farts." Finding out what insect matches its superpower will be half the fun of Burt the Beetle Doesn't Bite!

From Burt the Beetle Doesn't Bite! by Ashley Spires

Ashley Spires has always known how to entertain us with her graphic novels and picture books, having won the hearts of young readers with Binky the Space Cat (see my review of Binky Takes Charge, 2012) and inspired them with The Most Magnificent Thing (2014) and The Thing Lou Couldn't Do (2016). Now with Burt the Beetle Doesn't Bite!, she teaches, informing kids about insects in a colourful and playful way that camouflages the learning. That, and her illustrations and her humour must be her superpowers and I'm so glad she uses them for good.

🐞 🐞 🐞 🐞 🐞

A downloadable activity package from Kids Can Press is available at https://www.kidscanpress.com/sites/default/files/products/assets/BurtTheBeetleDoesntBite_2685_activity.pdf

A Kid is a Kid is a Kid

Written by Sara O'Leary

Illustrated by Qin Leng

Groundwood Books

978-1-77306-250-1

32 pp.

Ages 3-6

August 2021

 

Every child may be different but every child is also the same, especially when they're asked insensitive or withering questions about their differences. They just want to be, to feel safe and cared for and to enjoy life. When they are questioned about their family or their gender, their preferences or abilities, or have their "imperfections" pointed out, they do not feel good. Then they are all the same, as are we all.

From A Kid is a Kid is a Kid by Sara O'Leary, illus. by Qin Leng

From the onset, A Kid is a Kid is a Kid reminds us that being a kid is not easy. Starting with a child who's taunted with a question about whether they're a boy or a girl, multiple kids step up to assert what tactless questions have been asked of them. From why one child always has her nose in a book, or why another is small, to where they come from, why they wear the same shirt, or why they don't have any friends. (One boy steps up to negate that question by declaring himself their friend.) There's a child with a prosthetic leg and one with a baby sister in an incubator and twins who always get asked about being twins. (Tiresome, I'm sure.)

From A Kid is a Kid is a Kid by Sara O'Leary, illus. by Qin Leng

But rather than focusing on the differences that the inquisitors see, kids want to be asked about their strengths, what they love and that of which they're proud. And there's one important question that every child likes to be asked.

From A Kid is a Kid is a Kid by Sara O'Leary, illus. by Qin Leng

As Sara O'Leary and Qin Leng reminded us in their earlier book, A Family is a Family is a Family (Groundwood, 2016), there is no one way to be a family, and the same goes for being a kid. Kids come in different shapes, sizes, colours and abilities. Their essences and their histories make them unique. But getting to know kids is not focusing on their vulnerabilities. That's teasing and bullying and says more about the one asking the question than the one answering. Sara O'Leary understands that all people, kids and adults, may say or ask something rude but her emphasis in A Kid is a Kid is a Kid is that the diversity of individual kids is what makes a school, a playground, or a community great. Qin Leng's illustrations of ink and watercolour with pastel give us that diversity while reminding us that children are young and small and must be overwhelmed by being so in a big world. But, what's important is being yourself among others and not being ashamed of what you are. By first focusing on those differences before culminating their story with a universally welcome activity for kids, Sara O'Leary and Qin Leng bring young readers into their story and remind them that being a kid can mean different things and they're all just fine.

Govern Like a Girl: The Women Who Became Canada's First Ministers

Written by Kate Graham

Second Story Press

978-1-77260-210-4

112 pp.

Ages 9-12

August 2021

Any book that focuses on the accomplishments of women in Canada needs to be applauded. There are already more than several that have highlighted women athletes, scientists and pioneers among others and several that celebrate individual achievements. But Govern Like a Girl is a bit different in that it honours political leaders who have reached premier or prime minister status in our country. Thirteen women across the provinces and territories have been recognized for their leadership and, while not every province is represented, Govern Like a Girl shows us the promise for greater equity in reaching influential government positions in Canada.

From Govern Like a Girl: The Women Who Became Canada's First Ministers by Kate Graham

After a brief introduction about government and voting, and the need for diversity at all levels of government but the paucity of women throughout, Kate Graham highlights thirteen incredible women who were able to rise to the top jobs in our governments. The women selected for this book are: 

• Premier Eva Aariak (NU);
• Premier Catherine Callbeck (PE);
• Premier Christy Clark (BC);
• Premier Caroline Cochrane (NT);
• Premier Nellie Cournoyea (NT);
• Premier Pat Duncan (YT);
• Premier Kathy Dunderdale (NL);
•  Premier Rita Johnston (BC);
• Premier Pauline Marois (QC);
• Premier Rachel Notley (AB);
• Premier Alison Redford (AB);
• Premier Kathleen Wynne (ON); and
  
• Prime Minister Kim Campbell.
  

For each leader, Kate Graham provides details about their personal life, including place of birth, parents and schooling, their employment history and their motivations for entering politics. Whether their trajectories for leadership began with careful steps up the ladder as school trustees or committee chairs, community involvement or advocacy, these women all chose to enter politics to enact change and to work for the people of their province or territory. In addition, the details of their elections and their defeats are recorded as is the work they were able to accomplish. But along with each exposé, Kate Graham gives readers a personal look at women who saw the opportunities lost to their female ancestors, or who endured discrimination because of the limitations some placed on their gender, and who were still able to move forward for change.

From Govern Like a Girl: The Women Who Became Canada's First Ministers by Kate Graham

Every story is different yet the same. They had support and they had opposition. They struggled to be seen as leaders and be effective fighters for their communities and counter those who perceived women as limited by their gender. But how their stories played out are all different. It's evident that there is not just one route to leadership, with many rocky and some longer than others. What matters most is the action.

These women have lots to say and I could quote each one, as Kate Graham does, to highlight their perspectives, from Catherine Callbeck who said that "the strength of a society rests on the willingness and ability of its citizens to share in the decisions which affect it" (pg. 14) to Nellie Cournoyea who spoke of "an evolutionary need to do something about something" (pg. 32) and Christy Clark who addressed opportunities by saying that,

"My view of life is that opportunities are raining down around us all the time. Some people have fewer opportunities , as their circumstances haven't put them in a particularly rainy spot–but, opportunities are always there. Look around, figure out what opportunities are there, and choose which ones to grab." (pg. 22)

With each, Kate Graham has given young readers role models of civic duty and reinforced the idea that governing like a girl is a compliment. 

Over the Top

 

Written by Alison Hughes

RP Kids

978-0-7624-7312-0

192 pp.

Ages 8-12

August 2021

 

Diva is anything but. She's a quiet eleven-year-old who would prefer to read and write and dream up new feelings that need their own vocabulary, like "That feeling where you desperately want to be in your bed, with the covers pulled tight over your head..." (pg. 72) or "That awful, guilty feeling of helplessly almost hating your parent and knowing they don't have a clue at all" (pg. 112). What she doesn't like is over-the-top...anything. And now her effervescent, always over-the-top mother has fallen in love with a monstrosity of a pink castle, as has her nine-year-old brother Hero, and the family is moving.

 

Though Hero fits in and makes friends easily at their new school, it's so much harder for Diva, especially when her mother, thinking she's helping, tries to force a friendship with another sixth grader and their neighbour, Miranda Clay. But Diva knows Miranda's kind of bully: she's the mean girl who thinks she's better than others. Though it's often an under-the-breath comment or an eye roll, Diva knows that, "Silent bullies are still bullies"(pg. 70). Worse yet, Diva's mom doesn't see how she keeps embarrassing Diva when her over-the-top enthusiasm for everything, including her party-planning business with which Hero and Diva often help out. Though her dad understands how hard it may be for Diva, especially at school, he encourages her to get involved with some extracurricular activity. And so Diva auditions for the school production of The Wizard of Oz in which she gets an unconventional but noteworthy part.

As Diva navigates the newness of her school and meeting other kids in her own way, she is overwhelmed by new feelings she'd love to define, including how to be herself, in the face of a mother (and brother) who are kind but just don't understand her low-key approach.

Books are wonderful vehicles for connecting young readers with characters who are like them. As such, many introverts will appreciate Diva's predicaments, including being true to herself and her own social needs and appeasing her mother and her brother who think that the bigger the party the better and being funny and loud and sociable is the only way to be. Fortunately, Alison Hughes who has handled many tough issues like anxiety, serious illness and abandonment in her picture books (e.g., The Cold Little Voice, 2019), middle grade novels (e.g., Kasey & Ivy, 2018) and young adult books (e.g., Hit the Ground Running, 2017) tells Diva's story as an exemplar for finding your own voice without shouting over others, thereby accepting others' differences as valid, just distinct. She also learns how to handle a bully, finally, and recognize a friend when presented with one or two.

I hope that young people like Diva who don't insist on being in the limelight always and who are able to spend energy on introspection rather than just on sociability will see themselves in Over the Top, especially if it helps them accept themselves as they are. Diva has got a pretty good handle on that herself and her dictionary of complicated and yet familiar feelings was undoubtedly valuable to that end. Over the Top will leave young introverts with the sigh of relief that they can be their understated selves and occasionally endure an over-the-top anything, perhaps even to their own benefit.

The Deepest Dig

 

Written by Mark David Smith

Illustrated by Lily Snowden-Fine

Owlkids Books

978-1-77147-419-1

32 pp.

Ages 3-7

August 2021

What can come from a little curiosity and some brain power and brawn? A whole lot of treasure. Even if no one believes, at first.

From The Deepest Dig by Mark David Smith, illus. by Lily Snowden-Fine

Caden is a child with a curious mind. When he and his dog find something poking out of the backyard, he eliminates all the things it is not: not a root, not a post, not a stone. His neighbour Martha encourages him to dig deeper. His scientific brain asks questions and considers his options. While he does ask his parents as he proceeds to dig, they both dismiss his inquiries.

From The Deepest Dig by Mark David Smith, illus. by Lily Snowden-Fine

First shovelling and then with the use of Martha's truck winch, bits and pieces are excavated. Even when he tells his teacher what he'd found, Caden is dismissed (later compelling Mr. Clerkson to eat his words, or rather his hat). Because Martha recognizes that, "It's only a treasure if it's put together," Caden gets to work. 

 

From The Deepest Dig by Mark David Smith, illus. by Lily Snowden-Fine

This time when his parents see his efforts, they have a lot less to say–they are speechless–and it's Caden who puts together what the next steps should be to get the woolly mammoth skeleton witnessed by all.

It's been awhile since I've reviewed a story by Mark David Smith. I'd been quite impressed by his middle-grade novel Caravaggio: Signed in Blood (Tradewind, 2013) and still am but now also with a picture book that promotes curiosity and endeavour. Of course it's a child who discovered a skeleton. They're the ones who aren't focusing on their bills and their work and household chores. Mom or Dad probably had already rolled over it or around it with their lawn mower, oblivious to its importance. Caden, on the other, got down and looked at it. Really looked at it. This is scientific inquiry at its best. In order to see more, he makes a plan and digs it out. Then putting together what he learns in class and through his own efforts, he assembles a find worthy of a museum. (That's where it ends up according to the newspaper article that concludes the story.) Martha and his parents may have had to be there to get him further along in his inquiry but it was all driven by Caden, and his efforts should be applauded.

From The Deepest Dig by Mark David Smith, illus. by Lily Snowden-Fine

Lily Snowden-Fine, whose artwork I only recently reviewed for the first time (Kimmy & Mike, 2021), uses vibrant colours and scale to emphasize the daring and magnitude of Caden's endeavour. Readers are taken from the outdoors where the tree, red truck and bushes are large to when they are overshadowed by the skeleton Caden puts together. It's quite incredible but Lily Snowden-Fine makes us feel the enormity of what he has accomplished. Moreover, her diversity of characters will let all children imagine that they too could dig up a dinosaur.

The Deepest Dig encourages children to dig deep, whether it's into their curiosity, science, research or any passion. They may not always get the support they deserve at first but perseverance and determination can go a long way to unmasking a hidden treasure. Ask Caden. He did.

The House Next Door

Written and illustrated by Claudine Crangle

Groundwood Books

978-1-77306-368-3

44 pp.

Ages 3-6

August 2021 

 

This is the story of a house, one house in an open field of long grasses. It stands alone but secure, standing its ground, whatever the winds and snows and rain may blow in. But when other houses blow in, how will the house respond?

From The House Next Door by Claudine Crangle

When the little red-roofed house with a red door and blue shutters first notices two other houses, far off but in his periphery, he ensures the back and side shutters are bolted tight so that only his grassy land is visible.

From The House Next Door by Claudine Crangle

Putting on those domestic blinders does work for a number of years but then the construction of a road tears a gash through the middle of his field. 

Soon they began moving in.

They lined up along the road.

And the road began branching into more

roads.

And more of them arrived.
Row upon row of blank faces stared back at the little house.

The suburbs had arrived and were upon his doorstep with their countless faceless houses. His response? He shuts his front shutters and waits in the dark.

From The House Next Door by Claudine Crangle

Occasionally he peeks outside but all he sees are more and more of those anonymous structures. So the house stays dark and still. After winter and spring pass into summer, he sees something a little different when he glances outside. He sees some colour and even a yellow house with a curtain waving out of an open window. In the dark the curtains reveal a golden light within. This is all it takes for the little house to open its shutters the next day to uncover a real neighbourhood of diverse homes.

 

Toronto author-illustrator Claudine Crangle's story of urban sprawl changing the landscape is really an allegory about shuttering oneself off from change and opening oneself to new possibilities. Though living harmoniously with others around you is not always easy (I was reminded of Norman McLaren's 1952 NFB short film "Neighbours"), perhaps what was worse for the little house was change. He did not know what to expect having never had neighbours and, rather than adapt, he shuts himself off. A little courage and recognition of the familiar help him feel safe enough to open the door, or rather the shutters, to the unfamiliar and see brightness where only anonymity once was.

 

The illustrations were created with paint and a variety of materials including cardboard and paper but also found objects and those scavenged from recycling bins. There's asphalt shingles, fabric and red wooden discs. By bringing life from waste, Claudine Crangle lets her artwork further the idea that there can be beauty and hope in the unlikeliest of places.

 

I know that The House Next Door is recommended for ages 3 to 6, undoubtedly because of its ease of readability, but I hope that parents and teachers will see the value in reading this book with older children. There's an important lesson here for all about anticipating the worse because it's different or unexpected to only discover that the worry is often worse than the reality.

How to Make a Friend

Written by Stephen W. Martin

Illustrated by Olivia Aserr

Clarion Books/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

978-1-328-63184-8

32 pp.

Ages 4-7

July 2021

Most kids would love to know an easy and sure-fire way to make a friend. If only it was as easy as following a set of instructions. Then again, maybe it is.

From How to Make a Friend by Stephen W. Martin, illus. by Olivia Aserr

Where to start? How about the library? That's where our earnest young girl finds a book that she's sure "with the right power tools and a basic understanding of Advanced Robotics" will help her face the challenge of making a friend. She's very meticulous, wearing her lab coat and safety goggles, and even asking her parents before handling plutonium (!). And she knows to make important decisions about the type of friend she wants i.e., what will they be able to do with her, before she gets started. That, and always measuring twice and cutting once, seems like wise advice.

From How to Make a Friend by Stephen W. Martin, illus. by Olivia Aserr

Of course, her friend is not exactly as she envisions. The tea parties, hide-and-seek, and water fights don't exactly come off as planned. (How can a friend bigger than a car really hide?) And sometimes a friend doesn't want to play or wants to play with others, and that's OK. What's not OK is when your friend starts doing the wrong stuff and you need to cut them loose (or switch them off).

Don't feel bad. Some friendships just don't work out...

From How to Make a Friend by Stephen W. Martin, illus. by Olivia Aserr

But trying to "make" a friend may be just the stepping stone this little girl needs to make a human friend that works out a little better.

Canadian-born Stephen W. Martin, now a resident of California (why, oh why?) may couch his tale of making a friend in the premise of a child building a robotic one, but all his advice, from acceptance of their differences, the possibility of them making other friends, and even abandoning them when the friendship goes awry, is all valuable and highly valid. Friendships are not easy. They are a lot of work and sometimes the work doesn't pay off. But there's always an opportunity to learn what you like or don't like in a friend and How to Make a Friend will give kids a chuckle while teaching them important lessons about friendship.

Olivia Aserr, an LA artist of books and animation, gives How to Make a Friend fabulous digital artwork that is bold in colour and shape and daring in its approach. This little girl is fierce. She doesn't just create a life-size friend; she goes big, really big. Even her lab is sophisticated. And she takes every step as a learning moment about what she wants and doesn't need in a friend. Not only is she intelligent, she's astute, and Olivia Aserr asserts this about the child time after time.

While your children may not have the capabilities of making their own robotic friend at home, Stephen W. Martin guides them through a process that will help them make one smartly but in the old-fashioned way.