30+ Must Reads for Babies and New Parents

Recently, I heard about the good news of friends expecting their first grandchild and realized that, with this pandemic, there are many new little ones entering the world to the delight of their family and friends. While there are many concept books out there that will be useful for teaching letters and colours and such, those are best for slightly older children, and are not included here.  Here I include picture or board books that celebrate new babies and those first years of parenting that new bundle of joy.

 

Baby Cakes

Written by Theo Heras
Illustrated by Renné Benoit
Pajama Press
24 pp.
Ages 1-4
2017

Reviewed here

Baby's First Treasury

(4 stories: Welcome, Baby; Read Me a Book; Sing a Song of Mother Goose; and Zoe’s Year)

Written and illustrated by Barbara Reid

Scholastic Canada

136 pp.

2016

 

Beach Baby

Written by Laurie Elmquist

Illustrated by Elly MacKay

Orca Book Publishers

24 pp.

Ages 2-4

2016

 

 

Before You Were Born

Written by Deborah Kerbel
Illustrated by Suzanne Del Rizzo
Pajama Press
32 pp.
Ages 4-7

2019

Reviewed here

A Bedtime Yarn

Written by Nicola Winstanley
Illustrated by Olivia Chin Mueller
Tundra Books
32 pp.
Ages 3-7
2017

 

The Best Gifts

Written by Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch
Illustrated by Elly MacKay
Fitzhenry & Whiteside
32 pp.
Ages 4-8

2013 

Reviewed here 

Buddy and Earl and the Great Big Baby

Written by Maureen Fergus
Illustrated by Carey Sookocheff
Groundwood Books
32 pp.
Ages 4-7

2016

Reviewed here

Checkers and Dot

Written by J. Torres

Illustrated by J. Lum

Tundra Books

16 pp.

Ages 0-3

2012

 

Checkers and Dot at the Beach

Written by J. Torres
Illustrated by J. Lum
Tundra Books
16 pp.
Ages 0-3
2013

 

Checkers and Dot at the Zoo

Written by J. Torres

Illustrated by J. Lum

Tundra Books

16 pp.

Ages 0-3

2012

 

Checkers and Dot on the Farm

Written by J. Torres
Illustrated by J. Lum
Tundra Books
16 pp.
Ages 0-3
2013

Cinnamon Baby

Written by Nicola Winstanley

Illustrated by Janice Nadeau

Kids Can Press

32 pp.

Ages 3-7

2011

Forest Baby

Written by Laurie Elmquist

Illustrated by Shantala Robinson

Orca Book Publishers

24 pp.

Ages 0-4

2018

Goodnight, Sleepy Animals (A Nightlight Book)
Illustrated by Christine Battuz
CrackBoom
14 pp.
Ages 0-3
2016

 

Hat On, Hat Off

Written by Theo Heras
Illustrated by Renné Benoit
Pajama Press
24 pp.
Ages 1-3

2016 

Reviewed here

Here Babies, There Babies

Written  by Nancy Cohen
Illustrated by Carmen Mok

Nimbus Publishing
14 pp.
Ages 0-2

2015 

Reviewed here

 

I Sang You Down from the Stars 

Written by Tasha Spillett-Sumner

Illustrated by Michaela Goade

Owlkids Books

32 pp.

Ages 2-5

2021

King Baby

Written and illustrated by Kate Beaton
Arthur A. Levine Books/Scholastic
40 pp.
Ages 4-8

2016

Reviewed here

Kiss Tickle Cuddle Hug

Written by Susan Musgrave

Orca Book Publishers

24 pp.

Ages 0-2

2012

 

Little You 

Written by Richard Camp

Illustrated by Julie Flett

Orca Book Publishers

24 pp.

Ages 0-4

2013

 

Lots of Kisses

Written by Lorna Crozier

Orca Book Publishers

24 pp.

Ages 0-2

2014

 

Love You Forever

Written by Robert Munsch

Illustrated by Sheila McGraw

Firefly Books

32 pp.

Ages 0-4

1995

Love You Head to Toe

Written and illustrated by Ashley Barron

Owlkids Books

28 pp.

Ages 0-5

2020

Please Don't Change My Diaper!

Written by Sarabeth Holden
Illustrated by Emma Pedersen
Inhabit Media
28 pp.
Ages 0-4

2020 

Reviewed here 

So Many Babies!

Written by Lorna Crozier

Illustrated by Laura Watson

Orca Book Publishers

24 pp.

Ages 0-2

2015

Sweetest Kulu
Written  by Celina Kalluk
Illustrated by Alexandria Neonakis
Inhabit Media
32 pp.
Ages 0-6
2014 

Reviewed here

Time for Bed: Baby’s Bedtime Routine (Baby Steps)
Written by Carol McDougall & Shanda LaRamee-Jones
Nimbus
18 pp.
Ages 0-2
2018

 

Toesy Toes

Written by Sarah Tsiang

Orca Book Publishers

26 pp.

Ages 0-2

2018

 

Up! How Families Around the World Carry Their Little Ones

Written by Susan Hughes
Illustrated by Ashley Barron
Owlkids Books
24 pp.
Ages 2-5

2017 

Reviewed here

 

The Ways I Will Love You

Written by Rachel Boehm

Illustrated by Mary Jane Gerber

Orca Book Publishers

24 pp.

Ages 0-6

2010

Welcome Song for Baby: A Lullaby for Newborns

Written by Richard Van Camp

Orca Book Publishers

24 pp.

Ages 0-4

2007 

We Sang You Home

Written by Richard Van Camp

Illustrated by Julie Flett

Orca Book Publishers

24 pp.

Ages 0-4

2016

Where's Bunny?
Written by Theo Heras
Illustrated by Renné Benoit
Pajama Press
24 pp.
Ages 1-3
2018 

Reviewed here

Windy Days

Written by Deborah Kerbel

Illustrated by Miki Sato

Pajama Press

978-1-77278-217-2

24 pp.

Ages 2-5

October 2021

 

When a picture book, a two-dimensional source, can evoke weather such that the reader feels the bite of the wind or the slash of the briskness of leaves against skin, it's doing something terrific. I may be able to feel the wind by just stepping outside right now but I'd much rather experience it through the text and paper collage of Deborah Kerbel and Miki Sato's latest collaboration.

From Windy Days by Deborah Kerbel, illus. by Miki Sato

In Pajama Press's Toddler Tough format of padded cover, rounded corners and thick pages, Windy Days explores children's experiences with the wind in the autumn, from fun fall fairs to Halloween outings. There are their encounters in the natural world with gentle breezes scattering milkweed seeds and tossing leaves, to creating energy with wind turbines and flying kites. Some of those winds are soft air movements while others are blasts of cold that practically toss little ones off their feet. Whatever their form, they're there, especially at this time of year, and reminding us of weather as our constant, bringing sound and movement and consequences.

Gusting wind: whoosh and whirl

Flags a-flutter, pinwheels twirl

From Windy Days by Deborah Kerbel, illus. by Miki Sato

Weather is always with us–regardless of those unique days when the weather people  announce that we'll be having some weather today!–and it impacts our choices in clothing, activity, emotions and experiences. It makes us cautious and impetuous, eager and subdued. Weather makes us who we are when we're outside. The winds of fall are no different, impacting our play and our learning. They affect our emotions: fear from branches tapping on a window during a storm; annoyance for biting our cheeks and noses; and delighting us with the dances of airborne leaves and seeds. And then delivering the first snowflakes of the next season.

From Windy Days by Deborah Kerbel, illus. by Miki Sato

I can't think of a better day to review Deborah Kerbel and Miki Sato's latest picture book collaboration than today, an incredible blustery day shortly after Halloween. Though little ones will be familiar with every scene depicted in the book, they will be especially aware of that Halloween scene as they sit inside their homes sorting their treats and listening to the winds outside. It's that familiarity of experiences that will endear Windy Days to our youngest readers. They know what it feels like to be inside listening to the wind against a window or outside bracing themselves as they trudge to daycare or school. They know what too little wind feels like but also too much. These are their experiences with wind. And Deborah Kerbel gives them the evocative words to go with those experiences. Roaring, whistling, howling give us the sounds but sweeping, biting, and tapping give us the movement. The wind is a living thing in Deborah Kerbel's words and an acquaintance that joins us for many of our fall days.

From Windy Days by Deborah Kerbel, illus. by Miki Sato

Because of the texture of her cut-paper collages and her judicious use of lines to portray movement, Miki Sato takes readers outside to enjoy and endure the winds of fall. By adding a third dimension in her illustrations and using bold vibrant colours, Miki Sato gives these familiar childhood scenes character, inviting us to reminisce about our own experiences with the wind. By making the wind as real as the costumed child losing her witch's hat or the girl with the umbrella almost sailing off her feet, Miki Sato makes the wind the star of Windy Days.

It's never too early to introduce children to STEM concepts like the weather–there is an activity page appended to the story–and now in the fall when warm breezes are transforming into brisk winds and biting blasts of air will soon to be the norm, Windy Days will help young children see themselves in the weather of their own lives and reflect on the nuances of the wind in its impact on them.

🌬🌬🌬🌬🌬

Take in the weather with all the books in this series, including upcoming Rainy Days in the spring of 2022.

Snow Days (2020)

Sunny Days (2021)

Windy Days (2021)

Rainy Days (coming in 2022)

2021 Canadian Children's Book Centre Book Awards: Winners announced

 

On October 28 and 29, 2021, the Canadian Children's Book Centre announced the winners for the 2021 Canadian Children's Book Centre Awards. (Finalists were announced in September.) These awards were presented at virtual events (streamed for all to attend) in partnership with the Toronto International Festival of Authors as well as Communication-Jeunesse.

Congratulations to the winners of this year's eight major children's book awards:

• TD Canadian Children’s Literature Award ($50,000), Sponsored by TD Bank Group;
• Le Prix TD de littérature canadienne pour l’enfance et la jeunesse ($50,000), Sponsored by TD Bank Group;
• Marilyn Baillie Picture Book Award ($20,000), Sponsored by A. Charles Baillie;
• Norma Fleck Award For Canadian Children's Non-Fiction ($10,000), Sponsored by the Fleck Family Foundation;
• Geoffrey Bilson Award for Historical Fiction for Young People ($5,000), Sponsored by the Canadian Children’s Book Centre’s Bilson Endowment Fund;
• Amy Mathers Teen Book Award ($5,000), Sponsored by Amy Mathers' Marathon of Books;
• Le Prix Harry Black de l’album jeunesse ($5,000), Sponsored by Mary Macchiusi; and
• Jean Little First-Novel Award ($5,000).
  

TD Canadian Children's Literature Award

WINNER

The Barnabus Project

Written and illustrated by Terry Fan, Eric Fan and Devin Fan 

Tundra Books

Le Prix TD de littérature pour l'enfance et la jeunesse canadienne

WINNER

Ma maison-tête
Written and illustrated by Vigg
Éditions Fonfon

Marilyn Baillie Picture Book Award

WINNER

Our Little Kitchen
Written and illustrated by Jillian Tamaki
Groundwoods Books

Norma Fleck Award For Canadian Children's Non-Fiction

 

WINNER

Powwow: A Celebration Through Song and Dance
Written by Karen Pheasant-Neganigwane
Orca Book Publishers

Geoffrey Bilson Award for Historical Fiction for Young People 

WINNER

The Paper Girl of Paris

Written by Jordyn Taylor

HarperTeen

Amy Mathers Teen Book Award

WINNER

Facing the Sun
Written by Janice Lynn Mather
Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

Le Prix Harry Black de l'album jeunesse

WINNER

Ma maison-tête
Written and illustrated by Vigg
Éditions Fonfon

 

Jean Little First-Novel Award

WINNER

No Vacancy
Written by Tziporah Cohen
Groundwood Books

 

 

Lights Day and Night: The Science of How Light Works

Written by Susan Hughes

Illustrated by Ellen Rooney

Kids Can Press

978-1-5253-0319-7

32 pp.

Ages 5-8

September 2021 

If you're a regular reader of CanLit for LittleCanadians, you'll know that while I do review some non-fiction books, I do so infrequently. It's not that there aren't great non-fiction books out there–there most definitely are–but I tend to find many dry and text-heavy in their efforts to provide quality content for young readers. While many books are organized well and enhanced with colourful illustrations and typical features of non-fiction texts like maps, glossaries and  info boxes, I find that the content can bog down the book. This is not the case with Susan Hughes and Ellen Rooney's Lights Day and Night: The Science of How Light Works. It's informative but text-light and captivating in its organization and storytelling.

From Lights Day and Night by Susan Hughes, illus. by Ellen Rooney

A child and her tuxedo cat enjoy the darkness of a summer evening before witnessing the light that comes from a firefly and the stars. Natural light sources like the sun, volcanoes, lightning and the northern lights are all noted, as is artificial light and the need for some source like electricity or the burning of wood.

From Lights Day and Night by Susan Hughes, illus. by Ellen Rooney

Discussions of the uses of light leads to a focus on the sun and energy, the water cycle, absorption, reflection and refraction, and the eyes, all while the girl and her cat enjoy the outdoors, playing and making observations at their cottage on a lake.

From Lights Day and Night by Susan Hughes, illus. by Ellen Rooney

Susan Hughes gives young readers the basics about light: where it comes from, what it does and how it works, all within the context of a child playing with her feline companion. Readers will learn important words like translucent and retina and artificial, which are bolded and reinforced in a glossary called "Words to Know." But while learning about light, information which is never cumbersome, kids can enjoy natural landscapes, a cute cat, people in activities supported with light such as walking at a crosswalk or hockey game results on a scoreboard, and know that light is part of their lives too. That same mix of science information and story is blended by BC's Ellen Rooney in her artwork, using cut paper, paint, pencil crayons and a computer to create these collages of light and dark and life.

I know teachers and parents will enjoy using Lights Day and Night as a solid introduction to light and its role in our lives but kids will get more out of the educational messages because of Susan Hughes's text and Ellen Rooney's artwork. After all, an idea is more easily absorbed when presented as in a captivating manner–did I mention the instructions for a shadow puppet show are provided?–and with transparency and brightness.  Lights Day and Night does just that.