Black Boy, Black Boy

Written by Angela Bowden

Illustrated by Ibe Ananaba

Nimbus Publishing

978-1-77471-401-0

36 pp.

Ages 4-9

January 2025

Black Boy, Black Boy may be presented as a picture book, powerfully illustrated with the art of Ibeabuchi (Ibe) Ananaba, but it reads like spoken-word poem. I could hear the voice of "Aunty Angela"–this is how Angela Bowden signs off her appended note "To the Black Boys reading this"–ringing loud and clear and emphatic as she speaks and urges all black boys to see themselves and to see the legacy from which they came and the one to which they will create for themselves. It's inspiring, encouraging and enlightening.

From Black Boy, Black Boy, written by Angela Bowden, illustrated by Ibe Ananaba

Angela Bowden begins Black Boy, Black Boy with a series of questions. At first the questions are about the boys' heritage and identity.

Do you know where you come from? 

Do you know what you're made of? 

Do you know who your people be?

She provides context for where they came from, whether it be Africans, or Loyalists, Maroons, refugees or others but always speaks to the "pride and wisdom, courage and bravery" embedded in their heritage. She speaks of the past and the now, and what can still be. Angela Bowden conveys messages about spirit and freedom, rhythm and harmony, and purpose. Whether they be men like Frederick Douglass and Robert Shephard, or contemporaries like Barack Obama, Angela Bowden urges the boys to keep reaching because,

Black Boy, you are a gift

Of the past and the present

I wish I could share the power and rhythm of Angela Bowden's words. They jump from the page into the reader's ears and heart reminding us of the potential to elevate and move young people with words. Her poetry, sometimes rhyming and sometimes free verse, will raise spirits to see beyond a moment of self and look back and forward to understand how that moment is but a flash. I can't speak to how a black boy may respond or interpret this poetry but I can share with you how moved I was as Angela Bowden speaks to them and reminds them of who they truly are and will be.

From Black Boy, Black Boy, written by Angela Bowden, illustrated by Ibe Ananaba

Her words are more than sufficient to inspire but with Ibe Ananaba's artwork, Black Boy, Black Boy becomes an anthem to self-realization. With the shapes, the lines, and the colours, Ibe Ananaba thrusts forward the message of legacy and self-fulfillment. Whether they are boys playing or being loved, feeling fear or shining bright, Ibe Ananaba sees these boys and strengthens them with his art.

From Black Boy, Black Boy, written by Angela Bowden, illustrated by Ibe Ananaba

I know a lot of educators will use Black Boy, Black Boy as a teaching tool during Black History Month with its recognition of Canadian and international icons from music to medicine, activism to politics. (The last page recounts the famous individuals depicted in Ibe Ananaba's artwork, including Nelson Mandela, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and Francis Dorrington.) But it behoves all readers, teachers, and parents to see Black Boy, Black Boy as more than this. It is a poem of recognition and resilience, of reassurance and faith, that black boys should stand tall and go forward knowing the past and their futures are secured through their ancestry and the black boys that came before them and those who will follow.

The Girl Who Loved Poutine

Written by Lorna Schultz Nicholson

Illustrated by Rachel Qiuqi

Sleeping Bear Press

978-1-534113169

32 pp.

Ages 5-8

2024

A story about poutine, about regional and cultural differences across Canada, and about a family get-together for a birthday on July 1st? It doesn't get much more Canadian than that.

From The Girl Who Loved Poutine, written by Lorna Schultz Nicholson, illustrated by Rachel Qiupi

Zoey is looking forward to her fifth birthday, a day on which she will enjoy her favourite food: poutine.

Zoey closes her eyes and imagines . . .
french fries and gravy and squeaky cheese curds.
SQUEAK. SQUEAK. SQUEAK.

From The Girl Who Loved Poutine, written by Lorna Schultz Nicholson, illustrated by Rachel Qiupi

Zoey may help her dad make his famous poutine but what she doesn't know is that all the relatives have decided to have a poutine contest to celebrate the special day. And with each entry and tasting by Zoey comes a story and a feeling. There's Aunt Janice's Newfoundland and Labrador poutine with breadcrumbs, onions, and salt meat. For Zoey, it brings back memories of a trip to St. John's and kitchen parties. Aunt Anne and Uncle Liam's PEI poutine has lobster while Aunt Celine's Montreal poutine has smoked bacon, onions and maple syrup.

From The Girl Who Loved Poutine, written by Lorna Schultz Nicholson, illustrated by Rachel Qiupi

With each new dish, Zoey gets a different memory, travelling from Newfoundland to Saskatchewan and Yellowknife and elsewhere in Canada and in time with family. Who wins the poutine contest? It's the girl who loves poutine, of course.

From The Girl Who Loved Poutine, written by Lorna Schultz Nicholson, illustrated by Rachel Qiupi

Poutine is such a quintessential food from Quebec, though adopted and adapted across Canada and the world. But Lorna Schultz Nicholson doesn't just make this a book about the food–a recipe is included, as are facts about the dish–but she makes it a story of family and Canada. Zoey may love poutine, but she certainly has close bonds with all her family, and their poutines are memory cues for times spent together enjoying the cultures and people of different provinces and territories. It's marvelous that the reader can learn about the various poutines, and the story would be a fabulous lesson starter about the attributes of different Canadian provinces and territories. Lorna Schultz Nicholson may not have intended The Girl Who Loved Poutine to be a teaching prompt for social studies, but wouldn't this be a great way to be introduced to the places and people of Canada?

Toronto's Rachel Qiupi, who appears to blend digital with traditional techniques, ensures that Lorna Schultz Nicholson's story is both lighthearted and informative. From the wonderfully colourful scenes and characters to the detailed poutines–for example, Nona's pasta sauce and the bacon on Aunt Celine's are apparent–Rachel Qiupi establishes an authentic and sunny vibe to The Girl Who Loved Poutine.

Whether you're a teacher or parent who wants to use this story as a lesson starter or just a kid who loves poutine, The Girl Who Loved Poutine will tickle your taste buds and have you longing for squeaky cheese curds, or maybe something else atop your fries.

Steve, a Pretty Exceptional Horse

Written and illustrated by Kelly Collier

Kids Can Press

978-1-5253-1299-1

64 pp.

Ages 6-9

September 2024

 

We all want to feel special at some point. For some, having a shining moment is enough. For others, like Steve the Horse, it's all about being the centre of attention and perceived as exceptional. Thing is, what makes him exceptional?

Author-illustrator Kelly Collier first introduced Steve in her picture books A Horse named Steve (2017) and Team Steve (2018) but this time Steve gets to show off his exceptionality in this first of an early graphic novel series. (The next books in the series, Steve, a Rare Egg and Steve, Born to Run, are slated for release in June and September respectively.) With a little more story and a lot more illustrations, Kelly Collier gives Steve the opportunity to shine, sort of.

From Steve, a Pretty Exceptional Horse, written and illustrated by Kelly Collier

While hanging with his bestie Bob, the raccoon, Steve witnesses the grandeur of a peacock when it spreads its feathers. Steve, ever the self-absorbed horse, asks Bob, "I know I'm special, Bob, but am I exceptional?" Unfortunately, Bob's reply, citing Steve's nice coat and ability to run fast, isn't sufficient to allay Steve's concerns. 

From Steve, a Pretty Exceptional Horse, written and illustrated by Kelly Collier

But when Steve discovers a golden horn that he can tie onto his head, he believes it will be just the thing to make him exceptionally beautiful. Still, when he approaches his friends to recognize his exceptionality, they seem unimpressed. (It doesn't help that the horn is starting to creep off his head until it's hanging under his chin.) And then the horn is lost.

How is Steve supposed to feel special without his golden horn? And will he still be special if his friends find their own ways to stand out?

From Steve, a Pretty Exceptional Horse, written and illustrated by Kelly Collier

While Kelly Collier could have made Steve tiresome with his self-centeredness, she actually makes him more lovable than annoying. He just wants to stand out. Problem is that he wants to always be seen as exceptional. It's all about him. Still, there are moments of caring for others, like helping Bob reach the apples high in the trees. Steve might not like it but he's a lot like everyone, showing moments of the extraordinary and a lot of ordinary. So, Kelly Collier's Steve will help young children see the flaws of ego when it gets in the way of supporting others. She also brings attention to Steve's friends who, similarly, choosing to be extraordinary, are willing to copy the horse's head decoration with their own, using everything from an acorn to a branch or a leaf.  

As an early graphic novel, Steve, a Pretty Exceptional Horse, has the right elements for encouraging reading. It's got terrific illustrations that are both simple and detailed enough that everyone and everything is recognizable, thereby allowing kids to focus on meaning and enjoying the humour. While there are subtle messages about being egocentric and being a follower, Kelly Collier will just get kids reading and laughing in a pretty exceptional story.

Snow Day

Words by Lindsay Gloade-Raining Bird

Illustrated by Ashley Thimot

Nimbus Publishing

978-1-77471-311-2

32 pp.

Ages 3-7

November 2024

 

Most of Canada is currently under a blanket of snow and we can anticipate that somewhere sometime within the next several months, children will be enjoying a snow day when schools are closed, vehicles are asked to stay off the roads, and snowplows and shovels are busy at work. 

From Snow Day, written by Lindsay Gloade-Raining Bird, illustrated by Ashley Thimot

For this Indigenous child, the day starts with the quiet that comes from a street laden with snow and bereft of motion except from the softly-falling snow. But then she's outside, bundled up and exuberant with the promise of play and a day without school. In rhyming text, writer Lindsay Gloade-Raining Bird follows the child as she slips and slides, giggles and wiggles, and stomps and plods alongside her pup.

 

As her mom begins the task of digging out her car and shovelling the driveway, the child and her dog imagine tea parties and caterpillars made of snow. (Illustrator Ashley Thimot indicates imagined elements with red inked items as in the illustration below.)

From Snow Day, written by Lindsay Gloade-Raining Bird, illustrated by Ashley Thimot

She rolls through the snow as her mom scoops it up

making snowflake tea with her hands like a cup.

 

She offers some to puppy: "One lump or two?

A little bit for me and a little bit for you."

And after a fun day of play, there's the familiar doffing of the multiple layers of clothing to hang to dry, a warm hot chocolate, and the sharing with her parents and baby brother, before heading to bed to anticipate more fun the next day.

The ground is new,

a fresh page for her pen

 

And if she's lucky

tomorrow

she can do it all again.

From Snow Day, written by Lindsay Gloade-Raining Bird, illustrated by Ashley Thimot

Reminiscent of Ezra Jack Keats's classic The Snowy Day, Lindsay Gloade-Raining Bird depicts the familiar joy of a child experiencing a day of snow and freedom to play. But by making her text rhyming and focusing her story on an Indigenous family, Lindsay Gloade-Raining Bird, a mixed Cree writer from Nova Scotia, gives us a different kind of story. It's still about the wonder of play and snow but there's a rhythm to it that carries it along from early-morning quiet to tucked-into-bed calm and all the boisterous and imaginative play in between.
 

Edmonton artist Ashley Thimot gets that quiet of a snow day right, but also capably depicts the cold the child ultimately feels, from her rosy cheeks and toque pulled down, and the relief of warmth in the house as she reveals her snow-day hair–her mom also has hat head!–and starts laying out wet clothing to dry. The snow is cold and textured and wet–evident in footprints left behind– and the dog is joyous and sodden. It's a true snow day.

 

As lovely as Ezra Jack Keats's story is, let's get excited about another snow day book but this one from Canada to show what we experience as children, and as adults with children, when those few snows days occur, and the world is a little different and open to new possibilities for play.

2024 Lane Anderson Award: Winner announced

The Lane Anderson Award for excellence in Canadian science writing was awarded this week. The award created and sponsored by the Fitzhenry Family Foundation, is given in two categories, one for adults and the other for young readers with each winner receiving a generous $10,000.

 

 

  • • • • • • •

Congratulations to this year's winner

in the Young Reader category

 

 

 

Polar: Wildlife at the Ends of the Earth
Written by L. E. Carmichael
Illustrated by Byron Eggenschwiler
Kids Can Press
48 pp.
Ages 7-11
2023

• • • • • • •

 

Look for my interview with L. E. Carmichael and Byron Eggenschwiler soon for some insights into writing non-fiction and their award-winning book.

The Pony and the Starling

 

Written by Jennifer McGrath

Illustrated by Kristina Jones

Groundwood Books

978-1-773069791

36 pp.

Ages 3-6

February 2025

 

Once you start reading The Pony and the Starling, you'll realize that this story is very personal for author Jennifer McGrath. While her earlier books–I've reviewed The Snow Knows, Pugs Cause Traffic Jams, and highly recommend her middle grade novels Chocolate River Rescue and White Cave Escape–have all suggested personal connections to places and characters, this one seems to have been written from the heart where I suspect the pony and a little starling still live.

From The Pony and the Starling, written by Jennifer McGrath, illustrated by Kristina Jones

A beautiful gray pony lives in a green pasture. A little girl cares for it, providing food and water, shelter and love, as well as visiting with the dog. 

From The Pony and the Starling, written by Jennifer McGrath, illustrated by Kristina Jones

When the fall comes, mother and child admire a murmuration of starlings as they create clouds of shapes that twist and turn. The starlings who enjoyed the fall bounty of peaches, grapes and tomatoes stay only for a few days before they take off. That is, all but one. One starling hangs around. Day after day it accompanies the pony as it snoozes and drinks water and enjoys the last of the autumnal warmth.

From The Pony and the Starling, written by Jennifer McGrath, illustrated by Kristina Jones

When a snowstorm hits and the pony is safely ushered into its small red barn, the child who had always encouraged the starling to seek out its "crowd" tries to get it to go inside with the pony. But the starling will not come down from the big old maple. When winter is finally fully upon them, blanketing the pasture and land with snow and frost, the pony is alone. 

 

When a new murmuration of starlings appears in the spring, they do not just grace the skies above. They sweep over the fields and engage the pony in their murmuration and leave a new friend–or is it an old friend?–behind.

 

Jennifer McGrath's own pony was the basis for this lovely picture book and you can tell the affection with which the story is told. But beyond her personal connection, Jennifer McGrath makes sure the story is infused with a sweet friendship, albeit an unusual one, and one that reminds us to see beyond the obvious. The child's mother is busy, with household chores, chopping wood, etc. and notices the little starling hanging out far later than the girl who observes the animals' connection and tries to help when the weather turns and puts the starling in danger. Her connection with her pony who is befriended by a starling encompasses both of them, extending her compassion and establishing a closeness beyond species.

I think you can tell from the illustrations and even the title that there is a tenderness to this picture book. BC's Kristina Jones's artwork, hand drawn and painted digitally, lends a warmth and sensitivity that verges on sadness. Her landscapes of expansive green pastures and stark winter scenes give us a sense of place through the seasons. But it's her characters that have the life. There's spirited movement and quiet togetherness, and that's just the pony and the starling. But Kristina Jones's illustrations of murmurations are fervent and evocative of the grandeur of nature.

The title of The Pony and the Starling suggests an innocent story but it's more than that. Jennifer McGrath and Kristina Jones have made us look at how animals can connect with each other and amaze us with their alliances and even bonds. I don't know how the true story of Jennifer McGrath's story resolved but I'm hopeful, as this fictionalized is, that there was a happy ending.

The Kids Book of Black History in Canada

Written by Rosemary Sadlier

Illustrated by Arden Taylor

Kids Can Press

978-1-5253-0737-9

64 pp.

Ages 8-12

June 2024

 

I know that The Kids Book of Black History in Canada came out last year but with February being Black History Month, it seems appropriate to review this stellar book on the cusp of next month.

 

While a book on Black history in Canada could never be complete, The Kids Book of Black History in Canada does a commendable job of focusing on the history of Black Canadians across the country and from the time of slavery in New France to key events like the arrival of Black Loyalists and the Underground Railway. The book also talks about the civil rights movement and representation.

From The Kids Book of Black History in Canada, written by Rosemary Sadlier, illustrated by Arden Taylor

The book starts with an explanation of what Black Canadian history is, including who are Black Canadians, terminology used, their diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds and more. The section on African beginnings is comprehensive, including discussions about trade routes and the slave trade, leading to the arrival of the Loyalists, the formation of the Colored Corps and more. While many are familiar with the Underground Railroad, Africville and contemporary events like the Black Lives Matter movement, there are many, many parts of history with which readers may be unfamiliar. There are the Jamaican Maroons, the Black Californians, and the Exodusters. There are waves of migration to Canada and from Canada. And they're all part of this history.

From The Kids Book of Black History in Canada, written by Rosemary Sadlier, illustrated by Arden Taylor

Throughout, the profiles of important Black Canadians are highlighted from those who are well-known like Viola Desmond and Mary Ann Shadd to Dr. Anderson Ruffin Abbott, the first Black graduate of Toronto's Medical College, and Stanley G. Grizzle, the first Black judge in Ontario's Citizenship Court. And because there isn't enough room to recognize all the accomplishments of Black Canadians, Dr. Rosemary Sadlier appends her book with pages of profiles of athletes, broadcasters, musicians, writers, dancers, scientists, and more who've made extraordinary contributions to Canadian society.

From The Kids Book of Black History in Canada, written by Rosemary Sadlier, illustrated by Arden Taylor

While the book is organized along a timeline, reaching from the beginning through the American Civil War, World War I and II, and the civil rights movements to the celebration of Black heritage with Lincoln Alexander Day (January 21) and the Toronto Caribbean Carnival, it is never cemented in only timely events. Dr. Rosemary Sadlier, who instrumental in establishing Black History Month and Emancipation Day in Canada, ensures there is a rich discussion about everything from segregation to the "roots of racism" and the dangers of stereotyping. The Kids Book of Black History in Canada covers everything that young people would need to know for a broad introduction to Black history while giving them opportunities to learn more and think about what it means to be a Black Canadian. 

 

Illustrated by Toronto artist Arden Taylor, The Kids Book of Black History in Canada is presented in a colourful and organized manner. Whether providing historical background images or profiles of important Black Canadians, Arden Taylor's digital artwork is well defined and personal.

 

This book will be useful for teaching and learning throughout the year, but with February, Black History Month in Canada, just around the corner, I recommend picking up this updated edition of Rosemary Sadlier's 2003 book, The Kids Book of Black Canadian History, to ensure an inclusive and timely address of a significant history.