Stitches of Tradition

 

Stitches of Tradition / Marcie Rendon,
illus. by Mangeshig Pawis-Steckley
NY: HarperCollins, c2024.

This Ojibwe story honours the ribbon skirt as a tradition that stitches together generations. A young girl gets her first ribbon skirt thanks to her grandmother's sewing prowess. They measure and cut and create a skirt for her to wear to a baby naming ceremony — and then as she grows older, new ribbon skirts to wear to a Fall Ceremony, a swearing in as her aunt becomes a district judge, and finally to her own coming of age ceremony. As she grows, she learns to help with the sewing and continue the traditions. The text features repeated paragraphs that both ground the story and move it forward, making it an engaging read aloud.

The text and illustrations are both by Ojibwe artists, one from Minnesota and one from Barrie. Together they've created a heart warming book about the connections between generations of women and the traditions that bind families. The text is sprinkled with Ojibwe terms, with a glossary and an author's note at the back, explaining the importance of ribbon skirts. The topic and the colour saturated illustrations make this a visually appealing book for young readers and their elders. It's a gentle story full of love, connection, and sewing! I loved it. 

Time Capsule

 

Time Capsule / Lauren Redniss
NY: Random House, c2022.

Time Capsule is a picture book that raises big questions about time, memory, and the future. Readers follow a young girl as she puts some treasured belongings into a jar, and buries it for people in the future to discover. As she does, she wonders who will find it, and what will they think of her world by looking at the items she's included. The story leaves you with the question: what would you put into yours?   

With few words, evocative illustrations, and a deep concept, this is a book for families to enjoy together. There are dreamy images to explore and engaging ideas to discuss. With only a brief text, the story relies on the spare, original artwork by writer and artist Lauren Redniss, who has a distinctive visual style. 

In the back pages the author shares extra information on the history of time capsules which will be suitable for older readers or adults. There is also a set of questions to help you develop your own ideas for a time capsule. This was a great find at my local library, a really thoughtful picture book with lovely imagery to explore. I think it's a good one for this time of year, as you're thinking about what happened in your life over the last year and what you'd like to see ahead -- maybe a good time to gather up a time capsule of sorts. It's quite a dreamy read, just right for these reflective days at the turn of the year. 

The Little Ghost Who Was A Quilt

 

The Little Ghost Who Was A Quilt / Riel Nason
illus. by Byron Eggenschewiler
Toronto: Tundra Books, c2020.
42 p.

A quick Canadian read -- this is a sweet picture book about a little ghost who just doesn't fit in with this peers - they (classic sheets) can twirl and float but our little ghost, made of a heavier patchwork quilt, likes to lay himself over clotheslines or chairs since floating is so hot and difficult. 

One Halloween he ends up on a porch railing for a better view, and is mistaken for a blanket -- he's picked up and taken on a trick-or-treating journey. He keeps a little girl warm, gets a little sticky, and escapes late at night when everyone in the house is asleep. His adventures make him the hot topic in his peer group after that! 

This is a gentle tale, and the illustrations match the tone of the story perfectly. The colours are muted, and the images feel a little bit retro. If you're looking for a book that's sweet instead of scary, and you love the idea of a patchwork ghost descended from a checked tablecloth and a lace curtain - well, you'll love this charming story. Great for any bedtime reading for quilters and textile lovers! 

(review first shared at Following the Thread)

Yellow Butterfly

 

Yellow Butterfly / Oleksander Shatokhin
Brooklyn, NY: Red Comet Press, 2023, c2022.
72 p.

This is a wordless picture book by an internally displaced Ukrainian artist, created in the first few months of the Russian invasion. It shows the realities of war and displacement, with black and white images of war and fear and barbed wire -- but with a yellow spark of a butterfly leading the isolated character through the pages, until it multiplies and grows, and in the final pages of the book we have a clear yellow and blue layout with hopeful figures standing together. The images are rough, with a lot of energy and movement in them. You can feel the unsettled atmosphere in the opening pages. But the conclusion has a joy and hope in it, which makes sense when you read the author's statement on the back cover -- that he believes Ukraine will prevail and that "yellow butterflies will flutter freely in free Ukraine".

If you haven't experienced many wordless picture books yet, there is also a helpful appendix included in this book. There is one page titled "Sharing a Wordless Picture Book" which gives tips on how to approach and engage with this kind of book, as well as how to share it with the children you're reading it with. It included lots of visual examination and imagination, and patience to let the images speak to you. Then there is a second page, "Guiding the Conversation", and that includes tips on engaging with the content of this book. It provides ideas to check in with children to make sure they understand, as well as listening to their reactions and providing room for conversation about tough topics. 

I think that these resources make this book way more useful for parents, teachers or anyone experiencing this kind of book, with this kind of heavy topic, for the first time. This is a book that could be used to better understand conflict and to open discussions on hard topics. Well worth checking out if it's available to you. 

I Hate Borsch!

 

I Hate Borsch! / Yevgenia Nayberg
Grand Rapids, Michigan : Eerdmans Books for Young Readers, 2022.
56 p.

This deceptively simple picture book is a great read. It's not much of a narrative arc -- the main character hates borsch as a child. From the beets to the slimy tomatoes, it's all an ICK from her. None of the babas anywhere in Kyiv can convince her it's good. 

But then she immigrates to the US and finds that she misses borsch and all it means to her. And she comes to like it after all, as do her own children later on. 

There are really lovely illustrations in this book, fun and quirky. (the author both wrote and illustrated the book). I felt quite connected to this little story, as when I was a child I also hated Borsch! I didn't like beets at all. Now of course, there's nothing better :) She includes a recipe for quick borsch at the end, and also says not to tell her that it's not the way YOUR grannie made it...there are hundreds of different ways to make borsch, depending on who's doing it. I found that quite funny.

The book is quite sweet but there is also more to it than just talking about food. It's about food as a cultural identifier, about the connection to the past and to the larger cultural identity. It's only when she's left Ukraine that she realizes how much it means and why their family would make and eat it so often. There's room for discussion with children after reading this quiet little book together, and it made this adult reader thoughtful as well as amused. A great mix. 

Stars & Poppy Seeds

 

Stars & Poppy Seeds / Romana Romanyshyn & Andriy Lesiv
trans. from the Ukrainian by Oksana Lushchevska
London: Tate, 2019, c2014.
32 p.

This gorgeous picture book got me excited about sharing my reading again! I've been reading quite a lot but haven't had the oomph to sit down and write about things. This lovely little book is worth sharing, though. I picked it up because I saw it mentioned in a discussion of Ukrainian books, something I've been spending a lot of my reading time on lately. And fortunately my library system bought a copy! 

It's the story of Flora, a young girl who loves to count. She counts the stars in the sky, the grains of sand in the beach, poppy seeds, polka dots and pearls. She counts everything. The book is a joyous celebration of numbers, counting and astronomy, all together. And the illustrations are so beautiful. The authors are also the founders of Art Studio Agrafka where they've done some gorgeous book work.

The book has a collage style, with a vintage feel. There are many details in the images that I spent time examining. This is the kind of book I would have loved as a child myself - magical, detailed and about stars. And featuring a wonderful female main character. 

There is one page when Flora plays hopscotch with the moon on a string, and she's wearing a dress that is quite similar to a dress I've made myself. 

And another of my favourite images is when Flora finds herself by a lake and starts wondering about how many drops of water there are in the world -- the text states that she is walking home through a labyrinth of streets, and the illustration feels like a manuscript, showing a classical labyrinth that is properly drawn and 'walkable' with your finger. So wonderful! 

image via Art Studio Agrafka

This book is pretty much perfect for me; it includes math, stars, creative illustrations, Ukrainian writers, and a labyrinth. As you can tell, I was enchanted by it. Recommended if you also love these things!

How Raven Returned the Sun

How Raven Returned the Sun / written by Christal Doherty & illustrated by Carla Taylor.
Yellowknife: Yellowknife Education District, c2016.
unpaged.

I don't usually review picture books, but this one is a bit special. I won it from the Book Mine Set as part of the Canadian Book Challenge last month, and thought I should share a little of my impressions because of that. Also, it's National Aboriginal History Month and I haven't yet shared any of the Indigenous authors I've been reading. 

This picture book is based on a Dene legend about how Raven returned the Sun to the sky after Bear stole it - because of an argument with the people living alongside him. Raven tricked Bear very efficiently and saved the people from darkness and starvation, which was caused by a touchy, ego-driven bully stealing their source of light and life. Not like this seems applicable today or anything. 

The legend was told by Dene storyteller Dora Blondin, and is based on the story from the Sahtu region on Great Bear Lake. It was made into a picture book by author Christal Doherty, with the text in English and Dene side by side, via translator Jane Modeste. Carla Taylor's illustrations are a full page opposite each page of text, and are bright and clear. I appreciated the information on all the contributors, including photos, on the last page of the book; it makes it clear that this was a team effort. 

This is a great beginner level picture book for any educator or parent who wants to incorporate legends or trickster stories into their reading. It's told at a very understandable and young level, while older kids will be able to draw more inferences from text and images alike. 

Thanks to John at Book Mine Set for offering up this fascinating book that highlights the stories and language of a specific locality. Definitely an interesting Canadian read! 

Miss Moon

Miss Moon: Wise Words from a Dog Governess / Janet Hill
Toronto: Tundra, c2016
48 p.

This charming art book is written and illustrated by Janet Hill, a local painter & bookish type. Miss Moon is a dog governess, who has taken on the responsibility for training 67 unruly dogs belonging to a family on a small island of the coast of France.

It shares life lessons in brief vignettes; things like "With a little creativity, the impossible can become the possible" -- or, "Respect the property of others" -- or, "A Good walk is not a race". The focus and the prime attraction of the book is most definitely the full spread illustrations. They are replete with little details tucked away which requires serious perusal of the pages to make sure you find every one of the delightful surprises and personalities that Hill includes. If you love art and think there is a thoughtful child or art-loving adult in your life who'd appreciate this, do share it.

Janet is a local, and an acquaintance, but I hope you will still take my review of this book as an objective one. I am not a dog person, but I did find this book a lot of fun. Now if only Miss Moon could take on the onerous job of herding cats...

This book was first published in French as Mademoiselle Moon, about a year before this version -- if you like quirky and elegant art, and think reading the 20 life lessons imparted in this book in French would make them even more apropos, you can still find it for sale.

Also, if you just want to explore more of Hill's artworks, check out her website, Janet Hill Studio, and her Etsy store. She has many illustrations of many different subjects, all reasonably priced as well.

I'd recommend this book to older children and adults; it might work well to read together, examining the illustrations and trying to guess what happens next. Each page is just a quick capture of one moment in what seems to be a very busy life!

Secret Life of Squirrels

One quick reviewlette today of a picture book that I came across at work and could not resist sharing with my fellow letter-loving readers. It's called The Secret Life of Squirrels, and features clever photos of squirrels interacting with miniature sets built by the Nova Scotian author & photographer, Nancy Rose.

In this book, Mr. Peanuts goes about his days in his usual squirrely way, playing Moonlight Sonata on the piano, doing the laundry and so forth...until he decides to write a letter to Cousin Squirrel, inviting him for a visit. He scurries about cleaning house in preparation, so that when Cousin Squirrel arrives, they can go on picnics, eat ice cream, play chess...the list goes on.

It's a hilarious read and well worth searching out even if you don't have children in the house. There are so many little details to enjoy in each picture. There's also information at the end on how best to take photos of your pets, and/or wild animals (with requisite safety warnings). There is also some info on how Rose was able to set up these clever photos, which is pretty interesting on its own.

Now, really, how can you resist this cover? :)

The Stamp Collector

The Stamp Collector / Jennifer Lanthier; illus. by François Thisdale
Markham, ON: Fitzhenry & Whiteside, c2012.
32 p.

I read a lot of picture books in my work. I've found some excellent favourites and love a lot of my discoveries. But I don't often share them here, as my blog is focused on my personal reading, and not so much on children's lit. But. Sometimes something just meshes with my interests and I have to share! This book is one of those titles. It came to my attention because it just won the 2014 Golden Oak award, an award that is aimed at new readers in adult literacy and ESL programs, letting readers choose the winner. (it's another award in the OLA's Forest of Reading.)

 The book is focused on the power of story, and the power of letters. Here's the summary from the publisher:

A city boy finds a stamp that unlocks his imagination; a country boy is captivated by stories. When they grow up, the two boys take different paths—one becomes a prison guard, the other works in a factory—but their early childhood passions remain. When the country boy's stories of hope land him in prison, the letters and stamps sent to him from faraway places intrigue the prison guard and a unique friendship begins.

This doesn't convey the beauty of the book, though. That prison guard loves stamps, and saves them from all the letters sent to the political prisoner -- even eventually giving the prisoner hope by slipping him a stamp. The two develop a friendship of sorts, and as the prisoner sickens while in captivity, the guard becomes his link to get his new story out into the world. They are together in the end, guard holding the prisoner's hand as he dies.

Yes, that's right, the prisoner dies. And I was weepy! This is a powerful book that would work well with kids 9+ or perhaps Grade 3+. Often we don't think of picture books for older kids but there are so many that are really suited to older readers. This is a great book to read together with someone, and as we can see from its most recent award, it's great adult content in an easier to read format for those learning English, a book that has experience relevant to some newcomers' own.

The illustrations are beautiful, as well, with stamps appearing on nearly every page (in one of my favourites, a stamp appears like a kite). It's done in blues and blacks and greys and browns, very suited to the prison setting, but the stamps are bright jewels among the shades. If you love books about letters, as I do, you will really love this. And if you love books about powerful moral actions and political censorship, you will find this hard-hitting and very moving. An excellent choice to share with other readers.