December 6, 2010 | Filed under: Children and YA Fiction, Picture Books
At first, a story about a character entangled in a ball of green snot may seem cringe-worthy. But in the hands of Carolyn Beck and Ben Hodson, it’s the basis for an original, funny, gooey, ... Read More »
When troubled high-schooler Jake Upshore hears rumours that his girlfriend, Skye, is pregnant and has skipped town to get an abortion, he decides to track her down in Halifax. She doesn’t return his text messages, ... Read More »
November 29, 2010 | Filed under: Children and YA Fiction
For several generations of young readers who grew up with Eloise, Kay Thompson’s heroine who lives the high life in the Plaza Hotel, New York City has always seemed the perfect place to be a ... Read More »
November 17, 2010 | Filed under: Children and YA Fiction
It’s 1995, and Mia, a recent high school grad from Toronto, has arrived in Jerusalem to study at a Jewish seminary. Encouraged by her devout but sheltered friend Aviva, Mia has only recently taken an ... Read More »
November 17, 2010 | Filed under: Children and YA Fiction
Everything about Avalanche Dance relates to essential conflicts: between children and parents, between friends, and between societal expectations and personal will. Veteran B.C. children’s author Ellen Schwartz walks these narrative tightropes with ease, rarely tilting ... Read More »
November 17, 2010 | Filed under: Children and YA Fiction
This adventurous debut from Ottawa author Jenn Kelly has a perfectly silly spirit that helps put across the admirable lesson learned by its young protagonist, a lonely, book-loving boy with far less self-confidence than he ... Read More »
November 17, 2010 | Filed under: Children and YA Fiction
Hunger journeys were often made by the starving residents of Amsterdam into the countryside to search for food in the closing months of the Second World War. The hunger journey in Vancouver author Maggie de ... Read More »
November 17, 2010 | Filed under: Children and YA Fiction, Picture Books
Author-illustrator Eugenie Fernandes uses clay, acrylic paint, and mixed-media collage to create a visual feast in her second seasonal tale (following Kitten’s Spring) featuring a curious calico cat. Quality autumnal picture books that deal with ... Read More »
November 17, 2010 | Filed under: Children and YA Fiction, Picture Books
There are any number of kids’ books that are only ostensibly for kids, that in their tone or language or execution reveal themselves to be aimed at the kind of kid idealized by some adults, ... Read More »
November 17, 2010 | Filed under: Children and YA Fiction, Picture Books
The transition from girl to young woman is a tricky one, full of embarrassment and uncertainty. Navigating the unknown territory of puberty with as few battle scars as possible is a rite of passage for ... Read More »
November 17, 2010 | Filed under: Children and YA Fiction