The Cranky Ballerina

The Cranky Ballerina introduces readers to Ada, who, as the title suggests, is a reluctant dancer. Ada’s not usually in a bad mood, except on Saturdays, when she has to go to ballet class. Ada ... Read More »

July 4, 2016 | Filed under: Picture Books

Maxwell the Monkey Barber

By Cale Atkinson

In this rhyming picture book, Maxwell the monkey opens his jungle barbershop to numerous wild animals with equally wild hair: a baboon with a mass of curls, a lion with a beastly mane, and a ... Read More »

June 27, 2016 | Filed under: Picture Books

The Ferryland Visitor: A Mysterious Tale

By Charis Cotter; Gerald L. Squires (illus.)

In the early 1970s, artist Gerald Squires, his wife, Gail, and daughters, Esther and Meranda, moved into an abandoned lighthouse-keeper’s cottage in Ferryland, Newfoundland. Not long after settling in, just before Halloween, an unexpected visitor ... Read More »

May 17, 2016 | Filed under: Picture Books

The Stone Thrower

By Jael Ealey Richardson; Matt James (illus.)

As a young boy, future Canadian Football League quarterback Chuck Ealey perfected his throw by aiming stones at the trains that passed through his segregated Ohio neighbourhood. It was the 1950s and Chuck was African-American ... Read More »

May 17, 2016 | Filed under: Picture Books

The Artist and Me

By Shane Peacock; Sophie Casson (illus.)

For years there’s been a trend of picture books based on important and/or misunderstood artists: Jackson Pollock, Charlie Parker, Frida Kahlo, Pablo Picasso, and Virginia Woolf are just a few who’ve gotten the kindergarten-lit treatment. ... Read More »

May 16, 2016 | Filed under: Picture Books

★ The Night Gardener

By Eric Fan; Terry Fan

One morning, William awakens to a commotion and dashes outside. There he sees that, as if by magic, a tall tree has been shaped into a topiary owl overnight. The next morning, another tree has ... Read More »

May 9, 2016 | Filed under: Picture Books

★ Sea Change

By Frank Viva

Rather than letting Eliot spend the summer hanging out with his friends, going to backyard sleepovers and the drive-in, and buying “monster cards and the latest issue of Spider-man,” Eliot’s parents are sending him to ... Read More »

May 3, 2016 | Filed under: Picture Books

My Book of Birds

By Geraldo Valério

The illustrations are the star of this oversized hardcover that operates as a scrapbook for beginning bird lovers. Author and illustrator Geraldo Valério uses collage to construct the vibrant and beautiful images of North American ... Read More »

April 25, 2016 | Filed under: Picture Books

Half-Truths and Brazen Lies: An Honest Look at Lying

By Kira Vermond; Clayton Hanmer (illus.)

No one likes to be called a liar, but the truth is, everybody is guilty of telling a fib once in a while. Some of us do it a lot. One study revealed that six ... Read More »

April 18, 2016 | Filed under: Picture Books