★ The Honeybee

By Isabelle Arsenault (ill.); Kirsten Hall

Environmentalism has long held a place in literature for children. It has been over 40 years since Dr. Seuss’s Lorax first spoke for the trees. New York–based writer Kirsten Hall (The Gold Leaf) carries on ... Read More »

July 19, 2018 | Filed under: Picture Books

Poppy & Sam and the Leaf Thief

By Cathon

If television has taught us anything, it’s that the most effective and entertaining crime-fighting partnerships consist of individuals who, despite divergent personalities and levels of competence, manage somehow to put their differences aside in order ... Read More »

July 5, 2018 | Filed under: Picture Books

★ Wallpaper

By Thao Lam

Thao Lam’s nearly wordless book, a follow-up to her well-received debut, Skunk on a String, is about courage, imagination, and unexpected paths to friendship. It centres on a nameless young girl with brown skin and ... Read More »

June 27, 2018 | Filed under: Picture Books

Siuluk: The Last Tuniq

By Nadia Sammurtok; Rob Nix (ill.)

Nadia Sammurtok’s Siuluk: The Last Tuniq is based on traditional stories from the Chesterfield Inlet area of the Kivalliq region of Nunavut. Siuluk is a man of great strength, rumoured to be the last of ... Read More »

June 25, 2018 | Filed under: Picture Books

5-Minute Stories for Fearless Girls

By Nick Craine (ill.); Sarah Howden

If the title of this book feels familiar, there is a good reason for that: the last few years have witnessed an explosion in non-fiction promoting strength, bravery, and resilience in girls. Examples include 2007’s ... Read More »

June 20, 2018 | Filed under: Children and YA Non-fiction, Picture Books

Nothing Happens in This Book

By Judy Ann Sadler; Vigg (ill.)

“This book looks boring, doesn’t it?” This question arrives at the beginning of Nothing Happens in This Book, amid an expanse of darkness. Yet neither this recurring note of skepticism, nor the proleptic title, are ... Read More »

June 18, 2018 | Filed under: Kids’ Books, Picture Books

How to Spot a Sasquatch

By Aurélie Grand (ill.); J. Torres

How to Spot a Sasquatch follows fictional middle-grade hero Jay the Junior Ranger. While on a camping trip with his fellow scouts, Jay is determined to spot a sasquatch. When he lets one of the ... Read More »

June 14, 2018 | Filed under: Picture Books

House of Dreams: The Life of L.M. Montgomery

By Julie Morstad (ill.); Liz Rosenberg

People travel from all over the world to Prince Edward Island to visit the place where L.M. Montgomery grew up, to see where her most famous novel, Anne of Green Gables, takes place, and to ... Read More »

June 7, 2018 | Filed under: Children and YA Non-fiction, Picture Books

Hedgehog

By Ashlyn Anstee

While the Fan Brothers, Debbie Ridpath Ohi, and Ashlyn Anstee employ acutely different tones, styles, and media in their latest picture books, all unearth joy in some of life’s most unpleasant feelings: grief, sadness, and ... Read More »

June 4, 2018 | Filed under: Picture Books