BOOK REVIEWS

The Playgrounds of Babel

By JonArno Lawson and Piet Grobler (ill.)

One of the most remarkable things about JonArno Lawson’s new picture book – a retelling of a retelling of the biblical story of the Tower of Babel – is that it’s based on personal experience. ... Read More »

August 8, 2019 | Filed under: Kids’ Books, Picture Books

Hello I Want to Die Please Fix Me: Depression in the First Person

By Anna Mehler Paperny

Anna Mehler Paperny is the kind of person who knows exactly what Anne Sexton meant when, in her poem “Wanting to Die,” she described the “almost unnameable lust” of suicide. Paperny’s memoir begins with her ... Read More »

August 8, 2019 | Filed under: Memoir & Biography, Reviews

Trudeau: The Education of a Prime Minister

By John Ivison

John Ivison doesn’t think much of Justin Trudeau. That, at least, is the inescapable conclusion one reaches after reading the National Post columnist’s new political biography of Canada’s 23rd prime minister, a tart and frequently ... Read More »

August 7, 2019 | Filed under: Politics & Current Affairs

The Ghost Collector

By Allison Mills

Like her mother and grandmother, Shelly sees ghosts everywhere. It’s a gift shared by all the women in her family, and with it comes the responsibility for helping lost souls pass into the afterlife. Shelly’s ... Read More »

August 1, 2019 | Filed under: Children and YA Fiction, Kids’ Books

My Bright Friend

By Simon Boulerice and Marilyn Faucher (ill.)

At the start of My Bright Friend, readers are told that Ludo’s parents don’t love each other anymore. Refreshingly, there is no attempt to buffer readers from the reality of divorce, nor is the language ... Read More »

August 1, 2019 | Filed under: Kids’ Books, Picture Books

Why Don’t Cars Run on Apple Juice? Real Science Questions from Real Kids

By Kira Vermond and Suharu Ogawa (ill.)

Curious kids intuitively understand that science begins with questions. Two new non-fiction books both encourage and support insatiable inquisitiveness and the voracious need to know. Fifty questions posed by young visitors to the Ontario Science ... Read More »

July 29, 2019 | Filed under: Children and YA Non-fiction, Kids’ Books

Acting Wild: How We Behave Like Birds, Bugs, and Beasts

By Maria Birmingham and Dave Whamond (ill.)

July 29, 2019 | Filed under: Children and YA Non-fiction, Kids’ Books

★ From the Ashes: My Story of Being Métis, Homeless, and Finding My Way

By Jesse Thistle

Jesse Thistle has lived a hard life. A descendent of Saskatchewan’s Michif “road allowance” people (who lived on small strips of land between homesteads that were unused by the Crown), his parents were not able ... Read More »

July 29, 2019 | Filed under: Memoir & Biography, Native Peoples, Reviews

The Little Book of Big What-Ifs

By Renata Liwska

When it comes to reading a picture book with a very young child, adults often take the role of expert, having a well-developed familiarity with numbers, letters, and colours. But two new concept picture books ... Read More »

July 25, 2019 | Filed under: Kids’ Books, Picture Books