The Deakin Review of Children's Literature
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Hand Over Hand by A. Fullerton
No full textFullerton, Alma. Hand Over Hand. Illustrated by Renné Benoit. Second Story Press, 2017.
Award-winning author of A Good Trade and In a Cloud of Dust, Alma Fullerton returns with another excellent picture book about a young Filipina girl who goes against gender stereotypes to go fishing with her grandfather. In Hand Over Hand, Nina convinces her grandfather, Lolo, to take her out fishing and with her determination and Lolo’s support she manages to catch a large fish. The story is portrayed through simple phrases with occasional onomatopoeia in large contrasting font on Benoit’s soft watercolour images to invoke a quietly empowering story.
I would recommend this book for educators and librarians not only because of the non-tokenizing nature of the representation of the Philippines or the theme of gender equality but also because of the way the illustrations and the story blend together to create a perfect storytime book for early readers to share or read alone. The illustrations are rich enough that early level readers will be entertained while the repetitive nature of the phrases and the vocabulary make it an excellent choice to grow a reader’s confidence. It also has the potential to be laddered into an activity where learners create a story of their own and use watercolours to illustrate their story which could appear to higher-level educators looking for an English and/or Art project for their classes.
Highly recommended: 4 out of 4 starsReviewer: Lorisia MacLeod
Lorisia MacLeod is the Online Reference Centre Coordinator with The Alberta Library (TAL) and a proud member of the James Smith Cree Nation. When not working on indigenization or diversity in librarianship, Lorisia enjoys reading almost any variation of Sherlock Holmes, comics, or travelling
How Do You Care for a Very Sick Bear? by V. Bayer
No full textBayer, Vanessa. How Do You Care for a Very Sick Bear? Illustrated by Rosie Butcher. New York: Macmillan Publishing, 2019.
Vanessa Bayer’s How Do You Care for a Very Sick Bear? provides young readers with advice on how to deal with and help their friends who are facing a difficult illness. The book offers suggestions and advice for young children, but also reminds them that even though their friend is sick, they are still their friend. Bayer’s story provides examples of the simple gestures that friends can make when helping each other.
The illustrations by Rosie Butcher are bright, colourful, and simple. Butcher illustrates common activities that friends would do together, which makes them relatable to children even though the characters are bears. The illustrations take up most of the page and provide young readers with a lot to explore. The text throughout the book is simple and easy to read.
Bayer’s story tackles a difficult topic, but she presents it in a way that is easy for children to understand. Her use of bears as her main characters helps to soften the impact of a difficult topic to approach with children. However, Bayer is also honest with her portrayal of illness, which offers children a realistic view of what to expect.
This book can be very useful for children who have a friend facing a difficult illness. Additionally, it can be useful to parents when explaining illnesses to their children. With that in mind, I would recommend it for elementary school and public libraries.
Highly Recommended: 4 out of 4 starsReviewer: Jenn Laskosky
Jenn Laskosky is a masters student at the University of Alberta in the Library and Information Studies program. She has an interest in health sciences librarianship and international librarianship. Her passion for reading has continued to grow throughout her education.
 
Sockeye Silver, Saltchuck Blue by R.H. Vickers & R. Budd
No full textVickers, Roy Henry, and Robert Budd. Sockeye Silver, Saltchuck Blue. Illustrated by Roy Henry Vickers. Harbour Publishing Co. Ltd., 2019.
This picture book by Indigenous artist Roy Henry Vickers and author Robert Budd, is designed to teach young children about elements of nature found on the Canadian west coast. Roy Henry Vicker’s beautiful illustrations draw the reader’s attention to the main theme of each page (e.g., whales, sea stars, sunsets, mountains, snow, the northern lights). Each page has its own colour theme and a specific colour is always mentioned (e.g., “yellow salmonberries", “purple sea stars”, “sunset red”). There are textured images allowing children to touch and feel something on every page. The book is printed on thick board pages, making it resistant to wear and tear and easier for young readers to flip through on their own. The colours and illustrations are vivid and are engaging for both children and adults. Most of the vocabulary is appropriate for younger readers, while the more difficult words serve as an opportunity to learn the names of west coast plants and animals, the names of different colours and the use of adjectives. In addition, the book has an abundance of words that start with the letter “s” which makes it a valuable resource for children who need practice producing the “s” sound. This book is recommended for teaching children, as young as two, about nature, and it should be available in school and public libraries.
Highly Recommended: 4 out of 4 starsReviewer: Stephanie Borle
Stephanie Borle is a University of Alberta graduate student of Speech-Language Pathology who enjoys working with adults and children. She is particularly interested in working with bilingual children and new immigrants in the area of developmental and acquired language disorders.
 
My Life as an Ice Cream Sandwich by I. Zoboi
No full textZoboi, Ibi. My Life as an Ice Cream Sandwich. Penguin Random House, 2019.
My Life as an Ice Cream Sandwich is Ibi Zoboi’s middle-grade debut, following her YA novels Pride and the National Book Award finalist American Street. Some of Zoboi’s concerns in her YA fiction are revisited here: Black community and communities, complexities of family relationships, and the difficulties and joys of discovering new places. Here Zoboi adds to the mix a quirky, sci-fi loving protagonist, and a historical setting: Harlem in the summer of 1984.
Ebony-Grace Norfleet Freeman (aka E-Grace Starfleet in her galactic "imagination location," aka Ice Cream Sandwich to the Nine Flavas crew of MCs and B-girls) is a seventh-grader from Huntsville who is sent to live with her father in New York City for the summer. She’s full of science fiction knowledge and enthusiasm, abetted by her Granddaddy, who worked for NASA and occupies a large role in her internal narrative as Captain Fleet.
Ebony-Grace is a somewhat frustrating protagonist, making a number of seeming unforced errors due to her commitment to her spacefaring alter ego, but she is authentic and compelling, too. Her insistence on being E-Grace Starfleet can be endearing, though she’s clearly using her imagination to avoid dealing with, or understanding, what’s happening around her. She describes her surroundings in terms of her space adventure: that Captain Fleet has been taken captive by the Sonic King on Planet Boom Box, and that the Sonic Boom threatens to overtake everything. Her new friends initially have little time for this kind of play; they’re busy developing their crew’s double-dutch, rapping and breakdancing skills in preparation for a competition that might get them into the big leagues. The culture-shock contrast, in other words, isn’t just between Huntsville and Harlem, but also between one kind of play and (although the Nine Flavas crew don’t see it like this) another; between childhood and adolescence.
A caution for readers who appreciate concreteness: one subplot seems ambiguous to the point of opacity. Ebony-Grace has been sent to New York because of some trouble her Granddaddy has gotten into, or possibly a health crisis he is having. There are allusions from adult characters to sins Ebony-Grace’s grandfather has committed, consequences for bad decisions, lawyers, and journalists. His death near the end of the novel leaves both Ebony-Grace and the reader with questions but little closure; veiled references imply a sex-and-drugs aspect to his troubles, or a connection to the AIDS crisis, but this is never clarified.The narrative here is more atmospheric than propulsive, but that atmosphere is alive with culture and history. Character voices are lively, funny, and down to earth; their moment is depicted lovingly and specifically but without preciousness or nostalgia. This love letter to 1980s New York has mountains of appeal for any reader interested in science fiction or hip hop culture, and is a must for any collection looking to continue prioritizing diversity and representation in its holdings.
Highly recommended: 4 out of 4 starsReviewer: Amanda Daignault
Amanda Daignault is a PhD Candidate in the Department of English and Film Studies at the University of Alberta. She studies contemporary children\u27s middle-grade fantasy novels, using methods of book history and bibliography to figure out where all those giant trilogies came from and what they\u27re doing.
 
Smiley: A Journey of Love by J. George
No full textGeorge, Joanne. Smiley: A Journey of Love. Fitzhenry & Whiteside, 2017.
Smiley: A Journey of Love is the heartwarming story of a blind dog who becomes a St. John Ambulance Therapy Dog. While the story contains some complex topics that early readers might struggle with such as Alzheimer\u27s or puppy mills, the colourful photography that accompanies the text make it an excellent book to be read with an adult. The photographs of Smiley will help very early readers to invest in Smiley’s story though the text is larger and double spaced so that moderate level readers could use this book to build their reading skills. Given the length and amount of text, this book would be longer than could be covered in one storytime but is broken down by chapters so it could be used for a week of storytimes.
Librarians and educators may find this book useful for starting a discussion around blindness or different ability needs. This book frames Smiley’s blindness and dwarfism simply as things that make Smiley himself and while they might change the way he interacts with the world, this book discusses his abilities in a positive way. There is also a part that discusses Smiley’s friendship with Pearl and Pippi which could be used to teach about being respectful of friends\u27 needs. Overall, this book contains high-level vocabulary and concepts but if read with an adult\u27s support can be the start of some very educational discussions.
Recommended: 3 out of 4 starsReviewer: Lorisia MacLeod
Lorisia MacLeod is the Online Reference Centre Coordinator with The Alberta Library (TAL) and a proud member of the James Smith Cree Nation. When not working on indigenization or diversity in librarianship, Lorisia enjoys reading almost any variation of Sherlock Holmes, comics, or travelling
The Owl and the Two Rabbits by N. Sammurtok
No full textSammurtok, Nadia. The Owl and the Two Rabbits. Iqaluit, NU: Inhabit Media, 2019.
Nadia Sammurtok, author of several children’s books including Caterpillar Woman and Siuluk: The Last Tuniq, has written stories of tundra animals. Like many Inuit children’s stories, this one is cautionary, teaching children not to play in dangerous places. In this story two small rabbits, who have been told to “remain hidden when they played outside,” get carried away jumping and attract the attention of an owl who wants to eat them. They escape by outwitting the owl and working together, two common survival themes in Inuit children’s stories.
Marcus Cutler’s artwork is bright and fun. Often northern scenes are portrayed as muted or dark, but Cutler’s skies are orange, red or purple, and the grasses are vivid greens and yellows. Small children will be able to enjoy the pictures on their own, but the text will require an older reader. While this book is not meant to be realistic—the animals speak and small rabbits are able to push a huge rock—Sammurtok does include some real animal behaviour from which children can learn. For example, “the rabbits\u27 brown coats blended in with the tundra” and they freeze when threatened.
Overall this is an enjoyable volume which would be a good addition to public libraries and elementary school libraries.
Highly recommended: 4 out of 4 starsReviewer: Sandy Campbell
Sandy is a Health Sciences Librarian at the University of Alberta, who has written hundreds of book reviews across many disciplines. Sandy thinks that sharing books with children is one of the greatest gifts anyone can give. 
Bone Hollow by K. Ventrella
No full textVentrella, Kim. Bone Hollow. Scholastic Press, 2019.
Gabe isn’t sure what happens after he falls off a roof during a storm trying to rescue Miss Cleo’s prize chicken. And he isn’t sure why, when he wakes up in Miss Cleo’s room, no one will speak to him and everyone is crying. But it eventually becomes unignorable: Gabe died in that storm. Well, he almost died. Kim Ventrella’s second novel Bone Hollow, aimed at middle-grade readers, follows Gabe and his loyal dog Ollie as Gabe tries to figure out what happened to him, and what he’s supposed to do now that he’s dead.
After some meanderings between the woods outside his town and the town itself, Gabe meets Wynne, a mysterious girl who shows him her home, the titular Bone Hollow. At the core of the book, Bone Hollow is a misty but cozy refuge from a world Gabe doesn’t fit into anymore. Gabe is searching for a new place to fit in, and Wynne is urgently searching for someone to take her place.
Bone Hollow is a novel that takes its time, dwelling on sensory details that are alternately lush (like Miss Cleo’s sweet-and-savory biscuits) and grotesque (like Ollie’s propensity to lick every bit of Gabe he can find, including inside the wound that killed him). It’s not quite an adventure story, as there is no villain to defeat or ally to rescue. It’s not really a meditation on death; that theme is pervasive, but frequently interrupted. It’s not a gross-out or horror story, as plot threads that move in those directions—e.g., a creepy mortuary owner, and a hollow man with a bird inside his mouth—are abandoned as soon as they are begun. It’s a mix of all these things, in a way that defies expectations.
Bone Hollow suffers somewhat from slow pacing and an unclear plot motivation. The climactic choice that Gabe must eventually make is barely foreshadowed before the halfway mark (although it is spoiled on the book’s dust jacket). Besides this momentous decision, his other movements through the story seem more orchestrated than agential: even after the tornado blows out, Gabe is buffeted around by childhood bullies, scared adults, ghosts, and speeding cars. He reacts to these events with grit, bravery, and no small amount of stubbornness, but he is, predominantly, reacting. Readers who are looking for an atmospheric, creepy, but ultimately reassuring story about loss, change, and finding one’s purpose may appreciate Ventrella’s blend of comforting and unsettling prose. Gabe’s voice is individual, funny, and charmingly Southern—you can tell he’s upset when he starts saying “gosh darn it!”—and his friendships with both his dog and Wynne are carefully traced. Squeamish readers might not appreciate the mild gore—mostly off-screen—and others might simply be put off by the focus on death and dying among humans and animals alike. For those who relish a more morbid take, this book might be a welcome addition.
Recommended: 3 out of 4 starsReviewer: Amanda Daignault
Amanda Daignault is a PhD Candidate in the Department of English and Film Studies at the University of Alberta. She studies contemporary children\u27s middle-grade fantasy novels, using methods of book history and bibliography to figure out where all those giant trilogies came from and what they\u27re doing
Give Me Back My Bones! by K. Norman
No full textNorman, Kim. Give Me Back My Bones! Illustrated by Bob Kolar. Candlewick Press, 2019.
This book is a blend of fun and education. A pirate skeleton, whose bones have been spread across the ocean floor, wants to reclaim them. He “claim[s] his clavicle” and “hanker[s] for [his] humerus.” The text is a poem filled with surprising and creative descriptions of what the individual bones do: “Who can spot my shoulder blade, / my shrugging jacket-holder blade, / my shiver-when-I’m-colder blade? / Oh, scapula, come back!”
The text is printed on Bob Kolar’s simple, bright, two-dimensional illustrations. There are some fun things to find in the illustrations. For example, when the pirate is looking for his hand-bones, we see them in the sand, hidden among hand-shaped corals. A squid returns his arm-bones. In some images fish peer at him suspiciously as he slowly collects his missing parts.
As an educational work, this book is excellent. The front end papers show all of the disconnected bones with their names. The back end papers show the whole skeleton together with the bones named. Because it is a jaunty poem and fun to read, children will want to re-read it and will eventually memorize it. As a by-product of fun, they will learn what metacarpals and phalanges are.
This book is highly recommended for pediatricians’ offices, as well as public and school libraries.
Highly Recommended: 4 out of 4 starsReviewer: Sean C. Borle
Sean C. Borle is a University of Alberta student in the Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry who is an advocate for child health and safety
The Assassination of Brangwain Spurge by MT. Anderson & E. Yelchin
No full textAnderson, M.T. and Eugene Yelchin. The Assassination of Brangwain Spurge. Candlewick Press, 2018.
The Assassination of Brangwain Spurge throws the reader into a topsy-turvy wonderland with the gripping adventure of two unlikely heroes, Brangwain Spurge and Werfel the Archivist. These two historians find themselves caught in a myriad of misunderstandings as they meet at the crux of a diplomatic mission between their warring nations of elves and goblins. An elfin historian turned diplomat and spy, Spurge must confront his own deeply entrenched prejudices against goblins, while his enthusiastic and well-intentioned goblin host, Werfel, attempts to guide him through an unfamiliar culture. Through a series of entertaining mishaps and cultural misunderstandings, M.T. Anderson and Eugene Yelchin use their vivid characters and narrative style to craft an enjoyable story with underlying messages about cultural conflict and the ways in which prejudice colours our view of others.
Most commendable in this book is the authors’ brilliant use of visual and text media to craft a work showing how individuals can understand the same events in wildly different ways. The mixed media drawings not only add a striking visual force to the novel, but they also serve a narrative function by showing the world through the eyes and imagination of Spurge. It becomes clear that Spurge’s understanding of his experiences conflicts with the more objective third-person account of events, illustrating how Spurge’s view of the world has been heavily skewed by his institutionalized prejudices. As Werfel quite wisely says: “Isn’t it so fascinating how in different countries, we have different views of the same events?”
This book is appropriate for the intended age group of individuals aged ten to fourteen, but it can also be enjoyed by older teens and adults. With its compelling design and timely messages, this book would be an excellent addition to school and public libraries.
Highly Recommended: 4 out of 4 starsReviewer: Arwen Thysse
Arwen Thysse is a graduate of the University of Alberta’s Bachelor of Arts program and the University of Toronto’s Master of Medieval Studies program. She is also an avid musician, and enjoys children’s books
Judy Moody and the Right Royal Tea Party by M. McDonald
No full textMcDonald, Megan. Judy Moody and the Right Royal Tea Party. Illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds. Candlewick Press, 2018.
The multi-volume Judy Moody series continues here as Judy attempts to complete a grade three assignment: create a family tree. Learning that one of her British ancestors was “Mudeye” Moody, rescuer of a prisoner from the Tower of London during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, Judy embellishes: the rescuer was a young prince; the prisoner was a princess; she, herself, is akin to royalty, a future Queen. There is, however, a rival for her title, her schoolmate, Jessica Finch. Jessica, too, has British roots. She, too, claims kinship with Mudeye Moody. Jessica’s Mudeye, however, was a rat catcher who rescued his lady from the Tower in the time of Queen Victoria. Unaware that more than two centuries elapsed between the reigns of Elizabeth I and Queen Victoria, the two girls decide that Mudeye Moody, the one-and-the-same, is their mutual ancestor. They ally; they are “step sisters.” They will keep secret Judy’s relationship to the rat catcher, but, together, they will stage a “Right Royal Tea Party.”
Judy Moody is a domineering child. No constitutional monarch is she; she is a despot, her younger brother the target of her bullying. In both conversational and narrative passages, scatology is the norm. Judy and her friends belong to the “Toad Pee Club.” They meet in the “Toad Pee Tent.” Her younger brother’s Siamese Fighting Fish is named “Prince Redmond the Farter.” It communicates, of course, by ”farting.” Throughout the book, the young brother is referred to as “Stink.” (There is never any adult censure of this talk.) Dubious diction continues in Judy’s letter to the current Queen Elizabeth. She asks: “...Did you ever ride a hinny? (That’s a cross between a horse and a donkey, not a hiney?) … P.S. Sorry if I’m not supposed to say hiney in a letter to the Queen.” (Among its various uses, “hiney” is slang for “buttocks.” It is, as well, a derogatory 20th-century term for a German soldier.)
Questions spring to mind as one reads this book: does the writing merely reflect the anal obsessions of children, or does it encourage them? The same could be asked about bullying behaviours.
It is also curious that the historical dates of Elizabeth I (who died in 1603) and Queen Victoria (who came to the throne in 1837) are never given. There are natural opportunities within the story to do so: Peter Reynold’s illustration of “Famous Women Rulers” is one such opportunity; the Moody family’s trip to Wolff Castle is another. Of course, if Judy and Jessica discover the dates, they must give up their assumptions about Mudeye; he would have to have lived for more than two centuries to perform his dual acts of gallantry. Are the presumed readers (upper primary, lower elementary school children) thought to be too immature to appreciate this absurdity? Or must they be kept in ignorance lest the contrivance of the plot be revealed?
In Canada, school children are taught that the Queen is a constitutional monarch, a symbol of national unity, not a ruler. Because she lives in England, she has a Canadian representative who performs her ceremonial duties. A Canadian Judy Moody might dream differently—perhaps pretending that she is an astronaut like Governor General Julie Payette.
While much imagination went into the premise of this book, it lacks thoughtful, well considered composition. However popular the Judy Moody books, this entry in the series is weak.
Not recommended: 1 out of 4 stars Reviewer: Leslie Aitken
Leslie Aitken’s long career in librarianship included selection of children’s literature for school, public, special and academic libraries. She is a former Curriculum Librarian of the University of Alberta