30 research outputs found
The Pond by N. Davies
No full textDavies, Nicola. The Pond. Illustrated by Cathy Fisher. Graffeg, 2017.
In this picture book, a half-finished garden pond, “a muddy, messy hole that filled our garden,” becomes a metaphor for a family’s grief at the death of a father, “a muddy, messy hole that filled our hearts.” The story highlights the fact that when someone dies, the family loses not only the person, but also the activities that the family did with that person. Eventually, the mother in this story gets the pond lined and it starts to come to life with tadpoles, dragonflies and a water lily, mirroring the family’s progression through their grief.
The artwork really carries the story forward, and accompanied by the simple text Nicola Davies depicts aquatic environments in a variety of ways. Her work is cinematic, capturing the movement and messiness of pond life. She uses dark colours, splatters, scribbles and fractures in lines to depict the family’s grief. Some of the images are beautiful. Her water lilies on solid black backgrounds are exceptional. The images in this book will engage all ages.
This book would be good for children coping with loss or those preparing to cope with loss and should be a part of public and school library collections.
Recommendation: 4 stars out of 4Reviewer: Sean Borle
Sean Borle is a University of Alberta undergraduate student who is an advocate for child health and safety.
 
Rescue & Jessica: A Life-Changing Friendship by J. Kensky & P. Downes
No full textKensky, Jessica and Patrick Downes. Rescue & Jessica: A Life-Changing Friendship. Illustrated by Scott Magoon. Candlewick Press, 2018
There are not many children’s books published about amputation, so a new book is always welcome. Jessica Kensky became a double leg amputee as a result of injuries sustained during the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing. Rather than writing a children’s book about amputation, she has written an autobiographical work in the form of a picture book. As a result, this is a strange mix of fiction, where readers hear the service dog’s thoughts, and strict adherence to autobiographical detail that is unnecessary in a picture book. For example, Jessica is depicted as a teenager, closer to the real age of the author, rather than as a young child, to whom young readers could more easily relate. Jessica goes through two amputations in the course of the story, reflecting the experience of the author, but this process is unusual for amputees and unnecessarily complicates the story for early readers. The text is also at a reading level that is higher than one would expect in a picture book, so younger children will need an adult to read the book with them.
However, while it has flaws, the book is a comforting and positive story that will give child amputees hope as they see Jessica learn to be active again on her prosthetic legs. Scott Magoon’s simple and realistic illustrations will help children enjoy the dog, Rescue, and his role in Jessica’s healing process. Magoon does a good job depicting the dog in many states: readiness, happiness, resting, helping, playing and swimming.
This book should be included in public and school library collections. It should also be included in hospital library collections, particularly those where children receive amputation care, such as pediatric cancer clinics and prosthetic clinics. It would be of interest to both children undergoing amputations and their families.
Recommended: 3 out of 4 stars Reviewer: Sean Borle
Sean Borle is a University of Alberta undergraduate student who is an advocate for child health and safety
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
I\u27m Sad by M.I. Black and D.R. Ohi
No full textBlack, Michael I, and Debbie R. Ohi. I\u27m Sad. Simon & Shuster Books for Young Readers, 2018.
This book is about a sad flamingo and his friends, a girl and a potato, who try to cheer him up. This absurd collection of characters talk about whether or not flamingo will always feel sad and what makes them feel less sad.
Much of the dialog is silly. When the potato says that he knows what cheers him up, the picture is of a happy potato and the word “DIRT!!!” in giant letters. Coming after a discussion of ice cream as a “cheer me up”, “dirt” is unexpected and funny.
At the end of the book the flamingo asks, “Will you still like me if I’m sad again tomorrow?” The potato responds with an almost nasty, “I don’t even like you now.” This response is meant as a joke and the next two pages show uproarious laughter. However, young children may not understand that it is not usually an appropriate response and some people would find it hurtful.
Debi Ridpath Ohi’s simple illustrations do a good job of presenting expressions and emotions. There are often broken black lines around the images, which, strangely, make the characters, particularly the flamingo, look like they are constantly trembling. Apart from that, the images are fun. The most amusing is the one showing the potato as a fourth scoop of ice cream on a cone, with whipped cream and a cherry on top.
This book might give a sad young child a few moments of laughter and in the end delivers the message that it’s OK to feel a little bit sad. With these two thoughts in mind, this book is recommended for libraries for young children: daycares, schools, and public libraries.
Recommended: 3 out of 4 starsReviewer: Sean Borle
Sean Borle is a University of Alberta undergraduate student who is an advocate for child health and safety
Artificial Eyes by B. Sheen
No full textSheen, Barbara. Artificial Eyes. Norwood House Press, 2017.Artificial Eyes is one of a series of non-fiction books called Tech Bytes, that “explores...new technologies and how they are changing the way people perform everyday tasks.” Barbara Sheen, author of almost 100 children’s books, explores the history of artificial eyes, how they are made, their effect on people’s lives, and future developments. This is a detailed work that is designed to be a reference or text book for Grades 4 – 6. It is an odd combination of factual presentation and anecdotal stories about individuals. For example, “When Teddy was two years old, he was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer in his eye. To rid him of the disease, his eye was surgically removed.” Squeamish children may find some content disturbing. To balance the dense text, most pages have a photograph, diagram, or side-bar containing interesting information. There are also “Did you know?” boxes, which allow for some level of interaction. For example, “Did you know? Bionic eyes only provide black-and-white vision. Experts are working on software that would let wearers see colors.” The end of each chapter also has text-based questions and potential research projects. In this way it is more like a text book, but it is unlikely that a classroom would need textbooks on a subject this specific.While the short sentence and paragraph structures are appropriate for the upper elementary reading level, many of the words and word-combinations will be difficult for students in these grades. They may require help in understanding the content. There are few children’s books about artificial eyes, so this would be a good addition to public libraries and both elementary and junior high school libraries. Recommended: 3 stars out of 4Reviewer: Sean C. BorleSean Borle is a University of Alberta undergraduate student who is an advocate for child health and safety.</jats:p
Isaac and His Amazing Asperger Superpowers! by M. Walsh
No full textWalsh, Melanie. Isaac and His Amazing Asperger Superpowers! Candlewick Press, 2016.This picture book is designed to help children better understand children who are on the Asperger’s/autism spectrum. Isaac, like many children with Asperger’s Syndrome, has symptoms that include needing to fidget, sensitivity to sound, exceptional memory for certain kinds of facts, and lack of verbal filters. Instead of making these as negative attributes, Melanie Walsh has used the “superhero” concept as a vehicle for their positive presentation. Telling the story in the first person allows Isaac to directly describe for the reader what his life is like. This allows readers to empathize more easily. For example, he says: “Because I’m a superhero, I have lots of things to think about. I try to remember to be friendly and say hello to people I know, but sometimes I forget. I’m not being rude.” The artwork is brightly coloured. The images are simple and easy to understand, so it does not distract from the story. This would be a good book to read out loud and discuss in a class where there is a child with Asperger’s. While it may not exactly represent all children with Asperger’s, it is a good generalization and will help other children be more accepting of others who have these “superhero” behaviours.Highly Recommended: 4 stars out of 4Reviewer: Sean BorleSean Borle is a University of Alberta undergraduate student who is an advocate for child health and safety. </jats:p
Under the Bed Fred by L. Bailey
No full textBailey, Linda. Under the Bed Fred. Tundra Books, 2017.In this offering of the “monsters are not scary” genre, award winning author Linda Bailey has written a chapter book for newly independent readers. There are five chapters telling the story of Leo, who is afraid of the monster, Fred, who lives under his bed. Eventually Leo befriends Fred and discovers he is not scary. He takes Fred to school, where Fred defends him against the class bully, who is portrayed as a red-headed child with a green shirt. Most readers will relate to dealing with a bully at school.The book is well paced for a new reader’s daily reading time. The text is simple and nearly every page has an illustration. One can imagine a child in Grade 2 or 3 being able to read a chapter each day and feel success at having completed a 63 page book by the end of a week.The illustrations are comic style. The monster looks a lot like a brown bear. There are lots of action images, extreme expressions, and speech balloons. The text appears as a very large typeface to emphasize something scary or loud. Sometimes the text is printed at an angle and sometimes words like “KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!”, “GRRRRRROWWLL!” and “CRASH! OOF! POP!” are printed over images for effect.Overall, this is a good book and it is therefore recommended for public and school libraries. Recommendation: 3 stars out of 4Reviewer: Sean C. BorleSean Borle is a University of Alberta undergraduate student who is an advocate for child health and safety. </jats:p
Thomas Loves: A Rhyming Book about Fun, Friendship – and Autism by J. Welton
No full textWelton, Jude. Thomas Loves: A Rhyming Book about Fun, Friendship – and Autism. Philadelphia, PA: Jessica Kingsley Publications, 2015. Print.This picture book introduces the day-to-day life of a happy kid, who happens to be autistic. The book starts out presenting Thomas like any other boy, playing with a train. Slowly we learn that he likes to repeat strange sounding words, can\u27t stand loud noises, has a limited diet, flaps his hands if stressed, and requires a picture-plan of what is going to happen each day. The author does not try to make you feel sorry for Thomas or pity him. It is just an introduction to this particular boy. The book is aimed at pre-school children, and both the cartoon pictures by Jane Telford and the rhymed text by Jude Welton will make the book attractive to small children. It would be a good book to use with children who are in a classroom with an autistic child. At the end of the book there are author notes that provide facts about autism. I highly recommend this book for elementary schools, day cares and public libraries.Highly Recommended: 4 stars out of 4Reviewer: Sean BorleSean Borle is a University of Alberta undergraduate student who is an advocate for child health and safety
Bears in a Band by S. Parenteau
No full textParenteau, Shirley. Bears in a Band. Candlewick Press, 2016.This is a great little book. Children will love the rhymes, which tell the story of four brightly coloured teddy bears, who pick up instruments and begin to play. They make a joyful noise that eventually wakes “Big Brown Bear." Instead of being angry, Big Bear joins as a conductor and the music becomes even better.There are two music messages in this book. First, parents should celebrate their children’s musical activities and accept that there will be noise. Second, everyone should attempt to find the music in themselves, and share that with everyone.The text is simple. Young children will quickly memorize it. “The bears all play a noisy song/They don’t care if the notes are wrong." The images are happy, uplifting and full of warm fuzzies. This would be a good bedtime picture book for young children. I highly recommend this book for libraries. Highly recommended: 4 stars out of 4 Reviewer: Sean BorleSean Borle is a University of Alberta undergraduate student who is an advocate for child health and safety.</jats:p
The Music in George's Head: George Gershwin Creates Rhapsody in Blue by S. Slade
No full textSlade, Suzanne. The Music in George's Head: George Gershwin Creates Rhapsody in Blue. Calkins Creek, 2016.This biography gives Gershwin’s early history and then focuses on how he came to write Rhapsody in Blue, beginning with a train ride where the “train noises created new melodies in his head.”This is a very blue book. The whole palette is dark blue, purple and black, with sepia and light brown backgrounds and highlights. The images are surreal. One shows Gershwin reaching out of a bus window to grab a note floating in the air. Elongated keyboards twist and wave their way through collections of overlapping images. Parts of pictures are disproportionate. Apart from the colour and the images, the most striking thing is the shape of the text. On every page some words are much larger, in different fonts and different shades of blue. The text and the images are meant to reflect the wild, unpredictable and jazzy nature of Gershwin’s music.The music message of this book is that composers and musicians can find music anywhere and that great compositions often break the rules.While this is a picture book, the text includes some difficult words like “rhapsody” and “syncopated”, which could be read and understood by children in upper elementary and junior high school, but they might pose a challenge for younger children. Highly Recommended: 3 stars out of 4Reviewer: Sean BorleSean Borle is a University of Alberta undergraduate student who is an advocate for child health and safety.</jats:p
