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Here’s the best of what we read recently:
Brave Jack and the Unicorn (Canada)
(US) 
is an original Newfoundland folk tale about Jack, the youngest of three brothers, who goes forth to seek his fortune in the world. He is not as handsome or clever as his brothers, but is kind, and befriends many who do him a favour later to repay his kindness. And these favours allow him to rescue the Princess from the Evil Magician. Incorporates many elements common to folk and fairy tales, often in unique ways; I particularly enjoyed wondering how the queen of ants (ants? little ants?) would factor into the story later. Watch Me Throw the Ball (Canada)
(US)
is a book you simply must read with your kids, especially beginning readers. It’s very simple, very funny, and has a super moral to boot. My boys read it over and over to themselves after we’d finished, and we’ll be tracking down other ‘Elephant and Piggie’ books. A House is a House for Me (Canada)
(US)
is a somewhat older book with playful rhyming text and delightful pictures. It talks about how everything is a house for something, from the obvious (“a hive is a house for a bee, a bird builds its nest in a tree”), to the not-so-obvious (“a kennel is a house for a dog, a dog is a house for a flea”) to the delightfully playful (“a mirror’s a house for reflections, a throat is a house for a hum…a book is a house for a story, a rose is a house for a smell”).
The Gift of the Inuksuk (Canada) 
(US)
is a book we took out of the library to learn more about the symbol we have seen so often over the past few weeks at the Vancouver Winter Olympics. It is a story about an Inuit girl, Ukaliq, and how she and her people used the materials available to make their lives: “Everywhere Ukaliq looked, she saw gifts.” One day her father and brothers got lost in a storm on their way to the big caribou migration hunt, a hunt that was necessary for them to survive the winter. Ukaliq came up with the idea of shifting the Inuksuk, the stone men, “only as far as could be seen through the snow” from one to another, and in so doing, guided her lost relations home. There is some additional information about the Inuksuk and its use and prevalence today. Great pictures too in this respectful look at Inuit culture. My Cat Likes To Hide in Boxes (Canada) (US) is an older book with a simple premise and playful pictures. It features cats from around the world—Japan, Berlin, Brazil, Greece, Norway, Spain, France—and the things they like to do (which rhyme), in contrast to ‘my’ cat which likes to hide in boxes. So the cat from France likes to sing and dance, etc. A playful way to introduce some geography to younger kids, and the picture of the cat from Norway is simply not to be missed. 
Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge (Canada)
(US)
is a sweet, gentle book about a young boy who befriends several seniors living at the old folks home next door. When he hears that one of them has “lost her memory”, he asks the others for details as to what a memory is (“it’s something that makes you laugh”; “it’s something that makes you cry”, “it’s something warm”, etc.). Wilfrid then gathers ‘appropriate’ items in a box to give her “a memory” back—a fresh egg (it’s warm), a funny puppet on string (it makes folks laugh), etc. And this odd collection does indeed bring memories back to his elderly friend, prompting her to reminisce about her own childhood.
Many Moons (Canada) 
(US) was one of my favourite reads of the week. It is a story about a princess who is ill, and who tells her father (the King) that she will get well if he can get the moon for her. He consults his wisest men (the Lord High Chamberlain, the Royal Wizard, the Royal Mathematician), all of whom explain—in different and funny ways—that this is impossible. The Jester then comes to cheer the King, and comes up with a very clever (yet commonsense!) plan to give the princess the moon: the first step is talking to the princess herself. The plan succeeds, and the princess gets well, but then there is another problem: how to prevent the princess from seeing the (real) moon shining in her bedroom window that night. The King again consults his wisest men with no luck, and again the Jester appears and suggests consulting with the princess, which results in a pleasing, clever, and genuinely unpredictable ending. The original story was written in 1943, and the edition we read had updated drawings (they are superb) as well as a brief intro piece by Rosemary Thurber, daughter of author James, on the decision to release a new edition—something she only decided after consulting her grandchildren, just as the princess was consulted in the story. Delightful read—highly recommended! What Bluebirds Do (Canada)
(US)
is an excellent non-fiction book about two Eastern bluebirds who raise a family of chicks. Tons of detailed pictures and fairly short text make this an easy read-aloud; it held both my boys’ attentions all the way through, unlike many non-fiction books that get too bogged down in text for Gareth (age 5). The Invisible Fran (Canada)
(US)
is part of the Franny K. Stein, Mad Scientist series, and the first that we’ve read. I wasn’t sure about it as we went along in the story, as Franny was pretty obnoxious to her friends, had no tolerance of folks with interests other than ‘mad science’, and some of the humour is off-colour (be prepared for your 5-year-old to repeat “The Principal has a rubber butt” for ages afterwards…sigh). But Franny gets what’s coming to her and learns her lessons in the end. Very funny with lots of pictures; a good choice for kids transitioning to chapter books.
Box Turtle at Silver Pond Lane (Canada)
(US) is one of the Smithsonian Backyard series, a series aimed at getting kids interested in the nature and wildlife they find all around them. It follows a turtle’s journey to lay her eggs. Good pictures, and a realistic (though never violent) look at the dangers and triumphs in a day in the life of a box turtle. We’ll be getting out others in the series. Harp O’Gold (Canada) 
(US)
is a book Gareth chose off the St Patrick’s Day display at the library. It tells the tale of Tom, a wandering minstrel with a simple, worn, wooden harp. One day he meets Sean O’Dell, a leprechaun, who offers him what Tom has dreamed of—a beautiful golden harp. Tom quickly trades his old worn harp for the golden one, and his life changes dramatically—people from all around came to see him play such a gorgeous instrument, and didn’t seem to notice the poor tinny sound of this harp compared to his old one. Word gets around, and eventually Tom plays from the king! But the king does not want to let anyone else see such a beautiful golden harp, and Tom soon realizes he has become a prisoner inside the castle walls, condemned to play tinny music for the rest of his life. He does find a way to escape, and trades back to his old harp when he finds Sean O’Dell again. A great moral about doing what you love, regardless of appearances and what others think, as revealed in the final line of the book. Our Song: The Story of O Canada (Canada)(US) was a surprisingly interesting read for all of us. It tells the story of how the Canadian National anthem came to its present form, in words and music, in both English and French. The evolution of the English lyrics was my favourite part of the book: from literal translation of the original French lyrics, to regional variations, to writing contests in Collier’s magazine, to parliamentary decrees based on letters written by ordinary Canadians in my own lifetime to celebrate Quebec’s decision to remain part of Canada. It was also interesting to learn the translation of the French lyrics. The book includes a timeline of Canadian history, from 1880 to 1980, in 20 year chunks per page. This led us to many discussions with our boys about some of the items, which includes much more than the usual wars and battles: women’s rights, the gold rush, different provinces joining Canada, hockey, the discovery of insulin, the establishment of the CBC, the building of the trans-Canada highway and CN tower, Terry Fox’s marathon of Hope, etc.
Happy reading!
