Jessie the Doo-Doo Dog Goes to the Vet by Bill and Jocelyn Hutchinson Published by Your Nickel’s Worth Publishing Review by Amanda Zimmerman $14.95 ISBN 978-1-988783-31-4 Ever wonder what ideas run through a dog’s head during the course of a day? Do they use the words we do or make up their own? What troubles do they have? Get ready for a tail of adventure starring Jessie, her sister Jo-Jo, and their bigger cousins Katcha and Krissy as they get up to all sorts of neighbourhood highjinks in Jessie and the Doo-Doo Dog Goes to the Vet. In this first book of the series, proudly Canadian husband and wife team, Bill and Jocelyn Hutchinson, leave their politically oriented jobs behind to delve into a wonderfully simple canine world. Jessie is our main Maltipoo and it is through her curious nature and enthusiasm readers are shown how an animal might see a human’s everyday actions. Jessie takes her house dog duties very seriously- with licking Mom awake, going for walks around the neighbourhood, guarding the yard from other furry intruders, and enjoying morning supper to name a few. Her head is always full of doggy questions that she struggles to find…

Lena’s Story: The D-Day Landings by Patricia Sinclair Published by DriverWorks Ink Reviewed by Ben Charles $12.95 ISBN 9781927570463 Lena’s Story: The D-Day Landings, written by Patricia Sinclair, illustrated by Wendi Nordell, and published by DriverWorks Ink is a fantastic work of historical literature for young readers that is both beautifully crafted and exceptionally informative. The book cleverly educates the reader about the D-Day landings and World War II through a narrative of a young girl speaking with an elderly neighbor named Lena, who is about to move away. Like many real Canadians, the young girl in this story learns about the battle of D-Day and the history of World War II from elderly people in the community that either fought directly in the war or were alive during that time period. As I am writing this, Remembrance Day is approaching, and I cannot help but be reminded through this story that World War II and all of its horrors really did not happen a long time ago. Lena tells the girl, and through a frame narrative, the reader, about what she remembers of that fateful day, June 5th, 1944; as Lena learns about the battle so does the reader….