The Story of Meby Denise Leduc, Illustrations by Olena ZhinchynaPublished by Lilac Arch PressReview by Shelley A. Leedahl$11.66 ISBN 9781778286933 Denise Leduc is a chameleon. The Aylesbury, SK writer easily changes genres, and she writes well in each of them. Perhaps you’re familiar with her children’s picture books—Poppies, Poppies Everywhere!, Letting Charlie Bow Go and In the Prairie Wind—or her titles for older readers, like Why Not Now?, My Sun-sational Summer and My Wonderful Winter. Her latest softcover is The Story of Me, a journal dedicated to her grandmother “for the memories she created with me when I was a young child”. Leduc writes that her “hope for these journals is to provide opportunities for our own reflection and for sharing between the generations”. I can certainly get behind that. Even before reading, I decided I’d share this book with my octogenarian mother, two provinces away, in Saskatchewan. Though we speak on the phone daily, an occasional conversational prompt is welcome. As Leduc suggests, “Sometimes conversations with loved ones … can help get the memories flowing”. The Story of Me delivers forty prompts to help one “remember stories” from his or her life, and it includes several spaces for personal…

The Winter Happiness Challengeby Denise LeducPublished by Lilac Arch PressReview by Michelle Shaw$22.99 ISBN 9781998872077 Depression can be a nagging companion over the winter months, so I grabbed this little book with great anticipation. To my delight, I found it provided a carefully curated toolbox to help readers through the cold and sometimes dreary months of winter. The book grew out of a Facebook group that Denise Leduc started one November a few years ago, when she noticed that several people around her were going through a tough time. “I thought it might be fun to do some weekly challenges to bring some simple pleasures and joy to our daily rounds. I had been rereading some books on hygge [a Scandinavian term that evokes cozy, comforting and contented living, often through simple pleasures] and I thought we could explore various Scandinavian concepts to get us through the cold, snowy Canadian months.” The original members of the group invited others and before Denise knew it, more than 100 people from all over Canada, the United States and England had joined. The group proved to be such an encouragement for herself and the other members that Denise began to conceive the idea…

Why Not Now?by Denise Leduc, Illustrated by Karin SköldPublished by Lilac Arch PressReview by Shelley A. Leedahl$17.99 ISBN 9781778286933 I experienced quite the shock when I began Denise Leduc’s new book, Why Not Now? I’d recently reviewed the Aylesbury, Saskatchewan writer’s thoughtful children’s books—Poppies, Poppies Everywhere! and Letting Charlie Bow Go—and assumed this newest softcover was also for young readers. I dived right in—without reading the back cover text—and a glance at the large, well-spaced font also supported my notion that I was about to read a junior novel. Thus, the book’s first paragraph gave me a jolt: “Arriving at the Vancouver airport, Frank felt reinvigorated … He was glad his son, John, had insisted on coming.” What the …? I flipped to the back cover. Surprise! Leduc had me laughing at the genre-flip and my own presumption; Why Not Now? is a hi-lo (high interest/low reading level) book for older readers, ie: seniors with dementia. It’s also part of a series of hi-lo titles described as “heartwarming tales … especially crafted for people experiencing cognitive impairment.” With Sköld’s soft and uncluttered wildlife (bear, eagle), landscape and activity-based illustrations appearing between each of the short chapters; an engaging, intergenerational family…

Letting Charlie Bow Goby Denise Leduc, Illustrated by Olha RastvorovaPublished by Lilac Arch PressReview by Shelley A. Leedahl$15.99 ISBN 9781778286902 Dogs are extraordinary companions, but there are consequences to owning—and loving—a dog, and one of the hardest to bear is the fact that most of us outlive our beloved pets. Farewells are perhaps especially difficult for those families who’ve had a dog grow up alongside their children. How to imagine the family without the four-legged member that’s been there from the beginning? When is the right time to say goodbye? In Letting Charlie Bow Go, a beautifully-produced softcover children’s book by Saskatchewan writer Denise Leduc and illustrated by Olha Rastvorova, the author journeys readers through the life and loss of a child narrator’s dog and best friend, an interestingly-named American Staffordshire: Charlie Bow. The cover illustration—Rastvorova is especially talented with dog images—shows a child hugging a dog who’s obviously loving the affection. Though the dog’s face is visible, we only see the child from the back. What’s remarkable here is that so much emotion’s transmitted through the cover image alone. It’s impossible not to want to read the story inside. Leduc instantly establishes the connection between the young female narrator…

Poppies, Poppies Everywhere!by Denise Leduc, Illustrated by Breanne TaylorPublished by Lilac Arch PressReview by Shelley A. Leedahl$15.99 ISBN 9781778286919 Some writers make it look easy. Such is the case with Aylesbury, Saskatchewan writer Denise Leduc, who recently published Poppies, Poppies Everywhere!, a well-written children’s story that seamlessly explains the importance of Remembrance Day via a grandmother and her granddaughter, Charlotte. It’s “a frosty November day,” but young Charlotte wants to go to the playground. “It had monkey bars and slides, her two favourite things!” Her grandma—depicted uncharacteristically and attractively with long grey hair and in trendy, rolled-up, stovepipe jeans—has other ideas. It’s Remembrance Day, and the woman leads Charlotte across the park to purchase commemorative poppies. “You wear it close to your heart,” she tells her still miffed granddaughter. After hot chocolate in a coffee shop—Louisiana-based illustrator Breanne Taylor shows Charlotte kneeling on her chair, as a child might—Grandma explains that they’re going to attend “a ceremony to show we care.” It’s noteworthy that Leduc’s not fallen for the easy shortcut of naming emotions in this important story. When “Charlotte touched the poppy on her coat,” we know what she is feeling. Through descriptive writing, we experience the collective quiet…