Do Trees Sneeze? by Jean Freeman illustrated by Val Lawton Published by Your Nickel’s Worth Publishing Review by Jessica Bickford $12.95 ISBN 9781927756324 Do Trees Sneeze? is the fourth collaboration between the powerhouse children’s book team of author Jean Freeman, and illustrator Val Lawton.  It follows Where Does Your Dog Sleep?, Where Does Your Cat Nap?, and Wascana Wild Goose Chase, which are all just as fun, adorable, and perfect for early readers as this book is. Lawton’s illustrations are vibrant and energetic, and I especially love the sprightly Nonna who I suspect might be a depiction of Jean Freeman herself.  The trees in this book all have expressive little faces and Lawton captures the change of seasons in a lighthearted way – with the trees painting their own leaves to get ready for winter.  The colours are bright, but I especially love the black and white pages where the children have their eyes closed and are just listening to the rustle in the trees. You can even play a game of spot the bunny on a few of the pages! The story itself is cute and simple with two grandchildren, a boy and a girl, talking about how their Nonna says…

Gina’s Wheels by Mary Harelkin Bishop Published by DriverWorks Ink Review by Shelley A. Leedahl $13.95 ISBN 978-1-927570-12-8 I lived in Saskatoon for seventeen years, and during my frequent runs along the Meewasin Valley Trail, I would sometimes encounter a pleasant and energetic woman in a wheelchair. I recognized her to be Colette Bourgonje – one of Canada’s most accomplished Paralympic athletes – and I’m so pleased that the accomplished Saskatoon writer, Mary Harelkin Bishop, has penned an inspiring picture book celebrating both Bourgonje’s positive energy and achievement and the compassionate nature of a young child. Gina’s Wheels is based on a true story as experienced through a curious “real-life” girl named Maeve, whose mother co-taught with Bourgonje in a Saskatoon school. Impressed by Colette in the classroom, at three Maeve began using her own stroller like a wheelchair to “[explore] the world in a different way”. Harelkin Bishop – whose name many will recognize from her highly successful Tunnels of Moose Jaw Adventure Series – learned about Maeve when she was doing research for her biography, Moving Forward: The Journey of Paralympian Colette Bourgonje. Sometimes stories come about as if delivered on a plate, and kudos to the author…

ABC’s Down on the Farm by Eileen Munro Published by Your Nickel’s Worth Publishing Review by Shelley A. Leedahl $12.95 ISBN 978-1-927756-27-0 Have you ever thought about how much fun it would be to create an alphabet book? There would be so many ways to approach it, from simple animal alphabets to esoteric books geared mostly for adults-it just depends on your interests and experience. Saskatchewan writer and painter Eileen Munro grew up on a farm, and this year she put her own brand on the alphabet, with ABC’s Down on the Farm, a colourful burst of farm-inspired pages that reveal some of the best features about rural life via relatable text and cheery, down-home illustrations. Throughout the rhyming story we follow a pony-tailed girl and a blond boy as they enjoy a country lifestyle that includes picking apples, violets and flax flowers; interacting with various animals; and taking part in activities like hauling grain to the elevator and collecting eggs. The tone is light and musical, ie: “Cc is for combine in the field, threshing grain. Dd is for ducks that splash in the rain. Ee is for elevator, so big and so high. Ff is for flax as…

Jamie and the Monster Bookroom by Kerry Simpson (with Jamie Simpson) Published by DriverWorks Ink Review by Shelley A. Leedahl $13.95 ISBN 978-1-927570-15-9 Saskatchewan boasts a wealth of writers and artists, and, increasingly, companies that help new writers get their books into print. Deana and Al Driver are the experienced team behind DriverWorks Ink, a Regina-based company established in 2008 to publish “true stories of fascinating Prairie people and unsung Canadian heroes, books for children, fiction and humour.” Deana Driver is a journalist, writer, and editor, while Al comes from a long history as an editor in the Canadian newspaper industry. Their evolution into publishing seems a natural one. I opened my first DriverWorks Ink book, Jamie and the Monster Bookroom, ready to embrace a fresh Saskatchewan voice. The story features a little girl, Jamie, who loves books, her local library, and, as the back cover copy states, “all the smells and textures that come with the books she’s read on her weekly visits there.” Kerry Simpson, a teacher by profession, wrote the book with the help of her own young daughter, Jamie, and from the bio notes I assume this is a story that reflects the “real” Jamie’s life….

What Did You Draw by Ruth Chorney Illustrated by Nicolas Chorney Published by Your Nickel’s Worth Publishing Review by Jessica Bickford $14.95 978-1-894431-91-0 The mother-son team of Ruth Chorney and Nicolas Chorney have created a charming little story about a boy and his big sister having an imaginative art session in What Did You Draw?.  Ruth’s story is fun and shows a brother and sister pair who actually get along in a way that is both realistic and adorable while they draw together.  The sister’s drawings are realistic animals, while Danny, her younger brother, depicts his own fantastical, hybrid creations.  Even Danny and Sister themselves are depicted in their own art styles, which is really interesting and gives the whole story the feel that the kids are the ones telling it. The story itself is simple and follows Danny and his sister as they draw various things.  Danny’s sister draws different animals for him, and tells him what they are, and then Danny draws his own versions, asking his sister to guess what he has drawn.  Almost all of these are silly hybrids of what his sister has just drawn, including a hippopotamoose.  Danny and his sister keep drawing until,…

Roogaroo Mickey by Wilfred Burton illustrated by Leah Marie Dorian translated by Norman Fleury Published by Gabriel Dumont Institute Review by Jessica Bickford $15.00 978-1-926795-12-6 Roogaroo Mickey, which is authored by Wilfred Burton and illustrated by Leah Marie Dorian, is an updated version of a story of the Roogaroo, which is a classic figure in Metis oral tradition. Mamayr tells Louis and Charlie a bedtime story about when she was a little girl and had an encounter with a big hairy beast of a Roogaroo. Roogaroos are like the Metis version of a werewolf, which combines the French Loup Garous and First Nations shapeshifters, which is all very helpfully explained in a little information section in the back of the book. The next morning Louis and Charlie fall asleep in the van while Mamayr drives them all to go get groceries, but Mamayr gets a fright when what should she see in the rear-view mirror but a pair of big hairy ears! Now, I won’t spoil the rest for you, but I will say that Roogaroo Mickey is just the right amount of scary for kids and is mixed with humour to take the edge off in the end. The…

Baba’s Babushka: A Magical Ukrainian Wedding By Marion Mutala Published by Your Nickel’s Worth Publishing Review by Alison Slowski $14.95 ISBN 978-1-927756-06-5 Baba’s Babushka: A Magical Ukrainian Wedding is an engrossing picture book, rendered in beautiful detail by author Marion Mutala and artist Amber Rees, that tells the heartwarming tale of a young woman named Natalia. Natalia, aided by the memory of her grandmother, goes on a magical journey to learn more about her family’s – and people’s – rich history. During Natalia’s walk down memory lane, she visits all the important moments which involved her grandparents’ time together as young people. The story details her grandparents’ courtship, including the meeting of their two families before and during their seven-day Ukrainian wedding. Mutala uniquely and accurately depicts the Ukrainian customs that are special to a couple’s wedding, such as the gift- or pumpkin-giving before a couple agrees to marry, and the giving of sheshkeh, pinecones made of dough, to welcome their guests in their village to their wedding. Most special of all, this book incorporates the tradition of the korovai, the traditional braided wedding bread, into its mention of the festivities. The inclusion of a korovai recipe in the back…

Goldeye and Funnyfin by Fannie Kahan Illustrated by Sharon Kahan Published by Wild Sage Press Reviewed by Alison Hayford $25.00 ISBN 978-0-9881229-4-9 Three-year-old Eli is not an avid reader. But when his granny (me) brought him a copy of Goldeye and Funnyfin, Eli was entranced—along with seven-year-old Theo, who can read Harry Potter books all by himself. There’s something about this simple story and its delicate watercolour illustrations that catches and holds the attention of young children. Fannie Kahan created Goldeye and Funnyfin for her own children years ago. It’s a story in the classic tradition of folk tales, in which a main character undertakes a quest and, in the process, makes discoveries about the larger world and about her- or himself. Goldeye and Funnyfin are two small fish. Goldeye decides they should build a house. Funnyfin says “fish don’t live in houses,” but Goldeye prevails, and off they go on their quest. As they search for a way to build a house, the two fish encounter fellow sea creatures—Willa the Whale, Sammy the Swordfish, Octavia the Octopus, and others, large and small, happy and sad, good-natured and grumpy. In the end, as in all good folk tales, Goldeye and…

Dorothy McMoogle with Kumquat and Bugle by Bruce Rice, Illustrated by Wendy Winter Published by Wild Sage Press Review by Jessica Bickford $25.00 978-0-9881229-5-6 Dorothy McMoogle with Kumquat and Bugle is just as playful a read as you can gather from the title. This book is written in a fun, lilting rhyme that just begs to be read aloud; Bruce Rice has certainly caught upon what kids and their grown-ups like most from a story time book. Dorothy McMoogle plays with language in a way that will not only help young readers learn to deal with some more complex sounds, but will make it a joy for their grown-ups to read to them. It’s not just the story, but the illustrations by Wendy Winter that make Dorothy McMoogle such a delightful little romp. There are so many playful details in the illustrations that you’re likely to take as long looking at them as you do reading the words on each page. Dorothy’s boring day is brought to life beautifully through the pictures and I have to say that my personal favourite is Dottie Aunt Lottie’s Gloom-O-Meter that goes from danger, to dull, dreadful, dreary, and finally dings out doomed! The…

Baba’s Babushka: A Magical Ukrainian Easter by Marion Mutala Illustrated by Wendy Siemens Review by Michelle Shaw $ 14.95 ISBN 978-1-894431-70-5 Baba’s Babushka: A Magical Ukrainian Easter, the enchanting sequel to the award-winning Baba’s Babushka: A Magical Ukrainian Christmas is sure to delight Marian Mutala’s many fans. This time it’s spring, and we join Natalia as she is once again swept magically away to a far off land for another uniquely Ukrainian adventure. Natalia is sent outside while the paska, the Easter bread her mother is baking, rises. She’s meant to be collecting the eggs but instead finds herself reflecting on her beloved Baba, her grandmother, who has recently died. Suddenly she feels raindrops brush her cheeks. The raindrops turn into a babushka that covers her hair and then she’s off… “up and away, high in the sky… racing through time and space”. Natalia finds herself in a crowd of people in the early morning in front of a village church. It’s Easter and Natalia is caught up in the celebrations as she joins the procession of people carrying candles, as they follow the priest through the darkness singing Khrystos voskres! (Christ is risen!)” . This time when she catches…