A Fraidy Pants Lair By The Turk & Toph Published by Your Nickel’s Worth Reviewed by Jessica Eissfeldt Price $24.95 ISBN: 978-1-894431-47-7 Colorful illustrations help underscore the rambunctious monsters that populate the page in this lively and vivid children’s book about the monstrous consequences of lying. The main character, Freddie, fears her older brother will kill her when she breaks a string on his shiny new guitar. She lies about it to her mother. And that’s when the monsters start appearing. The more lies she tells, the more monsters appear. Cleverly weaving together an entertaining tale with multiple, vivid drawings on each page, A Fraidy Pants Liar serves as a great, yet gentle, guide to help youngsters realize “it’s important to be honest with ourselves to create a world where love is power,” as the reader’s note states. With this ingenious twist on a morality tale, the authors The Turk and Toph use ugly, persistent monsters to illustrate the point that lying is not the path to follow. Being afraid of the consequences of lying is far scarier than being able to speak up and tell the truth. Children will love the cartoon-filled book – the illustrations seem to jump…

Racing Home By Adele Dueck Published by Coteau Books Reviewed by Jessica Eissfeldt Price $8.95 ISBN: 978-1-55050-450-7 Author Adele Dueck skillfully weaves Norwegian culture and heritage into this coming-of-age story set during the Prairie pioneer days near Hanley, Saskatchewan. Intertwining the soul of the Prairies with the determination of thirteen-year-old Erik Bekker, this tale clearly shows how the human spirit prevails. Arriving from Norway, Erik at first is disappointed in the new province. No tall trees, no mountains and no ocean. Worse yet, he sees no way to get to his goal of becoming a farmer like his grandfather. And with a new stepfather named Rolf, Erik wonders how he can possibly adjust. But adjust he does. He even grows to appreciate the prairie beauty while he learns to build a sod house, thresh wheat and build a fence. He even plants trees. But just as he’s settling in to his new prairie life, his half-brother Olaf seems to become more and more mysterious – slipping away at odd hours and having little to do with his father, Rolf, Erik’s stepfather. Though it’s a tale of true pioneering spirit aimed at middle-grade readers, children of all ages are sure to…