Fake news, war, food production… they are all current topics in the adult world. These brand new books give a child information on these current issues.
The Quiet Hunt, written by Jean E. Pendziwol and illustrated by Risa Hugo is an absolutely lovely picture book that reminds us where food comes from. Before supermarkets and shops, our ancestors would hunt. They gathered berries and fruits and knew just what was safe to eat and what was not.
Through sharing knowledge, we still can hunt and gather today as we go into the woods and search the streams. A great poetic story to share before going on a nature walk.
ISBN 978-1-77306-767-4, Groundwood Books
Ribbon Rescue is a brand new picture book by Robert Munsch, illustrated by Shaikara David. Jillian is a Mohawk girl and has a beautiful new ribbon dress, made by her grandmother. But when Jillian leaves home, people rush by en route to a wedding, looking for help . She helps them all and her ribbons come to the rescue: as a shoe lace, as hair ribbons, even to tie up a gift. But when Gillian finally makes it to the church, her dress is a mess. How will she solve her problem? The story wraps up, in typical Musch style, with a satisfying ending.
ISBN 978-1-0397-1384-0, Scholastic Canada
The Sea We Call Home, written by Dominique Demers and illustrated by Gabrielle Grimard, is a whimsical tale of two sweet characters named Little Gnouf and Mirabelle. They have learned about sea creatures from The Big Book of the Sea. Enchanted, they set off in search of the sea. They are amazed by the seaside and soon discover a baby sperm whale, stranded on the beach. With the help of sand crabs and seagulls they set it free and reunite it with its mother. This picture book has a fairytale feel while also giving nonfiction facts about whales. It is beautifully designed with large print.
ISBN 978-1-77278-367-4, Pajama Press
Fake Gnus by Leslie Helakoski is a fun, humorous romp through real and fake facts. Scoop Jackson is a reporter and has to figure out if the information he hears is real or fake. He soon discovers that the pen for the gnus at the zoo is empty. Where are the gnus? Using facts, Scoop is able to separate facts from fiction to determine if the rumours or true or not. Are the gnus climbing the Empire State Building? No! Gnus can run, reaching speeds of up to fifty miles an hour but they cannot climb. At the end of the hilarious story, readers find statements and need to determine if these are real or fake. Another page helps young readers to question, to look for information and not take anything for granted. A great introduction for young students to doing research and using your brain to distinguish between real information, AI and fake news.
ISBN 978-1-77946-050-9, Groundwood Books
Eleven Out of Ten by Stacey Matson is a wonderful novel for elementary readers to sink their teeth in. Albie and Lake are not just cousins and neighbors, they are also best friends. But when Lake suffers a terrible accident, the two are separate for this first time.
Albie’s parents are so concerned about Lake and her family that they don’t realize the toll this takes on Albie. Albie struggles with the fact that she is having fun and making new friends while her best friend is in a coma. No matter how often she tells her parents that she wants to see her, she is told that no one is allowed in the ICU and that she can’t go to the hospital. Instead, she has to go to day camp and can’t share any of her experiences with her friend.
The story is well written and realistic with a satisfying ending. A great novel for young readers to sink their teeth into!
ISBN 978-1-0397-0879-2, Scholastic
Planting Sunshine by Andrée Poulin, illustrated by Enzo, is an unusual, short novel. Written as free verse poetry, with each page being a poem, this is the story of a child puzzled by war. War enters his home on TV. Theo wonders why there is war, why people kill each other, and his parent has no answers.
His neighbor has lived through a war. She makes the best perogies and suggests that Theo plants sunflowers. But at school Theo’s friends argue and want to play war. War gives Theo nightmares until his dad realizes that Theo needs to talk about his fears. A girl paints white doves in a quiet protest to war. Once Theo can talk about it and finds small ways to protest as well, he feels much better. He knows that he can’t change the world, but doing what you can to prevent war does help.
This is a wonderful book to help students discuss war, to talk about their own fears, to look for answers together and even to find small ways to protest war anywhere.
ISBN 978-1-77946-138-4, Groundwood Books
Margriet Ruurs writes books for children in Canada and visits International Schools around the world. Her next book is called More Than Books, Why The World Needs Libraries (Orca Books).
