scholarly journals I Must Have Bobo! by E. Rosenthal

2011 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Matilda Roche
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Graphic Novels ◽  
Spatial Dynamics ◽  
Illustrated Books ◽  
The Family ◽  
Visual Text ◽  
One Year ◽  
Page Design ◽  
The University ◽  
Adult Reader

Rosenthal, Eileen. I Must Have Bobo! Illus. Marc Rosenthal. New York: Atheneum Books, 2010. Print. Perhaps I was expecting something more giddily nostalgia-smitten because I initially found the page layouts of I Must Have Bobo! too sparse. I came to realize the effectiveness of I Must Have Bobo! lies in its light aesthetic touch and refusal to indulge in hectic retro-pastiche. The page design could occasionally benefit from more balance between the negative space of the page and the illustrations’ carefully considered spatial dynamics and measured use of colour but it’s hard to begrudge more attention being drawn to the lovely, warm ivory paper on which the book is printed.While an adult reader may be tempted, as I was, to lazily conflate complexity with quality, a clean minimalist visual text can assist younger children in accessing a narrative more autonomously. As my children (two and four years of age) quickly familiarized themselves with I Must Have Bobo! the book’s charm and immediacy became apparent.I Must Have Bobo! restricts its text to dialogue and as children learn the text they can indulge in the gleeful pleasure of repeating the protagonist Willy’s simple but emphatic words. Even a very young child can become engaged in Willy’s endless efforts to keep his beloved stuffed monkey Bobo away from Earl, the family cat who is equally attached to Bobo for his own mysterious reasons. Earl appropriates Bobo at every opportunity and the book centres on Willy’s efforts to retain and relocate Bobo as he migrates around the house with Earl.An astute and playful book that maintains a respectful adherence to children’s sensibilities and narrative interests, “I Must Have Bobo!” is understatedly, intuitively appropriate for very early to late pre-school readers.Highly recommended:  4 out of 4 starsReviewer: Matilda RocheMatilda spends her days lavishing attention on the University of Alberta’s metadata but children’s illustrated books, literature for young adults and graphic novels also make her heart sing. Her reviews benefit from the critical influence of a four year old daughter and a one year old son – both geniuses. Matilda’s super power is the ability to read comic books aloud.

scholarly journals Cats' Night Out by C. Stutson

2011 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Matilda Roche
Keyword(s):  
Picture Book ◽  
Graphic Novels ◽  
Preschool Age ◽  
Older Children ◽  
Low Contrast ◽  
Illustrated Books ◽  
Visual Text ◽  
One Year ◽  
Page Design ◽  
The University

Stutson, Caroline. Cats’ Night Out. Jon Klassen.  Illus. Toronto: Simon & Schuster, 2010. Print.   This is an immediately appealing and well designed book – a pleasing convergence of balanced palettes and retro details. Sophisticated and stylish little urban cats cavort throught an overview of twentieth century dance styles against the backdrop of an understatedly cool Gotham night. The minimal text is mindfully integrated into the page design and its counting rhyme cadence comes to an enjoyable visually unstructured, cartoonish climax. When I read Cats’… to myself I was concerned that it shared one short coming with other attractive children’s books. Did the level of textual comprehension required, complexity of the popular culture references and the dark, low contrast palette cohere into a narrative and visual text that is holistically appropriate for a particular children’s age group? It’s discouraging when artful and ambitious books elude toddlers and preschool age audiences while seeming too simplistic to older children to offer sufficient engagement. Such books wash over children leaving them unmoved. Creating a beautiful picture book - which Cats’ Night Out certainly is - is a great accomplishment. Creating a picture book that is beautiful and that is truly directed at and calibrated for children is even more challenging. I knew that Cats’ Night Out would please discerning adults but, what little sartorialist cat-lover and junior aficionado of dance and monochromatic retro architecture would have an affinity for this book? Well, as it turns out, my four year old loves it and goes back through the book  to examine all the details and explain which shoes, clothes and colours are the best and ask me baffling questions about “polka dotted Swiss” (I had to look it up – it’s a vintage fabric style). Very well done,  indeed. Recommended: 3 out of 4 stars Reviewer: Matilda RocheMatilda spends her days lavishing attention on the University of Alberta’s metadata but children’s illustrated books, literature for young adults and graphic novels also make her heart sing. Her reviews benefit from the critical influence of a four year old daughter and a one year old son – both geniuses. Matilda’s super power is the ability to read comic books aloud.

scholarly journals The Enchantress by S. Michael

2013 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Matilda Roche
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Young Adults ◽  
Late Stage ◽  
Comic Books ◽  
Graphic Novels ◽  
Illustrated Books ◽  
Intrinsic Motivations ◽  
One Year ◽  
The University

Scott, Michael. The Enchantress, New York : Delacourte Press , 2012. Print. Michael Scott's sixth, and final, book in his Nicholas Flamel series crashes to its conclusion with The Enchantress. Credit is due to Scott for colourfully evoking and drawing together many of the very interesting figures and cultural artifacts from history and mythology but in conception his books can be overtaxing. Reading the glib dialogue between Shakespeare and Prometheus as their saucer-shaped air craft, a Vimāna, is piloted into the side of the Yggdrasil tree doesn't strain credulity - this is a fantasy adventure - so much as it tramples vigorously on any sense of cohesive aesthetics. While the essential conceit is fun and entertaining, at this frenetic late stage in the series, many portions of the text read like an over-thought riff on "who I would invite to have tea/mead/drink blood together if I could choose anyone - including anyone imaginary". The strength in this series comes from Scott's characterizations. The women in this series benefit particularly from Scott's ability to combine momentum and brevity with enthusiastically lively and rich depiction. Perenelle Flamel, Virginia Dare and Scatach have genuine presence and the narrative hinges on their impressive abilities and intrinsic motivations. Scott's principals could benefit from a little more corporeal vulnerability. All his characters have trained in their respective arts for millennia and the perils that they face seems less then perilous to such champions, no matter how high the stakes are alleged to be. Scott's carefully structured universes and their integral relationships have always been on a mysterious trajectory and the narrative revelation at conclusion of The Enchantress is resonant and satisfying. It has formulaic elements but Scott has established his characters soundly enough that their presence lends immediacy to the more epic, mythological structures that Scott is simultaneously pursuing. While the quality of pacing and aesthetic of this ambitious and lengthy series have fluctuated over the course of its six volumes, the conclusion is cohesive, action-packed and worth the journey. The Enchantress is the sixth and final book in Scott's The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel series. Recommended with reservations:  2 out of 4 starsReviewer: Matilda RocheMatilda spends her days lavishing attention on the University of Alberta’s metadata but children’s illustrated books, literature for young adults and graphic novels also make her heart sing. Her reviews benefit from the critical influence of a four year old daughter and a one year old son – both geniuses. Matilda’s super power is the ability to read comic books aloud.

scholarly journals The Flying Beaver Brothers and the Evil Penguin Plan by M. Eaton III

2013 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Matilda Roche
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Graphic Novels ◽  
Visual Navigation ◽  
Environmentally Conscious ◽  
Illustrated Books ◽  
Black And White ◽  
Developing Readers ◽  
One Year ◽  
The University ◽  
Early Reader

Eaton, Maxwell, III. The Flying Beaver Brothers and the Evil Penguin Plan. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2012. Print.The Flying Beaver Brothers and the Evil Penguin Plan is a new contribution to the tremendously popular genre of comics for developing readers (Captain Underpants, Wimpy Kid and their ilk).Eaton's artwork is very clean with little line variation, giving the pages a very open and spacious quality, which enables visual navigation. The simple colour scheme - clear, bright blues and gray tones - is a welcome variation on the standard black and white comic and this restrained palette supports the clean, cartoon-y style, further facilitating ease of reading by avoiding complexity and over-design.The Beaver Brothers' training for a beaver community surfing competition is interrupted when they stumble upon a secretive penguin community. The penguins have hatched a scheme to alter the natural wilderness the beavers call home to their own penguin specifications. The bumbling and mildly dysfunctional beavers must thwart their plan before it is too late.The narrative in The Flying Beaver Brothers is almost completely conveyed through imagery and dialogue – no lengthy, wordy asides impede the plot - and this gives the story a rewardingly quick pace and congenial accessibility. The beaver brothers are likeable doofuses and the penguins, though diabolical, are very cute (as penguins can be expected to be).Compared to other early reader comics, The Flying Beaver Brothers lacks the slightly outré humour and scatological content that seems intrinsic to this genre's appeal. It’s nice to think that readers would appreciate an occasional break from the diaper and underpants jokes and narratives that hinge on public humiliation to enjoy this easy going and earnestly environmentally conscious beaver brother’s adventure.Recommended: 3 out of 4 stars Reviewer: Matilda RocheMatilda spends her days lavishing attention on the University of Alberta’s metadata but children’s illustrated books, literature for young adults and graphic novels also make her heart sing. Her reviews benefit from the critical influence of a four year old daughter and a one year old son – both geniuses. Matilda’s super power is the ability to read comic books aloud.

scholarly journals Virginia Wolf by K. Maclear.

2013 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Matilda Roche
Keyword(s):  
Young Adults ◽  
Virginia Woolf ◽  
Fairy Tale ◽  
Graphic Novels ◽  
Illustrated Books ◽  
One Year ◽  
Page Design ◽  
The University ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Different Levels

Maclear, Kyo. Virginia Wolf. Illus. Isabelle Arsenault. Toronto : Kids Can Press, 2010. Print. Vanessa awakes one morning to find her sister, Virginia, transformed. Virginia is not herself. She has become furtive and embittered, snippy and distinctly wolfish. While Isabelle Arsenault's illustrations have a consistent prettiness and amiable levity, the ambiguous and slightly sinister nature of Virginia's' transformation is undeniable. Kyo Maclear's narrative balances how children will interpret the change that has come over Virginia and Vanessa's attempts to return her sister to herself and how adults will understand the allusions to depression and alienation. Virginia is literally - in the context of a child's understanding and the illustrations - a wolf in an archetypal little girl's dress. She is also genuinely frightening in the depths and intensity of her withdrawal and this gives Virginia Wolf a lovely little frisson of fairy tale dread. Vanessa perseveres in trying to redeem her sister and rescue her from her dour transformation. It is creativity, honesty of self-expression and love that eventually reestablish the sister's rapport. As Maclear elegantly conveys, accompanied by an inspired and expressive page design, “Down became up. Dim became bright. Gloom became glad.” Inspired by Maclear's creative interpretation of the relationship between Virginia Woolf and her sister Vanessa Bell, the story can be enjoyed at many different levels. The reader can certainly intuit how much the writer and artist enjoy each other’s work and are relishing the imaginative potential of their subject matter. The layered complexity of the text is enriched by the intuitive collaboration between artist and writer evident in the evocative text and toothsomely vivid illustrations.Highly Recommended: 4 out of 4 starsReviewer: Matilda Roche Matilda spends her days lavishing attention on the University of Alberta’s metadata but children’s illustrated books, literature for young adults and graphic novels also make her heart sing. Her reviews benefit from the critical influence of a four year old daughter and a one year old son – both geniuses. Matilda’s super power is the ability to read comic books aloud.

The Dark and Hollow Places by C. Ryan

2013 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Matilda Roche
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Young Adults ◽  
Graphic Novels ◽  
Small Community ◽  
Descriptive Complexity ◽  
Illustrated Books ◽  
Emotional Relationships ◽  
Living Dead ◽  
One Year ◽  
The University

Ryan, Carrie.  The Dark and Hollow Places, New York: Delacorte Press, 2011. Print.The statement "You don't understand!" is quite probably true when you are a teenage survivor in a post-apocalyptic zombie dystopia. Carrie Ryan does occasionally employ some very typical teenage truisms in her efforts to make the reader comprehend and feel all the varieties of potential duress zombie apocalypses might create in young adults. ("You don't understand!" is actually part of one of the few, fraught exchanges.) But if the dialogue can be a bit stilted there is very little of it and that seems to be part of Ryan's intent. Her characters are isolated and traumatized. They struggle against their well-founded sense of nihilism as they shake off their stoicism. Annah, the protagonist, finds herself inexorably drawn into emotional relationships despite knowing the living dead are everywhere, waiting to feast on the living, and that many in the dwindling herds of the healthy are not to be trusted.The devolving world Annah negotiates is conveyed through her interior dialogue, which is entirely steeped in her myopic self-loathing, until she is drawn into a small community of other survivors who, despite their shortcomings, represent the last vestiges of humanity who are still ethically-grounded and emotionally alive. Ryan lavishes much attention on the stark details and doesn't shrink from describing the lurid nuances of her world's unceasing violent and melancholy perils. The pacing can be a bit laborious; Ryan favours the stricken, suspenseful crawl of internalized dread over the rush of descriptive action. The Dark and Hollow Places is a zombie dystopia about the feelings of its survivors and Ryan places her principals in situations that create wrenching dilemmas which lead to unpredictable outcomes. More the pity that Annah and her friends never become particularly interesting. Their motivations are clearly mapped and all their damage laid before us but they fail to cohere in the imagination as multifaceted individuals. There is not enough descriptive complexity beyond the essential narrative mechanics to make the characters convincingly quicken to life. The Dark and Hollow Places is the final book in Ryan's Forest of Hands and Teeth trilogy. Recommended with reservations:  2 out of 4 starsReviewer: Matilda RocheMatilda spends her days lavishing attention on the University of Alberta’s metadata but children’s illustrated books, literature for young adults and graphic novels also make her heart sing. Her reviews benefit from the critical influence of a four year old daughter and a one year old son – both geniuses. Matilda’s super power is the ability to read comic books aloud.

scholarly journals Steampunk! ed. by K. Link and G. J. Grant

2013 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Matilda Roche
Keyword(s):  
Young Adults ◽  
Graphic Novels ◽  
Public Awareness ◽  
Literary Genre ◽  
Illustrated Books ◽  
The Rich ◽  
One Year ◽  
The University ◽  
Do So

Link, Kelly, and Gavin J. Grant, eds. Steampunk! An Anthology of Fantastically Rich and Strange Stories. Somerville: Candlewick Press, 2011. Print. It's interesting to consider the steampunk trend in contrast with the steampunk genre. If one defines steampunk strictly as a trend then it would be easy to assume that it has reached and surpassed its pinnacle as a popular trend (and certainly a hipster one) after having reached a plateau of modest public awareness. All the gears, brass and buckles associated with its afficionados have been lightly mocked and the world has moved on. It might be easy to forget that, as a literary genre, steampunk has a genuine durability. Steampunk been around sparking writers’ and artists’ creative imaginations for some time and it seems probable that it will continue to do so as the more clichéd charms of the trend’s most recent manifestations fade. The diversity and quality of the stories included in Steampunk! are an indication of the rich and entertaining possibilities inherent in the genre. The stories range in subject from post-feminist-western-train-heist-with-time-travel (Last Ride of the Glory Girls, by Libba Bray) to Edwardian-romance-with-robots (Everything Amiable and Obliging, by Holly Black) and mechanical-Dickensian-doppelgangers (Clockwork Fagin, by Cory Doctorow). All these stories are mischievous and riveting action-packed fun. Co-editor, Kelly Link (The Summer People) and M.T. Anderson's (The Oracle Engine) contributions - utterly different from the previously mentioned stories and from each other - adeptly employ calculated pacing and succeed in being subtly sinister and thought-provoking. There are even two compelling, and again, completely different, graphic novels thrown into the mix (Seven Days Beset by Demons, by Shawn Cheng and Finishing School, by Kathleen Jennings). Steampunk is a genre infatuated with the novelty of conflating ideas and aesthetics from different periods of history, curiosity about technology and a precocious desire to upend conventional narrative and characterization. Steampunk! An Anthology of Fantastically Rich and Strange Stories benefits from the astute and mindful curation by its editors, avoids seeming over-thought and stilted, and succeeds in illustrating how steampunk as a genre is very amendable to imaginative and (mildly) transgressive literature for young adults. I'm at great pains to avoid the word "mash-up" but that is a bit of what steampunk is; a unconstrained, tart and pulpy mash of genres. Steampunk! is an exuberant and convincing sampling and a reminder not to dismiss the genre along with the fashion aviator’s goggles. Highly Recommended:  4 out of 4 starsReviewer: Matilda RocheMatilda spends her days lavishing attention on the University of Alberta’s metadata but children’s illustrated books, literature for young adults and graphic novels also make her heart sing. Her reviews benefit from the critical influence of a four year old daughter and a one year old son – both geniuses. Matilda’s super power is the ability to read comic books aloud.

scholarly journals Lily Alone by J. Wilson

2011 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Matilda Roche
Keyword(s):  
Role Models ◽  
Graphic Novels ◽  
Personal Responsibility ◽  
Adult Readers ◽  
Decision To Leave ◽  
Illustrated Books ◽  
Narrative Perspective ◽  
Adult Role ◽  
One Year ◽  
The University

Wilson, Jacqueline. Lily Alone. London: Doubleday, 2011. Print. Lily often retreats into escapist reveries as a reprieve from the anxiety and responsibility of negotiating life with her unreliable mother. The novel’s title is not a reference to Lily’s mother’s decision to leave for vacation without securing a caregiver for eleven year old Lily and her three younger siblings. “Lily alone” is a phrase that articulates the solitude that Lily imagines for her future self – a retreat from the untenable demands of being the most stable and present person in the lives of her little brother and sisters. Wilson develops constant peaks of tension and suspense in her attention to how, for children alone, mundane situations can be threatening, thrilling and nearly insurmountable. Her vivid and unsentimental depiction of the sanity-eroding realities for caring for young children is a poignant contrast to Lily’s vulnerability and nascent grasp of the four children’s predicament. Adult readers, particularly parents, may find the textual realism, in contrast with the naiveté of the narrative perspective, induces stomach-churning apprehension. Lily is articulate, determined and canny and young adult readers will respond to the excitement inherent in the challenges Lily faces as she moves through the world with her siblings. Wilson’s depiction of the temperaments and limitations of all four children is pragmatic but nuanced. The unrelentingly obnoxious behaviour of Lily’s six year old brother runs concurrent to an implicit empathy for this robust, little lost boy and for the pitiable dilemma faced by each of the children. How are they to understand a world filled with compromised adult role models? Where does their intense need to be cared for, acknowledged and valued come to rest when the objects of their love and loyalty are so unmatched to the challenge of providing care? Wilson doesn’t patronize her audience with emotionally reassuring or reductionist answers. Lily Alone is a carefully considered and realistic urban adventure that unflinchingly considers issues of personal responsibility and social justice without compromising its compelling pacing and characterization.Recommended: 3 out of 4 stars Reviewer: Matilda RocheMatilda spends her days lavishing attention on the University of Alberta’s metadata but children’s illustrated books, literature for young adults and graphic novels also make her heart sing. Her reviews benefit from the critical influence of a four year old daughter and a one year old son – both geniuses. Matilda’s super power is the ability to read comic books aloud.

My Name is Mina by D. Almond

2013 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Matilda Roche
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Young Adults ◽  
Young Adult ◽  
Graphic Novels ◽  
Essential Element ◽  
Narrative Structure ◽  
Post Traumatic Stress ◽  
Adult Readers ◽  
Illustrated Books ◽  
Page Design

Almond, David. My Name is Mina. New York: Delacourt Press, 2010. Print. My Name is Mina is a prequel to Almond’s award winning book Skellig - a work for young adult readers that is very exceptional and magical. It is understandable that Almond would wish to return to the character of Mina who, while not the protagonist of Skellig, provides the narrative with its essential element of magical thinking. Mina brings to Skellig its intense, idiosyncratic intelligence and comprehension of lived personal tragedy that give the book its substance and its characters' motivational credibility and willing credulity in the face of mystery and uncertainty. Almond explores Mina's unquenchable creative fire and curiosity in My Name is Mina and has created an unstructured and visually dynamic narrative to try to capture and communicate her voice. In the broad field of literature for young adults Almond is somewhat of a "writer's writer" - unafraid of experimentation with narrative structure and continuity and adept with the abstract presentation of challenging subject matter such as death, post-traumatic stress disorder and, perhaps most provocatively for young adult readers, the general helplessness of adults in controlling the world and themselves. My Name is Mina is a very mindfully structured book with excellent page design that takes the narrative to another level of resonance. Mina applies her prodigious imagination, fuelled by her staunch autonomy and her mother's whimsical but always reassuring presence, to coping with her father's death. Her adventures real and (perhaps) imagined are terrifying, ecstatic and revelatory visions, all described by Almond with an incisive clarity. Almond bridges the sublime and the mundane, transitioning with intuitive ease from conveying how truly exceptional Mina is to exploring her shortcomings, vanity and failings. It's an astonishingly adept and very intimate exploration of character that communicates an inescapable sense of universality. Mina is simultaneously both utterly iconoclastic and completely one with the reader.Highly Recommended : 4 stars out of 4Reviewer: Matilda Roche Matilda spends her days lavishing attention on the University of Alberta’s metadata but children’s illustrated books, literature for young adults and graphic novels also make her heart sing. Her reviews benefit from the critical influence of a four year old daughter and a one year old son – both geniuses. Matilda’s super power is the ability to read comic books aloud.

Spy, Spy Again by T. Holdcroft

2011 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Matilda Roche
Keyword(s):  
Graphic Novels ◽  
Visual Narrative ◽  
Illustrated Books ◽  
Non Fiction ◽  
Rigorous Research ◽  
Tremendous Amount ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Human Conflict ◽  
One Year ◽  
The University

Holdcroft, Tina. Spy, Spy Again. Toronto: Annick Press, 2011. Print. Picking up this book, I was struck by the familiarity of the exuberant illustration style. A modest amount of research revealed that illustrator Tina Holdcroft has been an institution in Canadian publishing for decades. Her work on children’s publications like Owl and Chickadee, not to mention numerous non-fiction books for children, has made her a part of the visual language of Canadian children’s literature since the 1980s. Holdcroft clearly derives inspiration from bringing complex non-fiction and historical information to vivid, dynamic life. Her expertise with visual narrative allows her to communicate historical events within the span of a couple of pithily worded pages. With impressive economy, Holdcroft conveys the intricacies of ancient and modern global political machinations in memorable and hilariously wry vignettes. Holdcroft’s very personable and funny narrative tone allows the reader to take in a tremendous amount of detailed information while enjoying her adeptly designed interplay of text and illustration. It is almost too easy to overlook the rigorous research and incisive cleverness amidst all the colourful goofiness.  The joviality might read as a bit flippant given the dire nature of the subject matter - bumbled attempts at spying seldom end happily - but it seems to be part of Holdcroft’s intent to emphasize the folly of human conflict and ambition.  A happy confluence of talent, expertise and personal enthusiasm Spy, Spy Again is an engaging and rewarding experience for any reader and should definitely be considered for addition to any non-fiction library for young adults.Recommended: 3 out of 4 stars Reviewer: Matilda Roche Matilda spends her days lavishing attention on the University of Alberta’s metadata but children’s illustrated books, literature for young adults and graphic novels also make her heart sing. Her reviews benefit from the critical influence of a four year old daughter and a one year old son – both geniuses. Matilda’s super power is the ability to read comic books aloud. 

scholarly journals The Sniffles for Bear by B. Becker

2012 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Matilda Roche
Keyword(s):  
New England ◽  
Facial Expressions ◽  
Graphic Novels ◽  
Upper Canada ◽  
Illustrated Books ◽  
To Come ◽  
One Year ◽  
Willingness To Use ◽  
The University ◽  
Over The Top

Becker, Bonny. The Sniffles for Bear. Cambridge, Mass.: Candlewick Press, 2011. Print Any book featuring the shenanigans of curmudgeonly Bear and winsome Mouse is met with enthusiasm in my house. Bear has a terrible cold and he responds to his condition with his usual verbose intolerance. Again, it is utterly creative and unstoppably committed Mouse - every introvert’s secret fantasy friend - to the rescue. While the dialogue is as snappy and satisfying as ever, it is Denton’s illustrations, their clean, clear detail and spot-on visual characterization that put these excellent books over the top. Has there ever been a cold suffered more intensely than Bear’s? The physical language and facial expressions on the cover alone speak to the depths Bear’s lethargy and irritation and Mouse’s unquenchable joie de vivre. Becker’s willingness to use evocative, mildly esoteric words, rather than baffling children, engages them with exotic cadence and apt expressions of the characters’ compelling idiosyncrasies. The mood and temperament of the books is unfailingly cozy and pastoral. (Is it Upper Canada or New England pastoral, though? I can’t decide.) One always worries that the return of appealing characters in new stories will dilute their charms but that has, luckily, not been the case with Becker and Denton’s collaboration; the dynamic between Bear and Mouse continues to be clever and delightful. The exploration of friendships between the sort of oppositional temperaments that Bear and Mouse embody is a familiar theme in children’s literature. While only time will tell, there is potential that Bear and Mouse are developing as enduring a partnership as Arnold Lobel’s Frog and Toad. One keenly hopes for many more little domestic adventures to come. Highly Recommended: 4 out of 4 starsReviewer: Matilda Roche Matilda spends her days lavishing attention on the University of Alberta’s metadata but children’s illustrated books, literature for young adults and graphic novels also make her heart sing. Her reviews benefit from the critical influence of a four year old daughter and a one year old son – both geniuses. Matilda’s super power is the ability to read comic books aloud.

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