Catch That Baby! by N. Coffelt

2011 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandy Campbell
Keyword(s):  
Picture Book ◽  
Public Library ◽  
Health Sciences ◽  
Read Aloud ◽  
University Of Alberta ◽  
Visual Detail ◽  
Award Winning ◽  
Book Award ◽  
The University

Coffelt, Nancy.  Catch That Baby! Toronto: Aladdin, 2011. Print. There comes a point in every toddler’s life when he or she just needs to make a break for it and run away from Mom; if naked, after a bath, so much the better.  Nancy Coffelt captures that moment in this delightful book.  Rudy tosses his towel at the dog, shouts, “No dressed” and the romp begins.  Mom chases, clothing in hand, and is joined in successive panels by other family members all of whom try, but not too hard, to “catch that naked baby”. This is primarily a picture book.  Award-winning illustrator Scott Nash has drawn cartoon style illustrations, with large blocks of bright colour, little visual detail and speech bubbles.   The simple presentation is perfect for toddlers, who will be able to completely relate to “Nudie Rudy” pelting around the house in the buff, although most pre-readers will not end up swinging from vines in the conservatory. Young children will enjoy the repetition in the little bit of text on each page and will love finding Rudy on each page, particularly on pages where those silly adults cannot see him, even though he is so obviously in plain sight that a baby could find him. Catch That Baby! is a gem that will become a favourite read aloud book in many families.  It would make an excellent gift for a toddler and belongs in every public library collection. Highly recommended:  4 out of 4 stars Reviewer: Sandy CampbellSandy is a Health Sciences Librarian at the University of Alberta, who has written hundreds of book reviews across many disciplines.  Sandy thinks that sharing books with children is one of the greatest gifts anyone can give.

At the Heart of It: Dene dzó t’áré by R. Taniton & M. Willett

2012 ◽  
Vol 1 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandy Campbell
Keyword(s):  
Public Libraries ◽  
Picture Book ◽  
Health Sciences ◽  
Way Of Life ◽  
Book Series ◽  
University Of Alberta ◽  
Bear Lake ◽  
The People ◽  
The University

Taniton, Raymond and Mindy Willett.  At the Heart of It: Dene dzó t’áré.  Markham, On:  Fifth   House, 2011.  Print. Indigenous author Raymond Taniton is a member of The Sahtugot’ine, or the “people of Great Bear Lake”.  In At the Heart of It, Taniton invites readers into his world.  We meet his family, see the Sahtu Region where he lives, meet the elders in the community, learn how to make a traditional hand drum, learn some games and read some of the stories.  The stories are particularly important. This book is the most recent in Fifth House’s “The Land is Our Story Book” series, all co-authored by writer Mindy Willett. Taniton concludes this volume by saying, “The land is our storybook. It is our school, our library, our church. It is where we learn our stories and where we discover who we are as true Dene people. The land is at the heart of it all”.  And in this book Taniton and Willett do succeed in helping us to understand “the land”. This is a picture book, an educational book and a celebration of what it means to be Satugot’ine. Tessa Macintosh’s photographs are used throughout. The top of each page has a border image of the beaded toes of twenty-one moccasins. Often a large image will form the background of a page with text and other images superimposed.  For example, for the story “The Lake is the Boss”, the background is an image which looks out through the mouth of a cave.  The story is about a giant wolf that lived in the cave. The text, along with smaller images of the island that the wolf became when he turned to stone, is superimposed on the cave photograph.  The images and text, taken together, form many lessons for young people.  The stories provide metaphorical and philosophical lessons, but the book also provides practical lessons, such as the illustrated steps to making a drum.  As a whole, the book celebrates Raymond Taniton’s family, the Sahtugot’ine people and their way of life.   Highly recommended for elementary school and public libraries. Highly Recommended:  4 out of 4 starsReviewer:  Sandy CampbellSandy is a Health Sciences Librarian at the University of Alberta, who has written hundreds of book reviews across many disciplines.  Sandy thinks that sharing books with children is one of the greatest gifts anyone can give.

scholarly journals Kiviuq and the Bee Woman by N. McDermott

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandy Campbell
Keyword(s):  
Picture Book ◽  
School Library ◽  
Public Library ◽  
Reading Level ◽  
Older Children ◽  
University Of Alberta ◽  
Human Skulls ◽  
The University ◽  
Library Collections

McDermott, Noel.  Kiviuq and the Bee Woman. Iqauit, NU, Inhabit Media, 2019. When we last heard of Kiviuq, he had just survived a harrowing encounter with scary monster mermaids or tuutalik (Deakin Review by Kirk MacLeod). In Kiviuq and the Bee Woman, the grandfather who narrated Kiviuq and the Mermaid continues the bedtime story to his grandchildren. Kiviuq begins paddling home, but comes upon a tent where an old woman invites him to rest and dry his clothing. She turns out to be a giant Bee Woman who wants to cut up Kiviuq and put him in her cooking pot. For a bedtime story, both the text and the illustrations are quite scary. Illustrator Toma Feizo Gas lets us see into the dark, dramatic and frightening world of the Bee Woman, who is a determined killer. “She shouted, ‘I am Iguttarjuaq, the Bee Woman, and I am going to kill you with my ulu’.”  The accompanying image shows a woman with pointy teeth and insect mouth pincers, who is shaking a sharp ulu (knife) at Kiviuq. As is the case with many of Inhabit Media’s publications, the reading level is higher than one would expect to find in a picture book. For younger children, this book will need some adult intervention. In addition to the scary content, human skulls talk, the woman eats her own eyelids and “Kiviuq, realized the woman was boiling human meat.” Some of the language is difficult. For example, Kiviuq “fainted” of fright, but “feinted” to get away. McDermott also intersperses many Inuktitut words, which will slow down younger readers. These are defined at the end of the book. Overall, this excellent product from Inhabit Media should be included in public library collections and school library collections, but should probably be placed in collections designed for older children.  Highly recommended: 4 out of 4 starsReviewer: Sandy Campbell Sandy is a Health Sciences Librarian at the University of Alberta, who has written hundreds of book reviews across many disciplines. Sandy thinks that sharing books with children is one of the greatest gifts anyone can give. 

scholarly journals Siuluk: The Last Tuniq by N. Sammurtok

2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandy Campbell
Keyword(s):  
Children's Literature ◽  
Picture Book ◽  
Children’S Literature ◽  
Health Sciences ◽  
University Of Alberta ◽  
Inuit People ◽  
The University

Sammurtok, Nadia. Siuluk: The Last Tuniq. Illustrated by Rob Nix. Inhabit Media, 2018.This picture book, published in both English and Inuktitut syllabic script, tells the story of the last of the Tuniit, or the giants of the Eastern Arctic. The story is connected to a large rock, near Chesterfied Inlet in Nunavut, which is called Siuluk’s Rock. Nadia Sammurtok who is from Rankin Inlet and heard the story from her father, recounts that people were unkind to Siuluk and teased him because he was different. Through a show of strength by lifting the very large rock, Siuluk convinced the Inuit people that he really was the strongest man and gained their respect.Both the language and the artwork in the book are simple. The clothing pictured is unadorned. Vegetation is suggested, but not detailed. Rob Nix has taken some liberties with the appearance of the individuals. Artwork left by the Tuniit (also known as the Dorset Culture), typically show rounded faces, similar to modern Inuit. Siuluk’s face is depicted as long and angular, with a prominent and high-bridged, convex nose, more common in some European people.Overall this is a good retelling of the traditional story and conveys the message of tolerance of difference. Libraries with children’s collections, and particularly those that collect polar children’s literature will want to include these volumes. Recommendation: 3 stars out of 4Reviewer: Sandy CampbellSandy is a Health Sciences Librarian at the University of Alberta, who has written hundreds of book reviews across many disciplines. Sandy thinks that sharing books with children is one of the greatest gifts anyone can give.

scholarly journals Picture a Tree by B. Reid

2012 ◽  
Vol 1 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandy Campbell
Keyword(s):  
Picture Book ◽  
School Libraries ◽  
University Of Alberta ◽  
The People ◽  
Award Winning ◽  
Shadow Cast ◽  
Street Scene ◽  
The University ◽  
Modeling Clay

Reid, Barbara. Picture a Tree. Toronto: North Winds Press, 2011. Print. The cover notes for this picture book tell us to “Picture a tree – now look again!”  Award winning Toronto author and illustrator, Barbara Reid, encourages readers to see not just the trees, but how people use them, what they mean and what we can see in them.  However it is not just the trees that demand a second look.  The book itself is the most amazing collection of artwork – all made of plasticine, a modeling clay!  On each page showing a tree in leaf, there are hundreds of tiny plasticine leaves.  When Reid shows us a street scene where the trees make a leafy tunnel, the street, the cars, the house fronts and the people walking their dog are all fine plasticine work.  When she shows us shade trees as umbrellas, not only is the woman with the baby and the man on a scooter made of the plasticine, the shadow cast by the tree is, too. As the book moves through the seasons from spring to winter, Reid really does find many different ways to look at trees. She sees the leafless branches as a drawing against the sky, falling leaves as a good-bye party and snow-covered trees as trees in snowsuits.  The text is brief and easy to read; no more than a single sentence on each page.  The concepts and words are simple enough for children ages three and up to enjoy. Most children reading this book will not see the artwork as different from any other illustration.  It is only in the expanses of sky or snow that it is easy to see the plasticine.  Because of this, parents will enjoy Picture a Tree on a different level from the children with whom they share it.   Highly recommended for public and elementary school libraries. Highly recommended:  4 out of 4 starsReviewer:  Sandy Campbell Sandy is a Health Sciences Librarian at the University of Alberta, who has written hundreds of book reviews across many disciplines.  Sandy thinks that sharing books with children is one of the greatest gifts anyone can give.

scholarly journals That’s Not Hockey! by A. Poulin

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandy Campbell
Keyword(s):  
Picture Book ◽  
Health Sciences ◽  
Standard Equipment ◽  
University Of Alberta ◽  
Good Story ◽  
Hockey Player ◽  
The University ◽  
Bold Face

Poulin, Andrée. That’s Not Hockey! Annick Press, 2018 This picture book tells the story of the famous hockey player, Jacques Plante, who loved hockey as a child, but had to improvise because he did not have a lot of hockey gear. The title phrase “That’s Not Hockey” appears when Jacques uses a ball because he didn’t have a puck, uses a tree root for a goalie stick and has goalie pads made out of potato sacks and wooden slats. Andrée Poulin uses the bold-face phrase, “Hey, that’s not hockey” throughout the book, as though it had been shouted at the young Plante to indicate that people were not happy with his changes to the game. This foreshadows the reaction to one of Plante’s greatest and most memorable contributions to the game—the introduction of the goalie mask. While Plante initially faced booing, teasing, and taunting from “reporters, players, goaltenders and crowds”, helmets and facemasks became standard equipment in hockey and players now have far fewer head and face injuries as a result.   Félix Girard’s cartoon illustrations capture pond hockey in rural Quebec well. Girard also accurately portrays a bare-headed 1959 era hockey team hoisting the Stanley Cup. This is a good story about a Canadian hockey legend that also carries a lesson about continuing to work at making things better, even when most people seem to be against you.  Highly Recommended:  4 stars out of 4 Reviewer:  Sandy Campbell Sandy is a Health Sciences Librarian at the University of Alberta, who has written hundreds of book reviews across many disciplines. Sandy thinks that sharing books with children is one of the greatest gifts anyone can give.  

scholarly journals Stories of the Amautalik: Fantastic Beings from Inuit Myths and Legends by N. Christopher

2011 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandy Campbell
Keyword(s):  
English Translation ◽  
Public Library ◽  
Deep Ocean ◽  
Health Sciences ◽  
Reading Level ◽  
University Of Alberta ◽  
Valuable Addition ◽  
Cautionary Tales ◽  
The University

Christopher, Neil.  Stories of the Amautalik: Fantastic Beings from Inuit Myths and Legends.  Trans.  Louise Flaherty.  Illus. Larry MacDougall.  Iqaluit, Nunavut: Inhabit Media, 2009. Print. The End Notes for this book tell us that in “the isolated hills, under the ice of the sea, and in the darkness of the deep ocean, strange beings wait for lone travelers or careless children to make a mistake”. An amautalik is one such strange creature.  These are the giant, disgusting ogresses of Inuit mythology who capture and eat children. This volume contains two stories, each of a different kind of amautalik.  The first has a basket of slimy driftwood on her back, lined with maggoty, rancid seaweed.  The second has a huge amauti (a coat with a pouch for carrying children). The two stories are similar. Both are cautionary tales, teaching children of the dangers of straying too far away from supervising adults.  In both stories, one of the children does not have parents present to protect them and has been bullied in the community.  In each case, the inattentive children are captured and taken away by the amautalik. In “The Hungry Amautalik and the Restless Children”, the child who has been bullied uses the old knowledge of her shaman grandfather to gain freedom.  In “The Orphan and the Amautalik”, the orphan outwits the amautalik, by pretending that his toe, poking out of his worn out boot is a monster that will eat her. The first story is much longer than the second and there are many more images of the first amautalik.   Larry MacDougall’s somber paintings portray the ogress’s glee while tying the children to a stake and her rage when she discovers that they are gone.  The second amautalik is more cadaverous-looking and frightening. This book is an English translation of the 2007 Inuktitut volume Amautaliup miksaanut unikkaat and is also available as an English/Inuktitut tumble book.  Originally these stories were told by elders to children, so the language would have been at a child’s level.  However, this translation, although it is intended as children’s literature, has a reading level of about Grade 10.  In spite of that, the book is still a valuable addition for school and public library collections. Highly recommended: 4 out of 4 starsReviewer: Sandy CampbellSandy is a Health Sciences Librarian at the University of Alberta, who has written hundreds of book reviews across many disciplines.  Sandy thinks that sharing books with children is one of the greatest gifts anyone can give.

scholarly journals Red Wagon by R. Liwska

2011 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandy Campbell
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Young Children ◽  
Picture Book ◽  
Health Sciences ◽  
The Sun ◽  
Farmers Market ◽  
University Of Alberta ◽  
The University ◽  
Real Places

Liwska, Renata. Red Wagon. New York: Philomel Books, 2011. Print. This picture book is designed to be read by an adult to young children. Somewhat reminiscent of Peter Rabbit stories, the characters in this book are woodland animals.  The plot is simple.  Lucy is a young fox who has just got a red wagon.  She wants to play with it, but her mother sends her to the market for vegetables, so on the way, she imagines great adventures. Lucy’s companions on the journey are a bear, a rabbit, a hedgehog and a raccoon.  Liwska’s illustrations are endearing.  The illustrations are two-page spreads with the animals in various imaginary and “real” places.  With each new imaginary scene, the red wagon morphs into something different.  First it is a boat on the high seas, then a covered wagon, then a gypsy caravan at the market, then a train car, a space ship, and a piece of construction equipment.  In each scene the animals have props or clothing to match the theme.  In the space ship scene, the raccoon acquires a third eye to look alien.  All of the illustrations are done with fine pencil strokes that make the animals look like cuddly stuffed toys. Strangely, the text is generic and could be divorced from this work and applied to a completely different set of illustrations.  There is no mention of Lucy being a fox and no references to her companions or the wild changes in scenery.  For example, the text that accompanies the elaborate covered wagon scene, in which the animals have cowboy hats and bandanas and Lucy has a boots and a sheriff’s badge reads: “Soon the rain stopped and the sun came out.  She continued on her way.”  Lucy could have been an elephant, a robot, a child or an ant, as long as she had a red wagon.  While this will make no difference to a young child’s enjoyment of the book, the text could have been so much more engaging if the animals had been given names and the text reflected the content of the illustration, or for example, “Rabbit pushed, while Lucy pulled.” Similarly, the European look and feel of the book will make it more difficult for Canadian children to identify with the story. There are no wild hedgehogs in Canada and most Canadian children do not go to a market for vegetables – they go to a supermarket.  Even if they did go to a farmers’ market they would not find tents with flags, gypsy caravans, stilt walkers, jugglers and trapeze artists. However, oddities aside, this is a book that pre-readers and new readers will love. Recommended: 3 out of 4 starsReviewer: Sandy CampbellSandy is a Health Sciences Librarian at the University of Alberta, who has written hundreds of book reviews across many disciplines.  Sandy thinks that sharing books with children is one of the greatest gifts anyone can give.

scholarly journals The Qalupalik by E. Kilabuk

2012 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandy Campbell
Keyword(s):  
Picture Book ◽  
Read Aloud ◽  
Small Children ◽  
University Of Alberta ◽  
Early Readers ◽  
Colour Image ◽  
Text Page ◽  
The University ◽  
Different Cultures

Kilabuk, Elisha.  The Qalupalik. Iqaluit:  Inhabit Media Inc., 2011. Print. This volume is the first in the Unikkaakuluit Series from Inhabit Media.  It is currently available in English and South Baffin Inuktitut editions, with other Inuktitut dialects in the works.   Contemporary Inuit storyteller, Elisha Kilabuk, leads off this series with a story that he learned from his mother, who learned it from her father. It is not unusual to find a myth appearing in different cultures or subcultures in different forms.  This cautionary story is about the qalupalik has many variants.  The qalupalik is a scary monster that lives under the sea ice, and captures small children who wander too close to the water.  The monster is outwitted by a small orphan child, who convinces the creature that his toes, which are poking out of his shoes, will eat her. Inhabit Media has recently published similar stories in Stories of the Amautalik: Fantastic Beings from Inuit Myths and Legends.    In that version, the creature comes from underground, but is still outwitted by a child who tells the creature that his toes eat Amautaliks. The Qalupalik is a single story in a picture book.   There are a few sentences on each text page and a full colour image on the facing page.  Joy Ang’s artwork is evocative and effective.  Her qalupalik is green and slimy with a huge nose, white eyes, webbed feet and long claws.  It is scary enough to keep any child from roaming too close to the water’s edge.  The images of this disgusting creature will also cause this book to be in high demand among those 6 to 8 year olds who love “gross” pictures.  In contrast to the qalupalik, Ang’s images of the children are more cartoon-like and light-hearted.  They are a nice balance to the scary monster.  While the text will be too difficult for early readers, the images tell the story and the book will work well as a “read aloud”. Overall The Qalupalik is an excellent presentation of the myth and is recommended for public and elementary school libraries. Highly Recommended:  4 stars out of 4 Reviewer:  Sandy CampbellSandy is a Health Sciences Librarian at the University of Alberta, who has written hundreds of book reviews across many disciplines.  Sandy thinks that sharing books with children is one of the greatest gifts anyone can give.

scholarly journals I Want My Mommy! by T. Corderoy

2014 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandy Campbell
Keyword(s):  
Separation Anxiety ◽  
Public Libraries ◽  
Picture Book ◽  
School Libraries ◽  
Read Aloud ◽  
University Of Alberta ◽  
Picket Fence ◽  
Age Appropriate ◽  
The University

Corderoy,Tracey. I Want My Mommy!  Wilton, CT: Tiger Tales, 2013. Print.This charming picture book addresses separation anxiety, which is common among young children being left with occasional caregivers.  The story is depicted with mice playing the roles of people.  Arthur is a small mouse, who is staying with his grandmother while his mother goes out for the day.  Arthur has "never been apart from Mommy for the whole day before".  He misses her a lot.  Although his grandmother distracts him with dragons, sword fights and lunch, Arthur is still sometimes sad and thinks that his mom has returned every time the doorbell rings.  Allison Edgson's illustrations are bright, attractive and somewhat romantic.  Grandma's garden has a white picket fence with an arched trellis, hollyhocks and climbing roses.  Throughout, Arthur is dressed in a green dragon suit.   The images are sometimes two-page spreads with text over-printed or smaller round pictures with in text the white spaces around them. The text is a large font, with a few words bolded or capitalized for effect.  The text is age appropriate for pre-kindergarten to grade three, but intended to be read aloud by an adult.I Want My Mommy! allows children to see their own situation depicted in a story.  Children can  empathize with Arthur and see that he does cope with being away from his mother and that his mother does return. This is an excellent book for public libraries and elementary school libraries and pediatric health collections. Highly recommended: 4 stars out of 4Reviewer: Sandy CampbellSandy is a Health Sciences Librarian at the University of Alberta, who has written hundreds of book reviews across many disciplines.  Sandy thinks that sharing books with children is one of the greatest gifts anyone can give. 

scholarly journals Gina’s Wheels by M. H. Bishop

2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandy Campbell
Keyword(s):  
Role Model ◽  
Picture Book ◽  
Public Library ◽  
Reading Level ◽  
Small Children ◽  
University Of Alberta ◽  
The Disabled ◽  
The University ◽  
Adult Reader

Bishop, Mary Harelkin. Gina’s Wheels. Regina, SK: DriverWorks Ink, 2014. Print.While this is a picture book and the protagonist is just entering kindergarten, the language is quite a high reading level and the text dense.  It is definitely a book that needs an adult reader. The artwork in this book is simple and unsophisticated, but will engage small children with the work.  Illustrator Diane Greenhorn does resort to the visual cliché of diversity in the classroom, including the obligatory red-head, blonde, African American, brown-skinned children and child with a hijab, although kindergarten-aged Muslim girls are often not covered.The messages that the book conveys are complex.  It is about a child, Gina, who encounters Métis Paralympian Colette Bourgonje, who has a wheelchair.  Gina is sufficiently moved by the meeting that she goes home and for several weeks does everything while sitting in a stroller, to understand the experience of being in a wheelchair.  When she enters kindergarten and meets a child in a wheelchair, her experience helps her befriend the child.While the book does a good job of presenting how to interact with a disabled person, the concept of the Paralympics and the integration of a disabled child into school, it does not present the things that Gina had to do to adapt to life seated in a stroller.  As is often the case when the able-bodied write about the disabled, rather than from the disabled person’s perspective, the reader does not learn much more about life as a disabled person.  However, the book does present disability in a positive light and also shows Bourgonje as a role model.  It also presents Gina as a role model of a child demonstrating understanding and empathy and Gina’s Mom as a role model as a parent who is positive about disability and supportive of her child’s exploratory learning.   Because there are few children’s books about disability, and fewer still about disabled Indigenous people, this book is recommended with reservations for public library and elementary school libraries.Recommended with reservation:  2 stars out of 4Reviewer:  Sandy CampbellSandy is a Health Sciences Librarian at the University of Alberta, who has written hundreds of book reviews across many disciplines.  Sandy thinks that sharing books with children is one of the greatest gifts anyone can give.

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