Title: The Fly Author/Illustrator: Elise Gravel Published By: Scholastic, 2014 There are three types of people in the world: those who love fiction, those who love non-fiction and those who love both (especially when they come together in a hilarious series of picture books).* I’m the third type of person, if that wasn’t totally obvious. I love both fictional and non-fictional books, and I especially love the blending of fantastic and realistic elements. When I first saw Elise Gravel’s books that featured some truly gross main characters, I was intrigued. These books are part of the ..read more

Title: I Don’t Know What to Call My Cat Author: Simon Philip Illustrator: Ella Bailey Published By: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2016 I don’t think we’ll ever own a cat. There, I said it. I’ve said it before, to Lily, about a thousand times. But I think, in her heart of hearts, she believes that one day my crippling cat allergies will vanish and a big fluffy kitty will take up residence in our home. We had a backyard cat for a little while. She (everything is presumed to be a girl until proven otherwise at this house) spent many a day running along our back fence, digging up our ..read more

Title: Everything Will Be OK Author: Anna Dewdney Illustrator: Judy Schachner Published By: Viking, 2022 When I was a kid, I was what you’d call a ‘worrier.’ I worried about my family, my friends, the neighbours, my teachers, our pets, and basically anyone else I cared about. I’m glad to say that I’m 100% cured of that bad habit and am now known among my friends as ‘Totally Easygoing Jess.’ Yeah, it’s not a great nickname, but it completely encapsulates the free and breezy person I totally am for reals. Okay, fine. I’m still a worrier. After all these years, I’m basically ..read more

Title: The Bear Must Go On Author: Dev Petty Illustrator: Brandon Todd Published By: Philomel Books, 2020 Ah, bears. They’ve always been one of my favourite animals. I collected teddy bears when I was a kid, encourage my children in the collection of many bears and generally love anything bear-related. Obviously, when I saw this book at the library, I had no choice but to take it out and read it. And what a delightful read it was! Not only was there a bear, but he was also a left-handed (pawed?), shy, writerly bear. Who sings little songs to himself! It was basically the male, carto ..read more

When you don’t like a book? That’s what I’m going to discuss today. Why? Because I took two picture books out of the library yesterday and I chose them solely based on their covers. (I know, I know.) I had high hopes. Both books had kind of a fun, friendly vibe. Both books appeared, on the outside, to be something that they very much weren’t on the inside. The long and short of it is: I didn’t like them. Either of them. I wouldn’t have read them to my kids (if they were still picture book aged), and I wouldn’t buy them for our home library. They were strange in a not-good way, and both storie ..read more

Title: A Duck Called Brian Author:/Illustrator Al Murphy Published By: Scholastic Press 2021 I’m not sure I’ve ever told you guys this, but I love ducks. Like, really love. As in, when I see them at a park or by the pond near our house, I literally crouch down and quack at them, hoping they’ll come closer. Sure, they usually look the other way and/or hide their faces due to second-hand embarrassment, but whatever. I’m not going to stop. It’s who I am. Anyway, when my kids were at the Scholastic Book Fair at their school, they spotted A Duck Called Brian and they knew I must hav ..read more

Sometimes, it’s nice to go into your local library and just randomly choose books from the picture book section. I did that last week and I’ve been reading the books on and off ever since. Lily actually sat down and listened to most of them, which was unusual, but nice. Honestly, you guys, it’s hard not having a kid-under-six in the house anymore. Both Lily and Vivi are novel readers now. Novel readers! How do I have an almost-eleven year old and almost-nine year old? Weren’t they just babies? Weren’t they just toddlers? How are they this old?! Ahem. Lily LOVES Roald Dahl, Louis Sacher and Jud ..read more

I have no idea where the summer went. Honestly, it’s been a bit of a blur. July passed in a visit with our penpals (they came all the way from France!) and doing all the tourist-y things we never get around to doing. (We skipped the CN Tower and the baseball game, but we hit up the aquarium, the zoo, and the mall.) August involved going to our beloved auntie’s cottage, getting ready for back-to-school and generally having fun at home. Ice cream was made! Fake (gluten-free) versions of snack-cakes were made! Books were read, I promise. And a friend of mine and I self-published a book! Which I w ..read more

Title: A Girl Like You Author: Frank Murphy and Carla Murphy Illustrator:  Kayla Harren Published By: Sleeping Bear Press, 2020 I have a confession to make: when I was pregnant, I knew my daughter, Vivi, was going to be a girl. And I felt…relieved. Now, don’t get me wrong, I love my nephews. They’re sweet and wonderful and little boys are super-awesome. But. Somehow, deep down, I always figured I’d make a way better girl mom. And, lucky for me, I have two daughters! My girls are the greatest, and I love them more than anything in the world. They’re funny and clever and tal ..read more

Just a little time out from the usual reviews (more coming next week, I promise) to discuss something awesome that happened. It’s this! A Wee Boo was selected as one of the Children’s Book Council’s 2023 Favorites! I was so excited to find out — and when I saw who else was on the list, I just felt so…delighted. Kid lit authors and illustrators that I adore. People whose books I read all the time…right there, on the VERY. SAME. LIST! It’s been a good week, is what I’m saying ..read more