Category: Book of the Month

By Christy Jordan-Fenton and Margaret Pokiak-Fenton/Larry Loyie with Constance BrissendenPublished by Annick Press/Theytus BooksISBN #978-1-55451-246-1/978-1-894778-62-6 Fatty Legs and Goodbye Buffalo Bay would make excellent companion novels for an intermediate-level novel study. Both books tell the story of residential schools from a young protagonist’s point of view. In Fatty Legs, we follow Margaret, a spirited, clever…

By Kwame AlexanderISBN #9781501949098 I LOVED this book.  It made me laugh.  It made me cry.  It made me appreciate the power of literature in helping us make sense of our lives.  Kwame Alexander tells a story through poetry and makes the pain of loss palpable.  Love of a supportive family and friendship helps Charlie…

ISBN # 1450807054 When one considers the art of encouraging early literacy skills, the consideration is generally laden with fond memories of curling up with mom, a cozy blanket, and that iconic bedtime story. The story may change, but one certainly does not usually imagine a journey through the human nervous system, or into the…

By Margriet RuursPublished by Kids Can PressISBN #978-1-77138-047-8 A quote by Malala Yousafzai frame this book in a wonderful way. “I don’t mind if I have to sit on the floor at school.  All I want is an education.” Margriet Ruurs provides an overview of schools around the world that we don’t always read about…

A List of Information Books to Check out Over the Summer! Ages 5-8 In the Bag! Margaret Knight Wraps it Up by Monica Kulling, illustrated by David Parkins The Little Yellow Bottle by Angele Delaunois Look at that Building! A First Book of Structures by Scot Ritchie Loon by Susan Vande Griek, illustrated by Karen…

By Paul YeePublished by Scholastic Canada Limited, 2010ISBN #978-0-545-98593-2 “March 27 Ba gave me back my eighteen coins, and jingled another handful of them. “Surprised?” he sneered. “I won back every coin I lost, and took even more. Watch me and learn! A man with money, he must make it grow. He has to take…

By Paul YeePublished by Groundwood BooksISBN #978-1-55498-094-9 Author Paul Yee has become well-known for his award-winning books such as Ghost Train and The Bone Collector’s Son, which feature Chinese-Canadian characters. Set in Toronto, Money Boy features protagonist Ray Liu, an 18-year old Chinese immigrant who battles with identity and acceptance. Despite the fact he has…

By Sarah EllisPublished by Scholastic ISBN #978-0-545-98073-9 AN EXCERPT:   May 1, 1912 Father and Mother met with the principal this morning. I am not allowed to go to school for the rest of the year due to my shocking behaviour yesterday in the schoolyard. I am to do my lessons at home. This afternoon…

This annotated bibliography focuses on twenty-two picturebooks and four articles that feature environmental awareness and promote a healthy relationship with nature.   Aston, Dianna and Long, Sylvia. A Seed is Sleepy. San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 2007.             This beautifully illustrated information book is by the team that created An Egg is Quiet. Ink and watercolour…

By Gordon LightfootPublished by Groundwood Books/House of Anasi Press, 2010ISBN #978-0-88899-953-5 Gordon Lightfoot’s original lyrics, written in 1967, grace this beautifully illustrated book as pure Canadian poetry. Lines such as “On the mountaintops we stand/All the world at our command/We have opened up the soil/With our teardrops and our toil/For there was a time in…