Cool Stuff May 2009
BEST FOOT FORWARD
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Books with Illustrations
Illustrations can make or break a picture book. In these books we see stories brought to life in a variety of styles by brilliant artists.
Children Who Make a Change
Children, with their strong sense of right and wrong, are often troubled by the unfairness life seems to mete out to children in developing countries. In the past decade, a surprising number of children, for example, Craig Kielburger, have
Coming-of-age books for older readers
Looking back we can all spot choices that changed our lives. Books for older readers often deal with the coming-of-age moments that dot the universal journey from childhood to maturity.
Marthe Jocelyn has written with great panache a
Animals take the lead in these tales
Animals can make charming main characters. Here are some who have exciting adventures that also manage to be heartwarming
Choice books, great gifts
This is the season for splurging on wonderful books for the young readers in your family. Fortunately many new books in the stores rise to the occasion.
Jean Little’s newest picture book, The Sweetest One of All (No
Simply intriguing, non-fiction works
How can we encourage children who are able to read but are reluctant to pick up a book.? One way is to offer them information books that combine clear, simple text with a plethora of colourful and intriguing illustrations or
Classics celebrated and in the making
The 100th anniversary of the publishing of the children’s classic The Wind In the Willows by Kenneth Grahame is being celebrated this season with a new edition illustrated by Robert Ingpen (Palazzo Editions, $19
Catering to pre-schoolers
Michael & Jello: It Must be Jelly, ‘Cause Jam Don’t Shake — For really little kids, during the drop-in centre years, the usual ‘‘Row Row Row Your Boat’’ circle-time tunes are fine. But what about
Books that will bring on the boys
Boys like adventure stories with lots of action, some death-defying thrills and maybe a little humour. All of these elements are present in this handful of well-told stories.
Shane Peacock narrates the Boy Sherlock H
Doane sings for kids
Melanie Doane: A Thousand Nights — Mainstream adult music makers are trying their hands at kids’ fare these days, and it’s a welcome trend. Especially when they bring their high standards to the recording, as
Ashley Tisdale as nerd girl
Picture This (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer) — She’s blonde, she’s pretty and she can sing, hence Ashley Tisdale is everywhere. And she’s starring in her own movie (which she actually helped produce). She plays Mandy
Summer reading to make you smile
Long summer days give us time for contemplation as well as play. These new titles take us into summer with a smile.
For a start let’s tag along with author Carolyn Beck and illustrator Andrea Beck as they take us
Alice Upside Down
(Anchor Bay) — If you and your family are tired of the perfectly cute and perfectly polished teens in today’s movies and TV shows, you will like Alice. Played by Alyson Stoner (she was the tomboy Sarah in Cheaper by
Get set for summer reading
You can hear the groans from students and parents alike as every June the teachers merrily wave the students on their way to summer vacation with cries of, “Have fun! Play outside! Don’t forget your sunscreen! Read! Read! Read! You
LOL Book Club
Books can make us laugh out loud and that’s what children will be doing this summer if they sign up for the free TD Summer Reading Club. Humour is the theme this year and LOL: Laughing Out Loud is the
Fun with fictional families
The dynamics of family life present many opportunities for drama and turbulence. There can also be some hilarious moments as the following stories show.
Gail Banning has put her fictional family Out on a Limb (Key Po
Books are vehicles on life’s highway
Stories often take readers on journeys. Whether physical or emotional, journeys can open our eyes to new possibilities. The protagonist in Hazel Hutchins and Gail Herbert’s Mattland (Annick Press,
Barenaked Ladies for kids
Barenaked Ladies: Snacktime (Desperation Records) — Really, why wouldn’t these guys do a kids’ record? First of all, they’re all family men with 11 kids between the five of them. But mainly, they’re a si
Join the club
If you head online and search for "kids' club," you'll end up with all kinds of hits for book clubs, environmental clubs, innovation clubs, digital photography clubs, and other clubs that sound fabulous, but suffer from one tiny
