Book Review: Grab Your Pillow Armadillo by Kevin and Haily Meyers Illustrated by Haily Meyers

By Carly Smith

Grab Your Pillow, Armadillo is the pre-bedtime book your family needs to read! This simple, silly, cheerful book will leave your little one in a great mood, ready for a night of comfort and sweet dreams. In the book, the authors use rhyme to say goodnight to a variety of animals. Unlike most children’s and baby books that stick to a particular animal theme (e.g., farm animals, jungle animals, animals that fly), Grab Your Pillow, Armadillo brings readers face-to-face with a mélange of critters including trout, bumblebees, sharks, and seals. Page by page, each animal can be found under a flap, and each animal has its own bedtime routine. It won’t be long before little ones are excited to look behind the flap and finish the sentence. 

There is a lot about this book that draws me in as a primary school teacher and parent to a toddler and a baby. First, the pages are thick and colourful without being overstimulating; this means that text and illustrations grasp attention evenly, so readers and listeners are neither lost in a sea of imagery nor solely concentrating on the words. Second, the ways of saying goodnight differ from animal to animal. Typically, I value repetition in children’s books, but in this case the variation keeps story time lighthearted and lively.

The illustrations are beautiful. Haily Meyers combines texture with simplicity to create beautiful pictures of animals and landscapes with the perfect amount of detail. I imagine the illustrations will inspire little ones who like drawing to take new risks with their interests, and I can also see how Haily’s work could be the base for a great art lesson in a primary classroom. Finally, the text font is just right; it is large and bold and imitates neat and tidy adult printing. It complements the illustrations and tone of the book very well.

Although the book is short and humorous, it nevertheless creates space for follow-up conversations with your little one. It affords the opportunity to learn about animals and their habitats and to practice less common adjectives and verbs. It may trigger an interest in the arts, animals, or outdoor exploration. It may also be a great book to grasp the attention of little ones who have difficulty focusing on an entire book, given its interactive features, rhythm, and illustrations.

Thank you to Gibbs Smith for a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Book Review: Wonderful Babies by Emily Winfield Martin

By Carly Smith

Wonderful Babies describes the delightful and marvellous attributes of the little bundles of joy we call babies. Through simple illustration and text, Martin showcases different characteristics of babies, creating a relatable and empowering book for young readers. This sweet and charming book is the perfect way to start or end baby’s day and is a great excuse to stretch out cuddle time with your loved one.

In Wonderful Babies, little ones will undoubtedly resonate with the babies they see and read about; Martin exposes her audience to babies with a variety of emotions and interests. She writes with commonly used vocabulary to capture the ears of little ones and includes illustrations that have just the right amount of detail to complement the text while also offering opportunities for further discussion.

The text is formatted strategically—each page has two words; the second word is always “baby” and the first word is always the descriptor. The descriptor, perhaps surprisingly, is not always an adjective. Martin uses high-frequency words like “grumpy,” “sleepy,” and “wild” to precede “baby,” but sometimes she chooses nouns to describe the baby, like “bunny” and “balloon.” Typically, I am turned off by oversimplified wording and grammar; I am a firm believer that babies can and should be exposed to complete sentences and proper syntax. However, in this case, terms like “bunny baby” and “two baby” add to the charm and playfulness of the book, and also set the ground for questions that will elicit critical thinking.

Another aspect of the book I am particularly drawn to is its honesty. The word “wonderful” often provokes a feeling of positivity, and Martin describes babies in ways that may not always be interpreted as positive (e.g., shy, messy, grumpy). I appreciate Martin’s decision to include these terms because it creates authenticity by reminding readers that babies are wonderful all the time, and not just when they are joyful. Furthermore, it reinforces to little ones that emotions and characteristics that so often have a negative connotation are acceptable and embraceable. Ultimately, Martin does a great job at avoiding toxic positivity.

Finally, I enjoyed the illustrations. Plain, yet adequately detailed, they highlight diversity—the babies we see are different races and have varying physical attributes. The illustrations are softly coloured, unlike many other baby books which overuse bright colours and perhaps, as a result, are somewhat overstimulating.

Wonderful Babies is a lovely book to keep in your household library. From eye-catching illustrations to captivating text, this perfectly sized board book is sure to grab your little one’s attention.

Thank you to Random House Children’s Books for a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Book Review: Look After Us by Rod Campbell

By Carly Smith

Rod Campbell, creator of Dear Zoo and Oh Dear! brings readers Look After Us, an interactive children’s book focusing on endangered animals. In this book, Campbell introduces his younger audience to animals whose populations are depleting. He presents a beautiful and necessary message—that humans are responsible for taking care of all animals, including wild ones.

The format of this book is consistent and predictable, making it suitable for emergent readers reading with an experienced reader, or for children who are drawn to patterns. On the left side of each spread, with the exception of the beginning and end of the book, is a small paragraph that introduces a new animal. On the right side of the spread is a flap with the animal’s habitat on the outer part, and the animal in focus behind the flap. Below each flap is a bit more text which encourages the reader to help endangered animals. The consistency Campbell creates by formatting the images and text this way supports new readers to infer, a great skill to develop early on and one which also helps maintain interest in the reading material. Another aspect of this book I was drawn to was the repetition of words and syntax; this is beneficial for readers encountering unfamiliar words, or for those who can remember what is being read and wish to join in with the person reading it to them. Moreover, the font is clear and representative of the way letters are taught and learned in school, making the pages even more accessible to a younger audience.

The illustrations in Look After Us offer additional opportunities for enjoyment, learning, and discussion. Firstly, the animals are drawn in their natural landscape. This can spark follow-up questions and comments, and may help with reading comprehension. There is also an option to take the discussion one step further and encourage numeracy skills. For example, the experienced reader could ask questions to the child about how many of each animal there are, what body parts some animals have more or less of compared to the other endangered animals in the book, or by posing questions about the landscapes to prompt estimation. Overall, Look After Us provides numerous occasions for readers to enhance not only decoding skills, but also comprehension, oral communication, and math skills.

There are some additional features that I enjoyed about the physical copy of this book, including its size and the durability of the pages and the flaps. It’s large enough that it will not get lost in a large collection of children’s books, but not too large that it cannot easily fit in a diaper bag or stroller pouch. Look After Us is a charming book, sure to be a hit with any toddler or child, especially those interested in animals or who are developing their fine motor skills.

Book Review: West Coast Wild ABC by Deborah Hodge Illustrated by Karen Reczuch

By Carly Smith

West Coast Wild ABC is a children’s book authored by Deborah Hodge and illustrated by Karen Reczuch. Like typical alphabet books, West Coast Wild ABC takes readers on an alphabetical journey, introducing each letter in its upper and lower case forms and using words beginning with each page’s designated letter. Unlike most other alphabet books, Hodge focuses on parts of nature found on Canada’s west coast. This nature-themed read—available as either a board book or digital copy—is suitable for children with a variety interests, as it encompasses the vast elements of land and sea that British Columbia has to offer. 

There are quite a few aspects of this book that appeal to me. Firstly, it is formatted clearly, with the specific letter of focus always written on the bottom, outer side of the page in white. The corresponding sentence or phrase for each letter is written in a black font that looks like the way children first learn to print their letters which is a great feature if children strive to read this book themselves, rather than an experienced reader reading to them. 

Another aspect of this book that captivated my interest was the vocabulary. Hodge does not shy away from large or uncommon words but does not overwhelm readers with too many. Furthermore, Hodge does not rely solely on nouns in this alphabet book. Instead, she includes other parts of speech, like verbs and adjectives, often lacking in other books of the same genre. This is a particularly important feature for language acquisition and vocabulary development that is often overlooked in books for early readers. 

The final but equally important feature was the illustrations. Reczuch’s artwork is vibrant but doesn’t take away from the text and is detailed without being overwhelming. Reczuch beautifully captures the wide array of textures found in nature. The illustrations match the words and encourage further discussion. They prompt reflection and are a catalyst for open-ended questions, which sparks critical thinking and comprehension skills. 

West Coast Wild ABC is a lovely children’s book that caught the attention of not only my 19-month-old but also myself and my spouse. Our son was exposed to the alphabet, new words, and captivating illustrations while the adults reading to him learned more about the country they live in. Its board book form is an excellent size, not small enough that it will be easily lost, but not too large that it feels cumbersome or too large for the diaper bag. West Coast Wild ABC has encouraged me to investigate other works by Hodge and Reczuch, knowing they will most certainly be a hit in our family.

Thank you to Groundwood Books for a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Book Review: The Fishy Squishy Goonies of Wabigoon Lake by Mardi-Lee Plomp

By Jamie Maletta

My son received The Fishy Squishy Goonies of Wabigoon Lake as a Christmas gift, adorably accompanied by a stuffed goon-y goon “Goonie” monster, and a concretion directly from Northwestern Ontario’s Wabigoon Lake itself. It was such a sweet and fun gift with little treasures to hold as you read the book.  

The story talks about the lake, the swimming, the fishing, and of course the creatures of the goon-y goon! Adorably described as disgusting yet somehow cute and lovable, the “Goonies” live at the bottom of the waters where they are growing very concerned about the trash, plastic, and rising pollution building up in their lake. Trying their best to keep the lake clean, the Goonies reluctantly tidy, whisk away pop cans, collecting lures and old tires throughout their day. The Goonies are very proud of their lake and tell stories about the lake in the winter and about the shallow waters’ concretions, and of course, they invite the reader to clean up some of the garbage the next time they visit! 

This was such a sweet story, and I loved the added lesson surrounding pollution that was written on a level that children can understand. Each page has adorable illustrations, with the story displayed in large font, making reading a little easier for the new book lover in your life. 

I’ve passed by this lake numerous times while visiting my parents, and I love the local and close-to-home aspect! My son is only two, but once he’s old enough to understand that the book is about that lake, we will definitely make a trip out there (and, of course, make sure to pick up some trash during our visit)! I always love a local book, and this is one I feel the little reader in your life will truly enjoy! 

Book Review: Noises of the Night by Alana Pidwerbeski

By Christine McFaul

Noises of the Night by author and illustrator Alana Pidwerbeski is a sweet lullaby set against striking images of the Canadian landscape.

This picture book begins with a child settling into bed for the night. In the quiet moments before sleep arrives, she listens to the sounds of night outside her window and contemplates how these noises might differ across the vast country.  

Outside the wind blows

Through the leaves in the trees

My eyes are drooping

My mind drifting with ease

The words roll along simple and soothing, creating a song-like rhythm with a repetitive reminder that “the noises of night, differ near, differ far,” and “sing you lullabies wherever you are.” Rather than tell a story, the narrative is anecdotal, making brief stops from East Coast to West Coast and all the many places in between to spotlight noises typical of the region. Readers hear waves crashing, the call of loons, and wolves howling. They also hear the cooing of pigeons, the flight of planes, and the rumble of cars. Inclusive of both wilderness and urban settings, there is something for every child to recognize, no matter where they might call home. The words sweep across the country with a calming, sleepy ease, gentling nocturnal sounds and activity as they go.

But the real highlight of this picture book are the illustrations. There are twenty-one pictures in total with a bold and modernist feel that calls to mind the artwork of the Group of Seven. And similar to the work of these iconic artists, Pidwerbeski’s illustrations feel synonymous with the Canadian landscape and animals they depict. From a lone lighthouse standing strong on rocky shores to northern lights dancing over an Inuksuk with other breadcrumbs to discover along the way (a hockey stick on the bedroom floor, a silhouette of the CN Tower in the background, a flock of Canada geese overhead), these gorgeous illustrations are sure to please Canadian readers young and old. The palette is a mixture of beautiful and unexpected twilight colours. Deep plums and blues are set against warm yellow lights and the pinks and oranges of a fading summer sunset. The tones gradually darken with each image until, at the end of the book, the sun has set, and the reader is transported into a starry, summer night. 

A calming lullaby complimented with beautiful pictures, Noises of the Night is a relaxing bedtime story that will appeal to Canadian readers and beyond. I believe it would best suit readers on the younger end of the picture book age range (with 2-4 being the ideal audience).

*Thank you to author Alana Pidwerbeski for the complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review