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Dear Readers,I am so grateful for the hard work and commitment of our Deakin reviewers, and I think you will share my enthusiasm for the books that they have written about for our winter issue. For example, Leslie Aitken’s review of Lila and the Crow is a wonderfully thoughtful appraisal of an important picture book deserving of a good deal of attention. Aitken writes that “Lila and the Crow belongs in every elementary school library” and I wholeheartedly agree with her assessment because this story has excellent potential to encourage positive dialogue about the physical diversity of humankind.Another highly recommended picture book is Anna Pingo’s Aluniq: and Her Friend, Buster, reviewed by Sandy Campbell. As Aluniq’s story of living with her grandparents at the Qunngilaat Reindeer Station in Canada’s Northwest Territories unfolds, readers learn that many families in remote parts of Canada experience separation when people need to leave home to receive medical treatment. The emotions that this poignant story conveys are generally ones that resonate with most readers because they remind us of one of the most significant primal fears of childhood—separation from one’s parents or guardians. For young readers coming to terms with separation, this is a charmingly illustrated and sparingly written picture book. I therefore commend it to your serious attention.Also in this issue, Lorisia MacLeod’s review of How Nivi Got Her Names calls our attention to Inuit naming customs and provides useful content for educators who want to discuss Inuit culture with young readers in the classroom.Plus, we have adventure stories, historical stories, and engaging stories of childhood and family life. Enjoy!Robert DesmaraisManaging Editor

Dear Readers,As you can easily imagine, our journal receives regular deliveries from publishers of children’s books who would like to see their new titles reviewed by Deakin writers. For many years now, I have been pleased to open an increasing number of courier boxes filled with children’s books that raise awareness of diversity. The boxes keep coming and so do the books featuring diverse characters, including (but not limited to) LGBTQ youth, people with disabilities, ethnic and cultural minorities, and Indigenous peoples. The number of books written and illustrated by people from culturally, ethnically, and racially diverse backgrounds is also on the rise, and this circumstance bodes well for the future of children’s literature. Indeed, publishers appear eager to let their readers know that they take diversity seriously, and many publishers, such as Groundwood Books and Penguin UK, include a diversity statement or manifesto on their websites. This is good news that should be celebrated. Our fall issue is filled with thought-provoking books that embrace diversity, including Inuit Spirit (containing line drawings by world-renowned Inuit artist, Germaine Arnaktauyok), People of the Sea (describing the role of sea-people in Inuit culture), Isaac and His Amazing Asperger Superpowers! (helping children to understand the Asperger’s/autism spectrum), and many other compelling titles. These books help children appreciate differences in ethnicity, disability, culture, gender, lifestyle, and perspectives. If you read and enjoy a book about diversity, please spread the word and let other readers know about your discovery. We can all help to advocate for diversity in children’s literature by buying diverse books from booksellers and sharing them with young readers. Please spread the word that diversity matters!Best wishes,Robert DesmaraisManaging Editor

Dear Readers,Our winter issue features many excellent book reviews that cover a fascinating range of subjects and experiences, such as: crossing a harbour to an extraordinary island full of treasure (The Riddlemaster), examining issues such as poverty, racism, addiction, and healing (Dreaming in Indian); and exploring the delightful flora and fauna of Australia (Simone in Australia). There are many more books to choose from and we hope you enjoy the variety.We also take great pleasure announcing that our new issue has book reviews from the recently updated Children’s Health Fiction Titles List, including: Fishing with Grandma, Mon ami Claire, Noni Speaks Up, Saila and Betty, and Tattle-tell. The update includes titles from 2014 to 2016 and we encourage readers to have a look at the full list, A Selective Collection of Children’s Health Fiction 2014 – 2016, in the University of Alberta’s Education and Research Archive (ERA).The Children’s Health Fiction list was created to help libraries and parents looking for high quality stories that help children to better understand and cope with health issues in their lives. Information about the project, a link to the original titles list, and guidance for selecting children’s fictional works on health-related topics, was published in the October 2014 Special Issue of the Deakin Review of Children’s Literature (Vol. 4, No. 2).On a final note in the way of announcements, we are delighted to offer a peer-reviewed article that “describes why and how the University of Alberta Libraries built a Spanish language children’s literature collection.” You will find it under the “Articles” heading of the Table of Contents. All of us at the Deakin Review wish you a peaceful and happy winter season filled with good books and many visits to the library.Best wishes,Robert Desmarais, Managing Editor (with thanks to Sandy Campbell & Maria Tan for an update on the Children’s Health Fiction Titles List)

Dear Readers,A couple of months ago I had an opportunity to sit down with children’s literacy advocate Joyce Grant and discuss her popular Gabby series of picture books (click here to watch the video). I was really pleased to have the chance to meet with Grant, especially because two of her popular books, Gabby, Drama Queen and Gabby Wonder Girl, were favourably reviewed by Deakin reviewer Leslie Aitken. I was eager to pursue some questions inspired by Aitken's thoughtful comments, especially her description of Gabby, Drama Queen's plot as “imaginative and complex.” Naturally, I was optimistic that I would enjoy reading the entire Gabby series prior to the interview. Now that I have read the series, I can assure readers that the books are delightful, and teachers will certainly appreciate the teacher’s guide that is freely available online to help elementary students to develop reading, writing, and comprehension skills. I met with Grant at the University of Alberta which was one of her stops on an ambitious tour of Alberta’s schools and libraries to celebrate books and reading during TD Canadian Children’s Book Week. She was scheduled to speak at our institution about her experience teaching kids how to spot fake news, and I was glad to hear that she actively encourages kids to read news on her website teachingkidsnews.com that publishes free daily stories for young readers. The website has lots of important stories that are worth talking about and debating, and as we can all attest, kids need to know how to differentiate between real news and stories that deliberately mislead readers for financial or political gain. Grant also publishes a blog called Getting Kids Reading (gkreading.com) that is chock-full of articles, games, crafts, and ideas to inspire kids to read.Grant was a pleasure to interview, and I hope you will take time to watch the video. Aside from answering several questions about the Gabby series, Grant also tells us about her latest projects and how to get in touch. Our new summer issue is filled with many excellent book recommendations, including some reviews of multimedia resources for kids that resulted from a student assignment in the Multimedia Literacies course offered at the University of Alberta’s School of Library and Information Studies.Wishing you all a wonderful summer!Best wishes,Robert DesmaraisManaging Editor

Dear Readers, We are delighted that this special issue includes book reviews from preschool to junior high readers! We would like to acknowledge Michelle St. Jean, Steven Campbell, Natalie Burns—the grade six and eight teachers from Ben Calf Robe - St. Clare Elementary/Junior High School—whose students completed the reviews as part of their class work. Assistant Principal Sonia Mangieri was our contact at the school who coordinated with the teachers to help make the vision of an issue entirely devoted to student reviews a reality. We would also like to thank Principal Rena Methuen for her school’s participation in this project. We are also grateful to teachers Ann Sheehan and Jenn Sych from the Child Study Centre’s Junior Kindergarten in the Faculty of Education at the University of Alberta for helping their students to provide class reviews of The Pirate’s Bed . Finally we would like to acknowledge our reviewers for contributing their thoughts on a wide range of reading materials and for sharing their favorite books and reading spots. Wishing you all a wonderful READ IN Week with enjoyable books and good friends. Warm wishes, Deakin Editors _________________________________________________________________ Dear Readers, Welcome to this special edition of the Deakin Review. My name is Dr. Trudy Cardinal and I am very excited to be part of this edition highlighting the reviews of students from Ben Calf Robe St. Clare School and from the Child Study Centre’s Junior Kindergarten program in the University of Alberta’s Faculty of Education as part of the 2016 READ IN Week celebrations. This year’s theme is: One World, Many Voices , which was inspired in part by the words of Indigenous author Richard Wagamese in his introduction to One Story, One Song : “What binds us together as a human family is our collective yearning to belong, and we need to share our stories to achieve that” (2011, p. 5). As a Cree/Metis scholar I have always yearned to find children’s books that were more representative of the Cree/Metis life I lived as a little girl in northern Alberta but I never did find one. Rather I fell in love with Laura Ingalls Wilder from Little House on the Prairie and Lucy Maud Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables feeling a kindred spirit in both of those characters – and yet, despite this love, I still yearned for more – someone more like me! Now, as a teacher educator and a Kokom (a Cree grandmother) I am so excited to find more and more beautiful children’s books, and more and more brilliant Indigenous authors who are creating stories that resonate with my soul. I can now go on grand adventures with Chuck in Jordon Wheeler’s Just a Walk . I see images of my niece Emma in Elizabeth Denny’s Jenneli’s Dance as she wins her first jigging prize and my heart-strings are tugged as I see the spitting image of my younger brother in the little boy in Peter Eyvindson’s Red Parka Mary . Finally, the yearning I have held for so long is beginning to abate as I come across such rich Indigenous literature depicting stories that are more representative of the life I lived as a Cree/Metis little girl. And in this issue, where the youngest readers are given opportunity to share stories of the books they are reading, Deakin Review helps to create spaces of belonging and nurtures the dreams of our youngest - now published - authors. Literacy, when we honor stories of lives, and create spaces for diverse voices in the ways that this issues does, contributes to that greater sense of belonging to which Richard Wagamese speaks. Happy reading! Trudy Cardinal Dr. Trudy Cardinal is an assistant professor in the department of Elementary Education at the University of Alberta. As a Cree/Metis scholar and Kokom (Cree grandmother), she has a particular passion for stories and storytelling including a love of children’s literature, especially literature written by and portraying the multiplicities in the lives of Indigenous youth and families. Her current favorite book is Just a Walk by Jordon Wheeler because it makes her laugh and think of the many adventures she went on when walking in the woods behind her house! __________________________________________________________ Dear Readers, My name is Jill McClay, and I am a reader. Throughout my life, I have held a number of jobs and lived in three countries, but one constant in my life is that I have been a reader for as far back as my memory goes. I am delighted to co-introduce this special issue of the Deakin Review because this issue reminds me of the great variety of readers of all ages. In reading these young readers’ reviews of their favourite stories, I make many connections –they love some of my favourite books, and they like or dislike stories for the same reasons as I do. These young people love some of the stories that I love—the Harry Potter series, anything that John Green writes, Lumberjanes -- and some others I don’t know but now want to read. They read a wide range of literature, from fantasy, science fiction, nonfiction, romance, realistic fiction, manga other graphic stories, mysteries, stories with movie tie-ins, and more. When they explain why they like reading, I nod in agreement at many of their comments: Jerlaine sums up my thoughts best when she writes that she likes to read “because it makes you feel like you’re with different people and different times.” I too like the feeling Aiden expresses, “The author makes you kind of feel like you’re tagging along with the characters in this story.” The readers featured in this issue also dislike stories for some of the same reasons that I do – Nathaniel notes that he “didn't like the part when Obi Wan got captured because he got distracted by cookies. Jedi don't get distracted by cookies.” Fair point! I note that nonfiction draws both great approval and definite disapproval by various readers, reminding us that we all have different tastes. This issue of the Deakin Review, featuring the responses of young readers to their reading, reminds me of the importance of allowing young people to follow their interests in reading. There are stories and books for us all. As friends, teachers, parents, and librarians, we can help each other and young readers find the books that will be important to us by talking about the stories we like. Best wishes, Jill McClay Dr. Jill McClay is the Associate Dean of Graduate Studies in the Faculty of Education at the University of Alberta. She likes to read most kinds of fiction, especially young adult novels, picture books, and stories of families through the generations. Her favourite place to read is in her comfy red chair. She doesn’t have a favourite book but likes to re-read some of her favourites occasionally.

Dear Readers, When I spotted Alexandra Alter’s article “James Patterson Has a Big Plan for Small Books” in The New York Times on March 21, 2016, I immediately thought the story was about a new innovation that Patterson had introduced for small format children’s books. Instead, the article describes Patterson’s new line of short novels aptly named BookShots that will include thrillers, mysteries, romances, science fiction, and (eventually) nonfiction. While most people recognize Patterson’s name for his prodigious output of thrillers, he is also known for publishing nearly 50 children’s books, which have sold more than 36 million copies worldwide. He has also written popular mysteries, romances, and young adult novels, but he now has plans to write for adult readers who don’t normally make time for reading. Indeed, the BookShots home page advises prospective customers that “Life moves fast—books should too”. While I have no objection to Patterson’s new line of short, cheaply produced books that may eventually be stocked next to magazines and candies in grocery stores, I do hope that publishers of children's books will embrace an opposite trend by publishing longer books for young readers who do have time to read. Let’s not assume that all children are abandoning reading for movies, television, video games, and social networking. The strengths of Patterson’s new books are their lively, incisive writing, and of course, engaging plots that pack a great deal into few words. Brevity will certainly lend Patterson’s new books a narrative crispness that will appeal to readers who may already enjoy reading digital content on their mobile devices. There is nothing wrong with having an appetite for short fiction, but young readers will surely benefit from having access to books that encourage deeper, slow reading. Our summer issue is filled with recommended books that can be read deeply and re-read, so let’s encourage young readers to take time to more fully comprehend and appreciate words, ideas, and stories. Happy reading! Robert Desmarais Managing Editor

Dear Readers,As an avid book collector, I derive great pleasure from deciding what kinds of books should be acquired for my personal library. I collect books that I love in a few subject areas, and over the years my library has grown into a carefully curated collection.My collecting habit began early in life when I hoarded picture books in my dresser drawers. Regrettably, I did not have a proper bookshelf or even a set of bookends to stand my books upright on a flat surface, but I had plenty of drawers for storage. Assembling my little library of picture books was great fun and the experience taught me that a personal book collection can provide a lifetime of enjoyment. Indeed, I still enjoy buying picture books from time to time for my library.I am always delighted when I see children who are keen to build their own book collections. In fact, developing a home library for your child is a great way to demonstrate that books are extensions of our interests and passions, and they can enrich our lives in manifold ways. Now of course I am not advocating that parents should rush out, spend a small fortune on children’s books, and immediately install a room full of bookcases. Building a library for young readers can be easy and inexpensive, and you can have fun helping young readers gain a deep appreciation for print books in their homes.If you want to encourage your child to have a compelling selection of books at home, you can stretch your book budget by taking your child to garage sales, thrift stores, flea markets, book fairs, and library sales. All of these venues are great places to pick up piles of books at a significant discount. As your child’s library begins to grow, you could suggest that s/he add a bookplate to each book to indicate its rightful owner. Bookplates are the decorative labels that are pasted down inside the cover of a book to give us some information about the owner, and they usually have the title Ex Libris, meaning “from the library of.” There are many websites that offer bookplate designs for children that are free to download and use, and they are a great way to customize a growing library.Of course, one of the best ways to build a child’s library is to begin by checking them out at the local library, and if your children find a personal favourite, a book that they enjoy reading over and over, then go ahead and buy a copy for their library. Supporting their library will show your commitment to investing in knowledge, and children who grow up with books are well positioned to make tremendous gains in educational attainment.Our new issue has many excellent books that would be well suited to a personal library, so I hope you’ll consider adding one or two to your child’s bookshelf.Happy reading!Robert DesmaraisManaging Editor

Dear Readers, It’s that time of year again. Suddenly, our attention turns to housecleaning and sorting through all manner of stuff that fills our closets, basements, garages, and every nook and cranny in our homes. In the spirit of cleaning up and getting organized for warmer weather, I was keen to read Marie Kondo’s The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing . The book has been widely celebrated in the media and it was already on several bestseller lists by the time I had noticed and started reading it. I successfully applied the author’s “magical” method to an oversized storage closet in my home and was generally pleased with the result, but I had trouble following her advice when my focus turned to several boxes of out-of-print children’s books that had been stored in my guest room for years. Kondo advises that we should sort by choosing a single category like clothes and books, asking ourselves if these objects spark joy, and getting rid of them if they don’t delight us. Asking ourselves “What sparks joy?” is certainly one way of helping us decide what to keep, but to be honest, it was a difficult question when I applied it to books in my home. Obviously, not every book in my library “sparks joy” but as a category books bring me great pleasure, especially children’s books, so I couldn’t fathom how I could part with a single title. In this case, I decided to keep everything because that decision made the most sense for me. And believe me, I fully expect to eventually crack open those boxes of books if nothing else for the satisfaction of thumbing through some favourite childhood stories. In this busy season of tidying up, you may also discover boxes of children’s books in your own homes. If I may offer advice in this regard, it is simply to consider inviting your kids to participate in the decluttering process. That is, take time to discover what children’s books spark joy in their lives. If the books are not of interest to them, consider giving them a second life if they no longer “spark joy” for you or your children. Rest assured, if you make the effort to drop books off at a thrift shop, used book store, or the home of an appreciative friend, they will almost certainly spark joy in someone else’s life. Happy reading! Robert Desmarais Managing Editor

Dear Readers, I always know when fall is upon us because that is when my inbox begins to fill up with a daily crush of packages from publishers who are eager to have their books reviewed. It is an exciting time of year to see so many good books that are bound to spark your child’s imagination, from new releases in all genres to reprints of well-loved classics. With thousands of children’s books published each year, it can be a daunting task for anyone who wants to find appropriate reading material for young readers about diversity and inclusion. Teaching children about our increasingly diverse world is an important exercise, and books can play an important role in this process if they have content that teaches kids about how to tolerate differences, handle stereotypes, show respect for others, and appreciate other cultures. We can all encourage children to celebrate diversity and remain open-minded by exposing them to books that embrace diversity in a variety of forms, including culture, religion, race, ethnicity, and sexual identity. Deakin editors and reviewers are keenly aware that children have open minds and hearts, so we keep our eyes open for books that teach children about the many ways that people are different, while emphasizing the positive aspects of our differences. To help you celebrate diversity with young readers, we are pleased to call your attention to several books that teach children to appreciate different cultures and befriend people who look or act differently: James Dawson’s This Book is Gay , Rebecca Hainnu’s The Spirit of the Sea , Alethea Arnaquq-Baril’s The Blind Boy & the Loon, and David Bouchard’s The First Flute and Nokum is My Teacher . Of course, there are also many other good books in this issue that celebrate positive attitudes and behaviours, so please spend some time reading the reviews and help your children to appreciate all the interesting people around us. Happy reading! Robert Desmarais Managing Editor

Dear Deakin Readers,I hope you enjoyed a restful and happy holiday! Our editorial team met recently to develop a publishing plan for the coming year and we would like to communicate some important news. To keep everyone in the loop about our editorial plans and related activities, we will update our readers with an annual report, which we intend to publish at the end of each volume year. Thus, our first report will be published later this summer. On the matter of peer-reviewed issues, the editorial team will continue to solicit articles for review, so please consider contacting us if you are interested in writing a practitioner-themed scholarly article about children’s books (e.g., building a children’s science library; developing a young adult publishing program; writing picture books about children with disabilities; etc.). We intend to publish our second peer-reviewed article later this year, following on the success of our first peer-reviewed article in last year’s health issue (Vol. 4, No. 2).Finally, the April publication (Vol. 4, No. 4) will be a special double issue reserved for University of Alberta graduate students who are studying children’s literature, resource selection, and evaluation of children’s books in the Faculty of Education. We look forward to reading their thoughtful opinions and recommendations! In the meantime, we have recommended many good books to help you ward off the winter doldrums. Enjoy!Best wishes,Robert Desmarais, Managing Editor

Dear Deakin Readers, In this issue you will find reviews of many new books to enjoy during the summer months, but I know this is also the season of family vacations, festivals, community pools, amusement parks, and beautiful weekend weather. With so much to see and do, I realize how difficult it can be to squeeze in some time for kids (and parents!) to curl up with a good book. If you are about to head off for a family vacation with toddlers, tweens, and teens—whether it’s a trip to a nearby city or a faraway country—I would encourage you to consider a visit to a museum, art exhibition, book fair, or gallery. Many of these venues are child-friendly and their displays encourage curiosity, critical thinking, and an interest in reading. On a recent trip to Winnipeg, Manitoba, I was reminded that many galleries and museums do a great job making their exhibitions accessible to children, offering activities and workshops designed to engage children to get the most out of their visit. Many galleries are free, such as the Pooh Gallery that I discovered in Winnipeg’s Assiniboine Park on the second floor of the Pavillion Gallery Museum, where visitors are introduced to an impressive collection of Winnie-the-Pooh books, print ephemera, toys, and art. One of the posters in the exhibition explains that Winnie, the famous bear in A.A. Milne’s stories, was named after a real bear in the London Zoo, where it was noticed and loved by Milne’s son, Christopher Robin. Of course, many adults know that the fictional adventures of a young boy named Christopher Robin and his animal playmates were chronicled in books that became favourites with children of all ages, but I presume far fewer people know the interesting story of how the real bear named Winnie ended up at the London Zoo (hint: there’s a Winnipeg connection). Visiting an exhibition like this one presents a special opportunity for us to introduce children to a variety of enchanting stories (with lots of visual aids!). Indeed, if there is one important thing we can all do for the children in our lives this summer, it would be to get them hooked on stories. Enjoy your summer! Robert Desmarais, Managing Editor

Dear Readers, I had lunch the other day with a colleague who told me of her interest in doing research about an obscure and forgotten author from long ago who wrote and published a novel at the age of twelve. How fascinating, I thought, that this young girl was inspired and determined to submit her manuscript to a publisher in the 1920s, a time when few children could call themselves published authors. But what kind of support exists today for young scribblers? Perhaps not surprisingly, it all begins with you, whether you are a parent, aunt, uncle, teacher, librarian, or adult friend of a child, all of you can make a difference by encouraging children to read and write. You can also let children know about online resources devoted to helping young authors develop their writing and illustration skills. For example, I discovered Scribblitt.com, which is a terrific website where kids can use free online tools to write and illustrate their own stories; they also have the option of collaborating with other kids and writers using cloud-based technology. Furthermore, you can help children to develop their writing skills by proofreading their stories and offering them helpful advice about spelling, character development, narrative structure, and so on. Another way for children to get inspired about reading and writing is to check the websites of their favourite authors, which are generally chock-full of activities and information about children’s writers and illustrators. To wit, I had the great pleasure of recently meeting and interviewing Jill Bryant , a Canadian writer who specializes in children’s nonfiction, when she was visiting the University of Alberta and meeting with numerous groups of children, inspiring them to read and write. Her website, Jillbryant.ca, has some excellent teacher resources that encourage students in grades four to eight to write about their role models, using her books about real entrepreneurs, athletes, and designers for inspiration. When you begin looking at author websites and other online resources (e.g., directories, readers’ advisory services, webcasts, etc.) for information about writing children’s books, it becomes readily apparent that there is a plethora of writing support tools for budding young authors. Enjoy the summer issue, and please take note that we have also included a review in French of a French language book for children. We are delighted to announce that the Deakin Review will continue to review books in French as our resources permit. Happy reading! Robert Desmarais Managing Editor Click here to watch the interview with Jill Bryant.

Thompson, Lauren. Polar Bear Morning. Illus. Stephen Savage. New York: Scholastic Press, 2013. Print.Ten years ago, Lauren Thompson and Stephen Savage collaborated on “Polar Bear Night”, which was a splendid picture book that swiftly became a New York Times best seller. “Polar Bear Morning” follows up on the simple story of a polar bear cub that ventures out onto the arctic tundra for an adventure, but this time our favourite cub meets a new friend. The story begins when the cub emerges from her dark den, peeks out at the clear blue sky, and follows the sound of seagulls. Soon after heading out into the snow and ice, she notices something tumbling down a snow hill. It’s a snow cub! The moment when the cubs first meet is beautifully portrayed in a two-page spread that shows two furry faces in profile looking at each other without words on the pages, which perfectly captures a child’s speechless, wide-eyed bliss upon meeting a new friend.The story continues with several charming scenes that show how the friendship develops: they climb the snow hill and tumble down together; they sprint beside the sea; they race past seals, walruses and whales; they pause at the ice’s edge; and finally, they jump into the sea together. It’s a delightful portrayal of a budding friendship, with simple, yet charming illustrations rendered in a gentle palette of soft blues, greys, pinks, and browns. This picture book is a joy to read and has all the makings of a beloved classic, including frolicsome illustrations, thoughtful design, and a captivating story. It’s a wholly satisfying picture book that will be a pleasure to read again and again.Recommendation: 4 stars out of 4Reviewer: Robert DesmaraisRobert Desmarais is Head of Special Collections at the University of Alberta and Managing Editor of The Deakin Review of Children’s Literature. A graduate of the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Information Studies, with a Book History and Print Culture designation, he also has university degrees in English literature and publishing. He has been collecting and enjoying children’s books for as long as he can remember.

Dear Readers,The number of books arriving on my desk every year is large, and it may be no great surprise to know that I see many attractively illustrated children’s books. I wish we could review them all, but alas the amount of space in our journal is limited. Ever since the publication of our first issue, I have been wondering what it would be like to be a child today with scores upon scores of beautifully designed and illustrated books available for enjoyment and acquisition at public libraries, bookstores, and online retailers. Of course, I had access to beautifully illustrated books when I was a child, just not nearly as many. It’s this bounty of riches in high quality book illustration that could signify that we are witnessing another golden age of children’s book illustration.Many scholars, critics, and avid readers will point to the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries as the first “golden age” of children’s book illustration largely because this is when so many imaginative and attractive books were published, many of which are now regarded as classics. Delightful pictures alone do not make a book exceptional, they must complement an excellent story and innovative design. But as you read the reviews in this issue and future issues it may be worthwhile to notice how many times our reviewers comment upon the fresh and innovative illustrations, and then ask yourself if we are indeed witnessing a new golden age in children’s book illustration. Enjoy our new issue!Best wishes,Robert DesmaraisManaging Editor

Now that classroom doors at schools everywhere have closed until fall, we’re delighted to recommend a diverse cross-section of books for children of all ages to enjoy during the long, lazy days of summer. Young readers are sure to find something here to relish and pore over while school is out. The featured picture books offer a parade of colourful characters, from ballerinas to penguins, and themes that will make you laugh out loud, while others deal with difficult life events like those covered in Really and Truly , where a boy tries to communicate with his grandfather as his memories are being robbed by Alzheimer’s. One of the most enjoyable picture books of the year is Dave Whamond’s Oddrey for its charming illustrations and timeless message of misfit children who overcome challenging events or circumstances. For those who are looking for a picture book about sibling relationships, Kyo Maclear’s Virginia Wolf is an excellent choice; it is a beautifully rendered and poignant story about sisterly differences and depression. It is a beautifully rendered tribute to real-life sisters, Virginia Woolf and Vanessa Bell, who were members of an early twentieth-century group of influential writers and artists known as the Bloomsbury Group. There are also many excellent novels for teenagers, including several absorbing stories that promise to hook otherwise reluctant readers. The final installment in The Boy Sherlock Holmes series is highly recommended for its nail-biting story of the boy Holmes’ final case. We also recommend Karen Armstrong’s The Rising for young adults interested in urban fantasy, romance, and supernatural themes. The variety of reads in this issue is truly impressive, and we hope this issue will inspire you to encourage children of all ages to read every day this summer. Best wishes, Robert Desmarais Managing Editor

Spring is upon us, and the new season has ushered in a splendid assortment of books to captivate children of all ages. In this issue, we are delighted to provide our first video-recorded author interview, which can be accessed by clicking on the hyperlink in the review of Thomas Wharton’s The Fathomless Fire . Wharton is a highly accomplished author and assistant professor of English at the University of Alberta who is currently working on a fantasy trilogy for young readers. We are thrilled that he granted us an interview in December 2012 to discuss his latest book and love of storytelling. We plan to offer additional video content in future issues whenever opportunities arise for our reviewers and editors to speak with storytellers, illustrators or publishers. If you believe, like I do, that young readers reap significant benefits by having access to a wide variety of books, then you’ll certainly be pleased to see the range of titles in this issue. If you’re looking for stories from the steampunk genre, do have a look at the highly recommended stories in Steampunk! (Our reviewer awarded it four stars!). If a dystopian novel is more to your taste, you may find enjoyment in reading Carrie Ryan’s The Dark and Hollow Places if you don’t mind that a legion of terrorizing zombies features prominently in the plot. Granted, reading about the living dead is not for everyone, so you might also consider Maile Meloy’s The Apothecary , a prize-winning work of historical fiction, or Kelly Armstrong’s The Calling , the second installment of her Darkness Rising trilogy. Of course, there are numerous picture books in this issue that deserve your consideration, such as Dream Away and The Great Sheep Shenanigans ; both were awarded the highest rating by our reviewers. There are many more excellent books that explore a range of themes like health and nutrition, team sports, fun facts, and historical events, but for more topics you’ll have to check out the issue yourself. Enjoy! Best wishes, Robert Desmarais Managing Editor

Singleton, Debbie. The King Who Wouldn’t Sleep. Illus. Holly Swain. London: Anderson Press, 2012. Print. The King featured in this fairytale picture book is a man on a mission. He refuses to nod off until he finds the perfect mate for his lovely daughter, so he interviews a long line of princes, but of course “not one of them was quite perfect”. The illustrations of princes in all shapes and sizes are highly amusing, and the prince with the “extraordinary mustache” is especially charming. Despite the King’s indifference to this motley crew, the princes refuse to give up, so they decide that the only way to talk to the princess is to make the King fall asleep. They present him with sleeping potions, stuffed animals, blankets, bedtime stories, and every imaginable soporific gift, but the King will not be deceived; indeed, he gives everything to his servants, who immediately fall asleep, leaving no one in the palace to cook his dinner. Princes continue to come and go but no one makes the cut. A young farmer witnesses all the comings and goings and decides to approach the King with successive gifts of farm animals, but the King shoos him away at every turn. That is, until the farmer returns with an entire flock of sheep and encourages the King to count them to ensure that all one hundred are present and accounted for. Presto! The King finally falls asleep. Everyone is impressed with the clever farmer, especially the princess, and so they get married, have a magnificent wedding, and live happily ever after. The comical story, complemented by cheerful illustrations, provides plenty of entertainment for young readers. Recommended: 3 out of 4 starsReviewer: Robert DesmaraisRobert Desmarais is Head of Special Collections at the University of Alberta and Managing Editor of The Deakin Review of Children’s Literature. A graduate of the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Information Studies, with a Book History and Print Culture designation, he also has university degrees in English literature and publishing. He has been collecting and enjoying children’s books for as long as he can remember.

Dear Readers, We have reached an important milestone now that the Deakin Review is in its third year of publication. To wit, we have published well over 200 reviews, our readership continues to grow, and we’ve been delighted to receive so many compliments about the overall quality and appeal of our online content. For the entire month of September 2013, we displayed two full-scale exhibitions of Deakin books in the Humanities and Social Sciences and Coutts Education Libraries at the University of Alberta. We relished this opportunity to show more than 100 books, accompanied by excerpts from the corresponding reviews, to the campus community, which further raised the profile of our quarterly journal. In fact, many students have since asked about opportunities to submit book reviews to our editors for consideration. As many of you know, the Deakin Review was originally conceived as an in-house publication that would publish content from our own librarians and support staff, but we now believe that this is a good time to expand our pool of reviewers to ensure that our journal continues to grow and thrive. So, if you are thinking of submitting a review, please contact me by email and I’ll be pleased to review the submission process with you. Our editorial team will still be comprised of librarians from the University of Alberta Libraries—a unique point of distinction that sets us apart from other journals with similar content—but we will begin accepting well-written reviews of recently published children’s books from anyone , effective immediately. In other news, we recently decided that the Deakin Review should transition to a peer-reviewed journal within 18 months. This means that we’ll continue to publish thoughtful and well-written book reviews just as we have been doing, but in due course we’ll also include a peer-reviewed article in each issue about practitioner, cultural, or social issues relating to children’s books (e.g., how children’s books are used in the classroom; readers’ advisory services offered by YA librarians; language development rates for young children who use multimedia e-books). We’re looking forward to publishing excellent scholarship in these areas, so please contact our content editors if you would like to submit a paper for peer review and we’ll be pleased to discuss whether your paper meets the criteria for publication in our journal. It’s exciting to consider that we aspire to peer-reviewed status, which would mean that our content would be indexed by full-text scholarly databases for multidisciplinary research. Clearly, this is an ideal time to contribute to the growth and success of our journal, but rest assured that we will continue to help readers select children’s books by looking for excellence in writing, design, and illustration. Our main focus is, and always will be, to handpick the books that will appeal to children, young adults, and all those interested in children’s books. Enjoy our new issue! Best wishes, Robert Desmarais Managing Editor

Hartland, Jessie. Bon Appétit! The Delicious Life of Julia Child. New York: Schwartz & Wade Books, 2012. Print.Master chef and author Julia Child (1912–2004) was adored by audiences from the moment she first starred in her own television cooking show in 1963. It was an immediate success because people were captivated by Child’s warm, high-spirited personality and her enthusiasm for good food and wine. Indeed, she regularly toasted viewers with a glass of wine and her trademark “Bon appétit!” in her distinctive voice. Young readers are introduced to Child in this delightful picture book biography that is a feast for the eyes. It offers a surprisingly thorough account of her life, and includes scenes from her early childhood in Pasadena, California, her brief career with an American spy agency, and her struggle to publish the now famous “Mastering the Art of French Cooking”, to name but a few of the highlights. In one especially amusing spread, readers are shown how to make chicken galantine in 32 numbered panels, which make clear that Child encouraged her fans to try new foods and cooking techniques. Author-illustrator Jessie Hartland uses simple cartoons and a handwritten typeface to tell the story, and it is immediately apparent from the opening pages that the book is jam-packed with artwork and text, but the overall effect is one of considerable charm and animation. The endpapers are crammed with line drawings of kitchen tools, ingredients, and objects from Child’s life, which have English and French labels for readers who want to learn some essential vocabulary in both languages. For readers who want to learn more about Child, the book includes a useful bibliography, brief epilogue, and web links that show Child’s actual kitchen from her house in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and the restaurant where she had her first meal in France. This adorable publication will appeal to foodies of all ages. Highly Recommended: 4 out of 4 stars Reviewer: Robert DesmaraisRobert Desmarais is Head of Special Collections at the University of Alberta and Managing Editor of The Deakin Review of Children’s Literature. A graduate of the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Information Studies, with a Book History and Print Culture designation, he also has university degrees in English literature and publishing. He has been collecting and enjoying children’s books for as long as he can remember.

­Dear Readers, I know many of you have attempted to engage reluctant young readers with good books, particularly young male readers. The Globe and Mail published an article on this dilemma entitled “Hey kids, reading novels will make you rich (and other lies worth telling)” on October 3, 2011, written by Russell Smith in response to a provocative article in the Toronto Star that claimed: “The sustained reading of many pages of text is quickly becoming obsolete, like Latin.” Indeed, according to Michael Reist, a high-school English teacher with 30 years of experience, the study of Latin died a slow death because it could no longer be used for anything, and he concludes that, “the reading of literature in school is dying the same slow death”. I encourage you to read these thought-provoking articles because they raise important questions about reading as a life skill and whether it is being diminished as students spend more time in the “three-minute world” of instant online gratification. There is little doubt that today’s students are raised in a world where they have innumerable entertainment opportunities in cyberspace, but does this really mean that “big books” are dead? Certainly, authors of children’s and young adult books are acutely aware that they need to develop highly engaging stories to hold the attention of readers, particularly young male readers, but they also know that what attracts young people to video games and other forms of online entertainment is the art of storytelling. In this issue there are plenty of recommended books with great stories to engage young readers (especially boys!), including delightful board books (e.g., My Dad is the Best Playground ), fast-paced mysteries (e.g., The Money Pit Mystery ), and fun character-driven stories (e.g., Cheesie Mack Is Not a Genius or Anything ), to name but a few. I can think of numerous reasons to keep literature alive in schools but young people will never get hooked on reading if books are not made available to them from an early age. We need to get excellent books in the hands of young readers on a regular basis. I have already identified half a dozen books from this issue that I will be adding to my holiday gift list for the young people in my life. Happy reading! Robert Desmarais Managing Editor

Ever since The New York Times published an article in October 2010 about the impending demise of the picture book, I have wanted to publish a short screed in its defense. I thought this was an opportune time because so many splendid picture books are featured in our spring issue. Let it be known that I am a devoted fan of children’s picture books. I read them voraciously as an adult, and have done so for as long as I can remember. I collect them. I purchase them in stores and from online booksellers. I present them to friends and little ones as gifts. As a special collections librarian, I also purchase them to complement and strengthen our antiquarian collections. To my immense satisfaction, I am literally surrounded by them. I understand that my passion for picture books is intense, but picture books are essential to feeding the child’s imagination and developing his or her critical thinking skills. A simple keyword search on the University of Alberta Libraries’ online catalogue revealed numerous peer-reviewed articles about the ways that picture books open up imaginative worlds to children; with this richer understanding of stories, children gain a greater understanding of themselves and the world they live in. If we acknowledge that picture books encourage children to construct meaning about characters, events, settings, and so on, then it seems only natural to conclude that picture books are essential to preparing beginning readers for picture less chapter books. The author of the Times article reported that many parents are saying “My kid doesn’t need books with pictures anymore”, which is utterly shocking especially when we know the important role that pictures play in communication. When we introduce picture books to young readers, we allow them to make connections between their own life experiences and the illustrator’s use of colour, imagery, perspective, characterization, and dramatization. Picture books can provide powerful learning opportunities for children. I am always astonished at how much there is to learn about reading pictures. Whenever I open a picture book, I take great delight in the interpretive process. Indeed, interpretation is the essence of picture books, which is why sharing picture books with children is one of the best ways to develop their critical thinking skills. Are picture books dying “a sad little death”? The answer is obvious. I think not. I hope you enjoy this issue and please do get in touch if you have comments or questions. Robert Desmarais, Managing Editor

Jiani. Cicadas’ Singing . Edmonton: Gold Mum Publishing, 2011. Print. Cicadas’ Singing was published last year by newly established Gold Mum Publishing, which specializes in bilingual books for children. I had been taking Mandarin lessons from a private tutor recently, so this seemed like an ideal opportunity to review a book with English, Chinese characters, and pinyin (the system to transliterate Chinese characters into the Latin alphabet). The story is about a girl named Huahua who lives in 1960s China with her divorced mother. We learn that this is a difficult time to be divorced because divorced women were thought to be “dirty”, but no reason or context is provided to help readers understand this form of discrimination. Following the word “dirty” is a clumsy transition to a description of Grandma Du, who is introduced as a garbage collector; she apparently is also considered dirty, “but not in the same way”. Huahua develops a friendship with Grandma Du and they begin spending time playing with homemade toys and singing songs. Knowing that Huahua desperately wants to go to kindergarten, Grandma Du offers her some advice: “Huahua is a pretty girl and will marry a wealthy man.” Once again, the story introduces to us a cultural curiosity that begs further description, nuance, or context, but instead the story makes another rough transition, this time to the day when Huahua is old enough to attend kindergarten. Huahua goes off to school and starts to avoid her older friend because “others thought Grandma Du was dirty”. Huahua pretends not to know Grandma Du, so they no longer see each other and soon thereafter we learn that Grandma Du has died. Huahua attends the funeral with her mother where they notice an unusually large number of singing cicadas, hence the title. The first problem with this book is the story, which will likely be difficult and unsatisfying for young readers. The English text has a number of problems with punctuation, diction, and grammar, and the brief cultural notes in the appendix are woefully inadequate to explain many of the cultural references. The illustrations have a certain appeal, but they are too often overwhelmed by dense layers of text. Here’s hoping that this series improves with time. Not recommended: 1 out of 4 stars Reviewer: Robert Desmarais Robert Desmarais is Head of Special Collections at the University of Alberta and Managing Editor of The Deakin Review of Children’s Literature . A graduate of the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Information Studies, with a Book History and Print Culture designation, he also has university degrees in English literature and publishing. He has been collecting and enjoying children’s books for as long as he can remember.

Esbaum, Jill. Tom’s Tweet. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2011. Print. This delightful picture book is about an unlikely friendship between a hulking cat named Tom and a tiny bird called “Tweet”. The story begins with Tom feasting his eyes on Tweet, ready to gobble him up for breakfast, when he quickly realizes that his prey is simply too skinny to eat. Tom is about to leave yet he finds it impossible to ignore Tweet’s incessant tweeting, so he decides that he’ll put a stop to the ruckus by finding a juicy worm for his hungry friend. Hilarity ensues when Tom selects a suitable wiggler and gingerly mashes it to a pulp in his mouth to make it more digestible for Tweet. Nota bene: the picture of Tom’s bulging face as he squirms with the worm in his mouth may provoke hearty laughter from readers of all ages. The engaging story continues with animated scenes that show Tom returning Tweet to his home nest after being pursued by angry Mama Tweet. Later in the evening Tom realizes that he actually misses that “bothersome bird”, so readers will be pleased to see that Tweet returns the next day. Tom declares, “Tarnation! You have to stay up there. You cannot be my friend! I’m a cat!” The book concludes with Tom “tweety-sitting” for Mama Tweet, now that she sees Tom as a lovable softie and not a threat to her feathered offspring. The flow of events in Tom’s Tweet has a musical cadence, and the story begs to be read aloud. All of the illustrations were created using Photoshop, and they have an irresistible quality that is both fun and colourful. A minor quibble with the book is the colour and choice of font, which is not an ideal pairing with the charming illustrations. Nevertheless, “Tom’s Tweet” is an excellent choice to introduce young readers to the concept of friendship. Recommended: 3 out of 4 stars Reviewer: Robert Desmarais

Dear Readers, This issue marks the one-year anniversary of The Deakin Review of Children’s Literature, and our reviewers and editors are delighted to report that well over 100 English language books have been reviewed. We’re thrilled that so many reviews have been shared with our readers and although we’ve only been around for a year, we’re optimistic that our publication will be around for years and decades to come. Indeed, our user statistics continue to grow each month and it is fascinating to see that our publication has a growing international readership. As I look ahead to the next year I know we’ll continue to publish thoughtful reviews of new titles from picture books to teen fiction, and we’ll expand our offerings to include an occasional interview with an author or illustrator. We’re considering other changes like themed issues, guest editorials, and articles, but our raison d’être will always be to publish high quality book reviews. Our publication is distinctive in that our reviewers are all librarians, library staff, and educators from the University of Alberta, and thanks to this fine team we are able to serve our readers with so much thought-provoking content about the world of children’s book publishing. I wish you all a restful break now that summer is upon us and children are out of school, and I hope you share our excitement for the abundance of charming books in this issue. Happy reading! Robert DesmaraisManaging Editor

I have long been fascinated with New Year’s resolutions—making them, struggling to achieve them, and ultimately honouring or abandoning them—but recently I had wondered if many parents make resolutions to raise a reader. I discovered numerous articles on the Internet with the phrase “how to raise a reader”, so there is certainly no shortage of advice on the topic, and while much of the advice seemed obvious—“read aloud with your children” or “switch off the television”—other points were not as readily apparent. The advice that struck a chord with me was simply to “have books ready”, but it would be fascinating to know if most parents carry children’s books on outings, when travelling, or at restaurants. I always make a point of packing a book, or at least a newspaper section or magazine article, because I like to take advantage of opportunities to read whenever possible. Inspiring a child to be a reader for life is no easy task, it requires time and commitment, but having books on hand is essential. I was at a bookstore lecture a few months ago where the presenter made the point that we could all read 1000 books in a lifetime with a small investment of only 15 minutes a day. “Carry a book with you,” he said, “you’ll be surprised how many times in a day you’ll be waiting for a bus or an appointment.” I would like to offer some unsolicited advice. That is, make books available to children. The books in this issue are readily available at bookstores and libraries. They are lightweight and portable. They fit into backpacks, totes, lunch boxes, and all variety of bags. Bring them with you and put them in the hands of children whenever possible. In doing so, you will be creating a culture of reading, which will do wonders to promote their lifelong interest in books. Reading opportunities abound, so please seize them and make reading fun for young people everywhere. As always, please get in touch with me if you have any comments or questions.Robert Desmarais, Managing Editor

Dear Reader, In this latest collection of children’s books you will find something for every age and taste. I have always found that good children’s books are always inspirational or educational in some way, but they are not always easy to find in the annual deluge of new titles from the publishing houses. Indeed, the number of children’s books being published grows each year, which makes it difficult to separate the wheat from the chaff. Our reviews make it easy to find the kind of book you are looking for, thanks to a dedicated team of reviewers from the University of Alberta Libraries who recommend books that are imaginative, compelling, and attractively designed. Whether you are a parent wanting to read a good book with a child, a teenager looking for a fast-paced magical adventure, a teacher selecting picture books for a syllabus, or a young person enjoying a picture book for the first time—whoever you are—there are enough books in this issue for all of us to indulge our love of reading. Some of them, “The Last Dragonslayer”, for example, or “The Prince of Two Tribes”, feature young heroes and heroines with magical powers who embark on exciting and dangerous adventures, but there are also picture books like “Catch that Baby!” and “Red Wagon” whose gorgeous illustrations have immediate appeal to both children and adults. Now that portable electronic devices are ubiquitous, it was only a matter of time before publishers started offering digital children’s books with interactive features and sophisticated computer animation. So it is only natural that this publication would eventually review books for children that are released in electronic formats. This issue includes a review of “The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore”, which is available on iTunes’ online store as an iPad application. This delightful animated storybook demonstrates that ebooks designed for children have tremendous potential and could easily have a transformative effect on the entire children’s book publishing industry in the not-too-distant future. We certainly look forward to reviewing more digital stories, but it is my fervent belief that there are numerous factors—emotional, aesthetic, and otherwise—that will make it difficult for electronic children’s books to completely overcome print books. In closing, I would like to offer my heartiest congratulations to Dr Andrea Deakin, our esteemed founder, for being named one of two recipients of the 2011 Claude Aubry Award, conferred by the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY) for distinguished service to the field of children’s literature. As always, please get in touch if you have comments or questions about our publication. Warm wishes,Robert DesmaraisManaging Editor

The University of Alberta Libraries (UAL) is delighted to have the blessing of Dr Andrea Deakin and the Okanagan College Library to assume all responsibilities of the eponymous “Deakin Newsletter” (www.okanagan.bc.ca), which is now renamed “The Deakin Review of Children’s Literature”. An enthusiastic team of book reviewers and editors from UAL will review English language children’s books and publish thoughtful reviews and recommendations using a four star system (four stars: highly recommended; three stars: recommended; two stars: recommended with reservations; one star: not recommended). With so many children’s books published each year we know that it can be a dizzying task to find the good ones, so we will make every effort to review at least 25 books in each issue (published quarterly), including pop-ups, ABCs, young adult fiction, picture books, ebooks, board books, and works of non-fiction. Nearly a year ago I had the opportunity to meet Dr Andrea Deakin over lunch and we talked for hours about children’s books. Her enthusiasm was infectious and I was in awe when I learned that she had been reviewing children’s literature in Canada for nearly half a century. She explained that her career as a teacher and book reviewer had offered so many rewarding opportunities to promote children’s literature, and in retirement she continued her prolific book reviewing activities in an electronic newsletter hosted by the Okanagan College Library. She was recognized for her exemplary contribution to the humanities when Okanagan College awarded her an honorary Doctor of Letters degree in 2004. Dr Deakin has earned her reputation as one of the great champions of children’s literature and we are greatly honoured that she has given us this wonderful opportunity to launch a new journal in her honour. The reviewed books will be catalogued and processed as a non-circulating special collection, The Dr Andrea Deakin Collection of Children’s Literature, which will be stored at the University of Alberta’s Book and Record Depository, and made available to researchers in the reading room of the Bruce Peel Special Collections Library. We welcome your comments and suggestions about our publication, so please send me an email if you wish to get in touch. Best wishes for a pleasant summer, filled with splendid children’s books! Robert DesmaraisManaging Editor