June is Indigenous History Month in Canada. We have a long way to go in recognizing the rights of Indigenous people and acknowledging the truth about our violent and ugly past. My CTV Your Morning segment is a privilege and I strive to include a wide-range of books and creators on each list. This month's … Continue reading As Seen on CTV: Indigenous History Month Kids’ Book List
I read a LOT of fab YA this year, some of which I won't go into here but you should definitely pick up (A Torch Against the Night! Empire of Storms! The Sun is Also a Star!). This list is by no means exhaustive, but here are some YA titles that made me think, slipped … Continue reading What I Read in 2016: YA
Last week I got to talk to one of my favourite people, Ann Foster, about middle grade fiction. When not working at the Saskatoon Public Library recco-ing kids and teen books, she is writing about fashion in TV over at You Know You Love Fashion (currently chronicling the enviable wardrobe of Phryne Fisher) and spearheading a … Continue reading Middle Grade Gift Suggestions 2016
This has already been a staggeringly good year for middle grade (don't call it a comeback), with personal favourites such as Raymie Nightingale, The Wild Robot, Look Out for the Fitzgerald Trouts, and Pax garnering all sorts of buzz and attention. Here is a sampling of the new kids on the block this fall: Ghosts … Continue reading Middle Grade Monday: Fall 2016 Preview
Whether you're lakeside, poolside, or inside, summer is the best time to read. Silly, spooky, thought-provoking and engrossing; here are some new(ish) books guaranteed to keep you or the middle grade reader in your life occupied this summer. Wolf Hollow We all have those keystone books in our lives, the ones so deeply affecting that … Continue reading Middle Grade Monday: Summer Reading Picks 2016
Middle grade horror is difficult to pull off. Some authors go for camp, with lots of gore and over-the-top scenarios that are almost humorous, therefore defusing any terror the reader might experience. Governor-General award-winning author Arthur Slade is the other kind of author-genuine thrills created by uncanny situations, eerie coincidences, and a slow-burning sense of … Continue reading Middle Grade Monday: Flickers
Katherine Rundell restored my faith in middle grade whimsy with her much-lauded Rooftoppers, so I was very excited to check out this wintry tale of a girl who helps the pet wolves of Russian aristocracy adjust to a wild, wolfish life. Feo and her mother are wolf wilders, humans who take in pet wolves abandoned … Continue reading Middle Grade Monday: Wolf Wilder
Zilpha Keatley Snyder, 1927-2014 When I was a kid I got a box of books at a garage sale. I don't remember how old I was. It was the summer, possibly between grades 3 and 4, or 4 and 5- but I do remember that box vividly. I discovered some of my favourite authors in … Continue reading Thank You for the Borderlands: RIP Zilpha Keatley Snyder
This disturbing piece of news about the Harper government erasing Canadian feminist and women's rights activist Therese Casgrain's name from an award (not to mention that her image was also removed from the $50 bill in 2012) made me feel many things. Angry, obviously. But also disappointed, uneasy, and incredulous. It's easy to take the … Continue reading YA to the Rescue: On Therese Casgrain & A Mad, Wicked Folly
I have been feeling neglectful of the blog these days, but here are three books I've read and loved this fall. ALL THE TRUTH THAT'S IN ME Julie Berry you totally got me. Is this book historical fiction? A poetic literary offering? Mystery? Psychological thriller? The correct answer would be all of these things plus … Continue reading Three Quick & Dirty Reviews
