scholarly journals Everything Dinosaurs by B. Hoena

2014 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Debbie Feisst
Keyword(s):  
School Libraries ◽  
Upper Elementary ◽  
Young Adult Fiction ◽  
National Geographic Society ◽  
University Of Alberta ◽  
National Geographic ◽  
Hollywood Films ◽  
Non Fiction ◽  
The University ◽  
Realistic Images

Hoena, Blake. Everything Dinosaurs. Illus. Franco Tempesta. Washington: National Geographic Society, 2014. Print.This colourful, glossy and magazine-like title in the National Geographic Kids’ Everything series will please almost any young would-be paleontologist.  Written specifically for the 8-12 year old audience, it is chock full of photographs, images, facts, maps and activities expertly compiled by a large team of National Geographic staff. It has boldly designed graphics and as a high-interest non-fiction title, will appeal to reluctant readers.Children will enjoy the appealing images, beautifully created by artist and illustrator Franco Tempesta who specializes in naturalistic illustration, and in particular, realistic images of dinosaurs and prehistoric mammals.  Included are “Explorer’s Corners,” information from the field from an expert. In this case, University of Chicago professor Paul Sereno, who in his photograph and cartoon image looks a lot like Indiana Jones! Real photographs of fossilized dino eggs, meteorites, dinosaur theme parks and paleontologists add a touch of authenticity. Especially fun are the infographics and quizzes, on topics ranging from how dinosaur names are chosen, dinosaurs in Hollywood films and the ‘rock stars’ of the paleontological world.As with other titles in the series, Everything Dinosaurs contains a table of contents, diagrams, definitions and an index. This title and the series will appeal to upper middle and upper elementary readers interested in non-fiction. It would be a fine addition to elementary school libraries and public libraries.Recommended: 3 stars out of 4 Reviewer: Debbie FeisstDebbie is a Public Services Librarian at the H.T. Coutts Education Library at the University of Alberta.  When not renovating, she enjoys travel, fitness and young adult fiction.

scholarly journals The Spirit of the Sea by R. Hainnu

2015 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandy Campbell
Keyword(s):  
Public Libraries ◽  
School Libraries ◽  
Read Aloud ◽  
Upper Elementary ◽  
Human Form ◽  
University Of Alberta ◽  
Non Fiction ◽  
Underwater Image ◽  
The University

Hainnu, Rebecca.  The Spirit of the Sea. Illus. Hwei Lim. Iqualuit, NU:  Inhabit Media, Inc., 2014.  Print.This volume is another of Inhabit Media’s fine productions of Inuit legends.  It tells an old story, which exists in many variations. This version comes from Rebecca Hainnu, who lives in Clyde River, Nunavut.  While Hainnu’s previous works have been non-fiction including children’s books on mathematics and tundra plants, she does a fine job of storytelling, as well.   Arnaq is a beautiful young woman who is tricked into marrying a fulmar (a kind of bird) when he appears in human form.  When her father tries to rescue her, he ends up sacrificing her to the fulmars to save his own life. She sinks to the bottom and becomes the Spirit of the Sea.  As Nuliajuq, she controls the sea animals and hunters must appease her to have good hunting and calm seas.Throughout the volume, text appears on one page and an image on the facing page.  The text, which is appropriate for upper elementary readers and above, is meant to be read aloud and generally has the sound of a traditional storyteller’s voice.  However, there are occasional modern phrases that are incongruous and break the flow.   “Eventually, Arnaq succumbed to complete depression”.  The text contains some Inuktitut words, which are italicized and listed in the pronunciation guide at the end of the volume.The watercolours by Hwei Lim are beautiful and ethereal.  The colours are mainly blues and browns, reflecting the marine environment.  The underwater image of Arnaq looking up at the bottom of a boat is particularly effective.The Spirit of the Sea is highly recommended for elementary school libraries, public libraries and libraries specializing in Canadian Indigenous materials. Highly Recommended:  4 stars out of 4Reviewer:  Sandy CampbellSandy is a Health Sciences Librarian at the University of Alberta, who has written hundreds of book reviews across many disciplines.  Sandy thinks that sharing books with children is one of the greatest gifts anyone can give. 

scholarly journals Cloudwalker by R.H. Vickers and R. Budd

2014 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandy Campbell
Keyword(s):  
School Libraries ◽  
Health Sciences ◽  
Cultural Knowledge ◽  
Upper Elementary ◽  
Elementary Level ◽  
University Of Alberta ◽  
Great Rivers ◽  
The University ◽  
Traditional Stories

Vickers, Roy Henry and Robert Budd.  Cloudwalker.  Madeira Park, BC: Harbour Publishing, 2014. Print.This is a stunning new book from painter, print maker, carver, author and member of the Orders of Canada and British Columbia, Roy Henry Vickers.  It contains 18 new prints from this innovative Indigenous artist, which accompany the retelling of a traditional story.  The story explains the origin of the three great rivers: The Nass, The Stikine and the Skeena (or Ksien, which means "juice from the clouds”).  It is the story of a young man who is carried up to the clouds by swans and wanders around on the clouds.  He carries a box of water, which spills when he falls.  The spills form the lakes and rivers on the land.  While the text tells the story, it also incorporates cultural knowledge including the cycle of the salmon and the importance of marmot hides as symbols of wealth.  The text is simple and readable at the upper elementary level. While the story is important, it is the sophisticated artwork that makes this book stand out.  Vickers has used flat designs, incorporating the familiar formlines and ovoids found in traditional North coastal Indigenous art.  Ovoids are the rounded shapes used to portray joints  and sometimes eyes.   Some of the paintings show the familiar red and black figures on simple backgrounds of strong colours.  However  other figures are printed in shiny overlay most visible as you move the book to catch the light, creating hidden treasures for children to find.  For example the image on page 28 shows a figure by the river;  shiny streaks cross the page to represent rain and shiny fish are printed on the surface of the river. This book, which reminds us that picture books and traditional stories are not just for children, would be an excellent addition to public and school libraries everywhere, as well as to collections that specialize in Canadian Indigenous traditional stories. Highly recommended:  4 stars out of 4 Reviewer:  Sandy CampbellSandy is a Health Sciences Librarian at the University of Alberta, who has written hundreds of book reviews across many disciplines.  Sandy thinks that sharing books with children is one of the greatest gifts anyone can give. 

scholarly journals The People of the Sea by D. Uluadluak

2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandy Campbell
Keyword(s):  
Public Libraries ◽  
School Libraries ◽  
Reading Level ◽  
Upper Elementary ◽  
Elementary Children ◽  
Intended Audience ◽  
University Of Alberta ◽  
The People ◽  
The University

Uluadluak, Donald.  The People of the Sea, illustrated by Mike Motz, Inhabit Media, 2017The People of the Sea is a recollection by the late Inuit elder, Donald Uluadluak, of seeing an arnajuinnaq or a sea person, while he and his friends played on the beach near Arviat. The story is a simple retelling of the adventure which highlights the presence of sea-people in Inuit culture.  Unlike the vicious mermaids or tuutaliit of books such as Kiviuq and the Mermaids, who have frightening appearances and want to destroy kayaks and kill hunters, the sea-people in this story seem benign and simply curious. Mike Motz has drawn them as almost-expressionless creatures who look like fair-skinned women with long dark hair and facial tattoos – just as Uluadluak describes them. The two-page images are multi-coloured and do a good job of reflecting the sea and tundra environments. Text is overprinted on the images. The text is simple and comprehensible to the intended audience of 5 to 7 year-olds, but is above their reading level, so an adult would need to read this book aloud. The People of the Sea would also be appropriate for upper elementary children who are interested in traditional myths and legends.  Highly recommended for school libraries and public libraries. Highly Recommended:  4 stars out of 4Reviewer: Sandy CampbellSandy is a Health Sciences Librarian at the University of Alberta, who has written hundreds of book reviews across many disciplines.  Sandy thinks that sharing books with children is one of the greatest gifts anyone can give.  

Where Wild Horses Run by G. Graham

2013 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandy Campbell
Keyword(s):  
Picture Book ◽  
Good Condition ◽  
Upper Elementary ◽  
Story Line ◽  
University Of Alberta ◽  
Normal Behavior ◽  
Four Books ◽  
The University ◽  
Realistic Images

Graham, Georgia.  Where Wild Horses Run.  Markham, ON., Red Deer Press,  2011. Print. Georgia Graham has written four books and illustrated fourteen.  In this picture book she captures the beauty of the wild horses of the Nemaiah Valley in British Columbia through the story of a new foal.  While she both wrote and illustrated this work, her strength is clearly in illustration.  Using chalk pastels and chalk pencils on sanded pastel paper, Graham creates realistic images of both the horses and the landscapes.  Her crouched cougar image is very well executed. The unusual layout of the images is eye-catching and allows Graham to vary the emphasis between the text and images. The book is in landscape format, allowing images to flow over two pages.  Sometimes one image will fill two pages, with text bars at the top.  Sometimes, an image will take up the top of a two page spread, with another image below and a third integrated into the text on the remaining white space. While the book is attractive and enjoyable, there are some shortcomings.  The drawings of the horses are inconsistent in their detail and sometimes in their proportions.  In two images of the foal, its legs seem disproportionately large.  Some of the horses’ manes seem to be permanently flying in the wind.  In an image of two stallions fighting, parts of their manes seem to move independently, like Medusa’s snakes.  While the artist is probably attempting to show agitation in the horses, the manes are quite unnatural. The Golden Stallion is also depicted with his ribs showing prominently, which would normally indicate that the animal is underfed, however, the rest of his body and those of the other horses appear to be in good condition. The text is quite simple, generally well-written and is appropriate for the intended upper elementary audience.  However, the story line takes an unnatural twist at the end.  The new foal has played with a grey colt, whom the Golden Stallion drives out of the band.  This is normal behavior.  When a cougar threatens the foal, the grey colt appears from nowhere, in an implied act of friendship, to protect the foal.  It is not realistic that a colt that has been banished from a band would interfere with a foal while the stallion is nearby.  It is much more likely that a mare, and particularly the lead mare, would chase away a cougar.  This unnecessary bit of anthropomorphizing detracts from the otherwise realistic portrayal of the animals in the text and images. In spite of the flaws, this is still a good book from a rising Alberta author and illustrator, which should be included in library collections. Recommended:  3 stars out of 4 Reviewer:  Sandy Campbell Sandy is a Health Sciences Librarian at the University of Alberta, who has written hundreds of book reviews across many disciplines.  Sandy thinks that sharing books with children is one of the greatest gifts anyone can give.

scholarly journals The Sea Wolves by I. McAllister

2012 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandy Campbell
Keyword(s):  
Junior High School ◽  
Upper Elementary ◽  
Fish Farms ◽  
University Of Alberta ◽  
High School Grades ◽  
Non Fiction ◽  
Founding Director ◽  
Words And Images ◽  
Coffee Table ◽  
The University

McAllister, Ian, and Nicholas Read. The Sea Wolves: Living Wild in the Great Bear Rainforest. Vancouver: Orca, 2010. Print At first glance, The Sea Wolves is a small coffee table book. It is not, however, just a pretty photographic exploration of the wolves that inhabit The Great Bear Rainforest. It is a very long opinion piece written expressly to convince readers that wolves are not “the big bad wolf” of stories; rather, we should all love and respect them. Authors Ian McAllister, a founding director of both the Raincoast Conservation Society and Pacific Wild, and Nicholas Read, a journalist, pull no punches in their attempt to sway the reader. While the book does present facts about the wolves and their environment, many of them likely accurate, the authors make sweeping statements and claims which they require the reader to accept at face value. For example, though the authors state that there is “a great deal of evidence to suggest that over-fishing, fish farms and climate change have all played a role in [the wolves’] decline,” this statement does not direct the reader to any evidence. Part of the purpose of the book is to educate the reader about the wolves; however, it is also clearly designed to manipulate the readers’ emotions. The authors attempt to get the reader to identify with the wolves through anthropomorphizing the animals and by drawing extensive parallels between the lives of wolves and the lives of people. For example, they state that the reason that wolves save the “tastiest deer” for their young pups “could be because, just as in human families, wolf families like to spoil their babies.” Furthermore, throughout the book, the authors choose emotionally-laden words and images, stating, for example, that wolves “have been persecuted by humans, with a kind of madness,” or that they “romp on the beach in the ocean foam that burbles off the waves like bubble bath.” Each interpretation of the wolves’ behaviour seems designed to achieve the desired effect of garnering sympathy for the creatures. While there is nothing wrong with writing a polemic against the dangers to wolves and their environment, this book is presented by the publisher as juvenile non-fiction for ages 8 and up. Children in upper elementary or even junior high school grades may have difficulty distinguishing between facts and strongly-worded opinions presented in a book labelled as non-fiction. Recommended: Three stars out of fourReviewer: Sandy CampbellSandy is a Health Sciences Librarian at the University of Alberta, who has written hundreds of book reviews across many disciplines.  Sandy thinks that sharing books with children is one of the greatest gifts anyone can give.

scholarly journals Timber Wolf by C. Pignat

2012 ◽  
Vol 1 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandy Campbell
Keyword(s):  
Young Adult ◽  
School Libraries ◽  
Young Adult Fiction ◽  
Adult Readers ◽  
University Of Alberta ◽  
Broken Bones ◽  
Adventure Fiction ◽  
Suspension Of Disbelief ◽  
The University

Pignat, Caroline. Timber Wolf. Markham, ON: Red Deer Press, 2011.Print. The first book in this series, Greener Pastures, won a Governor General’s Award in 2009.  This volume doesn’t meet that bar.  When we enter the world of Timber Wolf, it is through the eyes and person of someone who has woken up in the snow at the bottom of a cliff, not knowing who or where he is. He just knows that he is injured and cold. Readers do not know where the character is in time or space, except that he is in a forest. As the story unfolds, the reader learns more as the protagonist gradually remembers and eventually reveals the whole story. The book is young adult fiction and is designed to grab and hold young readers’ attentions.  The action moves quickly and Pignat keeps the reader hungry for the next bit of information. While Pignat has clearly done her historical research and attests to this in the end-notes, there are many unlikely scenarios. In fact there are so many unlikely events that I expected the book to progress to full magic realism or to reveal itself as the hallucinations of a man dying of a head-injury and hypothermia at the bottom of a cliff.  But it did neither, so I presume that Pignat meant the reader to accept that a wild wolf would or could rescue a drowning man who had fallen through the ice of a frozen lake, would bring him game to cook and would allow itself to be petted.  Pignat has the young man step into a bear trap and get out of it with mere flesh wounds.  Given the technology of bear traps in the mid-1800’s, it is unlikely that he would not have had broken bones and probably faced amputation. While Pignat has consulted with indigenous people to ensure that depictions are accurate, it is unlikely that indigenous trappers would have taken an injured person home, nursed him back to health, and then deliberately shot him in the back with an arrow, but not shot to kill, requiring that they heal him all over again.  Not only would that have required additional resources, but it would have also wasted a perfectly good arrow. There is so much violence in the few months covered by the book, that it, too, is unlikely.  The young man, who eventually remembers that he is Jack Byrne, (and hence a character from Greener Pastures) also remembers accidentally chopping of someone’s fingers, seeing his friend drown and finally remembers that he was beaten until he fell off the cliff.  His hands are frozen, he nearly drowns, he is attacked by a bear, caught in a bear-trap, captured by a man who has been grotesquely disfigured by fire, knocked unconscious as a form of anesthetic, has his wounds cauterized with hot steel, is kept tethered in leg irons and is shot with an arrow.  One wonders how much more trauma one young man could survive.  Historical “adventure” fiction doesn’t need to be violent to be exciting. Timber Wolf is a gripping read and entertaining, if you can ignore the jolts of the unlikely events and maintain your suspension of disbelief.  Many young adult readers will probably be able to do that and will enjoy the book. Recommended with reservations for public and school libraries. Recommended:  3 out of 4 starsReviewer:  Sandy Campbell Sandy is a Health Sciences Librarian at the University of Alberta, who has written hundreds of book reviews across many disciplines.  Sandy thinks that sharing books with children is one of the greatest gifts anyone can give.

scholarly journals The Shadows that Rush Past by R. A. Qitsualik

2012 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandy Campbell
Keyword(s):  
Upper Elementary ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Aboriginal Rights ◽  
University Of Alberta ◽  
Snow Bunting ◽  
The Right ◽  
The University ◽  
Realistic Images

Qitsualik, Rachael A.  The Shadows that Rush Past.  Iqaluit:  Inhabit Media, Inc., 2011.  Print. Rachael Qitsualik is an Inuit who was “born into the traditional 1950’s culture of iglu-building and dog-sledding”.  She is now a renowned re-teller of Inuit folktales, as well as a translator, writer, scholar and aboriginal rights activist.  This book, which contains four tales of scary creatures, shows Quitsualik demonstrating her mastery of story telling.  In her introduction, she tells us that the stories “[defy] death and decay, they are songs of immortality.”  Her stories are full of wisdom.  For example in Nanurluk, she tells us “that even the oddest personality quirk can turn out to be a gift in the right situation”. All the stories come from a time when there were many strange creatures in the Arctic world:  half-human, half-animal monsters who ate people, animals that spoke to humans and giant insects that could strip a body to a skeleton in a matter of hours.  It was the time when the world was forming.  “These were the days, you see, when human beings recognized the Land as one might a dear relative; and the Land, in turn, recognized humankind.” In each of the stories, Qitsualik engages the reader through vivid detail.  For example in Nanurluk, the hunter, Nakasungnak rushes headlong into the mouth of the giant maurading polar bear.  “Nakasungnak fell forward, into the bear’s throat.  It was probably a good thing, since the bear’s response to having a person in its mouth was to snap its jaws closed, and if Nakasungnak’s legs had still been dangling outside the mouth when that had happened, well, a pair of boots might have fallen to the beach, feet still in them.” (26) Qitsualik also engages readers by speaking directly to them.  In Amautalik”, she says, “I warned you that I would tell you what was under her parka.  Wriggling among the flaking folds of her skin were lice. The size of puppies.” The stories are illustrated with 19 full page illustrations by Emily Fiegenschuh and Larry MacDougall.  Fiegenschuh has used full-colour illustrations to create realistic images of the mythical world.  The cover illustration of the amautalik, with her one blue eye and one brown eye, being driven mad by the snow bunting is Fiegenschuh’s work.  MacDougall illustrated two stories with bi-colour drawings, sepia tones for the creatures and humans and blue for the ice and snow.  Though quite different styles, both illustrators help to evoke the fear and wonder that the stories are meant to convey.  This is an excellent selection for upper elementary readers. Highly recommended:  4 stars out of 4Reviewer:  Sandy CampbellSandy is a Health Sciences Librarian at the University of Alberta, who has written hundreds of book reviews across many disciplines.  Sandy thinks that sharing books with children is one of the greatest gifts anyone can give.

The Lowdown on Denim by T. L. Kyi

2012 ◽  
Vol 1 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Polkinghorne
Keyword(s):  
Hip Hop ◽  
Cultural Economic ◽  
University Of Alberta ◽  
National Geographic ◽  
Non Fiction ◽  
Award Winning ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Cold War ◽  
The University ◽  
Commodity History

Kyi, Tanya Lloyd. The Lowdown on Denim. Illus. Clayton Hanmer. Toronto: Annick Press, 2011. Print. It’s springtime: time to pick up a pair of the latest blue jeans for the new season. This year, however, thanks to The Lowdown on Denim, young fashionistas can also read about their pants, and consider the cultural, economic, political, and environmental issues surrounding them. The Lowdown on Denim provides an entertaining introduction to how jeans have evolved, who makes them, and what they’ve meant throughout the world. Author Tanya Lloyd Kyi, based in British Columbia, has created a wide variety of curiosity-sparking non-fiction titles; including 50 Underwear Questions (reviewed by T. Chatterley in this issue) and 50 Poisonous Questions (reviewed by K. Frail in Vol. 1, No. 1, 2011). Here, she applies an unobtrusive narrative frame; protagonists JD and Shred are sent to detention, having been caught blue-handed running their teacher’s jeans up the school flagpole. In detention, JD and Shred are tasked with writing a report on the history of jeans, which, as Shred points out, “have been around way longer than Google”. Kyi takes her protagonists on a tour of jeans beginning in the mid-19th century, and illustrator Clayton Hanmer carries the reader along by placing JD and Shred in each time and place along the way. They begin by panning for gold in California in garments woefully lacking in ruggedness. They go on to explore wartime periods, the cold war, rock’n’roll, disco, punk, hip hop, and more. Throughout, Kyi and Hanmer also touch upon issues including trade globalization, factory working conditions, marketing strategies, gender norms, and pesticide-intensive cotton. Hanmer’s award-winning illustrations are well-known thanks to publications such as OWL Magazine, National Geographic Kids, and The Globe & Mail, as well as several books. Here he effectively captures JD and Shred’s bewilderment at their whirlwind tour, while highlighting key moments of insight. The Lowdown on Denim is unfortunately mistitled. Kyi and Hanmer have actually given us The Lowdown on Jeans Beginning with Levi Strauss. Readers may unfortunately be left with the impression that jeans were a solely American invention; denim fabric’s European origins, for example, go unmentioned. Despite this, The Lowdown on Denim is a detailed, readable, engaging commodity history. It will draw in pre-teen and early teen readers, and could serve as a great launching point for a variety of classroom discussions and projects. Recommended: 3 out of 4 starsReviewer: Sarah PolkinghorneSarah is a Public Services Librarian at the University of Alberta. She enjoys all sorts of books.

scholarly journals Off to Class by S. Hughes

2013 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Debbie Feisst
Keyword(s):  
Hurricane Katrina ◽  
Basic Education ◽  
Upper Elementary ◽  
Young Adult Fiction ◽  
Refugee Camps ◽  
Human Right ◽  
University Of Alberta ◽  
The World ◽  
The University ◽  
The Impact

Hughes, Susan. Off to Class: Incredible and Unusual Schools Around the World. Toronto: Owlkids Books, 2011. Print.The United Nations may have declared education a basic human right, but that does not mean it is accessible to all.  Across the world over 100 million kids are not receiving a basic education. This photographic account will open the eyes and minds of both children and adults who will be amazed and inspired by stories of real children facing challenges in their quests to get an education in some very unconventional situations.Toronto-based author Susan Hughes has penned a very readable, interesting, and sometimes alarming collection of first-hand accounts.  Divided into 3 sections (‘Working with the Environment’, ‘No School?  No Way!’ and ‘One Size Doesn’t Fit All’) Hughes’ book details 23 schools in 14 different countries.  Each school is presented in a 2 page spread with colour photographs alongside regional facts, imagery and often with an interview of a student or adult who has committed to make a difference in these children’s lives. A small colour map indicates where the school is which corresponds to a larger map of the world showing the locations of all schools highlighted.Many environmental issues are investigated, from schooling after a natural disaster such as Hurricane Katrina in Louisiana, USA and creating a ‘boat school’ in monsoon regions such as Bangladesh.  Schools in refugee camps, caves, tree houses and portable schools made of bamboo are fascinating but tough educational issues are also discussed; poverty, homelessness, gender inequality and the impact of HIV/AIDS.  Many Canadian students will be humbled to read about their peers around the globe.A section of follow-up resources and a brief index are included. This book is appropriate for school libraries and students in the upper elementary and middle school years.Recommended: 3 out of 4 stars Reviewer: Debbie FeisstDebbie is a Public Services Librarian at the H.T. Coutts Education Library at the University of Alberta.  When not renovating, she enjoys travel, fitness and young adult fiction.

scholarly journals I Love You, Nose! I Love You, Toes! by L. Davick

2014 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Debbie Feisst
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Young Children ◽  
New York Times ◽  
Early Years ◽  
Young Adult Fiction ◽  
Body Parts ◽  
University Of Alberta ◽  
Series Books ◽  
Words And Images ◽  
The University

Davick, Linda. I Love You, Nose! I Love You, Toes! New York: Simon & Schuster-Beach Lane Books, 2013. Print.Graphic artist, illustrator and animator Linda Davick, whose colourful images have appeared in several seasonal counting series books such as the New York Times bestselling 10 Trick-or-Treaters, has penned her first book for children aimed at celebrating the unique qualities we all have. Starting from our head right down to our toes, the simply drawn children, with fun disproportionately-scaled features and descriptions to portray many kids, show off their various body parts. The book is essentially a whimsical love poem to our bodies that children will find entertaining, both in the prose and the illustrations.  Take this stanza as an example:I love you, nose, though there’s no doubt that when you sneeze some stuff comes out.The images are great, too: a little girl covering her nose to the smell of her baby sibling’s diaper, a child thinking about smelling pepper (spoiler alert: she sneezes), a stinky sock and fragrant flowers; young children will enjoy the interplay of words and images, especially about body parts and functions that are generally not discussed:I love the parts my friends don’t see: the parts that poop, the parts that pee.Ending with a sleepy boy drifting off to sleep, this would be a fun book to read with young children at night as part of a bedtime routine or even as part of an early-years story time, though the latter would certainly create a memorable experience for the students! Highly recommended: 4 stars of out 4 Reviewer: Debbie FeisstDebbie is a Public Services Librarian at the H.T. Coutts Education Library at the University of Alberta.  When not renovating, she enjoys travel, fitness and young adult fiction.

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