Canada

Materials from Canada

Cinnamon Baby

Miriam the baker is beloved in her village. Every day she bicycles to work and saves her favorite cinnamon bread for last, singing as she kneads spices into the dough. The scents and songs attract fellow bicyclist Sebastian, and he falls head over handlebars for Miriam. After marrying, their domestic bliss is disrupted when their beautiful new baby begins to cry continuously. What finally placates the fussy infant? The sounds and smells of Miriam making a batch of cinnamon bread. Many children will welcome the beside-the-point depiction of a multicultural family: Miriam is paper white, Sebastian is cocoa brown, and their cinnamon-colored child gives the title a sly double meaning. A charming offering infused with warmth, romantic whimsy, and love

Watch Me Grow!

A charming introduction in words and photographs to growing food in the city. The focus is on raising food in cities, where it can be grown anywhere on windowsills, balconies, yards, boulevards and even rooftops. Children follow the food, from planting and tending to harvesting and eating. Kids also read about sharing in community gardens and community kitchens and about the friendships and sense of caring that grow as people tend their city gardens.

Small Saul

Ahoy there! Will this sweet little pirate find his place aboard The Rusty Squid or will he be forced to walk the plank? When Small Saul joins the crew of The Rusty Squid, it doesn’t take long for the other pirates to notice something is very different about this tiny fellow. He was born to sing sea shanties, bake pineapple upside down cakes and redecorate, not to hold a sword and plunder. Being rough and tough just isn’t in his nature. Small Saul learned at Pirate College that pirates only care about three things: their ship, being tough and lots and lots of treasure. Can Small Saul show these ruffians that despite his gentle spirit, he’s worth his weight in gold? With treasure chests of laughs, Small Saul’s high-seas adventure is a light-hearted celebration of individuality, perseverance and being true to one’s self.

Big Red Lollipop

Having to take her younger sister along the first time she is invited to a birthday party spoils Rubina’s fun, and later when that sister is asked to a party and baby sister wants to come, Rubina must decide whether to help.

Join the discussion of Big Red Lollipop as well as other books centered around relocation on our My Take/Your Take page.

See the review at WOW Review, Volume 3, Issue 4

This book has been included in WOW’s Kids Taking Action Booklist. For our current list, visit our Boolist page under Resources in the green navigation bar.

Ducks Don’t Wear Socks

Emily is a serious girl. She enjoys serious things like bird-watching, math, and playing the cello. But one day while she’s taking a walk, Emily runs into Duck, who is anything but serious and wears socks. Ducks dont wear socks, said Emily. Cold feet! yelled Duck, and off he went. Through a series of humorous run-ins, Duck teaches Emily the importance of laughing especially at oneself.

If I Had a Dog

Six-year-old Maxine is dog crazy. She draws dogs, she has dogs on her T-shirts, she even drags home neighbors’ dogs in the hopes that her parents will let them stay. On a walk to the park with her big brother, Hugh, Maxine stops every time she sees a dog, hoping for a kiss or a tail-wag from the four-footed friends she adores. Hugh and some of the pet owners she meets along the way teach Maxine how to know when it is safe to approach, how to greet, and what to do to ensure a happy experience for both child and canine.Whether they’re small or big dogs, working or guard dogs, old or young dogs, even aggressive dogs, Maxine learns how best to deal with each situation. And though she aches to have them all, she is about to find out that the best dog is her own dog — the squiggly surprise her parents have waiting for her.Written so that young children can learn to “read” dog language, the veterinarian-approved information is presented in a charming storyline that is sure to appeal to young children.

The Trouble With Tilly Trumble

A sweet, read-aloud story of friendship for dog lovers everywhere in a tale about the relationship between a lonely person and a homeless pet that offers laughs and sincere emotion. Tilly Trumble collects chairs, but she’s still looking for the perfect four-legged, scruffy old thing to fill the space by the fire. When a scruffy dog arrives and doesn’t want to leave, Tilly finds the perfect companion for her chair collecting, sausage eating, and star gazing. Dog owners especially will find warm satisfaction in this story of a pooch who teaches his human friend a lesson in love, loyalty, and furniture arranging.

Emily’s Eighteen Aunts

All of Emily’s friends have someone special to take them to the ice cream parlor, or the ballet, or the park. Now that her mother is busy with the new baby, Emily doesn’t have anyone to entertain her — no uncles or big sisters or aunts. Emily sets out to solve her little difficulty and succeeds beyond her wildest dreams. The result is eighteen eager aunts, who cause mayhem wherever they go. If only they weren’t so. . .different. Now Emily has a much bigger problem. How can she stop the aunts from embarrassing her without hurting their feelings? Emily’s Eighteen Aunts is a warm, funny look at what happens when one thing leads to another — and another. And happily, Emily finds out that being different is far more fun than she thought possible.