Our Children's Librarian columnist, Julie Booker, brings us a new view from the stacks every month.
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Little Wolf, by Teoni Spathelfer, illustrated by Natassia Davies, features Little Wolf, an Indigenous girl who connects with animals wherever she goes, even when she’s forced to move with her mother to the city—where her classmates make fun of her for being the only Indigenous person in her new school. In order to raise her spirits, her mom enrols her in a beading course, and so begins Little Wolf’s journey learning about her culture, which leads to her hanging out with her grandfather and the dolphins that swim alongside his fishing boat. For her 10th birthday, she adopts a dog and as she grows and matures, she reads a book by Martin Luther King which gives her the strength to be different. (Kindergarten to Grade 3)
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Hold that Thought! by Bree Galbraith, illustrated by Lynn Scurfield, is about being brave enough to express an original idea. Scurfield’s energizing and inspirational pictures portray Finn as they wake up with an idea. When Otis shoots it down because it’s not exactly like his idea, we see the idea reduced to nothing but a tiny jagged spark. But when Finn decides to believe in their idea, others do too, and that idea comes to life again. (Kindergarten to Grade 2)
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Name Calling, by Itah Sadu, illustrated by Rasheeda Hannef, has several plot points that allow for discussion. When Jennifer calls Cindy a name, Cindy seeks revenge, enlisting a gang of supporters. Each suggests a negative way of dealing with the name-calling: calling Jennifer a name back; fighting physically; gossiping. At one point someone else asks Cindy a profound question: “Will you hate her for the rest of your life?” Ironically, Cindy finds Jennifer in the principal’s office complaining someone else has called HER a name. (Kindergarten to Grade 3)
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I Didn’t Stand Up, by Lisa Falcone, illustrated by Jacqueline Hudon, has an all-important Author’s Note at the back, in which Falcone explains she was inspired by a famous poem, “First They Came.” Written post-WWII, by Pastor Martin Neimoller, the poem is about how Germans enabled the Nazis through their fear and silence. Every page features a particular kind of marginalized people—by race, status, gender, religion or physical characteristics. One page, for instance, reads: “Then they went after Mariana/ But I was born in this country—so I didn’t stand up for her.” Kids will be able to make at least one text-to-self connection in terms of being a bystander. The big-eyed expression of the illustrated characters invites empathy. (Kindergarten to Grade 6)
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This next book’s Author’s Note offers a lot of context and meaning. The Artist and Me, by Shane Peacock, illustrated by Sophie Casson, is about the lifelong outsider, Vincent Van Gogh, who was publicly bullied and called names like “fool” and “crazy.” The bully in this story is a boy who taunts the artist painting in the fields, encouraged by others who also view Van Gogh as strange. Interestingly, the painter doesn’t seem to care. As a grown man, the bully sees Van Gogh’s paintings worth millions of dollars in a gallery, and understands how wrong his name-calling was. The illustrations are in typical Van Gogh colours and style. (Kindergarten to Grade 6)
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The Proudest Blue: A Story of Hijab and Family, by Ibtihaj Muhammad, with S.K. Ali, illustrated by Hatim Aly, offers good advice in the face of name-calling. Faizah watches her older sister wearing her hijab to school for the first time. She sees some boys laughing, saying they’re going to pull the “tablecloth” off her sister’s head. Faizah remembers her mother’s wise suggestion to “drop hurtful words.” At the end of the school day she sees her worry was for naught; her sister has not held onto the name-calling, and is still shining in her blue hijab. (Kindergarten to Grade 3)
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The Bug Girl (a true story), by Sophia Spencer, illustrated by Margaret McNamara, is about Sophia who loves bugs. Her bug knowledge is cool in kindergarten but in Grade One she’s called a “show off,” “strange,” and “weird.” So she takes an unhappy break from what she loves, until her mom sees she needs to find like-minded entomologists to give her confidence. This is another story about being who you are, and loving what you love, in the face of putdowns. (Kindergarten to Grade 3)
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On her first day as teacher-librarian, Julie Booker was asked by a five-year-old if that was her real name. She's felt at home in libraries since her inaugural job as a Page in the Toronto Public Library. She is the author of Up Up Up, a book of short stories published by House of Anansi Press.