Picture Book - Bear's New Friend

"Why don't you like us?
WHY, WHY, WHY, WHY???"
Then a trembling voice says,
"Because---I am shy."

This quiet book with softly illustrated woodland creatures is the fourth in a series of books about a bear cub and his friends. It did not resonate with me though, at least not as strongly as some of the other pictures books I have read. I came back to the book a few days after my first reading and found I could recall very little of the plot. That said, it would be a good book to read aloud because of the rhyme and the repeated refrain of, "And the bear asks, WHO?" Children may start to predict the pattern and enjoy joining in by shouting out the phrase in cahoots with the book's reader. The characters are sweet and there is a nice moral involving the importance of overcoming shyness in order to make new friends. Recommended for those whose children are nervous about school or making friends in general.



Rating: 3.5 stars/5 stars

Recommended for ages 4 and up.

The details:
Wilson, K. (2006). Bear's New Friend. New York: Margaret K. McElderry Books.

Picture Book: Leon the Chameleon

"Leon the chameleon was different from all the other chameleons.
When the others sat on a green leaf, they turned green.
When they stood on yellow sand, they turned yellow.
And when they swam in the blue pond, they turned blue.

But not Leon. When Leon sat on a green leaf, he turned red."

Leon the chameleon is an adorable story that parents and children will both enjoy. Children will love the vivid colours of the illustrations and will be intrigued to discover the world of the chameleons, while parents will appreciate the story's moral. Leon is different. He stands out in a crowd and sometimes not being the same as his peers makes him feel frightened, embarrassed or lonely. However, by the end of the book, he comes to realize that the others also feel scared at times and they really aren't so different after all. Leon finds he can help contribute to the greater good while maintaining his individuality. This is a story for everyone whose son or daughter marches to the beat of their own drummer or for those who feel shy in social situations.

Rating: 5 stars/5 stars

Recommended for ages 4 and up.

The details:
Watt, M. (2001). Leon the chameleon. Toronto: Kids Can Press.

Graphic Novel 3

Mariko Tamaki's Skim, illustrated by Jillian Tamaki, tells the story of Kimberly Keiko Cameron who is nicknamed Skim by her classmates because she isn't slim. Skim wants to be a Wiccan and dresses like a Goth, so when a suicide awareness group forms at her high school they assume she must be depressed and in need of an intervention. Nothing could be further from the truth. Skim is confused and questioning but she is resilient and high spirited.

Skim finds she is growing further and further apart from her best friend, Lisa Soor, and feels like there are few people in her world who comprehend her point of view. Free spriited Ms. Archer, who teaches English and Drama, really connects with Skim on a deeper level, which causes Skim to think about her sexuality.

The book deals with first loves and heartaches (gay and straight) as well as suicide, popularity and cliques while remaining hopeful about the power of human connection to help us through it all. Highly recommended for ages 14-18.

The details: Tamaki, Mariko and Jillian Tamaki. Skim. Toronto: Groundwood, 2008.

Series Fiction

8:00 p.m.
The only nice person is Libby. She was stroking where my eyebrows used to be and then she went off and brought me a lump of cheese. Great. I have become ratwoman.

My first introduction to Louise Rennison's Angus, thongs and full-frontal snogging came from a friend who held the book up to me and said, "this will make you blow snot bubbles out of your nose. Do not read this on the bus." He was right. Well, not about the snot bubbles, but about the hilarity that is the life of Georgia Nicolson.

The book is written in diary format, somewhat the way Bridget Jones would have described her angst-ridden life as a 14-year-old girl (complete with worries about her nose/body/skin/breasts and the mysteries of the male gender). Georgia's life is full of things she simultaneously loves and hates, like her parents, boys and her half-Scottish wildcat Angus who stalks her legs as if they were wild game.

My one quibble with the book is that sometimes Georgia struck me as a wee bit too egocentric and unaware of how her actions affected other people. Some of the comments she makes to her father or "Nauseating Pamela Green" reek of insensitivity (but then again, I suppose most 14 year old girls are slightly unaware how unkind their actions can be). I was also a little uncomfortable with the recurring jokes about lesbianism. I like to hope we're a little more socially aware these days.

However, when all is said and done the book is literally laugh-out-loud funny. I dare you to read the scene where Georgia meets her crush, Robbie, with her three year old sister Libby in tow and not guffaw or at least cackle a bit. Recommended for ages 13 to 18.

And if you like this one, later books in the series include On the Bright Side, I'm Now the Girlfriend of a Sex God; Knocked Out by My Nunga-Nungas; Dancing In My Nuddy Pants; Away Laughing on a Fast Camel; Then He Ate My Boy Entrancers; Startled by His Furry Shorts; and Love is a Many Trousered Thing.

The details: Rennison, Louise. Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging. New York: HarperTempest, 2001.

Hi/Lo Book

I was relieved we were okay. Still, something in me kept saying, He took off and left me alone out there. Why didn't he say he was sorry?

Beth Goobie's Kicked Out tells the story of 15-year-old Dime, a Winnipeg girl who often feels she's worth about as much as her nickname dictates. Dime worries that her family cannot be normal, and fears that as much as she would love to get along with her parents, they may be doomed to yell and scream forever. She also fears that her boyfriend, Gabe, will return to his ex-girlfriend and that the ex is going to pound her face in outside of school. Things come to a head when she comes in three hours past her curfew one Friday, only to find her college-aged brother Darren waiting there the next morning, ready to help her move into his apartment.

Darren and Dime's relationship is different from the one she has with her parents. Although he can be authoritative, he never puts her down or makes her feel stupid. Sometimes it feels as if he is the only person in Dime's world who doesn't feel she's a freak or an alien. Darren is also a quadriplegic, paralyzed when he hit a moose while driving with a young Dime in the back seat. Dime sometimes wishes that she had been the one to lose her limbs since she thinks everyone believes she is a waste of space anyways. Can Darren help her to see her true value? Is it possible she can turn this whole mess around and escape grade ten?

Kicked Out is part of the Orca Soundings series of Hi/Lo books for readers looking for shorter, plot-driven, exciting reads. This book will resonate with 13-16 year old young adults who find themselves at odds with the world because they dress "differently" from the mainstream crowd (skulls, nose piercings, metal t-shirts) or girls who find themselves dealing with a boyfriend who is sometimes great and sometimes frustrating or just plain wrong for them.

The details: Goobie, Beth. Kicked Out. Victoria: Orca, 2002.