bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The Orphan and the Polar Bear by S. Qaunaq
Authors: Campbell Sandy 
Published: April 2016

Qaunaq, Sakiasi. The Orphan and the Polar Bear. Iqaluit: Inhabit Media, Inc., 2011. Print.One of the common themes in Inuit stories is that of the orphan child alone on the land. In this version, told by Arctic Bay elder Sakiasi Qalinaq, who learned his stories from his grandmother, the orphan is abandoned by hunters from his village and adopted by a village of polar bears. The bears teach him to hunt and survive on the land and, when he is grown, return him to his people. The image on the cover of the book showing the child riding the polar bear is an iconic one. This mythological relationship between child and polar bear is also found in non-Inuit literature, most notably in Philip Pullman’s The Golden Compass. In the bears’ village the orphan is trained to hunt and survive on the land. The bears also teach him their traditional wisdom. For example, when one of the bears wants to go “push down” some humans because they “look so silly standing on their skinny legs”, a wiser elder bear says, “Never talk that way…don’t make humans our enemy. Stay clear of them and their camps.” The book is primarily a picture-book. Unlike many of the other books of Inuit legends published by Inhabit Media, the pictures are not scary. Rather they are quite beautiful. The extra width of the landscape format gives artist, Eva Widermann, the opportunity to spread her illustrations across two pages reflecting the wide expanses of the Arctic. Text usually takes up one corner or a few lines of a page. Widermann’s images are realistic. However, because this story is from a time when animals could shape-shift into human form, she sometimes gives the bears human postures and gestures. For example, in the image on page 15, the polar bear is standing with a harpoon grasped in its front paws, handing it to the orphan. Bears are also shown in their human form in three images. In the image on page 20, depicting the inside of an igloo in the bears’ village, a woman with human form is tending the fire.Overall this is a lovely rendition of the story. While designed for an elementary school audience, anyone with an interest in traditional Arctic tales will enjoy it. Recommended for elementary schools and public libraries. Recommendation: 4 out of 4 starsReviewer: 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.
Off to Class by S. Hughes
Authors: Feisst Debbie 
Published: April 2016

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.
A Walk on the Tundra by R. Hainnu & A. Ziegler
Authors: Campbell Sandy 
Published: April 2016

Hainnu, Rebecca and Anna Ziegler. A Walk on the Tundra. Iqaluit: Inhabit Media, 2011. Print. This volume is a cross between a picture book, a story and a field guide to edible plants. Inuujaq is a little girl who wants to play with her friends, but they are still asleep. Her grandmother, Silaaq, takes her out on the land to collect plants. While Inuujaq is more concerned about her friends and snacks, her grandmother patiently passes on the traditional knowledge that her grandmother had taught her. As Silaaq teaches the reader learns about the plants as well. For example, when they pick qijuktaat, we are told that “Its long green fingers and white bell blossoms flutter in the wind. Inuujaq touches the little branches. They feel prickly on her palms. And they smell fresh, like the summer wind when it comes from the hills.” Authors, Rebecca Hainnu and Anna Ziegler, have worked on several educational publications. That background is apparent in this book. There are eighteen Inuktitut words, including 6 plant names, introduced in the text. They are explained and italicized when they are first introduced, for example “Nirilikkit – eat them”. The next time the word is used, it is assumed that the reader knows what it means. Because there are several Inuktitut words on each page, I was not able to remember them as I read and had to use the glossary or look back to the first use of the word, which is distracting. However, as a tool for building vocabulary, or as a story book for students who have some familiarity with Inuktitut, this work would be excellent. The pictures that accompany the story are cartoon-like with lots of bright colours. Artist, Qin Leng, has given the land a lot of colour. The ground is covered with green grass and bright flowers, reflecting the Arctic summer. Silaaq and Inuujaq wear pinks and purples and blues with green boots and pink shoes. The plant glossary, or field guide, is illustrated with photographs for accurate identification. There are very few children’s books about Inuit plant use. The content is valuable, but because of the incorporation of Inuktitut words, it is more challenging to read. A Walk on the Tundra will find most of its readers at the upper elementary level rather than the age 6 to 8 group which is its defined audience. Recommended for elementary school and public libraries. Recommended: 3 out of 4 starsReviewer: 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 First Flute: Whowhoahyahzo Tohkohya by D. Bouchard
Authors: Cardinal Trudy , Driedger-Enns Lynne 
Published: April 2016

Bouchard, David. The First Flute: Whowhoahyahzo Tohkohya. Markham: Red Deer Press, 2015. Print.With poetic words, Métis author, David Bouchard, encourages his readers to find a quiet place to share the telling of his hardcover book The First Flute. Specifically, in order to honour the teachings of storyteller Standing Elk, Bouchard invites readers to “hear and dream it without interruptions” and this invitation immediately invokes a feeling of ceremony and spirituality; it attends deeply to protocol.David Bouchard, Jan Michael Looking Wolf, and Don Oelze collaborate in the retelling of a traditional story about a young man who had many skills appreciated by his village – hunting, fishing and tracking – but whose real passion, dancing, was not recognized until Grandfather Cedar gifted him with a flute. This, the first flute, helped the young man prove his worth to his village and to the woman he loved.The many different art forms that find voice in this book, such as storytelling, visual art, and music awaken spiritual, emotional, physical, and mental faculties and make space for thinking in new ways. The words, melodies, and gift of visual images that it shares serve to lighten the heart and invite the reader to hear and dream the story of Konhe Waci, Dancing Raven, but also to hear and dream their own stories of who they are in their own families and communities.The First Flute is a resource essential to any K-8 arts education classes to open conversations about identity, and how identity is shaped in relationship with other people and places.Highly recommended: 4 out of 4 starsReviewer: Lynne Driedger-Enns & Trudy CardinalDr. Lynne Driedger-Enns is the 2015 Horowitz Scholar with the Centre for Research for Teacher Education and Development at the University of Alberta. Dr. Trudy Cardinal is a Cree/Métis scholar from the University of Alberta whose research interests center on the experiences of Indigenous children and families on and off school landscapes. They share an interest in stories and storytelling.
Really and Truly by E. Rivard and A. C. Delisle
Authors: Campbell Sandy 
Published: April 2016

Rivard, Emilie and Anne-Claire Delisle. Really and Truly. Toronto: Owlkids Books, 2011. Print. Really and Truly is a book that really and truly needed to be written. It is about a boy named Charlie, whose grandfather used to entertain him with wild stories. Now an “awful disease has eaten up his [grandfather’s] memory and his words. It has even swallowed up his smile”. The book is about Charlie’s antics as he tries to connect with the small parts that are left of his grandfather’s memory to get him to eat or laugh or even just smile. Anyone who has cared for a loved one who has suffered a memory loss disorder such as Alzheimer’s will identify with this book. The most valuable thing about this book is the fact that it is accepting of the disease. Charlie’s grandfather just is the way he is. Charlie is upbeat and positive about coping with his grandfather’s memory loss. He is determined to connect with his grandfather, so for each visit he thinks up wild stories like his grandfather used to tell him. Sometimes he’s a ninja, a great African hunter or a magician – whatever it takes to get a reaction. Charlie knows that his grandfather probably won’t know who he is the next time he sees him, but he knows that he can make him smile. It is painful to watch a loved one suffer progressive memory loss, and exhausting to try to provide care for them. Really and Truly affirms the value of working at communicating with elderly people who have lost their memories, even to the point where a smile is a victory and a reply is cause for celebration. It is about focusing not on what is lost, but on what remains. This is primarily a picture book, with small amounts of text appropriate for the age 4 and older target audience. The colour drawings usually take up the whole page with text printed on the facing page or overlaying background images. On almost every page, there are also small line drawings that represent the stories that Charlie tells. The drawings are of gazelles that leap across the pages, pirates that steal cookies and little bugs in top hats that sit on Charlie’s head or insert themselves into pictures. Children will enjoy looking for where they appear next. While this is designed as a children’s book, adult readers will also be uplifted by it. Really and Truly should be included in public and school libraries and should be read by anyone who has a family member who is suffering memory loss. Recommendation: 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.
Monkey’s Friends by R. Brown
Authors: Campbell Sandy 
Published: April 2016

Brown, Ruth. Monkey’s Friends. [London, England], Andersen Press Ltd, 2012. Print. Prolific English children’s author/illustrator Ruth Brown has created a delightful book in Monkey’s Friends. It is a simple rhymed text telling the story of monkey going through the forest, meeting different animals and greeting them. Each two page spread shows monkey greeting an animal whom we can see peeking out of the bushes. Every facing page is covered by a half-page flap. When the half-page is turned, the hidden animal is revealed and the animal’s name is printed on the flap. Brown’s acrylic paintings are fun. Monkey is doing something different in each image. Sometimes he hangs by his tail. Other times he is sitting on a branch or a rock or peering through grass. Each time his expression is alive. Brown also does an excellent job of communicating motion in her paintings. When you lift the flap to see crocodile, he seems to explode out of the water and you see water flying in all directions. While Brown’s animals are realistic, her vegetation is quite unusual. The leaves are highly-textured and look like they might have been done with block prints. The vegetation seems to be simultaneously dense and see-through. The result is a bright and colourful environment for Monkey and his friends. Young children will enjoy looking for the hidden animals and finding them when the flap is turned. Highly recommended for public and elementary school libraries. Recommendation: 4 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.
Good-bye, Fish by J. Koppens
Authors: Wojcichowsky Catherine 
Published: April 2016

Koppens, Judith . Good-bye, Fish. Trans. Clavis Publishing Inc. Illus. Eline Van Lindenhuizen. New York: Clavis Publishing Inc., 2013. PrintGood-bye, Fish is another book from the Animal Square series. The series was originally published in Dutch and follows six animals: kitty, mouse, monkey, giraffe, rabbit, and dog. The front cover displays the six animals with a caption describing their personalities. These animal characters take care of each other, mimicking family or friends. This shows children that everyone helps each other, even if there are differences. This specific book, however, only focuses on three of the six Animal Square animals.The content of Good-bye, Fish is a wonderful resource for teaching young children about the death of a pet. When Kitty sees her fish not swimming, she worries. Dog tries to help Kitty with ideas to get the fish swimming again. Giraffe, in a matter of fact style, states that the fish has died. This book does a brilliant job tackling feelings of loss; by stating it is “hard to lose someone you love”. Dog and Giraffe help Kitty bury the fish in the garden explaining that the grave can be a special place to remember fish everyday. This book helps children identify their feelings of sadness when dealing with death, as the story ends with hope.Good-bye Fish is for preschool aged children; the pages are sturdy making it a perfect book for kids to read and re-read. The illustrations are done with softness and are colourful. You can see Kitty’s sadness through her tears. This is an excellent book for anyone who is dealing with grief.Highly recommended: 4 out of 4 starsReviewer: Catherine WojcichowskyCatherine Wojcichowsky is a teacher with Edmonton Catholic Schools and is currently completing her master’s degree in Elementary Education. She loves children’s literature, which she has the pleasure of enjoying it with her three year old son, Benjamin.
I Want My Hat Back by J. Klassen
Authors: Roche Matilda 
Published: April 2016

Klassen, Jon. I Want My Hat Back. Somerville, Mass. : Candlewick Press, 2011. Print. Jon Klassen further develops his distinctive and carefully honed aesthetic in I Want My Hat Back, the first children’s book he has both illustrated and written. His illustrations for 2010’s visually complex yet cohesive Cat’s Night Out deservedly won the Governor General’s award for English language children’s illustration. [Reviewed here in Vol.1 no.2 (2011).] Klassen has a very well conceived style that seems to perfectly encompass what current sensibilities would deem the best of design from the 1960s and early 1970s. As a writer, he has a sharp sense of humour that comfortably inhabits his visual style. Both expressions are arch, dry and irreverent. I Want My Hat Back is, without question, a great looking book that adeptly functions on a number of aesthetic levels. The issue remains, however, of how it functions as a visual and textual narrative for children and in order to discuss that clearly I must provide a SPOILER ALERT: In I Want My Hat Back the rabbit who has absconded with the hat in question is eaten in retribution by a bear. The fact of this dire revenge is conveyed very amusingly but obliquely. So obliquely that it seems unlikely that a child would be able to understand (perhaps mercifully) what had happened as the bear denies that he knows what has become of the rabbit. This presented an excellent opportunity to experiment on my children by reading them I Want My Hat Back and observing their reactions. The two year old was most distressed by the fact of the missing hat and relieved at its recovery. He seemed to have grasped that the bear eats the rabbit at the end but was unconcerned. The five year old, however, took the bear at his word and has no idea what happened to the rabbit. Perhaps the two year old in the initial stage of language comprehension had to hear and interpret the bear’s words more literally than the five year old who, while she can understand language in a more nuanced way, can’t interpret the implications that lie beyond what the bear says? Fascinating! Highly recommended: 4 out of 4 stars Reviewer: Matilda RocheMatilda spends her days lavishing attention on the University of Alberta’s metadata but children’s illustrated books, literature for young adults and graphic novels also make her heart sing. Her reviews benefit from the critical influence of a four year old daughter and a one year old son – both geniuses. Matilda’s super power is the ability to read comic books aloud.
Mitchell's License by H. Durand
Authors: Storie Dale 
Published: April 2016

Durand, Hallie. Mitchell's License. Illus. Tony Fucile. Somerville, Mass: Candlewick Press, 2011. Print. Three and a half year old Mitchell, who never wants to go to bed, receives his “remote-controlled dad driver’s license”, which allows him to drive his father around the house like a car. This delightful picture book features plenty of visual sight gags as Mitchell puts the car into gear (by pulling on his father’s ears), checks the tires (feet), cleans the windshield (eyeglasses), and honks the horn (nose). Although Mitchell initially drives his dad straight into a wall, over time he learns how to avoid collisions and make hairpin turns. The book concludes with the son trying to feed his dad some gas (a cookie) before being driven off to bed. This is the first picture book by author Durand (also known for the Just Desserts books), whose husband invented the “remote-controlled dad” game for their children. There isn’t much of a story, nor does there need to be; the pleasure in the book is the driving game and the interaction between Mitchell and his dad. Fucile, who is well known from his career in animation, is a perfect illustrator for bringing this high-speed adventure to life, especially the overtly slapstick scenes where Dad collides into the wall or has “oil” poured into his mouth. Many pages use a lot of white space, which when combined with Fucile’s graphic style; make the illustrations look as though they were taken directly from a sketchbook. This effect gives the whole book a feeling of fluidity and improvisation that complements the driving game being enacted, while never coming off as blatantly cartoony. This book is highly recommended, especially for any child who loves cars and driving. However, parents should probably expect children to demand their own driver’s licenses after reading this book! Highly recommended: 4 out of 4 stars Reviewer: Dale StorieDale is Public Services Librarian at the John W. Scott Health Sciences Library at the University of Alberta. He has a BA in English, and has also worked in a public library as a children's programming coordinator, where he was involved with story times, puppet shows, and book talks.
Pyro by M. Polak
Authors: Scheideman Kimberly 
Published: April 2016

Polak, Monique. Pyro. Victoria: Orca Book Publishers, 2012. Ebook. Franklin Westcott has always been fascinated by fire. As pressures mount in his life, Franklin struggles internally to keep things together. His father is running to be re-elected as Mayor, and is focused on catching the pyromaniac that is threatening the community. Franklin's mother reveals she is in love with someone else, and moves out of their home. At his father's request, Franklin attends Sunday school, something he hasn't done for years. Fatefully, he becomes involved in the lighting crew for the talent show the Sunday school is presenting. There he meets Tracy, one of the girls performing in the show, who is also struggling with her own inner turmoil. Together, Franklin and Tracy face the obstacles life has presented them. As their relationship grows, Franklin begins to open up to Tracy and, in her, finds the support he needs to face his inner demons. The simple sentences and compelling storyline make this an accessible and intriguing read for struggling and reluctant readers. The straightforward plot development is quick paced, engaging the reader from start to finish. The unexpected revelations and complexities keep the reader questioning the outcome for Franklin to the very end. It deals with subject matter which is realistic and relevant to middle school students, broaching a topic which is often in the shadows of more prevalent issues, such as bullying and teenage suicide. Polak researched "firestarters" over several months, utilizing the expertise of Dr. Kenneth R. Fineman, a psychologist specializing in the topic. Polak also interviewed numerous firefighters and high school students to gain further insights to the techniques and characteristics of such youth. The result is a story which reveals the consequences of such actions for all those involved. Pyro brings awareness to the issue and promotes fire prevention. Recommended: 3 out of 4 stars Reviewer: Kimberly Scheideman Kimberly Scheideman is a student in the TLDL program at the University of Alberta, and an Instructional Coach/Teacher with ECSRD No. 2 in Spruce Grove, Alberta.