Shall we Dance? by Robin Page, 2023
This book captivated me and my children with its bright colors, colorful language, and fascinating content. Even though my thirteen year-old son is not the target audience, he and I looked through it together for over twenty minutes, laughing delightedly. When he caught me skipping the descriptions, I went back and read them all aloud, and I’m so glad I did! Each page has a different type of animal and the unique way they dance or move, either as a mating ritual, or a form of communication. A unique verb accompanies each animal, and the illustration demonstrates the movement, adding a visual for the text (ex: Lesser floricans spring; sticklebacks zigzag; Madarinfish flaunt). The lesser florican page particularly caught our attention, so we took a few minutes to find a video of a lesser florican springing. Watching it while a thirteen year old boy says, “Wheee!” every time the bird jumps is preferrable, but even without a goofy teenager, it does not disappoint!
Jumper, a day in the life of a backyard jumping spider, by Jessica Lanan, 2023
What a beautiful book! The approachable and cheerful illustrations encapsulate both the sweetness of childhood and the quiet magic of the sunlit backyard. Although the main character and subject of this nonfiction book is the jumping spider, the reader is drawn in and comforted by the presence of a little girl and her family. I found myself highly interested in jumping spiders by the end of the book, where the back matter gracious presents itself for children that want to learn more. Included in the back matter is the life cycle of a jumping spider, facts about how they eat, parts of the spider, a glossary, and even how to find and identify spiders, all beautifully illustrated and welcoming to even the most spider-fearing child.
A Tulip in Winter, a story about Folk Artist Maud Lewis, 2023
By Kathy Stinson and Lauren Soloy
A tender tribute to the treasured Nova Scotia folk artist, Maud Lewis, this nonfiction book provokes both deep emotions of compassion and a heart-felt love for the artist’s work. Small and struggling with her health, the young adult Maud finds work at a fish peddler’s house, whom she later marries. Unable to pursue other hobbies due to her physical limitations, painting becomes Maud’s joy, and she not only travels with her husband Everett to sell her artwork, she also fills the house with it, painting all the surfaces inside. My nine year-old daughter and I simply loved this book, and we now have the desire to go see Maud’s restored house in the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, which was so tiny that it fit inside the museum.
https://www.aci-iac.ca/art-books/maud-lewis/key-works/the-painted-house/
Hannah Spuler 