by Curtis Parkinson

A old castle with a deep basement, a secret tunnel, a child’s skeleton, a woman’s mysterious disappearance, a ghost, an eccentric millionaire, a bizarre will and a curse born in local lore, are only some of the ingredients in a suspense-filled mystery novel featuring the same three friends (Neil, Graham and Crescent) who appeared in Curtis Parkinson’s previous children’s novel, Death in Kingsport.

Soon after the owner of the castle on Deadman’s Island in the St. Lawrence River dies, Graham’s aunt abruptly disappears. Graham is convinced that she hasn’t simply left on a sudden trip, as some think. His conviction grows as various clues begin to turn up, such as an abandoned pair of sensible walking shoes, similar to those that his Aunt Etta would often wear. The revelation that Graham’s aunt has been bequeathed a one-third ownership of the castle complicates the situation. Then Graham is attacked, tied up and gagged by two intruders. What is going on … and can he and his friends discover the truth before it’s too late?

This is another adventure / mystery story with plenty of suspense and action, almost certain to intrigue readers looking for some great fiction to read over the summer.

** Recommended for ages 10 to 14 years.
Find this book in the library catalogue.

by Petru Popescu

Thirteen-year-old Jack Conran can’t believe his fantastic luck when he’s included on a research trip to the “Witch’s Pot” – an unexplored crater in the isolated savanna area of Tanzania, East Africa. However, his great luck quickly changes to horrible when the small plane crashes, the other occupants are tragically killed, and Jack, wounded, is left on his own in a desperate struggle for his very survival. With hungry lions roaming everywhere in the crater area, far from civilization, Jack knows that his struggle won’t be easy, but what he doesn’t expect is to meet a mysterious creature who saves his life.

Who, or what, is this creature, and why is it helping him? Could the creature possibly be the mysterious link from the past for which Jack’s father had been searching? Can Jack and the creature come to understand each other and even become friends?

Readers who like adventure stories with plenty of action, danger and suspense won’t be able to put down this exciting, fast-paced tale until the very last page.

** Recommended for ages 9 to 13 years.
Find this book in the library catalogue.

by Emily Gravett

by Andy Cutbill

Unable to ride a bicycle or perform handstands like the other cows on the farm, Marjorie didn’t feel very special at all. Instead, she felt extraordinarily ordinary. The chickens, noticing that Marjorie was down in the dumps, “hatched” a plot. The next morning, there was an almighty commotion in the barnyard …. “I’VE LAID AN EGG!” bellowed Marjorie the Cow.

The other cows were stunned. None of them had ever laid an egg before! The farmer called the local newspaper; people came from far and wide to see the egg laid by a cow, and Marjorie sat on it to keep it warm.

The other cows were suspicious. Had Marjorie really laid that egg, or were the chickens somehow involved?

Day after day, Marjorie happily sat on her egg until finally, it cracked open and a small feathery bundle appeared. Feathery? Yes, it had feathers and looked just like a chicken. The suspicions of the other cows seemed justified … but only until Marjorie’s baby opened its mouth!

This hilarious story is accompanied by equally hilarious illustrations, plus a CD on which the story is read aloud by Rubert Degas.

** Recommended for ages 4 to 7 years.
Find this item in the library catalogue.

by Robie H. Harris

One day, Leo’s mother said “No!” to everything that Leo did. It was “No!” to rolling squishy tomatoes across the floor; “No!” to dropping string beans into the fish bowl, “No!” to dancing on the table, and “No!” to squirting blue toothpaste into the toilet. In a temper, Leo went to his room and drew an ugly picture of his mother on the wall. “No!” yelled his mother when she saw the nearly-finished picture. “No, no, no!” Then it happened. Leo suddenly found himself yelling back at his mother …. “I HATE YOU!”

The words were out. Leo was horrified. Would his mother still love him?

Robie Harris’ newest picture book explores the theme of unconditional parental love, as well as the feelings of frustration and anger sometimes felt by young children as they learn to adjust, cope and communicate in a world where it often seems as if there are far too many rules.

** Recommended for ages 3 to 5 years.
Find this book in the library's catalogue.

by Jamie Lee Curtis

Sometimes it’s very difficult for young children to communicate in a big person’s world. Adult words such as “considerate”, “persevere”, “patience”, “appropriate” and “consequences” can be not only difficult to pronounce but also to understand. Yet an understanding of such words – and their meanings - is essential in our world. As the author notes, “Words – big or little – are the bridges that connect us all.”

With clear, humorous explanations in rhyme and lots of colourful illustrations, Jamie Lee Curtis’ newest picture book explores some of these words and concepts, and provides simple explanations which even preschoolers can understand.
The team of Jamie Lee Curtis (author) and Laura Cornell (illustrator) have created a number of picture books which, with sensitivity and humour, explore the feelings and emotions of young children – for example, “It’s Hard to be Five”, “Today I Feel Silly and Other Moods that Make My Day” and “Tell Me Again about the Night I Was Born”.

** Recommended for ages 3 to 7 years.
Find this book in the library's catalogue.

by Kate Feiffer

A little girl is firmly convinced that her mother is actually trying to ruin her life! Why otherwise would her mother always kiss her in front of her friends (embarrassing), come to school with things that her daughter might need during the day (also embarrassing), talk and laugh loudly (especially embarrassing), and worry so much about her safety (meaning that some fun, but dangerous, activities are forbidden)?

Perhaps her father is also trying to ruin her life, in different ways. He reminds her constantly about her homework, and always insists on a prompt bedtime and a clean bedroom.

Life would be so much simpler without parents and their rules ... or would it? Who would cook for her, tuck her into bed, read her a bedtime story, kiss her goodnight and comfort her if she had a bad dream?

After some thought, the little girl realizes that she is actually very lucky to have two such loving, caring parents!

** Recommended for ages 3 to 6 years.
Find this book in the library's catalogue.

by Marty Crisp

The Titanic was enormous. With its own post office, swimming pool, gymnasium, squash courts and library, it truly was a ten-storey high “floating city”.

Historians believe that huge ocean liner had a cat, necessary for seagoing vessels at the time to control mice and rat populations. If so, what happened to the cat when the Titanic sank on that fateful April night in 1912?

Titanicat tells the story of a young cabinboy, Jim, who “adopted” the Titanic’s cat and her three kittens when he worked on the ship during the final preparations for its maiden voyage. However, when the much-anticipated day of departure came, Jim noticed that the cat was quickly removing her kittens from the ship. When she had trouble locating the third kitten, Jim found it, took it to her on the dock … and so missed the departure of the ship, the voyage – and the tragic fate of the “unsinkable” Titanic.

Is Titanicat entirely fictional? It could have happened, for it’s often said that animals can sense an impending disaster ….

The remarkable watercolour illustrations which accompany this fascinating and suspenseful story for children are truly memorable and beautiful.

** Recommended for ages 6 to 10 years.
Find this item in our catalogue.

When wise old Ojiisan, alone on the steep mountain, saw the enormous wave flowing away from the land during the rice festival, only he recognized what it signified. “Tsunami – the monster wave!” he whispered to himself in horror. None of the other villagers had any idea of the impending danger, and everyone except Ojiisan, young and old, watched the sea excitedly from the beach.

What was Ojiisan to do? How could he quickly convey to the villagers the terrible threat posed by the monster wave, which would roar back any minute as a tsunami? How could he describe its overwhelming power, and persuade the entire community to leave the festivities and climb the steep mountain, safe from the sea? How would the villagers even hear his feeble voice from atop the mountain? Yet he had to do something, or four hundred people would be swallowed by the angry sea.

In the end, Ojiisan’s generous sacrifice – setting his precious rice fields on fire, knowing that every villager would rush up the mountain to fight the fire - is successful, and every life is saved.
Kimiko Kajikawa’s touching story has been adapted from Lafcadio Hearn’s earlier story, A Living God, and Ed Young’s brilliant cut-paper collage art strongly conveys the dramatic and terrifying power of a tsunami.

** Recommended for ages 4 to 7 years.
Find this book in the library catalogue.

Best-selling children’s author Cornelia Funke’s collection of three original stories also features a princess who makes some unusual choices. In the first story, Princess Violetta wishes not to be a queen, but a brave knight.

This notion, of course, meets with disapproval from the king and queen and scorn from her three older brothers. It’s up to the princess to prove that not only can she become a skillful knight, but that she can make an excellent choice of husband as well.

In the second story, Molly, a pirate girl, is kidnapped by a crew of pirates, led by Captain Firebeard. Molly is able to turn the tables on the kidnappers by secretly summoning her mother, Barbarous Bertha, who rescues her daughter and sets Firebeard’s terrified crew to cleaning, scrubbing and cooking for her own pirate ship.

The third story describes the sibling relationship between an older sister and a preschool-aged little brother who pretends to be a brave “explorer” during the day … but who still wants to snuggle up beside his sister every night - in order to keep the monsters away!

These amusing, inspiring stories, featuring some unusual heroines and heroes, are free of the stereotyping that sometimes occurs in children’s stories.

** Recommended for ages 4 to 7 years.
Find this book in the library catalogue.

When Princess Vera is diagnosed with love sickness, her fairy godmother recommends that she eat three perfect peaches … and be married within a week!

Of course, in the opinion of the king and queen, not anyone will do for the position of new son-in-law. He must be “such a prince” - rich, dashing, strong and handsome. In other words, he must be entirely “wonderful and irresistible”!

In the countryside, a poor young man, Marvin, is not rich or handsome, dashing or strong. (In the very candid opinion of Libby Gabborchik, Vera’s fairy godmother, he’s definitely not a “hunk”!) However, he is kind, compassionate, generous and intelligent. Could such as he become a prince? Princess Vera, who notices and appreciates Marvin’s kindness and intelligence, certainly thinks so. In fact, the princess finds him entirely “wonderful and irresistible”!

With Libby’s help, Marvin is able to overcome the many objections of the King and Queen and marry his princess - but not before the king is tricked into kissing his own donkey!

Does this unusual fairy tale end “happily even after” for Marvin and Princess Vera? Well ….very likely, as fairy tales usually do!

Canadian author and storyteller Dan Bar-el’s hilarious tale, told from an unusual fairy godmother’s point of view, is wonderfully paired with John Manders’ colourful, goofy illustrations.

** Recommended for ages 4 to 8 years.
Find this book in the library catalogue.

A Year on a Pirate Ship, by Elizabeth Havercroft, 24 pages.
@ SPL: J 793.73 Hav

What do pirates do throughout the twelve months of the year besides chasing and attacking other ships? How do they overpower the crews of other vessels, and do pirate ships always carry the Jolly Roger flag? Where do pirates bury their treasure, and do they like to build sandcastles on the beach after burying their treasure? Most importantly, how often do they take baths, change their socks and brush their teeth – if ever?

As this book proves, the life of a pirate is a busy one - from surviving dangerous storms at sea to attacking other ships - and it certainly isn’t dull or easy!

Young children who are interested in pirates will be intrigued by this book which is full of action-packed illustrations with many things to notice and find. It’s just one of the Time Goes By series for children; other titles include A Year in a Castle, A Year in the World of Dinosaurs and A Year at a Construction Site. Each book in the series offers suggestions for activities and further reading relating to the book’s theme, plus a short glossary.

** Recommended for ages 4 to 8 years.
Find this book in the library catalogue.

The No-Good Do-Good Pirates, by Jim Kraft, 32 pages.
@ SPL: JP Kraft

Oh, those pirates! “Good” is definitely an unknown concept for them as they spend their days doing all sorts of evil deeds, which include plundering children’s birthday parties, stealing toys ….and even making teddy bears walk the plank of their ship, the Flying Pig! Can anyone deter these awful rogues - the scurvy Captain Squint, Ed the Fierce, One-Tooth Willy and Smelly Bob - from their reign of terror and nastiness?

When the no-good pirates are finally caught by the law, they are found guilty of robbing, looting and keeping a parrot without a license. However, they aren’t sent to prison (it’s closed for spring cleaning); instead, they are ordered to do one good deed before sundown.

Now the pirates are in real trouble! How can they accomplish this with no idea of what a “good deed” is?

Lacking a dictionary (and a public library), the pirates proceed to make some wildly unsuccessful guesses of what would constitute a good deed in the eyes of the townspeople. Finally, just before sundown, tired and discouraged, the four pirates happen by the harbour, just in time to see the notorious pirate ship, the Sea Monkey, arrive to plunder the town. Is this the pirates’ opportunity to do a good deed? Well …. maybe …. but in a very unexpected way!

Children will enjoy joining these hapless pirates in a thoroughly hilarious and swashbuckling adventure!

** Recommended for ages 3 to 7 years.
Find this book in the library catalogue.

Rosie and the Nightmares, by Philip Waechter, 24 pages.
@ SPL: JP Waech

Poor Rosie the Rabbit! Every night, she would experience another scary “monster nightmare”. It had been like that for weeks, with each night bringing another horrible dream – and Rosie was tired of it. So one day, she went to visit a dream specialist.

“Hmmmm”, said the specialist, and wrote her a prescription for a wonderful book that gave all sorts of helpful advice about dealing with monsters. Rosie was intrigued. She read the book all day, and when she was finished, she began to use her newfound knowledge to develop a plan of action – a plan which would tame those terrifying night monsters for good!

The next day, she put her plan into action. It worked beautifully. Never again would Rosie the Rabbit be terrified by ghastly dreams about monsters.

Philip Waechter’s picture book exemplifies the value of confronting one’s fears, no matter how huge and frightening they might seem at first. Rose is a feisty heroine who proves that courage is not the absence of fear… instead, courage is acknowledging and overcoming one’s fears.

This book will likely interest the many young children who have a nighttime fear of the dark when the lights are turned out at bedtime.

** Recommended for ages 4 to 7 years.
Find this book in the library catalogue.

Princess Peepers, by Pam Calvert, 30 pages.
@ SPL: JP Calve

Princess Peepers loved wearing all of her many pairs of glasses. These included her sparkly glasses (to match her sparkly outfits), her bug glasses (to wear when bug-catching), and her very favourite rose-coloured glasses (to wear most of the time). In short, Princess Peepers was never without a pair of glasses perched on her nose, and she was perfectly happy and at ease wearing them.

Everything changed, however, when Princess Peepers started attending the Royal Academy for Perfect Princesses. Teased beyond endurance by the other princesses about her “extra set of eyeballs”, the Princess decided not to wear glasses anymore – not even her beloved sparkly glasses. From that point on, she walked, ran and fell into trouble everywhere she went - for Princess Peepers truly did need glasses!

One evening, the Princess fell into a different type of “trouble” – the arms of a handsome prince - who also needed glasses! Suddenly Princess Peepers gained a brand-new perspective on the value of clear sight.

Readers can guess the happy ending to this appealing, well-written story, which carries a gentle message about being one’s self.

** Recommended for ages 4 to 7 years.
Find this book in the library catalogue.

Oh, that stripy cat! What will become of him? Rescued and brought to Mrs. Cosy at the Hummingbird Animal Shelter, the little grey and white-striped cat is up for adoption … but with his rambunctious nature and silly tricks, he’s unlikely to be chosen by anyone. Sure enough, after hiding in drawers, climbing curtains, shrieking like a fire engine, and refusing to come out from under a couch, the little cat is consistently left behind. Every customer who enters the shelter leaves with a new pet that is calmer and more predictable than Stripy Cat. At the end of the day, Mrs. Cosy isn’t sure what to do with him… except to take him home and see what happens…
Readers won’t be able to resist this loveable little cat who appears to have adopted his owner before she has adopted him! That Stripy Cat is Nova Scotia author Norene Smiley’s first picture book. Paired with the illustrations of Ontario artist Tara Anderson, it’s definitely a winner!
** Recommended for ages 3 to 6 years of age. @ SPL: JP Smile
Find this item in the library catalogue.

Marley, the family’s new Labrador pup, didn’t mean to be bad! How was he to know that shoelaces, buttons and Mommy’s eyeglasses were not to eat, and that Daddy’s paycheck wasn’t something to chew – and that the delicious turkey fresh out of the oven wasn’t meant for him? How was he to know that he wasn’t to chase every squirrel within sight or steal underwear from neighbouring clotheslines? And he certainly didn’t have the slightest idea of the awful mess that would result from destroying every feather pillow in the house…
On the other hand, how was his new family to know that the irresistible tiny, squiggly, yellow furball, which came home with Daddy one day, would quickly grow into a large, floppy, but good-hearted dog that would leave a trail of canine chaos everywhere he went?
Just when the family wondered if they should find another home for Marley, something happened to convince them that Marley wasn’t a “bad” dog after all! ­­­ ­­­­
Bad Dog, Marley! was inspired by John Grogan’s best-seller, Marley & Me (also available at the Stratford Public Library). Beautifully illustrated, this is an engaging picture book for young children.
** Recommended for ages 3 to 6 years of age. @ SPL: JP Groga

Could dinosaurs skate? Did they play hockey? Well … perhaps they did!
In this imaginative hockey story, dinosaurs are indeed playing hockey. The fearsome meat-eating dinosaurs have challenged the plant-eating dinos to a match!
The opening face-off, with T-Rex and Triceratops battling for the puck, has fans roaring in the stands, and after that, the hockey action doesn’t stop for a minute.
Dino-Hockey may even have the edge on NHL hockey in this particular game, “unrivalled in history”, with its fascinating cast of dinosaur hockey players.

David has just been chosen as captain of his hockey team! But wait – what exactly will this mean? What responsibilities will he have as team captain?
David does some research, reading about such past NHL captains as Wendel Clark (the Toronto Maple Leafs) and Wayne Gretzky (the Los Angeles Kings). With the help of his dad, he also checks out other notable Canadians who have been leaders in some way: Terry Fox, Roberta Bondar, Rick Hansen, various Canadian prime ministers, and others. He discovers much about leadership – that it involves setting a good example in hard work and perseverance, promoting good morale among team members, and encouraging and supporting the other players. Soon there is an occasion when David is able to apply his knowledge, by helping a team member who faces a language barrier.
Canadian author Mike Leonetti, who has written a number of hockey stories for children, has created an inspiring story in Wendel and the Great One – one which is sure to be popular during this season of hockey. Illustrated by Greg Banning, it is also available in French (Wendel Clark et le Grand Gretzky) at the Stratford Public Library.
** Recommended for ages 6 to 10 years. @ SPL: JP Leone
Find this item in the library catalogue.
In the Stratford Gazette on January 9, 2009

What boy or girl hasn’t built a sandcastle at the beach and wished that it would last for a few days instead of being destroyed in a few minutes by the waves or the wind? Jack loved building sandcastles with high walls and towers, but the sea always took them away. One day, he found a beautiful shell, placed it on the highest turret of his latest sandcastle and made a wish. “I wish my sandcastle was as big as a real castle and I wish that I was king.”
Later that night, he awoke, looked out his bedroom window and saw that his wish had come true. He could see a large, stately castle on the beach. Jack entered and sat upon a seashell throne. “Hail, King Jack!” cheered the crowd. But in the merriment that followed, no one heard the large waves washing against the walls until they gave way and the sea rushed in. The courtiers became sea creatures, while Jack escaped to the highest tower and from there, to safety.
British author and illustrator M.P. Robertson has created a hauntingly exquisite story which isn’t easily forgotten. Can any human power – or magical power - ever be greater than the strength of the sea and of nature?
M.P. Robertson is also the creator of The Egg, The Great Dragon Rescue, The Dragon Snatcher and various other picture books for children.
** Recommended for ages 3 to 6 years of age.
Find this item in the PCIN Library Catalogue.