“Writing for children is like writing ‘War and Peace,’ in haiku.”
– Children’s book author Mem Fox
What makes a good children’s book? People often assume it’s an easy craft, but as Fox indicates above it’s quite a demanding act of condensation and balance. And should a book for kids be fun? Is it enough if children simply like it? Does it need to instruct, morally or socially? Must it be “relevant”?
A lot of children’s books I review seem text-heavy to me, or too on-the-message. (In context, my favourite book as a child was, of course, “Ten Apples Up On Top!” by Dr. Seuss, who knew what he was about, and I can still quote much of P. D. Eastman’s very fine “Go Dog Go!” verbatim.)
C. S. Lewis held that it was vital not to pander: a children’s book that only children read was not a successful one. But others point out that children’s clothes are sized as they are for a reason, and it’s fine and even necessary to outgrow them.
Which brings us to three new publications.
“Agnes Ayre’s ABCs of Amazing Women,”
Newfoundland & Labrador Women of Note (Some of Whom Won Us the Vote)”
Written by Jenny Higgins, illustrated by Jennifer Morgan
Boulder Books
$24.95 54 pages
As the title suggests, this collection of short biographies are listed alphabetically, opening with Agnes Ayre. “Welcome to my book of women … All of the women you will meet in these pages achieved amazing things – like Ann Harvey, who saved people from a shipwreck, or Georgina Ann Stirling, who became a world-famous opera singer. But can you imagine what happened when a group of these astounding women decided to work together?”
Each two-page spread is composed like a scrapbook, with drawings, sketches, photos, and text attractively arranged in digestible patches.
Ayre’s, for example, shows her collecting the wildflowers she became so associated with, and includes a black-and-white photo portrait and illustrated examples of some of her gatherings.
Under K, Josephina Kalleo’s details include a brief bio: she was born in Nain and raised five children before she began to draw her memories from childhood – “people picking berries, walking on snowshoes, paying games, getting married, and going to school.” There are two photos of her, and samples of her work.
Some entries are about more than an individual. O, for example, is Outport Nurses. Funds were needed for this vital service: “A group called NONIA came to the rescue! It asked women in Newfoundland to knit sweaters and socks and then put them up for sale.”
And it closes on a is a much-appreciated Z. Throughout the book is packed with info, attentively designed.
“One Brave Boy and His Cat”
Written by Dr. Andrew Peacock, illustrated by Angie Green
Pennywell Books
$14.95 36 pages
From the cover, I thought this might tell about a boy and his cat having adventures – they look like a daring duo. But it actually deals solely with a bad accident and its immediate aftermath.
“On a beautiful day in late summer, a sleek red car rushed into the vet clinic’s driveway. A young couple and a small boy jumped out and ran toward the door.
“The red-streaked bundle the man held in his arms suggested that something terrible had happened.”
Unfortunately, their cat, Susie, had gotten out of the house and been run over. There’s no glossing over her injuries (although fixtures in the vet’s examining room shield us from the worst). The main question is how the boy, Nick, processes what is happening. This is enhanced by the colourful, expressionistic artwork.
“Nanny’s Kitchen Party”
Written by Rebecca North, illustrated by Laurel Keating
Breakwater Books
$12.95 32 pages
This one a counting game, numbers of unexpected guests animated by bright, breezy imagery.
“My nanny invited me to her kitchen party.
“So I put on my party dress and my favourite purple shoes. Then I marched over to her house.”
There our protagonist finds company already arrived, and already launched on their own entertainment.
“I was very surprised to find a walrus in my Nanny’s kitchen. He was playing the accordion. Nanny wasn’t going to like this AT ALL. I scowled, and I growled … Then I marched right up to him and said, ‘You’d better stop that racket! My Nanny will be SOOO angry!’ But he didn’t stop. He kept playing. So I went looking for my Nanny.”
Nanny proves elusive. But there are other creatures in the house …
Joan Sullivan is editor of Newfoundland Quarterly magazine. She reviews both fiction and non-fiction for The Telegram
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