More “Cheering On” Fellow CANSCAIPers

Soon after I became President of the Canadian Society of Children’s Authors, Illustrators and Performers, I wrote a post entitled “We Cheer Each Other On.” This post again features excellent books I’ve read recently by a handful of my CANSCAIP associates. Whether you have or work with youngsters or not, I urge you to check them out!

Boobies 

by Nancy Vo

(CANSCAIP’s Illustrator Rep)

I was a La Leche League leader back in the late 70s, supporting breastfeeding mothers while my daughter was a nursing toddler, and how I would have loved to have had this book to share with the moms in my local chapter and with her.

Who Needs the Stars 

by Laura Alary and Risa Hugo

(Laura is a longtime CANSCAIP Member)

Packed with information about what darkness does for people and for different animals. Well structured with a pleasingly repetitive pattern. Language that’s both rich and accessible. Great for helping kids afraid of the dark view it instead with a sense of appreciation and wonder. Non-fiction in a cozy, reassuring wonder-filled package.

My Street Remembers

by Karen Krossing and Cathie Jamieson

(Karen is a longtime member and a past president of CANSCAIP)

The pacing of this picture book manages to emphasize how long Indigenous peoples were here before the settlers came, while at the same time being inclusive of those who came later and are still to come — a delicate balance, well handled. The focus on one street makes the scale of the subject manageable for young readers, and invites them to wonder about what their own neighbourhoods were like in the past, and what they want for them in the future.

Under Attack (Kidnapped from Ukraine #1) 

by Marsha Skrypuch

(Keynote Speaker at CANSCAIP’s Packaging Your Imagination conference this month)

Though fictional, this book personalizes horrors being experienced by Ukrainian children right now in a vividly informative way. Marsha does not shy away from the truth.

The Momentous Expiration of Tremmy Sinclair 

by Michael F. Stewart

(CANSCAIP’s Treasurer)

The combination of raunchy and tender works well in this novel in which the main character wants a medically assisted death, but he’s just shy of being old enough to qualify without parental consent. MAID is such an important subject and upper teens are lucky to have this book to help them think about it. Remembering my own interest in euthanasia as a teen, I know I’d have appreciated finding a book such as this.

Next month I plan to write about CANSCAIPers who haven’t yet been published. Or is that the plan for my “From the President’s Desk” column for CANSCAIP News? Maybe, like “Getting Along,” it will serve as both!

If you happen to be a Canadian author or illustrator of children’s or young adult books — published or aspiring — or a children’s performer, I urge you to look into becoming a member of the supportive and inspiring community called CANSCAIP. We’d love to welcome you!