Every season, new books arrive in at publishers, and this fall is no different. Check out these 3 fun new fall books from OwlKids Books – a Canadian publisher which focuses on children’s resources. They also publish the popular kids magazines – Chirp, Chickadee, and Owl. This fall, their books focus around acceptance, friendship, and belonging. Here are three of their most recent publications.
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Title: The Line in the Sand
Author/Illustrator: Thao Lam
Publisher: OwlKids Books, 2022
Age Range: 4-8
A LINE IN THE SAND SUMMARY
Critically acclaimed creator Thao Lam, author of The Paper Boat and THAO, is back with a wordless story about conflict resolution
A monster meanders down a beach, dragging a stick behind them and leaving a line in the sand. Meanwhile, a group of friends is at play—flying kites, building sandcastles, tossing a ball—until two of them become curious about the line that now seemingly divides them.What does the line mean? Tensions mount as the two ponder the situation. Should the line be crossed? Can it be crossed? Eyes narrow, feathers get ruffled, and a scuffle starts, stemming from a series of misunderstandings and aggravated by the innocent, and very untimely, arrival of a bee. It’s only when their stomping and kicking has completely erased the line in the sand that the friends realize their scrabble was senseless. They rejoin the others at play, where the line becomes part of their games, while in the background, the line’s creator continues to meander across the page, oblivious to the impact of their actions.
This powerful wordless story, told in panels and illustrated in striking collage art, is at once simple, relatable, and profound and will encourage readers to think about conflict, communication, and the meaning of the lines we all draw, whether intentional or not.
OUR THOUGHTS ABOUT A LINE IN THE SAND
My daughter, currently 7, has asked to look at this book with me a few times since it arrived in the mail. She loves that it doesn’t have any words and that she can make up her own story to go along with the illustrations. One of the features she enjoys the most is following the path of the monster who is drawing all the lines in the first place throughout the story.
Title: Beautiful You, Beautiful Me
Author: Tasha Spillett-Sumner
Illustrator: Salini Perera
Publisher: OwlKids Books, 2022
Age Range: 3-7
Beautiful You, Beautiful Me Summary
A child who looks different from her mother finds beauty and belonging in this new book from the creator of the New York Times bestseller I Sang You Down from the Stars
Izzy’s favorite place to be is in Mama’s arms—skin to skin, safe and warm. One night, cuddled up on Mama’s lap, Izzy notices something she’s never noticed before: her skin is the color of chocolate, but Mama’s skin is the color of sand.
When Izzy realizes she’s different from Mama in other ways, too, she feels sad and confused. She wants to be beautiful like Mama! But Mama addresses Izzy’s disappointment with a gentle, loving refrain: You’re part of me, and I’m part of you. I’m beautiful like me, and you’re beautiful like you. Finding lessons from nature and repeating her affirming message, Mama encourages Izzy to see her own unique beauty.
This story about a multiracial child navigating identity and belonging draws from author Tasha Spillett-Sumner’s own experience growing up as an Afro-Indigenous girl. Lyrical text and warm, lively illustrations show Izzy’s journey as she learns to celebrate the differences that make her uniquely beautiful, and the connection to her mother that transcends physical traits.
Our Thoughts About Beautiful You, Beautiful Me
This sweet story is all about a child recognizing the differences between herself and her mother: their skin, their hair, their eye colours, and how the mother responds with love. I personally thought it was well done and tasteful. The book offered some great diverse representation. At our house, my daughter and are very similar. She jokingly is called my mini-me. We have the same skin tone, the same eye colour, the same face shape… the only thing that differs is our hair colour. She still has the golden colour I had when I was a child whereas mine has changed to a dark brown (with silver!) with age and life. As we read this book, my daughter kept sneaking peeks over to me. I’m not sure if she was comparing our differences as we read the story or not. She thought it was interesting how different a child can be from their parents and it lead to some really interesting conversations about diversity, even among families. The key takeaway for us was the ability to recognize that everyone is beautiful – even if their beauty is different than ours.
Title: Revenge of the Raccoons
Author: Vivek Shraya
Illustrator: Juliana Neufeld
Publisher: OwlKids Books, 2022
Age Range: 4-8
Revenge of the Raccoons Summary
Rebellious raccoons take back the city in a hilarious urban romp by bestselling author and performer Vivek Shraya
Raccoons are hitting the streets to finally tell their story. The bushy-tailed bandits take over the town, swinging from cranes, scampering through subway cars, and pestering the police. Amid the mischief, the raccoons describe themselves as humans see them: thieving “trash pandas” that steal doughnuts and cash, topple our green bins, and frighten our cats. But when asked why they’re invading the city, the raccoons insist they aren’t pests, but survivors of the real invaders: humans.
Revenge of the Raccoons is both a riotous tale of underdog uprising and a clever commentary on humans’ sense of ownership over the cities we live in. Playful rhyming text and vibrant illustrations inspired by classic horror movie posters bring the raccoons’ antics to life.
As the raccoons frolic into the night, readers will enjoy cheering on the creative and cunning antiheroes, and maybe even reconsider who rules the city.
Our Thoughts About Revenge of the Raccoons
This book is so completely ridiculous that it made me laugh. I don’t mean ridiculous as in terrible – I mean silly. As Canadians, we are all more than familiar with the little night bandits who sift through our garbages and get into mischeif in our neighbourhoods. This book takes it a step farther. The raccoons are robbing banks, stealing donuts, get into the subways and construction zones, jump onto airplanes, dance in museums, and many more silly antics. One of my daughter’s favourite things about this book is that it’s recognizably Canadian. She is fascinated by the CN Tower, and to have it both on the cover art and in the pages of this book made her so incredibly happy. The whole book seems to be foolishness, until you get to the end where people are questioning why the raccoons are getting into so much trouble. Then the truth comes out – a reminder of impact cities have on the wildlife.
Find these, and many other great books at owlkidsbooks.com
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