My Two Blankets: the transforming power of friendship

My Two Blankets: the transforming power of friendship

My Two Blankets is a charming story about a young girl who ‘came to this country to be safe’ and the way she was able to reclaim a safe, happy and loved childhood. Positive, enlightening, it engages on many, many fronts.

ages early childhood to teen

Read More

finding the compassion and courage to give even when we feel unappreciated

finding the compassion and courage to give even when we feel unappreciated

ages early childhood to preteen
Sophie is a spider with a heart full of compassion, a soul full of courage and an amazing talent for weaving webs. When she sets out to find her place in the world she finds a boarding house, moves in and sets to work weaving wondrous webs...
 

Read More

difficult life seasons can still be filled with love and joy

difficult life seasons can still be filled with love and joy

‘Tight times’ is the reason the serious little fellow telling this story can’t get a dog. But in spite of the obvious troubles, this is an affirming, reassuring and peaceful book, with a dose of humour thrown in for good measure – as it always should be. (He does get a cat, who turns out to be a great 'dog'!) 
ages about 4 to 12 years and grownups

Read More

a joyful, boisterous, poignant book with a completely satisfying ending

a joyful, boisterous, poignant book with a completely satisfying ending

Age guide: 2 to 12 years. 
Mr. Nick has a passion—he loves knitting. He knits every morning on the train ride to work, and his friend Mrs. Jolley does too. When sickness strikes Mrs. Jolley, Mr. Nick puts his passion to work to serve and lift and love Mrs. Jolley. 

Read More

a life that reminds us how beautiful the world is and how valuable we all are

a life that reminds us how beautiful the world is and how valuable we all are

ages 4 years to grownups
A charming and incredibly pretty book about a woman who commits as a child to go to faraway places, live beside the sea and do something to make the world more beautiful. It's loved and used a lot by teachers, with good reason. It does a lot of work! 

Read More

a darned funny book that's great for upending stereotypes

a darned funny book that's great for upending stereotypes

This might be a child’s first introduction to double entendre! There are three characters in the story – a mouse, a monkey and a jackass – guess where the double entendre comes from! Jackass and Monkey have a frustratingly funny conversation about a book with Jackass looking for its technological qualities.
ages baby to about 10 years

Read More

sometimes we fall into a hole, but home is always at the end of our travels

sometimes we fall into a hole, but home is always at the end of our travels

ages 2 to 8 years
Alison Lester has a gift for writing words that bounce – there’s a rhythm to her words that's easy for the reader to catch and hold onto. The Journey Home isn't a rhyming book, but it does read in a lyrical sort of way. There’s a repeated refrain of ‘come inside and stay’ making this a good early reader.

Read More