Review | Five great new books to help kids’ imaginations take flight

Bugs, wolves, dreams, two valiant girls in World War II, borders, and a Cree fantasy world — the list is just a sampling of this season’s beautiful haul of kids’ and YA books.

Let’s start with bugs, the passion of Elise Gravel, author/illustrator of “The Bug Club” (Drawn & Quarterly, ages 4-9, $19.95). “I LOVE BUGS!” she says in large font and bright colours. “Let me tell you about why I find them so interesting …” This picture book/comic holds plenty of fun facts, science, and humour. Bugs that keep pets, can survive without heads, smell with their feet, or hear with their bellies — Gravel’s enthusiasm and wonder is infectious, but even more so are her kooky illustrations (realism isn’t her aim: sharing information and getting a kick out of it is). Bugs are persons in themselves here: even bug-phobes will be won over.

In “The Wolf Mother,” Brett D. Huson and illustrator Natasha Donovan (Highwater, 24 pages, $23.00, ages 6-10) draw readers into B.C.’s world of the Gitxsan in the newest entry to the “Mothers of Xsan” series. Huson briefly describes the youth, maturation into the leader of a pack, and motherhood for a grey wolf in Gitxsan territory, explaining her behaviour and importance to the ecosystem. Donovan’s art fills the pages with the busyness of life — wolves, other creatures, trees, flowers and shrubs with their seasonal changes. A vibrant animal book, this gently and generously shares something of Gitxsan culture.

Tricia Elam Walker and artist Ekua Holmes celebrate human spirit in urban “Dream Street” (Anne Schwartz, 32 pages, $23.99, ages 5-9). Although many dwell on Dream Street, “the dreams inside are as different as thumbprints.” From house to house we go: Mr. Sidney lives his dream of never wearing a uniform again, while Belle catches butterflies and aspires to be a lepidopterist. Two cousins dream of creating a picture book, while Ms Paula, once a twirling, dreaming girl, now teaches African dance. Holmes’ collages have rich, dark luminosity, while Walker’s story of nurture and care in this Black neighbourhood cherishes the many ways dreams are fulfilled — and keep us “soaring skyward.”

For middle grade readers, Hilary McKay’s “The Swallows’ Flight” (McElderry, 278 pages, $23.99, ages 10-13), sequel to “The Skylarks’ War,” plunges us into the period of World War II. The story spans twenty years as we move between Kate in Oxford, Ruby in Plymouth, and two boys in Berlin as they meet the challenges of a drastically changing world. McKay has a genius for the tight dovetail of character, incident and plot: here, it’s everywhere at work — from the first sentence, “Erik became famous for buying dead flies,” to Ruby’s distress about her facial birthmarks, to the story’s moving, satisfying conclusion. Full of vivacity, humour and heart, from one of Britain’s finest children’s writers.

Another welcome sequel, Book Two of “The Misewa Saga,” “The Great Bear,” by David Robertson (Puffin, 229 pages, $21.99, ages 9-14), sees Cree foster children Morgan and Eli return to the world of the Barren Lands and Misewa, longing to be with the animals rather than at home in Winnipeg, being bullied at school. When Misewa is threatened by Muskwa, the Great Bear, the two join the animals in fighting and resolving Muskwa’s destructiveness. With its Cree words, traditions, and imagery, and its interaction with contemporary fantasy films and books, this offers a valuable, unique world for readers to explore.

Originally a short story, Thomas King’s “Borders” (HarperCollins, 179 pages, $21.99, ages 12 and up) retains its complexity and political edge in a new graphic version, illustrated by Natasha Donovan. A boy and mother from an Alberta Blackfoot reservation drive to visit their sister/daughter in Utah. At the U.S. border, a guard asks their citizenship. “Blackfoot,” the mother says. They’re denied entry and sent back to Canada, a hundred metres away. “Your citizenship?” the Canadian border guard asks. “Blackfoot,” the mother replies. Stuck between borders, the two spend several nights parked by the Duty-Free Shop until the media intervene. The story is thematically rich, funny, and biting. Highly recommended.