1, 2, 3, Off to School! by Marianne Dubuc & Yvette Ghione (translator)

 

Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book. It will be released May 4, 2021 by Kids Can Press.

Pom, who is only four, heads off to explore what happens at school for their animal friends. 

Mouslings are just arriving for the day when Pom gets to Nutcracker school. 

At Hopalot School for rabbits, bunnies are learning to read, write and count. (I adored the rooftop garden there.) 

The frogs at Cattail Academy are drawing, painting and making music. 

Pom joins the foxes in their exercise program at Foxtrot School and has lunch with bears at Honeycomb School. 

At Sleepytime School Pom is happy to nap with the sloths. 

As the day progresses Pom visits squirrels as they learn about nature, reads with wolf pups in the library, and watches turtles tidying up. Pom visits the hedgehogs at Quill Academy after school before finally heading home.

Enchanting is the word for this picture book. Marianne Dubuc fills this book with details showing us many stories beyond Pom's own journey. It reminds me of the Richard Scary books my boys used to pore over when they were young. I'm charmed that Pom is a nongendered character. I was delighted by the fairy tale characters who showed up at the different schools. 

I've already put orders in to send copies of this to my almost four year old grandkids. I think they will love the active format of this picture book. Hopefully they will enjoy poring over the many glorious details. By following along with Pom's adventures it will help them get ready for kindergarten too. 

Rescue at Lake Wild by Terry Lynn Johnson

Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book. It will be released April 27, 2021 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Children's Book Group.

The hair-raising rescue of two beaver kits grabs readers in the first few pages of this novel. The tension eases off, but the fascination with these little critters never ends. 

In the small town of Willow Grove, beavers have been building dams and flooding agricultural land. The farmers are not happy. 

When twelve year old Madi and her two best friends, Aaron and Jack, discover two dead adult beavers, they know they have to rescue their babies. They also have to find out who murdered them. The trajectory of this novel follows these two arcs. 

Madi's grandmother was an "animal whisperer" and wildlife rehabilitator, someone who rescues wild animals and returns them to the wild. Madi learned much from her and brings the two kits home with her, even though she has been warned not to bring home any more animals. She has to keep them a secret from her older sister and her parents. If she's caught she won't be able to go meet Jane Goodall, her personal hero. 

While Madi's focus is on keeping the beavers safe in their clubhouse, the boys are more focused on discovering who is responsible for the deaths of the beavers. As the deaths pile up and they find another kit, their goals become more urgent. 

Madi is able to keep her secret because her parents are often away from home working. Her older sister, Marley is more interested in boys than hanging out with her little sister any more. Marley plans to have a party when her parents are away. When she discovers the kits, the two sisters make a pact to keep each other's secrets. 

There is a lot to love about this book. While the two sisters seem to be growing apart, Marley is involved in Madi's life and her problems than is at first obvious. Madi and her friends live in an idyllic place. They get to spend their summers boating on a lake and exploring wild spaces on their own. Looking after the beaver kits involves a lot of research. This means that readers learn a lot while reading this engaging tale. 

Madi, Aaron, and Jack are delightful characters with their own interests and backgrounds. I am hoping that this is the first in a series and that we will get to know more about the boys in future novels. 

Willa the Wisp (The Fabled Stables #1) by Jonathan Auxier & Olga Demidova (Illustrations)

Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book. It was released October 20, 2020, by Penguin Random House Canada.

Don't miss this entertaining treat for chapter book readers! 

It's a little bit creepy, a little bit fanciful and a whole lotta delightful. 

"AT THE TOP OF THE WORLD SAT AN ISLAND.

And at the heart of that island lived a boy named Auggie. "    

On this island are the Fabled Stables. They look small from the outside, but inside they are magically massive enough to be home to one of a kind magical beings. 

Auggie, a young boy with the ability to talk to animals, is their caretaker. 

Unfortunately he's the only boy on the island and lonely. He may or may not be friends with Fen, a cantankerous 'stick in the mud" who transforms into any shape Auggie needs while caring for the stables. All to often this means turning into a shovel to dig out the muck a stable inevitably acquires. The only other people on the island are Miss Bundt, who, based on her many tattoos, may or may not have been a pirate in a previous career. Her job now seems to be to make things for Professor Cake, an old, clever collector and owner of the island. 

One morning the earth shakes. When Auggie rushes to the stables he discovers a new stall. The back of it opens into a swamp where, unbeknownst by him, far away, some hunters are chasing down a magical creature. 

Auggie, wrapped in a bit of Gargantula's web so he doesn't get lost, heads off in search of the new creature. Willa the Wisp, seems to be a bunny like creature with floppy ears, fluffy tail, horns and wings. She has the capacity to transform herself into whatever shape she wants. 

Things seem dire when Auggie and Willa end up trapped in a net by the nefarious hunters. 

I adored so much about this book. Jonathan Auxier's writing is whimsical and fun. I've read this three times and each time I am more enchanted. My NetGalley copy included unfinished artwork by Olga Demidova, a Russian illustrator now living in the USA. She creates exquisite art using photoshop. I found some of the finished work I shared here on her instagram site. 

In his introductory note, the author writes, 

The Fabled Stables is meant to be read aloud. As a parent I've struggle to find read-alouds that strike a balance between the interests and attention spans of my differently aged kids. I wanted to create a series that combined the more complex plotting and language of chapter books with the illustration-every-page excitement of picture books. Truly, this is a series meant for readers of all ages." 

Thank you Jonathan Auxier for your brilliantly executed vision.  

I've already ordered a couple of copies of this for two of my grandchildren. (I might even have to purchase a copy for myself for when they come to visit) 

I'm excitedly looking forward to the next in the series.