Island Parent Pre-Summer 2023

KIDS’READS
Seas, Trees & a Gentle Breeze
It is a wonderful time to enjoy the feel
of sand beneath our feet and the smell
of the ocean as the breeze wafts it over
us. Or to feel warm rain drops as they
splash on our cheeks and listen to them
plinking off of roofs and windows as we
enjoy the smell of petrichor rising from
the grass. If the last few years have taught
us anything at all, it’s that small moments
are worth relishing. It’s good to be
outside no matter the weather. And that
we can accomplish great things when we
work together.
The first story really highlights those
truths. The Great Global Pause by Maggie
Reidy and illustrated by Andrew
Sharp (Self-Published/FriesenPress, 2021)
looks back over the pandemic through
wouldn’t help him and the government
was too busy to do anything except give
him a bag of bamboo seedlings to plant
on his own. Returning home, he picked
an abandoned sandbar and began his
lifelong work of growing a forest. Once
again, the illustrations in this book are
stunning. They’re warm, colourful and
filled with enough details that your children
will be able to look at the picture
over and over again and notice something
new each time. For ages 4 to 7.
The second book about trees is Elinor
Wonders Why: Forest Giants by Jorge
Cham and Daniel Whiteson (Kids Can
Press, 2020). This graphic novel, which
is based off of the TV show by the same
name, is bright, colourful and filled with
the eyes of Grandmother Turtle and a
young child. They talk about how this
pause helped humans learn to love and
appreciate each other and work together,
and how it helped the environment rebalance
itself. As an added bonus, Reidy is
a Registered Clinical Counsellor, so she
wrote different coping tools and advice
throughout the story without pulling the
reader out of the tale. For ages 5 to 9.
Another book that takes place in
the ocean is Whales to the Rescue by
Adrienne Mason and illustrated by Kim
Smith (Kids Can Press, 2022), which is
a non-fiction book all about whales and
the unique ways they help us save the
environment. Unlike many non-fiction
books about whales, Whales to the Rescue
doesn’t feature photographs. But the
phenomenally detailed illustrations are
rich with colour and vibrant with life.
They are fantastic, and it is worth getting
the book just to look at the pictures. For
ages 8 to 12.
Now it’s time to move on to stories
about trees. The first is a The Forest
Keeper by Rina Singh and illustrated by
Ishita Jain (North South, 2023). This
true story happened in India. Every year
during the monsoon season the river
spills over its banks wrecking havoc on
the plant life and taking the soil with
it (before depositing new soil as it recedes).
One year, in 1979 a 16-year-old
boy decides to do something to protect
the land he loves. However, his elders
Christina Van Starkenburg lives in Victoria with her husband,
children and cat. She is the author of One Tiny Turtle: A Story You Can Colour
and many articles. To read more of her work and learn about her upcoming
books visit christinavanstarkenburg.com. Facebook: facebook.com/
christinavanstarkenburg and Twitter: @Christina_VanS.
facts about trees as Elinor and her friends
go on a field trip to learn about sequoias.
If your child is a budding forest ecologist,
or even just a bit curious about how tall
trees can grow and why they don’t fall
over like a tower of blocks (which is also
a question they answer in the book), they
will enjoy this story. For ages 4 to 7.
Finally, to round it out is Our Green
City by Tanya Lloyd Kyi and illustrated
by Colleen Larmour (Kids Can Press,
2022). The point of this book is to show
24 Island Parent Magazine IslandParent.ca