The Jolly Christmas Postman by Janet and Allan Ahlberg

There aren't many Christmas stories about postal workers. Sure, elves and Santa and even the characters in A Christmas Carol are more closely associated with the holiday. But how do people think that their packages get from one house to another? How do Christmas cards get to the homes of loved ones? How are those fruitcakes carried all over the world? Postal workers! The Jolly Christmas Postman celebratese the work of one such postal worker as he carries cards and gifts to many different fairy tale and nursery rhyme characters.

As with the original The Jolly Postman, this book contains envelopes with things that you can pull out - letters, books, games - and enjoy along with the characters. There's something truly delightful in opening up each envelope and examining what's inside. This is particularly true because of the genius attention to detail that Janet and Allan Ahlberg pay to all words, illustrations, and little touches. This book has more in the way of games and fancy stuff than the original one, which I found kind of overwhelming, almost as if it was too much of a good thing. But it also means that there's lots for children to return to and explore. Even twenty years after it was first published, this remains a lovely Christmas book that will delight children and provide lots of quality reading time for the whole family.

Find it at IndieBound.

Read it with:
The Jolly Postman by Janet and Allan Ahlberg
Each Peach Pear Plum by Janet and Allan Ahlberg
Postman Pat Has Too Many Parcels by John Cunliffe

Sweetly by Jackson Pearce

After leaving behind their evil step-mother, Gretchen and her brother Ansel are free - but have nowhere to go, and almost no money. When their car breaks down, they're stuck in a little town with few options. They're helped out by a friendly young woman, Sophia, who makes and sells candy and chocolate. She's happy to have extra help, because the Chocolate Festival is just around the corner. Strange things have been happening after recent festivals; young girls have been going missing, and many of the locals blame Sophia. Gretchen isn't sure what to believe - but she's determined to find out the truth before something terrible happens...again.

Spoilery talk below.

When I started reading Sweetly, I was pleasantly surprised by how much of the story came as a surprise. Knowing the basic story of Hansel and Gretel, I was initially quite distrustful of Sophia (the candy-making 'witch' figure). As the story went on, these thoughts slipped to the back of my mind, and I became confused about who to trust (in a good way). I figured out some things before Gretchen did (like the relationship between the seashells and Sophia), and I thought that Gretchen was trying to hard to make the 'mirror' idea fit - but I feel that it was Gretchen forcing it, and not author Jackson Pearce. This was a fun, suspenseful read that I really enjoyed; after reading this and Sisters Red, I can't wait for another book from Jackson Pearce.


Find it at IndieBound.

Read it with:
Sisters Red by Jackson Pearce
A Tale Dark and Grimm by Adam Gidwitz
As You Wish by Jackson Pearce
Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater
Hansel and Gretel by Cynthia Rylant

Honestly, Red Riding Hood Was Rotten by Trisha Speed Shaskan and Gerald Guerlais

Everyone knows the story of Little Red Riding Hood: a young, innocent girl who was brutally attacked by a big bad wolf - a wolf who also ate her poor grandmother! But the wolf has a different version of events, and he's ready to share them now. Get ready to hear a different point of view!

I was immediately drawn to this book because of the illustrations. I love the rich colours and images, particularly around Red Riding Hood. I like books that play with perspective and narratives and get you thinking about the different ways a story can be told. Interestingly, even though this version was from the wolf's perspective and was set up to be his defense, I still didn't think he's that likeable a character. He doesn't put forward that he was framed or anything like that; instead, he says that Red Riding Hood and her grandmother looked so much like apples, and he loves apples, so he had to eat them. To me, that isn't much better than just eating them because you like eating humans; you're still doing something you know is wrong (he doesn't mistake them for apples - he knows they're not apples). Furthermore, I'm afraid that if I keep going down this line of thinking, it's not too long until I get to 'if she's been wearing something different, I would never have done what I did! It's her fault for dressing like that!' and other victim blaming concerns. Is that reading too much into this? Maybe, but Red Riding Hood is often used to talk about predatory actions and rape culture (see also Sisters Red by Jackson Pearce for teens). Anyway, this book comes with lots of helpful material at the end to facilitate discussions between kids and parents/caregivers/teachers. There's definitely lots to talk about.

I read an advance reading copy from NetGalley.

Find it at Amazon.

Read it with:
Little Red Riding Hood by Jerry Pinkney
The Wolf's Story: What Really Happened to Little Red Riding Hood by Toby Forward
The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by Jon Scieszka and Lane Smith
Me and You by Anthony Browne
Believe Me, Goldilocks Rocks!: The Story of the Three Bears as told by Baby Bear by Nancy Loewen and Tatevik Avakyan

Twelve Dancing Princesses by Brigette Barrager

Every morning twelve princesses wake up to find that they are completely exhausted. They drag around the palace all day unable to keep their eyes open. Curiously, their shoes are also worn down. The King is perplexed; what is going on with his daughters? He challenged all of the best minds in the kingdom to find out what's happening to the princesses. The palace cobbler thinks he might have an idea what's going on. Will he be able to save the princesses?

I was a huge fan of Brigette's artwork on Etsy. I'm pretty sure I loved it even before I saw the ShelfTalker post on her (linked below), but that doesn't really matter. I have a lot of her prints and I've given many sets of the Librarian Paper Dolls as gifts. So I was really looking forward to seeing her version of the Twelve Dancing Princesses. It's just a lovely book. Her style is retro and modern at the same time and perfectly suited to a book like this, where there are lots of flowers dresses and facial expressions. I can't wait to see more of her books as they come out.

Here's Brigette's blog.

Here's the blog post from PW's ShelfTalker: Please Would Someone Do a Book with Brigette Barrager? It has a ton of examples of Brigette's artwork.

Find it at IndieBound.

Read it with:
Hansel and Gretel by Cynthia Rylant
Alice in Wonderland by Jon Scieszka and Mary Blair
Cinderella by Cynthia Rylant and Mary Blair
The Weather Report with Sam Sparks by Alison Inches and Brigette Barrager
Cheer: Confessions of a Cheerleader: Pyramid of One by Zoe Evans and Brigette Barrager

Dust City by Robert Paul Weston

Can you fight your destiny? Henry Whelp isn't sure. Everyone around his is expecting him to be a big, bad wolf. That's not who Henry is...or who he wants to be. Henry Whelp is the son of the Red Riding Killer - the wolf who committed one of the most horrific, violent murders of a girl and her grandmother in Dust City's history. His father is behind bars, and Henry is in a juvenile detention centre for violent incident. He's desperate not to be like his father. But when Henry's therapist dies in what looks like a staged suicide, Henry starts to learn more about what really happened with his father and the whole fairy dust conspiracy behind it. With the entire Dust City underworld out to get him, will he be able to find out the truth?

I enjoy stories that play with already established characters. One of the strengths of Dust City was that it didn't hit me over the head with "hey, look, that character is Cinderella!" Small hints were dropped, but woven into the bigger story. I liked Henry as a character and understood why the quest was so important to him, and there was a nice gritty realism in this magical, made-up world.

See more at Penguin.ca.

Find it at IndieBound.

Read it with:
Beastly by Alexandra Flinn
Zorgamazoo by Robert Paul Weston
What Really Happened to Humpty? by Jeanie Franz Ransom
Little Red Riding Hood by Jerry Pinkney

Into the Forest by Anthony Browne

A young boy wakes up one morning to find his father gone; his mom doesn't know when he's going back. After he sadly wanders around their home, his mother decides to send him to his grandmother's house with a basket of food. She warns him not to take the path into the forest, but it's the quicker way, and he doesn't want to be away from home in case his father comes back. As he wanders through the forest, he finds a number of other kids who all have stories of their own. Unnerved, he picks up the pace, but when he gets to his grandmother's house, he finds something completely unexpected.

This is a sad, strange book. The sadness just radiated off the page, leaving me unsettled after reading it (even though it has what would be considered to be a positive ending) (that still left me with some unanswered questions). The cover captured my attendion: Is his shadow a rabbit? Is that a frog behind the tree? Why is the forest gray? What is that on the right side? The illustrations inside provide many opportunities for eagle-eyed readers to pick out objects from many other folk and fairy tales (a pumpkin and a slipper, a spinning wheel, a cottage made of candy). I was blown away by the skill that these illustrations demand (particularly the spread with Goldilocks, but really all of the pages). While I found it to be a sad tale, for children who are coping with anxiety and dark situations the promise of a happy ending might be just what they're looking for.

Find it at IndieBound.

Read it with:
Voices in the Park by Anthony Browne
Little Red Riding Hood by Jerry Pinkney
Me and You by Anthony Browne
The Jolly Postman by Janet and Allan Ahlberg
Wolves by Emily Gravett