Atlantic Books

Atlantic Books

Locate me
FR

Featured in articles

by

Twelve-year-old Hope is doing her best to accept the inevitable: she and her family will be moving to Ontario at the end of the summer because of her father’s new job. Hope knows that her parents don’t want to leave their home in St. David’s, New Brunswick, either, but they all have to embrace the change.   

She genuinely tries to savour and enjoy every moment of her last summer in the place she loves. Then St. David’s is chosen as one of five small towns to appear on a national television show as “Canada’s Tiniest Treasures.”  

Hope and her best friend Willa work tirelessly to win the contest that will select one of these five as the unltimate Canadian Tiny Treasure. As she pours her heart and soul into capturing what makes St. David’s uniquely wonderful, she tries to imagine who she will be, and how she will survive, when she has to start all over somewhere new.  

In her first novel for young readers, Riel Nason has created a believable protagonist and heartwarming celebration of place. Hope’s apprehension about having to leave behind her friends, and everything she holds dear about her home, is realistcally portrayed, and her fears are very relatable. Will she be able to make new friends in Ontario?  Will Willa forget about her once she’s gone? Will people at her new school make fun of her for her Transient Vocal Tic disorder?   

The first-person narration perfectly captures Hope’s voice, thoughts and worries in a realistic and sensitive way. The entire cast of characters are similarly authentic and engaging, with Hope’s parents emerging as sympathetic and understanding of how difficult this is for her.   

Nason is particularly adept at capturing a sense of place in this story and all the ways in which St. David’s is special for Hope. This is a slow-paced, introspective and earnest middle-grade tale, a perfect summer read and a thoughtful look at friendship and small-town life. 

(Ages 9-12)

by

In her debut picture book, Nova Scotia’s Lauren Soloy brings readers a tender glimpse into the mind and heart of a young Emily Carr, before she became the beloved Canadian artist, whose work is recognized and celebrated throughout the world.   

Despite her mother’s admonition to not dirty her Sunday dress, Emily’s curiosity and fascination with the natural world lead her to her own wonder-filled explorations. With a joyful reverence, she traipses through her father’s vegetable garden, weaves her way through the currant bushes and lovingly investigates all the forgotten wild places.   

As Emily opens herself to the sights and smells and sounds—the bees and blossoms and butterflies that beckon—she finds peace. Immersed in these wonders, she becomes attuned to the subtle mysteries all around her: the sunlight glowing in the shadows; the marvelous songs emanating from the seas and trees; the stillness that thrums with life and secrets.   

When she is jolted back into the world of dirty dresses and scolding mothers, a world in which she feels helpless and small, Emily’s heart reminds her that she is part of a bigger, beautiful world. 

While this book captures just one tiny moment of Emily’s childhood, a single afternoon of backyard investigations, it speaks volumes about who she was and how she experienced her world. Soloy astutely distinguishes Emily’s feelings of smallness when she is being reminded of all the things she shouldn’t do from her feelings of reverence when she is lost in her wilderness becoming Small: a creature who is full of life and awe and exuberance.   

It is then that she meets Wild, and together Small and Wild delight in nature’s profound goodness and almost discover a special secret. Alas, Emily is forced back to her everyday life of trying to be respectable … and small.   

With beautifully crafted sentences and exquisite turns of phrase, Soloy has created a simple but revealing portrait of a girl who looked carefully, listened with her heart and whose heightened awareness of the world around her enabled her to “danc(e) to the rhythm of her own small heart.”  

The mixed-media illustrations are lush and vibrant, loose-lined with bold, dark outlines.  Richly textured with depth and hints of shadows, the colours are beautifully saturated.   

With her own distinct style, Soloy’s poetic prose and sumptuous illustrations pay homage to this beloved artist and writer, and give readers of all ages a sense of how one small girl’s sensitivity to nature’s beauty lead her to her own artistic expressions. 

by

In this joyful, exuberant, nostalgic ode to summer, beloved poet/word artist Sheree Fitch and highly acclaimed illustrator Carolyn Fisher capture the wonders of the season, from the moment our eager summer feet dare to burst forth in all their barenaked glory!  

These busy appendages run in the sun and play outdoor games, they climb trees and comb beaches, swim and make pictures in the sand. They frolic in puddles, lazily bask in the heat of the summer sun and zealously dig in the mud. They scoot and chase and dance and swing until they “shiver a little/in a sweater-time day” and realize it’s time to bring out the woolly socks and shoes. 

Sheree Fitch’s effervescent verse leaps off the page; it revels and romps in seemingly carefree abandon. Yet each word and phrase is carefully chosen and/or crafted, and unerringly creates a clear image in the mind’s eye:  

“somersault-silly, fantastic-gymnastic, bare-naked summer feet”;  

“wet-wormy, squeal-squirmy, gross-germy, our dirtiest EVERRRR, bare-naked summer feet.”   

Her obvious delight in words is infectious and inspiring—in the way she combines them and re-creates them in ways that are sweet sounding and evocative. While her words are playful, lively and exuberant, they also profoundly capture the essence of summer.   

Fisher’s warm and vibrant mixed-media illustrations are equally energetic, bringing an added layer of richness to these rhymes. Brilliant, swirling colours, expressive faces and lots of big and busy feet fill each page, vividly rendering the joy that is at this story’s heart.  

A magnificent pairing, this is a timeless celebration of summer’s magic.   

 

(Ages 3-7)

by

Bursting with colour and joyful energy, folk artist Cara Kansala’s new picture book feels like a traditional fairytale, or a beloved nursery rhyme. It is the story of the hapless Moon King, who trips over the night and scatters the stars throughout the land, sea and sky.   

To fix the mess he has made and restore order to the skies, the pink-cheeked Moon King rouses the birds and sleepy woodland creatures. Soon the bear, hare, moose and fox find themselves collecting the misplaced stars. The birds fly them “back up to the night/where dreams and wishes are.”   

This collaborative effort sets everything right. The Moon King expresses his tremendous gratitude by shining brightly and serenading one and all with “his moonlit lullaby.” 

Lilting and lovely, the gentle and soothing rhymes have a pleasing rhythm. Together the words and images exude whimsy and wonder.  

Kansala uses a bright, lively palette of primary and secondary colours along with bold, black outlines and cartoon-like characters to create her playful scenes. The stars have a quirkiness about them that might make readers believe that they are enjoying the mayhem and mischief that is afoot.    

Despite the Moon King’s decision to recruit all the animals to help fix his gaffe, there is no sense of urgency here: this is pure fun and fancifulness from start to finish. Whether it is being read at bedtime or storytime, this vibrant and imaginative tale is sure to delight young audiences. 

(Ages 3-7)