Author lets you hold, smell and touch real books

IT'S not hard to tell that Toronto author Michael Bedard loves books -- real books that you can hold, smell and touch.

It's clear in his latest young-adult novel, The Green Man (Tundra Books, 304 pages, $22 hardcover), because the title refers to a second-hand bookstore that still holds the spirits of departed poets.

The bookstore's owner, Emily, has appeared in a younger version in two of Bedard's previous novels, A Darker Magic and Painted Devil. Here she is joined by her niece Ophelia, known simply as O, who has come to spend the summer helping her aunt.

Before long, O realizes that there are strange powers at work in The Green Man, especially as the mysterious date of Saturday, Aug. 8, once more approaches.

Bedard's work has frequently had suggestions of dark magic. As Professor Mephisto (introduced in his first book) reappears, Bedard builds suspense as Emily and O visit a long-abandoned mansion that may contain treasure -- or death.

Hard to put down, The Green Man will be appreciated by readers who love a tale mixing mystery, magic and love of old books.

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If you enjoy novels with a neurotic twist, you may like How to Tend a Grave by Toronto and Vancouver Island writer Jocelyn Shipley (Great Plains, 178 pages, $15 paperback).

Liam and Harmony are 15-year-olds who meet in a graveyard where they share secrets of their dysfunctional lives. Liam's mother has been killed in a hit-and-run accident and he's had to move to a small town to live with his grandfather.

He feels abandoned and betrayed by his mother after realizing she chose her profession as a sex worker.

Harmony records the epitaphs of every dead baby in the cemetery after suffering a miscarriage from an unplanned pregnancy. Her letters, written to her unborn child, are unfortunately printed in a hard-to-read type face.

Liam and Harmony are both hurting, but possibly together they'll make a better future for each of them. For older teens.

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At the opposite end of the age range, if you are looking for a picture book high on ingenuity, try Animal Masquerade by Montreal author and artist Marianne Dubuc (Kids Can Press, $18 hardcover).

All the animals have been invited to a masquerade where "disguises are a must." As each animal tries to become something else, children will chuckle as they add all sorts of impossible additions to make a snail out of a bear, a turtle out of a parrot, or a porcupine out of a soft white sheep.

Dubuc, a visual artist and graphic designer, has provided marvellous pictures. This is one picture book that will be revisited many times by the under-four crowd.

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For beginning readers, Toronto author Aubrey Davis and Montreal artist Marie Lafrance have written a delightful version of an old Babylonian folktale in A Hen for Izzy Pippik (Kids Can Press, 32 pages, $19 hardcover).

When a little girl, Shaina, discovers a strange but beautiful chicken has escaped from a crate labelled "Izzy Pippick," she won't let anyone touch the bird until its owner returns.

When the chicken lays eggs and the eggs hatch into a whole flock, she still insists the birds belong to Izzy Pippick. Shaina's honesty and persistence are rewarded by a satisfactory conclusion that benefits her whole village.

Davis is best known as a storyteller who has performed across Canada and the United States, but he has also won several awards for his writing.

Lafrance, who has worked mainly as a commercial artist, adds considerably to this book's appeal with her large and humorous illustrations.

Helen Norrie is a Winnipeg children's literature specialist. Her column appears on the third weekend of the month.

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition June 16, 2012 J9