Characters in subway a window on the world
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A young boy learns about the world as he travels with his mother on the subway in My Subway Runs (Groundwood, 32 pages, hardcover, $22), a story poem for children ages 3-6 set in author James Gladstone’s home city of Toronto.
The boy sees every kind of person, including the sleeper in the corner who no one seems to look at or goes near. The speedy trains blow the passengers’ hair, the wheels screech sharply.
Back home, he feels comforted knowing that “Below the afternoon road, I know my/subway is still running.” Award winner Pierre Pratt’s illustrations capture a child’s perspective of the motion, the crowding and the humour of the underground world.
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Upside-Down Iftar (Henry Holt and Co., 32 pages, hardcover, $26) by Maysa Odeh depicts a family from the Palestinian diaspora preparing for Iftar, the evening meal that breaks the daily fast during Ramadan.
Malak is a little girl who doesn’t quite understand that Teta, her grandmother, is slowing down. But Teta rises to the occasion and they make delicious makloubeh, a traditional favourite, passing knowledge from one generation to the next.
Nadine Issa’s bright illustrations reflect traditional Palestinian culture and their current reality as a displaced people. This pleasant book can help teach children aged 4-8 about another holiday now more commonly celebrated in Canada.
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Published in 2024, Wake Up, Little Pin! The Story of a Sleepy Sapling by Loretta Garbutt, illustrated by Marianne Ferrer (Owlkids, 32 pages, hardcover $22) is a pleasing story for children aged 4-7.
Mother Pin summons the characters in the forest family — and the animals, birds and fungi to work together and nudge a young sapling out of its winter slumber so it can grow big and strong.
Although pin oaks are not native to Manitoba, parents and teachers can use this book to teach about the interconnectedness of nature. Ferrer’s earthy browns and multi-hued greens make the illustrations appealing.
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To understand our present, we should learn from the past, including the racism and cruelty that characterized the residential school system.
In Shirley: An Indian Residential School Story (Second Story Press, 70 pages, softcover, $23) author Joanne Robertson helps Shirley (Fletcher) Horn recall her happy childhood in the bush, surrounded by family. At age 5, Horn was ripped away to live in a cold, alien building with hundreds of other lonely Indigenous children.
Kids aged 9-12 will cheer at Shirley’s rebelliousness and will be intrigued by computer drawings imposed over historic black and white photographs.
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Oddity Woods by author and illustrator Kay Davault (Atheneum, 378 pages, softcover, $22) is a spooky graphic novel for kids aged 8-12.
Marietta’s father disappears suddenly, so she sets out into a dark forest with only her pluck and a magical magnifying glass to find him. Teaming up with a mysterious boy, they ride a phantom train and barely escape the clutches of monsters, ghosts and demons who bear them ill will.
Davault’s use of bright colours and creepy, shape-shifting characters will keep readers glued to the pages.
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Ten short stories for 9-12 year-olds are linked by menacing dark ink and a fear of the unknown running through Kitchener writer Jeff Szpirglas’s Ink of Nightmares (Orca, 192 pages, softcover, $15), the third and last volume in the Book of Screams series.
The ink feeds on the dreams of vulnerable sleepers, turning their worst fears into terrifying nightmares. A boy is haunted by a long hair clogging a drain, two boys livestream their hot-pepper challenge with devastating results. Tanya can read the ink’s mind, but can she save the world?
Andrew P. Barr’s chilling illustrations add to the creepy feelings.
Harriet Zaidman is a writer for young people. Her latest novel, What Friends Are For, is set during the abortion debate of the 1980s, when Dr. Henry Morgentaler set up an abortion clinic in Winnipeg.
History
Updated on Monday, March 23, 2026 7:23 AM CDT: Corrects byline
