School’s in and DK Smithsonian Children’s Illustrated Animal Atlas helps children learn throughout the year

I can’t believe school is in next week. Where did the summer go? While my eight year old is ready to head back to class, I am not quite as ready to acknowledge summer is rapidly drawing to a close....

Strange, but interesting read in Antoine Laurain’s The Portrait

The Portrait by Antoine Laurain ($21.50, Raincoast Books, Gallic Books) is the story of avid collector Pierre-Francois Chaumont who, while wandering through a Paris auction house, stumbles across an 18th century portrait of an unknown man who bares a striking...

Reviewing Lemony Snicket Goldfish Ghost and other picture books

Can you ever have too many picture books? No you can not, particularly when you are reading these fun books for children. Mine Mine by Jeff Mack ($22.99, Raincoast Books, Chronicle Books) is the story of two mice, a rock...

Two compelling reads by Lois Lowry – The Silent Boy and Number The Stars

Now more than 20 years old, Number The Stars shares the bravery – and compassion - of the Danish people during the Second World War It took me a long time to digest the ending, and the sadness, of The...

DK Smithsonian Science Year by Year offers lots of information for science and information junkies

For the record, science was never my thing. I took environmental science in high school, learning about nature and the environment rather than studying the periodic table or dissecting a frog. My knowledge comes from reading, hanging out at the...

Darcey Rosenblatt’s Lost Boys makes me again grateful to live in Canada

Reading Lost Boys by Darcey Rosenblatt ($23.99, Raincoast Books, Henry Holt and Company) made me, once again, very grateful to live in Canada where not only do I live in peace, but where it is not OK to send my...

Another page-turner in Wendy Walker’s Emma in the Night

Wow. Wendy Walker's Emma in the Night ($13.99, Raincoast Books, St. Martin's Press) was amazing. I read the page-turner in two very late nights. I couldn't put it down, and felt I was as invested in finding out what happened...

Book Time is going on vacation

I won't be posting to Book Time next week. I am hoping - between swimming, playing with children, eating, swimming some more - to be reading for both Book Time and for my second blog at FollowSummer, where September (which...

Canadian author Kate Hilton nails Toronto politics, cottage living in this perfect summer read

Just Like Family follows the fictional story of the chief of staff for Toronto's mayor In a tweet between author Kate Hilton and myself, Hilton said someone suggested she had a mole at Toronto City Hall as her descriptions of...