Tiny, bird-like Eliza feels scared and powerless to help the new girl Lainey when her schoolmates taunt her because of her tattered, mismatched clothing and wild yellow hair. She watches shamefully as the sunlight and birds fade from Lainey's once-cheerful drawings. Eliza tells her mother about Lainey and her sad pictures. After this discussion, Eliza "finds her wings" and she is able to defend and befriend Eliza with confidence. The poetic language is complemented beautifully with hazy, surr...

At first, a young girl named Lily is afraid of a gruff homeless man who sells papers on the street. Later, as Lily snuggles down in her warm bed on a cold wintry night, she worries about the homeless man whose toes stick through his shoes. Lily discusses her concern with her doll and comes up with an action plan. This is a heart-warming story that carries valuable messages about caring for others and how a young child can make a positive difference in someone's life. The realistic-style paint...

Richly illustrated with colourful collages, this picture book tells the story of a little pebble that wants more from life than just sitting on the beach. One day, in spite of discouragement from its fellow rocks, the pebble finds purpose in the palm of a young boy who claims it as his own and comes to understand that different does not mean better or worse.

Sandy loves to visit her grandpa's house by the beach where she and her dog, Pepper, play in the sand. One day, Sandy's walk to the beach is ruined because the sand is littered with garbage. Sandy wonders who would do this to a beautiful place. She then meets the Garbage Lady who keeps the beach clean by recycling materials that she has found. The Garbage Lady teaches Sandy that by recycling and reusing items, she is shrinking her footprint. At the back of the book are 12 suggestions for shri...

This book from the Looking after Me Series is about a young boy named Jimmy who tries to heal his sick teddy bear by giving him various medicines that he finds in his home. When Jimmy's mother discovers what he is doing, she helps Jimmy to realize that medicines are not magic potions and that they can be harmful if not taken properly. When Jimmy develops a cough and earache, he visits the doctor who prescribes antibiotics. Through Jimmy's experiences, he learns about various types of medicine...

Told in the first person by Maria, a young girl from Suriname, South America, this picture book tells her story about growing up and facing problems that she did not understand at the time. Orphaned at a young age, Maria helps look after her little sister, Willie. When Maria faces rejection at school because her parents died from AIDS, she feels sad, but she soon comes to realize that she is a remarkable girl. Although not directly mentioned, this gentle narrative serves as a basis for discus...

A young girl named Violet is upset because all of her classmates have red, yellow or blue skin, but hers is purple! Following a heartfelt discussion with her mother, Violet realizes that she should not worry about being like other people and that people should appreciate her for who she is - not the colour of her skin. Through this story, students learn to examine how communities benefit from the diversity of their individual community members. Digital images with a hand-drawn feel bring this...

This true story is written from the perspective of two young boys as they cope with their mother's cancer and medical treatments. The book takes readers on a journey with a family as they go through the various steps of fighting cancer, including hosting a hair-cutting party. With gentle humour and tact, Where's Mom's Hair? addresses the types of questions that children typically ask when a loved one is diagnosed with cancer. Numerous black-and-white photographs aptly reflect the emotions fe...

In this book from The MacCheeky Series, Prince Hayden MacCheeky has so much fun playing with his own royal toys by himself that he does not like to share them with anyone else, not even the royal dog, Goober. When the prince visits Princess Ella and she does not want to share her toys with him, his feelings are hurt. Through this experience, both Prince Hayden and Princess Ella learn that a little royal sharing leads to a lot of royal fun! The detailed, colourful illustrations were created di...

Life is perfect for young Rosie, until one day she decides that she does not really want Buttercup, her baby sister. Rosie's solution to this dilemma is to give Buttercup to her neighbour free of charge! For a while, Rosie is happy - no more crying, no more shushing and no more sharing everything! Predictably, however, Rosie regrets her decision and asks for her sister back in trade for something she loves - a bag of sun-dried dandelion puffs. Colourful, cartoon-style illustrations enliven th...

Stanley is a relatively good dog, but one night when his people go out, temptation overcomes him. Stanley breaks a rule by sitting on the couch and it feels great. Having deceived his people successfully, the next time they are out, he breaks yet another rule and plays with their stereo. On the following night, he steals food from the fridge. Finally, after a couple of weeks of breaking rules, Stanley realizes that some companionship would help him to enjoy his new naughty lifestyle even more...