Books for Children from Newfoundland & Labrador 2019 (Part One)

Occasionally I get children’s books sent to me and I tend to put them aside until I get several of them, for how does one review a book consisting of pictures with a little text, or a child’s first chapbook? All the books that follow are from two of Newfoundland & Labrador’s independent publishers: Breakwater Books and Flanker Press. (I’ll post a separate article soon on books I’ve received from Running the Goat Books.) All are colourful, well-illustrated and of exceptional quality.

Breakwater Books

Flying Ace: Errol’s Gander Adventure by Sheila Lukins, Illustrated by Laurel Keating

Sheilah Lukins’ first children’s book, Full Speed Ahead: Errol’s Bell Island Adventure, won the 2018 Bruneau Family Children’s/Young-Adult Award, and now Errol finds himself a pilot of a small replica of a Hudson Bomber in WWII. This is one mouse that leads an adventurous life! It is a chapbook with a nice balance of text and illustrations.

Flanker Press

Commander Gander goes to Come From Away, Written and Illustrated by Dawn Baker

Another Gander adventure, this time with a goose going to New York City to see the hit Broadway musical “Come From Away.” A children’s picture book, its illustrations of flying on a plane, and visiting sites in NYC are fascinating.

One Brave Boy and His Cat by Dr. Andrew Peacock, Illustrated by Angie Green

This children’s picture book is different for it deals with the untimely death of Susie, seven-year-old Nick’s pet cat. It handles death in a mature way, and in a direction I didn’t expect. The illustrations are bold and uncluttered.

Thanks go to Breakwater Books and Flanker Press for sending me these review copies. All of the books can be found in stores or online at Amazon.ca and other retailers.

James M. Fisher

Founding Editor -- Website

James M. Fisher is the Founding Editor of The Miramichi Reader. He began TMR in 2015, realizing that there was a genuine need for more book reviews of Canadian literature. It has since become Canada’s best-regarded source for the finest in new literary releases. James has been interviewed about TMR on CBC Radio and other media sites. He works as a Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) Technologist and lives in Miramichi, New Brunswick with his wife Diane, their tabby cat Eddie, and Buster the Red Merle Border Collie.