Spot-on sixties-style illustrations, simple, springboard text and a soulful, sing along refrain shine a celebratory light on 18 individuals who stood tall and opened doors for generations.

More freedom reading on JOMB:

• Night Running: How James Escaped with the Help of His Faithful Dog
• Priscilla and the Hollyhocks
• Freedom Child of the Sea
• Follow the Drinking Gourd

We’d love to hear your thoughts on a favourite children’s book. Leave a voice message on our JOMB listener hotline, +1-206-350-6487, so we can include your audio in our show.

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Dazzling light glows against darkening shadow as this warmly told memory of friendship and fortitude peeks into a dim chapter in Canadian history.

Other books mentioned:

• Gleam and Glow
• Naomi’s Tree
• Naomi’s Road
• Baseball Saved Us

For more information about the Japanese Internment of 1942-1945, visit Vanishing British Columbia, Canada: A People’s History, and Canadian Nikkei.

You can read about more of our favourite Canadian, Asian-themed children’s books in this essay by Andrea at Paper Tigers.

We’d love to hear your thoughts on a favourite children’s book. Leave a voice message on our JOMB listener hotline, +1-206-350-6487.

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Two hundred and eighty three pages of flawless rhyme whisk us through joy, sorrow, suspense, giggles, bliss, shock and triumph in this beautifully illustrated and designed adventure in friendship, self-discovery and the power of engagement.

Other books mentioned:

• Kendra Kandlestar and the Box of Whispers
• The Call to Shakabaz
• Waiting at the Door to Unger
• Jillian Jiggs

Pop over to The Holly and the Ivy for today’s full menu of poetry offerings. Poetry Fridays are brought to us by Kelly Herold of Big A, Little A.

HOTLINE VOICES: Author Kirby Larson shares how the book How to Steal a Dog (by Barbara O’Connor) stole her heart.

We’d love to hear your thoughts on a favourite children’s book. Leave a voice message on our JOMB listener hotline, +1-206-350-6487.

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Cheery, matter-of-fact narration and gorgeous fridge-door worthy art give us a mind’s eye view of one whopping lunar adventure in this beautiful tale of space travel, spunk and solidarity.

HOTLINE VOICES: Victoria Long fondly remembers her mother reading If You Give a Mouse a Cookie (by Laura Joffe Numeroff and Felicia Bond) to her.

We’d love to hear your thoughts on a favourite children’s book. Leave us a voice message on our JOMB listener hotline, +1-206-350-6487.

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Loops, dots, masts and curves glide gracefully across exotically patterned images of football, friends and family as a young Iraqi contemplates practice, peace and beauty.

More of Islam and the Arab World on JOMB:

• Night of the Moon: A Muslim Holiday Story
• 52 Days by Camel
• My Friend Jamal
• The Butter Man
• Lugalbanda: The Boy Who Got Caught Up In The War
• The Rich Man and the Parrot
• Sanji and the Baker
• Interview with Suzan Nadimi

HOTLINE VOICES: Musician and father Curtis Harnanan shares his love for An Island Christmas (by Lynn Joseph and Catherine Stock)

We’d love to hear your thoughts on a favourite children’s book. Leave us a voice message on our JOMB listener hotline, +1-206-350-6487.

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Soothing images and clear, generous text allow us to follow the year-long creation of an overdue winter coat in this true tale of patience, resourcefulness and the quiet optimism of a community emerging from war.

Other books mentioned:

• The Cello of Mr. O

Looking for a lighter look at lamb-based clothing? Read Amos’s Sweater.

HOTMAIL VOICES: Author, illustrator, designer Peggy Collins shares her enthusiasm for Too Many Toys by David Shannon.

We’d love to hear your thoughts on a favourite children’s book. Leave us a voice message on our JOMB listener hotline, +1-206-350-6487.

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Accessible narrative, detailed annotations and a thought-provoking collection of photographs, postcards, pins and poems shed light on the ceremony, symbolism, chronology and controversy commemorating our global family’s losses to war.

More books about war and peace on JOMB:

• Angel Girl
• A New Coat for Anna
• The Donkey of Gallipoli (A True Story of Courage in World War I)
• If I Die Before I Wake: The Flu Epidemic Diary of Fiona Macgregor, 1918
• A Poppy is To Remember
• The Diary of Laura’s Twin (A Holocaust Remembrance Book for Young Readers)
• Gleam and Glow
• Janusz Korczak’s Children
• What We Remember
• The Cello of Mr. O
• Lugalbanda: The Boy Who Got Caught Up In A War
• One Thousand Tracings: Healing the Wounds of World War II
• Seven Brave Women
• And to Think That We Thought That We’d Never Be Friends
• Aunt Claire’s Yellow Beehive Hair

HOTLINE VOICES: Author Alison McGhee shares the reasons why Swiss Family Robinson (by Johann D. Wyss) is one of her childhood favourites.

We’d love to hear your thoughts on a favourite children’s book. Leave us a voice message on our JOMB listener hotline, +1-206-350-6487.

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Musings and melodrama of a modern twelve year old, careful chronicling of a young prisoner of the Warsaw Ghetto and dozens of potent photographs stitch together the present and the past in this engaging and educational look at bullying, bigotry and backbone.

Other books mentioned:

• Janusz Korczak’s Children
• Angel Girl

HOTLINE VOICES: Thank you to a former education instructor at University of Victoria for sharing her high opinion of Shimmerdogs (by Dianne Linden).

We’d love to hear your thoughts on a favourite children’s book. Leave us a voice message on our JOMB listener hotline, +1-206-350-6487.

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Dark, heart wrenching yet beautiful images and aching, intimate first person narrative tell the true fictional tale of holocaust prisoner Herman Rosenblat and the young girl who saved his life, twice.

HOTLINE VOICES: Thanks to author/illustrator Lee Edward Fodi for telling us about Strange Happenings: Five Tales of Transformation (by Avi).

We’d love to hear your thoughts on a favourite children’s book. Leave us a voice message on our JOMB listener hotline, +1-206-350-6487.

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Beautifully bound in a soft unevenly edged journal and told with humour, innocence, intimacy and affection, the daily entries of a fictional twelve year old disclose the spellbinding details of life during the Spanish flu epidemic of 1918-19.

Our daughter Lucy (9) also contributes to the discussion of the book, which she tells us is part of her current favourite series.

More books touching on war and peace on JOMB:

• The Donkey of Gallipoli (A True Story of Courage in World War I)
• A Poppy is To Remember
• Gleam and Glow
• Janusz Korczak’s Children
• What We Remember
• The Cello of Mr. O
• Lugalbanda: The Boy Who Got Caught Up In A War
• One Thousand Tracings: Healing the Wounds of World War II
• Seven Brave Women
• And to Think That We Thought That We’d Never Be Friends
• Aunt Claire’s Yellow Beehive Hair

More illness on JOMB:

• The Tortilla Cat
• The Value of Believing in Yourself: The Story of Louis Pasteur
• Farm Flu

HOTLINE VOICES: Author Michelle Mulder from Victoria, British Columbia shares her thoughts on The Composition (by Antonio Skarmeta and Alfonso Ruano). Thanks, Michelle!

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Deceptively simple looking folk art illustrations, uncluttered narration and sparse, intimate utterings deliver some of the dark, disturbing details of war in this eye-opening, true tale of courage, carnage and camaraderie.

More war and peace on JOMB:

• A Poppy is To Remember
• Gleam and Glow
• Janusz Korczak’s Children
• What We Remember
• Lugalbanda: The Boy Who Got Caught Up In A War

HOTLINE VOICES: Bobby (a grade two teacher in Phoenix, AZ) describes a difference of opinion between he and his fiancée (a grade one teacher) and asks the question, what is the best way to read books to a group of children?

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Cluttered with comedy, melodrama and earthy, Looney-Toonesque artwork, this brilliant guide to social success is as hilarious as it is helpful.

(…er…actually….maybe more hilarious than helpful, as we now hear our girls screaming at each other “DO UNTO OTTERS, REMEMBER, DO UNTO OTTERS!!!!!”)

Other books mentioned:

• Lady Lupin’s Book of Etiquette

HOTLINE VOICES: Michelle Mitchell from Scribbit: Motherhood in Alaska shares her thoughts about The Little Golden Book Anthologies.

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Stunningly warm, intimate illustrations and eleven candid first person accounts capture the crescendo of Lady Liberty’s creation, from idea to unveiling, and give us an enduring appreciation for the landmark, her creators and the many lives she has touched.

Other books mentioned:

• Taj Mahal
• Pier 21: Gateway of Hope

You can learn more about the process of illustrating this book here.

A veneer of feigned pleasantries can’t conceal the ceaseless, senseless competition that corrupts then consumes former friends in this deliciously absurd yet apt demonstration of misguided attention and life misspent.

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Beaming boyhood bliss pops from zesty action-packed photography-and-paint collage as a spunky seven year old proudly presents the shared adventures and intriguing details of life with his very best bud, Jamal — who happens to be Somali.

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Chatty, irreverent narrative and outrageous edge-to-edge illustrations portray the crimes and punishments of fourteen famous historical figures as the antics, timeouts and grumblings of unruly children in this hilarious timeout corner staple.

Other books mentioned:

• A Horse in the House

Check out the full list of non-fiction picture books nominated for the 2007 Cybils Awards here.

Author: Gloria Spielman
Illustrator: Matthew Archambault
Published: 2007 Kar-Ben Publishing (on JOMB)
ISBN: 0822570505

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Uncommonly rich illustrations and detailed, yet accessible, early reader text relay the haunting, true story of Janusz Korczak — doctor, writer, educator and champion of children’s rights.

You can read more about Janusz Korczak here.

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Eye-opening scatterings of yellowed newspaper footprints, handwritten lists and aged, intimate snapshots make vivid this beautifully told true story of hardship, generosity and the pulling together of communities torn to opposite sides of war.

Other books mentioned:

• The Gardener

More books about generosity on JOMB:

• Ordinary Mary’s Extraordinary Deed

More books about war and peace on JOMB:

• Seven Brave Women
• A Poppy is to Remember
• Gleam and Glow
• The Cello of Mr. O
• What We Remember

Check out the full list of non-fiction picture books nominated for the 2007 Cybils Awards here.

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What takes more courage than agreeing to spend an entire day with your number one enemy? Not much. This peppy parable proposes a plucky new approach to sticky social situations.

Other books mentioned:

• Odd Velvet
• The Recess Queen
• And to Think That We Thought That We’d Never Be Friends

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Glowing, earth-toned illustrations and swift, soothing narrative capture the loss and longing of a life tossed by the turbulence of Vietnam.

To learn more about Lotus Flowers, click here.

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Absorbing artwork and intimate narrative relay a haunting yet delicately hopeful tale of cruelty, oppression and the promise of humanity.

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This warmly worded and intricately illustrated epic enchants our daughters with its exotic beauty and its underlying themes of kindness and generosity, in spite of its war and gore and shark-toothed, eagle-taloned Anzu birds.

You can find more information about cuneiform writing here.

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Radiant with peace and perseverance, this beautiful string of family remembrances gently sips and savours the contributions of seven remarkably unremarkable women.

Read the story behind the story here.

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Crackling with colour and humourous detail, this stimulating fairy tale catapults a kingdom from peer-pressure and pillaging to peaceful co-existence.

Here’s what the folks at Teaching and Learning for Peace have to say about this book.

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Saturated with colour and emotion, this beautifully illustrated book — like the song that inspired it — opens young eyes to the value of freedom and the price some pay to achieve it. Fact or fiction, it’s an inspiring read.

“Follow the Drinking Gourd” performed by The Brookfield High School World Voices Choir and Maria Hawkins used with permission of Jeannie Hunter. Learn more about The Brookfield Highschool World Voices Choir on this episode of The Electric Sky Podcast.

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Colour, music, scents and sentiment spill out of this pictureless fantasy novel and sweep us into a story of suspense, self-discovery and nonviolent resistance. Our girls laughed, swooned, quaked and cheered — then happily chirped “Satyagraha!”.

Other books mentioned: The Meanest Doll in the World

Check out our interview with author Amy Wachspress here.

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Hauntingly rich oil paintings and candid, thought provoking narrative tell a heartbreaking and historically significant tale that provides a glimpse of the tragedies that have shaped the Newfoundland character.

Other books mentioned: Grayboy

Mark speaks with author and activist Amy Wachspress about this ambitious book, the importance of exercising our creativity and her seven daily practices that can change the world.

Participate in the conversation by leaving a comment on this interview, or send an email to justonemorebook@gmail.com.

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Brimming with mystique and echoes of Sendak, this fresh fairy tale subtly, yet powerfully, casts light on the costs of safety and the value of freedom. Our whole family is entranced by this fabulous book.

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Softly spellbinding words and illustrations relay the story behind the poem “In Flanders Fields” and the commemorative wearing of poppies. Our girls are mesmerized by this book.

PS. I found this in this Monday’s Star: Wearing Poppies Brings Questions.

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Zesty, Seussian rhyme and illustrations hurl us to a crescendo of hardcore harmony. This book’s message is simple: Peace is a choice.

This episode is dedicated to Paul, his stepbrother Dan Johnson (Journey Inside My Mind Podcast), and their families in celebration of Paul returning home from the Navy. Coincidentally, Dan sent an audio comment about Ben’s Trumpet for this show as well.

For a great list of Peace promoting childrens books click here.

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Gorgeous illustrations and beautifully crafted text relay a story of heartbreak and hope so poignant that even chatting about it was difficult, but we did our best.

This show opens with our first MyChingo audio comment, which we received from author Paul Levinson of the Light On Light Through Podcast, just in time for this – our fiftieth – episode! Thanks, Paul.

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This straightforward story of hardship and hope reminds us that war may not deter human weakness but neither can it deter human strength.

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Six simple, stirring stories help us slip into the shoes of real children as they deal with the impacts of war.

Listen to Electric Sky’s 2005 Remembrance Day Tribute.

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Every aspect of the traditional tale is reversed to its ridiculous extreme in this perfectly worded and illustrated retelling of “The Three Little Pigs”. I guess it could be seen as light and corny — and maybe this makes me light and corny — but I find this story to be meaningful, relevant and full of hope. After all, wasn’t Einstein’s definition of insanity repeating an action and expecting a different result?

A play based on this book is available for download on the Egmont website