He was a donkey who wanted to be a cow.
This is the subject of Donkey Oaties's Impossible Dream by Tom H. Rath (Wood Island Prints, Belle River, P.E.I., price not given).
It's a very small book for very beginning readers with rather rough illustrations by Gregory MacAdam. It's obtainable by calling 583-2888.
Also by Tom H. Rath is an expanded version of an earlier book (same publisher, no price given). This book is in verses, with charming photographic illustrations, mostly by the author.
Called Kitten Cat Adventures: For a Special Person, it will appeal to cat lovers of all ages.
It's available at the same contact number.
Doretta Groenendyk is a writer and illustrator in Nova Scotia whose work is published by Acorn Press, Charlottetown. The larger of these two recent books is Bully 101. It's in verse, and ends:
If our bully class
leaves you feeling down
and you prefer peace
to pushing others around,
Bully 101 is not for you.
You might consider Kindness 202.
This book might really be for older children, but bullies come in all sizes and ages and both sexes. It costs $18.95.
Spin to the Sea with co-writer Izra Fitch ($12.95) tells of the custom of sending ex-Halloween pumpkins out to sea. This seems a good custom, and if you have neither pumpkins nor sea, read this book and look at the pictures or get someone to help you with the reading.
Finally two quite different books - not by the same authors - and our choices for the best of these six. Mabel Takes the Ferry by Emily Chetkowski, with illustrations by Daun Peterson, is based on a true story; there is even a photograph of Mabel with the author on the last page.
Mabel is a dog who loves sailing, but her family has gone off in the boat and left her home. What she does about it makes the story. Priced at $14.95 Canadian, it's published by Islandport Press in Yarmouth, Maine, and is probably available here from Nimbus, Halifax.
Apples and Butterflies by Shauntay Grant, beautifully illustrated by Tamara Thiebaux-Heikalo (Nimbus, $19.95) is the finest of these six books. A simple story in poetic prose, it tells of a black family's visit to the Island in the fall.
Told by a little girl, all ages of readers will enjoy it.
Have a happy Christmas and a good new year reading one or more of these books to your family or having one of them read one for themselves.
Elizabeth Cran is a freelance writer who writes a book review column for The Guardian. To comment or to send her books to review, write her at 111 Sydney St., Apt. 17, Saint John, N.B., E2L 2L8, or call her at 506-693-5498.
