WHAT’S IN THE BOX: MARCH 2017 PICTURE

We have two fun and silly picture books this month that will make a great addition to your bookself.

You Can Read by Helaine Becker from Toronto, Ontario and illustrated by Mark Hoffmann from New England. This book is an imaginative tribute to reading and all the places you can read. For instance, “You can read in Tuktoyaktuk or in the south of France, You can read in your party clothes or in your underpants!” The kooky illustrations match very well to this cleaver rhyme. Why not ask your little one where they like to read and have them draw a picture of it. Helaine is an award-winning author of more than 70 books in many genres including non-fiction, picture books, novels, magazines and television. This is Mark’s first children’s book. In addition to being a wonderfully talented freelance editorial illustrator, he is a professor at an art school. Also included in this box is an exclusive letter from Helaine to our Marmalade readers.

The Night I Followed the Dog was Nina Laden’s first book and has been a favourite of our family since it was published in 1994. It was finally printed in paperback this month and we knew we had to get it to our readers right away. Curious to find out what his dog really does at night, a boy decides to follow him. Shocked to see his dog dressed in a tuxedo and getting into a limousine, the boy follows behind on his bike. The dog goes into a night club which it turns out the dog owns! The club is a special place where dogs can come after a hard day and relax and talk about their problems with the mailman or the poodle next door. Dogs can lie on the couch or get treats without rolling over or playing dead. This is a place where dogs can be dogs. I love the imaginative way that Nina has drawn pictures into the text. You could say that she was doing emojis in the 90’s! Not surprising, Nina won a number of awards for this book and has written and illustrated many books since, including the best-selling Peek-a-Who series. She lives in Seattle, Washington.