Submitted By Ryan Scott
With the Christmas season finally here, books become a natural gift to tuck under the tree. The Book Hive regularly sees customers who want to buy a book for someone but aren’t sure which book to choose. The oft-expressed quandary is whether the receiver-to-be already owns the book to be gifted. This concern is highest amongst grandparents wanting to put new books into little hands but who view selecting a popular title from Seuss, Munsch, or Bluey as a bit risky.
To counter this, I suggest they try something from one of our local children’s authors. These writers hail from the Grey-Bruce region and are proud of the readership they’ve established in their communities.
In her book One Million Times I Love You, Renn James offers an endearing look at a parent’s duty to express their unending love to their children. Lushly illustrated with adorable blue birds as the central characters, positivity pours from its pages.
The late Ron Baker’s Sarah’s Dinosaur presents the story of an egg that hatches to reveal a mighty T-rex – albeit one whose bite is reserved for bananas. As the unusual pet outgrows its domestic welcome, it finds a comfortable home amongst the woods and waterways of the Bruce Trail.
Markdale’s Ember Hennig has three children’s books available, including Kerby’s Kerfuffle. Colourfully illustrated, her books teach children to overcome adversity and develop friendships, encouraging them to grow along the way.
Artist and author Anne Boody Horwood combines her talents to bring us My Kind and Caring Animal Friends. Each page presents a marvellous animal portrait painted by Anne, along with neat facts and upbeat messages sure to appeal to young readers.
Each of Jenny Lee Learn’s five books offer fun stories, ranging from the value of sharing a smile to the perils of rearing geese as pets. The text contains short simple sentences on one page and more complex sentences on the other, assisting children in their reading progress. Best-sellers My Mommy Likes and the winter-appropriate Truck Got Stuck will have little readers laughing throughout story time.
Joanne Hart’s The Wicked Spells of Hagatha takes us into the realm of medieval fantasy. We follow three bewitched princesses on a quest to break the curse that has turned them into beasts. Along with striking cover art and riddles for readers to solve, the book explores values such as kindness and honesty.
Cheryl Clarke’s Santa Gets the Sack is a cute look at what happens when Christmas becomes corporate, and investors decide Santa isn’t needed. A fun poke at Amazon and algorithms, it shows kids what truly makes gift giving special: heart. Cheryl also penned the popular A Little Town Called Meaford, filled with local iconography courtesy of Meaford-born illustrator Ryan Clarke.
Elizabeth Retter and her rescue dog Easton are well-known around Meaford. Their fourth and latest book, Christmas Capers, takes the rambunctious dog to the Thornbury Christmas Market where he stirs up mischief with Santa’s reindeer. The book has the added appeal of scratch-and-sniff pictures scented with candy canes and fir trees.
These books are great for girls and boys alike, and make wonderful additions to any child’s home library, which itself is the greatest gift any curious young mind can be given. All books mentioned can be found at the Book Hive at 84 Sykes St. N., in Meaford.
