The Meadow Mouse Treasury

Patricia Morley is professor emerita of English and Canadian studies at
Concordia University, Japan Foundation Fellow 1991-92, and the author of
Margaret Laurence: The Long Journey Home and As Though Life Mattered:
Leo Kennedy’s Story.

Over the last two decades, Canadian writers of children’s books have
been taking international book fairs by storm. As a group they are
second to none, thanks to writers and illustrators like Janet Lunn, Jan
Andrews, Tim Wynne-Jones, Ann Blades, Gary Clement, Brian Doyle, and
Paul Yee.

This family collection includes fiction and nonfiction, prose and
verse. “Building an Igloo,” with text and photos by internationally
known photographer Ulli Steltzer, is full of drama, excitement, and
intriguing details. Readers of all ages will find Niko Scharer’s verse
hilarious. Try “How Preposterous,” which begins, “Margaret’s so
preposterous / She swallowed a rhinoceros!” (Dennis Lee’s verse,
sadly, is missing from this treasury.) My favorite is Janet Lunn’s
“Amos’s Sweater,” a comic yet oddly moving tale of a sheep who was
old, and cold, and no longer wanted to give up his wool.

Brian Doyle’s excerpt from Angel Square is aimed at preteens, but
most of the stories and poems would appeal to children from 3 to 10.
Since children mature at very different rates, and good writing for
children attracts readers from different age groups, a collection such
as this one makes a great book for a family to enjoy. Highly
recommended.