6 joyful, whimsical books that may become your new favourites

Finding a new song by accident can be such a thrilling experience, that you're almost loath to let anyone else hear it. The friend you share it with could detest it, laughing at your taste, or lack thereof.

If you brave the potential rejection, you might just show your friend their new favourite song. In that spirit, here are six new secret favourites I want to share with you.

Operatic, written by Kyo Maclear, illustrated by Byron Eggenschwiler

While trying to finish her music class project on the song that defines her, Charlie discovers the music of Maria Callas, the penultimate opera diva. Callas' life story inspires Charlie to follow her example, and live life to its fullest while ignoring her detractors.

Eggenschwiler's frantic line drawings are enhanced with monotone colour fills, that switch tone depending on which character Charlie is thinking about. The voice is confessional, like you're reading a secret diary, long abandoned and recently found.

Music for Mister Moon, written by Philip C. Stead, illustrated by Erin E. Stead

While Harriet Henry, called Hank, loves to play cello, she never wants an audience. When even the local owls are too loud, she throws her teacup at them, and accidentally knocks down the moon from the sky. Getting the moon back to its celestial perch will take a little work, and a lot of whimsy.

Erin Stead's soft, sketchy work does this wonderful thing where she lets you know it's night, while barely using any dark colours, sticking to a pale green and faint yellow. A perfect accompaniment to her husband's hushed story of shy friendship.

Whales; an Illustrated Celebration, written and illustrated by Kelsey Oseid

A compendium on whales, dolphins and porpoises, this book abounds with fascinating trivia on these most magnificent of mammals. From their evolution from land to sea animals, to their deep water songs, sometimes audible for miles, this is an exhaustive, detailed volume, while still remaining a page turner.

The blue-green palette of Oseid's paintings manage to keep pace with anatomical drawings, even though they have a streaky, painterly style. A must for the home, or school, reference library.

The Little Guys, written and illustrated by Vera Brosgol

They are the littlest creatures in the forest, but these gruff creatures in acorn hats are the strongest!

Through teamwork they can do anything, but when they start to take all of nature's bounty, what

happens when there's none left for anyone else?

A parable about humanity's tendency to over harvest, Brosgol deals with environmentalism in an easily digestible metaphor. Perhaps the hardest thing for people to figure out is "enough."

My Island, written by Stephanie Demasse-Pottier, illustrated by Seng Soun Ratanavanh

A little girl lives on an island that has no name, full of eternally blooming flowers, singing birds and wild snails. All her animal friends are welcome, as long as they sing and dance and share.

A beautiful story of imagination and being able to play all alone, Ratanavanh ties it all together, quite literally, with a recurring red thread, sewn into the illustrations themselves. While no man is an island, perhaps a child's imagination can be.

Poetree, written by Shauna Lavoie Reynolds, illustrated by Shahrzad Maydani

Sylvia celebrates the end of winter by writing a poem, and tying it to a tree. When she comes back the next day, a new poem has taken its place. Could the tree be writing back?

There's a wonderful sense joy of the written word that emanates from Reynolds story, her poems tumbling out of the prose like a startled bird. Ideal for the shy, young poet.

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