(2) K-3 Illustrated by Matt James. The team behind I Know Here (rev. 5/10) and From There to Here (rev. 5/14) presents a story about standing resolute in the face of a bully who seeks to diminish one’s self-worth. A loquacious gull finds a rock on a quiet beach and asks what it is. “I am a rock,” it asserts. The gull spends the rest of the book challenging the rock, telling it that it’s not a rock (“I see you as a pebble”), that it could be tossed in the water (“you will sink...there is no guarantee you will find your way back”), and that it’s not anything special. “I am a rock,” it responds, over and over. James’s soft-edged paintings on acetate, wood, Masonite, and cardboard capture the essence of water, sand, and sky; a child meanders on the beach in the background, a visual break from the gull’s relentless harassment. The high-concept messaging may fly over children’s heads, but grounding the story in a lakeside setting gives them something concrete to focus on, and their curiosity about the child in the background will help keep pages turning. Eventually the child spots the rock, chases the gull away, and uses the rock to shape a heart on the sand—a rewarding and cathartic ending.

Reviewer: Adrienne L. Pettinelli | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2025

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Matt James. In this quietly affecting and beautifully illustrated book, young Belle's drawing of an owl draws praise from her teacher, but the child doesn't want to reveal why it's so good. Belle once had a home but now lives with her mother in their car. Every night in the wooded park where they sleep, Belle hears the hooting of an owl, but it stays out of sight. Then one night it appears; comforted, Belle thinks the owl is saying, "I like sharing my home with you." And just as the owl helped her, when a new boy arrives at school whose circumstances are similar to hers, Belle offers him friendship and reassurance. Atmospheric paintings, with their almost palpable thick brushstrokes and deep, cool colors, memorably depict the ethereal nighttime woods and the majestic owl.

Reviewer: Martha V. Parravano

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Matt James. In this paean to Canada's national sport, rural children wait through an increasingly wintry December for...what? The mystery is gently teased in the lyrical text and in James's majestic but homey paintings that glint with moonlit snow until the magical moment when the moon is full and the beaver flood iced over and ready for skates. An unusual, mystical complement to the usual hockey books.

Reviewer: Roger Sutton

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Matt James. African American Chuck Ealey, raised by a single mother in segregated 1950s Ohio, as a boy hones his aim by throwing stones at passing freight trains; he's eventually made quarterback and later (we learn through back matter) achieves fame in the Canadian Football League instead of the then-still-segregated NFL. James's meaningful visual interpretations in pen-and-ink and acrylic add resonance to this account by Ealey's daughter.

Reviewer: Katrina Hedeen

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Matt James. After a storm, a bed floats out to sea, happy to be rid of the smelly, snoring pirate who owned it. But soon the bed starts to miss having someone sleep in it and washes ashore; after it finds a grateful new owner, the bed's "happiness finally returned." The dreamlike story borders on wordy, but James's textured acrylic-paint and ink illustrations add visual interest.

Reviewer: Kari Allen

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Matt James. In I Know Here, the narrator knows she and her family will soon be leaving their Saskatchewan home for the city, and in this sequel, so they do. The palette of the Toronto scenes is predominately blue-sky sunny, reflecting the story's ultimate optimism (events include finding a friend), although the wild dark colors of the forest continue their hold on the girl's memories.

Reviewer: Roger Sutton | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2014

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Matt James. Rogers's 1981 song commemorates the oft-doomed quests to find a water route across the Canadian Arctic, especially those of John Franklin, who died in 1847 during his third failed attempt. The book loosely follows Franklin's voyage in expressionistic and vigorous ink and acrylic paintings, paralleling it with a depiction of the singer's own Canadian road trip; the sweep of James's paintings is spectacular. Reading list.

Reviewer: Roger Sutton | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2013

(1) K-3 Illustrated by Matt James. A little girl's family is moving from its one-road community in the wilderness to Toronto. The narrative is intensely first-personal, as the girl describes the things and places that matter most to her. While the text is deliberate and declarative, the illustrations are extravagantly expressionistic; round, comforting shapes are everywhere, from the curve of the purple-black road to the communal old-fashioned TV.

Reviewer: Roger Sutton | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2010

(3) PS Illustrated by Matt James. Stunning and highly original acrylic paintings depict a little girl's nightly rituals in this gentle and lyrical bedtime book. The incorporation of the lullaby "At the Gate of Heaven (A la puerta del cielo)" is a bit jarring but results in magical double-page spreads of angels soaring through the Milky Way and flying around the moon. Music for the lullaby is appended.

Reviewer: Martha V. Parravano