The One about the Blackbird by Melanie Florence illustrated by Matt James

Please begin here - listening (no visuals) to the famous Beatles Song - Blackbird.

This is a very special Canadian picture book exploring an intergenerational relationship between a grandfather and his grandson. This book is only 32 pages but over the pages we watch as a young boy moves through is teenage years and into adulthood. His grandfather plays Blackbird on his guitar and then he patiently teaches his grandson Jack how hold, then how to form chords, on a guitar.

Image Source: Matt James

"I can't do it. It's too hard,' he said, pushing the guitar back towards his grandfather. 'If it was easy, everyone would do it,' his grandfather said kindly. 'Keep trying'.

Jack does try. He learns more chords and keeps practicing until eventually he can play whole songs. 

"Jack went from playing the guitar in his living room to playing for crowds of people all over the world."

Even though he lives and works far away, Jack still comes back to visit his grandfather. At this point the story goes full circle. With advanced age and perhaps memory loss Jack's grandfather has trouble getting his fingers to work on his old guitar - the guitar that was once his but that has now travelled around the world.  When his grandfather struggles he reminds him:

"If it was easy, everyone would do it,' Jack told him. His grandfather nodded, like he had heard those words before."

The Teacher-Librarian in the school where I volunteer shared this book with her Grade Two students today. It was fun listening to the way these kids, born in 2019, had no idea about vinyl records - the Teacher-Librarian had an old record to show the kids - one child suggested it could be a frisbee and another, who had seen a record before, knew you should not run your fingers over the surface. I kept wishing the library had an old turntable so the children could gain an idea of how records work. It is odd to think these kids also possibly have no idea about CDs (or videos!).

Publisher blurb: A young boy learns to play guitar from his grandfather, and the one about the blackbird is their favorite song. Years later, the boy visits his grandfather, and while his grandfather doesn’t recognize him, now grown-up, he does still remember how to hold a guitar. A beautiful full circle moment ensues when the boy plays his grandfather their favorite song. The moving text and dynamic, gorgeous art celebrate the connection that music can create between two people and the joy that music, and the shared love of it, can bring at any age.

A hymn to intergenerational ties. Kirkus

Like the blackbird of that song, the boy, and later young man, learned to fly. He learned to take flight in song and in life, gathering knowledge at the feet of one who knew how. And when that knowledge wanes, as happens with time and age, that grandson helps his beloved grandfather hear the song again. Can Lit for Little Canadians

You can see more books illustrated by Matt James here. Matt James is a painter, author/illustrator, and musician whose books include Yellow Moon, Apple Moon by Pamela Porter (New Mexico Book Award); I Know Here by Laurel Croza (Boston Globe–Horn Book Award, Marilyn Baillie Picture Book Award); When the Moon Comes by Paul Harbridge (Marilyn Baillie Picture Book Award); and I Know How to Draw an Owl by Hilary Horder Hippely. Matt’s illustrations for Northwest Passage, a tribute to the Stan Rogers song, won the Governor General’s Literary Award. The books Matt has written include Tadpoles, Nice Try, Charlie!, and his author-illustrator debut, The Funeral, which was named a New York Times and New York Public Library Best Illustrated Children’s Book. As a child, Matt James liked to trace comics and pretend that tennis racquets were guitars—now he lives in Toronto and behaves more like a grown-up.

Here is the web page for Melanie Florence. Melanie Florence is a Canadian author of Cree and Scottish heritage. She lives in Toronto. 

This book was purchased in Canada while we were travelling there for the 2026 IBBY Congress. Sadly here in Australia this book will probably be too beyond your library budget but perhaps you can persude your local public library to purchase a copy. 

The Festival of Ice and Snow by Angie Cui illustrated by Anna Wilson

"As the sun sets, the massive ice sculptures sparkly with multicoloured lights. 
It's like being inside a kaleidoscope."

Sometimes a memory or a fragment of a memory can be the impetus for a moving personal story. This book is based on the author's own childhood memory of visiting the Harbin Ice and Snow Festival in China. Angie Cui writes her story in both English and simplified Chinese.

The character I liked most in this story is the grandfather - he is brave enough to go on a 500 metre slide but not so sure about riding on the Ferris wheel.  I also loved the way he shared delicious sweet treats with his granddaughter and her cousin. There is a joy also in this story where we witness the shared experience of a child with their grandfather and the special memories they are creating.

The 210-meter-high Snowflake Ferries Wheel is absolutely another crowd favorites. A 20-minute ride treats you to breathtaking panoramic views of the entire Ice and Snow World in winter—especially spectacular at sunset and night. In summer, you'll be greeted by the lush, green wetlands lining both sides of the Songhua River.

You can see the giant Ferris Wheel in this photo:

I learnt a few new food names in this book: Madieer ice cream; and tanghulu (candied hawthorns, grapes, strawberries or pineapple).

Tanghulu are candied fruits popular in China as street food that combine the natural beauty of fresh fruit with a sweet sugar coating. It is carried by a bamboo stick or skewer. You can find it everywhere on the street, especially on cold winter days near the Chinese New Year. Typically Tanghuluis are made with hawthorn berries, which is a hard and sour fruit, but you can make Tanghulu with other favorite fruits.

This book could also be a jumping off point if you are talking about China - the story mentions The Great Wall and the Forbidden City and of course you will want to find a map so you can locate Harbin in Northern China.

Anna Wilson is sure to have enjoyed exploring the Harbin Ice and Snow Festival. There are so many fabulous photos you can search for showing the ice sculptures and the lights.

The Harbin Ice and Snow World is the largest ice and snow theme park in the world, officially certified by Guinness World Records. ...  The park features over 2,000 ice and snow sculptures that blend cultural heritage with immersive tech-light effects, surpassing the monotonous displays found in most other countries. ... the Harbin Ice and Snow World has opened for 27 consecutive years. Each year, it builds delicate ice and snow sculptures under different themes. Visitors can marvel at the dazzling night views illuminated by colorful lights, participate in winter sports, snow shows, and other unique activities. To ensure a cozy and comfortable experience even in the bone-chilling cold, heated rest areas and warm food halls are readily available across the park. Source

This is a new book which will be released tomorrow. Thank you to UQP for my advance copy. Here are the teachers notes for The Festival of Ice and Snow (but I do suggest you and your young reading companion or class or library group plan to read and enjoy this book before you share some of the teaching idea ideas which analyse the page designs, word choices and illustrations).

You will recognise the name Angie Cui from her book My Mum is a Bird. It was a CBCA 2026 Notable title but I am sorry to say it is a book that just didn't resonate with me.

I previously talked about these books illustrated by Anna Wilson. I thought she was from the UK but now I discover she lives in Castlemaine, Victoria:

The Librarian's Stories

Love Birds

A taste of Home

And I have these books on my 'to read' list for a long time:

If the idea of visiting an ice and snow theme park interests you (it most certainly interests me!) I found this table comparing the Harbin event with others from around the world:

Finally take a look at this post about the book Our World Full of Wonder - if you visit China you might also like to see Rainbow Mountain China (Zhangye National Geopark).

All from a Walnut by Ammi-Joan Paquette illustrated by Felicia Sala

This is a book about grief, change and patience. Grandpa tells Emilia a story of the walnut he carried on his journey across the ocean to find a new home. His parents told him he could only take a small bag but he also had a walnut in his pocket. The reasons his family left their homeland are not explained in the text but the illustration shows people in sepia tones carrying bags and children and disembarking a large ship. 

Image source: Felicita Sala

Years after their arrival Grandpa is able to finally plant his seed in a garden and now, years later, Grandpa is able to show his huge tree to Emilia and how to plant the new walnut seed.

"As time passed, Grandpa moved more and more slowly. He stayed in his armchair most of the day and sometimes he fell asleep tight in the middle of a story. ... the days grew very cold and very dark, Emilia held her grandfather close for as long as she could. Then she said goodbye."

This book caught my eye at a recent charity book sale because firstly my friend and I adore the work of illustrator Felicita Sala (we claim her as Australian even though she lives in Rome) and then I saw the dust jacket - I adore dust jackets. We rarely see them here in Australia. Then bonus this dust jacket has a fabulous case reveal - meaning there is a surprise image under the jacket. My copy is in mint condition. I wonder how it came to be donated to the fair - it has perhaps lingered on a home bookshelf since it was first published in 2022.

The warmhearted watercolor, gouache, and colored-pencil illustrations are the true highlight of the book, offering lovingly rendered images of Sala’s native Italy and a poignant view of Grandpa’s aging and eventual passing. A gentle tale about maintaining a sense of continuity and rootedness in the face of life’s upheavals, this book is a worthy addition to any personal or library collection. Kirkus

“The relatively simple text includes many layers—in addition to being an immigration story, it is a family history tale and a story about the passing of a beloved grandparent and the carrying on of that person’s legacy. Paquette’s emotive writing is strong and clear.” –Hornbook

See art from this book here.  Here is the web page for the author Ammi-Joan Paquette.

Companion books:

My Baba's Garden

These Long-Loved things

The Memory Tree