Gravel offers an important lesson about the diligence needed for creativity, twinned with the advice to avoid constantly judging your own art. Her illustrations are annotated with comments and background information, and many of her creatures have names or speech bubbles. Brief sections of concrete artistic guidance, paired with the fanciful inventions and depictions that reign supreme, make the book the right tool to encourage readers to get started on their own notebooks.

Flamingo parents can discern their offspring’s unique call in a crowd of thousands of chicks. That’s the kind of awe-inspiring information readers learn in Animals Do, Too!: How They Behave Just Like You. Using a question and answer format, the book illustrates some of the activities humans have in common with the animal kingdom. Former teacher Etta Kaner successfully works in edifying and succinct details about leaf-cutter ants, gazelles, and others. Marilyn Faucher’s vibrant watercolours show humans and animals doing their thing – cattle egrets snacking, a pregnant woman lolling on the beach, piggybacking marmosets, a babysitter subjected to tea time. Together the author and artist highlight the importance of play for both humans and animals.

Princess Pistachio and Maurice the Magnificent is Marie-Louise Gay’s third tale about a scheming little red-haired nutter named Pistachio Shoelace. An ode to children’s devotion to their pets and their ensuing adventures, the book follows Pistachio’s pet, Dog, and his transformation from an extraordinarily lazy house dog to an equally lazy star of the stage. With striking details (Dog snores like a frog with a cold), Gay captures the best and worst of pets – including how disgusting they can be. Dog, for example, “sniffs Mr. Grumplebrain’s apple and licks it. Then he swallows an eraser in one gulp.” The tale also highlights pet owners’ deep, if sometimes deluded, loyalty to their pets. Pistachio has to learn that Maurice the Magnificent – Dog’s stage name – isn’t the only topic of interest when his newfound fame causes a rift in her friendship with Madeleine. Gay’s charming pen, ink, and watercolour drawings are scattered throughout the text, and include especially adorable drawings of all kinds of dogs.

“Don’t you hate having to rely on other people?” asks ninth-grader Adina, as she muddles her way through preparation for Fashion Show tryouts in Raquel Rivera’s Show Mode. Part of the Orca Limelights series that highlights the performing arts, the book is inspired by the real-life annual fashion show at Montreal arts high school FACE. Adina has been waiting to become a senior to participate in the event, which involves choosing music, designing dance routines, and making costumes. Well-meaning, if marred by perfectionist tendencies that her friends call “going turbo,” Adina takes on the role of leader as she and her friends prepare to audition their act. Her group includes her crush, Seth, who seems like an ideal teenage boy (on top of being exceedingly diplomatic, he sews their outfits), Sandra, who is gifted with a powerful singing voice and personality, and dreamy flute-playing Willow, who doesn’t seem cut out for the rigour of Fashion Show.