Mystery and magic sure to entertain
By Keegan Haselhan (she/her), teacher-librarian, Coquitlam
The Weird Sisters: A Coop, Some Goop, and a Sandwich, published by Owlkids, 2024
The Weird Sisters: A Coop, Some Goop, and a Sandwich is a delightfully funny children’s chapter book, written by local author and teacher, Mark David Smith of Port Coquitlam. This is the third book in the Weird Sisters Detective Agency series but can be read as a stand-alone novel. The first two books in the series are The Weird Sisters: A Note, a Goat, and a Casserole, 2022, (nominated for the 2022 Cybils Award and the 2023 Joan Betty Stuchner Oy Vey! Funniest Children’s Book Award) and The Weird Sisters: A Robin, a Ribbon, and a Lawn Mower, 2023.
In this tale the three weird sisters are helping out at the annual Covenly Fall Fair by giving children thrilling rides on their flying broom, when their cat, a prize chicken, and a frog dressed in an elegant vest and top hat go missing. Hilarity ensues as the weird sisters (who have giggle-worthy names like Yukmina, Hildegurp, and Glubbifer) attempt to find the missing critters while being stalked by a suspicious man in a large chicken suit who is determined to catch the sisters “using some kind of no-good hocus-pocus.” The sisters, who “sometimes needed guidance using their magic appropriately,” follow some goopy clues through the fair and make a bigger, stickier mess of things while trying to solve the mystery of the missing “fair fowl,” cat, and well-dressed frog. What does a sandwich have to do with all this you ask? Well, you’ll just have to read the story to find out. In the end, the sisters have a chance to learn from their past mistakes, own up to their actions, and promise to make better choices in the future.
This story is a light and funny mystery full of enjoyable hi-jinks, amusing alliteration, and entertaining wordplay. The engaging illustrations by Kari Rust are appealing to kids of all ages and the quirky characters are sure to become class favourites. I would recommend that the entire series be added to elementary school libraries and classroom collections as they are quick and fun read-alouds that are sure to entertain any student.
Editor’s pick: Representation makes a splash
By Sunjum Jhaj (she/her), Editor, Teacher
Water Love, published by Plumleaf Press, 2022
The main character in this story, Kaya, fell in love with water at a young age. But she sees that “no one else looks like me at the pool,” and is advised by her friends that “swimming ain’t a Black sport.”
The picture book follows Kaya as she convinces her mother to let her learn to swim, navigates a lack of representation for Black people in water sports, and changes the narrative of what a swimmer and surfer looks like.
The authors, Natalie Hodgson and Rajean Willis, are both Indigenous Black Nova Scotians. Natalie, who has experience working as a classroom teacher and school counsellor in Nova Scotia, said, “like the main character, I also fell in love with water at a very young age. However, this is not the common narrative for African Nova Scotians. In fact, the relation-ship bet-ween water and our communities has been distant and often inaccessible.” (1)
Kaya’s story is inspired by the North Preston Surf Program in Nova Scotia that works to make surfing more accessible to Black people.
The story, combined with Sahle Robinson’s illustrations, provide representation all students need to see in their libraries.
1 The Teacher, January/February 2023, Volume 61, Number 4, p. 6