FICTION

Lights Along the River

by Pat Lamondin Skene (text) & illus. by Sabrina Gendron
Orca. May 2024. 32p. Tr $21.95. ISBN 9781459836518.
COPY ISBN
Gr 1-3–The town where Patsy lives is going to get electricity, only she’s not sure it will still feel like home after all the changes. There is very little narrative in the book, which is mostly one- or two-page vignettes of rural Ontario life in the 1950s. The illustrations have a heavy reliance on front-facing scenes, which can feel posed or flat. The colors are muted but varied and create a welcoming feeling. The scenes focus on ways children played and spent time with family without electricity, such as cutting paper dolls or playing broomball. Inspired by the author’s childhood growing up Metis and French, and the changes technology brought to her small town, it has a nostalgic tone at times.
VERDICT This Canadian historical picture book may find a home in units on unearthing family stories or in writing creative nonfiction.
Reviewed by Shelby Hogle , May 01, 2024

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