Chasing Painted Horses | 
pickA pleasant surprise - this came in one of my Sweet Read Boxes and the jacket copy really did not appeal to me. Once I got into it (i.e. once we headed back to Otter Lake) I sunk right in and really enjoyed the unfolding story. The magical element wasn't overwhelming, it was just the right level to really set the story apart and make it something special.
pickLunar New Year Year of the Rat watercolours from grade 3 today. I really enjoyed this book, set alternately in Toronto and Otter Lake Reserve and in the past in present. It‘s part mystery and part coming of age story. Sometimes the writing was obvious, in that it distracted me from the story with awkward phrasing or overused speech patterns, and then I‘d get swept along again.
