What to Bring

by Lorna Schultz Nicholson, Ellen Rooney (Illustrator)

Overview

A moving story about making tough choices when disaster strikes

Malia and her family are spending a day outside when they notice something strange. Huge white-and-gray clouds fill the sky, planes zoom overhead, and the air smells funny. A forest fire is sweeping the area, and they need to evacuate their home.

Daddy tells Malia that she needs to choose what to bring. “Pick small things. Things important to you,” he says. But there’s so much that Malia wants to take with her! Her pillows and blankets. Her family of teddy bears. LOTS of books. As the pile in her room grows, and chaos swirls around her, Malia comes to realize that what is most important to her won’t fit in a backpack: her little brother, her cat, and her dog.

This heartfelt and powerful story explores a rare perspective: experiencing a natural disaster through the eyes of a child. Malia’s authentic voice will resonate with readers, and the book’s challenging subject matter is balanced with gentle lessons in communication, problem-solving, and family.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781771474900
Publisher:	OWLKIDS BOOKS
Publication date:	03/14/2023
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	1,082,216
Product dimensions:	9.00(w) x 11.25(h) x (d)
Lexile:	AD470L (what's this?)
Age Range:	4 - 7 Years

About the Author

LORNA SCHULTZ NICHOLSON is the author of several picture books, middle grade fiction, YA fiction, and non-fiction hockey books. Her books have been nominated for the Ontario Library Association Forest of Reading Red Maple, Red Cedar, and Yellow Cedar awards, the MYRCA award, the Alberta Literary Guild award, and the Saskatchewan Willow awards. She is a frequent presenter in schools, writing workshops, and conferences. She lives in Edmonton, Alberta.

ELLEN ROONEY is a children’s book illustrator whose books include the critically acclaimed Her Fearless Run and Grandmother School. Ellen lives in the southern Okanagan Valley in British Columbia, where hot, dry summers bring tourists, peaches, swims in the lake, and the threat of wildfire. The uniquely beautiful landscape inspired the setting for this book.

Editorial Reviews

"A scary subject is addressed sensitively here ... A gentle story that affirms big feelings and prioritizes relationships."

Booklist

"Written and illustrated by two women who have experienced the local threat of wildfire in the Okanagan Valley, What to Bring is an effective and timely story about love, family and community during our age of climate crisis."

Canadian Review of Materials

"Textured artwork brings the emotional impact of the evacuation front and center, while also showing readers it is a situation that can be managed with patience and understanding ... Will certainly provide fodder for conversations."

Sal's Fiction Addiction

★ 04/28/2023

PreS-Gr 2—A picture book takes on a subject fraught with emotion: a fire is approaching and the family must evacuate. While the rest of her family frantically packs up a few belongings, Malia is all but paralyzed, and then overwhelmed with what she must take, which includes books, stuffies, blankets, pillows, and more. Her mother very gently reminds her that she can bring only important things, and Malia, with light brown skin and black bobbed hair, looking smaller by the minute, realizes that her backpack is too little for what's truly a priority. In one of the final spreads, Malia is content to be with her family and two pets (and two stuffies); the rest she'll carry in her heart. The overlaying of urgency and doom is never too dramatic; the author interlaces the necessity of forward motion with the wish to pause and reflect. The parents in this book act as a steadying force for their daughter as well as readers. The scenes are as straightforward as the work of Gail Gibbons and convey the distant fire in a threatening way, but not impossibly so. VERDICT With wildfires a fact of life, more children will be facing the question of what to bring. This book has some answers, but more, offers a forum for gentle preparation. A necessary title for young readers.—Kimberly Olson Fakih

School Library Journal

2022-11-16
How do you decide what’s most important?

Malia, a young girl with a dark brown bob, is playing in her sandbox near her mother and younger brother when she notices a cloud of smoke. Then a brown-skinned woman in a yellow vest stops by, Malia’s father comes home early from work, and it’s clear that something is wrong. A fire has broken out in the nearby hills, and the family is going to have to leave. Colorful, digitally rendered spreads show Malia in her warm and cozy home as the family packs. Malia wants to bring something, too, but she can’t decide what to choose—her sandbox, her favorite stuffed animals, tons of books? Daddy suggests, “Pick small toys. Things important to you.” Mama limits her to three things and tells her, “Put the rest in your heart.” The text doesn’t share Malia’s choices, but we see her two favorite stuffed animals peeking out of her backpack. And as Malia walks from the car to Grandpa’s house, the accompanying image, of her family in silhouette, makes it clear what the most vital thing of all is. Reassuring to children facing a similar situation, this selection also offers a subtle, heartfelt message to all about the importance of family that young listeners can discuss. Malia and her family are tan-skinned. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

A straightforward and comforting exploration of an emergency evacuation. (Picture book. 3-7)

Kirkus Reviews