Reviews

"Rachna Gilmore’s picture books tend toward sweet endings, but those involving family conflict, such as the GG winner A Screaming Kind of Day and the early My Mother is Weird, also carry a satisfying bite. So it is with Making Grizzle Grow, in which Emily, annoyed with her father for breaking his promise to play outside with her, finds an imaginative way to bare her teeth at him. This story makes a reassuring suggestion to its small readers: it’s okay to get angry, and it might be smart to express it indirectly."

Quill & Quire, Nov. 2007

"Young children will enjoy Emily's imaginative efforts to feed her dinosaur and sympathize with her impatience with her busy father. With children's fascination with dinosaurs, they will like watching Grizzle grow from a small Dilophosaurus to a large Allosaurus and finally a huge Tyrannosaurus rex. The expressions on Watts’ characters are especially well done. The pictures are over-sized and brimming with primary colours." Highly Recommended.

CM, Vol XIV, Number 4, Nov 2007

"...well told and convincingly illustrated..."

Susan Perren, Books for Children, The Globe and Mail, Nov 24, 2007

"This is a lovely story about anger, rejection, forgiveness and unconditional love. Parents who have limited time to spend with their children will understand Emily’s frustration. Children who have busy parents will identify with Emily as she demonstrates how to express anger in a healthy and creative way."

ForeWord Magazine, January/February 2008

"Written with humor and creativity, Gilmore’s story dramatizes the tenderness of a parent/child relationship. Watt’s artwork illuminates an already luminous story."

Kirkus Reviews, February 2008

Reviews

"Family relationships are commonly the subject of the endearing picture books of Governor General's Award-winning author, Rachna Gilmore, and this book deals with the need for different generations to learn to understand each other a bit better. The conflict here between mother and daughter is amusingly presented through a touch of fantasy.... The story is simple, and its sweetly humorous message will amuse parents as well as children. The soft colours and expressive faces of Benoit's illustrations reinforce the sympathetic and reassuring qualities of the story."

Quill & Quire, Nov. 2006

"Rachna Gilmore and Renné Benoit have created a lovely book of reminiscence and reality in When-I-was-a-little-girl."

Resource Links, Dec 2006

"This book made me laugh so hard! I think this picture book speaks for all children out there. It definitely gets the child’s point of view across. It is a great book for the whole family to enjoy together. This reviewer gives When-I-was-a-little-girl five translucent stars!"

KidsWWrite – Sarah’s Stars, June 2007

"...a very funny story that will have as much appeal, though on a different level, to adults as to children."

Emergency Librarian, March-April, 1990

Reviews

"A gentle, touching picture book about the relationship between a grandfather and grandchild. Gilmore has created a caring family with credible characters. The soft, realistic watercolor illustrations are warm and inviting. Gilmore...illuminates the value of intergenerational relationships and their ability to enrich the lives of both young and old. This well-crafted story would strengthen any collection."

School Library Journal, April 2006

"...a richly textured tale of family relationships, particularly between Cayley and her grandpa, who builds clocks....In this warm and delicate story of a bond between generations, we see the child not only learning...from her grandpa, but being able to give back to him when he needs her. Governor General’s Award-winning author Gilmore uses the craft of clockmaking to show how creating a beautiful and useful object has a value beyond the material."

Starred review, Quill & Quire, March 2006

"...a warm and endearing family story about a little girl, Cayley, who helps her grandfather make clocks....Rachna Gilmore...manages to create an atmosphere of a close family whose members really care about each other...Highly recommended."

CM Vol XII, Number 13, March 2006

Reviews

"It is little wonder that the text of A Screaming Kind of Day won the 1999 Governor General's Award for Children’s Literature. Rachna Gilmore's sensitive and insightful portrayal of her little hearing-impaired narrator is completely captivating. Scully's story is one with which many families will be able to identify. Parents lose patience in their attempt to keep peace between siblings as they tease, provoke and retaliate, but, at the end of a trying day, love triumphs and brings peace to the family. In a flawless rendition of Scully's voice, Gilmore convinces the reader that different though Scully is, her experience and behaviour are universal. Her moving story avoids the sentimentality or didacticism that so often spoils books involving a child with special needs. Whatever lessons are to be learned from A Screaming Kind of Day, Rachna Gilmore trusts her readers to draw them from the simple lyrical prose she has created to represent Scully's thoughts." Highly Recommended.

CM Magazine Volume VIII Number 1, September 7, 2001

"This wonderful book is a carefully composed collection of moments during one of those days when parents experience exasperation. Rachna Gilmore, a talented author, magically captures a child's overbrimming love of life and irrepressible spirit of mischief and rebellion. This is not a book with a message; rather, it is a sweet story told in exquisite fashion. A Screaming Kind of Day is an engaging, "singing in the rain" book which children will love to read."

Jury Statement, 1999 Governor General's Literary Awards, Children’s Literature Text.

"In its most literal form A Screaming Kind of Day is a delightful story about a child who wants to go out and play in the rain...While the plot is realistic and can certainly teach children a lesson about getting along, this story is so much more. The text is written in the lyrical diction of poetry. Through the author's clever description, the event becomes a breathtaking slide show...a "must have" for every elementary and public library picture book collection."

Resource Links

"Now this is one book title I can relate to and I suspect a few other parents and children can, too...Rachna Gilmore doesn't sugar-coat the angry interaction of the family members. She lets the story, from the perspective of Scully, who is also hearing impaired, unfold realistically. The result is a tale of heart-warming insight into the mind of a little soul trying hard to have a good day."

The London Free Press

"What makes A Screaming Kind of Day unique and quite wonderful, is that Scully's inability to hear is not her problem at all. For much of the book, in fact, it's her solution to the problem...Scully is as convincingly real a human being as any child in children's literature, and her self-acceptance, so complete, it's left entirely unspoken, represents an important step forward in the depiction of children different from what we tend to call normal....a deserving winner for this years Governor General's Award."

Starred review, Quill & Quire

"This wonderful child shows that, despite a small difference, some experiences are universal. The story is gently and beautifully told by Rachna Gilmore."

The Houston Chronicle

"In an internal monologue notable for its range of feeling and poetic prose style, a small, hearing-impaired girl tells readers about "a screaming kind of day."

The Globe and Mail

"Coupled with artist Gordon Sauvé's rich, expressive illustrations, it's easy to see why this book is a winner."

Saskatoon Star-Phoenix

Reviews

"This is an entertaining tale about a high-spirited little girl who uses her imagination to reverse the roles of authority between herself and adults. Gilmore's text makes wry observations about authority and how it is used."

CBRA 21

"...Gilmore shows...how imagination can turn negative feelings into something constructive, and at the same time, fun. With its repeating verses and wildely colourful pictures, this book will appeal particularly to young children just starting school."

Ottawa Citizen, Nov 2, 1997

Reviews

"Words and pictures weave the particular holiday traditions into a universal story of disappointment and hope."

Booklist, American Library Association, 06/01/95

"The best picture-books have to excel at the difficult task of pleasing adults and children alike. This is something that Lights for Gita certainly accomplishes...an emotional and magical resolution that crosses cultural boundaries and embraces us all in its humanness. It is just magical."

Books in Canada, March 1995

"The rich tapestry of emotions woven through this lovely story tugs at the most resistant heart. Anticipation, disappointment and joy: Gilmore expertly navigates the young readers through each and the reader is left feeling very satisfied at the outcome."

Expositor, Nov. 19, 1994

"... a rich and resonant story."

Quill and Quire, September 1994, Starred Review

Reviews

"...Gilmore draws the reader into Gita's thoughts, memories and feelings, through her deceptively simple narrative and imagery."

Books in Canada, May 1997

"This is a lovely gentle book. Gilmore is particularly adept at presenting subtle emotions. She writes with a fine intensity that, in less skilled hands, could easily degenerate into pathos, but never does."

Quill and Quire, November 1996

"...a lovely quiet little story. Sensitively written with colourful illustrations by Alice Priestley, this book is a treat."

Children’s Book News, Winter 1997

Reviews

"...both story and pictures grow on you with each reading."

Canadian Children’s Literature, 67 1992