Changing the world, one story at a time

Big waves start from small ripples, and tomorrow is written in today's pages. What better way to make a better world than by seeding our children with small ideas that can bloom into big change?

Magic Ramen, written by Andrea Wang, illustrated by Kana Urbanowicz

Momofuko Ando, an inventor, dreams of squashing the hunger of post war Japan. Through trial and error, and much persistence, he creates the world-wide cupboard staple:instant ramen!

Andrea Wang brings Ando's wish to feed the hungry to life neatly and succinctly, and Urbanowicz's illustrations harken back to Osamu Tezaku's Astro Boy mangas. Sometimes altruism starts with the stomach.

Another, by Christian Robinson

A young girl and her cat sleep soundly in a dark room when a bright, white hole opens and a twin cat peaks its head out.

Following their doubles into this new world, they find dimensions with no rules, where walking down stairs leads you to the top, and you always have a friend in yourself.

This wordless book could be the love child of MC Escher and Eric Carle, where physics is optional and reality is made of brightly painted collage. Ideal for anyone who wants to run on the ceiling.

Lubna and Pebble, written by Wendy Meddour, illustrated by Daniel Egnus

Wrenched from her war-torn home, Lubna's only friend is a stone she has found on the beach. When another child arrives in their refugee camp, Lubna shares Pebble's quiet smile to help him learn to speak again.

The refugee experience is an all too common occurrence, and Meddour's delicately chosen words explain it in a way that might help the youth of today make it a rarer experience in the future.

Sometimes we need to be like Pebble, and just listen.

The Unbudgeable Curmudgeon, written by Matthew Burgess, illustrated by Fiona Woodcock

Two siblings trade bad moods with each other, getting so grumpy that they turn into immovable monsters. Watch out, because sometimes trying to fix someone's horrible day can make yours worse!

Matthew Burgess gives us a whack of mood-changing activities to try to help us out of funks, admitting they don't always work. The curmudgeonly monsters are all done with splattered paint, a visual cue for how you can almost feel a bad day radiating off a person.

Gloria Takes a Stand, written by Jessica M Rinker, illustrated by Daria People-Riley

A junior biography of Gloria Steinem, this book follows the life and struggles of one of the most important members of the women's movement. From her earliest days traveling across the country with her family, being schooled in the back seat of their car, to her founding of Ms. magazine, her life story will indubitably inspire.

Rinker boils down a remarkably full life into a brilliantly short picture book, not losing any of

Steinem's fiery drive. This should be step one when a neighbor or sibling erects a "No Girls Allowed" sign.

A Story About Cancer (With a Happy Ending), written by India Desjardins, illustrated by Marianne Ferrer

As a young woman waits to hear her latest leukemia prognosis, she recounts the last five years of her life living with her cancer. Her disease is not just about hospital beds, but also finding friends and losing them, first love and learning about how her parents are really peopletoo.

It can be next to impossible to capture the voice of someone having change forced on them without sounding maudlin or insincere, but Desjardins does it with ease. Ferrer's illustrations take on an almost metaphorical quality, like her father's humour appearing as an actual cracked shell.

Even though the happy ending is promised on the cover, your breath with be held to the last page.

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