John's Turn

E. B. White Read-Aloud winner Mac Barnett celebrates individuality in a story told with tenderness and subtlety.

It’s John’s big day at school today – a performance for Sharing Gifts time. His bag is carefully packed and prepared, his classmates are ready, and the curtain is waiting to open. John is nervous, looking out at all the other children staring back at him.

But he takes a big breath and begins. Mac Barnett’s compassionate text and Kate Berube’s expressive art tell the story of a child who finds the courage to show others his talent for dancing.
As hungry and tired travellers pass by, Vincent welcomes them into his home, making room for everyone. And even when it seems that the house is as full as it possibly can be, there is no woodland animal too big or too scary – not a ravenous cat, nor a fox, nor a whole herd of deer – that Vincent would turn it away from his warm, magical home on the hill. Jonathan Stutzman’s charming voice is enhanced by the elegant, inventive die-cut art of three-time Governor General’s Award winner Isabelle Arsenault in this classic tale of a generous little mouse with a special house and an ever-expanding heart.