• Age: 4 to 7
• Grade: p to 2
• Reading age: 4 to 7

A vividly imagined story about the importance of telling the truth, even if it means losing something you love.

When Jesse finds a toy horse and makes it his very own, his imagination runs wild. This horse is the fastest horse in the whole world, so Jesse names him Wind. He can’t wait to race him across the prairie (the kitchen table) and over deep canyons (the bathtub). There’s just one problem: Wind doesn’t actually belong to Jesse. He was left behind accidentally by his real owners. And though at first Jesse is full of joy as he plays with Wind, soon he starts to feel uneasy—Jesse knows Wind’s real owners must miss him.

But how can Jesse explain to his mother exactly where Wind came from? And is there a way to make everything okay again? The Truth About Wind is a dynamic story about the courage it takes to face up to a lie, brought to life by a trio of celebrated creators.

Hazel Hutckins est l'auteure de plus de 30 livres pour enfants, y compris l'album illustré primé Mattland, une œuvre qui est aussi illustrée par Duan Petricic. Hazel vit à Canmore, en Alberta.

After many years of juggling writing, raising her children, and making a home with her now deceased husband, Hazel spends her days writing full time. Winner of Writer's Guild of Alberta Award for Children's Literature, she has written children's short fiction for Chirp, Chickadee, and Cricket.
When answering where the inspiration for A Second is a Hiccup came from, Hazel comments, "I decided to see if I could find other ways to describe time. When the writing began to flow in poetic form - and when I came up with the engaging title line A Second is a Hiccup - I knew I had begun a labor of love. The book went through many incarnations....in one version I actually brought in centuries and eons! Good grief! But it finally returned to exactly what it should be...immediate, simple and close-to-home. It is my sincere hope that children of all types will enjoy finding and celebrating, among the pages, the many ways they spend their time."

Hazel Hutchins' profile page

Duan Petricic was born in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, but loved to pretend that he grew up in Zemun, an old city located just across the river (and now a part of Belgrade). As a boy he did all the forbidden things that children do, but what Duan loved most was to draw. He started drawing at age four and, encouraged by his parents, he never stopped. He found inspiration in everything, and drawing became a way to communicate with the people around him. Two books that were very important to his childhood were an old encyclopedia with lots of pictures and The Boys from Pavel’s Street by Ferenc Molnár. Early on, he was moved by the drawings found within the encyclopedia. As he grew older, he adored many artists, including Leonardo da Vinci, Dürer, and Picasso. Duan has been illustrating children’s books for many years. He has received numerous honors and awards for his work, in North America and internationally, including an IBBY Certificate of Honour and an Alberta Book Award for On Tumbledown Hill (Red Deer Press). The Longitude Prize (FSG) was selected as a Robert F. Siebert Honor Book for a Distinguished Informative Book for Children in the US. His beautiful, evocative illustrations for Mattland (2009) by Hazel Hutchins and Gail Herbert garnered Duan the Amelia Frances Howard-Gibbon Illustrator’s Award from the Canadian Library Association as well as the Marilyn Baillie Picture Book Award. His illustrations for Better Together (2011) by Sheryl and Simon Shapiro were described as “sublime” by Kirkus Reviews. When it came time to reissue Robert Munsch’s Mud Puddle (2012), Duan was Annick’s first choice to reillustrate the classic. The results are a fresh and energetic look that will delight a whole new generation of young Munsch fans. Duan’s latest book, The Man with the Violin (2013), was greeted with rave reviews, including starred reviews in Kirkus and uill & uire. Written by Kathy Stinson, this beautifully evocative picture book tells the true story of world-renowned violinist, Joshua Bell, who conducted an experiment by anonymously playing his priceless violin in the Washington D.C. subway station. Luckily for Duan, his profession is his favorite hobby and he is happy when at work. To young artists he would give this advice: “Think, think, think, think, draw!” Duan lives in Toronto where he is a regular contributor as an editorial cartoonist in the Toronto Star.

Dusan Petricic's profile page

Gail Herbert’s first collaboration with Hazel Hutchins produced the award-winning picture book, Mattland. Gail lives with her husband near Cambridge, Ontario.

Gail Herbert's profile page

• Nominated, Blue Spruce Award, OLA
• Joint winner, First & Best Reading List, Toronto Public Library
• Joint winner, Best Books for Kids & Teens, starred selection, Canadian Children's Book Centre
• Joint winner, Best Books of 2020, CBC

“A wonderful adventure of childish imagination, with, at its core, an important idea about how dishonesty can spoil a beautiful thing. The book should find a place in many schools and public library picture book collections. Highly Recommended.”

CM Reviews, 02/14/20

“A great book to begin discussions about telling the truth and how keeping secrets can have a negative impact.”

Youth Services Book Review, 12/31/19

“A powerful picture book for launching conversations about honesty.”

Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (ETFO)

“Hutchins and Herbert’s text is vivid, specific, and evocative; Petričić’s pencil-and-watercolor illustrations have a fun, cartoonish quality that perfectly suits the story, investing the nominally inanimate toy with a huge personality . . . Another child’s toy gained by mischance is a perfect vehicle for gently conveying the importance of honesty.”

Kirkus Reviews, 01/21/20

“Believable, relatable, and tender.”

Kiss the Book Jr., 04/17/20

“Hutchins and Herbert have created a complex, memorable character . . . This galloping story will engage young readers and prompt meaningful conversation.”

Canadian Children’s Book News, Spring/20