Time to get excited about an upcoming book.   Let's get that buzz started!    ????? Catherine Egan is the author of middle grade & young adult novels including Sneaks, The Witch's Child series (Julia Vanishes, Julia Defiant and Julia Unbound) and The Last Days of Tian Di series (Shade and Sorceress, The Unmaking, and Bone, Fog, Ash and Star).   Soon, Catherine Egan will have a new middle grade novel which will be coming out in January 2025. I'd like to help get everyone talking about this new book of speculative fiction for middle grade readers with this cover revea ..read more

  Written by Penelope Jackson  Illustrated by Elena Skoreyko Wagner Nimbus Publishing 978-1-77471-273-3 32 pp. Ages 4-8 April 2024   Wild Trails to the Sea is a reflection of parents who are hopeful for children to enjoy play in the natural worlds of shorelines, oceans, and forests but it reads like a love song to their children, to nature and all its elements, and to curiosity and exploration.  From Wild Trails to the Sea, words by Penelope Jackson, art by Elena Skoreyko Wagner The day begins with a mother carrying her young daughter and looking out the windo ..read more

In early May, selected young readers who'd applied to participate on the eighth annual Forest Kid Committees (for ages 9-13) came together online to talk books.  From their discussions, which were interspersed with visits from award-winning Canadian authors Natalie Hyde and Erin Bow, these young people produced two extraordinary lists of recommended titles to keep everyone reading Canadian over the summer.  There are graphic novels, fantasy, historical fiction, picture books, short stories, non-fiction, humour, and more. These are their recommendations for their peers in the Silver ..read more

Written by Christopher Tse Plumleaf Press 978-1-7388-9828-2 52 pp. Ages 9+ May 2024     A Song for the Paper Children is a tribute to early Chinese immigrants, some of whom came to Canada after the Chinese Exclusion Act was passed to severely restrict their entry. These “paper children,” courageous men and women, endured legislated racism, financial hardship, and frequent acts of violence and discrimination, but they followed in the footsteps of their predecessors to lay the foundation for a Chinese Canadian community today that is vibrant, resilient, and here to stay.   &nbs ..read more

Written by Bill Richardson Illustrated by Bill Pechet Running the Goat, Books & Broadsides 978-1-998802098 40 pp. Ages 4-8 May 2024    With a mondegreen play of words on the traditional Scottish folk song "My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean," Bill Richardson and Bill Pechet have given us another bunny story of a legendary incident. Like their earlier book Hare B & B (2021), readers are treated to a silly but playful adventure, this time one in which a stuffed rabbit endeavours to make its way home with a lot of help from a menagerie of animals. And it's all to the accompaniment ..read more

Written by Hetxw'ms Gyetxw (Brett D. Huson) Illustrated by Natasha Donovan HighWater Press 978-1-774920800 32 pp. Ages 9-12 May 2024 Hetxw'ms Gyetxw (Brett D. Huson) and Natasha Donovan's latest volume in their illustrated non-fiction series, Mothers of Xsan, takes readers into the insect world for the first time, having previously highlighted mammals, birds, fish, and amphibians. Though the bee may be the smallest of the species showcased, it is no less significant. From The Bee Mother, written by Hetxw'ms Gyetxw, illus. by Natasha Donovan The story begins with the recession of w ..read more

Words by Hilary Briar Music by Reid Briar Art by Angela Doak Nimbus Publishing 978-1-77471-199-6 24 pp. Ages 3-7 April 2024   With the spring, children will bear witness to many elements in nature undergoing change that will both delight and surprise. They will see robins busily at work, building their nests and then tending to their young. There will be oak trees and other deciduous trees leafing out. There will be animals born and growing. And they will all converge intermittently. In Hilary Briar's story and lyrics, that point of converge is The Old Oak Tree. From The Old Oak T ..read more

Written by Carol Matas Orca Book Publishers 978-1-459838826 128 pp. Ages 9-12 RL 2.7 April 2024   Some gift! Unlike other gifts, this one is not returnable. (pg. 2) Zevi's gift? He's psychic. Sometimes he can see into the future, or dream about something that is going happen, hear someone's thoughts, or even talk to the dead. When he dreams of the location of a missing 5-year-old girl, he helps the police find the child unharmed. But, for a Grade 7 boy who wants to be an actor, he doesn't appreciate the celebrity, both good and bad, that comes with this good deed. Now Zevi's family i ..read more

Written by Amanda West Lewis Illustrated by Oliver Averill Kids Can Press 978-1-5253-0442-2 56 pp. Ages 8-12 May 2024   It isn't always easy to blend science with art in a meaningful way. But Amanda West Lewis has elegantly and effectively used poetry to intertwine the teaching of different poetic forms with the teaching of the solar system and all its components in her latest book, A Planet is a Poem. From A Planet is a Poem, written by Amanda West Lewis, illus. by Oliver Averill In fold-out double spreads, Amanda West Lewis gives us a poem, a description of the type of poem ..read more

Written by Caitlin Dale Nicholson with Leona Morin-Neilson Illustrated by Caitlin Dale Nicholson Groundwood Books 978-1-77306-859-6 24 pp. Ages 3+ April 2024  Caitlin Dale Nicholson's Nôhkom series honours the Cree grandmothers and elders who share their wisdom, their traditions, and their learning with younger generations. In ninitohtênân / We Listen, Caitlin Dale Nicholson, with translation by Leona Morin-Neilson, a teacher of Cree in BC, reflects on an outing with nôhkom during which the younger people watch and listen and learn. From ninitohtênân / We Listen, written by Cai ..read more