Crushing It: Book launch (Hamilton, ON)

The very funny author

 Joanne Levy

who delighted readers with her 

Forest of Reading-nominated 

Small Medium at Large

by Joanne Levy

Bloomsbury Children's Books

978-1-59990-836-6

193 pp.

Ages 9-13

2012

Reviewed here

is back with another funny middle grade read

Crushing It

by Joanne Levy

Aladdin

978-1-4814-6473-4

240 pp.

Ages 9-13

January 2017

which she will launch 

on

Saturday, January 28, 2017

2-4 p.m.

at

Hamilton Public Library, Westdale Branch

955 King St. W.

Hamilton, ON

Joanne Levy promises a reading, a Q & A, swag, light refreshments and, of course, books for purchase and signing.

Although I can't share my review of Crushing It yet–read it, loved it, giggled repeatedly–I can reveal that it's a middle grade story of first crushes gone sideways, when twelve-year-old Kat ends up helping her cousin Olivia snare the boy next door, Tyler, who is so not into popularity-craving Olivia and more into Zombie-slashing gamer Kat.  If things can go wrong, they do, but with much hilarity, courtesy of Joanne Levy's funny (ha!ha!, not strange) writing.

The book is out today, though, so you can always purchase it now, read it and then bring it to the launch for an author's signature and some swag. Whatever way you do it, get the book, enjoy the story.

9th Annual TOTSAPALOOZA: Toronto

Time to get ready for 

Small Print Toronto's

9th Annual Totsapalooza

a festival of indie music, picture book authors and DIY crafts

with singer-songwriter Fred Penner

and 

picture book authors

Tyler Clark Burke

launching her debut picture book Bill Bowerbird & The Unbearable Beak Ache! (OwlKids Books)

Elise Gravel

sharing her new books I Want A Monster! and The Cranky Ballerina (HarperCollins Canada)

and

Andrew Larsen

inspiring storytellers with his latest picture book, A Squiggly Story (Kids Can Press).

on

  Saturday, February 4, 2017

1 - 4 p.m.

at

Revival

783 College Street

Toronto, ON

The Movement Lab children’s dance studio will be back to keep the crowd on their toes and Kensington Market bakery Wanda’s Pie-in-the-Sky will have healthy, handmade snacks on hand.

Books will be available for purchase and signing at the event.

Tickets are available for purchase at 

https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/small-print-tos-totsapalooza-9-with-fred-penner-tickets-29581577294

(n.b. early bird ticket sales ends today!)

Waiting for Snow

by Marsha Diane Arnold

Illustrated by Renata Liwska

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

978-0-544-41687-1

32 pp.

Ages 3-6

November 2016

Polish-born Calgary artist Renata Liwska may be the author-illustrator of her own picture books including the Governor General Award-nominated Red Wagon (Philomel Books, 2013) and Little Panda (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2008), but she is best known for providing artwork for award-winning American writers such as Deborah Underwood (The Quiet Book, The Loud Book), Doreen Cronin (Boom Snot Twitty and Boom Snot Twitty This Way That Way), and Nina Laden (Once Upon a Memory).  In Waiting for Snow, Renata Liwska again provides the distinct landscape of art that takes Marsha Diane Arnold's words from story to showpiece.

From Waiting for Snow

by Marsha Diane Arnold 

illus. by Renata Liwska

Badger is desperate for snow to come.  He studies the sky, bangs pots and pans to wake it up, and follows his friends’ advice.  Rabbit recommends punching holes in the clouds with pebbles to allow the flakes to fall.  Vole suggests a snow dance. Possum proposes Badger wear his pajamas backwards.  His friends even use sugar to simulate snow when the winter flakes don’t appear.  But, just as Hedgehog in his cryptic way advises, the snow does come when it is time.

From Waiting for Snow 

by Marsha Diane Arnold 

illus. by Renata Liwska

Renata Liwska's pencil drawings coloured digitally effuse the story of childlike desperation with a tenderness and softness that materialize the animals from two-dimensional to stuffie.  Though you know that the fur of badgers and opossums may be more coarse in reality, Renata Liwska makes all her characters appear downy.  And her landscapes from outdoors to bedrooms and classrooms, both in daytime and night, are similarly relaxed and serene.  Waiting for Snow is for anyone who has ever waited for something or someone to come and been told that it will only happen in its own time.  It’s the old saying of a “watched pot never boils” acknowledging time as the truest measure of when something will happen.  No matter how much you crave it or are determined to make it happen, with snow dances or rituals or superstitions, time will be the determinant.

Piggy

by Trevor Lai

Bloomsbury 

978-1-68119-065-5

32 pp.

Ages 0-5

December 2016

Trevor Lai, founder of Up Studios, the very trendy Asian studio that created the BOOMi Camera mobile app, may be all over the internet, photographed with celebrities and promoting his studio's animations and media products, but Piggy, the title character of his first picture book, must be his alter ego, because he's just a demure little guy who loves to read and wants to make a friend.

From Piggy by Trevor Lai

Piggy, the red-spectacled boy-pig, was always too busy reading to make friends until he reaches his last book and decides to save it and try something new.  After a valiant effort at flying a kite–as instructed by a book, of course–Piggy decides to step outside of his comfort zone and make friends with a similarly book-loving girl-cat. But no matter what impressive endeavours he undertakes like blowing giant bubbles, or flying a plane, or sending flowers her way, she does not notice and never takes her nose out of her book.  It's only when he makes a small but sincere gesture at sharing his last book with her that Piggy learns it's Kate's eyesight that has stopped her from noticing his gestures.  With another large pair of red eyeglasses, Piggy helps Kate read the written words better and see the glorious friendship to be had with him.

From Piggy by Trevor Lai

Piggy has all the right messages about reading, sharing, compassion, friendship and perseverance, and Trevor Lai embeds them in a sweet, sweet story with a pig and a cat that very young children will adore.  The illustrations are bright in colour and whimsical in line, shape and size (the eyeglasses are especially outrageous).  It has a Porky Pig meets Hello Kitty vibe to the story but without the silliness or excess that might have handicapped the story.  The lightness of the tone and artwork enriches the story to become one of wholesomeness not saccharinity, sure to please both adults reading Piggy and little ones listening to it.  Piggy may make friends with Kate but he’ll become a character of affection for many more. (And there's an upcoming book, Piggy in Love, that we can look forward to reading too.)

A Harbour Seal in Halifax

by Doretta Groenendyk

Nimbus Publishing

978-1-77108-414-7

32 pp.

Ages 4-9

2016

On March 5, 2015, a young harbour seal found itself lost on land in the city of Halifax, confused by the textures of the city and looking for the water of home.  This is his story.

Told in bold lines and colours of a cold, winter’s night, Doretta Groenendyk shares the harbour seal’s trek through Halifax, confused by the lights and buildings and the lake of water, taking refuge under a car.  The owner of the car, startled by the seal, enlists the help of two police, Officer and Constable, who locate the roaming seal and return it to its watery home.  This simple story gains depth with Doretta Groenendyk’s approach of seeing the situation from both the perspective of the seal, unfamiliar with his surroundings and people, and the police, unfamiliar with the seal’s natural behaviour and viewpoint.  Together the three unlikely compatriots find a way to make things safe for all concerned.

From A Harbour Seal in Halifax 

by Doretta Groenendyk

A Harbour Seal in Halifax is a delightful story based on a true event that will charm readers with its happy ending and message of doing good for others.  It may not have a complicated plot but A Harbour Seal in Halifax tells the story well and with illustrations that will delight and transport readers to a cold wintery night when something unfortunate could have ended in tragedy but instead resolves with a feel-good finish.

From A Harbour Seal in Halifax 

by Doretta Groenendyk

Trio of youngCanLit authors appointed to the Order of Canada

On December 30, 2016, the Governor General of Canada, His Excellency the Right Honourable David Johnston, announced 100 new appointments to the Order of Canada.  I am pleased to recognize and congratulate three youngCanLit authors who were named amongst the honourees.  They are:

Jan Andrews

author of picture books, short stories, fiction and young adult including

The Silent Summer of Kyle McGinley (Great Plains Teen Fiction, 2013)

When Apples Grew Noses and White Horse Flew: The Tales of Ti-Jean (Groundwood, 2011)

Rude Stories (Tundra, 2011)

The Twelve Days of Summer (Orca, 2007)

The Auction (Groundwood, 2007)

Winter of Peril: The Newfoundland Diary of Sophie Loveridge, Mairie's Cove, New-Found-Land 1721 (Scholastic Canada, 2005)

Very Last First Time (Groundwood, 1987)

Deborah Ellis

author of numerous fiction and non-fiction books, including

The Cat at the Wall (Groundwood, 2014)

Moon At Nine (Pajama Press, 2014)

Looks Like Daylight: Voices of Indigenous Kids (Groundwood, 2013)

My Name is Parvana (Groundwood, 2012)

True Blue (Pajama Press, 2011)

No Ordinary Day (Groundwood, 2011)

I am a Taxi (Groundwood, 2006)

The Heaven Shop (Groundwood, 2004)

Parvana's Journey (Groundwood, 2002)

The Breadwinner (Groundwood, 2000)

Jacqueline Guest

author of historical fiction and contemporary fiction including

Fire Fight (Book Publ. Co., 2015)

The Comic Book War (Coteau Books, 2014)

Outcasts of River Falls (Coteau Books, 2012)

Ghost Messages (Coteau Books, 2011)

Hat Trick (Lorimer, 2010)

Secret Signs (Orca, 2006)

Belle of Batoche (Orca, 2004)

Lightning Rider (Lorimer, 2000)

New releases for winter and spring 2017

The last few weeks I have been dealing with new medical issues, spending some unexpected time in hospital and even more time worrying.  I'm sure that a significant subset of the population, like me, is looking forward to 2017 bringing better everything.  Let's hope this post of upcoming youngCanLit heralds an impressive and positive turn of events and the beginning of another great year of books to delight younger readers.  Enjoy!

Picture Books

Birds Art Life: A Field Guide to the Small and Significant by Kyo Maclear (Doubleday Canada)

Little Blue Chair by Cary Fagan, illus. by Madeline Kloepper (Tundra)

Fiction

The Best Mistake Mystery by Sylvia McNicoll (Dundurn)>>>first book in new series The Great Mistakes Mysteries

Crushing It by Joanne Levy (Aladdin)

Deadpoint by Nikki Tate (Orca)>>>Orca Sports

Food Freak by Alex Van Tol (Orca>>>Orca Currents

Golden Goal by David Starr (Lorimer)

He Who Dreams by Melanie Florence (Orca)>>>Orca Limelights

Jay Vesus the Saxophone of Doom by Kara Kootstra, illus. by Kim Smith (Puffin Canada)

Run for Your Life by Trevor Kew (Lorimer)

Snow Soccer by David Trifunov (Lorimer)

Superhero Ninja Wrestling Star by Lorna Schultz Nicholson (Lorimer)

Team Fugee by Dirk McLean (Lorimer)

Wolfie and Fly by Cary Fagan, illus. by Zoe Si (Tundra)

Young Adult

Desert Slam by Steve Barwin (Orca)>>>Orca Soundings

Drawn Away by Holly Bennett (Orca)

Exo by Fonda Lee (Scholastic)

Finding Jade by Mary Jennifer Payne (Dundurn)

Frostblood by Elly Blake (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers)

If This is Home by Kristine Scarrow (Dundurn)

Zero Future by Melanie Florence (Lorimer)

Non-Fiction

Big Blue Forever by Anita Miettunen (Red Deer Press)

L'Nu'k: The Mi'kmaq of Atlantic Canada by Theresa Meuse (Nimbus Publishing)

Picture Books

Boonoonoonous Hair by Olive Senior, illus. by Laura James (Tradewind Books)

Count Your Chickens by Jo Ellen Bogart, illus. by Lori Joy Smith (Tundra)

Harry and Clare’s Amazing Staycation by Ted Staunton, illus. by Mika Song (Tundra)

On My Bike by Kari-Lynn Winters, illus. by Christina Leist (Tradewind Books)

Sam Sorts by Marthe Jocelyn (Tundra)

Underneath the Sidewalk by Claire Eamer, illus. by Thomas Gibault (North Winds Press)

You Can Read by Helaine Becker, illus. by Mark Hoffman (Orca)

Fiction

Bijou by Susan Hughes (Sourcebooks Jaberwocky)>>>Puppy Pals series

Billy Sure Kid Entrepreneur vs. Manny Reyes Kid Entrepreneur by Luke Sharpe, illus. by Graham Ross (Simon & Schuster)

Bounced by Ted Staunton (Scholastic Canada)

Bullies Rule by Monique Polak (Orca)>>>Orca Currents

The Doll’s Eye by Marina Cohen (Roaring Brook Press)

Dominion by Shane Arbuthnott (Orca)

It’s a Mystery, Pig Face! by Wendy McLeod MacKnight (Sky Pony Press)

Mae and June and the Wonder Wheel by Charise Mericle Harper, illus. by Ashley Spires (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Books for Young Readers)

Quiz Queens by K. L. Denman (Orca)>>>Orca Currents

Strings Attached by Diane Dakers (Orca)>>>Orca Limelights

Wild Cards by Jeff Szpirglas, illus. by Dave Whamond (Orca)>>>Orca Echoes

Young Adult

10 Things I Can See From Here by Carrie Mac (Alfred a. Knopf Books For Your Readers)

Blood Brothers by Colleen Nelson (Dundurn)

Everything Beautiful is Not Ruined by Danielle Younge-Ullman (Razorbill)

Follow Your Heart by Tasha Nathan (Lorimer)

In Plain Sight by Laura Langston (Orca)>>>Orca Soundings

Love is Love by Mette Bach (Lorimer)

Optimists Die First by Susin Nielsen (Tundra)

Same Love by Tony Correia (Lorimer)

Subject to Change by Karen Nesbitt (Orca)

The Valiant by Lesley Livingston (Razorbill)

Non-Fiction

Innocent Heroes: Stories of Animals in the First World War by Sigmund Brouwer (Tundra)

Let’s Eat: Sustainable Food for a Hungry Planet by Kimberley Veness (Orca)>>>Orca Footprints

The Vimy Oaks: A Journey to Peace by Linda Granfield, illus. by Brian Deines (North Winds Press/Scholastic Canada)

Picture Books

An African Alphabet by Eric Walters, illus. by Sue Todd (Orca)

The Alphabet Thief by Bill Richardson, illus. by Rozanna Bikadoroff (Groundwood)

Bill Bowerbird and the Unbearable Beak-Ache by Tyler Clark Burke (Owlkids Books)

Good Morning Grumple by Victoria Allenby, illus. by Manon Gauthier (Pajama Press)

By the Time You Read This by Jennifer Lanthier, illus. by Patrica Storms (Clockwise Press)

The Dance of the Violin by Kathy Stinson, illus. by Dusan Petricic (Annick Press)

Don't Move! by Anne-Sophie Tilly, illus. by Julien Chung (Annick Press)>>>trilingual board book

The Gold Leaf by Kirsten Hall, illus. by Matthew Forsythe (Enchanted Lion)

Happy Dreamer by Peter H. Reynolds (Orchard Books)

Hurry Up! by Anne-Sophie Tilly, illus. by Julien Chung (Annick Press)>>>trilingual board book

Liam Takes a Stand by Troy Wilson, illus. by Joshn Holinaty (Owlkids Books)

The Little Knight Who Battled a Dragon by Gilles Tibo, illus. by Geneviève Després (Scholastic Canada)>>>third book in this Little Knight Who… series

My Beautiful Birds by Suzanne Del Rizzo (Pajama Press)

Moose’s Roof by Jennifer Maruno, illus. by Laurel Keating (Tuckamore)

Short Stories for Little Monsters by Marie-Louise Gay (Groundwood)

Triangle by Mac Barnett, illus. by Jon Klassen (Candlewick)>>>new series wih Square coming in 2018 and Circle in 2019

A Trio of Terrible Tales by Margaret Atwood, illus. by Dušan Petričić (Groundwood)

Under the Umbrella by Catherine Buquet, illus. by Marion Arbona, translated by Erin Woods (Pajama Press)

Walk with Me by Jairo Buitrago, illus. by Rafael Yockteng, translated by Elisa Amado (Groundwood)

What Are You Doing? by Elisa Amado, illus. by Manuel Monroy (Groundwood)

The Wolves Return: A New Beginning for Yellowstone National Park by Celia Godkin (Pajama Press)

You Are Three by Sara O’Leary, illus. by Karen Klassen (Owlkids Books)

Fiction

The Goat by Anne Fleming (Groundwood)

Jungle Jitters by Lisa Dalrymple (Orca)>>>Orca Currents

Justine McKeen, Thermostat Chat by Sigmund Brouwer, illus. by Dave Whamond (Orca)>>>Orca Echoes

Kings of the Court by Alison Hughes (Orca)

The Lotterys Plus One by Emma Donoghue (HarperCollins Canada)

Masterminds: Payback by Gordon Korman (HarperCollins)

A Month of Mondays by Joëlle Anthony (Second Story Press

The Nor’Wester by David Starr (Ronsdale Press)

Olga And The Smelly Thing From Nowhere by Elise Gravel (HarperCollins Canada)

Show Mode by Raquel Rivera (Orca)>>>Orca Limelights

Sleath of the Ninja by Philip Roy (Ronsdale Press)>>> Book 8 in the Submarine Outlaw series

Summer’s End by Joel A. Sutherland (Scholastic Canada)

Young Adult

Bent Not Broken: Madeline and Justin by Lorna Schultz Nicholson (Clockwise Press)>>>third book in the One-2-One series

Blood on the Beach by Sarah N. Harvey & Robin Stevenson (Orca)

Breaking Faith by E. Graziani (Second Story Press)

The Guy, the Girl, the Artist and His Ex by Gabrielle Williams (Groundwood)

The Most Dangerous Thing by Leanne Lieberman (Orca)

Pinch Me by Gabrielle Prendergast (Orca)>>>Orca Soundings

Saying Good-bye to London by Julie Burtinshaw (Second Story Press)

Short for Chameleon by Vicki Grant (HarperCollins)

Show Mode by Raquel Rivera (Orca)

Traitor to the Throne by Alwyn Hamilton (Viking Books for Young Readers)>>>sequel to Rebel of the Sands

Non-Fiction

Birthdays: Beyond Cake and Ice Cream by Nikki Tate and Dani Tate-Stratton (Orca)>>>Orca Origins

Eat This!: How Fast Food Marketing Gets You to Buy Junk (And How You Can Fight Back) by Andrea Curtis (Red Deer Press)

Eyes and Spies: How You're Tracked and Why You Should Know by Tanya Lloyd Kyi and Belle Wuthrich (Annick Press)

A Soldier’s Sketchbook: The Illustrated First World War Diary of R.H. Rabjohn by John Wilson (Tundra)

Top Dogs: True Stories of Canines that Made History by Elizabeth MacLeod (Annick Press)

What a Waste: Where Does Our Garbage Go? by Claire Eamer and Bambi Edlund (Annick Press)

Why Do Families Change? Our First Talk about Separation and Divorce by Dr. Jillian Roberts, illus. by Cindy Revell (Orca)

Wolf Island by Ian McAllister and Nicholas Read (Orca)

Picture Books

Along the River by Vanina Starkoff, translated by Jane Springer (Groundwood)

Atlantic Animal ABCs by Angela K. Doak (Nimbus)

Away by Emil Sher, illus. by Qin Leng (Groundwood)

Bertolt by Jacques Goldstyn (Enchanted Lion Books)

Elliot and the Impossible Fish by Rebecca North, illus. by Laurel Keating (Tuckamore Books)

Hand Over Hand by Alma Fullerton, illus by Renné Benoit (Second Story Press)

How Nivi Got Her Names by Laura Deal, illus. by Charlene Chua (Inhabit Media)

It’s Great Being a Dad by Dan Bar-el, illus. by Gina Perry (Tundra)

Milo and Georgie by Bree Galbraith, illus. by Josée Bisaillon (Owlkids Books)

More than Balloons by Lorna Crozier, illus. by Rachelle Anne Miller (Orca)

Mr. Postmouse Takes a Trip by Marianne Dubuc (Kids Can Press)>>> new book in series that includes Mr. Postmouse's Rounds and Here Comes Mr. Postmouse

The People of the Sea by Donald Uluadluak, illus. by Mike Mots (Inhabit Media)

pikiq by Yayo (Tradewind Books)

Sea Monkey and Bob by Aaron Reynolds, illus. bt Debbie Ridpath Ohi (Simon & Schuster)

Stop Feedin’ da Boids! by James Sage, illus. by Pierre Pratt (Kids Can Press)

Town is By the Sea by Joanne Schwartz, illus. by Sydney Smith (Groundwood)

Ukaliq and Kalla Go Fishing by Nadia Mike, illus. by Amanda Sandland (Inhabit Media)

Uncle Holland by JonArno Lawson, illus. by Natalie Nelson (Groundwood)

Water’s Children by Angele Delaunois, illus. by Gerard Frischeteau, translated by Erin Woods (Pajama Press)

Where the Heart Is by Satoe Tone (Simply Read)

Fiction

Cammie Takes Flight by Laura Best (Nimbus)

The Explorers: The Door in the Alley by Adrienne Kress (Delacorte Books for Young Readers)

Goodbye Days by Jeff Zentner (Tundra)

Laura Monster Crusher by Wesley King (Puffin Canada)

Magic in the City by Heather Dyer, illus. by Serena Malyon (Kids Can Press)

Simone: The Best Monster Ever! by Rémy Simard (Owlkids Books)

Tank & Fizz: The Case of the Missing Mage by Liam O’Donnell, illus. by Mike Deas (Orca ) >>>Book 3

Waiting for Sophie by Sarah Ellis, illus. by Carmen Mok (Pajama Press)

Young Adult

Adele's Garden by Linda Amyot, translated by Norman Cornett (Coteau Books)

Defender by Graham McNamee (Wendy Lamb Books)

Forest of Ruin by Kelley Armstrong (Doubleday Canada)>>>final book in Age of Legends trilogy

Hannah and the Magic Eye by Tyler Enfield (Great Plains Teen Fiction)

Identify by Lesley Choyce (Orca)>>>Orca Soundings

Keeping the Beat by Marie Powell and Jeff Norton (Kids Can Press)

Maud by Melanie Fishbane (Penguin Teen Canada)

Me and Me by Alice Kuipers (HarperCollins Canada)

Missing by Kelley Armstrong (Doubleday Canada)>>>new Reeve’s End series

Rough Patch by Nicole Markotic (Arsenal Pulp Press) 

Terminate by Natasha Deen (Orca)>>>newest title in Retribution series

Undiscoverd Country by Jennifer Gold (Second Story Press)

Non-Fiction

10 Routes That Crossed the World by Gillian Richardson and Kim Rosen (Annick Press)

The Banana-Leaf Ball: How Play Can Change the World by Katie Smith Milway, illus. by Shane Evans (Kids Can Press)

Be a Night Detective: Solving the Mysteries of Twilight, Dusk, and Nightfall by Peggy Kochanoff (Nimbus)

The Big Book of Canada: Exploring the Provinces and Territories by Christopher Moore, illus. by Bill Slavin (Tundra)>>>updated edition

Eat Up: An Infographic Exploration of Food by Paula Ayer and Antonia Banyard (Annick Press)

Families Around the World by Margriet Ruurs, illus. by Jessica Rae Gordon (Kids Can Press)

Go For Liftoff!: How to train like an astronaut by Dave Williams and Loredana Cunti (Annick Press)

Lines, Bars and Circles: How Wiliam Playfair Invented Graphs by Helaine Becker, illus. by Marie-Eve Tremblay (Kids Can Press)

Stormy Seas: Stories of Young Boat Refugees by Mary Beth Leatherdale and Eleanor Shakespeare (Annick Press)

UP!: How Families Around the World Carry Their Little Ones by Susan Hughes, illus. by Ashley Barron (Owlkids Books)

Where Will I Live? by Rosemary McCarney (Second Story Press)

Picture Books

A Cage Went In Search of a Bird by Cary Fagan, illus. by Banafsheh Erfanian (Groundwood)

Carson Crosses Canada by Linda Bailey, illus. by Kass Reich (Tundra)

Colette’s Lost Pet by Isabelle Arsenault (Tundra)

Different? Same! by Heather Tekavec, illus. by Pippa Cumick (Kids Can Press)

The Fog by Kyo Maclear, illus. by Kenard Pak (Tundra)

Gathering by Theresa Meuse, illus. by Leonard Paul (Nimbus)

Grandfather and the Moon by Stépahnie Lapointe, illus. by Rogé (Groundwood)>>>translation of award-winning graphic novel

Greetings, Leroy by Itah Sadu, illus. by Alix Delinois (Groundwood)

If You Could Wear My Sneakers by Sheree Fitch and Darcia Labrosse (Nimbus)

Sukaq and the Raven by Roy Goose and Kerry McCluskey, illus. by Soyeon Kim (Inhabit Media)

The Thing Lou Couldn’t Do by Ashley Spires (Kids Can Press)

Wade’s Wiggly Antlers by Louise Bradford, illus. by Christine Battuz (Kids Can Press)

Whispers of Mermaids and Wonderful Things, edited by Sheree Fitch and Anne Hunt, illus. by Lloyd Fitzgerald (Nimbus)

Fiction

The Bonaventure Adventures by Rachelle Delaney (Puffin Canada)

Dingus by Andrew Larsen (Kids Can Press)

Knock About with the Fitzgerald Trouts by Esta Spalding, illus. by Sydney Smith (Tundra)

Macy McMillan and the Rainbow Goddess by Shari Green (Pajama Press)

Mary Anning’s Curiosity by Monica Kulling, illus. by Melissa Castrillón (Groundwood)

Putuguq and Kubu by Danny Christopher, illus. by Astrid Arijanto (Inhabit Media0

Restart by Gordon Korman (Scholastic)

Super Narwhal and Jelly Jolt: A Narwhal and Jelly Book by Ben Clanton (Tundra)

Young Adult

Road Signs That Say West by Sylvia Gunnery (Pajama Press)

Stay by Katherine Lawrence (Coteau)

Two Times a Traitor by Karen Bass (Pajama Press)

The Way Back Home by Allan Stratton (Scholastic Canada)

Non-Fiction

Animals Do, Too!: How They Behave Just Like You by Etta Kaner, illus. by Marylin Faucher (Kids Can Press)

Explore the Wild Coast with Sam and Crystal by Gloria Snively, illus. by Karen Gillmore (Heritage House)

The Land Beyond the Wall: An Immigration Story by Veronika Martenova Charles (Nimbus)

Meatless: A Fresh Look at What You Eat by Sarah Elton, illus. by Julie McLaughlin (Owlkids Books)

My Canada: An Illustrated Atlas by Katheine Dearlove, illus. by Lori Joy Smith (Owlkids Books)

Picture Books

All Around the Circle by Cara Kansala, illus. by Max Dorey (Breakwater Books)

Polly MacCauley’s Finest, Divinest, Wooliest Gift of All: A Yarn for all Ages by Sheree Fitch, illus. by Daka Erdelji (Running The Goat Books and Broadsides)

Shooting Star Rider by Nayoung Jin. illus. by Geneviève Côté (Simply Read)

There, There by Tim Beiser, illus. by Bill Slavin (Tundra)

What’s My Superpower? by Aviaq Johnston, illus. by Tim Mack (Inhabit Media)

Fiction

Ghosts in the Garden by Judith Silverthorne (Coteau Books)>>>sequel to The Ghosts of Government House

Young Adult

Algonquin Sunset by Rick Revelle (Dundurn) >>>An Algonquin Quest Novel

Julia Defiant by Catherine Egan (Doubleday Canada)>>>sequel to Julia Vanishes

Maybe in Paris by Rebecca Christiansen (Sky Pony Press)

Saints, Misfits, Monsters and Mayhem by S.K. Ali (Salaam Reads)

Non-Fiction

Shark Lady: The Daring Tale of How Eugenie Clark Dove into History by Jess Keating and Marta Alvarez Miguens (Sourcebooks Jabberwocky)

Why the Monster by Rachel Qitsualik-Tinsley and Sean Qitsualik-Tinsley, illus. by Toma Feizo (Inhabit Media)

Picture Books

Christmas Wind by Stephanie Simpson McLellan (Red Deer Press)

The Good Morning Book by Lori Joy Smith (Simply Read)

Mitzi Tulane, Preschool Detective in The Secret Ingredient by Lauren McLaughlin, illus. by Debbie Ridpath Ohi (Random House Books for Young Readers)>>>Book 2

My Best Friend by Gilles Tibo, illus. by Janice Nadeau (Simply Read)

A Pattern for Pepper by Julie Kraulis (Tundra)

Ruby Rose, Big Bravos by Rob Sanders, illus. by Debbie Ridpath Ohi (HarperCollins)>>>Book 2

Searching for Sleep by Pierrette Dubé, illus. by Geneviève Godbout (Simply Read)

Sydney & Simon: To the Moon! by Paul A. Reynolds, illus. by Peter H. Reynolds (Charlesbridge) 

Under-the-Bed Fred by Linda Bailey, illus. by Colin Jack (Tundra)

When the Moon Comes by Paul Harbridge, illus. by Matt James (Tundra)

Fiction

The Artsy Mistake Mystery by Sylvia McNicoll (Dundurn)>>>Book 2 in The Great Mistake Mysteries series

Chase by Linwood Barclay (Puffin)

Dog Night at the Story Zoo by Dan Bar-el, illus. by Vicky Nerino (Tundra)

How to Make Friends with a Ghost by Rebecca Green (Tundra)

Mort Ziff is not Dead by Cary Fagan (Puffin Canada)

The Night Garden by Polly Horvath (Puffin Canada)

The Painting by Charis Cotter (Tundra)

Where Oliver Fits by Cale Atkinson (Tundra)

Young Adult

Parasite Life by Victoria Dalpe (ChiTeen)

Thin Places by Lesley Choyce (Dundurn)>>>novel in verse

Tracker’s Canyon by Pam Withers (Dundurn)

Non-Fiction

What Makes a Monster? Discovering the  World's Scariest Creatures by Jess Keating (Knopf Books for Young Readers)>>>new book in The World of Weird Animals