July 01, 2021

Upcoming releases for Summer and Fall 2021

Another July 1st has arrived, heralding a new season of book releases. Hundreds of titles of youngCanLit are set to release in the last half of 2021 and I defy anyone not to find at least a dozen books they'll want to read. Whether you're a fan of picture books or graphic novels, young adult or non-fiction, early readers or middle grade, fantasy or historical fiction, mystery or romance, Indigenous or LGBTQ+ stories, there is something wonderful to be found here. I know I have my favourites. I'm especially looking forward to:
  • a middle grade graphic novel from Dave Whamond called Muddle School (from Kids Can Press);
  • a new Sean Cassidy picture book, this time with Catherine Austen (When the Squirrels Stole My Sister from Fitzhenry & Whiteside);
  • a new Colleen Nelson book, always a treat (The Undercover Book List from Pajama Press);
  • the picture book Can You Imagine? from Wallace Edwards (North Winds Press) which is sure to have phenomenal art; 
  • another Aggie Morton, Mystery Queen from Marthe Jocelyn (The Dead Man in the Garden from Tundra Book) since I love a good mystery;
  • a Marrow Thieves novel from Cherie Dimaline (Hunting By Stars from Penguin Teen);
  • a new series from Eric Walters called Teen Astronauts (Houston, Is There a Problem? from Orca); and
  • more titles than I dare to name. (My TBR piles have long evolved from shelves to cases and now a room!)

As always, if I've missed a title (and I often miss titles, especially those from publishers outside of Canada), please let me know. I'm happy to add it.

Happy Reading!


 

 

 
 
Picture Books
A Calf for Olive by Cheryl Dawn Buchan (Chocolate River Publishing)
Choose Kindness by Ruth Ohi (North Winds Press) 
Disaster at the Highland Games by Riel Nason, illus. by Nathasha Pilotte (Chocolate River Publishing)
Finn's First Song (A Whaley Big Adventure) by Gerry Daly (Boulder Books)
Harley the Hero by Peggy Collins (Pajama Press)
Lala's Words by Gracey Zhang (Orchard Books)
A Monster in My Kitchen by Marie-France Comeau, illus. by Isabelle Léger, trans. by Joan Jory (Bouton D'or Acadie)
Vampenguin by Lucy Ruth Cummins (Atheneum Books for Young Readers) 
A Very Silly (wet and woolly) Beach Rock Band by Susan Taylor, illus. by Ashley Quirke (Boulder Books)
Sweetgrass by Theresa Meuse, illus. by Arthur Stevens (Nimbus)>>> Indigenous Knowledge series 
 
Early Readers and Middle Grade Fiction
Anne's School Days by Kallie George, illus. by Abigail Halpin (Tundra)>>>An Anne Chapter Book 3
The Curse of the Scarewolf (The Lunch Club #2) by Dom Pelletier (Scholastic Canada)
Linked by Gordon Korman (Scholastic)
Paranorthern and the Chaos Bunny A-Hop-Calypse by Stephanie Cooke, illus. by Mari Costa (ETCH/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)>>> graphic novel

Young Adult
Evolution by Teri Terry (Charlesbridge Children's Books)
I Am Not Starfire by Mariko Tamaki, illus. by Yoshi Yoshitani (DC Comics) >>>graphic novel
The Peculiar Language of Llamas by Carol Anne Shaw >>>first book in The Garcia Island Chronicles
Shoot Out by Maureen Ulrich (Wood Dragon Books) >>> fourth book in Jessie Mac Hockey series
The Silver Blonde by Elizabeth Ross (Delacorte Press)
Tainted Amber by Gabriele Goldstone (Ronsdale)
Wings of Shadow by Nicki Pau Presto (Margaret K. McElderry)>>>Crown of Feathers Book 3


Non-Fiction
Birding for Kids: A Guide to Finding, Identifying, and Photographing Birds in Your Area by Damon Calderwood and Donald E. Waite (Heritage House)
Race with Me by Andre De Grasse and Robert Budd, illus. by Joseph Osei Bonsu (Scholastic Canada) 


 

 

 
 
Picture Books
Catalina by Lori Doody (Running the Goat, Books & Broadsides)
The Deepest Dig by Mark David Smith, illus. by Lily Snowden-Fine (Owlkids Books)
Five Busy Beavers by Stella Partheniou Grasso, illus. by Christine Battuz (Scholastic Canada)
Hold That Thought! by Bree Galbraith, illus. by Lynn Scurfield (Owlkids)
The House Next Door by Claudine Crangle (Groundwood) 
I'm Sorry by Michael Ian Black, illus. by Debbie Ridpath Ohi (Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers)
A Kid is a Kid is a Kid by Sara O'Leary, illus. by Qin Leng (Groundwood) 
Listen Up! Train Song by Victoria Allenby (Pajama Press)>>> part of  Big Little Concepts series
Mika and the Dragonfly by Ellen DeLange, by Martina Schachenhuber (Clavis)
Mr. Beagle and the Georgestown Mystery by Lori Doody (Running the Goat, Books & Broadsides)
One, Two, Grandma Loves You by Shelly Becker, illus. by Dan Yaccarino (Abrams) 
When the Squirrels Stole My Sister by Catherine Austen, illus. by Sean Cassidy (Fitzhenry & Whiteside) 
White Raven by Teoni Spathelfer, illus. by Natassia Davies (Heritage House)
 
Early Readers and Middle Grade Fiction
Alien Road by M. J. McIsaac (Orca)>>>Orca Currents
Bank Shot by Valerie Pankratz Froese (Lorimer)>>>Lorimer Sports Stories
Bug Girl: Fury on the Dance Floor by Benjamin Harper and Sarah Hines Stephens (Square Fish)
The Dollhouse: A Ghost Story by Charis Cotter (Tundra)
Escape to Witch City by E. Latimer (Tundra)
Half-Court Trap by Kevin heronJones (Lorimer)>>>Lorimer Sports Stories 
Hoopers by Johnny Boateng (Lorimer)>>>Lorimer Sports Stories
Kylie the Magnificent by Marty Chan (Orca)>>>Orca Currents
Making Seaker by Karen Autio (Crwth Press)
Meg and Greg: The Bake Sale by Elspeth Rae and Rowena Rae, illus. by Elisa Gutiérrez (Orca)>>> Orca Two Read
Over the Top by Alison Hughes (Running Press)
Paddle Battle by Eric Howling (Lorimer)>>>Lorimer Sports Stories
Screamers by Joel A. Sutherland (Scholastic Canada)
Sunny Days Inside and Other Stories by Caroline Adderson (Groundwood)
The Wherewood by Gabrielle Prendergast (Orca)>> Orca Currents sequel to The Crosswood
 

Young Adult 
Blood Donor by Karen Bass (Orca)>>>Orca Soundings
Both Sides Now by Peyton Thomas (Penguin Teen)
The Degrees of Barley Lick by Susan Flanagan (Running the Goat, Books & Broadsides)
I Dare You by Jeff Ross (Orca)>>>Orca Soundings
In a Heartbeat by Markus Harwood-Jones (Lorimer)>>>Lorimer Real Love series
Jamilah at the End of the World by Mary-Lou Zeitoun (Lorimer) 
Sink or Swim by Tash McAdam (Orca)>>> Orca Soundings
Sisters of the Wolf by Patricia Miller-Schroeder (Dundurn)
Walk This Way by Tony Correia (Lorimer)>>>Lorimer Real Love series
The Wild Ones by Nafiza Asad (Margaret K. McElderry) 

Non-Fiction
Africville: An African Nova Scotian Community Is Demolished — and Fights Back by Gloria Ann Wesley (Lorimer)>>>Righting Canada's Wrongs series
Amazing Athletes: An All-Star Look at Canada's Paralympians by Marie-Claude Ouellet, trans. by Phyllis Aronoff and Howard Scott (Owlkids)
Do Frogs Drink Hot Chocolate? How Animals Keep Warm by Etta Kaner, illus. by John Martz (Owlkids)
Fred & Marjorie: A Doctor, a Dog, and the Discovery of Insulin by Deborah Kerbel, illus. by Angela Poon (Owlkids Books)>>>graphic novel 
Govern Like a Girl: The Women Who Became Canada’s First Ministers by Kate Graham (Second Story Press)
Growing Up Trans: In Our Own Words ed. by Dr. Lindsay Herriot and Kate Fry (Orca)
My Book of Butterflies by Geraldo Valério (Groundwood)
White Privilege: Deal With It In All Fairness by Catherine Inglis (Lorimer)>>>Deal With It series


 

 

 
 
Picture Books
Amik by Sharon King (Kegedonce Press)
Bailey the Bat and the Tangled Moose by Grant Lawrence, illus. by Noémie Gionet Landry (Orca)
Bear Wants to Sing by Cary Fagan, illus. by Dena Seiferling (Tundra)
Brady Brady and the Big Mistake by Mary Shaw, illus. by Chuck Temple (Scholastic Canada)>>>Brady Brady series 
Buffalo Wild by Deidre Havrelock, illus. by Azby Whitecalf (Annick) 
Busy Busy Birds by Geraldo Valério (Groundwood)
Can You Imagine? by Wallace Edwards (North Winds Press)
The Cow Said Boo! by Lana Button, illus. by Alice Carter (Pajama Press) 
Curiosity Killed the Cat!: Franz Schubert, illus. by Marie Lafrance (The Secret Mountain)
>>> with CD; Little Stories of Great Composers series
Grandfather Bowhead, Tell Me a Story by Aviaq Johnston, illus. by Tamara Campeau (Inhabit Media) 
Hurry Up, Umingmak! by Rachel Rupke, illus. by Ali Hinch (Inhabit Education) >>> bilingual Inuktitut and English edition
I Can Fix It! by Robert Munsch, illus. by Michael Martchenko (Scholastic Canada)
I Hear You, Forest by Kallie George, illus. by Carmen Mok (Greystone)>>> Sounds of Nature series
I See! I, Pi, Ti, Ki by Christine Kudluk, illus. by Julia Galotta (Inhabit Education) >>> bilingual Inuktitut and English edition
It Fell from the Sky by The Fan Brothers (Simon & Schuster)
Jigging for Halibut With Tsinii by Sara Florence Davidson and Robert Davidson, illus. by Janine Gibbons (HighWater Press)
Jordan and Max, Showtime by Suzanne Sutherland, illus. by Michelle Simpson (Orca) >>> Orca Echoes
Learning My Rights with Mousewoman by Morgan Asoyuk (Native Northwest) 
Learning to Carve Argillite by Sara Florence Davidson and Robert Davidson, illus. by Janine Gibbons (HighWater Press)
Lena and Ruby by Kevin Qamaniq-Mason and Mary Qamaniq-Mason, illus. by Marcus Cutler (Inhabit Eduation)
Lost Things by Carey Sookocheff (Kids Can Press)
My City Speaks by Darren Lebeuf, illus. by Ashley Barron (Kids Can Press)
My Dog Banana by Roxane Brouillard, illus. by Giulia Sagramola (Greystone)
My Love for You is Always by Gillian Sze, illus. by Michelle Lee (Philomel Books)
My Mad Hair Day by Nathalie Dion (Groundwood)
Nuptse and Lhotse Go to the Prairies by Jocey Asnong (Rocky Mountain Books)
Oliver Bounces Back! by Alison Hughes, illus. by Charlene Chua (North Winds Press)
One Summer in Whitney Pier by Mayaan Francis, illus. by Letitia Fraser (Nimbus)
On the Line by Kari-Lynn Winters, illus. by Scot Ritchie (Pajama Press) 
Ruff Day by Sigmund Brouwer, illus. by Sabrina Gendron (Orca)>>> Orca Echoes
Song for the Snow by Jon-Erik Lappano, illus. by Byron Eggenschwiler (Groundwood)
Thanks a Lot by Raffi, illus. by Jaime Kim (Knopf Books for Young Readers)>>>Raffi Songs to Read
Time is a Flower by Julie Morstad (Tundra)
What Did You See? by Sarah N. Harvey, illus. by Jane Heinrichs (Orca)

Early Readers and Middle Grade Fiction
Aggie and Mudgy: The Journey of Two Kaska Dena Children by Wendy Proverbs (Heritage House)
Aggie Morton, Mystery Queen: The Dead Man in the Garden by Marthe Jocelyn, illus. by Isabelle Follath (Tundra)>>>Book 3 in Aggie Morton, Mystery Queen series
Better Place by Duane Murray, illus. by Shawn Daley (IDW Publishing) >>>graphic novel
Borders by Thomas King, illus. by Natasha Donovan (HarperCollins) >>>graphic novel
A Boy is Not a Ghost by Edeet Ravel (Groundwood) 
Captain Bun & Super Bonbon (Bunbun & Bonbon #3) by Jess Keating (Scholastic Graphix) >>>graphic novel
Children of the Fox by Kevin Sands (Puffin Canada)>>>first book in new series Thieves of Shadow
Ciel In All Directions by Sophie Labelle, trans. by Andrea Zanin (Second Story Press) >>> graphic novel Ciel 2
Cranky Chicken by Katherine Battersby (Margaret K. McElderry Books)
Dear Peter, Dear Ulla by Barbara Nickel (Thistledown Press)
Farm Crimes! The MOO-sterious Disappearance of Cow by Sandra Dumais (Owlkids) >>>Book 2 in Farm Crimes graphic novel series
Game On! by Gordon Korman (Scholastic Canada)
The Great Bear (The Misewa Saga #2) by David A. Robertson (Puffin Canada)
Guardians of Porthaven by Shane Arbuthnott (Orca)
Hat Tricked by Kevin Sylvester (Scholastic Canada)>>>Hockey Super Six
Houston, Is There a Problem? by Eric Walters (Orca)>>>First book in new series Teen Astronauts
Lost Shadow by Claire Gilchrist (Dundurn)
Meranda and the Legend of the Lake by Meagan Mahoney (Owlkids)
Muddle School by Dave Whamond (Kids Can Press) >>>graphic novel
Mystic of the Midway by A. A. Blair (Histria Kids)
A Sure Cure for Witchcraft by Laura Best (Nimbus)
Taking the Ice by Lorna Schultz Nicholson (Scholastic Canada)
A Terrible Tide by Suzanne Meade (Second Story Press)
Traitors Among Us by Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch (Scholastic Canada)>>>follow-up to Don't Tell the Nazis and Trapped in Hitler's Web
Valley of the Rats by Mahtab Narsimhan (DCB) 
The Wolf's Curse by Jessica Vitalis (Greenwillow/HarperCollins)

Young Adult 
The Bones of Ruin by Sarah Raughley (Margaret K. McElderry Books)
Coffee Shop Between Verses by Éric Desmarais (Renaissance Press)
I'm Good and Other Lies by Bev Katz Rosenbaum (DCB) 
Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao (Penguin Teen) 
The Last Beautiful Girl by Nina Laurin (Sourcebooks Fire)
Names in a Jar by Jennifer Gold (Second Story Press)
Our Rock and Our Salvation by Hugh MacDonald (Acorn)
Walking in Two Worlds by Wab Kinew (Penguin Teen Canada)

Non-Fiction
Alex Ovechkin by Lorna Schultz Nicholson, illus. by D. A. Bishop (Scholastic Canada)>>>Amazing Hockey Stories
All About Belugas by Jordan Hoffman (Inhabit Education)
Caring for Critters: One Year at a Wildlife Rescue Centre by Nicholas Read (Heritage House)
Conservation Canines: How Dogs Work for the Environment by Isabelle Groc (Orca)>>> Orca Wild
Hungry for the Arts: Poems to Chomp On by Kari-Lynn Winters and Lori Sherritt-Fleming, illus. by Peggy Collins (Fitzhenry & Whiteside)
It Takes Guts: How Your Body Turns Food Into Fuel by Dr. Jennifer Gardy, illus. by Belle Wuthrich (Greystone)
Lights Day and Night: The Science of How Light Works
by Susan Hughes, illus. by Ellen Rooney (Kids Can Press)
Math Hacks 2: Do Better + Stress Less by Vanessa Vakharia, illus. by Hyein Lee (Scholastic Canada)
Meet David Suzuki by Elizabeth MacLeod, illus. by Mike Deas (Scholastic Canada) >>> Scholastic Canada Biography
The Science of Song: How and Why We Make Music by Alan Cross, Emme Cross and Nicole Mortillaro, illus. by Carl Wiens (Kids Can Press) 
Set Your Alarm, Sloth!: More Advice for Troubled Animals from Dr. Glider by Jess Keating, illus. by Pete Oswald (Orchard Books)
Small but Mighty: Why Earth's Tiny Creatures Matter by Kendra Brown, illus. by Catarina Oliveira (Owlkids)
Snoozefest: The Surprising Science of Sleep by Tanya Lloyd Kyi, illus. by Valéry Goulet  (Kids Can Press)
A Tree is a Home by Pamela Hickman, illus.by Zafouko Yamamoto (Kids Can Press) 
Unstoppable: Women With Disabilities by Helen Wolfe, illus. by Karen Patkau (Second Story Press) 
Upstream, Downstream: Exploring Watershed Connections by Rowena Rae (Orca)>>>Orca Footprints
When I Feel: Easy Yoga for Big Feelings by Kathy Beliveau, illus. by Julie McLaughlin, photos by Jesse Holland (Orca)
Wolverine by Allan Niptanatiak (Inhabit Media)>>>Animals Illustrated series 

 

 
 
 
Picture Books
Anthony and the Gargoyle by Jo-Ellen Bogart, illus. by Maja Kastelic (Groundwood)
The Bee by Becky Han, illus. by Tindur Peturs (Inhabit Media)
Brady Brady and the Santa Search by Mary Shaw, illus. by Chuck Temple (Scholastic Canada)>>> Brady Brady series
A Brilliant Plan: Joseph Haydn, illus. by Marie Lafrance (The Secret Mountain)>>>with CD; Little Stories of Great Composers series
The Case of the Hanging Food Catcher by Eric Hogan and Tara Hungerford (Firefly Books)>>>A Gumboot Kids Nature Mystery
The Case of the Shrinking Friend by Eric Hogan and Tara Hungerford (Firefly Books)>>>A Gumboot Kids Nature Mystery
Chaiwala! by Priti Birla Maheshwari, illus. by Ashley Barron  (Owlkids)
Dee and the Apostrofee by Judith Henderson, illus. by Ohara Hale (Kids Can Press) 
Everybody by Elise Gravel (North Winds Press)
For Laika: The Dog Who Learned the Names of the Stars by Kai Cheng Thom, illus. by Kai Yung Ching (Arsenal Pulp Press)
Gemma and the Giant Girl by Sara O'Leary, illus. by Marie Lafrance (Tundra) 
Great Too by Lauri Holomis and Glen Gretzky, illus. by Kevin Sylvester (Puffin Canada)
Halloween Mouse by Philip Roy, illus. by Lisa Ferguson (Ronsdale)>>> new title in the Happy the Pocket Mouse series
Hello, Dark by Wai Mei Wong, illus. by Tamara Campeau (Pajama Press)
James' Reading Rescue by Dianna Wilson-Sirkovsky, illus. by Sara Casilda (Clavis)
Lentil Soup by Carole Tremblay, illus. by  Maurèen Poignonec, trans. by Charles Simard (Orca)
Little Moar and the Moon by Roselynn Akulukjuk, illus. by Jazmine Gubbe (Inhabit Media)
Little Narwhal, Not Alone by Tiffany Stone, illus. by Ashlyn Anstee (Greystone)
Meeka Loves Nature: Plants by Danny Christopher, illus. by Ali Hinch (Inhabit Education)>>> bilingual Inuktitut and English edition
Merry Christmas, Anne by Kallie George, illus. by Genevieve Godbout (Tundra) 
The Midnight Club by Shane Goth, illus. by Yong Ling Kang (Owlkids)
My Words Flew Away Like Words by Debora Pearson, illus. by Shrija Jain (Kids Can Press)
A New Home for Fox by Ellen DeLange, illus. by Agi Ofner (Clavis)
The Night Before Playoffs by Stella Partheniou Grasso, illus. by Paula J. Becker (Scholastic Canada)
Our Table by Peter H. Reynolds (Orchard Books)
Petal the Angry Cow by Maureen Fergus, illus. by Olga Demidova (Tundra)
The Rocking Horse by Sheryl McFarlane, illus. by François Thisdale (Pajama Press)
She Stitched the Stars: A Story of Ellen Harding Baker's Solar System Quilt by Jennifer Harris, illus. by Louise Pigott (Albert Whitman & Co.)
Sometimes I Feel Shy by Aviaq Johnston, illus. by Amiel Sandland (Inhabit Education) 
Sour Cakes by Karen Crossing, illus. by Anna Kwan (Owlkids)
The Sour Cherry Tree by Naseem Hrab, illus. by Nahid Kazemi (Owlkids) 
Swish Slosh by Deborah Kerbel, illus. by Jacqui Lee (Orca)
The Thing Lenny Loves Most about Baseball by Andrea Larsen, illus. by Milan Pavlovic (Kids Can Press)
Thunder of Noise Storms by Jeffrey Ansloos and Shezza Ansloos, illus. by Joshua Mangeshig Pawis-Steckley (Annick)
Two at the Top: A Shared Dream of Everest by Uma Krishnaswami, illus. by Christopher Corr (Groundwood)
Uliaq's Amazing Animals: Muskox by Danny Christopher, illus. by Amiel Sandland (Inhabit Education)
A Very Silly Alphabet by Jeannie Hillman, illus. by Sarah Shortcliffe (Nimbus)
Welcome to the Cypher by Khodi Dill, illus. by Awuradwoa Afful (Annick) 
We Wish You a Merry Christmas: A Canadian Carol by Helaine Becker, illus. by Werner Zimmerman (Scholastic Canada)
Windy Days by Deborah Kerbel, illus. by Miki Sato (Pajama Press)>>>follow up to Snow Days
Woodland Tales: The Five Wishes by Priya Chaudhary, illus. by Cindy Lin (Bookland Press)
 
Early Readers and Middle Grade Fiction
Burying the Moon by Andrée Poulin, illus. by Sonali Zohra (Groundwood)>>>novel in verse
Evie and the Truth about Witches by John Martz (Tundra)
Living with Viola by Rosena Fung (Annick) >>>graphic novel
Mad About Meatloaf (Weenie Featuring Frank and Beans #1) by Maureen Fergus, illus. by Alexandra Bye (Tundra) 
The Mutant Mouse from Outer Space (The Lunch Club #3) by Dom Pelletier (Scholastic Canada)>>>graphic novel
Sorry for Your Loss by Joanne Levy (Orca)
Stealing Home by J. Torres, illus. by David Namisato (Kids Can Press)>>>graphic novel
A Struggle for Hope by Carol Matas (Scholastic Canada)
The Undercover Book List by Colleen Nelson (Pajama Press)
The Wolf Mother by Hetxw’ms Gyetxw (Brett D. Huson), illus. by Natasha Donovan (HighWater Press)>>> Mothers of Xsan series, Book 5 

Young Adult 
The Delusionist by Don Calame (Candlewick)
Hunting By Stars by Cherie Dimaline (Penguin Teen)>>>A Marrow Thieves novel
Lessons in Fusion by Primrose Madayag Knazan (Yellow Dog)
Lies My Memory Told Me by Sacha Wunsch (Inkyard Press)
The Story of My Life Ongoing by CS Cobb by Candas Dorsey (Inanna)
Under the Iron Bridge by Kathy Kacer (Second Story Press)
Urchin by Kate Story (Running the Goat, Books & Broadsides)

Non-Fiction
Amazing Atlantic Canadian Women: Fascinating Stories of Excellence and Determination by Stephanie Domet and Penelope Jackson, illus. by James Bentley (Nimbus)
Be a Camouflage Detective: Looking for Critters That are Hidden, Concealed, or Covered by Peggy Kochanoff (Nimbus)
Canada Year by Year (Revised Edition) by Elizabeth MacLeod, illus. by Sydney Smith (Kids Can Press)
Germy Science: The Sick Truth about Getting Sick (and Staying Healthy) by Edward Kay, illus. by Mike Shiell (Kids Can Press)
Hockey Superstars 2021-2022 by Paul Romanuk (Scholastic Canada)
The LGBT Purge and the Fight for Equal Rights in Canada by Ken Setterington (Lorimer)>>>Righting Canada's Wrongs series
My Art, My World by Rita Winkler, with Mark Winkler and Helen Winkler (Second Story Press) 
Shelter: Homelessness in Our Community by Lois Peterson, illus. by Taryn Gee (Orca)>>> Orca Think
The Strangest Thing in the Sea and Other Curious Creatures of the Deep by Rachel Poliquin, illus. by Byron Eggenschwiler (Kids Can Press) 
What Animals Want: The Five Freedoms in Action by Jacqueline Pearce, illus. by Julie McLaughlin (Orca)>>>Orca Think


 



Picture Books
Birds on Wishbone Street by Suzanne Del Rizzo (Pajama Press)
The Dancing Trees by Masiana Kelly, illus. by Michelle Simpson (Inhabit Media)
Erik the Elk: The Big Hockey Game by Chloé Baillargeon (Scholastic Canada)
Guess Who: With Tuktu and Friends by Nadia Sammurtok and Rachel Rupke, illus. by Ali Hinch (Inhabit Education) >>> bilingual Inuktitut and English edition
Little Blue House Beside the Sea by Jo-Ellen Bogart, illus. by Carme Lesmniscates (Tilbury House)
Mia and the Monsters Search for Colours by Neil Christopher, illus. by Sigmundur Thorgeirsson (Inhabit Education)>>> bilingual Inuktitut and English edition
New Year by Mei Zihan, illus. by Qin Leng (Greystone)
Peekaboo! Nanuq and Nuka Look for Shapes by Rachel Rupke, illus. by Ali Hinch (Inhabit Education) >>> bilingual Inuktitut and English edition
The Seagull and the Barnacle by Judd Palmer, illus. by Nina Palmer (Bayeaux Arts) 
A Sky-Blue Bench by Bahram Rahman, illus. by Peggy Collins (Pajama Press)
Slowpoke the Bell Island Mine Horse by Heather Smith, illus. by Genevieve Simms (Nimbus)
Spencer the Siksik: Respecting Others by Shawna Thompson and Nadia Sammurtok, illus. byValentina Jaskina  (Inhabit Education)
We Are All Ears: Niccolo Paganini, illus. by Marie Lafrance (The Secret Mountain) >>> with CD; Little Stories of Great Composers series

Early Readers and Middle Grade Fiction
Harvey and the Extraordinary by Eliza Martin, illus. by Anna Bron (Annick)
The Knotted Rope by Jean Rae Baxter (Ronsdale)
Robert Moves to the City by Caley Clements and Jessie Hale, illus. by Jesus Lopez (Inhabit Education) 
Spell Sweeper by Lee Edward Födi (HarperCollins)


Young Adult 
Double Negative by Susan Marshall (Evernight Teen)
The Forgotten Memories of Vera Glass by Anna Priemaza (Amulet)
The Legend by Jean Mills (Red Deer Press)
Queen's Hope (Star Wars) by E. K. Johnston (Disney Lucasfilm Press) >>> sequel to Queen's Shadow
Second Chances by Harriet Zaidman (Red Deer Press)
A Soft Place to Fall by Tanya Christenson (Red Deer Press)
When You Least Expect It by Lorna Schultz Nicholson (Red Deer Press)
 

Non-Fiction
Big as a Giant Snail by Jess Keating, illus. by David DeGrand (Knopf Books for Young Readers)
Chasing Bats and Tracking Rats: Urban Ecology, Community Science, and How We Share Our Cities by Cylita Guy (Annick)
Junior Field Guide: Insects of Nunavut by Jordan Hoffman, illus. by Athena Gubbe (Inhabit Education)



 
 
Picture Books
The Little Knight Who Saved the Day by Gilles Tibo, illus. by Geneviève Després (Scholastic Canada)>>>Little Knight series
Lissy's Diary by Ellen DeLange, illus. by Ilaria Zanellato (Clavis)
Love You My Heart by Peter H. Reynolds (Orchard Books)

Fiction
The Enchanted People by Jennifer Pool (Guernica Editions)
 
Young Adult 
 The Lost Ones: An AFK Novel by Adrienne Kress (Scholastic) >>> Bendy #2
 



 
 
Picture Books
Martin and the River by Jon-Erik Lappano, illus. by Josée Bisaillon (Groundwood)
Giju's Gift by Brandon Mitchell, illus. by Veronika Barinova and Britt Wilson (HighWater Press)
Hat Cat by Troy Wilson, illus. by Eve Coy (Candlewick) 
How to Party Like a Snail by Naseem Hrab, illus. by Kelly Collier (Owlkids)
 
Early Readers and Middle Grade Fiction
The Gift of the Little People: A Six Seasons of the Asiniskaw Ithiniwak Story by William Dumas, illus. by Rhian Brynjolson (HighWater Press)
Project Bollywood by Mahtab Narsimhan (Orca) 
Sloth Sleuth by Cyndi Marko (HMH)
The Gift of the Little People: A Six Seasons of the Asiniskaw Ithiniwak Story by William Dumas, illus. by Rhian Brynjolson (HighWater Press)

Young Adult
Made 4 You by Eric Walters (DCB)
Power Forward by Eric Walters and Paul Coccia (Orca)
The Red Palace by June Hur (Feiwel and Friends) 
The Summer Between Us by Andre Fenton (Lorimer) 
Then Everything Happens at Once by M-E Girard (HarperTeen) 
Version Control by David A. Robertson, illus. by Scott B. Henderson, color by Donovan Yaciuk (HighWater Press) >>> The Reckoner Rises 2

Non-Fiction
The Girl Who Built an Ocean by Jess Keating, illus. by Michelle Mee Nutter (Knopf)
Same Here! The Differences We Share by Susan Hughes (Owlkids Books) 

• • • • • • •
 
Any errors (and there will be some), including in release dates, are my own. Feel free to share corrections that I need to make. I'm always pleased to make this post as accurate and complete as possible.

June 28, 2021

Think Big!

Written by Robert Munsch
Illustrated by Dave Whamond
Scholastic Canada
978-1-4431-8298-0
32 pp.
Ages 3-8
June 2021
 
For every child who feels hard done by with respect to the space they've been allotted in the family home, Think Big! gives them a quirky solution that thinks outside the box–definitely outside the walls–to acquire that little bit extra of everything.
From Think Big! by Robert Munsch, illus. by Dave Whamond
Jamaal has had it. He's the oldest child in the family–he has two younger brothers and a baby sister–and he has smallest room. He pleads his case to his parents but is told the universal parental response by both.
"Now, Jamaal," said his father, "that's the way it is." (pg. 6)
Jamaal stews on it all day. He fumes, he paces, he plays basketball with his dog, and he ponders. Finally at bedtime, he gets an idea that keeps him up implementing the changes he wants.
From Think Big! by Robert Munsch, illus. by Dave Whamond
With his father's tools, including a jack and a ladder, Jamaal moves walls and the ceiling. He installs a hot tub, a bunk bed, an enormous stereo system and a mega TV.
From Think Big! by Robert Munsch, illus. by Dave Whamond
But the next morning, the real chaos begins when his parents and baby sister awaken in a room the size of a closet, his brother hits his head on the ceiling when he sits up in bed and his other brother's feet are hanging out his window. While Jamaal sips on a juice box as he luxuriates in the hot tub with his dog, his family goes a little crazy. That is, until his dad recognizes the quality of Jamaal's work and asks him to do the same for their rooms.

Robert Munsch and Dave Whamond are becoming quite the duo of picture book collaboration, teaming up for zaniness of the ordinary-gone-extraordinary. With so many working and going to school from home in the past year plus, Jamaal's drive to improve his space may not be ordinary. What is extraordinary are the measures he takes and the enthusiasm with which he engineers his dream room. And Robert Munsch and Dave Whamond take us into that craziness of spirit and endeavour as Jamaal creates the room of his dreams.
From Think Big! by Robert Munsch, illus. by Dave Whamond
Robert Munsch may be all about the silliness, but it's all good fun. There's no arrogance or privilege. Jamaal is just frustrated and decides that he would find a solution for himself, albeit a wacky one. After all, when asked to do the same for his family, he has no problems creating a whimsical home, including a matching one for his dog, that will put the rest of the cookie-cutter homes in his neighbourhood to shame.

With the silliness inherent in Robert Munsch's stories, Dave Whamond gives Think Big! the illustrations that are just as fun and over-the-top as the premise of a kid making his space truly his own. Of course, we know Jamaal can't really move walls but children don't know about load-bearing walls or structural integrity. They know what they'd like in a room and Robert Munsch gives them that–space, TV, bunk beds, and stereo–but Dave Whamond makes it playful and quirky with his pen and ink and watercolour artwork. From the toys in Jamaal's room to the family's pajamas and the dog's antics, using the TV remote, soaking in the tub and dancing, Dave Whamond will leave readers smiling and wishing they could do the same. 

To all the children who wish they could have something more in their room, whether it be space or furniture or fun, Robert Munsch and Dave Whamond's story will encourage them to dream and draw and make–perhaps only with paper, popsicle sticks or blocks–but to always think big. Apparently, if you can think it, you can build it.

June 24, 2021

The Momentous Expiration of Tremmy Sinclair

Written by Michael F. Stewart
The Publishing House
978-1-989133-05-7
259 pp.
Ages 13+
June 2021
 I can do anything at all, but now there's not time. How do you live a lifetime in four months? (pg. 4)
Tremendous Sinclair, talented and privileged son of wealthy parents, has been dealing with brain cancer over the summer before his senior year, keeping his diagnosis, treatments and prognosis from his best friend Jenkins and everyone at Amborough Private School. His parents, desperate to give him anything, including a miracle, are taking him on a first-class trip around the world. That is, until Tremmy decides that what he really wants is to return to school, and live out what little time he has being the head boy, a drone war general, captain of the swim team and his best self. Unfortunately, Tremmy soon realizes that...
Nothing can be truly fantastic anymore. Now fantastic is coated in a prickly sweat of impending doom. (pg. 42)
Still he returns to school. What he had hoped would be a stellar few months of accomplishments and camaraderie soon becomes something different. His symptoms slowly begin to affect his daily life, though he tries to cover it up. But when his medical circumstances are leaked to all, the school's administration does whatever it can to get him out, not wanting a student's death at school on their hands. And his friends? Audra wants to run a social experiment and record photographs of his dying. Girlfriends Jodie and Mona come out of the woodwork and make him think about his relationships. Margot, scholarship student and head girl prefect, supports him and makes him consider how he needs to fight. As for Jenkins? He may be pompous, privileged, self-absorbed, and perhaps criminal–Tremmy has to get him out of at least one bad situation–but Tremmy may need him because his attempts to procure medical or parental assistance in dying is not happening.

With each day, and those days are counted down in chapter headings that record "days to demise," Tremmy tries to enlighten his classmates about death and dying, knowing it will help him as much as them. 
Silence is when I am most alone. That's when the shadows of death's in the room. (pg. 235)
But how do you convince anyone to listen when you're stripped of your achievements, squirreled away in an unused room, growing weaker and less able, and your best friend is either not talking to you or doing things you're starting to see as questionable? Tremmy has more than one fight on his hands, and whether he wins any of them may not be up to him.

Michael F. Stewart’s latest young adult novel–earlier ones include Heart Sister, Counting Wolves and Assured Destruction–may ask readers to think about what a good death is but more importantly it reminds us that it only comes with living a life that is of value. And that value does not comes from wealth or bountiful experiences, both of which Tremmy has available to him.  It’s value that comes from meaning.
 ...it's at the point of discomfort where life gets important. (pg. 149)
From the onset of The Momentous Expiration of Tremmy Sinclair, it's clear that Tremmy's circle of friends and family are highly advantaged, wealthy beyond imagination. 24K gold-trimmed double-screened cell phones with firefly companion drones. Caviar served in the cafeteria. Selling of transcripts of one teacher's lectures for $10,000. These kids and their families have gobs of money. But it won't save Tremmy from death or others from poor decisions and bad behaviour. Michael F. Stewart may take us into their world but he doesn't leave us there. We're like the drones the kids fight with, watching Tremmy and his classmates, the school's administration and his parents, and others who flit into their lives. We see the calamities and the injustices, the insights and the fears. And we see the resolution, for Tremmy, at least. Surprisingly, that resolution brings both tears and cheers. Tremmy couldn't change the life he'd lived prior to his diagnosis but he sure added value to it with his death. In that way, Tremendous Sinclair's expiration is truly momentous, as is Michael F. Stewart's telling of it.

June 23, 2021

GoodMinds giveaway of We Dream Medicine Dreams

Graphic provided by GoodMinds

June is National Indigenous History Month so it's a fabulous time to immerse yourself in Indigenous literature.  To that end, GoodMinds, the First Nations family owned and operated business on the Six Nations of the Grand River, is holding a giveaway with CanLit for LittleCanadians to get a copy of We Dream Medicine Dreams into the hands of two lucky readers.

We Dream Medicine Dreams
Written and illustrated by Lisa Boivin
HighWater Press
978-1-553799870
48 pp.
Ages 5-10
April 2021
 
Written and illustrated by Lisa Boivin, a member of the Deninu K’ue First Nation, We Dream Medicine Dreams is a powerful story about a young girl recalling the teachings of her grandfather about animal dreams, lessons she knows she must heed as her grandfather lays dying in a hospital. 
 
 
This book, along with others written by Indigenous creators, has been featured as part of GoodMinds' video podcast series, 13 Moons 13 Reads, which runs from February 2021 to January 2022. If you haven't checked it out, now's the time to do so.
 

 
For The Giveaway:
What to do:  For your chance to win a copy of this lovely book (there are two copies available to Canadian residents), tell us the title of an Indigenous book you've read and found meaningful.  You can tell us:
  •  1) in the comments below (n.b. if you're not logged into your account, give me a first name and first letter of last name to help me find you e.g., Lisa B.) or 
  •  2) on Twitter tagging @HelenKubiw with #GoodMindsGiveaway

Time: From now until June 25, 2021 at 5 PM EST.

Selection: A random draw of participants will be made and the winners contacted via reply below (if you posted here) or by DM on Twitter to get the mailing address.

 • • • • • • • • • • • • •

This is a wonderful opportunity to extend your classroom or school library or home library to include more Indigenous literature but also to share in a meaningful and beautiful picture book.  

Good luck to all!

June 22, 2021

Tough Like Mum: Q & A with author Lana Button

Yesterday I reviewed Tough Like Mum, written by Lana Button and illustrated by Carmen Mok.
Written by Lana Button
Illustrated by Carmen Mok
Tundra Books
978-0-7352-6598-1
32 pp.
Ages 3-7
April 2021
 
 
Today I have the pleasure of presenting 
this question and answer interview 
with author Lana Button.
 
Author Lana Button

 
HK:  When I started reading Tough Like Mum, I wasn't sure if the issue tackled by the book was poverty or depression. Then I realized that what was most important was resilience which can be the antidote to both. As the author, what came first for you in writing the story: the issue or the response?
 
LB:  I am sensitive to these issues on a personal level, on a professional level as an early childhood educator, and on a creative level as an author for young audiences. I wanted to write a picture book story that would bring these issues to light; knowing and experiencing that there are children among the picture book audience who live with the challenges Kim and her mum face. It is important and powerful for children to read, in stories, that they are not alone in their experience. 

I also felt that a picture book tackling the issues of poverty and mental health could be used as a tool for building understanding and developing empathy, for those who have not had these life experiences. I was interested in telling a story that would provide a safe and age-appropriate place to start important conversations.

Finding the response–figuring out how to tell a hard-hitting story, while respecting the age and sensitivity of my young audience–was where I was tripped up, and where this story idea was stalled for a long time. I waited for the story to come to me. Then I heard two comments. One by a teacher. “Some of my students can’t complete their homework because their power gets shut off and it’s too dark.” Another was a response to the cost of an upcoming field trip. “It’s only $6.00. I mean, what’s $6.00?” All I could think from that was, “We can’t assume to know what $6.00 might mean to a family, what life is like in their home.” And BOOM! this very resilient little girl, waking up with her thumb in her mouth, popped into my head and her story became very clear to me.
 

HK:  Poverty is a tough topic to cover in a picture book, especially one for young children, though this is sadly the experience for many. How did you manage to stay realistic about the issue, for children to be able to see themselves, and still be compassionate without revealing vulnerabilities and sensitivities that some would prefer hidden? 
 
LB:  It is a tough topic, for sure. And I wanted to give a voice to Kim’s reality, while ensuring my young audience wasn’t overwhelmed. And so, I entrusted Kim as my storyteller. This resilient little girl is not easily shaken, and she conveys her experience in a matter-of-fact way, as children often do. She tells it simply, which allows a young audience to interpret the story at its baseline. I then relied heavily on the illustration to fill in the details of Kim and her mum’s reality. The nuances of the illustration allow an audience, when they are ready to take it in, to dig deeper into the story.


HK:  Tough Like Mum ensures that, first and foremost, we see the strengths of those dealing with poverty and hard times, not any weaknesses. Your title says it all. Is there a mum or a child for whom you wrote this book?
 
LB:  I wrote Tough Like Mum with the hope that there will be an audience who feels connected to this story on a personal level. I wrote it for anyone who is struggling or has struggled with financial burdens, and for those experiencing the weight of depression in their home.  In particular–the child who needs to feel seen, who needs to feel championed to try one more time, to reach out and ask for help–this book is for them.

 
HK:  I think that whatever hardships we all go through–physical, emotional, financial–asking for help is one of the hardest things to do and Tough Like Mum demonstrates that it happens for both adults and children. Why do you think it’s so hard to do so?
 
LB:  When we ask for help, we expose our vulnerability. That’s a scary place to be. Yes, it might be a path to help. But it might also be a path to rejection, to judgment and gossip, and to more pain. And if we’ve tried reaching out and then experienced hurt or rejection, it can be so much harder to take that chance again. 

And sometimes it might seem that the only thing we have control over is our reputation.
 
But it is my hope that a young reader might be inspired by Kim’s strength. That in times where they might need help, they will reach out to ‘the helpers’ in their community; the friends, the neighbours, the teachers.

In Tough Like Mum, Jen has done a great job teaching her daughter to be resilient. But ultimately it is Kim who leads her mum to realize that she is tough enough to accept help

 
HK:  The austerity of Carmen Mok's artwork reflects Kim and her mother's circumstances well. How much input did you have in ensuring the tone of the illustrations worked with your story?
 
LB:  I wrote the story with quite a few art notes. And I had a great conversation with Tara Walker at Tundra Books, who had the same visual interpretation of the story that I had. Samantha Swenson and I worked closely on the edits and she patiently indulged me as I gave her pages of back story for what seemed like every scene. I felt ‘heard’ and I felt like we were all on the same page when it came to the tone of the story. And so, when it was placed in the very talented hands of the incredible Carmen Mok it was time for me to step away and let Carmen and Sam do their magic. This distance is an essential part of the process, so that the illustrator can bring to life their interpretation, of what then becomes our story. And the result was a wonderful collaboration of words and art that told the story I was hoping to tell.

 
HK:  If there is one thing that you’d like young readers to see or learn from this story, what would it be?
 
LB:  I would love for a young reader to see hope at the end of a difficult day. I would love for each reader to see themselves as strong and resilient, and tough enough to ask for help (and keep asking for help) when they need it.


 • • • • • • •
 

Thanks to author Lana Button for talking to me about Tough Like Mum. This interview has given me loads to think about with respect to writing, and books that children need to read, of which Tough Like Mum is surely one.

Thanks also to Samantha Devotta, Associate Publicist at Penguin Random House Canada Young Readers, for reaching out and helping arrange this interview, and providing images to accompany both the review and this Q & A.

June 21, 2021

Tough Like Mum

Written by Lana Button
Illustrated by Carmen Mok
Tundra Books
978-0-7352-6598-1
32 pp.
Ages 3-7
April 2021

Though her mum might not always feel very tough or that she is able to manage, Kim tries to emulate her, never admitting she needs help or acknowledging anything she might perceive as weakness. But can anyone really be tough all the time?
From Tough Like Mum by Lana Button, illus. by Carmen Mok

From Carmen Mok's gouache and coloured pencil illustrations, it is evident that Kim and her mother are financially strapped. They share a bed, their socks are unmatched, their clothes and furniture are patched, and the food in the house is minimal. It's no wonder that Kim awakens soothing herself with her thumb in her mouth. But Kim is a tough cookie, tough like her mum, and she gets herself ready for school, making her own breakfast and lunch, and even planning for dinner–"Tomato, you are my favorite soup. Sit right here and wait for me"–because her mom hasn't gotten out of bed this morning. But Kim has a form for school that is due that day, a form for a field trip that costs $6.00. How is she going to get Mum to sign it when she's still sleeping, attempting to shut out the world–"Don't start on me, Kim!"–and get the money she knows they don't have?

On that cold winter day, Kim gets herself off to school, though some parents question her about being without a hat. Kim just tells them she doesn't need it, and the parents call her tough like her mom Jen. Kim won't let anyone see that she's cold. Because she's learned not to ask for help. And at lunchtime when David makes fun of her sandwich, she stays tough, never letting them see how sad and mad she is on the inside. But there's still the problem of the school trip. 

She has tried to find a solution, submitting a few coins she'd found in her mom's pocket, hoping the teacher wouldn't notice. But Mrs. Jones does notice and suggests her mother check a certain box on the form. It may read "I can't pay" but Kim knows it really means "I need help" and that's a box her mum has never checked.

From Tough Like Mum by Lana Button, illus. by Carmen Mok
Accepting help is never easy, and it seems to be especially so for Jen and Kim.  But when Kim gets home from school, she finds a way to take care of her mother, sadly still in the clothes she slept in, with compassion, humour and courage. Asking and accepting help might not be easy but it can be worth it.
From Tough Like Mum by Lana Button, illus. by Carmen Mok

Though Lana Button's picture books, including Raj's Rule (For the Bathroom at School), What If Bunny's NOT a Bully, and Willow Finds a Way, are aimed at young children, they focus on some tough issues. There are worries that young children have that cloud their lives and can cause anxiety. Whether it's bullying or self-confidence, using the bathroom or an absent teacher, Lana Button understands that these are very big issues for children. But in Tough Like Mum, Lana Button demonstrates that the shame of poverty transcends age and manifests differently for young children and for their parents who try to provide their best. Kim wants to be tough about what money they don't have, or the food she eats, or the clothes she wears. She strives to be tough like her mum. But sometimes being tough means accepting that help is needed. Together Kim and her mum realize this.

Lana Button's honest story of a single mum and child living in poverty and struggling with the perceived disgrace of their circumstances is stark. There are moments of lightness, like when Kim is praised for her reading and then brings that joy to her mum with it, or when they snuggle together in bed. But it's a hard life for both and the illustrations by Carmen Mok reflect that sparseness of their lives. From a sparsely-furnished home, to the mismatched clothing and furniture, patched or damaged, theirs is an unadorned life, and the art depicts that. 
From Tough Like Mum by Lana Button, illus. by Carmen Mok

But Lana Button's message of having the courage to accept help is paramount. Asking for help is not weak, though many, including Kim, may feel that it is so, exposing their vulnerabilities. Perhaps Kim's mum has never checked that box before, managing to somehow scrape together needed funds or accepting that Kim would have to do without. But by acknowledging that they might need some help, they've taken a big step forward. That just proves how tough Kim and her mum truly are.
 
• • • • • • •

Check back tomorrow for my interview with author Lana Button about Tough Like Mum and her approach to writing this story.

June 16, 2021

The Good Fight

Written by Ted Staunton
Illustrated by Josh Rosen
Scholastic Canada
978-1-4431-6383-5
224 pp.
Ages 10-13
June 2021 

The 1930s were a difficult time. It was the Great Depression, Nazism was growing in Germany and elsewhere, and people were looking to blame others for their hardships. With antisemitism on the rise and prejudice against immigrants a perennial vocation for many, the city of Toronto was primed for a fiasco in the heat of the summer of 1933. It got one.
From The Good Fight by Ted Staunton, illus. by Josh Rosen
Sid Klein and his friend Plug Venditelli have been recruited by Tommy Ryan to be part of his whiz mob, a pickpocket gang. Tommy, who'd been taught by his uncle, would chose their mark and steal from him while Plug, as the stall man, distracted him, before Tommy passed the money on to Sid, the duke man. Though he was full of bravado about his Irish heritage, Tommy was actually Tadeusz Lepofsky and scoffed at Sid and Plug whose heritages–Jewish and Italian– might mark them on the streets of Toronto. Still, with the desperate times, the boys are willing to do what they could to provide extra coins for their families, including selling newspapers, running errands, collecting cockroaches, or stealing.
From The Good Fight by Ted Staunton, illus. by Josh Rosen
But when Sid pockets a swastika pin and learns more about efforts by the Swastika Club and local Nazi sympathizers to stop Jews from using the boardwalk on Balmy Beach, Sid is warned to watch himself. Still Christie Pits, a popular place to watch the city's ball teams play, including the championship games between the Harbord Playground and St. Peter's Church teams, is too inviting to avoid as a location to pick a pocket or two. When the trio of boys is picked up and threatened with jail unless they help the Red Squad–police tasked with putting away union agitators, anarchists and communists whom they believe are all immigrants and Jews–Sid and Plug find themselves caught up in trying to save themselves and protect their families on the night of the infamous Christie Pits riot of August 16, 1933.

From The Good Fight by Ted Staunton, illus. by Josh Rosen
Ted Staunton has penned a number of picture books, early readers, and middle grade and young adult novels including those as part of The Almost Epic Squad and Seven series, but I believe this is his first venture into historical fiction. Still, with his familial connection–his grandfather was the mayor of Toronto at the time of the Christie Pits riot–he ably links a story of the past to issues of prejudice and discrimination and helps us see how those injustices have been perpetrated. From the vile name-calling, violent skirmishes and exclusionary tactics, Toronto was not unconditionally welcoming to all its communities and not the mosaic it was purported to be. And during the Depression, desperation fuelled those prejudices, sparking abominable behaviour and attitudes throughout. But communities like Sid and Plug's overcame and even thrived, making opportunities for themselves, as the epilogue to the main story shares. 
 
By focusing on Sid's story with Plug and their families, Ted Staunton gives us multiple perspectives: that of children, those of immigrant families, and those struggling financially. And, of course, those targeted by hatred. The Good Fight tells us how they felt, how they managed, how they fought. Illustrated by Toronto's Josh Rosen, the story is gritty and distressing, and I suspect young readers will be hopeful that Sid and Plug don't go to jail, that their families aren't thrown out on the streets, that their Jewish and Italian friends will not be attacked, and that those responsible for the Christie Pits riot are brought to justice. From newspaper stories, accurate depictions of the clothing and speech of the day, and social conditions, The Good Fight gives parents and teachers a wonderful opportunity to talk about the past and the need to ensure atrocities such as the Christie Pits riot aren't repeated.

For a time, Toronto was known as Toronto the Good but, like anything, Toronto is neither all good nor all bad. It has moments in history of which is should be immensely proud and others, like the Christie Pits riot, which are a stain on the city's reputation. Making it right begins with telling those stories so that learning might happen and social justice prevail.