Canadian Children’s Book Centre: www.bookcentre.ca/collections/best-books
One of my favourite memories as a child is on those hot summer days when I would bike to the library to check out some books. The library was small, and cool. I would spend hours deciding on a number of books and head home to try and read them as fast as possible. Today libraries can have computers, puzzles, reading corners and guests who do readings. But I still go for the books.
Is your child looking for some great reads this summer? Check out these highly recommended books.
Grades P-K
Sea Snooze by Sarabeth Holden
Full speed ahead as two siblings sail off for dreamland! Cruise off onto the Arctic Ocean to bid goodnight to narwhals and guillemots, minkes and belugas. Sail past clouds shaped like polar bears and marvel at the multitudes of stars that twinkle between them.
Grades K-1
pêyak little duck by Sandra Lamouche
A young child enjoys a walk in nature and spots different birds while practicing counting from one to ten in Plains Cree. With bright illustrations, rhyming clues in English and pronunciation guides on every page, pêyak little duck is a friendly introduction to Plains Cree and a celebration of the beauty of springtime in the Prairies.
Grades 1-2
What if Marty Doesn’t Like My Party? by Katie Arthur
Henry’s birthday party is approaching, and the most exciting part is that Marty, the coolest kid in Henry’s class, is coming! Everybody wants Marty at their party. But as Henry lies awake one night, his head spins with anxious thoughts. What if Marty doesn’t have fun? What if she doesn’t like his dog, or his apartment, or his Grandma’s confetti cake?
From the top bunk, Henry’s big sister, Sam, gently puts a positive spin on each of Henry’s worries.
Broom for Two by Jennifer Maruno
While practicing for her flying test, Little Witch sometimes forgets her broom in places she shouldn’t. By the time she finds her broom in the woods by Ramshackle Rat’s house, the broom has been chewed and bent. When Little Witch tries to fly home, the broom is sinking, spinning, and bumping along. Unable to fix her broom, Little Witch must find a way to pass her test despite her setbacks. With help from an unlikely friend, Little Witch may find a way to soar again.
Grades 2-3
Mighty Scared by Erin Silver
Are you afraid of the dark? Of getting lost? Or of something you saw in a movie? Maybe someone laughed at you for being scared or called you a chicken. That’s okay! In fact, it’s how humans stay safe in scary situations.
While people might run or scream, animals have amazing ways of protecting themselves when they’re afraid. This book is full of incredible and sometimes gross animal facts, and explores how mammals, insects, fish and birds respond when scary predators are near.
Barnacle Bay by Jana Curll
Crab is fed up with the bay. Each day is the same; nobody cares for him or appreciates his sense of humour. So he’s leaving. Just when he is about to go, he bumps into Larva, who is looking for a home. Crab agrees to show Larva around the bay, exploring its many places and residents, on his way out.
Together, Crab and Larva visit the sea kelp, a fine shell-ection of oysters, mussels, clams, and a bickering group of sea anemones, amongst many more neighbours in the bay. Will Larva find the perfect spot to settle here? And if he does, what will Crab do?
Grades 3-4
Dogs vs. Humans by Stephanie Gibeault
As dogs and humans are playfully pitted against each other, with one round for each sense, young readers will discover the scientific and evolutionary explanations behind our differences. It’s a close race! Humans win for sight, with better depth perception, distance, and colour vision. But dogs are stronger sniffers—with their noses, some can even locate people buried in an avalanche or detect an illness before a doctor has diagnosed it. And the winner is …
Atana and the Jade Mermaid by Vivian Zhou
Atana may be one step closer to discovering her past, but it didn’t come without a cost. Though the mermaid and her companions—Ren, the last known firebird, and Cosmos, a Witch Guard turned friend—narrowly escaped the Witch Queen, their world’s magic cycle is broken and the firebirds are to blame.
Ren knows she must right her flock’s wrongs, and Atana is determined to join her on this quest. But lurking deep below the seas are secrets that could destroy their last chance at restoring the balance of magic—and, if they aren’t careful, their friendship.
Grades 4-5
After the Wallpaper Music by Jean Mills
Playing violin makes twelve-year-old Flora feel alive, whether she is playing with her friends in their string quartet or playing fiddle for her Auntie Flora.
When a music competition is announced, Flora wants her string quartet to play a classical song like they always do, but her friends want to play something new. Then, Simon, a talented drummer, who is struggling with a recent loss, invites Flora to join his rock trio. Pulled in several directions, Flora must decide if she is willing to risk her friendships by playing in Simon’s band. For Flora, finding harmony with her friends, family, and music just became more difficult.
Lonely in Happy Town by Kristopher Mielke
In Kristopher Mielke’s romance set in the world of gaming, a lonely teen works nights at a convenience store, only coming alive in the game Happy Town — but he soon finds himself crushing on the same girl in both places.
Juggling the complexities of his feelings, he must confront the blurred lines between fantasy and reality while navigating his own identity. As he embarks on a journey of self-discovery, he faces the challenge of bridging the gap between his two worlds.
Grades 5-6
The City of Lost Cats by Tanya Lloyd Kyi
When Fiona wanders into an abandoned mansion down by the harbour, she discovers the house is full of stray cats (and two chaotic parakeets). Fiona feels a great deal of sympathy for the animals; she understands what it’s like to need a safe home. Ever since her parents died, she’s been struggling to adjust to the tiny apartment where she and her Aunt Tanis now live. And Aunt Tanis has little time to spare for Fiona.
When the mansion is threatened by a demolition team, Fiona is determined to save ‘The City’ and its residents. But the cats have their own priorities. Those birds have got to go!
True Colors by Elise Gravel
Tweeny-bopper Elise knows she’s different, but kind of just chalks it up to being a weirdo. And in the 90s, who isn’t? Other girls might be shifting their attention to boys, but Elise is pouring her energy into making art.
Elise invites readers into the pages of her diary and takes them back to a radically different time before smartphones and home computers. It’s a world where fun means going to the mall and making mix tapes on cassette, and where imagination reigns supreme! It’s also a world where making new friends can be confusing, nerve-wracking, and utterly mind-boggling.
Grades 6-7
Alanna (Song of the Lioness, Book 1) by Tamora Pierce
Alanna isn’t like other girls from noble families—what she really wants is to become a knight and earn her shield, something women definitely aren’t allowed to do. But Alanna will not be deterred, and she arrives in the capital disguised as a boy to begin training as a page, the first step toward becoming a knight. Despite the tough conditions, Alanna’s skills and stubbornness win her friends amongst the nobility and the denizens of the lower city. But not everyone wishes her well.
The Forest King’s Daughter by Elly Blake
Once upon a time, among the bloodred trees of Thirstwood, a young forest princess became friends with a lonely boy from underground. He gifted her an amber ring, a worthless trinket—or so he thought—because no sooner did he slide it onto her finger than the queen of the underground and the forest king declared war.
Years later, Cassia is a crucial force in her father’s army, wielding her ring of light that can blind and disorient hundreds of enemies at a time. Then, battle-hardened Zeru abducts her, planning to steal the ring back to fix his costly childhood mistake. Exhausted, terrified, and more than a little mistrusting, Cassia is forced to travel with Zeru to a place they both believed only existed in storybooks.
Grades 7-8
You Started It by Jackie Khalilieh
Seventeen-year-old Jamie has big plans for senior year. She’s made a list of things and places in Toronto she and her boyfriend Ben need to check off before graduating. But then Ben arrives back home after a summer away with an unthinkable announcement: he wants to break up.
And when Jamie discovers him with Olivia the next day, she is determined to get him back. Even if that means fake dating the younger, curly-haired, TikTok dancer Axel, whose bicycle she accidentally ran over. Though she and Axel have nothing in common aside from their shared Arab heritage, their forced time together brings them to better understand one another. And for Jamie, it just might mean learning that not all experiences or people need to be crossed off a list.
Grades 9-10
The History of Everything by Victoria Evans
Daisy and Agnes have always had each other. And that’s all they’ve ever needed—or wanted, at least. So when Agnes’ mom drops the bombshell that she and Agnes are moving at the end of the summer, the girls are crushed.
All seems lost until the pair unearth ‘The History of Everything,’ an old friendship scrapbook with the ultimate bucket list to make their last summer together unforgettable. But when Daisy starts dating a charming drummer, her social calendar suddenly has less room for her best friend. Insecurities bubble to the surface, and Daisy and Agnes begin to question if their friendship is meant to last the summer, much less forever.
In this tender graphic novel debut, Victoria Evans delves into the heart of a best friendship and explores what it means to grow up without growing apart.
All books listed here are found on the Canadian Children’s Book Centre.
www.bookcentre.ca/collections/best-books.