16 Canadian children's books to read as the summer winds down
From tech-free summer camps to fairy-tale picnics to action-packed martial arts adventures! Check out this list of Canadian books for children and teenagers to read this summer.
Gamerville by Johnnie Christmas
In the middle-grade graphic novel Gamerville, Max Lightning is destined to compete in a video game championship when his plans are thwarted by his parents, who decide to send him to a camp where electronics are not allowed. Stuck in Camp Reset, Max is forced to spend time outside in nature with other people and longs to escape and level up once again.
Gamerville is for ages 8 to 12.
Johnnie Christmas is a New York Times bestselling author and illustrator, raised in Florida and currently based in Vancouver. He is the illustrator of Angel Catbird, a graphic novel series written by novelist Margaret Atwood and the creator of Swim Team. CBC Books named Johnnie Christmas a Writer to Watch in 2022.
The Legendary Mo Seto by A.Y. Chan
In The Legendary Mo Seto, 12-year-old Mo Seto has always dreamed of being a taekwondo champion so she is thrilled to find out there will be open auditions to star in a movie alongside her and her dad's martial arts idol. That is until she discovers that her archnemesis, Dax, is auditioning as well. During the audition process Mo's dad suddenly disappears, at the same time that someone starts to sabotage the movie set. Mo sets off on a mission to rescue her father and save the movie.
The Legendary Mo Seto is for ages 8 to 12.
A.Y. Chan is a Toronto writer who has her black belt in taekwondo. The Legendary Mo Seto is her debut novel.
A Galaxy of Whales by Heather Fawcett
A Galaxy of Whales is a middle-grade novel about friendship and healing after losing someone you love. Fern has always loved photography and is excited to enter a photo contest where she is determined to capture a photo of a whale during one of her mother's whale-watching tours. As Fern spends her summer focused on the contest she also is slowly coming to terms with the recent loss of her father and her best friend unexpectedly pulling away.
A Galaxy of Whales is for ages 8 to 12.
Heather Fawcett is a Vancouver writer. Her previous titles include the middle grade novels Ember and the Ice Dragons, The Language of Ghosts and The School Between Winter and Fairyland, as well as the young adult series Even the Darkest Stars. She has a master's degree in English literature and has worked as an archaeologist, photographer, technical writer and backstage assistant for a Shakespearean theater festival.
Birds on the Brain by Uma Krishnaswami
In Birds on the Brain Reeni is obsessed with birds and is desperately trying to save her city's bird count event before the mayor shuts it down. Bird Count India is about to begin all across the country, but in Reeni's city nobody has heard about it, and she and her best friend are determined to change that. With the help of their family and the wider community they set off on a mission to advocate for both the event and to educate people on the threats to city birds.
Birds on the Brain is for ages 9 to 12.
Uma Krishnaswami is a writer and author based in Victoria. She is also the author of the books Book Uncle and Me, Two at the Top and Out of the Way! Out of the Way!.
Mortified by Kristy Jackson, illustrated by Rhael McGregor
Mortified is a funny and honest middle-grade novel about facing your fears. Belinda Houle is incredibly shy, so nobody is more surprised than she is to find out she's been secretly signed up to audition for a play. After Belinda's best friend, and resident witch, casts a spell on her to give her confidence, a series of embarrassing events happen, one after the other, which makes Belinda think she must be cursed. Belinda is determined to face her anxiety … and break the curse!
Mortified is for ages 8 to 12.
Kristy Jackson is a communications professional and writer who runs a program that delivers books to children in remote Indigenous communities. Jackson is a member of Whitefish Lake First Nation and lives near Saskatoon. She draws inspiration from her Cree and German background in her work. Mortified is her debut novel.
Rhael McGregor is a Métis and two-spirit/queer comic artist based in Winnipeg. Their work includes illustrations and stories published by publications such as Iron Circus Comics, Quindrie Press and Highwater Press.
Fairest of All by Sarah Mlynowski, illustrated by Anu Chouhan
Fairest of All is the first graphic novel adaptation from the Whatever After series. In Fairest of All Abby and her brother Jonah get pulled into a mirror in their basement and transported into the fairy tale of Snow White. They very quickly realise that intervening with the story of Snow White sets off a course of events that only they can fix. But maybe Snow was destined for a different ending all along?
Fairest of All is for ages 8 to 12.
Sarah Mlynowski is a writer from Montreal, living in Los Angeles. She has written numerous books including the Whatever After series and the Magic in Manhattan series.
Anu Chouhan is a Punjabi-Canadian illustrator and video game artist. Chouhan illustrated the graphic novel adaptation of the book Aru Shah and the End of Time and is working on her first picture book. She lives in Vancouver.
The Sleeping Giant by David A. Robertson
The Sleeping Giant is the fifth book in the Indigenous middle-grade fantasy series, The Misewa Saga. Eli, Morgan and Emily must embark on their most dangerous mission to date, to rescue kidnapped animal beings from the Land of the Sleeping Giant. In order to succeed they must rely on the help of old and new friends, as well as finding a new way to travel.
The Sleeping Giant is for ages 10 and up.
David A. Robertson is a writer and graphic novelist based in Winnipeg. Previous books in Robertson's Misewa Saga series include The Portal Keeper, The Barren Grounds, The Great Bear and The Stone Child. Other books by Robertson include the graphic novels Will I See? and Sugar Falls, the YA book Strangers, the memoir Black Water and the Governor General's Literary Award-winning picture books called When We Were Alone and On the Trapline, both illustrated by Cree-Métis artist Julie Flett.
Lockjaw by Matteo L. Cerilli
Monsters, both living and dead, haunt the streets and the residents of Bridlington, in this trans YA horror novel. In Lockjaw, Paz Espino knows that Chuck Warren's death at the old abandoned mill wasn't an accident. Paz and her group of oldest friends decide to hunt down the monster that they believe killed Chuck, before it can hurt anyone else. But what they come up against is even worse than they could have imagined.
Lockjaw is for ages 14 and up.
Matteo L. Cerilli is a transmasc writer and activist from Toronto. Lockjaw is his debut YA book.
Age 16 by Rosena Fung
The dynamics of gender, race and motherhood between three generations of women are carefully explored in the coming-of-age graphic novel Age 16. In 1954 Guangdong, Mei Laan is 16 and seeks an arranged marriage so that she can be "free." In Hong Kong in 1972, her now teenage daughter Lydia is a dancer and longs for her approval. In Toronto in 2000, Lydia's daughter Roz is struggling with body image and is confronted by family secrets when her estranged grandma makes a surprise visit.
Rosena Fung is an illustrator and comic artist from Toronto. Her work has appeared in newspapers, magazines, giant murals and on TV. She is also the creator of Living with Viola.
Sarah Ponakey, Storycatcher and Âhâsiw's Forest Powwow by Sita MacMillan, illustrated by Azby Whitecalf
Sarah Ponakey, Storycatcher and Âhâsiw's Forest Powwow is the first book in a new early chapter book series that celebrates Cree culture and urban Indigenous living. When Sarah Ponakey moves to the city she is miserable. She misses her best friend, her Kôhkom and her community. One day Sarah finds herself transported to a magical powwow, led by the animals of the forest. Sarah begins to realise that it doesn't matter where she lives, she can always connect with her Cree culture.
Sarah Ponakey, Storycatcher and Âhâsiw's Forest Powwow is for ages 6 to 9.
Sita MacMillan is a member of Zagime Anishinabek and is of a mixed Cree and Scottish background. She lives in Prince Edward Island.
Azby Whitecalf is a Plains Cree illustrator and character designer. They previously illustrated the picture book Buffalo Wild! written by Deidre Havrelock. They live in Saskatchewan.
Fairy-Tale Puppy Picnic by Mitali Banerjee Ruths, illustrated by Aaliya Jaleel
Fairy-Tale Puppy Picnic is the fourth book in the early graphic novel series, The Party Diaries. Priya is a party planner, and she is thrilled to be planning a fairy-tale themed puppy picnic for her friend Dola and her puppy Prince. She's even baking pupcakes! As the day approaches Priya realises that the weather might not be on her side and she must come up with a back-up plan to save the picnic.
Fairy-Tale Puppy Picnic is for ages 5 to 7.
Mitali Banerjee Ruths is a Montreal-based children's book writer and a pediatrician. Her previous books include the picture book Archie Celebrates Diwali, the early readers series The Inside Scouts and three other books in the The Party Diaries series — Awesome Orange Birthday, Top Secret Anniversary and Starry Henna Night. CBC Books named Banerjee Ruths a Writer to Watch in 2023.
Aaliya Jaleel is an illustrator, a designer and a visual development artist. Previous books that she has illustrated include Awesome Orange Birthday, Starry Henna Night, Top Secret Anniversary, Maryam's Magic, Under My Hijab and Muslim Girls Rise.
Mushrooms Know by Kallie George, illustrated by Sara Gillingham
Mushrooms Know is a nonfiction picture book about the wonders of mushrooms and what humans can learn from them. In this STEM-themed book we learn that there are over 30,000 known species of mushrooms in the world, that some mushrooms are so strong they can grow through cement and that many mushrooms have underground networks that absorb water and minerals which helps nearby trees to grow.
Mushrooms Know is for ages 4 to 8.
Kallie George is a Vancouver-based writer for children whose books include the Heartwood Hotel series and Anne Arrives.
Sara Gillingham is a writer, illustrator, art director and designer. She has written and illustrated more than 25 titles for children, including How to Grow a Friend, Snuggle the Baby, the Empowerment series, the In My series and she illustrated the picture book, Wildflower, written by Melanie Brown. She lives in Vancouver.
Rumie Goes Rafting by Meghan Marentette
Told through photographs of handmade critters against a real woodland backdrop, Rumie Goes Rafting is a picture book about an adventurous creature, Rumie, who is curious about where the nearby stream leads. With their Uncle Hawthorne's help, they build a raft for their journey and set out together, encountering many hiccups and wonders along the way.
Rumie Goes Rafting is for ages 3 to 7.
Meghan Marentette is an artist and writer who lives near the woods in Nova Scotia. Rumie Goes Rafting is her first picture book.
I Am A Rock by Ashley Qilavaq-Savard, illustrated by Pelin Turgut
At bedtime, Pauloosie asks his Anaana, or mother, what rocks would say to us if they could talk. In I Am A Rock, Pauloosie's pet rock, Miki Rock describes all that it can see, feel and hear as part of the land in the Arctic from the winds to the animals, the Northern lights and more.
I Am A Rock is for ages 3 to 5.
Ashley Qilavaq-Savard is an Inuk writer and artist from Iqaluit. She is the author of Where the Sea Kuniks the Land and I Am A Rock is her first picture book. Qilavaq-Savard also makes sealskin and beaded jewellery and studies Inuktitut.
Pelin Turgut is a children's book illustrator from Turkey.
Baker Makers by Kim Smith
In the STEM-centered picture book, Baker Makers, young Naveen is excited to be taking part in creative cake-making at the Baker Makers Lab with his classmates. Naveen is convinced he's going to make the best cake of all and is surprised to learn that his skills might not match up with his imagination. With the support of his classmates, Naveen learns to tackle his perfectionism and lean into the unexpected, with some creative results!
Baker Makers is for ages 4 to 7.
Kim Smith is an author and illustrator from Calgary. Her other books include Boxitects, which was a finalist for the 2021 Blue Spruce Award, the Builder Brothers picture book series and the Ice Chips chapter book series.
The Sun Never Hurries by Roxane Turcotte, illustrated by Lucie Crovatto
The Sun Never Hurries tells the tale of Papa Jo and his granddaughter Charlie learning the value of patience and appreciating the small details of life. Charlie doesn't understand why her grandfather uses an hourglass to mark time and so he takes her on a calming walk through nature, taking note of all the wondrous things around them.
The Sun Never Hurries is for ages 3 to 7.
Roxane Turcotte is a Canadian author of over 40 children's books in French. She was born and resides in Montreal.
Lucie Crovatto is a French children's book illustrator based in Quebec.
