2025 Holiday Gift Guide

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There is a Canadian book for every reader! Featuring some of our favourite recent titles, this holiday gift guide includes book recommendations for readers of all ages.

Ages 0-3

Every Leaf on Every Tree

Written & illustrated by Lauren Soloy

Nimbus Publishing, 2025

The debut baby board book from beloved and bestselling author-illustrator Lauren Soloy is a beautiful meditation on love, inspired by the natural world.

Keywords: Bunnies, love, nature, gentle, sweet

***

A Flock of Gulls, a Chorus of Frogs

Written by Lucky Budd

Illustrated by Roy Henry Vickers

Harbour Publishing, 2024

Learn fun names for animal groups of the West Coast with a sturdy board book featuring the illustrations of Indigenous artist Roy Henry Vickers. Perfect for storytime and supporting language development in babies and toddlers.

Keywords: Animals, sealife, language, colours, art

***

Runaway Blanket

Written by Nancy Deas

Illustrated by Mike Deas

Orca Book Publishers, 2025

Nighttime is coming, and Mama says it’s time for bed. “I can’t,” the child explains. “My blanket ran away. I saw it scrambling down the stairs.”

Keywords: Bedtime, silly, imaginative, family, adventure

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Zander Stays

Written by Maureen Fergus

Illustrated by Scot Ritchie

Pajama Press, 2024

Zander the goose is trying something new this winter. He is not going to go south. Zander is going to stay!

Keywords: Silly goose, snow, winter, animals, friends

Ages 3-6

The Big Red Book of Munsch Books

Written by Robert Munsch

Illustrated by Michael Martchenko

Annick Press, 2025

This iconic special collection honors Munsch’s legacy with gorgeous first-edition reproductions of bestselling Munsch classics so you can see how the now-classic books looked when they were first introduced to the world!

Keywords: Iconic, classic, wacky, zany, fun

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Can I Come, Too? An Adventure with the Grumpy Faces

Written by Nadia Sammurtok

Illustrated by Emma Pedersen

Inhabit Media, 2025

The Grumpy Faces are a gang of whimsical woodland and Arctic creatures that care deeply about their habitats and encourage creativity wherever they go. In their first literary adventure, Polar Bear, Fox, and Wolf head out on a journey to find some snacks.

Keywords: Arctic, animals, adventure, goals, emotions

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Danger Eagle

Written by Jesse Wente

Illustrated by Shaikara David

Tundra Books, 2025

An action-packed adventure featuring a stunt-penguin stuffed animal! Will appeal to movie fans young and old.

Keywords: Action, stunts, stuffed animals, funny, fantasy

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Little Moments in a Big Universe

Written & illustrated by Todd Stewart

Owlkids Books, 2025

An explorer and a robot are traveling the universe in their spaceship, when their engine malfunctions and they crash-land on an unknown planet. How will they fix their ship? Will they ever explore again? And who are the strange light-filled creatures who are beckoning to them?

Keywords: Science fiction, space exploration, planets, robots, stories

***

Nuts About Scaredy Squirrel: Five Classic Stories

Written & illustrated by Mélanie Watt

Kids Can Press, 2025

A collection of five hilarious stories starring Scaredy Squirrel - everyone's favorite worrywart! This hardcover edition makes a perfect collectible or gift for Scaredy Squirrel fans of any age.

Keywords: Fear, worry, humour, charm, antics and schemes

***

Tilley’s Tail

Written by Shannon Melanson

Illustrated by Danelle Vautour

Monster House Publishing, 2025

Tilley’s Tail tells the heartwarming story of a dog born with a uniquely shaped tail—curved just like a hockey stick! When Tilley is welcomed into a caring home with two hockey-loving sisters, she quickly discovers that her tail is more than just special, it’s a secret talent!

Keywords: Dogs, hockey, winter, sisters, heartwarming

Ages 6-9

Anne of Green Gables: Stories for Young Readers

Written by Deidre Kessler

Illustrated by Briana Corr Scott

Nimbus Publishing, 2025

An updated edition of the bestselling illustrated adaptation of the classic Anne of Green Gables series featuring beautiful new colour illustrations. Now even the youngest Anne of Green Gables fans can enjoy Lucy Maud Montgomery's classic tale.

Keywords: Classic, timeless, spirited, illustrated, coming-of-age

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Aurora’s Journey

Written & illustrated by Kayla Williams

Kegedonce Press, 2025

Aurora is a brave and resourceful Inuk girl. When her family goes missing while on a hunting trip, she embarks on a perilous mission to find them. In her travels Aurora must face both the harsh Arctic elements and her own fears, but she does not do so alone: she finds allies in a mother polar bear, Mama Nanuk, and her cubs.

Keywords: Survival, Arctic, bravery, adventure, family

***

Dogs vs. Humans: A Showdown of the Senses

Written by Stephanie Gibeault

Illustrated by Bambi Edlund

Owlkids Books, 2025

In a showdown of the senses, who would come out as top dog: canines or humans? This junior nonfiction book creates a fierce but fun competition, comparing the ways dogs and humans perceive the world through each of the five senses: sight, smell, taste, touch, and hearing.

Keywords: Dogs, senses, fun-facts, science, evolution

***

Nutshimit: Activity Book

Written by Melissa Mollen Dupuis

Illustrated by Elise Gravel

Translated by Dina Ginzburg & Gaële Mollen

Scholastic Canada, 2025

With almost 90 big pages of creative fun, this activity book encourages children to learn and have fun with nature. Includes colouring pages, word searches, connect-the-dots, picture-prompts, spot-the-differences, DIY comic pages and much more to keep young forest enthusiasts engaged and entertained.

Keywords: Nature, activities, colouring, comics, fun

***

Paisley & Peck: Jurassic Farm

Written by J. Torres

Illustrated by Mike Deas

Owlkids Books, 2025

With lots of laughs and a heartfelt message about being true to yourself, Paisley & Peck: Jurassic Farm is a winning first installment in a new graphic novel series about a pig and a chick who grapple with the self-discovery, rebellion, and awkwardness that comes with growing up.

Keywords: Comics, animals, jokes, friendship, heartfelt

***

Star Sailor, The Story of Words

Written by Sara Cassidy

Illustrated by Julie McLaughlin

Orca Book Publishers, 2025

This colourful non-fiction book ventures into the history of how language came to be and explores the ways words reveal a whole new impression of the world around us. Perfect for little linguists.

Keywords: Language, exploration, history, expression, creativity

Ages 9-12

Cracking the Code: The Human Quest to Uncover Secrets

Written by Rachel Kehoe

Illustrated by Meagan Lim

Orca Book Publishers, 2025

From the development of ancient Greek ciphers, to the creation of the Enigma and today's CRISPR technology, codes and codebreakers have changed the course of history. Codes have defined human history and will map our digital future. Will you be the next codebreaker to unlock the mysteries behind the codes that shape our world?

Keywords: Codes, history, technology, mystery, security

***

The League of Littles: A Graphic Novel

Written by Casey Lyall

Illustrated by Sara Faber

HarperCollins, 2025

For graphic novel fans! The League of Littles is an international organization that protects and supports the needs of youngest siblings—and trainees Lexi, Mo, and Eli are finally ready for their first mission.

Keywords: Friendship, school, siblings, action, humour

***

The Rehearsal Club

Written by Kate Fodor & Laurie Petrou

Groundwood Books, 2025

Twelve-year-old Pal Gallagher is a newly minted New Yorker. Her older sister, Naomi, lives at the Rehearsal Club, a historic boarding house for aspiring actresses. Pal quickly gets swept up in the glamor and high-stakes of the theater world, and is drawn into a decades-old mystery about Posy, a boarder who was kicked out of the Club for reasons unknown.

Keywords: Sisterhood, theatre, dreams, mystery, history

***

Spirit Service

Written by Sarena Nanua & Sasha Nanua

Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2025

Four seventh graders start a small business helping their local neighborhood spirits pass on to the other side in this supremely sweet and spooky story that’s perfect for fans of The Baby-Sitters Club.

Keywords: Friendship, supernatural, mystery, ghosts, community

***

The Vanished Ones

Written by Chad Lucas

Amulet Books, 2025

From award-winning author Chad Lucas comes an enthralling new story about a strange island where boys go missing—and the two boys intent on uncovering the truth about it.

Keywords: Fantasy, conspiracy, friendship, adventure, justice

***

Way Off Track

Written by Carl Brundtland

Illustrated by Claudia Dávila

Kids Can Press, 2025

Incorporating Jamaican culture and the West African trickster character, Anansi, debut author Carl Brundtland has created a fresh and funny new graphic novel with an endearingly self-absorbed heroine who always goes the distance - even if it's the wrong way.

Keywords: Humour, hijinks, athletics, competition, family

Ages 12+

A Drop in the Ocean

Written by Lea Taranto

Arsenal Pulp Press, 2025

Sixteen-year-old Mira Durand has just been checked into the secure unit of the Residency Adolescent Treatment Centre for obsessive compulsive and comorbid disorders. Four years of being passed around different psych wards like a hot potato have only worsened her OCD and anorexia. Her brutal, religious compulsions, which she believes keep her mom safe, make her less of a clean freak and more of a freak freak. No wonder her only friend is her journal.

Based on the author's personal experience, A Drop in the Ocean is a gritty, humanizing portrait of living with mental illness.

Keywords: Mental health, self-expression, truth, identity, heartfelt

***

Best of All Worlds

Written by Kenneth Oppel

Tundra Books, 2025

From award-winning author Kenneth Oppel comes a startling, can't-wait-to-talk-about-it-with-someone novel that defies genre to create a teen survival thriller unlike any you've read before.

Keywords: Dystopian, psychological, thriller, suspense, family

***

The Queen’s Spade

Written by Sarah Raughley

HarperCollins, 2025

In this riveting historical thriller inspired by true-life events, Belladonna meets Bridgerton as revenge, romance, and twisted secrets take center stage in Victorian England’s royal court when Sally, a kidnapped African princess and goddaughter to Queen Victoria, plots her way to take down the monarchy that stole her from her homeland.

Keywords: Historical, thriller, crime, revenge, romance

***

Soul Machine

Written & illustrated by Jordana Globerman

Annick Press, 2025

A Wrinkle in Time meets Brave New World in this thought-provoking debut graphic novel about one girl’s quest to save her family's livelihood—and maybe existence itself.

Keywords: Environment, spirituality, family, consciousness, consumption

***

Wavelength

Written by Cale Plett

Groundwood Books, 2025

Hannah Montana meets Heartstopper in this story of a teen pop star on the run from fame who finds family, love and gender euphoria when they become entangled with a local band.

Keywords: Music, romance, queer, drama, friendship

***

You Started It

Written by Jackie Khalilieh

Tundra Books, 2025

Better Than the Movies meets Olivia Rodrigo's Sour in a new YA romance novel from Something More author, Jackie Khalilieh.

Seventeen-year-old Jamie Taher-Foster has big plans for senior year. But then her boyfriend Ben arrives back home after a summer away with an unthinkable announcement: he wants to break up. When Jamie discovers him with Olivia Chen the next day, she is determined to get him back. Even if that means fake dating the younger, curly-haired, TikTok dancer Axel Dahini, whose bicycle she accidentally ran over.

Keywords: Romantic-comedy, fake-dating, drama, emotion , family

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2025 Holiday Gift Guide

Ages 0-3

Ages 3-6

Ages 6-9

Ages 9-12

Ages 12+

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