2024 Holiday Gift Guide
Our December book list features some of our favourite titles from 2024. These are books that stood out and stayed with us throughout the year. Looking for a last-minute gift for a young reader in your life? This list serves as an excellent guide. Search for these books at a local independent bookstore near you. Happy reading!
Picture Books
Getting Us to Grandma's
Written by Nadia L. hohn
Illustrated by TeMika Grooms
Groundwood Books Ltd, 2024
978-1-77306-689-9
IL: Ages 3-6 RL: Grades p-1
No one knows maps like Nikki — but can she get her family to Grandma's house in time?
Nikki’s family is preparing for a long road trip from Toronto to the Bronx to attend Uncle Travis's wedding. They pack their suitcases, boxes of Jamaican black cake, and most importantly to Nikki, the big map book!
Nikki loves geography and enjoys tracing the routes to all the places her relatives live — her Grandpa in Florida, her cousins in Atlanta, DC, and Boston. She daydreams of England, where other family lives, and Jamaica and Africa, where her roots run deep.
Frostfire
Written & illustrated by Elly MacKay
Tundra, 2024
978-0-73526-698-8
IL: Ages 3-7 RL: Grades p-2
On a walk through a snow-covered garden, big sister Miriam claims to hear the sound of a snow dragon. Little sister Celeste has lots of questions: snow dragons are real? Where do they hide? What do they eat? And is that frost on the greenhouse windows or is it . . . frostfire?
Miriam seems to have an answer for everything about snow dragons. But when Celeste wanders off, she has a magical encounter that changes everything she thought she knew.
Songs in the Sea
Written & illustrated by Pheilm Martin
Breakwater Books Ltd, 2024
978-1-77853-022-7
IL: Ages 3-9 RL: Grades: k-4
Oh no! The loud noise of ships on the ocean has sunk under the waves, and now Little Whale is confused! With rumbles all around him, he has lost track of Mama Whale’s song and lost his way on their migration north. How will he ever find her, and his way home, again? Getting lost is scary. But Little Whale learns that with perseverance and determination, along with remembering the things your mother has told you, you can bravely face any obstacle.
Packed with adventure and colourful marine characters like sea turtles, squids, other whales, Songs in the Sea is a delightful book about bravery, resilience, and the bonds between family, especially mother and child.
I Want to Read All the Books
Written and illustrated by Debbie Ridpath Ohi
Simon & Schuster books for Young Readers, 2024
978-1-48141-630-6
IL: Ages 4-8 RL: Grades p-3
Hana wants to know everything about the world around her. When she starts asking questions, her mother gives her a book. She learns so much, but now she has even more questions! She also has a big mission: she will read all the books—every single one! She reads every book in her house…and then her friends’ houses…and then the whole block. Nonfiction, fiction, romance, mysteries, and science fiction.
But when her mother takes her to the downtown library, she realizes there are a lot more books than she thought…way more. Maybe she can’t really read all the books—now what?.
Early Reader Fiction
The Secret Office
Written by Sara Cassidy
Illustrated by Alyssa Hutchings
Orca Book Publishers, 2024
978-1-459-83946-5
IL: Ages 6-8 RL: Grades 1-3
Twins Henry and Allie love the apartment they share with their mom, Sam, but their space has been feeling cramped ever since Sam started working from home. Her online meetings mean the siblings can barely use the living room!
At first, Allie and Henry figure out a quick fix—buying their mom some headphones. But when Allie stumbles upon a secret locked room in the basement, she and Henry ask the custodian, Mr. Jeff, for his help to turn it into an office. As they work away, the twins make new discoveries about themselves, Mr. Jeff and their amazing apartment building's history. They can't wait to show their mom her new workspace!
Sarah Ponakey, Storycatcher and Âhâsiw's Forest Powwow
Written by Sita MacMillan
Illustrated by Azby Whitecalf
Annick Press, 2024
978-1-77321-888-5
IL: Ages 6-9 RL: Grades 1-3
Sarah Ponakey has moved to the city from her home community with her mom and it’s the pits! She misses her Kôhkom, her best friend Eden, and the forests around her community. She’s had a hard time making new friends at school but at least she keeps in touch with Eden through meticulously written letters with very big words. After a particularly tough day where she nearly loses her favorite stuffed animal, Âhâsiw, and is brushed off by her mom, Sarah finds herself transported to a magical forest powwow . . .
Mystery at the Biltmore
Written by Colleen Nelson
Illustrated by Peggy Collins
Pajama Press Inc, 2024
978-1-77278-3278
IL: Ages 7-10 RL: Grades 2-5
Left behind by her globe-trotting detective parents once again, Elodie decides to prove she’s worthy of joining them on a case by setting up her own detective agency at her renowned Upper West Side home, The Biltmore.
When a pair of sapphire and diamond earrings mysteriously disappear from Mrs. Vanderhoff’s apartment, Elodie is asked to solve the case. Elodie begins her investigation the way any good detective would, looking for clues and potential suspects. With twists, turns, and suspects galore, will Elodie be able to prove she has what it takes to solve a crime? Or will the LaRue Detective Agency fail on its first case? As Elodie, her dog Carnegie, and new friend Oscar (a self-proclaimed parkour master) delve deeper into the mystery, they encounter a quirky cast of characters, an array of clues, and a little bit of fun.
Ullak and the Creatures of the Sea
Written by Suzie Napayok-Short
Illustrated by Sho Uehara
Arvaaq Press, 2024
978-1-77450-576-2
IL: Ages 8-10 RL: Grades 3-4
One day, Ullak forgets her grandma’s warning about playing on the ice pans and is suddenly kidnapped by a sea monster.
Ullak is brought to Sanna, the ruler of the seas and all the mammals in it, at the bottom of the sea. Together they visit different Arctic sea animals and learn all about them. Ullak is having a lot of fun exploring underwater, but it’s getting late. Will she be able to convince Sanna to help her find her way home?
Graphic Novels
Viewfinder
Written & illustrated by Christine D.U. Chung and Salwa Majoka
Tundra, 2024
978-0-73526-875-3
IL: Ages 6-9 RL: Grades 1-4
In this gorgeous wordless graphic novel, a young space traveler visits Earth on a whim and finds a planet empty of people. She happens upon a strange contraption that contains images of what the planet used to be like, and using this viewfinder, she sees Earth as it was, juxtaposed against Earth as it is: abandoned, but still full of amazing things.
Her adventure takes her to a museum full of hints about the planet’s past and the strange glowing mushrooms that grow everywhere, a library that has become home to a variety of zoo animals, and a beautiful but crumbling space station from which she makes a daring escape. As she wanders, though, she sees signs that perhaps there is still someone here. A time capsule, a friendly cat and a makeshift railcar all add to the mystery . . . is she really alone?
Steve, a Pretty Exceptional Horse
Written & illustrated by Kelly Collier
Kids Can Press, 2024
978-1-52531-299-1
IL: Ages 6-9 RL: Grades 1-4
The first installment in a hilarious early graphic novel series, based on Kelly Collier's popular picture book introducing the one and only (just ask him!) Steve the Horse.
Steve the Horse wants to be exceptional ... you know, like a peacock! His friend Bob tries to reassure him that he's special, but Bob can't seem to think of anything exceptional about him. Steve is discouraged ... That is, until he finds a shiny gold horn in the forest. Obviously, somebody left this exceptional horn for him to find! He ties it to his head and prances off to show his friends. Who's exceptional now? Steve, that's who! Only, as Steve's friends make clear, dressing up and showing off are not the answer.
The Longest Shot: Taxi Ghost
Written & illustrated by Sophie Escabasse
Random House Publishing Group, 2024
978-0-59356-598-8
IL: Ages 8-12 RL: Grades 3-7
Adèle just wants to spend her winter break at the library, cozied up with her favorite books, and completely forgetting abut her friends who are all traveling to warmer climates. Unfortunately, life has other plans...not only does Adèle get her first period...but she learns she comes from a long line of mediums!
And if seeing ghosts wasn't enough of a surprise, Adèle learns that not only can she interact with them, but apparently, they've been using her sister's car to get around the city for years! When the ghosts won't leave her alone Adèle starts to get to know about them and their problems. Maybe helping them out will be just what she needs for an exciting winter break!
Gamerville
Written & illustrated by Johnnie Christmas
HarperCollins, 2024
978-0-06305-681-7
IL: Ages 8-12 RL: Grades 3-7
Max Lightning is howling at the moon—he’s finally qualified for Gamerville, a championship where players compete to be top dog in the multiplayer video game Lone Wolf of Calamity Bay. But his dreams of domination are doomed when his parents send him to Camp Reset. Gone are the long nights of downing energy drinks and getting copious amounts of screen time. They've been replaced with fresh air and group activities under the hot sun—a shock to the system for a lone wolf like Max. Can Max escape Camp Reset and level up at Gamerville, or has he finally played his last match?
Middle Grade Fiction
The Last Hope School for Magical Delinquents
Written by Nicki Pau Preto
Penguin Young Readers Group, 2024
978-0-59352-851-8
IL: Ages 8-12 RL: Grades 3-7
Lavinia “Vin” Lucas is out of control and out of options. Stranded by parents who would rather use their average magical abilities to study dung beetles than raise her, Vin's been on her own for years. But she’s never been able to corral her own powerful, unpredictable magic. After years of detention, suspension, and expulsion from magic schools far and wide, she’s now being sent to the Last Hope School for Magical Delinquents. If she gets expelled, it’s the end of the line.
Now, Vin is determined to behave. Except no one at Last Hope seems to want her to. Her new teachers—particularly the school’s kind headmistress—push her to explore her magic, and her mischievous classmates delight in every accident. And all the while, a mysterious fire sprite, a suspicious instructor, and her overwhelming abilities might just sabotage Vin. But for the first time, she is not alone.
Chai Jinxed
Written by Emi Pinto
HarperCollins, 2024
978-0-06327-577-5
IL: Ages 8-12 RL: Grades 3-7
All it took was one majestic frog and a love brew gone wrong—and faster than you can say ribbit, Misha got expelled...again. Things aren’t much better back home. A rival tea shop opens across the street, and rumors spread that the Dayaans' tea is cursed. Determined to fix her family’s reputation, Misha’s only got one option left: attend the infamous Margaret’s Academy of Tea and Brewing and brew her way to the top of her class—even if it means a little bit of spice sabotage.
But when Misha finds herself up against the girl from the tea shop across the street and things start going wrong—ghostly tea leaves, living scarecrows, and rumors of missing tea witches—Misha starts to realize the truth: she’s jinxed. And if she can’t turn her luck around, her family tea shop, her classmates—and even all of Margaret’s Academy—will have a fate worse than cold tea.
The Kodiaks: Home Ice Advantage
Written by David A. Robertson
Highwater Press, 2024
978-1-77492-101-2
IL: Ages 9-12 RL: Grades 4-6
Everything is changing for 11-year-old Alex Robinson. After his father accepts a new job, Alex and his family move from their community to the city. For the first time in his life, he doesn’t fit in. His fellow students don’t understand Indigenous culture. Even a simple show of respect to his teacher gets him in trouble.
Things begin to look up after Alex tries out for a local hockey team. Playing for the Kodiaks, Alex proves himself as one of the best, but he becomes a target because he’s Indigenous. Can Alex trust his teammates and stand up to the jerks on other teams? Can he find a way to fit in and still be who he’s meant to be?
Is There A Boy Like Me?
Written by Kern Carter
Scholastic Canada Ltd, 2024
978-1-44319-842-4
IL: Ages 10-14 RL: Grades 5-9
London feels stuck. His school friends think he’s this confident kid who likes video games and will kick your butt if you get on his bad side. His high-achieving parents think he’s a genius coder and are pushing him to pursue that as a future career. None of this is true. London feels anxiety in crowds, and what he really wants to do is be by himself and read books. Not knowing what else to do, London starts an anonymous online comic called “Is There A Boy Like Me,” where he expresses his true feelings and explores what his life would be like if he could just be who he wanted to be. When the comic goes viral, it starts a global conversation about what being a boy really means, with London directly in the middle of it all.
Young Adult Fiction
Who We Are in Real Life
Written by Victoria Koops
Groundwood Books Ltd, 2024
978-1-77306-890-9
IL: Ages 12 and up RL: Grades 7-12
IRL, Darcy has just moved to the small prairie town of Unity Creek with her two moms. It feels like she left everything good behind in the city. She misses her tabletop gaming friends and her boyfriend — and is horrified by the homophobia her family faces in their new home. Then she meets kind, quiet Art, who invites her to join his Dungeons & Dragons game.
Art is mostly happy fading into the background at school and only really coming alive during his friends’ weekly D&D game — until meeting Darcy pulls his life off-course in wonderful and alarming ways. Suddenly he has something worth fighting for. But what if that something puts him in conflict with his father, an influential and conservative figure in their town? Can Art stand up against his father’s efforts to prevent Darcy and her friends from starting a queer-straight alliance at school?
Meanwhile, in game, Darcy’s and Art’s D&D characters join forces to fight corruption as they grow closer in the homebrew world of Durgeon’s Keep — as fantasy and reality collide.
Crash Landing
Written by Li Charmaine Anne
Annick Press, 2024
978-1-77321-842-7
IL: Ages 14 and up RL: Grades 9-12
Jay Wong is spending the last languid days of summer 2010 trying to land a kickflip and begging for something (anything!) to make her senior year different—to finally give her some stories worth telling. When she meets Ash Chan, it seems like she’s getting what she asked for. Ash is confident, intensely independent, and hell on a skateboard—nothing like anyone Jay knows and exactly how she wishes she could be.
Offering to film Ash’s submission to an upcoming skate contest introduces Jay to a side of Vancouver she’s never seen and gives her the chance to push back against the expectations placed on her. But Ash has a secret, and Jay is increasingly desperate to figure it out. As things between them ride the fine line between friendship and something more, Jay has to decide just how much Ash will impact all the choices she still has to make about where she’s going and who she wants to become.
The ANNEthology: A Collection of Kindred Spirits Inspired by the Canadian Icon
Written by various authors
Acorn Press, 2024
978-1-77366-153-7
IL: Ages 12 and up RL: Grades 7-12
Join ten of Canada's top young adult fiction writers as they set Canada's favourite red-haired orphan, Anne Shirley, on brand new adventures. With its futuristic settings, cybernetic beings, ghosts, mysterious books and boxes, and racial and sexual diversity in its cast of characters, The ANNEthology offers serious "scope for the imagination" for all readers.
2024 marks the 150th anniversary of L.M. Montgomery's birth and the 30th anniversary of Acorn Press, Prince Edward Island's longest-running traditional publishing house. What better way to celebrate these milestones than publishing a collection of stories inspired by the Island's (and one of Canada's) most beloved authors?
Sure to include something for everyone, this is a must-have collection for Anne of Green Gables fans.
The Lightning Circle
Written by Vikkie VanSickle
Tundra, 2024
978-1-7748-8249-8
IL: Ages 12 and up RL: Grades 7-12
After having her heart broken, seventeen-year-old Nora Nichols decides to escape her hometown and take a summer job as an arts and crafts counsellor at an all-girls' camp in the mountains of West Virginia. There, she meets girls and women from all walks of life with their own heartaches and triumphs. Immersed in this new camp experience, trying to form bonds with her fellow counselors while learning to be a trusted adviser for her campers, Nora distracts herself from her feelings, even during the intimate conversations around the nightly campfires. But when a letter from home comes bearing unexpected news, Nora finds inner strength in her devastation with the healing power of female friendship. Presented as Nora's camp journal, including Nora's sketches of camp life, scraps of letters, and spare poems, The Lightning Circle is an intimate coming-of-age portrait.
Non-Fiction
I Wonder About Worlds
Written by James Gladstone
Illustrated by Yaara Eshet
Owlkids Books Inc, 2024
978-1-7714-7572-3
IL: Ages 4 to 8 RL: Grades 3-12
During a night of stargazing, a child looks up at the planets that make up our solar system and wonders about what lies beyond.
The child imagines rocketing through the Milky Way to explore exoplanets—planets that exist outside our solar system. The child zooms past a fiery world made of lava and a water world with gargantuan rolling waves, both based on real exoplanets discovered by scientists. When the little astronaut visits an unpopulated exoplanet that looks exactly like Earth, they are reminded of home—and that’s when they turn their ship around and head back to the planet they know and love most.
Packed with captivating illustrations and fascinating facts, this companion to Journey Around the Sun and A Star Explodes is a whimsical introduction to our solar system and exoplanets. Throughout the book, sidebars provide further information on the planets in our solar system and the exoplanets spotted on the child’s journey.
A Planet Is a Poem
Written by Amanda West Lewis
Illustrated by Oliver Averill
Kids Can Press, 2024
978-1-52530-442-2
IL: Ages 8-12 RL: Grades 3-7
Science and poetry combine in an out-of-this-world exploration of the wonders of our solar system.
From a ballad of Earth and an ode to the sun to a villanelle for Venus and a sestina for Saturn, here are 14 original poems about planets and other bodies in our solar system. Each poem is written in a different poetic form that’s been chosen to reflect the object’s unique characteristics, and each is bursting with intriguing details sure to capture readers’ imaginations. Why is Mars known as the Red Planet? How many moons does Jupiter have? And what exactly is the Kuiper Belt? Budding astronomers, young and old, can find the answers to these questions and many more in this innovative, enchanting book.
Amanda West Lewis’s unique and engaging poems and text are lavishly illustrated with stunning artwork by Oliver Averill that celebrates the vastness of space while bringing its curious objects to vivid life.
The Longest Shot: How Larry Kwong Changed the Face of Hockey
Written by Chad Soon & George Chiang
Illustrated by Amy Qi
Orca Book Publishers, 2024
978-1-45983-503-0
IL: Ages 9-12 RL: Grades 4-7
Larry Kwong became the first player of Asian descent in the NHL when he played one shift with the New York Rangers in 1948.
Even though Larry's achievement happened more than 70 years ago, his contribution to hockey is only now being recognized. He broke hockey's color barrier and fought racism and discrimination at every step of his career. From his humble beginnings on the outdoor rinks in Vernon, British Columbia's Chinatown all the way to playing at Madison Square Garden and in the NHL, this inspiring hero has a timeless story for young readers.
Your Story Matters: A Surprisingly Practical Guide to Writing
Written by Richard Scrimger
Illustrated by D. McFadzean
Tundra, 2024
978-1-77049-842-6
IL: Ages 9-12 RL: Grades 4-7
Esteemed writer Richard Scrimger is here to answer all your burning questions about writing: whether about plot, character, structure, story hooks or commas. (Actually, don't ask him about commas, it's not that kind of book.)
Using clever (so he thinks) analogies, (sort of) brilliant examples and funny (well . . .) anecdotes, he will give you (truly) useful tools to start you on your way as a writer. And if that's not enough, comic illustrations by D. McFadzean are the pepperoni on the writing pizza! (That will make sense once you read the book.)
So come, read this book and start your writing journey!
Share Articles
