![\"Front](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/the-biggest-smallest-thing-by-sara-de-waal-illustrated-by-ana-stretcu.jpg\")
The Biggest Smallest Thing is a picture book by Sara de Waal, left, illustrated by Ana Stretcu, right. (Alanna Danae Photography, Annick Press, submitted by Ana Stretcu)<\/p>\nWith summer holidays winding down, now is a great time to emphasize the fun that can be found\u00a0between the pages of a book.\u00a0<\/p>\n
To ease them into the school year \u2014 and continue to\u00a0foster a love of reading \u2014\u00a0CBC Books has pulled together\u00a0a list of some of our favourite new books for kids, tweens and teens.<\/p>\n
There’s something for every age and interest from a STEM-focused picture book to a prep school\u00a0murder mystery.<\/p>\n
The Biggest Smallest Thing by Sara de Waal, illustrated by Ana StretcuThe Biggest Smallest Thing is a picture book by Sara de Waal, left, illustrated by Ana Stretcu, right. (Alanna Danae Photography, Annick Press, submitted by Ana Stretcu)<\/p>\n
Sunnysill Elementary is having its\u00a0annual\u00a0Scintillating Science Symposium and nobody is more excited than budding chemist Mo.\u00a0He\u00a0loves science\u00a0and is determined the win. Mo\u00a0isn’t worried about his competition \u2014\u00a0least of all\u00a0his classmate Muriel, who wants to be a cat when she grows up.\u00a0The Biggest Smallest Thing is a charming STEM-focused picture book that shows that a love for\u00a0science can come in many\u00a0different forms.<\/p>\n
The Biggest Smallest Thing\u00a0is for ages 5\u00a0to 8.<\/p>\n
Sara de Waal is a writer and educator from\u00a0British Columbia. When she is not writing, she teaches music and art.\u00a0She is currently based in Iowa. Her previous books include the\u00a02022 Blue Spruce Award finalist<\/a>\u00a048 Grasshopper Estates<\/a>.<\/p>\n Ana Stretcu\u00a0is an illustrator from Romania.\u00a0<\/p>\n Amoya Blackwood Is Brave by Chantaie Allick, illustrated by Aaron Marin In this empowering and brightly-illustrated picture book about braveness and self-esteem, we are introduced to Amoya Blackwood, who is carefree and confident. Amoya loves making her friends laugh and\u00a0putting her hand up in class.\u00a0But\u00a0that changes one day when Amoya realizes the adults in her life want her to be smaller and quieter. A conversation with her Gran helps remind Amoya\u00a0who she is in\u00a0Amoya Blackwood Is Brave.\u00a0<\/p>\n Amoya Blackwood Is Brave\u00a0is for ages 3 to 7.<\/p>\n Chantaie Allick is a Toronto-based writer, strategist and freelance journalist.\u00a0Amoya Blackwood Is Brave\u00a0is Allick’s debut picture book.<\/p>\n Aaron Marin is an illustrator based in New York.\u00a0<\/p>\n T Is for Terry by Denise Dias, illustrated by No\u00e9mie Gionet Landry The Terry Fox Run is in its 45th year, with many schools across Canada taking part every September.\u00a0\u00a0T Is for Terry<\/a>\u00a0is a new picture book that celebrates the life and work\u00a0of the Canadian icon through an ABC format. It\u00a0tells the story of Fox’s life,\u00a0ambitions, \u00a0personality and\u00a0legacy.<\/p>\n T Is for Terry<\/a>\u00a0is for ages 3 to 8.<\/p>\n Denise Dias is a Toronto-based\u00a0writer, columnist and children’s book author. Her work has appeared in numerous publications, including\u00a0The Globe and Mail, Toronto Star and\u00a0Toronto Life.<\/p>\n No\u00e9mie Gionet Landry is a New Brunswick-born artist, children’s book illustrator and\u00a0rheumatologist.\u00a0<\/p>\n Brianna Banana, Helper of the Day by Lana Button, illustrated by Suharu Ogawa In Brianna Banana, Helper of the Day, nine-year-old Brianna struggles to fit in with her peers. Brianna really wants to make a friend, but she finds it tricky, especially when she\u00a0loses her temper or gets distracted. She decides to put her name up for\u00a0classroom helper, in hopes of making a friend, but is disappointed when her classmate Rumi is selected instead. This\u00a0illustrated early-chapter book blends humour and warmth as Brianna comes to understand what it means to be a good friend.\u00a0<\/p>\n Brianna Banana, Helper of the Day is for ages 6 to 8.\u00a0<\/p>\n Lana Button is a children’s writer and educator based in Burlington, Ont. Her other books include\u00a0Willow Finds a Way,\u00a0which was shortlisted for the Blue Spruce Award,\u00a0Percy’s Perfect Friend\u00a0and\u00a0The Only Lonely Fairy<\/a>, which was longlisted for CBC Kids Reads 2025<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Suharu Ogawa is a Toronto artist and instructor originally from Japan. She teaches illustration at OCAD University. Ogawa has illustrated numerous children’s books, including\u00a0Hooray for Trucks!<\/a>,\u00a0This Is How a Ball Rolls,\u00a0All Consuming and the upcoming\u00a0Brianna Banana, Worst Surprise Ever.\u00a0<\/p>\n The World of Maxime\u00a0by Lucile de Peslo\u00fcan, illustrated by\u00a0Jacques Goldstyn, translated by Helen Mixter In\u00a0The World of Maxime<\/a>, a picture book with\u00a0graphic-style illustrations, 10-year-old Maxime loves books and cats \u2014 especially her own cat, Turmeric. She feels different from other kids, preferring the quiet company of her book characters over her noisy classmates at school. She wishes she were brave enough to talk to the new girl at school. When she discovers mysterious bowls in an alley, Maxime becomes a detective and meets Catamou, an older woman who feeds stray cats. The two form a friendship, and with Catamou’s encouragement, Maxime finds the courage to reach out to the new girl.<\/p>\n The World of Maxime<\/a>\u00a0is for ages 7 to 10.\u00a0<\/p>\n Lucile de Peslo\u00fcan\u00a0is a Montreal-based writer. Her first book was\u00a0the graphic novel\u00a0What Makes Girls Sick and Tired.<\/p>\n Jacques Goldstyn is a writer, illustrator and political cartoonist from Montreal. In 2017 he won the Governor General’s Award for young people’s literature \u2014\u00a0illustrated books (French) for\u00a0Azadah\u00a0and has twice won\u00a0Le Grand Prix du Journalisme Ind\u00e9pendant\u00a0for his illustrations.<\/p>\n Helen Mixter is a Toronto-based\u00a0writer and the translator of several children’s books, including the 2009\u00a0Governor General’s Award<\/a>-winning\u00a0Harvey.\u00a0<\/p>\n Way Off Track by Carl Brundtland, illustrated by Claudia D\u00e1vila Way Off Track<\/a>\u00a0is a fun and fast-paced middle-grade graphic novel that follows a young girl named Nansi on her determined, and sometimes misguided, journey. Nansi is a runner who\u00a0is\u00a0used to winning every race \u2014\u00a0and being the fastest kid in Grade 7 \u2014 until her nemisis,\u00a0Tania, beats her. Convinced it’s all because of Tania’s fancy shoes, Nansi\u00a0has\u00a0to get a pair before track tryouts. But where is she going to find $338?\u00a0<\/p>\n Way Off Track<\/a>\u00a0is for ages 8 to 12.\u00a0<\/p>\n Carl Brundtland\u00a0is a Jamaican Canadian\u00a0writer based in Toronto. Growing up, his favourite stories\u00a0were those about Anansi the spider, which inspired the antics found in this debut graphic novel.<\/p>\n Claudia D\u00e1vila\u00a0is an illustrator from Toronto. She has illustrated the nonfiction books\u00a0Child Soldier<\/a>\u00a0by Michel Chikwanine and\u00a0Jessica Dee Humphreys, and\u00a0Change It!, Move It!\u00a0and\u00a0Touch It!, all written by Adrienne Mason.\u00a0She also wrote and illustrated the picture book\u00a0Super Red Riding Hood.\u00a0<\/p>\n Bea Mullins Takes a Shot by Emily Deibert Bea Mullins Takes a Shot<\/a>\u00a0is a middle-grade novel about a seventh-grader who joins her school’s first all-girls hockey team and develops a crush on the captain. Bea has never loved sports, but when gym class\u00a0is cancelled, her school announces that\u00a0students must join an after-school activity to replace it. Reluctant at first, Bea surprises herself by how much she enjoys\u00a0being part of the team, and when low funding threatens to shut the\u00a0Glenwood Geese down, Bea is ready for the fight to save it.\u00a0<\/p>\n Bea Mullins Takes a Shot<\/a>\u00a0is for ages 8 to 12.<\/p>\n Emily Deibert is a children’s book writer and astronomer from Toronto, currently living in\u00a0La Serena, Chile.\u00a0Bea Mullins Takes a Shot<\/a>\u00a0is her debut novel.<\/p>\n Old School by Gordon Korman In the\u00a0middle-grade novel\u00a0Old School, 12-year-old Dex\u00a0lives with his grandmother at\u00a0The Pines Retirement Village, where he has been homeschooled by the residents for the past six years. All that changes when a truant officer announces that Dex has to attend his local middle\u00a0school.\u00a0Dex\u00a0struggles to fit in\u00a0and misses his old life, but when he finds out that his new school is in need of some serious repairs, he’s\u00a0excited that he has the skills to help. Soon, Dex finds himself in a situation where his old and his new lives collide.\u00a0<\/p>\n Old School\u00a0is for ages 9\u00a0to 12.<\/p>\n Gordon Korman is an author of over 100 novels for young readers, including the Macdonald Hall series,\u00a0I Want to Go Home<\/a>, Mixed Up<\/a>, The Superteacher Project<\/a> and\u00a0Slacker. Born in Montreal, Gordon grew up in Thornhill, Ont., and now lives in New York.<\/p>\n How to Save a Library\u00a0by Colleen Nelson In the middle-grade novel\u00a0How to Save a Library, Casey feels like he’s finally found his place at both his new school and in the community where he is living with his\u00a0dad, who until now was\u00a0always on the move. Settling into life at\u00a0The Gates, he makes friends and grows to love his new home. But when the local library where his dad works\u00a0is at risk, Casey must face uncertainty once again. He joins the Kids Community Action Network to help save the library.<\/p>\n How to Save a Library\u00a0is for ages 8\u00a0to 12.<\/p>\n Colleen Nelson is a children’s and YA writer based\u00a0in Winnipeg. She is the author of more than 20\u00a0books for young readers, including Mystery at the Biltmore<\/a>,\u00a0If You Can Dream It, You Can Do It<\/a>, which she co-wrote with Kathie MacIsaac,\u00a0Pulse Point<\/a>,\u00a0Spin<\/a>,\u00a0Harvey Comes Home<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Harvey Holds His Own<\/a>.<\/p>\n You Started It\u00a0by Jackie Khalilieh You Started It<\/a>\u00a0is a YA romance about high school senior Jamie Taher-Foster. After three years with her boyfriend Ben,\u00a0Jamie is set on a check list of things to do before graduating. What she doesn’t expect is for Ben to come back home after the summer ends and break up with her. Now\u00a0Jamie’s new plan is to get him back by fake dating Axel \u2014\u00a0a chilled out guy she has nothing in common with except for being Arab. As Jamie reckons with all these surprises in\u00a0her senior year, and the anxiety that comes with it, she begins to understand Axel and herself even better.<\/p>\n You Started It is for ages 12 and up.\u00a0<\/p>\n Jackie Khalilieh is a Palestinian Canadian YA writer who lives just outside of Toronto. Her first novel,\u00a0Something More<\/a>, was shortlisted for a Ruth & Sylvia Schwartz Children’s Book Award and was named by CBC Books as one of\u00a0the best Canadian books for kids & teens in 2023<\/a>.<\/p>\n This Place Kills Me by Mariko Tamaki, illustrated by Nicole Goux This Place Kills Me is a YA mystery graphic novel set at the prestigious\u00a0Wilberton Academy, home of the elite and exclusive\u00a0Wilberton Theatrical Society.\u00a0Elizabeth Woodward is a talented and popular thespian who is starring as Juliet in the Society’s\u00a0performance of Romeo and Juliet. But Elizabeth is found dead the morning of opening night, and transfer student Abby is the last person to see her alive. Abby gets pulled into the mystery of Elizabeth’s death and what is really going on at her new prep school.\u00a0This Place Kills Me is told through letters, diary entries, news articles and comics.\u00a0<\/p>\n This Place Kills Me is for ages 14 and up.\u00a0<\/p>\n Mariko Tamaki is a Toronto-born writer.\u00a0Her other books include the YA novels\u00a0(you) Set Me On Fire<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Saving Montgomery Sole<\/a>.\u00a0She’s also the author of many superhero comics for DC Comics, Darkhorse and Marvel. In 2024, she won three Eisner Awards for the graphic novel\u00a0Roaming<\/a>, created with her cousin Jillian Tamaki, and in 2025 she won the Eisner Award for\u00a0best limited series<\/a>\u00a0for Zatanna: Bring Down the House, which she created with Spanish artist Javier Rodriguez.<\/p>\n Nicole Goux is\u00a0an Eisner-nominated illustrator and cartoonist\u00a0based in Los Angeles.\u00a0<\/p>\n LISTEN | Mariko Tamaki and Jillian Tamaki\u00a0on\u00a0The Next Chapter<\/p>\n The Next ChapterMariko and Jillian Tamaki on Roaming and exploring New York City with college friends<\/p>\n A Mastery of Monsters by Liselle Sambury A Mastery of Monsters<\/a>\u00a0is the first novel in a YA dark academia series about a secret society of shocking monsters and one girl’s quest to save her brother. Everyone thinks that August’s brother ran away on his own accord before their sophomore year, but August is doubtful. After she\u00a0is attacked by a large and terrifying monster, August\u00a0reluctantly strikes a\u00a0deal with\u00a0Virgil Hawthorne. A monstrous form lies\u00a0within Virgil, and August must partner with it\u00a0to keep him tame, entering them both into a competition with deadly consequences.<\/p>\n A Mastery of Monsters is for ages 14 and up.<\/p>\n Liselle Sambury is a Trinidadian-Canadian YA writer and blogger. Her debut novel,\u00a0Blood Like Magic<\/a>, was on the\u00a0shortlist for the 2021 Governor General’s Literary Award<\/a>\u00a0for young people’s literature \u2014 text. Her other novels include\u00a0Blood Like Fate<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Delicious Monsters<\/a>.<\/p>\n LISTEN | Liselle Sambury\u00a0on\u00a0The Next Chapter<\/p>\n The Next ChapterLiselle Sambury takes a page from Shirley Jackson\u2019s classic The Haunting of Hill House in her latest book<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"With summer holidays winding down, now is a great time to emphasize the fun that can be found\u00a0between…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":98339,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[353,49,48,75],"class_list":["post-98338","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-books","tag-books","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-entertainment"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98338","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=98338"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98338\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/98339"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=98338"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=98338"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=98338"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/amoya-blackwood-is-brave-by-chantaie-allick-illustrated-by-aaron-marin.jpg\")
Amoya Blackwood Is Brave is a picture book by Chantaie Allick, right, illustrated by Aaron Marin, left. (Submitted by Aaron Marin, Tundra Books, submitted by Chantaie Allick)<\/p>\n![\"T](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/1756214055_43_t-is-for-terry.jpg\")
T is for Terry is a book written by Denise Dias, left, illustrated by No\u00e9mie Gionet Landry, right. (Scholastic Canada)<\/p>\n![\"Front](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/brianna-banana-helper-of-the-day-by-lana-button-illustrated-by-suharu-ogawa.jpg\")
Brianna Banana, Helper of the Day is an early chapter book by Lana Button, right, illustrated by Suharu Ogawa, left. (Darcy MacQuarrie, Orca Book Publishers, Ian Crysler)<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/the-world-of-maxime-by-lucile-de-peslouan-illustrated-by-jacques-goldstyn-translated-by-helen-mixt.j.jpeg\"){kind=spacer}
The World of Maxime by Lucile de Peslo\u00fcan, left, illustrated by Jacques Goldstyn, right, translated by Helen Mixter, not pictured. (Greystone Kids)<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/way-off-track-by-carl-brundtland-illustrated-by-claudia-davila.jpg\")
Way Off Track is a graphic novel by Carl Brundtland, left, illustrated by Claudia D\u00e1vila, right. (Jordan Nahmias, Kids Can Press, submitted by Claudia D\u00e1vila )<\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/bea-mullins-takes-a-shot-by-emily-deibert.jpg\")
Bea Mullins Takes a Shot is a middle-grade novel by Emily Deibert. (Yearling)<\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/old-school-by-gordon-korman.jpg\")
Old School is a middle-grade novel by Gordon Korman. (Sonya Sones, Scholastic Canada)<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/how-to-save-a-library-by-colleen-nelson.jpg\")
How to Save a Library is a children’s book by Colleen Nelson. (Pajama Press, colleennelsonauthor.com)<\/p>\n![\"You](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/you-started-it-by-jackie-khalilieh.jpg\")
You Started It is a YA rom-com by Jackie Khalilieh. (jackiekhalilieh.com, Tundra Books)<\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/this-place-kills-me-by-mariko-tamaki-and-nicole-goux.jpg\")
This Place Kills Me is a YA graphic novel by Mariko Tamaki, right, illustrated by Nicole Goux, left. (Submitted by Nicole Goux, Abrams Fanfare \/ Manda Group, submitted by Mariko Tamaki)<\/p>\n![\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/mastery-of-monsters-by-liselle-sambury.jpg\")
Mastery of Monsters is a YA fantasy by Liselle Sambury. (Nene Fortier, Margaret K. McElderry Books)<\/p>\n