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Crush by Svetlana Chmakova Yen Press, 2018, 9780316363235
Interest Level: Grade 5 & up
Middle school can be rough. For Jorge, it helps if you are big enough that no one bothers you, have good friends, and know what you want. But what happens when suddenly your feelings for a certain girl make everything else confusing and uncertain? Jorge will have to figure things out if he wants to survive the rest of middle school.
Coop the Great by Larry Verstraete
Yellow Dog, 2018, 9781773370095 Interest Level: Grade 4 & up
Cooper, an older dachshund, has been passed around from family to family and he is resigned to spending the rest of his life in the dog shelter. Then, one day, Mike comes along and brings Cooper home with him. Mike is a different experience for Cooper, he’s gentle and patient, he reads Coop stories of great, heroic dogs, and slowly Coop warms up to his new family. When Mike’s grandkids come to stay with them, Coop can tell that something strange is going on with the people in his new home. Will Coop finally find his forever family?
Random House, 2018, 9781524770457
Interest Level: Grades 4 & up
Nine-year-old Jaxon is forced to stay with a woman he thinks is his grandmother, but she’s actually a witch whose job it is to transport baby dragons to a safe place in another world. When Jaxon and his friends break the rules about how to care for the dragons, they must face the consequences of their actions.
Penguin Random House Canada, 2018, 9781328796172
Interest Level: Grade 4 & up
Sam and her dad struggle to keep their elephant sanctuary working. They think their problems are solved when an eccentric billionaire offers them a lot money to breed one of their elephants. When the elephant dies giving birth, Sam develops a strong connection to the strange woolly new baby. When the herd is threatened, Sam must try to protect her family – both human and animal.
Interest Level: Grade 4 & up
Sixth-grader Ethan Rylance’s dad is a famous comic book artist, so when a group project at school requires expert drawing skills, his group nominates Ethan for the job. The only problem is, Ethan can’t draw. Then Inkling, a magical blob of ink, rolls off the page of one of Ethan’s Dad’s sketchbooks and wants to help. But keeping Inkling a secret becomes more and more difficult, and soon, Ethan and his Dad find themselves in a lot of trouble.
McKellar & Martin Publishing Group, 2018
9780991678266
Interest Level: Grade 5 & up
This two-sided novel explores reconciliation through the eyes of three children. In Lucy & Lola, eleven-year-old twins learn about their Kookum (grandmother) and mother’s experiences in the Canadian residential school system. In When We Play Our Drums, They Sing! twelve-year-old Dene Cho learns about the impact of residential schools on the loss of their traditions and language. After speaking with Elder Snowbird, Dene Cho realizes that he can help change the future of his people through learning about the past.
Interest Level: Grade 4 & up
Thirteen-year-old girls Anna and Maggie are best friends even though they are very different. Anna has a large Polish family who struggle to make ends meet on their farm. Maggie is the daughter of the town’s RCMP officer and has trouble getting along with her mother whom she considers to be too strict. Both girls will face challenges that will test their friendship, their families, and their strength of character.
Interest Level: Grade 4 & up
When wildfires start ripping through the town of Pine Grove, eleven-year-old Caera Donovan’s family is forced to evacuate their home. But just before they leave, Caera’s dog, Mike, runs off and the family is forced to leave him behind, and head for safety. Devastated, Caera knows she must do whatever it takes to get Mike back, even if that means heading back towards the fires.
(The Almost Epic Squad)
by Kevin Sylvester and Britt Wilson (illustrator)
Scholastic Canada, 2018
9781443157797
Interest Level: Grade 4 & up
Jessica Flem needs a lot of tissues to handle her horrible allergies. When she turns 13, she finds she can transform those mucus-filled tissues into little helpers… helpers that might just help her save Dimly, Manitoba and the world from the evil Boss!
Interest Level: Grade 4 & up
When their queen disappears suddenly, Nix, a mischievous fairie is put in charge of keeping his forest’s village safe from humans. When a human wanders in, Nix uses tricks to attempt to drive him away, yet nothing seems to work. It seems Nix isn’t the only one with a surprise up his sleeve.