Ah Ma's Home, written by Gillian Sze and illustrated by Leah Hong. Groundwood, 2026. $23.99 ages 4 and up

 

"Leaves drift in the pond, and I wonder what it
would be like to drink from it. But before I can 
dip my fingers in, Ah Ma takes my hand and 
pulls me close. She always knows what I am 
thinking. 

"The water I had was much, much clearer than
this," she points to the pond." 

Aiya, the young girl who narrates this story of her grandmother and the memories she has from growing up in China, is happy that they spend time together. On Saturdays, they walk to the park where they can enjoy the sights and sounds of nature. Aiya runs ahead and scares the geese that Ah Ma loves to watch. Aiya apologizes, then asks what her grandmother finds special about the geese. 

As they talk about the coming winter, Ah Ma shares that she didn't have geese or snow at home in China. Instead, they had a river with fresh, clear, and cold water from the mountains that they could drink. Ah Ma cautions Aiya against drinking the pond water in the park. The two continue to compare special memories from Ah Ma's childhood: rainbow birds, nests in walls of mud, watching baby birds cheep and grow, and nips from lizards that she liked to believe were really tiny dragons. 

Aiya loves to listen to Ah Ma's childhood memories. She wonders if her grandmother misses her home. Yes she does, Ah Ma tells her. In truth, while Ah Ma does miss her old home, her new home is the best place for her to be. She has a good reason for feeling that way. 

"Because home has always been with the people I love."                                                                                   

Leina and the Haunted House, written by Myriam Dahman and Nicolas Digard and illustrated by Julia Sarda. Kids Can Press, 2026. $23.99 ages 7 and up

 

"A thousand questions rushed through Leina's 
mind, but she treated the strange creature like
any other passenger. She punted through the 
storm and delivered him to the opposite bank.

                Without a backward glance, 
                                the toad entered the town."

Halloween will soon be here. If you are looking for a magical, slightly scary, new book to read to your kids or class, I recommend this one. It is an original fairy tale that has many of the elements we expect from such stories: magic, mystery, and a game with a welcome outcome. 

Leina pilots her ferry from the village side of the river to the forest where the villagers cut down trees for firewood and forage for food, despite warnings that the forest is haunted. One of her passengers is a young man named Oren. Leina has feelings for him, and is distraught when he fails to return to the dock to be ferried back to the village. She returns each day in hopes that he will be there when she arrives. 

When she is met by an elegant looking and human-sized toad who wants a ride to the village, she is surprised but accommodating. Mr. Spadefoot returns to the river in a furious state after villagers pelt him with rocks and treat him poorly. Upon arrival at the forest side, the weather turns and Leina is invited to have dinner with the toad. It is a remarkable feast in an equally remarkable place. Since the weather has not improved, Mr. Spadefoot suggests she stay and offers the choice between nineteen opulent bedrooms for the night. His only warning is that she should NOT enter the room with the black door. 

When she cannot resist checking it out, she finds cages filled with many different animals all staring at her, and able to share that Mr. Spadefoot has made them what they are. Oren is now a squirrel. When Mr. Spadefoot returns, he is suspicious of Leina's actions. Before retiring for the night, Leina challenges him to a game; he chooses TRUTH OR DARE. Through a series of questions and answers, Leina is able to trick him into revealing his true self and makes a threat he cannot refuse. The caged animals are freed from his spell. Returning to town with all the missing villagers brings a change to the way people treat the forest. Now when they take something, they leave something in thanks for the gifts it offers. 

This is a wonderful read, filled with compelling and intricate digital art that will inspire readers to go back and experience it once again.  

Meet Rosemarie Kuptana, written by Elizabeth MacLeod and illustrated by Mike Deas. Scholastic Canada, 2026. $18.99 ages 10 and up

 

"That summer, Rosemarie was allowed to 
go home. But she had trouble communicating
with her family. After being forced to speak 
English for months, Rosemarie was forgetting
Inuinnaqtun. She felt like a stranger."

I have an enduring attraction to picture book biographies for youth. They have introduced me to people whose lives I did not know, and I am grateful to those who tell their stories in ways that inform both children and adults. The Scholastic Canada Biography series by Elizabeth MacLeod and Mike Deas 
continues to inspire us with stories of Canadians whose contributions have had a lasting impact on readers. Since 2018, when they introduced us to Viola Desmond, there have been 15 books in this informative and fascinating series. I do hope their interest in and curiosity about others will keep the numbers growing. 

For this book, Ms. MacLeod worked directly with Rosemarie Kuptana to be sure her life is accurately presented in this very enlightening record of her many incredible accomplishments. Rosemarie has worn many hats since her birth on the Prince of Wales Strait, Northwest Territories in 1954. She went to residential school in Inuvik when she was eight and lived there for ten years. University in Ottawa called during the 70s, followed by years as an activist for Inuit rights, as well as broadcasting and journalism. 

Her countless efforts to preserve Inuit language and culture included protecting the climate, and speaking for self-government. Her work has taken her around the world and her support for Indigenous people in Canada helped lead to the formation of Nunavut in 1999. Rosemarie is the recipient of both the Queen Elizabeth II Golden and Diamond Jubilee Medals in recognition of her life's work.

Today, federal, provincial and territorial governments acknowledge the right of Aboriginal peoples to govern themselves. Ms. Kuptana has played pivotal roles in cultural and political advances, along with others, to make a difference for all of Canada. Her advocacy is a beacon for others, and has been rewarded with the honor and dignity she so deserves. Canadian school children and all those who read this new book are sure to be impressed by the legacy she is leaving through her hard work and consistent support of her people. 

The writing is accessible, a trait of this popular and well-researched series. The digital artwork is contextual for young readers, giving them an opportunity to see the beauty of the North, the workings of government and the purposeful life of a Canadian whose story is worth celebrating. Well done! 

Different Good, written and illustrated by Thao Lam. Owlkids, 2026. $22.95 ages 4 and up

"It was odd. 

It was strange.

Most peculiar ... 

and perplexing." 

There was a time long ago when a man and a woman lived a very normal and unchanging life. Every day the same until ...

Ahhhhhhhhhhhh

What a surprise for them when a new baby arrived! It turned their world upside down. Small, loud and unlike its parents, it was befuddling to its parents as it grew and changed. It liked to sing, eat leaves, and draw with sticks. What about grunting, eating meat, and playing with rocks? 

Watching that growing child use sticks to create a project that soon crashed to the ground infuriated the father, and attracted the attention of a hungry woolly mammoth. The father quickly retreated while the child struggled to keep up. The father bravely faced the mammoth, as the child hid. Dad made a tasty snack! Seeing this, the child summoned up ingenuity and musical aptitude to distract the mammoth with the enticement of a thrown stick. The snack was forgotten.  

The surprise ending will bring chuckles and a new understanding for being different ... different good! As we have come to expect from Thao Lam, the cut-paper art is remarkable and ingenious, telling this story with little text, admirable drama and spirit. It's a great tale to be read aloud; listeners will love it.

The Only Way To Dance, written by Cristina Quintero and illustrated by Eugenia Mello. tundra, Penguin Random House. 2026. $24.99 ages 3 and up

"You're going to need music.

Your dance might require 
violins, trumpets and a 
guitar or two. 

It might need nothing more than
a simple drum, echoing out of
the very tips of your fingers. 

By telling this story directly to her readers, Ms. Quintero makes it feel very personal and uplifting as she shares the notion that everyone can dance if they find the music that speaks to their very soul. It is a lovely celebration of the world of dance and the value of movement in a child's life. 

A young girl steps out into her community as rain patters down on her umbrella. She and her mother have a destination in mind; the dance studio down the street. She is told that, if she wants to dance, she will first need any kind of beat; a space that suits her; music and sounds; perhaps speakers.

"Dancing could be a tradition that
tells where you come from
or a family ritual that reminds
you of where you belong."

As she makes her way past various studio spaces, she is witness to wide variety in the ways people celebrate dance. When she gets to her own dance class, her exuberance shows in the greeting she offers, and she is READY to dance her way! In this book that follows Ms. Quintero's The Only Way to Make Bread (tundra, 2023), she pays tribute to dance from around the world. Her text encourages readers to discover the joys and benefits ot finding their own path to the kind of dance that speaks to their souls.

Ms. Mello's artwork was drawn by hand on an iPad, and portrays the brilliant color and the glorious movement of each of the dance forms. Using black-and-white to show the child guide as she moves through the studio while watching the many dancers is a lovely touch. Changing perspectives is a wonderful way to ensure careful attention to the beauty and lure of dance for all. 

Backmatter adds cultural context and information for the sixteen dances represented here. There is also a lesson for learning the Columbian cumbia.  Readers will want to return to the start and find each dance described. It's a visual delight from start to finish, and a perfect book for music classes, or a great readaloud anytime. 

A Riddle of Eels, written by Nicholas Day and illustrated by Corey R. Tabor. Random House Studio. Penguin Random House, 2026. $27.99 ages

"It is easy to see how people might disagree
about the terrifying, isolated Komodo dragon, 
it's terrifying! It's isolated! 

rar!

It is less easy to see how people might 
disagree about the eel. 
The eel is not rare. The eel is not 
terrifying. The eel is not isolated.
The eel is all around us.

glub!"

Sibert medalist Nicholas Day begins by talking about all the books we read that give us facts that relate to what is familiar to many. He also presents some of what we know about eels; but adds 'the more we study it, the less we know about it.'  He then suggests that it would be helpful if the reader could suddenly become an eel and pass along all that is learned while being one. In that way, this picture book would tell us all we need to know about eels. 

Mr. Day moves on to report that the many who have studied the eel in the past have made statements that they felt were true from their observations. They presented their evidence and it was accepted until someone disproved it with another theory; on it went from one conclusion to the next. 

"All this disagreeing went on for centuries, because eels are both 
fascinating and bewildering, and after a while, everyone 
managed to agree on this: 

Eels are really easy to disagree about." 

It should be easier. People could stand at the mouth of some European and American rivers and watch as a billion eels swam up them. Even being able to touch and hold them did little to help with the learning. Where did they come from? Where were the babies? How did they make those babies if there were any? There were no easy answers. 

After many years and much study, Danish biologist Johannes Schmidt observed that all eels were born in the Sargasso Sea, migrated to the rivers of Europe and North America, and returned at the end of their lives to spawn new eels though he never saw a full-grown eel there. We are sure of those things, and that their migration journey is unimaginable. How do they know where they are going? As we come to the end of this remarkable book, what have we really learned about them? 

For all we do know about today's world, there is so much left to explore and reveal. 

Chatty and accessible for his target audience, Nicholas Day has done his research and presents it with questions in mind and few answers despite all the scientific study. It has humor and lively appeal. Cory Tabor's mixed-media digital artwork places readers in the middle of an eel's world with his agile, undulating forms and historical and contemporary settings. Illustrations are filled with motion and wonder, while adding context for the learning. The endpapers are brilliant and the book's case wrap offers a giggle. A closing note from the author further enlightens the text, while also focusing on the steep decline in eel populations. Sources are included. 

Small-Girl Zora and the Shower of Stories: A Tall Tale Based on the Life and Work of Zora Neale Hurston. Written by Giselle Anatol and illustrated by Raissa Figueroa. Viking, Penguin Random House. 2026. $24.99 ages 4 and up

"By the time all those stories bubbled forth, 
and Jamie and Tea Cake had laughed until 
they cried, Small-Girl Zora wondered if she'd 
be able to lug the watering can all the way 
back home. 

But when she looked inside, it was almost 
as dry as a bone! Only a few drops!"

Small-Girl Zora is not the kind of girl who does what others expect of her. She likes to climb high in trees and 'play tag with the moon' to the consternation of all members of her family. She doesn't wear a hat when she's playing outside on a sunny day; she loses her sandals; and she likes to get messy when she's in the outdoors. She LOVES to tell preposterous stories, with encouragement from her listeners. There are those who do not encourage her plan for changing the world with her stories. Zora does not listen to their complaining. 

She expects to inspire tears of joy and laughter whenever she tells those stories. To that end, she takes a watering can with her to collect the tears and use them to help end the drought that is plaguing her small town. She begins with a rich farm family; they don't want to hear her stories. She persists with a story of a serpent which scares the farmer's wife, wakes the farmer from his nap and leads to Zora leaving their home as quietly as possible. Moving on to the general store, she tells a story of 'magically multiplying eggs' that have kept her full for days. Nothing stops her from embellishing that story with other details until the store owner sends her packing. 

She has so many stories to tell! No one is giving her a chance to make them cry and add their tears to her watering can. Her stories do work on Janie and Tea Cake; they laugh until they cry. The watering can is filling up and getting pretty heavy. When she looks inside, a few drops are all she sees. Sad and dejected, she sits herself down. Janie and Tea Cake offer encouragement as they say her stories wash their troubles away. On the way home, with rain falling gently, she is able to consider that her stories are being shared, bringing smiles of happiness. Suddenly and joyfully, Zora realizes a very important thing. 

"The drought was over! 
Her storytelling had worked!" 

Ms. Anatol's word choice in sharing the exuberance that was Zora Hurston's life is humorous and inspiring for the children who will have the good luck of hearing it. Raissa Gigueroa's artwork creates a setting that takes readers back to Zora's childhood home and the historical setting for her early life. She weaves the reality of Zora's life with the magic of her storytelling in spreads that will capture attention and inspire a closer look. An extensive author's note reveals Zora Neale Hurston's life story and her influences on the author.