Staff Picks

Kelly
The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater

It happens at the start of every November: the Scorpio Races. Riders attempt to keep hold of their water horses long enough to make it to the finish line. Some riders live. Others die.

At age nineteen, Sean Kendrick is the returning champion. He is a young man of few words, and if he has any fears, he keeps them buried deep, where no one else can see them.

Puck Connolly is different. She never meant to ride in the Scorpio Races. But fate hasn’t given her much of a chance. So she enters the competition — the first girl ever to do so. She is in no way prepared for what is going to happen.

See what Maggie Stiefvater has to say about how she started writing The Scorpio Races.


Kim
The Apothecary by Maile Meloy

It's 1952 and the Scott family has just moved from Los Angeles to London. Here, fourteen-year-old Janie meets a mysterious apothecary and his son, Benjamin Burrows - a fascinating boy who's not afraid to stand up to authority and dreams of becoming a spy. When Benjamin's father is kidnapped, Janie and Benjamin must uncover the secrets of the apothecary's sacred book, the Pharmacopoeia, in order to find him, all while keeping it out of the hands of their enemies - Russian spies in possession of nuclear weapons. Discovering and testing potions they never believed could exist, Janie and Benjamin embark on a dangerous race to save the apothecary and prevent impending disaster.

Visit the official site for The Apothecary!


Karin
Peaceful Pieces: Poems and Quilts About Peace by Anna Grossnickle Hines

n this evocative collection of poems illustrated by beautiful handmade quilts, Anna Grossnickle Hines explores peace in all its various and sometimes surprising forms: from peace at home to peace on a worldwide scale to peace within oneself. Pondering the meaning of peace and its fleeting nature, this book compels each of us to discover and act upon peace ourselves.

Find some preview pages on the MacMillan page.


Gemini
Picture A Tree by Barbara Reid

Picture a tree - what do you see?

From bare branches tracing the sky to an explosion of colour, a place for adventure or a friend to shelter us from the sun - a tree can be so many things. With lyrical text and her signature Plasticine magic, Barbara Reid captures these majestic beings: in every season, growing and changing, interacting with the people and animals around them.

Barbara Reid is the queen of plasticine. She has illustrated over twenty books and won the Governor General's Award for Illustration. The illustrations in Picture A Tree are phenomenal, with rich colours and incredible detail. There's so much to look at on every page.

Check out her videos on how she does it!


Katie
Airborn by Kenneth Oppel

"Winner of the Governor General's Award for Children's Literature and many other national and international honours, Kenneth Oppel's tale of aerial adventure has fired the imaginations of readers around the world. An instant classic"!


Here are a few links to websites that we recommend.

The National Arts Center
The New York Times - Books
The Forest of Reading. The Ontario Library Association's Literacy Initiative.
Jon Scieszka Worldwide
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