We Recommend: February 2026

February 19, 2026

Reviews of 12 new Canadian books by James Gladstone, Frances Lee, Kelley Armstrong, Kim Spencer, and more!

Picture Books | Middle Grade | YA/Teen | Non-Fiction

Picture Books

My Subway Runs
written by James Gladstone
illustrated by Pierre Pratt
Groundwood Books, 2026
978-1-77306-754-4  (hc) $21.99
978-1-77306-755-1 (ebook) $16.99
for Preschool to Grade 2

Picture Book | Lyrical Story-Poem | Subway Transportation | City-Life Experience | Mother-Son Relationship | Urban Exploration

What a thrill it is to experience a ride on the subway through the eyes of a child! The excursion begins in Toronto as a young boy and his mother descend from street-level to the underground platform below, where they immediately find themselves surrounded by a myriad of passengers from a variety of backgrounds and walks of life. Old, young, workers, school children... everyone squeezes aboard the subway as the doors slide shut, the journey commencing. The sights and sounds inside and outside the train fascinate the boy: "My subway runs past the bright lights of the dark tunnel... Slowing down for a long curve, hear the wheels screech sharply. That's when my hands cover up my ears." A feeling of elation occurs at one special point "...when my subway runs straight out through the sky" as it whooshes into daylight, crossing a bridge high above the city. Disembarking at Union Station, the boy accompanies his mother as she looks for work within the station's numerous restaurants before a subway runs them home again.   

Dedicating this publication "For all the grown-ups whose subway may not always run,” author James Gladstone affectionately depicts the joy and wonder a child experiences on this adventurous subterranean journey. His five senses activated, the protagonist revels in the numerous vignettes appearing before him, whether humorous, compelling, or unfamiliar.

Pierre Pratt's detailed, exuberant illustrations, created with vinylic gouache on paper, bring to life the eventful juxtapositions of a big city environment and its inhabitants in all their guises and glory, be they above or below ground level. A visual feast awaits!   

Senta Ross is a former elementary teacher and teacher-librarian in Kitchener, Ontario.   

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Samina Goes to a Wedding: Celebrations from a Bangladeshi Marriage
written and illustrated by Farida Zaman
Owlkids Books, 2026
978-1-77147-7659-1 (hc) $22.95
for Kindergarten to Grade 3

Picture Book | Traditions | Family | Community | Identity | Celebration

Samina Goes to a Wedding is an engaging and fun book that focuses on the cultural traditions of a Bangladeshi wedding. Samina is excited to travel all the way to Bangladesh from North America to attend her cousin’s wedding. At the airport, she meets her relatives, whom she has previously only seen through video chats. She feels love and happiness at the opportunity to meet and connect with her extended family. Throughout the book, Samina excitedly participates in many different events leading up to the wedding and, in doing so, learns about meaningful cultural traditions. These include the Johl Mol, where the bride’s home is decorated with twinkling lights to represent the festivity, attending the Hould ceremony, where fresh turmeric paste is applied to the bride and groom's faces, and helping to make the komla phul, which are marigold garlands handed out at the wedding. Samina eats tasty treats, gets intricate henna and wears colourful bangles! Each page of the book highlights an important tradition in bold and includes a sidebar with context and additional information. The back matter is helpful and engaging, providing a glossary, pronunciation guide, and an author’s note.

This is such a vibrant book that will capture readers’ hearts and minds. Readers will learn about specific Bangladeshi wedding traditions and connect with Samira’s experiences. The book centres on the tastes, sights and sounds of the wedding and shows diverse representations of the community. Through Samina’s experiences, readers will learn the importance of being proud of their identities, cultures, and traditions. The book is powerful because it shows readers that celebrations connect us and that they are expressed in similar and different ways. This builds empathy, open-mindedness, respectful curiosity and understanding of all people in one's local and global community. A colourful, joyful and interesting story that all will love!

Rabia Khokhar is an elementary teacher in Toronto and a PhD student at the University of Toronto’s Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE). She is passionate about issues of equity and representation in children’s literature.

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The Story Hunter
written and illustrated by Barbara Reid
North Winds Press, 2026
978-1-0397-1033-7 (hc) $22.99
for Preschool to Grade 3

Transporting readers back some 15,000 to 20,000 years ago near the end of the last ice age, Barbara Reid introduces us to a young boy living within a hunter-gatherer community. "My family are hunters. We follow the animals. I follow my family. We look. We find. We carry," he says as he gazes onto grasslands abounding with plants, fish, birds, animals and—yes—even mammoths. A special experience awaits when his grandmother leads an atypical hunting expedition deep into the mouth of a dark, looming cave. The youth's apprehension transforms to amazement when his grandmother's lamp illuminates the cave walls. Painted animals emerge into view. "ANIMALS!  Deer, bison, horses!... The animals play in our light. We follow the animals' stories."  In turn, the boy and his family paint their own story on the cave wall, employing personal handprints. Upon exiting the cave, the boy wonders who might discover the human tales left behind and vows to become a story hunter, carrying and sharing his community's chronicles into the future.

As a children's book author and illustrator, Barbara Reid knows much about the telling of stories with pictures. Inspired by the caves she visited in France, she was especially galvanized by evidence that children accompanied adults into the caves and participated in creating art. Her fascination has brought forth a most remarkable and intriguing account surrounding the discovery and origin of creativity. The simple narrative, relayed by the young protagonist, captures the sense of awe he experiences when he witnesses a sight so wonderful that it changes his life forever.  An author's message about cave art and the genesis of this book is included.

Created from modeling clay and acrylic paint for special effects, Reid's riveting illustrations are skillfully photographed by Ian Crysler. Each artwork can be examined numerous times, with details previously unforeseen often emerging: the seemingly endless grassland vistas... the ever-changing clouds in the sky... the foreboding cave's blackness... the magnificence of the cave wall's masterpiece. 

This is a publication to be savoured. Allow yourself to reflect on those times thousands of years past. Imagine, question, and feel what shape life may have taken. If only those prehistoric children could know that they are being recognized and remembered!

Senta Ross is a former elementary teacher and teacher-librarian in Kitchener, Ontario.   

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Middle Grade

Cover image of Ami Moon and the Galactic Peacekeepers

Ami Moon and the Galactic Peacekeepers: Book One
written and illustrated by Frances Lee
Levine Querido/Chronicle Books, 2026
978-1-77492-107-4 (pb) $23.99
for Grades 4 to 6

Welcome to the Galactic Peacekeepers Society. We welcome you to join us in making our galaxy a safe and beautiful space for all.

In the cluster Halo’s Edge in the galaxy Andromeda, is the Galactic Peacekeeper’s headquarters. Ami Moon, a young girl, is the only human peacekeeper and the only human in Andromeda for a long time. With her teammates Rosa and Sumo, Ami embarks on different missions to maintain peace in the galaxy, such as attending a birthday party, escorting Old Lady Saturn and assisting other aliens. But amidst the adventures, Ami is missing home: her mom, her dog and her planet. But no one in Andromeda knows Earth by that name or how to get back there.

The first book in a new trilogy, this graphic novel is a unique and imaginative story of a girl impossibly far from home. With similar vibes to animated shows like Steven Universe, Bee and PuppyCat and Adventure Time, Ami Moon and the Galactic Peacekeepers is fun and entertaining with an emotional heart. With bright colours and a whimsical art style, the eye-catching illustrations capture the reader, but there is so much to keep them reading. I specifically liked the characters, and Ami’s yearning for home emotionally resonated with me.

Kids will love the adventure and look forward to the next books in this exciting new series.

Em Hunter has worked in publishing for over a decade — including four years at the CCBC. They live in Toronto with their very fluffy cat.

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Briarwood
written by Natalie Hyde
DCB Young Readers, 2026
978-1-77086-819-9 (pb) $14.95
978-1-77086-820-5 (ebook) $13.99
for Grades 4 to 7

When Callie Garcia is admitted to Briarwood summer camp, she expects to be taking part in pasta crafts and outdoor activities. Instead, she’s given special access to a secret workshop where she can tinker with gadgets designed and run on a new and revolutionary (and secret) source of renewable power. Unfortunately, there is trouble afoot—someone is going to a lot of trouble to spy on the goings-on at camp. Stolen papers, trashed labs, and a mystery involving Callie’s own grandfather and Nicola Tesla all converge to a fever pitch when Callie and her friends find that the camp is under threat.

Natalie Hyde gives young readers a high-stakes game of intrigue set against a backdrop of family history and budding friendship. Readers will revel in the fun and fantastical camp where campers live in the treetops, and everything from message delivery to the aerial walkway system is mechanized through a special kind of steam power. Hyde’s characters are delightful and often humorous: special shout outs to Callie’s father who takes offence at the free sausage samples handed out at the grocery store (“They think I can’t provide? . . . We can buy sausages!”) as well as Callie’s sour-faced classmate and fellow camper Smedley (“It’s a family name.”). Callie herself, though somewhat self-conscious at first, is also brave and intelligent and not afraid to break a few rules—all traits that come in handy when dealing with scientific sabotage.

While many readers will enjoy the fun and mystery, some might find their curiosity piqued as well. Who was Nicola Tesla? And what kinds of renewable power sources are scientists working on today?

Ildiko Sumegi is a reviewer from Ottawa.

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The Setback
written by Lynn Leitch
Pajama Press, 2026
978-1-77278-362-9 (pb) $15.95
for Grades 3 to 6

Fiction | Sports | Resilience | Friendship | Summer Camp

Liam loves baseball and had planned to make the team with his friend Marcus and apply to Camp Jackman, a summer camp for student-athletes. However, Liam discovers that the best laid plans don’t always work, and sometimes life gets complicated fast.

After being cut from the team, Liam and Marcus’ friendship begins to fracture, Liam’s family is adjusting to his younger sister’s type 1 diabetes diagnosis, and Liam’s attempts to try out for another sport keep failing. When a final opportunity presents itself for Liam to complete his Camp Jackman application, Liam learns that while not everything may go to plan, sometimes things can still work out.

The Setback helps readers understand that life is hard, that sometimes things just don’t go according to plan, and that everything can seem awful, and that the people we rely on sometimes can’t be there in the way we need. Sometimes, life just doesn’t seem fair, but it’s how we handle it that’s important, making The Setback a great book to help readers understand that.

Meagan Richards started her library career in public libraries and quickly developed a soft spot for junior and YA literature through collection development and programming. She continues to read YA titles regularly in her spare time.

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YA/Teen

A Deadly Inheritance
written by Kelley Armstrong
Tundra Books, 2026
978-1-77488-803-2 (pb) $18.99
978-1-77488-804-9 (ebook) $10.99
978-1-04900-004-6 (audiobooks) $18.99
for Grades 9 and up

Lili Green just needs to make it through her final semester. She is barely keeping it together after her mother died, leaving her an orphan. Her world is turned upside down by a knock on the door from her mother’s former best friend. She breaks the news that she is Liliana Chamberlain, a billionaire heiress. This revelation is followed not only by a change in school, but also by a change in everything she thought she knew about her parents and their lives before her.

Kelley Armstrong adds a new thriller to her repertoire with this dramatic novel set in the world of elite private-school privilege. Armstrong does what she does best by turning this genre on its head through the exploration of mental health, relationship fluidity, and characters with depth and development that readers rarely encounter in this type of story. Her play on secrets through Westdale’s school society structure and mystery is fast-paced and will leave the reader hanging on every word.

Surprisingly for a novel in this genre, Armstrong also focuses on destigmatizing mental health challenges and demonstrating social scripts that teens can use to support friends who are healing or struggling. This was beautifully woven into the narrative and did not feel heavy-handed or out of place. This novel is perfect for fans of dark academia who are looking for a creative approach that does not rely on the expected mean-girl tropes.

Ashley Pamenter is a volunteer with the Ontario Library Association’s Red Maple and White Pine Steering Committees. She also co-hosts the virtual author visit series for the Cobourg Public Library. In her day job, she is a senior manager at Girl Guides of Canada (Guides du Canada).

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Here For a Good Time
written by Kim Spencer
Swift Water Books, 2026
978-1-77488-780-6 (hc) $26.99
978-1-77488-781-3 (ebook) $11.99
978-1-77049-972-0 (audiobook) $26.99
for Grades 8 and up

Set in the early 1990s, this story follows Morgan, a First Nation teen, living with her father in Prince Rupert. A successful fisherman, he enjoys music and socializing, and the book is sprinkled with references to the popular band Trooper. Morgan’s mother left when she was 10, and Morgan is raised with the support of her grandparents, Nana and Grandpa, emphasizing the importance of extended family and kinship.

Although academically gifted, Morgan finds traditional school settings challenging and attends an alternative school. Alongside her friend Skye, she navigates the complexities of adolescence, learning, and relationships. Nate becomes an important presence in her life, supporting her growth through shared study and encouragement, while her principal, Bryan, also serves as a mentor. When Morgan experiences a significant loss following a distress call from her father’s fishing boat, she is held by the care of Nana and Grandpa, Skye, and Nate. Through this support, she also comes to understand the impacts of residential school and her mother’s history, eventually becoming close to her mother after she returns.

The book opens with a trigger warning from Spencer (Ts’msyen Nation) and presents a fictionalized narrative grounded in the lived truths of residential school and its intergenerational impacts. Written in the first-person voice of a teenage girl, the prose is clear and accessible. While acknowledging the harms of colonial systems, the story centres on resilience, relationships, and community care. An author’s note at the end explains that even though the story is fiction, it was carefully written to express truths. The language is also outdated to reflect the period in which the novel was written.

This is a great addition to library collections.

Colette Poitras is a member of the Métis Nation of Alberta, holds a Master's degree in Library and Information Science and is the Indigenous Public Library Services Advisor for the Government of Alberta.

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This Wretched Beauty: A Dorian Gray Remix
written by Elle Grenier
Feiwel & Friends, 2026
978-1-25032-978-3 (hc) $28.99
978-1-25032-979-0 (ebook) $16.99
for Grades 8 and up

In London in 1867, 16-year-old Dorian Gray lives a claustrophobic life with their strict grandfather. When they meet Basil, a young and talented painter who takes an interest in them and paints their portrait, the friendship between the two thrusts Dorian into new worlds of molly houses and drag performers. When Dorian’s actions lead them down a path of self-hatred, Basil’s portrait begins to reflect Dorian’s inner changes.

The newest book in the Remixed Classic series, This Wretched Beauty is a retelling of The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde. This series features authors from marginalized backgrounds reimagining classic works through the lens of their own experiences, delving beyond a white, cis, and straight world.

In This Wretched Beauty, Dorian is nonbinary/trans feminine, and their knowledge of their identity takes shape within the pages. While changes like this make the remix unique, they also complement the original story. Beautifully written with lyrical prose that captures the time period in a way that is accessible to teen readers, the writing is easy to get lost in. While staying true to many aspects of the original story, this adaptation allows a happier, more hopeful ending. Highly atmospheric and able to tell an openly queer story in a way the original could not, This Wretched Beauty is a dark gothic tale that will be familiar to some and captivating to all.

Em Hunter

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Non-Fiction

Built Like a Bug: How Insects Inspire Everyday Inventions 
written by Anjali Joshi
illustrated by Kathleen Ng 
Annick Press, 2026 
978-1-83402-031-0 (hc) $27.99
978-1-83402-033-4 (ebook)
for Grade 3 to 6

Built Like a Bug introduces readers to the extraordinary diversity of insect life, detailing many enviable characteristics that include teamwork, navigational abilities, engineering skills and unique physical modifications. So inspiring are these attributes that scientists, architects, and engineers are attempting to replicate them through a process called biomimicry, aiming to enhance the quality and sustainability of human life. Readers cannot help but admire the remarkable survival abilities of various insects that have evolved over 480 million years. Anjali Joshji, a science teacher, effectively conveys several intriguing facts about their habitat, diet, and physical characteristics, explaining how these attributes could translate into benefits for mankind.

Each of the eight readable chapters focuses on the idiosyncrasies and characteristics of a specific insect. The text, presented in accessible, bite-sized blocks and sidebars, appears on attractive, colourful double-page spreads, interspersed with detailed illustrations and diagrams that both entertain and inform. Related hands-on activities are included, along with a glossary, references, and an index.

Scientists and engineers have drawn inspiration from insects' ingenious abilities, aiming to improve the lot of mankind. Dragonfly wings have inspired drones of vital use in environmental disasters, and the termite’s construction abilities provide solutions for building design as the planet warms. Even the characteristics of the much-maligned mosquito and cockroach are fodder for research into important medical innovations.

The book contains hundreds of fascinating facts that encompass various disciplines and will spark enthusiasm in budding entomologists and young scientists alike. A great addition for school, public and individual collections.

Aileen Wortley is a retired children’s librarian from Toronto.

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Gone Forever? Places to See (and Save) Before They Disappear
written by Erin Silver
illustrated by Xulin Wang
Orca Book Publishers, 2026
978-1-4598-4098-0 (hc) $26.95
978-1-4598-4100-0 (ebook) $21.99
for Grades 4 to 7

Part of the Orca Think series, this information-packed volume describes major regions of the world that are rapidly disappearing due to climate change. Four chapters demonstrate the destructive impacts of human activity on our earth. These are reflected in melting ice caps, flooding, fires, and habitat loss in places as far apart as the Antarctic, Arctic, Australia, California, the Galápagos Islands, and the Amazon rainforest. Many areas within these regions have changed or disappeared in the last fifty years. The facts are daunting, but they are tempered by the hope that immediate actions, big and small, can change the outcome.

This title covers a vast amount of complex information, but the facts are presented in a clear, conversational style and supported by numerous examples and statistics. Each location’s importance in the ecological system is clearly outlined. The specific impact of climate change upon the immediate region and its inhabitants is linked to how these changes have an impact worldwide. Revealing interviews with conservation experts from vets to architects to scientists show how each is making a difference. The pages are bright, with relevant photographs, engaging illustrations, and related sidebars. A glossary, index and an extensive resource list are included.

Emphasizing that young readers can also help conserve these locations for future generations, author Erin Silver offers tangible actions children can take in their daily lives to protect endangered areas of our planet, becoming activists and part of the solution. A good independent read and a useful addition for schools and libraries.

Aileen Wortley

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Shirley: An Indian Residential School Story
written and illustrated by Joanne Robertson with Shirley (Fletcher) Horn
Second Story Press, 2026
978-1-77260-454-2 (pb) $22.95
for Grades 3 to 6

Non-Fiction | Shingwauk Residential School | Resilience | Indigenous |Cree

Shirley’s first years were spent by the Missinaibi River, and she remembers them as happy times—that is, until the Indian Agent visited. After that, Shirley and her young siblings were taken to St. John’s Residential School, where they were immediately separated and would not be allowed any further contact while at school.

After St. John’s was condemned, they were moved to Shingwauk Residential School in Sault Ste. Marie, where the bulk of the story takes place. While there were many episodes of cruelty, Shirley also tells stories of strength and resilience—moments and actions the children took to keep their spirits up, even amidst the loneliness and fear. In the epilogue, Shirley explains that she left the school at 15, and that her happiest memories from childhood are of her family.

The authors have included poignant notes at the end of the story. Despite her experiences, Shirley worked on healing and became a leader. She was empowered to share her story to help propagate the truth about residential schools. Joanne Robertson notes that she hopes readers will continue to seek out more information about residential schools and visit the “Reclaiming Shingwauk Hall” exhibition space in Sault Ste. Marie.

The writing is heartfelt and authentic, presented from the perspective of a child in a residential school. While cruelty was embedded throughout the entire experience, Shirley also expresses acts of resistance, strength, humour, and resilience. Her personal agency and autonomy, while diminished through the experience, were not lost altogether. The bright illustrations superimposed over often dark and dreary photographs of residential school settings help to amplify that message.

Recommended.

Colette Poitras

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