Finding Winnie: The True Story of the World's Most Famous Bear By Lindsay Mattick (Grades 1-3)

The Great-grandaughter of Canadian Veternian and Soldier Harry Colebourn, Lindsay Mattick's picture book follows a young black bear cub named Winnie (Winnipeg) who was bought by a young version of her great grandfather. The story encapsulate the relationship between a man and a bear beginning a journey that leaves an imprint on the annal of wartime history. The story then transitions into the daunting settings of World War 1, as Harry is summoned for duty in Europe; what woiuld happened to this beloved bear.

The Sonnet-Ballad By Gwendolyn Brooks (Grade 10+)

Gwendolyn Brooks was a prolific poet and the first Black woman appointed Poet Laureate of the United States. Her poem "the sonnet-ballad" is a meditation on those who are left behind; the spouses, children and parents who migh never come back from the front. Not only that, but in 14 lines, she also introduces the changes that happen for those who leave.

In Memoriam By Alice Winn (Grades 7-9)

Alice Winn grew up in Paris and was educated in the UK. She currently lives in Brooklyn and is the author of In Memoriam. It’s 1914, and World War I is churning through thousands of young men on both sides of the fight. Henry Gaunt, Sidney Ellwood and the rest of their classmates, are safely ensconced in their boarding school in the English countryside. Gaunt is busy fighting his own private battle–an all-consuming infatuation with his best friend, the charming Ellwood. When Gaunt’s family asks him to enlist, Gaunt does so immediately, relieved to escape his overwhelming feelings for Ellwood. To Gaunt’s horror, Ellwood rushes to join him at the front, and the rest of their classmates soon follow.

Little Boy Crying By Mervyn Morris (Grades 4-6)

Little Boy Crying by Mervin Morris reminds us that everyone experiences trauma and that trauma plays a significant role in shaping who we become. Memories of loss or slights from youth pervade our adult life. Beinga child of conflict is a life sentence not to be taken lightly.

A Bear in War By Harry Endrulat and Stephanie Innes (Grades 1-3)

Stephanie Innes is an Arizona-based journalist who writes about health care for the Arizona Daily Star. She is also an adjunct instructor of journalism at the University of Arizona. Coauthor Harry Endrulat lives in Southern Ontario and has written many books for the Max & Ruby series and The Adventures of Franklin and Friends collection. A Bear in War is based on the story of Lawrence Browning Rogers and his daughter Aileen. The book talks about a young girl who sends her teddy bear to her father who's a soldier during world war one. Her father unfortunetly dies in battle and his belonging are sent back to his family. Today the teddy bear is displayed in the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa.

Boys and Girls By Alice Munro (Grades 10+)

Canadian author Alice Munro is the winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2013. Her short story "Boys and Girls" follows an unnamed young girl as she navigates the expectations and limitations placed upon her while she works with her father on a rural farm. The use of characterization and symbolism in this story depicts the narrator's difficulty of developing her unique identity when she is forced to comform to inevitable gender roles.

Warning By Jenny Joseph (Grade 7-9)

‘Warning’ was written in 1961 and has received global success. It was written by Jenny Joseph when she was 29. Joseph has written many poems and anthologies in her life, however she might be most well know for being the model for the Columbia Picture logo, that is assumed to be the personification of the Statue of Liberty. Joseph unfortunately passed away in 2018 at the age of 85, but her legacy lives on. Every year on international women's day, March 8th, we wear purple to honor women, and that choice was inspired by Joseph's poem "Warning".

Ways to Make Sunshine By Renée Watson (Grades 4-6)

When Renée Watson was seven years old, she wrote a 21-page story and her teacher told her, “I think you’re going to be a writer one day!” And she was right. Renée’s been writing ever since: poetry, plays, and books, including The Ryan Hart series. Ryan is bright, spirited, and ambitious. Ways to Make Sunshine gives young readers a happy story that also explores how a young girl deals with difficult situations like her own self-image, her family’s financial struggles, and arguments with her brother. Renée believes that words are powerful and she wants to use her words to inspire, heal, and change the world.

Ordinary, Extraordinary Jane Austen: The Story of Six Novels, Three Notebooks, a Writing Box, and One Clever Girl By Deborah Hopkinson (Grades 1-3)

Deborah Hopkinson is an award winning American author of many historical fiction, non-fiction, and picture books. Before she started writing full-time, Hopkinson worked in several different fields such as a philanthropic fundraiser, a marketing director, and a director for foundation relations. Ordinary, Extraordinary Jane Austen is a bibliography of Jane Austen who is one of the most beloved writers of all time.

Dead White Writer on the Floor By Drew Hayden Taylor (Grades 10+)

Dead White Writer on the Floor uses theatre of the absurd and mystery novels to create a funny and thought-provoking play about identity politics. It follows six “savages”, noble, innocent, ignorant, fearless, wise and gay, respectively, who find themselves in a locked room with the body of a white writer, which they stash in a closet. No one knows how the writer died, or who killed him. As they accuse each other of being the killer, they each come to the conclusion that they are happy with their lives. They decide that they can use the dead writer's tools to write themselves a new destiny.

The Sercret Pocket By Peggy Janicki (Grades 1-3)

Peggy Janicki lives on theTraditional, Ancestral, Unceded Ch’iyáqtel territory and is committed to seeing their land safely returned to them or compensated for. As such, one of her goals is to recognize her obligations to the Coast Salish/Dakelh Law, governance, kinship, language, land, and culture. Peggy wants to raise awareness of Indian Residential School in BC Schools. With permission, she added the story to herrole-drama history lesson she had been teaching for decades. Mary was four years old when she was first taken away to the Lejac Indian Residential School. It was far away from her home and family. Always hungry and cold, there was little comfort for young Mary. Speaking Dakelh was forbidden and the nuns and priest were always watching, ready to punish. Mary and the other girls had a genius drawing on the knowledge from their mothers, aunts and grandmothers who were all master sewers, the girls would sew hidden pockets in their clothes to hide food. They secretly gathered materials and sewed at nighttime, then used their pockets to hide apples, carrots and pieces of bread to share with the younger girls. Based on the author's mother's experience at residential school, The Secret Pocket is a story of survival and resilience in the face of genocide and cruelty. But it's also a celebration of quiet resistance to the injustice of residential schools and how the sewing skills passed down through generations of Indigenous women gave these girls a future, stitch by stitch.

Only Drunks and Children Tell the Truth By Drew Hayden Taylor (Grade 10+)

Only Drunks and Children Tell The Truth is a two-act play written by Drew Hayden Taylor. It is the sister play to Someday. The play follows Grace, a victim of the Sixties Scoops, as she struggles with the news of her birth mother being dead. It follows Grace and her biological sister as they work through their relationship and their traumas of growing up. It is a play that only requires four people; Grace, her sister Barb, Rodney (Barb's partner) and Tonto (Rodney's brother). It is easy to read and has both humorous and heartfelt moments.

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian By Sherman Alexie (Grades 7-9)

Sherman Alexie is a Native American novelist, short story writer, poet, screenwriter, and filmaker. He grew up on the Spokane Indian Reserve and now lives in Seattle, Washington. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian is a first person novel in the perspective of Native American teenager Arnold Spirit Jr. who is determined to take his future in his own hands. Arnold leaves his school on the rez to attend an all-white highschool where he is the only Indian.

Indian Horse By Richard Wagamese (Grades 10+)

Richard Wagamese was an Ojibwe author from the Wabaseemoong Independent Nations in Northwestern Ontario. He is best known for his novel Indian Horse, which centers on Saul Indian Horse, a Residential school survivor who becomes a talented hockey player, however, his past traumas resurface in his adulthood.

Little Moons By Jen Storm (Grades 7-9)

Jen Storm is an Ojibwe writer Couchiching First Nation in Northwestern Ontario. Little Moons explores the many ways that families cope with greif after a death in the family. Jen Storm presents the mourning traditions and culture of her Ojibwe heritage.

Shin-chi's Canoe By Nicola I. Campbell (Grades 1-3)

Nicola I. Campbell is a Nłeʔkepmx, Syilx, and Metis poet, author, and educator who lives in British Columbia. She has written many award winning books incorporating her indigenous culture, the most famous being Shi-shi-etko and Shin-chi's Canoe. Shin-chi's Canoe won the 2009 TD Canadian Children's Literature Award and was a finalist for two other awards in 2009 and 2010. Shin-chi's Canoe is the sequel to Shi-shi-etko and explores the story of 6 year old Shin-chi while he's at residential school.

Girls Like Girls By Hayley Kiyoko (Grades 10+)

Hayley Kiyoko was a child actress and modle, she starred in things such as Scooby-Doo! film series, Lemonade Mouth, Blue Lagoon: The Awakening, Jem and the Holograms, Insidious: Chapter 3, and XOXO. However, as she got older, she started persuing things such as music and writting. In 2015 she released a song titled Hirls like Girld and in 2023 she wrote a book under the same named, based of the events in the song. The book has become a New York Times best seller and a movie.

Victories Greater Than Death By Charlie Jane Anders (Grades 7-9)

Known for her inventive, funny and unique speculative fiction writing, as well as being the founder of Other magazine and co-creator (along with Annalee Newitz) of the SF website io9, Charlie Jane Anders has made waves most recently for her contributions to YA literature. Featuring compelling and complex characters, and a thrilling story of alien origins, Victories Greater than Death is just the first in an award-winning YA trilogy, including the Locus Award for Best Young Adult Book. With themes of love, friendship, inclusion and anti-imperialism, this series is not only a thrilling, high-concept rollercoaster ride, it is, as one reviewer said, "a very genuine celebration of difference."

Key Player By Kelly Yang (Grades 4-6)

Kelly Yang  is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the FRONT DESK series. Yang immigrated to America when she was 6 years old and grew up in Southern California. She overcame poverty to go to college at the age of 13 and law school at the age of 17. She is a graduate of UC Berkeley, where she majored in Political Science, and Harvard Law School. After law school, she gave up law to pursue her passion of writing and teaching children writing. Before turning to fiction, she was also a columnist for the South China Morning Post for many years. Her writing has been published in The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Atlantic.

Téo's Tutu By Maryann Jacob Macias (Grades 1-3)

Chosen as one of Amazon’s Best Books of 2021 and named a 2023 Rainbow Book by the American Library Association, Teo’s Tutu tells the story of a boy’s first ballet class. Teo loves to dance whether itis the cumbia, or the bhangra, or ballet – and he loves the way dancing in a tutu makes him feel. When he has to decide what to wear to the big dance recital, Teo considers if being his authentic self will put him too much in the spotlight. This book is a celebration of gender-creativity, dance, and being true to yourself. Maryann Jacob Macias is a graduate of the City College of New York, CUNY, and the Solstice MFA Low-Residency Program at Pine Manor College. Her first picture book, Teo’s Tutu, is inspired by her Indian and Colombian heritage and her love for dance.