Verity Vox and the Curse of Foxfire by Don Martin – Book Recommendation

October 22, 2025October 15, 2025 | Tasha

Verity Vox and the Curse of Foxfire by Don Martin

Publisher: Page Street YA

Publication Date: August 5, 2025

Reviewed from library copy

ISBN: 9798890032706

Verity is a young witch in the middle of her witch training where she has left home and spends each year in a new place. She is just ending a lovely year living near a bakery when a leaf appears to beckon her to her new assignment. Foxfire is a village separated from the world since their bridge was destroyed, leaving them isolated. To make it worse, there is a creature who has laid a curse upon them, ruining their crops, leaving them hungry and desperate. It is into this village that Verity arrives. Her magic will not be trusted to be helpful and she must find ways to take on the creature ruling over the town who continues to make deals with villagers where they often never return.

There are so many witch books, so please don’t assume this is just another one that you’ve read before. Martin has created a witch who has real power, real duties to service and a connection to the natural world that reads with such deep roots that it will echo in your bones. His story is marvelously complex both in the characters and their motivations and in the magical structures he employs. Nothing is simple for the reader or Verity in Foxfire, which is challenging and delightful. Add in a touch of romance and this is fire.

Impossible to put down, this is one of the best teen witch books out there. Appropriate for ages 12-18.

2025 Governor General’s Literary Awards

October 21, 2025 | Tasha

The Canada Council for the Arts has announced the finalists for the 2025 Governor General’s Literary Awards which celebrate the books by Canadian creators. The winners will be announced on November 6th. Here are the finalists in the youth categories:

Young People’s Literature – Text

Beast by Richard Van Camp

Best of All Worlds by Kenneth Oppel

A Drop in the Ocean by Léa Taranto

The Outsmarters by Deborah Ellis

Tig by Heather Smith

Young People’s Literature – Illustrated Books

Bog Myrtle by Sid Sharp

It Bears Repeating by Tanya Tagaq, illustrated by Cee Pootoogook

Oasis by Guojing

The Rock and the Butterfly by Kathy Stinson, illustrated by Brooke Kerrigan

This Land Is a Lullaby by Tonya Simpson, illustrated by Delreé Dumont

Night Light by Michael Emberley – Book Recommendation

October 21, 2025October 15, 2025 | Tasha

Night Light by Michael Emberley

Publisher: Holiday House

Publication Date: April 15, 2025

Reviewed from library copy.

ISBN: 9780823458165

In this graphic novel for beginning readers, two of the author’s recurring characters get caught in a blackout. It’s too dark to read bedtime stories, but one of them gets an idea. Grabbing a long ladder, they climb up into the sky with a big bag and gather up all of the stars. Released from the bag into the bedroom, it is suddenly too bright to read without wearing sunglasses. But someone else misses the stars in the sky. Perhaps giving them back is the right thing to do after all?

Written with a wry sense of humor and a delight in making a normal circumstance magical, this comic for new readers is a grand bedtime read. Done entirely in speech bubbles, the book is nicely paced. The illustrations are joyous and full of action, sharing the loving dynamic between the two characters.

A great pick for new readers looking for a graphic novel. Appropriate for ages 4-7.

Waiting for Hanami by J.P. Takahashi – Book Recommendation

October 20, 2025October 15, 2025 | Tasha

Waiting for Hanami by J.P. Takahashi, illustrated by HifuMiyo

Publisher: HarperCollins

Publication Date: February 4, 2025

Reviewed from Edelweiss e-galley.

ISBN: 9780063224971

When the cherry blossoms open, it’s time for hanami. Sai and her parents head to the park to see the pink blossoms and for a family reunion. But when everyone arrives, Sai feels like a stranger. When she meets Avi, a distant relative, she realizes they have things in common. Sai talks about asking careful questions of the customers in her parent’s kimono shop to get just the right one for them. Avi speaks through his art, creating universes on the page. The two want to meet everyone, but they aren’t sure where to start. Perhaps they can each use the skills they already have to form new connections, together. A book that celebrates thoughtfulness and quiet while also speaking to shyness and the importance of connecting with others.

A story completely suited to hanami. Appropriate for ages 4-8.

Wake Your Friday Brain Cells – October 17 Edition

October 17, 2025October 16, 2025 | Tasha

CHILDREN’S LIT

12 Books for Kids That Celebrate Neurodivergent Brains – Parents

2025 Bookish Gift Guide for Kids Ages 6-8 – Reading Middle Grade

Halloween is Coming! 20 New Books to Celebrate Spookytime – 100 Scope Notes

Lessons from Neverland: A writer reflects on the eternal wisdom of children’s books – Scroll.in

hao Lam wins Kirkus Prize for Young Readers’ Literature – CBC

‘They didn’t even read the book’: How children’s authors are being canceled over Palestine – The Guardian

LIBRARIES

Could you survive on a third of your income? Libraries, Cleveland Metroparks might have to – Cleveland.com

‘A First Amendment problem’: Lawsuit over book bans at Department of Defense schools – USA Today

How the local library can save you money – NPR

Librarian to Receive $700,000 for Settlement in Censorship Lawsuit – Inside Hook

Where Public Libraries Take on New Roles as Community Anchors – Bloomberg

YA LIT

2025 YA Romantasy Reads To Put On Your TBR – Book Riot

I am Here for the Vibes: Magick, Folklore, and Spirituality in YA Books, a guest post by Amber McBride – Teen Librarian Toolbox

This Place Kills Me by Mariko Tamaki – Book Recommendation

October 16, 2025October 15, 2025 | Tasha

This Place Kills Me by Mariko Tamaki and Nicole Goux

Publisher: Abrams Fanfare

Publication Date: August 19, 2025

Reviewed from library copy.

ISBN: 9781419768460

Abby is a new transfer student at Wilberton Academy, a high school boarding school for girls. She’s struggled to make friends, especially seeming to antagonize her roommate no matter what she does. In a time before cell phones, Abby spends her time listening to her walkman as she walks the crowded halls. When she sits with one of the theater girls after a school party, she picks up the script that the girl leaves behind. The next morning, that girl is found dead in the woods near the school. Abby refuses to accept that she committed suicide, becoming a target herself for others to accuse.

A murder mystery nests with a boarding school tale nests with an ode to the 80s nests with a critical look at what being a lesbian meant in that time. This graphic novel deeply explores loneliness, queerness and abuse. It is a layered book, accomplishing so much thanks to the skill used in the graphic format, using the limitations of the time period to create isolation, and a strong main character that readers will adore.

A masterpiece of a teen graphic novel. Appropriate for ages 13-18.

2025 Ignyte Award Winners

October 15, 2025October 14, 2025 | Tasha

The winners of the 2025 Ignyte Awards have been announced. The awards are given to speculative fiction, including horror, fantasy, science fiction and magical realism. There are several categories. Here are the ones that focus on material for youth:

OUTSTANDING NOVEL: YOUNG ADULT

WINNER

Heir by Sabaa Tahir

FINALISTS

Moonstorm by Yoon Ha Lee

The Poisons We Drink by Bethany Baptiste

Sheine Lende by Darcie Little Badger

Spells to Forget Us by Aislinn Brophy

OUTSTANDING MIDDLE GRADE

WINNER

The Last Rhee Witch by Jenna Lee-Yun

FINALISTS

Amari and the Despicable Wonders by B. B. Alston

Benny Ramirez and the Nearly Departed by Jose Pable Iriarte

The Creepening of Dogwood House by Eden Royce

Sona and the Golden Beasts by Rajani Larocca

Nightmare Jones by Shannon Bramer – Book Recommendation

October 14, 2025September 26, 2025 | Tasha

Nightmare Jones by Shannon Bramer, illustrated by Cindy Derby (9781773069463)

First meet Nightmare Jones himself via the poem about him. He has blood on his shoe, a swashbuckler heart and a soul of soot. One after another, monsters appear poem by poem. There are little ghosts who live in shoes. There is the man who collects teeth. You can visit a witch’s garden or find the monster with a hole in her head. Spiders and eyes make several appearances in the book alongside dark emotions. Your monster can be tangible or all in your head, or maybe a bit of both.

So much poetry for children is simplified and this book is marvelously challenging both in content being less than straight forward and poetry structure being played with constantly. The result is a book with lines that are eerie and strange, just right for odd children who enjoy the dark corners of books. My favorite poem is near the end of the collection, “The Strangest One” and the title is just right.

Dark, delightful and dangerously good. Appropriate for ages 8-12.

Reviewed from e-galley provided by Groundwood Books.

2025 Harvey Award Winners

October 13, 2025October 13, 2025 | Tasha

The winners of the 2025 Harvey Awards have been announced at New York Comic Con. The awards are given for the best of comic books and graphic novels. You can find the complete list of winners at The Daily Cartoonist. Here are the winners and nominees for the youth categories:

BEST CHILDREN’S BOOK

WINNER