The shortlists for the 2025-2026 First Nation Communities READ have been announced. The awards are given for the best Indigenous literature from Canada and voted on by First Nation librarians from Ontario. The awards will be given during First Nation Public Library Week (October 6-10).
Welcome to the world of little rebels. You can be one too! Little rebels are looking for stories. They make poetry. They are dreamers and while rebellious they make sure to take care of others along the way. They know to turn to their ancestors when things get too big for them to change and also to change smaller things as they can. They learn and grow, making their own magic rather than waiting for it to happen.
Based on the author’s childhood experience at a freshwater lagoon and then her return in adulthood to find it dried up, this picture book explores nature with three BIPOC child characters who serve as additional voices in the story via their speech bubbles. Accompanied by animal friends, the three travel a landscape of frogs, plants and then desolation. Morales is calling for action, for caring for one another, for kindness and awareness in this book.
Strong and haunting. Appropriate for ages 3-6.
Reviewed from copy provided by Neal Porter Books.
Together, United by Tami Charles, illustrated by Bryan Collier (9781338752052)
This is the final book in the All Because You Matter trilogy. It is a picture book that speaks to the fact that all children were born of stars and brought to just this place via gravity and the Big Bang. The book is about using your voice and finding your gifts to share with others. It strongly points out that if we work together the impact of our efforts is far beyond what we could do alone. This is a book for our times and for children of today. As always, Collier’s art is tremendous, particularly when combined with the poetic skill of an author like Charles. Combined with the other books in the series, it is a call to action, a demand that we use our voices and an empowering book to share with children who may feel scared and powerless. Appropriate for ages 5-10.
Reviewed from e-galley provided by Edelweiss and Scholastic.
When one of the ducks wants to go to the lake, Eric asks about the monster that lives there. The other ducks assure him that that’s just a story and there are only fish and frogs in the lake, so he follows them reluctantly. When he peeks his head below the surface, he sees the huge horned monster there. When he shouts to the other ducks, they think he is joking and keep on swimming. Eric soon finds himself face-to-face with the monster, but it’s not quite what he expected.
Timmers builds wonderful suspense here as he fills the page mostly with green lake water with the ducks way at the top. The fish and frogs float past and the reveal of the monster is great fun and deftly paced for maximum impact. Though this is a book with a monster, there is a merriment that keeps the feelings light, plus the monster itself helps with that since it’s quite charming. A great combination of building story line and brilliant use of the page, this would make a great read aloud for older children.
A monstrously great book to sink into. Appropriate for age 4-7.
A merry look at two children playing together where one decides that they should be dogs. They will be the big dog and the other the little dog. They can wag tails, drink from water bowls, fetch big sticks and much more. Somehow though, the little dog keeps on not having much fun while the big dog is merrily playing. When even more dogs join them, the little dog has had enough! A clever look at how playing together means incorporating others’ ideas into imaginary scenarios. As always the illustrations by Blackall are charming. In particular, the little dog’s face captures his worry, doubt and how put-upon he feels.
A delightful doggy romp. Appropriate for ages 3-5.
Reviewed from e-galley provided by Hachette Book Group.
In a tiny red house on the edge of a cliff above the sea lives a little family. They spend their days fishing and rescuing dolphins from nets at sea and then carving fish figures at home. When a huge storm comes, the water almost reaches the house! The family work together to get the small house onto a handmade raft and leave their beloved space behind. They reach an even higher cliffside and the house is hoisted up to a new green-filled space where they can now live.
This wordless picture book takes its time to show the closeness of the family unit, how they spend their quiet days together. Because of that, the storm’s arrival is jarring in the best possible way, shaking the reader out of the bliss that was their home. The book stays fantastical in some ways with the house on the raft and the lifting of it to a new site, but there is also a definite tie to our world facing climate change and dangerous weather that move people to new places where we hope they will feel welcomed and safe.
Wordless and profound. Appropriate for ages 3-6.
Reviewed from e-galley provided by Random HouseStudio.
This incredible sequel to The Genius Under the Table continues Yelchin’s biographical story in graphic format. Yevgeny is living in Leningrad with his mother and grandmother in the same tiny apartment. He is now older, working on his art and doing scenery and design for theater. At an illegal art show, he first meets Lizzy, an American college student working on social justice issues. As the war in Afghanistan begins, Yevgeny is threatened with being drafted, escaping only by heading to Siberia to do theater design there. But there he finds himself institutionalized and abused.
A grim look at Soviet Russia with a first-hand account of the atrocities that happened at the hands of the KGB and in the name of Mother Russia. Yelchin’s black and white graphic format focuses on faces and characters while Russia forms an often blurred background. It gives the feeling of an old TV with a tightly focused camera. The effect is incredibly personal and offers no way for readers to look away.
One of the best graphic memoirs for teens, this is a must read and can be read as a stand alone. Appropriate for ages 13-18.
Return to the world of Impossible Creatures with this second book in the series. Christopher is delighted to be called back to help the Archipelago again, this time to save the dragons. It takes a lot to kill dragons, and they only trust Christopher to speak to them and rescue them. As Christopher travels to the magical world, he meets Anya, a girl with a special connection to royal birds and who has lost people to the poison being used to kill the dragons. Now they have a shared quest, to find an antidote and save Anya’s father from being accused of killing the king, her grandfather.
Readers’ hearts will soar along with Christopher’s in delight at returning to the Archipelago. Second books in series are particularly challenging and Rundell carries this off with grace and style. She gives readers exactly what they were yearning for, a grand adventure with beloved characters as well as new characters to connect with. Anya is a great foil for Christopher in the tale, which is less a tour of the magical land and more focused on a specific quest, yet feels incredibly expansive too. Don’t forget to say some of Rundell’s gorgeous language aloud, particularly her character names for the creatures, they are great fun!
A great sequel in a marvelous series. When does the third come out? Appropriate for ages 10+.
Reviewed from e-galley provided by Knopf Books for Young Readers.
Waking Brain Cells 