Rise and Shine with the Latest Children’s Reads

We’ve got a bumper list of kids books for May and June that we can’t wait for you to jump into. From space-dwelling pets to adventures with Smurfs, and what happens when counting sheep before bed goes wrong, there’s something here to get all children curious about the world. Read on to find a bright new picture book, an epic young adult read or a colouring book adventure that will get young people excited about reading this summer.

Somewhere in the folds of the countryside, Old Oak lives content and fulfilled in his hedgerow by the barley field. When the farmer pulls up the Far Hedgerow one day, Old Oak is dismayed. Can he care for all the fleeing birds? The field is now too open, and the wind and rain are carrying away the soil! Will a new farmer make the field a happy home again?

When you open the door to a library, a world of opportunity awaits. No one believed this more than Andrew Carnegie. In simple prose, Larsen narrates the life story of Scottish-born Carnegie and his incredible gift to the world: over 2500 libraries, with over 650 built in the UK.

Leaving Dunfermline with his family as a child, he arrived in America poor, but with plenty of determination. Working hard, he made the most of his opportunities, and eventually created a steel empire which helped to shape modern America. While his harsh business practices tarnished his working class reputation, he was generous to those in need, and phenomenally wealthy, he never forgot the role a library had played in his success. Carnegie’s legacy continues to this day. He set up the Carnegie Hero Fund Trust UK and the Carnegie Dunfermline Trust. The Carnegie Medal is a literary award that was established to celebrate the centenary of his birth.

Binky the space cat is on duty, keeping watch for any aliens (bugs) attempting to breach his space station (house). Wait, there’s one (caterpillar) on the windowsill! Hmm, false alarm. It’s moving too slowly to be a threat. Except, over the next few days, it gets bigger. And bigger. Then, it builds itself a spaceship (cocoon) and emerges as a colourful flitting alien (butterfly) that – oh, no! – flies directly into the space station! It’s time for Binky and his crew (other pets) to contact P.U.R.S.T. (Pets of the Universe Ready for Space Travel) headquarters. Just like the original early graphic novel series, this TV tie-in series is full of high-camp drama, silly wordplay and delightful physical comedy. Bye Bye, Butterfly is perfect for fans who can’t get enough of Binky and his pals!

A girl and her dog are ready to make something. She gathers her supplies, and they head to her favourite workspace – only to discover that her neighbour, along with her cat, got there first! Hmm, well, maybe they could make something together? Magnificent idea! So the girl starts cutting, hammering and gluing, while her neighbour considers, measures and calculates. Her neighbour believes in always measuring twice and cutting once, but the girl thinks that takes way too long. Tensions start to rise as it becomes clear they have very different styles of working. And even different ideas about exactly what they’re making! Can they ever work things out as a team?

Blending humour with empathy to strike just the right note, Ashley Spires perfectly captures the emotional ups and downs of working with others in this celebration of collaboration in the creative process. This amusing and inspiring picture book is part of the Most Magnificent franchise that includes books, a TV series and an award-winning short film.

What happens when you pick up a pencil? How do you talk to yourself about drawing while you’re drawing? Where do your scribbles start and where do they lead? Are you ready to find out? With acclaimed art and editorial director of Illustoria and author-illustrator Elizabeth Haidle as your guide through the world of art, Drawing Is… is an essential and captivating guide to drawing, brimming with artful exercises and perfect for anyone seeking a creative adventure. If you’ve ever picked up a pencil, drawn, stopped drawing, started again, doodle without purpose, sketched with intention, been disappointed with your art and thrown it out, yet turned the page to try a new experiment… this book is for you. All you need is a drawing surface. A drawing tool. A dot. And a line. Whatever your skill level, you’re invited to draw along.

The Smurfs Archives Volume 2 continues to publish The Smurfs in their original chronological order while featuring insightful intros and historical context from legendary Smurfologist, Matt Murray. This volume begins with the 1964 story, “The Smurf King” and also introduces Smurfette from the 1967 story, “The Smurfette”. With 304 pages of Smurf stories and insightful, historical context, this is a must-have for any Smurf fans.

Who would have thought that the first extraterrestrial message received on Earth verified by the scientific community would come in the form of a book? And who could have imagined, when opening the book in search of answers, that it would be composed only of questions? Questions, questions, and more questions! What is it like to be human? And what is it like to be you? What is the purpose of gender? How do you know what you know? Is Earth a good home? How do you humans get along? And much more. This book for intelligent earthlings (of different ages and heights) poses questions about identity, gender, coexistence, social differences, art, and a long etcetera of topics that say so much about humanity and make us stop to think about our way of understanding and inhabiting the world.

With a style as intelligent and rigorous as it is fun and playful, Is There Anybody Out There? is a book to awaken curiosity, conversation, reflection, and debate.

After an exhausting and brutal journey from the countryside to the imperial capital of Parthania, Persephone has discovered not only the depths of her feelings for handsome thief Azriel, but the truth of her past. But the view from here is obstructed by the weapons of the evil regent Mordesius, who will stop at nothing to achieve his goals of royal power, no matter who stands in his way. Persephone and Azriel must strike a desperate bargain in order to save the realm, one that will bring them to the furthest reaches of the continent and resurface old traumas. Persephone has never needed Azriel’s teasing warmth more, but there is a price to pay for having broken her past promises. Danger lies ahead and behind; will the pair survive their fool’s errand, and will this quest see their romance grow cold – or will it burn hotter than ever? Odyssey is the dramatic, heartpounding second book in the atmospheric, deeply romantic and epic Fractured Kingdom trilogy.

The only life Persephone has ever known has been one of servitude, and she dreams of freedom, buoyed by a spirit and sense of humour that have never wavered. When a chance encounter with a handsome thief offers her a chance to leave, she grabs it with both hands and the thief, Azriel, will just have to keep up…

There are lots of things Duncan likes about bedtime – the stories, the pyjamas, the bubblegum-flavored toothpaste… The only thing he doesn’t like is going to sleep. And he’ll do anything he can to avoid it. Until one day, Duncan’s mum has had enough of his stalling. “Try counting sheep”, she tells him. So, he does. At first, it’s kind of fun. As he counts, each sheep appears, wearing its number like a race car, and leaps over the bed. But then comes Sheep #68, who hesitates. He needs a drink of water before he can jump. Then he has to go to the bathroom. Then he wants to put on running shoes. Will Sheep #68 ever do what he’s supposed to?

Kerry Lyn Sparrow’s hilarious picture book story offers a new take on a universal experience. Using delaying tactics to avoid going to sleep at bedtime is a common routine for young children, and they’ll love the sly humour when Duncan’s own tricks get turned on him by the (“sheepish”) sheep. In subtle colours with lots of telling details, Guillaume Perreault’s illustrations bring Duncan’s bedtime rituals and his unexpected sheep guests humorously to life. This book makes a fantastic, funny read-aloud, appealing to both children and adults.

A young swimmer panics in a crowded community pool, and it feels like there isn’t even any room for her tears. Out of place where she was once at home, the girl swims down, down, into the deepest deep… and embarks on a surrealist journey to the swampy world under the under. As she rests there with her feelings, the girl finds power in embracing who she is – even the swampiest parts. And her triumphant return to the pool inspires the other children to be their truest selves, too. This dreamlike picture book models creative ways for children – and adults – to visualise and understand their big feelings and accept their inner selves. Award-winning illustrator Byron Eggenschwiler is at his imaginative best, delivering art that pairs beautifully with author Dorson Plourde’s poetic magical realism.

Self-declared matchmaking GENIUS Emiko Kimori has already found success by helping her aunt find true love, so when the new girl in town becomes her new BFF, it’s only natural for Emiko to help set her up for social success with a suitable love match. Emiko lives with her Ojiichan in a small town on BC’s West Coast surrounded by friends and neighbours, including her childhood friend Kenzo Sanada, who wants her to spend less time meddling in every else’s love lives.

But Emiko can so clearly see who belongs together, even when her targets don’t know it themselves. She simply has to meddle – for the sake of true love! As for her own romantic life though – who has time for that? Emiko is far too busy with her matchmaking schemes, her brunch recipes, volunteering, her bustling social life, keeping up her grades, eating said brunch recipes and making plans for after graduation. Plans she will absolutely decide on soon. Definitely. Maybe? But when Emiko ends up falling for the very last person she expects, she finds herself caught in the tangled web of her own love matches. For the first time, instead of arranging from afar, Emiko has to figure out what it means to be in love herself, and that friendship and romance are more complicated than she ever imagined.

Back from their adventures on Zorglub’s lunar base, Spirou and Fantasio find themselves in a new pickle. Spirou Magazine is being sued for immorality and irresponsibility. The punitive damages bleed the coffers dry, and the two reporters have no choice but to sign a contract with an American corporation, the Viper, to bail the magazine out. But Spirou soon discovers that they’ve been tricked, and that in one stroke of the pen, he may have signed away his whole life!

Gabba Gabba We Accept You is a children’s picture book that tells the story of how a kid who was bullied and felt like a misfit grew up to become a hero to so many as lead singer of The Ramones. This story speaks to one of the greatest silent majorities in the world – all the kids who feel a little off. It contains an essential message that the world of punk rock has always meant to communicate. All of us, regardless of our diverse and non-exclusive design, have something that we are meant to have and share, in a place that we can call our own. As children, these things may appear to many of us as problems and shortcomings. The challenging passages of life that brought Jeffrey Ross Hyman to the place where he became Joey Ramone provide a natural lesson to young folks navigating their way through the complexities of growing up.

Working in collaboration with visual artist Lucinda Schreiber, Jay Ruttenberg guides the story of Gabba Gabba We Accept You in unexpected directions, with Lucinda’s lyrical illustrations and colorful design opening the sense of possibility in what feels like the path less travelled on every page.