EASY

My Brave Year of Firsts: Tries, Sighs, and High Fives By Jamie Lee Curtis

“The first time I rode a two-wheeler alone, I crashed and my mom filmed it on her iPhone...” Whether Frankie’s learning to ride a bike, love her first dog, make new, or help out her dad, she discovers that trying new things is how she grows –and that being brave enough to do so is what growing up is all about.

Dragon Soup By Arlene Williams

Tonlu’s father, a poor mountain farmer, owes the village merchant a great deal of money. The merchant gives the family two weeks to pay or he will claim Tonlu as his bride. Unable to bear the thought of marrying the cruel merchant Tonlu will climb the mountain to the home of the cloud dragons –where she intends to steal some of their vast treasure.

FUN FACTS

Building Sandcastles By Dana Meachen Rau

If a holiday in a warmer climate is planned in your family, building sandcastles could be a fun activity for everyone. Great ideas for carving sculptures and some new techniques are sure to pump up your creativity.

Island: A Story of the Galapagos By Jason Chin

This fascinating book is the biography of a Galapagos island from its birth, through adolescence, to adulthood, and beyond. Well-researched facts combined with vivid paintings make this an innovative piece of narrative nonfiction.

JUNIOR

The Terrible Thing That Happened to Barnaby Brocket By John Boyne

Barnaby is an ordinary eight-year-old, but he is different in one important way: he floats. His parents want desperately for Barnaby to be normal, but he can't help who he is. When Barnaby finds himself on a journey that takes him all over the world, from Brazil to New York, Canada to Ireland, and even to space, the floating boy meets all sorts of different people – and discovers who he really is along the way.

Behind the Bookcase By Mark Steensland

Spending the summer at her grandmother's house is the last thing Sarah wants to do now that Grandma Winnie has died. Her parents have to fix the place up before they can sell it, and Sarah and her brother Billy have to help. But the work turns into a mystery when Sarah discovers an unfinished letter her grandmother wrote and strange things are happening behind the bookcase …

YOUNG ADULT

Code Name Verity By Elizabeth Wein

When “Verity” is captured by the Gestapo, she has to endure a spy’s worst nightmare: reveal her mission or face a grizzly execution. As she intricately weaves her confession, Verity uncovers her past, confronts her views on courage, failure and her desperate hope to make it home. But will trading in her secrets be enough to save her from her ruthless enemy?

Dodger By Terry Pratchett

Dodger may be a street urchin, but he finds ways to get by living in London’s sewers. He also knows a jewel thief when he sees one. He’s even willing to stick his neck out for an unknown girl, even if her fate impacts some of the most powerful people in London. From encounters with Sweeney Todd to his meeting with Charles Dickens, history and fantasy intertwine in this breathtaking adventure.

ADULT

Two Pints By Roddy Doyle

For St. Patrick’s Day, a delightful half-pint of a book in which two men meet for a pint in a Dublin pub. They chew the fat, set the world to rights and ask each other the really important questions like “Would you ever let yourself be digitally enhanced?”

Malarky By Anakana Schofield

Impressive debut novel from the Vancouver-based, Irish-Canadian writer, nominated recently for the Amazon.ca First Novel Award. This is a vivid and darkly witty look inside an Irish mother and farmer’s wife’s mind as she considers a mother’s love for her son, loneliness and tragedy.