Top Grade: K-8 selections, Spring 2015

We get in position, about to start,
over the thumps of every heart—
the ones on the rink,
and the ones that came
to watch a thrilling
hockey game.

Third in Loris Lesynski’s popular Crazy About series, is this new collection all about hockey. In more than 40 bouncy poems, Lesynski’s signature humor and style shine through as she captures the joys, thrills, and challenges of one of the most popular sports in North America.

As with their previous collaborations, Crazy About Soccer! and Cra …

One spring, a nine-year-old Cree boy is visited by a master soapstone carver named Lindy, who gives him four pieces of soapstone. The primary secret to carving, the boy learns, is recognizing that each piece of soapstone already holds its true form inside. Lindy teaches the boy to listen to the soapstone and look to the world around him for signs as to what to carve. As the seasons change, the young boy’s experiences lend him opportunities to develop his carving skills and become attuned to th …

After years of being passed around to various relatives, Cassandra Jovanovich has found a home where she feels she belongs. All she wants to do is forget her past and pursue her dream of becoming an actress. But her new friend, Leanna Mets, "the most annoying person she has ever met," wants to know how Cassandra became an orphan, and encourages her to write her story. Cassandra’s memories reveal how the death of her grandmother and the cruelty of the other adults in her life turned her into th …

The Case of the Slime Stampede is the first book in the Tank & Fizz mystery series about two crime-solving monsters living under a mountain.

When Gravelmuck Elementary’s cleaning slimes escape and destroy the schoolyard with their acidic ooze, all claws and tails point to Mr. Snag, the school’s caretaker, as the culprit. Determined to clear Mr. Snag’s name, Tank and Fizz dive into the case, only to discover that the goop under Rockfall Mountain runs deep. The detective duo must outwit their …

Bog smelled the humans from across the lake. The stench floated high on the breeze, infecting the stars themselves, and then settled among the branches of the birch trees. What were humans doing in their hunting grounds?
When his father is mercilessly turned to stone by the Troll Hunter's followers, a cave troll named Bog sets out to find the murderers and avenge his father. But with no leads and little knowledge of the human world, Bog knows his journey won't be easy. Along the way, he meets a …

Finalist, Saskatchewan Book Awards, Best Children’s Book

Sisters Jennifer and Sarah were once part of a happy, stable family, but their idyllic life comes to an abrupt halt with the death of their mother. Unable to cope with his grief and the needs of his two young daughters, their father finds comfort in alcohol, gets fired from his job, and loses his grip on his family.

As twelve-year-old Jennifer approaches maturity, she starts to develop a tough exterior, especially when she attracts unw …

Bring the roof down. Rock the boat.

Webb believes that if you want to reach your dreams, you have to live life loud. Make sure that when you look back, you have no regrets. But when a shady music producer steals one of Webb’s songs, Webb finds out how hard it is for a kid on his own in Nashville to get justice. With the help of an unlikely ally, Webb discovers that he has what it takes to succeed: talent, determination and some good friends.

This short novel is a high-interest, low-reading level …

Immediately upon her arrival in London to train as a spy, sixteen-year-old Nicki Haddon is assigned to help the British Secret Service infiltrate a drug cartel that is smuggling large amounts of heroin into the country. Placing herself in the midst of a tough East End street gang, she uncovers a plot to create a super-potent opiate and also discovers a royal connection -- one that goes all the way back to Queen Victoria. Nicki puts her life at risk as she goes after the kingpin of the cartel. He …