Top Grade Fall 2017 Selections

Yulee and her four friends --- Nick, Pedro, Sally and Martin --- are taking a trip to her aunt's farm to pick apples and make an apple crisp for a potluck harvest dinner. Yum! But first, Aunt Sara gives the friends a tour of the whole farm, where they learn what it means to eat balanced meals, why eating local food matters and all that goes into getting food from farm to table. Who knew there was so much to learn about what we eat? It makes everything taste better!

Award-winning author and illust …

“The bond between Buddy and Earl is as strong as ever in their fourth book, as is the playful banter and cheerful artwork that capture their relationship so well.” Publishers Weekly, STARRED REVIEW

Buddy and Earl know that with the right education they can become anything — even a dentist or a hot-dog vendor! So they eagerly gather their silly, smelly supplies and head to school.

Soon after they arrive, their teacher, Miss Meredith, is called away and Professor Earl takes charge of the class …

In this warm and joyful picture book highly recommended by Debbie Reese, children learn Cree from Nimoshom, their school bus driver.

Based on the author’s memories of her grandfather, Nimoshom is not your average bus driver. He loves to drive the school bus, tell silly stories, and share his language with the kids who ride his bus.

Nimoshom and His Bus introduces readers to common Cree words and phrases alongside the common childhood experience of riding the school bus. A Cree word list is inc …

"Dear Reading Buddy,

My teacher suggested that I write to you.

I will tell you about myself.

My name is Saoussan. I am seven years old and I am in grade two now.

I come from far away."

Saoussan tells the true story of her family’s flight from war-ridden Lebanon. She wrote a letter to Robert Munsch, and together they made her letter into this book.

The story of a determined Ojibwe Grandmother (Nokomis) Josephine-ba Mandamin and her great love for Nibi (water). Nokomis walks to raise awareness of our need to protect Nibi for future generations, and for all life on the planet. She, along with other women, men, and youth, have walked around all the Great Lakes from the four salt waters, or oceans, to Lake Superior. The walks are full of challenges, and by her example Josephine-ba invites us all to take up our responsibility to protect our wat …

Told entirely through illustrations, Letters to a Prisoner is a wordless story about the power of hope and the written word. Inspired by Amnesty International’s letter-writing campaigns to help free people who have been jailed for expressing their opinion, the book tells the story of a man who is arrested during a peaceful protest. In solitary confinement, he begins to despair—until a bird delivers a letter of support written by somebody outside the prison. Every day more missives arrive unt …

Now in paperback, a USBBY Outstanding International Book about the ups and downs of school and home life for one charismatic little girl with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

On slug days Lauren feels slow and slimy. She feels like everyone yells at her, and that she has no friends. Today there is a different bus driver; Dan and Sachi are sitting in Lauren's seat on the bus; and Lauren's teacher interrupts her reading time. It is definitely a slug day. But not every day is like this. On butterfly days L …

★"Smith's book is an effort that returns, offering diverse voices that invite the world into the reconciliation experience. Absolutely necessary.”—Kirkus Reviews, starred review

Canada's relationship with its Indigenous people has suffered as a result of both the residential school system and the lack of understanding of the historical and current impact of those schools. Healing and repairing that relationship requires education, awareness and increased understanding of the legacy and th …