Loan Stars is the readersâ advisory tool that allows libraries across Canada to indicate popular upcoming titles. Using LibraryData, the library data aggregation service, the forthcoming titles with the most orders become Loan Stars top picks!
The September 2026 Loan Stars Jr. Canadian top 10 list features ten books that have at least one author, illustrator, translator, or editor (in the case of an edited collection of material) who is a Canadian citizen or a permanent resident of Canada.
You can see each book and find out a bit more about them in the list below, or you can download our poster if you want to display it, say in your library or on social media. (Tag us: @LoanStarsCA!) You can also view these titles on CataList in this catalogue.
September 2026 Jr. Canadian List
Loan Stars top pick:
The Neverfear
By Katherine Rundell, Illus. by Ashley Mackenzieđ
Description:
The highly anticipated third book in the #1 New York Times bestselling Impossible Creatures series. Join Christopher and Anya on their next daring adventures in the magical Archipelago!
Itâs the Midsummer Feast on the islet of Glimt, and on this magical moonlit evening, the word on everyoneâs lips is bandits. Reports of masked men wreaking havoc are spreading throughout the Archipelago.
Christopher and Anya have faced danger before; they think they are prepared for this threatâuntil they are ambushed and someone very close to them is kidnapped.
Their frantic quest to pay the ransom will take them on a wild journey across Glimouria. Together they must face giants, duel with pirates, and race against deadly karkadanns.
But just when they think they might succeed, there will come the most Herculean task of allâŚ
Witches of Brooklyn: S’Witch Back
by Sophie Escabasseđ
9780593813478 | Comics & Graphic Novels
Description:
The magic continues in this hit middle-grade series as our favorite witch-in-training takes on Manhattan! Perfect for readers looking for magic and friendship.
Effie’s actions have consequences and losing a duel and freeing the notorious Flower Sisters, she now has to face the Witches Council. At least she has her friends with her…almost.
Effie just wants to go back to life before the duel, but after a fight with Garance, she’s realizing that maybe there are some other problems she has been ignoring. Learning magic is one thing, but being a good friend and a good witch is something else entirely. Can she fix it all before it’s too late or will the Witches Council put an end to all her magical adventures?
Catch up with Effie’s adventures with books 1-5 in the hit Witches of Brooklyn series!
Haunted Canada Graphic Novel
by Joel A. Sutherlandđ, Illus. by Sara Harding, Maya McKibbinđ, Jackie Reynolds, and Josh Rosenđ
9781039711266 | Comics & Graphic Novels
Description:
Haunted Canada stories are reinvisionedâin graphic novel form!
Four more spine-tingling stories from award-winning author Joel A. Sutherland have been adapted into chilling graphic novellas.
In this third collection, horror lovers will read about:
- A swamp with a terrifying resident . . .
- An old soul, accused as a witch . . .
- A cursed and creepy asylum. . .
- A ghost seeking revenge for her dogs . . .
Each story is brought to ghoulish life by a different Canadian artist. This volume features Sara Harding, Maya McKibbin, Jackie Reynolds and Josh Rosen.
Meg and Greg: The Unknown Knight
by Elspeth Raeđ & Rowena Raeđ, Illus. by Elisa GutiĂŠrrezđ
Description:
Decodable phonics-based stories with silent letters, soft “c” and “g” and words ending in âleâ!
A decodable book featuring four phonics stories for striving readers, with special features to help children with dyslexia or other language-based learning difficulties find reading success.
Join Meg and Greg as they uncover a long-lost secret about a knight, solve a riddle in an old castle, enter a race wearing fancy-dress costumes and help a paleontologist who has made a huge discovery.
Meg and Greg: The Unknown Knight is the eighth book in the Meg and Greg series designed for shared reading between a child learning to read and an experienced reader. The four stories inside introduce silent letters, words ending in âleâ and words with a soft âcâ or âgâ. In addition to comic-style kidsâ pages, highly controlled and decodable prose pages gently increase the amount of text that readers experience and provide even more opportunities to practice the reading skills previously introduced in Meg and Greg books 1â7.
Witchward Bound
by Erin Bowđ, Illus. by Kelly Murphy
Description:
From Governor Generalâs Awardâwinning author Erin Bow comes a timeless tale of friendship and magic, delivered in a stunning, collectible packageâfirst in a new series.
In this instant classic, magical animals are on a quest to find their lost witch.
Once upon a time there was a pair of witchâs helpers: a cat named Butter and a raven named Owl. The cat knows he is destined to be a great heroâjust ask him. The raven wouldnât recognize destiny if she flew into it beak-first. They do not get along.
But then their witch vanishes, and Butter and Owl must quest to find her. To reunite their family, theyâll have to outwit sirens and a cyclops, gods and ghostsâand hardest of all, theyâll have to learn to work together.
Humorous and heartfelt, Butter and Owlâs first adventure shows what it means to be a great heroâand what it takes to be a good friend. With enchanting illustrations by New York Times best-seller Kelly Murphy and sparkling words written by beloved Newbery Honor and Governor Generalâs Awardâwinning author Erin Bow, this tale is a classic in the makingâa whimsical, witty, and warm story worthy of reading again and again.
The Inactivity Book
by Kyo Macleađ, Illus. by Tracy Subisak
9780593181980 | Social Themes
Description:
From the author of the Caldecott Honor-winning NOODLES ON A BICYCLE comes a poetic celebration of doing… not much at all.
Have you ever felt like becoming a perch for passing birds? Or curling into the corneriest corner you can find? Maybe youâve imagined yourself as a sleepy monument or even a sea sponge at the bottom of the ocean. If you have, then youâre ready to discover the magic of doing nothing at all.
Told in Kyo Maclear’s signature lyrical voice, and with Tracy Subisakâs whimsical illustrations, here is a funny ode to the lost art of loafing. In a world that often celebrates productivity, this picture book reminds us of the quiet, necessary joy of simply being. It’s perfect for idlers of all ages–because who doesnât need a little inactivity now and then?
Goodbye, Koi
by Jack Wongđ
9781338830996 | Family
Description:
The award-winning creator of the hugely popular When You Can Swim delivers another tender and visually stunning picture book about change, family, and saying goodbye.
As a young boy prepares with his family to leave their home â and the koi fish heâs always cared for â his world fills with questions. What will happen to his fish? Will they be safe and happy in their new home? Through his wonder and worry, readers glimpse the universal feelings that come with any life transition: curiosity, uncertainty, and the hope that we will be okay.
Lushly illustrated in the tradition of Chinese brush painting, Goodbye, Koi will resonate with any reader who has ever had to say goodbye to a pet, a place, or a way of life.
Candy Queen
by Katherine Battersbyđ
9781665951326 | Animals
Description:
Cranky Chicken and Speedy the worm are back in another sweetly silly graphic chapter book as the two friends banish a case of the flu, face an extra-spooky Halloween, and enjoy a wintry cabin getawayâsure to be beloved by fans of Narwhal and Jelly and The Bad Guys!
Cranky Chicken isnât feeling so hot; sheâs got the Chicken Flu, which makes her feverish, fuzzy, and extra cranky. Armed with an out-of-tune ukulele song, some questionable soup, and a very tight worm-knit blanket, can Speedy cheer Chicken up? Then Speedy faces fears and frights when Halloween gets a little too spooky for comfort. Can Chicken help Speedy find some calm? Later, a surprise family reunion of the wormy variety sees the friends taking a festive winter vacation.
These three delightful stories about friendship and caring for one anotherâinterspersed with laugh-out-loud vignettesâwill make readers fall even more deeply in love with their favorite BFFs (that is, best feathered friends)!
How Not to Rescue a Snail
by Naseem Hrabđ, Illus. by Kelly Collierđ
Description:
Everyoneâs favorite Snail returns in this story about overcoming a fear of change and using your voice
Snail is a big fan of tiny changesâlike wearing a fake mustache, turning the TV volume way down low, and staying up late with his grammy. Whenever Grammy Slug comes to visit, they do all the same things in the same order. But Grammy is adventurous, and one day on their usual walk she suggests they take a different path. Snail feels anxious about making a change, but with encouragement from Grammy he braves the new trail.
Snail starts to enjoy himself, but that all changes when a hand comes down from above, lifting him right off the ground and placing him somewhere new. Alone and afraid, Snail does what he always does when heâs scared ⌠schoomp! He hides in his shell. But Snail soon discovers that heâs not aloneâthe Shellstein family has also been ârescuedâ by the hand. The Shellsteins are terrified, and Snail realizes itâs up to him to get everyone safely home.
This fourth instalment of the sweetly humorous and heartwarming Snail & Stump series celebrates Snail as an unlikely hero and shows that even the quietest voices can be brave, helpful, and strong.
Paisley and Peck: Pizza Barn
By J. Torresđ, Illus. by Mike Deasđ
9781771476416 | Comics & Graphic Novels
Description:
Comedic duo Paisley and Peck return in a quest for something crucial to every aspiring food critic ⌠pizza!
Paisley has had enough of slop, once and for all. The trouble is, itâs hard to get your hooves on a real meal when youâre just another pig in a barn. Turnipâs mischievous cousin, a city mouse named Slick, visits the farm and sets Paisleyâs sights on the very finest dining experience: pizza! Slick hands Paisley and Peck a menu labelled âPizza Barn,â and Slick âborrowsâ the farmerâs phone to call in their order. Everything is great ⌠until Pizza Barn asks for a credit card number. Paisley is left hungry and hopeless, but Peck and Turnip come up with an imaginative solution and present Paisley with their own take on pizza: slop on a cracker!
With lots of laughs and a heartfelt message about friends who support your dreams, Paisley & Peck: Pizza Barn is a winning second installment in a graphic novel series about a pig and a chick who grapple with the self-discovery, rebellion, and awkwardness that comes with growing up.
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