Loan Stars is the readers’ 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 May Loan Stars Junior 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: @LoanStars!). You can also view these titles on CataList in this catalogue.

May 2024 Junior Canadian List

Loan Stars top pick:

Let’s Go!

by Julie Flett 🍁

9781771646109 | Sports & Recreation

Description:

Every day, a little boy watches kids pass by on skateboards, and dreams of joining them. One day, his mother brings a surprise: her old skateboard, just for him! haw êkwa! Let’s go! Together, they practice on the sidewalk, at the park, in Auntie’s yard—everywhere. But when it comes time to try the skatepark, the skateboarders crash down like a waterfall. Can he find the confidence to join them?

I’m Afraid, Said the Leaf

by Danielle Daniel 🍁, Illus. by Matt James 🍁

9781774880708 | Science & Nature

Description:

I’m afraid, Said the leaf. / You’re not alone, Said the tree. But who will comfort a nervous bird, a lonely crab, a lost wolf? How can a horse find warmth, a snail some cheer, a child some rest? Through a series of amusing and soothing exchanges, this deceptively simple and profound picture book depicts different pairings to celebrate interconnectedness and underlines the importance of caring for every living organism to ensure a strong and healthy natural world. I’m Afraid, Said the Leaf invites young readers to understand that we all need each other for support and survival — and that we’re all stronger together.

West Coast Wild Baby Animals

by Deborah Hodge 🍁, Illus. by Karen Reczuch 🍁

9781773067476 | Animals

Description:

Wolf pups, bear cubs, whale calves and eaglets are thriving in the ancient rainforest, rugged beach and majestic ocean of the Pacific west coast. This sweet introduction to baby animal names and behaviours, with gorgeous watercolor scenes, will delight toddlers and babies everywhere!

Dalmartian

by Lucy Ruth Cummins 🍁

9781665911955 | Animals

Description:

A visitor from outer space comes to Stephen’s yard one night. It may look like a Dalmatian, but it certainly doesn’t act like one. At first, Stephen and the visitor get off on the wrong paw. They quibble over kibble, debate sleeping arrangements, and must abandon earth dogs’ approach to bathroom breaks altogether to keep the peace. Is a shared love of bacon a strong enough foundation for this ordinary earth boy and extraordinary out-of-this-world canine to learn to live in harmony?

Buns Gone Bad

by Anna Humphrey 🍁, Illus. by Irma Kniivila 🍁

9781774881262 | Comics & Graphic Novels

Description:

This story starts, as stories often do, with a tragedy. Three bunnies are left without their mother when she goes off to Brazil to learn jiujitsu.

The bunnies, Flop, Biggie and Boingie, learn some hard truths about life pretty quick: squirrels will take over your cozy nest as soon as you leave and refuse to give it back, dogs are to be avoided at all costs and raccoons will believe anything you tell them.

With quick thinking, ingenuity and maybe a little bit of raccoon manipulation, these three buns will take on all comers to be the rulers of the park. Will they win?

The Pie Reports

by Hayley Lowe 🍁

9781459838079 | Family

Description:

A love of pie brings a young girl and her grandfather together through good times and bad in this moving story about connection and compassion.

Noor and Granddad love pie. Lemon meringue, blueberry crisp, chocolate cream...they have a pie for every occasion and spend a wonderful summer together trying each one. When vacation ends, Noor must say goodbye and fly home. But despite an ocean of distance between them, and Granddad's declining health, the pair continue to connect through their shared passion for pastry by meeting for video chats. These weekly pie reports let them chat about what's new and, of course, discuss and eat pie!

Then one day, Granddad doesn't log in. He's experiencing more blue days and doesn't feel like talking. Noor decides to write down her pie reports, holding space for Granddad until he feels ready.

The Green Baby Swing

by Thomas King 🍁, Illus. by Yong Ling Kang 🍁

9780735269361 | Family

Description:

After Nana passes away, Xavier, his mother and Comet the kitten all head up to Nana’s attic to help clean it up.

At first, Xavier is a little nervous. Though there are no dragons up there, it looks like a dragon’s cave — it’s gloomy, dusty and full of cobwebs. But as Xavier explores the attic, he discovers all kinds of interesting things:

An old tricycle. Two monkeys made out of coconuts. A scrapbook full of photographs. A rocking horse with gold and red stars stuck to its neck. At the bottom of one box, Xavier finds a strange piece of fabric. It’s thick, soft and green, and it makes his mother’s eyes wet with memories.

As Xavier learns more about this keepsake, he discovers more about his family and himself in this gorgeous picture book about intergenerational love and the power of memory.

My Little Pony: Camp Bighoof

by Stephanie Cooke 🍁, Illus. by Kate Sherron

9798887240947 | Comic & Graphic Novels

Description:

Welcome, campers, to Camp Bighoof! The Mane 5 have taken over an old camp named after the elusive Bighoof creature (“Bridlesquatch” if you’re a unicorn, “Yakuti” if you’re a Pegasus), to teach fillies and colts about their powers. Plus, arts & crafts with Izzy, singing with Pipp, and obstacle courses with Zipp? What could be better?!

Surely nothing could go wrong, right? RIGHT?!

Noah Frye Gets Crushed

by Maggie Horne 🍁

9780063285194 | LGBTQ+

Description:

Noah Frye just had the Best Summer Ever. Not only did she have an epic time at science camp, but her new camp friend Jessa is going to Noah’s school in the fall. Noah can’t wait to introduce Jessa to her best friends Zoey and Luna when classes start. But when the friend group is reunited after their summer apart, something seems to have changed: Zoey and Luna have discovered boys, and now it’s all they want to obsess over.

Suddenly, it feels like Noah is the odd one out in their friend group, especially since Noah hasn’t ever even considered boys in that way. When Noah finds herself caught in a lie about having a boy crush of her own, she decides she’ll do anything to fit in with her friends again—even if that means using the scientific method. Noah’s crush experiment is simple: find a boy, fake a crush until it turns real, and get her friends back. But that might be easier said than done, especially when Noah can’t stop thinking about Jessa. What ensues is a hilarious and heartwarming turn of events in this queer contemporary middle grade story about friendship, first crushes, and self-discovery.

A Galaxy of Whales

by Heather Fawcett 🍁

9780593530559 | Social Themes

Description:

When Fern hears about a photo contest with a big cash award, she decides she’ll enter and win! After all, photography is her passion (and was an interest she shared with her dad, who has recently died). She knows she can take a prize-worthy photo of a whale during one of the whale-watching tours her mom runs.

But her neighbor (and nemesis), Jasper, is also planning to enter the contest. It’s another frustration for Fern while she’s already coping with the worry that her best friend, Ivy, might not want to spend time with her anymore. She’s hoping to use the prize money to buy something that will attract Ivy’s interest.

This summer story has everything: the trials and pleasures of friendship, a rousing feud and a touch of adventure, a beautiful exploration of healing after grief, a very moving finale, and a whole lot of whale-watching fascination.

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