Staff Picks

Browse a selection of titles handpicked by our knowledgeable staff. Explore books that inspire, captivate, and entertain across genres and topics.

Staff person holding up a book - standing in front of a shelf of books

Black History Month

Celebrate Black History Month with our book list honoring Black voices, stories, and achievements. From powerful memoirs and groundbreaking fiction to inspiring books for kids, these titles highlight the resilience, creativity, and contributions of Black individuals and communities.

Hush Harbor
Anise Vance
Onyx & Beyond
Amber McBride
Making History: Visual Arts & Blackness in Canada
Edited by Julie Crooks, Dominique Fontaine & Silvia Forni
Before the Ships: The Birth of Black Excellence
Maisha Oso
Perfect Little Angels: Stories
Vincent Anioke
Dear Black Girls
Shanice Nicole
Clara at the Door with a Revolver: The Scandalous Black Suspect, the Exemplary White Son, and the Murder that Shocked Toronto
Carolyn Whitzman
Ways to Build Dreams
Renée Watson
The Talk
Darrin Bell
Homegrown
DeAnn Wiley
The Kids Book of Black History in Canada
Rosemary Sadlier
In the Upper Country
Kai Thomas
Welcome to the Cypher
Khodi Dill
The Letters: Postmark Prejudice in Black and White
Sheila White
Call and Response: The Story of Black Lives Matter
Veronica Chambers
There's Always This Year
Hanif Abdurraqib
Trailblazers: The Black Pioneers Who Have Shaped Canada
Tiyahna Ridley-Padmore
Black Girl You Are Atlas
Renée Watson
Black Girl, Black Girl: Celebrate the Power of You
Ali Kamanda
Let Us Descend
Jesmyn Ward
It Ends With Knight
Yasmin Angoe
Be a Revolution: How Everyday People are Fighting Oppression and Changing the World
Ijeoma Oluo

Freedom to Read Week

Take a a thought-provoking journey through books that have sparked conversations and challenged perspectives. This list features recent and classic titles that have been banned or challenged in Canada and the U.S., highlighting the enduring importance of intellectual freedom.

 

Essex County
Jeff Lemire
When Aidan Became a Brother
Kyle Lukoff
Stamped: Racism, Antiracism and You
Ibram X Kendi & Jason Reynolds
A Day in the Life of Marlan Bundo
Marlan Bundo
Heartstopper
Alice Oseman
Adventures of Captain Underpants
Dav Pilkey
Lives Of Girls and Women
Alice Munro
Pride Colors
Robin Stevenson
Snow Falling on Cedars
David Guterson
Matilda
Roald Dahl
Of Mice and Men
John Steinbeck
The Golden Compass
Philip Pullman
A Jest of God
Margaret Lawrence
Bridge to Terabithia
Katherine Peterson
All Boys Aren't Blue
George M Johnson
And Tango Makes Three
Justin Richardson & Peter Parnell
Handmaid's Tale
Margaret Atwood
Charlotte's Web
E.B White

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