Novels and Chapter Books

Meet Kaboom: Zack Commonda, agent of F.U.S.I.O.N (First Universal Secret Indigenous Operatives Network), and the newest superkid on the block! Well . . . sort of. He’s still figuring it all out.

When we meet Zack, he’s being looked after by his super-cool Auntie Jess and dreaming of one day being like his hero, slick business tycoon Konstantin Pierce. Zack’s parents are away — yet again — for their important careers in “refrigerator sales.” Little does Zack know their true identities: Greywolf and Shadowbird are F.U.S.I.O.N agents on a mission to protect Indigenous artifacts from a nefarious tomb-robber!In this series launch, acclaimed creator and lifelong comics fan Jay Odjick introduces a superhero for our times.

Educator Information
Recommended for ages 8 to 12.

Additional Information
142 pages | 6.00" x 8.75" | Paperback

This thrilling conclusion to the Algonquin Quest series ends the Anishinaabe peoples' fifty-year odyssey from the east coast of Turtle Island to the mysterious shadow of the Rocky Mountains.

Algonquin Legacy starts out fifteen years after the Battle of Crow Wing River where the combined allies of the Anishinaabe had fought the powerful Lakota nation in the Lakota homelands. The battle ended abruptly when there was a solar eclipse - an actual event that took place on July 16, 1330, from 1:03 to 3:10 p.m., in the area where they were fighting. The warriors on both sides thought it was an omen and retreated.

When the Anishinaabe returned to their village the decision was made to go towards the western sun to settle. This decision came at great cost to the surviving family of the late Omàmiwinini (Algonquin) leader Mahingan. His son, daughter, and the great Mi'kmaq warrior Crazy Crow, went to the west with the Anishinaabe. Mahingan's wife and nephews, along with their wives, friends, and Mahigan's brother, Mitigomij, the greatest warrior of them all, who was also a shape shifter, travelled back to their homelands along the Kitcisìpi Kitchi (Ottawa River), splitting up the very strong family.

Educator Information
Recommended for ages 12 to 15.

This is the fourth book in the Algonquin Quest series.

This novel continues on in the tradition of the previous three with Native languages in the vernacular, teachings about the culture of that era, hunting practices and how they lived day to day. Life before the Europeans, before the Four Horsemen of the Native Apocalypse came into their lives; Disease, Alcohol, Guns and Religion.

Additional Information
318 pages | 5.50" x 8.50" | Paperback

There, in the middle of the forest, the young calf stood alone. 

When a young moose calf gets lost in a storm, he is found by Nana and Papa, a kind couple who offer him shelter and a name: Charlie. They bring him home to Matachewan First Nation, where two dogs, Spike and Molly, happily welcome him into their pack. Together, Charlie and his friends spend their days digging holes on the beach, playing fetch, and having fun. 

But Charlie is growing fast, and soon it will be time for him to return to the forest. With Spike and Molly by his side, Charlie sets off on an adventure to learn more about himself—and what it means to be a moose. 

Educator Information 
This illustrated chapter book is recommended for ages 6 to 9.

Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level: 2.9

The chapters are each titled with an Ojibwe word or phrase, and a glossary of the Ojibwe words and their pronunciations is included at the back of the book. Discussion questions and an author’s note can also be found at the end of the book, and a free lesson plan is available for download on our website. 

With an engaging story, lovable characters, and powerful messages, Charlie the Matachewan Moose is perfect for readers transitioning from picture books to chapter books. Meaningful themes of identity and self-awareness provide opportunities for discussion, making this book an excellent choice for homes and classrooms. 

Curriculum Connections 

• English Language Arts – figures of speech, reading, listening, discussing 

• Science – diverse ecosystems, animal behaviours and habitats 

• Personal and Social Awareness – personal and cultural identity, connecting to community, identifying values 

• Art – traditional Indigenous art styles 

• Social-Emotional Learning – recognizing and managing emotions, building positive relationships, showing empathy  

• Indigenous Knowledge and Traditions – Ojibwe language and teachings, cultural significance of animals

Additional Information 
112 Pages | 5.5” x 8.5” | Paperback | Printed in Canada 

In the fall of 1850, Faye and her family begin a long, difficult journey with thousands of other Ojibwe people to receive money the U.S. government owes them. But why isn’t the money being delivered to them in Wisconsin, as usual? Why must they walk and canoe all the way to the middle of Minnesota in terrible weather? These are questions Faye asks, but the answers don’t make sense. When her family reaches their destination, Mama is sick, and there is no money as promised. Will Faye and her family make it back home? Will there be a home to return to? In this gripping story with nonfiction backmatter—including an author’s note, discussion questions, and more—readers will learn about the traumatic events of the Sandy Lake Ojibwe removal in this Girls Survive historical fiction.

Educator Information
Recommended for ages 8 to 12.

Additional Information
112 pages | 5.25" x 7.50" | Paperback

Words bawling…Melody howling…Fierce Voice rising

Iz has everything she's ever wanted: she’s found the foster home of her dreams and is attending the prestigious music school she moved heaven and earth to get into. But secrets from her past keep threatening to spill into the present, and Iz is sure that her newfound loved ones will abandon her if they learn of her terrible history.

Despite these fears, Iz does her best to settle into her new life. Hoping to give at-risk children the musical experiences she longed for when she was little, she joins with her classmates and Teo (the boy she sort of kissed and then ghosted all summer) to start a musical outreach program at the community centre she used to go to.

She isn’t quite prepared for the chaotic group of children she’s paired with. And she’s even less ready for Skye, an angry foster kid who challenges everything Iz holds dear, gets a little too close for comfort, and has her own terrible secret.

To help Skye, Iz must make a dreadful choice—a decision that could free them both from their demons or completely destroy everything Iz has fought so hard for. Is raising her voice worth the risk?

Fierce Voice is the sequel to the White Pine Award nominee Iz the Apocaylpse.

Educator & Series Information
Recommended for ages 12 to 18.

This book is part of The Métier Quartet series.

Additional Information
280 pages | 6.00" x 9.00" | Paperback

It’s the summer of 1989, and Mia is on her own—adjusting to life without her ex-best friend, Lara.

Summer vacation starts off well enough as Mia binges MTV and learns how to jar fish with her aunty and uncle. Then her grandma starts feeling unwell. At first, Mia isn’t too worried, but when a call comes in from the clinic to say her grandmother has to go to the hospital in Vancouver, everyone realizes this is serious.

Mia and her mom and aunties head to the city to be by her grandmother’s side. Mia mostly ping-pongs from the hospital to the motel, but she also gets to see some of the city and eat (too much) takeout. She even joins a basketball camp at the Friendship Centre, where she meets a teen coach who inspires her to get back into the game she loves and delve deeper into what it means to be Indigenous. As time passes, Mia’s grandmother's health doesn’t improve, and she has to face the fact that her beloved grandma might not get better.

Reviews
"Engaging, endearing and earnest, Spencer skillfully weaves together the simple joys of life with painful truths.” - Emily Seo, award-nominated author of The Science of Boys

"Kim Spencer is a master at seeing the world through a child’s eyes. A moving tribute to life, love, family and community." - Kevin Sylvester, award-winning author of Apartment 713

“A sensitive and wise rendering of Mia grappling with grief, family and identity. Mia’s self-discovery journey and her celebration of family, identity and roots will be hugely appealing and comforting to tweens exploring their own coming-of-age trials. Told in elegant poetic vignettes, I Won’t Feel This Way Forever is an emotionally rich and profound story that resonates across generations and cultures. A slam dunk follow-up to Weird Rules to Follow.” - Salma Hussain, author of The Secret Diary of Mona Hasan, a Quill & Quire 2022 Book of the Year

Educator Information
Recommended for ages 9 to 12.

Fountas & Pinnell Text Level Gradient: Z
Lexile measure: 710L
Guided Reading Level: Z

Additional Information
192 pages | 5.00" x 7.50" | Paperback 

There’s no “brave” without “afraid”! Jo Jo is back to face her fears, in her own special way, in the fifth book in the beloved Jo Jo Makoons chapter book series.

Spunky Ojibwe first-grader Jo Jo Makoons knows a lot about bravery and boldness. Her cat, Mimi, is very brave when she tries new foods, and Teacher is very bold when he wears his ugly ties to school.

When Jo Jo is invited to her very first friend sleepover, it’s her turn to be courageous! Only she’s not quite sure how. Especially when scary puppets and dolls hide around every corner…

Full of spooky fun and after-school mischief, Jo Jo Makoons celebrates an Ojibwe girl with a big heart who finds her courage through the people she loves.

Educator Information
Recommended for ages 6 to 10.

This is the fifth book in the Jo Jo Makoons series.

The first book in this acclaimed chapter book series was an American Indian Youth Literature Award Honor Book; a best book of the year from Kirkus Reviews, School Library Journal, American Indians in Children's Literature, and the Chicago Public Library; a Charlotte Huck Award Honor Book; and a Cooperative Children's Book Center CCBC Choices selection.

Additional Information
64 pages | 5.12" x 7.62" | Paperback

Maddy’s Sash, by Marion Gonneville, with illustrations by Kate Boyer, is the story of a young girl who connects with her Métis roots while she spends time with her Moshôm, Kohkom and their special dog Max. Maddy has many adventures at her grandparents’ farm in northern Saskatchewan, including an exciting berry picking adventure, a dramatic canoe trip, and a rollicking barn dance.

Educator Information
Chapter book.

Additional Information
10 Chapters: 88 pages | Hardcover 

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, Greg and friends on vacation where they throw a birthday party on a train, rescue a sheep from a creek, volunteer for a wild night in the circus and compete in a rowboat race. Plus, take a peek at a few of Greg's vacation photos in a bonus mini story!

Reviews
“The ‘Meg and Greg’ series continue to deliver valuable phonics instruction through engaging stories. The series offers a rare and much-needed resource for children with dyslexia. The adult-child team reading approach is innovative and makes this series a valuable addition to any collection, particularly for libraries supporting diverse reading needs." - School Library Journal (SLJ) Series Made Simple

“While Meg and Greg: Train Day! is designed as a decodable book, the humour, the problem solving, and the variety of characters, together with entertaining graphics and the chapter book format, will appeal to all children in grades 2 to 4. Once the format is explained to the child and proficient reading partner, both readers will enjoy a fun, engaging reading journey together. Highly recommended.”- CM: Canadian Review of Materials

Educator & Series Information
Recommended for ages 6 to 9.

Meg and Greg: Train Day! is the sixth 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 (plus a bonus mini story!) introduce long vowels using vowel teams (long a: ai, ay, a, a-e; long e: ee, ea, e, y, e-e; long i: igh, ild, ind, i, y, i-e; long o: oa, ow, old, oll, olt, ost, o, o-e; long u: ue, ew, u, u-e). In addition to the familiar comic-style kids’ 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 1–5.

Fountas & Pinnell Text Level Gradient: L
Lexile measure: 460L
Guided Reading Level: L

Additional Information
160 pages | 5.87" x 8.25" | Paperback

Lights. Cameras. Hockey!

The school year is finally over and Eloise and Leon are back in Matimekush for the summer. But this school break will not be like any other, thanks to a hockey movie being filmed in the community! Is it possible that Leon will be in the movie? Will Eloise, who is interested in directing, participate in the project? Summer will be busy with twists and turns of all kinds for Leon, Eloise and their friends. It's the summer of possibilities!

Educator & Series Information
Recommended for ages 10 to 14.

Translated by Kateria Aubin Dubois, a freelance translator and a prolific beadworker. Her beadwork can be found under her Indigenous name, Nisnipawset. Kateri is from the Wolastoqiyik Wahsipekuk First Nation. She lives with her husband, two children and a fluffy cat in Terrebonne, Quebec.

This is the third book in the Nish series.

Additional Information
240 pages | 5.00" x 7.75" | Paperback

Delia’s mom has the most beautiful earrings.

They’re long and dangly earrings, and made from strands upon strands of tiny blue, green and white beads that make the earrings look like waterfalls. Delia decides to wear the earrings to school to show off a little to her friends. And it works—until one earring falls down the drain in the school bathroom.

When Delia confides in her grandmother about the lost earring, she learns that she can’t just replace it: her Aunt Maureen made the earrings for her mother to celebrate getting their Métis citizenship. Delia didn’t even know her family was Métis! With no way to replace the lost earring, Delia must own up to her mistakes, dive deeper into her Métis identity and use her storytelling skills to find a way to make things right.

Educator & Series Information
Recommended for ages 6 to 8.

Fountas & Pinnell Text Level Gradient: N 
Lexile measure: 610L 
Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level: 3.5 
Guided Reading Level: N

This book is part of the Orca Echoes series.

Includes a Michif glossary. 

Additional Information
96 pages | 5.25" x 7.62" | 27 b&w illustrations | Paperback

A sensitive middle grade novel in verse about a space-obsessed girl who dreams of becoming an astronaut — and begins to see the world differently when a substitute teacher enters her orbit.

Luna has always loved the night sky. She's an eleven-year-old who knows everything there is to know about space, and dreams of one day becoming an astronaut. The first step in her plan to get there is to ace the space unit in her science class and secure a spot in NASA's summer space camp.

But when Luna's teacher is unexpectedly replaced with a substitute, Ms. Manitowabi, who is looking to shake up science class by bringing in art, Luna's carefully laid plans are crushed. And that's not all that's shifting in Luna's life — changes at home and in her friendships have her feeling topsy-turvy. What on Planet Earth is happening?

Reasons to Look at the Night Sky is an endearing, poetic look at the inner world of a middle schooler grappling with change from acclaimed author and illustrator Danielle Daniel.

Reviews
"Luna’s love of space and fear of change may endear her to similarly minded kids. . . . A solid story about dealing with discomfort and change." —Kirkus Reviews

"This quick read has many STEAM applications and will easily appeal to aspiring astronauts while also potentially sparking interest in more-complex verse and narratives." —Booklist

"This book will resonate with readers who are navigating the trials of adolescence and the difficulty of embracing the unknown, as well as those interested in space and mythology." —School Library Journal

Educator Information
Recommended for ages 9 to 12.

Subjects / Themes: Astronauts & Space; Emotions & Feelings; Stories in Verse (Poetry)

Additional Information
328 pages | 5.75" x 8.50" | Hardcover 

Continue to celebrate Cree culture and being true to yourself in the second book in this vibrant new early chapter book series!

Sarah has spent the best summer visiting Kohkom and her best friend Eden in her home community, but it’s almost time to return to the city and back to school. Eden has been acting odd and distant the past few days, and Sarah can’t quite figure out why: when she finds a tipi surprise in Kohkom’s backyard that Eden has been keeping a secret, Sarah figures that must be the reason!

But as the girls prepare for one last sleepover of the summer, Sarah continues to feel butterflies growing in her tummy when she hears Eden speaking Cree. Eden knows so much more about the language and their culture than Sarah; could that be what’s creating distance between them? As the night goes on, a magical visit from Maskwa reminds the girls that their differences and their culture is what makes their friendship so special.

Sita MacMillan continues to explore topsy-turvy feelings of growing up as a young Indigenous person living away from their community, with magical illustrations from Azby Whitecalf that transport the reader into the forest once again with Sarah Ponakey.

Educator & Series Information
Recommended for ages 6 to 9.

This is the second book in the Sarah Ponakey, Storycatcher series, a vibrant early chapter book series celebrating Cree culture and being true to yourself.

Includes a Glossary of Cree words and English meanings. 

Themes: Bears, Jealousy, Tipi, Cree, Indigenous, Culture, Dreams, Storytelling, Friendship

Guided Reading Level: O

Additional Information
120 pages | 6.00" x 7.50" | Paperback

Spirit Rider is an enchanting mystery for young readers, blending friendship, Indigenous storytelling, and the supernatural. In this third book in the Lillian Mystery series, Lillian and her friends once again find themselves at the crossroads of spirits and secrets. When a mysterious boy on a bicycle appears outside Lillian’s window, his mischievous antics hide a deeper, more haunting purpose. With her gift of communicating with spirits, and the support of her friends Chloe and Grace, as well as her wise Kokum and Auntie, Lillian embarks on a journey to uncover the truth. Can they unravel the mystery of the Spirit Rider? Or will this spirit’s secrets lead them somewhere they never expected?

Reviews
"[Lillian stories are] from the spirit and are messages for all of our First Nations relatives that it is now time to rise up and take this responsibility back to being natural helpers, and to nurture our children who are struggling.”— Robin Decontie, MSW, Director, Kitigan Zibi Health and Social Services

"Spirit Rider was captivating. I was excited to read the more adventures of Lillian. The caregivers were very kind understanding and patient with Lillian. The book is a perfect example of the seven grandfather teachings; love honesty respect bravery humility wisdom and truth. My emotions as the reader was crying and laughing. Thinking of how the spirit rider was feeling through his young life and Lillians jokes she loved sharing even if they didn’t really want to hear. As a retired Aboriginal Indigenous social service worker it was heart warming and I embraced the book whole heartedly of our First Nation children who perhaps have the same story, With Kindness to the Author Miigwech for allowing me to read this it was an honour."- Stephanie Sandy, Nimki Beneshiinh Kwe . Nookmis of Chippewas of Rama First Nation

"Lynda Partridge books have a way of drawing you in. I couldn't put it down. Her latest book Spirit Rider has you from the first page. Her characters and character development are amazing and so relateable to both young and old, indigenous and non indigenous. Her ability to reach the reader both spiritually and culturally is so strong it's almost tangible. Her best to date." —Sandra Herkimer, Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation Elder

Educator Information
Recommended for ages 8 to 13.

This book is part of the Indigenous Spirit of Nature series.

This book is also the third book in the Lillian Mystery series. 

Additional Information
194 pages | 5.50" x 8.50" | 6 Black and White Illustrations | Paperback 

Ruined oatmeal, an unexpected rainstorm, forgotten lunch . . . Tana's day is going terribly. As she faces one disappointment after another, she feels sad and angry, uncertain how to turn her mood around. Can finding the good in even bad days lead Tana back to her happy self?

Educator & Series Information
Recommended for ages 6 to 8.

This book is part of the Tana Cooks! series.

Additional Information
64 pages | 5.25" x 7.50" | Paperback