Best Books of 2018

With 2018 rapidly coming to a close it is hard to resist looking back at all the amazing publications for children and youth that hit the shelves this year. As usual, it was a year of too many books and not enough time!

I have compiled a list (as difficult as it was) of just some of the best books of 2018. I selected only from books that were purchased for Collingwood Public Library’s collection, and are fiction for ages 3 to 18 years.

Picture Books

Dear Girl, by Amy Krouse Rosenthal

This beautiful book encourages readers to accept and love themselves as they are and advises them to be confident, curious, adaptable, and willing to speak up.

The Rough Patch, by Brian Lies

Farmer Evan and his dog do everything together and, especially, in the garden but when his dog passes away Evan lets his garden fill with weeds until a pumpkin vine brings new hope.

Love is Love, by Michael Genhart

Teased for having two fathers, a boy views his friend's traditional family as similar to his own and realizes he can counter the ridicule by taking pride in his fathers and the love that makes them a family.

Red Sky at Night, by Elly MacKay

Canadian (and local) author, Elly MacKay compiles a stunning collection of popular sayings that connect nature with weather forecasting.

Goat’s Coat, by Tom Percival

Alfonzo the goat is very happy wearing his new coat to stroll through the forest, but as he helps a series of friends in need, his coat becomes increasingly shabby.

Mixed: A Colorful [sic] Story, by Arree Chung

Each believing that their hue is the best, the three primary colors live in separate parts of the city until Yellow and Blue meet, fall in love, and decide to mix.

Grumpy Monkey, by Suzanne Long

Jim Panzee wakes up in a bad mood one beautiful day, but he keeps denying he is grumpy even as his friends give advice for feeling better.

Junior & Tween Fiction

The Night Diary, by Veera Hiranandani

Shy twelve-year-old Nisha, forced to flee her home with her Hindu family during the 1947 partition of India, tries to find her voice and make sense of the world falling apart around her by writing to her deceased Muslim mother in the pages of her diary.

Sunny and Lu, by Jason Reynolds

The final two volumes in Reynold’s Track series, each character uses the track and their teammates to deal with the challenges in their own lives.

The Calling of Morrigan Crow: Wundersmith, by Jessica Townsend

Morrigan Crow is now a proud scholar in the elite Wundrous Society, but must prove that she belongs in the Society, while battling a new evil. (*This title was included in the Autumn & Winter Preview).

Amal Unbound, by Aisha Saeed

In Pakistan, Amal holds onto her dream of being a teacher even after becoming an indentured servant to pay off her family's debt to the wealthy and corrupt Khan family.

No Fixed Address, by Susin Nielsen
Felix Knuttson is an endearing kid with an incredible brain for trivia. His mom Astrid is loving but unreliable; she can't hold onto a job, or a home. When they lose their apartment in Vancouver, they move into a camper van, just for August, till Astrid finds a job. September comes, they're still in the van; Felix must keep "home" a secret and give a fake address in order to enroll in school.

Mascot, by Antony John

Noah Savino has been stuck in a wheelchair for months. He hates the way people look at him now, like he's totally helpless. He's sick of going to physical therapy, where he isn't making any progress. He's tired of not having control over his own body. And he misses playing baseball - but not as much as he misses his dad, who died in the accident that paralyzed Noah.

Young Adult

People Kill People, by Ellen Hopkins

Follows six teenagers as they are brought into close contact over the course of one tense week, in a town with political and personal tensions that build until one fires a fatal gunshot.

Love and Other Filters, by Samira Ahmed

Maya Aziz, seventeen, is caught between her India-born parents world of college and marrying a suitable Muslim boy and her dream world of film school and dating her classmate, Phil, when a terrorist attack changes her life forever.

Check out some other top picks for 2018 here:

Goodreads: https://bit.ly/2ABGLGD

Quill & Quire: https://bit.ly/2UTFUZP

School Library Journal: https://bit.ly/2KmIpip