Canadian Librarians Pick Summer's Top Recommended Reads for Kids

All-Canadian list is part of annual TD Summer Reading Club

TORONTO, May 24, 2016 /CNW/ - No one knows great reads like your local library staff. And with summer just around the corner, librarians across the country have picked their 2016 Top Recommended Reads to get kids started on their summer reading adventures. The all-Canadian list of 10 English and 10 French titles features both well-known and emerging authors and illustrators and is the highlight of the larger Recommended Reads list. These recommended titles are a key component of the TD Summer Reading Club, Canada's biggest, bilingual summer reading program for kids of all ages, all interests and all abilities.

The top 10 English titles are:

• Friend or Foe: the Whole Truth About Animals That People Love to Hate by Etta Kaner and David Anderson (Ages 8-10)
• Garbage Delight by Dennis Lee and Sandy Nichols (Ages 1-5)
• The Nest by Kenneth Oppel and Jon Klassen (Ages 8-12)
• The Night Gardener by Terry Fan and Eric Fan (Ages 6-10)
• Sidewalk Flowers by JonArno Lawson and Sydney Smith (Ages 4-7)
• The Skeleton Tree by Iain Lawrence (Ages 9-12)
• Sometimes I Feel Like a Fox by Danielle Daniel (Age 5-8)
• This is Sadie by Sara O'Leary and Julie Morstad (Ages 3-7)
• Sweetest Kulu by Celina Kalluk and Alexandria Neonakis (Ages 0-6)
• Tokyo Digs a Garden by Jon-Erik Lappano and Kellen Hatanaka (Ages 5-9)

The top 10 French titles are:

• Bêtes de Guy Marchamps et Bellebrute (4-8 ans)
• La grotte de la déesse de Nancy Montour et Jared Karnas (6-9 ans)
• Papillons de l'ombre d'Agnès Grimaud et Camille Lavoie (10-12 ans)
• Quelle salade! de Virginie Egger (6-8 ans)
• Les vacances de Rhéa Dufresne et Orbie (3-6 ans)
• Billy Stuart, tome 4: Dans l'oeil du cyclope d'Alain M. Bergeron et Sampar (9-12 ans)
• L'arbragan de Jacques Goldstyn (6-9 ans)
• Pikiq de Yayo (5-8 ans)
• Le renard apprivoisé d'Alaine Stanké et Jocelyne Bouchard (9-10 ans)
• Le Pou d'Élise Gravel (4-6 ans)

All titles are featured on the TD Summer Reading Club website.

"These great Canadian titles were carefully chosen to encourage kids of all ages to escape their everyday, step outside their ordinary and seek the unknown and untamed through reading," said Lisa Heggum, Child and Youth Advocate at Toronto Public Library. "Whether it's outdoors, outrageous or out of bounds, the unexplored is calling, and with TD Summer Reading Club books, activities, and an unleashed imagination, kids can let go and find their wild this summer. There's simply no better way to get kids excited about summer reading."

Studies show that kids who keep reading throughout the summer do better when they return to school in the fall. The TD Summer Reading Club, which will host a national registration drive on Saturday June 25, is a great way to keep kids engaged with reading. The free program is co-created and delivered by over 2,000 public libraries across Canada. Developed by Toronto Public Library, in partnership with Library and Archives Canada and generously sponsored by TD Bank Group, the Club celebrates Canadian authors, illustrators and stories and is designed to inspire kids to explore the fun of reading their way – the key to building a lifelong love of reading.

SOURCE TD Summer Reading Club

Image with caption: "Top Recommended Reads for Kids (CNW Group/TD Summer Reading Club)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20160524_C6725_PHOTO_EN_696142.jpg

about the Top Recommended Reads or about the TD Summer Reading Club at your local library, contact: Jennifer Schmitt, TD Summer Reading Club Project Lead, [email protected], 416-393-7507