Canadian Chapter Books for School-Age Kids

Jake Simmons hates his new home. The Regency is nothing more than floor after floor of peeling wallpaper and faded glory. But, with each passing day, the building reveals more of its mysteries to Jake. The occupants grow on him too. Unfortunately, Jake's feeling of belonging is short-lived: the city plans to demolish the Regency. He's summoned to apartment 713. But when he opens the door ... he travels to the past! Alongside Beth, his new friend and guide, Jake begins searching for any clue that might help him save the Regency.

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Beatrice, a young girl of uncertain age, wakes up all alone in a tree house in the forest. Though Beatrice cannot recall how or why she arrived in the magical forest of Argilia--where every conceivable fish, bird, mammal and reptile coexist, and any creature with a beating heart can communicate with any other--something within tells her that beyond this forest is a family that is waiting anxiously for her return. Just outside her tree-house door lives Beatrice's most unlikely ally, the enormous and mercurial King Crocodile Croc Harry, who just may have a secret of his own. As they form an unusual truce and work toward their common goal, Beatrice and Croc Harry will learn more about their forest home than they ever could have imagined.

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Lured by the promise of more money than they've ever dreamed of, five young criminals are hired to steal a heavily guarded treasure from the most powerful sorcerer in the city. There's Callan the con artist, Meribel the expert at acrobatics (and knives!), Gareth the researcher, Lachlan who can obtain anything, and Foxtail, whose mysterious eyeless mask doesn't hinder her ability to climb walls like a spider. Though their shadowy backgrounds meant that they've never trusted anyone but themselves, the five must learn to rely on each other in order to get the job done.

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About two cousins who are fast friends even though they have never met. Letters fly back and forth between them, and although Ulla lives in Danzig, Germany, and Peter on a Mennonite farm in Saskatchewan, their lives become inextricably entwined through an intense, empathetic connection that plays out in the first months of World War Two.

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Rebecca Strand was just sixteen when she and her father fell to their deaths from the top of the Gibraltar Point Lighthouse in 1839. Just how they fell--or were they pushed?--remains a mystery. And their ghosts haunt the lighthouse to this day. . . Gabe tells this story every day when he gives the ghost tour on Toronto Island. He tries to make it scary enough to satisfy the tourists, but he doesn't actually believe in ghosts--until he finds himself face to face with Rebecca Strand. The true story of her death is far more terrifying than any ghost tale Gabe has told. Rebecca reveals that her father was a member of the Order, a secret society devoted to protecting the world from 'the wakeful and wicked dead'--malevolent spirits like Viker, the ghost responsible for their deaths. But the Order has disappeared, and Viker's ghost is growing ever stronger. Now Gabe and his friends must find a way to stop Viker before they all become lost souls. . .

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A winsome middle-grade novel about a creative young girl who believes her new neighbor is Hans Christian Anderson.

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A young boy volunteering at a retirement home finds a stray dog and notices that it revives decades-old memories for a bitter resident. The boy bonds with the resident as he listens to stories about growing up in Saskatchewan during the Great Depression. Thanks to his new friend and his canine companion, the elderly man is able to pass away peacefully, immersed in fond memories of his youth.

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"The explosions come in the night. Miranda1, Mannfred, Grannie, and the one thousand children of Oculum must flee their farm, chased by the UnRuly and their bombs. Just as they begin their journey through the wasteland and towards the safety of the green valley, Echo1 wakes from an eighty-three-year sleep and is given a mission to find the four domes of the children of Oculum, and to find the First One, whatever the cost" -- Provided by publisher.

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The McCready sisters -- Fiona, Marlin, Natasha and Charlie -- are left on their own when their missionary parents die and leave them in Borneo. When no immediate aunt or uncle steps forward to take them on, they start fearing they will be separated in foster care. Luckily, a great aunt Martha (whom they've never met) says they can live with her, on Pine Island in British Columbia. Unfortunately, when they get there, they learn that she has passed away unexpectedly. Fiona, the oldest at 14, is resolved that they stay together, and comes up with a plan to force their loner, cantankerous neighbor, Al, to pretend to be their guardian, bribing him with home-cooked food. But can they fool the principal of their new school, as well as the lawyer and social services?

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"A young Indigenous girl searching for a sense of home finds strength and courage in her gifts, her deepening connection to the land, and her own cultural awakening in this moving coming-of-age story. The last thing that twelve-year-old Misko wants to do is to move away from the city to spend time on the rez with her grandmother. She feels strangely compelled to go to the place where her dreams have been tugging at her to come home. Maybe she can finally find out what happened to her mother, who mysteriously disappeared when she was four years old. Misko discovers her unique ability to connect to a spirited horse named Mishtadim who is being violently broken in by the rancher next door and his son, Thomas. Although Misko and Thomas challenge one another, their friendship is forged through the taming of the wild horse. In the process, she realizes the true meaning of belonging and that you can never truly leave home. She Holds Up the Stars is a powerful story of reconciliation and the interwoven threads that connect us to family, to the land, and to our own sense of self."-- Provided by publisher.

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Bree can't wait for her first day at her new middle school, Enith Brigitha, home to the Mighty Manatees-until she's stuck with the only elective that fits her schedule, the dreaded Swim 101. The thought of swimming makes Bree more than a little queasy, yet she's forced to dive headfirst into one of her greatest fears. Lucky for her, Etta, an elderly occupant of her apartment building and former swim team captain, is willing to help. With Etta's training and a lot of hard work, Bree suddenly finds her swim-crazed community counting on her to turn the school's failing team around. But that's easier said than done, especially when their rival, the prestigious Holyoke Prep, has everything they need to leave the Mighty Manatees in their wake. Can Bree defy the odds and guide her team to a state championship, or have the Manatees swum their last lap-for good?

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"Can Aiden learn to stand his ground on his new home ice? Meet Aiden Mallory. He's trying to find his bearings while coping with the loss of his father -- an NHL player who died in a car accident -- and moving back to his dad's hometown of Prairie Field, where he is STILL a big deal. Aiden loves hockey, but his feelings about moving and his dad's death cause him to struggle at tryouts. Then the minor hockey association announces a brand-new U13 tournament: the Luke Mallory Memorial. As Aiden tries to find his place on his new team, and among his new teammates, he will do anything he can to live up to his dad's legacy. But what happens when Aiden's determination to play well puts everything else at risk?"-- Provided by publisher.

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When he wakes up to find his bedroom floating in a vast sea of water, Rafe, along with his dog, must adapt to this strange new world alone until he meets a young girl and together they face an uncertain future.

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