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We asked a few kids whose parents work at The Globe and Mail what books they love reading, and the answers ranged from series about talking cats to graphic novels about bullying
The Globe and Mail
Our recent series of stories on literacy in the pandemic and how to get kids reading more made us curious about the well-loved books kids have on their shelves. We asked a collection of pint-size reviewers to tell us about their favourite reads.
Luka Romanyshyn, age 10
Warriors is a story about four clans of cats, who share the same land. The cats have leaders and warriors and deputies and medicine cats and also queens. It wasn’t like real life so I could imagine it in my head. It was also funny sometimes, because the cats talked and I liked thinking about how cats could have feelings and their own lives.
Maxsym Romanyshyn, age 13
The Wild Robot has a lot about survival in there, and what it feels like to be an animal in the wild. The story is about a robot that powered on when it was on an island with no humans around. The robot has to learn to survive and it learned the skills of the animals around it, like the camouflaging bug and the singing chickadees.
Max Pingue, 8
The Dog Man series is about an evil guy named Petey the Cat who’s always plotting to destroy Dog Man, the hero. Luckily, he has a bunch of allies to help him. My favourite of the series is Unleashed – that’s the second book out of 11. As a bonus, each book gives you art lessons on how to draw all your favourite characters in the back!
Olivia Chezzi, 13
Marie Lu’s Skyhunter felt different from other YA books: It kept a steady pace (it never became a slow read) while providing enough detail for the reader. The plot had lots of twists and turns, and the characters jumped off the page. The ending was satisfying while leaving the door open for the sequel, which is due later this year.
Gus Philps, 3
The Lights & Types of Ships at Night because all the ships are so beautiful. I also like Every Night Is Pizza Night because I like the dumplings.
Albie Philps, 2
Darth Vader and Son because it’s spooky.
Jacob Lederman, 12
Brave is good for kids aged 8-15. It’s a graphic novel about Jensen Graham’s life at Berrybrook School. I don’t want to spoil it, but it has a very good story and teaches valuable lessons about bullying. It also has a school newspaper in it and because my mother works at a real newspaper, I liked that. I would also recommend this book because it is super funny. And we could all use a laugh right now.
Ryan, 5
Who Would Win? Ultimate Jungle Rumble, because you can learn about animals and that you see which animal would win and that you see real-life animals in the woods and in nature.
Aidan, 7
Rick Riordan’s The Heroes of Olympus series, because it is all about the Greek gods and I got inspired by another book (Percy Jackson). I like it because it’s all adventuring and meeting new gods.
Sebastian Browne Siddiqi, 10
The Amulet series is about a little girl, Emily, who loses her dad at a very young age, and then moves to her grandfather’s old house with her mom and brother. She discovers a hidden amulet in his home, and it has special powers, like picking up giant things and throwing them out of the way. When Emily wears it, she discovers a different world. The books have very in-depth character development, and the series is very good.
More in this series
- What is one thing we can do about children’s learning loss during the pandemic? Put a book in their hands
- From graphic novels to audiobooks, tips to get kids reading more
- Canadian authors tell us the books that shaped them (and the ones kids should read today)
- Spring 2021 books preview: 45 new titles for you and the young readers in your life