Maybe “normal” isn't all it's cracked up to be.All twelve year-old Daisy Fisher wants is to be normal — or at least to not stick out like a sore thumb. But growing up in the house disparagingly referred to as the “Jungle” makes that pretty much impossible. When your parents' activism brands them as a nuisance and your house is overrun with vines and critters, it's not so easy to fit in. And it definitely doesn't help when the neighbours declare your family public enemy number one. Or when your best (and possibly only) friend leaves for summer camp and forgets you exist. Or when your twin brother's cancer might be growing back.Will this be the summer Daisy changes things for the better? She can't help where she lives, but if she could find a new friend, cultivate some courage, and figure out a way to keep her brother healthy, maybe life will finally be normal. Or will it?An extraordinary new novel from acclaimed author Deborah Kerbel.

A girl, a dog and a summer they won’t forget.Twelve-year-old Paige Coopersmith and her family have won a house in an essay-writing contest. Excited to leave their cramped apartment and move to a sprawling property in rural Ontario, they’re more than a little surprised to find the house is old and in need of major repairs. They’re even more shocked to discover that Iggy — the old dog who lives there — comes with the house. Apparently it was all in the fine print!Due to financial stress, and with nowhere else to go, the family stays. Paige, who is scared of the large, unkempt Newfoundland dog, does her best to stay out of her way, while her parents deal with an unusual list of instructions from the previous owner.But girl and beast soon form a special bond, when Paige, a hesitant reader, practises her reading out loud and discovers that Iggy loves to be read to.Little does Paige know Iggy is even more special than she realizes. In fact, someone else has their eye on her, and when Iggy goes missing, it’s Paige who must solve the mysteries of this unusual house and find her now beloved dog.

Young Ary's new home is a lush, tree-covered paradise. But when nature takes a back seat to progress, the island's future is threatened. Can Ary and her friends save the trees before it's too late? Ary's Trees is an eco-parable about the importance of environmental preservation and activism.

Key Selling Points A story about the sibling dynamic and the idea that your siblings may frustrate and annoy you, but you'd still do anything for them. Many parents will relate to the idea of having an agonizingly slow child or that, in general, children take forever to accomplish most tasks. The illustrations are very contemporary, Mom and Dad are drinking their micro-batch cold brew and sharing responsibilities while Moe leaves a trail of slime across their mid-century modern sofa. The author's book Sun Dog (Pajama Press) won the 2019 IODE Ontario Jean Throop Book Award. Her other recent picture books include When Molly Drew Dogs (OwlKids) and The House in the Middle of the Road (OwlKids).

From the author of My Deal with the Universe, a lighthearted, tender story of a girl and her steadfast duck.I spend a lot of time thinking about what Grandad said that day Webster first went missing. How if you spend too much time dwelling on the things you’ve lost, you might not notice what you’ve got in its place. And how sometimes those things can be just as wonderful. But in a different way.Sarah is turning twelve. For the last ten years, ever since her dad mysteriously left, Sarah and her mom have always celebrated together for an entire birthday week. But when Sarah finds out that this year her mother has to work, and that she’s signed Sarah up last minute for a week of culinary school instead, things go from bad to worse.At least the camp has agreed to let Sarah bring her duck, Webster. Sarah knows that with Webster by her side, she can handle whatever comes her way. But then Webster goes missing, just as Sarah’s search for her absent father comes up empty as well. Will she have to say yet another painful goodbye?In a story about love, friendship, search for identity, and the hardship of loss, Sarah finds joy and strength in unexpected friendships and learns that when we focus so much on chasing answers, we can forget to notice what we already have.