Crossover By: Kwame Alexander

Genre: Realistic Fiction
Age Recommendation: Gr. 6+

Written in free verse, this story is told by Josh who is an identical twin.  Josh and his twin brother, Jordan are both great basketball players.  Their father is a retired professional basketball player and their mother is vice-principal of their school.  Things are going well in Josh's life until his brother finds a girlfriend, changing their close relationship.  Josh comforts himself with still having his dad, but then his father develops health problems.  This is a very engaging, easy to read book. It should be enjoyed by fans of realistic fiction and/or basketball fans.  It's a story of family, friendship, and growing up.

The Secret of Gabi's Dresser By: Kathy Kacer

Genre: Historical Fiction
Age Recommendation: Grade 5+

"The Secret of Gabi's Dresser" was inspired by real events in history and Kathy Kacer's mother's experiences during World War 2.  When adult Gabi's grandchildren visit her, they listen attentively to the story Gabi tells about her childhood and the importance of the dresser her family brought from Czechoslovakia to Canada.  As a child, Gabi lived a happy life in a farming community in Czechoslovakia.  When the Nazis invaded her country, things changed for Gabi and the other Jewish families.  Eventually, Gabi wasn't even able to attend school. When the Nazis came looking for Gabi, her mother made the difficult decision to leave the family farm and go into hiding.  This book would be an informative and interesting read aloud in grades 5 and up.  Although the story touches on difficult topics, it does so in a gentle way.  The book would help initiate solid classroom discussions about this time in history and discrimination in general. This book would be enjoyed by fans of historical fiction. 

Birds On The Brain By: Uma Krishnaswami

Genre: Realistic Fiction
Age Recommendation: Grades 3-4

"Birds On The Brain" is a Silver Birch Express 2025 nominee. This quick read is set in India and finds three friends, Reeni, Yasmin, and Anil tasked with a school project of creating and implementing a survey.  Reeni loves birds, Yasmin loves books and Anil is into karate.  Can the three friends combine their interests to create a survey and make a change in their city?  This is a story of friendship and shows how even younger community members can make a difference.  I recommend this book to fans of realistic fiction.

Ninth Ward By: Jewell Parker Rhodes

Genre: Historical Fiction
Age Recommendation: Grade 5+

Lanesha is twelve years old and lives in the Ninth Ward of New Orleans.  She has lived with her adoptive grandmother, Mama Ya-Ya, since she was born.  Lanesha loves learning, but doesn't really have friends at school.  Lanesha's schoolmates make fun of her because Mama Ya-Ya has visions about the future, but Lanesha is content with the love of Mama Ya-Ya.  When Hurricane Katrina is set to hit New Orleans, Mama Ya-Ya has confusing and frightening visions of what will happen.  The mayor orders an evacuation of the city, but Lanesha and Mama Ya-Ya do not have the money or ability to leave their home. Lanesha must take action to help keep them safe during the storm.  This is a story of friendship and family.  It is a very quick and interesting read.  This book is for readers who enjoy learning about past events and those who have an interest in the supernatural world.  I highly recommend this book.

Good Different By: Meg Eden Kuyatt

Genre: Realistic Fiction
Age Recommendation: Grade 5+

"Good Different" is the story of seventh grader, Selah, and her struggle to be "normal".  Selah is a student at Pebblecreek Academy, a small private school where everyone is included and feels a part of the Pebblecreek family.  At least that's the way things were, but the school is growing and as the students get older they are changing too.  It's hard for Selah to keep all her emotions inside and wear her "normal person mask" until the end of the school day.  One day, Selah can't take it anymore and hits someone.  As Selah comes to terms with how she behaved, she learns more about herself and learns that she's different, but that's not bad.  This is a story of friendship, family, and getting to know yourself. This is a wonderful, quick read that is told in poems.  I highly recommend this novel to everyone.  The author is neurodivergent and put a lot of effort into helping others understand Selah and in turn, those on the autism spectrum.  

Maizy Chen's Last Chance By: Lisa Yee

Genre: Realistic Fiction
Age Recommendation: Grade 5+

It's summer holiday and 11 year old Maizy finds herself on a road trip from Los Angeles to Last Chance, Minnesota where her grandparents live and own the Golden Palace restaurant.  Maizy's grandfather is not well and they are coming to help out.  Although Maizy regularly chats with her grandparents, she's never been to Last Chance and this small rural town is very different from Los Angeles.  Maizy spends a lot of time with her grandfather who tells her stories of his family's history in America.  She also gets to know some of the town's people.  This story is great!  It has a little bit of everything.  It's realistic fiction as Maizy deals with the reality of her family relationships and her ailing grandfather.  It's historical fiction as Maizy's grandfather shares the stories of the early Chinese immigrant's experience in America.  It's also a mystery as Maizy and her new friend work to figure out who stole the bear carving from outside the Golden Palace.  I highly recommend this book.  It's my favourite summer read so far!

My Name Is Seepeetza By: Shirley Sterling

Genre: Historical Fiction
Age Recommendation: Grade 6+

"My Name Is Seepeetza" is based on the author's experiences attending the Kamloops Indian Residential School in British Columbia.  This story is told in the form of journal entries which allows the reader to not only gain insight into the difficult times Seepeetza faced at residential school, but also her home life at Joyaska Ranch. This book is well written for its audience as it shares the atrocities of residential school in an age appropriate and relatable way.  I especially liked that the reader learned about Seepeetza's home life allowing the reader to better understand the difficulty of being pulled from one's family to attend school.  I recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn more about the history and impact of residential schools in Canada.

The Last Saxon King By: Andrew Varga

Genre: Fantasy Historical Fiction
Age Recommendation: Grade 7/8

"The Last Saxon King" is a Red Maple 2024 nominee and earned second place honours in this program.  This book will appeal to readers of historical fiction and fantasy as the main character, Dan, finds himself in Anglo-Saxon England where he must try to correct history if he ever wants to return home.  Travelling to the past is not something Dan has ever done before, but when Dan comes home to find his father being attacked by an intruder, he soon finds out that there's more to his dad and the unusual home-school education his dad has been giving him.  This is an exciting novel with lots of action.  I highly recommend this book.

The Umbrella House By: Colleen Nelson

Genre: Realistic Fiction
Age Recommendation: Grade 5+

"The Umbrella House" is a Silver Birch 2024 nominee.  This is the story of best friends, Roxy and Scout, who are in grade 7 and live in the Umbrella House.  The Umbrella House is more than an apartment building.  It is a community of people who have worked hard to change a once abandoned and decaying building into a wonderful home.  When their beloved home is under the threat of being sold and redeveloped, Roxy and Scout join together with their community to save their beloved home.  This is a story of friendship, community and standing up for what you love.  This book is based on the actual Umbrella House in New York City.  The book also includes factual information about the real building.  This is an interesting story especially for those who enjoy learning about real places.

Berani By: Michelle Kadarusman

Genre: Realistic Fiction
Age Recommendation: Grade 4+

Berani is a Silver Birch 2024 nominee and I have to admit it is my favourite of the nominees so far.  This is a touching story told from three perspectives.  Malia is a young Canadian-Indonesian girl living in Indonesia who has a passion for saving the orangutans.  Ari is a young boy who has been chosen by his family to further his education, so is living in the city with his uncle.  Ari's uncle owns a restaurant where he keeps an orangutan, Ginger Juice.  The final perspective is that of Ginger Juice who shares with us her life before being captive and her feelings about life in captivity.  Through a school presentation and petition, Malia creates against palm oil production, the three characters become connected.  I really enjoyed the short chapters from each perspective.  This story is one of friendship, family, and staying true to your beliefs.  I highly recommend this book and know that it would be especially popular with those who enjoyed The One and Only Ivan.

Front Desk By: Kelly Yang

Genre: Realistic Fiction
Age Recommendation: Grade 5+

Mia and her parents immigrated to America from China with hopes for a better future.  Unfortunately, their experience has been challenging, including spending some time living in their car.  When Mia's parents get a job managing a motel, she helps her overwhelmed parents by running the front desk.  The motel allows Mia to meet lots of new people, most of them kind, but some not, such as the owner of the motel who underpays Mia's parents.  Things are hard for Mia's family but they continue to help others in need.  Mia has been to many schools during her time in America, but finds a friend in Lupe at her new school.  This is a touching story inspired by the author's experiences.  This is a story of family, friendship, and persevering through difficult times.  I highly recommend this book to fans of realistic fiction.  This is the first in a series of books.  Readers are sure to fall in love with Mia. 

Bear in the Family By: Eric Walters

Genre: Realistic Fiction
Age Recommendation: Grade 2-4

"Bear in the Family" is a Silver Birch Express 2023 nominee.  This is the story of a family returning to their home after being evacuated because of a forest fire.  Fortunately, their home, which was designed with forest fires in mind, remains.  When checking on a neighbour's home, they find a lone bear cub.  The family brings the cub home and contacts animal rescue.  With the forest fire creating a number of displaced animals, the family agrees to care for the cub for a couple of weeks.  The students who read this book enjoyed the story and the book won the Silver Birch Express award.  I personally, can see the appeal of this story, but do not entirely agree with the way the story was written. The family allowed a bear cub with sharp claws and teeth to roam around their home.  The author does have a note at the back explaining that wild animals are not to be approached, but I feel like the story could have handled this in a more realistic way. 

The Undercover Book List By: Colleen Nelson

Genre: Realistic Fiction
Age Recommendation: Grade 5+

"The Undercover Book List" is the Silver Birch 2023 award winner.  This book about friendship and family is told from the perspectives of Jane and Tyson.  Jane is a book lover who is sad that her best friend, Sienna, has moved away.  Sienna wants to set Jane up for a new friendship, so before she leaves, she places a note in a library book, to help Jane find a new book loving companion.  Tyson is a practical joker who often finds himself in trouble.  When he happens to pick up the book with Sienna's note, he doesn't know that he is about to embark on an unlikely and wonderful journey towards new friendships and being rrue to himself.  This is a wonderful read for fans of realistic fiction.

Sorry For Your Loss By: Joanne Levy

Genre:  Realistic Fiction
Age Recommendation:  Grade 7/8

"Sorry For Your Loss" is a Red Maple 2023 nominee.  Evie is a self proclaimed loner.  Her parents run a Jewish funeral home that is located next to their home.  Evie is proud of what her parents do.  She appreciates that they help people navigate a difficult time with caring.  Unfortunately, some of Evie's classmates are very cruel to her because of her family's business and call her names like, corpse girl.  It's summer vacation and Evie has insisted she doesn't want to go to camp, so she's helping her parents at the funeral home.  The start of the summer brings a tragic accident that leaves a boy, Oren, who is Evie's age, without his parents.  Evie is the only one who seems to be able to connect with Oren and this leaves Evie battling with being a loner.  This is a very touching story.  I thoroughly enjoyed this book, even though it made me shed a few tears.  I highly recommend this book to those who enjoy realistic fiction and stories of friendship.

Torpedoed By: Deborah Heiligman

Genre: Non-Fiction/Historical Event

Age Recommendation: Grade 7/8

This book tells the true story of a ship carrying one hundred children and other passengers to Canada from Britain during World War 2.  Many of the children were travelling, with escorts, as part of a program that was meant to take them from the bombings occurring in England, to the safety of Canada. Unfortunately, not long into their voyage, the ship was torpedoed by a German U-Boat.  It was a stormy night when the ship was hit creating many challenges for the sailors working to get the passengers safely into lifeboats.  The sad truth is that many of the passengers didn't make it into the lifeboats and for those who did, the struggle to survive was not over.  I must admit that I was not entirely gripped by this story until the ship was struck.  After that, the story became very engaging and I was eager to read on and find out what happened to each of the passengers.  The book is non-fiction and is written based on survivor memories and includes photos and other artifacts from the event.  I recommend this book to those who enjoy history and those who enjoy stories of heroism and courage.  

You Don't Know Everything, Jilly P! By Alex Gino

Genre: Realistic Fiction
Age Recommendation: Grade 5+

Jilly is in seventh grade when her baby sister, Emma, is born.  Emma is born deaf which means that Jilly and her parents have a lot of new learning to do in order to support Emma.  An avid fan of a popular fantasy book series, Jilly is a member of an online chat group where she meets Derek, who is also in seventh grade and is a deaf user of American Sign Language.  Jilly's relationship with Derek and the journey she and her parents take learning more about how to support Emma, opens Jilly's eyes to the inequities and racism that is prevalent in the world.  Although she doesn't always get things right, Jilly does her best to combat these issues and make a change in the world.  I highly recommend this book.  Alex Gino has combined typical chapters with online chat room discussion text which adds variety for the reader. This book does tackle difficult topics and readers should be aware that some of the content may be upsetting.

No Vacancy By: Tziporah Cohen

Genre: Realistic Fiction
Age Recommendation: Grade 4+

When Miriam's father loses his job, the family buys a run down motel in upstate New York.  Miriam wants nothing more than to return to the city and her old life, but this is not an option.  Miriam spends her days helping the family clean up the motel, looking after her younger brother, and making a new friend, Kate.  Even with all her family's hard work, the motel still doesn't have enough visitors to make the place successful.  While Kate is showing Miriam around town the pair come up with a plan that will help the motel and the town, but will they be able to live with the lie they've created?  This is an interesting story about starting over and making new friendships.  It is also a story of accepting and learning about each other, as Miriam's family is Jewish and the majority of the town are Catholics.  This Silver Birch 2022 nominee is an enjoyable read.

Duck Days By: Sara Leach

Genre: Realistic Fiction
Age Recommendation: Grade 3-6

Lauren is in the third grade and her best friend is Irma.  Irma and Lauren love spending time together and Irma recognizes all the strategies Lauren uses when her Autism Spectrum Disorder makes it hard to "go with the flow". When Irma becomes friends with her new neighbour, Jonas, Lauren worries that Irma won't be her best friend anymore.  To top things off, there is going to be a mountain biking day at school and Lauren still uses training wheels to ride her bike.  How will Lauren face these new challenges?  This Silver Birch Express 2022 nominee is a great story of friendship and overcoming obstacles.  This is the third book about Lauren and after reading this, we must get Slug Days and Penguin Days for our school library.

The King of Jam Sandwiches By: Eric Walters

Genre: Realistic Fiction
Age Recommendation: Grade 7/8

Robbie is in the eighth grade and lives with his father and his dog, Candy.  Robbie isn't your typical eighth grader and his dad isn't a typical parent.  Robbie compares his father's mental state to a ride in an elevator.  It isn't easy, but Robbie is managing.  When a new student, Harmony, arrives at school, Robbie is tasked with showing her around.  This is the start of an unlikely friendship.  Harmony is in foster care and she and Robbie find that they are able to be themselves with each other and share their situations.  Can Robbie trust Harmony with the truth about his home life?  This is an excellent story.  Eric Walters has noted at the beginning of the book that much of this story is taken from his personal experiences.  This 2022 Red Maple Nominee is a touching must read for anyone who enjoys stories of friendship and overcoming challenges.

The Skin I'm In By: Sharon G. Flake

Genre: Realistic Fiction
Age Recommendation: Grade 6+

Maleeka is in grade seven and even though she has the potential to be a strong student, her "friends" are holding her back and causing her to get into trouble.  When the new teacher, Miss Saunders, arrives at school, things start to change.  Maleeka begins to question her friendships and starts to consider standing up for herself.  Unfortunately, her "friend", Char, has a lot of control over Maleeka and decides that the girls are going to take revenge on Miss Saunders for giving them failing grades.  Maleeka gets blamed for the damage the girls cause and has a difficult decision to make.  Will she take the blame for everyone or tell the truth?  This is an excellent book about fitting in, making difficult choices, and accepting yourself.  I highly recommend this book.