The Last Kids On Earth

The Last Kids On Earth

By Max Brallier, illustrated by Douglas Holgate

Jack is a thirteen-year-old foster kid who has bounced from house to house and school to school.  He’s never had a real family or real friends.  When he finally makes friends with Quint, a geeky science-type, they get hit with the zombie apocalypse!

Everyone leaves town or gets zombified.  But somehow, Jack gets left behind.

But Jack has a treehouse, some weapons, and a generator to power his video games.  Still, he doesn’t want to have to deal with the monsters and zombies alone...

Then he discovers that Quint has been left behind too.  He’s got a lab and lots of ideas on ways to fight monsters.

And there are other kids too.  They’ll never go back to the way things were, but if they band together and fight, maybe they can make life after the zombie apocalypse a little better.

The Last Kids On Earth is a chapter book/graphic novel combo.  And although it’s about the end of the world, it’s funny.  So if you want a light, easy-to-read book about the end of the world, read on!

The Darkest Dark

The Darkest Dark

By Chris Hadfield

Have you ever been afraid of the dark?  

Chris Hadfield has.

Lying in the dark, Chris thinks of all kinds of scary things, especially aliens.  He has many sleepless night in his family’s cottage on Stag Island in Ontario.  He keeps his parents awake too, and they are getting pretty frustrated.

But everything changes on the evening of July 20, 1969.  That’s the night that Chris goes to a neighbour’s house to crowd around the only TV on the whole island.  And that’s the night that he sees the first human being land on the moon.

The dark of space is really dark.  But space is beautiful too.  Seeing the deep dark that surrounds the moon changes something inside Chris.  And the dark doesn’t seem so scary anymore.

Of course, Chris Hadfield would go on to become one of the most well-known Canadian astronauts in history.  At the back of the book there is a little biography and some pictures of a real-life Chris.

Illustrated by the Fan brothers, The Darkest Dark will take you into Where-The-Wild-Things-Are darkness and rocket you all the way to the moon!  

 A great read aloud for 4-8-year-olds.

Masterminds

Masterminds

 

By Gordon Korman

Growing up in a town like Serenity has its perks: there’s no crime, no poverty, and honesty is valued above all.  Kids like Eli, Randy, Tori, Amber, Malik and Hector are 13 years old and have known each other their entire lives.  In their small town of 185 people, they pretty much know everybody.

People in Serenity like the town so much that they never leave.  No one ever goes away on vacation, or even for a shopping trip to a bigger town.  And strangely, this tiny town has its own security force called the Surety (known by children as the Purple People Eaters).  Theoretically, they are the security guards at the big Plastics Works that employs practically everyone in town.  But they also act as a police force.

It’s hard to imagine that “America’s Ideal Community” would need a police force…

Eli and Randy, eager for fun, decide to take a bike ride out of town.  As soon as they leave the limits of Serenity, Eli is completely debilitated by overwhelming pain.  His blinding headache and terrible cramps make him unable to continue, and he falls off the bike.  Before Randy can even think about what to do, the Surety descends out of the sky in a helicopter, scoops the boys up and returns them to the safety of home.

Soon Randy is whisked away to live with his grandparents in another town.  Something strange is going on in Serenity. And Eli, Tori, Amber, Malik and Hector are going to figure out what it is.

As they begin to investigate, much is revealed about their origins.  In fact, they discover that their parents have been keeping secrets from them since the beginning.  Secrets – in a town where everyone is always honest.  Or so they thought.

The kids of Serenity are determined not to be fooled anymore.  So without telling their parents, they decide to matters into their own hands and embark on a thrilling adventure… 

Fast-paced and suspenseful, Masterminds is a book that can’t be put down!  The first in a trilogy, Masterminds will keep kids reading, no matter what kinds of books they normally enjoy.

Revenge On The Fly

Revenge On The Fly

  By Sylvia McNicoll

It’s the summer of 1912 and William Alton is traveling from Ireland to Canada to start a new life.  William and his father, Arthur, will be reunited with Will’s Uncle Charlie and Will is to start school.  The impoverished Altons have lost both Will’s mom and sister, Colleen, to disease, and their grief is palpable.

Life in Canada is difficult for Will and his father as they discover that many Canadians don’t like the Irish.  But soon Will learns of a contest that could change his life.

  

Dr. Roberts from the Health Department wants to spread the word that flies carry killer diseases like summer complaint and consumption – diseases that killed Will’s family.  As such, Dr. Roberts is starting a contest to find the child that can kill the most flies.  The winner will get $50!

 

Will is determined to win.  $50 – a large sum of money in 1912 -- would help his father buy a house.  But better yet, winning the contest would allow him to avenge the deaths of his mother and sister, and save other people from disease along the way.

As the contest progresses, Will must compete against his arch enemy, Fred Leckie.  But he also becomes friends with Ginny Malone and her family and Rebecca Edwards, all of whom are behind him 100%.  Eventually Will learns that friendship and family are more important than winning.

If you're looking for some Canadian historical fiction, Revenge On The Fly is a great place to start!

 

The Harlem Charade

By Natasha Tarpley

A mystery with history, The Harlem Charade unites three very different kids who must solve a brutal attack on a senior while tracking down some precious paintings that could help save their Harlem neighbourhood.

Jin is being raised by her grandparents and spends a lot of time in their bodega (corner grocery store) while recording everything that goes on around her in a notebook. Elvin has come to Harlem to stay with his grandpa while his mom undergoes cancer treatment back in California. Jin's classmate Alex wants to make a real difference in her community and although she comes from privilege, she hides her true identity through good deeds.

Jin pairs up with Alex to work on a class project showcasing their neighbourhood's history and culture. She also becomes aware of Alex's selfless acts towards the community and with a little persistence she convinces Alex to bring her along on her next mission to deliver donated food to the local women's shelter. As fate may have it, they meet Elvin through an altercation and decide to help him because he is on his own ever since his grandpa was mysteriously attacked and left in the hospital. Elvin's grandpa has a strong connection to Harlem, particularly the Harlem Renaissance movement in the 1960's so he may have information about some missing and highly valuable paintings. There are many characters, some devious, that want to get their hands on those paintings to advance their agendas, especially when it comes to neighbourhood re-development. Jin, Alex and Elvin will have to be careful with their search for the paintings and bring Elvin's grandpa's attacker to justice.

The author includes information about Harlem's African-American history and the significance of the Harlem Renaissance to highlighting black artists and the civil rights movement.

 

Ghost

by Jason Reynolds

Castle Cranshaw, aka Ghost, has been running for a long time. Three years ago, his father tried to shoot Ghost and his mom. His father is now behind bars, and Ghost has a lot of anger issues that lead to him continually getting into trouble at school.

His mom works long hours at a hospital cafeteria to try and make ends meet, and Ghost is bullied at school in part because of the fact he and his mom don't have much money. 

One day Ghost comes across a track team practicing, and he convinces the coach to let him run one race.  Much to everyone's amazement, Ghost is fast. Like really fast. Coach agrees to let him be part of the team, as long as Ghost can stay out of trouble at school, and Ghost starts training with the team after school.

Ghost has a lot of anger inside - will being part of a team help him find something to help work out his anger in a positive way?

This is the first book in a planned series, with each book featuring one of the kids on the track team.