In this second of three preview instalments, Q&Q presents middle grade and graphic novels. Young adult novels and nonfiction will be featured next week. The first instalment featured picture books.

Q&Q’s fall preview covers books published between July 1 and Dec. 31, 2024. All information (titles, publication dates) was supplied by publishers.

MIDDLE GRADE:

SWAN: The Girl Who Grew
Sidura Ludwig
Nimbus Publishing, Sept.

From the award-winning author of You Are Not What We Expected comes a tender novel-in-verse that reimagines the childhood of seven-foot-tall Anna Swan, who became known as “The Giantess from Nova Scotia” when travelling the globe with showman P. T. Barnum. Themes of faith, family, and learning to love your body are explored. –Inderjit Deogun

Mystery at the Biltmore
Colleen Nelson and Peggy Collins, ill.
Pajama Press, Oct.

Kidlit powerhouse Colleen Nelson (The Umbrella House) returns with Mystery at the Biltmore, which follows novice detective Elodie LaRue as she tries to solve the case of Mrs. Vanderhoff’s missing sapphire-and-diamond earrings. Accompanying the text are coloured vignettes by award-winning artist Peggy Collins. –ID

Dad, I Miss You
Nadia Sammurtok and Simji Park, ill.
Inhabit Media, Aug.

Told in the voice of a boy and his father, this heartbreaking story chronicles the emotional toll of a child being taken from his family to attend a residential school. From the boy’s fear and loss to the father’s sadness and hope, Dad, I Miss You gives voice to the trauma of forcible separation. –ID 

Birds on the Brain
Uma Krishnaswami and Julianna Swaney, ill.
Groundwood Books, Aug.

In this sequel to International Literacy Association Social Justice Literature Award–winning Book Uncle and Me, avid birdwatcher Reeni is on a quest to save her city’s Bird Count India event, despite opposition from the mayor. The determined child enlists community support and learns about the power of grassroots activism. –Linda Ludke

After the Wallpaper Music
Jean Mills
Pajama Press, Sept.

A Battle of the Bands competition pulls 12-year-old violinist Flora in different musical directions when she has to decide between playing classical music with her long-time pals or joining her new classmate’s rock trio. This uplifting coming-of-age novel is about finding harmony with friends and family. –LL

The Time Keeper
Meagan Mahoney
Cormorant Books/DCB Young Readers, Oct.

Calgary pediatric doctor Meagan Mahoney’s sophomore novel is a propulsive historical adventure full of mystery, suspense, and illustrated clues. Set in Edinburgh in 1902, a 12-year-old clockmaker’s apprentice must solve the puzzle of a broken watch to crack his master’s murder and save his dying best friend before time runs out. –LL

The next book in your favourite series is here! –ID

Elvis, Me, and the Postcard Winter by Leslie Gentile (DCB Young Readers, Nov.) | The Sleeping Giant: The Misewa Saga, Book Five by David A. Robertson (Tundra Books, Aug.)

The Shape of Lost Things
Sarah Everett
HarperCollins, Oct.

In the latest heart-wrenching novel from Governor General’s Literary Award–winning Edmonton author, Sarah Everett tackles the complex issue of parental kidnapping and the impact it has on families. Skye’s older sibling has been on the run with their dad for four years. When Finn returns, he is nothing like the brother she grew up with. –LL

Library Girl
Polly Horvath
Puffin Canada, Sept.

Raised in secret by four librarians who found her abandoned as a baby in the children’s department, 11-year-old Essie has grown up in the public library, but now longs for freedom. When her moms let her go to the mall by herself, Essie encounters a boy who looks a lot like her. Essie quickly learns life isn’t as neat and tidy as the stories she loves. –ID

A Recipe for Rhyme and Rescue
Wanda Taylor 
HarperCollins, Dec.

Food, friendship, and poetry are the key ingredients in Wanda Taylor’s latest novel that follows Darla Cooper, for whom food is memory, and her friends, the Food Poets, as they try to save Carol’s Café, their home away from home, from permanent closure. –ID

Two Tales of Twenty-Six
Stephanie Simpson McLellan and Mike Deas, ill.
Red Deer Press, Oct.

Two parallel stories – one about a mouse who outwits 26 cats; the other about a boy who learns to read – cleverly converge in the middle of this flip book by literacy advocate Stephanie Simpson McLellan. Mike Deas’s colourful spot cartoon illustrations are featured throughout. –LL

Unsinkable Cayenne
Jessica Vitalis
Greenwillow Books/HarperCollins, Oct.

Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario, author Jessica Vitalis explores themes of social class, bullying, and poverty in this immersive novel-in-verse set in the mid-1980s. When Cayenne’s bohemian parents decide to put down roots in a small town, the tenacious tween struggles to fit in at her new school. –LL

Katrina Hyena, Stand-up Comedian
Sophie Kohn and Aparna Varma, ill.
Owlkids Books, Oct.

In this early chapter book debut from B.C. humour writer Sophie Kohn, a spotted laughing hyena aspires to be a stand-up comedian and puts on a show to help her stressed-out clan relax. Sunny and funny illustrations by Aparna Varma are drawn from her formative years in Botswana. –LL

More new illustrated chapter book series starters for early readers to check out! –LL

Queen Bee: Talent Show Royalty by Priti Birla Maheshwari and Rea Zhai, ill. (Lerner Publishing Group, Aug.) | Sarah Ponakey, Storycatcher and Âhâsiw’s Forest Powwow by Sita MacMillan and Azby Whitecalf, ill. (Annick Press, Aug.)

GRAPHIC NOVELS

Bog Myrtle
Sid Sharp
Annick Press, Oct.

From the acclaimed author of The Wolf Suit comes another unforgettable tale of sisters Beatrice and Magnolia, who live in an old house with a family of helpful spiders. When Beatrice is gifted magic yarn from Bog Myrtle, a giant forest spider obsessed with sustainability, she and the spiders work on knitting a warm sweater, but greedy Magnolia sees only money and converts their house into a magic sweater factory. Bog Myrtle is not happy, to say the least! –ID

Little Moons
Jen Storm and Ryan Howe, ill.
Portage & Main Press, Oct.

Reanna’s older sister goes missing on her way home from school and is never found. This moving graphic novel for young adults by Jen Storm, an Ojibwe writer from Couchiching First Nation in northwestern Ontario, explores how one family grapples with their grief and learns to find comfort through their Ojibwe traditions. –LL

Taxi Ghost
Sophie Escabasse
Random House Graphic, Sept.

Adèle’s plans of cozying up with her favourite books for winter break is curtailed when her first period brings with it the unexpected gift of the ability to see ghosts. But, that’s not all; Adèle learns she comes from a long line of mediums, and the ghosts she sees have been using her sister’s car to get around the city for years. Winter break just got a lot more interesting. –ID

Puffin and Penguin
Helaine Becker and Kevin Sylvester, ill.
Kids Can Press, Oct.

Veteran children’s book dynamos Helaine Becker and Kevin Sylvester team up to present a cool graphic novel for emerging readers about a puffin who tries to find their flock at a new school. Expect witty wordplay, endearing illustrations, and ruffled feathers. –LL

Between the Pipes
Albert McLeod with Elaine Mordoch, Sonya Ballantyne; Alice RL, ill. and ​​Kielamel Sibal  
HighWater Press, Sept.

Thirteen-year-old hockey player Chase doesn’t like girls the way other boys do, and this difference scares him, leading him to hide the truth. The more he buries his true self, the more his dreams are troubled by visions of a bear spirit. Toxic masculinity in hockey is explored through the perspective of an Indigenous teen in this graphic novel. –ID 

Lost at Windy River: A True Story of Survival
Trina Rathgeber and Alina Pete, ill.
Orca Book Publishers, Oct.

In 1944, 13-year-old Ilse Schweder got lost in a snowstorm while checking her family’s trapline. She survived by relying on traditional Indigenous knowledge. Based on extensive interviews, Schweder’s granddaughter Trina Rathgeber, a member of the Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation, tells her grandmother’s story of courage and resilience in this powerful graphic memoir. –LL

Survival of the Goodest
Marianne Boucher
Emanata/Conundrum Press, Oct.

Comics creator, painter, and former courtroom sketch artist Marianne Boucher’s debut young adult graphic novel stars Sable, a young messenger who protects and defends the animals on her remote island. This eco-adventure fantasy delves into ideas of animal sentience, interspecies communication, and wildlife conservation. –LL

Little by Little
Sonya Ballantyne and Rhael McGregor, ill. 
HighWater Press, Aug.

In Sonya Ballantyne’s Little by Little, Michael knows it’s right to help people, but what’s the best way to help all those who need it? He attends a youth conference for the answer, but he encounters a roomful of people older than him, and a speaker saying things about his community that simply aren’t true. The theme of sparking change and inspiring others is explored. –ID