Best Books of 2021
It’s time for my favourite annual round-up post!
As always, I have had the great joy of reading a ridiculous number of kids books this year so that I can make recommendations to you all of the best stories of this, the very long never-ending year 2021.
I found the market a little saturated this year with well-known authors and their sequels, many of which I love, and not so many amazing new books. I think it was a hard year for authors, books, and all of us. In the interest of highlighting lesser known books and creators, I’ve made a list of highly anticipated sequels and follow-ups from known authors as a separate section, saving the main sections for books and creators that would maybe be new to people.
And because I have no self-control, I’ve made a separate list of picture books that I truly think all adults should read and weep shamelessly at. But all the other books on these lists were chosen with children in mind. Everything listed in no particular order except the order I thought of them in. Pure chaos, my favourite kind of organizational system!
Please consider supporting your local indie book stores! I recommend buying or ordering these titles at Kidsbooks, Kinder Books, or another local retailer. And as always, please keep emailing me with your reviews and your requests! I love getting these messages.
Scroll through my loving lists below or click here to get one-page printable PDFs without my pontificating and gushing.
Picture books
Little Wolf
I love this one, terrific story about moving to a new place, facing bullies, and holding on to your roots. One of my favourite ‘new girl’ scenes ever, in which her response to bullies and feeling lonely is to howl loudly and give zero fucks about what other people think. Also great rep for urban Indigenous culture.
Beautifully Me
Phenomenal book about anti-fatness and fat shaming culture. Zubi is such a fantastic protag and I could easily have included this in the ‘weepy books’ category because the relationships she has with her family made me tear up. Love stories where parents apologize to their kids!! A truly lovely book to read aloud together.
Chez Bob
Alligator Bob tries to tempt birds to coming to his mouth by opening up a restaurant for them but quickly realizes his true love of the culinary arts and that he can’t eat his loyal patrons. Hilarious, A+ jokes and illustrations from one of my favourite funny authors. I mean, it’s called CHEZ BOB BY BOB SHEA!! You cannot not enjoy.
Fred Gets Dressed
As a parent who wholeheartedly encourages my kids to wear whatever they wish, I fucking love this book. It is the sweetest story, SO CUTE. Read the backstory that the author gives here, it is so charming. Just the fact that this kid spends much of the book naked is enough to make this a winner for so many kids. This story is SO wholesome, funny, sweet, simple, and happy.
Except Antarctica!
One of my fave non-fiction books of the year. Narrator tells us about animals who live on every continent except Antarctica, and all animals band together to prove them wrong. What’s not to love!? It’s so funny and the illustrations are bang-on and fun animals facts is such an instant win for so many little readers.
Watercress
I had to make sure other people agreed with me on this one and I didn’t just love it because it’s about my life but it’s definitely confirmed - this book is amazing. Unique and wonderful immigrant experience rep. My family once literally did exactly this and pulled over mid-drive to pick wild watercress. The book is poignant, loving, and so heart-tugging.
Princesses Can Fix It!
My princess book of the year!! Love this retelling of the Twelve Dancing Princesses fairy tale, now with plucky little STEAM genius princesses. So much busting of bad gender norms and great funny scenes. Big yes to doing science in princess gowns!!
Everybody in the Red Brick Building
One of my favourite preschool books of the year. This book is filled with fun sounds and repetition that the tiny readers will adore. Excellent bedtime book about how no one is sleeping, aka my toddler’s fave kind of bedtime.
Not Yeti
I love a book about a gentle soul, and this one delivers big time. Yeti is the hero we all need in this awful time. Yeti will melt your heart and make you believe in good things again. Funny, kind, so lovely.
There’s a Ghost in this Houes
This is one you’ve got to see to understand, but Oliver Jeffers literally makes ghosts appear on the page. He is magic!! This book will enthrall readers of all ages and the only thing that is bad about it is that it will for sure get ripped from being read too many times, which will kind of ruin the magic of the ghosts, but that is a price we’ll all just have to pay.
Chirp! Chipmunk Sings for a Friend
Embracing feelings of melancholy was a BIG theme this year, unsurprisingly. This one is my favourite of the bunch. It is so wholesome, just a little chipmunk with a song that is sometimes sad, who finds friends who love her songs just the way they are. Bonus for GIRL ANIMALS! This book is also really funny in parts, just an all-round lovely, lovely read that we keep coming back to!
Eyes that Kiss in the Corners
This one has been really popular for good reason. I cannot believe this is the first picture book I’ve ever read that talks about the shape of my eyes. It’s tender, so sweet, so loving, and so full of joy. Read my blog post if you need any more reasons to buy this book that turns the table on the slanty eyes stereotype, but you don’t need another reason - this book rocks.
Welcome to the Cypher
Terrific non-fiction read by Canadian team about rap. This book is so much fun to read aloud and listen to. The rhymes and rhythm are great and it’s so full of joy!
Our Little Kitchen
This one came out late 2020 and it is a JOY to read. It’s about a community kitchen and the love of food, being in community, and pitching in together just sings off of every page. I want to eat and work in this kitchen.
Bodies Are Cool
Looking at the illustrations in this book is like taking a deep breath of fresh air. This book is a celebration, a love letter, a proclamation of joy. It shouldn’t be this rare to see bodies of all kinds celebrated like this, but it is. The story is fun and rhythmic and there is so much to look at in the illustrations, making this story a really fun ride for all readers!
Something’s Wrong!
Yes, I fucking love an underpants story. I’m sorry, it’s never not funny. This one is SO TERRIFIC and the punchline at the end is just the best. Just THE BEST. It’s a really lovely story about friendship and loyalty and also just UNDERPANTS. This book sells itself.
Dad Bakes
Dad and daughter story!! Baking dad!! Very few words and much subtext in the illustrations!! A fabulous book for readers of all ages. Author’s note at the end gives the book a totally different context about parents returning home from incarceration. Very thoughtful and heartful book.
It Fell From the Sky
This book is a work of art, as all books by the Fan Brothers are. I ADORE these little bugs, they are so cute and hilarious. The story weaves humour and intrigue so well, and the plot itself is so interesting. This is my favourite kind of book, one that teaches an excellent moral without ever bashing you over the head with it.
Honourable Mention:
Early Chapter Books
Starla Jean
I can’t believe there is only one chicken book on my list this year, but this one is worth the stand-out status!! Starla Jean is such a delightful, sweet, hilarious protagonist. An excellent first chapter book, the words are few and the illustrations are so awesome.
The Fabled Stables: Willa the Wisp
Jonathan Auxier wrote one of my favourite middle grade novels ever, and this new series of his is so lovely. It’s got just the right balance of magic, adventure, and mystery. It’s not scary, but it has thrilling moments. I love this kid and the adults around him. A good one for kids who want a gentler easy chapter book instead of a riotously funny one.
Bailey the Bat
Plucky bat saves tangled up moose from a pack of wolves. So sweet! Bailey uses the ‘them’ pronoun, which I have never seen done for an animal main character in an early chapter book. I love it!! The story is simple, easy, exciting, and fun.
The Bug Club
I adore Elise Gravel and her illustrations. She has a fantastic series about individual animals that are unfairly maligned as pests, but this one covers all bugs and is a great non-fiction read for early chap readers. Funny, interesting, full of facts!
Sydney & Taylor Explore the Whole Wide World
Sweet, gentle animal buddy story. I liked that this one had enough elements about their natural animal bodies and instincts that you didn’t forget they were a skunk and hedgehog. Very tame, easy chapter book with lovely friends and no bad parts.
Shelby & Watts: Tide Pool Troubles
A great intro graphic novel with two animal detective buddies. Lots of science facts and animal information as well. A lot of animal books in the early chapters this year! This one is great for littles who want to read engaging graphic novels and aren’t old enough to handle some of the bigger graphics.
J.D. and the Great Barber Battle
This was actually published two years ago but I found it this year and I LOVE it. It is a really unique story and one that really lets the main character thrive! It is so warmly and lovingly steeped in Black culture and family and I just adored the story. A fun, interesting, exciting read, and great for an early chapter book readaloud!
See the Cat
This one is on the simpler side, a great transition book for littler kids who want to read a slightly longer book. It’s basically a picture book, but longer and told in chapters. It’s HILARIOUS. The humour is so clever and interesting, very Mo Willems-esque. I love this one and the sequel about cats.
Middle Grade Novels
Not gonna lie, I read a lot of books this year and a lot of them were not great. I’m not sure if that’s just the state of reality in pubishing or if it’s just a reflection of me and what this twelfth year of Covid has done to me, but this list is shorter than it usually would be. However, I am happy with this list because the books I did end up putting on here are phenomenal. I hope you enjoy them. As always with middle grade and up, I try to include everything I can think of in terms of content warnings, but if there’s anything specifically you’re concerned about feel free to ask me.
The Chance to Fly
The only bad thing about this book is that it made me so nostalgic for my days of high school and university theatre in a really embarrassing way. You don’t have to be a theatre nerd to love this story, but if you are a theatre nerd or a musical theatre buff, THIS BOOK IS A GODDAMN GEM.
This book has EVERYTHING I would have adored at this age: musical theatre, a found family of friends that is just ridiculously heartwarming, a sweet as hell little love story and crush, epistolary passages told in the form of a group chat. There was not a thing about this book I didn’t enjoy, I was quite sad to finish the book and remember that I’m not a thirteen year old actor in a group chat with my BFFs Rey and Hudson. Let me live in this story!!
Flawlessly written by #OwnVoices author.
Ancestor Approved
A collection of short stories, each one centered around one family as Nations across the continent gather at the Dance for Mother Earth Powwow.
This book is a collection of staggering talent. Each author listed is an Indigenous author, some new and some well-known, all of whom weave these beautifully interconnected stories.
Each segment is infused with family, love, joy, and a lovely diversity of experiences. This was a real year for Indigenous stories that centred joy, identity, and resilience of community, and it’s easy to understand why. Among the stories I read, this is one of my favourites, for the sheer celebration that this book is. The kids and families in this story are varied and different, but all triumphant and united and seeking and finding real joy in community.
This is a healing and enriching book.
Amari and the Night Brothers
What a book! What a wild ride and a seriously thrilling adventure!! I cannot say enough good things about this book. Girl witches coming into their powers were BIG this year, and I could not get enough.
The concept of magic folks living amongst human mortals is obviously not a new idea, so it takes a really good, really fresh take to make it come alive like this. And I really think this does it.
I highly recommend this book for all kids who love magic and adventure without stuff like crushes and weird drama. There is a slight theme of mean girl bullying but I personally think it’s handled okay and didn’t take me out of the story with epic eye rolling the way it often does. I think you can look past it! Content warning for a missing/presumed dead family member.
Starfish
I made the mistake of reading this book on the train and ended up openly weeping into my mask like an absolute embarrassment. It is BEAUTIFUL. I wept for all the moments in this story that made me so angry, so sad, so horrified, and then so triumphant.
It is written in verse, which I know is a harder sell sometimes but I LOVE a verse novel and this whole book is poetry.
I am so happy that kids today have this book. They are so lucky. There are such painful depictions of bullying and anti-fatness, and the most painful of all are the ways in which Ellie’s own mother and brother let her down. But like I said, there is also SUCH triumph and joy. Watching Ellie win on her own terms is a fist-pumping experience.
And Ellie’s idea of ‘starfishing’ - taking up space - is one that I haven’t forgotten since I read it. Yes, YES, to all of us starfishing more, all of us.
A Kind of Spark
This book is incredible. What a gift to the world. This book covers so many things so well - bullying, the realities of living as an autistic child in a world built for and by neurotypicals, justice and healing, family, trauma and legacy. There’s a bigoted, villainous teacher and some truly gut-wrenching moments, so a) take this as a content warning for the book, but also know that b) most kids will LOVE this because they love a bleak, harrowing tale.
There are just beautiful depictions of young autistic adults and family members that are done with such intention, in a way that I cannot recall in any other book I’ve read.
I couldn’t put this book down. I will warn that there is lots of bullying and the teacher is actually really vile, so lots of possible triggers. Read with caution! This book is an #OwnVoices, written by an autistic author.
Own Your Period
Absolutely fantastic non-fiction book. I am so thrilled that kids get to read this and have resources like this to learn about periods. Nothing like this existed when I was young and it would have made such a difference.
This book is so period positive, celebratory, inclusive (trans inclusive, especially) and thoughtful. The language is so intentionally chosen to be both very informative and very kind. It is also funny! There are so many light moments that really take the fear and stigma away from the topic.
I am a big proponent of EVERYONE learning more about periods and I highly recommend this book to help kids learn. It’s an excellent resource and also an easy, fun, interesting read.
Eva Evergreen: Semi-Magical Witch
Like I said, witches were big this year!! I think this was the third one in a row that I read, so I can say with confidence that this one brought me a lot of joy.
One thing I love about this one is the way it flips the script on the ‘Chosen One’ trope. Instead of being uniquely gifted or special, Eva is uniquely challenged at magic, and finds it really difficult. I think this is the only witch book I’ve read that makes magic seem tiring and like a lot of work, which is so neat!
I thought this book was charming. It was released in 2020 but it ends on a cliffhanger so I saved it for this year because now the sequel is out! This whole world has a really wholesome, cute, wonderful vibe and just feels so gentle in a way that I think a lot of us need right now.
There is not a lot of drama and scary stuff in this one, though there is mention of the death of a family member and discussion of working through that.
The Great Pet Heist
I adored this book. Butterbean!! The hero we all need and deserve. I love a girl dog protagonist, so rare! This whole setup is hilarious and precious. A bunch of pets scramble to pull off a heist after their owner, Mrs. Food (that’s what they call her, which is amazing) has an accident.
This story was a riot. The author did such a spot-on job capturing the voice of this plucky little dog. Everything about this is sweet and funny, and I highly recommend it as a read-aloud or bedtime book.
Also the sequel is out this year! I didn’t get a chance to read very many novels for the younger 5-9 set, but this is one I would pull out for sure. An excellent intro novel that is sweet and devoid of that more cynical and rude humour that populates a lot of these funny animal books.
Healer of the Water Monster
What an interesting and magical read!! I honestly don’t think I’ve ever read a book like this. It’s just so beautifully and heartfully written.
It is about a Navajo boy who goes to stay with his grandmother for the summer and ends up meeting a Water Monster, a Holy Being from a story he recognizes hearing his family tell. The adventures that follow are tremendous. And yet the story is SO gentle, so kind, so lovingly told.
The pace, the vibe, the energy of this book is just wonderful. Navajo culture and language and world view is woven into every single piece of this story and it is so rich for it.
I find it really hard to describe this story because it’s such a uniquely beautiful read. Warning that there is mention of adult PTSD and alchoholism, but that too is done through the lens of loving, supportive healing. I loved this book, and I am so glad I picked it up. It is a different pacing than what some kids may be used to, but it is such a terrific read.
Borders
This is a graphic novel adaptation of Thomas King’s short story. It is GREAT. It is about a boy and his mother being stuck at the Canada-USA border crossing because the citizenship they declared was Blackfoot. Such a simple and powerful story, a really quick read but with so much richness and depth.
There’s also the element of the story that is about mothers and daughters and about striking out and finding your own place away from home, and about forgiveness and healing and what it means to support each other as family.
I absolutely loved this story. I think it’s thought-provoking but also light and funny and interesting and it’s really well told. I would recommend this to all kids, especially as we have complex discussions in families and classrooms about what it means to respect Indigenous sovereignty and nationhood.
Honourable mention:
Sequels and Follow-Ups
This was a year full of sequels and follow-ups, probably delayed from the past fourteen years of COVID. Here is a roundup of some of the highlights for me. A lot of these titles I talked about in last year’s year-end so I won’t go into any of them. Suffice to say - even though I haven’t read some of these, I am all in on these authors and series!
Younger Readers
Ages 6-9
Older Readers
Ages 8-12
Books To Make Grown-Ups Weep
The books in this category all had to fulfill one specific criteria which is that they made me and/or my husband and/or all my friends weep openly as fully grown adults reading a picture book. They were magical and beautiful and I didn’t include them in the opening section because I wanted to highlight them as a category of their own - picture books that you can and should buy for grown ass adults. Yes, I have bought these picture books for my adult friends. Do they think it’s weird that I get them picture books? Maybe, maybe not, all I care about is whether they cried, which they DID. Please find copies of these books and read them. Your heart will be richer for them.
New Year
I actually don’t know if kids would enjoy this book or get it, to be honest, because all the characters are adults and the whole story is about mundance adulting. But ANY immigrant who has left family behind or lives apart from their parents will WEEP FOR HOURS at this story like I did. An especially great read during times when many of us haven’t seen our parents for literal years. Too real. Prepare to feel really heartbroken and guilty and have the urge to immediately call your family back home.
Wishes
This book almost broke my fucking heart. It is a work of art, it is a powerful and tragic and breathtaking story, and it is both simple and extremely complex. A tough read in the very best kind of way. I think the visuals in this book alone are just stunning.
I Dream of Popo
Another one about immigration, the guilt of leaving people behind, the complex feelings of growing and changing as you embrace your new home. JUST CRYING FOR HOURS about missing my own grandparents. Truly a book that captures the nuance of being an immigrant.
Bear is a Bear
I just cannot say anything about this book without giving away the entire plot but I will tell you that the book jacket describes it as a story about “the enduring love between a little girl and her childhood friend”. Just take my word for it and start weeping already.
