Back-to-School Reading List 2025
As Seen on CTV Your Morning
Here are 8 titles to help ease kids back into school this September, as shared on CTV Your Morning August 18th, 2025. Check out the segment at the 2.05.13 mark here, or read on!
Picture Books, Ages 4-7
I Need Pants is a great title made even greater when you realize it’s a fish who needs pants. This silly read-aloud captures the sometimes ridiculous fixations that kids have and celebrates self-expression and individuality. Picture books make great conversation starters, particularly for sensitive topics. Miya Wears Orange is about an Indigenous child who learns about the residential school system for the first time in class and comes home with questions and concerns. What follows is an sensitive conversation between parent and child who come up with ways to cope with this information. An excellent addition to the growing number of titles that reckon with Canada’s dark history. In A Single Dreadlock, a Jamaican boy new to Nova Scotia is teased for having, as the title suggests, a single dreadlock. A visit from his grandmother reminds him of his cultural heritage and gives him the strength to stand up for himself and be proud of his hair. A tender title about the impact of micro-aggressions on racialized children and the importance of celebrating differences.
Chapter Books, Ages 6-9
Rule School is another great instalment in the Jojo Makoons chapter book series, about the everyday life of an effervescent Ojibwe protagonist growing up on a reservation. This particular title is all about rules- who makes them and who gets to change them- especially when it concerns a new substitute teacher that Jojo doesn’t see eye to eye with. Lark Wraps it Up features twin detectives Lark and Connor who investigate a missing quilt. I love how author Natasha Deen creates a diverse neighbourhood that reflects many contemporary Canadian communities. Mysteries are great for this particular age group because the suspense and whodunit of it all motivates readers to persevere even if they are finding reading challenging.
Middle Grade, Ages 9-12
The Sustainable School may have the format of a picture book, but the audience is definitely for the 9+ crowd. A grade six class at the fictional Birch elementary discover a time capsule from when the school first opened in 1900. Using the contents of the time capsule, the students form groups to compare and contrast life at the school in 1900 and current day, through the lens of sustainability. This book is jammed back with facts, innovations and sustainable project ideas, something kids and teachers alike will love. Something’s Up With Arlo is a classic new kid in school story with a spooky twist. Neor’s best friend Arlo is a ghost, which has never been a problem until recently. When Arlo’s behaviour becomes increasingly threatening, Nero, along with their new friends, decides to get to the bottom of it before something terrible happens. A Skeleton in the Closet is the first in the new Mizzy Mysteries series, starring a young detective who happens to have Down syndrome. The discovery of her dead great-aunt’s diary leads Mizzy on a twisty search for a potential killer. There aren't a lot of middle grade novels that feature protagonists with Down syndrome, and this isn't an issue book in any way- it's about a kid with a knack for (and love of) mystery solving. The author is a speech language pathologist with years of experience working with children with Down syndrome and the book features art by Lester McGoogan, a celebrated illustrator with Down syndrome