Over the course of three instalments, Q&Q presents the young readers titles we’re most excited about this spring. This week’s instalment features picture books. Middle grade and graphic novels will be featured next week, with young adult and nonfiction to be featured on Jan. 28. 

Q&Q’s spring preview covers books published between Jan. 1 and June 30, 2026. All information (titles, publication dates) was supplied by publishers.

Every Space Between
Naseem Hrab and John Martz, ill.
Groundwood Books, March

Ellis on Guard
Sal Sawler and Nandita Ratan, ill.
Second Story Press, Feb.

I Sure Do
Charles Demers and Dorothy Leung, ill.
Tradewind Books, June

Double-Up Day!
Kari-Lynn Winters and Dave Whamond, ill.
Pajama Press, May 

A Friend Is a Friend Is a Friend 
Sara O’Leary and Qin Leng, ill.
Groundwood Books, April

Dynamic duo Sara O’Leary and Qin Leng return with A Friend Is a Friend Is a Friend. The final title in the Who We Are trilogy explores how to make a friend, with one kid after another sharing their thoughts on friendship, ranging from asking questions to showing kindness.

When We Go Home
Heather Beaumont and Nátali de Mello, ill.
Kids Can Press, May 

The Story Hunter 
Barbara Reid
North Winds Press/Scholastic Canada, Feb.

My Language Is a Garden 
E.G. Alaraj and Rachel Wada, ill.
Orca Book Publishers, Feb.

A Little Halwa and a Big Family
Farid Bazger and Sahar Abdallah, ill.
Running the Goat, March 

Bollywood Beat! 
Anita Yasuda and Devika Oza, ill.
Kids Can Press, June

Anita Yasuda’s playful rhymes put Bollywood culture in the spotlight in Bollywood Beat!, a celebration of dance, tradition, and family. Devika Oza’s vibrant artwork exudes the joy of movement for both the dancer and the audience as they “rustle, hustle” and “wiggle, giggle.” 

10 Shocking Facts About Capybaras
Mélanie Watt
Scholastic Canada, Jan.

Pipa:m̓: The Touch of the Frog
Joseph Dandurand and Elinor Atkins, ill.
Nightwood Editions, May

We All Love
Julie Flett
Greystone Kids, Feb.

Lucie and the Wind
Grégoire Laforce and Yvan Duque, ill. 
Milky Way Picture Books, March

A Door Is to Open 
Kyo Maclear and Julie Morstad, ill.
Tundra Books/Penguin Random House Canada, May

In this ode to Ruth Krauss’s A Hole Is to Dig and Remy Charlip’s essay A Page Is a Door, children’s literature powerhouses Kyo Maclear and Julie Morstad invite readers to celebrate entrances, portals, and thresholds, from swinging doors to revolving doors, and all the wondrous places they lead and possibilities they hold. 

Drew’s Secret Talent
D D Sheppard and Pheilm Martin, ill.
Breakwater Books, Feb.

A Baby on My Back
Ceporah Mearns and Tindur Peturs, ill.
Inhabit Media, April

The Old Man, the Dog, and the Boy
Kevin Qamaniq-Mason and Vinícius Xavier, ill.
Inhabit Media, June

Canada: We Are the Story 
Richard Wagamese and Mangeshig Pawis-Steckley, ill.
Swift Water Books/Penguin Random House Canada, March 

Unable to answer the question: “What makes you proud to be Canadian?” an Indigenous child calls on the strength of their ancestors in this reimagining of Richard Wagamese’s poem Canada: We Are the Story. Anishinaabe artist Mangeshig Pawis-Steckley brings to life this first picture book for imprint Swift Water Books.  

Music of the Bells
Anitha Rao-Robinson and Chaaya Prabhat, ill.
Viking Books for Young Readers/Penguin Random House Canada, March

Peggy and the Ghost
Briana Corr Scott
Nimbus Publishing, June

Spring Preview: Fiction