Over the course of three instalments, Q&Q presents the young readers titles we’re most excited about this fall. 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 Aug. 6.
Q&Q’s fall preview covers books published between July 1 and Dec. 31, 2025. All information (titles, publication dates) was supplied by publishers.
From love to heroes and nature, this fall’s slate of picture books has something for every reader. For the music lover, there’s Howie Shia’s debut Ra! Ta! Ma! Cue!. Award–winning illustrator Jacques Goldstyn (The Stars) showcases the power of art in Sketch. And fan favourite Yolanda T. Marshall explores how immigrant readers grow into a new home with Brown Girl in the Snow. We invite you to explore this season’s offerings and find your next favourite read.
Ra! Ta! Ma! Cue!
Howie Shia
Annick Press, Sept.
Things That Stink
Judith Graves
Acorn Press, Oct.
The Inquisitive Raven
Richard Wagamese and Bridget George, ill.
Douglas & McIntyre, Sept.
Like all ravens, Reuben is inquisitive. He’s also captivated by the wonders of the natural world, from the beavers’ dam to the blue herons’ stance. When his wonder is perceived as nosiness by the animals of the forest, Reuben sets out to gain their respect in a daring feat. The Inquisitive Raven is the second title in the Richard Wagamese Storybook Collection, a series of illustrated fables and meditations by the late author. Award-winning Anishinaabe artist Bridget George provides the ethereal illustrations.
Memory Stones
Kathy Kacer and Hayley Lowe, ill.
Second Story Press, Sept.
To Be With You
Dave Gunning and Meaghan Smith, ill.
Nimbus Publishing, Sept.
Animals take centre stage in this delightful trio of books!
l to r: Detail from Seamus and the Shiny Things; detail from The Language of Birds; detail from You Can’t Tame a Tiger.
Seamus and the Shiny Things by Cara Kansala (Breakwater Books, Sept.) | The Language of Birds by Jon-Erik Lappano and Zach Manbeck, ill. (Random House Studio, Dec.) | You Can’t Tame a Tiger by Stephanie Ellen Sy and Julien Chung, ill. (Owlkids, Sept.)
Brown Girl in the Snow
Yolanda T. Marshall and Marianne Ferrer, ill.
Greystone Kids, Sept.
Sketch
Jacques Goldstyn and Helen Mixter, trans.
Aldana Libros/Greystone Kids, Nov.
One Can
Lana Button and Eric Walters; Isabelle Malenfant, ill.
Groundwood Books, Sept.
One Can, Lana Button and Eric Walters’s first collaboration, follows a child who donates a can of food to the school food drive, which the teacher tops with a snowflake sticker. A few days later the child finds the same can among the groceries and asks, “Mom, are we the people in need?” A heartfelt conversation leads the child to ponder what else they can donate in this touching story of what it means to give and receive.
Where There Is Love: A Story in African Proverbs
Shauntay Grant and Letícia Moreno, ill.
Penguin Workshop, Dec.
The House That Floated
Guojing
Random House Studio, Sept.
This group of titles showcases the rich cultures and heritage of Indigenous Peoples from finding inner strength in The Trickster Shadow to a traditional Inuit story of inner beauty in The Caterpillar Woman.
l to r: Detail from The Trickster Shadow; detail from The First Christmas Tree: An Innu Tale; detail from The Caterpillar Woman; detail from Umingmak and Fox: Why Is It Dark?.
The Trickster Shadow by Mangeshig Pawis-Steckley (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers/Hachette Book Group, Sept.) | The First Christmas Tree: An Innu Tale by Ovila Fontaine and Charlotte Parent, ill.; Ann Marie Boulanger, trans. (Orca Book Publishers, Oct.) | The Caterpillar Woman by Nadia Sammurtok and Carolyn Gan, ill. (Inhabit Media, Nov.) | Umingmak and Fox: Why Is It Dark? by Jamesie Fournier and Tim Mack, ill. (Arvaaq Press, Sept.)
Eddy’s Shadow Puppets
Karina Zhou
Arsenal Pulp Press, Nov.
The Wishing Leaf
Kallie George and Paola Zakimi, ill.
Abrams Books for Young Readers, Aug.
Call Me Gray
Andrew Larsen and Bells Larsen; Tallulah Fontaine, ill.
Kids Can Press, Oct.
When a child explains to their dad, “I look like a boy, but I sometimes feel more like a girl,” it makes room for both the child and their dad to grow together through what can be a complex transition. Call Me Gray, co-written by acclaimed author Andrew Larsen and his son Bells and inspired by Bells’s own experience as a transgender person, shares the comfort, joy, and safety a child feels when a parent affirms their identity.
Aggie and the Ghost
Matthew Forsythe
Simon & Schuster, Aug.
T is for Terry: An ABC of Courage
Denise Dias and Noémie Gionet Landry, ill.
Scholastic Canada, July
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