Sunshine, Stories & Summer Adventures: Books Kids Will Love
Summer is a season of adventure, discovery, and making memories outdoors. Whether you’re spending your days exploring forest trails, paddling quiet lakes, relaxing at the cottage, or simply enjoying sunny afternoons in the backyard, a great book can make every summer moment even more memorable.
With the help of Penguin Random House Canada, we’ve rounded up some of our favourite children’s books that capture the wonder of nature, friendship, exploration, and imagination—perfect companions for long summer days and cozy evenings under the stars.
PICTURE BOOKS
Tom’s Wild Ride (A Mile End Kids Story) by Isabelle Arsenault
Release Date: May 26, 2026
Tom won’t let a few mishaps keep him from becoming the cyclist he knows he was born to be; that’s what bandages are for. But his friends in the Mile End neighborhood think he needs more practice. Helping him train, they build an obstacle course to get ready for the road . . . but when Tom announces he’s ready for a longer ride, without training wheels, his friends are overwhelmed with worry! Join Tom and familiar faces Colette, Maya, Albert, Jimmy and the rest of the gang on a celebration of bike-riding and a new Mile End Kids adventure in this beautiful picture book told in graphic novel-style panels.
Learn more or purchase your copy here
My Best Friend Is a Butternut Squash by Heather Smith, illustrated by Kass Reich
Release Date: June 16, 2026
Alex’s best friend is a butternut squash. They play pretend all day long. Sometimes his butternut squash is a baby. Alex pushes him in a stroller all around town. Sometimes his butternut squash is a pirate.They have spectacular swordfights! Sometimes Alex thinks that his butternut squash might like to join the other kids in the playground, but he doesn’t want his squash to get his hopes up. What if the other kids don’t want to play with him? Then one day, they meet someone new. A new picture book from the latest Governor General’s Award winner for Children’s Literature, Heather Smith (Tig).
The Only Way to Dance by Cristina Quintero, illustrated by Eugenia Mello
Release Date: August 18, 2026
From the author of The Only Way to Make Bread comes a new picture book that’s a sumptuous celebration of dance from around the world, from breakdancing to bhangra to ballet. What’s the only way to dance? You might dance with a group, moving together to tell a story. You might dance with family to celebrate something special. You might dance on your own to show who you are. What’s the only way to dance? Your way! This beautiful celebration of all kinds of dance will delight readers big and small. No matter how YOU like to dance, this book is for you!
Learn more or purchase your copy here
CHAPTER BOOKS & MIDDLE GRADE
Beast Ballerz (Book 1) by Wesley King, illustrated by Steve Wolfhard
Release Date: May 5, 2026
When eleven-year-old Baxter Brooks wakes up one morning with a sweet beard, he’s pumped. How many fifth graders get to sport cheek mittens in math class? It’s pretty much the greatest day of his life. But he soon realizes he’s rapidly transforming into a werewolf! When he gives his schoolmates a real were-scare, he’s shuttled off to an academy for misfit monsters . . . and into the zany world ofbeast ball. But if Bax wants to lead the long-suffering Pugs to triumph and solve the mystery of the Extremely Inconvenient Phantom, he’ll have to learn to embrace his hairy werewolf alter ego. Yes . . . even the ankle scarves. (I realize Wesley just attended the festival this year.)
One Mad Cat and the Missing Book by Vicky Fang
Release Date: July 7, 2026
The start of a series featuring one perennially angry cat from the new Vancouverite Vicky Fang (the Ava Lin series). Cat’s friend Hedgehog has lost his favourite book. Unfortunately for Cat, searching for her friend’s book means navigating annoying messes, smells, and crowds as she hunts for clues. When a particularly sticky clue (yuck!) leads her to the book at last (it was in Hedgehog’s locker all along?), Cat is mad, but Hedgehog is thrilled—and that’s what really matters, right? A graphic novel about social-emotional learning for the youngest comics readers.
Learn more or purchase your copy here
The Shadow on the Wreck (The Mizzy Mysteries #2) by Claire Hatcher-Smith
Release Date: August 25, 2026
A mysterious figure on an old fishing boat, anonymous postcards, disappearing cousins — Mizzy is thrilled to have a new mystery to solve! Mizzy, an amateur detective with Down syndrome, is spending half-term with cousins in St Jude’s-on-Sea: a seaside town struggling to accommodate an influx of refugees. When she sees a spooky shadow on a wrecked old fishing boat on the shore, she thinks she’s found her next mystery. But her cousins seem determined to keep her in the dark about their comings and goings to the wreck, and she’s left alone to help their old Greek-Cypriot grandfather Papou sort out his papers. Then an anonymous postcard arrives for Papou, featuring a picture of the old wreck and the words WHAT REALLY HAPPENS? Mizzy must solve the mystery of the postcard sender and prove once again that she is the best detective in town.
YOUNG ADULT
Thornbird by E. Kennedy
Release Date: June 30, 2026
The highly anticipated young adult thriller about a serial killer’s daughter and her race to solve the crimes of her family’s twisted past before it’s too late—from E. Kennedy, aka New York Times bestselling romance Canadian author Elle Kennedy (the Off-Campus series). Ten years after her father—the infamous serial killer Gabriel Thorn—was caught, Ryan Shipley is back in Starling, Tennessee, trying to lay low. But as fresh eyes dig deeper into the case, old secrets refuse to stay buried.
Learn more or purchase your copy here
Everything Comes Back to You by Jackie Khalilieh
Release Date: August 4, 2026
Lennon has always tried to live up to her Palestinian Canadian father’s exacting standards, even if her older sister hasn’t (by becoming pregnant as a high school senior), but when a crush on an older white boy (John) develops into something more, she must find the strength to balance her own desires against her father’s expectations. As Lennon and John are drawn together and pulled apart throughout her four years of high school, Lennon wrestles with feelings of shame and yearning, obedience and rebellion through the lens of her autism, trying to both please her parents and herself.
Summer is the perfect time to nurture a love of reading. These stories invite kids of all ages to explore new worlds, connect with nature, and let their imaginations roam free. Pack a few of these books for your next family cabin stay, find a sunny spot to settle in, and enjoy a season filled with unforgettable stories and outdoor adventures.