Aram's Choice by Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch, illustrated by Muriel Wood

From the back of the book:
Aram is like all the boys exiled in Greece. Survivors of the Armenian genocide in Turkey, they can never return home. Aram learns that he is one of a group of boys who will start a new life in a country called Canada, where there is no war, plenty to eat, and trees covered in gold. But first he must get there. Aram is about to embark on a long journey. Based on the story of Kevork Kevorkian, one of the original Georgetown Boys - a group of Armenian orphans brought to Georgetown, Ontario, in 1923.

New Beginning is a series of historical chapter books for newly independent readers. Every title is well researched, illustrated in full colour throughout, and accompanied by a bibliography, index, and glossary.

The Snow Spider by Jenny Nimmo

From chapters.ca:
On Gwyn's 9th birthday, his grandmother tells him he may be a magician, like his Welsh ancestors. She gives him five gifts to help him - a brooch, a piece of dried seaweed, a tin whistle, a scarf, and a broken toy horse. One blustery day, unsure what to do with his newfound magic, Gwyn throws the brooch to the wind and receives a silvery snow spider in return. Will he be able to use this special spider to bring his missing sister, Bethan, home? The Snow Spider spins an icy, sparely web of mystical intrigue that sets the stage for the next two books in this outstanding trilogy!

Slow Loris by Alexis Deacon

Slow Loris is veeeeeeeery sloooooooooow. He's so slow the people who visit the zoo find him boring. The other animals think he's boring too...until they discover his secret.

The Legend of Hong Kil Dong: The Robin Hood of Korea by Anne Sibley O'Brien

From the back of the book:
In this classic tale from early seventeenth- century Korea, Hong Kil Dong, the son of a powerful minister, is not entitled to a birthright because his mother is a commoner. After studying the martial arts, divination, swordplay, the uses of magic, and the wisdom of the I Ching, the Book of Changes, Hong Kil Dong sets off on a quest for his destiny. He leads a band of men to right the injustices shown to the peasant by some powerful and corrupt merchants, ministers, and monks. Hong Kil Dong an then claim his rightful role and become a wise and just leader.

Head, Body, Legs: A Story from Liberia

From the back of the book:
Head is all alone. Body bounces along. Arms swing about, and Legs stand around. They can't do much by themselves, so they try to join together. But how? Should Head attach to the belly button? Should Legs stand on Arms? If only they can work together, everything will be perfect. Straight from the oral tradition comes this magical retelling of a creation story from Liberia.

Carnal Knowledge: A Navel Gazer's Dictionar of Anatomy, Etymology, and Trivia by Charles Hodgson

A dictionary like book of tons of words that have to do with the body. Words you know and words for body parts you didn't even know you had!

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

From the publisher:
It’s just a small story really, about among other things: a girl, some words, an accordionist, some fanatical Germans, a Jewish fist-fighter, and quite a lot of thievery....Set during World War II in Germany, Markus Zusak’s groundbreaking new novel is the story of Liesel Meminger, a foster girl living outside of Munich. Liesel scratches out a meagre existence for herself by stealing when she encounters something she can’t resist–books. With the help of her accordion-playing foster father, she learns to read and shares her stolen books with her neighbours during bombing raids as well as with the Jewish man hidden in her basement before he is marched to Dachau.

Silly Billy by Anthony Browne

From the back of the book:
Billy worries about everything, especially when he spends the night away from home. On a visit to Grandma's, Billy is so worried that he can't sleep. But Grandma has just the thing for a boy like Billy - tiny, colourful worry dolls. He puts the dolls under his pillow and lets them do the worrying for him.

Snowflake Bentley by Jacqueline Briggs Martin, illustrated by Mary Azarian

From the back of the book:
Snow in Vermont is as common as dirt. Why would anyone want to photograph it? But from the time he was a small boy, Wilson Bentley thinks of the icy crystals as small miracles, and he determines that one day his camera will capture for others their extraordinary beauty. Often misunderstood in his time, Wilson Bentley took pictures that even today reveal two important truths about snowflakes: first, that no two are alike, and second, that each one is startlingly beautiful.

The Wreck of the Zephyr by Chris Van Allsburg

From chapters.ca:
At the edge of a cliff lies the wreck of a small sailboat. How did it get there? "Waves carried it up in a storm," says an old sailor. But is it possible that waves could ever get that high? There is another story -- the story of a boy and his obsessive desire to be the greatest sailor, the story of a storm that carried the boy and his boat to a place where boats glide like gulls high above the water and not upon it. Chris Van Allsburg tells that story of the boy and his boat, the Zephyr, in words and haunting, full-colour pastel paintings. His sailboats sail the night sky with the stars in pictures so vivid that the reader can almost hear the wind in the sails.

One Scary Night by Antonie Guilloppe

From the back of the book:
One scary night a young boy finds himself alone in a cold, dark forest. As he walks deeper into the woods, it starts to snow. The boy presses on. But he is not alone. Something is watching him. Is it friend or foe?
Black and white illustrations illustrate this spooky story.

World Behind the Door: An Encounter with Salvador Dali by Mike Resnick

From the back of the book:
Salvador Dali's The Persistence of Memory is one of the most memorable images in the world. Now this surrealist masterpiece is at the centre of a tale about the connection between Dali's celebrated painting and quantum physics, through the story of a young girl named Jinx and her effect on Dali when he was seeking a new direction for his art. In the 1920s, Dali, deeply troubled that his art had become uninspired, comes across a door in the back of his closet, through which he finds a fantastical parallel universe. And it is in this world that Dali meets Jinx, who serves as his muse for much of the rest of his life. For it is through their conversations as well ass his visits to her world that Dali begins to "see" and paint the surreal images that can only be described as Daliesque.

Who's Hiding? by Satoru Onishi

An excellent book to spend time looking at the pictures and discussing what you see. Who has horns? Who's backwards? Who's hiding?

Dear Mrs. LaRue: Letters from Obedience School by Mark Teague

From chapters.ca:
When Ike LaRue is "imprisoned" at the Igor Brotweiler Canine Academy, he tries everything to get sent home -- weepy letters to his owner, even illness. In reality, Brotweiler is more like camp than prison, but still, Ike's not cut out for life without Mrs. LaRue and his creature comforts. Finally, he runs away only to find himself back in Snort City -- just in time to save Mrs. LaRue's life.

The Magic Thief by Sarah Prineas

From chapters.ca:
In a city that runs on a dwindling supply of magic, a young boy is drawn into a life of wizardry and adventure. Conn should have dropped dead the day he picked Nevery’s pocket and touched the wizard’s locus magicalicus, a stone used to focus magic and work spells. But for some reason he did not. Nevery finds that interesting, and he takes Conn as his apprentice on the provision that the boy find a locus stone of his own. But Conn has little time to search for his stone between wizard lessons and helping Nevery discover who—or what—is stealing the city of Wellmet’s magic.

Surprising Sharks by Nicola Davies, illustrated by James Croft

From the back of the book:
What's the last word you want to hear when you're swimming in the warm blue sea? "SHAAAAAAAARK!" But most sharks aren't at all what you would expect. In fact, if you thought all sharks were giant, man-eating killers, you're in for a big surprise. Sharks come in all shapes and sizes-and probably should be more afraid of humans than we are of them.

The Adventures of the Dish and the Spoon by Mini Grey

From the back of the book:
When the cow jumped over the moon, the dish ran away with the spoon to seek fame and fortune in twentieth-century America. This is the never-before-told true story of their exciting adventures out in the big world.

Armadillo Tattletale by Helen Ketteman, illustrated by Keith Graves

From the back of the book:
In the bare bones beginning, Armadillo'w ears were as tall as a jackrabbit's and as wide as a steer's horns. With such wonderful ears, Armadillo loved nothing better than spying on other animals and telling tales about what he heard. Then Armadillo gets an earful all his very own.
This humorous tale is a lyrical lesson in just how fast stretching the truth is likely to cause one humongous armadillo ruckus. As Armadillo peeps and creeps, children will giggle, and also learn a basic lesson in thoughtfulness and respect.

From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E. L. Konigsburg

From the back of the book:
Twelve-year-old Claudia Kincaid is restless. She wants to do something different, leaving her comfortable suburban life in Connecticut behind for awhile. And she wants to be gone just long enough o teach her parents to appreciate her. But as Claudia plans to run away, not just any place ill do. She wants to live in style - in a place with a bit of luxury and some good company. Claudia settles on New York City's Metropolitan Museum of Art. She invites her younger brother Jamie to come along too, not for companionship, but mostly because he is a miser and has saved up some money. Unfortunately, the live-in at the museum isn't all Claudia had hoped. She doesn't feel any different than before. And soon she finds herself in the middle of an interesting museum mystery. Claudia sees a statue so beautiful that she cannot head back to Connecticut until she discovers its maker. the first clue is the statue's former owner, Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, an unusual old woman who helps Claudia finally find her way home.

Me Hungry by Jeremy Tankard

From chapters.ca:
"Me hungry!" the boy pleads. "Me busy," say his preoccupied mom and dad. So the boy decides to go hunting, setting his sights on an elusive rabbit, a prickly porcupine, a too-mean tiger, and finally, a like-minded mammoth who’s more than happy to help. With comical, energetic illustrations and a simple, repetitive text, this child-friendly tale will have little listeners fully engaged right up to the funny final twist.

The Summer of the Marco Polo by Lynn Manuel, illustrated by Kasia Charko

From the back of the book:
In the summer in 1883 a famous clipper ship ran aground off the coast of Prince Edward Island near the home of a young girl named Lucy Maud Montgomery. Lucy Maud, who became one of Canada's most beloved writers, wrote about the grand adventure in her journals and reflected on it years later in her notebooks. The town of Cavendish and Lucy Maud herself were transformed by the event and the exciting summer that followed.

Stop that Ball! by Mike McClintock, illustrted by Fritz Siebel

It's unbelievable the chaos that can be caused by a small, red, runaway ball!

Town Mouse and Country Mouse by Jan Brett

From the back of the book:
The classic tale of a town mouse and a country mouse takes on a new dimension in the imaginative and talented hands of Jan Brett. She introduces two engaging mice couples eager to get away from their everyday lives. But when they agree to swap homes, they are plunged into unexpected adventures around every corner.

You Read to Me, I'll Read to You by Mary Ann Hoberman, illustrated by Michael Emberley

From chapters.ca:
Designed with budding readers in mind, each of stories is set in three columns and three colours as a script for two voices to read separately or together.

Gatty's Tale by Kevin Crossley-Holand

From the back of the book:
in the year 1203, nine companions set out on a great pilgrimage. The journey - on food, on horseback and by sea - is fraught with danger. Not all of them will come home. Among them is Gatty, whose whole life has been spent working in the fields. Bright, eager and resolute, with the singing voice of an angel, she is at the heart of this enthralling novel that sweeps across Europe towards Jerusalem. We come to know the pilgrims intimately - their bickering, praying and joking, their fear and exhaustion, their loyalty and sacrifice as they face thieves and storms and precipices, a vicious attack and a heartbreaking bereavement. Gatty's curiosity and reckless impulsiveness land her in danger, yet she is transformed by her experiences and by her exposure to new people and new ideas. How can she go back to her old life in the Welsh Marches after this?