War By Lee Maracle (Grades 10+)

Lee Maracle (1950–2021) was a distinguished Stó:lō writer, poet, and teacher, widely recognized as a trailblazer in Indigenous literature in Canada. Her work combined storytelling, activism, and scholarship, amplifying Indigenous voices and challenging colonial narratives. In her piece War, Maracle confronts the violence—physical, cultural, and systemic—that Indigenous peoples have endured, while also illuminating the resilience and strength that carry communities forward. With sharp insight and poetic force, she transforms personal and collective struggle into testimony and vision. Maracle’s voice continues to inspire generations, reminding readers that literature is both a weapon of truth and a path toward healing.

The Past is Always Our Present By Louise B. Halfe (Sky Dancer) (Grade 7-9)

Louise B. Halfe, also known by her Cree name Sky Dancer, is an acclaimed poet, social worker, and former Canadian Parliamentary Poet Laureate. Her writing is deeply rooted in Cree language, spirituality, and lived experience, often exploring the interwoven legacies of colonization, resilience, and healing. In The Past Is Always Present, Halfe confronts personal and collective memory, revealing how history continues to shape Indigenous identity and community. With unflinching honesty and lyrical power, her work honors survivors, challenges silences, and illuminates pathways of strength. Halfe’s voice stands as both witness and guide, affirming poetry’s role in truth and reconciliation.

To the miscoded By Jane Jonston Schoolcraft (Grades 4-6)

Jane Johnston Schoolcraft (1800–1842), also known as Bamewawagezhikaquay (“Woman of the Sound the Stars Make Rushing Through the Sky”), is recognized as the first known Native American literary writer. Born in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, to an Ojibwe mother and Irish father, she bridged oral tradition and written English verse. Her poetry often celebrates Ojibwe culture, family, and the natural world. In “To the Miscodeed”, she honors the spring wildflower—called miscodeed in Ojibwe—through tender imagery that reflects renewal, resilience, and beauty. The poem embodies her gift for blending cultural knowledge with lyrical expression, leaving a lasting literary legacy.

Of the Sun: A Poem for the Land's First Peoples By Xelena González and illustrated by Emily Kewageshig (Grades 1-3)

Xelena González is an award-winning author celebrated for weaving stories that honor family, culture, and the natural world. Emily Kewageshig, an Anishinaabe artist and illustrator, brings vibrant visual storytelling rooted in tradition and community. Together, they created The Sun, a lyrical picture book that reflects Indigenous teachings and a deep reverence for the earth. With González’s poetic voice and Kewageshig’s rich, expressive art, their work invites readers of all ages to see the world through a lens of wonder, gratitude, and connection, carrying forward timeless lessons that shine as warmly as the sun itself.

Honesty Is A Thorny Rose By Lee Maracle

from Hope Matters
Lee Maracle was a Stó:lō writer, cultural critic, and activist. She has published many novels, poems, an autobiography, and several books of creative nonfiction, which reflect on many of the complex and often controversial topics discussed in the talks she has delivered nationally and internationally. Throughout her career, she has been honoured with several awards and has been actively involved with numerous universities across Canada.

How to write the great amercian indian novel By Sherman Alexie (Grades 7-9)

Sherman Alexie is a Spokane-Coeur d’Alene writer, poet, and filmmaker whose work explores contemporary Native American identity, culture, and survival with sharp humor and unflinching honesty. Raised on the Spokane Indian Reservation in Washington, he overcame early health challenges and found his voice through literature. Alexie is acclaimed for The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven and The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. His poem How to Write the Great American Indian Novel satirizes stereotypes of Indigenous peoples in literature, exposing how popular culture distorts identity while asserting Indigenous presence through irony and truth.

About Standing (in Kinship) By Kimberly Bleaser (Grades 5-6)

Poet, photographer, scholar, and fiction writer Kimberly Blaeser is an enrolled member of the White Earth Nation and grew up on the reservation in northwestern Minnesota. Blaeser worked as a journalist before earning her PhD from the University of Notre Dame. She is currently a professor emerita at University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, an MFA faculty member at the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, and founding director of In-Na-Po (Indigenous Nations Poets).

Old World New World By John Agard (Grade 1-3)

John Agard is a Guyanese-born poet, playwright, and children’s author known for his vibrant use of Caribbean rhythms, humor, and sharp social insight. Born in 1949, he moved to Britain in 1977, where his work has since become central to contemporary poetry. Agard often explores themes of identity, culture, and history, blending oral tradition with modern commentary. His poem “Old World New World” reflects on the encounters between Europe and the Americas, highlighting colonization’s cultural collisions and consequences. Through vivid imagery and contrasting perspectives, Agard questions historical narratives while celebrating diversity, giving readers both playful wit and profound critique.

Dandelion By Jamie Chai Yun Liew (Grades 10+)

A mix of a story about motherhood and migration, Dandelion follows Lily as she navigates being a new mother by trying to find out what happened to her own mother, who abandoned her family when she was a young girl from small town British Columbia in the 1980's.

Jamie Chai Yun Liew hosts the Migration Conversations podcast and has also written a non-fiction book, Ghost Citizens. Dandelion won the Jim Wong-Chu Emerging Writer Award in 2022. It appeared on the long list of Canada Reads in 2023 and again in the finals in 2025.

An Echo in the City By K. X. Song (Grade 7-9)

An Echo in the City follows two seventeen-year-olds, Phoenix a high school student intent on escaping Hong Kong to go to America for university and Kai, an aspiring police officer. The two of them find themselves in love, but on opposite sides of the 2019 Hong Kong protests as the city descends further and further into political turmoil.

K.X. Song is a writer with connections to both Hong Kong and Shanghai. An Echo in the City is her debut young adult novel and won the Freeman Book Award and was listed as a Best Book in 2023 by multiple institutions She is also the author of The Night Ends with Fire, her debut fantasy novel.

Peter Lee's Notes from the Field By Angela Ahn (Grades 4-6)

Peter Lee's Notes from the Field follows Peter Lee and his dream of being a paleontologist, a scientist who digs up dinosaur bones. However, his summer is filled with disasters, from asthma attacks to his grandmother, Hammy, falling sick. Using his trusty notebook and his observation skills, Peter Lee will need to figure his way out of this by himself.

Angela Ahn was born in Seoul, but immigrated to Canada when she was very young. She now lives in Vancouver. She is a former high school teacher who taught English and Social Studies and she has also earned a Master's Degree from UBC's School of Library and Information Sciences. Other books written by Angela Ahn include Krista Kim Bap and Julia On the Go!

Ruby Lu Brave and True By Lenore Look (Grades 1-3)

Ruby Lu Brave and True tells the story of eight-year-old Ruby Lu who loves Magic and, begrudgingly, her little brother. However, there are some things she is not as fond about, such as having to go to Chinese school on Saturdays. This novel is the first in a series of books about Ruby Lu's adventures growing up.

Lenore Look is an award winning author who has also written the popular Alvin Ho series. She graduated from Princeton University and has previously worked as a journalist, contributing to the L.A. Times. She has always loved writing and, as a child, created and distributed her own picture books.

Skim By Mariko and Jillian Tamaki (Grades 10+)

Skim, a graphic novel written by Mariko Tamaki and illustrated by her cousin Jillian Tamaki, follows a goth girl at a private school who falls for her English teacher while grappling with a classmate’s tragic loss. As she faces confusion and isolation, she finds support in her best friend and an unexpected ally.

Morning Sun in Wuhan By Ying Chang Compestine (Grades 7-9)

Morning Sun in Wuhan follows 13-year-old Mei, a girl who hates piano, loves cooking and computer games, and is living in Wuhan, China, the epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic. When her friend's grandmother falls ill, Mei must navigate the fear and uncertainty of living in a locked-down city as the coronavirus spreads in order to make a difference to those she cares about.

Ying Chang Compestine is originally from Wuhan, China. She has a Master's degree in sociology from the University of Colorado, Boulder, and has written twenty-seven books including Revolution Is Not a Dinner Party, based on her experiences during the Cultural Revolution. Morning Sun in Wuhan was a New York Public Library Best Book of the Year, an NCSS 2023 Notable Social Studies Trade Book, and a Gold Standard Selection from the Junior Library Guild.

May the Best Player Win by Kyla Zhao (Grades 4-6)

May Li, a Chinese-American seventh grader, has just won an award for being the "Top Female Player" in the state championship. However, after being told that "everyone knows girls aren't as good at chess as guys", she is determined to win her team's internal chess tournament to become captain before they take on nationals. Fans of chess and of fighting sexism are sure to enjoy Zhao's latest novel!

Kyla Zhao is a writer from Singapore who now works in Silicon Valley. In 2021, she graduated from Stanford University and in 2023, she was listed in Forbes' Asia's 30 under 30 list. She has written for the Singaporean editions of Harper's Bazaar, Vogue, and Talent and is also the author of The Fraud Squad, described as Crazy Rich Asians meets Gossip Girl

Meet Yasmin! By Saadia Faruqi (Grades 1-3)

Saadia Faruqi is a Pakistani American author, essayist and interfaith activist. Meet Yasmin! follows Yasmin Ahmad, a spirited second-grader who's always on the lookout for those "aha" moments to help her solve life's little problems. Taking inspiration from her surroundings and her big imagination, she boldly faces any situation, assuming her imagination doesn't get too big, of course! A creative thinker and curious explorer, Yasmin and her multi-generational Pakistani American family will delight and inspire readers.

Iron Widow By Xiran Jay Zhou (Grades 10+)

Xiran Jay Zhou immigrated to British Columbia from a small town in China in their fifth grade year. After graduating from Simon-Fraser University with a degree in Biochemical disease research, they signed a multi-book contract with Penguin Teen Canada which they promptly released their debut novel: Iron Widow. Their historical inspired , science fiction story about China's first empress was a huge hit on social media, quickly becoming a New York Times bestseller as well as winning the 2021 BSFA award for young readers. Alongside the heavy feminist themes in the story, Xiran Jay Zhou tackles the little to none Bisexual and Polyamorous representation in media.

I Hope This Doesn't Find You By Ann Liang (Grades 7-9)

I Hope This Doesn't Find You tells the story of Sadie Wen who is a high-achieving, perfect student at her school. Of course, this is because no one knows about the email drafts she writes whenever she has frustrations against her teachers or her classmates, but mostly against her Julius Gong, her co-captain at school. Naturally, those email drafts get sent out and Sadie now has to navigate the fallout of her feelings.

Ann Liang is an Australian-Chinese writer who attended the University of Melbourne. I Hope This Doesn't Find You was a New York Times bestseller and was a finalist for a Queensland Literary Awards Young Adult Book Award. Liang will serve as the executive producer of the upcoming TV adaption of her book If You Could See The Sun.

Where the Mountain Meets the Moon By Grace Lin (Grades 4-6)

Prose - the excerpt about the fortune told to the Magistrate Tiger about his future daughter in law. Where the Mountain Meets the Moon is a fantasy-adventure children's novel inspired by Chinese folklore. It was written and illustrated by Grace Lin and published in 2009. The novel received a 2010 Newbery Honor and the 2010 Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Children's Literature.

The Truth About Dragons By Julie Leung (Grades 1-3)

THE TRUTH ABOUT DRAGONS is a stunning picture book by Julie Leung, illustrated by Hanna Cha, which celebrates a biracial boy as he discovers the folklore of fearsome Western dragons and benevolent Eastern dragons, and learns that both sets of cultures and stories shape the adventure of his life.