FOLD Kids Book-of-the-Month - The FOLD

FOLD Kids Book-of-the-Month

Monthly Highlights

Each month, FOLD Kids highlights one picture book and one middle grade or young adult title by a marginalized Canadian author. You can find past years’ Book-of-the-Month picks at the bottom of this page.

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Previous years’ FOLD Kids Book-of-the-Month picks

 

March: Young Adult

ABOUT CATFISH ROLLING

Book cover of Catfish Rolling by Clara Kumagai which features a catfish swirling the multicoloured cover.A debut young adult coming-of-age book with magic realism elements, Catfish Rolling is perfect for fans of Studio Ghibli films and Laura Ruby’s Bone Gap.

There’s a catfish under Japan, and when it rolls, the land rises and falls. At least, that’s what Sora was told after she lost her mother to an earthquake so powerful that it cracked time itself. Sora and her father are some of the few who still live near the most powerful of these “zones” — the places where time has been irrevocably sped up, or slowed down.

When high school ends, and her best friend leaves for university, Sora finds herself stuck and increasingly alone. She begins secretly conducting her own research, tracking down a time expert in Tokyo. She also feels increasingly conflicted in her quasi-romantic feelings for her best friend — and for the time expert’s assistant, a striking and confident girl named Maya, another hafu (half-Japanese, half-non) girl with whom Sora forms an instant bond.

But when Sora’s father disappears, she has no choice but to return home and venture deep into the abandoned time zones to find him, and perhaps the catfish itself . . .

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Clara Kumagai is from Canada, Japan and Ireland. Her fiction and non-fiction for children and adults has been published in The Stinging Fly, The Irish Times, Banshee, Room, The Kyoto Journal and Cicada, among others. She is a recipient of a We Need Diverse Books Mentorship, and was a finalist for the 2020 Jim Wong-Chu Emerging Writers Award. Catfish Rolling is her debut novel.

March: Picture Book

ABOUT BUTTERFLY ON THE WIND

Book cover of Butterfly on the Wind by Adam Pottle and Ziyue Chen featuring a white little girl with long brown hair surrounded by butterflies and whose hands are in the shape of butterfly wings flappingA magical picture book about a Deaf girl who creates a butterfly with Sign Language and sends it on a journey around the world.

On the day of the talent show, Aurora’s hands tremble. No matter how hard she tries to sign, her fingers stumble over one another and the words just won’t come. But as she’s about to give up, she spots a butterfly.

Using her hands to sign the ASL word for “butterfly,” Aurora sends a magical butterfly of her own into the world, inspiring Deaf people across the globe to add their own. The butterflies grow in numbers and strength as they circle back to Aurora, bolstering her with the love and support of her worldwide Deaf community.

Deaf picture book creators author Adam Pottle and artist Ziyue Chen combine powerful text and sweeping art into a moving story of resilience and self-belief.

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ABOUT THE CREATORS

Born Deaf and raised in a hearing family, Adam Pottle spent much of his childhood searching for magical portals and pretending to be Godzilla. He is an award-winning Canadian writer, with books in multiple genres, including the acclaimed memoir Voice and the adult novel The Bus. His groundbreaking fantasy play The Black Drum was performed to rave reviews in Canada and France and is the world’s first all-Deaf musical. He has a PhD in English Literature and has taught English and Creative Writing for nearly twenty years. When not writing, he is usually found at the boxing gym, the library, or the park with his goldendoodle Valkyrie.

Born deaf and raised in sunny island, Singapore, Ziyue Chen pronounced as Zzz yuair, lives with her husband and her two darling children. Her life goal has been to have an emotional connection with those who view her work. She loves visualizing stories through illustrations, working on mostly children’s books that resonate with her personal life experience.

 

February: Middle Grade

ABOUT THE PROBABILITY OF EVERYTHING

A graphic of The Probability of Everything book cover by Sarah Everett with the FOLD Kids Book-of-the-Month badgeA heart-wrenching middle grade debut about Kemi, an aspiring scientist who loves statistics and facts, as she navigates grief and loss at a moment when life as she knows it changes forever.

Eleven-year-old Kemi Carter loves scientific facts, specifically probability. It’s how she understands the world and her place in it. Kemi knows her odds of being born were 1 in 5.5 trillion and that the odds of her having the best family ever were even lower. Yet somehow, Kemi lucked out.

But everything Kemi thought she knew changes when she sees an asteroid hover in the sky, casting a purple haze over her world. Amplus-68 has an 84.7% chance of colliding with earth in four days, and with that collision, Kemi’s life as she knows it will end.

But over the course of the four days, even facts don’t feel true to Kemi anymore. The new town she moved to that was supposed to be “better for her family” isn’t very welcoming. And Amplus-68 is taking over her life, but others are still going to school and eating at their favorite diner like nothing has changed. Is Kemi the only one who feels like the world is ending?

With the days numbered, Kemi decides to put together a time capsule that will capture her family’s truth: how creative her mother is, how inquisitive her little sister can be, and how much Kemi’s whole world revolves around her father. But no time capsule can change the truth behind all of it, that Kemi must face the most inevitable and hardest part of life: saying goodbye.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Sarah Everett is the author of The Probability of Everything as well as several books for teens. Charlotte’s Web was the first book that ever made her cry, and while she despises spiders, she still has an abiding love of stories that move her. When she is not reading or writing, she is dreaming about summer, gearing up for her next travel adventure, perfecting her tree pose, or yodeling with her dog. She lives in western Canada.

February: Picture Book

ABOUT KHADIJA AND THE ELEPHANT TOOTHPASTE EXPERIMENT

A graphic of Khadija and the Elephant Toothpaste Experiment book cover by Farah Qaiser, Hajer Nakua and Natalya Tariq with the FOLD Kids Book-of-the-Month badgeEveryone can see themselves in science!

Khadija is inspired by her visit to the science fair. There are so many different scientists all wearing safety goggles and lab coats! But how come none of them are wearing a hijab?

After watching a scientist carry out the elephant toothpaste experiment, Khadija attempts to recreate it at home with mixed (and messy!) results. Surrounded by her family as they celebrate Eid, Khadija tries again….

“Salaam everyone, and Eid Mubarak!” she cries. “When I grow up, I’m going to be a scientist!”

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ABOUT THE CREATORS

Farah Qaiser is passionate about making science engaging and accessible for everyone, from youth to adults, through writing, outreach, and policy. Farah is a genomics researcher by training and holds a Master of Science from the University of Toronto. She lives in Mississauga, Canada.

Hajer Nakua is a neuroscience researcher currently pursuing a PhD at the University of Toronto. She is passionate about using social media platforms to share research with a diverse audience and working with committees to improve the career trajectories of PhD students. Hajer lives in Mississauga, Canada.

Natalya Tariq is an illustrator based in Ottawa, who grew up in Russia and lived in Saudi Arabia. With a professional background in translation, Natalya has a keen interest in different countries, languages, and cultures. She started illustration in 2021 as a hobby and developed her art into a second career.

January: Middle Grade

ABOUT ATANA AND THE FIREBIRD

A graphic of Atana and the Firebird book cover by Vivian Zhou with the FOLD Kids Book-of-the-Month badge

A mermaid, a firebird, and a witch become entangled with the mysterious and powerful Witch Queen, who may hold the key to each of their past in this epic middle grade fantasy by debut author Vivian Zhou.

Atana’s island may be quiet and peaceful, but mostly, it’s lonely. With the outside world full of magic hunters who would stop at nothing to capture a mermaid like her, Atana has never been brave enough to swim far from her island’s shores and seek the answers to her mysterious past—until a firebird named Ren unexpectedly crashes into her life.

Ren’s arrival does not go unnoticed, as it has been hundreds of years since a firebird last landed on Earth. Determined to both protect Ren and finally chase the answers she’s longed for, Atana embarks on an adventure that takes her and the firebird to strange new islands and entangles them with the powerful yet secretive Witch Queen.

Generous though the Witch Queen’s offer of protection may be, an invitation to the Blue Palace can’t come without a price. And while the Palace’s splendid halls and library might hold the key to Atana’s past, will she be willing to pay the cost when it risks her chance of a bright new future?

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ABOUT THE CREATOR

Vivian Zhou is a graduate of Sheridan College’s Bachelor of Animation program. After working on a multitude of animated shows and award winning short films as storyboard artist and occasionally director, she is now following her dream of creating her own comic. Her short comics can be found printed in anthologies and zines. She currently resides in Nova Scotia, Canada, where she can be found trying to draw with squid ink. Visit her online at vivianzhou.ca.

January: Picture Book

ABOUT WHEN I WRAP MY HAIR

A graphic of When I Wrap My Hair book cover by Shauntay Grant and Jenin Mohammed with the FOLD Kids Book-of-the-Month badgeIn the vein of I Am Enough and Hold Them Close, this inspiring and beautiful picture book celebrates how hair wrapping ties together past and present.

When I wrap,

my roots run deep.

As deep as an African marketplace

or a city sidewalk

or the stories between them.

With lyrical text by acclaimed author Shauntay Grant and vibrant illustrations by Jenin Mohammed, When I Wrap My Hair is both an act of joyful recognition and a demonstration of how knowledge is passed through generations.

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ABOUT THE CREATORS

Shauntay Grant is an author, poet, playwright, and multidisciplinary artist. She holds an MFA in creative writing from the University of British Columbia and is an associate professor of creative writing at Dalhousie University. A former poet laureate for the city of Halifax, her honors include a Marilyn Baillie Picture Book Award, a Joseph S. Stauffer Prize, and a Poet of Honour prize from the Canadian Festival of Spoken Word. Learn more about her at shauntaygrant.com.

Jenin Mohammed, winner of the 2020 Summer Spectacular Illustration Grand Prize, is the illustrator of the picture books Naming Ceremony, Song in the City, Super Mom, and All the Places We Call Home. She also draws the slice-of-life comic Knot Write Now. She lives in Florida. You can find her online at jeninmohammed.com.

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