Winter 2026 Featured Reads: Kids Picks

Feb 23, 2026 - Waterloo Public Library
Featured Reads

Find your next favourite read with our selection of picturebooks, kid’s chapter books, graphic novels and non-fiction reads for the winter.

Picturebooks

A Knot is Not a Tangle
Daniel Nayeri; illustrated by Vesper Stamper
The Secret Hiding Place
Katharina E. Volk; illustrated by Arianna Cicciò
The Language of Birds
Jon-Erik Lappano; illustrated by Zach Manbeck
Broken
X. Fang
Never Give a Baby a Library Card
Erin Sandberg; pictures by Tom Booth
Cat Nap
Brian Lies
Ruby Maps Her World
Jane Yolen; illustrated by Dow Phumiruk
This Is Not a Sleepy Bear Book
Brian Gehrlein; illustrated by Jennifer Harney
The Polar Bear and the Ballerina
Eric Velasquez

Fiction & Graphic Novels

Bunns Rabbit
Alan Barillaro
Agent Cupcake
Katie Longua, Mel Hilario & Lauren Davis
Bad Cheerleader
Alex Thayer
The Vanishing of Lake Peigneur
Allan Wolf; illustrated by Jose Pimienta
Night Chef
Mika Song
The Last Ember
Lily Berlin Dodd
The Free State of Jax
Jennifer A. Nielsen
Indoor Kid
Mat Heagerty; illustrated by Lisa DuBois-Thompson
Chris Makes a Friend
Alex Gino
Busted
Dan Gemeinhart

Non-Fiction

The Dirt!: Wild Life Under the Soil's Surface
Lindsey Leigh
Soup’s On Around the Word
Denyse Waissbluth & Chelsea O'Byrne
The Gland Factory: A Tour of Your Body's Goops, Juices, and Hormones
Rachel Poliquin; illustrated by Clayton Hanmer
Up, Up, Ever Up!: Junko Tabei: A Life in the Mountains
Anita Yasuda; art by Yuko Shimizu
Liftoff!: How the Apollo Moon Missions Made Alma Thomas's Art Soar
Nina Crews
Extreme Places: The Most Remote Homes on Earth
Giles Laroche
Burst Your Bubble!: Outsmart the Algorithms and See What You're Missing
Joyce Grant; illustrated by Jan Dolby
The Roots We Share: 100 Words That Bring Us Together
Susie Dent; illustrated by Harriet Hobday
Waterloo Public Library

WPL’s Check It Out blog is your go-to destination for all things literary, curated with care by your trusted library staff. With insightful book reviews, reading suggestions, helpful resources and more, we’re here to inspire and guide you on your journey through all that the library has to offer.