Two thick double-page spreads are devoted to a single number. The first spread features a “before” image on the left and a die-cut numeral on the right, partially revealing the “after.” For instance, One acorn becomes…an oak tree; seven pots of paint become…seven colours of the rainbow.

After 10, the book jumps by tens until 100, where 100 puzzle pieces become one big puzzle. Pair it with last year’s Alphablock for a beautiful and sturdy learning set.

In this fourth book, the two characters are camping out under a beautiful night sky, but Bunny is scared by a shadowy monster, which turns out to be Piggy illuminated against their tent. The friends come up with ideas to keep from being scared in case a real monster shows up and confess their worries to each other. No matter what they face, the pair with polar personalities always find a solution.

The simple text and bright illustrations let the message and characters shine. Pick up Côté’s other 2014 Piggy and Bunny release, Starring Me and You, while you’re at it.

He reminds children than the reader must say every word written in the book, that’s the rule. Once the premise of a book is established, the story is filled with ridiculous words, like blork and bluurf, and even sillier sentences that, of course, must be read.

The result is a laugh-out-loud adventure that makes the reader (the adult) look very silly, indeed. And let’s face it: for children, that beats pictures any day.

The photicular technology is like a mini-movie, with each animal bobbing or floating or gliding as the page is gently moved. If you own or have seen the book Gallop! By Rufus Butler Seder, then you have an idea how this works.

But Ocean, and its predecessor, Safari, takes the technology to a brilliant new level. From seahorse to jellyfish to shark, the book captivates and educates.

After years of fielding children’s questions about where her stories come from, how books are created and various other intriguing queries, the author decided to address them in this story-within-a-story that captures the imagination.

At the end of the book, Gay addresses all the questions, including the vital, “Can your cat fly?”

But Holly Black and Cassandra Clare aren’t exactly first-timers (The Spiderwick Chronicles, City of Bones). A new entry from the bestselling team is worth more than comparisons.

So, the premise: when Callum is admitted to the Magisterium—an academy he desperately does not want to attend—he is forced to survive the “deathtrap” and in so doing, come to terms with just who he is and why his father has kept his past and future a secret.

A better tale to read on a cold winter’s night while protectively wrapped in a cozy blanket by a warm fire you will not find. A ghost story with just the right mix of suspense, creepiness and humour, The Night Gardener is an absolute gem.

The story follows Will Everett along the inaugural railway trip of the Boundless line across the Canadian landscape. When the teenager witnesses a murder and uncovers multiple schemes to rob a private train car that only he and his father have the key to, crossing the country becomes more perilous than he could have ever imagined.

Along the way he meets a crazy cast of characters, fears the dangers that lurk onboard the train and beyond its walls and learns a lesson in getting what you wish for. The Boundless is a mix of adventure, fantasy, and romance set against the creation of the Canadian railway.

Riordan, a former teacher, has made Greek mythology cool and accessible in the twenty-first century with the novels and the companion book moves a step beyond, detailing the good and the gruesome in an entertaining yet slyly educational way.

On the off-chance your middle grader didn’t already pick up The Blood of Olympus, well, you might as well add that to the gift, too.