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CD service concludes July 31, 2025
CELA's audiobooks and magazines are available in Direct to Player and downloadable formats. We no longer mail out CDs. Please contact us for more information.
CELA's audiobooks and magazines are available in Direct to Player and downloadable formats. We no longer mail out CDs. Please contact us for more information.
Showing 1 - 20 of 22 items
By Jordan Scott. 2020
When a boy who stutters feels isolated, alone, and incapable of communicating in the way he'd like, it takes a…
kindly father and a walk by the river to help him find his voice. Through this powerful and uplifting story, poet Jordan Scott uses his own experiences to reveal what it's like to be a child who feels lost, lonely, or unable to fit in. Compassionate parents everywhere will recognize how they, too, can reconnect their children to the world around themBy Jordan Scott. 2020
Winner of the Schneider Family Book Award What if words got stuck in the back of your mouth whenever you…
tried to speak? What if they never came out the way you wanted them to? Sometimes it takes a change of perspective to get the words flowing.A New York Times Best Children's Book of the YearI wake up each morning with the sounds of words all around me. And I can't say them all . . . When a boy who stutters feels isolated, alone, and incapable of communicating in the way he'd like, it takes a kindly father and a walk by the river to help him find his voice. Compassionate parents everywhere will instantly recognize a father's ability to reconnect a child with the world around him. Poet Jordan Scott writes movingly in this powerful and ultimately uplifting book, based on his own experience, and masterfully illustrated by Greenaway Medalist Sydney Smith. A book for any child who feels lost, lonely, or unable to fit in.An American Library Association Notable Children’s BookNamed a Best Book of the Year by The Wall Street Journal, People Magazine, NPR, Kirkus Reviews, Shelf Awareness, Bookpage, School Library Journal, Publishers Weekly, Publishers Lunch, and more!A Horn Book Fanfare Best Book of the YearA Junior Library Guild Gold Standard SelectionA Chicago Public Library Best Book of the YearA CBC Best Picture Book of the YearBy Tasha Spillett-Sumner. 2021
A New York Times and CBC Books bestselling #OwnVoices love letter from an Indigenous mother to her new baby, new…
from celebrated author Tasha Spillett-Sumner and 2021 Caldecott winning illustrator Michaela Goade, that honors the beauty of a little one's arrivalBy Cale Atkinson. 2021
A ghost and a kid team up to solve mysteries and kick butt! A hilarious new graphic novel series for…
fans of Bad Guys and Dog Man.Welcome to the world of Simon and Chester, ghost and boy duo extraordinaire.They like to kick butt and take names. They don't like chores. They are best friends. And they are about to solve the MYSTERY OF A LIFETIME. (Oh, and eat some snacks probably.)Join Simon and Chester in their first adventure, and fall in love with this hilarious odd couple by fan favorite author and illustrator Cale Atkinson.By Julie Flett. 2021
A BEST CHILDREN’S BOOK OF THE YEAR: New York Times, Washington Post, New York Public Library, Kirkus Reviews, Globe and…
Mail, Horn Book, and Boston Globe STARRED Reviews in Kirkus, Publisher’s Weekly, The Horn Book, School Library JournalFrom Julie Flett, the beloved author and illustrator of Birdsong, comes a joyous new book about playtime for babies, toddlers, and kids up to age 7. Animals and kids love to play! This wonderful book celebrates playtime and the connection between children and the natural world. Beautiful illustrations show:birds who chase and chirp!bears who wiggle and wobble!whales who swim and squirt!owls who peek and peep!and a diverse group of kids who love to do the same, shouting: We play too! / kimêtawânaw mînaAt the end of the book, animals and children gently fall asleep after a fun day of playing outside, making this book a great bedtime story. A beautiful ode to the animals and humans we share our world with, We All Play belongs on every bookshelf.This book also includes:A glossary of Cree words for wild animals in the bookA pronunciation guide and link to audio pronunciation recordingsBy Meaghan McIsaac. 2021
Princess Aster and Princess Ursula are the only children of the Bear Major, high king and head of the royal…
House of the Hemoth Bear. Rivals, both girls dream of becoming queen someday, although neither really deserve to—brilliant, spoiled, and difficult, they have little to recommend them. But everything changes when fire and murder come to their castle, and the crown is stolen from their family. Overnight, the girls are forced onto the run, along with the half-grown grizzly Alcor, the symbol of their house, and the lowly bearkeeper Dev. As a bitter struggle for the throne consumes the kingdom in civil war, dragging every family from the House of Hounds to the House of the Ox into chaos, the sisters must rely on Dev, Alcor, and each other to survive—and find wells of courage, cunning, and skill they never knew they had. From celebrated fantasist Meaghan McIsaac comes The Bear House, the first entry in a new middle-grade fantasy series set in a gritty medieval world where the ruling houses are based on the constellations—and the stakes are sky-highBy Catherine Egan. 2022
Men in Black meets middle school! A school project takes an alien turn when three kids uncover a secret society…
whose aim is to keep sneaks—mischievous interdimensional sprites—from slipping into our universe ! When Ben Harp sees his teacher's watch crawling across the hallway, he thinks he must be dreaming. But no, he’s just seen his first Sneak—an interdimensional mischief-maker that can borrow the form of any ordinary object. He figured this school year would be bad—his best friend moved away, the class bully is circling, and he’s stuck doing a group project with two similarly friendless girls, Charlotte and Akemi. Still, he wasn’t expecting aliens! And he certainly wasn’t expecting that the woman he and Charlotte and Akemi are assigned to interview for their “living local history” project would be a Sneak expert. Or that she’d foist an old book on them to keep safe . . . and then disappear. Now Ben, Charlotte, and Akemi are trying to understand a book that seems to contain a coded map while being pursued by violent clothes hangers, fire-spitting squirrels, and more. The Sneaks want that book! And they want something else, too: to pull a vastly more dangerous creature into the world with them. Can three misfit kids decode the book in time to stop an alien takeover? And if they do, will they get extra credit on their group project?By Terry Fan, Eric Fan. 2021
From the creators of the critically acclaimed The Night Gardener and Ocean Meets Sky comes a whimsical and elegantly illustrated…
picture book about community, art, the importance of giving back—and the wonder that fell from the sky.It fell from the sky on a Thursday. None of the insects know where it came from, or what it is. Some say it’s an egg. Others, a gumdrop. But whatever it is, it fell near Spider’s house, so he’s convinced it belongs to him. Spider builds a wondrous display so that insects from far and wide can come look at the marvel. Spider has their best interests at heart. So what if he has to charge a small fee? So what if the lines are long? So what if no one can even see the wonder anymore? But what will Spider do after everyone stops showing up?By Lauren Redniss. 2022
The joy a child finds in making their own time capsule, filled with everyday objects, comes alive in this inviting…
picture book from the MacArthur &“genius grant&” recipient and award-winning author of Radioactive. A set of dice. A grandmother&’s ring. The key to an old house. A child gathers keepsakes from everyday life, seals them in a jar, and buries them underground. A gift from the present day…to people of the future…that tells a story about the past. A time capsule. The first book for children by renowned artist and writer Lauren Redniss will get readers thinking about the times they are living through and how their world will be remembered in ages to come. It will also spark creativity, inviting young people to envision the future and to make their own time capsules. Extra pages in the back include tips on making your own time capsule and facts about different kinds of time capsules in historyBy Peter Christen Asbjørnsen, P. C. Asbjornsen, J. E. Moe, P. C. Asbjornsen, Marcia Brown. 1991
By Jean Little. 2022
A warm story about friendship and migration from the incomparable Jean Little.Jane and Maya are very different. Maya is a…
quiet girl and a refugee, new to this country, while chatty and outgoing Jane has lived in the same place her whole life. The girls become instant friends. When they learn about endangered species in school, they decide to do their own small part to help by supporting migrating monarch butterflies.Together they plant a milkweed garden to feed and shelter the tiny creatures, then watch in amazement as a monarch hatches and grows before leaving on the long journey to Mexico. After all the butterflies have departed, Maya shares her own migration story — her family’s long journey to Canada. Maya wishes the monarchs safety in their new home too.In her heartwarming final story, Jean Little weaves a simple tale of childhood curiosity into larger themes of immigration, friendship and the wonder of the natural world.A true gift of a story from a Canadian treasure.By Emil Sher. 2021
How much do I love you?I love you more than cones love ice creamThis gorgeous, playful book opens up infinite…
possibilities for saying I love you that carry on long after closing the book. Follow along as young Des’s day winds him through his busy, diverse neighbourhood, highlighting different relationships across age, gender and race, and moments bound together by love.Through Emil Sher’s delightful word play and acclaimed illustrator Barbara Reid’s vibrant modelling clay art, I Love You More creates a rich experience for young readers and brings a wonderful affirming feeling to storytime.This story was inspired by a favourite game the author played with his now-grown daughters — one readers can carry on in their own way, with their own loved ones and in their own hearts.By Kevin Sylvester. 2022
Secret ballrooms, hidden artwork and unlikely friends—welcome to the Regency, where even time moves in surprising ways! Jake Simmons hates…
his new home. The Regency is nothing more than floor after floor of peeling wallpaper and faded glory. Jake misses his old life. He misses the time when his mother was employed. He misses living in a house where the wind doesn't make the windows whistle. Loneliness (and a trail of kittens) leads Jake to the apartment of an elderly lady, then to the bowels of the building and then to a part-time job assisting Larry the custodian. With each passing day, the building reveals more of its mysteries to Jake. The occupants grow on him too. Unfortunately, Jake's feeling of belonging is short-lived: the city plans to demolish the Regency. Jake feels powerless. And then fate throws him a curveball. He's summoned to apartment 713. An apartment he's been told is off-limits. But when he opens the door . . . he travels to the past! Alongside Beth, his new friend and guide, Jake begins searching for any clue that might help him save the Regency. As their friendship blooms, the mystery around the building's makers deepens. The Regency's own storied past will give Jake the key to saving his own future—if only he knows where to look.By Karen Autio. 2022
A wonderful story of new friendship between two children with diverse abilities.Piper and Kayla love to move. They ride bikes,…
glide on ice, swoosh down mountains and much more — each in her own way. While Piper pedals her tricycle with her feet, Kayla uses her hands to move her trike forward. While Kayla coasts across the ice on a sled, Piper sails along on skates. Join Kayla and Piper as they play together, explore their world and make new friends.The inspiration for I Can, Too! comes from the author’s daughter, who was born with spina bifida. On a visit to the mall after her child received her first wheelchair, a young boy pointed, asking his mother, “Why is that girl in a wheelbarrow?” Karen welcomed questions so the unknown could be named and understood and children could get to know her daughter.Shining a much-needed spotlight on kids who use special gear to navigate the world, I Can, Too! will delight readers of all abilities with its affirming story of inclusion, while also inviting readers to learn more about adaptive devices in the back matter.By Linh S. Nguyen. 2023
Sweeping in scope and timeless in tone, No Place like Home is a middle-grade portal fantasy unlike any otherLan, a…
teenager who recently came to Canada from Vietnam, spends every day searching for a sense of belonging. Books are the only things that make her feel at ease. But it comes as a shock when a mysterious wind whisks her right into the pages of her latest fantasy read. More shocking still is the fact that she herself summoned this wind! Plunged into the magical world of Silva, Lan realizes she has much to offer protagonists Annabelle and Marlow. Once a homesick reader and bystander rooting for the very characters that now stand before her, Lan is a budding witch who suddenly has the power to help their quest. Somewhere inside her lies the ability to not only save Annabelle and Marlow’s home, but also to shape a familiar tale into something new.As Lan faces off against tree guardians, moving corn mazes, heart-eaters and thoughtless kings, she finds that Silva is not so different from Toronto: new homes can be messy. Now, torn between several places at once, Lan begins to confront an important question: how do you redefine a lost home?By Catherine Egan. 2022
Men in Black meets middle school! A school project takes an alien turn when three kids uncover a secret society…
whose aim is to keep sneaks--mischievous interdimensional sprites--from slipping into our universe!When Ben Harp sees his teacher's watch crawling across the hallway, he thinks he must be dreaming. But no, he’s just seen his first Sneak—an interdimensional mischief-maker that can borrow the form of any ordinary object. He figured this school year would be bad—his best friend moved away, the class bully is circling, and he’s stuck doing a group project with two similarly friendless girls, Charlotte and Akemi. Still, he wasn’t expecting aliens! And he certainly wasn’t expecting that the woman he and Charlotte and Akemi are assigned to interview for their “living local history” project would be a Sneak expert. Or that she’d foist an old book on them to keep safe . . . and then disappear. Now Ben, Charlotte, and Akemi are trying to understand a book that seems to contain a coded map while being pursued by violent clothes hangers, fire-spitting squirrels, and more. The Sneaks want that book! And they want something else, too: to pull a vastly more dangerous creature into the world with them. Can three misfit kids decode the book in time to stop an alien takeover? And if they do, will they get extra credit on their group project?By Matthew Forsythe. 2022
From the creator of the acclaimed and beloved "Pokko and the Drum" comes an emotionally resonant picture book about trust,…
worry, and loyalty between a father and daughter. Mina and her father live in a hollowed-out tree stump on the edge of a pond on the edge of a forest. Nothing ever bothers Mina, until one day, her father brings home a suspicious surprise from the woods.By Danielle Daniel. 2022
Adventurous, trail-blazing Wolf lives in a northern mining town and spends her days exploring the mountains and wilderness with her…
three best friends Penny, Ann and Brandi. The girls' secret refuge is their tree-house hideaway, Birchwood, Wolf's favourite place on earth. When her beloved grandmother tells her that she is the great-granddaughter of a tree talker, Wolf knows that she is destined to protect the birch trees and wildlife that surround her. But Wolf's mother doesn't understand this connection at all. Not only is she reluctant to engage with their family's Indigenous roots, she seems suspiciously on the wrong side of the environmental protection efforts in their hometown. To make matters worse, she's just started dating an annoying new boyfriend named Roger, whose motives—and construction company—seem equally suspect. As summer arrives, so do bigger problems. Wolf and her friends discover orange plastic bands wrapped around the trees near their cherished hangout spot, and their once stable friendship seems on the verge of unravelling. Birchwood has given them so much—can they even stay together long enough to save this special place? With gorgeous yet understated language, Danielle Daniel beautifully captures an urgent and aching time in a young person's life. To read this astonishing middle-grade debut is to have your heart broken and then tenderly mended.By Danielle Daniel. 2022
Adventurous, trail-blazing Wolf lives in a northern mining town and spends her days exploring the mountains and wilderness with her…
three best friends Penny, Ann and Brandi. The girls’ secret refuge is their tree-house hideaway, Birchwood, Wolf’s favourite place on earth. When her beloved grandmother tells her that she is the great-granddaughter of a tree talker, Wolf knows that she is destined to protect the birch trees and wildlife that surround her. But Wolf’s mother doesn’t understand this connection at all. Not only is she reluctant to engage with their family’s Indigenous roots, she seems suspiciously on the wrong side of the environmental protection efforts in their hometown. To make matters worse, she’s just started dating an annoying new boyfriend named Roger, whose motives—and construction company—seem equally suspect. As summer arrives, so do bigger problems. Wolf and her friends discover orange plastic bands wrapped around the trees near their cherished hangout spot, and their once stable friendship seems on the verge of unravelling. Birchwood has given them so much—can they even stay together long enough to save this special place? With gorgeous yet understated language, Danielle Daniel beautifully captures an urgent and aching time in a young person’s life. To read this astonishing middle-grade debut is to have your heart broken and then tenderly mended.By Lawrence Hill. 2022
One of Canada's most celebrated author's debut novel for young readers Beatrice, a young girl of uncertain age, wakes up…
all alone in a tree house in the forest. How did she arrive in this cozy dwelling, stocked carefully with bookshelves and oatmeal accoutrements? And who has been leaving a trail of clues, composed in delicate purple handwriting? So begins the adventure of a brave and resilient Black girl's search for identity and healing in bestselling author Lawrence Hill's middle-grade debut. Though Beatrice cannot recall how or why she arrived in the magical forest of Argilia—where every conceivable fish, bird, mammal and reptile coexist, and any creature with a beating heart can communicate with any other—something within tells her that beyond this forest is a family that is waiting anxiously for her return. Just outside her tree-house door lives Beatrice's most unlikely ally, the enormous and mercurial King Crocodile Croc Harry, who just may have a secret of his own. As they form an unusual truce and work toward their common goal, Beatrice and Croc Harry will learn more about their forest home than they ever could have imagined. And what they learn about themselves may destroy Beatrice's chances of returning home forever.