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Word of the day: prolific! Prolific can be used to describe a person who produces a great number or amount of something, usually works of art. So when we say an author is prolific, we mean they wrote a lot of books.

Can you think of some prolific writers? You've probably read stories by Dr. Seuss, Beatrix Potter, Robert Munsch and Mo Willems. Or you might be a fan of Dav Pilkey, Katherine Applegate, Rick Riordan or Tui T. Sutherland. It should be easy to find a writer who's written 25 or more books for this Reading Challenge category. Here are seven Canadian authors to get you started!

 Elise Gravel

 Helaine Becker

 Kevin Sylvester

 Kyo Maclear

 Paulette Bourgeois

 Robin Stevenson

 Sarah Mlynowski

Have you completed the challenge? You rock! Let a grown-up know if you want to receive a certificate, enter the prize draw, or both. You need to have a library card and to fill out this survey by December 31, 2025. Congratulations on an amazing year of reading!

Poetry isn't simply words that rhyme. There are many forms and styles, using different patterns, sounds and lengths. Read something new for this Reading Challenge category! And who knows, maybe you'll discover you've got poems inside you. (Not to worry, this is a good thing.)

Have you completed the challenge? You rock! Let a grown-up know if you want to receive a certificate, enter the prize draw, or both. You need to have a library card and to fill out this survey by December 31, 2025. Congratulations on an amazing year of reading!

Fitch & Smith Treasury by Sheree Fitch and Sydney Smith

Wacky silly poems perfect for reading out loud and twisting your tongue!

Hungry for Engineering by Kari Lynn Winters and Lori Sherritt-Fleming

Poems about pulleys? Yes! Get inspired to design and innovate with these poems about building and problem-solving.

Nightmare Jones by Shannon Bramer and Cindy Derby

'Tis always the season for scary stories. Have you ever read scary poetry, though? Each of these creepy poems is a delightful, shivery snack.

Reasons to Look at the Night Sky by Danielle Daniel

Luna dreams of becoming an astronaut. But will big changes such as her mom's new job and a substitute science teacher affect her plans to go to space camp?

Swan by Sidura Ludwig

Before she became known as the Giantess of Nova Scotia, Anna was a kid just trying to fit in at school. This novel in verse imagines her childhood struggles to find acceptance.

Did you get a Welcome Package when you signed up for a library card? We want to know what you and your family think! 

What part did you like the most? How excited were you to receive the package? Was the info for grown-ups helpful? Let us know by sharing your feedback!

Tell a parent or caregiver to fill out this survey by Tuesday, December 9, 2025. It only takes a few minutes, plus you could enter a prize draw to win a book bag packed with library goodies!

Just like exercise is good for your body, books do wonders for your mind! On the surface, this Reading Challenge category seems pretty easy, but wellness could mean different things to readers. You could read a book that makes you laugh. A feeling of wellness could also mean comfort and hope, or maybe a sense of meaning and purpose. Pick a book that gives you the warm fuzzies, or a book that makes you think about your place in the world. What does wellness mean to you? 

Have you completed the challenge? You rock! Let a grown-up know if you want to receive a certificate, enter the prize draw, or both. You need to have a library card and to fill out this survey by December 31, 2025. Congratulations on an amazing year of reading!

Gabby Gets It Together by Nathan Fairbairn and Michele Assarasakorn

In the first book of the PAWS graphic novel series, a group of fifth graders starts a dog-walking business. Humour, friendship, puppies: what else do you need for a feel-good story? 

It's Time to Lend a Hand by Ceporah Mearns, Jeremy Debicki and Nuria Muro Gio

Whether it's helping her father with the fishing nets or making sure her little sister stays safe on her bike, Siasi learns that helping others can be fun.

Together, A Forest by Roz MacLean

Take a field trip with Joy and her friends! Learn about flowers and fungi as the class explores their unique connections with nature.

Tom’s Midnight Garden by Philippa Pearce 

Tom is spending the summer with his aunt and uncle and feeling bored and lonely. But one night, he hears the old grandfather clock downstairs strike thirteen. He goes to investigate... and discovers the adventure of a lifetime. 

The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame

In this charming classic, a mole comes out of his underground home to explore the river and woods. He gets into various spots of trouble with Badger, Rat and Toad, but the four animal friends always find a way out. 

You Can Be An Activist by Charlene Rocha, Mary Beth Leatherdale and Drew Shannon

Get empowered to make a difference. Your actions and ideas matter, and you can help build a better world. Find out how in this handbook!

Canada's biggest bilingual summer reading program is back! What are you going to read this summer? Whether you like comics or cricket, space or scary stories, giraffes or Greek myths, we've got a book for you. So start that long fantasy series. Learn about seashells and call yourself a conchologist. Match wits with fictional detectives. You can read whatever you want for the TD Summer Reading Club!

Get a free notebook when you sign up at your local library starting June 21. Collect stickers for your notebook when you tell us about all the books you read. (The notebooks are also available in accessible formats! Find them in audio, braille and OpenDyslexic font.)

More things to do for your summer adventure list:  

📚 Register online on the TDSRC website. Design your own avatar, get badges, write reviews and stories, read web comics and so much more! And if you love the jokes and trivia here on TPL Kids, you can look for more on the Club site.

📚 Take the French Reading Challenge. For each book you read, fill out a ballot at your library. Each ballot is entered into our end-of-summer draw for a prize pack. The more you read, the more chances you have to win, so lisez en français cet été!

📚 Go on a StoryWalk®. Stroll around outside of a library (one of the 19 branches listed here) while reading a book on poster-sized pages. This year's book is Let's Go! / haw êkwa! by Julie Flett.



📚 Vote in the Battle of the Books every week! At the end of the summer, kids across Canada will crown one book as the champion. Last year, readers picked Amazing Night Sky Atlas by Nancy Dickmann as the winner. Which book will emerge as the victor this year? You decide!

📚 Got a little sibling? They can join the Club, too! Younger kids will also love Ready for Reading storytimes and the 1000 Reads Before Kindergarten challenge.

Speaking of challenges, if you're taking the TPL Reading Challenge, you can count books you read for the Club as well. And while you're at the library, check out free Summer Wonder events like art workshops, Lego camp and science shows. There's something different happening at each library, so ask staff at your local branch for the latest info!

Here, take this: 🎟️

It's your ticket to adventure this summer! Wait, what's that? Oh, you've got a library card? That also works. In fact, that's way better than this emoji. After all, a library card is a powerful magic key that unlocks doors to different worlds.

Visit your library to discover new books and stories, hobbies and interests, side quests and surprises. Here are nine ways to join the Summer Wonder-ful fun:  

 Sign up for the TD Summer Reading Club. Pick up a free notebook at your local branch, starting June 21!

 Meet Canadian authors and illustrators and get tips on how to tell your own stories. 

 Discover our arts programs, from improv and painting workshops to magic and puppet shows.

 Want to create comics, tinker with robots or perform in a musical? Sign up for a day camp!

 Check out programs in French where you can build a model of the solar system and make your own bath bomb or kaleidoscope.

 Explore STEM through hands-on experiments and learning about animals.

 You have what it takes to harness the power of the wind, clean the oceans and blast off to Mars! Invent and design something awesome in a Wonder Workshop.

 Spark creativity by watching our online programs and learning to draw, code or make a fun craft at your own pace.

 Learn a weird fact on the TPL Kids Wonder Wall. Look for a Wonder Wall in your library where you can post questions, too!



Keep visiting TPL Kids to share jokes and riddles, vote in polls, browse books and more! Summer Wonder runs until August 30. Adventure awaits, so we'll see you at the library!

Did you know the library has a special phone number you can call and listen to someone read you a story?

Dial-a-Story has recorded stories in lots of different languages, from Cantonese to Urdu. We received over 260,000 calls in 2024, so we're feeling pretty popular! Write down this number and stick it on your fridge:

📞 416-395-5400

We're featuring four new stories this June, in celebration of National Indigenous History Month and Pride Month. So gather the whole family and give us a ring! Here's the schedule:
 

June 1 to 7: Benny the Bananasaurus Rex (read by author Sarabeth Holden)

Do you like bananas? Benny loves them! He eats them for breakfast, lunch and dinner. He even dreams of becoming a banana...

June 8 to 14: Llama Glamarama

Meet Larry the llama! He loves to dance, but keeps it a secret from the other animals. How can he learn to be himself?

June 15 to 22: On The Trapline (read by author David A. Robertson)

A boy and his Moshom (grandpa) take a trip together. As they travel north to where Moshom grew up, the boy learns about how his family hunted and lived off the land.

June 23 to 30: Prince and Knight

Once upon a time, a prince meets a knight in shining armour and they fight a dragon together.

Don't worry if you miss a week – these stories will be part of our regular rotating menu of stories! Dial-a-Story is available any time of day: lunchtime, teatime, bedtime, all the times in between. So add our phone number to your family's favourite contacts, give us a call and listen to the magic of reading aloud.

It's election time! Wasn't there one just a couple of months ago, you ask? You're right! That was a provincial election in Ontario. This time we're electing a federal government, which is responsible for the whole country. So remind all the grown-ups in your life to vote!

Election day is Monday, April 28. In Toronto, polls are open from 9:30 am to 9:30 pm. Got a family member who is confused about where to vote? They can call 1-800-463-6868 or visit the Elections Canada website. Friendly staff at your local library can also help find answers.

You might not be old enough to cast a ballot, but anybody and everybody can get involved in improving their community. It all starts with learning! Go with a parent or caregiver when they vote. Join local clubs and events. Ask questions and read widely, starting with our Celebrate Democracy booklist. Get inspired to take action and build a better world!

Did you know these democracy and election facts?

You may have learned in school about Canada's three levels of government: federal, provincial/territorial and municipal. Each level has its own jobs, but sometimes they share responsibilities. They work together to help make sure our communities run smoothly. Every level of government is represented in things we do or use everyday. Our lives are affected by the decisions of lawmakers. So it's important to choose our government carefully because voting shapes our society.

In a Canadian federal election, 343 elections are actually happening at the same time! The Prime Minister is not elected directly. When people vote, they vote for their local representative in Parliament. There are currently 343 seats in the House of Commons. Each Member of Parliament (MP) represents one electoral district, also known as a riding. An election is held in each riding. The Prime Minister is usually the leader of the party that wins the most seats in the House of Commons.

Every 10 years, electoral districts get reviewed and updated to match changes in the population. New districts can be added and names and boundaries might change. Do you know which riding you live in?

Fun fact: Canada's smallest riding, Toronto Centre, is only six square kilometres! But it has nearly three times the population of Canada's largest riding, Nunavut... which is more than two million square kilometres! 

Even more fun fact: The election materials shipped to just one electoral district weigh about the same as an elephant!




 Image source: Student Vote Canada

Are you 6 to 14 years old? Do you live in Toronto? Write a poem about our beautiful parks and you could be the winner of the city's first Children's Spring Poetry Contest!

Do you have any favourite memories of spending time in parks? What do you love about being outdoors in the springtime? Have you ever spotted wildlife on a nature walk? Write about it!

Write about riding your bike, the breeze against your face. Write about flowers blooming and raindrops collecting on their petals. Write about walking your dog and the startled squirrels you meet along the way. Write about climbing and seesawing, sliding and swinging, the sights and sounds of the best day ever on the playground. Write about how a robin's nest makes you feel. Write about running through a splash pad towards the music of the ice cream truck.

Poetry is a way to reflect on your thoughts and feelings, and to express your creativity and imagination. Need inspiration? Read a lot of poems! In the park, at the library, on a boat, in the dentist's chair. 😁 April is Poetry Month, after all. Browse our poetry books and ask at your library to see if there are any writing programs coming up.

Enter the contest on the City of Toronto website. (Make sure you have a grown-up's permission, of course.) Remember, your poem must be your original work. It should be 300 words or less, but it doesn't have to rhyme—it could be free verse, narrative or acrostic, dub or spoken word.

The deadline is Monday, May 5 at noon. Happy poem writing!

Where can you go this March Break to build your own spaceship, leprechaun trap, or even a medieval town? Do candy chemistry experiments? Compete in a Pokémon tournament or a robot fashion show?

The library, of course! There are over 200 activities and shows happening at libraries across the city. And best of all, they're free to attend! Find a program near you. 

We also have two exciting online events. Tune in from anywhere for Concert with Wilderness Betty and À la découverte des secrets cachés de la France avec Touralingo.

Need more March Break ideas? Read on! 👇

Check out books, comics, movies and more

Stock up at your local branch or stream free with your library card. Make some popcorn for a Pokémon watch party on Hoopla or a Mo Willems marathon on Kanopy Kids.

Solve bookmark puzzles

Featuring art by 2025 Design a Bookmark Contest winners!

Play book scrambles

Test your book knowledge and unscramble mixed-up titles.

Dial-a-Story

Call our storytime hotline at 416-395-5400! Listen anytime to recorded stories in lots of different languages.

Learn a new fact

Do bears use the bathroom when they hibernate? How are words invented? Why are pizza slices triangles? Find out the answers on our Wonder Wall!

Take the 2025 Reading Challenge

Play book bingo and read outside the box!

Share your best jokes and riddles

Catch up on our videos

Watch past online programs. Follow along to code, draw, paint, practice magic tricks and more!

What other plans do you have this week? Wherever your March Break takes you, we hope you have a marvelous time!