Tara Trus🇨🇦 Teacher-Librarian ⭐️ Reader 📚 Reviewer

Some rules are meant to be broken. I was surplus my first year of teaching and needed to move schools. Year 2 of teaching was such a different experience than year one (old small school to brand new large school). I moved schools several times after that (by choice). And the variety of experiences definitely taught me a lot and about teaching and about relationships with colleagues. Now I’m over 10 years at the same school. The longest I’ve ever stayed in one place. And I’m not going anywhere. Love these people. I was so touched when my work besties organized a secret staff ‘Dress as a Book Character’ Day in my honour for my recent birthday. ❤️❤️❤️ Even more colleagues dressed up than you can see in this video. I couldn’t stop smiling. #teacherfollowteachers #TeachersOfInstagram #LivingTheDream #BookCharacterDay #SchoolLibraryJoy

Meet the Bookstagrammer - first day of school edition. Thought it was time to (re) introduce myself. I’m Tara, an elementary (K-8) Teacher-Librarian and reading intervention teacher. I’ve been a reader my whole life. These days, I read mostly middle grade and YA alongside lots of picture books and the occasional adult read. I find it very hard to choose favourites because I can often think of a reader who a book would be perfect for … even if it’s not just right for me. But (just for you), I’m going to try to do the hard thing. ⭐️ Favourite Picture Books: From childhood: There’s a Monster at the end of this Book From 2025: Amoya Blackwood is Brave ⭐️Favourite Middle Grade From childhood: Otherwise Known as Sheila the Great From 2025: All the Blues in the Sky ⭐️ Favourite YA From my teens: 🤷🏽‍♀️ From 2025: A Mastery of Monsters ⭐️ Adult book From before 2020: The Book of Negroes (called Someone Knows My Name in the US) From 2024 (I don’t think I’ve read any adult 2025 releases): How to Read a Book I share a variety of books here, with a focus on diverse and Canadian titles. I’d love to hear your favourite books from childhood or from this year. #Intro #MostlyMiddleGrade #MeetTheBookstagrammer #FirstDayTired

Kids love to join in with this one. The poor narrator is just trying to teach us about size. Marcel the bird is big. Steve the worm is … well it would be great to find out what size Steve Too bad a certain someone is unable to control themselves. I think my parents enjoyed this one just as much as my students. WHO ATE STEVE? BY SUSANNAH LLOYD ILLUSTRATED BY KATE HINDLEY @nosycrowus #gifted #funnypicturebook #picturebooks #susannahlloyd #katehindley Books for children

I love the Forest of Reading! Some of our students voted for books in 3 of the programs: Blue Spruce, Silver Birch Express and Red Maple. Swipe to see our Blue Spruce results in pictograph format (well … an imperfect display, but displayed all the same). Excited to share the official winner with primary students tomorrow. Also - was so lucky to be able to attend the Red Maple award ceremony on May 13 with a small group of readers. Keep swiping to hear the winner announced. Thank you to all the @forestofreadingprogram volunteers and organizers. Thank you to all the authors and book lovers who made the festival amazing.. great job to all the Student presenters. Thank you @firstbookcanada for giving a free book to every student. Thank you. @tpl.teens for the book prize (last slide). . . . Student Choice reading program, Forest of Reading, Book Lovers, Canadian children’s books

Sunshine and a new book! Yesterday I started reading A DEADLY INHERITANCE by Kelley Armstrong as part of a readalong with @tandemcollectiveglobal We are sharing our reading set-ups as we launch this reading experience. I’ve chosen to read this one in two formats - audio during my daily #dogwalksandaudiobooks and in print when I need to catch up at bedtime (or when someone else does the dog walking). So here is the sunshine from yesterday’s walk - it’s much better for photos than me curled up in bed. If you have bought, or borrowed a copy and want to join the reading group, comment or DM me! I’m excited to be part of this group and am already sucked into Liliana’s story. YA books by Kelley Armstrong that captured me and my students include The Darkest Powers trilogy and Someone is Always Watching. Back to A DEADLY INHERITANCE: The short and powerful prologue set the tone “ Texts to an unknown number. Rosalyn Chamberlain has fled Westdale Academy As head of the Lilith Society, she kept a journal. Get it before the Liliths add it to the archives Remove & destroy entries as needed “ And then the story continues 19 years later from the POV of Rosalyn’s daughter. ❓Do you like books to have prologues? I’ll be sharing more of my thoughts in my stories this week. Love to hear your thoughts, comments and questions. #adeadlyinheritancereadalong @tundrabooks @tandemcollectiveglobal @kelleyarmstrongauthor @penguinteenca

Happy Mother’s Day Sending love to all who mother or are mothered. Holding space for everyone missing a mother or missing mothering. ❤️ Featured Books: Wash Day Love* By Tanisha Moore and Raissa Figueroa @scholasticcda Outside Mom, Inside Mom By Jane Park and Lenny Wen @simonkids @simonschusterca Kenzie’s Little Tree By Alison McGauley and Emilie Leduc @orcabook My Mom is Like a Kite* By Lisl H. Detlefsen and Nathalie Dion @groundwoodbooks Where There is Love - A Story in African Proverbs by Shauntay Grant and Léticita Moreno @penguinworkshop How Mu Family Says I Love You By Yvonne Sewankambo and Aurore McLeod @candlewickpress When We Go Home* By Heather Beaumont and Nátali de Mello @kidscanpress A Room With A View* by Joanna Ho and Thaís Mesquita @harperkids #epictastemakers Little Bee - The Buzz About the Party by Danny Neville and Colleen McKeown @annick_press Thank you to the publishers for gifting the starred titles

So proud of my team of students who competed last night in the Battle of The Books! Our team had 2 returning members and 4 new ones competing for the first time, and they were very competitive and had lots of fun. We started preparing in the fall, and after a large in-school battle, the training ramped up and the competitive team was chosen. We divided up the books and it turned out that each student needed to read one more book for the team to have an expert on each of the titles. One of our veteran members actually needed to read 2 more novels in the final week of preparation. The scores at the top were close and we came in fourth … only 6 points away from the top spot. Swipe to see me scanning shelves to find some of this year’s @markhamlibrary Battle of the Books titles. One of the books that needed to be read quickly didn’t come back to the library in time so at the last minute, I was buying one more copy. Thank you to author @authoremilydeibert who came out to do a short presentation during the event. She is an author and astronomer who wrote BEA MULLINS TAKES A SHOT - who one of the books students answered questions about last night. She also autographed books and ribbons and gave out bookmarks to participants which brought even more excitement to the fun event. Thank you to the Markham Unionville CFUW chapter for their long-time support of this event. Congratulations to the winning schools. Congratulations to all the participants for taking on a challenge and reading lots of books. Celebration to come soon - I’m looking forward to hearing which books were everyone’s favourites. #BattleOfTheBooks #ReadingCompetition #IReadCanadian

Middle Grade Monday - new semi-autobiographical graphic novels / graphic memoirs (it’s interesting how descriptions vary on books that include part of the author’s life … but that’s probably a different post). Mixed Feelings: A Graphic Novel By Sara Amini, Illustrated By Shadia Amin ~ Sara is 1/2 Colombian and 1/2 Iranian and has mixed feelings about lots of things as she starts grade 6. She doesn’t have classes with her best friend, in fact, they don’t even have lunch together. This is a humourous and heartfelt start to a new series. Recommend this one to a theatre kid or someone figuring out where they fit in. I love seeing different biracial / bicultural identities in books, as a biracial person who didn’t see that in any of my childhood books ❤️❤️❤️. Fruitcake: A Graphic Novel By Rex Ogle, Illustrated By Dave Valeza This is the third graphic memoir from Rex Ogle, following Four Eyes and PizzaFace. Rex is in grade 8 now and everyone is pairing off into couples. Rex is feeling awkward until he meets Charlotte, a pretty girl who likes him back. Things are definitely looking up, until he realizes that even when he’s with Charlottte, he can’t stop thinking about someone else. And he’s not sure how to feel about these feelings he has for his friend Drew. Skillfully balancing humour alongside figuring out attraction and identity. Scroll down for a content warning (small spoiler) - note - I don’t think anything is inappropriate for the age group, just a consideration that may impact some readers. . . . . . . . . Rex attends a non-affirming church service where a negative statement is made about homosexuality. He later attends another church with a more inclusive message. A child who abandons books might not get to the affirming message. Thank you to the publisher for the gifted titles.

Picked up two holds and dropped off some overdue books … over 2 visits within 24 hours 🙃. Yesterday I needed to get there before a hold expired, and then today I needed to pick up a book for school. How often are you at a library (outside of one you work in)? Anyone else frequently visit in the last 5-30 minutes that a library is open? Just me? Lucky to have a library branch close to home.

Canadian Independent Bookstore Day Recap! I had such fun visiting @blueheronbooks on Saturday. They had a variety of authors recommending books, signing books and just chatting with book lovers. They gave out checklist bookmarks with things to do … and looking back, I missed quite a few, despite spending several hours (more than planned) enjoying myself at the big event. I definitely spent a chunk of time searching for the @librofm golden ticket. But the majority of the day was catching up with authors I’ve met before, meeting new ones and having great conversations about the Canadian kidlit and local author communities. I even got to do some book recommendations for a mom looking for non-fantasy fiction options for a young teen (It was very sweet of the group of authors to recommend me as the person in that group to ask about middle grade or YA. It’s cool to be part of the kidlit community just as a reviewer and supporter, yet still be seen as a contributor by authors I admire and respect). @blueheronbooks gives great recommendations, but the place was packed on Saturday. Surprise of the day - I knew I was going to see a friend and classmate from university @greg_frankson - I saw his name on the Blue Heron author lineup. But while I was at the event, I learned that author @jilliandobsonwriter went to the same high school I did … and when I got home I found her in one of my yearbooks. Thank you @heather.m.oconnor for the chat about inclusive books (and sending my your list). @greg_frankson - it was great to catch up and I’m enjoying your poetic prose. @jane_blondie - so great to finally meet you in real life after so many IG chats. Thank you @jilliandobsonwriter for the gift to my students. Love leaning Canadian history through books. It was fun to find your photo in the yearbook. Had a great conversation with @joelasutherland about his “portrayal” as Joel Southland in @jeff.szpirglas new series. Caught up a bit with @teebookclub buddies but missed getting us all in a photo. Enjoyed my tea from @thebridgesocialuxbridge . Thank you @blueheronbooks for the CIBD tote bag (pictured) and for such an awesome day. #CIBD2026 #IndieBookstoreDay

Do you play games? Yesterday I joined friends at a board game café and on the weekend, I played (and eventually escaped) an online escape room. My #Twosday books this week both have game in the title … unfortunately for the characters, these games aren’t lots of fun for them, but they were lots of fun for me to read. THE ESCAPE GAME is a YA thriller from Marissa Meyer and Tamara Mossa. The Escape Game reality show is back for its 5th season. Contestants compete in teams to escape themed puzzle rooms. There is lots of attention for the show because the fourth season ended with Alicia, one of the contestants, being found murdered on set. The case remains unsolved. And there is one returning contestant … the sister of the deceased. Memorable cast of characters, twisty plot points and a mix of fun and anxious page turning. Audiobook narrated by Keylor Leigh, Ryan Vincent THE GENIE GAME by Jordan Ifueke is a middle grade futuristic dystopian adventure set in a future in which everything is owned by 3 corporations. Main character Valentine goes looking for her missing sister and ends up trapped in the genie game. She is forced to work for a corporation as a genie who grants wishes. This one is quite unique and raises issues of capitalism, control and agency in a compelling and creative world. Narrated by the author. Thank you to @librofm , @prhaudio and @recordedbooks for the ALCs THE ESCAPE GAME released April 7, 2026 THE GENIE GAME released April 21, 2026 Middle Grade, YA, New Releases #Games #Gifted

We had a great Earth Day at school enjoying the beautiful weather and taking care of the property by cleaning up garbage. Featured books: ♻️Recycling Day - What Happens to the Things We Throw Away by Polly Faber and Keas Fahlén ~ i’ll look at all the ways we recycle or dispose of items and ways to reduce. 🐻‍❄️ How to Help a Hare and Protect a Polar Bear by Dr. Jess French and Angela Keoghan ~ information about endangered species in different habitats and habits. People can adopt to protect these creatures. 🌻 Watch it Grow - Backyard Life Cycles by Barbara Reid ~ Learn about and appreciate living things close to home. 🌱 Bud Finds Her Gift by Robin Wall Kimmerer and Naoko Stoop ~ Meet Bud who learns about reciprocity with nature. The author’s note shares a Potawatomi teaching and reminds that we have gifts to give to support the earth. 🌳 The Girl Who Planted Trees by Caryl Hart and Anastasia Suvorova ~ A story of planting trees on a mountain. 📄 Paper Chase by Julia Donaldson and Victoria Sandøy ~ A rhyming tale of friendship that also shares how paper is made - which brings us to why it is important to recycle. 🌎Earth Heroes by Lily Dyer ~ the stories of 22 real life earth heroes of different ages and from different places in the world. Earth Day reminds us that it’s important to educate children, but not to put the weight of the challenge we are facing on them. As adults, we are much better equipped to fight for sustainability, and to spend our money supporting companies, who also value our planet. Which book would you start with or what did you do today? Thank you to the publishers for the #gifted books. I appreciate being able to share them with students. The choice to share is my own.