How I Discover Books - by Kevin Sylvester

My friend Kevin Sylvester aka @kevinarts.bsky.social and I get together regularly to talk about books as well as play board games. Thanks to Kevin for agreeing to do a guest post on this blog on how he discovers books to read! - Debbie

By @kevinarts.bsky.social

Books mentioned in this guest post:

THE HUSBANDS by @hollygramazio.bsky.social
BABEL by R.F. Kuang
MOON OF THE TURNING LEAVES by @waub.bsky.social
PLUTO ROCKET: NEW IN TOWN by @paulgilligan.bsky.social

Kevin Sylvester aka @kevinarts.bsky.social is the best-selling author and illustrator of more than 40 books for children including Time Surfers, Apartment 713, Soccerology, The Fabulous Zed Watson (with Basil Sylvester) and many many more. His new series Soccer Oddballs will be out from Scholastic in 2027. You can check him out at kevinsylvesterbooks.com

I’m very lucky in that I am surrounded by friends and family who are also writers and booksellers. My sometimes co-author Basil is a bookseller and is always recommending titles to me. My author friends are all voracious readers and when we get together we always talk about books that excite us, inspire us or, sometimes, annoy us.

So it’s the air I breath - thank goodness.

But for specific recommendations, I have to thank my family for suggesting that, for Christmas, they choose two of their fave reads from the year and gift those to me. Babel was a fave from last year. Waubgeshig Rice’s “Moon” books were another discovery (thanks to son-in-law David). The Husbands was a blast as well… and so many more. I find that these are the books I will go to first in my TBR pile.

I’d also like to add that, in my kidlit world, school visits and book festivals are another great way to spread the word, and discover unexpected treasure. I’m an emcee at the Telling Tales Festival each year (and for the TT online Celebrating Graphic Novels series) and that always introduces me to titles, especially Canadian titles, that I might not see otherwise.

A shout out to Paul Gillian’s Pluto Rocket series which I first read in preparation for CGN. These books make me laugh every time I read them, and inspire me to try to make kids laugh just as much.

Provincial award lists (such as the Forest of Reading aka @forestofreading.bsky.social in Ontario) are also an amazing way to find curated selections of books from across the country.

One last shout out! The Canadian Children’s Book Centre aka @kidsbookcentre.bsky.social releases a Best Books list each year. This is a must-read resource for anyone interested in Canadian Kid Lit. AND they are holding a fundraiser know that is helping them assemble a list of the best kids books of all time.