I'll Sing You One-O
Johnny Kellock Died Today
Lost Treasures
Magnifico
Odd Man Out
Ryan and Jimmy
Science Detectives
Sea Stars: Saltwater Poems
Tabasco the Saucy Raccoon
When God Made the Dakotas

Amazing Animal Adventures in Rivers
By Brian Keating

Amazing Animal Adventures in Rivers is the fourth of eight books incredible volumes in the ground-breaking Going Wild series, written for children to encourage them to explore the natural world around them.

Brian Keating's high-energy enthusiasm for the wonders of nature is contagious, inspiring children and adults alike to discover, through his eyes, how rivers and the riparian areas around them are ribbons of wilderness inhabited by the most amazing animals and plants. Keating grew up fascinated by rivers, those in his own back yard and ones farther afield.

Whether in the world's rivers on a canoe, raft, or swimming suit, or hiking and exploring the dense forests and woodlands surrounding them, Keating continues his tradition of bringing a world of natural surprises to his readers.

Barry Boyhound
By Andy Spearman

This is the story of a boy named Barry. Some stuff happens, and overnight like magic he turns into a boyhound. Not a hound, but a boyhound—which means while he may still look like a boy, he is, in fact, a dog. And even in his boyhound brain, Barry knows there are lots of advantages to being a dog. You don't have to clean your room or use dental floss, for example.

But things get crazy. He eats something too disgusting to mention. He's attacked by telepathic squirrels. An innocent squashed frog gets involved. Plus, his mother's pretty mad. And that's all before the really bad thing happens. . . .

The Birdman
By Veronika Martenova Charles

Noor Nobi is a broken man, wandering the streets of Calcutta with no reason to live. His three children, snatched from him in a cruel accident, were everything he worked for and loved. But one day, he enters a crowded market and sees a bird, caged and frightened and sick. With very little money in his pocket, he waits until the vendor is closing up.

Quickly, Noor Nobi bargains and, happy to get anything for the sickly thing, the vendor accepts his offer. For some reason Noor Nobi cannot explain, it is important for him to nurse the bird back to health. When it is finally able to fly, Noor Nobi takes his bird to a big Banyan tree and releases it. Only then is he able to weep and fully grieve for his children.

Before Noor Nobi knows it, he is back at work and taking his weekly earnings to the market where he continues to buy, heal, and free as many birds as he can. Crowds gather; some laugh and say he is crazy, some stand reverently, some don’t know what to think. But Noor Nobi’s kindness saves a growing number of birds, and the birds, in turn, give him new purpose.

Author Veronika Martenova Charles read a short newspaper article about the “Birdman” of Calcutta and her imagination took flight. She traveled to India, found Noor Nobi, and witnessed the freeing of the birds for herself.

The Birdman is a touching, true story, tenderly illustrated by Annouchka Gravel Galouchko and Stéphan Daigle. It is accompanied by an afterword, diary entries, and photographs of the author’s experience.

Dogstar
By Beverley Wood

This best selling title has been a favourite among readers and critics alike since its original publication in 1997. The compelling and fast-paced DogStar is available again in this fabulous updated and redesigned edition.

Juneau, Alaska, 1933. This is where 13-year-old Jeff Beacon finds himself stranded when his parents take him on a cruise to help him get over the death of his beloved dog, Buddy. The problem: Jeff doesn’t belong in frontier Alaska. Why has he been transported back in time? And how can he find his way home? Jeff must answer these questions quickly—and his only help is the town’s bull terrier, Patsy Ann.

Domenic's War: A Story of the battle of Monte Cassino
By Curtis Parkinson

On a rugged mountain in the center of Italy stands an ancient Benedictine monastery. It is January 1944, and Monte Cassino, the mountain on which the monastery stands, becomes the staging ground for one of the most fiercely fought battles of World War II.

Young Domenic and his family, who live on a farm north of Monte Cassino, are helplessly caught in the war. With battle lines approaching, they struggle against all odds. Will they be caught hiding two escaped prisoners-of-war? Will the innocent people sheltering in the monastery survive? This fascinating novel is based on the true story of the fateful events at Monte Cassino during that long cold winter.

Hiding Edith
By Kathy Kacer

Hiding Edith is the true story of Edith Schwalb, a young Jewish girl sent to live in a safe house after the Nazi invasion of France. Edith's story is remarkable not only for her own bravery, but for the bravery of those that helped her: an entire village, including its mayor and citizenry, that heroically conspired to conceal the presence of hundreds of Jewish children who lived in the safe house. Intensively researched and sensitively written, this book both comforts and challenges a young reader's spirit, skillfully addressing both the horrors and the hope that children experienced during the Holocaust.

I Am A Taxi
By Deborah Ellis

For twelve-year-old Diego and his family, home is the San Sebastian Women's Prison in Cochabamba, Bolivia. His parents farmed coca, a traditional Bolivian medicinal plant, until they got caught in the middle of the government's war on drugs and were mistakenly convicted of drug possession. Diego's parents are locked up, but he can come and go: to school, to the market to sell his mother's hand-knitted goods, and to work as a "taxi," running errands for other prisoners.

But then his little sister runs away, earning his mother a heavy fine. The debt and dawning realization of his hopeless situation make him vulnerable to his friend Mando's plan to make big money, fast. Soon, Diego is deep in the jungle, workingas a virtual slave in an illegal cocaine operation. As his situation becomes more and more dangerous, he knows he must take a terrible risk if he ever wants to see his family again.

I Found a Dead Bird
By Jan Thornhill

From lifespans; to how things die; to what happens after death; and on to how we mark and cope with death, Thornhill takes a comprehensive look at the subject. Conversational in tone and very much within a young reader’s realm of understanding, I Found a Dead Bird explores fascinating aspects of life—and the end of life.

Thornhill faces the subject head-on—with pictures—and always tackles issues surrounding death with gravity and respect, even while injecting humor at times. The unique perspective is remarkably life-affirming as the book makes connections to the world around us, fitting death into the natural and on-going cycle of life. In her pragmatic style, Thornhill doesn’t shirk from the reality, but she still gives readers scope to think on the more philosophical and spiritual matters surrounding death, without imposing any value judgments.

A lively design steers clear of the gloom of death. The dynamic brightness, multitude of photos, and catchy headers engage readers on every spread. Unlike anything else on the market for young readers, this brilliant treatment of the subject of death fills a void. I Found a Dead Bird presents information and issues that readers can ponder and discuss, fulfilling their natural curiosity and interest in life and death.

Ice Time: The Story of Hockey
By Michael McKinley

Hockey is breathtakingly fast and fascinating. Ice Time: The Story of Hockey traces the sport from its hotly contested origins to the present day’s first-ever lockout of players by the one remaining league. It covers the sport’s surge in popularity after 1875, when it moved to inside rinks; the rise and fall, and rise again, of women’s hockey; the sagas of long-lost leagues, such as the Pacific Coast Hockey Association; and more recently the World Hockey Association. Through its lavishly illustrated pages skate the players, the coaches, and the almost forgotten legends who are the reason why we love the game.

Although the book stands alone, it is based on Hockey: A People’s History, a ten-part CBC/Radio Canada series airing in fall 2006.

I'll Sing You One-O
By Nan Gregory

Twelve-year-old Gemma doesn’t know where to turn. She is being adopted by relatives she didn’t know she had. The foster family she has loved all her life is breaking up. The farm where they’ve lived is being sold. Gemma needs to fix things fast—if she can only figure out how.

Now she has found the solution: she’ll get herself an angel. Her increasingly desperate efforts to earn one, by turns heartbreaking and hilarious, lead her to a confrontation with her painfully mysterious past, and ultimately to an understanding with her new family that holds out hope for them all.

This engrossing novel offers a fresh and winning portrait of a quirky heroine with a unique voice, a passionate heart, a mission to accomplish, and the kind of offbeat logic that can cause even the most careful plans to go awry.

Johnny Kellock Died Today
By Hadley Dyer

Rosalie Norman is 11 years old, the afterthought in an already grown-up family. Confronted with a mother who’s not only old but also a no-nonsense authoritarian, Rosalie retreats into the long, hot Halifax summer of 1959 with her drawings. But because of Rosalie’s carelessness, her mom falls and breaks her leg. Now, to help out, the family has hired the strange new neighbour, a boy named David—or "the Gravedigger," as other kids cruelly call him. Even worse, Rosalie’s favourite cousin, Johnny, has suddenly disappeared. Unsure of herself in a clan that’s never quite what it seems, Rosalie not only uncovers family secrets as she searches for Johnny and befriends David, but also finds her own special place in the world. A wonderful whirlwind of bravado and vulnerability, Rosalie is an unforgettable voice in an original and compelling novel.

Lost Treasures: True Stories of Discovery
By Larry Verstraete

Imagine finding: a sunken fortune in gleaming coins, a single stamp worth over a million dollars, Nova Scotia's elusive Oak Island Treasure, the world's largest gold nugget, a painting worth millions. These treasure hunters did just that! Through fierce determination - or sometimes just plain luck - they alone found what many others had missed. Over 80 real-life stories of amazing finds, with more than 30 photographs and illustrations!

Magnifico
By Victoria Miles

Mariangela longs to play the piano; but when her Italian immigrant family arranges for accordion lessons instead, she can’t contain her disappointment. Who wants to be strapped to such a heavy, ugly old thing? But before she knows it, a mortified Mariangela is dragging the old accordion in a red wagon through the streets of Vancouver to her lessons. Try as she might, Mariangela can’t get the accordion to sing for her. Even her accordion teacher, whose two missing fingers and handsome looks fascinate her, cannot find a way to inspire his pupil. But he can tell stories, and through his own sometimes harrowing experiences, Mariangela gradually comes to understand both her family’s determination to start life in a new country and her own capacity to persevere.

Author Victoria Miles drew from her mother’s own misadventures with the accordion to create a rich tapestry of Italian immigrant life in Vancouver during the thirties. Funny, sad, and ultimately inspiring, Magnifico is a coming of age story that will stay with the reader for a very long time.

Odd Man Out
By Sarah Ellis

Kip is spending the summer with his grandmother and his five eccentric girl cousins, including Emily, who thinks she's a dog. Gran's house is about to be demolished, so anything goes, whether it's drawing maps on the wall or sawing off the banister for a smoother ride. When Kip bashes through an old closet, he discovers the binder his late father kept as a teenager. He's bewildered by what he finds: puzzling lists, hair samples, old newspaper clippings and business cards -- all accompanying a confidential report written by a mysterious young operative who is carrying out a secret plan to infect teenagers with a cell-altering virus.

This wonderful new novel has all the Sarah Ellis hallmarks -- quirky characters, insight, wit -- underpinned by resonant themes of family, memory and the creative imagination.

Ryan and Jimmy
By Herb Shoveller

It costs a lot of money to build a well in Africa - a lot more than Ryan Hreljac had thought. Still, the six year old kept doing chores around his parents' house, even after he learned it could take him years to earn enough money. Then a friend of the family wrote an article in the local newspaper about Ryan's wish to build a well to supply people with safe, clean water. Before long, ripples of goodwill began spreading. People started sending money to help pay for Ryan's well. Ryan was interviewed on television. He appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show, twice. His dream of a well became an international news story. In Agweo, Uganda, villagers were used to walking a long way every day in search of water. What they found was often brown and smelly and made a lot of people sick. But when Ryan's well was built, life in the village changed for the better. A young orphan named Akana Jimmy longed for a chance to thank Ryan in person for this gift of life - clean water. When they finally meet, an unbreakable bond unites these boys from very different backgrounds, and a long and sometimes life-threatening journey begins. Ryan and Jimmy is a true story of friendship and compassion in which a simple wish to help others brings focus to the necessities that unite us all.

Tabasco The Saucy Raccoon
By Lyn Hancock

For almost thirty years, award-winning author and adventurer Lyn Hancock kept a special story close to her heart. At last, she is ready to tell it: the remarkable tale of an animal whose saucy personality enlivened Lyn's days and brought joy and wonder to the lives of countless people.

At three weeks, Tabasco is a tiny, helpless ball of fluff. Already, the little raccoon's life is unusual: tucked into Lyn's pocket or tote bag, Tabasco accompanies Lyn on a cross-country tour, making friends every step of the way. By the time they get home, Tabasco is ready to explore the world—inch by exciting, fragrant, tactile inch. Nothing is safe from Tabasco's clever paws. Dogs run and horses stand still when Tabasco comes to call. For some, the raccoon's like her namesake: a little goes a long, long way. But children flock from all around to play with Lyn's busy, talkative friend.

Much as Lyn loves Tabasco, she knows that raccoons are wild creatures, not house pets. The story of Lyn Hancock's search for a new, wild home for her beloved companion will melt your heart.