Alien Invaders: Species that Threaten Our World
All-Season Edie
Amelia Earhart: Legend of the Lost Aviator
Animals at the Edge
Dog Lost
Drum Calls Softly
Feather Brain
Inside Hockey
Jolted: Newton Starker's Rules of Survival
Libertad

On the Road Again!
One Hen
One Peace: True Stories of Young Activists
Robots: From Everyday to Out of This World
Seance
Submarine Outlaw
Super Crocs & Monster Wings
Swindle
War Brothers
Word Nerd

Alien Invaders: Species That Threaten Our World
By Jan Drake and Ann Love

From killer toads, feral felines, and brown tree snakes to multiple invaders in Lake Victoria and the Great Lakes, Alien Invaders focuses on wave after wave of invaders that affect our ecosystems and the side-effects of climate change and modern global travel on our world today. Environmentalists and coauthors Jane Drake and Ann Love present the concepts of endangered species and biodiversity in this informative look at alien invaders and how they impact our world. From the days of sailing ships and shipboard rats to the fungus that sparked the Irish potato famine to the beautiful but deadly purple loosestrife strangling native wetlands, they examine extinctions and endangerments directly attributable to these alien invaders. Learn where the invaders originated, how they traveled, where they settled, what they displaced, why the invaded natural system was vulnerable, and what can be done. Kids can determine if they themselves are invaders or savers and how they can help.

This exploration of a timely topic, coupled with the lively detailed illustrations of Toronto artist Mark Thurman, inspire kids and adults alike to be more observant and protective of our natural world.

All-Season Edie
By Annabel Lyon

Meet Edie. She's eleven years old and heading to the lake with her mom and dad, but without her sister Dexter. This summer Dexter's ballet camp conflicts with the family vacation, so she will be staying with Mean Meagan for the 2 weeks that the family is gone. Also, the lake is not exactly the Grand Canyon, but Grandpa just had a stroke, and Edie's dad doesn't want to be too far away.

The lake seems a bit boring at first, but soon Edie's imagination has her in swimming like a whale, and becoming Neptune. She also meets Robert. A fat kid who is at the lake with his mom and a man who is not his dad. Edie and Robert are soon on fishing expeditions, and watching movies. They are just starting to get to know each other when Edie's parents get a call and they leave the lake a whole week early.

Edie is distraught about her grandfather and decides that learning some magic might help him out. Not the bunny out of the hat variety, but the kind of spells that can make people sick or well.

We watch Edie navigate a year in her life as she discovers that the things she always thought were true, suddenly seem less than. Maybe Mean Meagan isn't so mean. Maybe grandpa really is sick. Maybe Edie doesn't hate dancing after all. And maybe Dex isn't so perfect.

Amelia Earhart: Legend of the Lost Aviator
By Shelley Tanaka

"Amelia Earhart remembered seeing her first airplane when she was eleven years old." So begins the story of one of the greatest aviators of all time. The year was 1908 and the airplane was still a primitive method of travel. It was 1920 before she took her first flight--after a stint nursing WWI veterans in Toronto and trying medical school--but after one flight she was hooked. She began flying lessons, bought her own plane and practiced whenever she could--becoming a social worker to support her hobby. In 1928, as the first woman passenger to cross the Atlantic by plane, she became a star.

Her next challenge was to cross the Atlantic flying her own plane. In May, 1932, she touched down in a farmer's field in Ireland after a tense 13-hour flight. Amelia's last flight, an attempt to circumnavigate the globe, ended in her mysterious disappearance in 1937. Author Shelley Tanaka includes the latest research--that she and her navigator landed on an island in the South Pacific and lived as castaways for several years, a tragic end to an amazing woman.

Tanaka's writing is confident and engaging. Amelia comes across as the determined woman she was, allowing no obstacles to get in her way of flying. The story flows seamlessly and with much interesting detail, covering her many accomplishments in five chapters. There are a few informative sidebars but they never interrupt the flow of the narrative. The book is designed as an oversized picture book with photographs as well as attractive colour illustrations by David Craig, who also illustrated First to Fly about the Wright brothers. There is a bibliography and index.

Animals at the Edge
By Jonathan Baillie

In the absorbing pages of this trailblazing book, readers will meet eleven of the most extraordinary animals facing extinction on our planet. EDGE species are truly distinct and one of a kind. They are evolutionarily unique, which means that if they don’t survive there will be nothing similar left on Earth and our global biodiversity will be weakened forever.

But all hope is not lost. EDGE scientists and researchers are making progress all over the world, working hard to locate, create awareness about, and ensure a safe future for these amazing animals.

In Animals at the EDGE, readers will be introduced to real scientists and follow them on adventures that take them to the limits of the Earth, from the heights of the Cyclops Mountains in far away Papua, to the depths of the Yangtze River in China, to the forests of Haiti in the Caribbean, and the vast stretches of the Gobi Desert.

Through Jonathan and Marilyn Baillie’s exciting and accessibly-written narratives, accompanied by stunning and incomparable photography, readers will become acquainted with the most bizarre and phenomenal creatures facing extinction today.

Dog Lost
By Ingrid Lee

Ingrid Lee's novel, Dog Lost, is a fast-moving and moving account of the life of a pit bull terrier named Cash. Cash and the human and animal characters that surround her move quickly from episode to episode, drama to drama. Yet, Ingrid Lee's writing is sufficient that, despite the fast pace of the novel, the reader is able to develop feelings for the characters and, indeed, to feel moved as the characters lurch from one disappointing setback to another.

     Although about two hundred pages in length, I found the novel an ideal read aloud as I read the story to my family. The short chapters (there are 30 in all) and high drama are ideally suited to a read aloud approach, and many middle years teachers will find this book ideally suited to classroom use.

     Eleven-year-old Mackenzie O'Rourke leads a tough life. His mother has passed away. His older brother has abandoned him. His father is a mean-spirited drunk. In this context, it is easy to understand why Mackenzie so quickly falls in love with his new puppy, Cash. Young Mackenzie, however, is dealt another harsh blow when his enraged father tosses the dog into an abandoned lot after the father and dog clash when Cash leaps to Mackenzie's protection one night.

     Cash then leads a miserable, cold and wet existence, scrounging for food scraps from garbage cans. All the while, the community is whipped into frenzy as the local council seeks to enact a bylaw to ban pit bulls after a series of attacks on humans.

     With a backdrop setting that encompasses the turmoil of dysfunctional families, the sinister underworld of dog fighting, and the despair of terminal illness, Lee's motley collection of human characters reminded me somewhat of S. E. Hinton's collection of misfits in The Outsiders. Lee skillfully manages to weave together a variety of subplots and, eventually, to merge the lives of the various characters, culminating in a search for the lost dog, Cash.

     The book, we are told, is based on a true story. It is a story well told. It gives the reader many reasons to pause, to wonder at story events, and to wonder at the way that different people think and act in relation to animals.

     Lee's characters are carefully constructed. Each character is believable. The gritty, three-dimensional character construction adds many extra layers to the book.

     I highly recommend this book to pre-teen and early teen dog lovers and, indeed, to lovers of a good story, regardless of their age.

Gregory Bryan is a dog lover who teaches in the Faculty of Education at the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg, MB.

Copyright © the Manitoba Library Association. Reproduction for personal use is permitted only if this copyright notice is maintained. Any other reproduction is prohibited without permission.

Drum Calls Softly
By David Bouchard and Shelley Willier

Have you danced the round dance yet?
Of course you have—you’re in my dream.
You’ve danced in circles next to me
You now know things aren’t as they seem.

Beloved children's author David Bouchard has teamed up with emerging writer Shelly Willier to create a heart-warming tale in his newest book, The Drum Calls Softly. Discover the beauty of the traditional Round Dance through the lush descriptive verse of Bouchard and Willier that leads you through the cycles and seasons of life, the forming of new friendships and the understanding of values.

Illustrations by internationally acclaimed painter Jim Poitras colorfully grace the pages, bringing the words alive through the intricate movements of the Round Dancers.

And Northern Cree teams up once again with David Bouchard, providing the translation from English to Cree and the haunting drum music on a bound-in book CD.

Feather Brain
By Maureen Bush

Lucas has dinosaurs on the brain, but he's a little short on friends. When he gets a new book on how to make model dinosaurs, he's inspired to make one immediately. He's not so inspired by his new dinosaur-making kit: all the box contains is a test tube of clear liquid and a few instructions. But when he mixes the liquid into his papier-maché goop, he gets much more than he bargained for, including the most unlikely friend.

Inside Hockey
By Keltie Thomas

Keltie Thomas, author of the best-selling How Sports Work series, introduces us to the wild side of professional hockey past and present. Humorously illustrated and accompanied by exciting photographs, Inside Hockey explores the facts, adventures, and one-of-a-kind anecdotes that continue to make hockey one of North America’s most popular sports.

This highly energetic book gives kids an inside look at the facts about male and female hockey superstars, inventions, rules that changed the game, and some of the dazzling science behind the sport. Perfect for diehard hockey fans and those new to the game, Inside Hockey has something for everyone. Readers of all ages will discover the stories behind the greatest goal scorers, crazy goalies, practical jokers and hijinks, superstitions, the most ferocious fights, players overcoming obstacles, and the obsession with that Cup called Stanley.

In what other sport could you find a player who would rather fight than score, and one who used to sleep in his uniform so he wouldn’t miss a second of ice time in the morning? Or a goalie who sewed an elastic mesh net (like a spider web) between his legs to catch the puck, and one who talked to the goalposts like they were his old friends? With insider information about the game and behind the scenes profiles on players and their incredible experiences, Hockey Night will never look the same way again.

Jolted: Newton Starker's Rules for Survival
By Arthur Slade

The Starker family is infamous. They've been chronicled on blogs, profiled on TV and researched by paranormal investigators. They appear to be cursed: everyone of Starker blood has died after being struck by lightning. Fourteen-year-old Newton Starker is the last of his line--except for his great-grandmother, Enid, a woman as friendly as a pickled wolverine--and he's determined to survive. Newton has spent all of his life surviving, following a list of rules for self preservation, guidelines passed down through generations of Starkers. But Newton wants to try something new. He has enrolled at Jerry Potts Academy of Higher Learning and Survival in Moose Jaw with the hope that he'll be able to beat the odds--he has a dream of becoming a great chef someday. If he wants to go beyond just getting by, Newton is going to need more than rules. He's going to need friends. From the creative mind of award-winning writer Arthur Slade--author of Dust, Tribes and Megiddo's Shadow--comes a quirky, laugh-out-loud story about dreaming big, standing out and knowing when you need help.

Libertad
By Alma Fullerton

A moving story about determination and hope, "Libertad" is a stunning free verse novel by the author of "Walking on Glass." It follows a boy and his younger brother who set out to cross the Rio Grande into the United States from Mexico to find their father after their mother is killed.

With their father gone to America to make money for his family, Libertad, his little brother Julio and their mother scrape a living out of a dump in Guatemala City. Although it is too late for him, Libertad is determined that his little brother should go to school. Taught to play the marimba by his father, Libertad uses his talent as a street musician to raise enough money for his brother's school supplies. But his dreams for their future are destroyed when their mother is killed in a freak accident. Libertad must face the inevitable truth; they cannot survive on the streets of Guatemala City alone. There is only one thing to do. They must set out on the long and lonely journey to the Rio Grande River, where they plan to cross the water and enter the United States to find their father.

On the Road Again!
By Marie-Louise Gay

Charlie, the young narrator in this family saga, a sequel to Travels with My Family, is excited by the news that his family’s next trip will be to France. That brings thoughts of Paris – climbing the steps to the top of the Eiffel Tower, looking "at the spot where the Hunchback of Notre Dame took the plunge," taking a boat ride through Paris’s sewers. "Not to mention French Disneyland." The truth about the proposed trip is less than thrilling for Charlie. The plan is that he, his younger brother Max and their parents – writer dad and artist mum – will spend a year "somewhere in the hills in the southern part of France." The name of the remote village is Celeriac. "Sell-air-ee-ack," is how Charlie pronounces the name. "I think," he says, "that’s some kind of a vegetable. Imagine coming from a village that’s named after a vegetable. And not even a famous one either!"

Of course, getting settled into school and friends and life in general in Celeriac is fraught – and hilariously so – at first, but then Charlie’s sense of dislocation evolves into a sense of belonging, what with mushroom hunting, and collecting chestnuts, village eccentrics, new friends and the Christmas Eve service at the local church whose heretofore unopened door had been used as a goal in the village games of street soccer – such a sense of belonging that the thought of travels farther afield to Spain, for instance, is slightly horrifying.

Embellished with Marie-Louise Gay’s pen-and-ink squiggle drawings, full of good humour, much of which involves the Charlie-Max sibling relationship, and keen observation of Celeriac’s flora, fauna and humans, this novel will hit a home run with almost any reader, but especially one facing a "sabbatical" year away en famille.

The Globe & Mail’s Susan Perren reviewed On the Road Again! on May 31,2008.

One Hen
By Katie Smith Milway

One Hen is the inspiring story Kojo, a young boy from Ghana, Africa. Kojo and his widowed mother collect firewood to sell. They live:

in a mud-walled house with an open fire for cooking. Beside it is a garden where they grow their own food. They never have much money or much to eat.

The families in Kojo’s village come up with an idea. Each family contributes a small amount of savings so that one family at a time can borrow the money to buy "something important." Kojo’s mother uses the loan to buy a cart with which to carry firewood to the marketplace as well as rent out to those who need to transport items. His mother allows Kojo to have the "few coins left over" to buy something also. He decides to buy one hen and sell the eggs at the market.

Slowly, slowly, Kojo’s egg money grows. After two months he saves enough to pay his mother back. In four months he has enough to buy another hen. Now Kojo can sell five eggs a week . . .

One year later, Kojo has twenty-five hens. He is able to save enough money to return to school. Eventually he wins a scholarship to an agricultural college where he learns about farming. After college, Kojo starts a poultry farm. Over the years the farm grows—eventually employing villagers.

In an afterword, readers learn that the real Kojo—and inspiration for the story—is Kwabena Darko. Kwabena, like Kojo, lost his father at an early age. With the help of a scholarship, he attended college and later started a poultry business.

As he became successful, he never forgot how important it was to make loans available to people who wanted to start their own businesses, and he knew that banks were nervous about such loans. So he decided to start Sinapi Aba (Mustard Seed) Trust to give out loans. The loans were small, only about $200 each, but they made a big difference. In 2006, Sinapi Aba provided loans to more than 50,000 Ghanaians, mostly for small businesses such as selling fruit or firewood, sewing clothes, baking snacks, transporting goods or raising small livestock, like the hen that Kojo bought . . .Today, Sinapi Aba is part of the global microfinance nonprofit organization Opportunity International.

Milway does an outstanding job taking an adult topic—microlending—and weaving it into a child-friendly tale. The illustrations are equally inspiring. Fernandes’s exuberant, acrylic paintings, done in a rich, colorful pallet, burst off the page. Both text and artwork combine to paint a vivid, moving story of courage, cooperation, and community.

One Peace: True Stories of Young Activists
By Janet Wilson

One Peace celebrates the "Power of One," and specifically the accomplishments of children from around the globe who have worked to promote world peace. Janet Wilson challenges today's children to strive to make a difference in this beautifully illustrated, fact-filled and fascinating volume of portraits of many "heroes for today."

Canadian Craig Kielburger, who started Free the Children to help victims of child labor at the age of twelve, has been nominated three times for the Nobel Peace Prize. Farlis Calle, forced to identify the body of a young friend-a victim of her country's civil war-started the Columbia Children's Movement for Peace. At age ten, Kimmie Weeks, a refugee from the Liberian civil war, came within a whisper of being buried in a mass grave. Almost miraculously he survived and vowed to make a difference in the lives of other children. At thirteen he established Voices of the Future, Liberia's first child rights advocacy group. Other portraits feature the accomplishments of children from Sarajevo, Japan, the United Kingdom, Cambodia, Afghanistan and the United States. These moving testaments to the courage and initiative of youth will inspire readers young and old.

Robots: From Everyday to Out of This World
By The Editors of YES Mag

The editors of YES Mag are back with their fourth non-fiction title for young readers. And like their previous books – which include The International Space Station and Science Detectives – Robots is a lively read that mixes history, technical information, and fun facts. The book takes an intriguing subject and manages to be both comprehensive and entertaining.

Robots begins with a definition of what a robot is – namely, a machine with moveable parts that can be programmed and reprogrammed to do a task. Most young readers have become so accustomed to robotics in daily life that they take them for granted, and don’t realize that these mechanical aides have had a long and complicated development process.

The book’s early pages brilliantly illustrate this journey, showing robotic concepts through the ages – ranging from a “robot-knight,” run by pulleys, wooden disks, and gears, that was designed by Leonardo da Vinci in the late 1400s, to “Shakey,” a late-1960s mobile robot from the Stanford Research Institute in California that could locate objects and avoid obstacles in a room. That sets the stage for detailed descriptions of how modern robots work, the kinds of jobs they do, how they are put together, and, perhaps most importantly, how “roboticists” are making huge strides in constructing lifelike robots that mirror human movement and activity – to a degree that can seem downright C3PO-esque and a little scary.

The book concludes with chapters on the future of robots, including one section on a scientist who implanted silicon chips in his arm that allow his movements to be monitored by computers. (It’s no accident that this spread is entitled “Cool or Creepy?”) Also included are a concise glossary of terms and a comprehensive index.

Robots will be a satisfying read for many youngsters, and will be especially enjoyable for those who like their technology served with a healthy dose of context – why we need robots, where they came from, who’s responsible for making them what they are today, and, above all, what they’re likely to be able to do in the near future.

Seance
By Iain Lawrence

SCOOTER KING UNDERSTANDS illusions. In the midst of the Roaring Twenties, he performs them behind the scenes at his mother’s séances, giving the impression that Madam King communicates with the dead. Scooter also admires Harry Houdini and can hardly wait to see the famed magician escape from his razzle-dazzle Burmese Torture Tank. But when Scooter stumbles upon a dead body in the visiting Houdini’s tank, it’s no illusion. Who could the murderer be? And did he—or she—kill the right person?

As Scooter sets out to unmask the killer, the mysterious worlds of mediums, séances, and magic are revealed. No one is above suspicion, and appearances are deceiving. If Scooter doesn’t sort out the clues—and fast—he may end up as the next dead body.

Submarine Outlaw
By Philip Roy

Submarine Outlaw takes YA readers on a unique journey when Alfred, a young boy who wants to be an explorer — not a fisherman as his family demands — teams up with a junkyard genius to build a submarine that he sails around the Maritimes. The book takes the reader through the detailed hands-on process of submarine construction into the world of real ocean navigation, replete with a high-seas chase, daring rescue and treasure hunting. Children will identify with Alfred’s desire for an adventurous life and the sense of empowerment that comes with building his own submarine and operating it independently. They will also love the unusual crew — a rescued dog and a quirky seagull. The First Prize Winner of the Atlantic Writers Competition, Submarine Outlaw shows how any great goal in life takes a good deal of patience, determination and hard work. But also how hard work on one’s dream becomes an act of joy. Another important theme is the importance of good judgment. The main character learns first hand that he is equally able to make good and bad choices, and must quickly identify the difference. The theme of choosing a career of one’s own in the face of familial or societal opposition is also well developed. There is an element of mystery and intrigue intrinsic to submarines that makes for compelling reading. When the main character is mistaken for a Russian spy sub and chased by the Canadian coastguard, the plot takes many exciting twists, making the book difficult to put down. Children will identify with the main character because he is an average young teen filled with desire and enthusiasm, and driven to follow his dreams. Step by step they will see how a typical, average young teen comes to live a very extraordinary experience.

Super Crocs and Monster Wings
By Claire Eamer

The surprising prehistoric origins of six common animals.

Swindle
by Gordon Korman

After a mean collector named Swindle cons him out of his most valuable baseball card, Griffin Bing must put together a band of misfits to break into Swindle's compound and recapture the card. There are many things standing in their way — a menacing guard dog, a high-tech security system, a very secret hiding place, and their general inability to drive — but Griffin and his team are going to get back what's rightfully his … even if hijinks ensue.

This is Gordon Korman at his crowd-pleasing best, perfect for readers who like to hoot, howl, and heist.

War Brothers
By Sharon E. McKay

Sharon McKay sets her new novel in Uganda, where Joseph Kony’s Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) has, since 1987, abducted up to 30,000 children from their villages and homes for use as soldiers and slaves. It is in these nightmarish times that the fates of 5 boys and a girl are entwined. Captured from their school by the LRA, the boys wait for rescue only to discover that if they are to survive they must rely on themselves. But friendship, courage, and resilience might not be enough to save them. Based in part upon interviews with child soldiers in Northern Uganda, War Brothers is a stunning depiction of the human cost of wars fought by children.

Word Nerd
By Susin Nielsen

Twelve-year-old Ambrose is a glass-half-full kind of guy. A self-described “friendless nerd,” he moves from place to place every couple of years with his overprotective mother, Irene. When some bullies at his new school almost kill him by slipping a peanut into his sandwich — even though they know he has a deathly allergy — Ambrose is philosophical. Irene, however, is not and decides that Ambrose will be home-schooled.

Alone in the evenings when Irene goes to work, Ambrose pesters Cosmo, the twenty-five-year-old son of the Greek landlords who live upstairs. Cosmo has just been released from jail for breaking and entering to support a drug habit. Quite by accident, Ambrose discovers that they share a love of Scrabble and coerces Cosmo into taking him to the West Side Scrabble Club, where Cosmo falls for Amanda, the club director. Posing as Ambrose’s Big Brother to impress her, Cosmo is motivated to take Ambrose to the weekly meetings and to give him lessons in self-defense. Cosmo, Amanda, and Ambrose soon form an unlikely alliance and, for the first time in his life, Ambrose blossoms. The characters at the Scrabble Club come to embrace Ambrose for who he is and for their shared love of words. There’s only one problem: Irene has no idea what Ambrose is up to.

In this brilliantly observed novel, author Susin Nielsen transports the reader to the world of competitive Scrabble as seen from the honest yet funny viewpoint of a boy who’s searching for acceptance and for a place to call home.