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Showing 1 - 20 of 153 items
By Diane Silvey. 2008
In the rich tradition of Coast Salish legend, mother and son Diane and Joe Silvey write and illustrate a classic…
quest story. Teenage twins Kaya and Tala journey into the perilous British Columbia wilderness confronting fish and fowl, beast and phantom, and the wolf spirit destined to be Tala’s protective guardian. Imaginative black-and-white illustrations complement this unique story of adventure.By Christopher Dinsdale. 2006
Short-listed for the 2008 Red Maple Award Keira, kidnapped from Ireland by Vikings, is a slave living in legendary Vinland.…
Two native bands, the Beothuck and the Thule, are also fighting over the land, thrusting the Norsemen into war. While the Vikings search for a new home, an accident at sea leaves Keira miraculously saved by a Beothuck warrior. Keira settles into the Beothuck way of life, learning their customs and coming to care for them. But she dreams of risking everything in order to find a way home. Ultimately, she is torn between the cultures in which she has livedher homeland, the Viking world in which she was welcomed, and her new Beothuck family. This is a thrilling adventure and an exciting introduction to the history of Canada.By Will Hobbs. 2013
When the motto of your village is "never say die," you have a lot to live up to. . .…
. At home in Canada's Arctic, Nick Thrasher is an accomplished Inuit hunter at fifteen. About to bring home a caribou for his ailing grandfather, Nick loses the meat to a fearsome creature never before seen in the wild. It's half grizzly, half polar bear. Experts will soon be calling it a "grolar bear. " Returning to his village, Nick receives a letter from the half brother he's never met. A former Grand Canyon river guide, Ryan Powers is now a famous wildlife photographer. He'll soon be coming to Nick's part of the world to raft the remote Firth River in search of huge herds of migrating caribou. Ryan also wants to learn what Inuit hunters are saying about climate change in the Arctic. He invites Nick to come along and help him find the caribou. Barely down the river, disaster strikes. Nick and Ryan are both thrown into the freezing river and find themselves under a ceiling of solid ice. With nothing but the clothes on his back and the knife on his hip, Nick is up against it in a world of wolves, caribou, and grizzlies. All the while, the monstrous grolar bear stalks the land.By B. J. Bayle. 2007
Ben and Charity Muldoon are 15-year-old twins who find themselves in the midst of politically charged events in the Saskatchewan…
River Valley in 1885. One day, as Ben is walking through a ravine, he encounters a Cree boy named Red Eagle, who quickly becomes his friend after a hair-raising rescue. Ben eventually discovers that a confrontation between the North-West Mounted Police and the Natives, led by Louis Riel and Gabriel Dumont, is imminent. As events unfold, Ben and Red Eagle witness the struggles of the Metis and Cree for recognition and the failed efforts to negotiate a settlement that ultimately lead to tragedy and war. Caught between his loyalty to Red Eagle and the authority of a Hudson’s Bay Company uncle he has never trusted, Ben must decide where his allegiance lies. But as he soon learns, when it comes to friendship, there is no taking sides.By Alexandra Latos. 2020
This heartfelt novel for fans of Jandy Nelson and Adam Silvera follows twins Audrey and Clare as they grapple with…
their brother's death and their changing relationships-with each other and themselves. Audrey&’s best friend was always her twin, Clare. But as they got older, they grew apart, and when their brother Adam died, Clare blamed Audrey for the accident. Now, Audrey&’s attending an alternative school where she feels more isolated than ever. Tired of being seen as different from her neurotypical peers, Audrey&’s determined to switch to the public high school, rebuild her friendship with Clare, and atone for Adam&’s death . . . but she&’ll need to convince her parents, and her therapist, first. Clare knows her sister thinks she&’s the perfect twin, but Audrey doesn&’t realize that Clare&’s &“popular&” status is crumbling—she&’s begun to question old friendships, dress in Adam&’s clothes, and wonder what feelings for a nonbinary classmate, Taylor, might mean. As she grapples with not only grief but also her gender fluidity, Clare wonders where she&’ll belong if she sheds her carefully constructed image and embraces her true self. Will first crushes, new family dynamics, and questions of identity prove that Audrey and Clare have grown too different to understand each other-or that they've needed each other all along?By Joan Donaldson-Yarmey. 2015
On his sixteenth birthday Phillipe Chabot is told that his brother-in-law has hired him to be a voyageur. He will…
be paddling west from Montreal to Grade Portage to trade supplies with the Indians for furs. He is overjoyed and receives all the appropriate clothing from his family as birthday gifts, even a tobacco pouch. As the loaded canoe brigade gets ready to leave, his cousin, Jeanne, accepts the proposal of marriage yelled at her by the clerk who is going along to keep track of the trading. Unfortunately, disaster strikes the brigade as the men paddle the rivers, make their portages, and get onto the sometimes violent and unforgiving Lake Superior. In Montreal, the city is ravished by a fire and death is everywhere.By Regina M. Hansen. 2021
Music, myth, and horror blend in this romantic, atmospheric fantasy debut about a teen girl who must fight a powerful…
evil that&’s invaded her Prince Edward Island home—perfect for fans of An Enchantment of Ravens.There&’s a certain wild magic in the salt air and the thrum of the sea. Beet MacNeill has known this all her life. It added spice to her childhood adventures with her older cousin, Gerry, the two of them thick as thieves as they explored their Prince Edward Island home. So when Gerry comes up the path one early spring morning, Beet thinks nothing of it at first. But he is soaking wet and silent, and he plays a haunting tune on his fiddle that chills Beet to the bone. Something is very, very wrong. Things only get worse when Marina Shaw saunters into town and takes an unsettling interest in Gerry&’s new baby. Local lore is filled with tales of a vicious shape-shifting sea creature and the cold, beautiful woman who controls him—a woman who bears a striking resemblance to Marina. Beet is determined to find out what happened to her beloved cousin, and to prevent the same fate from befalling the handsome new boy in town who is winning her heart, whether she wants him to or not. Yet the sea always exacts a price...By Barbara Landry. 2020
In this charming story that includes words in Inuktitut, a ringed seal returns to the Arctic with stories of discovery…
and friendship. A ringed seal, known in Inuktitut as ᓇᑦᑎᖅ nattiq, has returned to his Arctic home after a long journey south. His friends — a polar bear, caribou, raven, walrus and narwhal — gather round to hear about his trip. “What did you see beyond our land?” shouts the polar bear. ᓇᑦᑎᖅ nattiq describes the amazing sights he has seen — from crystal clear waters full of giant icebergs to the tundra in full summertime bloom to strange, tall statues, far to the south. The statues swayed in the autumn breeze, howled when winter storms set in and opened their arms to nesting birds in the spring. “They can never come and visit us,” ᓇᑦᑎᖅ nattiq explains to his friends, and so he plans to return south every year to tell them stories from the Arctic. Inspired by her travels, Barbara Landry has written an imaginative story about discovery and friendship. Martha Kyak brings her familiarity with the North to the stunning illustrations. Includes a glossary of Inuktitut words. Key Text Features labels glossary Correlates to the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.K.4 Ask and answer questions about unknown words in a text.By Betty Waterton. 1978
Simon has always longed to catch a salmon. But when his luck suddenly changes and an eagle accidentally drops one…
into a tidal pool, Simon is torn between sympathy for the fish and the desire to catch something of his own. The enhanced epub version, in celebration of Groundwood's 35th anniversary, includes a read-aloud feature of the story narrated by Graham Greene.All summer long, Simon, a young First Nations boy, has been desperate to catch a salmon. He goes fishing every day, but has no luck. Then one day a high-flying eagle drops a salmon into a clam hole right before his eyes, and Simon must decide whether to take it home or let it go.This simple story, with its evocative watercolor paintings of the Northwest Coast, was an environmental fable before its time when it was first published in 1978. But its true power rests in the magical combination of text and pictures, which have made it a best-selling classic.By Nicola Campbell. 2008
Winner of the TD Canadian Children's Literature Award and finalist for the Governor General's Award: Children's Illustration This moving sequel…
to the award-winning Shi-shi-etko tells the story of two children's experience at residential school. Shi-shi-etko is about to return for her second year, but this time her six-year-old brother, Shin-chi, is going, too. As they begin their journey in the back of a cattle truck, Shi-shi-etko tells her brother all the things he must remember: the trees, the mountains, the rivers and the salmon. Shin-chi knows he won't see his family again until the sockeye salmon return in the summertime. When they arrive at school, Shi-shi-etko gives him a tiny cedar canoe, a gift from their father. The children's time is filled with going to mass, school for half the day, and work the other half. The girls cook, clean and sew, while the boys work in the fields, in the woodshop and at the forge. Shin-chi is forever hungry and lonely, but, finally, the salmon swim up the river and the children return home for a joyful family reunion.By Danielle Daniel. 2015
Children’s love for animals and disguise come together in this award-winning introduction to the Anishinaabe tradition of totem animals.In this…
introduction to the Anishinaabe tradition of totem animals, young children explain why they identify with different creatures such as a deer, beaver or moose. Delightful illustrations show the children wearing masks representing their chosen animal, while the few lines of text on each page work as a series of simple poems throughout the book.In a brief author’s note, Danielle Daniel explains the importance of totem animals in Anishinaabe culture and how they can also act as animal guides for young children seeking to understand themselves and others.Key Text Featuresauthor’s noteCorrelates to the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts:CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.K.7With prompting and support, describe the relationship between illustrations and the story in which they appear (e.g., what moment in a story an illustration depicts).CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.4Identify words and phrases in stories or poems that suggest feelings or appeal to the senses.CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.2.4Describe how words and phrases (e.g., regular beats, alliteration, rhymes, repeated lines) supply rhythm and meaning in a story, poem, or song.CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.3.7Explain how specific aspects of a text's illustrations contribute to what is conveyed by the words in a story (e.g., create mood, emphasize aspects of a character or setting)CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.4.2Determine a theme of a story, drama, or poem from details in the text; summarize the text.CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.5.7Analyze how visual and multimedia elements contribute to the meaning, tone, or beauty of a text (e.g., graphic novel, multimedia presentation of fiction, folktale, myth, poem).By Ian Wallace. 2006
This enhanced e-book, in celebration of Groundwood's 35th anniversary, includes a read-aloud feature of the story narrated by Ian Wallace.…
Renowned children's book illustrator Ian Wallace brings his masterful ability to paint landscape and his cultural sensitivity to The Huron Carol, a beautiful and unusual song with a rich history. In the early 1600s Father Jean de Brébeuf came to Canada from his native France as a Jesuit missionary. He settled among the Huron, or Ouendat, people in what is now Midland, Ontario. Despite his missionary zeal, Brébeuf was sensitive to the people with whom he lived. He learned their language and he wrote, in Huron, the original version of this famous Christmas carol. He and his fellow priests, called Black Robes, and many of their Huron parishioners were killed in an Iroquois raid in 1649. But Brébeuf's carol continued to be sung by successive generations of Hurons. Then in 1926, Toronto writer Jesse Edgar Middleton, inspired by Brébeuf, wrote his own version of the carol in English. His are the familiar words we sing today, describing the Huron landscape, flora and fauna in telling the Christmas story. Ian Wallace's luminous illustrations, set against the dramatic backdrop of Georgian Bay, make this a stunning Christmas gift book. Multilingual versions of the text, the music and a full description of how this carol has come down to us today are included.By Michel Noel. 2001
Winner of the Geoffrey Bilson Award for Historical Fiction The year is 1959, and fifteen-year-old Nipishish returns to his reserve…
in northern Quebec after being kicked out of residential school, where the principal tells him he's a good-for-nothing who, like all Indians, can look forward to a life of drunkenness, prison and despair. The reserve, however, offers nothing to Nipishish. He remembers little of his late mother and father. In fact, he seems to know less about himself than the people at the band office. He must try to rediscover the old ways, face the officials who find him a threat, and learn the truth about his father's death.By Constance Brissenden, Larry Loyie. 2002
Winner of the Norma Fleck Award for Canadian Children's Non-Fiction In the 1800s, the education of First Nations children was…
taken on by various churches, in government-sponsored residential schools. Children were forcibly taken from their families in order to erase their traditional languages and cultures. As Long as the Rivers Flow is the story of Larry Loyie's last summer before entering residential school. It is a time of learning and adventure. He cares for an abandoned baby owl and watches his grandmother make winter moccasins. He helps the family prepare for a hunting and gathering trip. Correlates to the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts:CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.3.7Explain how specific aspects of a text's illustrations contribute to what is conveyed by the words in a story (e.g., create mood, emphasize aspects of a character or setting)CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.4.3Describe in depth a character, setting, or event in a story or drama, drawing on specific details in the text (e.g., a character's thoughts, words, or actions).CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.5.5Explain how a series of chapters, scenes, or stanzas fits together to provide the overall structure of a particular story, drama, or poem.By Wendy Stephenson. 2005
Etseh, Etsi and their three grandchildren have just embarked on a month long canoe trip in the Northwest Territories --…
from the town of Rae to Hottah Lake. They are following the Idaa trail, a trade route that the Dogrib people have traveled for hundreds of years. Etseh and Etsi traveled the Idaa trail when they were children and as they paddle north with their grandchildren they pass along their knowledge of special sites along the way and explain how their people survived in the old days -- building birch bark canoes, fishing with willow lines and muskrat-tooth hooks, and ambushing herds of caribou. This remarkable work, based on ten years of archaeological research, documents the past and present of one of the most intact tribal cultures of North America.By Brian Doyle. 1982
Winner of the Canadian Library Association Book of the Year Award Young Tommy and Baby Bridget, the girl with the…
trillium-shaped eyes, discover that living, healing and dying are not always what they seem. And they make that discovery with the help of a wonderful cast of characters, including Crazy Mickey, Frank and the Hummer. Award-winning author Brian Doyle spent the summers of his boyhood in the Gatineau Hills, the setting for Up to Low.By Martha Brooks. 1997
Alexandra's beloved grandfather was fond of saying, Life is full of surprises, and sometimes the good and the bad get…
all bunched up together. However, he could not have prepared her for the death of her father, a man she never knew, and his legacy -- a cabin on prairie land formerly owned by the LaFreniere family. Lonny LaFreniere's stepfather is the kindest man Lonny has ever known. But Lonny, tormented by guilty memories and visions he can't shake, rejects the land Pop always wanted to pass on to him. How could he have known it would end up in the hands of a city girl like Alexandra Sinclair? Acclaimed author Martha Brooks tells an unforgettable story about two teens and their quest to understand the land and each other.By Angnakuluk Friesen. 2017
The northern lights shine, women gather to eat raw caribou meat and everyone could be family in this ode to…
small-town life in Nunavut, written in English and Inuktitut. Sisters Angnakuluk Friesen and Ippiksaut Friesen collaborate on this story about what it’s like to grow up in an Inuit community in Nunavut. Every line about the hometown in this book will have readers thinking about what makes their own hometowns unique. With strong social studies curriculum connections, Kisimi Taimaippaktut Angirrarijarani / Only in My Hometown introduces young readers to life in the Canadian North, as well as the Inuit language and culture. Angnakuluk’s simple text, translated into Inuktitut and written out in syllabics and transliterated roman characters, is complemented by Ippiksaut’s warm paintings of their shared hometown. Correlates to the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.K.4 Ask and answer questions about unknown words in a text. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.1 Ask and answer questions about key details in a text. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.2.1 Ask and answer such questions as who, what, where, when, why, and how to demonstrate understanding of key details in a text. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.2.4 Describe how words and phrases (e.g., regular beats, alliteration, rhymes, repeated lines) supply rhythm and meaning in a story, poem, or song.An Anishinaabe child and her grandmother explore the natural wonders of each season in this lyrical, bilingual story-poem. In this…
lyrical story-poem, written in Anishinaabemowin and English, a child and grandmother explore their surroundings, taking pleasure in the familiar sights that each new season brings. We accompany them through warm summer days full of wildflowers, bees and blueberries, then fall, when bears feast before hibernation and forest mushrooms are ripe for harvest. Winter mornings begin in darkness as deer, mice and other animals search for food, while spring brings green shoots poking through melting snow and the chirping of peepers. Brittany Luby and Joshua Mangeshig Pawis-Steckley have created a book inspired by childhood memories of time spent with Knowledge Keepers, observing and living in relationship with the natural world in the place they call home — the northern reaches of Anishinaabewaking, around the Great Lakes. Correlates to the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.4 Identify words and phrases in stories or poems that suggest feelings or appeal to the senses. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.2.1 Ask and answer such questions as who, what, where, when, why, and how to demonstrate understanding of key details in a text. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.2.5 Describe the overall structure of a story, including describing how the beginning introduces the story and the ending concludes the action.By Jen Ferguson. 2022
In this complex and emotionally resonant novel about a Métis girl living on the Canadian prairies, debut author Jen Ferguson…
serves up a powerful story about rage, secrets, and all the spectrums that make up a person—and the sweetness that can still live alongside the bitterest truth. Lou has enough confusion in front of her this summer. She’ll be working in her family’s ice-cream shack with her newly ex-boyfriend—whose kisses never made her feel desire, only discomfort—and her former best friend, King, who is back in their Canadian prairie town after disappearing three years ago without a word.But when she gets a letter from her biological father—a man she hoped would stay behind bars for the rest of his life—Lou immediately knows that she cannot meet him, no matter how much he insists.While King’s friendship makes Lou feel safer and warmer than she would have thought possible, when her family’s business comes under threat, she soon realizes that she can’t ignore her father forever.The Heartdrum imprint centers a wide range of intertribal voices, visions, and stories while welcoming all young readers, with an emphasis on the present and future of Indian Country and on the strength of young Native heroes. In partnership with We Need Diverse Books.