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Showing 1 - 14 of 14 items
The great fire
By Jim Murphy. 1995
An account of the conflagration that levelled much of Chicago in 1871. Chronicles events from the fire's outbreak and rapid…
spread to its extinguishment by rain, as reported by survivors and in documents of the period. Examines the origins, circumstances, and official failures that contributed to the disaster. Grades 5-8. A 1996 Newbery Honor Book. c1995.Survivors!: true death-defying escapes
By Larry Verstraete. 2003
Think about your worst fears - being attacked by a wild animal, swept away by a killer storm, trapped in…
a wrecked car or a burning building. Here are 29 stories of real people who survived life-threatening situations. Each section includes Survival Tips that give readers essential information about what to do in dangerous circumstances. Some descriptions of violence. Winner of the 2004 Silver Birch Award. Grades 4-7. Bestseller 2005. 2003.Interweaves an account of the 1857 sinking of the SS Central America that carried a cargo of gold bullion and…
minted coins with the story of the shipwreck's discovery in 1988 by Tommy Thompson. Describes Thompson's feat of developing technology to locate and retrieve artifacts from a wooden-hulled ship in eight thousand feet of water. Winner of the 2000 CNIB Talking Book of the Year Award. 1998.Sand dance: by camel across Arabia's great southern desert
By Bruce Kirkby. 2000
In the winter of 1999, three Canadians and three Omani Bedu set out across Arabia's great southern desert in an…
attempt to authentically recreate the 1947 crossing by Sir Wilfred Thesiger. Here they share the adventures and misadventures they experienced while crossing the vast, desolate desert. Winner of the 2001 Torgi Talking Book of the Year Award.On board the Titanic: what it was like when the great liner sank (I was there book)
By Shelley Tanaka, Ken Marschall. 1996
The story of the Titanic, once the world's largest ocean liner, as told through the experiences of two of its…
survivors. Detailed explanations about the ship, passengers, and crew are interwoven with an account of its tragic sinking in 1912. Grades 4-7. Winner of the 1997 Silver Birch Award. c1996.At the edge: daring acts in desperate times
By Larry Verstraete. 2009
A young man in Nunavut fights off a polar bear to save his friend, a Canadian peacekeeper in the Congo…
risks his own life to save those of stranded tourists, and ordinary people show extraordinary character during the Halifax Explosion, the Holocaust, Hurricane Katrina, the Tiananmen Square protests, and September 11, 2001. Over twenty true-life stories about life-threatening situations and the wrenching choices made by the people facing them. Winner of the 2010 Silver Birch Award for Non-fiction. Grades 5-8. Some descriptions of violence. 2009.Always looking up: the adventures of an incurable optimist
By Michael J Fox. 2009
In this follow-up to "Lucky Man" (DC24587), movie and television star Fox discusses his work, politics, faith, and family. An…
advocate for stem-cell research, Fox describes the impact his Parkinson's disease has had on his life. Strong language. Bestseller. 2009.A place within: rediscovering India
By M. G Vassanji. 2008
Author M. G. Vassanji was born in Africa, where his Indian grandparents had settled, and his relationship to India had…
been complex and contradictory. Vassanji describes his many visits to India, encompassing bustling cities, quiet landscapes, fantastic stories and fascinating characters, in this his part travelogue and description, part history and meditation, and above all a quest for a lost homeland. Some descriptions of violence. Winner of the 2009 Governor General's Literary Award for non-fiction. Canada Reads 2012. 2008.Touch the dragon: a Thai journal
By Karen Connelly. 1992
Karen Connelly, 17 years old and bored with her life, was accepted by an exchange program which took her from…
Calgary to a small town in Thailand. She describes her assimilation into the Thai language and culture and her despair at leaving when the year came to an end. Winner of the 1993 Governor General's Award for Non-fiction. 1992.The shining mountain: two men on Changabang's west wall
By Peter Boardman, Joe Tasker. 1984
Recounts the endurance and determination of two British mountain climbers in making a forty-day ascent up the treacherous west wall…
of Changabang Mountain in the Indian Himalayas. Winner of the John Llewelyn Rhys Memorial Prize. 1984.The boat who wouldn't float
By Farley Mowat. 1969
An anthropologist on Mars: seven paradoxical tales
By Oliver W Sacks. 1995
Case histories of people with neurological disorders who reconstruct the world according to their needs. Comfortable with his forty-five years…
of blindness, one man is confused by the sudden restoration of his sight. An autistic zoology professor is at ease with animals but cannot bear human contact. Each tale portrays a patient with a condition such as Tourette's Syndrome, deafness, or amnesia. Bestseller. Winner of the 1997 CNIB Talking Book of the Year Award. 1995.Paddle-to-the-Sea: A Caldecott Honor Award Winner (Sandpiper books)
By Holling Clancy Holling. 1980
A First Nations boy sets a foot-long canoe afloat on Ontario's Lake Nipigon. As the little dugout drifts through the…
Great Lakes to the ocean, strangers honor the message carved in the wood: "Please put me back in water. I am Paddle-to-the-Sea." For grades 3-6. Caldecott Honor Book. 1941Smile So Big
By Sunshine Quem Tenasco. 2023
A magical mirror helps a young girl understand her true beauty in this new picture book from the creators of…
Nibi’s Water Song.When Challa comes home in tears after being teased about her smile, her mom gives her a special gift. It’s a magic mirror — shiny, beaded and beautiful — passed on from her mom, and from her djo djo before her.Challa’s mom tells her that when anyone looks into the mirror, they will see their true self. There’s just one rule: Everyone has to say what they see in the reflection.At first the mirror seems to work for everyone but her. Challa keeps looking and looking. The more beauty she sees in herself, the happier she feels, and the longer she looks into the mirror, the more beauty she sees, until finally Challa sees so much beauty, she can't contain her smile!This special story, from award-winning activist Sunshine Quem Tenasco and artist Chief Lady Bird, introduces readers to concepts of self-acceptance, self-empowerment, and recognition of the unique beauty that comes from within.