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Showing 1 - 20 of 48 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.The bite of the mango
By Mariatu Kamara, Susan McClelland. 2008
Sierra Leone. At the age of 12, Mariatu Kamara was raped by a family friend, then captured by rebels who…
cut off her hands. Despite her wounds, Kamara walked out of the bush and sought help, ending up in an amputee camp, where she gave birth to a son who died of malnutrition. When foreign journalists interviewed Kamara in the camp, her story garnered international interest and assistance, which eventually brought her to Toronto. Her autobiography testifies to Kamara's horrific trauma, but with the aim of fostering hope and reconciliation. Winner of the 2011 Red Maple Non-Fiction Award. For junior high and older readers. Some strong language, some descriptions of sex, and some descriptions of violence. c2008.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.Shadow maker: the life of Gwendolyn MacEwen
By Rosemary Sullivan. 1995
Using the personal impressions of the poet's intimate friends, Rosemary Sullivan builds a composite portrait of Gwendolyn MacEwan, the Toronto…
poet who died in 1987 at the age of 46. The daughter of an alcoholic father and mentally ill mother, MacEwen's story is a painful one, yet the richness of her art and inner life redeemed the pain. Winner of the 1995 Governor General's Award for Non-fiction.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.Confessions of an immigrant's daughter (Social History of Canada. #34.)
By Laura Goodman Salverson, K. P Stich. 1981
Salverson's autobiography describes the struggles of a young Icelandic woman to rise above an early life of poverty, isolation and…
upheaval. It also depicts the sometimes agonizing process of the immigrant, adjusting to a life in a new country. It discusses the discrimination against women and ethnic minorities she encountered as she attempted to fulfill her own dreams. Winner of the 1939 Governor General's Award. (Social History of Canada ; 34)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 right cheek: an autobiography (The French writers of Canada series)
By Claire Martin. 1968
In the second part of her autobiography, the author describes her adolescence and early womanhood in her father's house, one…
of gloom and oppressive brutality. The attitudes of the times towards sex and women are bitterly attacked and ridiculed. Sequel to "In an iron glove" (DC00901). 1975, c1968. Uniform title: Dans un gant de fer, v. 2, La joue droite.The boat who wouldn't float
By Farley Mowat. 1969
Jason and the Argonauts: the first great quest in Greek mythology
By Robert Byrd. 2016
A recounting of the legend of Greek hero Jason, the gifted Argonauts, and their dangerous quest to retrieve the magical…
Golden Fleece--said to have been sent by the Gods of Olympus. For grades 3-6. 2016Stories from the billabong
By James Marshall, James Vance Marshall, Francis Firebrace. 2009
Ten Australian Aboriginal folktales about creation and the natural world, including pourquoi tales "How the Kangaroo Got Her Pouch" and…
"How the Crocodile Got Its Scales." Facts about the featured animal, plant, or place follow each legend. For grades 3-6. 2008Treasure of the Sangre de Cristos: tales and traditions of the Spanish Southwest
By Arthur L. Campa. 1994
This collection of tales and traditions from the Southwest includes stories of lost mines stacked with bars of gold, mule…
loads of silver cached away in outlaw hoards, and fabulous Jesuit treasures buried when that order was expelled from New SpainMissouri caves in history and legend (Missouri Heritage Readers Ser. #1)
By H. Dwight Weaver. 2008
There are over 6000 caves in the state of Missouri, created by limestone rock slowly dissolved by groundwater. They have…
much to tell us about extinct species and Native Americans; they have been hideouts for outlaws, and have been mined for saltpeter and guano. H. Dwight Weaver, a former show cave operator, tells of the historical and social impact they have had on the stateIn the days of sand and stars
By Francois Thisdale, Marlee Pinsker. 2006
Ten stories based on women from the Bible: Eve Naamah, Sarai, Sarah, Rebecca, Leah, Rachel, Dina, and Yocheved. In "Rebecca…
Comes Home," a compassionate young woman's trip to the community well leads her to a husband. For grades 5-8. 2006The merry adventures of Robin Hood (Sterling Unabridged Classics)
By Howard Pyle, H. Pyle. 2004
Recounts the legend of Robin Hood and his band of outlaws--including Little John, Friar Tuck, and Allan a Dale--who plunder…
the rich to help the poor. Describes mistakenly poaching the king's deer and Sherwood Forest escapades against their enemy the Sheriff of Nottingham. For grades 6-9 and older readers. 1883The Lakota way: stories and lessons for living
By Joseph M. Marshall, Joseph Marshall. 2001
Twelve traditional tales and allegories told by Lakota elders to impart tribal wisdom on ethics and character. Each story illustrates…
a virtue such as humility, respect, sacrifice, and honesty. In "The Story of the Thunders" a jealous first wife tells how foolishness can lead to wisdom. 2001