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Nation maker: Sir John A. Macdonald : his life, our times, volume two : 1867-1891
By Richard Gwyn. 2011
From Confederation Day in 1867, John A. Macdonald finessed a reluctant union of four provinces in central and eastern Canada…
into a strong nation, despite indifference from Britain and annexationist sentiment in the United States. Macdonald faced constant crises, from Louis Riel's two rebellions through to the Pacific Scandal that almost undid his government. Gwyn paints a portrait of Canada and its leaders through these formative years and also shows us Macdonald the man, as he wrestles with whether Riel should hang, marries for the second time, deals with the birth of a disabled child, and the assassination of his close friend Darcy McGee. Some descriptions of violence. Sequel to “John A: the man who made us : the life and times of John A. Macdonald” (DC31710). Winner of the 2011 Shaughnessy Cohen Prize for Political Writing. c2011.From then to now: a short history of the world
By Christopher Moore. 2011
Fifty thousand years ago, our ancestors ventured off the African savannah and into the wider world. Now, our technology reaches…
far into the cosmos. How did we get where we are today? From Hammurabi to Henry Ford, from Incan couriers to the Internet, from the Taj Mahal to the Eiffel Tower, from Marco Polo to Martin Luther King, from Cleopatra to Catherine the Great, from boiled haggis to fried tarantulas - this is the story of humanity. Winner of the 2011 Governor General's Award for Children's Text. Grades 4-7. 2011.Don't touch that toad & other strange things adults tell you
By Catherine Rondina. 2010
Have your parents ever told you that you shouldn't swallow a watermelon seed because a watermelon will grow in your…
stomach? Or not to cross your eyes, because they'll stay stuck like that? Takes a look at many of the old sayings you've heard, examines them and their history, and gives you the truth about them. You'll find out if holding your breath will cure the hiccups, and if eating sugar will really make you hyper. Winner of the 2012 Silver Birch Non-Fiction Award. Grades 3-6. 2010.Lakeland: journeys into the soul of Canada
By Allan Casey. 2009
Blending writing on nature, travel, and science, Casey explores how the country's history and culture originates at the lakeshore. Describes…
a series of interconnected journeys by the author, punctuated by the seasons and the personalities he meets along the way including aboriginal fishery managers, fruit growers, boat captains, cottagers, and scientists. Some strong language. Winner of the 2010 Governor General's Award for Non-fiction. 2009.Charles and Emma: the Darwins' leap of faith
By Deborah Heiligman. 2009
Portrays the private life of Charles Darwin (1809-1882), a public proponent of evolution. Discusses his marriage to devout Emma Wedgwood…
(1808-1896) and their lifelong debate over natural selection versus Christian creationism. Covers his work habits, bad health, and dedication to family. For junior and senior high and older readers. Printz Honor, National Book Award Finalist. 2009.Courage and compassion: ten Canadians who made a difference (A Wow Canada! book)
By Rona Arato. 2008
The heroes of this book are men, women, and even children from different points in Canadian history who have worked…
and fought for basic human liberties. Beginning with Jeanne Mance's tireless care of others in the earliest days of New France, and ending with young Hannah Taylor's campaign against homelessness, the book spans four hundred years in our nation's story. Grades 4-7. Winner of the OLA White Pine Award 2011. 2008.I am Hutterite: the fascinating true story of a young woman's journey to reclaim her heritage
By Mary-Ann Kirkby. 2007
In 1969, Ann-Marie Dornn's parents did the unthinkable - they left a Hutterite colony in Manitoba to start a new…
life, and were thrust into a society they did not understand and which knew little about their culture. Desperate to be accepted, ten-year-old Ann-Marie denied her heritage to fit in. She chronicles her quest to reinvent herself as she comes to terms with the painful circumstances that led her family to leave community life. 2007.Out of darkness: the Jeff Healey story
By Cindy Watson. 2010
Losing both eyes to retinoblastoma, a rare form of cancer, opened a door to another world for Jeff Healey. Out…
of darkness he created music, becoming one of the most influential blues-rock and jazz performers of our time. Winner of the 2012 Golden Oak Award. Grades 5-8. 2010.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.I've got a home in glory land: a lost tale of the underground railroad
By Karolyn Smardz Frost. 2007
In 1985, archeologists in downtown Toronto discovered the remains of a house belonging to former slaves Thornton and Lucie Blackburn,…
who were key figures in the Underground Railroad. Fleeing Louisville, Ky., in 1831, shortly before Lucie was to be sold, the Blackburns settled in Detroit until they were recognized and arrested. Before they could be convicted and returned to slavery, the first racial uprising in Detroit - a crowd of friends and abolitionists who marched on the jail - gave them the opportunity to escape. Fleeing to Toronto, they founded the city's first taxi business while working with prominent abolitionists. Winner of the 2007 Governor General's Award for Non-fiction. 2007.Fifteen days: stories of bravery, friendship, life and death from inside the new Canadian Army
By Christie Blatchford. 2007
Blatchford has covered the conflict in Afghanistan as an embedded reporter, and provides observations of military life in the twenty-first…
century. The troops share their accounts of their desire to serve, their willingness to confront fear and danger on the battlefield, their loyalty towards each other and the heartbreak occasioned by the loss of one of their own. Descriptions of sex, explicit descriptions of violence and some strong language. Winner of the 2008 Governor General's Award for Non-fiction. 2007.The author of "Michelangelo and the Pope's Ceiling" traces the rivalry of two French artists of opposing schools during a…
time of social and political upheaval. Describes events occurring between 1863 and 1874 as world-renowned Ernest Meissonier and upstart Édouard Manet vied for exhibition space and fame. Winner of the 2006 Governor General's Award for Non-fiction. 2006.Late wife: poems ([Southern messenger poets])
By Claudia Emerson. 2005
A woman explores her disappearance from one life and reappearance in another as she addresses her former husband, herself, and…
her new husband in a series of epistolary poems. Though not satisfied in her first marriage, she laments vanishing from the life she and her husband shared for years. She then describes the unexpected joys of solitude during her recovery and emotional convalescence. Finally, in a sequence of sonnets, she speaks to her new husband, whose first wife died from lung cancer. Pulitzer Prize winner for poetry, 2005.Hiding Edith: a true story (A Holocaust remembrance book for young readers #7)
By Kathy Kacer. 2006
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 courage was remarkable, as was the bravery of those who helped her: an entire village, including its mayor, that heroically conspired to conceal the presence of hundreds of Jewish children who lived in the safe house. Grades 4-7. Winner of the 2007 Silver Birch Award. 2006.The Gutenberg galaxy: the making of typographic man
By Marshall McLuhan. 1977
Controversial when first published, this classic book theorizes that the invention of printing has shaped our lives. McLuhan looks at…
politics, economics, philosophy, literature and post-Newtonian physics. Winner of the 1962 Governor General's Award for Non-fiction. c1962, 1977.Amos Fortune: free man
By Elizabeth Yates. 1950
Amos Fortune was a prince in the At-mun-shi tribe in Africa. He was captured by slave traders, brought to Massachusetts…
and sold at auction when he was fifteen years old. He never lost his dignity and courage but dreamed of being free and buying the freedom of his closest friends. His dreams finally came true when he was sixty years old. A Newbery Award book. Grades 3-6. 1950.