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Showing 1 - 20 of 116 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.Smiley: a journey of love
By Joanne George. 2017
Smiley, a most remarkable Golden Retriever, was born without eyes. He was rescued from a puppy mill and has become…
a superb therapy dog, providing therapy to people all over the world through social media and television. This is his story. Winner of the 2018 Silver Birch Express Award. Winner of the 2019 Red Cedar Information Book Award. Winner of the 2019 Hackmatack Award for non-fiction. Grades 4-6. 2017. Smiley, the therapy dog -- Smiley and Joanne -- Smiley and Joanne's new family -- St. John Ambulance therapy dogs -- Smiley, the blind therapy dog -- Smiley, the celebrity -- Ways you can help.Stormy seas: stories of young boat refugees
By Mary Beth Leatherdale. 2017
The plight of refugees risking their lives at sea has, unfortunately, made the headlines all too often in the past…
few years. This book presents five true stories, from 1939 to today, about young people who lived through the harrowing experience of setting sail in search of asylum: Ruth and her family board the St. Louis to escape Nazism; Phu sets out alone from war-torn Vietnam; José tries to reach the United States from Cuba; Najeeba flees Afghanistan and the Taliban; and after losing his family, Mohamed abandons his village on the Ivory Coast in search of a new life. Grades 4-7. Winner of the 2018 Silver Birch Non-Fiction Honour Book Award. 2017.Sir Walter Raleigh and the quest for El Dorado
By Marc Aronson. 2000
Biography of the adventurous English explorer and courtier of Queen Elizabeth I. Describes the numerous expeditions to the New World…
in search of a golden kingdom and how court politics determined his fortunes. For junior and senior high readers. Boston Globe-Horn Book Award. 2000.Royal murder: the deadly intrigue of ten sovereigns
By Elizabeth MacLeod, Barbara Pulling, Heather Sangster. 2008
What would you do for absolute power? Step into the world of palatial intrigue, where holding the throne means evading…
death... or causing it. While Cleopatra of Egypt once rolled herself into a rug and was carried out past her enemies' noses, other royals were brutal when dealing with foes. Read the stories of ten sovereigns, including Vlad the Impaler, "Bloody Mary", and The Romanovs of Russia. Descriptions of violence. Grades 4-7. Winner of the 2009 Red Maple Non-fiction Award. 2008.Pocahontas
By Joseph Bruchac. 2003
Told from the viewpoints of Pocahontas and John Smith, describes their lives in the context of the encounter between the…
Powhatan Indians and the English colonists of seventeenth-century Jamestown, Virginia. Grades 5-8. Some descriptions of violence. 2003.Passover: festival of freedom (Orca origins)
By Monique Polak. 2016
During Passover, Jews are reminded of how, more than three thousand years ago, their ancestors emerged from slavery to become…
free men and women. Polak explores her own Jewish roots as she tells the Passover story, which reminds us that the freedom to be who we are and practice our religion, whatever it may be, is a great gift. It also teaches us that if we summon our courage and look out for each other, we can endure and overcome the most challenging circumstances. Grades 4-7. 2016.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.Paiute princess: the story of Sarah Winnemucca
By Deborah Kogan Ray. 2013
Documents the life and achievements of the nineteenth-century Northern Paiute leader, examining how her aptitude for languages and diplomacy enabled…
her to advocate on behalf of her tribe. Grades 4-7. 2013.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.Meet a veterinarian: Candace Grier-Lowe (Career path choices.)
By Kim Ziervogel. 2009
Candace Grier-Lowe was a poor student in high school, but she loved animals and drew on that love to pursue…
a career working with them. She upgraded her skills in order to apply for university and succeeded after much effort. Today she is at the Western College of Veterinary Medicine as a veterinary dentistry resident. Contains a veterinary medicine FAQ page. For junior and senior high readers. 2009.Meet a journalist: Waubgeshig Rice (Career path choices.)
By Kim Ziervogel. 2009
After doing well in high school English, Waub Rice applied to study in Germany for a year and was accepted.…
He found this opened up a world of possibilities and he went to university at Ryerson to study journalism. Now this role model works in Winnipeg for the CBC doing stories about Aboriginal peoples. Contains a journalist career FAQ page. For junior and senior high readers. 2009.Hidden gold
By Ella Burakowski. 2015
The Gold family lived an idyllic life in pre-war Poland, but that life was shattered in 1939 when Germany invaded…
Poland and Jewish people were forced into the streets, their homes, schools, and businesses burned. Eventually, the Golds hid in a cramped, secret enclosure for twenty-six months. Appalling conditions, starvation, fear of imminent betrayal and capture makes this a heart-stopping testament to the human spirit. For junior high readers. Winner of the 2017 Red Maple Non-Fiction Honour Book Award. 2015.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.Environmentalists from our First Nations (A First Nations book for young readers #5)
By Vincent Schilling. 2011
Ten biographies of First Nations/Native activists who advocate not only for the environment but for Native rights. Their stories are…
full of highs and lows, triumphs and setbacks. Environmental trailblazers, these men and women are role models for children everywhere. Grades 4-7. 2011. (First Nations Series for Young Readers)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.Hana's suitcase: a true story (The Holocaust remembrance series for young readers #3)
By Karen Levine. 2002
In March 2000, a suitcase arrived at a children's Holocaust education centre in Tokyo, Japan, with the name Hana Brady…
painted in white on the outside. The centre's curator searches for clues across Europe and North America to find out who Hana was and what had happened to her. Her journey takes her back through seventy years to a young Hana and her family, whose happy life in a small Czech town was turned upside down by the invasion of the Nazis. Winner of the 2003 Silver Birch Award. Winner of the 2003 CNIB Tiny Torgi Award. Grades 4-7. 2002.Joseph Brant (The Canadians)
By Auldham Roy Petrie. 1978
Joseph Brant followed his father as an Iroquois chief, and, like his father, swore loyalty to the British in North…
America and was received by British royalty in London. Petrie chronicles the life of Brant, from his childhood and youth, to his first battles as an Iroquois warrior and his crucial aid to the British during the American War of Independence. Grades 5-8. 1978.