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Showing 1 - 20 of 45 items
By Pierre Berton. 1977
In 1934, Canada hit the international headlines when Elzire Dionne gave birth to five identical baby girls in northern Ontario.…
Berton examines the exploitation of the famous five by the media, commercial interests and government which created a rift in the Dionne family. 1977. (Reissue)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.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.By Robin Stevenson. 2016
For lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people around the world, Pride is both protest and celebration. It's about embracing diversity.…
It's about fighting for freedom and equality. It's about history, and it's about the future. It's about all of us. Grades 4-7. 2016.By Jess Keating. 2016
Some people think pink is a pretty colour. A fluffy, sparkly, princess-y colour. But it's so much more. Sure, pink…
is the colour of princesses and bubblegum, but it's also the colour of monster slugs and poisonous insects. Not to mention ultra-intelligent dolphins, naked mole rats and bizarre, bloated blobfish. Isn't it about time to rethink pink? Grades 3-6. Winner of the 2017 Silver Birch Express Honour Book Award. 2016.By Rob Laidlaw. 2011
Dogs have been loyal to humankind for thousands of years, but today, millions of dogs are neglected and malnourished, and…
millions of other dogs are used in scientific research and for entertainment, and kept as pets in a remarkable diversity of conditions. Laidlaw explores the world of homeless, mistreated, and exploited dogs, and the challenges they face, but he also focuses on the people he calls "dog champions" – people around the world who dedicate their lives to helping dogs. Some descriptions of violence. Grades 3-6. Winner of the 2013 Silver Birch Non-Fiction Award. Winner of the 2013-14 Hackmatack Award for non-fiction. 2011.By Susan Hughes. 2016
People from every single country in the world call Canada home. From the very first arrivals as long as 30,000…
years ago - the ancestors of Canada’s Aboriginal peoples - right up until today, people have settled in this country to build a better life. Chronicles the country’s major waves of immigration, from welcoming early European arrivals to becoming a modern-day safe haven for refugees, while also acknowledging times when Canada has not been especially welcoming. It explores how each period of immigration has shaped the laws, values, and face of Canada on the way to today’s multicultural society. Includes personal accounts, historic documents, memorabilia, and archival photographs, as well as maps, sidebars, a timeline, and a glossary. Grades 4-7. 2016.By Etta Kaner. 2015
Rats, mosquitoes, bats, cockroaches, leeches, vultures - it’s easy to fear and despise them. But are they all bad? You…
probably know that rats destroy food supplies and can cause house fires when they gnaw on electrical wires, but did you know their supersensitive noses can help detect tuberculosis or even land mines? Are these conventionally icky critters really public enemies, or do they have merits worth appreciating? Takes a close look at what we dislike about each of 10 unpopular animals, and then presents the flip side: these very same animals are often smart, helpful to humans and the environment, or inspiring to scientists. Grades 2-4. Winner of the 2017 Silver Birch Non-Fiction Honour Book Award. 2015.By Keltie Thomas. 2010
Rats, through the diseases they carry, have probably killed more people than any war or natural disaster, and goats may…
have been the first to discover coffee. Among the more than 20 animals featured in this book are dogs, sheep, dolphins, silk moths and beavers, all of which have changed the course of history for better or for worse. Grades 3-6. 2010.By Erinne Paisley. 2017
"Can Your Smartphone Change the World?" is a twenty-first-century guide for anyone who has access to a smartphone. This how-to…
manual looks at specific ways you can create social change through the tap of a screen. Filled with examples of successful hashtag campaigns, viral videos and new socially conscious apps, the book provides practical advice for using your smartphone as a tool for social justice. For junior and senior high readers. 2017.Alexander Mackenzie became the first person to cross the continent of North America north of Mexico in 1793. With a…
mix of wonderfully readable text, historical and contemporary photographs, maps and illustrations, author Derek Hayes offers fresh insight into what drove Mackenzie forward to undertake his dangerous quest for the Pacific Ocean, and how his daring secured Canada's legacy. 2001.By Stanley Coren. 2006
Includes chapters on How Humans and Dogs Became Friends, How Dogs See the World, How Dogs Talk, and How Dogs…
Think. Contains question-and-answer sections that are interspersed with facts and stories. Topics include the oldest breed, getting a dog to stop barking, whether canines can do math, and the title question. Grades 3-6. c2006.By Tim Knight. 2003
Examines the different methods that animals and plants have of finding food. Each animal or plant uses its senses to…
find and then catch its prey. Predators come in different shapes and sizes, but all rely on hunting to survive. Grades 4-7. 2003.Some people think monsters are the stuff of nightmares--the stuff of scary movies and Halloween. But monsters can also be…
found right in your backyard. Animals like aye-ayes, goblin sharks and vampire bats may look scary, but they pose no threat to humans. Others, such as the prairie dog, seem innocent--cute, even--yet their behaviour could give you goose bumps. What makes a monster? Read this book to find out, if you dare... Grades 2-4. Winner of the 2019 Silver Birch Non-Fiction Honour Book Award. 2017. Aye-aye -- Vampire bat -- Honey badger -- Portuguese man-of-war -- Horror frog -- Greater honeyguide -- Cordyceps fungus -- Deathstalker scorpion -- Prairie dog -- Assassin bug -- Fangtooth moray eel -- Tyrant leech king -- Goblin shark -- Komodo dragon -- Japanese giant hornet -- Humboldt squid -- Human.Naturalist and artist Peggy Kochanoff answers these questions and more in this illustrated guide to solving nature mysteries in the…
city. From the author of Silver Birch-nominated Be a Nature Detective series comes a new adventure full of fascinating facts and original watercolours. From scuttling cockroaches to waves of starlings to burdock heads on your clothes, Kochanoff takes readers through city streets to show them the amazing nature growing there. Features a glossary, identification page, and further reading. Grades 5-8. 2018.By Etta Kaner. 2018
Do polar bears build homes to keep warm? Do penguins snuggle with a friend? Yes! But their homes aren't made…
of wood, and penguins don't cuddle on a couch. Instead, these animals -- and many others -- have adapted in amazing ways to survive chilly weather. A light-hearted introduction to animal adaptations around the world. Grades K-3. 2018.By Michelle Mulder. 2018
Part of the nonfiction Orca Footprints series for middle readers, illustrated with many color photographs. Readers will find out what…
urban rewilding is and how it can make our lives (and our planet) safer and healthier. Grades 2-4. 2018.By Elizabeth MacLeod. 2017
True stories about dogs whose actions influenced the course of history, including the first seeing-eye dog, search and rescue dogs,…
and military dogs. Among the dogs featured are Stubby, a mutt who rescued American soldiers in the trenches of WWI, Buddy, the first seeing-eye-dog in North America, Brandy, a German Shepherd who discovered a bomb aboard a plane, and Seaman, the Newfoundland, who accompanied Lewis and Clark, helping them complete their expedition by protecting them from wild animals and providing them with food. Grades 4-7. 2017.By Dan Werb. 2019
Despite its reputation as a carnival of vice, Tijuana was, until recently, no more or less violent than neighboring San…
Diego, its sister city across the border wall. But then something changed. Over the past ten years, Mexico's third-largest city became one of the world's most dangerous. Tijuana's murder rate skyrocketed and produced a staggering number of female victims. Hundreds of women are now found dead in the city each year, or bound and mutilated along the highway that lines the Baja coast. When Dan Werb began to study these murders in 2013, rather than viewing them in isolation, he discovered that they could only be understood as one symptom among many. Environmental toxins, drug overdoses, HIV transmission: all were killing women at overwhelming rates. As an epidemiologist, trained to track epidemics by mining data, Werb sensed the presence of a deeper contagion targeting Tijuana's women. Not a virus, but some awful wrong buried in the city's social order, cutting down its most vulnerable inhabitants from multiple directions. Werb's search for the ultimate causes of Tijuana's femicide casts new light on immigration, human trafficking, addiction, and the true cost of American empire-building. It leads Werb all the way from factory slums to drug dens to the corridors of police corruption, as he follows a thread that ultimately leads to a surprising turn back over the border, looking northward. 2019As a child, Simon Jackson found navigating the world of the school playground difficult. He felt most at home in…
the woodlands, learning about and photographing wildlife. As a teenager, he became fascinated with spirit bears, a rare subspecies of black bear with creamy white fur. These elusive creatures were losing their habitat to deforestation, and Simon knew he had to do something to protect them. He decided he would become the voice for the spirit bears. But first, he would have to find his own. Carmen Oliver's inspiring true story is based on the early life of Simon Jackson, who founded the Spirit Bear Youth Coalition. On his remarkable journey to protect the spirit bears, he met Dr. Jane Goodall and eventually hiked the Great Bear Rainforest --- the home of these elusive animals. Katy Dockrill's captivating art adds depth and beauty to the story. Photos and additional details about Simon Jackson's life and about spirit bears are included in the end matter. Part of the CitizenKid collection, this book demonstrates how one child can be a voice for change. Simon's story is an excellent example of growth mindset at work, highlighting personal growth and overcoming obstacles through activism. This book can also be used to lead discussions about character education as it relates to courage, resilience and perseverance. In addition, it has strong science curriculum links to the environment, animal habitats and the effects of clear-cutting.