Braille Books Acquired Spring 2024

Welcome

Welcome to Braille Books Acquired. This quarterly newsletter contains a list of Braille books recently acquired by the Centre for Equitable Library Access (CELA). Previous issues are available at celalibrary.ca/braille-books-acquired.

In this issue:

Announcements

Letter from our Executive Director

This month, and all year long, we are celebrating CELA’s 10th anniversary. When CELA was formed on April 1, 2014, the reading landscape was much different for people with print disabilities. Over the past 10 years so much has changed. Everything from our collection which now has more than 1.3 million titles, to the technology like EasyReader and Envoy Connect, to who we can serve, has evolved to improve access for the 5.2 million people who have difficulties reading print.

These changes have come about for many reasons. Collaborations with libraries, publishers, awards programs and colleagues in accessible reading have been instrumental in moving our services forwards. Support from our users, and from advocacy groups who represent them help us tailor our services to meet the diverse needs of people with print disabilities. And funding from all levels of governments helps us build stable services and undertake important projects to ensure we can continue to offer choices in accessible reading. 

If you haven’t seen it, I invite you to visit our blog to read about 12 ways the equitable reading landscape has changed over the past decade. If you’ve got stories to share about CELA since its inception we would love to hear them. You can send them via our comment form.

Even as we celebrate the last ten years, our work continues to improve accessible reading options for our users. We are working on some new and important projects, including developmental work for the smart speaker solution which was tested last year as part of our Expanded Delivery Options Project. Because of the complexity, this project will take us some time, but our goal is to provide our users with an additional option to listen to their audio books. As always, we commit to keeping you informed about any new services we will be adding.
We have recently welcomed some new folks to CELA. Natalie MacDonnell has joined us as a Project Coordinator, Denise Scott who is working to support our Summer Reading Club programs and Matthew Twohig is our practicum student joining us from the Library & Information Technology program at Langara College. As we look back on the past decade, I wanted to thank our Board, and our staff, some of whom have been with CELA since its inception, for their continued commitment to serving our users. We wouldn’t be where we are without them.

Happy Reading!
Laurie Davidson, Executive Director

Carol Shields Prize Shortlist Announced

Congratulations to the authors nominated for the Carol Shields Prize shortlist which celebrates the creativity and excellence in fiction by women and non-binary writers in Canada and the United States. The winner will be announced May 13, 2024.

The nominated authors include: 

  • Eleanor Catton for Birnam Wood
  • Claudia Dey for Daughter
  • Kim Coleman Foote for Coleman Hill
  • V. V. Ganeshananthan (Brotherless Night)
  • and Janika Oza for A History of Burning

Holiday Hours

CELA and its Contact Center will be closed on Monday, May 20 for the Victoria Day weekend. We will resume usual hours on Tuesday, May 21. It will also be closed on Monday, July 1 for Canada Day and will resume usual hours on Tuesday, July 2.

A note about dates

Although the majority of these books have been published within the last 5 years, there may be some books listed here which are older, but which were only recently added to our collection. To make this clearer for you, we include the date of the print version of each book at the end of its annotation.

Uncontracted braille / fiction for children and young adults

Fantasy

5787431 The Boy Who Woke the Sun by A. T. Woodley, Mike Deas. 4 volumes.

Eleven-year-old Elliot is having a dismal pandemic summer when suddenly he's caught in the bubble of one of his own dreams and transported to another world, controlled by evil butterflies, where the sun doesn't shine. Along with his octopus sidekick, Elliot discovers the reason for these butterflies-gone-wrong, and realizes that things must be set right if he is ever to find the way home. An epic middle-grade fantasy about discovering your true path. Grades 3-6. 2023.

Folklore, fables and fairy tales

5783310 Earth, Sea & Stars: Inspiring Tales of the Natural World by Ana Sender. 2 volumes.

This collection of 20 engaging stories about the natural world is drawn from global cultures and reminds readers of everyone’s responsibility to care for and respect Earth. In this collection of 20 stories from many global cultures readers will journey all around Earth: across the wide savanna, into deep forests, over majestic mountains, into the ocean depths, and high into the skies above. These unique tales feature bold, adventurous characters as they sail to the moon, create the first fire, and grow orchards of friendship. The ancient wisdom in these stories resonates today more than ever, highlighting the need to care for and respect Earth. Includes background information on each story, a story map, talking points, and a bibliography. Grades 2-7. 2022.

General fiction

5725741 Simon Sort of Says by Erin Bow. 6 volumes.

For fans of Kate DiCamillo and Jack Gantos, a hilarious, wrenching, hopeful novel about finding your friends, healing your heart, and speaking your truth. Simon O’Keeffe’s biggest claim to fame should be the time his dad accidentally gave a squirrel a holy sacrament. Or maybe the alpaca disaster that went viral on YouTube. But the story the whole world wants to tell about Simon is the one he’d do anything to forget: the story in which he’s the only kid in his class who survived a school shooting. Two years after the infamous event, twelve-year-old Simon and his family move to the National Quiet Zone—the only place in America where the internet is banned. Instead of talking about Simon, the astronomers who flock to the area are busy listening for signs of life in space. And when Simon makes a friend who’s determined to give the scientists what they’re looking for, he’ll finally have the chance to spin a new story for the world to tell. From award-winning author Erin Bow, Simon Sort of Says is a breathtaking testament to the lasting echoes of trauma, the redemptive power of humor, and the courage it takes to move forward without forgetting the past. Grades 3-7. 2023.

Humourous fiction

5783309 The Superteacher Project by Gordon Korman. 5 volumes.

It’s The Unteachables meets I, Robot in another funny middle school tale from Gordon Korman! It’s the start of a new school year and Oliver is looking forward to a seventh-grade year full of spitballs, jokes and pranks with his friend Nathan. And their new homeroom teacher, Mr. Aidact, looks like a prime target. He’s an odd duck with a weird, stilted vocabulary, an unusual way of looking at things, and a strangely old student teacher constantly in tow. He also has a seemingly superhuman ability to detect and defuse almost every one of Oliver’s schemes. But that’s not all of it. Mr. Aidact seems to be teaching pretty much every subject. He’s willing to take over jobs no other teacher will, like supervising detention and coaching the field hockey team. Oliver and Nathan are determined to find out what is up with this guy. What they uncover is out of this world! Mr. Aidact is, in fact, superhuman — he’s an android, a secret project of the Department of Education. And when the secret leaks out, the school and the PTA are in an uproar, and calls for his “deactivation” are loud and clear. Can Oliver and his friends turn this plan around and save the teacher they’ve grown to love and appreciate? Grades 3-7. 2023.

Science fiction

5888963 Blast Off! (Abby in Orbit) by Andrea J. Loney.

As Abby gets used to life in space, can she keep the things that are most important to her from drifting away? Grades 2-6. 2023.

Parenting

5746169 Weird Rules to Follow by Kim Spencer. 3 volumes.

In this novel for middle readers told in vignettes, Mia and her best friend, Lara, have very different experiences growing up in a northern fishing community in the 1980s. Grades 4-7. 2022.

Social issues

5698605 Autumn Bird and the Runaway by Melanie Florence, Richard Scrimger.

Two kids from different worlds form an unexpected friendship. Cody’s home life is a messy, too-often terrifying story of neglect and abuse. Cody himself is a smart kid, a survivor with a wicked sense of humour that helps him see past his circumstances and begin to try to get himself out. Autumn is, quite literally, on the other side of the tracks from him. Her home life is loving and secure, and she is “in” with the popular girls at school, even if she has a secret life as a glasses-wearing, self-professed comic book nerd at home. And even if the pressure to fit in at school requires hours of time spent making herself look “perfect.” Returning home from a movie one evening, Autumn comes across Cody, face down in the laneway behind her house. All Cody knows is that he can’t take another beating from his father like the one he just narrowly escaped. He can’t go home, but he doesn’t have anywhere else to go either. Autumn won’t turn her back on him, even if they never really were friends at school. She agrees to let him hide out in her dad’s art studio at night.Over the next couple of days of Autumn sneaking Cody food and bandages, his story comes out. And so does hers. Told in alternating narratives, Autumn Bird and the Runaway is a breathtaking collaboration by two of Canada’s finest writers of books for young readers. Infused with themes of identity, belonging and compassion, it’s a story that reminds us that we are all more than our circumstances, and we are all more connected than we think. Grades 5-9. 2022.

Uncontracted braille / non-fiction for children and young adults

Customs and cultures

5822783 See It, Dream It, Do It: How 25 people just like you found their dream jobs by Colleen Nelson, Kathie MacIsaac. 2 volumes.

From award-winning author Colleen Nelson, and literacy advocate Kathie MacIsaac, twenty-five profiles present a plethora of jobs, and people, making it easier than ever for young people to see their dreams and to live their dreams! Grades 3-7. 2023.

Fiction printbraille

Animal stories

5822590 Bompa's Insect Expedition (A Backyard Bug Book for Kids Ser.) by David Suzuki, Tanya Lloyd Kyi, Qin Leng.

Let's go on an insect expedition for kids ages 4 to 8! This adventure into the extraordinary world of bugs is inspired by David Suzuki's adventures with his own grandkids. It's time for the twins to go on a nature expedition with Bompa. What marvelous place will they explore this time? Tidepools at the sea? The pond full of frogs' eggs? Maybe deep in the forest? But to their disappointment, they are just exploring outside the door. Yet, as they begin to search for insects, they find world-champion flyers, eaters, and weightlifters. And more tiny surprises at every turn! With their Bompa at their side, they find a way to recognize the amazing feats and important role of all insects. . . even the annoying ones! Featuring gorgeous art by Qin Leng, this picture book is a lush, colorful tour through a world we too often overlook. This exciting and educational tribute to bugs features: Amazing facts about insects, including backmatter pages. Information on how kids can help bugs thrive. A celebration of grandparents: depicts the fun two children have with their grandfather. After reading Bompa's Insect Expedition, kids will come away understanding how essential bugs are to our world. Published in Partnership with the David Suzuki Institute. Grades P-3. 2023.

Family stories

5880439 I Wish I Could Tell You by Jean-Francois Sénéchal.

I Wish I Could Tell You is a touching, poetic tale that wrestles with the complex emotions we feel when we lose someone close to us, from an award-winning children's book author. Losing someone you love, someone close to you, can be difficult to talk about. But sometimes writing a letter can help you find the words you wish you could say. That’s exactly what a young fox realizes one morning after learning about the death of his beloved grandmother, someone with whom he shared so many special memories. As he longingly searches for any trace of her presence in all their familiar haunts, the young fox soon discovers that only by embracing his grief will the right words—the words he wishes he could say to his grandmother—come to him. Grades P-3. 2023.

5931815 When the Stars Came Home by Brittany Luby.

Published to rave reviews, here is a heartwarming look at how the comfort of tradition and story can create a true sense of belonging, told through an Indigenous lens. When Ojiig moves to the city with his family, he misses everything they left behind. Most of all, he misses the sparkling night sky. Without the stars watching over him, he feels lost. His parents try to help, but nothing seems to work. Not glow-in-the-dark sticker stars, not a star-shaped nightlight. But then they have a new idea for how to make Ojiig feel better — a special quilt stitched through with family stories that will wrap Ojiig in the warmth of knowing who he is and where he came from. Join this irresistible family as they discover the power of story and tradition to make a new place feel like home. Grades P-3. 2023.

Fantasy

5880440 Garden of Lost Socks by Esi Edugyan.

Two-time Scotiabank Giller Prize winner Esi Edugyan debuts her picture book, lovingly illustrated by Amélie Dubois, a whimsical story about friendship, curiosity and the magic of a vibrant community Akosua was always told she was too nosy. Her parents loved her very much, but she always seemed to find trouble.“Trouble isn’t what I find!” said Akosua. “I’m an Exquirologist. What I find is lost things.”This big-hearted picture book debut from one of Canada’s brightest literary stars follows Akosua, a budding Exquirologist, as she finds both a new friend and a remarkable world hidden right in her very own community. Acclaimed artist Amélie Dubois adds a layer of magic to Akosua’s charming adventure with her delicate, compelling illustrations. Each turn of the page pulls readers deeper into Akosua’s journey, daring them to become Exquirologists too, and encouraging them to seek out magic in the mundane! Grades P-3. 2023.

General fiction

5849246 Benny the Bananasaurus Rex by Sarabeth Holden, Emma Pedersen.

A funny and relatable story of a little boy who can be anything he wants to be (whether it’s a dinosaur, or a banana, or both!) with a big imagination and a bit of help from his anaana. Grades P-K. 2022.

5822592 Sharon, Lois and Bram's Peanut Butter and Jelly (Sharon, Lois and Bram's Classic Songs) by Sharon Hampson, Lois Lillienstein, Bram Morrison, Randi Hampson.

A Globe and Mail Bestseller! From the creators of Skinnamarink comes another picture book based on the classic sandwich song made famous by this beloved trio of children's entertainers.First you dig the peanuts and you dig 'em, you dig 'em, you dig 'em, dig 'em, dig 'em. Peanut, peanut butter, JELLY! Sharon, Lois & Bram invite readers to join them on an adventure to a magical place where a diverse group of animals and children come together to create the most delicious of snacks: a peanut butter and jelly sandwich! Accompanied by Qin Leng's wonderfully whimsical illustrations, this delightful picture book celebrates friends, community, music and a favorite tasty treat — mmm mmm mmmm! Grades P-K. 2023.

5914643 Mr. S: A First Day of School Book by Monica Arnaldo.

Prepare for plenty of giggles as a kindergarten class arrives for their first day of school but can't find their teacher—only a delicious-looking sandwich and the words "Mr. S" scribbled on the chalkboard. Chaos ensues as the kids argue whether the sandwich must be their teacher. A comical first-day-of-school book of mayhem and chaos by Monica Arnaldo, perfect for fans of Miss Nelson Is Missing.“This might be the funniest first-day-of-school book I’ve ever read." —Adam Rex, New York Times bestselling author of School’s First Day of School. It was the first day of school. But even the kindergarteners of room 2B could tell something was seriously wrong. . . . Where was the teacher? Who left this sandwich on the desk? The only clue, written on the chalkboard, were three simple letters: Mr. S. Grades P-3. 2023.

5931818 Phoenix Gets Greater by Marty Wilson-Trudeau.

A delightful and gentle story about a young Two-Spirit Indigenous child celebrating his identity, overcoming bullying, and bonding with his family. Grades 1-3. 2022.

5822593 Cocoa Magic by Sandra Bradley, Gabrielle Grimard.

In a story where empathy and generosity shine as much as the tempered chocolates, eight-year-old Daniel learns from his chocolatier great-uncle and discovers how much comfort a small act of kindness can bring. Grades P-2. 2022.

5905082 The Perfect Sushi by Emily Satoko Seo.

Miko likes things to be perfect. When she makes lopsided sushi for her grandmother’s birthday, she replaces it with perfectly formed sushi created by a restaurant robot. Upon delivering her gift, Miko discovers that kokoro (heart) – not impeccability – is the key ingredient to the perfect present. Sprinkled with engaging onomatopoeia, this unique title is infused with Japanese culture and delivers a universal message about the value of intention. A do-it-yourself sushi recipe is included. Grades 1-2. 2023.

5905078 How to Party Like a Snail by Naseem Hrab.

An introverted snail throws his own kind of party to celebrate all things quiet. Grades 1-2. 2022.

5931817 Brave Like the Buffalo by Melissa Allan.

Brave Like the Buffalo is a children’s book with a message that will inspire all readers to face the storms in their life with the help of their support systems and with a brave mindset. Written by Melissa Allan and illustrated by Jadyn Fischer-McNab, this story uses a powerful animal, the buffalo, as a symbolic message and connection to Indigenous ways of knowing and being that helps to create a wonderful narrative rich with Indigenous ties and a heartwarming message around facing adversity. Brave Like the Buffalo is intended for audiences aged 0–6, to be used educationally as a way to intertwine Indigenous ways of knowing and being through story. Grades P-3. 2023.

LGBTQ+ fiction

5931816 Molly's Tuxedo by Vicki Johnson.

Molly wants to look her best for picture day at her school, and what looks better than a tux? Molly's school picture day is coming up, and she wants to have a perfect portrait taken to hang on their wall. Her mom has picked out a nice dress for her, but Molly knows from experience that dresses are trouble. They have tight places and hard-to-reach zippers, and worst of all, no pockets! Luckily, she has the perfect thing to save picture day--her brother's old tuxedo! But mom doesn't want her to wear a tuxedo in the photo; she thinks Molly looks best in the dress. Can Molly find the courage to follow her heart and get her mom to realize just how awesome she'd look in a tux? This book highlights a gender nonconforming main character and is published in partnership with GLAAD to accelerate LGBTQ inclusivity and acceptance. Grades P-3. 2023.

Non-fiction printbraille

General non-fiction

5867285 Every Child Matters by Phyllis Webstad, Karlene Harvey.

Learn the meaning behind the phrase, 'Every Child Matters.' Orange Shirt Day founder, Phyllis Webstad, offers insights into this heartfelt movement. Every Child Matters honours the history and resiliency of Indigenous Peoples on Turtle Island and moves us all forward on a path toward Truth and Reconciliation. If you're a Residential School Survivor or an Intergenerational Survivor - you matter. For the children who didn't make it home - you matter. The child inside every one of us matters. Every Child Matters. Grades 1-3. 2023.

Women biography

5888850 Autumn Peltier, Water Warrior by Carole Lindstrom.

From New York Times bestselling picture book author Carole Lindstrom and illustrator Bridget George comes Autumn Peltier, Water Warrior, an inspiring picture book biography about two Indigenous Rights Activists, Josephine Mandamin and Autumn Peltier. The seventh generation is creating. A sea of change. It was a soft voice, at first. Like a ripple. But with practice it grew louder. Indigenous women have long cared for the land and water, which in turn sustains all life on Earth—honoring their ancestors and providing for generations to come. Yet there was a time when their voices and teachings were nearly drowned out, leaving entire communities and environments in danger and without clean water. But then came Grandma Josephine and her great-niece, Autumn Peltier. Featuring a foreword from water advocate and Indigenous Rights Activist Autumn Peltier herself, this stunning picture book from New York Times-bestselling author Carole Lindstrom and illustrator Bridget George gives voice to the water and asks young readers to join the tidal wave of change. Grades P-3. 2023.

Fiction for children and young adults

General fiction

5886028 Lightning Lou by Lori Weber. 3 volumes.

When a team in an all-girls’ hockey league comes to recruit players, twelve-year-old Lou’s dreams seem to be coming true. But the dreams hinge on one thing: never letting on that Lou is a boy. But the road to stardom is not easy, as Lou discovers that the competition is fierce, and that he’s got a lot of work to do to match the skills of the league’s star player and his chief rival, Albertine Lapensée. All the while, he has to keep his secret, and wrestle with the moral dilemma of taking a place on the team away from a deserving girl. Loosely based on a true story, Lightning Lou is a riveting and thought-provoking story for middle-grade readers. Grades 6-8. 2016.

5886025 Love, Ish by Karen Rivers. 4 volumes.

Mischa "Ish" Love knows she'll be one of the first settlers on Mars. She's applied to - and been rejected from - the Mars Now project forty-seven times, but the mission won't leave for ten years, and Ish hasn't given up hope. She also hasn't given up hope that Tig will be her best friend again. When Ish collapses on the first day of seventh grade, she gets a diagnosis that threatens all her future plans. As Ish fights cancer, she dreams in vivid detail about the Martian adventures she's always known she'd have - and makes unexpected discoveries about love, fate, and her place in the vast universe. Grades 4-8. 2017.

5886033 The Girl in the Well Is Me by Karen Rivers. 2 volumes.

Newcomer Kammie Summers has fallen into a well during a (fake) initiation into a club whose members have no intention of letting her join. Now Kammie’s trapped in the dark, growing increasingly claustrophobic, and waiting to be rescued — or possibly not. As hours pass, the reality of Kammie’s predicament mixes with her memories of the highlights and lowlights of her life so far, including the reasons her family moved to this new town in the first place. And as she begins to run out of oxygen, Kammie starts to imagine she has company, including a French-speaking coyote and goats that just might be zombies. Author Karen Rivers has created a unique narrator with an authentic, sympathetic, sharp, funny voice who tells a story perfect for fans of Flora and Ulysses, Reign Rein, and Counting by 7s. The Girl in the Well is Me will have readers laughing and crying and laugh-crying over the course of its physically and emotionally suspenseful, utterly believable events. Grades 5-8. 2016.

5886027 The Tiffin by Mahtab Narsimhan. 3 volumes.

The dabbawallas of Mumbai deliver box lunches — called tiffins — to whitecollar workers all over the vast city. They are legendary for their near-perfect service: for every six million lunches sent, only one will fail to reach its intended destination. The Tiffin is about that one time in millions when a box goes astray, changing lives forever. When a note placed in a tiffin is lost, a newborn — Kunal — is separated from his mother. Twelve years later, Kunal lives as a virtual slave under the thumb of his foster father, Seth. With danger and oppression making it impossible to stay where he is, Kunal asks his friend Vinayak, an aging dabbawalla, to help him find his birth mother. Vinayak introduces Kunal to the tiffin carriers, and a plan is hatched. Along the way, Kunal learns what it means to be part of a family. Grades 5-8. 2011.

Non-fiction for children and young adults

LGBTQ+ biography

5868526 Pride and Persistence: Stories of Queer Activism (Do You Know My Name? #4) by Mary Fairhurst Breen. 1 volumes.

The activists between these pages have stood up for the queer community, whether on their own behalf or in support of people they love. Some made a difference by confronting injustice; others dared to be fully themselves. Grades 4-7. 2023.

Fiction for adults

Mysteries and crime stories

5783314 Held: A Novel by Anne Michaels. 3 volumes.

A breathtaking and mysterious new novel from the beloved Anne Michaels, internationally bestselling author of Fugitive Pieces and The Winter Vault. 1917. On a battlefield near the River Aisne, John lies in the aftermath of a blast, unable to move or feel his legs. Struggling to focus his thoughts, he is lost to memory—a chance encounter in a pub by a railway, a hot bath with his lover on a winter night, his childhood on a faraway coast—as the snow falls. 1920. John has returned from war to North Yorkshire, near another river—alive, but not whole. Reunited with Helena, an artist, he reopens his photography business and endeavours to keep on living. But the past erupts insistently into the present, as ghosts begin to surface in his pictures: ghosts whose messages he cannot understand. So begins a narrative that spans four generations, moments of connection and consequence igniting and re-igniting as the century unfolds. In luminous moments of desire, comprehension, longing, and transcendence, the sparks fly upward, working their transformations decades later. This resonance through time—not only of actions but also of feelings and perceptions—desire in its many forms—are at the heart of this novel’s profound investigation. Held is a deeply affecting and intensely beautiful novel, full of unforgettable characters and imagery, wisdom and compassion. It explores the deepest mysteries, and the ways in which desire in its many forms—and perhaps the deepest desire, to find meaning—manifests itself. Held moves through history to light upon Darwin, Sir Ernest Rutherford, North Sea ganseys, early photography, Ella Mary Leather, modern field hospitals…while lovers find each other and snow drifts down across the centuries. From the WW1 battlefield where the novel begins, and its opening lines, Held is alive with seeking: "We know life is finite. Why should we believe death lasts forever?” 2023.

5896576 The Mystery Guest: A Maid Novel (Molly the Maid #2) by Nita Prose. 6 volumes.

A new mess. A new mystery. It’s up to Molly the maid to uncover the truth, no matter how dirty, in this standalone novel from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Maid, a Good Morning America Book Club pick. Molly Gray is not like anyone else. With her flair for cleaning and proper etiquette, she has risen through the ranks of the glorious five-star Regency Grand Hotel to become the esteemed Head Maid. But just as her life reaches a pinnacle state of perfection, her world is turned upside down when J.D. Grimthorpe, the world-renowned mystery author, drops dead—very dead—on the hotel’s tea room floor.When Detective Stark, Molly's old foe, investigates the author’s unexpected demise, it becomes clear that this death was murder most foul. Suspects abound, and everyone wants to know: Who killed J.D. Grimthorpe? Was it Lily, the new Maid-in-Training? Or was it Serena, the author’s secretary? Could Mr. Preston, the hotel’s beloved doorman, be hiding something? And is Molly really as innocent as she seems? As the case threatens the hotel’s pristine reputation, Molly knows that she alone holds the key to unlocking the killer's identity. But that key is buried deep in her past—because long ago, she knew J.D. Grimthorpe. Molly must comb her memory for clues, and revisit her childhood and the mysterious Grimthorpe mansion where her dearly departed Gran once worked. With Molly and her colleagues under investigation, she knows she must solve the mystery post-haste. And if there's one thing she knows for sure, it's that dirty secrets don't stay buried forever. 2023.

Fantasy

5783308 The Future (Biblioasis International Translation Series #44) by Catherine Leroux, Susan Ouriou. 6 volumes.

In an alternate history in which the French never surrendered Detroit, children protect their own kingdom in the trees. In an alternate history of Detroit, the Motor City was never surrendered to the US. Its residents deal with pollution, poverty, and the legacy of racism—and strange and magical things are happening: children rule over their own kingdom in the trees and burned houses regenerate themselves. When Gloria arrives looking for answers and her missing granddaughters, at first she finds only a hungry mouse in the derelict home where her daughter was murdered. But the neighbours take pity on her and she turns to their resilience and impressive gardens for sustenance. When a strange intuition sends Gloria into the woods of Parc Rouge, where the city’s orphaned and abandoned children are rumored to have created their own society, she can’t imagine the strength she will find. A richly imagined story of community and a plea for persistence in the face of our uncertain future, The Future is a lyrical testament to the power we hold to protect the people and places we love—together. 2023.

Humourous fiction

5886032 Curtains for Roy by Aaron Bushkowsky.

Alex is a playwright suffering from writer’s block and harsh reviews. His best friend, Roy, is a theatre director with lung cancer and six months left to live. In pursuit of fresh air and great wine, they go on a road trip to the Okanagan Valley, where Roy rediscovers his passion for theatre. But when he decides to stage a production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream at a winery, disaster ensues: the woman cast in the lead is the winery owner’s wife and has no talent; wildfires encroach upon the surrounding forest; and Roy slips closer to death, one cigarette at a time. Curtains for Roy is a hilarious peek into the world of theatre, where the greatest drama is offstage and the best performances take place behind the curtain. 2014.

Indigenous peoples fiction

5746167 Moon of the Turning Leaves by Waubgeshig Rice.

Twelve years after the lights go out . . . An epic journey to a forgotten homeland. The hotly anticipated sequel to the bestselling novel Moon of the Crusted Snow. In the years since a mysterious cataclysm caused a permanent blackout that toppled infrastructure and thrust the world into anarchy, Evan Whitesky has led his community in remote northern Canada off the rez and into the bush, where they’ve been rekindling their Anishinaabe traditions, isolated from the outside world. As new generations are born, and others come of age in a world after everything, Evan’s people are stronger than ever. But resources around their new settlement are drying up, and elders warn that they cannot stay indefinitely. Evan and his teenaged daughter, Nangohns, are chosen to lead a scouting party on a months-long trip down to their traditional home on the shores of Lake Huron—to seek new beginnings, and discover what kind of life—and what danger—still exists in the lands to the south.Waubgeshig Rice’s exhilarating return to the world first explored in Moon of the Crusted Snow is a brooding story of survival, resilience, Indigenous identity, and rebirth. 2023.

Multi-cultural fiction

5897498 Denison Avenue by Christina Wong. 6 volumes.

Production note: This title was created through eBOUND's Literary Image Description project. The author and illustrator wrote or consulted on the image descriptions, which are included in the body and narration of the text.

"A moving story told in visual art and fiction about gentrification, aging in place, grief, and vulnerable Chinese Canadian elders. Bringing together ink artwork and fiction, Denison Avenue by Daniel Innes (illustrations) and Christina Wong (text) follows the elderly Wong Cho Sum, who, living in Toronto's gentrifying Chinatown-Kensington Market, begins to collect bottles and cans after the sudden loss of her husband as a way to fill her days and keep grief and loneliness at bay. In her long walks around the city, Cho Sum meets new friends, confronts classism and racism, and learns how to build a life as a widow in a neighborhood that is being destroyed and rebuilt, leaving elders like her behind. A poignant meditation on loss, aging, gentrification, and the barriers that Chinese Canadian seniors experience in big cities, Denison Avenue beautifully combines visual art, fiction, and the endangered Toisan dialect to create a book that is truly unforgettable." 2023.

Serious and literary fiction

5886026 Life Without Death by Peter Unwin. 3 volumes.

In Life Without Death, the latest short story collection from Peter Unwin, ordinary men and women search for meaning in lives subject to change, chance, coincidence, and catastrophe. A man recalls a lifetime of love and loss while copying contacts out of his old little black book. A woman is left her dying father's secret stash of pornography, and is entrusted with the unenviable task of disposing of it. A new father unexpectedly discovers a way of connecting to his autistic son. For one day, guests to a wedding set aside their various past misdeeds in order to celebrate a young couple's union. A teenager newly introduced to a life of petty crime suddenly finds himself in way over his head. A man's former acquaintance resurfaces decades later as the subject of a haunting art film. Unwin's characters live full, complex lives within each story. Though they may not find the simple answers they seek, if such answers even exist, they-and readers-gain something farmore valuable on their journeys: perspective. 2013.

Short stories

5822795 The Syrian Ladies Benevolent Society: Stories by Christine Estima. 3 volumes.

Indelible linked stories centred around Azurée, a young Arab woman living in the echoes of her ancestor’s voices. 2023.

Suspense and thrillers

5783329 And Then She Fell: A Novel by Alicia Elliott. 7 volumes.

A mind-bending, gripping novel about Native life, motherhood and mental health that follows a young Mohawk woman who discovers that the picture-perfect life she always hoped for may have horrifying consequences. On the surface, Alice is exactly where she should be. She's just given birth to a beautiful baby girl, Dawn; her charming husband, Steve, is nothing but supportive; and they've recently moved to a wealthy neighborhood in Toronto. And yet, Alice feels like an imposter. She isn't connecting with Dawn, a struggle made even more difficult by the recent loss of her mother, and every waking moment is spent hiding her despair from her watchful white neighbors. Her growing self-doubt hinders the one vestige of her old life she has left: her goal of writing a modern retelling of the Haudenosaunee creation story. At first, Alice is convinced her discomfort is of her own making, but then strange things start happening. She finds herself losing bits of time, hearing voices she can't explain, and speaking with things that should not be talking back to her, all while her neighbors' passive-aggressive behavior begins to morph into something far more threatening. Though Steve assures her this is all in her head, Alice cannot fight the feeling that something is very, very wrong, and that in her creation story lies the key to her and Dawn's survival. . . . She just has to finish it before it's too late. Told in Alice's darkly funny voice, And Then She Fell is an urgent and unflinching look at inherited trauma, womanhood, denial, and false allyship, which speeds to an unpredictable—and surreal—climax. 2023.

5731581 Gull Island: A Novel by Anna Porter. 5 volumes.

A haunting psychological suspense novel about a young woman who visits her remote family cottage seeking answers to a murky past—for fans of Catherine McKenzie and Amber Cowie.When her estranged father goes missing, Jude is persuaded by her mother to find his will. She travels to the family cottage on remote Gull Island, glad to be away from the city and to have the chance to sort through old memories, but is unsettled by what she finds there. While contending with the neglected cottage and encroaching wild animals, Jude looks not only for her father’s will, but also for photographs of herself as a baby, desperate for proof that she was loved as a child. However, loneliness and terrifying dreams soon wear on her, bringing back frightening memories. Thoughts of her distant mother and intimidating father, her jealous sister, and her mother’s mysterious friend infest Jude’s increasingly clouded mind. Then a fierce storm sweeps away her boat and severs her from the outside world. Forced to reckon with long-buried truths and filled with the terrible sense that the cottage may be haunted by more than the past, Jude begins to fear for her sanity—and her life. 2023.

5886023 Just Beneath My Skin by Darren Greer. 2 volumes.

In the small town of North River, every day that goes by bleeds into the next. Poverty begets hopelessness, hopelessness breeds violence, violence causes despair. The only way to change fate, a minister tells his son, is to leave. The minister’s son, Jake MacNeil, chooses to ignore his father’s advice. Only when he realizes what has become of his life — working a grueling dead-end job, living with a drunk, friends with a murderer — does he decide to make something of himself. But nothing comes without a cost: in choosing freedom, Jake abandons his own son, Nathan, to the care of the boy’s abusive mother. Years later, a reformed Jake comes back for Nathan, to finally set things right. But in North River, everything comes around again; and when a dangerous figure from the past becomes hell-bent on dragging the new Jake “back down where he belongs”, three generations of MacNeil men must come together to pay the full price of hope. Gritty, unrelenting, yet peppered with Darren Greer’s trademark poignance, Just Beneath My Skin is the work of an author at the height of his game. 2014.

Non-fiction for adults

Disabilities

5931821 Letters with Smokie: Blindness and More-than-Human Relations by Rod Michalko, Dan Goodley. 4 volumes.

Letters with Smokie captures an epistolic exchange between Dan Goodley and Rod Michalko, or rather, Rod Michalko's late guide dog, Smokie. A lively exploration of human-animal relationships and disability as disruption, disturbance, and art, the book offers a refreshing re-evaluation of cultural misunderstandings of disability. 2023.

5867269 We've Got This: Essays by Disabled Parents by Eliza Hull. 5 volumes.

The first major anthology by parents with disabilities. How does a father who is blind take his child to the park? How is a mother with dwarfism treated when she walks her child down the street? How do Deaf parents know when their baby cries in the night? When writer and musician Eliza Hull was pregnant with her first child, like most parents-to-be she was a mix of excited and nervous. But as a person with a disability, there were added complexities. She wondered: Will the pregnancy be too hard? Will people judge me? Will I cope with the demands of parenting? More than 15 percent of people worldwide live with a disability, and many of them are also parents. And yet their stories are rarely shared, their experiences almost never reflected in parenting literature. In We’ve Got This, parents around the world who identify as Deaf, disabled, or chronically ill discuss the highs and lows of their parenting journeys and reveal that the greatest obstacles lie in other people’s attitudes. The result is a moving, revelatory, and empowering anthology that tackles ableism head-on. As Rebekah Taussig writes, ‘Parenthood can tangle with grief and loss. Disability can include joy and abundance. And goddammit — disabled parents exist.’ 2023.

Humour

5880445 The Road Years: A Memoir, Continued . . . by Rick Mercer. 6 volumes.

At the end of his memoir Talking to Canadians, Rick Mercer was poised to make the biggest leap yet in his extraordinary career. Having overcome a serious lack of promise as a schoolboy and risen through the showbiz ranks—as an aspiring actor, star of a surprisingly successful one-man show about the Meech Lake Accord, co-founder of This Hour Has 22 Minutes, creator and star of the dark-comedy sitcom Made in Canada—he was about to tackle his biggest opportunity yet. The Road Years picks up the story at that exciting point, with the greenlighting of what would become Rick Mercer Report. Plans for the show, of course, included political satire and Rick’s patented rants. But Rick and his partner, Gerald Lunz, were also determined to do something that comedy tends to avoid as too challenging: they would emphasize the positive. Rick would travel from coast to coast to coast in search of everything that’s best about Canada, especially its people. He found a lot to celebrate, naturally, and was rewarded with a huge audience and a run of 15 seasons. The Road Years tells the inside story of that stupendous success. A time when Rick was heading to another town—or military base, sports centre, national park—to try dogsledding, chainsaw carving, and bear tagging; hang from a harness (a lot); ride the “Train of Death;” plus countless other joyous and/or reckless assignments. Added to the mix were encounters with the country’s great. Every living prime minister. Rock and roll royalty from Rush to Randy Bachman. Olympians and Paralympians. A skinny-dipping Bob Rae. And Jann Arden, of course, who gets a chapter to herself. Along the way he even found the time to visit several countries in Africa and co-found and champion the charity Spread the Net, which has gone on to protect the lives of millions. Join the celebration, and revive a wealth of happy memories, with what is Rick Mercer’s funniest, most fascinating book yet. 2023.

Sports and games

5886035 The Utility of Boredom: Baseball Essays by Andrew Forbes. 2 volumes.

Spitball literary essays on the off-kilter joys, sorrows and wonder of North America’s national pastime. A collection of essays for ardent seamheads and casual baseball fans alike, The Utility of Boredom is a book about finding respite and comfort in the order, traditions, and rituals of baseball. It’s a sport that shows us what a human being might be capable of, with extreme dedication—whether we’re eating hot dogs in the stands, waiting out a rain delay in our living rooms, or practising the lost art of catching a stray radio signal from an out-of-market broadcast. From learning about America through ball-diamond visits to the most famous triple play that never happened on Canadian soil, Forbes invites us to witness the adult conversing with the O-Pee-Chee baseball cards of his youth. Tender, insightful, and with the slow heartbreak familiar to anyone who’s cheered on a losing team, The Utility of Boredom tells us a thing or two about the sport, and how a seemingly trivial game might help us make sense of our messy lives. 2016.

5783315 Undisputed: A Champion's Life by Donovan Bailey. 6 volumes.

A memoir of Olympic glory, the value of mentorship and the courage to champion your own excellence, from the long-reigning world's fastest man, Canadian sprinting legend Donovan Bailey. From the lush fields of his boyhood in Jamaica, to the basketball courts of Oakville, where he came of age in one of Canada’s most thriving cultural mosaics, to his sprint toward double Olympic gold for Canada in Atlanta in 1996, Donovan Bailey got a long way on natural talent. But he also learned that in the bureaucratic world of Canadian sports, an athlete who didn't come up in the system needed to take charge of his fate if he was going to become the world’s best. As he ascended from outsider to dominant athlete, others didn’t always understand the rigour at work behind Bailey’s confident demeanour. He’d learned from watching Muhammad Ali that a champion needed to act like a champion. But media grew fixated on the sprinter’s immodesty, the likes of which they never saw from Canadian athletes, especially track athletes in the wake of the Ben Johnson doping scandal at Seoul in 1988. Bailey was having none of it, and when he called out Canada's subtle racism and contradicted the prevailing idea most Canadians had of their country, he left in his wake a media uproar and cracked wide open the nation’s moral complacency. In addition to his unforgettable 100-metre and 4x100 relay gold-medal sprints in Atlanta, Bailey's track career was a litany of records and rare accomplishments, including his audacious 1997 race in Toronto's SkyDome against American 200-metre Olympic champion Michael Johnson to determine who was really the world’s fastest man. There was no disputing the result. Bailey had been coached in success before he was seriously coached in athletics. Following the lead of his father, a machinist-turned-real estate investor, Bailey became a millionaire by the age of 21, an experience he continues to draw on as an entrepreneur and philanthropist. Frank about his dominance on the track and unapologetic for expecting as much of those around him as he expects of himself, Undisputed is an athlete's story that refuses to settle for second best. 2023.