Braille Books Acquired Spring 2025

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 the Executive Director

As readers, many of us have a long list of books we want to read, and that list often grows as we plan our summer reads. We’ve been working diligently to add more books to our collection so we’re ready for you. Whether you are after a beach read, a mystery or something to really sink into, we have lots to offer. And if you have children in your life, summer reading clubs launch at libraries across the country in June. They are a great way to connect kids with reading and the fun happening at their libraries. CELA’s accessible books are featured throughout these programs.

Our team has been busy the last month at conferences and events across the country, including meeting students and teachers at the Forest of Reading festival in Toronto and presenting at the BC and Manitoba Library Conferences. In June, our team members will present at the Atlantic Provinces Library Conference as well as the Braille Literacy Symposium. We’re always happy to meet and chat with users and our library colleagues. We are also pleased to welcome Cora Payne as our new Outreach Manager. Cora and others on our team will work together to connect with people and communities to bring CELA services to more people who can use accessible formats.

Lastly, I want to acknowledge the potential Canada Post service disruption. We know that many of our users rely on mail to receive their reading materials. While we can’t do anything to resolve the service disruption, we have put together resources to support users who want to try digital options. You can find links to those resources on our blog or our CD Transition Resources page. Please follow our blog and social media for updates regarding CELA services during any potential service disruption. On behalf of the team here, we want users who rely on the mail for books to know how sorry we are you are facing this disruption.

Laurie Davidson, Executive Director

Awards Updates

Congratulations to the following authors!

Michael Crummey has won the 2025 Dublin Literary Award for his book The Adversary.

A Two-Spirit Journey: The Autobiography of a Lesbian Ojibwa-Cree Elder by Ma-Nee Chacaby with Mary Louisa Plummer was the winner of this year’s Canada Reads competition.

Canadian writer Canisia Lubrin has won the 2025 Carol Shields Prize for Fiction for her book Code Noir.

Percival Everett wins the 2025 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for his novel James, which is inspired by Mark Twain’s novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.

CD Transition

Earlier this spring CELA began informing users of a change in our services. Recent shifts in technology, the marketplace and in our federal funding, have required CELA to make the decision to cease production and distribution of audiobook CDs to all CELA users and CELA member libraries effective July 31, 2025. 

It is important to note that it is only the CD service affected by this decision. CELA’s other services and formats, including all digital options for e-text audio and braille, physical braille and printbraille, are not affected by this change.  

If you use CELA’s CD service to read some of your books, more information about this change in our services is available on our website. We are also hosting a series of training and information sessions which you can join by computer or by phone. For more information about information sessions and additional resources, please call our Contact Centre 1-855-655-2273 or visit our CD Transition Resources page on our website if that is available to you.

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

Friendship stories

6178251 Ready for Action: Toy Academy by Brian Lynch.

After the events in Some Assembly Required (BR 23853), misfit toy Grumbolt trains as an action toy and sidekick to Rex Everything, the academy bully. When toy Tempest Boomcloud breaks out of a display case, the unlikely duo race to stop her. For grades 2-4. 2019.

Fiction printbraille

Canadian fiction

6452682 Skating Wild on an Inland Sea by Jean Pendziwol.

"Let's go! Experience the magic of skating on wild ice. Two children wake up to hear the lake singing, then the wind begins wailing ... or is it a wolf? They bundle up and venture out into the cold, carrying their skates. On the snow-covered shore, they spot tracks made by fox, deer, hare, mink, otter ... and the wolf! In the bay, the ice is thick and smooth. They lace up their skates, step onto the ice, stroking and gliding, and the great lake sings again. In her signature poetic style, Jean E. Pendziwol describes the exhilarating experience of skating on the wild ice of Lake Superior, including the haunting singing that occurs as the ice expands and contracts. Accompanied by Todd Stewart's breathtaking illustrations, this book will make us all long to skate wild!" For Pre-K to grade 1. 2023.

Fiction for children and young adults

Family stories

6384452 Salma Writes a Book (The Salma Series #2) by Danny Ramadan.

Charming, creative Salma takes on big feelings with even bigger ideas as she navigates life in a new country, Syrian identity, family changes and new friendships in this engaging and heartfelt early chapter book series. Book Two: Salma Writes a Book Salma is going to be a big sister! She’s determined to be the best sister ever, so she sets out to write the ultimate guidebook to siblinghood. But the more Salma learns about siblings, the more confused she gets, especially since her mama is fighting with her own brother, Khalou Dawood, about who he loves. Can Salma figure out what it means to be a good sister before the baby arrives?About the Series: Charming, creative Salma takes on big feelings with even bigger ideas as she navigates life in a new country, Syrian identity, family changes, and new friendships in this engaging and heartfelt early chapter book series. For grades 1-4. 2023.

Sports fiction

6430579 Salma Joins the Team (Salma #3) by Ahmad Danny Ramadan.

Salma dreams of becoming a champion swimmer like her hero, Olympian Yusra Mardini. So when she signs up for her school’s swim club, it feels like her dreams could come true . . . until mean comments from older girls at the pool and women at her mosque spark body image and self-esteem issues. But with the help of her close friends and family—the team that always has her back—Salma is ready to claim her place in the pool. For grades 1-4. 2024.

Science fiction

6178264 Caught: The Missing (The Missing Ser. #5) by Margaret Peterson Haddix.

Time travelers Jonah and Katherine plan to return Albert Einstein's daughter, Lieserl, to history. But her mother, Mileva, knows too much about time travel and has no intention of letting her daughter go. Sequel to Torn (BR 20680). For grades 5-8 and older readers. 2012.

Fiction for adults

Folklore, fables and fairy tales

4380609 War for the Oaks: A Novel by Emma Bull.

Eddi McCandry broke up with her boyfriend and her band in the same night, but that's the least of her problems. She is pursued by a phouka who has chosen Eddi to be the mortal pawn in the coming battle between the faerie courts. Some strong language. 2001.

Suspense and thrillers

6178348 The Girl on the Train: A Novel by Paula Hawkins.

Rachel's train commute to London passes her former house--now inhabited by her ex-husband and his new family. She also observes a happy young neighboring couple--but then the wife goes missing. Rachel believes she witnessed a critical clue, but her alcoholic blackouts make her an unreliable witness. Some violence, some strong language, and some explicit descriptions of sex. 2015.

5809870 The Matchmaker: A Spy in Berlin by Paul Vidich.

Berlin, 1989. Protests across East Germany threaten the Iron Curtain and Communism is the ill man of Europe. Anne Simpson, an American who works as a translator at the Joint Operations Refugee Committee, thinks she is in a normal marriage with a charming East German. But then her husband disappears and the CIA and Western German intelligence arrive at her door. Nothing about her marriage is as it seems. 2021.

6178285 The Professionals (A Stevens And Windermere Novel Ser. #1) by Owen Laukkanen.

Four friends, recently graduated from college, turn to kidnapping to survive in the job market. They conduct these jobs for two years, until they kidnap the wrong man. After that, both the FBI and an organized crime outfit begin to hunt them down. Violence, strong language, and some descriptions of sex. 2012.

6178277 The Winter People by Jennifer McMahon.

In 1908, Sara Harrison Shea and her husband were found dead behind their house, soon after the tragic death of their daughter. Nineteen-year-old Ruthie now lives in Sara's farmhouse with her mother, Alice, and her younger sister. Ruthie wakes up one morning to find that Alice has vanished. Some violence. 2014.

6178258 The Chestnut Man: A Novel by Søren Sveistrup.

At each bloody crime scene a Copenhagen serial killer leaves a "chestnut man"--a doll made of matchsticks and chestnuts. Examining the dolls reveals fingerprints belonging to a government minister's young daughter who had been kidnapped a year ago. Translated from the 2018 Danish. Violence, strong language, and some explicit descriptions of sex. 2019.

Mysteries and crime stories

6178269 Monument to Murder: A Capital Crimes Novel (Capital Crimes Ser. #25) by Margaret Truman.

When cop-turned-PI Brixton takes on a twenty-year-old murder case, it's not long before the trail leads him to a secret government organization that been offing "troublesome" politicians for decades. Brixton joins with attorneys Mackensie and Annabel Lee Smith to investigate. Some violence and some strong language. 2011.

4385779 Monument to Murder: Experiment in Murder; Undiplomatic Murder (Capital Crimes #26) by Margaret Truman and Donald Bain.

Three entries, written between 2011 and 2014, in a series of mysteries set in Washington, D.C. In Undiplomatic Murder, a State Department agent reverts to his PI past, as he seeks vengeance when his daughter is killed by a suicide bomber in a D.C. cafe. Some violence and some strong language. 2013.

4386275 Murder and Mendelssohn: A Phryne Fisher Mystery (Phryne Fisher Mysteries #20) by Kerry Greenwood.

Assisting Detective Inspector Jack Robinson in the investigation of an unpopular orchestra conductor's murder, Miss Fisher becomes suspicious of a charismatic code-breaker who has captured her friend John Wilson's affections. Some violence and some explicit descriptions of sex. 2014.

4377496 Silent Scream: an Anna Travis mystery by Lynda La Plante.

As detective Anna Travis gets invited to apply for promotion to chief inspector, she begins a murder investigation. Actress Amanda Delany has been found stabbed to death in her bed. Heading the team is Anna's former lover, the demanding DCI James Langton. Strong language, some violence, and some descriptions of sex. 2010.

6178228 Bury Your Dead: A Chief Inspector Gamache Novel (Chief Inspector Gamache Novel Ser. #6) by Louise Penny.

Chief Inspector Gamache, on leave in Quebec City, helps investigate the murder of an archaeologist who was searching for the remains of Samuel de Champlain. Meanwhile Gamache sends his colleague Jean-Guy Beauvoir to Three Pines to revisit the case described in The Brutal Telling (BR 20563). Some strong language. 2011.

6178199 The Beautiful Mystery: A Chief Inspector Gamache Novel (Chief Inspector Gamache Novel Ser. #8) by Louise Penny.

Chief Inspector Armand Gamache and his protege Jean-Guy Beauvoir travel to the remote monastery of Saint-Gilbert-Entre-les-Loups, where twenty-three cloistered monks mourn the recent murder of the twenty-fourth, choirmaster Brother Mathieu. Mathieu had recruited the best singers to join the monastery for its main focus--singing Gregorian chants. Some strong language. 2012.

4435239 Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter: A Novel by Tom Franklin.

Rural Mississippi. Larry Ott has lived a lonely life--especially since high school when a girl disappeared after a date with him. Now years later, another girl goes missing and Larry is brutally attacked. Silas Jones, the town constable and Larry's only childhood friend, investigates. Violence and strong language. Edgar nominee. 2010.

Animal stories

6473585 Wild Life by Amanda Leduc.

Amanda Leduc’s dazzling new novel follows two walking, talking hyenas as they interact with humans over decades. Blurring the line between human and animal, these strange messengers reveal what is possible when the cages that contain us are broken.In 19th-century Scotland, young Josiah is banished by his father for seeing the divine in the animals around him and sent to Siberia with a small Christian mission to purge such nonsense from his soul. Miserably scrubbing the chapel floor one night, Josiah is visited by what he thinks is God in animal form. When his saviours, a hyena and her mate, rescue him from a natural disaster that kills the other missionaries and then bring him safely home, he founds a religion based on his belief that God granted speech to the hyenas as part of a divine plan to heal and exalt the human race.

The hyena pair, Barbara and Kendrith, aren't so sure that Josiah has it right. But with their beautiful strangeness, they utterly transform the people they encounter over succeeding generations. As Josiah's church gathers adherents, more and more animals start to speak to humans—from signing baby gorillas to seductive alligators. At first one or two rebellious pets make a break for freedom, but then comes a mass exodus of all animals held captive, forcing people to contend with a wildness in themselves they have spent millennia denying. The end of this remarkable fairytale is both joyful and devastating, completely dissolving the boundary between what's "human" and what's "animal." 2025.

General fiction

4378965 Act of God: A Novel by Jill Ciment.

Recently retired librarian Edith and her identical twin discover mushrooms sprouting from the walls of a hall closet, as do their landlady and the woman hiding in her apartment. As the deadly infestation spreads across the city, the four women become caught up in a nightmare. Strong language. 2015.

6178265 The Fever: A Novel by Megan E Abbott.

Tom Nash is a popular teacher and father of two teens--hockey star Eli and diligent student Deenie. Their stability is disrupted when Deenie's best friend has a terrifying unexplained seizure in class. As rumors of a hazardous outbreak spread, a series of tightly held secrets emerges. Some strong language and some descriptions of sex. 2014.

5827264 The Night of Many Endings: A Novel by Melissa Payne.

Orphaned at a young age and witness to her brother's decline into addiction, Nora Martinez has every excuse to question the fairness of life. Instead, the openhearted librarian in the small Colorado community of Silver Ridge sees only promise. It's her home away from home, but it's also a sanctuary for others who, like her brother, could use a second chance. As a winter storm buries Silver Ridge, this collection of lonely hearts takes shelter in the library. They'll discover more about each other, and themselves, than they ever knew-and Nora will be forced to question her brother's disappearance in ways she never could have imagined. 2021.

4404505 The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry: A Novel by Rachel Joyce.

Six months after retiring, Harold Fry receives a letter from former coworker Queenie Hennessy, who is dying of cancer. Intending to post a reply, Harold instead walks the length of England to personally deliver his note, leaving behind his wife Maureen. Along the way Harold ruminates on his life. Some strong language. 2012.

Non-fiction for adults

Food and drink

5825995 The Mom 100 Cookbook: 100 Recipes Every Mom Needs in her Back Pocket by Katie Workman.

Introducing the lifesaving cookbook for every mother with kids at home-the book that solves the 20 most common cooking dilemmas. Katie Workman, founding editor in chief of Cookstr.com and mother of two school-age kids, offers recipes, tips, techniques, attitude, and wisdom for staying happy in the kitchen while proudly keeping it homemade-because homemade not only tastes best, but is also better (and most economical) for you. 2012.

Nutrition

4381872 Eat, Drink, and Be Wary: How Unsafe is our Food? by Charles Duncan.

Duncan examines the dangers in food production, transportation, storage, and preparation that may result in preventable illness and death. The author also includes a broad examination of problems and potential solutions in food safety practices, inspections, and enforcement. 2015.

Health and medicine

4382674 Vitamania: Our Obsessive Quest for Nutritional Perfection by Catherine Price.

Award-winning journalist examines the history of thirteen dietary supplements since their discovery early in the twentieth century. Investigates the complicated psychological relationship we've developed with these mysterious chemicals in pursuit of good health and challenges us to rethink our daily food choices. 2015.

General non-fiction

6178350 Where You Go is Not Who You'll Be: An Antidote to the College Admissions Mania by Frank Bruni.

New York Times columnist examines the lives of people who worked toward admission at Ivy League and other elite colleges and were rejected. Discusses the ways those rejections impacted them and how they often thrived. Explores the culture of education in the twenty-first century. 2015.

Biography

4385612 The Invisible Front: Love and Loss in an Era of Endless War by Yochi Dreazen.

Journalist chronicles the work of Major General Mark Graham and his wife Carol and their struggle to secure care for soldiers experiencing PTSD and other mental-health issues. The Grahams lost both of their sons within a year--one to suicide and one to a roadside bomb in Iraq. 2014.

6178358 Vada's Vittles by Elaine Millicent Williams.

Collection of recipes from the kitchen of LaVada Clark, focusing on traditional family fare, including appetizers, meats, casseroles, side dishes, and desserts. Williams, Clark's youngest daughter, and other family members contribute personal memories specific to the food described. 2014.