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).
In this issue:
- Announcements
- Uncontracted braille
- Fiction printbraille
- Non-fiction printbraille
- Fiction for young adults
- Non-fiction for young adults
- Fiction for adults
- Non-fiction for adults
Announcements
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.
Letter from CELA’s Executive Director Laurie Davidson
Dear CELA Users,
Happy New Year!
We are looking forward to a new year filled with great new books and exciting partnerships. We are pleased to be working with Canada Reads again this year to ensure that the shortlist is available in accessible formats as soon as the list is announced so that our readers can fully participate in this exciting battle of the books.
As COVID continues to shape the ways libraries and other institutions can deliver services we commit to continuing to find ways to support our users and our member libraries in all the ways we can. Currently, the production and distribution of our physical materials have not been affected by the lockdown situation in Toronto, but we are encouraging patrons who receive physical materials to consider exploring digital services. Our digital services allow users to access more titles, quickly and easily. We have information on our website for those who are interested in learning more. Please reach out to our Contact Centre for support.
We also wanted to remind you of our Designate program. You are able to designate a family member, friend or support worker to help you manage your CELA account. Your designate can download books, place holds and contact our support staff on your behalf to address any questions or concerns. If you would like this extra assistance, simply call our Contact Centre at 1-855-655-2273 for more information or to name your designate. You will need your CELA account number when you call.
Finally, I wanted to share that CELA has received $3 million in funding from the Government of Canada’s Social Development Partnerships Program, to be spent during our current fiscal year, 2020-2021. We regularly hear from our users how important it is that they have plenty of choice in their reading materials. We are grateful for this substantial funding made available through the Social Development Partnerships Program – Disability Component, which allows CELA to continue create thousands of alternate formats, to add bestsellers, award-winners, user favourites and uniquely Canadian content to our collection. It also allows us to continue to offer a choice of physical and digital formats to our users.
We also want to acknowledge the important annual support from the provinces and territories of Alberta, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Saskatchewan, Northwest Territories and Yukon and from individual libraries in British Columbia and Manitoba. CELA also has an in-kind agreement with the national library of Quebec. We are particularly delighted that the Government of Ontario demonstrated their commitment to equitable library services by providing guaranteed three-year funding to CELA.
We’re looking forward to more announcements about our collections in the coming months.
Until then stay safe and happy reading.
Laurie Davidson
CELA Executive Director
World Braille Day events a success
January 4th is the birthdate of Louis Braille and this year CELA joined in with braille community members and organizations to celebrate the date with a virtual birthday party. In addition to singing Happy Birthday there was an excellent demonstration of the logic behind the braille system and the various braille tools for reading and writing. The program also included an inclusive story time using a printbraille book, and two excellent panel discussions featuring representatives from Braille Literacy Canada, Canadian Council of the Blind, Canadian Federation of the Blind, Vision Impaired Resource Network, National Network for Equitable Library Service and CELA.
The two panel sessions addressed a wide range of questions about how braille supports literacy, and the impact of electronic braille and other technology on the way the community can access and read materials. Panelists were quite open about their process of learning braille, and offering advice and insight, especially as later life braille learners, and they shared their hopes for where braille instruction and access might be in five years.
CELA would like to thank the organizing team and all who attended this wonderful event.
Canada Reads shortlist announced
Canada Reads is CBC’s national battle of the books program. Each year five books are selected and defended by well known Canadians. CBC broadcasts the debates on television, via the internet and radio. This year the theme is Books That Transport Us and the shortlist includes a variety of very interesting titles.
- 3772227 The Midnight Bargain by C.L. Polk is a fantasy novel about a female magician who must chose between her ambitions, her love and her family.
- 3620482 Two Trees Make a Forest by Jessica J. Lee is the memoir of an environmental historian, naturalist and lover of languages who returns to Vietnam to trace the path of her grandfather.
- 2396143 Joshua Whitehead’s book Jonny Appleseed follows a young, queer, Indigenous person who is trying to find his identity in the big city but must return to the reservation for his stepfather’s funeral.
- 3611364 Anna, the main character in Hench by Natalie Zina Walschots, finds out she’s not powerless after her crime lord boss fires her, and she discovers data and the story that it tells could change the world for the better.
- 3772226 Butter Honey Pig Bread by Francesca Ekwuyasi is a debut novel about twin sisters and their mother who are torn apart by family tragedy and find a way to come together in their homeland of Lagos.
CELA has the 5 shortlisted titles available in a variety of formats. The debates will take place March 8-11 which gives you plenty of time to read.
Braille Books Acquired is now available by e-mail. If you would like to receive it in this format, please get in touch with the CELA Contact Centre at 1-855-655-2273, or by e-mail at help@celalibrary.ca. Thank you.
Uncontracted braille / fiction and non-fiction for children
Adventure stories
3238493 Nikki Tesla and the fellowship of the bling by Jess Keating
4 volumes. When Mary Shelley is kidnapped by a mad scientist, Nikki Tesla and the other members of the Genius Academy team are forced to agree to steal a priceless, lethal high-tech ring in order to free her. Nikki also plans to use the heist to get closer to her long-lost father, who claims he is not the criminal mastermind she believes him to be. Sequel to "Nikki Tesla and the ferret-proof death ray", followed by "Nikki Tesla and the traitors of the lost spark". Grades 4-7. 2020.
3644548 Jacques' escape by Anne C. Kelly
2 volumes. Fourteen-year-old Acadian Jacques Terriot is about to be deported with his family to the British colony of Massachusetts. He longs to escape and join his older brother in fighting with the French. Jacques is about to set out on a journey that will teach him the true meaning of family and home, as well as what it means to be Acadian. Grades 5-8 and older readers. 2019.
Animal stories
3644538 Music for tigers by Michelle Kadarusman
3 volumes. Middle-schooler Louisa wants to spend the summer practicing violin for a place in the youth symphony, but is instead sent to the Tasmanian rainforest camp of her Australian relatives. There she learns that her family secretly protects the last of the supposedly extinct Tasmanian tigers. When an encroaching mining operation threatens the hidden sanctuary, Louisa realizes her music can help. Grades 5-8. 2020.
Biography
3644457 Little leaders: bold women in black history by Vashti Harrison
1 volume. Based on her popular Instagram posts, debut author/illustrator Vashti Harrison shares the stories of 40 bold African American women who shaped history. Grades 3-6. 2017.
Adventure stories
3556250 Tommy wants a guide dog by Christopher Warner
1 volume of Braille. Tommy is a young boy with sight loss and a big imagination. When he's told he's too young to get a guide dog, he imagines what it would be like to have other animals as a guide, but soon learns the pitfalls that come with each one. Grades K-3. 2020.
3601024 It began with a page: how Gyo Fujikawa drew the way by Kyo Maclear
1 volume. Growing up quiet and lonely at the beginning of the twentieth century, Gyo learned from her relatives the ways in which both women and Japanese people lacked opportunity. Her teachers and family believed in her and sent her to art school and later Japan, where her talent flourished. But while Gyo's career grew and led her to work for Walt Disney Studios, World War II began, and with it, her family's internment. But Gyo never stopped fighting - for herself, her vision, her family and her readers - and later wrote and illustrated the first children's book to feature children of different races interacting together. Grades K-3. 2019.
3644482 How to become an accidental genius by Frieda Wishinsky, Elizabeth MacLeod
2 volumes. Don't be afraid to try! Make connections! Be persistent! Ask questions and never take no for an answer! Learn the secrets and amazing stories of successful inventors! Full of inspiring tales of famous and lesser-known inventors who have changed the world, from George Washington Carver, Mary Anderson (inventor of the windshield wiper) and inventor and actress Hedy Lamarr to Frank Epperson (of Popsicle fame). Readers will be amazed at the inventiveness of these geniuses. The book focuses on inventors from North America but includes stories from around the world. Organized into eleven chapters that highlight the qualities inventors have in common, the book also features profiles of inventive kids and teenagers. Grades 4-7. 2019.
Disabilities fiction
3644492 Sara and the search for normal by Wesley King
5 volumes. Seventh-grader Sara wants to be normal but her panic attacks and other episodes cause her to isolate herself until, in group therapy, she meets talkative and outgoing Erin, her first friend. Grades 3-6. 2020.
3556250 Tommy wants a guide dog by Christopher Warner
1 volume. Tommy is a young boy with sight loss and a big imagination. When he's told he's too young to get a guide dog, he imagines what it would be like to have other animals as a guide, but soon learns the pitfalls that come with each one. Grades K-3. 2020
Family stories
3120643 Bear for breakfast by Robert Munsch
1 volume. Donovan looks in the fridge but is disappointed to see that there is no bear, since his grandfather says he used to eat bear for breakfast. So Donovan sets off to bag a bear of his own. In a "going on a lion hunt" adventure, he stalks and is stalked by an ant, a squirrel, and a dog - but they are not bears, so he shoos them away. Finally Donovan meets a real bear, which GROWLS at him! Donovan runs all the way home but the bear follows him into the kitchen and chases his mom around the table until grandfather hits it on the head with a frying pan: BONGGGGG! and the bear runs away. Then they all sit down to a nice breakfast that doesn't have any teeth: pizza! Grades K-3. 2019.
3644462 No fixed address by Susin Nielsen
5 volumes. Felix Knuttson, twelve, struggles to hide the fact that he and his mom live in a camper van while he does his best to win a trivia competition that could win him a new home. 2020 MYRCA Northern Lights Winner. Grades 5-8. 2020.
3601021 Broken strings by Eric Walters, Kathy Kacer
5 volumes. It's 2002. In the aftermath of the twin towers - and the death of her beloved grandmother - Shirli Berman is intent on moving forward. The best singer in her junior high, she auditions for the lead role in Fiddler on the Roof, but is crushed to learn that she's been given the part of the old Jewish mother in the musical rather than the coveted part of the sister. But there is an upside: her "husband" is none other than Ben Morgan, the cutest and most popular boy in the school. Deciding to throw herself into the role, she rummages in her grandfather's attic for some props. There, she discovers an old violin in the corner - strange, since her Zayde has never seemed to like music, never even going to any of her recitals. Showing it to her grandfather unleashes an anger in him she has never seen before, and while she is frightened of what it might mean, Shirli keeps trying to connect with her Zayde and discover the awful reason behind his anger. A long-kept family secret spills out, and Shirli learns the true power of music, both terrible and wonderful. Grades 5-8. 2019.
Health and medicine
3644499 Acting wild: how we behave like birds, bugs, and beasts by Maria Birmingham
1 volume. For a long time, scientists have tried to figure out what separates us from animals. For example, one early idea was our use of tools - until Jane Goodall famously recorded observations of chimpanzees making and using tools. In fact, it looks like the very things that we once thought distinguished humans, our creativity, our ingenuity, our capacity of planning or abstract thought, are the very things that actually make us very animal! Maria Birmingham explores many of the surprising ways that humans behave just like animals. Topics covered: farming, teaching, laughing, mourning, building, using tools, communicating, grooming, playing, working together, travelling. This nonfiction book will show kids that it's entirely okay to act like an animal - we can't help it! Grades K-3. 2019.
Mysteries and crime stories
3644486 Thicker than water by Natasha Deen
1 volume. Zack Bernard has a thing for crime shows, especially the forensic-investigation kind. So when his friend Ella goes missing, Zack can't help piecing together what he thinks is concrete evidence that could lead to her whereabouts. The problem is, it's all pointing toward his dad. He knows his dad is lying about not having seen Ella because Zack saw them together at the mall the day she disappeared. What he doesn't know is why. With the help of his friend Ayo, Zack tries to solve the mystery himself to avoid having to make the terrible choice between losing someone close to him and betraying his family. For junior and senior high readers. 2019.
3620503 The case of Windy Lake by Michael Hutchinson
2 volumes. Sam, Otter, Atim, and Chickadee are four inseparable cousins growing up on the Windy Lake First Nation. Nicknamed the Mighty Muskrats for their habit of laughing, fighting, and exploring together, the cousins find that each new adventure adds to their reputation. When a visiting archaeologist goes missing, the cousins decide to solve the mystery of his disappearance. In the midst of community conflict, family concerns, and environmental protests, the four get busy following every lead. From their base of operations in a fort made out of an old school bus, the Mighty Muskrats won't let anything stop them from solving their case! Grades 4-7. 2019.
Native peoples
3644550 Sharing our truths/tapwe by Henry Beaver, Mindy Willett
1 volume. Henry and Eileen Beaver live in Fort Smith, Northwest Territories. They are both community leaders, parents, and grandparents. When their daughter, Joline, and grandchildren come for a visit, they teach them about their land and culture. Join the children and learn the protocols for building a tipi, trapping a beaver, laying the grandfather stones for a fire, smudging, and harvesting salt from the Salt Plains in Wood Buffalo National Park. In Cree, tapwe means "it is so" or "the truth." Henry writes, "We can't tell you what to do with the truths we share in this book, but we hope that reading our story will help you get to know us a little better so that together we can make this nation a place we can all be proud of." Grades 2-4. 2019.
3644481 Powwow: a celebration through song and dance by Karen Pheasant-Neganigwane
2 volumes. Powwow is a guide to the dance, music and culture of this Indigenous celebration. Grades 4-7. 2020.
Native peoples fiction
3620493 Powwow Summer by Nahanni Shingoose
4 volumes. Part Ojibwe and part white, River lives with her white mother and stepfather on a farm in Ontario. Teased about her Indigenous heritage as a young girl, she feels like she doesn't belong and struggles with her identity. Now eighteen and just finished high school, River travels to Winnipeg to spend the summer with her Indigenous father and grandmother, where she sees firsthand what it means to be an "urban Indian." On her family's nearby reserve, she learns more than she expects about the lives of Indigenous people, including the presence of Indigenous gangs and the multi-generational effects of the residential school system. But River also discovers a deep respect for and connection with the land and her cultural traditions. The highlight of her summer is attending the annual powwow with her new friends. At the powwow afterparty, however, River drinks too much and posts photos online that anger people and she has her right to identify as an Indigenous person called into question. Can River ever begin to resolve the complexities of her identity - Indigenous and not? For junior and senior high readers. 2019.
Science and technology
3644485 Chemical world: science in our daily lives by Rowena Rae
1 volume. Explores some of the materials - all of which are made of basic chemical elements - that humans use or come into contact with in their day-to-day lives. Despite people using both natural and synthetic chemicals with (mainly) good intentions, some chemicals have had unintended negative consequences. Chemical residues have contaminated ecosystems the world over and are compromising the health of many ecosystems, animals and humans. The book invites readers to take a look at the world around them and ask questions about what's in their environment and how the things they use and eat every day can affect their own health and the health of the planet. Grades 4-7. 2020.
3644546 Why don't cars run on apple juice?: real science questions from real kids by Kira Vermond
1 volume. Curious kids ask the best questions! What keeps the stars from falling from the sky? Why do metal boats float? And more importantly, why don't cars run on apple juice? All these questions and more are found in the pages of this science Q & A book with questions from the most inquisitive of science center visitors - kids. With help from a slew of scientists, author Kira Vermond serves up the answers to more than 50 quizzical queries in a fun and engaging style. This is a STEM-tastic gift for young graduates, science buffs, and everyone who loves to ask "Why?". Grades 3-6. 2019.
Science fiction
3158114 Bloom by Kenneth Oppel
6 volumes. The invasion begins - but not as you'd expect. It begins with rain. Rain that carries seeds. Seeds that sprout - overnight, everywhere. These new plants take over crop fields, twine up houses, and burrow below streets. They bloom - and release toxic pollens. They bloom - and form Venus flytrap-like pods that swallow animals and people. They bloom - everywhere, unstoppable. Or are they? Three kids on a remote island seem immune to the toxic plants. Anaya, Petra, Seth. They each have strange allergies - and yet not to these plants. What's their secret? Can they somehow be the key to beating back this invasion? Grades 5-8. 2020.
Social issues
3627983 What if soldiers fought with pillows?: true stories of imagination and courage by Heather Camlot
1 volume. What if the impossible was actually possible? What if we turned our dreams into action? What if your imagination could help solve real-world crises, like war, famine, and human rights violations? Through a series of seemingly whimsical questions, this middle-grade nonfiction book introduces readers to people and organizations that are subverting violence, war and totalitarian power. What if soldiers refused to carry weapons? What if fighter pilots dropped seeds instead of bombs? What if music could be a creative force for democracy? None of these ideas are impossible - in fact, they are all true historical examples of ideas that have been put into action. Accessible, engaging text introduces a different question and example on each spread. This timely book encourages readers to think critically and dare to ask big questions that might just change the world. Grades 3-6. 2020.
3293487 Pride: the celebration and the struggle by Robin Stevenson
4 volumes. This revised, updated and expanded edition of the award-winning book "Pride: celebrating diversity & community" (2016) celebrates the LGBTQ+ community's diversity, the incredible victories of the past fifty years and the voices of young activists. Grades 4-7. 2020.
Sports fiction
3644497 No girls allowed: inspired by the true story of a girl who fought for her right to play by Natalie Corbett Sampson
4 volumes. It's 1977, and 10-year-old Tina couldn't be happier about her life. Not because she just moved to Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, but because she's finally old enough to make her dream come true: she can play on a real hockey team. But when she tries to join the league, she learns that girls aren't allowed to play on the boys' team - and there's no team for girls. Despite jeers from classmates and cruelty from some of the town's adults, Tina is determined to play. She wants it more than anything. With the help of her family, Tina takes her fight to the Human Rights Commission. She's allowed to play on a team while her case goes through court, but though she's the best skater on the ice, even some of her teammates think she shouldn't be there. From facing down angry coaches to testifying on the stand, Tina does everything for one big goal: to play real hockey. Based on an inspiring true story. Grades 3-6. 2019.
Fiction printbraille
Animal stories
3646169 Pokko and the drum by Matthew Forsythe
1 volume. When Pokko plays her drum in the forest she suddenly finds herself surrounded by an entire band of animal musicians. Grades K-3. 2019.
3742474 Eat your rocks, Croc!: Dr. Glider's advice for troubled animals by Jess Keating
1 volume. Dr. Sugar Glider, a small Australian possum, travels around the world (even underwater) dispensing good advice to animals with problems, including a crocodile with a stomach-ache, a stressed-out meerkat mom, and a male praying mantis looking for a date - while avoiding being eaten. Grades 2-4. 2020.
3742499 Benjamin's blue feet by Sue Macartney
1 volume. A young blue-footed booby named Benjamin has a knack for finding "treasure" (human discards). When his discovery of a mirror causes him to become insecure about his body, Benjamin uses his collection to change his features. But his changes make it impossible to swim and fish and fly, and Benjamin realizes he's exactly the way he's meant to be. Grades K-3. 2020.
3665538 Tickled pink: how friendship washes the world with color by Andrée Poulin
1 volume. A young flamingo named Filippo becomes self-conscious when other animals refuse to play with him because he is pink. He struggles to be accepted and to accept himself. Finally, with encouragement from family members and a kind-hearted lemur, Filippo learns to love himself for who he is. Grades K-3. 2020.
3646175 Spur, a wolf's story by Eliza Robertson
1 volume. A young, brave wolf named Spur is looking for food with her brother when, suddenly, a flying beast appears in the sky. What was that thing? And where did her brother go? The next time the helicopter appears, Spur knows just what to do to save her wolf pack and reunite with her brother. Stirring, gorgeous illustrations of wolves, snow, and trees illuminate this uplifting and empowering story, which offers a gentle message for protecting wild wolves in North America and beyond. Just like us, wolves have brothers, sisters, parents, and friends - and they very much need our help. Grades K-3 and older readers. 2019.
3646160 How to give your cat a bath in five easy steps by Nicola Winstanley
1 volume. A little girl and her cat make an escalating mess while respectively trying to follow and resist the cat-bathing instructions of a bossy narrator. Grades K-3. 2019.
Family stories
3646164 Imagination vacation by Jami Gigot
1 volume. Sam's family is too busy to spend much time together, so she plans a very special vacation, to each one's dream destination, without going far from home. Grades K-3. 2019.
3646180 Who will you be? by Andrea Pippins
1 volume. A picture book about how family and community help shape the wonderful people our children become. Grades K-3. 2020.
3646166 The phone booth in Mr. Hirota's garden by Heather Smith
1 volume. When the tsunami destroyed Makio's village, Makio lost his father... and his voice. The entire village is silenced by grief, and the young child's anger at the ocean grows. Then one day his neighbour, Mr. Hirota, begins a mysterious project - building a phone booth in his garden. At first Makio is puzzled; the phone isn't connected to anything. It just sits there, unable to ring. But as more and more villagers are drawn to the phone booth, its purpose becomes clear to Makio: the disconnected phone is connecting people to their lost loved ones. Makio calls to the sea to return what it has taken from him and ultimately finds his voice and solace in a phone that carries words on the wind. Grades K-3. 2019.
Friendship stories
3742475 Our favorite day of the year by A. E. Ali
1 volume. Four kindergartners who think they have nothing in common become friends after sharing traditions of their holidays, including Eid-ul-Fitr, Rosh Hashanah, Christmas, and Pi Day. Grades K-3. 2020.
3646170 What if Bunny's not a bully? by Lana Button
1 volume. Gertie: When it comes to bullies, Bunny is the queen. She used to always play with us - but she was super mean. Kitty: But why is she a bully? What'd she do, and what'd she say? Gertie: Um... Bunny's just a bully. It's always been that way. But is Bunny really a bully? Kitty wants to find out more about the real Bunny. She's been branded a bully by her classmates, but Kitty is wise enough to see beyond the label and look at Bunny for who she truly is: a girl who's sorry for mistakes she may have made in the past and who desperately wants a second chance. Grades K-3. 2020.
3665536 My best friend by Julie Fogliano
1 volume. Two girls quickly become best friends, even before they learn one another's names. Grades K-3. 2020.
3646161 Alma and the beast by Esmé Shapiro
1 volume. Alma lives happily in her hairy world, where she can pet the trees and comb the grass, until one day when she encounters a hairless beast who has lost her hairless home. Grades K-3. 2019.
General fiction
3654207 My vest is white by Dick Bruna
1 volume. A child describes the colors of her garments as she dresses to go outside. Grades P-2. 2012
3646167 Simon steps into the ring by Marylène Monette
1 volume. Simon tries to be kind. But sometimes he loses his temper and acts without thinking, which almost always gets him into trouble. As Simon begins to understand his outbursts, he imagines himself in a boxing ring with his emotions. Can he come out on top and learn how to acknowledge his feelings? Grades K-3. 2020.
3646171 You matter by Christian Robinson
1 volume. Illustrations and easy-to-read text remind the reader that no matter what happens or how one feels, he or she matters. Grades K-3. 2020.
Humourous fiction
3646168 A potato on a bike by Elise Gravel
1 volume. A delightful board book to make readers laugh at the absurdity of a fly on the phone and a carrot in the tub. The text's repeated asking "Have you ever seen...?" preceding the refrain "No way!" will have toddlers yelling "No way!" themselves as you read through these silly situations. Celebrated artist Elise Gravel brings the silly to a new level in "A potato on a bike", because really, has anyone ever seen a broccoli counting to ten or a sausage reading a book? But wait, how about a ... baby being tickled?! Uh-oh, I think the answer for that is - yes way! Grades P-2. 2019.
Multi-cultural fiction
3646157 The proudest blue: a story of hijab and family by Ibtihaj Muhammad
1 volume. Faizah relates how she feels on the first day her sister, sixth-grader Asiya, wears a hijab to school. Grades K-3. 2019.
3742502 Your name is a song by Luisa Uribe, Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow
1 volume. Saddened by her classmates' and teacher's mispronunciations of her name, a girl is empowered by her discovery that names are like songs when she and her mom celebrate the musicality of African, Asian, Black-American, Latinx, and Middle Eastern names. Grades K-3. 2020.Multi-cultural fiction
3665535 Amy Wu and the perfect bao by Kat Zhang
1 volume. Amy is determined to make a perfect dumpling like her parents and grandmother do, but hers are always too empty, too full, or not pinched together properly. Grades K-3. 2019.
Native peoples fiction
3742473 The Sasquatch, the fire and the cedar baskets by Joseph Dandurand, Dionne Paul
1 volume. The Sasquatch, spirit of the great cedar forest, eludes human hunters, falls in love, fathers a lovely daughter and saves his little family from a forest fire by dousing the flames with water stored in baskets carefully woven by his mate. The story is told with grace and simplicity by a master storyteller in the great tradition of the Kwantlen people. Grades K-3. 2020.
3646163 Ho'onani: hula warrior by Heather Gale
1 volume. Ho'onani feels in-between. She doesn't see herself as wahine (girl) OR kane (boy). She's happy to be in the middle. But not everyone sees it that way. When Ho'onani finds out that there will be a school performance of a traditional kane hula chant, she wants to be part of it. But can a girl really lead the all-male troupe? Ho'onani has to try. Grades K-3. 2019.
3646177 In my Anaana's amautik by Nadia Sammurtok
1 volume. Nadia Sammurtok lovingly invites the reader into the amautik - the pouch in the back of a mother's parka used to carry a child - to experience everything through the eyes of the baby nestled inside, from the cloudlike softness of the pouch to the glistening sound of Anaana's laughter. Grades K-3. 2019.
Sports fiction
3742477 Dusk explorers by Lindsay Leslie
1 volume. It's that special time of evening, when the hours and the possibilities seem endless as sunlight is fading to dusk. A buzz of excitement and wonder takes over the neighborhood... what outdoor adventures await? Join a diverse group of suburban kids as they dash and dodge in classic street games, like tag and kick-the-can, and reconnect with nature's simple pleasures of catching frogs, hunting fireflies, and climbing trees. These explorers play, laugh, and make the most of their own front yards right up until their parents call out, "It's time to come home!" Grades K-3. 2020
Non-fiction printbraille
Animals and wildlife
3665534 I am a beaver by Paul Covello
1 volume. A day in the life of one of Canada's most iconic animals. I am a beaver, and I do what beavers do. Come along and spend the day with an adorable beaver kit! Can you chomp through a tree, swim in a stream and help your family build a lodge? You could, if you were a beaver! Grades K-3. 2019.
3646181 Run salmon run by Bobs, and LoLo
1 volume. Dive into the world of salmon in this lyrically written and beautifully illustrated children's book. The story follows the journey of the Pacific Salmon from stream to sea and back again through all the life stages: egg, alevin, fry, smolt, and adult. "Run salmon run" complements curriculum objectives for early primary levels in the areas of ecosystem, habitat and life cycle. A thoughtfully written narrative by award-winning children's songwriters Bobs & LoLo, with vibrant and engaging visuals by illustrator Lori Joy Smith. Grades K-3. 2020.
Biography
3742459 Terry Fox and me by Mary Beth Leatherdale
1 volume. Before Terry Fox become a national hero and icon, he was just a regular kid. But even then, his characteristic strength, determination and loyalty were apparent and were the foundation for his friendship with Doug. The two first met at basketball tryouts in grammar school. Terry was the smallest - and worst - basketball player on the court. But that didn't stop him. With Doug's help, Terry practiced and practiced until he earned a spot on the team. As they grew up, the best friends supported each other, challenged each other, helped each other become better athletes and better people. Doug was by Terry's side every step of the way: when Terry received a diagnosis of cancer in his leg, when he was learning to walk - then run - with a prosthetic leg and while he was training for the race of his life, his Marathon of Hope. Written from Doug's perspective, this story shows that Terry Fox's legacy goes beyond the physical and individual accomplishments of a disabled athlete and honors the true value of friendship. Grades K-3. 2020.
3742458 Greta Thunberg by Maria Isabel Sanchez Vegara
1 volume. Discover the inspiring true story of Greta Thunberg, the environmental activist. When young Greta learned of the climate crisis, she stopped talking. She couldn't understand why people in power were not doing anything to save our Earth. One day she started protesting outside the Swedish Parliament, creating the "School Strike for Climate." Soon, lots more young people joined her in a global movement that shook adults and politicians alike. She had found her voice and uses it to inspire humans to action with her powerful message: "No one is too small to make a difference." Includes a biographical timeline with historical photos and a detailed profile of the climate activist's life. Grades K-3. 2020.
3742457 Jesse Owens by Maria Isabel Sanchez Vegara
1 volume. The youngest of ten children, Jesse grew up working in the cotton fields of Alabama. Discovered by his high school track and field coach, Jesse quickly rose to fame as an athlete. He went on to challenge racism on the world stage at the 1936 Berlin Olympics and made new world records. This inspiring story of the athlete and activist's life features a fact and photos section at the back. Grades K-3. 2020.
General non-fiction
3646158 What is a refugee? by Elise Gravel
1 volume. Introduces the term 'refugee' to curious young children to help them better understand the world in which they live. Who are refugees? Why are they called that word? Why do they need to leave their country? Why are they sometimes not welcome in their new country? Grades K-3. 2019.
Poetry
3742498 Summer feet by Sheree Fitch
1 volume. The book celebrates all things summer. From those first barefoot days, wobble-dy walking over rocks and pebbles, to wandering-wild while searching for sea glass and, finally, huddled-up cozy at a late-summer bonfire, these summer feet flutter kick, somersault, hide-and-seek, and dance in the rain, soaking up all the season has to offer. Grades K-3. 2020.
3646162 Sharon, Lois and Bram's Skinnamarink by Sharon Hampson, Lois Lillienstein, Bram Morrison
1 volume. Based on the classic folk song made famous by Sharon, Lois and Bram, this picture book is best sung aloud! "Skinnamarink" is a timeless anthem of love and inclusion. Grades K-3. 2019.
Psychology
3646159 Love your body: your body can do amazing things... by Jessica Sanders
1 volume. Freedom is loving your body with all its "imperfections" and being the perfectly imperfect you! "Love your body" encourages young girls to admire and celebrate their bodies for all the amazing things they can do, and to help girls see that they are so much more than their bodies. Grades K-3 and older readers. 2020.
Social issues
3646165 Grandmother School by Rina Singh
1 volume. This brilliantly illustrated picture book tells the story of the Aajibaichi Shala, the Grandmother School, that was opened in Phangane, India, in 2016 to teach local grandmothers how to read and write. Grades K-3. 2020.
World War I
3665532 Sergeant Billy: the true story of the goat who went to war by Mireille Messier
1 volume. During World War I, a goat named Billy was adopted by a platoon of soldiers and made his way across the ocean to be part of the war effort. Billy trained with the soldiers, was smuggled across the ocean, got snuck into the frontlines in an orange crate, ate some secret documents and was arrested for treason, got trench foot, head-butted soldiers into a trench and saved them from a shell, and came back home a decorated war hero. This charming true story follows Sergeant Billy from his small prairie town to the trenches of World War I and back, through harrowing moments, sad moments, moments of camaraderie and moments of celebration. Grades K-3. 2019.
Fiction for young adults
Adventure stories
3644460 Wildfire by Carrie Mac
4 volumes. Annie and Pete have been best friends since they were little. Now they're heading out on their next great quest: a ten-day backpacking trip through the mountains of Washington State, ending at Fire Camp, where they'll learn to fight the area's growing wildfire problem. The woods spark with the promise of adventure, but a freak climbing accident interrupts their progress, and as the wildfires close in and smoke envelops them, Annie and Pete wander farther from the trail. Carrie Mac's gripping story of the power of unrequited love and the danger of the elements is harrowing, beautiful, and unforgettable. For junior and senior high readers. 2020.
Disabilities fiction
3601028 All our broken pieces by L. D. Crichton
7 volumes. Musically gifted seventeen-year-old Kyler and his new neighbor Lennon, who is crippled by her OCD, discover that the strength to survive, live, and love can be found in unexpected places. For senior high readers. 2019.
Fantasy
3601027 The candle and the flame by Nafiza Azad
9 volumes. Fatima, who was infused with the powers of a djinn when she was four years old, finds herself drawn into the intrigues of court, the affairs of the djinn, and the very real dangers of a magical battlefield. For senior high readers. 2020.
3644475 Ink in the blood by Kim Smejkal
7 volumes. Celia Sand and Anya Burtoni are inklings for the esteemed religion of Profeta. Using magic, they tattoo followers with beautiful images that represent the Divine's will and guide the actions of the recipients. Ten years into their servitude they discover the truth: Profeta is built on lies, the tattooed orders strip away freedom, and the revered temple is actually a brutal, torturous prison. They escape with the Rabble Mob, a traveling theater troupe, using their inkling abilities for performance. But The Divine they never believed in is very real, very angry, and determined to spread her deceitful influence even further. For junior and senior high readers. 2020.
General fiction
3644464 He must like you by Danielle Younge-Ullman
6 volumes. Libby's older brother absconded with his college money and is bartending on a Greek island. Her dad just told her she's got to pay for college herself, and he's evicting her when she graduates so he can Airbnb her room. A drunken hook-up with her coworker Kyle has left her upset and confused. When Perry Ackerman, serial harasser and the most handsy customer at The Goat where she waitresses, pushes her over the edge, she can hardly be blamed for dumping a pitcher of sangria on his head. Unfortunately, Perry is the restaurant's most important customer, and Libby's mom's boss. Now Libby has to navigate the fallout of her outburst, and deal with her increasing rage at the guys who've screwed up her life. For junior and senior high readers. 2020.
Multi-cultural fiction
3644493 My summer of love and misfortune by Lindsay Wong
7 volumes. After a series of disastrous choices and rejections, seventeen-year-old Chinese American Iris Wang is thrust into the decadent world of Beijing high society as her cousin's English tutor. For junior and senior high readers. 2020.
School stories
3228875 Of curses and kisses by Sandhya Menon
7 volumes. Told in two voices, Jaya Rao, an East Indian princess, and Grey Emerson, an English lord, suffer the effects of a centuries-old feud when they meet at an elite Colorado boarding school. For junior and senior high readers. 2020.
Suspense and thrillers
3601023 Keep this to yourself by Tom Ryan
6 volumes. Last summer the Catalog Killer terrorized the sleepy seaside town of Camera Cove, killing four people before disappearing without a trace. Mac Bell is trying to put that horrible summer behind him - easier said than done since Mac's best friend Connor was the murderer's final victim. When Mac finds a cryptic message from Connor, he realizes the killer might not have been a random drifter after all. Now nobody is beyond suspicion, and Mac struggles to come to terms with his true feelings towards Connor while scrambling to uncover the truth. For junior and senior high readers. Winner of the 2020 Arthur Ellis Best Juvenile or YA Crime Book Award. 2019.
Non-fiction for young adults
Biography
3644491 In good hands: remarkable female politicians from around the world who showed up, spoke out and made change by Stephanie MacKendrick
7 volumes. After the 2016 election of U.S. President Donald Trump, women of all ages literally took to the streets, setting off a wave of activism that's developed into a flood of women seeking elected office. "In good hands" speaks to young women eager to take part in the political system and make change from the inside out. The text begins with a series of engaging and approachable profiles of women who have run for office. They come from across the political spectrum, around the world, and at all levels of politics. Readers will learn what inspired them to run, how they managed to win, and what they accomplished once they came to office. Part 2 gives practical advice to any reader who is considering a run for office. It covers a broad range of subjects, from summoning the courage to run, to identifying your strengths and weaknesses, getting plugged in to your community, finding mentors, raising money for a run, and using social media effectively. And Part 3 of the book, The Deep Dive, is an extensive list of resources for readers who want to take the next step. For junior and senior high readers. 2020.
Disabilities
3644483 Heads up: changing minds on mental health by Melanie Siebert
3 volumes. Mental health is a complex issue. It affects everything that we do, but can be hard to talk about. Siebert shines a light on the troubled history of thinking about and treating mental illness. She tells the stories of pioneers in the field of psychiatry who fought for more compassionate, respectful and effective treatments. While providing information on the major mental health diagnoses, Siebert also shares ideas and resources to support those who are suffering, including holistic ways of balancing mind, body, heart and spirit. For junior and senior high readers. 2020.
Social issues
3646156 Choosing to live, choosing to die: the complexities of assisted dying by Nikki Tate
3 volumes. There are few decisions more upsetting than deciding if and when the time is right to end a life. Is it more important to protect life at all costs, or to provide individuals with the right to choose what is best for them? Tate provides teenagers with multiple perspectives on the issue of providing medical assistance in dying. She encourages readers to keep an open mind, and reach their own conclusions. For junior and senior high readers. 2019.
Fiction for adults
Family stories
3228892 When we were Vikings by Andrew David MacDonald
7 volumes. Zelda, a twenty-one-year-old Viking enthusiast, lives with her older brother, Gert. A victim of fetal alcohol spectrum, Zelda's life is best lived with some basic rules: A smile means "thank you for doing something small that I liked"; tomatoes must go in the middle of the sandwich and not get the bread wet. But sometimes the most important things don't fit on lists. When Zelda finds out that Gert has resorted to some questionable methods to make enough money to keep them afloat, Zelda decides to launch her own quest. It isn't long before Zelda finds herself in a battle that tests the reach of her heroism, her love for her brother, and the depth of her Viking strength. 2020.
3042711 The Dutch house: a novel by Ann Patchett
7 volumes. At the end of the Second World War, Cyril Conroy combines luck and a single canny investment to begin an enormous real estate empire, propelling his family from poverty to enormous wealth. His first order of business is to buy the Dutch House, a lavish estate in the suburbs outside of Philadelphia. Meant as a surprise for his wife, the house sets in motion the undoing of everyone he loves. Cyril's son Danny and his older sister Maeve are exiled from the house where they grew up by their stepmother. The two wealthy siblings are thrown back into the poverty their parents had escaped from and find that all they have to count on is one another. Bestseller. 2019.
3644495 Misconduct of the heart: a novel by Cordelia Strube
11 volumes. Stevie, a recovering alcoholic and kitchen manager of Chappy's, a small chain restaurant, is frantically trying to prevent the people around her from going supernova: her PTSD-suffering veteran son, her uproariously demented parents, the polyglot eccentrics who work in her kitchen, the blind geriatric dog she inherits, and a damaged five-year-old who landed on her doorstep and might just be her granddaughter. In the tight grip of new corporate owners, Stevie battles corporate's "restructuring" to save her kitchen, while trying to learn to forgive herself and maybe allow some love back into her life. Stevie's biting, hilarious take on her own and others' foibles will make you cheer. 2020.
General fiction
3715529 How a woman becomes a lake by Marjorie Celona
5 volumes. It's New Year's Day and the residents of a small fishing town are ready to start their lives anew. Leo takes his two young sons out to the lake to write resolutions on paper boats. That same frigid morning, Vera sets out for a walk with her dog along the lake, leaving her husband in bed with a hangover. But she never returns. She places a call to the police saying she's found a boy in the woods, but the call is cut short by a muffled cry. Did one of Leo's sons see Vera? What are they hiding from the police? And why are they so scared of their own father? In the months ahead, Vera's absence sets off a chain of reverberating events in Whale Bay. Her apathetic husband succumbs to grief and disappears. Leo heads south and remarries, attempting to escape the history of violence that hangs over his family. And the cop investigating the case falls for Leo's ex-wife but finds himself slipping further away from the truth. 2020.
3158322 Dear Edward: a novel by Ann Napolitano
7 volumes. One summer morning, twelve-year-old Edward Adler, his beloved older brother, his parents, and 183 other passengers board a flight in Newark headed for Los Angeles. Among them are a Wall Street wunderkind, a young woman coming to terms with an unexpected pregnancy, an injured veteran returning from Afghanistan, a business tycoon, and a free-spirited woman running away from her controlling husband. Halfway across the country, the plane crashes. Edward is the sole survivor. Edward's story captures the attention of the nation, but he struggles to find a place in a world without his family. He continues to feel that a part of himself has been left in the sky, forever tied to the plane and all of his fellow passengers. But then he makes an unexpected discovery - one that will lead him to the answers of some of life's most profound questions: When you've lost everything, how do you find the strength to put one foot in front of the other? How do you learn to feel safe again? How do you find meaning in your life? Bestseller. 2020.
3228864 Such a fun age by Kiley Reid
6 volumes. Alix Chamberlain is a woman who gets what she wants and has made a living, with her confidence-driven brand, showing other women how to do the same. So she is shocked when her babysitter, Emira Tucker, is confronted while watching the Chamberlains' toddler one night, walking the aisles of their local high-end supermarket. The store's security guard, seeing a young black woman out late with a white child, accuses Emira of kidnapping two-year-old Briar. A small crowd gathers, a bystander films everything, and Emira is furious and humiliated. Alix resolves to make things right. But Emira herself is aimless, broke, and wary of Alix's desire to help. At twenty-five, she is about to lose her health insurance and has no idea what to do with her life. When the video of Emira unearths someone from Alix's past, both women find themselves on a crash course that will upend everything they think they know about themselves, and each other. Bestseller. 2019.
3644496 The subtweet: a novel by Vivek Shraya
4 volumes. Everyone talks about falling in love, but falling in friendship can be just as captivating. When Neela Devaki's song is covered by internet-famous artist Rukmini, the two musicians meet and a transformative friendship begins. But as Rukmini's star rises and Neela's stagnates, jealousy and self-doubt creep in. With a single tweet, their friendship implodes, one career is destroyed, and the two women find themselves at the center of an internet firestorm. A stirring examination of making art in the modern era, a love letter to brown women, an authentic glimpse into the music industry, and a nuanced exploration of the promise and peril of being seen. 2020.
Historical fiction
3644478 The pull of the stars: a novel by Emma Donoghue
6 volumes. In an Ireland doubly ravaged by war and disease, Nurse Julia Power works at an understaffed hospital in the city center, where expectant mothers who have fallen sick are quarantined into a separate ward to keep the plague at bay. Into Julia's regimented world step two outsiders, a woman doctor who is a rumored Rebel, and a teenage girl, Bridie, procured by the nuns from their orphanage as an extra set of hands. At first, this Bridie seems unschooled in life, she makes up a bed with only the rubber mat and savors the weak tea and barely edible porridge from the hospital kitchen. But in the intensity of this ward, over three brutal days, Julia and the women come together in unexpected ways. Bestseller. 2020.
Multi-cultural fiction
3644461 Grown-up pose by Sonya Lalli
6 volumes. Adulting shouldn't be this hard. Especially in your thirties. Having been pressured by her tight-knit Indian community to get married at a young age to her first serious boyfriend, Anu Desai must now start from the beginning: learning who she is and what she truly wants. But Anu doesn't have time to start over. Telling her parents that she was separating from her husband was the hardest thing she's ever done - and she's still dealing with the fallout. She has a young daughter to raise and a loud, opinionated family to appease. And when she invests all of her savings into running her own yoga studio (a career path her parents had always steered her away from), the feelings of irresponsibility send Anu reeling. She'll be forced to look inside herself to become the strong, independent woman she's never had the chance to be - the kind of woman who would be proud to have her daughter follow in her footsteps. 2020.
Mysteries and crime stories
3620491 The glass hotel: a novel by Emily St. John Mandel
6 volumes. A novel of money, beauty, white-collar crime, ghosts, and moral compromise in which a woman disappears from a container ship off the coast of Mauritania, and a massive Ponzi scheme implodes in New York, dragging countless fortunes with it. Bestseller. 2020.
3228867 Sleeping in the ground: an Inspector Banks Novel by Peter Robinson
8 volumes. At the doors of a charming country church, an unspeakable act destroys a wedding party. A huge manhunt ensues. The culprit is captured. The story is over. Except it isn't. For Alan Banks, there is something unresolved about this case. Reteaming with profiler Jenny Fuller, the detective digs deeper into the crime, deep enough to unearth long-buried secrets that reshape everything Banks thought he knew about the events outside the chapel. When the last shocking truth becomes clear, it's almost too late. 2017.
3644470 The wrong hands and other stories: Not safe after dark / The price of love by Peter Robinson
18 volumes. Over two dozen of the very best mystery short stories from crime-fiction's maestro, Peter Robinson. Set in places as far flung as Inspector Alan Banks's turf in Yorkshire, Robinson's own neighbourhood in Toronto, and in Los Angeles and Florida, these stories also reach back in time: to 1873 to an utopian milltown in northern England, to Thomas Hardy country in 1939, and to a small Yorkshire town during the Second World War. 2020.
3644456 Dark August: a novel by Katie Tallo
8 volumes. Augusta (Gus) Monet is living an aimless existence when she learns that her great grandmother - her last living relative - has died. Ditching her grifter boyfriend, Gus returns to the home she left as a young girl. Her inheritance turns out to be a dilapidated house and an old dog named Levi. Combing through her great grandmother's possessions, Gus stumbles across an old trunk filled with long-lost childhood belongings - and cold case files that belonged to her mother, a disgraced police detective who died in a car accident when Gus was eight. A news story about the unearthing of a body linked to one of the cold case files leads Gus to a deserted ghost town - and stirs up the evils of the past, putting her life in danger. 2020.
Native peoples fiction
3620492 Crow winter: a novel by Karen McBride
6 volumes. Nanabush. A name that has a certain weight on the tongue - a taste. Like lit sage in a windowless room or aluminum foil on a metal filling. Since coming home to Spirit Bear Point First Nation, Hazel Ellis has been dreaming of an old crow. He tells her he's here to help her, save her. From what, exactly? Sure, her dad's been dead for almost two years and she hasn't quite reconciled that grief, but is that worth the time of an Algonquin demigod? Soon Hazel learns that there's more at play than just her own sadness and doubt. The quarry that's been lying unsullied for over a century on her father's property is stirring the old magic that crosses the boundaries between this world and the next. With the aid of Nanabush, Hazel must unravel a web of deceit that, if left untouched, could destroy her family and her home on both sides of the Medicine Wheel. 2019.
3620496 Chasing painted horses by Drew Hayden Taylor
5 volumes. On the cusp of becoming teenagers, Ralph, his sister Shelley, and their friend William, befriend Danielle, an odd girl in their school. She draws an extraordinary horse in a competition created by Ralph's mother. It's the kind of drawing no child - or adult, for that matter - should be able to draw. It will haunt Ralph into adulthood, because it represents everything wrong in Danielle's life and everything she wished her life could be. As teenagers and later adults, Ralph, Shelley, and William are struck, trying to figure out what the horse means to the girl, and how they can help. Winner of the 2020 PMC Indigenous Literature Award, Young Adult/Adult category. 2019.
Short stories
3620497 Moccasin Square Gardens: short stories by Richard Van Camp
2 volumes. The characters of "Moccasin Square Gardens" inhabit Denendeh, the land of the people north of the sixtieth parallel. These stories are filled with in-laws, outlaws and common-laws. Get ready for illegal wrestling moves ("The Camel Clutch"), pinky promises, a doctored casino, extraterrestrials or "Sky People," love, lust and prayers for peace. It's also haunted by the lurking presence of the Wheetago, human-devouring monsters of legend that have returned due to global warming and the greed of humanity. The stories in Moccasin Square Gardens show that medicine power always comes with a price. To counteract this darkness, Van Camp weaves a funny and loving portrayal of the Tłı̨chǫ Dene and other communities of the North, drawing from oral history techniques to perfectly capture the character and texture of everyday small-town life. Bestseller. Winner of the 2020 Georges Bugnet Award for Fiction. 2019.
Non-fiction for adults
Biography
3228868 Angry queer Somali boy: a complicated memoir by Mohamed Abdulkarim Ali
3 volumes. Kidnapped by his father on the eve of Somalia's societal implosion, Ali was taken first to the Netherlands by his stepmother, and then on to Canada. With its promise of freedom, opportunity, and multiculturalism, his new home seemed to offer a new lease on life. But unable to fit in, he turned to partying and drugs. Interwoven with world history and sociopolitical commentary on Somalia, Canada, and Europe, the story of this gay Muslim immigrant is told with tenderness in a refreshing and welcome new voice. 2019.
3644552 The room where it happened: a White House memoir by John Bolton
17 volumes. As President Trump's National Security Advisor, Bolton spent many of his 453 days in the room where it happened. After working in the Reagan and both Bush presidencies, he has a great eye for the Washington inside game. What Bolton saw with Trump astonished him: a President for whom getting re-elected was the only thing that mattered, even if it meant endangering or weakening the nation. Here he shows a President addicted to chaos, who embraced our enemies and spurned our friends, and was deeply suspicious of his own government. Bestseller. 2020.
3644501 Still: a memoir of love, loss, and motherhood by Emma Hansen
5 volumes. Emma Hansen is 39 weeks and 6 days pregnant when she feels her baby go quiet inside of her. At the hospital, her worst fears are confirmed: doctors explain that her baby has died, and she will need to deliver him, still. Hansen gives birth to her son, Reid, amidst an avalanche of grief. Nine days later, she publishes a candid essay on her website sharing photos from the delivery room. Much to her surprise, her essay goes viral, sparking positive reactions around the world. "Still" shares what comes next: a struggle with grief and confusion alongside a desire to better understand stillbirth, which is experienced by more than two million women annually, but rarely talked about in public. At once honest, brave, and uplifting, "Still" is about one woman's search for her own definition of motherhood, even as she faces one of life's greatest challenges: learning to live after loss. 2020.
3620487 The unexpected cop: Indian Ernie on a life of leadership by Ernie Louttit
4 volumes. Ernie Louttit demonstrates in this latest title that being a leader means sticking to your convictions and sometimes standing up to the powers that be. One of the first Indigenous officers hired by the Saskatoon Police, he was an outsider who became an insider, with a difference. A former military man with a passion for the law, he was tough on the beat, but was also a role model for kids on the streets. 2019.
3620534 The way home by David A. Neel
3 volumes. David Neel was an infant when his father, a traditional Kwakiutl artist, returned to the ancestors, triggering a series of events that would separate David from his homeland and its rich cultural traditions for twenty-five years. When the aspiring photographer saw a mask carved by an ancestor in a Texas museum, the encounter inspired him to return home and follow in his father’s footsteps. Drawing on memory, legend, and his own art, Neel recounts his struggle to reconnect with his culture and become an accomplished Kwakwaka'wakw artist. His memoir is a testament to the strength of the human spirit to overcome great obstacles and to the power and endurance of Indigenous culture and art. 2019.
3238402 Since Joel: love and loss on the spectrum by Julie L. Schwartz
2 volumes. Julie Schwartz introduces readers to her son Joel David Schwartz, who lived with Autism Spectrum Disorder and died by accidental overdose at age 25. Julie has created a remarkable portrait of what it's like to mourn a child, and also to live with and advocate for a child with autism. 2020.
3032990 From the ashes: my story of being Métis, homeless, and finding my way by Jesse Thistle
6 volumes. Abandoned by his parents as a toddler, Jesse Thistle briefly found himself in the foster-care system with his two brothers, cut off from all they had known. Eventually the children landed in the home of their paternal grandparents, but their tough-love attitudes meant conflicts became commonplace. And the ghost of Jesse's drug-addicted father haunted the halls of the house and the memories of every family member. Struggling, Jesse succumbed to a self-destructive cycle of drug and alcohol addiction and petty crime, spending more than a decade on and off the streets, often homeless. One day, he finally realized he would die unless he turned his life around. Bestseller. Canada Reads 2020. Winner of the 2020 Indigenous Voices Award for Published Prose in English. 2019.
3644553 The answer is...: reflections on my life by Alex Trebek
3 volumes. Since debuting as the host of Jeopardy! in 1984, Alex Trebek has been something like a family member to millions of television viewers, bringing entertainment and education into their homes five nights a week. In 2019, he made the stunning announcement that he had been diagnosed with stage four pancreatic cancer. What followed was an incredible outpouring of love and kindness. Social media was flooded with messages of support, and the 'Jeopardy!' studio received boxes of cards and letters offering guidance, encouragement, and prayers. For over three decades, Trebek had resisted countless appeals to write a book about his life. Yet he was moved so much by all the goodwill, he felt compelled to finally share his story. "I want people to know a little more about the person they have been cheering on for the past year," he writes. The book combines illuminating personal anecdotes with Trebek's thoughts on a range of topics, including marriage, parenthood, education, success, spirituality, and philanthropy. Trebek also addresses the questions he gets asked most often by 'Jeopardy!' fans, such as what prompted him to shave his signature mustache, his insights on legendary players like Ken Jennings and James Holzhauer, and his opinion of Will Ferrell's Saturday Night Live impersonation. The book uses a novel structure inspired by 'Jeopardy!', with each chapter title in the form of a question, and features dozens of never-before-seen photos that candidly capture Trebek over the years. Bestseller. 2020.
3644551 Too much and never enough: how my family created the world's most dangerous man by Mary L. Trump
5 volumes. In this revelatory, authoritative portrait of Donald J. Trump and the toxic family that made him, Mary L. Trump, a trained clinical psychologist and Donald's only niece, shines a bright light on the dark history of their family in order to explain how her uncle became the man who now threatens the world's health, economic security, and social fabric. Bestseller. 2020.
Business and economics
3158321 Talk money to me: save well, spend some, and feel good about your money by Kelley Keehn
4 volumes. No matter your age, salary, social or relationship status, money is an important part of your life. Yet somehow, talking about your money situation is hard. Why is it that you know more about what goes on in your friend's bedroom than with their bank account? Do you know if your parents have a will, or if they'll leave a legacy? How many of your colleagues are still paying off student debt, but are jet-setting around the globe on multiple credit cards? Since no one is talking about it, you can't be expected to learn how to manage your money on your own. With years of experience as a personal finance advisor and educator, Kelley Keehn will answer your most burning questions about money, and will talk you through how to avoid mistakes along the way. 2019.
Disabilities
3644472 A world without Martha: a memoir of sisters, disability, and difference by Victoria Freeman
7 volumes. Victoria Freeman was only four when her parents followed medical advice and sent her sister away to a distant, overcrowded institution. Martha was not yet two, but in 1960s Ontario there was little community acceptance or support for raising children with intellectual disabilities at home. In this frank and moving memoir, Victoria describes growing up in a world that excluded and dehumanized her sister, and how society's insistence that only a "normal" life was worth living affected her sister, her family, and herself, until changing attitudes to disability and difference offered both sisters new possibilities for healing and self-discovery. 2019.
3644455 Sitting pretty: the view from my ordinary resilient disabled body by Rebekah Taussig
4 volumes. From disability advocate with a PhD in disability studies and creative nonfiction, and creator of the Instagram account @sitting_pretty, an essay collection based on a lifetime of experiences in a paralyzed body, tackling themes of identity, accessibility, bodies, and representation. 2020.
Family and relationships
3644480 Alone: a love story by Michelle Parise
6 volumes. Michelle was sold a dream and bought into it. But one day, nine years in, she wakes up in an empty bed, and "The Husband" isn't there. Then, he drops "The Bomb" - he was having an affair with a woman at work. Adrift and on the edge of forty - fuelled by grief, booze, and one-night stands - Michelle battles the monster she calls Loneliness, juggling being a part-time parent and part-time partier. Though dangerously close to rock bottom, Michelle takes a chance on love again with a dashing but complicated man - "The Man with the White Shirt." Michelle, an expert in "emotional forensics," dives into the wreckage with candour and humour, uncovering a story about falling in and out of love, divorce, single parenthood, and the messy world of dating. What she finds, beneath it all, is life and the courage to face it alone. 2020.
General non-fiction
3233176 Imperilled ocean: human stories from a changing sea by Laura Trethewey
5 volumes. On a life raft in the Mediterranean, a teenager from Ghana wonders whether he will reach Europe alive, and whether he will be allowed to stay. In the North Atlantic, a young chef disappears from a cruise ship, leaving a mystery for his friends and family to solve. A water-squatting community battles eviction from a harbour in British Columbia, raising the question of who owns the water. A deeply reported work of narrative journalism that follows people as they head out to sea. What they discover holds inspiring and dire implications for the life of the ocean - and for all of us back on land. 2020.
Health and medicine
3644488 Soap and water & common sense: the definitive guide to viruses, bacteria, parasites, and disease by Dr Bonnie Henry
6 volumes. As a physician who has spent the better part of the last three decades chasing bugs all over the world - from Ebola in Uganda to polio in Pakistan, SARS in Toronto, and the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak in British Columbia - Dr. Bonnie Henry, a leading epidemiologist (microbe hunter) and public health doctor, offers three simple rules to live by clean your hands, cover your mouth when you cough, and stay home when you have a fever. From viruses to bacteria to parasites and fungi, Dr. Henry takes us on a tour through the halls of Microbes Inc., providing up-to-date and accurate information on everything we eat and drink, the bugs in our backyard, and beyond. Bestseller. 2020.
History
3644503 The abortion caravan: when women shut down government in the battle for the right to choose by Karin Wells
8 volumes. How a group of women helped bring about abortion reform. In the spring of 1970, 17 (mostly) young women set out from Vancouver in a big yellow convertible, a Volkswagen bus, and a pickup truck. It was called the Abortion Caravan. Five thousand kilometres later, they led a rally of 500 women on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, "occupied" the Prime Minister's front lawn, chained themselves to their chairs in the visitors' galleries, and shut down Parliament - the first and only time this was accomplished. 2020
Native peoples of Canada
3620500 The man who lived with a giant: stories from Johnny Neyelle, Dene Elder by Alana Fletcher, Morris Neyelle
2 volumes. Johnny Neyelle used storytelling to teach Dene youth and others to understand and celebrate Dene traditions and identities. Johnny's entertaining voice makes his stories accessible to readers young and old, and his wisdom reinforces the right way to live: in harmony with people and places. Storytelling forms the core of Dene knowledge-keeping. 2019.
Poetry
3228872 NDN coping mechanisms: notes from the field by Billy-Ray Belcourt
1 volume. In this genre-bending work, Belcourt employs poetry, poetics, prose, and textual art to illuminate the rogue possibility bubbling up everywhere NDNs are. Part One examines the rhythms of everyday life, which include the terrible beauty of the reserve, the afterlives of history, and the grammar of anal sex. Part Two experiments with form and practice, putting to use, for example, a mode of documentary poetics that unearths the logics that make and unmake texts like Treaty 8. Winner of the 2020 Stephan G. Stephansson Award for Poetry. 2019.
3644502 day/break by Gwen Benaway
1 volume. "Day/break", poet Gwen Benaway's fourth collection of work, explores the everyday poetics of the trans feminine body. Through intimate experiences and conceptualizations of trans life, "day/break" asks what it means to be a trans woman, both within the text and out in the physical world. Shifting between theory and poetry, Benaway questions how gender, sexuality, and love intersect with the violence and transmisogyny of the nation state and established literary institutions. In beautiful lyric verse, "day/break" reveals the often-unseen other worlds of trans life, where body, self, and sex are transformed, becoming more than fixed binary locations. 2020.
3158170 Not one of these poems is about you by Teva Harrison
1 volume. A moving and illuminating work of poetry and art about living with cancer. 2020.
3228889 Voodoo hypothesis by Canisia Lubrin
1 volume. "Voodoo hypothesis" is a subversion of the imperial construct of 'blackness' and a rejection of the contemporary and historical systems that paint black people as inferior, through constant parallel representations of 'evil' and 'savagery.' Pulling from pop culture, science, pseudo-science and contemporary news stories about race, Lubrin asks: What happens if the systems of belief that give science, religion and culture their importance were actually applied to the contemporary 'black experience'? 2017.
3620495 Disintegrate/dissociate: poems by Arielle Twist
1 volume. In her debut collection of poetry, Arielle Twist unravels the complexities of human relationships after death and metamorphosis. She explores, with both rage and tenderness, the parameters of grief, trauma, displacement, and identity. Weaving together a past made murky by uncertainty and a present which exists in multitudes, Arielle Twist poetically navigates through what it means to be an Indigenous trans woman, discovering the possibilities of a hopeful future and a transcendent, beautiful path to regaining softness. Winner of the 2020 Indigenous Voices Award for Published Poetry in English. 2019.
Social issues
3644547 Out north: an archive of queer activism and kinship in Canada by Craig Jennex, Nisha Eswaran
7 volumes. The ArQuives, the largest independent LGBTQ2+ archive in the world, is dedicated to collecting, preserving, and celebrating the stories and histories of LGBTQ2+ people in Canada. Since 1973, volunteers have amassed a vast collection of important artifacts that speak to personal experiences and significant historical moments for Canadian queer communities. "Out north: an archive of queer activism and kinship in Canada" is a fascinating exploration and examination of one nation's queer history and activism, and Canada's definitive visual guide to LGBTQ2+ movements, struggles, and achievements. 2020.
3238401 No more nice girls: gender, power, and why it’s time to stop playing by the rules by Lauren McKeon
9 volumes. Examines the varied ways in which our institutions are designed to keep women and other marginalized genders at a disadvantage and shows us why we need more than parity, visible diversity, and lone female CEOs to change this power game. Uncovers new models of power - ones the patriarchy doesn't get to define - by talking to lawyers insisting on gender-neutral change rooms in courthouses, programmers creating apps to track the breakdown of men and women being quoted in the news media, educators illustrating tampon packaging with pictures of black bodies, mixed martial artists teaching young girls self-empowerment, entrepreneurs prioritizing trauma-informed office cultures, and many other women doing power differently. As the toxic, divisive, and hyper-masculine style of leadership gains ground, threatening democracy here and abroad, the author underscores why it's time to stop playing by the rules of a rigged game. 2020.
3158072 Until we are free: reflections on Black Lives Matter in Canada by Syrus Marcus Ware, Rodney Diverlus, Sandy Hudson
9 volumes. An anthology of writing addressing the most urgent issues facing the Black community in Canada. The killing of Trayvon Martin in 2012 by a white assailant inspired the Black Lives Matter movement, which quickly spread outside the borders of the United States. The movement's message found fertile ground in Canada, where Black activists speak of generations of injustice and continue the work of the Black liberators who have come before them. "Until we are free" contains some of the very best African-Canadian writing on the hottest issues facing the Black community in Canada. It describes the latest developments in Canadian Black activism, organizing efforts through the use of social media, Black-Indigenous alliances, and more. Bestseller. 2020.