BC Books for BC Schools 2018/19

Listening to the Bees is a collaborative exploration by two writers to illuminate the most profound human questions: Who are we? Who do we want to be in the world?

Through the distinct but complementary lenses of science and poetry, Mark Winston and Renée Saklikar reflect on the tension of being an individual living in a society, and about the devastation wrought by overly intensive management of agricultural and urban habitats.

Listening to the Bees takes readers into the laboratory and out to t …

Little Wild explores the performance of masculinity in contemporary Canada, with a focus on how toxic masculinity relates to mental health, aggression, substance abuse and crises of identity. Through the reimagining of family histories and personal experiences, the poems in this collection exact a representation of a young man in conflict with outdated ideals of virility, struggling to redefine himself on his own terms. Little Wild is a provocative and revealing portrayal of masculinity as it is …

★ "Van Camp composes a lyrical ode to a newborn child, which is matched in its loveliness by Flett's exquisite, collage-like images of a young one with his or her parents.”—Publishers Weekly, starred review

Richard Van Camp, internationally renowned storyteller and bestselling author of Welcome Song for Baby and We Sang You Home, has partnered with award-winning illustrator Julie Flett to create a tender book that honors the child in everyone. With its delightful contemporary illustrations, …

An insightful look at the first mayor of Nanaimo, BC, drawing heavily on his prolific and insightful written observations.

Mark Bate, elected Nanaimo’s first mayor in 1875, was a renaissance man. He loved music, writing, literature, the outdoors, community affairs, and of course politics. Bate served as mayor for sixteen terms—most by acclamation. He retired three times, returning to office after being persuaded to serve again.

Historian Jan Peterson skillfully weaves Bate’s own writing— …

An in-depth look at the life and career of retired judge and conflict-of-interest commissioner Ted Hughes, whose unflinching integrity earned him the reputation as Canada’s moral compass.

Throughout his sixty-year career, Ted Hughes has been a model of ethical conduct in the Canadian judicial system. The son of immigrant homesteaders who grew up in Saskatoon during the Depression, he might have retired as a respected senior judge in the town where he was born had his career not been sideswiped …

The story of one family's settlement in the Cariboo and the culture of early sawmills that developed around them.

In 1922, the Judson family arrived in the Cariboo by covered wagon. The stories of their life on the remote homestead at Ruth Lake is told through this humorous and heartwarming book by local historian and author Marianne Van Osch, as recounted to her by the Judsons' son, Louis, who still lives in the region. Louis tells of working at a gold mine in Bralorne at a young age, riding the …

Modo, who first made his appearance in The Hunchback Assignments, is a young, disfigured spy trained to be the ultimate secret agent.

Not only is Modo brilliant and strong, but he also has a special ability: he can temporarily take on the appearance of other people. While on holiday, Modo and fellow spy Octavia Milkweed find themselves in Ember's End. Created by the slightly mad scientific genius Dr. Ebenezer Ember, this is no ordinary wild-west town. It is surrounded by an energy field that pre …

A heartwarming, funny, fast-paced story about the bravery it takes to live as your true self, no matter the cost.

Ten-year-old Caspar "Caz" Cadman loves baseball and has a great arm. He loves the sounds, the smells, the stats. When his family moves from Toronto to a suburb of Seattle, the first thing he does is try out for the local summer team, the Redburn Ravens. Even though Caz is thrilled when he makes the team, he worries because he has a big secret.

No one in this city knows that before Caz …