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#IdleNoMore
Idle No More bewildered many Canadians. Launched by four women in Saskatchewan in reaction to a federal omnibus budget bill, the protest became the most powerful demonstration of Aboriginal identity in Canadian history. Thousands of aboriginal people and their supporters took to the streets, shopping malls, and other venues, drumming, dancing, and …
Through Flood and Fire
After travelling thousands of miles, Dorothy Bolton is still getting used to her new home in Canada — and on the prairies no less. The Barr Colonists who arrived with Dorothy and her family are getting restless. Fires and floods consume homes and resources, and many promises made to them before leaving England have proven false.
But Dorothy's fath …
The Education of Augie Merasty
"This story of a child is heartbreaking and important. It brings into dramatic focus why we need reconciliation." - James Daschuk, author of Clearing the Plains
This memoir offers a courageous and intimate chronicle of life in a residential school.
Now a retired fisherman and trapper, the author was one of an estimated 150,000 First Nations, Inuit, …
Payepot and His People
Payepot and His People was first published serially by The Western Producer. In 1957 it was published in book form by the Saskatchewan History and Folklore Society.
Abel Watetch was a nephew of Chief Payepot and a veteran of World War I. As noted in the introduction to the 1957 edition, Watetch had earlier set down in "fine, clear handwriting" the p …
West to the Bay
In 1750, Thomas Gunn, along with three friends, join the Hudson's Bay Company and sail from Stromness on the Orkney Islands of northern Scotland to York Factory fort on Hudson's Bay. They believe they are starting a new and exciting life in what is called Rupert's Land, but tragedy follows them, striking for the first time on the ship.
At the fort …
The Comic Book War
Can three comic-book superheroes, and a rock that falls from the sky, really protect Robert Tourond's brothers as they fight the enemy in Europe during World War II? It's 1943 and World War II is raging. 13-year-old Robert Tourond is safe at home in Calgary, but his three brothers are all overseas, fighting the Nazis. A dreamer, Robert closely foll …
The Nutmeg Princess
A powerful modern fable about friendship, faith, and the nature of beauty.
Best friends Aglo and Petal live on a small island in the Caribbean called the Isle of Spice (based on Grenada). When Petite Mama tells them the story of a mysterious nutmeg princess whom only she has seen, Aglo and Petal decide they must go and ind the elusive princess thems …
Razia's Ray of Hope
Razia is excited when her grandfather tells her there's a school for girls being built in their Afghan village. At last, girls will have the same opportunity to be educated as boys. “Every night I fell asleep dreaming about going to school like my brothers,” she says. Her grandfather wants Razia to enroll in the school. He remembers a time, bef …
Up Above and Down Below
“In the world, there are different kinds of people,” opens Up Above and Down Below. The ones on the top think the ones on the bottom are different. The ones down below they think the ones up above are different. But what if they all turned themselves upside down? Would everyone find that they’re all the same, except in a few small ways?
Thr …
Queer Monologues
Queer Monologues: Stories of LBGT Youth, produced by For the Love of Learning (FTLOL), offers queer youth a safe, creative outlet to share their concerns, hopes, and personal stories with the community-at-large. If an individual is unable to be themselves, the consequences can be emotional, physical, and mental harm. When feelings are shared within …
Soapstone Signs
One spring, a nine-year-old Cree boy is visited by a master soapstone carver named Lindy, who gives him four pieces of soapstone. The primary secret to carving, the boy learns, is recognizing that each piece of soapstone already holds its true form inside. Lindy teaches the boy to listen to the soapstone and look to the world around him for signs a …
Broken Circle
Now an approved curriculum resource for grade 9–12 students in British Columbia and Manitoba.
Theodore (Ted) Fontaine lost his family and freedom just after his seventh birthday, when his parents were forced to leave him at an Indian residential school by order of the Roman Catholic Church and the Government of Canada. Twelve years later, he lef …
Aziz the Storyteller
In this enchanting tale set in the Middle East, all the stories are woven into a magic carpet waiting to be told. When young Aziz learns that he is to become the new storyteller, he is forced to make a decision that will change his life forever.
If You Live Like Me
“Weber writes with a light touch and a keen ear for teen dialogue and concerns.” —CM Magazine
Before her plane even touches down in Newfoundland, Cheryl is already plotting her escape. She knows life on this rock will be no better than it was in the other places she’s been forced to live ever since her parents launched their cross-Canada to …
The Salmon Twins
In her third book inspired by First Nations’ stories, children’s author and illustrator Caroll Simpson explains the significance of community values. She introduces readers to a world of creatures like Sea Lion, Killer Whale, Dogfish and Kingfisher. Her dramatic tale of young twins and their transformation shows how working together keeps a com …
No Place for Kids
Finalist, Saskatchewan Book Awards, Best Children’s Book
Sisters Jennifer and Sarah were once part of a happy, stable family, but their idyllic life comes to an abrupt halt with the death of their mother. Unable to cope with his grief and the needs of his two young daughters, their father finds comfort in alcohol, gets fired from his job, and l …
The Last Train
The Last Train is the harrowing true story about young brothers Paul and Oscar Arato and their mother, Lenke, surviving the Nazi occupation during the final years of World War II. Living in the town of Karcag, Hungary, the Aratos felt insulated from the war — even as it raged all around them. Hungary is allied with Germany to protect its citizens …
The Matatu
Do you know why dogs always chase after the matatus?
Kioko had been watching the matatus come and go for as long as he could remember. But today, for his fifth birthday, he climbs aboard one with his grandfather. As the matatu pulls away from the market, the village dogs chase after them. When Kioko asks his grandfather why the dogs always bark and …
The Inuit Thought of It
Today’s Arctic communities have all the comforts of modern living. Yet the Inuit survived in this harsh landscape for hundreds of years with nothing but the land and their own ingenuity. Join authors Alootook Ipellie and David MacDonald as they explore the amazing innovations of traditional Inuit and how their ideas continue to echo around the wo …
The Contest
Rosy is thrilled when she learns she could win a set of L.M. Montgomery's books from the library in an Anne of Green Gables look-alike contest. But will Rosy, a half-Native brunette, be able to compete with her red-haired and freckled friend Lydia?
Dreaming in Indian
A highly-acclaimed anthology about growing up Native—now in paperback.
*Best Books of 2014, American Indians in Children’s Literature *Best Book of 2014, Center for the Study of Multicultural Literature *2015 USBBY Outstanding International Book Honor List
A collection truly universal in its themes, Dreaming in Indian will shatter commonly held s …
When I Was Eight
Bestselling memoir Fatty Legs for younger readers.
Olemaun is eight and knows a lot of things. But she does not know how to read. Ignoring her father’s warnings, she travels far from her Arctic home to the outsiders’ school to learn.
The nuns at the school call her Margaret. They cut off her long hair and force her to do menial chores, but she re …
End of the Line
Ordinary citizens risk everything to save a young Jewish girl in wartime Holland.
Five-year-old Beatrix looks on in horror as the soldier forces her mother off the tram. It is 1942 in Amsterdam, and everyone knows what happens to Jews who are taken away by the Nazis. The soldier turns his attention to Beatrix, when suddenly, the ticket-taker, Lars G …
Not My Girl
Margaret can’t wait to see her family, but her homecoming is not what she expected.
Two years ago, Margaret left her Arctic home for the outsiders’ school. Now she has returned and can barely contain her excitement as she rushes towards her waiting family—but her mother stands still as a stone. This strange, skinny child, with her hair cropped …
Malaika’s Costume
Malaika’s mother can’t buy her a carnival costume — will she still be able to dance in the parade?
It’s carnival time — the first carnival since Malaika’s mother moved to Canada to find a good job and provide for Malaika and her grandmother. Her mother promised she would send money for a costume, and Malaika marks off the days on her cal …
Hana Hashimoto, Sixth Violin
In this beautifully written picture book, Hana Hashimoto has signed up to play her violin at her school's talent show. The trouble is, she's only a beginner, and she's had only three lessons. Her brothers insist she isn't good enough. “It's a talent show, Hana,” they tell her. “You'll be a disaster!” Hana remembers how wonderfully her talen …
Every Day is Malala Day
This is a letter of sisterhood to Malala Yousafzai, written from the perspective of girls around the world who share her belief that every girl has the right to go to school, and who represent the many barriers a girl can face when trying to get an education. After being shot by the Taliban for the simple act of going to school in her native Pakist …
Playing With Matches
When 16-year-old Raina Resnick is expelled from her Manhattan private school, she’s sent to live with her strict aunt — but Raina feels like she’s persona non grata no matter where she goes. Her sister, Leah, blames her for her broken engagement, and she’s a social pariah at her new school. In the tight-knit Jewish community, Raina finds sh …
The Stone Thrower
The African-American football player Chuck Ealey grew up in a segregated neighborhood of Portsmouth, Ohio. Against all odds, he became an incredible quarterback. But despite his unbeaten record in high school and university, he would never play professional football in the United States.
Chuck Ealey grew up poor in a racially segregated community th …
Shi-shi-etko
Winner of the Anskohk Aboriginal Children's Book of the Year Award. Finalist for the TD Canadian Children's Literature Award, the Marilyn Baillie Picture Book Award and the Ruth Schwartz Award
In just four days young Shi-shi-etko will have to leave her family and all that she knows to attend residential school.
She spends her last days at home treasu …
Muinji'j Ji'nmus'sit
Muinji’j has been waiting all his life to make this trip with his grandfather-a trip to the city to sell rich otter, beaver and muskrat pelts and bring back supplies to the village. It’s a long expedition that tests Muinji’j’s reserves of strength, patience and maturity. Just as he thinks he and his niskamij have faced all of their challeng …
Raven, Stay by Me
Eleven-year-old Greenlander Inga Sigurdsdottir wakens on a cold and rocky coast after her Norse ship wrecks en route to “Vinland.” Her one comfort and companion is an injured raven she rescues. When she encounters Inuit hunters, both parties are terrified by the meeting. But when an exhausted Inga rescues a lost child, the girl’s mother insis …
Adventures of Gus & Isaac
When Issac, the bob-tailed cat, is being beat up by the backyard bullies, Gus, the seagull, comes to the rescue. Bullies roam the backyards of downtown St. John’s, scaring and picking on everyone they find. So, when Isaac the bob-tailed cat moves into a house in the neighbourhood, you know he’ll be the next target. It’s only by forging an unl …
Little Snowshoe
Little Snowshoe is an easy-to-read book, which bases its storyline on the camouflage ability of the snowshoe rabbit. Set in the Arctic, the story unfolds with Little Snowshoe looking for his mother. Against the whiteness of the snow he is continually fooled by other objects that he mistakes for her. Finally, exhausted from his search, he falls asle …
Last Airlift
A true story about life in a Saigon orphanage, a dramatic rescue flight from Vietnam to Canada, adoption by a Canadian family, and growing up in Canada.
Last Airlift is the true story of the last Canadian airlift operation that left Saigon and arrived in Toronto on April 13, 1975. Son Thi Anh Tuyet was one of 57 babies and children on that flight. B …
Dance of the Banished
Ali and his fiancée Zeynep dream about leaving their home in Anatolia and building a new life together in Canada. But their homeland is controlled by the Turkish government, which is on the brink of war with Britain and Russia. And although Ali finds passage to Canada to work, he is forced to leave Zeynep behind until he can earn enough to bring h …
Next Round
An action-packed biography of the internationally gold-medal-winning boxer
Arthur Biyarslanov’s journey to competitive boxing has not been easy. As a small child he fled Chechnya with his family, dodging bullets and rocket fire and fording a freezing river. As a young Muslim refugee he faced hardships and hostility in his new homes in Azerbaijan a …
One Step at a Time
An affecting sequel to Last Airlift: A Vietnamese Orphan's Rescue from War. Tuyet cannot believe her good fortune. Brought up in a Vietnamese orphanage and rescued from the invading North Vietnamese army, she has been adopted by a kind and loving family in Canada. Tuyet feels safe at last as she adjusts to a new language and unfamiliar customs. But …
In a Cloud of Dust
A celebration of bicycles, cooperation, and the resourcefulness of children everywhere
In a Tanzanian village school, Anna struggles to keep up. Her walk home takes so long that when she arrives, it is too dark to do her homework. Working through the lunch hour instead, she doesn’t see the truck from the bicycle library pull into the schoolyard. B …
French Toast
Phoebe—half Jamaican, half French-Canadian—hates her school nickname of "French Toast." So she is mortified when, out on a walk with her Jamaican grandmother, she hears a classmate shout it out at her. To make things worse, Nan-Ma, who is blind, wants an explanation of the name. How can Phoebe describe the color of her skin to someone who has n …
When the Rain Comes
“Although set in faraway Sri Lanka, Fullerton’s rhythmic tale holds a universal message: that even the smallest and youngest among us can summon up the courage to face, and overcome, the most gargantuan challenges.”—Kirkus ★ Starred Review
It is time to plant the rice crop in Malini’s Sri Lankan community, and the little girl is both exc …
Moon at Nine
Based on interviews with a young woman forced to flee Iran because of her sexual orientation, Moon at Nine is a tense and riveting novel that shines a light on an issue of social injustice that continues to this day.
Fifteen-year-old Farrin has grown up with secrets: ten years after the overthrow of the Shah, her aristocratic mother is still workin …
Elliot
The critically acclaimed story of one child’s experience of foster care and his journey to a forever, forever home
Elliot’s parents love him very much, but they don’t have all the skills they need to take care of a child. When he cries, they do not understand why. When he yells, they do not know what to do. When he misbehaves, they do not know …
Peach Girl
In this reimagining of a Japanese folk tale, Momoko is born from a peach to make the world a better place. Despite rumours of a terrible ogre that lives nearby and eats children, Momoko bravely sets out with a pocketful of dumplings and the timid Monkey, Dog, and Pheasant to find out the truth for herself.
When the farmer and her husband find a gian …