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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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.
Community Soup
In a garden outside a Kenyan schoolhouse, teachers and students are gathering their vegetables for soup. But all Kioni brought today were her troublesome goats. How can they contribute?
In a garden outside a Kenyan schoolhouse children are working together to harvest the vegetables they have grown and make them into a soup for everyone to share. But …
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 …
Viola Desmond Won't Be Budged!
Finalist for the 2011 Norma Fleck Award for Canadian Children's Non-Fiction
"On behalf of the Nova Scotia government, I sincerely apologize to Mrs. Viola Desmond’s family and to all African Nova Scotians for the racial discrimination she was subjected to by the justice system … We recognize today that the act for which Viola Desmond was arrested …
Child Soldier
Michel Chikwanine was five years old when he was abducted from his school-yard soccer game in the Democratic Republic of Congo and forced to become a soldier for a brutal rebel militia. Against the odds, Michel managed to escape and find his way back to his family, but he was never the same again. After immigrating to Canada, Michel was encouraged …
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 …
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?
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
The Hill
Seeking cell phone reception after a remote plane crash, city kid Jared and local Kyle scale a hill that Kyle’s Cree grandmother has forbidden him to climb. Coming down the next day, the boys find that the plane has disappeared, the forest has changed, and something is hunting them. A modern imagining of the Cree Wîhtiko legend.
Jared’s plane h …
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 …
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 …
Adrift at Sea
The award-winning first picture book to recount the dramatic true story of a refugee family’s perilous escape from Vietnam
It is 1981. In the middle of the Pacific Ocean, a fishing boat overloaded with 60 Vietnamese refugees drifts. The motor has failed; the hull is leaking; the drinking water is nearly gone. This is the dramatic true story recoun …
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 …
Don't Tell, Don't Tell, Don't Tell
Sixteen-year-old Frederick has a lot of rules for himself. Like if someone calls him Freddy he doesn’t have to respond; he only wears shirts with buttons and he hates getting dirty. His odd behavior makes him an easy target for the “Despisers” at school, but he’s gotten used to eating lunch alone in the Reject Room.
Angel, in tenth grade but …
Dear Baobab
Maiko has left his village in Africa far behind, moving to live with his aunt and uncle in North America. When he thinks of home he thinks of the large Baobab at the center of his old village. To ease his loneliness, Maiko adopts the little spruce tree in the front yard of his new home. When he learns that the spruce is in danger of being cut down, …
Little You
"You are life and breath adored. You are us and so much more..."
Richard Van Camp, internationally renowned storyteller and bestselling author of the hugely successful Welcome Song for Baby: A Lullaby for Newborns, has partnered with award-winning illustrator Julie Flett to create a tender board book for babies and toddlers that celebrates the poten …
Jewish Fairy Tale Feasts
Here you'll find Yolen's dynamic, enchanting retellings of Jewish tales from around the world paired with Stemple's recipes for everything from challah to matzo brei to pomegranate couscous, tzimmes chicken, and rugelach, in creative versions of classic dishes that any family will delight in cooking together. And Jewish Fairy Tale Feasts is filled …
Our New Home
From the diverse cultures of Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Guyana, Somalia, and others, immigrant children write of the fear, the excitement and challenge of moving to another world and forging a new sense of self in a new land.
As a Boy
Boys around the world are treated differently than girls just because of their gender. They are given an education and choices that girls are not, and their needs and success are often put above the needs of the girls and women in their families and communities. But boys are also given special burdens. They are expected to "be a man", to work, to f …
The Way to School
Minimal text and stunning photographs from around the world describe the remarkable, and often dangerous, journeys children make every day on their way to and from school. No simple school bus picks them up each day, but rather children travel through disaster zones, cross rapids, climb mountains, and maneuver on ziplines daily to get to the classr …
Emily Included
The true story of Emily Eaton. Born with severe cerebral palsy, Emily and her family had to fight for her right to go to school with non-disabled children in a regular classroom. Their fight, which began at a time when children with CP were segregated, was groundbreaking. Unwilling to take no for an answer, Emily's fight would take her all the way …
Freedom's Just Another Word
The year Louisiana – Easy for short – meets Janis Joplin is the year everything changes. Easy is a car mechanic in her dad’s shop, but she can sing the blues like someone twice her age. So when she hears that Janis Joplin is passing through her small town of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Easy is there with her heart - and her voice - in hand. It …
Shu-Li and Tamara
This contemporary story of the true friendship between two girls is set in Vancouver’s Commercial Drive neighborhood. Shu-Li’s parents run a local Chinese deli and much of the story revolves around food. There is a helpful compendium of recipes at the end of the book for kids to try out. Beautifully illustrated throughout with line drawings.
Anna Carries Water
Anna fetches water from the spring every day, but she can’t carry it on her head like her older brothers and sisters. In this charming and poetic family story set in Jamaica, Commonwealth Prize-winning author Olive Senior shows young readers the power of determination, as Anna achieves her goal and overcomes her fear.
Hear Me Out
Twenty Gay teens speak out about their lives, about the realization of their sexuality, and the consequences for themselves. These young people discuss the reactions of their friends and families, their schoolmates and society in general.
A Long Way from Home
Thirteen-year-old Rabia, along with her mother and younger brother, flee Afghanistan and the brutal Taliban for Pakistan. Relocating to North America, their flight falls on the fateful morning of 9/11. After the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center in New York City, their plane is diverted to Gander, Newfoundland. Also on the plane is an Amer …
What Happened this Summer
This new collection of short stories by Governor General's Award winning author Paul Yee confronts the secret lives of Chinese-Canadian teenagers as they battle with their parents over schooling, carreers, sexuality, religion and integration into North American culture. Once again Paul Yee offers a rare glimpse into the conflicted world of Chinese …
Mom and Mum are Getting Married!
Rosie is surprised to find her Mom dancing alone in the living room, but when Mom announces, “Your Mum and I are getting married!” they can’t wait to start planning the big day. Friends and family come together for a celebration of love.
Never Give Up
Shaun is strong enough to know that even things that don't come easily can be mastered through determination and hard work. Learning to ride his two-wheeler with the help of his friend Nadia, he overcomes his fear and the teasing of the other children in the park and manages to impress friends and bullies alike.
Child of Dandelions
It is 1972, and fifteen-year-old Sabine enjoys a comfortable life as the daughter of Indian parents living in Uganda. But her world is turned upside down when President General Idi Amin declares Indians must be “weeded out” of Uganda in ninety days.
The Mask That Sang
Cass and her mom have always stood on their own against the world. Then Cass learns she had a grandmother, one who was never part of her life, one who has just died and left her and her mother the first house they could call their own. But with it comes more questions than answers: Why is her Mom so determined not to live there? Why was this relati …