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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 …

Shannen and the Dream for a School
The true story of Shannen Koostachin and the people of Attawapiskat First Nation, a Northern Cree community, who have been fighting for a new school since 1979 when a fuel spill contaminated their original school building. Shannen's fight took her all the way to Parliament Hill and was taken up by children around the world. Shannen’s dream contin …

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 …

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 …

West Meadows Detectives: The Case of Maker Mischief
Myron, the third-grade detective who loves logic, facts, and solving mysteries, gets the chance to crack another case when he finds out his classmate Jordan’s robot has been stolen. Jordan and tech-savvy Danielle, known as “Glitch,” had been working on it for weeks for the upcoming Maker Faire Robot Maze Challenge.
Together with his detective …

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 …

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 …

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 …

I Am Not a Number
When eight-year-old Irene is removed from her First Nations family to live in a residential school she is confused, frightened, and terribly homesick. She tries to remember who she is and where she came from, despite the efforts of the nuns who are in charge at the school and who tell her that she is not to use her own name but instead use the numb …

A Family Is a Family Is a Family
When a teacher asks the children in her class to think about what makes their families special, the answers are all different in many ways — but the same in the one way that matters most of all.
One child is worried that her family is just too different to explain, but listens as her classmates talk about what makes their families special. One is …

Root Beer Candy and Other Miracles
Sent to stay with her estranged grandmother while her parents try to save their crumbling marriage, 11-year-old Bailey feels helpless and cast away. When a self-proclaimed prophet predicts “a stranger from the sea will change everything,” Bailey hopes this stranger can solve her problems—little suspecting her own ability to influence the worl …

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 …

Adrift at Sea
Now in paperback, 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 …

Maya
The electricity in Maya’s house has gone out again. She is afraid of the dark — and her fear has been even worse since her father died. Now it feels as if the darkness will never go away.
Maya’s mother distracts her with a legend about the banyan tree, which saved the world from the first monsoon by drinking up the floodwaters, and growing ta …

Malaika’s Costume
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, but when the money doesn’t arrive, will Malaika still be able to dance in the parade?
Disappointed and upset at her grandmother’s hand-me-down co …

The Secret of the Golden Flower
Immediately upon her arrival in London to train as a spy, sixteen-year-old Nicki Haddon is assigned to help the British Secret Service infiltrate a drug cartel that is smuggling large amounts of heroin into the country. Placing herself in the midst of a tough East End street gang, she uncovers a plot to create a super-potent opiate and also discove …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

When the Rain Comes
Malini, a young girl in a small Sri Lankan community, is anxious about the responsibility of helping with the monsoon-season rice planting for the first time. When a flash flood leaves her stranded alone with the ox cart full of rice seedlings, she summons unexpected courage to calm the ox and save her town’s rice crop.
It is time to plant the ric …

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 …

Next Round
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 and Toronto. Soccer became his refuge, and he learned two languages by play …

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 …

Elliot
Elliot's parents love him very much, but all is not well. 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 how to react. One day a social worker named Thomas comes to visit, and Elliot's world turns upside-down.
Manon Gauthier's soft collage illustrations feature approachable …

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?
T …

Superfab Saves the Day
Meet Superfab: the best-dressed superhero around. He's got a walk-in closet, an extensive collection of outfits, and fabulous style to boot. The only problem is, he can't leave his house to go fight crime until he has the perfect outfit on – and sometimes that takes awhile. It often takes so long that by the time he arrives at the scene of a cri …

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 …

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 …

My Heart Fills With Happiness
The sun on your face. The smell of warm bannock baking in the oven. Holding the hand of someone you love. What fills your heart with happiness? This beautiful board book, with illustrations from celebrated artist Julie Flett, serves as a reminder for little ones and adults alike to reflect on and cherish the moments in life that bring us joy.
Inter …

Passover
During Passover, Jews are reminded of how, more than three thousand years ago, their ancestors emerged from slavery to become free men and women. Bestselling author Monique Polak explores her own Jewish roots as she tells the Passover story, which reminds us that the freedom to be who we are and practice our religion, whatever it may be, is a grea …

Spirit Level
Harriet (known as Harry) is a donor-conceived child who has never wanted to reach out to her half-siblings or donor—until now. Feeling adrift after a breakup with her long-time boyfriend, Harry tracks down her half-siblings, two of whom are in Seattle, where Harriet lives. The first girl she meets is fifteen–year-old Lucy, an effervescent half- …

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 …

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 …

A Boy Named Queen
Who will be brave enough to make friends with the boy named Queen? Sara Cassidy’s acclaimed novel, A Boy Named Queen, is now available in paperback!
Evelyn is both aghast and fascinated when a new boy comes to grade five and tells everyone his name is Queen. Queen wears shiny gym shorts and wants to organize a chess/environment club. His father pl …

Everyday Hero
Alice doesn’t like noise, smells or strangers. She does like rules. Lots of rules. Nobody at her new school knows she has Asperger’s, so it doesn’t take long for her odd behavior to get her into trouble. When she meets Megan in detention, she doesn’t know what to make of her. Megan doesn’t smell, she’s not terribly noisy, and she’s no …

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 …

Last Airlift
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. Based on personal interviews and enhanced with archive photos, Tuyet's story of the Saigon orphanage and her flight to Canada is an emotional and suspens …

The Matatu
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 chase after matatus, his grandfather tells him an en …

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 …

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 …