Animal Aha! by
Animals do some extraordinary things, but not always while people are watching. When patient and persistent scientists do make a discovery, it can change how we think about animals and ourselves. Animal Aha! highlights a number of magnificent moments in animal science. Meet Alex, a chatterbox parrot who learned not just to mimic speech, but to communicate by talking. Alex's education is already helping some speech-delayed children learn to speak. Visit a California lab where scientists study snacking snakes. After eating, a python's heart becomes 40% larger than normal. By finding out how, scientists hope to help strengthen human hearts too. Explore all these exciting discoveries: Cockroaches that learn best at night Dolphins that do basic math Elephants that recognize their reflections Gorillas that use tools Each profile includes fun facts about the featured creature, thoughts from the scientists who made each discovery and amazing photographs of the animals in action. Animal Aha! will forever change your ideas of animals and how we learn from them.
A Bear in War by
In 1916, at the height of the First World War, a Canadian teddy bear travelled all the way to France in a care package destined for Lawrence Browning Rogers--a gift from his ten-year-old daughter, Aileen. When Teddy returned from the front lines, more than a year later, he did so alone: Lieutenant Rogers, along with many other Canadian soldiers, died at the battle of Passchendaele. Today, Teddy resides in a glass display case at the Canadian War Museum--one of the most beloved exhibits in the building. Small and brown and nothing at all like a modern stuffed bear, Teddy has an amazing story to tell. In 2002 Lawrence's granddaughter, Roberta Rogers Innes, found Teddy, the letters and other war memorabilia inside a large family briefcase. As she delved deeper, Roberta discovered how a Canadian family's strength was tested during the First World War and how a tiny bear became an enduring memento of their love. Now, in A Bear in War , Stephanie Innes (Roberta's daughter) and Harry Endrulat share Teddy's remarkable story--from his life in East Farnham, Quebec, and his voyage overseas to his eventual journey home. Each chapter in Teddy's tale is brought to life through Brian Deines' poignant art. The result is a powerful, moving piece of literature--a picture book destined to become a Canadian classic.
Call Me Aram by
Ontario Library Association's Golden Oak Award nominee 2010 OLA's Silver Birch Express nominee 2010 Aram Davidian is one of a group of Armenian refugee orphans who made the trip from Corfu, Greece to a new home in Canada, at a farm in Georgetown, Ontario. And like the others, Aram is delighted with the beauty of his new home and the kindness of the people taking care of them. But adjusting to a new home isn't easy. None of the Canadians speak Armenian, and the boys are left to puzzle out their hosts' bewildering language and customs. While Aram can't really understand why they must eat the steamy mess called porridge every day, he and the other boys are delighted by the strange candies and fruits they have never experienced before. Slowly they must learn that it isn't necessary to horde their food; more comes every day. There is so much to confuse and delight. They cannot understand why their Canadian host wants them to stand under water coming out of a wall when they can just jump in the pond to get clean. But the ice box and stove are wonders of modern life. Despite the many pleasant distractions, Aram misses his young friend, Mgerdich. Injured on the long journey to Canada, Mgerdich is alone in a hospital in France. And what is more disturbing is that Aram and the other boys have been given new names, English names, to go by. If they are forced to discard their Armenian names, how will their extended families find them again one day? Even the final arrival of Mgerdich does not cheer up Aram, who cannot explain to his young friend why he must have a new name. As much as they want to forget the hardships and tragedies of their past lives, the boys can't understand why they must give up their identities. With a little help from an Armenian translator, Aram at last has the chance to thank his kind hosts for all their care and explain why he and the others must always keep their names. Call Me Aram is the sequel to My Name is Aram, which was nominated for the Silver Birch Award and the CLA's Children's Book of the Year Award. New Beginnings is a series of historical chapter books for newly independent readers between the ages of eight and eleven. Each novel concerns a boy or girl facing the challenges of adapting to life in a new culture in North America. Every New Beginnings title is well researched, illustrated in full color throughout, and accompanied by an index and glossary.
Dear Toni by
When sixth-grader Gene Tucks moves south, she dreads being the new kid at school and almost everything else about her life as a "nobody." But what she dreads most is the hundred-day journal-writing assignment her teacher has given the class. His brilliant idea is to have the journals locked in the town museum's vault for forty years so that future grade-sixers can read them. At first, Gene has trouble writing to someone who isn't even born yet. But little by little, Dear Nobody becomes Dear Somebody, who evolves into Dear Toni. And bit by bit, Toni, a good listener, becomes a best friend to whom Gene tells everything. And, there's lots to tell. Gene's family is in transition to say the least. Her dad is looking for work, they are moving -- again, her brother is the bane of her existence, and, more than anything else in the world, Gene wants something she can't have -- a dog. Toni is the first to learn that Gene is moving to a rent-free empty apartment at the back of a gas station, so her dad can manage it. And wonder of wonders, the owner's dog needs looking after. Not just any dog; a St. Bernard who happens to have three pups. Through Gene's one hundred entries the whole story unwinds and in the end, just like Toni does forty years later, we have come to know one of the freshest, funniest characters to grace the pages of a book in a very long time. Decorated with doodles by the author, Dear Toni has the look and feel of a journal, but the heart of a special 12 year old.
The Delta Is My Home by
Tom McLeod is an eleven-year-old boy from Aklavik who is a gifted storyteller heard frequently on CBC Radio North. He is of mixed cultural heritage-Gwich'in and Inuvialuit. Tom tells us why his home in the Mackenzie Delta is a special place and why he loves to live on the land. He describes how his town floods in the spring and why he loves ratting" (trapping muskrats) and hunting "black ducks" (white-winged and surf scoters) in the Delta. Readers will learn why these ducks are decreasing in number and how and why they are important to Tom and his people. Tom says, "Northerners have always hunted animals for survival. We are careful about how we use the land. To be good hunters we need to pay attention to what is happening on the land around us-that's why it's important for us to be out there. We are the first to know if the land and animals are changing."
Focus on Flies by
Ontario Library Association's Silver Birch Express Nominee, 2010 On Resource Links Best Books of 2009 list "It's hard to like a house fly. It buzzes around your ears, lands on your dirty dog, and then heads for your lunch. The feet of the fly that settle on your lunch are covered with hordes of bacteria carried from all its landing spots in the neighborhood. And that could be a garbage dump or a dead squirrel." The house fly shares horrible habits with thousands of other two-winged insects that belong to the family of true flies. Gnats and midges are members of the family, and so are black flies, horse flies, African tsetse flies, and mosquitoes. This is the most despised and dangerous family in the animal kingdom. Around the world, about two million people a year die from diseases spread by flies and mosquitoes. Despite its horrible habits, the house fly is an astonishing creature. It has survived for millions of years, outlived the fiercest dinosaurs, and has adapted to life in almost every habitat on Earth. With its huge compound eyes, the house fly sees everywhere at once. And with its ability to fly, flip over, and then walk upside down, it escapes even the craftiest predators. Filled with fascinating facts, essential information, engaging activities, and full-colour photographs and illustrations, Focus on Flies takes readers inside the world of the house fly. Learn how to classify a fly and how its body parts work. Make a foolproof fly catcher and watch metamorphosis from egg to adult. Follow the flight of a fly through your neighbourhood. Find out about the Pharoah's flies in Ancient Egypt. Discover the ins and outs of Robofly, the spying robot built like a housefly.
Going Places by
Twelve-year-old Jess and her friends have been playing hockey with the boys in Fort Desperation, Northwest Territories, since they were six years old. They'd like to start a girls' team in their community, but is tiny Fort Desperation ready for it? Somebody is trying to scare them off through acts of vandalism. Not only do Jess and her friends have to organize a team, find a coach and learn to play together, they have to unmask the Hockey Vandal. Can they do it before the Vandal destroys their team's hopes?
Meeting Miss 405 by
Life is hard enough for Tansy with her depressed mom away indefinitely and her dad making a mess of things at home. But then Dad sends her down the hall to a wrinkly old babysitter named Miss Stella, who Tansy hates on sight. Miss Stella has a unique perspective on life, to say the least, but with the help of her best friend Parveen, Tansy gradually learns to manage all the changes in her life and make unexpected new friends in the process.
Shin-Chi's Canoe by
Winner of the TD Canadian Children's Literature Award and finalist for the Governor General's Award: Children's Illustration This moving sequel to the award-winning Shi-shi-etko tells the story of two children's experience at residential school. Shi-shi-etko is about to return for her second year, but this time her six-year-old brother, Shin-chi, is going, too. As they begin their journey in the back of a cattle truck, Shi-shi-etko tells her brother all the things he must remember: the trees, the mountains, the rivers and the salmon. Shin-chi knows he won't see his family again until the sockeye salmon return in the summertime. When they arrive at school, Shi-shi-etko gives him a tiny cedar canoe, a gift from their father. The children's time is filled with going to mass, school for half the day, and work the other half. The girls cook, clean and sew, while the boys work in the fields, in the woodshop and at the forge. Shin-chi is forever hungry and lonely, but, finally, the salmon swim up the river and the children return home for a joyful family reunion.
Ten Lessons for Kaspar Snit by
Until things begin to go wrong, thirteen-year-old Eleanor Blande had hoped that this would be her best year ever. First her father finds himself without work. Then Levon du Plessy-Minsk, the Creature Catcher, threatens to expose Eleanor’s secret to the world. To make matters worse, Eleanor’s mother has developed a fear of flying, and her little brother, Solly, has decided to hang up his Googoo-man superhero outfit forever. When Kaspar Snit finds his way back into Eleanor’s life, does the notorious evil genius really want her to help him reform and become a regular person? Or is he the one committing such mean and despicable acts as raiding a birthday party and stealing all the bicycle bells in town? And when a collection of priceless jewels from the country of Verulia goes on exhibit, could anyone other than Kaspar Snit be planning to steal it? Cary Fagan’s enchanting sequel to The Fortress of Kaspar Snit and Directed by Kaspar Snit will have kids laughing out loud as they root for Eleanor and the rest of her flying family.
Dear Toni by
When sixth-grader Gene Tucks moves south, she dreads being the new kid at school and almost everything else about her life as a "nobody." But what she dreads most is the hundred-day journal-writing assignment her teacher has given the class. His brilliant idea is to have the journals locked in the town museum's vault for forty years so that future grade-sixers can read them. At first, Gene has trouble writing to someone who isn't even born yet. But little by little, Dear Nobody becomes Dear Somebody, who evolves into Dear Toni. And bit by bit, Toni, a good listener, becomes a best friend to whom Gene tells everything. And, there's lots to tell. Gene's family is in transition to say the least. Her dad is looking for work, they are moving -- again, her brother is the bane of her existence, and, more than anything else in the world, Gene wants something she can't have -- a dog. Toni is the first to learn that Gene is moving to a rent-free empty apartment at the back of a gas station, so her dad can manage it. And wonder of wonders, the owner's dog needs looking after. Not just any dog; a St. Bernard who happens to have three pups. Through Gene's one hundred entries the whole story unwinds and in the end, just like Toni does forty years later, we have come to know one of the freshest, funniest characters to grace the pages of a book in a very long time. Decorated with doodles by the author, Dear Toni has the look and feel of a journal, but the heart of a special 12 year old.