The Bone Flute by
Camrose, a perfectly normal 12-year-old, has inherited responsibility for an ancient bone flute, an object of quest for two time-wandering rivals, one of them lord of the Otherworld. With the help of her friend Mark and the not-quite-human Miranda, Camrose braves fire and much worse to claim the flute and restore it to its rightful--and unexpected--owner.
Ellen Fremedon - Journalist by
An aspiring yet practical author, Ellen Fremedon decides to start a newspaper. Ellen is intrepid, especially when it comes to investigative reporting. Is the new neighbor sinister, as village gossips suspect, or merely secretive? Is the Fremedon's new housekeeper really the upstanding community member she appears to be? Even members of Ellen's own family fall under suspicion.
Greysteel's Ghost by
It happens so quickly: a car shoots out from the curb, hits Fiona's father and then speeds away. Is it an accident? Or is it a warning to Gavin and his Scottish cousin, Fiona, to turn back? Gavin is in Scotland to hike across the moors, and Fiona's dad isn't about to let a broken leg stop the kids' fun. Fiona and Gavin will have to go on without him. A broken leg turns out to be the least of their troubles as the cousins unwittingly stumble onto a monstrous murder plot to kidnap a girl--and get caught by the conspirators. Managing to escape, Gavin and Fiona find themselves in the middle of a mysterious scheme and a race against time across the Scottish moors. Greysteel's Ghost is a terrific, straight-up adventure story from an author who knows exactly what his middle-grade fans want--a page-turning mystery driven at a souped-up pace.
Lost Goat Lane by
Part of the Black history literature collection.
Two families--one white, one black--living near one another in rural Florida overcome their suspicions of each other and find ways to work together, with the help of their children and a few goats.
Forest of Reading 2006 nominee.
Silver Birch Fiction award nominee 2006.
Red Maple Fiction award nominee 2006.
The Mask on the Cruise Ship by
Dinah Galloway--budding diva, enthusiastic gourmand and amateur detective--is back. This time she has taken to the high seas with a gig in the lounge of an Alaska-bound cruise ship. Also aboard are her mother and her older sister Madge, a moody professor of First Nations art, an elderly woman with romantic intentions toward an even older man, an aspiring thief with gooseberry-colored eyes, and a priceless Native mask that seems to be attracting far too much attention. Also on the ship is Talbot St. John, class heartthrob, with whom Dinah has a running feud. The mask is on its way to a museum to be returned to its ancestral home, but is stolen moments before its delivery. When Dinah is pushed into a glacial lake, the mystery becomes more dangerous and the pool of suspects deepens. As Dinah entertains the passengers and eats her way up the Northwest Coast, a number of potential suspects emerge.
The Prairie Dogs by
Silver Birch Award shortlist, 2005A 2006 Saskatchewan Young Readers' Choice Diamond Willow Award Nominee Diamond Willow Award nominee 2006Look out - here come the Prairie Dogs! He used to be known as Prince Pierrot Rudolphe IV. He used to perform at dog shows to please his masters - now he does what he pleases. He used to live the lonely life of the star, traveling to cities everywhere in a silver coach. Now he travels on four paws through the dusty streets of Silvertree, a tiny town in the middle of nowhere. And he travels with three new friends: Dare, the terrier that nothing can scare; Mouse, the loyal sidekick with a taste for bugs; and Mew, the pup who thinks she's a cat. Together they call themselves the Prairie Dogs, a happy-go-lucky gang of strays that spends its days scrounging meals and playing in the park. Nothing serious - Pierre's a Good Dog, after all, and someday his masters will return for him. Until then, he plans to enjoy his free and easy life, and try to stay out of trouble. Too bad trouble comes looking for him. There's the wild wolf-dog, for one thing, and the enraged dogcatcher who thinks Pierre's the one who killed his prize peacocks. There's the Great Dane Titan, and the skunk babies whom Mew adopts. And there's the Bull Dogs, the posse of roughnecks who think a dog with Pierre's brains belongs with them (too bad about the sissy haircut!). Before long, Pierre and Dare are head-to-head with the Bull Dogs, trying to save the life of the only human in town they care about.
Quid Pro Quo by
Quid Pro Quo is a high-stakes, fast-moving legal thriller about real people, and funny people at that. Cyril MacIntyre#65533;s mother is a twenty-eight-year-old ex-street kid who drags her son to all her law school classes, then proceeds to get herself kidnapped. That aside, Cyril#65533;s life isn#65533;t too different from that of other thirteen-year-olds. He has all the usual adolescent issues to deal with: parent problems, self-esteem problems, skin, hair and girl problems. He just has legal problems too. And he#65533;s got to solve them if he wants to save his mother#65533;s life.
Rescue Pup by
Shakespeare is a Seeing Eye puppy. But before the time comes for him to train with a blind person, he must spend six months with a girl who has never learned to love. He does all he can to teach her, but the job places him in some dangerous situations and by the end of the story he has earned the title Rescue Pup.
Torrie and the Pirate Queen by
Retired pirates embark on a magical adventure. Are you ready for a rollicking, humorous adventure story packed with action and high-seas mayhem? Meet the irrepressible Torrie, a magical being known as an Old Thing who has lived in the Wild Forest for hundreds of years. One day, while surveying the docks of a fishing village, Torrie witnesses a scuffle aboard a pirate ship. He intervenes and convinces the newly minted captain to take him aboard. The captain, a young girl named Anna, is anxious to set sail to rescue her father, held for some months by the Pirate Queen, Nevilla. But Anna is not a pirate, nor is her father. Before his death, Anna's pirate grandfather told Anna, and no one else, where a valuable treasure was hidden. Anna plans to use the treasure to negotiate her father's release. With the help of Torrie, Anna and her aged crew of retired pirates embark on a wild and colorful sea journey. On their way to search for the treasure, the crew pulls aboard a young castaway. He turns out to be Nevilla's son, Prince Frederick. He explains the hard times that have visited the now barren and infertile Granite Isles, where he lives. It turns out Anna's grandfather's treasure may unlock the curse that has beset the Isles for years. Torrie and the Pirate Queen is a captivating story that combines action with irreverent humor -- an irresistible style sure to hook young readers.
Wolf Pack by
Finalists for the 2005 Aurora Award – Best Long-Form Work in English category. After a devastating forest fire, a ranger discovers a litter of wolf cubs. He and his wife soon learn that they are no ordinary wolves. They are both animal and human. Although the young ones try to fit into the human world, their true nature makes the challenges of being teenagers all the more difficult. When one of the pack is kidnapped, the others must draw on both sides of their nature – human and wolf – to find the cunning, the strength, and the courage it takes to rescue her. Edo van Belkom has created unlikely but compelling heroes in a book that is by turns funny, frightening, and always entertaining.
Wolf Pack by
Finalists for the 2005 Aurora Award – Best Long-Form Work in English category. After a devastating forest fire, a ranger discovers a litter of wolf cubs. He and his wife soon learn that they are no ordinary wolves. They are both animal and human. Although the young ones try to fit into the human world, their true nature makes the challenges of being teenagers all the more difficult. When one of the pack is kidnapped, the others must draw on both sides of their nature – human and wolf – to find the cunning, the strength, and the courage it takes to rescue her. Edo van Belkom has created unlikely but compelling heroes in a book that is by turns funny, frightening, and always entertaining.