A Song for Acadia

When his aging father falls ill, Timothy Parsons of Boston is sent to live with his Acadian relatives in Nova Scotia. The language is new and the farm work hard, but the kind ways of the merry-hearted Acadians put him at ease, and soon Timothy is singing songs in French and building aboiteaus alongside his cousins. But trouble is on the horizon: the French and the English are at war, and Acadia is caught in the middle. When the governor signs the deportation orders, Timothy must decide whether to stay with his Acadian family and face an uncertain future, or return to the safety and comfort of his life in Boston.

Ahmed and the Nest of Sand

Ahmed and the Nest of Sand
A Piping Plover Story

When Ahmed lived in Kuwait, he looked after the pet birds that lived in cages behind his house.  But since moving halfway across the world to an apartment in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Ahmed and his family haven't been allowed to keep any birds. So when Owen and Iris, two nature guardians, visit his classroom to talk about the many risks facing the Piping Plover, Ahmed knows what he must do to help care for these tiny, fragile birds.

Every Saturday, Ahmed joins Owen and Iris at the beach where a pair of Piping Plovers are nesting. Here, Ahmed sees the many dangers facing the small birds, and he feels a special connection to their plight to survive. More than anything, Ahmed wants the little fledglings to grow up and fly safely away at the end of the summer.  He resolves to do everything he can to keep them out of harm's way. 

Rich illustrations illuminate this educational story of one of Canada's smallest endangered species.

Ahmed et le nid de sable - L'univers des pluviers siffleurs

Lorsqu'il vivait au Kuwait, Ahmed gardait de jolis oiseaux dans une cage installée au jardin.  Aujourd'hui, il vit à Dartmouth, en Nouvelle-Écosse, dans un appartement où les animaux ne sont pas admis.  Un jour, Ahmed rencontre Alice et Martin, deux gardiens des pluviers siffleurs, qui viennent parler de ces petits oiseaux à son école.  Ahmed décide alors d'aider ces oiseaux.

Tous les samedis, Ahmed, Alice et Martin rendent visite à un couple de pluviers siffleurs qui ont construit leur nid sur la plage.  Ahmed apprend à connaître ces oiseaux et tous les dangers qui les guettent.  Il les aide à affronter les difficultés jusqu'à leur départ vers le sud à la fin de l'été.

Les illustrations hautes en couleur animent cette histoire éducative sur une espèce d'oiseaux en danger de disparition au Canada.

Atlantic Puffin - Little Brother of the North

The Atlantic puffin is an amazing bird!  Entering the world as a tiny, downy chick, the puffin grows up in a teeming colony on the rugged Newfoundland coast.  Heading out to sea by the light of the moon at summer’s end, puffins return to their home territory each spring to have a family.  Marvel at how puffins swim like fish, outwit seagulls, and create cosy nests in a tough northern climate in this  colourful, loving tribute to the enchanting "little brother of the north."

Bounce and Beans and Burn

What to do when you're full of bounce, beans, and burn... After breakfast Sam is so excited that he's bouncing off the walls. His mother tells him to go out to the garden to play. At lunch he's so full of beans that all he can get up to is mischief. His grandmother tells him to go out to the garden to play. After supper he has so much energy to burn that he can't sit still. His father tells him to go out to the garden to play.

Little do they know that when Sam does, he turns into a ferocious Samurai, goes on an adventure with Jack and the Beanstalk, and meets a fire-breathing dragon.

Bounce and Beans and Burn follows Sam through an ordinary day of extrodinary adventure.

Bubba Begonia, You'll Be Sorry

Bubba Begonia desparately wants to make a good impression on the first day at his new school. But Bubba is nervous. Very nervous. And when he gets nervous his finger just seems to naturally head to his nose. "Bubba! Don't be messin' with your nose." admonishes his mother. "Your finger'll get stuck and then you'll be sorry!"

But Deerwatson Elementary isn't your ordinary school. And Bubba's classmates aren't your ordinary students. In meeting the zaniest bunch of kids ever assembled, Bubba makes a memorable first impression when his mother's words of warning come true.

In this chapter book for ages 8 and up, Gerry O'Brien creates an hilarious story of a young boy who overcomes an embarassing personal habit with the help of his equally embarassing little sister.

Buddy the Bluenose Reindeer

Buddy the Blue nose Reindeer, is a dear little deer from Nova Scotia. And just like Rudolph (they're first cousins, once removed, on Buddy's mother's side), he' has a very shiny nose. When the bright blue hue of Buddy's shiny snout helps save a lost fishing schooner, Santa Claus himself takes note!

Soon Santa, Buddy, and the other reindeeer have a Christmas adventure all their own, as Buddy fills in for a sick Rudolph. But will Buddy - with his bluest of noses - be able to save Christmas?

Buddy the Bluenose Reindeer is a funny, punny tale, rife with riffs on the traditional Rudolph song we all love. Kids young and old will love Buddy!

Chocolate River Rescue

Get off of there, Craig! shouted Shawn. "I can't! I'm slipping!" wailed Craig. Shawn leaped back onto the ice. He took a breath and jumped over the widening crack, grabbing his little brother by the coat as he flew through the air. Both boys fell heavily to the ice on the other side. The boys stared in horror as the crack widened to reveal an eddy of churning, foaming brown water.

Tony, Craig, and Shawn are trapped on an ice floe on the Petitcodiac River in the dead of winter, and the rapid current is pulling them toward the ocean. Twelve-year-old Petra arrives and the boys think they're saved-but their dangerous journey is only just beginning.

The boys and Petra face peril at every twist and turn of the river in Chocolate River Rescue, an exhilarating adventure inspired by true events. They also learn that a river of chocolate is far better served warm, over ice cream, than cold on the ice floe!

Christmas with the Rural Mail

A poem by Lance Woolaver with paintings and hand-painted Christmas card by Maud Lewis

The art of Maud Lewis is among Canada's greatest treasures. Though she lived in conditions of abject poverty and was crippled by severe arthritis, her creative imagination soared above these difficult circumstances. Sitting by the window of her tiny house near Digby, Nova Scotia, Lewis painted sunny scenes of idyllic rural life, filled with brilliant colours, gentle animals, and cheerful domesticity. Despite her humble background, Lewis's joyful paintings achieve a quality of emotion and beauty reached only in the greatest art, an achievement befitting Canada's most beloved folk artist.

Danger at Mason's Island

Angela felt her heart pounding so loud she was sure the men would hear it. Even in the cold of the wet grass, she was sweating, and her arm was cramped under her, but she dared not move even enough to look at Emmie.

East to the Sea

Imagine being crammed into the backseat of the family car, pyjamas already on, staking out space amidst sisters, knapsacks, blankets and pillows. Excitement is in the air as everyone gets ready to start the long drive though the dark, starry night... Sound like a familiar start to summer vacation? Join a young girl and her family on a nostalgic journey to her granparents' summer cottage on the east coast, where afternoons at the beach and bonfires at dusk become magical, extraordinary events when viewed through the eyes of a child.

Everything That Shines

Everything That Shines is the story of a very large horse named Shekinah, and a very small girl named Maddie, who live on a farm in Prince Edward Island. Based on a true story, it is a magical tale about powerful bonds of family and friendship, and about the wonderous light that shines in everything when you love with all your heart-even after the one you love is gone.

Gracie The Public Gardens Duck

Gracie has a nice, comfortable life in the Halifax Public Gardens. Her days are full of swimming in ponds and fountains, napping in bushes, and gobbling up delicious treats from visitors to the park. Muffins, sandwiches, popcorn...Yummy!

Then one day, a sign goes up at the entrance to the gardens. Suddenly, Gracie's favourite people stop sharing their food. What's happening? Why won't anyone spare a little snack? The determined duck goes to great measures to get her human friends to feed her, but nothing works. As Gracie tries to hold on to the only way of life she knows, she's surprised to discover something even better.

Lena and the Whale

Lena has a sixth sense for knowing when animals are in trouble.  That's how she found Rawkster, a young crow with a broken wing, and Fizzy, an orphaned baby skunk.  Maybe it is Lena's sixth sense that leads her to be in the right place at the right time when a baby humpback whale swims too close to shore.  But maybe it has more to do with Lena's favourite dream of being a girl who is also a whale.

Lobster in my Pocket

Lee lives in a fishing village. One day she hears a little voice coming from a lobster crate and she discovers Lucky, a talking lobster. Lee sets Lucky free and Lucky returns the favour one day when Lee nearly drowns in a wild spring storm.

Return to the Sea

When I was quite young, about nine, perhaps ten, My family travelled down east once again. When school was let out we'd return to the sea. "Just one more sleep!" said my sister to me.

Skunks for Breakfast

EVERYONE KNOWS THERE ARE NO SKUNKS IN NOVA SCOTIA...RIGHT?

Well, that's what Pamela thinks, until she wakes up one morning to a terrible smell.

Now Pamela stinks, her father stinks, her sister stinks, and her mother stinks. Soon her life stinks-her friends at school won't come near her! And no matter how many skunks her father catches underneath the house, there always seems to be another.

Join Pamela and her family as they confront the odorous onslaught – and watch Pamela slowly start to like the unexpectedly cute creatures.

Smallest Rabbit

It is Smallest Rabbit's first winter, and he doesn't like it very much. Then he learns something important.

Joyce Barkhouse, award winning author, won the first Connor-Brimer Award for outstanding contribution for Children's Literature in Atlantic Canada.

Tangled In The Bay

Pasha and his mother have just arrived at their summer feeding grounds in the Bay of Fundy, when suddenly Pasha gets hopelessly tangled in a fishing net! Without help, Pasha-a rare North Atlantic right whale-will not survive. But who can help? A very special group of people, in fact.

While Pasha's mother, Clio, watches anxiously, a team of whale researchers and rescuers work to free her baby. Frightened, Pasha struggles violently, making the rescue mission even more difficult and dangerous. Things go from bad to worse as a storm blows in and the rescue has to be called off. The next day, the rescue team races against the clock to free Pasha before it is too late. But can they do it?

Beautiful illustrations bring to life this suspenseful story of the rarest large whale species in the world.

The Cat from Kosovo

The day Olsa and Bashkim opened their door to a small brown-and-white-striped cat named Mishka, they opened their hearts too. But the rather ordinary happiness of their lives was threatened as the war in Kosovo grew nearer. Forced to leave their home and their homeland, they gathered all their courage and the few things they simply could not leave behind - some family photographs and Mishka. Like many others, Olsa, Bashkim and Mishka set out to find safety, journeying first to Macedonia, then finally far across the world to Canada. But no one at the receiving centre in Greenwood, Nova Scotia would have guessed that of the more than two thousand immigration cards issued for the refugees, one would be for a small brown-and-white-striped cat-the cat from Kosovo.

The Memory Stone

Laura is having her first sleepover at Aunt Pat's and everything is different - no night-light, no breakfast cereal, no television and no toys. Even the garden is full of "yucky" bugs. This sleepover is no fun and Laura wants to go home! Then Laura and her aunt spend the day at the beach and Laura is surprised to discover memories hidden behind simple things - like stones on the beach.

The Sharing Circle - Stories about First Nations Culture

Matthew loves to play games with his friends and share his toys with them.  But most of all he loves to share the special treasures that remind him of his First Nations culture.  Perhaps his favourite treasure is the medicine pouch that his grandfather made especially for him.  This is where he keeps many of his other treasurers, including the sacred herbs his mother gave him.  Matthew uses the herbs to remind him to be grateful for everything that nature gives us.  Another special gift is the eagle feather from his father. Matthew knows that the eagle is a symbol of the spiritual strength of his culture.  But there is one other gift that has a special place in Matthew's heart.  It is the dream catcher that Matthew gave to his friend Dustin to help him not have bad dreams.

The Sharing Circle is a collection of seven stories about First Nations culture and spiritual practices:  The Eagle Feather, The Dream Catcher, The Sacred Herbs, The Talking Circle, The Medicine Wheel, The Drum, and The Medicine Pouch.  Researched and written by Mi'kmaw children's author Theresa Meuse-Dallien, and beautifully illustrated by Mi'kmaw illustrator Arthur Stevens, this book will engage and inform children of all ages.

The True Meaning of Crumbfest

This is the story of a curious little mouse named Eckhart, who lives on a farm in rural Prince Edward Island.

The terrible, horrible, smelly Pirate

The terrible, horrible, smelly pirate is so terrible, horrible and smelly that his only friend in the world is his cracker-loving sidekick, Polly - a parrot with no sense of smell! The pirate and his parrot pal sail the foggy waters of Halifax Harbour in their rickety, rackety pirate ship, trying to track down some treasure. They search near and far, here and there and up and down, and round and about, but they don't find a single piece of gold - not even any crackers!
 
But when a mischievous mermaid agrees to lead them to some tempting treasure, the terrible, horrible, smelly pirate and his feathered friend are in for a big surprise. Will the mermaid lead them to gold and crackers? Or will she leave them all washed up?

Three Tall Trees

From the creators of The True Meaning of Crumbfest

There's trouble in the forest, until one day the trees learn a lesson...

Narrated by Enigma the Crow, this charming picture book for children aged four to seven, is a delightful rhyming fable that tells the story of three tall trees. Living in close proximity in the woods, the ancient trees "bump and collide constantly."  Jacob claims that his roots are the deepest. Paul brags that his branches are wider, while Elijah Ali insists that his sap is the purest of all. There is "war in the forest", until Enigma observes a basic truth: the trees aren't three trees at all. They're part of the very same tree. With its gentle humour and heartfelt message about the connectedness of all living things, Three Tall Trees is certain to captivate young readers.

Tommy's New Block Skates

In a small town in Nova Scotia Tommy is dreaming about skating on Half-mile Pond. He will skate fast, make circles and fancy figures on the ice, maybe even play hockey... as soon as he has his very own skates.

Join Tommy in discovering how old-fashioned block skates are made. Will Tommys new block skates be ready by winter?

Une Chanson pour l'Acadie

Lorsque son père, veuf, tombe malade, l'on envoie le jeune bostonien Timothy vivre dans la famille de sa mère, en Acadie. Timothy finit par aimer les Acadiens, leurs habitudes et leur pays. Survient la Déportation de 1755 et Timothy doit choisir.... Devra-t-il rester au sein de sa famille acadienne et marcher vers une destinée inconnue ou retournera-t-il dans la ville tranquille de Boston?