something like wait for me
in the braille of scars
tonight can i suggest a little punctuation
circle half-moon vertical line of astonishment
a pause that transforms
light and breath
into language and threshold of fire

Even as vowels tremble in danger and worldly destruction repeats itself on the horizon, Ardour reminds us that the silence pulsing w …

The highly anticipated wordless picture book from debut author and collage artist Thao Lam

"Wordless... colorful... hilarious." Kirkus, STARRED REVIEW

In Skunk on a String, we meet a skunk who has been tied to the tail of a balloon. Try as he might, the persistent critter can’t get anyone to untie him. In this wordless story, he is shooed and sw …

The Canadian Rangers stand sentinel in the farthest reaches of our country. For more than six decades, this dedicated group of citizen-soldiers has quietly served as Canada’s eyes, ears, and voice in isolated coastal and northern communities from coast to coast to coast.

How does this minimally trained and lightly equipped force make a meaningful …

Indigenous oral narratives are an important source for, and component of, Coast Salish knowledge systems. Stories are not only to be recounted and passed down; they are also intended as tools for teaching.

Jo-ann Archibald worked closely with Elders and storytellers, who shared both traditional and personal life-experience stories, in order to deve …

In Sorting through Spring, the second title in the best-selling Math in Nature series, nature comes to life to help children in Grades K to 2 learn concepts of patterning, sorting, data management, and probability

As young readers journey into the natural world, they will discover that numbers, patterns, shapes — and much more! — can be found b …

The story of the growth and destruction of Toronto's first 'priority neighbourhood.'

From the 1840s until the Second World War, waves of newcomers who migrated to Toronto – Irish, Jewish, Italian, African American and Chinese, among others – landed in 'The Ward.' Crammed with rundown housing and immigrant-owned businesses, this area, bordered by …

Jean Barman was the recipient of the 2014 George Woodcock Lifetime Achievement Award.

In French Canadians, Furs, and Indigenous Women in the Making of the Pacific Northwest, Jean Barman rewrites the history of the Pacific Northwest from the perspective of French Canadians attracted by the fur economy, the indigenous women whose presence in their li …

For decades the crown jewels of Japan’s postwar manufacturing industry, motorcycles remain one of Japan’s top exports. Japan’s Motorcycle Wars assesses the historical development and societal impact of the motorcycle industry, from the influence of motor sports on vehicle sales in the early 1900s to the postwar developments that led to the ma …

This collection by well-known Edmonton poet, E.D. Blodgett, is an ode to the wisdom and divinity of silence. The poet muses on the quiet of the outdoors and the mysterious relationship that exists between spaces of silence within a city's limits.

Most of the short lyrics that make up this sublime collection were written first in English and French b …

Fresh from his adventures in Wild Ride, Marcus is back and helping his cousin, Bounce, learn to skate. Between learning how to ollie and do a 50-50 grind, Bounce and his friends also have to avoid the skate-park goons and take on the outlaw bikers who are terrorizing the small town. Excitement, action and some radical skating tips. Hang on for anot …

In 1876, at only 29 years old, Alexander Graham Bell completed the invention that would turn him into a household name: the telephone. In so doing, he forever changed the way people communicate. But the telephone was just one of the many inventions Bell produced and shared with the world. Driven by a deep curiosity and a keen scientific mind, he wo …

What might a word lose – or gain – without its prefix?

Each prose poem in Whelmed features a word that has been unhinged from its prefix, allowing new meanings – radically unfamiliar, yet uncannily intimate – to emerge from these prefixless word deposits. Part prose-poem sequence and part encyclopedia of unpredictably irregular terms, Whelme …

Despite Canada’s enduring image as a natural paradise, every year thousands of Canadians become ill or die prematurely as a result of exposure to environmental hazards. Canadians understand that their health is inextricably linked to the health of the environment and are deeply concerned about the impacts of toxic substances on themselves and the …

SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2013 GERALD LAMPERT MEMORIAL AWARD
repeater is a poetic investigation into the coding, function, language, and structure of computer programming. Using the ASCII 8-bit binary code as an acrostic, each lower-case letter of the alphabet is arranged alongside the lines of the title poem. As a result, this poem "programs" an investi …

Meet Myron: a third-grade detective who loves logic, facts and solving mysteries. He does not love new things. Unfortunately, everything is new this year: Myron has a new baby sister, his family has moved across town, and now he’s starting his first day at a new school. But when the school kitchen is burgled, leaving the morning snacks nowhere to …

LONGLISTED FOR THE 2016 SCOTIABANK GILLER PRIZE

SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2016 KOBO EMERGING WRITER PRIZE

Most of the things Pillow really liked to do were obviously morally wrong. He wasn't an idiot; clearly it was wrong to punch people in the face for money. But there had been an art to it, and it had been thrilling and thoughtful for him. The zoo was al …

Marie-Louise Gay and David Homel combine their writing and illustrating talents with their own family memories to produce a very unique travelogue.

Family vacations are supposed to be something to look forward to. Unless, that is, your parents have a habit of turning every outing into a risky proposition -- by accident, of course. So instead of drea …

Where did all these pieces of paper come from? Who do they belong to? The chicken is sure that they belong to him, but so is the fish, and so is the bird, and the snail, and the frog… Using the same small scraps of paper over and over again to create a new animal on each page, Édouard Manceau has created a timeless cumulative tale that will deli …

Long before Oscar Peterson became a virtuoso jazz pianist, he was a boy who loved to play the trumpet. When childhood tuberculosis weakened his lungs, Oscar could no longer play his beloved instrument. He took up piano and the rest is history: Oscar went on to become an international jazz piano sensation.

Oscar Lives Next Door is a fictional story i …

If discussing money is a difficult task for adults, it’s doubly so where kids are involved. Not only is the subject loaded with cryptic jargon (mortgages? Bull markets? Huh?), but it often fails to click with how a kid sees his or her world. Many preteens and young teens do not yet have a job, and even if they do, their responsibilities with thei …

An inuksuk is a stone landmark that different peoples of the Arctic region build to leave a symbolic message. Inuksuit (the plural of inuksuk) can point the way, express joy, or simply say: welcome. A central image in Inuit culture, the inuksuk frames this picture book as an acrostic: readers will learn seven words from the Inuktitut language whose …

In occupied Holland during World War II, sixteen-year-old Janke Visser watches her father’s and brother’s involvement with the Resistance movement in their small town and longs to help fight the Nazi invaders. But there is tension in the family as her nervous mother fears that their actions will doom them all. Nevertheless, when the opportunity …

While Devin and Nadia spend summer vacation at a university camp for little kids Nadia as a counselor and Devin as an unwilling participant—their mother's research project is vandalized and her motives are questioned.

Devin, Nadia and Simon stumble upon shady characters, corporate conspiracy and a plot to take over the nation's food supply with ge …

Chirp and his friends Squawk and Tweet love going on adventures together. Today, they've traded in their playhouse for the Old West. They are the brave sheriffs of a deserted ghost town!

But is the town deserted? Wait... did that cactus just move? Will sheriffs Chirp, Squawk, and Tweet succeed in ridding the town of the eerie ghost that haunts its …

Chirp and his friends Squawk and Tweet love going on adventures together. Today, they've traded in their playhouse for a pirate ship. But — shiver me timbers — they are suddenly hit by something under water!

Is it a shark? Is it a squid? Worse: it's a sh...uid!

Can the pirates find anything in their treasure chest to save them from this fearsom …

In a story set deep in the wild winter wood, two hungry ravens fly in search of their next meal. A pack of wolves is on the hunt, too. Food is scarce, but, if they team up, the ravens and wolves just might be able to help each other.
The ravens follow a pack of starving wolves on the hunt. The wolves come up empty handed – and even lose one of …

SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2013 OTTAWA BOOK AWARD
SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2013 ARCHIBALD LAMPMAN AWARD
SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2013 RELIT AWARD
Conflict interweaves ghosts, bad communication, the uncanny and the archival, to create a collection of poems that break down remembrance into abandoned historic markers, jet fuel, keening, or teeth. What you are given (t …

As young readers journey into the natural world, they will discover that numbers, patterns, shapes — and much more! — can be found in everyday plants and animals. What if animals and plants knew math, just like us? Would spiders draw pictures in their webs? Would narwhals sort blocks of ice by shape? Would insects know what’s above and what� …

A sweet STEM introduction to the concept of seasons and animal adaptation
Lily, a young snowshoe hare, is surprised to notice the leaves changing color in her forest home. She hears from the other animals that “Winter’s coming,” but who— or what—is Winter?
As Lily learns the ways in which her forest friends prepare for winter's arrival …

How dull plays are killing theatre and what we can do about it.

Had I become disenchanted with the form I had once fallen so madly in love with as a pubescent, pimple-faced suburban homo with braces? Maybe theatre was like an all-consuming high school infatuation that now, ten years later, I saw as the closeted balding guy with a beer gut he’d bec …

Few moments in Canadian history are as intriguing as the political battle between Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau and the “Gang of Eight” provincial premiers who opposed his plans to “patriate” Canada’s constitution from Britain. This volume revisits these constitutional negotiations, including the personalities, visions, and political stru …

Gay never recorded an album, never won a Juno. His music existed in the moment, appreciated by the few who were lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time. For the rest of us, those late-night jam sessions in a shack in an alley on the bad side of Edmonton never happened. We never got to hear him play the Cole Porter songs he loved wit …

Crimes of passion, brutal slayings, infanticide, and revenge: here are eight gruesome and often tragic stories of women accused of murder. Many are little known or long forgotten, such as Mary Osborn, the first woman to be hanged in Upper Canada, executed for poisoning her disappointing husband. Read about the crimes and subsequent trials of Mary a …

When Sammy, a young Wilson's warbler, wakes up one frosty August morning near the Arctic Circle, he instinctively knows that it's time to make his first migratory journey south to Panama. But there's one problem — where's Panama?

All the other warblers having left without him, Sammy sets off on his journey by himself, stopping to ask the same ques …

A gutsy, no-holds-barred, coming-of-age story.

In the Point St. Charles of the author’s childhood people move for one of two reasons: their apartment is on fire, or the rent is due. Starting in 1968, eight-year-old Kathy Dobson shares her early years growing up in Point St. Charles, an industrial slum in Montreal (now in the process of gentrificat …

At 17, star defenseman Craig McElhaney likes his chances of making it as a pro hockey player.

Yet, a string of recent "accidents" threatens to knock Craig's team out of the playoffs and ruin his promising career. Craig has begun to question how many "accidents" can happen before they become more than a coincidence. But it's not a good time for quest …

Included in this book are 28 traditional recipes by Chef Jeff O'Neill, showcasing Canada's multicultural heritage, plus a special section of 18 Christmas recipes from across the country, highlighting Canada's regional diversity. The origin of a Canadian Christmas is a fascinating blend of different traditions and festivities. The stories behind the …

Some Like It Cold plunges headlong into the political conundrum of Canada's climatechange debate. Focusing on the past responses of both Liberal and Conservative governmentsto the looming crisis—ranging from negligence to complicity and connivance—Paehlke illuminatesthe issues surrounding compliance with global regulations such as Kyoto, includ …

Sam's grandfather vanished from his life the day Sam's father was buried.

Now, ten years later, Grandpa Max wants to make amends. He sends letters that lead Sam on a scavenger hunt. Sam follows his grandfather's bizarre instructions though he's still not ready to forgive. To alleviate his anger at his grandfather, Sam turns to his favorite stress re …

Is it possible to live forever? People have been trying to figure out a way to escape mortality since, well, forever. This book takes readers on a fast-paced tour of several wacky and wise methods humans have used to try prolonging their lives, from ancient immortality elixirs and quests for a fountain of youth to modern-day research into cryogenic …

The fourth volume in this award-winning graphic novel series contains ten mystery comics by OWL Magazine editor Craig Battle, plus three never-before-published short mystery stories by series creator Liam O’Donnell. As always, storylines are intriguing, age-appropriate, and relevant; illustrations are detailed and compelling; and dialogue is snap …

When Joey enters puberty, his father Jake finds himself in a morally ambiguous position. Joey is severely disabled, but he still has the same sexual desires as any seventeen-year-old boy, only he can’t do anything to relieve the tension. Jake is a widower whose life is devoted to his son, but when he suddenly develops a serious medical condition, …

Safira doesn't believe in ghosts, but the girl in her cabin at camp was not a living person, so what was she?

Safira's friend Trinity is convinced Safira's seen a ghost and sets out to discover who the ghost girl is. Safira is too busy dealing with her family to help solve the mystery. Safira has never gotten along with her sister, Mya, and now that …

Dylan and his friends snowball cars for entertainment on the weekend.

When they don't get enough reaction from passing cars, they put rocks in the middle of their snowballs. Their first attack with the loaded snowballs causes a car crash. His friends flee, but Dylan goes to the scene of the accident to make sure the driver is okay. He runs off when …

From Blue Spruce Award–winning author-illustrator Dave Whamond comes the story of Oddrey, a young girl who is a little bit different from everybody else. Every aspect of Oddrey’s world is a study in playful curiosity. Her adventures and flights of fancy, however, are often a source of some teasing at the hands of her classmates. Her technicolor …

When Shawn and Daniel witness a gang beating behind the local mall they flee the scene, terrified that they've been seen.

They recognize one of the attackers as a locally infamous gang member. When they learn that the kid who was attacked is in critical condition, Shawn wants to go to the police, but Daniel convinces him that they are in more danger …

Josh knows he's riding recklessly when he knocks down the old man he suspects is the hermit of Loggerman Creek.

Josh is shocked when the hermit walks into the forest with his bike after the accident. Being without his beloved bike for a week motivates him to hike into the woods and confront the crazy old man. The hermit, Jonathan, has fixed Josh's b …

Seventeen years ago, Isobel was murdered at the tender age of nine. Now she finds herself back in her previous life as a ghost searching for the person responsible for her untimely death. But this time she’s powerful, having the ability to watch over the living, observe them, and sometimes interact with them. Isobel has been paying attention to h …