Canadian Wildlife

“The fledgling lands safely at the foot of the tree. He looks around. He sees a ladybug crawling along the leaf of a stinging nettle. He is curious. Is it good to eat? He hops up onto a smooth, black rock to take a closer look.”

This book uses both fiction and non-fiction as a unique approach to storytelling.

On left-hand pages, lyrical text and colourful illustrations tell a story of a young crow’s early morning spring adventure. Using his senses, the fledgling discovers the world around his nest. Expertly woven into this delightful story are interesting facts about crows and other plants and animals in a city park.

Captioned and labelled photographs, word boxes, a diagram, and a map make the non-fiction portion of this book an accessible source of information for young readers.

Educator & Series Information
This book is part of the A Spring Adventure series.

Recommended for grades 2 and 3.

Captioned and labelled photographs, word boxes, a diagram, and a map make the non-fiction portion of this book an accessible source of information for young readers.

Science Connections: Biodiversity, animal classification, food chains, life cycles, ecosystems, geology, and the connections between living and non-living things are some of the concepts included in this book.

Additional Information
24 Pages | 8" x 8" | ISBN: 978-1-77174-568-0 | Paperback

“The buzzing sound fades away when the bee flies off. The fawn twitches his large ears and looks about. He can hear trickling water close by. He walks to the far side of the meadow, down a rocky bank, and to a little creek below.”

This book uses both fiction and non-fiction as a unique approach to storytelling.

On left-hand pages, lyrical text and colourful illustrations tell a story of a young fawn’s early morning spring adventure. Using his senses, the fawn discovers the world around him while searching for his mother. Expertly woven into this delightful story are interesting facts about black-tailed deer and other plants and animals in a forest ecosystem.

Captioned and labelled photographs, word boxes, a diagram, and a map make the non-fiction portion of this book an accessible source of information for young readers.

Educator & Series Information
This book is part of the A Spring Adventure series.

Recommended for grades 2 and 3.

Captioned and labelled photographs, word boxes, a diagram, and a map make the non-fiction portion of this book an accessible source of information for young readers.

Science Connections: Biodiversity, animal classification, food chains, life cycles, ecosystems, geology, and the connections between living and non-living things are some of the concepts included in this book.

Additional Information
24 Pages | 8" x 8" | ISBN: 978-1-77174-565-9 | Paperback

“The fledgling lands in the dry leaves, cones, and twigs on the forest floor. He stops for a moment. He looks around. He is wondering about the little flowers on the kinnikinnick plants. Are they food? He hops up onto a nearby rock to take a closer look.”

This book uses both fiction and non-fiction as a unique approach to storytelling.

On left-hand pages, lyrical text and colourful illustrations tell a story of a young robin’s early morning spring adventure. Using his senses, the fledgling discovers the world around his nest. Expertly woven into this delightful story are interesting facts about robins and other plants and animals in a forest ecosystem.

Captioned and labelled photographs, word boxes, a diagram, and a map make the non-fiction portion of this book an accessible source of information for young readers.

Educator & Series Information
This book is part of the A Spring Adventure series.

Recommended for grades 2 and 3.

Captioned and labelled photographs, word boxes, a diagram, and a map make the non-fiction portion of this book an accessible source of information for young readers.

Science Connections: Biodiversity, animal classification, food chains, life cycles, ecosystems, geology, and the connections between living and non-living things are some of the concepts included in this book.

Additional Information
24 Pages | 8" x 8" | ISBN: 978-1-77174-566-6 | Paperback

Belugas are one of the many amazing animals found in Nunavut! Learn all about what belugas look like, where they live, what they eat, how they communicate, and where they migrate. This non-fiction book gives information and facts about belugas alongside beautiful photographs and illustrations.

Educator & Series Information
Recommended for ages 6 to 8.

This book is part of the Nunavummi Reading Series, a Nunavut-developed series that supports literacy learning while teaching readers about the people, traditions, and environment of the Canadian Arctic. It is a Level 8-11 book in the series.

Nunavummi Reading Series books have also been officially levelled using the Fountas & Pinnell Text Level Gradient™ Levelling System. This book's F&P Level is L.

Additional Information
24 pages | 8.00" x 8.00" | Paperback | Colour photographs throughout

Learn all about where grizzly bears live, what they eat, and how they hunt.

This non-fiction book gives information about the grizzly bear, one of the most powerful and resilient animals of the North.

Educator & Series Information
Recommended for ages 6 to 8.

This book is part of the Nunavummi Reading Series, a Nunavut-developed series that supports literacy learning while teaching readers about the people, traditions, and environment of the Canadian Arctic. It is a Level 8-11 book in the series.

Nunavummi Reading Series books have also been officially levelled using the Fountas & Pinnell Text Level Gradient™ Levelling System. This book's F&P Level is M.

Additional Information
24 pages | 8.00" x 8.00" | Paperback | Colour photographs throughout

In this book, kids will learn how wolverines raise their babies, where they live, what they eat, and other interesting information, like how they use their distinctive scent and how they became known as the gluttons of the animal kingdom!

Reviews
"Niptanatiak shares the scientific facts about the animal in a very accessible and simple way, so despite its factual nature this book feels like anything but a boring textbook. A key focus of the facts is how the wolverine engages with its surroundings and other animals, making it a great way to introduce young readers to the Indigenous concept of relationality." - Excerpt from IBBY Canada's From Sea to Sea to Sea: Celebrating Indigenous Picture Books - 2023 Edition

Educator & Series Information 
This book is part of the non-fiction Animals Illustrated series, which mixes fun-filled animal facts suitable for the youngest of readers with intricately detailed illustrations to create a unique and beautiful collection of children’s non-fiction books on Arctic animals. Each volume contains firsthand accounts from authors who live in the Arctic, along with interesting facts on the behaviours and biology of each animal.

Themes: Nunavut, Inuit, Indigenous, Arctic Animals, STEM

"A key focus of the facts is how the wolverine engages with its surroundings and other animals, making it a great way to introduce young readers to the Indigenous concept of relationality" - From Sea to Sea to Sea 2023 Edition 

Recommended Ages: 6 to 8.

Available in French: Carcajou

Additional Information 
28 pages | 6.50" x 9.00" | Hardcover

By cutting trees and building dams, beavers shape landscapes and provide valuable wetland homes for many plants and animals. These radical rodents were once almost hunted to extinction for their prized fur, but today we are building a new relationship with them, and our appreciation of the benefits they offer as habitat creators and water stewards is growing. Packed with facts and personal stories, this book looks at the beaver’s biology and behavior and illuminates its vital role as a keystone species. The beaver’s comeback is one of North America’s greatest conservation success stories and Beavers: Radical Rodents and Ecosystem Engineers introduces readers to the conservationists, scientists and young people who are working to build a better future for our furry friends.

Educator & Series Information
This book is part of the Orca Wild series that examines the intricacies of animals, ecosystems, humans and our relationships to each other.

Recommended for ages 9 to 12.

As beaver populations recover, conflicts between beavers and humans are increasing. This book offers practical solutions that are good for both beavers and humans.

Recent studies have highlighted the ability of beavers to help mitigate the effects of climate change, particularly drought, flooding and wildfires.

Beavers are fascinating animals with a high recognition factor (their buckteeth and flat tail are unmistakable) and beaver kits are irresistibly cute.

Additional Information
128 pages | 7.50" x 9.00"

Warning -- this book contains top-secret information about butterflies! Prepare to be shocked and grossed out by this hilarious and totally true picture book introduction to a fascinating insect.

Butterflies are beautiful and quiet and gentle and sparkly . . . but that's not the whole truth. Butterflies can be GROSS. And one butterfly, in particular, is here to let everyone know! Talking directly to the reader, a monarch butterfly reveals how its kind is so much more than what we think. Did you know some butterflies enjoy feasting on dead animals, rotten fruit, tears and even poop? Some butterflies are loud, like the Cracker butterfly. Some are stinky -- the smell scares predators away. Butterflies can be sneaky, like the ones who pretend to be ants to get free babysitting.

This hilarious and refreshing book with silly and sweet illustrations explores the science of butterflies and shows that these insects are not the stereotypically cutesy critters we often think they are -- they are fascinating, disgusting, complicated and amazing creatures.

Reviews
“A proboscis-in-cheek introduction to butterflies that will appeal to reluctant readers and bug enthusiasts alike.” --STARRED REVIEW, Kirkus Reviews

Educator & Series Information
Recommended for ages 4 to 8.

This book is part of the Nature's Top Secrets series.

Additional Information
36 pages | 9.38" x 9.44"

Gripping narrative non-fiction with STEM and social justice themes that proves cities can be surprisingly wild places—and why understanding urban nature matters.

What can city bees tell us about climate change? How are we changing coyote behavior? And what the heck is a science bike? Featuring the work of a diverse group of eleven scientists—herself included!—Dr. Cylita Guy shows how studying urban wildlife can help us make cities around the world healthier for all of their inhabitants. In the process, Guy reveals how social injustices like racism can affect not only how scientists study city wildlife, but also where urban critters are likelier to thrive. Sidebars include intriguing animal facts and the often-wacky tools used by urban ecologists, from a ratmobile to a bug vacuum. Cornelia Li’s engaging illustrations bring the scientists’ fieldwork adventures to life, while urban ecology challenges encourage readers to look for signs of wildlife in their own neighborhoods.

Educator Information
Recommended for ages 9 to 12

Themes: biology, environmental science & ecosystems, experiments & projects

Table of Contents
Introduction: Living in the Urban Jungle

Talk Like an Urban Ecologist: Key Terms

Chapter 1: Chasing Down Big Browns
How much do wildlife rely on city green spaces? Cylita Guy tracks bats in Toronto, Canada.

Chapter 2: Ratmobile to the Rescue
How do animals in cities affect human health? Kaylee Byers studies how rats move around Vancouver, Canada.

Chapter 3: Bees and Bug Vacuum
Why are cities a good place to study the impact of climate change on bees? Charlotte de Keyzer looks at what bees and the plants they pollinate can tell us about the effects of climate change in cities like Toronto, Canada.

Chapter 4: Backyard Bear Buffet
What happens when humans and wildlife in cities don’t get along? Jesse Popp gets to the bottom of human-bear conflict in Sudbury, Canada.

Chapter 5: Bold Coyote, Bashful Coyote
How are humans changing animal behavior in cities? Chris Schell studies coyote behavior in Utah and Washington, and looks at how human policies like redlining affect urban biodiversity.

Chapter 6: Microplastics, Major Problems
How does the pollution we create affect city animals? Rachel Giles wades into Toronto’s waterways to discover the impacts of pollution on invertebrates.   

Chapter 7: Birdwatching Bias
What happens when citizen science doesn’t tell us the whole story? Deja Perkins asks how human bias can affect what we know about birds in cities like Durham, Chapel Hill, and Raleigh, North Carolina.    

Chapter 8: A Bike to Beat the Heat
Why are greener cities better for people? Carly Ziter pedals around Madison, Wisconsin to track how trees cool cities.  

Conclusion: But this is only the beginning!

Acknowledgments

Select Sources

Index 

Additional Information
104 pages | 7.50" x 9.80" | Paperback

Did you know that lamps can be powered by glowing bacteria instead of electricity? That gloves designed like gecko feet let people climb straight up glass walls? Or that kids are finding ways to make compostable plastic out of banana peels? Biomimicry, the scientific term for when we learn from and copy nature, is a revolutionary way to look to nature for answers to environmental problems such as climate change.

In Design Like Nature young readers discover innovations and inventions inspired by the environment. Nature runs the entire planet with no waste and no pollution. Can humans learn to do this too? It's time to step outside and start designing like nature.

Educator & Series Information
Recommended for ages 9 to 12.

This book is part of the Orca Footprint series. Kids today inhabit a world full of complex—and often mystifying—environmental issues. Orca Footprints aim to help kids answer their questions about the state of the natural world with well-researched, simply-expressed information and powerful images. With topics such as food production, water, cycling and sustainable energy, these books will inspire kids to take action.

A free, downloadable scavenger hunt activity is available: Scavenger Hunt - Design Like Nature: Biomimicry for a Healthy Planet

Additional Information
48 pages | 8.00" x 9.50"

A beautifully illustrated, compact, interactive nature guide to exploring the forest for young readers.

What do you notice when you walk in the forest? Different types of trees, plants, and mushrooms? Maybe you hear a squirrel chattering or birds singing. Can you feel all the different kinds of moss? And look there! Hidden animal homes and interesting bugs.

With this compact non-fiction guide, young readers will be equipped to seek out, identify, and appreciate the woodland magic that exists all around them. Featuring rich vocabulary words like "nurse log," "lichen," and "sapling," this beautifully illustrated book is the ideal companion for little forest explorers. Incorporating all five senses and encouraging imaginative play, it even includes pixies and fairies (pixie cup lichen and fairy slipper wildflowers)! Forest Magic will be the book you reach for on the way out the door to explore your own backyard.

There's so much to see in a forest. What will you discover?

Educator & Series Information
Recommended for ages 4 to 8.

This book is part of the Little Explorers Series.

Additional Information
32 pages | 8.00" x 6.50"

There are lot of different types of insects in Nunavut. Learn about what defines an insect, as well as their life cycle, metamorphisis, and adaptions. This science book provides information about what different insects look like, where they live, what they eat, their behaviour, and other interesting facts about them, along with colourful illustrations and photographs.

Educator & Series Information
Recommended for ages 8 to 10.

This book is part of the Junior Field Guide series. Perfect for learning all about living things in the Arctic! These Junior Field Guides give information and interesting facts about the different animals that live in Nunavut. Books in this series also share traditional knowledge about living things and teach the traditional Inuit value of environmental stewardship.

Additional Information
32 pages | 10.00" x 7.50" | Paperback

Muskrat takes the children through all the many fish that live in the water of the Okanagan valley.

kəxntim sʕanixʷ k̕əl nixʷtitkʷ acxʷəl̕xʷalt / We Go With Muskrat to Those Living Underwater is an interactive story with sʕanixʷ (Muskrat) in the lead, allowing readers to learn both the n’syilxwcn and English names of underwater creatures living in the Okanagan Valley. The book seamlessly combines beautiful imagery with amusing descriptions as Muskrat introduces a diverse set of underwater creatures.

Educator & Series Information
Recommended for ages 6 to 9.

Author Harron Hall has written several children's books that incorporate her Indigenous heritage and her deep commitment to protecting the land and water, including The Water Sings to Suli?, Water Changeling and Lessons from Beaver's Work.

Learn the names of many fish and aquatic creatures that live in the Okanagan Valley in n’syilxwcn (the language spoken by the Sylix/Okanagan peoples) and English.

Features bright and colorful illustrations from Indigenous artist Ron Hall.

This book is part of the Follow the Water series.

Additional Information
40 pages | 8.00" x 8.00"

Plants, animals, insects and fish are moving in. Invasive species threaten local ecosystems and the planet’s biodiversity, but are they all as bad as we think they are? In Nature Out of Balance: How Invasive Species Are Changing the Planet author Merrie-Ellen Wilcox profiles all-star invasive species around the world, starting in her own neighbourhood, and warns that humans are the most invasive species of all. We find out how and why species become invasive, what we can do to stop their spread and whether it’s time to think differently about invasive species that are here to stay.

Reviews
“A well-written volume on a distinctly important topic for youngsters to be aware of as they grow into their role of guardians of the ecosystems. Highly Recommended.” — CM: Canadian Review of Materials

“The balance of hope against the potentially stressful subject leaves readers informed and energized rather than defeated. Handy and lucid, this slim volume makes an important topic digestible.” — Kirkus Reviews

“A high-quality introduction to a topic not often covered in books for middle graders.” — School Library Journal

Educator & Series Information
This book is part of the Orca Footprint series. Kids today inhabit a world full of complex—and often mystifying—environmental issues. Orca Footprints aim to help kids answer their questions about the state of the natural world with well-researched, simply-expressed information and powerful images. With topics such as food production, water, cycling and sustainable energy, these books will inspire kids to take action.

In Nature Out of Balance, we find out how and why species become invasive and practical tips about what we can do to stop their spread.

Globalization means that new invasive species are being found around the world every day, threatening the biodiversity of our neighborhoods, cities, countries and the planet as a whole.

The author has studied ecological restoration and examines invasive species starting in her own backyard.

This book offers a unique perspective on invasive species and how it might be time to rethink how we coexist with them.

Invasive species are often described as the most overlooked environmental threat in the world (in the US they cause $120 billion a year in damage, in BC alone they cost farmers $50 million a year). 

Recommended for ages 9 to 12

Additional Information
48 pages | 8.00" x 9.50"

To the Gitxsan of Northwestern British Columbia, Nox Ga’naaw is a storyteller, speaking truths of the universe. After Nox Ga’naaw, the frog mother, releases her eggs among the aquatic plants of a pond, the tiny tadpoles are left to fend for themselves. As they hatch, grow legs, and transform into their adult selves, they must avoid the mouths of hungry predators. Will the young frogs survive to spawn their own eggs, continuing a cycle 200 million years in the making?

Book four of the Mothers of Xsan series follows the life cycle of the Columbia Spotted Frog. Learn about why this species is of special significance to the Gitxsan and how Nox Ga'naaw and her offspring are essential to the balance that is life.

Reviews

Educator & Series Information
Recommended ages: 9 to 12 

This is the fourth book in the Mothers of Xsan series, which uses striking illustration and lyrical language to bring the poetry of the Xsan ecosystem to life. The traditional Gitxsan formline art and language weave together throughout the stories in this series to paint a vivid picture of the Gitxsan people. 

Mothers of Xsan is a collection of stories that connects the world to the matrilineal society of the Gitxsan people, located in the Pacific Northwest Interior of British Columbia. Each book in the Mothers of Xsan series showcases the depth and importance of the knowledge that has been gathered and shared through this unique style of storytelling. The stories of life cycles, connection to the land, and language are told from the perspective of the animals from the Gitxsan’s traditional territory.

The series presents scientific knowledge in language and a format that is accessible.

Additional Information
32 pages | 6.50" x 10.00"