Picture Books

In Just a Walk, a young boy named Chuck goes for a simple walk that turns into a day of crazy adventure. Chuck encounters animals, fish and birds that lead him on a wild journey through their various habitats.

Jordan Wheeler's whimsical rhyming will capture the young readers attention and Chuck's hilarious predicaments will keep all ages laughing for more.

Written to excite the young readers and to leave a smile on their faces.

Educator & Series Information
Just a Walk is an adaptation of a popular oral presentation developed as an interactive performance for children.

This is the first book in the Chuck series.

Additional Information
32 pages | 8.00" x 8.00"

Find out where honey comes from as Grandpa the Beeman teaches the basics of beekeeping to his young grandson. This rhyming story includes 7 pages of educational endnotes full of essential facts about bees, beekeeping, honey, and the vital part that bees play in the natural world.

Educator Information
Recommended for ages 5 to 8.

With rhyming text and warm, expressive paintings, this lovely picture book takes the reader through a year of beekeeping from the point of view of a little girl helping her beloved grandpa, who's known in town as the Beeman. Full-color illustrations.

An accessible and engaging introduction to the behavior of bees, including: where they live, how honey is made, and what a beekeeper does. Children will love learning about the vital role of bees in the ecosystem, and will be delighted to find a delicious muffin recipe on the final page!

Additional Information
40 pages | 10.00" x 10.00" | Paperback

This charming story, richly steeped in Métis culture, focuses on the boyhood reminisces of Moushoom as her describes finding the "great giving tree" with his mother and father. The story emphasizes the Métis core values and beliefs including strength, kindness, courage, tolerance, honesty, respect, love, sharing, caring, balance, patience, and most of all, the important connection with the creator and Mother Earth.

Additional Information
50 Pages | 27.9 cm H x 21.5 cm W

In the winter den a sleepy black bear mother cares for her three cubs. But while their mother still wants to nap, the babies are awake and full of energy. When at last their mother leaves the den to search for food, one cub can't wait any longer. So she steps out, followed by her brothers, to explore the sights, tastes and smells of an exciting - and sometimes scary - new world.

Did you know... bears prepare for winter by eating and eating. They may put on over two pounds (one kilogram) of fat every day. If you wanted to eat as much, you would have to gobble down forty-three hamburgers and twelve large orders of fries...every day!

Reviews
Praise for the Nature Babies series:
"With texts that read like stories, these inviting volumes provide introductions to fascinating animals...Excellent photos showcase these creatures in their natural habitats..." — School Library Journal

"Lynch's sharp, color photographs bring children up close and give insight into baby animals' early experiences in the wild." — Booklist

Educator & Series Information
This book features:
- Simple, informative stories about the first year in a wild animal's life.
- A 'Did You Know?' Section of interesting facts.
- Introduction, table of contents, and index.
- Unique photographs taken in the wild.

This book is part of The Nature Babies Series, which is targeted at the next generation of naturalists and depicts baby animals in their natural environment.

Additional Information
36 pages | 8.00" x 7.00" | colour photographs throughout

Think of all the rocks there are: the skipping rocks, the splashing rocks, and the chalk rocks. Whether the found treasures are climbing rocks or wishing rocks, children can't help collecting them. With joyful text and luminous photographs, If You Find a Rock celebrates rocks everywhere--as well as the mysterious and wonderful places they are found.

Features 18 hand-tinted photographic illustrations

Junior Library Guild Selection

Educator Information
Recommended Ages: 4-7.

Additional Information
32 pages | 10.00" x 9.00"

This sweet, simple story looks at a very special relationship. A young boy goes for a walk with his kohkom, or grandmother, listening, picking, praying, eating... just as she does. In doing so, he begins to learn the rich cultural traditions and values of his Cree heritage.

Caitlin Dale Nicholson’s acrylic-on-canvas illustrations portray the close relationship between the boy and his grandmother and the natural beauty of the bush. Her text has been translated into Cree by Leona Morin-Neilson, who was also the inspiration for the story and collaborated with her on this work.

Educator & Series Information
Recommended Ages: 4-7

Delivered in a dual-language format of Cree (y-dialect) and English. 

This book is part of the Nôhkom series.

Recommended for Grades K-1 for the following subject areas: English Language Arts, Indigenous Language Studies, Social Studies, Science and Nature, Visual Arts.

Authenticity Note: Leona Morin-Neilson (Métis-Cree) is a Cree teacher and the inspiration behind this book. She collaborated with the author to create this work. Leona Morin-Neilson teaches Cree at the “Power of Friendship” Aboriginial Headstart program in Prince George, British Columbia, and at the University of Northern British Columbia. She also teaches people in her community about traditional plants and how they can be used for medicinal purposes.

Because of the collaboration between Leona and the author, and Leona's Cree translation, this book has been labeled as containing Authentic Indigenous Text.  It is up to readers to determine if this work is authentic for their purposes.

Additional Information
24 pages | 8.50" x 12.25"

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 takes it upon herself to tell her little brother all the things he must remember: the trees, the mountains, the rivers and the tug of the salmon when he and his dad pull in the fishing nets. 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.

Awards

Reviews
"Shin-Chi’s Canoe is a story about a brother and sister sent to a residential school and the separation from their culture they experience. Shin-Chi finds comfort with a little cedar canoe and the dream of returning home like the salmon. The children both find peace and strength by connecting to Mother Earth and the water. The story acknowledges the residential school system's devastating events while highlighting Indigenous children's strength and resiliency." - The Dalai Lama Center

Educator Information
Recommended Grades: 2-10.

Recommended Authentic First Peoples K-9 resource.

This illustrated children's story is recommended for English First Peoples Grades 10 for units pertaining to childhood through Indigenous writers' eyes and the exploration of residential schools and reconciliation through children's literature.

This book is available in French: La pirogue de Shin-chi

Additional Information
40 pages | 8.50" x 8.13"

Christmas with a Lakota trick!

A traditional Native American character gets a modern update in this charming Christmas tale.

On Christmas Eve, Coyote wants to find some people to trick out of a hot meal. Sneaky Coyote is known in the Native American tradition as the Trickster. He knows that there's one character people can't refuse on Christmas Eve: Santa Claus! Using straw for a jolly belly and wool for his Santa's beard, the Trickster fools a family into welcoming him to their Christmas meal. But just when he thinks he's gotten away with his ruse, taking their food and leaving the family with nothing, he's foiled by a strange occurrence. Could it be a Christmas miracle?

Coyote's antics, beautifully told and illustrated by S. D. Nelson, will delight readers, and his eventual comeuppance just in time for Christmas makes this a perfect holiday tale.

Educator Information
Recommended for ages 6 to 9

Additional Information
40 pages | 9.50" x 10.50"

A beautiful new counting book by an award-winning author! 

There is so much to count at the seashore - one lighthouse, two freighters, three eagles - and on and on, until you get to ten. Then a pod of orcas explodes out of the sea - so many, you can't begin to add them up. But wait. At the end of the day, you can count from ten all the way down again, as ten sailboats, nine fishboats, eight beach umbrellas - and on and on - gradually settle for the evening or pack up and drift away. 

A gentle and poetic counting book by the award-winning author of Waiting for the Whales and Jessie's Island, Sheryl McFarlane's A Pod of Orcas is just the right bedtime read for eager little counters. Artist Kirsti Wakelin makes her picture book debut with exquisite watercolor paintings that glow with dreamy light and warmth.

Parents and educators will appreciate the simple, yet effective design. Each number appears spelled out and in numerical form. And small pictorial "clues" will lead pre-readers to every counting subject.

Additional Information
10.00" x 9.00"

Raw, honest and powerful, these moving bilingual poems by noted Salvadoran poet Jorge Argueta explore a young native boy's connection to Mother Earth and how he is healed from the terrible wounds of racism he has endured. Tetl has learned from his grandmother about the spirituality of his ancestors, about how they viewed the earth as alive with sacred meaning. This helps him move from doubt and fear, created by the taunts of other children, to self-acceptance and a discovery of his love for nature.

Mountains, wind, corn and stones all speak to Tetl, almost seeming to vibrate with life. He feels deep roots in them and, through them, he learns to speak and sing. They reveal his Nahuatl self and he realizes that he is special, beautiful and sacred.

These gripping poems have something to teach us all, perhaps especially those who have been either intentionally or casually cruel or racist, as well as those who have been the victims of racism.

Crudos, honestos e impactantes, estos conmovedores poemas bilingües por el aclamado salvadoreño Jorge Argueta exploran la relación de un joven nativo con la Madre Tierra y de como fue curado de las terribles heridas causadas por el racismo que ha tenido que aguantar. Tetl ha aprendido de su abuela sobre la espiritualidad de sus ancestros, sobre como ellos veían la tierra como un ser vivo con un sentido sagrado. Esto lo ayuda a pasar de la duda y el miedo, creado por las burlas de los otros niños, a la aceptación de sí mismo y al descubrimiento de su amor por la naturaleza.

La montañas, el viento, el maíz y las piedras le hablan a Tetl, parece casi que vibran de vida. El siente profundas raíces en ellos, a través de ellos, y aprende a hablar y cantar. Ellos le revelan su parte Náhuatl y él se da cuenta de que es especial, bello y sagrado.

Estos poemas apasionantes tienen algo que enseñarnos a todos, quizás especialmente a aquellos que intencionalmente o sin quererlo han sido crueles o racistas, como también a aquellos que a su vez han sido víctimas del racismo.

Additional Information
36 pages | 8.94" x 9.56"

On a fresh spring day, young Yetsa, her mother and her grand-mother gather to prepare the sheep fleeces piled in Grandma's yard. As they clean, wash and dry the fleece, laughter and hard work connect the three generations. The reader joins this family in an old, but vibrant tradition: the creation of a Cowichan sweater.

Additional Information

An adventure begins when Zoe finds a lone fawn in the forest and helps search for its mother. But who could the mother be? A bunny? A fish? Join Zoe and her father as they encounter many woodland animals and learn their Native names along the way.

Educator Information
Recommended for ages 3 to 5

Additional Information
32 pages | 8.00" x 8.00" | Paperback

Readers discover counting and creatures, and learn who's predator and who's prey. They witness five Arctic foxes hunting six furry siksiks. They watch seven fisherman catch eight Arctic char. Numbers explored include 1 to 10, 20, 100 and even 1,000,000 millions of berries ripen in the fall.

Reviews
"From one polar bear walking along the edge of a huge ice floe to millions of berries ready for picking, My Arctic 1, 2, 3 takes young readers on a counting tour in the Far North. With the rich Arctic environment as a background, this classic not only provides small children with opportunities to practice their counting skills, it introduces them to the extraordinary animals that make the Far North their home. Stunning artwork, the author's memories of life in the Arctic and information about many of the featured animals make My Arctic 1, 2, 3 the perfect book for families to share and cherish. You can count on it!" - Parent Council

"A fascinating tale... The book is well thought out, colourful and imaginative, giving us a glimpse of life in the vast Arctic. Recommended." 
— Naomi Gerrard, reviewer for Amelia Frances Howard-, Children's Materials, Vol. 3, No. 2, September 1996

"Emerging readers will appreciate the easy-to-read, large print...A unique addition for libraries, particularly those building multicultural or Arctic-region collections." — School Library Journal

Educator Information
Recommended Ages: 4-6.

Numbers are in Inuktitut and English.

Additional Information
24 pages | 8.25" x 10.50"

Turtle lives in a beautiful little pond with everything a happy turtle needs. But one spring, Turtle awakes from hibernation to discover that her lovely home has been invaded! A pushy beaver takes over Turtle's beloved pond and refuses to share. Instead, he challenges her to a race to determine who can stay. But how can a little turtle outswim a big, powerful beaver? This charming fable of brains versus brawn is a great read for all the young readers in the forest to share!

Additional Information
32 pages | 10.06" x 8.06" | Paperback

In northern Alaska a female red fox is busy with her newborn litter, while her mate hunts for them both. As the first five pups grow, they are eager to venture farther outside the den. But for now the biggest challenge is to decide who's boss. So the siblings begin weeks of fighting that will determine their place in the order. Only then can the lively youngsters play, developing their survival and hunting skills as they prepare to leave home one day.

Educator & Series Information
This book features:
- Simple, informative stories about the first year in a wild animal's life.
- A 'Did You Know?' Section of interesting facts.
- Introduction, table of contents, and index.
- Unique photographs taken in the wild.

This book is part of The Nature Babies Series, which is targeted at the next generation of naturalists and depicts baby animals in their natural environment.

Additional Information
36 pages | 8.00" x 7.00" | colour photographs throughout