Action / Adventure

The follow up to the award-winning debut novel Those Who Run in the Sky.

Haunted by the vicious creatures of his recent past, Pitu tries to go back to a normal life at home after the other-worldly travels and near-death encounters of his recent disappearance into the world of the spirits. But Pitu knows that there is more work to be done, and more that he must learn in his new role as a shaman.

When word of a starving village nearby reaches Pitu, he must go help its people appease the angry spirits. It soon becomes clear that Pitu must travel to the bottom of the ocean to meet Nuliajuk, the vengeful woman below, one of the most powerful beings in Inuit mythology.

There he learns about his role in saving the starving community and that all in his home camp may not be as it seems . . .

Educator Information
Recommended for ages 12+

Recommended in the Canadian Indigenous Books for Schools 2020/2021 resource list for grades 9 to 12 for English Language Arts and Social Studies. 

Caution: Indirect references to sexual physical abuse and trauma.

Useful as a Social Studies resource as this fictional story provides a glimpse into traditional Inuit ways of life, systems of governance, kinship ties, culture, and story.

Additional Information
208 pages | 6.00" x 9.00" | 14 b&w line drawings.

Josh, Mark, Angela and their friends have been waiting for years to go on the class trip to Drumheller, Alberta. Now they are finally the oldest kids at Pleasant Valley grade school and can get excited about the overnight outing. But first, they have a lot of learn about what they'll see in the dinosaur capital of the world. And they have to raise money for all the pizza they are going to eat on the trip! Once they finally get going, a frightening encounter with a slithery serpent leads to an amazing discovery. One that might be even better than all-you-can-eat deep dish!

Educator & Series Information
Recommended Grades: 2-4

This book is part of the Orca Echoes series of early chapter books intended to engage young readers while promoting personal development and social responsibility.  

Additional Information
88 pages | 7.62" x 5.25"

While digging for clams, Joannie finds a strange artifact made of whale bone. Suddenly, he finds himself transported a thousand years in the past, when Vikings visited Nunavut!

This time-travel story will introduce readers to the science fiction genre and teach them about ancient Northern history.

Educator Information 
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 16 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 V.

Curriculum Connections: Language and literacy; Diversity; Indigenous Perspectives; Roles and responsibilities; History; Heritage.

Recommended for ages 8-10.

Additional Information 
40 pages | 6.00" x 8.00"

Echo Desjardins, a 13-year-old Métis girl adjusting to a new home and school, is struggling with loneliness while separated from her mother. Then an ordinary day in Mr. Bee’s history class turns extraordinary, and Echo’s life will never be the same. During Mr. Bee’s lecture, Echo finds herself transported to another time and place—a bison hunt on the Saskatchewan prairie—and back again to the present. In the following weeks, Echo slips back and forth in time. She visits a Métis camp, travels the old fur-trade routes, and experiences the perilous and bygone era of the Pemmican Wars.

Educator & Series Information
Recommended for ages 12+ by the publisher.

Pemmican Wars is the first graphic novel in the A Girl Called Echo series.

Books in this series include: 
Volume 1: Pemmican Wars
Volume 2: Red River Resistance
Volume 3: Northwest Resistance
Volume 4: Road Allowance Era

The Canadian Indigenous Books for School list recommends this for Grades 5-12 for these subject areas: Arts Education, English Language Arts, Social Studies.

This book is available in French: Elle s'appelle Echo Tome 1: La guerre du Pemmican

Additional Information
48 pages | 6.50" x 10.00"

Echo Desjardins is adjusting to her new home, finding friends, and learning about Métis history. She just can’t stop slipping back and forth in time. One ordinary afternoon in class, Echo finds herself transported to the banks of the Red River in the summer of 1869. All is not well in the territory as Canadian surveyors have arrived to change the face of territory, and Métis families, who have lived there for generations, are losing access to their land. As the Resistance takes hold, Echo fears for her friends and the future of her people in the Red River Valley.

Educator & Series Information
Recommended for grades 5 to 9.

Red River Resistance is volume two in the graphic novel series, A Girl Called Echo, by Katherena Vermette.

Books in this series include: 
Volume 1: Pemmican Wars
Volume 2: Red River Resistance
Volume 3: Northwest Resistance
Volume 4: Road Allowance Era

Recommended in the Canadian Indigenous Books for Schools 2019-2020 resource list as being useful for grades 5-12 with regard to these subjects: English Language Arts, Art Education, Social Studies.

This book is available in French: Elle s'appelle Echo Tome 2: La guerre du Pemmican 

Additional Information
47 pages | 6.50" x 10.00"

Leira is about to start her initiation as a priestess when her world is turned upside down. A violent earthquake leaves her home--and her family--in pieces. And the earth goddess hasn't finished with the island yet.

With her family, Leira flees across the sea to Crete, expecting sanctuary. But a volcanic eruption throws the entire world into darkness. After the resulting tsunami, society descends into chaos; the status and privilege of being noble-born are reduced to nothing. With her injured mother and elderly nurse, Leira must find the strength and resourcefulness within herself to find safety.

A thrilling new Bronze Age survival story from the award-winning author of Dragonfly Song and Nim's Island.

Reviews
"[Orr's] mixture of prose and free verse to tell Leira's story is lyrical and magnetic—and devastating. Not for readers searching for a simple or happy journey, this is a beautiful song of a book that shows that life isn't always fair, but change is always constant."—Kirkus Reviews

"Leira's lyrical first-person narrative advances the story along beautifully with a fitting sense of urgency, and free-verse songs clue readers in to her emotional development. Immersive historical fiction."—Booklist Starred Review

"Some chapters written in verse make the more emotional plotlines sing. An eye-opening look at how difficult it is when one's status changes in life, and how attitude can shape outcome. VERDICT: Beautiful writing and a fast-moving plot will give young historical fiction fans much to love."—School Library Journal

"Leira's protracted fall from grace is effectively punctuated by seamless narrative shifts among prose, verse, and song, which fans of Orr's Dragonfly Song will recognize. What she endures—the uncertainty of her family's fate and becoming a servant herself—makes for a gripping exploration of privilege during her journey toward womanhood."—Bulletin for the Center for Children's Books

"Swallow's Dance is a sweeping tale of courage, fortitude, hardship and perseverance against all odds. It is also a coming of age story, an intimate glimpse into the life of a young girl adjusting to puberty at a time when her family, friendships and her understanding of her place in the world are brutally torn apart. Wendy Orr has crafted a sympathetic, memorable heroine whose struggles and challenges transcend time from the Bronze Age to modern day....While suitable for middle-grade students and a wonderful introduction to mythology and discussions surrounding puberty, spirituality, class, mental health, death and disaster, Swallow's Dance is one of those rare books that is also just a great story, an epic tale for all ages. Highly Recommended."—CM Magazine

"Top notch historical fiction for those who like it ancient!... The scenes of devastation – earthquake in Santorini, tsunami in Crete – are riveting to experience through the lens of a survivor."—Youth Services Book Review

"Orr's attention to character development is extremely well done....Swallow's Dance could be used in conjunction with the grades-five-to-eight Language Arts or Social Studies curriculum and would be great to teach students how to incorporate symbolism and imagery through free verse and poetry. In addition, Swallow's Dance could also be used to teach students about family, culture, history and the importance of the role of women in society. A fantastic novel to use as a read-aloud or novel study!"—Canadian Children's Book News

Educator Information
Recommended Ages: 10-14

Themes/Subjects: Legends, Myths, Fables - Greek & Roman / Historical - Ancient Civilizations / Action & Adventure - Survival Stories / Coming of Age.

Additional Information
288 pages | 5.50" x 8.00"

Anokì and his sister Pangì Mahingan have grown up, and now face a decision that will change their lives forever.

Twelve years after Mahingan was wounded battling for his life against the Haudenosaunee warrior known as Ö:nenhste Erhar (Corn Dog), we rejoin his family and learn what fate held for him.

Now, his children, Anokì and Pangì Mahingan, along with their twin cousins Makwa and Wàbek, are grown and have adult responsibilities. Still living with their Algonquin family, they have become a formidable fighting unit with the addition of three Mi´kmaq warriors, E´s, Jilte´g, and the fierce Elue´wiet Ga´qaquj.

However, there is danger in the land of the setting sun, and nothing is more dangerous than what the family is going to encounter from the fierce enemy of their new Anishinaabe allies: the Lakȟóta.

Educator Information
Recommended Ages: 12-15.

Series Information
This novel is part of the Algonquin Quest Series, a series of young adult novels from Algonquin author Rick Revelle. 

Additional Information
304 pages | 5.00" x 8.00"

Years after a devastating battle, Mahingan and his tribe struggle to recover a lost loved one.

Six years earlier in the fourteenth century, Mahingan and his tribe fought the Battle of the Falls against the Haudenosaunee. There were many losses, and Mahingan thought he had lost his wife, Wàbananang (Morning Star). But after the battle, he learned she was still alive, taken captive by the Haudenosaunee. Now on a desperate quest to rescue her, Mahingan and his small family are wintering north of the Ottawa River near present-day Lachute, Quebec. If they are to have any hope of recovering Wàbananang, though, they must first survive until spring.

At the same time, over 2,000 kilometres away in present-day Newfoundland, events taking place will affect four Native tribes: Mahingan’s, a group of Mi’kmaq, a Beothuk group, and a band of Haudenosaunee warriors led by Mahingan’s old nemesis, Ò:nenhste Erhar (Corn Dog) — a fierce Mohawk War Chief and Wàbananang’s captor.

Along the way, Mahingan’s brother, Mitigomij, will reveal his true self and powers. Then, an influential Mi’kmaq legend puts a new, powerful twist on events, and threatens to send things spiraling out of Mahingan’s control.

Educator Information
Recommended Ages: 12-15.

Series Information
This novel is part of the Algonquin Quest Series, a series of young adult novels from Algonquin author Rick Revelle.

Additional Information
296 pages | 5.00" x 8.00"

In this second installment in the series, Billy and his friend Chigger continue their adventures in a hidden cave. After a horrifying accident at the cave, Billy is pronounced clinically dead on an operating table. After being revived, he discovers an ability to see and speak with the spirits of the dead including his deceased Cherokee grandmother. When Chigger becomes possessed by an alien creature, Billy knows he must return to the cave to save his friend. What he doesn’t know is that the Horned Serpent known to the Cherokees as Uktena is lying in wait.

Educator & Series Information
Ages: 12 to 16 / Reading level: 4.5

This novel is part of the Billy Buckhorn series, which is part of the PathFinder series. The PathFinders series of Hi-Lo (high interest, low readability) novels offers the following features: 

• Indigenous teen protagonists
• Age appropriate plots
• 2.5 – 4.5 Reading Level
• Contemporary and historical fiction
• Indigenous authors

The PathFinders series is from an American publisher. Therefore, Indigenous terminology in the PathFinders books is not the same as Canadian Indigenous terminology. This prompts a useful teaching moment for educators in discussing appropriate terminology use in Canada.  The recommended ages for books in the PathFinders series are 12-16.

Additional Information
120 pages | 4.50" x 7.00"

Billy Buckhorn's uncanny intuition became apparent at an early age. In the course of this exciting series, Billy's supernatural abilities grow and develop, and his reputation as a gifted "holy man" in the Old Way spreads throughout the Cherokee Nation. In book 3, Supranormal, Billy and his grandfather Wesley face a deadly, ancient beast that's poised to take control of the world. While Wesley and Billy summon aid from the spirit realms, Billy's father, a college professor, puts together an archaeological team to help out - and to document the unprecedented things they've seen and experienced. But even with everyone pulling together, can they stop Uktena?

Series Information
This novel is part of the Billy Buckhorn series, which is part of the PathFinder series. The PathFinders series of Hi-Lo (high interest, low readability) novels offers the following features: 

• Indigenous teen protagonists
• Age appropriate plots
• 2.5 – 4.5 Reading Level
• Contemporary and historical fiction
• Indigenous authors

The PathFinders series is from an American publisher. Therefore, Indigenous terminology in the PathFinders books is not the same as Canadian Indigenous terminology. This prompts a useful teaching moment for educators in discussing appropriate terminology use in Canada.  The recommended ages for books in the PathFinders series are 12-16.

Additional Information
128 pages | 4.50" x 7.00"

This book paints a vivid picture of the original peoples of North America before the arrival of Europeans. The novel follows the story of Mahingan and his family as they live the traditional Algonquin way of life in what is now Ontario in the early 14th century. Along the way we learn about the search for moose and the dramatic rare woodland buffalo hunt, conflicts with other Native nations, and the dangers of wolves and wolverines. We also witness the violent game of lacrosse, the terror of a forest fire, and the rituals that allow Algonquin boys to be declared full-grown men.

But warfare is also part of their lives, and signs point to a defining conflict between Mahingan's nation, its allies the Omàmiwinini (Algonquin), Ouendat (Huron), and the Nippissing against the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois). The battle's aftermath may open the door to future journeys by Mahingan and his followers.

Educator Information
Recommended Ages: 12-15.

Series Information
This novel is part of the Algonquin Quest Series, a series of young adult novels from Algonquin author Rick Revelle.

Additional Information
280 pages | 5.00" x 8.00"

Book Six in the Graphic Guide Adventure series.

Devin and Nadia team up with Bounce, Pema and Marcus as they all travel to Northern Ontario to watch their parents present to the Summit of World Leaders. A swarm of politicians, lobbyists, corporate bosses and protestors have all converged on the summit to get their messages heard. A tragic accident just hours before their parents' presentation plunges the kids into their biggest mystery yet and sets them on the trail of a murderer bent on stopping their parents' controversial message from being heard.

It's a fight against the planet's power players as the kids dive into the world of politics, uncovering how government works, the history of democracy, the influence of lobbyists and corporations on politicians and the potential of civil society to change it all.

Educator & Series Information
This graphic novel is part of the A Graphic Guide Adventure series.

Recommended Ages: 9-12.

Additional Information
64 pages | 5.75" x 8.00"

Here follows the story of a most extraordinary year in the life of an Ojibwe family and of a girl named "Omakayas," or Little Frog, who lived a year of flight and adventure, pain and joy, in 1852.

When Omakayas is twelve winters old, she and her family set off on a harrowing journey. They travel by canoe westward from the shores of Lake Superior along the rivers of northern Minnesota, in search of a new home. While the family has prepared well, unexpected danger, enemies, and hardships will push them to the brink of survival. Omakayas continues to learn from the land and the spirits around her, and she discovers that no matter where she is, or how she is living, she has the one thing she needs to carry her through.

Richly imagined, full of laughter and sorrow, The Porcupine Year continues Louise Erdrich's celebrated series, which began with The Birchbark House, a National Book Award finalist, and continued with The Game of Silence, winner of the Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction.

Educator & Series Information
This is the third book in the Birchbark House Series, a series of Indigenous juvenile fiction novels written by Ojibwe writer Louise Erdrich. The Birchbark House Series follows a character known as Omakayas and her Ojibwe community.

The books in this series in order include: 
The Birchbark House
The Game of Silence
The Porcupine Year
Chickadee
Makoons

Additional Information
224 pages | 5.12" x 7.62"

Pema, Bounce and Jagroop are battling a greedy developer for control of the airwaves.

When Karl Reed, Owner of Oasis Developments, tries to force the sale of a local fruit farm—through whatever means necessary—Pema, Bounce and Jagroop decide to expose him through the media. Little do they realize that when it comes to the news and the advertisers who make it possible, the truth is not always part of the story and nothing can be taken at face value. While learning about media consolidation and the power of money over truth, Bounce, Pema and Jagroop decide to take on the developers and the media.

Media Meltdown is another exciting graphic novel adventure from the winning team of Liam O'Donnell and Mike Deas. The first three books in the series have all been best-sellers, and two of them, Soccer Sabotage and Ramp Rats, have been Junior Library Guild selections. 

Educator & Series Information
This graphic novel is part of the A Graphic Guide Adventure series.

Recommended Ages: 9-12.

Additional Information
64 pages | 5.75" x 8.00"

Action, adventure and some spot-on soccer instruction.

Nadia is playing for her local soccer team, and they have made it all the way to the national tournament—against some very determined opposition. Unfortunately, Nadia's challenges don't just come from her opponents but from her teammates as well. After their coach is injured in a suspicious accident and the threats against the team mount, it is up to Nadia and her younger brother Devin to pull the team together and take a run at the championship. Another wild ride!

Educator & Series Information
This graphic novel is part of the A Graphic Guide Adventure series.

Recommended Ages: 9-12.

Additional Information
64 pages | 5.75" x 8.00"