Plants and Animals

What happens when the needs of people and nature collide?

More than 13 million miles of roads crisscross landscapes in 222 countries. Roads offer many human benefits, but they also create problems for nature. Their construction leads to a loss of biodiversity through habitat loss, fragmentation and degradation. Roads isolate wildlife populations, impede migration and allow invasive plant and animal species to spread, while giving rise to pollution from garbage, light, noise and airborne contaminants. With innovative tools, like wildlife overpasses to reconnect landscapes, smart roads and vehicles to maximize safety, and a little hands on help, we can create environmental harmony. And sitting in the passenger seat, young people can play a part in helping highways and habitats coexist.

Reviews
“Well organized and includes clearly explained examples from many locations…This volume offers considerably more information for students researching the topic. An intriguing subject and a good resource for middle-grade reports.”— Booklist

“Gorgeous, crisp photographs complement the well-written text…A first purchase for libraries that need more books on the topic of conservation and the impact of development on wildlife.” — School Library Journal (SLJ)

“A fascinating, invaluable and enlightening tool for libraries, schools and homes alike. Wildlife Crossing will empower all readers to do their part when it comes to road ecology and will undoubtedly spark meaningful conversations about what it means to coexist with nature. Very highly recommended.”— Canadian Children's Book Centre (CCBC) Canadian Children’s Book News

“Wildlife Crossing gives an intriguing overview of the topic in just 48 pages, but it is a good addition to science collections with a focus on the environment. Highly Recommended.”— CM: Canadian Review of Materials

Educator & Series Information
Recommended for ages 9 to 12.

This book is part of the Orca Footprint series.

Reading Levels:
Fountas & Pinnell Text Level Gradient: X 
Lexile measure: 1130L
Guided Reading Level: X

Additional Information
48 pages | 8.00" x 9.50" | Includes 74 colour photographs, 1 index, 1 bibliography | Hardcover 

A comprehensive guide to Ontario trees.

Featuring more than 1,400 vibrant photographs and illustrations, this visually rich and inviting field guide describes the trees likely to be encountered in Ontario, whether on a hike in the woods or on a walk down city streets.

Covering both naturally occurring and cultivated species, this book features an illustrated glossary of botanical terms, distribution maps, and photographs depicting distinctive characteristics of individual tree species.

With diagnostic descriptions for quick recognition of trees by their component parts, and easy-to-use identification keys covering summer and winter conditions, A Field Guide to Trees of Ontario is a must-have for tree enthusiasts--novices and experts alike.

Carry it with you wherever you may find trees, which is practically everywhere.

Additional Information
512 pages | 4.50" x 8.00" | Paperback

A middle-grade-friendly introduction to Pacific Northwest flora, with outdoor activities, games and quizzes that make learning about nature fun! Great for families and educators.

Get dirty digging up roots. Crouch down to look closely at a carnivorous sundew dissolving a dragonfly. Munch some lemony-tasting miner’s lettuce. Go on a scavenger hunt for some of nature’s more surprising creations, like the arbutus tree, a sculpture of living copper. Make a soothing plantain salve to treat an itch. Learn which berries you can eat and which to avoid.

Time spent outdoors encourages children’s self-confidence and independence, increases attention span and physical well-being, and fosters care for the environment. With the increasing intrusion of technology into daily life, and the challenges of climate chaos, it has never been more essential for parents and educators to encourage kids to engage with the natural environment. Plants are everywhere, even in urban areas where parks, empty lots and backyards offer the opportunity to learn from and connect to nature.

Drawing on her years of experience as a herbalist and outdoor educator, author Philippa Joly features more than fifty richly illustrated plant profiles, including information on identification and ecology, uses in Coastal Indigenous cultures, and fun activities—all in a way that is accessible and interesting to readers of all ages.

Reviews
“This is an absolutely delightful book, dedicated to helping children and youth build relationships with the plants in their world. It is a rich compendium of plant portraits and descriptions, personal stories, recipes, games and hands-on activities—like making tea from Yerba Buena or making a root-digging stick of Oceanspray. Philippa’s obvious love of kids, plants and the natural world shines through—and it is catching!” — Nancy Turner, Professor Emeritus, University of Victoria, and author of Plants of Haida Gwaii

Educator Information
Recommended for ages 6 to 12.

Table of Contents
1. Indigenous Peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast
2. Regions and Plants Covered by This Book
3. Plant Names and Language
4. Dos and Dont's of Wildcrafting Plants
5. Understanding Plant Families
6. Plant Guilds
7. Poisonous Plants
8. Invasive Plants
9. Plant Profiles
10. For Parents and Educators

Additional Information
232 pages | 8.50" x 8.50" | Paperback

Animals & Their Babies was created by father and daughter Coast Salish artists Francis Horne and Simone Diamond. It is the first Indigenous board book that features baby animals and their parents. Through this board book, young children can learn the names of baby animals while being introduced to traditional, authentic Coast Salish Indigenous art at an early age.

Animals & Their Babies is Simone Diamond's first board book ever written.

Educator Information
Board book for young children.

"My daughter, Simone Diamond, was born into a world of creativity, blessed with a rich cultural background. From an early age she was passionate about learning Coast Salish Art. Our art is our recorded history, expressing stories, legends, and connections to ancestors and the natural world. Coast Salish artists become knowledge keepers and play an important role in the continuation of our art and culture. This book celebrates art, culture, the natural world and the love between parents and their children." - Francis Horne Sr.

"On a daily basis I witness the natural world around me. My observations translate into my art. Coast Salish art has allowed me to connect to my roots. My art is a form of expression that was waiting to manifest and chose to do that through my hands and vision. I am grateful that I get to share this gift with the world and hope that it inspires others to authentically express their own creativity in whatever form or medium that may be. Parenthood has allowed me to slow down in this fast-paced life to nurture my daughter's curiosities of the world around her" - Simone Diamond

Additional Information
18 Pages | 6.5" x 6.5" | Boardbook 

Animals Illustrated 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 about Arctic animals.

Each volume contains first-hand accounts from authors who live in the Arctic, along with interesting facts on the behaviours and biology of each animal. In this book, kids will learn about the many body adaptations that make Arctic foxes perfectly designed for life in the Arctic, as well as some of their amazing abilities—like being able to travel huge distances in search of food, even swimming between islands on their quest!

Educator & Series Information 
Recommended Ages: 6-8

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.

This book is available in French: Renard Arctique.

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

This bundle includes all four titles in the By Day and By Night Nature Series:

• Hideaway Cove (hardcover)
• A Night at Hideaway Cove (paperback) 
• Fernwood Forest (hardcover)
• A Night in Fernwood Forest (hardcover)

Each book in the By Day and By Night Nature Series focuses on a scene typical of a distinct west coast habitat, showing how living and non-living things are connected in a healthy ecosystem. As readers, we observe animals going about their daily activities: caring for their young, searching for food, and responding to the changes in light, temperature, and weather conditions throughout the day or night. The last four pages of each book provide facts about the highlighted animals and plants as well as features that are unique to their habitats. The final page suggests ways that young readers and their families can be respectful as they visit wilderness areas.

Readers with a sense of curiosity will find opportunities in these books to:

• use picture clues to predict the featured animal on the next page
• identify, count, and sequence numbers (1 owl, 2 deer, 3 squirrels, etc.)
• search for small creatures that travel from page to page
• discover patterns in the text and structure of the books
• track the movement of the sun, or moon, across the sky

Reading Level: Nonfiction text features such as headings, bold words, bullets, captions, and labelled diagrams make these books accessible to independent readers in grades 2 to 4. The books would also be great “read-alouds” for younger children.

Curriculum Links
Reading - Providing opportunities for guided practise in using reading strategies: visualizing, making connections, asking questions, transforming, and inferring.

Science - Supporting discussion and further exploration:

• characteristics of living things
• needs of living things
• connections between living and non-living things
• daily and seasonal changes
• animal growth and changes
• plant growth and changes
• weather
• habitats
• observable patterns in the sky

Numeracy - Counting and sequencing of numbers 1 to 10.

Social Responsibility - Initiating discussions about ways to take care of wilderness areas.

Lesson plans are available for each book and are free to download from each book's listing on our website!

Additional Information
Titles included are 32 pages, 8.5" x 11"

​Please note: All books in this bundle are hardcovers, except for A Night at Hideaway Cove, which is a paperback as the hardcover edition is out of print. ​

What can archaeology and Indigenous Traditional Knowledge tell us about how our marine environments have changed over time and the effects of climate change?

From harvesting herring eggs to hunting humpback whales, humans have had a relationship with the world's oceans for more than 100,000 years. In Dig Deep: Connecting Archaeology, Oceans and Us, young readers unearth what our ancestors left behind at archaeological sites around the world and examine how tools, campsites, fishing technologies and even garbage can show us how our ancestors lived and how they used the ocean. These discoveries can unearth clues to help keep our oceans healthier today and in the future.

Reviews
“Provides readers with an introduction to archeology…Slim yet informative…Recommended.” — School Library Connection

Educator & Series Information
Recommended for ages 9 to 12.

This book is part of the Orca Footprint series.

Additional Information
48 pages | 8.00" x 9.50" | Hardcover

Part of the Little Explorers series, this book shows young readers how to garden everything from flowers to veggies — and offers tips and tricks for keeping it all in bloom.

Let's get our hands dirty!

Whether you have a big backyard or pots on a balcony, you can grow just about anything if you have healthy soil, plenty of water, and bright sunlight. This book in the Little Explorers series takes young readers through every step to creating their own garden: from collecting nutrient-rich soil and choosing the right time of day to water your plants, to identifying helpful critters from unwanted pests. Featuring new vocabulary words like "germinate," "fertilizer," and "pollinator," and encouraging a microscopic look at nature, this is the perfect book for curious little gardeners.

What will you grow first?

Educator & Series Information
Recommended Ages: 4-8

This book is part of the Little Explorers Series.

Additional Information
32 pages | 8.00" x 6.50"

Grizzlies are one of North America’s most iconic wildlife species.

They once roamed across half the continent, but today the grizzly population has declined at an alarming rate and it is incredibly difficult to rebuild those numbers, especially in places with a lot of people. Yet grizzlies are key members of their ecological communities and a powerful symbol of wilderness. Filled with facts and richly illustrated with photos, Grizzly Bears: Guardians of the Wilderness explores the biology of grizzlies and the vital ecological role these bears play, and it asks readers to consider what it takes to share the land with them. Learn from conservationists, scientists, Indigenous Peoples and young people who are working to ensure that grizzlies will be with us forever.

Reviews
Offers kid-friendly explanations...An important book for helping kids see past the stereotypes of terrifying grizzly bears and join the call for conservation.” — School Library Journal, starred review

“A high level of expertise, up-to-date research, thorough topic treatment and appealing presentation…Readers will come to appreciate a magnificent creature's struggles to maintain its place on this planet that we share. Highly Recommended.” — CM: Canadian Review of Materials

“This phenomenal book is a must for anyone with even the slightest interest in bears. Even someone who isn't particularly interested in learning more about grizzlies likely won’t be able to resist being drawn in. Highly Recommended.” — School Library Connection

Educator & Series Information
Recommended for ages 9 to 12.

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

Includes some Indigenous content.

A free, downloadable poster is available: Poster - Grizzly Bears: Guardians of the Wilderness

Additional Information
96 pages | 7.50" x 9.00" | Hardcover

Join the monarchs as they embark on a transcontinental journey home in this moving story about migration.

As the sun dawns in Canada, a flutter of monarch butterflies take flight, ready to begin their months-long journey to their ancestral home in Mexico. The migration will not be easy, but it is necessary for the next generation of monarchs to be born. Brought to life with illustrations as vivid as the monarch’s iconic orange and black hues, this story invites young readers to experience the monarch’s migration from the butterflies’ point of view as they search for food, huddle together through storms, and tirelessly fly south.

Parents and educators alike will find much to love about this poetically written book. The story touches on how climate change and deforestation are impacting monarchs, and kid-friendly back matter provides additional information about the butterflies, including their life cycle, anatomy, and migratory patterns, as well as several simple ways children can help monarch butterflies themselves.

Educator Information
Recommended for ages 4 to 7.

Additional information
40 pages | 9.50" x 10.00" | Hardcover 

Celebrate Indigenous thinkers and inventions with this beautifully designed, award-winning interactive nonfiction book—perfect for fans of Braiding Sweetgrass.

Corn. Chocolate. Fishing hooks. Boats that float. Insulated double-walled construction. Recorded history and folklore. Life-saving disinfectant. Forest fire management. Our lives would be unrecognizable without these, and countless other, scientific discoveries and technological inventions from Indigenous North Americans.

Spanning topics from transportation to civil engineering, hunting technologies, astronomy, brain surgery, architecture, and agriculture, Indigenous Ingenuity is a wide-ranging STEM offering that answers the call for Indigenous nonfiction by reappropriating hidden history. The book includes fun, simple activities and experiments that kids can do to better understand and enjoy the principles used by Indigenous inventors. Readers of all ages are invited to celebrate traditional North American Indigenous innovation, and to embrace the mindset of reciprocity, environmental responsibility, and the interconnectedness of all life.

Reviews
"An astonishing, exuberant treasure trove of history, science and hands-on activities that repeatedly begs the question: "Why didn't I know this?" Essential for kids and adults. We need this book." —Candace Fleming, award-winning author of The Rise and Fall of Charles Lindbergh and The Family Romanov

"This book will amaze readers and teachers as it demonstrates how pervasive and critical the history of Indigenous people is. A completely unique and important narrative not to be missed; readers and teachers will come away with a new appreciation for the myriad contributions Indigenous people have made."—SLJ, starred review

"A conversational tone invites readers to engage with this monumental collection . . . Curious readers will learn facts unique to individual tribal groups while gaining knowledge of STEM/STEAM concepts. An ambitious, appealing, and accessible work documenting and protecting valuable knowledge."—Kirkus Reviews

"Engaging and informative, this will be welcomed by both STEM and social studies curricula to help to correct prevailing narratives about Indigenous technology."—Booklist, starred review

"Via authoritative, meticulously researched prose, the creators detail Native peoples’ significant strides in scientific pursuits . . . [and] showcase Native tribes’ continual and enduring impact. Photographs, as well as interactive activities detailing recipes and science experiments, feature throughout, lending a hands-on approach to this clear and concise work."—Publishers Weekly

"This book is a valuable contribution to efforts to decolonize learning and introduce readers to the breadth of indigenous knowledge as practiced in widely disparate geographic zones."—Canadian Review of Materials

"An engaging and cleverly compiled guide to North American and Mesoamerican Indigenous innovation. STEM topics (housing, medicine, clothing, agriculture, and hunting among them) are compellingly and conversationally discussed."—Shelf Awareness

Educator Information
Recommended for ages 8 to 12.

Fountas & Pinnell Text Level Gradient: Z

Additional Information
288 pages | 6.95" x 9.00" | Paperback 

An all-new, richly illustrated easy-to-use guide that with the six identifying features of each of the most common birds on the east coast.

This book makes identifying the most common birds found on the east coast of Canada easy. It includes detailed illustrations of every bird, showcasing their size and colour, flight patterns, dietary habits and other useful facts.

Using this book, kids and novice bird watchers will be able to identify birds you may see in your back yard, on the trails or at the beach, helping them to reconnect with nature and wildlife.

Author and illustrator Jeffrey C. Domm is an expert with over 20 nature guides published. His illustrations go far beyond anything seen in common bird guides with detail and clarity.

More than forty birds are included, from those you will see in your backyard – like the American crow and the Blue Jay – to those you will see while at the beach or walking along a trail, like the Great Blue Heron and the Bald Eagle. Each bird has over ten illustrations for easy and clear identification.

Reviews
"This book is charming...looking closer at the book I noticed the bird images weren’t the generated images I thought they were. They were illustrations. And beautiful ones." — Katy Jean, The Chronicle Herald

Educator Information
Children's Book.

Additional Information
104 pages | 5.51" x 8.50" | Paperback

Light pollution threatens the survival of every living species on our planet, including people.

It started when Thomas Edison invented the first light bulb more than 150 years ago. Then, as electric light became more common, light pollution began to take over cities and towns. Today, in urban centers all over the world, the stars in the sky aren't visible. Millions of people have never seen the Milky Way. In Saving the Night, we discover how plants and animals have adapted over millions of years to survive and thrive in the dark, and how artificial light can upset the balance of entire ecosystems. But there are ways we can take back the night for animals, plants and us. It starts with the flick of a switch.

Reviews
“Richly described and alluring…Aitken urges his readers to be unafraid of the dark and after reading this excellent book, tweens will want to venture forth into the night without a flashlight.”— School Library Journal

“Both personal and poetic…A very comprehensive look at the role of light in the natural world and the effect of light pollution on all living organisms. This book deserves to be available and promoted in schools and libraries. Saving the night for all of us is worth it. Highly Recommended.” — CM: Canadian Review of Materials

“[An] informative addition to the Footprints series…This organized, involving book will fill a gap in many library collections.”— Booklist

“Flashes on a too often unconsidered sort of environmental pollution.”— Kirkus Reviews

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.

Recommended for ages 9-12.

Additional Information
48 pages | 8.00" x 9.50" | Hardcover

“waniskā. wāpan,” mosōm says. “Wake up. It’s morning, little one. You, me, and kohkom are going for a boat ride for the day.”

And that is exactly what they do in this quiet book that celebrates traditional life in modern times. Held warmly in his kohkom’s arms, little Luke watches ducks, pelicans and cormorants on the way to Seagull Island, where the family collects eggs for their shore lunch and to share later with Auntie at home.

Seagull Island: kiyāsko-miniscikos is inspired by Elder Myles Hector Charles’s memories of gathering eggs with his grandson Luke in northern Saskatchewan.

Written in English with Woodland Cree words and phrases, the story and illustrations show the deep connection between families and the land.

Educator Information
Recommended for ages 5 to 10.

Written in English with Woodland Cree words and phrases.

Additional Information
24 pages | 9.00" x 9.00" | Hardcover