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Stay the Blazes Home
Photographer: Len WaggPublisher: Nimbus Publishing Limited$19.95On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global pandemic, and life, at that moment, changed drastically for every Nova Scotian.
People were ordered to practice physical distancing. Everyday tasks like grocery shopping were suddenly fraught with challenges. Travellers scrambled to get home before the borders closed, and were then ordered to self-quarantine. Hospitals and health-care facilities prepared for a potential influx of critically ill patients. Through it all, Nova Scotians reacted with kindness and empathy, and came to recognize their everyday heroes—from grocery clerks to delivery drivers to the doctors and nurses on the front lines. But tales of some who flouted the rules arose. During a daily media briefing, Premier Stephen McNeil made the spirit of the order perfectly clear: “Stay the blazes home.”
Through dozens of powerful stories that illuminate the generosity and ingenuity of Nova Scotians, Stay the Blazes Home captures the many ways Nova Scotians adapted to and embraced life during the COVID-19 pandemic. Featuring photographs by author and award-winning photographer Len Wagg, in addition to submitted images from all over the province, Stay the Blazes Home serves as a record of the resilience and the spirit of Nova Scotians in a time of crisis. Portions of the proceeds from this book will be donated to local mental health initiatives.
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The Snow Knows
Artist: Josée BisaillonPublisher: Nimbus Publishing$12.95A lyrical prose poem with whimsical, hide-and-seek illustrations, The Snow Knows introduces readers of all ages to animals both domestic (a tabby cat by the wood stove) and wild (a slinking lynx; a choir of coyotes), celebrating wilderness and outdoor play.
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If I Were a Zombie
Artist: Eric OrchardPublisher: Nimbus Publishing$12.95If I were a zombie
I’d package my drool
put it in Mason jars
sell it at school.This hilarious picture book written by Hackmatack Award-nominated Kate Inglis has two children trying to outdo one another, imagining what they could do if only they were a zombie, a ninja, or a robot. With outrageously entertaining rhyming text and brilliant illustrations from artist Eric Orchard, this is sure to be a favourite with readers of all ages.
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Santa Never Brings Me a Banjo
Artist: Murray BainPublisher: Nimbus Publishing$12.95Santa never brings me a banjo
And I can never understand why
Every Christmas Eve I see it in my dreams
But every Christmas morning I cry…The celebrated holiday song from multi-talented and multiple-award-winning Halifax-based roots musician David Myles is now available as a bright and fun children’s picture book. Young David writes frantic letters to Santa every year, requesting a banjo, but to no avail: “How does he miss / the one thing on my list / in the letter that I sent to him?” Follow the ups and downs of the holiday season with David, his furry friends, and his family, as he pines for his most-wished-for holiday gift.
Featuring illustrations from the animation studio that created the song’s well-loved YouTube music video, a special holiday message from David Myles, and original sheet music for those who wish to play along, Santa Never Brings Me A Banjo is sure to inspire many a holiday singalong.
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Mi’kmaw Daily Drum Mi’kmaw Culture for Every Day of the Week
Artist: Alan SyliboyPublisher: Nimbus Publishing$14.95Mi’kmaq artist Alan Syliboy’s daily drum artworks paired with a different day of the week in an accessible and beautiful baby board book.
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Don’t Panic How to Manage your Finances and Financial Anxieties During and After Coronavirus
Publisher: Nimbus Publishing$12.95As soon as the COVID-19 global pandemic hit North America, Licensed Financial Advisor Christine Ibbotson, syndicated “Ask the Money Lady” columnist and recent author of How to Retire Debt-Free and Wealthy, started receiving hundreds of emails from concerned citizens. Should I sell off my stocks? How should I budget my spending during a temporary work stoppage? Is a mortgage payment holiday a really good thing—what’s the catch? How can we use this situation to make money and lower debt?
Ibbotson has worked quickly and diligently in the face of this global financial crisis to provide readers in Canada, the US, and UK with a collection of thoughtful responses to, and practical advice for, their most pressing concerns. Topics include what help banks and governments can offer during the pandemic, what we can learn from past financial crises, how to financially secure your future—including pent-up demand that will turn the markets, and best investment and lending strategies—and how to create a financial plan and move your finances in a different direction, ultimately leading to a safe and secure—and maybe even early—retirement.
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Wildflower
Publisher: Nimbus Publishing$22.95You cannot own a wildflower.
An old woman’s wish for a child is granted in the form of a thumb-sized girl born inside a flower. Though the child brings the woman much joy, Wildflower cannot be planted in one place; she must go where the wild wind blows. And if her mother really loves her, she must let her go.
In Wildflower, artist Briana Corr Scott (The Book of Selkie) brings her whimsical illustrations and gentle poetry to the beloved Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale, “Thumbelina.” Maintaining the original spirit of Andersen’s tale, celebrating love between mother and child, kinship between humans and animals, and bravery—no matter your size or shape—this refreshing retelling gives newfound agency to Wildflower, and offers young readers a tender lesson about the importance of respecting nature.
Wildflower is the perfect gift for new mothers and mothers-to-be, recent graduates, and anyone with a love and appreciation for nature.
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Brighten the Corner Where You Are A Novel Inspired by the Life of Maud Lewis
Publisher: Nimbus Publishing$24.95In this bittersweet novel inspired by the life of Nova Scotia folk artist Maud Lewis, master storyteller Carol Bruneau gives voice to the artist, allowing her to speak from beyond the grave, freed from the stigmas of gender, poverty and disability that marked her life and shaped her art.
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Nova Scotia and the Great Influenza Pandemic, 1918-1920 A Remembrance of the Dead and an Archive for the Living
Publisher: Nimbus Publishing$32.95The definitive academic resource on the Great Influenza at the beginning of the twentieth century threaded with the human stories of the people that lived and died in the three year pandemic in Nova Scotia.
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Canada Above & Beyond
Photographer: George FischerPublisher: Nimbus Publishing$32.95One of the country’s most celebrated photographers brings Canada to vivid life with this brand new aerial photography book, featuring spreads of all thirteen provinces and territories, as well as detailed captions that add local colour. From the Rocky Mountains and the True North to the outports of Newfoundland, and the Prairie, great lakes, and rugged terrain and cityscapes in between, Canada: Above & Beyond is a cross-country tour for locals and tourists alike.
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Over by the Harbour Counting in Outport Newfoundland and Labrador
Artist: Thérèse CiliaPublisher: Nimbus Publishing$12.95 -
A Sea Glass Journey Ebb and Flow
Publisher: Nimbus Publishing$22.95A Sea Glass Journey is your go-to resource for everything sea glass. Sea glass collector and artist Teri Hall describes the origins of sea glass, where the best glass is found, a handbook of sea glass shapes and colours, and tips for easy, fun sea glass projects. Includes 50 colour photographs.
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Whispers of Mermaids and Wonderful Things
Editor: Anne HuntPublisher: Nimbus Publishing Limited$22.95From celebrated children’s poet and author Sheree Fitch and early childhood educator Anne Hunt comes a new paperback edition of the celebrated illustrated compendium of Atlantic Canadian poetry and verse for young readers. Spanning centuries, from Milton Acorn, Bliss Carman, and Rita Joe to Budge Wilson, Shauntay Grant, and Kathleen Winter, and a broad thematic scope—from soft lullabies and silly songs to poignant meditations on nature, loss, and love—over 100 poems from the region’s best are sure to delight educators, parents, and young readers. Whispers of Mermaids and Wonderful Things is a feast for the senses.
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Atlantic Seafood Recipes from Chef Michael Howell
Publisher: Nimbus Publishing$24.95Chef Michael Howell shares over fifty of his favourite seafood recipes, covering fourteen different types of fish with dishes ranging from classic to contemporary.
Atlantic Seafood is full of easy tips for buying locally and ethically, presenting dishes to impress, and making simple substitutions. With over forty vivid colour photographs, Atlantic Seafood appeals to the fish connoisseur in all of us.
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A Giant Man from a Tiny Town A Story of Angus MacAskill
Artist: Christopher HoytPublisher: Nimbus Publishing$13.95Angus MacAskill, known far and wide as the Cape Breton Giant, travelled the world performing for crowds, but never stopped longing to return to the place he loved the best: his Cape Breton home.
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“Thanks for the Business” K.C. Irving, Arthur Irving, and the Story of Irving Oil
Publisher: Nimbus Publishing$29.95As K. C. Irving said, business is never given—it has to be earned, one customer at a time. “Thanks for the Business” traces the Irving family back to its roots in Scotland, covers the establishment and early years of the company, and looks at how Irving Oil is confronting current challenges. This comprehensive biography holds important lessons for aspiring entrepreneurs, for business schools, for public policy, and particularly for Atlantic Canada.
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Somebeachsomewhere A Harness Racing Legend from a One-Horse Stable
Publisher: Nimbus Publishing$26.95It’s November 2006 and Brent MacGrath, a car salesman from Nova Scotia, has just had his first glimpse of a gorgeous yearling at the Lexington Yearling Sale—and his heart skips a beat. He takes another look. Even this young, the bay stallion has size and “presence.” Against all odds, and with limited funds, MacGrath makes a successful bid for the colt.
Somebeachsomewhere: The Harness Racing Legend from a One-Horse Stable is a work of narrative non-fiction that follows the life and career of the Ohio-born, Canadian-sired superstar pacer known as “Beach” who belonged to a syndicate of six owners from Canada’s East Coast. From a relatively humble lineage, Somebeachsomewhere turned out to be a horse of a lifetime: a world-champion Hall of Famer, smashing records and setting a single-season earning record as a three-year-old. Many consider Beach, who died unexpectedly in 2018, the greatest pacer and Standardbred sire of all time. Canadian and American racing fans loved the friendly stallion with “an extra gear,” and threw “Beach Parties” whenever he raced.
This is the first-ever complete, generously illustrated account of “the Beach,” a horse who captivated the world with his speed, courage and near-flawless gait. It is also a story of improbabilities and magic, featuring dozens of interviews with top American and Canadian horsemen and women, the owners of Empire Stallions in Avenel, Australia, and harness racing industry professionals.
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Forest Magic
Publisher: Nimbus Publishing Limited$16.95What 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?
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Seeing Stars The Secret Life of Starfish
Publisher: Nimbus Publishing$12.95What do starfish get up to in their spare time? Perhaps they meet each other for underwater picnics, or set up telescopes to view their star cousins in the sky. Maybe they make sand-angels, or arm wrestle each other? Using live critters in homemade sets, amateur photographer Denise Adams dreams up whimsical and often humorous scenes depicting the “secret” life of common starfish, and pairs them with quirky, fun text.
Mindful not to harm the sea stars, Denise meticulously sets up each display in advance, takes her photograph, and returns the starfish to their homes—all within five minutes. The result is a creative meditation on the hidden habits of the wild creatures living all around us. Featuring dozens of original scenes, this lively gift book in the style of Nancy Rose’s The Secret Life of Squirrels will leave readers smiling and dreaming up their own starfish scenarios.
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The Family Way
Publisher: Nimbus Publishing$14.95Tulia May lives in rural Nova Scotia with her mother, who works in the laundry of the nearby Ideal Maternity Home. It’s a place where unwed mothers can discreetly give birth, a place where adoptions by rich Americans can be quickly arranged. Tulia doesn’t think about the workings of the home much; mostly she hates being roped in to helping scrub the endless diapers. Her friend Finny Paul has suspicions that the home is holding sinister secrets—the worst being that unadoptable babies are being buried in butterboxes—but Tulia thinks he’s being ridiculous. When Tulia’s sister Becky ends up in the home, Tulia truly starts to consider Finny’s concerns. And when she and Finny discover what’s really going on there, she knows she has to act quickly to keep Becky’s baby safe.
Based on the true story of the Ideal Maternity Home, and its tragic Butterbox Babies, The Family Way is a thoughtful and engaging exploration of family and of Nova Scotia’s history. A stand-alone middle-grade novel, it also serves as a prequel to the critically acclaimed Cammie novels, Flying With a Broken Wing and Cammie Takes Flight.
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Read Talk Play Baby Steps to Reading
Publisher: Nimbus Publishing$14.95Rub a dub dub
Splashing in the tub
You can say bubble
BUB, BUB, BUBBLE
Rub a dub dubThe road to reading begins at birth, and talking, playing, and reading with your baby lays a solid foundation to build a lifetime of loving books and learning.
Read Talk Play is three books in one: the perfect starter collection to introduce babies to the joy of books and reading. It features photo images that will capture a babys attention, and bouncy text that is fun to read aloud. Divided into three “mini books,” each section is introduced with helpful tips for caregivers on how babies learn to talk and read, and how play is essential to learning—all based on developmental research. Perfect for families, libraries, baby shower gifts, and early literacy promoters and educators.
