The Sharing Circle

Matthew loves to play games with his friends and share his toys with them. But most of all he loves to share the special treasures that remind him of his First Nations culture. Perhaps his favourite treasure is the medicine pouch that his grandfather made especially for him. This is where he keeps many of his other treasures, including the sacred herbs his mother gave him. Matthew uses the herbs to remind him to be grateful for everything that nature gives us. Another special gift is the eagle feather from his father. Matthew knows that the eagle is a symbol of the spiritual strength of his culture. But there is one other gift that has a special place in Matthew’s heart. It is the dream catcher that Matthew gave to his friend Dustin to help him not have bad dreams. The Sharing Circle is a collection of seven stories about First Nations culture and spiritual practices: The Eagle Feather, The Dream Catcher, The Sacred Herbs, The Talking Circle, The Medicine Wheel, The Drum, and The Medicine Pouch.

Researched and written by Mi’kmaw children’s author Theresa Meuse-Dallien, and beautifully illustrated by Mi’kmaw illustrator Arthur Stevens, this book will engage and inform children of all ages.

Christmas with the Rural Mail

A gentle poem describing the journey of a mailsleigh through rural Nova Scotia at Christmas time, delivering packages and parcels to children, Christmas with the Rural Mail is a holiday classic. The poem is carefully crafted to fit Maud Lewis’s colourful paintings, and the mailsleigh passes children skiing and tobogganing, oxen and Clydesdale horses pulling heavy loads, and the train station, among other classic rural winter scenes.

Lewis’s artwork is ideal for babies and toddlers, with its bright colours and simple forms, and the paintings and poem together perfectly evoke Christmases gone by. This is a sturdy board book edition great for young readers.

Rum-Running

The first book in the Stories of Our Past series, Rum-Running is an intriguing look at one of the most fascinating aspects of Atlantic Canada’s past. Journalist and author Allison Lawlor chronicles the history of this furtive trade and recounts the exploits and escapades of the East Coast’s most infamous liquor smugglers. Complete with enthralling first-person accounts, fact-filled sidebars, and over 60 photos, and written in an easy-to-read, accessible style, Rum-Running is the rollicking story of one of the most captivating, and controversial, chapters of Canadian history.

Inspired Rug-Hooking

Working from twenty years’ experience as a rug hooker, studio owner, and teacher, Deanne Fitzpatrick shares her sources of inspiration, work habits, ideas about creativity and design, and helpful guidelines for creating beautiful, expressive rugs. Practical suggestions for hooking houses, landscapes, seasons, stories, and people are accompanied by the artist’s insight into tapping creativity and learning how to make art from life.

Tips for choosing colours, experimenting with texture, preparing a backing, transferring a design, and achieving realistic depictions are interspersed with passages on artistic inspiration and process. Best of all, over 80 striking colour photographs of the author’s own projects and techniques provide readers with excellent reference points for turning their own experiences into magnificent rugs.

Christmas with the Rural Mail

A gentle poem describing the journey of a mailsleigh through rural Nova Scotia at Christmas time, delivering packages and parcels to children, Christmas with the Rural Mail is a holiday classic. The poem is carefully crafted to fit Maud Lewis’s colourful paintings, and the mailsleigh passes children skiing and tobogganing, oxen and Clydesdale horses pulling heavy loads, and the train station, among other classic rural winter scenes.

Lewis’s artwork is ideal for babies and toddlers, with its bright colours and simple forms, and the paintings and poem together perfectly evoke Christmases gone by. This is a sturdy board book edition great for young readers.

Miracles and Mysteries

[…] Halifax Harbour. Monnon begins the story in the days just prior to the explosion, providing news items, ads, and public notices that give readers fresh insight into life in the […]

Lost on Brier Island

Fourteen-year-old Alex’s life is in ruins. Her family ripped apart by unspeakable tragedy, she is stuck on Brier Island for the summer with her aunt. At first, Alex is desperate to escape this place where everyone’s business is public knowledge and there is too much time to think. But the island begins to work its magic, with its quirky characters, rugged landscape, and whale-filled ocean, and Alex forms a special bond with an adventurous baby whale she names Daredevil.

Through her attachment to Daredevil and the beauty of Brier Island, Alex slowly begins the long journey toward healing. But everything changes when Alex is suddenly thrown into a life-or-death struggle. Can she find the courage and the strength to save Daredevil- and herself?

Moving, funny, and honest, this is a powerful story of losing loved ones and finding yourself, set against the stunning backdrop of Brier Island.

Dramatic Life of a Country Doctor

[…] the underground rescue teams to bring the gassed and trapped miners to the surface.

In this new edition Dr. Burden gives his account of an active life and of a man […]

A Christmas Dollhouse

Dot’s family is having a hard time. Her father has work, but her mother is terribly sick, and there is barely enough to make ends meet—and definitely not enough money for a lot of presents this Christmas. In the window of the town’s drugstore, Dot sees a beautiful dollhouse that is being raffled away. But her family doesn’t even have a dollar to spend there so she can enter the contest.

A Christmas Dollhouse is about hope in the face of hardship and about communities gathering close and taking care of each other. Set in Nova Scotia during the Great Depression, this is a story that will appeal to anyone who believes in the magic of Christmas.

Oak Island Revenge

Jonah is fourteen and lives on the Western Shore of Nova Scotia in 1958. He and his best friend, Beaz, have figured out a way to get to the forbidden Oak Island to seek treasure. They find a gold locket down one of the treasure shafts and can’t believe their luck—until they realize that the locket is not pirate’s booty but possibly evidence in a current murder investigation, one which Jonah already knows more about than he can handle. Beaz is in danger from his abusive mother if she finds out he’s gone to Oak Island, so Jonah keeps the secret even though there is a killer at large in his small community.

Oak Island Revenge is a coming-of-age story, with much higher stakes than most teenagers have to contend with.