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Finding Grace
Publisher: Nimbus Publishing$14.95Following the death of her sister, thirteen-year-old Grace is now alone at the Belgian convent where she was abandoned as a baby. When Grace finds a mysterious diary, she begins looking for answers about where she came from and the truth about her family. Finding Grace offers an emotional look into the lives of girls in the strict world of convents, both in the 1940s and the 1970s.
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The Fox and the Fisherman
Publisher: Nimbus Publishing$12.95Barabas is a lonely fisherman. Every morning, alone, he goes out to sea on his small fishing boat, throws his net in the water, and hopes to bring some fish home (where no one is waiting for him). Then one day, Barabas discovers footprints near his home. To whom could they belong?
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Fiddles and Spoons (pb)
$14.95Cecile Souris and her mouse family live under the floorboards of a little Acadian house in Grand Pré, owned by the Dubois family. The house—above and below the floor—is full of good food, laughter, and wonderful music, made with fiddles and spoons. But one day soldiers arrive and take the Dubois family—and the Souris family with them—far away from Grand Pré. Join them on an unforgettable journey in this heartwarming tale of courage, love, and joy as the Acadians continue to celebrate life with fiddles and spoons!
This beloved story is now available in a second edition with a new design, including some new illustrations.
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Always With You
Artist: Carloe (Shan) LiuPublisher: Nimbus Publishing$24.95Emily woke. On her night table, a letter was propped against her grandfather’s picture. Her name was printed in pencil crayon the way only her grandfather did it, with each letter a different colour.
He was always so kind and funny and silly…and now he was gone.
Carefully, she picked up the envelope and opened it….A heartfelt new picture book from bestselling children’s author Eric Walters (From the Heart of Africa) and Halifax-based artist Carloe Liu. In this poignant story, we follow young Emily who has recently lost her grandfather. As she grows, she discovers a series of letters he left behind for her, offering grandfatherly advice at life’s most pivotal moments: first day of high school, graduation day, wedding, and ending with the birth of her own child.
With gentle watercolours and fold-out letters for sharing with loved ones, Always With You is a timeless story about grief, growing up, and finding that those we love never truly leave us.
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Mayann prend le train
Artist: Tamara Thiebaux HeikaloPublisher: Nimbus Publishing$22.95Nine-year-old Mayann Francis and her family are travelling from their home in Cape Breton to New York City by train. Everything is exciting to young Mayann, from the beds that fold down to the stop in Montreal to visit friends. Most exciting of all is the chance to show off her brand new purse.
When the Francis family arrives in big, bustling New York City, Mayann visits with relatives, goes to the zoo, and rides the subway. She even receives a beautiful black doll, something she has never seen before. But one subway ride, she loses her beautiful purse. At first she’s heartbroken, but she just might learn a lesson that makes the whole trip worthwhile.
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Be Prepared!
Publisher: Nimbus Publishing Limited$16.95Ever wonder where clouds come from? Or how meteorologists predict the weather? This brand new book, starring Nova Scotia’s favourite weather reporter, Frankie MacDonald, and written by author Sal Sawler, shares stories from Frankie’s early years, along with facts about all things sunny, rainy, snowy, and stormy. Filled with pictures, graphics, and advice from Frankie himself, this book has everything you need to Be Prepared!
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My Mommy, My Mama, My Brother, and Me These Are the Things We Found By the Sea
Artist: Mathilde Cinq-MarsPublisher: Nimbus Publishing$22.95And these are the things we find by the sea
My mommy, my mama, my brother, and me.With this gentle refrain, the debut picture book from celebrated author and playwright Natalie Meisner (Double Pregnant) reflects on her own two-mom, two-son family’s early days growing up in Lockeport, Nova Scotia.
Living by the sea offers myriad charms for the two young brothers in this poetic ode to beachcombing. When the fog disappears, the path to the beach beckons, with all the treasures it leaves behind: lobster traps, buoys, fused glass, urchins, a note in a bottle. But best of all is all the neighbours they meet along the way. An unforgettable instant classic for families of all shapes and sizes. Featuring glorious watercolours by Mathilde Cinq-Mars, which capture the warmth and magic of time spent with family by the sea.
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Santa Never Brings Me A Banjo
Artist: Murray BainPublisher: Nimbus Publishing$22.95The 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 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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Time for Bed
Publisher: Nimbus Publishing$9.95The newest book in the popular Baby Steps series, Time for Bed is a fun and simple step-by-step bedtime story for babies and toddlers. From bathtime to storytime, this book guides families through a healthy nightly routine with simple, read-aloud text and joyful photos. Time for Bed is sure to help parents get baby’s bedtime routine off to a great start.
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Maud Lewis Colours
Artist: Maud LewisPublisher: Nimbus Publishing Limited$14.95Maud Lewis Colours is a perfect first introduction to colours through the joy-filled art of Nova Scotia’s most famous folk painter, Maud Lewis. Even the youngest babies will be drawn to the bright colours and bold forms in Lewis’s whimsical paintings. Babies and toddlers will have fun learning their colours as they explore each vibrant image. A perfect companion to Maud Lewis 1 2 3, this set makes a great baby gift.
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Mi’kmaw Animals
Artist: Alan SyliboyPublisher: Nimbus Publishing$14.95Alan Syliboy, author of The Thundermaker, showcases his vibrant artwork in this new baby board book. Colourful images depicting Canadian animals like moose, whales, and caribou, and more makes this vibrant book a perfect introduction to the Mi’kmaw language. With English and Mi’kmaw translations for the animal names on every page, babies will enjoy the vivid paintings while they learn new words and discover a bit of Mi’kmaw culture in a fun way.
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The Mystery of Ireland’s Eye
$12.95Dylan is twelve years old and embarking on his first ocean kayaking trip with his parents. He has spent the last year convincing them that he is ready for the challenging—and very dangerous—adventure. In fact, he has been determined to go ever since he heard about the destination: Ireland’s Eye. The small island off the coast of Newfoundland is the easternmost settlement in Canada. Or it was. It is now hauntingly empty, a ghost town clinging to the edge of the unforgiving Atlantic. What is it about Ireland’s Eye that so captivates Dylan he is willing to take such risks to get there? Does the ghost town have anything to do with the dreams Dylan keeps having of his favourite grandfather who has just passed away? And why does the old man on St. John’s docks grimly whisper, “Don’t go to Ireland’s Eye” when he hears of Dylan’s plans?
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A Change of Heart
Artist: Erin Bennett BanksPublisher: Nimbus Publishing$12.95Finally, the remarkable story of honourary Newfoundlander Lanier Phillips is available for young children in this heartwarming picture book.
A young African American and the son of sharecroppers, Lanier Phillips escapes the violence, racism, and segregation of his Georgia home by joining the navy during the Second World War. But tragedy strikes the USS Truxtun one February night off the southeastern coast of Newfoundland, and Lanier is the lone Black survivor of the terrible shipwreck. Covered in oil when he arrives onshore, the community’s kindness and humanity brings him back to health and changes his outlook on life. He would go on to march for Black rights with Martin Luther King, and remained forever grateful to the small town of St. Lawrence, Newfoundland.
With vibrant illustrations by celebrated artist Erin Banks, A Change of Heart vividly depicts Lanier’s life-changing experiences in Newfoundland that fateful February.
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The Thundermaker
Artist: Alan SyliboyPublisher: Nimbus Publishing$14.95Mi’kmaw artist Alan Syliboy’s The Thundermaker is based on Alan’s spectacular mixed-media exhibit of the same name. In the book, Big Thunder teaches his son, Little Thunder, about the important responsibility he has making thunder for his people. Little Thunder learns about his Mi’kmaw identity through his father’s teachings and his mother’s traditional stories. Syliboy’s spectacular, vibrant artwork brings the story of Little Thunder to vivid life.
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Amazing Black Atlantic Canadians Inspiring Stories of Courage and Achievement
Artist: James BentleyPublisher: Nimbus Publishing$19.95Featuring over 50 historical and contemporary profiles, this fascinating book takes a look at the lives of Black Atlantic Canadians that saved lives, set records, and enacted great change.
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Phantom of Fire
Publisher: Nimbus Publishing$12.95Things aren’t going so well for fifteen-year-old Dylan Maples. He’s sick of his own reflection, his parental units are driving him nuts, and, worst of all, he’s trying to come to terms with the unexpected death of one of his best friends. Now, to top things off, he’s been roped into a family trip to stay with family friends in New Brunswick. After just a few hours in Bathurst, Dylan worries this will turn out to be the most boring vacation ever, but when he meets a local girl, Antonine, and the two of them witness what looks like a burning ship on the water, he begins to think that New Brunswick might be more interesting than he thought. As Dylan and Antonine begin to research the famous ghost ship of the Bay de Chaleur, they raise more questions than they answer. Does Antonine’s father hold a clue to the mystery? What’s the deal with the local right-wing politician who is on everybody’s minds these days? And what really happened on the water all those years ago?
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The Secret of the Silver Mines
$12.95Just when Dylan Maples is settling down after last summer’s trip to Ireland’s Eye, the parental units are at it again—planning another family adventure. Only this time, it’s not a summer vacation, but an extended trip way up north to Cobalt, Ontario, in the middle of a bitter winter. Once a thriving silver mining community, all that’s left of the town’s rich history are the long abandoned mines.
A Toronto millionaire has hired Dylan’s dad to retrieve a fortune in silver allegedly stolen from his grandfather back in the early part of the twentieth century. But was the fortune really stolen? And if so, where has it been hidden? The answers to these questions reside with one man—Theobald T. Larocque, Cobalt’s oldest citizen. But no one has seen him in years. And no one seems at all eager to help Dylan’s dad locate him—except, of course, his devoted son Dylan, and Dylan’s newfound friend and accomplice, Wynona Dixon.
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Bone Beds of the Badlands
$12.95Bone Beds of the Badlands transports readers to the heart of dinosaur country in the most gripping and terrifying Dylan Maples Adventure yet!
Dylan and his best friends, Terry, the Bomb, and Rhett, have won first place in the National Science Fair for their amazing mechanical T-rex. The prize: a parent-free trip to one of the coolest places on Earth—the badlands of Alberta, home to ancient dinosaur remains and a landscape that looks like the surface of an alien planet. Unfortunately, it is also the scene of a manhunt for a desperate killer. Recently escaped from custody, known as “the Reptile,” this bizarre seven-foot man was last seen heading straight for the badlands, a perfect place to hide if you never want to be found.
When the boys and their new friend Dorothy get separated from their guided tour of Dinosaur Provincial Park, they may be lost, but they’re not alone…
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Monster in the Mountains
$12.95After Dylan Maples’s terrifying adventure in Alberta, the holiday his “parental units” plan in British Columbia’s Rocky Mountains seems like a dream. Swimming, hiking, and loafing around are welcome distractions from vivid memories of his narrow escape from “The Reptile,” the frightening criminal who pursued him and his friends through the badlands. But Dylan soon discovers that he is heading into an area teeming with legends of real-life monsters, among them the sea serpent Ogopogo and the awesome sasquatch. In fact, more mysterious creatures are said to exist in BC than in any other place in the world….
Dylan tries not to take it all too seriously. But when he arrives in the resort town of Harrison Hot Springs and meets his eccentric uncle, Walter Middy, he is pulled right into the heart of the sasquatch mystery. Before you can say, “I see a monster!”, Dylan, Walter, and their new friend Alice are deep in the wilderness, on the trail of the deadly beast.
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Monster in the Mountains
$12.95After Dylan Maples’s terrifying adventure in Alberta, the holiday his “parental units” plan in British Columbia’s Rocky Mountains seems like a dream. Swimming, hiking, and loafing around are welcome distractions from vivid memories of his narrow escape from “The Reptile,” the frightening criminal who pursued him and his friends through the badlands. But Dylan soon discovers that he is heading into an area teeming with legends of real-life monsters, among them the sea serpent Ogopogo and the awesome sasquatch. In fact, more mysterious creatures are said to exist in BC than in any other place in the world….
Dylan tries not to take it all too seriously. But when he arrives in the resort town of Harrison Hot Springs and meets his eccentric uncle, Walter Middy, he is pulled right into the heart of the sasquatch mystery. Before you can say, “I see a monster!”, Dylan, Walter, and their new friend Alice are deep in the wilderness, on the trail of the deadly beast.
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If I Were the Moon Twentieth – anniversary edition
Artist: Leslie WattsPublisher: Nimbus Publishing$22.95If I were the moon
I’d shine down my light
Right into your bedroom
To warm up the night.A timeless bedtime book that “beautifully captures that perfect moment when a child is tucked up in bed, spellbound by the voice of an older sibling or an adult sharing a special book” (Books in Canada).
With lyrical text, lit up by soft and gentle illustrations, If I Were the Moon makes its triumphant return to print in a beautiful hardcover just in time for its twentieth anniversary.
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A Great Big Night
Artist: Josée BisaillonPublisher: Nimbus Publishing$22.95When three travelling frog musicians roll through the forest the grumpy old grouse is sure they are nothing but riffraff making a foolish racket. But when a storm makes a mess of the grouse’s home, he may find that music can be more than just for a party.
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Fight On! Cape Breton Coal Miners,1900-1925
Publisher: Nimbus Publishing$18.95In early twentieth-century Cape Breton, coal mine workers spent all day in dangerous conditions. But the brave miners stood up to the companies, going on strike and risking their livelihoods to achieve better working conditions and healthier communities. Fight On! is at once an engaging history and a passionate call to action against injustice.
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I Lost My Talk
Artist: Pauline YoungPublisher: Nimbus Publishing$22.95Rita Joe’s essential poetry is presented anew in this children’s picture book with illustrations from Pauline Young. Joe, known as the Poet Laureate of the Mi’kmaw, tells her childhood story of losing her language at Shubenacadie’s residential school. Mi’kmaw culture and language are celebrated in this collection, which joins current conversations about Canada’s shameful history, truth and reconciliation.
Published simultaneously with the companion book I’m Finding My Talk by Rebecca Thomas.
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She Dreams of Sable Island
Artist: Briana Corr ScottPublisher: Nimbus Publishing$24.95She dreams of Sable Island
She goes there in her sleep
The fog comes softly to her
and she drifts across the deep.Nova Scotia–based paper-doll artist Briana Corr Scott’s first children’s picture book explores the wilds of the childhood imagination and of the shape-shifting Sable Island.
Written as a gentle, lyrical poem, She Dreams of Sable Island is a wonderful read-aloud for bedtime, and a fact-filled exploration for curious readers who dream of adventuring to one of Nova Scotia’s most remarkable—and untouched—landscapes. Includes an illustrated map of Sable Island, descriptions of flora and fauna found on the island, a paper doll and accessories—even a Sable Island horse!
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Say Goodnight
Artist: Becky CameronPublisher: Nimbus Publishing$9.95This charming lift-the-flap book is perfect for parents and children to read together to get ready for bedtime. With soft rhyming text and beautiful artwork, it encourages young ones to say goodnight by putting away their toys, closing the curtains, and turning on the nightlight. Each page has fun flaps to open and close which change the time on the clock, open the toy box, draw back the drapes to reveal cute animal friends, and more.
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Sid the Kid and the Dryer
Artist: Brenda JonesPublisher: Nimbus Publishing Limited$12.95A fresh and fun take on the younger years of hockey superstar Sidney Crosby, through an unlikely character: the dryer in the basement. Author Lesley Choice imagines the early life of W. P. (Whirpool) the dryer, now a popular attraction at the NS Sport Hall of Fame, as W.P. is hit with stray pucks while Sidney works on his shot in the basement. Vibrant artwork from illustrator Brenda Jones completes this imaginative tale.
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So Imagine Me Nature Riddles in Poetry
Artist: Chrissie Park-MacNeilPublisher: Nimbus Publishing$15.95From award-winning poet Lynn Davies comes her first collection for children. And there’s a twist: each of the poems in So Imagine Me has a secret.
The lyrical and playful text describes something from nature—flora or fauna or another phenomenon—that’s also hiding in the illustrations. Readers will puzzle over the words and pore over the detailed illustrations looking for clues. Some of the riddles might be easy, and some are definitely tricky. All of them will delight, entertain, and challenge, leaving readers of all ages with new facts to share and an urge to get out into nature to discover more mysteries.
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Amazing Atlantic Canadian Kids Awesome Stories of Bravery and Adventure
Artist: James BentleyPublisher: Nimbus Publishing$19.95Celebrate the amazing accomplishments of kids from across the East Coast in this book, the first in a new illustrated series about Amazing Atlantic Canadians. Learn about incredible young people excelling as athletes and inventors, overcoming adversity and even saving lives. Includes over 50 amazing, diverse youth from history to present day and shows young readers that greatness has no age limit.
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A Pocket of Time The Poetic Childhood of Elizabeth Bishop
Artist: Emma FitzGeraldPublisher: Nimbus Publishing$23.95The childhood of Elizabeth Bishop (1911–1979) is painted onto the canvas of Great Village, Nova Scotia in this gentle ode to the poet’s early life. Before becoming a Pulitzer—Prize winning writer, young Bishop lived with her Gammie and Pa, learning to walk, to read and to write. Snippets of Bishop’s own words and charming artwork from illustrator Emma FitzGerald teach young readers to see the poetry all around them.
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I’m Finding My Talk
Artist: Pauline YoungPublisher: Nimbus Publishing$22.95I’m Finding My Talk reflects on the destructive effects on colonialism, rediscovering community and finding culture. Former Halifax Poet Laureate and second-generation residential school survivor Rebecca Thomas writes honestly and powerfully in this companion piece to Rita Joe’s I Lost My Talk. With vibrant illustrations from Mi’kmaw artist Pauline Young.