A Calf for Olive
Publisher: Chocolate River Publishing$10.95Olive is devastated when she overhears a kid at school making fun of her for wanting to raise a calf for the 4-H calf competition. They think she can’t possibly do it because she has cerebral palsy. But, with the love and support from her family and friends, Olive develops a strong bond with a Jersey calf and draws on her problem-solving skills to get her calf ready for the fall competition.
Disaster at the Highland Games
Artist: Nathasha PilottePublisher: Chocolate River Publishing$15.95Kate doesn’t think she needs to practice her Highland dancing to get ready for the Highland Games. Practicing at home isn’t as much fun as dancing in class. She’s good enough already, and everything will be fine. Or will it?
This high-energy picture book by author and Highland dance teacher Riel Nason showcases Highland dancing and the Highland Games culture and is brought to life by the whimsical illustrations of Nathasha Pilotte.
Finding Avalon
Publisher: Chocolate River Publishing$12.95Avalon Monday doesn’t mind telling schoolmates that her mother ran off to California to live with a guy she met on the internet. After all, that’s way less embarrassing than the truth.
One fresh start and three years later Avalon discovers there are things you can never truly leave behind. When the past collides with the present it exposes her secret and threatens to leave her new life in ruins.
An Extra Dash of Love Letters Celebrating Down Syndrome
Publisher: Chocolate River Publishing$19.95A celebration of Down syndrome from parents, grandparents, siblings, coaches, teachers, classmates and many more who feel so fortunate to have such beautiful people in their lives. The letters, poems and artwork came from New Brunswick, across Canada, the US and even Australia. With a forward by Natalie MacMaster, this book would make a special gift for new parents to let them know life will be amazing.
Stormy Passage
Publisher: Chocolate River Publishing$9.95Young Nate is enjoying his newfound freedom from school when he gets a job working on the steamship New York. But the work is hard, and the ship gets caught in the Saxby Gale of 1869. Will they ever make it to safety? Based on a real incident, this adventure story should appeal to ages 9-12 even though it is written at a grade 2-3 reading level.
Under the Floorboard
Publisher: Chocolate River Publishing$12.9515-year-old Aileen never feels good enough to please her mother. When she pries up the floorboard at her aunt’s house, she sheds a light on the dark secret she worked so hard to forget. Why does no one ever talk about her baby sister Claire and what happened to her?
Then her mother announces she’s pregnant and starts acting strange. After the baby is born, her mother descends into a depression, and Aileen has to cope with the effect this has on both her and her family. Life isn’t easy when your parent has a mental health issue. Especially when no one talks to you about it. Honesty is tough. Is it possible her mother has secrets of her own and is Aileen ready for the truth? Miscommunications abound, but underneath there is love—even if it is hard to feel it sometimes.
Miss Nackawic Meets Midlife
Publisher: Chocolate River Publishing$14.95Colleen Landry’s delusional alter ego, Miss Nackawic 1981, is ready for her second coming. Oh sure…it’s been 37 years since she reigned over her tiny town wearing a tiara and sash, but she has clung to the memory of adoring fans and paparazzi chases ever since. Her husband and two sons hardly ever clap or take her picture when she enters a room so she has no choice but to seek fame and glory elsewhere–the Miss World pageant! Despite more than three decades of unanswered requests for information about the pageant, Miss Nackawic 1981 refuses to give up hope that there is life after picking up soggy towels, burning Thanksgiving turkeys, and trying to make her menfolk understand that throw cushions are never to be touched.
This middle-aged writer’s hilarious and delusional observations about raising boys, surviving(ish) menopause and searching for meaning in mid-life will make you laugh out loud…at her expense.
Deer Island Mystery
Publisher: Chocolate River Publishing$11.95Jamie’s heritage project on Captain Nehemiah Butler quickly turns into a search for buried treasure, and he and his friends have to draw on their deductive, orientation, and science skills to find it. Tension mounts when an important clue goes missing at school. Will someone else beat them to the treasure? This mystery read for ages 9-12 is set on New Brunswick’s Deer Island.
Maya and Mitaine:From Saint John to Paris
Publisher: Chocolate River Publishing$11.95A trip to Paris to attend a fashion show! Maya is worried but looking forward to it. Will her elderly cat, Mitain, still be alive when Maya returns from Paris’ And will she miss seeing her father who is working on the Queen Mary II’ This story of travel, haute couture, and the loss of a beloved pet is a translation of Maya et Mitain published by Bouton d’ors Acadie.
Through the Eyes of Mary The Mary Morehouse Diaries (1920-1958)
Publisher: Chocolate River Publishing$18.95The Mary Morehouse diaries give the reader a vivid picture of life in rural New Brunswick in early twentieth century. Through Mary, the reader can follow the highs and lows of village life during the throughout the 1920s, 1930s, and the war years of the 1940s. Bird has researched this time period for her other books and her annotations and introductory sections give context to the individual diary entries.
Henrietta’s Nightlight
Publisher: Chocolate River Publishing$12.95Henrietta is staying overnight at her grandparents? cottage for the first time. She would love to see the great blue heron that visits in the morning, but there?s no electricity or running water at the cottage, and the night noises are scary. After a grownup day exploring nature with her grandparents, will she be able to make it through the night?
Maritime Melange
Photographer: Shannon WilliamsPublisher: Chocolate River Publishing$12.95Maritime Melange was inspired by New Brunswick?s coastlines and the International Sculpture Symposium that was hosted by Sculpture Saint John. The award-winning poem is illustrated by the photography of Shannon Williams as it appears in print for the first time. Previously, it was set to music and performed by the New Brunswick Symphony Orchestra at the 2016 Sculpture Symposium in Saint John, NB.
A map showing the locations of the sculptures is included.
Bay of Fundy’s Hopewell Rocks
Publisher: Chocolate River Publishing$19.95Every year, thousands of visitors from around the world descend the staircase at Hopewell Rocks to walk on the ocean floor. Bay of Fundy’s Hopewell Rocks offers an intimate, behind-the-scenes tour of this striking and fascinating place. The book is full of intriguing tidbits on the history and natural history of the Hopewell Rocks Park at all times of the year. Snair’s descriptions of the tidal action and geology of the area are easy to understand and the self-guided tour portion will help readers make the most of their trip to the Rocks. His images of one of the most photographed places in New Brunswick are both stunning and original, so the book will become a treasured souvenir of this natural wonder of the world.
This spring, the author was exploring the beach when he discovered that the Elephant Rock formation pictured on the New Brunswick medicare card had partially collapsed. Historical photos of this formation can be seen on pg 8 (from the 1900s, showing a previous rock fall) pg 13 (1935) pg 61, pg 91 (both before the current collapse.)