Black Ice The Lost History of the Coloured Hockey League of the Maritimes, 1895-1925 (Twentieth-anniversary edition)
Publisher: Nimbus Publishing$27.95Expanded and revised edition of the pioneering work of history about the Coloured Hockey League, founded in Halifax, NS. Now a documentary film.
Black Ice is the first written record of the Colored Hockey League in the Maritimes, founded in Halifax, Nova Scotia, in 1895, more than 20 years before the founding of the National Hockey League. The Colored Hockey League was a force in Canadian hockey that was conveniently ignored and whose contributions were stolen as other leagues emerged. Black Ice explores the unique culture that still exists today.
Where the Ghosts Are
Publisher: Nimbus Publishing$22.95If you’re from Halifax, you’ve probably heard that the Five Fisherman Restaurant is supposedly haunted, and that Georges Island is overrun with ghosts. If you’re from Nova Scotia, you probably know about rumours of buried treasure on Oak Island, or about the UFO sighting in Shag Harbour. But what about the Grey Lady of Stoney Beach? Or the Ghost of Haddon Hall? Featuring addresses and GPS coordinates, this guide to Nova Scotian haunts maps out the origin stories of 50 spooky tales.
Author Steve Vernon has covered every corner of the province in search of the spooky, bizarre, and unexplained. The perfect companion for those interested in the history of the province and thrill-seekers alike, Where the Ghosts Are is a DIY-ghost tour of Nova Scotia’s most haunted spots.
Westray
Publisher: Nimbus Publishing$18.95Vernon Theriault was off shift when the Westray mine exploded in 1992, killing twenty-six men in Plymouth, Nova Scotia. Theriault took part in the perilous rescue operation that followed. As the magnitude of Westray took hold, Theriault found himself struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder and nightmares. When he tried to re-educate himself for another line of work, he discovered that he was both illiterate and dyslexic. Theriault found new purpose when he became part of a labour movement that successfully lobbied the federal government to bring in a worker-safety law that became known as the Westray Bill.
Theriault openly discusses his complicated journey in this straightforward, simply written memoir, which begins with the promise of a good job with good pay at Westray.
Toes in My Nose
Artist: Sydney SmithPublisher: Nimbus Publishing$16.95The twenty-fifth-anniversary edition of Canada’s nonsense poet’s classic book, illustrated by Governor General’s Award-winning illustrator Sydney Smith, portrays a neighbourhood of kids flying to the moon, playing banjo with orangutans, and bathing with submarines. Now available in paperback.
The August Gales
Publisher: Nimbus Publishing$22.95Three different fishing communities, three different countries, but in their pursuit of fish on the banks they would have much in common, including the terrors of the North Atlantic storms.
The August Gales is a richly detailed history of the banks fishery, the perils of the North Atlantic, and more specifically, the three powerful, and ultimately deadly, August storms that devastated not only an industry, but entire communities. The great gale of 1873, which struck near the eastern mainland of Nova Scotia, was only a prelude to the gales of 1926 and 1927, which brought unthinkable grief to the towns of Lunenburg and Gloucester as well as the island of Newfoundland. (On one fateful day, a woman in the village of Blue Rocks, near Lunenburg, lost her husband, two of his brothers, and three of her own brothers.) Impeccably researched and with over 40 black and white images, The August Gales is a fascinating and at times moving account of the schooners that made their living, and met their end, in the famed North Atlantic gales.
Tent Dwellers (Trade Edition)
Publisher: Nimbus Publishing$19.95Albert Bigelow Paine (1861-1937) was an American novelist, biographer, and editor. He was the official biographer and literary executor for Mark Twain.
Albert Bigelow Paine’s account of his three-week fishing adventure in the wilderness of Nova Scotia is a true classic. For over one hundred years, the adventures of the author and his companions, Eddie, Del, and Charlie, have been enjoyed by fishers, canoeists, and armchair travellers alike. Written with an unassuming wit, this nimble narrative captures the camaraderie of the journey and the appeal of life in the woods. Paine’s observations on the art of fishing conveys the elements of meditation, competition, and obsession familiar for those who practise, and enlightening for those who do not. His humorous and poetic depictions of campfire meals, tenting, navigation, encounters with wildlife, and assorted triumphs and blunders are as engaging and entertaining today as when The Tent Dwellers was first published in 1908.
Stories From the Six Worlds (2nd edition)
Publisher: Nimbus Publishing$22.95In Stories from the Six Worlds, it is their stories, passed down by word of mouth, that best preserve and present Mi’kmaw culture. For in their tales, the People themselves speak about their world and give us glimpses of how their universe manifests, in all its fascinating otherness. Mi’kmaw stories have many levels: entertainment, instruction, warnings. They might subtly encode maps of the land’s important resources, or of the wheeling skies at night. Telling stories, Elders wove humour and stark tragedy, terror and beauty, to teach their listeners how to survive. More importantly, they underlined, over and over again, how their listeners, as humans, must conduct themselves. Their tales resound with the universal themes included in any worldview—Order and Chaos, Courage and Fear, Change, Revenge and Mercy, Death, Rebirth, and Power—yet are powerfully rooted in Mi’kmaw tradition, Mi’kmaw land. Their voices still speak to us, down the centuries.
Drawing on various sources, Ruth Holmes Whitehead retells the tales in a voice close to that of the original storytellers. This new edition includes an updated design and the original collection of twenty-nine stories. In Stories from the Six Worlds, Mi’kmaw legends are offered to all people whose search for meaning draws them again to the ancient cultures.
Sailing Alone Around the World (Nimbus)
Publisher: Nimbus Publishing$24.95As the first person to circumnavigate the globe alone, Captain Joshua Slocum is celebrated as the “patron saint of small-boat voyagers, navigators, and adventurers all over the world” (Joshua Slocum Society), and heralded as the penultimate example of independent marine navigation at a time when the invention of steam had nearly put an end to the Golden Age of Sail. His timeless account, Sailing Alone Around the World, still coveted by sailors and thrill-seekers alike, has continued to inspire scores of lone adventurers, and challenged countless readers to change their lives since its initial publication in 1900.
Oak Island Gold
Publisher: Nimbus Publishing$22.95For over two centuries, the mysterious labyrinth of shafts and tunnels under Oak Island, a tiny island on Nova Scotia’s South Shore, has been the scene of a frantic search by scores of treasure hunters from two continents. They believe that the shafts and intricate man-made flooding system hold the secret to a treasure of untold wealth. Although millions have been spent, bitter feuds have erupted, and men have died, the treasure has remained as elusive as the answers to who built the labyrinth, why and how it was constructed, and the nature of the treasure itself. Until now.
In his second book on the Oak Island mystery, William Crooker meticulously sifts through the evidence unearthed by treasure hunters on the island, past and present. Then, armed with some starling new discoveries, he neatly fits the pieces together to offer a plausible solution to the baffling puzzle of Oak Island.
Mi’kmaq Medicines (2nd edition)
Publisher: Nimbus Publishing$16.95In this delightful book, Laurie Lacey’s reflections on the magical world of plant life and the gathering of remedies chronicles more than 70 plants used by the Mi’kmaq as medicines. Since the Mi’kmaq healing process begins with the gathering and preparation of medicines, Lacey takes us into swamps and bogs, the barrens and woods, to explore the habitats of plants with healing properties. He then illustrates each medicinal plant and describes its traditional use or uses. Whether one is hiking through a field listening for the sound of the “sacred plant,” the yellow rattle, exploring bogs in the hope of finding the elusive blue flag, or simply interested in the Mi’kmaq approach to health and healing, Mi’kmaq Medicines will prove a helpful and enjoyable companion.
This new edition includes a fully revised text and a new preface from the author on current perspectives in Mi’kmaq medicines.
Indian School Road
Publisher: Nimbus Publishing$25.95In Indian School Road, journalist Chris Benjamin tackles the controversial and tragic history of the Shubenacadie Indian Residential School, its predecessors, and its lasting effects, giving voice to multiple perspectives for the first time. Benjamin integrates research, interviews, and testimonies to guide readers through the varied experiences of students, principals, and teachers over the school’s nearly forty years of operation (1930-1967) and beyond. Exposing the raw wounds of Truth and Reconciliation as well as the struggle for an inclusive Mi’kmaw education system, Indian School Road is a comprehensive and compassionate narrative history of the school that uneducated hundreds of Aboriginal children.
In the Great Days of Sail
Publisher: Nimbus Publishing$19.95Archibald MacMechan revelled in the tales of worldwide adventure, pirates, storms, fires, rescues, and tragedies. MacMechan’s collections, all popular successes in their day, have been out of print for several years. Now In the Great Days of Sail brings fourteen stories together for a new generation of readers. Edited and with an introduction by Halifax author Elizabeth Peirce, the book displays the very best of this master chronicler’s work.
Historic Black Nova Scotia
Publisher: Nimbus Publishing$21.95The history of Nova Scotia’s black communities is a complex story of triumph and struggle, intertwined with the many stories of ancestors, destinies, and challenges. The knowledge and insight of veteran authors Bridglal Pachai and Henry Bishop provide welcome guidance to the mosaic of Nova Scotian black history in Historic Black Communities. Presented in the engaging format of an Images of Our Past book, this readable history book is interspersed with ample black and white photos, providing a visual link to the stories of the past.
Eleven chapters explore the African presence in Nova Scotia, and range from topics such as the influence of the church and the African United Baptist Association (AUBA); pioneers in publishing, law, politics and business; the legacy of Africville; heroes of sports, military, arts, and volunteer activism; Historic Black Communities provides a comprehensive, but always accessible entry into the many realms of black influence. Above all, the many photos and stories of this historic tribute salute the dignity and achievements of the resilient black community in Nova Scotia, and provide an unshakeable optimism for its promising future.
Historic Annapolis Valley
Publisher: Nimbus Publishing$21.95The allure of the Valley is its diversity- seacoast and agricultural land; ocean basins and fresh water lakes; tidal rivers and mountain streams; marshlands and meadows, fishing ports and farming hamlets, urban towns and country villages. Historically, the Valley’s heritage is as rich as its soil, with roots reaching back four hundred years. Historic Annapolis Valley is first and foremost about a region, not individual communities, although many are included as part of the overall story. The book covers the Annapolis Valley from Digby to Windsor, with an emphasis on the mid-valley, from Bridgetown to Berwick, beginning with the French in the 1600s and discussing topics relevant to the present day.
Haunted Harbours
Publisher: Nimbus Publishing$17.95This is a collection of ghost stories from Nova Scotia—from the restless spirits of Devil’s Island to the Black Dog of Antigonish Harbour. Documented and well-known stories from the provincial archives are mixed with word-of-mouth legends of strange happenings and scary sightings from across Nova Scotia. Steve Vernon relies on his storytelling experience to create moody and terrifying tales from the annals of history.
Glooscap Legends
Publisher: Nimbus Publishing$11.95These stirring tales describe the life-history of Glooscap. Endowed with supreme powers, Glooscap, the benevolent warrior against evil, was credited with the creation of many wild creatures and the change in form of others. Even the land was influenced by his handiwork and several notable landmarks along the Fundy Coast are linked with this story.
In Glooscap Legends, both famous and little-known legends are told of this god who made his home on the mountaintop of Cape Blomidon. He was a giant, a magician and a friend to the oppressed. This edition is illustrated by native artist Teresa MacPhee and includes a map of Glooscap landmarks.
On South Mountain The Dark Secrets of the Goler Clan
Publisher: Nimbus Publishing$27.95Stories of South Mountain and its notorious Goler Clan are often told in whispers–or not at all.
For over a century, a gruesome pattern of sexual and physical abuse, incest, and psychological torture defined the isolated mountain community, and residents of the nearby Annapolis Valley turned a blind eye. But when a fourteen-year-old South Mountain girl finally spoke up, the story and its ensuing investigation captivated the country.
In this twentieth-anniversary edition of the bestselling book The Vancouver Sun called “a terrible story, beautifully told,” acclaimed authors David Cruise and Alison Griffiths return to South Mountain with a new Preface and the original, startling text.
100 Things You Don’t Know About Nova Scotia
Publisher: Nimbus Publishing$19.95Inspired by the success of her popular Halifax Magazine column, “50 Things You Don’t Know about Halifax,” Sawler has expanded her focus to include interesting anecdotes and facts about the social, political, economic, and cultural history of Nova Scotia.
Flight 111 A Year in the Life of a Tragedy
Publisher: Nimbus Publishing$27.95Fifteen years later, the crash of Swissair Flight 111 remains one of the largest aviation accidents ever recorded. The crash claimed over two hundred victims, and changed the course of countless lives, from the victims’s friends and relatives, the dedicated individuals who helped with the search and investigation, and the residents who welcomed the victims’ families into their homes. Award-winning writer Steven Kimber has collected their stories, starting with the seemingly innocent events leading up to the fatal day on September 2, 1998, the search for survivors, and failing that, the pursuit for answers. Kimber successfully combines these accounts in a lively, heart-wrenching style to give a human face to one of the worst tragedies in Canadian history. This new edition includes an afterword with updated information from the investigation.
Medicine Walk (new edition)
Publisher: Nimbus Publishing$18.95Medicine Walk explores the benefits of “special places,” and includes notes and exercises as aids to control stress, overcome fear, and foster the ability to concentrate and meditate. It opens up avenues of self-discovery and enables the reader to experience the natural, therapeutic value of the healing world of nature. Medicine Walk also includes a section on the spiritual nature of plants and their medicinal value.
Be a City Nature Detective
$14.95How do bedbugs get into your home? Why are some grey squirrels black? Does goldenrod cause hay fever?
Naturalist and artist Peggy Kochanoff answers these questions and more in this illustrated guide to solving nature mysteries in the city.
From the author of Silver Birch-nominated Be a Nature Detective series comes a new adventure full of fascinating facts and original watercolours. From scuttling cockroaches to waves of starlings to burdock heads on your clothes, Kochanoff takes the reader through city streets to show them the amazing nature growing there. Features a glossary, identification page, and further reading.
Black Ice The Lost History of the Colored Hockey League of the Maritimes, 1895-1925
Publisher: Nimbus Publishing$21.95In 1895, The Colored Hockey League of the Maritimes was formed in Halifax, Nova Scotia. This was Twenty-five years before the Negro Baseball Leauges in the United States, and twenty-two years before the birth of the National Hockey League. The Colored League would emerge as a premier force in Canadian hockey and supply the resilience necessary to preserve a unique culture which exists to this day. Unfortunately their contributions were conveniently ignored, or simply stolen, as white teams and hockey officials, influenced by the black league, copied elements of the black style or sought to take self-credit for black hockey innovations. Black Ice is the first written record of the Colored Hockey League in the Maritimes.
Muin and the Seven Bird Hunters
Publisher: Nimbus Publishing$12.95The story of Muin and the Seven Bird Hunters is a very old Mi’kmaw legend. It happens in the North Sky as the stars that show the story of Muin and the Seven Bird Hunters move around Tatapn, the North Star.
In pictures in this book you can see how these stars, shown as they appear two hours before dawn, move through the night sky. They are in a different position each of the seasons because they are the time-keepers, the calendar. All through the year, as the stars and plants travel through the sky, the Mi’kmaq watch the story of Muin and the Seven Bird Hunters as it unfolds before their eyes.
A Harbour Seal in Halifax
Publisher: Nimbus Publishing$22.95Seal went for a stroll…
The icy puddles were too small for swimming
The rocks were too tall for climbing.
Seal saw bright lights. They sparkled.
Seal liked the snow.
One snowy night in downtown Halifax, Nova Scotia, a strange figure peeks out from behind a parked car. A woman screams! So begins a lost harbour seal’s adventure through the steep streets of the sleepy winter city. Soon, Constable and Officer are on the case, and if they work together, they just might be able to help the harbour seal find his way back home.
Celebrated children’s author and illustrator Doretta Groenendyk brings the true story of Halifax’s famous winter 2015 flipslippery visitor to life with colourful paintings and simple text. A Harbour Seal in Halifax is destined to become a local family favourite.
The City Speaks in Drums (pb)
Artist: Susan TookePublisher: Nimbus Publishing$12.95Available for the first time in paperback, the award-winning The City Speaks in Drums follows two boys from North End Halifax as they explore their neighbourhood and the city beyond, finding music everywhere. At the skate park, by the Public Gardens, down Spring Garden Road, and on the boardwalk, drums and saxophones and dancers and basketballs create the jumbled, joyful, pulsing rhythm of Halifax. Shauntay Grant’s playful spoken word-style poem and Susan Tooke’s vivid illustrations create a wildly energetic and appealing journey through the big, bright city.
Apples and Butterflies
Artist: Tamara Thiébaux-HeikaloPublisher: Nimbus Publishing$12.95From patchwork-quilt farmland to the winding red roads, from sandy beaches to the endless stars at night, Apples and Butterflies shows Prince Edward Island shining in the bright blue and gold light of fall. Shauntay Grant’s award-winning poetry and Tamara Thiébaux Heikalo’s rich and wild illustrations pull the reader towards the wide-open space of the island. New softcover edition.
Be a Beach Detective Solving the Mysteries of Lakes, Swamps, and Pools
Publisher: Nimbus Publishing$14.95Can anything eat prickly sea urchins? Can dead jellyfish still sting you? Why does water squirt up when you walk along the beach?
Biologist and artist Peggy Kochanoff answers these questions and more in this illustrated guide to solving beach mysteries. From the puzzling tidal life of barnacles to the stunning variety of seaweeds, Kochanoff dives deep into our coastal habitats and comes up with an entertaining and enlightening look at life by the ocean. Full of fascinating facts and surprising solutions, Be a Beach Detective is the perfect book for curious beachcombers of any age!
Pier 21 Listen to My Story
Publisher: Nimbus Publishing$15.95Discover some of the most important moments of Canada’s history by getting to know the children and their families who arrived at Halifax’s Pier 21. From countries as far away as Estonia, Italy, and the Ukraine (just to name a few), these immigrants all travelled through the “gateway to freedom” to call Canada home.
“Guest child” Jamie from Scotland and Jewish orphan Mariette were both sent to Canada as children to escape the same war. Heili’s Estonian family boarded the Walnut to sail away from Russian Communist rule. Luigi’s family came from Italy to find work in Canada after the war, while Maryke’s arrived from Holland in search of farmland.
Now renamed the Canadian Museum of Immigration, Pier 21 accepted over one million new Canadians between 1928 and 1971. Many were nervous about their new home, but although they arrived from distinct countries and cultures, each family embraced the safety and possibility of a life in Canada. To arrive was to escape the past while keeping memories of their homelands close. Pier 21 was the first step toward a new life.
With over 40 photos, a glossary, timeline, and sidebar features on the pier itself and the home countries of those who passed through it, Pier 21: Listen to My Story provides an excellent introduction for chilldren to this key landmark in Canada’s immigration history.
Be Prepared! The Frankie MacDonald Guide to Life, the Weather, and Everything
Publisher: Nimbus Publishing$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 Sarah 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!
Jujijk Mi’kmaw Insects
Artist: Gerald GloadePublisher: Nimbus Publishing$10.95The English language is noun-based, referring to people, places, and things. Jujijk, an illustrated bilingual guide to bugs and insects in Atlantic Canada, showcases the beautiful verb-based Mi’kmaw language. Featuring vibrant artwork and concise, fascinating descriptions, Jujijk will have you searching out “the one that looks like a little owl” (moth) and “the one that sings before she bites you” (mosquito).
Created to promote and preserve the Mi’kmaw language, this book includes a pronunciation guide, a Mi’kmaw-English matching game, and an abridged version of the Smith-Francis orthography.
Evangeline for Young Readers
Artist: Patsy MacKinnonPublisher: Nimbus Publishing$17.95Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s epic poem, Evangeline, tells the story of two young people deported from beautiful Acadie just before they are to be married and their search for each other that lasts the rest of their lives. First published in 1847, the poem has been important to Acadian identity ever since.
In Evangeline for Young Readers, the tragic story of Evangeline and Gabriel’s Deportation is recounted to a new generation. In simple prose true to Longfellow’s poem, Hélène Boudreau describes the utopian village of Grand-Pré where Evangeline grows up, the traumatizing Deportation, and Evangeline’s relentless search across America for her true love. Patsy MacKinnon’s stunning illustrations bring the story to life in full colour.
Evangeline for Young Readers is a vital interpretation for children of Longfellow’s classic.
