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Hermit of Gully Lake
Publisher: Pottersfield Press$18.95The Hermit of Gully Lake is a thought-provoking, intimate and respectful look at the life and times of American-born but Nova Scotia-raised Willard Kitchener MacDonald (1916-2003), better known as the Hermit of Gully Lake. For sixty years, MacDonald endured hardship and extreme isolation, living as recluse in a cave-like shelter six feet by nine feet in the deep woods wilderness of northern Nova Scotia.
He moved far into the woods after jumping from a troop train that would have taken him to Halifax and on to Europe for World War II. In the past thirty years, as his legend grew, many people began to seek him out, squeezing into his tiny shelter to play fiddles and guitars with the man they call Kitchener, marvelling at his wisdom, his wit and his intriguing views of events in the wider world, which he chose not to be part of. Even when his friends urged him to sign up for his old age pension in the 1980s, he steadfastly refused to sign his name to any document, even a government cheque. He was reluctant to speak about his past, saying only that he had refused to go and fight in World War II because the Bible told him, “Thou shalt not kill.” When he died, however, there was enough national interest in this unique individual that both the Globe and Mail and the Toronto Star sent reporters to cover the event.
Joan Baxter is an award-winning Nova Scotian author who has written extensively about Africa. She is now living in northern Nova Scotia where she has turned her attention to this incredible story of a man of enormous strength and character who became a legend. She is back home after two decades of living in and reporting from Africa for the BBC World Service and Associated Press. Her most recent book, A Serious Pair of Shoes, won the Evelyn Richardson Award.
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Robin’s Impossible, Crazy Idea
$8.95Ever since starting grade four, Robin’s days at Ernest Lee Elementary School have been dreary. At the center of this unhappiness is her teacher, Ms. Beetroot, whose stern looks and endless lists of rules leave no room for fun. All this changes when Robin and her class are greeted by a wild and wonderful substitute teacher.
“Welcome, children! My name is Mr. Cunningham. That’s cunning as in sly, and ham as in joking around. I will be your substitute grade 4 teacher for today. Let the show begin!” He turned, opened the large door, and gave a welcoming bow.”
Mr. Cunningham brings excitement and fun back into the grade 4 classroom, but that night Robin must face the inevitable – Beetroot would be back the next day. That is when an impossible crazy idea begins to take shape in Robin’s mind. But how will she convince the grade 4 class that this crazy idea will work and how will she keep this impossible idea a secret from Ms. Beetroot?
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A Future for the Fishery
$22.95Canadian fisheries industries face rapid change. With key stocks stable or rebuilding and most commercial fisheries managed sustainably, a younger workforce must be attracted and retained for this industry to thrive. Industry professional and author Rick Williams examines fisheries in rural-coastal Canada and explores strategies to develop new labour supply. This timely read for decision-makers features illustrative charts, data tables and crucial perspective from fish harvesters themselves.
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Summer Feet
$22.95From those first barefoot days, wobble-dy walking over rocks and pebbles, to wandering-wild while searching for sea glass and, finally, huddled-up cozy at a late-summer bonfire, these summer feet flutter kick, somersault, hide-and-seek, and dance in the rain, soaking up all the season has to offer. With Sheree Fitch’s classic lip-slippery, lyrical rhymes and Carolyn Fisher’s bright and colourful illustrations, Summer Feet will be an instant summertime favourite.
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Chocolates, Tattoos, and Mayflowers
$24.95Did you know that goose grease apparently cures the common cold, while salt fish draws a fever? How about the fact that “Torpedos” (automobiles) were manufactured in Kentville in 1910? These are just some of the tidbits of Maritime wisdom and little-known facts that you will find in Chocolates, Tattoos, and Mayflowers.
Collected over the years for Clary Croft’s popular radio column on CBC’s Mainstreet, these stories, memories, photographs, and advertisements show a fascinating side of Maritime popular culture and history. From accounts of sea monsters and famous duels to the history behind Maritime staples like Pot of Gold chocolates and Morse’s Tea, these entertaining and evocative pieces are sure to spark conversations around your kitchen table—just like any good Maritime subject!
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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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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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The Last Canadian Knight
Publisher: Nimbus Publishing$24.95From a small-town law office in Nova Scotia to the boardrooms of London, England, where he was Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher’s “privatization ace,” lawyer and businessman Sir Graham Day has established a sterling international reputation as a tough-minded but charming negotiator. In The Last Canadian Knight, award-winning business journalist Gordon Pitts chronicles Day’s meteoric rise and explores the valuable lessons Day has gleaned from a lifetime of global business experience.
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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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A Soldier’s Place
$19.95For two decades following the First World War, Nova Scotia-born Will R. Bird published war stories in magazines and periodicals, which have gone out of print and were never digitized, and the stories had long fallen into obscurity—until now.
Carefully curated by author and editor Thomas Hodd, A Soldier’s Place is an anthology of fifteen of Bird’s best combat stories, based on the experiences of himself and of others, covering all aspects of the war effort and following brave Canadian, American, and Australian soldiers.
An infantry soldier, Will R. Bird miraculously survived the First World War and became one of the most prolific Canadian authors on the subject, completing both fiction and non-fiction works.
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In Their Own Words
$21.95What was the First World War really like for Maritimers overseas? This epistolary book, edited by historian Ross Hebb, contains the letters home of three Maritimers with distinct wartime experiences: a front-line soldier from Nova Scotia, a nurse from New Brunswick, and a conscripted fisherman from Prince Edward Island. Up until now, these complete sets of handwritten letters have remained with the families, who agreed to share them in time for the one-hundredth anniversary of the Great War’s end in 2018. These letters not only give insight into the war, but provide greater understanding of life in rural Maritime communities in the early 1900s.
In Their Own Words includes a learned introduction and background information on letter writers Eugene A. Poole, Sister Pauline Balloch, and Herry Heckbert, enabling readers to appreciate the context of these letters and their importance.
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Historic House Names of Nova Scotia
$17.95Mount Uniacke, Acacia Grove, Winckworth, Saint’s Rest, Spruce Tree Cottage. Ever wonder how Nova Scotia houses got their names? The better-known names are largely connected with prominent historical figures who resided in commodious homes with sprawling grounds, but the naming tradition was far more prevalent than that. Historic House Names of Nova Scotia provides a fascinating look at the house-naming tradition in Nova Scotia. What sorts of names did Bluenoses create, and what did the names mean? Author and historian Joe Ballard has amassed a wealth of historical information and photos on the subject.
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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.
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My Two Grandmothers
$12.95Acadian Mémère and Scottish Nannie seem to have nothing in common but their grandchildren, but in this beautiful picture book from bestselling author Diane Carmel Léger and illustrator Jean-Luc Trudel, difference is celebrated. A co-publication with Bouton d’or Acadie, published simultaneously in French.
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Anne of Avonlea (Vol 2)
$12.95Now sixteen, Anne is grown up – sort of. The second novel in L. M. Montgomery’s classic series follows Avonlea’s red-headed darling as she begins her new job as a schoolteacher, and becomes curious about the strange yet handsome Gilbert Blythe. As she enters adulthood, she does so with humour and a sense of adventure.
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Anne of Windy Poplars (Vol 4)
$10.95In the fourth book of the Anne of Green Gables series, Anne Shirley begins a new career and faces a new challenge: the “royal family” of Summerside, the Pringles. Apparently she’s not their preferred choice as principal of Summerside High. But she quickly finds friends at Windy Poplars and learns the secrets of her new-found home, triumphing as always.
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Anne of Green Gables Boxed Set (Vol 1-4)
$51.80In these classic editions, Nimbus presents the first four volumes of the Anne of Green Gables series as it originally appeared – complete, easy to read, and as enduring as the heartwarming story of Anne herself. The box set includes: Anne of Green Gables, Anne of Avonlea, Anne of the Island, and Anne of Windy Poplars.
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New Brunswick Was His Country
$24.95Regularly described as New Brunswick’s greatest scholar, William Francis Ganong (1864-1941) wrote more than many people have ever read. His range of interests is reflected in his vast body of work: botany, zoology, physiography, cartography, and native languages were all within his reach. But his greatest interest, subsuming all others, was New Brunswick.
Ganong endeavoured to write even his most scholarly papers for the general reader, and that is what historian Ronald Rees had done with New Brunswick Was His Country. An appreciation of Ganong’s work and a biography of the man behind it, rather than an exhaustive critical assessment, this fascinating overview will appeal to any reader interested in the natural and settlement history of New Brunswick and the working life of its most extraordinary scholar, from his summers conducting field research in Passamaquoddy Bay to his pivotal role in founding the New Brunswick Museum.
Richly illustrated with historical photographs, Ganong’s own maps and drawings, and contemporary images, New Brunswick Was His Country is an essential addition to Atlantic Canada’s historical canon.
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The Sea Was in Their Blood
$22.95The Sea Was in Their Blood explores two key questions: who were the men aboard the Miss Ally, and why were they battered and sunk by a storm forecasted days in advance? Through interviews with the crew’s families and friends, rescue personnel, and members of the tight-knit fishing communities of Woods Harbour and Cape Sable Island, award-winning journalist Quentin Casey pieces together the tragic sinking—including important case details not previously reported—and weaves in the backstories of the Miss Ally‘s crew and the lingering effects of their disappearance.
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Children of Africville (2nd edition)
$15.95The children of Africville, Nova Scotia, lived in a special community where everyone knew their neighbours, and all helped and cared for each other. It was the perfect place for children to play and grow up. The Children of Africville is the remarkable story of these children during the community’s final years, before it was torn down and its families were relocated. Full of photographs and stories from Africville people, this book is an important celebration of Nova Scotia black history, its vibrant community, and the children who lived there.
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Be a Wilderness Detective
$14.95Why is that tree lumpy? How do insects stay alive in the winter? What are tides, anyway?In Be a Wilderness Detective, biologist and artist Peggy Kochanoff answers these and many more questions. With simple language and beautifully accurate paintings, Kochanoff walks young readers through many nature puzzles, including identifying different types of animal poop and understanding how maple trees can be tapped without being harmed.Clear, precise, and engaging, Be a Wilderness Detective is the perfect book for budding naturalists—and it will also convince couch potatoes to get outside. Science and nature have never been more fun!
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Fire Spook
$15.95Graham, with a journalistic, fact-collecting approach, painstakingly tries to piece together what happened when mysterious fires and other mischief drove a respectable family from its home near Caledonia Mills, close by the Antigonish-Guysborough county line in 1922. It is a story that exists in countless versions and under names ranging from Mary Ellen Spook, to the Caledonia Mills Spook, the Bochdan of Caledonia Mills to simply, Spook Farm. It is also a story that has come down through the generations, told in Gaelic and in English, in country farmhouses, public meeting rooms and university residences for almost a century.Graham is at her best in introducing Alec MacDonald, his wife Janet Cameron and their adopted daughter Mary Ellen MacDonald whose father was killed by a falling box of coal in the Drummond Colliery in Westville. Alec and Janet had a connection to the family, and as was often done in those days, they took one of the four children into their care. The MacDonalds were plagued, to a degree that can no longer be substantiated; by nuisance occurrences such as cows loosened from their stanchions and household items disappearing but in 1922 they were subjected to mysterious, relentless fires that ultimately drove them from their home.Graham documents the MacDonalds’ lives after they left the farm and examines the various theories put forth to explain the forces that so disrupted them. Some of the theories, she acknowledges, are as equally unlikely as evil spirits at work but it is interesting to see how investigators formulated their theories by relying heavily on certain pieces of evidence or personal accounts while discounting others.
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Driftwood Dragons
$12.95There are catfish and flatfish and jellyfish, too,
There are all kinds of fish, but there’s only one you.
And all of the wondrous fish in the sea,
Can’t be as special as you are to me.
Driftwood Dragons is a collection of 34 lyrical seaside poems for children. Inspired by the Maritime coastline and accompanied by whimsical illustrations, these poems are celebrations of the coastal environment. From an ode to a beach flea to a short conversation with a snail, Driftwood Dragons perfectly captures the beauty, diversity, and joy to be found at Maritime beaches.
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Long Shots
$16.95Today, the National Hockey League holds a monopoly on professional hockey, at least on this side of the Atlantic. In the early 1900s, a host of professional, minor-pro, senior, junior, and college leagues competed across the continent. More than a decade remained before the Stanley Cup would become the sole property of the NHL. In this era, it was a challenge cup, and it seemed as though every Canadian town–big or small–had a fair shot at the big prize.
In these pre-NHL days, four teams from the Maritimes took up the challenge, competing for what was, even then, hockey’s biggest prize. The 1900 Halifax Crescents club was followed in 1906 by the New Glasgow Cubs, in 1912 by the Moncton Victorias, and in 1913 by the Sydney Millionaires. In Long Shots, author Trevor Adams traces the development of early hockey in the region and follows these four Maritime clubs that competed for hockey’s greatest prize, from their hard-fought victories and local celebrity, to their crushing disappointments.
Includes 25 historical photos and an appendix of statistics and standings.
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Chowders and Soups
$22.95Soups can comfort you when you’re sick, tickle your taste buds at the start of a meal, and envelop you with warmth on a winter’s day. Soup can be simple and rustic, or elegant and complex. And each culture’s cuisine has a soup that is instantly identifiable. In the Maritimes, that soup is chowder.
Chowders and Soups is a collection of over 50 recipes accompanied by appetizing colour photos. The book includes recipes for classic seafood chowder, but also lobster, shrimp, crab, and clam versions. Fabulous soup recipes like roast garlic and potato, cream of asparagus and fiddlehead, and even strawberry and cracked black pepper are sure to delight those looking to prepare something unique.
Includes an appendix of common soup stocks and an ingredient index.
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Her Mother’s Daughter
$19.95From best-selling author Lesley Crewe comes a poignant and moving novel.
Sisters Bay and Tansy are complete opposites. Widowed mother Bay has never lived anywhere but Louisbourg; restless Tansy left the town as a teenager and stayed away for years.
And now, Tansy is home. Home, and unwittingly falling in love with her sister’s almost-boyfriend. Home, and befriending Ashley when all Bay can do is fight with her teenaged daughter. Home, and desperately hiding the real reason she fled all those years ago.
When crisis hits the family, the sisters draw closer. But the closer they are, the more explosive their relationship, and soon their troubled history threatens to shatter what’s left of their family forever.
Complex and heartwarming, Her Mother’s Daughter is an exploration of family and friends and the tangled skeins of love, mistakes, and secrets twisting between us all.
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Foul Deeds
Publisher: Nimbus Publishing$4.00A professional criminologist, Rosalind works with a cranky Private Investigator named McBride–a long-time association that has led her from one sordid foray to another in the world of crime. Her passionate escape is theatre and her latest venture is with an ad hoc company of out-of-work actors putting on a production of Hamlet. Ros finds her work on Shakespeare’s language to be a fabulous distraction until the uncanny parallels between life and art bring her face to face with murder.
Peter King, a respected environmental lawyer, dies suddenly- supposedly of heart failure- but his son Daniel, haunted by bad dreams, believes otherwise. Before McBride can get to the bottom of the case, Ros’s friend Sophie- the actress playing Ophelia- and her advisor Harvie Greenblatt, the prosecutor, are both drawn deep into danger. Ros and McBride discover that the case involves more than either of them bargained for: kidnapping, a city hall cover-up, a late-night chase and family secrets. Set in Halifax, Foul Deeds is an intriguing, fast-paced story with theatrical flare and plenty of humour. Linda Moore is the crime writer Maritime readers have been waiting for.
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Story of the Hooked Rugs of Chéticamp
Publisher: Breton Books$16.95This delightful book is filled with full-colour pictures of hooked rugs and rare historic black-and-white photos. This updated edition includes details about the lives of Chéticamp rug hookers, the rug making process, the tools and materials, as well as examples of magnificent tapestries and rugs in the collection of Élizabeth Lefort Gallery, Les Trois Pignons. This book trumpets the skill and pride of an extraordinary people in a beautiful place, the Acadians of Cape Breton Island. Hard work, dedication, disputes and cooperation come to life in this well-researched history of a humble folk craft that grew to a world-renowned art form. Rich with anecdote, beauty and warmth leap from the pages! By Anselme Chiasson and Annie-Rose Deveau; translated from the French by Marcel LeBlanc.
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Peggy’s Cove The Amazing History of a Coastal Village
Publisher: Pottersfield Press$15.95Here is the complete history of the famous cove and the unique village that hosts thousands of visitors each year. The story begins with the formation of the rocks along these shores and the impact of the glaciers. The Mi’kmaq were the first to live here in the summers, harvesting the riches of the sea. A land grant in 1811 brought the first hardy settlers, who built homes and wharves and discovered that the sea could provide bounty but was also a source of great danger.
The story includes the origin of the name, Peggy’s Cove, and details about the everyday life of nineteenth-century families living here. A history of the famous lighthouse is included and there are excerpts from many of the famous and not-so-famous visitors who have written about the Cove through two centuries.
The author explores the most damaging storms and the shipwrecks, the reports of sea monsters and other strange phenomena. Fishing was always a source of income, but it changed over the years. At times the fish prices were so low it was not worth the effort and, in recent years, dramatic changes to the ocean have seen the collapse of several important species of fish.
In the twentieth century, Peggy’s Cove attracted artists, writers and ultimately thousands of tourists. Sculptor William de Garthe made his home here and created his monument to the coastal fishermen out of the sheer granite outcropping in his backyard. In 1998, Swissair Flight 111 crashed off the shores of Peggy’s Cove and the community opened its doors to the world in an effort to provide support for the rescue workers and the families of the victims. From the earliest days to the present, the story of Peggy’s Cove has been a tale of natural wonder and human endurance.
