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Best of Buddy The Bluenose Reindeer
Artist: Brenda JonesPublisher: Nimbus Publishing$18.95Both Buddy books—truly the best of—now in one handsome edition!
First heard on CBC radio, Buddy the Bluenose Reindeer became an instant Maritime Christmas classic. Buddy the Bluenose Reindeer is sad because, despite his best efforts, he just can’t fit in with Nick Klaus’s fishing crew on the South Shore of Nova Scotia. Santa, that normally jolly proprietor of Christmas cheer, is worried because his star performer, the famous Rudolph, is sick with a bad cold! How will Santa and Buddy set everything all right?
In Buddy the Bluenose Reindeer and the Boston Christmas Tree, the search for the perfect Christmas tree to send to Boston isn’t going well, and Buddy the Bluenose Reindeer is called on to help. Of course, with his nose so blue and his aim so true, Buddy easily finds the right tree. Little does everyone know that that’s the easy part.
Packed full of playful puns and perfect for old and young listeners alike, Buddy’s adventures are real treats to read and share aloud.
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A Bluenose Twelve Days of Christmas
Artist: Doretta GroenendykPublisher: Nimbus Publishing$17.95On the fifth day of Christmas,
My true love gave to me
Five Highland flings!
Four coal seams,
Three lobster traps,
Two fiddle tunes,
And a Bluenose in at Pier Three.“The Twelve Days of Christmas” gets a taste of Nova Scotian revelry in this energetic retelling by storyteller Bruce Nunn. With Doretta Groenendyk’s charming and funny illustrations, readers young and old will want to read–and sing!–this version of the carol every Christmas.
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Right Place, Right Time
Publisher: Acorn Press$27.95With over 25 years of broadcasting experience, Bruce Rainnie has collected stories from every arena He has worked intimately with PEI’s legendary broadcaster “Boomer” Gallant as well as many other well known characters from across the country. Bruce did the first TV interview with Sidney Crosby back in 1996 and has remained in contact with him ever since. He also worked closely with Olympic Gold Medalist, Heather Moyse. The book will include these anecdotes and stories from his work as a news and sports broadcaster.
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Moonsailors
Publisher: WoodenBoat Books$16.45Buckley Smith, a self-taught artist, was born in Los Angeles in 1947. Drawing, be it pen and ink, graphite or charcoal, is Buckley’s original medium, and remains his strongest today. Boats have remained his foremost subject matter. Buckley makes his home in Maine, North Carolina, Florida, and Italy.
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Mud, Sweat and Tears
Publisher: Acorn Press$19.95Mud, Sweat and Tears tells the story of Bud Ings’ adventures as a rural veterinarian in the 1950s. As one of Prince Edward Island’s first professionally trained veterinarians, Ings set up his practice in the eastern town of Souris before moving to Montague.
Farms were rarely close at hand, however, and the sight of Bud Ings behind the wheel of his Volkswagen Bug became a familiar one on the Island’s highways and muddy back roads. And whether he was helping to deliver a calf, giving shots of penicillin to a pig, or putting down a beloved horse, Ings treated each animal- and each farmer- with dignity and respect.
Ings’ memoir is a rich, often humorous account of his first decade as a vet, at time when there were few vacations, no modern tools of the trade, and no request too strange to attend to. It’s also the story of a past era, when PEI’s farms flourished and the animals were not only the backbone of the economy, but part of the family.
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Vet Behind the Years
Publisher: Acorn Press$19.95Bud Ings was born in 1926 on Prince Edward Island and graduated from the Ontario Veterinary College in Guelph, ON. He practised in rural King’s County, was a Liberal member of the legislative assembly, and served as agriculture and health ministers. A long-time member of the Queens County Fiddlers, Bud lives in Montague.
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The Long Wait
Artist: Eugenie FernandesPublisher: Nimbus Publishing$5.95Deidre did not have a sleek and velvet coat. She did not have a lean and graceful body. She did not walk like a queen with her head in the air. But to the Wilsons, Deidre was a very special cat. Whenever they came home, she was always there, waiting on the braided mat in the front hall.
Then, one year a terrible thing happened.
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Cassandra’s Driftwood
Artist: Terry RoscoePublisher: Pottersfield Press$7.95Set in a beautiful Nova Scotia village, this is the story of a girl and the things she fears. A perfect beginning chapter book for children aged 8-10. Written by the Ann Connor Brimer Award winner, Budge Wilson.
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Harold and Harold
Artist: Terry RoscoePublisher: Pottersfield Press$7.95In a coastal Nova Scotian community, young Harold doesn’t know how to fit in until he befriends a beautiful blue heron. A mix up involving the bird begins to change the way everyone sees Harold. And it forever changes the way he sees himself, too.
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The Cat That Barked
Artist: Terry RoscoePublisher: Pottersfield Press$7.95When Stephanie Henderson moves to Nova Scotia, she leaves behind her friends. But her mother gets her a cat to help with the loneliness. And this is a special cat- he barks!
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Manfred the Unmangeable Monster
Publisher: Pottersfield Press$8.95Budge Wilson has created a heart-warming monster story that proves things are not always the way they appear. Manfred’s parents are afraid he’s not scary enough but Manfred knows that it’s okay to be different and he figures out a way to break the stereotypes that monsters face.
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Imperfect Perfect Christmas
Publisher: Pottersfield Press$8.95Andrea Doucette lives in a fishing village in Nova Scotia. It’s Christmas Eve and everyone in her house is feeling excited and happy-except for Andrea who is feeling very gloomy. Then, a number of things take place that make Andrea wonder weather this Christmas is going to be quite fine-or maybe end up being the worst disaster of all.
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After Swissair
Publisher: Pottersfield Press$19.95On September 2, 1998, Swissair Flight 111 plunged into the sea near the mouth of St. Margaret’s Bay in Nova Scotia, killing all 229 on board. Thousands of people responded immediately: emergency personnel, fishermen, the military, divers, community searchers and RCMP officials. In the days, weeks and months after the crash, local residents and ordinary people supported the investigation in any way they could and, more critically, they also sought to comfort the families of the victims.
In the face of this almost unimaginable event, many experienced enormous suffering and world views were changed forever for the survivors – both the friends and relatives of the victims as well as support teams and the local communities of St. Margaret’s Bay, Halifax and beyond. What carried so many of them through this tragedy was the astonishing generosity and kindness each group gave to the other. As Wilson writes, “We all needed the families as much as they needed us.”
She wrote this collection of poems “in gratitude and in celebration of the thousands of men and women who suffered – and sometimes triumphed – during the months and years that followed the crash.” The poems reveal the depth of the impact the crash of Swissair 111 had on so many people.
Over the past 17 years, Wilson has been informed and inspired by the families of the victims, workers on land and sea, observers, professionals and by the local residents she has interviewed. She wove together these experiences to create a poetic vision of the sea change that occurred because of what Nova Scotians saw, heard or imagined about people they had never met, revealing the wonder of the sheer courage and generosity of the human spirit.
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Madame Belzile & Ramsey Hither
Publisher: Nimbus Publishing$5.95Budge Wilson has written numerous children’s stories. She lives in Nova Scotia’s south shore region.
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In the Blood
Photographer: Gary SamsonPublisher: Cape Breton University Press$28.95A representative set of individuals from Cape Breton provides personal narratives about life and culture on the Nova Scotia island. Cape Breton is a region known for its music (well represented here); its Scottish, French, and Mi’kmaq heritage; and its spectacular scenery, including that along the Cabot Trail through Cape Breton Highlands National Park and around Bras d’Or Lake. While traditional culture has a vibrant existence on Cape Breton, the island also faces serious economic and social challenges. With traditional mining, shipping, farming, and fishing industries depressed, tourism, though significant, is a less-than-adequate replacement as economic engine and the island has faced an ongoing decline in population. A cross-section of Cape Bretoners reflected on these issues and the sacrifices they make and joys they find living in such a culturally and scenically rich place. Among the better-known of them are Ginette Chiasson, Alistair MacLeod, Rita Joe, Buddy MacMaster, Joella Foulds, Bob MacEachern, Keith Brown, and Mary Jane Lamond.
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Memoirs of a Cape Breton Doctor
Publisher: Nimbus Publishing$19.95Dr. C. Lamont MacMillan had no idea of the life that awaited him when he began his medical practice in Baddeck, Cape Breton, in 1928. At that time it was more common for doctors to travel to their patients. As a result, navigating the rural landscape was often more difficult for these doctors than providing diagnoses.
In Memoirs of a Cape Breton Doctor, MacMillan relates over forty years of his memories and experiences as a travelling physician with warmth, wit, and a genuine love for the life he lived. He shares stories about his patients, his family, the beloved horses that carried him from home to home, the Maritimes’ fickle weather, and the people that helped him through it.
The stories span over a century, and highlight MacMillan’s own experiences as well as the recollections of the people he cared for until his retirement from medical practice. Entertaining and heartwarming, Memoirs of a Cape Breton Doctor is a classic of the genre.
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Small Yachts
Publisher: WoodenBoat Books$33.00Charles P. Kunhardt, born on Staten Island, New York, was editor of Forest and Stream magazine in the 1880s. Small Yachts was his monumental work, which influenced yachting for years to come.
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Canada Quiz
Publisher: Nimbus Publishing$6.95Who was Canada’s first prime minister? Who created the ookpik? Whose real name was Gladys Mary Smith? You’ll find the answers to 500 questions like these in this entertaining collection of trivia about Canada.
These books are gems for teachers, students, parents, researchers, tourists or anyone looking for a little information and entertainment. Easy and hard questions are intermixed, to appeal to all ages and knowledge levels. Here’s a chance to keep educating yourself and others about this great country. -
Prince Edward Island Quiz Revised Edition
Publisher: Nimbus Publishing$7.95This fully revised and updated edition of the popular provincial quiz book is a must-have for teachers and libraries and trivia buffs.
Which premier led PEI into Confederation? Which PEI town was probably named from the French word for mouse? Whether you think you know it all or want to learn more, this collectioin of trivia from Canada’s smallest province will get you thinking. With 500 questions from easy to difficult, there is something here for readers of all ages and knowledge levels.
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Nova Scotia Quiz Revised Ed.
Publisher: Nimbus Publishing$7.95This fully revised and updated edition of the popular provincial quiz book is a must-have for teachers and libraries and trivia buffs.
Who founded the city of Halifax? Which island off Nova Scotia is home to wild horses? Who is the Nova Scotian giantess that toured with P. T. Barnum? You can find the answers to these questions and more inside.
Each quiz offers a variety of topics and difficulty levels, so it’s perfect for teachers, students, parents, researchers, tourists, or anyone looking for a bit of information and entertainment.
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Canada Quiz: 150 Edition How Much Do you Know About Canada?
Publisher: Nimbus Publishing$8.95Who was Canada’s first prime minister? Easy question, right? Okay, who was Canada’s second prime minister? Try these: Who created the ookpik? Whose real name was Gladys Mary Smith? What does the acronym CANDU stand for? You’ll find the answers to 750 questions like these in this entertaining collection of Canadian trivia.
There’s something here for everyone–from the born and bred Canadian to the visitor wanting to know more about this great country. In no particular order, and with easy and difficult questions intermixed, these 75 quizzes are sure to appeal to all ages and knowledge levels.
So, here’s your chance to educate your family, stump your friends, and become an expert on all things Canada.
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Black Battalion
Publisher: Nimbus Publishing$17.95Black military heritage in Canada is still generally unknown and unwritten. Most Canadians have no idea that Blacks served, fought, and died on European battlefields, all in the name of freedom. The story of the overt racist treatment of Black volunteers is a shameful chapter in Canadian history. It does, however, represent an important part of the Black legacy and the Black experience. It is a story worth reporting and worth sharing.
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The Black Battalion 1916-1920
Publisher: Nimbus Publishing$22.95Black military heritage in Canada is still generally unknown and unwritten. Most Canadians have no idea that Blacks served, fought, and died on European battlefields, all in the name of freedom. The story of the overt racist treatment of Black volunteers is a shameful chapter in Canadian history. It does, however, represent an important part of the Black legacy and the Black experience. It is a story worth reporting and worth sharing.
In this thirtieth-anniversary edition of Ruck’s celebrated history of Nova Scotia’s No. 2 Construction Battalion, known as the Black Battalion, the original text and over 60 photographs and documents is presented for a whole new generation of readers, along with a new foreword and photographs from journalist Lindsay Ruck, Calvin W. Ruck’s proud granddaughter.
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Fonn, The Campbells of Greepe Music and a Sense of Place in a Gaelic Family Song Tradition
Publisher: Cape Breton University Press$46.95In this book the rich musical and cultural heritage of Gaelic Scotland is revealed through the memories of one family. The story of the Campbells of Greepe has become synonymous with the way in which the cultural legacy of a community can be safeguarded, while a new generation of performers is nurtured at the same time.
With a foreword by Dr John Macinnis, Fonn tells the story of the Campbells and the island community which is their hinterland, and shares over 100 songs from the family tradition, with an accompanying CD drawn from the archives of the School of Scottish Studies, the BBC and family itself.
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Ships and Men
Publisher: Breton Books$21.95A new collection of some of the best writing from Capt. John Parker, including the life and death of his deep-sea commercial vessel (St. Clair Theriault) and his classic history of wooden shipbuilding throughout Cape Breton Island.
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Cape Breton Captain
Publisher: Breton Books$9.95This is the true rough-and-tumble story of the life of David McLeod, a robust autobiography of saltwater and guts and passionate romance. Well-told story by the man himself.
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Sailing Alone Around the World (Nimbus)
Artist: Thomas Fogarty George VarianPublisher: Nimbus Publishing$24.95 -
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The Blue Room Poems
Publisher: Cape Breton University Press$14.95To get a sense of the significance of Carlo Spinazzola’s work, it is important to see it in the context of the full breath of the artistic undertakings he applied himself to. To see him as just a poet, or musician, or a painter, is to miss the spirit that ran through all his work. He was all these things at once –his artistic output flowed naturally, taking a number of forms, always in the same spirit.His life and his work spoke the same honest message, and this honesty gave all of his endeavours a depth, commitment and truthfulness that is unmistakable. Carlo and his blues lived together, and together they created for us a powerful legacy of words, music, art and memory.Whether his inner torments instigated his creativity or were the necessary payment exacted for his gifts is a moot point, for in the end Carlo succumbed to his demons. In 2003 the blues carried him away at the age of thirty-three.By turns funny, crude and, above all, moving, The Blue Room is the work of a true artist. The poems gathered from notebooks written throughout Spinazzola’s lifetime and the artwork gathered from friends are the expressions of a young artist of our generation.
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Lessons Learned Upside the Head
Publisher: Pottersfield Press$18.95Lessons Learned Upside the Head is a book with the potential to help you make positive changes in your life and the lives you touch each day — if you are willing to listen to your heart and are open to change. Carol Ann draws on her life’s experiences laced with examples of how the simplest tasks in life can bring you the most happiness and success. Having learned to communicate, celebrate, lighten up, share, care and dare to go it alone, Carol Ann will guide you as you revisit your own personal skills. What works for this Valley girl from rural Nova Scotia might also work for you.
The author writes compellingly about her work and in personal life as she takes you through lessons learned from her small town upbringing in Wilmot, Nova Scotia to the boardrooms of Bell Canada during her heady executive days. Less than two years following her own experience with cancer, Carol Ann walked away from what she executive career and boldly walked through the doorways that cancer blew wide open. In telling her story from the heart, Carol Ann serves up the opportunity for the reader to take a fresh look at one’s own life.
Carol Ann refocused her energies on what is really important: family, friends and finding a way to contribute while leading a more meaningful life. Here story includes:
-Leaving home at the tender age of eighteen armed with a high school diploma and a single goal — to find that “big job” and make her mark in what seemed to be a man’s world;
-Life as a single parent after marriage, motherhood and divorce all in her early twenties;
-Climbing (and sometimes stumbling on) that slippery corporate ladder;
-Battling breast cancer while watching it take her mother’s life at the same time;
-Learning to become a new and better person as the result of sickness and hardship. -
If I Knew Then What I Know Now
Publisher: Pottersfield Press$19.95Carol Ann Cole is an author, a professional speaker and the founder of the Comfort Heart Initiative. She is a member of the Order of Canada and has received numerous additional awards including the Golden Jubilee Medal, the elite Maclean’s Honour Role and the Terry Fox Citation of Honour to name a few.