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As True As I’m Sittin Here
Editor: Ron CaplanPublisher: Breton Books$17.95The wit and good humour—ghost tales-comebacks and outrageous happenings—over 200 Cape Breton stories by 34 storytellers, collected by Archie Neil Chilsholm.
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Hidden Heritage
Publisher: Breton Books$14.95From 1629 to the 1821 settlement of Rev. Norman McLeod, St. Ann has a rich and diverse history. Captured here with zest and detail.
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Pattie Pitter She Hates Litter
Artist: Jeffrey DommPublisher: Breton Books$7.95Pattie Pitter HATES LITTER. She picks up everyone’s candy wrappers and pop cans. But no one wants to help. So, Pattie quits. Soon the school is filled with garbage and the schoolyard is buried. NOW everyone is ready to help!
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Harvest Train
Publisher: Breton Books$18.95One of Canada’s great adventure stories, when young men went west to work on the booming grain farms of the Prairies. Here are some of the stories and tales
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Cape Breton Highlands National Park
$16.95For both the hiker and the armchair traveller, this park lover’s companion to Cape Breton Highlands National Park is a beautifully-written natural history and guide to the northern jewel. Noted naturalist Clarence Barrett speaks to us directly.
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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 Christ
Publisher: Breton Books$12.95An extraordinary, brave and provocative story told in the form of poetry that reads like a brisk, short novel. Denise Aucoin’s Cape Breton Christ is rare, risky, lighthearted and down-to-earth writing that challenges and encourages us all.
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The Cape Breton Giant
Publisher: Breton Books$16.95James Gillis was born on July 11, 1870, at Strathlorne, not far from the residence of John MacIssac, Donald’s son. In early childhood he moved to Upper Margaree. He attended school there and later on became proficient enough to teach.
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The Midnight Murder
Publisher: Breton Books$16.95In his short, vigorous life, McKinnon was the courageous editor of three Cape Breton newspapers, and a successful novelist. He fearlessly found a voice in the Boston literary world. Then he became a Methodist minister and tried to burn his “evil” novels. He died at 33-after a life as romantic and passionate as any of his characters.
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Chéticamp (French)
Publisher: Breton Books$19.95Long out of print, Chéticamp is an award-winning treasure chest of the history and folklore of an extraordinary people and place the Acadians of Cape Breton Island. For this newly designed and expanded edition of the prize-winning classic in its original French, Anselme Chiasson has written an additional chapter bringing the history up to date. Written with clarity and love, and hailed as a rare local history with wide appeal, Chéticamp is a passionate, informative and entertaining guide to this little-known corner of the Maritimes.
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Scottish Lights
Publisher: Breton Books$16.95A wonderful collection of essays by the best-selling author of The Harvest Train and The Irish in Cape Breton. A popular public speaker, A. A. (Tony) MacKenzie brings that same brisk, informed voice to Scottish Lights, casting new light on the Celtic heritage of Cape Breton and Eastern Nova Scotia. He takes us to pioneer settlements and to the heart of Gaelic tradition, to the battles and passions of heroes and bards and scoundrels, both the well-known and those nearly forgotten.
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Tighten the Traces
Publisher: Breton Books$12.95Celebrating over 500 performances worldwide, Breton Books is proud to offer Robbie O’Neill’s extraordinary play in book form, along with photographs and memories of the lead character, the beloved Leo Kennedy of Canso, Nova Scotia. A tribute to terrific storytelling, Tighten the Traces is first of all a good, enchanting read. Here is the voice of Leo Kennedy, whose outrageous humour and fierce persistence overcame cerebral palsy and a suspicious world, to win him a living as a door-to-door salesman in eastern Nova Scotia. You’ll split a gut laughing, with tears in your eyes. Performed from Guysborough schools to the London stage, in Scotland, Australia, the World Exposition in Vancouver and as a CBC Television Special, Tighten the Traces has earned high praise and an ACTRA Best Acting Award for its writer/actor, Robbie O’Neill.
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Acadian Lives
Editor: Ron CaplanPublisher: Breton Books$21.95The Cape Breton Acadian comes alive in this new collection of conversations with remarkable people in an extraordinary place-Acadians of Cape Breton Island. In their own words, this book is a marvelous introduction to their humour, passion, work life and heritage. From fishing life to the cooperative movement, from daily life to sorcery and celebrations-their words and photographs open a door to an intimate portrait of this unique, little-known world. Acadian Lives is a tribute to the tenacity, pride, ingenuity and wit of one of Cape Breton Island’s undeniable treasures. In English, with some French tales and songs.
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Acadian Tales from Cape Breton
Publisher: Breton Books$16.95An esteemed Canadian folklorist, Father Anselme Chiasson’s award-winning books include songs, tales and history of the Acadians of Cape Breton and the Magdalen Islands.
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L’histoire des tapis «hookés» de Chéticamp
Publisher: Breton Books$16.95An esteemed Canadian folklorist, Father Anselme Chiasson’s award-winning books include the songs, tales and history of the Acadians of Cape Breton and the Magdalen Islands.
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That Bloody Cape Breton Coal
Publisher: Breton Books$17.95Rennie MacKenzie is the author of ‘In the Pit: A Cape Breton Coal Miner’.
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Molly Poems
Publisher: Breton Books$12.95The Molly Poems and Highland Elegies contains rare poems written in tribute to the paintings of Molly Lamb Bobak, Canada s first woman war artist. Each poem, while inspired by Bobak s work, takes its own unique direction. And the Highland Elegies section offers powerful new poems that evoke more of the Maritimes world of Donovan s successful first collection, CAPE BRETON QUARRY.
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Inclusion Voices
Publisher: Breton Books$16.95This rare book lets child care directors across Canada speak to us directly about the vision of full inclusion of children with special needs, the challenges that their vision has faced, and some of the strategies and techniques each has used to survive. The portrait is not all victory, and the future is not assured. Irwin is able to compare recent conversations with visits she made to those same child care centres ten years earlier. The result is evidence-based storytelling and an accessible book that will be of particular value to practitioners, directors, government decision makers, parents and people in related fields.
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Views from the Steel Plant
Editor: Ron CaplanPublisher: Breton Books$21.95Jimmy Hines is just one of the many voices that tell stories of Cape Breton’s 100-year adventure in Steel. Told with passion and conviction, Views from the Steel Plant is a proud, vigorous collection of memories of steel plant life. Along with historic photographs, here are stories of racism, bigotry and brotherhood-women who did the dirtiest work, keeping the plant alive while the men were at war-the fight for union and the community protest to save the embattled plant. Steelworkers talk about the skill and courage, about hard work in a hot, threatening and very productive twentieth century industry.
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The Neighbours are Watching
Publisher: Breton Books$16.95Tony MacKenzie is a beloved historian, teacher and storyteller. He has written three bestselling books, The Irish in Cape Breton, The Harvest Train, and Scottish Lights. The Neighbours are Watching is Tony’s first foray into what might be called “fiction”- but readers will recognize the stories as undoubtedly “true.”
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George Orwell’s Friend
Editor: Ron CaplanPublisher: Breton Books$14.95Born in British Columbia, Paul Potts (1911-1990) lived most of his life based in London’s Soho district, a friend and confidant of many ultimately famous writers. His circle included Dylan Thomas and T. S. Eliot, Elizabeth Smart and Sean O’Casey–and of course George Orwell, a constant friend. George Orwell’s Friend includes autobiography and poetry, an intimate portrait of George Orwell, and the classic anguished memoir of love and vulnerability?elements that rarely find words, and even more rarely find the words of a man. Along with Potts’ intimate essay about George Orwell, ‘Don Quixote on a Bicycle,’ editor Ronald Caplan reclaims the thoughtful work of a passionate, unusual Canadian.
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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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Cape Breton’s Lillian Crewe Walsh
Editor: Ron CaplanPublisher: Breton Books$12.95Ghost of Bras d’Or, Kelly’s Mountain, The Wreck of the John Harvey or The Brave Belleoram Boy, The Lady of the Loom, Susan Emma Pynn, Cape Breton’s Winter Port, and 42 more.
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Archie the Pit Rat Hero
Artist: Louise Brooking-McDowPublisher: Breton Books$16.00This is the story of the friendship between a Miner named Milton and a Pit Rat named Archie—and how Archie became a hero.
Based on the stories miners tell about rats in the coal mines, Dave Muise, a miner’s son, tells the story of Archie the Pit Rat.
Louise Brooking-McDow’s paintings bring Archie’s underground world to life.
An Enchanting book for early readers, and those lucky enough to read with them.
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Down North
Editor: Ron CaplanPublisher: Breton Books$12.95A terrific and moving read!
These voices confirm the tenderness, good humor and rich story telling of Cape Breton Island. Down North stands as a solid tested play–whether on stage or among friends. And then, it encourages you to “Make this play your own!”–a unique and compelling invitation.
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Archie, le rat de mine-un heros
Artist: Louise Brooking-McDowPublisher: Breton Books$14.95C’est l’histoire de l’amitié qui existe entre u mineur, Milton, et un rat de mine, Archie –et de la façon dont Archie est devenu un héros.
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Rise Again
Publisher: Breton Books$21.95The first full-scale history of Cape Breton Island in nearly 150 years!
RISE AGAIN! Is the story of Cape Breton Island told by beloved historian, archivist, and teacher Robert Morgan. From the geological roots to Mi’kmaw life before discovery, the planting of French Louisbourg, and the island’s first economic boom, this is a rich and accessible new book.
Morgan takes us from the battle for control of the island and Britain’s deliberate schemes to withhold opportunities for significant growth, through the opening of Cape Breton to provide a new home for the Loyalists, the forced marriage of the Colony of Cape Breton to the Colony of Nova Scotia and with it the birth of the never-ending Separatist movement. Book One takes the reader through the 19th century and sees Cape Breton as a new home for the Acadians, the Irish, and the Scottish, preparing the ground for the second economic boom as world markets were found for Cape Breton’s coal and then steel. A marvellous book, built to last. -
For the Children
Artist: Burland MurphyPublisher: Breton Books$19.95Born in 1932, in Whycocomagh, RITA JOE lived a hardscrabble existence, from foster home to foster home, experiences that helped her decide to admit herself to Shubenacadie Indian Residential School, a place most Mi’kmaq people had come to dread. It was a rare example of the child choosing Shubie, “to better myself,” to get an education. That same determination compelled her to write about her personal combination of traditional Mi’kmaw spiritualism and Catholic faith, carrying forward her ‘gentle war’. Her last poem, unfinished, was found in her typewriter when she died in March 2007.
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Rise Again Book Two
Publisher: Breton Books$23.95Robert J. Morgan has been Senior Historian at the Fortress of Louisbourg and Professor of History at Cape Breton University.
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Talk Back
Publisher: Breton Books$14.95It’s been 10 long years since TALKBACK was shuffled off the airwaves, although it was the most popular and highest earning radio show in Cape Breton’s history. For thirteen years, Dave Wilson hosted TALKBACK. This book is his chance to help us all remember, and to sign off on his own terms.
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Canada’s Forgotten Arctic Hero
Publisher: Breton Books$18.95This is the terrific true adventure of an unjustly forgotten Cape Bretoner, Canada’s first photographer of the High Arctic. George Rice emerged as a leader on an American Arctic expedition and died a herosearching for food for his starving comrades. This gripping and painful story is told through George Rice’s previously unpublished diaries. Packed with humour, pathos, and magnificent description, this book is a powerful historic and literary event, masterfully presented by Jim Lotz who, seventy-five years later on Operation Hazen, served in the footsteps of the Lady Franklin Bay Expedition.
