Materials from Canada
Lunch turns into bird food when a little girl starts feeding birds at the bus stop. First, a pigeon she names Serious comes pecking, and then Fancy and Sleepy gather to gobble up the offerings. But what happens when more and more birds want to join in on the feast? And what are all these fantastical birds doing in the city, anyway?
Martin loves to play by the river near his house. He watches the great blue herons and looks for crayfish and otters. He builds forts and lies in the tall grass near the water. But one day Martin’s parents tell him they have to move away, to the city. The family spend a day in the city, exploring their future home. Martin rides the subway, visits the market, explores the museum and watches a street performer, but none of the city’s charms can compare with the river. Then his parents show him a small stream running through the park, and Martin senses something familiar in the air. When moving day arrives, Martin fills a small glass jar with river water as a keepsake. And when he returns to the stream, he discovers that his connection to nature can be just as wondrous in the city.
Congested city streets are noisy and thick with cars and trucks, while pedestrians and cyclists are squeezed to the dangerous edges―but does it have to be this way?
Through the window, the child can hear the trees breathe and watches them sway back and forth as they begin to dance. Then bears join in, accompanied by the child on their drum, making so much noise they wake up a dragon! The dragon’s smoky breath fills the sky, and the wind forms a knight on a steed that gallops through the stars. The child’s adventure continues, as one wonderful flight of fancy leads to the next, from pirates to mermaids to whales, until they find themselves sitting silent once again among the trees.
Glenn was a child who knew his own mind ― he liked boats but did not like fishing; he enjoyed puns and pranks but did not like bullying; he loved learning but did not like school … but more than anything else he loved to play the piano. Glenn had a professional performing career by the time he was fifteen; he gave concerts all over the world in his twenties. He became best known for his interpretation of Bach’s Goldberg Variations. But Glenn grew to dislike concerts ― the hall was too cold, or he didn’t feel well, or the audience made too much noise (he didn’t even like their applause!). He discovered that when he played and recorded music in an empty concert hall, he could make it sound exactly the way he wanted. He could do what he loved best, while being completely himself.
Things are changing for one little girl whose mom is a busy doctor. When her mom has to be in quarantine―sleeping on a cot in their garage to keep the family safe from the virus―the girl does her best to be brave. She and her dad spend time together, she goes to school online, and she helps her grandparents too…making sure to wave so they know it’s her! They join their neighbours outside to thank the doctors and nurses around the world for their hard work. But of course the highlight of the day is when mom comes home, and they wave to each other through the window.
Ashley meets her great-uncle by the old train tracks near their community in Nova Scotia. Ashley sees his sadness, and Uncle tells her of the day years ago when he and the other children from their community were told to board the train before being taken to residential school where their lives were changed forever. They weren’t allowed to speak Mi’gmaq and were punished if they did. There was no one to give them love and hugs and comfort. Uncle also tells Ashley how happy she and her sister make him. They are what give him hope. Ashley promises to wait with her uncle by the train tracks, in remembrance of what was lost.
In each new adventure, Putuguq and Kublu learn about an element of Inuit mythology from their Elders, sometimes using what they learn to get the best of each other!
Putuguq and Kublu are at their grandparents’ house for lunch―caribou stew, Putuguq’s favourite! Putuguq’s worn out (and stinky!) kamiik remind his grandparents of the story of the amautalik and the orphan, a traditional story about a little orphan who outsmarts a child-stealing ogress. Grandmother’s storytelling over lunch starts Putuguq’s imagination running wild….
After lunch, Putuguq and Kublu decide to act out the story their grandmother has just told. But, for Putuguq, this is no ordinary play. He is determined to prove his fearlessness to an unsuspecting Kublu… with a little help from his stinky socks!
A captivating look at the life of a modern-day fossil hunter who makes the find of a lifetime told by award-winning author Helaine Becker. Wendy has an eye for the unusual and is skilled at finding things that others don’t see. While on a school field trip at age 12, she spots one of those unusual things poking out of the ground, and it turns out to be a piece of fossilized coral that’s 100 million years old. Wendy’s thrilled! And soon, she gets hooked on finding fossils. When she grows up, Wendy turns her passion into her career and becomes a preeminent fossil hunter, known as the “fossil whisperer” around the world. But it’s on a dig close to home where Wendy makes her most important discovery: Wendiceratops!
Mina and her father live in a hollowed-out tree stump on the edge of a pond on the edge of a forest. Nothing ever bothers Mina, until one day, her father brings home a suspicious surprise from the woods.