Americas

Materials from the Americas

Old Bird

One day Papa buys Bird, an old horse that can carry Archie and his brother to school every day. And the two boys are delighted with the gentle mare, which follows them around as they do their chores on the farm. It isn’t long, however, before Bird reveals another side to her personality. Despite Papa’s efforts to keep her out of the barn, Bird manages to open the latch and let herself in every time. And when she doesn’t get her own way, Bird develops a habit of bucking off the boys along the trail to and from school. A despairing Papa finally decides that Bird has to be returned. There’s no place on a farm for an animal that doesn’t earn its keep. But Bird isn’t ready to leave. The stubborn old mare does have a place on the farm despite her age. All she has to do is seize the opportunity and show everyone what she’s been capable of all along. Based on a true story, Irene Morck’s new picture book is a delightful tale that children will love. But it is the subtle, deeper message – old does not mean useless – which will have a lasting impact on readers of all ages. Artist Muriel Wood accompanies the text with exquisite paintings that are deeply coloured and full of character, leaving their own heartfelt signature on this moving story.

Summer of Madness

This story is about a girl named Karen who has to take over her family’s household for three weeks while her mother goes away. While her mother is away, Karen finds out that someone had been trespassing on their land and poisoning her cows. So, aside from doing all the household chores she is also on the look out.

 

Wildflower Girl

Thirteen-year-old Peggy O’Driscoll, left orphaned and homeless by the Great Famine of the 1840s, leaves Ireland to seek her fortune in America.

Operation Siberian Crane: The Story Behind the International Efforts to Save an Amazing Bird

This book describes the cooperative effort by scientists in the Soviet Union and the United States to save the Siberian crane, with the support and aid of conservationists from other nations.

Br’er Rabbit Captured!: A Dr. David Harleyson Adventure

World-renowned painter Dr. David Harleyson and his nephew John D. are about to set off another adventure! This time they’re headed down South to Sandy Creek, where Dr. David plans on capturing the famous trickster Br’er Rabbit on canvas—a portrait he’s always dreamed of painting. Br’er Fox has “thoughtfully” agreed to help.
 
But getting Br’er Rabbit to sit for his portrait is easier said than done because he has to keep slipping away from Br’er Fox and Br’er Wolf, who also want to capture him—to barbecue! It will be a summer of adventure—and misadventure—for John D. as he meets all the favorite characters from Uncle Remus and retells their classic tales in funny letters home to his dad.

Polar Bear Puzzle (Adventures of Riley)

Riley and his family fly north to Churchill, Canada, wo watch polar bear hunt deals from the ice of Hudson Bay. There’s just one problem: no ice! For Polar Bears, no ice means no seals, and without food, the bears can quickly become hungry, weak and dangerous! It’s a race against time as everyone searches for clues to this puzzling climate mystery. Will the ice freeze in time–or at all?  And will the polar bears finally get to eat again? The answer is up to you!

Name Me Nobody

Fourteen-year-old Emi-Lou Kaya feels like a nobody in her Hawaiian town. Abandoned by her mother at age three, Emi-Lou hasn’t a clue as to who her father might be, and on top of all this, she is overweight. Her only salvation is the strength of the hard-as-nails but loving grandmother who raised her, and the feisty spirit of her best friend Yvonne. It is Yvonne who renames the dynamic duo Von and Louie, and who puts Emi-Lou on a strict weight-loss regimen. But Emi-Lou starts to worry about losing her touchstone when Von begins spending a little too much time with Babes, an older girl from the softball team. Rumors abound that her soul sister is a “butchie,” and when Emi-Lou suspects it’s true, she becomes desperate to get Von back to “normal” and back to her role as best friend.

Landing, The

Will Ben ever escape the Landing? The hardscrabble farm on the shores of Lake Muskoka can’t generate a living, so Ben’s Uncle Henry sells goods and gas to cottagers from the dock known as Cooks Landing. It had never been much of a living and since the Depression hit, it’s even less. Ben’s thinking a lot these days, and it’s making him miserable. He’s thinking about how unfair it is that his uncle only cares about work. He’s thinking about what he really wants to do: play the violin. These days, he’s lucky to snatch the odd bit of practice between chores, playing to the chickens in the henhouse. A new job fixing up the grand old cottage on nearby Pine Island seems at first to be just one more thing to keep Ben away from his violin. After he meets the island’s owner, Ben changes his mind. Ruth Chapman is a cultured and wealthy woman from New York who introduces Ben to an unfamiliar, liberating world. After Ben plays violin for Ruth and her admiring friends, it only makes him more desperate to flee. Then, during a stormy night on Lake Muskoka, everything changes.