- friendship (438)
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- mysteries & detective stories (252)
- self-esteem & self-reliance (244)
- humorous stories (239)
- law & crime (223)
- values & virtues (175)
- imagination & play (140)
- siblings (133)
- emotions & feelings (132)
- death & dying (115)
- bullying (98)
- school & education (98)
- crime (95)
- prejudice & racism (89)
- multigenerational (83)
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Rooster
Rooster Cobb is in trouble--with his school, with his mother, with his girlfriend. He smokes too much and he hates his stepfather. In fact, he might not graduate from high school. But he just doesn't seem to care. That is until the guidance counselor and the principal come up with a plan to get Rooster through grade twelve, out of their lives forev …
Home Before Dark
Erik and his friends spend all their time on the water, exploring the shoreline and islands off British Columbia's Sunshine Coast.
While they all have experience with boats and the outdoors, the unpredictable weather and fickle seas often manage to test their courage and abilities. While exploring a burned-out homestead on a remote island, the teen …
The Mountain That Walked
The year is 1903, and Charlie Sutherland, a sixteen-year-old orphan, is on the run. Three years earlier, he was sent by Dr. Barnardo’s Home in England to work on the remote Alberta homestead of Albert and Buck Brooks. Charlie has been treated poorly by the two brothers, but he has endured. However, when Albert dies under curious circumstances, an …
Perfect Man
Michael Maxwell McCallum lives in a world just like ours but peopled by superheroes.
When Michael's hero, Perfect Man, quits his job without warning, Michael isn't worried. He knows that Perfect Man will come back. He always does. So that September, when a new teacher shows up in his classroom, a teacher with a number of special powers, Michael fig …
In the Paint
For as long as he can remember, Matt has wanted to play basketball. Now, as he tries out for the team at his new middle school, he realizes that the easy days of elementary ball are over and that this is a much more serious game. Dealing with a hard-driving coach, competitive teammates and his own insecurities in a new school, Matt needs to call on …
Dead-End Job
Frances works the night shift at a local convenience store, dividing her time between restocking shelves and working on her art. Her routine is broken one night when Devin comes into the store. He claims to be the son of a famous local artist and offers her advice on her drawings. Although he seems to know way too much about her, Frances decides, …
Sam and Nate
Sam and Nate tells the story of a developing friendship between two boys. Through letters, notes, school projects, a pregnant teacher and a substitute who has never taught children before, Sam and Nate support each other as best they can, but get into some funny scrapes while they're at it.
Juice
When a Division One coach comes to their smaller school to bring the football program up to contender status, Moose and the rest of the players on the team are pumped. Coach Barnes has new ideas and a vision for the future--nothing is too good for his players. With a new training regimen, everything seems to be on a winning track. But when Moose an …
Something Girl
Sophie is in a lot of trouble. She is on probation for stealing and is doing poorly at school. Her mom doesn't really talk to her, and the other adults in her life are pressuring Sophie to talk about her bruises. Sophie worries that if she tells, she will be sent to live in a group home. Her friend Jujube is the only person who knows the truth, and …
Under the Sea with Googol and Googolplex
Googol and Googolplex have come back to earth to continue their scavenger hunt. Tutus, sand dollars and peacock feathers are on their list.
Luckily Troy and Pippa are ready to help, and the ocean is nearby, but so is Martin Kelly, the boy next door, who will ruin everything if he gets a chance.
Under the Sea with Googol and Googoplex is the second of …
Murphy & Mousetrap
Murphy's mother has just moved him and their cat, Mousetrap, back to the reserve in Port Alberni. Although he belongs to the Nuu-chah-nulth Nation, Murphy is sure that he won't fit in, and he worries about Mousetrap, who has always been an indoor cat. When a bunch of local boys drag him to their soccer practice, put him in goal and pelt him with ba …
The Paper Wagon
The rooster has been kidnapped by the fox. What is the little hen to do? Go to the shed and build a paper wagon, that's what. With two Herculean mice in place of horses, the little hen heads for the fox's house deep in the forest. On the way, she is joined by a cat, a brick, a needle and a hairy spider, all desperate for a ride. Will they be able t …
Strawberry Moon
The year is 1838 and Ellie's grandmother has arrived all the way from England. Ellie is horrified to discover that the forbidding old woman intends to take her back to Britain to be raised properly. Ellie is determined that she will not go, but what can a nine-year-old girl do in the face of an adult with her mind made up?
Sun Signs
Unable to attend school while she battles cancer, fifteen-year-old Kaleigh Wyse tries to complete her classes online
Developing a science project on astrology, Kaleigh enlists other online learners as study participants. What starts as a collaborative and supportive project based on the scientific method, slowly becomes unwieldy and then flawed when …
Emily's Dream
In the sequel to Discovering Emily, Emily Carr is determined to become an artist.
Emily's parents have died, and she and her siblings are ruled by the iron-willed eldest, Dede. Dede is more concerned with decorum than with ridiculous dreams and is not averse to punishing Emily severely. In the face of such resistance, and in the conservative climate …
Any Pet Will Do
Jeremy longs for a pet, but he doesn't know what kind of pet to get. When his parents agree that he can start a pet-sitting business in order to try out a variety of species, Jeremy has no idea what adventures are in store for him. Pet after pet is eliminated from his "To Get" list. In the end, not a single animal seems suited -- until a favorite r …
By A Thread
The toy box has erupted and the toys are perched high, dangling low, hanging by a thread. Bard, the old bear, has been lucky enough to land in the underwear drawer and from there is able to assist his friends, if only they will follow his daring directions. By a Thread is about heroism in small places, all the different kinds of courage a child can …
Fixed
Nellie Joanne Kinnan is an Advanced Cadet in the Black Core Program at the Detta training center. Weapons and violence are second nature to this twelve-year-old, but she is never exactly sure what it is she is being trained for. Nellie is a dedicated and skilled cadet. She knows she wants to serve the Goddess and the Empire. But there is so much th …
Queen of the Toilet Bowl
When Renata is chosen to play the lead role in the school musical, students who used to ignore her start saying hello and congratulating her in the hall. She enjoys her newfound acceptance at school until she realizes that Karin, a wealthy girl who expected to get the lead role, will go to great lengths to punish Renata for her success. Renata is n …
The Twelve Days of Summer
Patterned on the popular carol, The Twelve Days of Summer takes readers on a joyous journey into summer, from the first discovery of three eggs in a sparrow’s nest to the day when those eggs hatch. Readers will pore over the pictures, searching for that fifth bumblebee, that tenth crow, and for the thoughtfully chosen toy that turns up on each pa …
Camp Wild
Wilf is convinced his parents want nothing to do with him.
When he isn't in school, he is left to his own devices or shipped away to camp. But at fifteen, Wilf is adamant that he is too old for summer camp. When his parents ignore his protests and ship him off anyway, he knows how he will get their attention: He will escape from camp by canoe and sp …
Solomon's Tree
Solomon has a special friendship with the big old maple outside his house. He knows the tree in all seasons and all weathers. When a terrible storm tears it up by its roots, Solomon is devastated. But through the healing process of making a mask from part of the tree with his uncle, he learns that the cycle of life continues and so does the friends …
Death Wind
Allie's life has just taken a turn for the worse; not only do her parents fight all the time, but she is failing more classes than not and now she thinks she might be pregnant. Unable to face up to her parents she decides to run away. She hooks up with her old friend Razz, a professional skateboarder, and goes on the road. Razz is ranked number one …
Triple Threat
It's summertime and hoops season is over, but that doesn't keep Nick and Kia off the court.
One very hot day they head to the rec center for a swim but end up on the outdoor courts that are usually dominated by older players. Their enjoyment of the court is short-lived, however, when three teens show up and kick the kids and their ball off the court …
The Mask on Cruise Ship
Dinah Galloway--budding diva, enthusiastic gourmand and amateur detective--is back. This time she has taken to the high seas with a gig in the lounge of an Alaska-bound cruise ship. Also aboard are her mother and her older sister Madge, a moody professor of First Nations art, an elderly woman with romantic intentions toward an even older man, an as …
Rules for Life
When her mother died two years earlier, Izzy thought the world would change in some identifiable way, but it didn't. It didn't even slow down.
Along with constantly watching her brother, Jason, to ensure he didn't repeat his involvement with drugs, Izzy has managed to get through school and the rest of her life using her mother's endless "rules" as …
The Bone Flute
Camrose, a perfectly normal 12-year-old, has inherited responsibility for an ancient bone flute, an object of quest for two time-wandering rivals, one of them lord of the Otherworld. With the help of her friend Mark and the not-quite-human Miranda, Camrose braves fire and much worse to claim the flute and restore it to its rightful -- and unexpecte …
Jeremy and the Enchanted Theater
Jeremy should be at home eating his supper. Instead he has traveled through time with a cat named Aristotle to Mount Olympus, home of the Greek gods. Neither he nor Aristotle has any idea how to get home, let alone how to help Mr. Magnus lift Zeus's curse on his theater, where no play has been performed for years. Not knowing what else to do, Jerem …
A Bee in Your Ear
Kate is determined to win her spelling club's spelling bee, but the competition is fierce. She can almost put up with Violet's relentless claims of superior spelling ability, but when Kate and Jake begin to fight with each other, Kate is miserable. She wants to win the contest, but she doesn't want to lose her best friend.
Charmed
Izzy's mother works far away and leaves Izzy at home, alone with Rob the Slob. Angry at her mother and trying to deal with school, friends and the attentions of charismatic Cody Dillon, Izzy finds her life swirling out of control. Coerced into putting out to help Cody, Izzy finds she is one in a long line of girls ensnared in prostitution, with no …
Discovering Emily
Young Emily Carr has no interest in learning to be a lady. She loves animals and the outdoors, and she is beginning to discover that what she loves most of all is drawing and painting. Will she find a way to develop her talent in the straitlaced world of nineteenth-century Victoria, British Columbia? Discovering Emily is the first of two books in a …
Grind
Philip lives for skateboarding. School is merely the break between trying to land a difficult jump and outrunning the security guards. When he and his best friend Wally meet a professional skateboarder who videotapes himself for his website, Philip thinks they can do it too—and make money at the same time. When they start getting hits on their we …
The Beckoners
A chilling portrait of the bullying and violence that is all too common in schools, The Beckoners illustrates the lure of becoming tormentor rather than victim, and the terrible price that can be exacted for standing up for what is right.
When her mother suddenly moves them to a new town, Zoe is unhappy about leaving behind what passes for a normal …
My Time as Caz Hazard
Caz thinks she has a pretty good reason when she punches her boyfriend in the face, but she gets expelled anyway. Moving to a new school, she is told she is dyslexic and sent to special education classes. Caz tries to fit in and get by while suffering the taunts and abuse that others throw at the students in her class. Her friendship with Amanda le …
The True Story of George
George is hardly bigger than a child's middle finger. His knees and his elbows don't bend and his legs are fused together. When Katie and Mackenzie find him at the edge of the ocean, they are unimpressed, but George keeps turning up in their lives. And what may seem ordinary to a girl and a boy can be an awesome adventure if you are six centimeters …
No More Pranks
Pete's pranks have gotten him in plenty of trouble, but they might be the only way to bring justice to a seaside town.
Pete likes to play pranks. It doesn't matter what it is as long as it gets a laugh. When he impersonates his vice-principal on a radio call-in show, he goes too far and is suspended from school. Pete's parents send him to spend the …
