Towboats have been a part of British Columbia's history since 1836, when the Hudson's Bay Company's ungainly sidewheeler S.S. Beaver made the first powered tow up the coast. Over the years, tugs and their crews have towed just about everything, including food, machinery, rocks, paper, oil, salt, lumber, oil rigs, deep-sea ships, cars and houses. Th …

One woman's passionate quest for the elusive, mysterious mermaid through the centuries and across cultures.

From the seas of antiquity to the city streets of today, A Mermaid's Tale explores the myth and meanings of the mermaid. Beginning with Melusina, the bathing mermaid par excellence, Amanda Adams goes on to describe the seductive sirens and the …

Have you ever been walking at the beach and wondered what that pebble or rock is, or do you ever wonder what stories rocks tell? If so, then this is the guide for you. The Field Guide to the Identification of Pebbles , a full colour, waterproof, accordion folded, easy to use guide with over 80 beautiful photographs of pebbles from beaches and river …

Ride along with these brawny boats as they catch the swells and waves of the wild West Coast, navigate deadly tidal rapids and squeeze through a winding maze of boats and bridges as they ply the mighty Fraser River.

Join the Captain Bob, the biggest tug on the coast, as she tows the world's largest log barge across the open waters of the Pacific. Wa …

George stood up in the saddle and waved his hand in the air. He went up and down, up and down. The lights of the night sky glittered in his eyes.

He would get himself a hat. He would get himself a pair of silver spurs to match his silver saddle. He would blaze a new trail clear across the country!

George is back, more popular than ever. And Ka …

The ambition that inspired rapper and MC Baba Brinkman to transpose his performance piece “The Rap Canterbury Tales” to the printed page was his desire to resurrect Chaucer’s brilliant stories from their vellum mausoleum into visible and audible contemporary forms that would once again delight and edify both live listening audiences and reade …

In the heart of the Latin Quarter, meeting place of marginal characters of all sorts, Céline Poulin works the night shift at a cheap and popular restaurant, Le Sélect, serving hamburger platters and spaghetti and meatballs to student misfits, transvestites, hookers and queens from the Main—Montreal’s disreputable Boulevard Saint-Laurent. Hang …

Katie and Rusty are heading East.

Fresh from their thrilling adventures in Alberta, facing down devious developers, the cousins have made their way to Aunt Margaret's farm in Saskatchewan. After rescuing her aunt when she is trapped under a piece of farm equipment and learning of other acts of possible sabotage, Katie decides that she has found anot …

Onja Claibourn is almost fifteen. Her world is one of sage, buffalo bills, brown-eyed susans, cactus, flax, buckbrush, foxtail and orange moss—the world of the valley just beyond the family farm. Old roads twist like a game of snakes and ladders into the valley. Onja and her horse Ginger spend their summer days in exploration.

But things begin to …

Bonbons Assortis / Assorted Candies is Michel Tremblay’s fourth (and he says last) book of autobiographical narratives inspired by his childhood and youth. Like the previous three volumes, which celebrate the books, plays and films that shaped his imagination and writing life, this collection of eight delightful stories takes us back to Tremblay …

When his step-father Phil is shot dead in an apparent robbery, David becomes the prime suspect. Where was David that night, and what does he know about Phil?

The epub edition of this title is fully accessible.

Jay, Kelvin and Cia are The Lunar Ticks, a dedicated band who are convinced they are on their way up. They hope to win an upcoming battle of the bands where the first prize is a full day in a recording studio. Jay is struggling to write new material but finds he lacks the experience to come up with a truly original song. Going up against Indigo Daz …

Key Selling Points

• New, enhanced features (dyslexia-friendly font, cream paper, larger trim size) to increase reading accessibility for dyslexic and other striving readers.

Dan is not sure he'll survive the boring field trip to a remote heritage farm.

How could a place with no running water, telephone or electricity be anything but dull? The farmer knows nothing about farming and seems angry about having to conduct the tour. And what's with his tattoo? The teacher requests a private word with the farmer and then myster …

Chill has always been different, but the way he deals with his disability and his art have given him the power to survive the horrors of high school. When a new teacher arrives, determined to crush his students' spirit, Chill decides to fight back and risk everything. A story of doing the right thing and standing up for yourself—and your friends.

Reese loves horses and longs to be a competitive show jumper.

When the leased horse she rides is sold, she is left riding the orneriest horse in the stable. She decides she must find a horse of her own. Her parents can't afford a trained horse, so she decides to buy a wild horse at auction.

Outbid, she discovers that many of the wild horses will be s …

Northern Ireland. In 1999, one year after the Good Friday peace accord, sectarian violence still runs rampant in Belfast and the hatred between Protestant and Catholic runs deep. Liam O'Donnell's father is a peacemaker to the Catholic community. When twelve-year-old Liam's parents are brutally murdered in front of him, he is frozen in place. But wh …

The poems in this book tell stories of animals and nature, from two sweaty hippos, a smiling lizard and some creepy crawlers to a few tricky dandelions. At the end of each poem, find out more in an interview with a key character or a list of fascinating facts.

There's plenty of action both on and off the ice.

At a big tournament in Calgary, teammate Tom Morgan plays a practical joke on Johnny Maverick, so naturally Johnny feels he has to pay him back. The rivalry escalates. After he scores a hat trick, Johnny is given a hockey stick signed by all the members of the Calgary Flames. He worries that Tom will …

Every year, Radim's family has a delicious carp for Christmas dinner, selected from the huge wooden barrels that line the streets of Prague in December. But this year, when Radim sits by the bathtub feeding breadcrumbs to the fish that his father has chosen, he sees more than a delectable meal.

In Carl the Christmas Carp, Ian Krykorka writes a story …

This new collection of short stories by Governor General's Award winning author Paul Yee confronts the secret lives of Chinese-Canadian teenagers as they battle with their parents over schooling, carreers, sexuality, religion and integration into North American culture. Once again Paul Yee offers a rare glimpse into the conflicted world of Chinese …

At 17, star defenseman Craig McElhaney likes his chances of making it as a pro hockey player.

Yet, a string of recent "accidents" threatens to knock Craig's team out of the playoffs and ruin his promising career. Craig has begun to question how many "accidents" can happen before they become more than a coincidence. But it's not a good time for quest …

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From the seas of antiquity to the city streets of today, A Mermaid's Tale explores the myth and meanings of the mermaid. Beginning with Melusina, the bathing mermaid par excellence, Amanda Adams goes on to describe the seductive sirens and their honeyed songs, the powerful Arctic sea goddess Sedna, and the long-haired rusalki or Russian lore, amon …

This latest book from Chris Czajkowski's spectacular corner of the world is another engrossing account of life in her wilderness. She regales the reader with stories of shimmering mountain peaks, roaring snow-fed creeks, bears, eagles and monstrous storms; and tales of her dogs--Bucky (short for Buckethead), who chases everything; Max, who tussles …

Born in 1889, Anna Porter's grandfather, Vili Racz, was a patriot and Olympic athlete, a magician and a lawyer, a publisher and a prisoner, a philanderer and a devoted family man. On long walks through the once-grand European capital of Budapest, in confidences whispered in splendid fin-de-siecle coffee houses, Vili shared his stories of heroes and …

At once a memoir, a work of philosophy, a story of European immigration to Canada's dark places of the earth, and an exploration of the roots and effects of colonialism, The Wolves At Evelyn: Journeys Through a Dark Century is a stylistic and rhetorical tour de force from one of Canada's master prose stylists.

Dissident communists fleeing 1920s Germ …

In the post-apocalyptic future, 50 years after the last government of turbo-liberals and its president-for-life have been elected, a group of researchers convenes a Congress to address the curious cultural phenomenon of the Baldwins, whose stories have been gathered and archived by the chroniclers since the end of history. “Who are the Baldwins?� …

In the post-apocalyptic future, 50 years after the last government of turbo-liberals and its president-for-life have been elected, a group of researchers convenes a Congress to address the curious cultural phenomenon of the Baldwins, whose stories have been gathered and archived by the chroniclers since the end of history. “Who are the Baldwins?� …

In this highly personal essay, Ted Chamberlin asks some old, old questions such as "why do we need stories and songs?" Turning frequently to First Nations people, he looks at their culture and asks what it means to listen. In response, he notes that we take great pleasure in the comforts of narration, of finding our way within a story, a kind of "d …

Artist, photographer, writer and explorer Mary Schaffer Warren overcame the limited expectations of women a century ago in order to follow her dreams. Born into a wealthy Pennsylvania Quaker family, Mary Sharpless was a precocious child who longed to experience the world beyond her sheltered home. An 1889 cross-Canada trip with her new husband, doc …

On September 23, 1994, an unusual rescue operation took place in the chilly waters off Telegraph Cove, a tiny, picturesque village perched on Vancouver Island’s north coast. It was not stranded hikers or fishermen who needed help, but a large humpback whale, which had become hopelessly entangled in a rope that had fallen off a fishing boat.

The r …

The Yukon is famous for its Klondike gold rush, but it was the site of another major mineral discovery in 1918 that touched off its own stampede of sourdoughs and eventually produced more paydirt than the Klondike. This was the fabulously rich Keno Hill silver deposit, which made the Yukon one of the world's leading silver producers and backstopped …

BOOK TWO in the Canadian Battle Series

Stretching like an armour-toothed belt across Italy’s upper thigh, the Gothic Line was the most fortified and fiercely defended position the German army had yet thrown in the path of the advancing Allied forces. On August 25, 1944, it fell to I Canadian Corps to spearhead the famed Eighth Army’s major offe …

In 1897, a 21-year-old unemployed Californian named Jack London borrowed funds so he could make his fortune in the Klondike. His life prior to the gold rush had been a story of toil and lean days. He knew how to pitch a tent, start a fire with minimal effort and how to go without either a fire or a blanket if circumstances required. He had lived in …

Stanley Park is the third largest urban park in North America, with over eight million people passing through it each year. And for good reason--it's a spectacular oasis of nature just steps from the busy downtown streets and sidewalks of Vancouver, BC. Visitors can enjoy majestic cedar and fir trees and wild native plants as well as scenic beaches …

Ranching with Lords & Commons, originally published in 1903, tells the fascinating story of Alberta's famous Oxley Ranch from the perspective of John R. Craig, Oxley's former manager. Craig's passion and knowledge shine through in this overview of what the cattle business was really like when ranching got underway in the late 1800s. In writing abo …

The legends collected in We-gyet Wanders On are the ancient stories of the people of 'Ksan who have lived in northern British Columbia for over six thousand years. We-Gyet i the essence of every man's frailties exaggerated into gentle humor or ribald laughter. His adventures always end in disaster. His blunders and tricks changed the face of the ea …

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 s …

Tiny, island-dotted Belize, perched on the Caribbean, south of Mexico and east of Guatemala, is a fascinating blend of Creole, Mestizo, Maya, Garifuna, English, East Indian, Mennonite, Lebanese and Chinese cultures. With its colonial background (English remains the official language) and a history of fending off its Latin neighbours, Belize has eme …