Complicated Simplicity
A frank, practical, and entertaining exploration of the pleasures and complexities of living on small islands.
Many people dream of living simple lives on small islands, but few are aware of some of the unique challenges that accompany this distinctive lifestyle. From negotiating surrounding waters to creating a sustainable home and making a viable …
In Too Deep
Three trouble-prone friends become pawns in a criminal cover-up after they discover an old bronze statue in a local pond.
When Cody and Eric are denied permission to pick up golf balls from the ponds at their local golf course, they decide to trespass on the property at night. But they end up finding a lot more than just golf balls in the murky wat …
The Secret Deepens
Shortlisted for Ontario Silver Birch Award 2010
Selected, Canadian Children's Book Centre's "Best Books for Kids & Teens" (Starred selection, 2009)
Since Halloween, things are getting back to normal for Cat Peters. Now the big drama in her life isn’t a battle against diabolical fairies, but a battle of the sexes on the soccer field. Meanwhile, ev …
British Columbia and Yukon Gold Hunters
Although the 1848 discovery of gold in California was the first bonanza to trigger an invasion of migrants to North America’s Pacific Coast, it was relatively short-lived. Soon, grander findings farther north led to an even greater influx of gold hunters. In 1851, a twenty-seven-ounce gold nugget was found on Haida Gwaii, ushering in fifty years …
The Luck of the Karluk
When the members of Canada’s First Arctic Expedition set out from Victoria aboard HMCS Karluk in the summer of 1913, it was a moment of great optimism. The three-year mission would chart unexplored landmasses of the Western Arctic and secure Canada’s place in the international geographic community. Little did the team of distinguished scholars …
Arctic Ambitions
Captain James Cook is justly famous for his explorations of the southern Pacific Ocean, but the exploration of the northern Pacific and the Arctic are equally significant. On his third and final great voyage, Cook surveyed the northwest American coast hoping to find the legendary Northwest Passage. While dreams of a passage proved illusory, Cook’ …
High Peaks Engineering
Building transportation routes through the Rockies is dangerous. It always has been. It is also expensive, labour-intensive, and highly political. But railway and highway construction through the western cordillera succeeded thanks to scientific innovation and sheer human grit. In the nineteenth century, steam locomotives, railways, tunnels, trestl …
The Spanish on the Northwest Coast
They endured the torments of scurvy and the vagaries of deep fogs, adverse winds, and contrary currents. They suffered through appalling quarters and rotting food. They spent years away from their homes and families, never knowing whether they would return. Their orders from Spain might well arrive long after they were needed, six months or longer …
Sir John Franklin
After Royal Navy captain Sir John Franklin disappeared in the Arctic in 1846 while seeking the Northwest Passage, the search for his two ships, Erebus and Terror, and survivors of his expedition became one of the most exhaustive quests of the 19th century. Despite tantalizing clues, the ships were never found, and the fate of Franklin’s expeditio …
The Mad Trapper
When Albert Johnson, the Mad Trapper of Rat River, was gunned down in February 1932, he went to his death without anyone knowing who he really was—most people believed the name "Albert Johnson" was an alias. He'd eluded a well-organized, well-equipped posse for seven weeks, surviving solely on wits and determination in the bitter cold of a Canadi …
Shelter From the Storm
Buying Saffron, a 24-foot racing sailboat, was an act of desperation meant to help single parent June Cameron and her youngest son validate themselves. It did that and more. A friend persuaded June to race the boat, and over the next decade June, either solo or with her all-female crew, competed in BC's major sailing races, taking home a lot of the …
Treasure Under the Tundra
It is said that the sparkle from Canadian diamonds mimics the awesome and seductive radiance of the northern lights. Yet until 1991, no one thought diamonds could even be found in Canada—no one except geologists Chuck Fipke and Stu Blusson, who uncovered diamond-rich kimberlite in the Barrens at Point Lake in the Northwest Territories. Their spec …
David Thompson
Surveyor, cartographer, fur trader, adventurer, naturalist and entrepreneur, David Thompson is now recognized as one of the greatest explorers and geographers of all time. By 1812, he had surveyed almost four million square kilometres of the North American wilderness and become the first European to navigate the entire length of the Columbia River. …
Arctic Explorers
There is no saga in Canadian history as full of hardship, catastrophe and mystery as the search for the Northwest Passage. Since the 15th century, the ice-choked Arctic waterway has been sought and travelled by daring men seeking profit, glory or a chance to test themselves against the merciless North. Frances Hern takes us aboard ships with the ex …
Hudson's Bay Company Adventures
The early history of the Hudson's Bay Company comes alive in these true tales of fur-trade wars, incredible wilderness journeys, hardships and danger. Founded by the extraordinary adventurers and renegades Radisson and des Groseilliers, the HBC attracted many memorable characters. Explorer Henry Kelsey was the first European to see the buffalo herd …
Pachyrhinosaurus
Pachyrhinosaurus follows two separate stories: the discovery of Pachyrhinosaurus fossils at Pipestone Creek in northwestern Alberta, and the story of a single Pachyrhinosaurus herd and the events that led to its abrupt demise 76 million years ago. Each story is compellingly told and accompanied by dynamic illustrations and photographs.
Pachyrhinosa …
Cattle Kingdom
One of the most colourful chapters in the history of North American settlement began in the 1880s when the rich Alberta grasslands spreading east from the foothills of the Rockies became the magnet for cattle ranching. Award-winning Cattle Kingdom provides readers with all the colourful tales of raffish characters, political intrigues and partnersh …
