- post-confederation (1867-) (89)
- western provinces (51)
- history (34)
- historical (31)
- social history (26)
- pre-confederation (to 1867) (25)
- canada (24)
- regional (23)
- native american (22)
- personal memoirs (22)
- women (20)
- canadian (17)
- hockey (17)
- adolescence (16)
- friendship (16)
- native canadian (16)
- adventurers & explorers (15)
- fishing (15)
- world war i (13)
- paranormal (12)
A Home Away from Home
An informative book for middle-grade readers about sanctuaries across North America that rescue wild animals and provide them with safe places to live.
Years ago, most major cities in North America had zoos full of exotic or wild animals in tiny cages. It was also not uncommon for wild animals to be kept as pets or trained to perform in circuses. To …
Birding for Kids
An interactive full-colour field guide that teaches kids the fun, safe, and educational way to observe birds in their natural habitat.
Join expert bird photographers Damon Calderwood and Donald E. Waite, and their young friends, as they highlight all the basics of birding. Birding for Kids is filled with full-colour photos, fascinating facts, and fu …
Joseph William McKay
Finalist, 2021 Lieutenant Governor’s Medal for Historical Writing
An intriguing look at the accomplishments and contradictions of Joseph William McKay, best known as the founder of Nanaimo, BC, and one of the most successful Métis men to rise through the ranks of the Hudson’s Bay Company in the late nineteenth century.
When examining the history …
Painted Fences
A charming and evocative story within a story, exploring themes of wartime resourcefulness, local history, friendship, and the reverberations of the past in the present day.
On a beautiful spring day in Victoria’s James Bay neighbourhood, eight-year-old Esther takes a walk with her great-grandfather on his birthday. On the same street and the same …
Explore the Eelgrass Meadow with Sam and Crystal
With beautiful, scientifically accurate illustrations, this fascinating story teaches children about the many fish, crustaceans, marine mammals, and micro-organisms that live in and feed off the eelgrass meadows of the north Pacific coastal region.
“Recommended for school and public libraries regardless of their proximity to the west coast. Althou …
Flourishing and Free
An inspiring and eye-opening collection of true stories about sixteen women who blazed their own trails in life and contributed in a fundamental way to the history of Vancouver Island and the surrounding islands.
In this fascinating follow-up to On Their Own Terms, author Haley Healey chronicles the lives of a whole new crop of resilient, hard-worki …
Little Wolf
A young Indigenous girl moves to the big city and learns to find connections to her culture and the land wherever she goes, despite encountering bullies and feelings of isolation along the way.
When Little Wolf moves to the big city with her mom and sister, she has difficulty adjusting to their new life. She misses living close to nature and seeing …
Treasures of Winnipeg’s Historic Exchange
A breathtaking full-colour photography book celebrating the architectural splendour and cultural heritage of Winnipeg's famed Exchange District, a National Historic Site and one of the city’s most vibrant artistic, commercial, and tourist hubs.
The Exchange District is the architectural jewel of Winnipeg's downtown core, a thirty-block area featur …
Railway Nation
A riveting, visually engaging collection of vignettes highlighting the rich heritage of the Canadian Pacific Railway.
Since its founding in 1881, Canadian Pacific has made an indelible mark on the lives of Canadians. Most commonly associated with its iconic railway, at its height CP also ran hotels, steamships, and an airline, and had myriad involve …
Heard Amid the Guns
"Carmichael captures the anguish and the wonder of war in flashes of colour, humour, and gems of human detail mined from letters, diaries, interviews, [and] her own family history." —Halifax Chronicle Herald
A rich and varied tapestry of the First World War, highlighting the personal stories of over 150 men and women from across North America who …
Journal of a Travelling Girl
FINALIST FOR TWO 2021 CANADIAN CHILDREN'S BOOK AWARDS
This fictional coming-of-age story traces a young girl’s reluctant journey by canoe through the ancestral lands of the Tłı̨chǫ People, as she gradually comes to understand and appreciate their culture and the significance of their fight for self-government.
"Journal of a Travelling Girl dese …
Grandfathered
A sharp, funny, heartfelt memoir by a career-driven baby boomer who enters semi-retirement and explores the joys, challenges, and never-ending surprises of being a "young" granddad.
One summer, shortly after taking a step back from an illustrious journalism career, Ian Haysom found himself in charge of his first grandchild, Mayana, who was three at …
Gilly the Ghillie
Tall tales of coastal adventures, colourful locals, privileged tourists, and elusive fish abound in this hilariously offbeat sequel to The Codfish Dream.
"David Giblin is a marvellous storyteller."—Ian Ferguson, author of The Survival Guide to British Columbia
David Giblin's stint as a seasonal salmon fishing guide on Stuart Island provides a seemi …
The Grizzlies of Grouse Mountain
Starred Selection, Best Books for Kids and Teens
A beautifully illustrated and educational children's book that tells the true life story of Grouse Mountain's famous resident grizzly bears.
Coola and Grinder are two adult grizzly bears living at the “peak of Vancouver” on Grouse Mountain. For the past eighteen years they have been among the mount …
Birds of British Columbia and the Pacific Northwest
The ultimate bestselling field guide to birds of the Pacific Northwest bioregion, now fully revised in its Second Edition!
“An essential reference for birders west of the continental divide, particularly for intermediate and advanced observers.”—Western Birds: The Quarterly Journal of Western Field Ornithologists
Discover more than four hundred …
Pioneer Churches of Vancouver Island and the Salish Sea
A concise, full-colour visitor’s guide to dozens of historical churches scattered throughout Vancouver Island, from humble country chapels to soaring urban cathedrals.
For many European settlers who arrived on Vancouver Island in the late nineteenth century, building a church was as important as establishing a homestead or erecting a school. The c …
Legacy of Trees
An engaging, informative, and visually stunning tour of the numerous native, introduced, and ornamental tree species found in Vancouver’s Stanley Park, combining a wealth of botanical knowledge with a fascinating social history of the city’s most celebrated landmark.
Measuring 405 hectares (1,001 acres) in the heart of downtown Vancouver, Stanle …
Edible and Medicinal Flora of the West Coast
A clear, concise guide to more than 130 edible and medicinal plants and funghi that grow wild throughout the west coast of British Columbia and the Pacific Northwest states.
The coastal Pacific Northwest of North America is home to a multitude of edible and medicinal plant species, marine plants, and edible mushrooms. This compact, full-colour forag …
Stagecoach North
An in-depth look at the origins and operations of a pioneering transportation company that moved people and goods across the province throughout the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
At the height of the Cariboo Gold Rush, demand for an efficient transportation route to and from the goldfields was reaching a point of desperation. With a …
On Their Own Terms
"An engaging contribution to Canadian women's history." —BC Books for BC Schools
A fascinating collection of concise stories about seventeen courageous, independent, and diverse women who shaped the history of Vancouver Island.
From the lush rainforest of Clayoquot Sound to the bustling city streets of Victoria, Vancouver Island has been home to an …
The Final Voyage of the Valencia
A dynamic retelling of the deadly 1906 sinking of the SS Valencia off the southwest coast of Vancouver Island, one of the worst maritime disasters in Canadian history.
There are few places on earth that have such a high record of marine casualties as the short yet treacherous stretch of coastline known as the Graveyard of the Pacific. In the late ni …
Robert Service
"Andra-Warner has given us a great read with this slim biography. Her story-telling skills excel at distilling historical facts into compelling narrative."—Thunder Bay Chronicle-Review
A quick-paced and engaging biography of Canada's favourite northern poet, Robert Service.
Born in England in 1874 to Scottish parents, Robert William Service was rai …
High Tide, Low Tide
A children’s colouring and activity book that teaches basic marine ecology concepts—including tidal cycles, predator-and-prey relationships, food chains, habitat, and conservation—through detailed illustrations and informative text.
High Tide, Low Tide is a fun and captivating introduction to the great variety of marine life that can be found …
Campfire Stories from Coast to Coast
A delightfully frightful collection of spooky stories set across Canada, appropriate for all ages and perfect for reading aloud around the campfire.
In this spine-chilling companion to Campfire Stories of Western Canada and Ghostly Campfire Stories of Western Canada, Barbara Smith takes readers on a cross-country trip of sinister spirits, urban myth …
Four Who Dared
An absorbing testament to the contributions of four brave young Canadian volunteers who flew with British Bomber Command in the Second World War.
More than one million Canadians volunteered to serve in the Second World War—both in the Canadian armed forces and in forces across the British Commonwealth. In Four Who Dared, author and historian Kenne …
The Survival Guide to British Columbia
A completely satirical yet oddly practical guide to surviving and thriving in Canada’s westernmost province.
So you’ve arrived in British Columbia. Perhaps you’re just passing through; perhaps you want to stay a while. You may even be contemplating making British Columbia your home. What you need is a well-researched, clearly written, and com …
The Group of Seven Reimagined
A celebration of Canada’s most famous group of painters, expertly blending visual artistry with evocative works of short fiction.
Founded in 1920, the Group of Seven has captured the imagination and hearts of Canadians for a century, helping to shape our national identity with their stunning landscape paintings representing every region of the cou …
Christmas in Mariposa
Longlisted for the Stephen Leacock Memorial Medal for Humour
A funny and heart-warming tribute to Canada’s most famous small town, and its most celebrated humourist, Stephen Leacock.
Many Canadians grew up in small towns, or at least in neighbourhoods that acted like small towns. But what if you grew up in Canada’s most famous small town—Stephe …
Driving to Treblinka
An intimate memoir recounting a woman’s quest to solve the mystery of her Holocaust survivor father’s death.
As a child growing up in Vancouver in the 1950s and early ’60s, Diana Wichtel knew there was something different about her family. Her parents were far from forthcoming about the harrowing details of her Jewish father’s journey from P …
