Table of Contents

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• feature
• on writing
• fiction
• non-fiction
• fun and games
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Summer 2003
Learn and Live!

feature

Kids’ books put the life in learning:
These new books help children learn about people, places, and things — and instill a love of reading at the same time.

How do you See Saw Saskatchewan? Author reaches children with fun ‘n’ rhyme
“I think that we are so overwhelmed by references to the U.S that short poems that are playful with language and have Canadian content are important for teachers, parents and kids.”
See Saw Saskatchewan
Robert Heidbreder, illustrated by Scot Ritchie
Kids Can Press
$16.95 hc, 32 pages
ISBN 1-55337-392-8

Making kids proud: Canadian history deserves a Big Book
“Kids turn away from a subject when they understand adults don’t value it themselves. When adults take history seriously as adults, and take pleasure in it as part of their cultural life, like music or hockey, then kids pick that up.”
The Big Book of Canada: Exploring the Provinces and Territories
Christopher Moore, illustrated by Bill Slavin
Tundra Books
$39.99 hc, 256 pages
ISBN 0-88776-457-6

You go, Girl! Girls encouraged to get active
“I think what will catch the public’s attention on the issue of children’s inactivity is the first few media relays of 10 to 12 year olds having heart attacks in front of their friends.”
Girls on the Move: An Active Living Alphabet
June LeDrew, illustrated by Jan Sovac
Johnson Gorman Publishers
$11.95 pb, 32 pages
ISBN 0-921-835-69-8

Too cute for words? Picture book features polar bear cub
“Having the bears talk was my way of sharing the gentle, caring relationship I observed between mothers and their cubs.”
Borealis: A Polar Bear Cub’s First Year
Rebecca L. Grambo
Whitecap Books
$14.95 pb, 48 pages
ISBN 1552854655

Going for gold: Falcons Canada’s first hockey heroes
“When you look at success you should know it is not about the final goal but how you got there and with who. I hope they also learn that heroes are people who never give up.”
Falcons Gold: Canada’s First Olympic Hockey Heroes
Kathleen Arnason
Coastline Publishing
$22.95 hc, 32 pages
ISBN 0-9689119-2-7

Hear her roar: Nellie McClung bio designed for young adults
“Children, as well as older people, love story. A strong narrative through line is able to draw them into the story.”
Nellie McClung: Voice for the Voiceless
Margaret MacPherson
XYZ Publishing
$15.95 pb, 149 pages
ISBN 1-894852-04-4

Never kid a kid: Matas’s latest gives kids their due
“I would write an adult book the same way I would write a book for someone in grade five.”
Rosie in New York City: Gotcha!
Carol Matas
Key Porter Books
$12.95 pb., 128 pages
ISBN 1-55263-185-0

Autodramatic writing: Ghosts and cars feature in Woodbury’s latest
“Young readers can look at life and decide life is a challenge or it’s a pile. I want kids to read my books and say that life is a challenge.”
The Ghost in the Machine
Mary Woodbury
Coteau Books
$8.95 pb, 222 pages
ISBN 1-55050-227-1

on writing

Western poets spill more than beer: Collection of conversations witty and wise
“The ability to navigate a poem uses the same skills that allow a young person to critically assess media and the rhetoric that those in power use to control and manipulate. In other words, an emphasis on reading and writing poetry will, in my view, save the world. How’s that for a sound-bite!”
In Muddy Water: Conversations with 11 Poets
Rob Budde
J. Gordon Shillingford Publishing Inc.
$18.95 pb, 153 pages
ISBN 0-920486-33-9

Teaching the “unteachable”: Stenson writes on the craft of writing
“To say that creative writing cannot be taught seems odd to me… you can teach it or mentor it as surely as you can music or visual art. I’ve never understood why writing is selected as a special unteachable case.”
Things Feigned or Imagined: The Craft in Fiction
Fred Stenson
Banff Centre Press
$18.95 pb, 212 pages
ISBN 0-920159-93-1

Write me a writer: Carol Shields the subject of essay collection
“The cult of personality is an infection; it should be resisted with vigour… On the other hand, there is nothing at all wrong about being interested in a writer’s life, as long as you realize that the life is not the work.”
Carol Shields: The Arts of a Writing Life
Edited by Neil Besner
Prairie Fire Press
$18.95 pb, 272 pages
ISBN 0-9731608-0-2

fiction

What follows A Dry Spell: Moloney’s latest a haunted house tale
“I don’t do gore, but I have heard that people don’t always turn out every light after reading me.”
The Dwelling
Susie Moloney
Random House Canada
$35.95 hc, 408 pages
ISBN 0-679-31216-1

Out of the Blue: First-time novelist chooses imagination over experience
“I looked at two sisters, never married, and wondered what could have happened in their lives.”
Blue Becomes You
Bettina Von Kampen
Great Plains
$19.95 pb, 256 pages
ISBN 1-894283-37-6

non-fiction

Beauty in familiar places: Series captures identities of Wayside Wildflowers
“I believe that the more people know about the wild plants and animals around us, the more they will value the natural environment and enjoy their travels.”
Alberta Wayside Flowers
ISBN 1-55105-350-0
Saskatchewan Wayside Flowers
ISBN 1-55105-354-3
Manitoba Wayside Flowers
ISBN 1-55105-352-7
Linda Kershaw
Lone Pine
$16.95 pb, 160 pages

Past imperfect: Family history tells Canadian story
“The Catholic Church ran the province of Quebec for many years. There was no Department of Education until WWII. The Church ran the education of young people.”
As I Remember Them: Childhood in Quebec and Why We Came West
Jeanne-Élise Olsen, edited by G. Lorraine Ouellette and Ian Adam
University of Calgary Press
$24.95 pb, 240 pages
ISBN 1-55238-068-8

fun and games

All humped up like a jackass eating thistles? Ultimate Prairie Phrase Book can get you saucered and blowed
“I continue to be amazed at the response the book receives. Everyone remembers the expressions of their father, grandfather or old Uncle Harry.”
Cold As a Bay Street Banker’s Heart: The Ultimate Prairie Phrase Book
Chris Thain
Fifth House Publishers
$16.95 pb, 196 pages
ISBN 1-894856-21-X

Puzzling out the Prairies: Canadian crossword series spells pride of place
“I’ve always done crosswords but I did notice there wasn’t much Canadian content and that inspired me. So I thought why not just do it?”
Canadian Prairies Crosswords
Glenn Rusth
Harbour Publishing
$8.95 pb, 56 pages
ISBN 1-55017-310-3