Book picks similar to
Mystery at Cranberry Farm by Lynn Manuel
children
5-star-loved-it
young-adult
children-s-lit
Adventures with Waffles
Maria Parr - 2005
And there is never an ordinary day when you've got a best friend like Lena. Hardly a day passes without Trille and Lena inventing some kind of adventure that often ends in trouble. Whether it's coaxing a cow onto a boat or sledding down the steepest and iciest hill with a chicken, there is always a thrill--and sometimes an injury--to be had. Trille loves to share everything with Lena, even Auntie Granny's waffles. But when Lena has to move away and Auntie Granny leaves the world, it sometimes seems like nothing will ever be right again. The warmth of friendship and the support of family suffuse this lightly illustrated novel, proving that when times are tough, a little taste of sweetness can make all the difference.
Only in the Movies
William Bell - 2010
But soon enough he finds himself starring in a drama of his own creation. Nothing in Jake's life is the same after Vanni, a whip-smart, wisecracking Indian-Irish-Canadian joins his class, and after Jake meets the unforgettable Alba, who is as stunning as she is unattainable. Jake is tongue-tied around Alba and enlists Vanni's help. All of a sudden — like the Shakespeare play Jake's school is putting on — Jake finds himself entwined in a love triangle of sorts, complete with secrets and suppressed passions, contrived plots, miscues and misunderstandings. By the end, as in any good comedy, tensions are resolved and Jake's world has been re-made, though in a way he could not have anticipated.From the Trade Paperback edition.
A Passing Phase
J. Paul Devlin - 2015
Well, not really.Okay, so he's only attracted to guys. And he's had sex with several. But he knows it's just a phase.He always figured that, along the road to becoming an adult, he'd mutate into someone who preferred Keira Knightley to Chris Hemsworth. It would just happen, like puberty. But as adulthood approaches and his transformation has yet to begin, he panics.Taking desperate measures to change his sexual orientation, Nate finds himself mired in surreal situations populated by, among others, his overbearing mom, current-and former-best friends, a dominatrix, and a muumuu-wearing psychic. Eventually, he's not sure who's trying to help and who's doing more harm than good. But he's determined to find himself-his true self.After all, where there's a will, there's a way... right?
The Grave Robber's Apprentice
Allan Stratton - 2012
When he was a baby, he washed ashore in a wooden box and was adopted by the conniving grave robber Knobbe the Bent. Now fate has thrown him together with Angela von Schwanenberg, a young countess fleeing for her life from the evil Archduke Arnulf and his dreaded necromancer. Together, these friends are on a daring quest to discover Hans' true identity and to save Angela's parents from the archduke. In this world, anything is possible with luck and imagination - even for a grave robber's apprentice.
The Secret Lives of Monsters and Legends
Sunny Basra - 2015
Dragons, monsters and strange creatures; All that you thought you knew about them will be forgotten once you glimpse into the strange world hidden in this book.The mysteries and legends of some of the world's most popular fables are retold in four stories in this colourful, fun and imaginative book. You’ll be surprised by what you discover!You should also buy this book if you like surprise, you love colourful pictures, using your imagination makes you happy, you are scared of monsters but want to understand why you shouldn't and you believe that to your kids are the best thing ever!Are you ready? It's time to uncover the mysteries of these monsters and legends!You should also buy this book if;• You like surprises• You love colourful pictures• Using your imagination makes you happy• You are scared of monsters• You think kids are the best!Are you ready? It's time to uncover the mysteries of these monsters and legends!
Tangled Threads
Margaret Dickinson - 2002
Although the work is hard, the attentions of young Master Stephen Dunsmore - the son of the Hardcastles' employer - provide Eveleen with a welcome distraction. Mary's disapproval of the unsuitable match drives the young lovers to meet in secret. But it seems deception has a cruel price when Walter is found dead from a heart attack. The final blow comes with Stephen's callous rejection of Eveleen, and as the Hardcastles are forced to leave Lincolnshire, she resolves never to allow love to enter her heart again - until a stunning discovery about Mary's past causes her to reassess her mother and herself...
When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit
Judith Kerr - 1971
Suppose that without your noticing, it became dangerous for some people to live in Germany any longer. Suppose you found, to your complete surprise, that your own father was one of those people.That is what happened to Anna in 1933. She was nine years old when it began, too busy with her schoolwork and toboganning to take much notice of political posters, but out of them glared the face of Adolf Hitler, the man who would soon change the whole of Europe – starting with her own small life.Anna suddenly found things moving too fast for her to understand. One day, her father was unaccountably missing. Then she herself and her brother Max were being rushed by their mother, in alarming secrecy, away from everything they knew – home and schoolmates and well-loved toys – right out of Germany…
Underground to Canada
Barbara Smucker - 1978
Every day that she spends huddled in the slave trader’s wagon travelling south or working on the brutal new plantation, she thinks about the land where it is possible to be free, a land she and her friend Liza may reach someday. So when workers from the Underground Railroad offer to help the two girls escape, they are ready. But the slave catchers and their dogs will soon be after them…
Millicent Min, Girl Genius
Lisa Yee - 2003
Her fellow high school students hate her for setting the curve. Her fellow 11-year-olds hate her for going to high school. And her mother has arranged for her to tutor Stanford Wong, the poster boy for Chinese geekdom. But then Millie meets Emily. Emily doesn't know Millicent's IQ score. She actually thinks Millie is cool. And if Millie can hide her awards, ignore her grandmother's advice, swear her parents to silence, blackmail Stanford, and keep all her lies straight, she just might make her first friend. What's it gong to take? Sheer genius.
Innercity Girl Like Me
Sabrina Bernardo - 2008
There, she is surrounded by kids who roam the apartment blocks, smoking and drinking and doing drugs. she meets Jessica and Gina, who become her best friends, and gets to know Gina’s older brother, Roland, founder of the Central outfit of the Diablos gang. As a young teen she is initiated into the Diablos and starts joining their campaign against the rival gang, the street Ryders (so named because they make their money pimping out girls). embracing the solidarity of gang membership, G Child feels loved and part of a family. But the stakes rise when the street Ryders kill a friend, and as G Child gets in deeper, moving in with her fellow gang girlfriends and selling crack to make money, she finds herself questioning her lifestyle.When someone she trusts reveals a dark, abusive streak, G Child knows it’s time to get out. But can she escape gang life before it kills her? A compelling read based on real-life experience, Innercity Girl Like Me is a brutally authentic look at gang life in Canada.
Mighty Fizz Chilla
Philip Ridley - 2002
When he is sent away to stay with an old family friend, Cressida Bell, Milo becomes obsessed with a tale that will change his life: the story of Mighty Fizz Chilla.
Navigating Early
Clare Vanderpool - 2013
There, Jack encounters Early Auden, the strangest of boys, who reads the number pi as a story and collects clippings about the sightings of a great black bear in the nearby mountains.Newcomer Jack feels lost yet can’t help being drawn to Early, who won’t believe what everyone accepts to be the truth about the Great Appalachian Bear, Timber Rattlesnakes, and the legendary school hero known as The Fish, who never returned from the war. When the boys find themselves unexpectedly alone at school, they embark on a quest on the Appalachian Trail in search of the great black bear.But what they are searching for is sometimes different from what they find. They will meet truly strange characters, each of whom figures into the pi story Early weaves as they travel, while discovering things they never realized about themselves and others in their lives.
Auggie & Me: Three Wonder Stories
R.J. Palacio - 2014
Thought-provoking, surprising, infuriating, heartbreaking and heartwarming, AUGGIE & ME is a must-read for the thousands of readers who loved WONDER.
Copper Sunrise
Bryan Buchan - 1972
Despite his father's warnings about the 'savages', he secretly befriends Tethani, a native boy. The tragic story of the end of the Beothuks comes to life in this novel of the early days of colonization in Canada.
Abel's Island
William Steig - 1976
But one stormy August day, furious flood water carry him off and dump him on an uninhabited island. Despite his determination and stubborn resourcefulness--he tried crossing the river with boats and ropes and even on stepping-stones--Abel can't find a way to get back home. Days, then weeks and months, pass. Slowly, his soft habits disappear as he forages for food, fashions a warm nest in a hollow log, models clay statues of his family for company, and continues to brood on the problem of how to get across the river--and home. Abel's time on the island brings him a new understanding of the world he's separated from. Faced with the daily adventure of survival in his solitary, somewhat hostile domain, he is moved to reexamine the easy way of life he had always accepted and discovers skills and talents in himself that hold promise of a more meaningful life, if and when he should finally return to Mossville and his dear Amanda again.