Alone in an Untamed Land: The Filles Du Roi Diary of Helene St. Onge


Maxine Trottier - 2003
    Onge and her older sister Catherine are orphans. When King Louis XVI orders all men in New France to marry, Catherine becomes a fille du roi, one of the many young women sent to the new world as brides. Hélène will accompany her on the long sea voyage and live with her sister’s new family. But Catherine dies during the gruelling journey, and Hélène finds herself alone in strange new country. New France is a far harsher place than she imagined, with bitter winters and the threat of attack from the Iroquois. Will the new friendships she has made on her long voyage enable her to survive?

The Gypsy Princess


Phoebe Gilman - 1995
    A gypsy girl who gets the opportunity to live in a palace as a princess finds she prefers her gypsy life after all.

Rikki-Tikki-Tavi


Jerry Pinkney - 1894
    Nobel Prize winner Rudyard Kipling's timeless masterpiece has been lovingly passed from one generation of readers to the next. Triumphantly brought to life in stunning watercolors from Caldecott Honor artist Jerry Pinkney, this is a tale that will win the hearts of young and old alike.

In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson


Bette Bao Lord - 1984
    Her new home is Brooklyn, New York. America is indeed a land full of wonders, but Shirley doesn't know any English, so it's hard to make friends. Then a miracle-baseball-happens. It is 1947, and Jackie Robinson, star of the Brooklyn Dodgers, is everyone's hero. Jackie Robinson is proving that a black man, the grandson of a slave, can make a difference in America and for Shirley as well, on the ball field and off, America becomes the land of opportunity.

To Stand On My Own: The Polio Epidemic Diary of Noreen Robertson, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, 1937


Barbara Haworth-Attard - 2010
    The Great Depression has brought great hardship, and young Noreen’s family must scrimp to make ends meet.In a horrible twist of fate, Noreen, like hundreds of other young Canadians, contracts polio and is placed in an isolation ward, unable to move her legs. After a few weeks she gains partial recovery, but her family makes the painful decision to send her to a hospital far away for further treatment. To Stand On My Own is Noreen’s diary account of her journey through recovery: her treatment; life in the ward; the other patients, some of them far worse off than her; adjustment to life in a wheelchair and on crutches; and ultimately, the emotional and physical hurdles she must face when she returns home. In this moving addition to the Dear Canada series, award-winning author Barbara Haworth-Attard recreates a desolate time in Canadian history, and one girl’s brave fight against a deadly disease.

Tiger


Jeff Stone - 2005
    Raised from infancy by their grandmaster, they think of their temple as their home and their fellow warrior monks—their “temple brothers”—as their family. Then one terrible night, the temple is destroyed. Fu and his brothers are the only survivors. Charged by their grandmaster to uncover the secrets of their past, the five flee into the countryside and go their separate ways. Book #1 follows Fu as he struggles to find out more and prove himself in the process.

Winter of Peril: The Newfoundland Diary of Sophie Loveridge


Jan Andrews - 2005
    After their long voyage, they arrive to a “new world" indeed. Will they be able to survive the winter in this harsh country?

Dust


Arthur Slade - 2001
    Other children go missing just as a strange man named Abram Harsich appears in town. He dazzles the townspeople with the promises of a rainmaking machine. Only Matthew’s older brother Robert seems to be able to resist Abram’s spell, and to discover what happened to Matthew and the others. A Governor General’s Award for Children’s LiteratureAn ALA Best Books for Young Adults From the Hardcover edition.

Ruby's Wish


Shirin Yim Bridges - 2002
    Instead of aspiring to get married, Ruby is determined to attend university when she grows up, just like the boys in her family. Based upon the inspirational story of the author's grandmother and accompanied by richly detailed illustrations, Ruby's Wish is an engaging portrait of a young girl who strives for more and a family who rewards her hard work and courage.

D'Aulaires' Book of Norse Myths


Ingri d'Aulaire - 1967
    Children meet Bragi, the god of poetry, and the famous Valkyrie maidens, among other gods, goddesses, heroes, and giants. Illustrations throughout depict the wondrous other world of Norse folklore and its fantastical Northern landscape.

Wenjack


Joseph Boyden - 2016
    Along the way he's followed by Manitous, spirits of the forest who comment on his plight, cajoling, taunting, and ultimately offering him a type of comfort on his difficult journey back to the place he was so brutally removed from.Written by Scotiabank Giller Prize-winning author Joseph Boyden and beautifully illustrated by acclaimed artist Kent Monkman, Wenjack is a powerful and poignant look into the world of a residential school runaway trying to find his way home.

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…

Funny Boy


Shyam Selvadurai - 1994
    In FUNNY BOY we follow the life of the family through Arjie's eyes, as he comes to terms both with his own homosexuality and with the racism of the society in which he lives. In the north of Sri Lanka there is a war going on between the army and the Tamil Tigers, and gradually it begins to encroach on the family's comfortable life. Sporadic acts of violence flare into full scale riots and lead, ultimately, to tragedy. Written in clear, simple prose, Syam Selvadurai's first novel is masterly in its mingling of the personal and political.

The Witch of Blackbird Pond and Related Readings


Elizabeth George Speare
    The Witch of Blackbird Pond with related readings.

Heidi Grows Up


Charles Tritten - 1938
    The sequel to Johanna Spyri's "Heidi", this is a Classic story for children and teens beautifully illustrated in Color & B/W by June Goldsborough.