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by Alexander McCall Smith The lovely setting of a train journey between Edinburgh and London lends itself to the tales we hear as we eavesdrop on four travellers who share a compartment in Trains and Lovers by Alexander McCall Smith. These travellers are thrown together by way of train tickets and have no other connection […]
Spirit BearBy Jennifer Harrington, illustrated by Michael Arnott Annuk is a baby bear, born to a black bear mother. Deep in the Great Bear Rainforest, Annuk discovers that he is special; unlike his siblings, Annuk is a white “Spirit Bear”. His mother tells him that one day, he will “catch more salmon than any bear […]
Serafina and the Black CloakBy Robert Beatty Serafina is a 12-year-old girl who lives in the grand Biltmore Estate in 1899. Owned by the famous Vanderbilt family, the house itself is beautiful and vast, almost a castle. The grounds are lovely, manicured, and surrounded by forest. But Serafina is not a rich girl or even […]
The Swallow By Charis Cotter Polly is an awkward and lonely girl with a big family – too big in her estimation. There are so many kids that her parents barely notice Polly. Even her own bedroom, which has always been her sanctuary, has now been invaded by baby Sarah, with whom Polly must share […]
Three Day RoadBy Joseph Boyden The violence and brutality of war are not my idea of enjoyable subject matter. Joseph Boyden’s Three Day Road is indeed a story of war. But it is also the story of best friends. Their physical journey from the Ontario bush to the trenches of Europe mirrors their interior journey […]
Where Are You Going Baby Lincoln?By Kate DiCamillo In the third installment in the Tales from Deckawoo Drive series, Baby Lincoln is feeling stifled by her older sister Eugenia. Having been bossed around by the rule-bound Eugenia all her life, Baby Lincoln decides she must go on a “necessary journey”, although she does not know […]
The Wonder TrailI checked out Steve Hely’s “The Wonder Trail: True Stories from Lost Angeles to the End of the World” for a few reasons: 1. He’s a former staff writer for “30 Rock”, which I think is one of the funniest North American sitcoms of all time; 2. Los Angeles is featured quite prominently […]
Fifteen Dogs by André Alexis I was first intrigued by this book when I saw it on the Globe and Mail’s “Best Books of 2015” list, because it involved two things I really like to read about: dogs and mythology. Fifteen Dogs: An Apologue, by André Alexis, opens with two of Zeus’ sons, Hermes and […]
the particular sadness of lemon cake For nine year old Rose, having her mother bake her favourite lemon cake for her birthday is a real treat, until the day she bites into it and can feel all of her mother’s despair and sadness in the otherwise tasty morsel. At first confused, Rose has trouble grasping […]
by Kevin SandsIt’s 1665 in London, England. Christopher Rowe is an apothecary’s apprentice. His master, Benedict Blackthorn – a well-respected, if slightly absentminded, apothecary, is teaching Christopher all about combining ingredients to create powerful medicines, as well as codes and puzzles that help to keep recipes for said medicines a secret. Suddenly apothecaries all over […]