What is a Refugee?
Regular price $23.99An accessible picture book that oh-so-simply and graphically introduces the term "refugee" to curious young children to help them better understand the world in which they live.
Who are refugees? Why are they called that word? Why do they need to leave their country? Why are they sometimes not welcome in their new country? In this relevant picture book for the youngest children, author-illustrator Elise Gravel explores what it means to be a refugee in bold, graphic illustrations and spare text. This is the perfect tool to introduce an important and timely topic to children.
M is for Maple Leafs
Regular price $21.95For nearly a century, the Toronto Maple Leafs have stood as one of the most popular hockey franchises in the NHL. With M Is for Maple Leafs, children across North America will discover the alphabet while being introduced to interesting Leaf history. From people (such as Mats Sundin and Johnny Bower) to hockey terminology (line change and face-off) and places and things (dressing room, Air Canada Centre, puck), the world of hockey is depicted in this fun and lively picture book. Featuring rhyming text from author Mike Ulmer and striking illustrations from Melanie Rose, this book captures the spirit of "Canada's game." M Is for Maple Leafs is destined to become a classic that will be handed down from generation to generation.
People Change
Regular price $17.95“A deeply generous and honest gift to the world.”
—Elliot Page
The author of I’m Afraid of Men lets readers in on the secrets to a life of reinvention.
Vivek Shraya knows this to be true: people change. We change our haircuts and our outfits and our minds. We change names, titles, labels. We attempt to blend in or to stand out. We outgrow relationships, we abandon dreams for new ones, we start fresh. We seize control of our stories. We make resolutions.
In fact, nobody knows this better than Vivek, who’s made a career of embracing many roles: artist, performer, musician, writer, model, teacher. In People Change, she reflects on the origins of this impulse, tracing it to childhood influences from Hinduism to Madonna. What emerges is a meditation on change itself: why we fear it, why we’re drawn to it, what motivates us to change, and what traps us in place.
At a time when we’re especially contemplating who we want to be, this slim and stylish handbook is an essential companion—a guide to celebrating our many selves and the inspiration to discover who we’ll become next.
Donut Fall in Love
Regular price $22.00"[Lau's] trope-forward contemporaries are as sugary and irresistible as the desserts her characters create."—New York Times Book Review
A baker provides the sweetest escape for an actor in this charming romantic comedy.
Actor Ryan Kwok is back in Toronto after the promotional tour for his latest film, a rom-com that is getting less-than-stellar reviews. After years of constant work and the sudden death of his mother, Ryan is taking some much-needed time off. But as he tries to be supportive to his family, he struggles with his loss and doesn't know how to talk to his dad—who now trolls him on Twitter instead of meeting him for dim sum.
Innovative baker Lindsay McLeod meets Ryan when he knocks over two dozen specialty donuts at her bakery. Their relationship is off to a messy start, but there’s no denying their immediate attraction. When Ryan signs up for a celebrity episode of Baking Fail, he asks Lindsay to teach him how to bake and she agrees.
As Lindsay and Ryan spend time together, bonding over grief and bubble tea, it starts to feel like they’re cooking up something sweeter than cupcakes in the kitchen.
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Jackie Lau decided she wanted to be a writer when she was in grade two, sometime between penning “The Heart That Got Lost” and “The Land of Shapes.” She later studied engineering and worked as a geophysicist before turning to writing romance novels. She is now the author of over a dozen romantic comedies.
Jackie lives in Toronto with her husband, and despite living in Canada her whole life, she hates winter. When she’s not writing, she enjoys gelato, gourmet donuts, cooking, hiking, and reading on the balcony when it’s raining.…
Arlo & Pips - King Of The Birds
Regular price $9.99The Magician's Secret
Regular price $21.99 This action-adventure picture book featuring a grandfather and grandson duo celebrates the power of imagination and the magic of make believe.
Charlie loves when Grandpa comes to babysit because he always brings his magical imagination. Grandpa was a magician who knows the most amazing tricks; he can pull a rabbit from a hat and make a coin disappear. But what Charlie loves most are his wonderful adventure stories, and they all begin with something his grandfather has saved in his Magic Story Chest. An hourglass is a reminder of how he defended the treasure in King Tut's tomb from raiders. A long white scarf inspires the story about Grandpa's dogfight with the notorious Red Baron, the great First World War fighter pilot. A coconut shell heralds the story about his encounter with a nasty Tyrannosaurus Rex. Charlie's parents, though, aren't too sure they like Grandpa's stories and warn Charlie that they're just "tall tales." What is Charlie to believe? How can his grandpa convince him that all you need to do is believe and a dream can be turned into something real?
Pages: 40
Age Range: 5-8 years
ZACHARY HYMAN is a Canadian professional hockey player with the Edmonton Oilers, formerly with the Toronto Maple Leafs. He is the author of Hockey Hero and The Bambino and Me, two inspiring sports-themed picture books. The Magician's Secret is his third book.
Hearth & Home
Regular price $40.00Bestselling author and chef Lynn Crawford teams up with chef Lora Kirk to deliver more than 140 super-delicious recipes for causal home cooking to enjoy family-style.
Chefs Lynn Crawford and Lora Kirk share their favourite family-style recipes for everyday cooking and casual celebrations at home. Creating a family meal: setting the table, sharing dishes passed around the table in large bowls or platters and enjoying it with one another is cooking at its best. Cook together and eat together—it just does not get any better than that. Sitting down and enjoying a meal together is one of the greatest gifts we can give one another.
Hearth & Home features over 140 delicious and comforting recipes—from Turkey Cheddar Biscuit Pot Pie and Honey-Garlic Ribs to Buttery Mashed Potatoes and Sweet Onion Cornbread—that are all achievable for any home cook. Most of these dishes come together quickly with few ingredients and basic tech-niques. Inside you will find many mains, an abundance of side dishes and show-stopping desserts to create and share a meal family-style, whether it is a quick weeknight supper, a weekend get-together or a special-occasion celebration. The book includes suggestions for building a family-style meal, but feel free to create your own feast of shared plates.
On The Trapline
Regular price $21.99A picture book celebrating Indigenous culture and traditions. The Governor General Award--winning team behind When We Were Alone shares a story that honours our connections to our past and our grandfathers and fathers.
A boy and Moshom, his grandpa, take a trip together to visit a place of great meaning to Moshom. A trapline is where people hunt and live off the land, and it was where Moshom grew up. As they embark on their northern journey, the child repeatedly asks his grandfather, "Is this your trapline?" Along the way, the boy finds himself imagining what life was like two generations ago -- a life that appears to be both different from and similar to his life now. This is a heartfelt story about memory, imagination and intergenerational connection that perfectly captures the experience of a young child's wonder as he is introduced to places and stories that hold meaning for his family.
Canada Fun!
Regular price $14.99From the author of the beloved and bestselling Canada ABC and Canada 123 comes this wonderful addition to the Canada board book series. Come explore some of the many special sports, games, activities and festivals that are a special part of how we love to have fun!
Policing Black Lives
Regular price $25.00Africville
Regular price $24.99For readers of Lawrence Hill and George Elliott Clarke, a ferociously talented writer makes his stunning debut with this richly woven tapestry. Set in the small Nova Scotia town of Africville, settled by former slaves, Jeffrey Colvin depicts several generations of one family bound together and torn apart by blood, faith, time and fate.
A richly woven story, structured as a triptych, Africville chronicles the lives of three generations of the Sebolt family—Kath Ella, her son, Omar/Etienne, and her grandson Warner—whose lives unfold against the tumultuous events of the twentieth century, from the Great Depression of the 1930s, through the social protests of the 1960s, to the economic upheavals of the 1980s.
A century earlier, Kath Ella’s ancestors established a new home in Nova Scotia. Like the lives of her ancestors, Kath Ella’s is shaped by hardship as she struggles to conceive and to provide for her family during the long, bitter Canadian winters. She must also contend with the locals’ lingering suspicions about the dark-skinned “outsiders” who live in their midst.
Kath Ella’s fierce love for her son, Omar, cannot help her overcome the racial prejudices that linger in this remote, tight-knit place. As he grows up, the rebellious Omar refutes the past and decides to break from the family, threatening to upend all that Kath Ella and her people have tried to build. Over the decades, each successive generation drifts farther from Africville, yet they take a piece of this indelible place with them as they make their way to Montreal, Vermont and beyond, to the deep South of America.
As it explores notions of identity, passing, cross-racial relationships, the importance of place and the meaning of home, Africville tells the larger story of the black experience in parts of Canada and the United States. Vibrant and lyrical, filled with colourful details and told in a powerful, haunting voice, this extraordinary novel—as atmospheric and steeped in history as Any Known Blood, The Known World, George & Rue, The Underground Railroad, Homegoing and The Book of Negroes—is a landmark work from a sure-to-be major literary talent.
They Said This Would Be Fun
Regular price $25.00Tiffy Cooks
Regular price $40.00OOKO
Regular price $19.99Ooko has everything a fox could want: a stick, a leaf and a rock. Well, almost everything . . . Ooko wants someone to play with too! The foxes in town always seem to be playing with their two-legged friends, the Debbies. Maybe if he tries to look like the other foxes, one of the Debbies will play with him too. But when Ooko finally finds his very own Debbie, things don't turn out quite as he had expected!
A quirky, funny, charmingly illustrated story about finding friendship and being true to yourself.
Gutter Child
Regular price $22.99
NATIONAL BESTSELLER
Finalist for the Amazon Canada First Novel Award
Cityline Book Club Pick
“A deep, unflinching yet loving look at injustice and power.” —Chatelaine
“A powerful and unforgettable novel” (Quill and Quire, starred review) about a young woman who must find the courage to secure her freedom and determine her own future
Set in an imagined world in which the most vulnerable are forced to buy their freedom by working off their debt to society, Gutter Child uncovers a nation divided into the privileged Mainland and the policed Gutter. As part of a social experiment led by the Mainland government, Elimina Dubois is one of just one hundred babies taken from the Gutter and raised in the land of opportunity.
But when her Mainland mother dies, Elimina finds herself alone, a teenager forced into an unfamiliar life of servitude, unsure of who she is and where she belongs. Sent to an academy with new rules and expectations, Elimina befriends children who are making their own way through the Gutter System in whatever way they know how. But when her life takes yet another unexpected turn, Elimina will discover that what she needs more than anything may not be the freedom she longed for after all.
Gutter Child reveals one young woman’s journey through a fractured world of heartbreaking disadvantages and shocking injustices. As a modern heroine in an altered but all-too-recognizable reality, Elimina must find the strength within herself to forge her future in defiance of a system that tries to shape her destiny.
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JAEL RICHARDSON is the executive director of the Festival of Literary Diversity, a books columnist on CBC Radio’s q and an outspoken advocate on issues of diversity. She is the author of The Stone Thrower: A Daughter’s Lesson, a Father’s Life, a memoir based on her relationship with her father, CFL quarterback Chuck Ealey, and the children’s book Because You Are. Jael Richardson received an MFA in creative writing from the University of Guelph. She lives in Brampton, Ontario.
Your Driver is Waiting
Regular price $23.00A Pocket Guide to Pronouns
Regular price $25.00A Pocket Guide to Pronouns is here to answer questions about pronouns, pronoun etiquette, and steps toward allyship and inclusiveness! With activities, short stories, and exercises to practice throughout, this pocket guide includes the following: - Different pronouns used within the rainbow community - Pronoun etiquette, misgendering, and corrections - Exercises for allyship and inclusive language - Resources for further learning For anyone at any stage of 2SLGBTQIA+ education — ally, member, and everything in between — this guide offers a starting point for those who want to create safer spaces for trans folks.
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Sydney Brouillard-Coyle (Ney/Nem/Nir) is a nonbinary, transgender, queer, asexual person with a deep passion for social justice. As of May 2023, ney hold a Bachelor of Music (Honours) as well as a Bachelor of Arts in Women & Gender Studies (Honours) from the University of Windsor. Ney currently reside in southwestern Ontario with nir cat, Natasha (She/Her). Sydney lives by the motto “be the change you wish to see.” A long-time activist and former candidate for Windsor’s City Council, ney are particularly passionate about issues relating to equity, trans and queer rights, mental health, food and housing insecurity, the environment, and youth voices. As an educator, ney provide inclusivity training and keynotes through the company ney founded, Rainbow Allyship. To stay up-to-date on Sydney's activism, advocacy, and future works, check out nir social media: @sydneybcoyle
How to Be Love(d): Simple Truths for Going Easier on Yourself, Embracing Imperfection & Loving Your Way to a Better Life
Regular price $23.99The last book on love you’ll ever need. Explore simple truths for going easier on yourself, embracing imperfections and loving your way to a better life through insightful stories and down-to-earth advice from artist and international best-selling author of Unlearn, Humble The Poet.
We all want love. Everything we do is in pursuit of it. But as we count likes on social media and measure our worth by the numbers in our bank accounts, we are programmed to see love as something to earn or win. That programming obscures the simple truth that we ourselves are beautiful, infinite, eternal sources of love. Instead of seeking to be loved by the world, we must be love.
With short chapters filled with insight, advice, and personal anecdotes from Humble’s own journey, this book is a guide to self-love that helps clarify your path inward toward the inherent love and value that is within each of us. Throw away old ideas that prevent you from realizing the love you’ve always had within you. Instead of earning more, achieving more, and gaining more attention, clear pathways for love to enter and flourish.
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Humble The Poet (Kanwer Singh), is a Canadian-born rapper, spoken-word artist, poet, internationally bestselling author, and former elementary school teacher with a wildly popular blog with over 100,000 monthly readers. He has more than1 Million social-media followers, and his first two releases UNLEARN & THINGS NOBODY CAN TEACH US have become international bestsellers. He has performed at concerts and festivals around the world including Lollapalooza, NH7, and literary festivals in Europe, Asia and North America. Visit him at HumbleThePoet.com.
Best Canadian Stories 2024
Regular price $23.95
Selected by editor Lisa Moore, the 2024 edition of Best Canadian Stories showcases the best Canadian fiction writing published in 2022.
Featuring:
Madhur Anand • Sharon Bala • Gary Barwin • Billy-Ray Belcourt • Xaiver Michael Campbell • Corinna Chong • Beth Downey • Allison Graves • Joel Thomas Hynes • Elise Levine • Sourayan Mookerjea • Lue Palmer • Michelle Porter • Sara Power • Ryan Turner • Ian Williams
Praise for Best Canadian Stories
“The legacy for Canadian literature in the Best Canadian Stories series can’t be overstated. For years the collection has been the place to discover Canadian writers.”
—Winnipeg Free Press
“Best Canadian Stories … combines both emerging and established voices for a fascinating glimpse at the most exciting short fiction coming out of this country.”
—Open Book
“The arrival, late in the fall each year, of [this] collection is always cause for fanfare.”
—Quill & Quire