Featured Books By Month & Year

Ten-year-old Johnny eagerly plays at war with the army of nutcracker soldiers his toymaker father whittles for him. But in 1914, Germany looms as the real enemy of Europe, and all too soon Johnny’s father is swept up in the war to end all wars. He proudly enlists with his British countrymen to fight at the front in France. The war, though, is nothing like what any soldier or person at home expected. The letters that arrive from Johnny’s dad reveal the ugly realities of combat — and the soldiers he carves and encloses begin to bear its scars.

This unforgettable trio of novels by award-winning author Kit Pearson is composed of The Sky is Falling, Looking at the Moon and The Lights Go On Again. The character at the heart of these stories is Norah Stoakes, a young English girl who is sent by her parents to Canada, along with her younger brother Gavin, during the Second World War. After five years pass, Norah is comfortable with her new life and country, but when the war ends her brother, Gavin, is reluctant to return to England and to parents he can barely remember.

Transported back through time on the "Canadian Flyer", Matt and Emily board a ship heading for Halifax at the beginning of World War II. There they meet Brits Kate and her little brother, John, sent to Canada to escape the blitz. As they are about to dock, a desperate Kate can’t find John anywhere, and she promised her parents she’d take care of her little brother!

When the harsh realities of World War II come close to Jamie's home in Liverpool, his parents send him off to safety, with hundreds of other children. Jamie is aboard the City of Benares - a ship bound for Canada with hundreds of evacuees when things go horribly awry.

Sunday, January 7, 1916. "War is confusing. One minute you are excited. The flags are flying and the march music makes you strike out...then you hear about the wounded men and you see the lists of missing and dead. I cannot understand how it can all be part of the same thing."

It has been two long years since Eliza’s beloved older brother, Hugo, went away to war. Caught up in his enthusiasm, she couldn’t understand her parent’s less-than enthusiastic reaction. Now that her other brother Jack has also enlisted, she yearns for the safe return of both brothers.

Remembering John McCrae is filled with period photographs, postcards and other memorabilia and McCrae’s own sketches and writing. Even if he had never written the definitive WWI poem, McCrae led a noteworthy life. Born and raised in Guelph, Ontario, he studied medicine in Toronto and at Johns Hopkins Hospital under William Osler, another famous Canadian doctor. He served as a military officer in the Boer War, was part of an expedition to Hudson’s Bay with the Governor General Earl Grey, worked as a pathologist in Montreal, and served as a field surgeon in Belgium beginning in 1915. When “In Flanders Fields” was first published in December 1915 it became immediately popular, but McCrae never lived to see how it became the inspiration for Remembrance Day—he died of pneumonia in January of 1918, before the war had ended. Linda Granfield is the author of High Flight: a story of World War II and Where Poppies grow: A World War I Companion

Like Hugh Brewster's previous books "At Vimy Ridge" and "On Juno Beach", this tells the story of one of Canada’s defining military moments. The appealing layout, with photos, maps, posters and sidebars draws the reader in, and the direct quotes and hour-by-hour description of the failed raid gives it an immediacy that helps connect young readers to a time and place almost beyond their imagination. Brewster attended the 65th anniversary in Dieppe and spoke with many of the survivors about their experiences on the beach and the disastrous aftermath: the soldiers who weren’t killed were captured and spent the rest of war as prisoners in appalling conditions.

Hana's Suitcase originated as a CBC documentary. It has now been produced as a book, a stage play and now here on audio is the full text and excerpts from the original CBC broadcast. The heartbreaking story traces a young Japanese teacher's determination to discover more about the original owner of a small brown suitcase from Auschwitz, donated to the Tokyo Holocaust Education Resource Center.

A young couple leaves Japan for the coast of Canada, bringing a cherry seed to plant in their new garden. During the years that follow, the little cherry tree watches over the family as the couple have children, and then grandchildren. Young Naomi finds shelter in the tree's branches. But when war breaks out the family is sent to an internment camp away from the coast. And though Naomi often dreams of going home, the dream fades as the years go by. For many years the cherry tree sends out a song of love and peace that reaches Naomi only in her dreams. When Naomi finally returns after the war, the tree is waiting for her. Based on the World War II story of Naomi's Road, Naomi's Tree is a poetic story about enduring love and its almost mystical power to heal the spirit.

Hana's Suitcase originated as a CBC documentary. It has now been produced as a book, a stage play and now here on audio is the full text and excerpts from the original CBC broadcast. The heartbreaking story traces a young Japanese teacher's determination to discover more about the original owner of a small brown suitcase from Auschwitz, donated to the Tokyo Holocaust Education Resource Center.

Like Hugh Brewster's previous books "At Vimy Ridge" and "On Juno Beach", this tells the story of one of Canada’s defining military moments. The appealing layout, with photos, maps, posters and sidebars draws the reader in, and the direct quotes and hour-by-hour description of the failed raid gives it an immediacy that helps connect young readers to a time and place almost beyond their imagination. Brewster attended the 65th anniversary in Dieppe and spoke with many of the survivors about their experiences on the beach and the disastrous aftermath: the soldiers who weren’t killed were captured and spent the rest of war as prisoners in appalling conditions.

Remembering John McCrae is filled with period photographs, postcards and other memorabilia and McCrae’s own sketches and writing. Even if he had never written the definitive WWI poem, McCrae led a noteworthy life. Born and raised in Guelph, Ontario, he studied medicine in Toronto and at Johns Hopkins Hospital under William Osler, another famous Canadian doctor. He served as a military officer in the Boer War, was part of an expedition to Hudson’s Bay with the Governor General Earl Grey, worked as a pathologist in Montreal, and served as a field surgeon in Belgium beginning in 1915. When “In Flanders Fields” was first published in December 1915 it became immediately popular, but McCrae never lived to see how it became the inspiration for Remembrance Day—he died of pneumonia in January of 1918, before the war had ended. Linda Granfield is the author of High Flight: a story of World War II and Where Poppies grow: A World War I Companion

Sunday, January 7, 1916. "War is confusing. One minute you are excited. The flags are flying and the march music makes you strike out...then you hear about the wounded men and you see the lists of missing and dead. I cannot understand how it can all be part of the same thing."

It has been two long years since Eliza’s beloved older brother, Hugo, went away to war. Caught up in his enthusiasm, she couldn’t understand her parent’s less-than enthusiastic reaction. Now that her other brother Jack has also enlisted, she yearns for the safe return of both brothers.

In late September, 1943, Danish authorities learned that the Nazis occupying Denmark were about to deport the Jews to concentration camps. Very quickly, the Danish people arranged a fleet of fishing boats, which carried nearly all the Jews in Denmark to Sweden. Joan Betty Stuchner brings this historical event to life through the eyes of David Nathan, whose family is smuggled out of the country by his courageous Christian friend Else Jensen and her family.

Transported back through time on the "Canadian Flyer", Matt and Emily board a ship heading for Halifax at the beginning of World War II. There they meet Brits Kate and her little brother, John, sent to Canada to escape the blitz. As they are about to dock, a desperate Kate can’t find John anywhere, and she promised her parents she’d take care of her little brother!

This unforgettable trio of novels by award-winning author Kit Pearson is composed of The Sky is Falling, Looking at the Moon and The Lights Go On Again. The character at the heart of these stories is Norah Stoakes, a young English girl who is sent by her parents to Canada, along with her younger brother Gavin, during the Second World War. After five years pass, Norah is comfortable with her new life and country, but when the war ends her brother, Gavin, is reluctant to return to England and to parents he can barely remember.

Ten-year-old Johnny eagerly plays at war with the army of nutcracker soldiers his toymaker father whittles for him. But in 1914, Germany looms as the real enemy of Europe, and all too soon Johnny’s father is swept up in the war to end all wars. He proudly enlists with his British countrymen to fight at the front in France. The war, though, is nothing like what any soldier or person at home expected. The letters that arrive from Johnny’s dad reveal the ugly realities of combat — and the soldiers he carves and encloses begin to bear its scars.

Despite its reputation as a peacekeeper, Canada actually has a long history of being involved in wars. In this book, Elizabeth MacLeod follows Canada’s war history from first contact between First Nations and Europeans up to the peacekeeping activities of today. You’ll learn about fur trade battles, French vs. British wars, the War of 1812 and World Wars I and II. Along the way there are lots of pictures, portraits, photographs, maps and interesting sidebars. This would be an excellent read just before Remembrance Day, or any other time. By the end, you’ll no doubt be grateful that there has not been a battle on Canadian soil for 124 years!

When the harsh realities of World War II come close to Jamie's home in Liverpool, his parents send him off to safety, with hundreds of other children. Jamie is aboard the City of Benares - a ship bound for Canada with hundreds of evacuees when things go horribly awry.