The Mystery of the Giant Kohlrabi, by Sharon Plumb

The Mystery of the Giant Kohlrabi, by Sharon Plumb
The Mystery of the Giant Kohlrabi, by Sharon Plumb.
Cover and interior illustrations by Jolyn Michaelis

A top-secret experiment, a Wonder-Gizmo, and a slimy villain — this book has all the ingredients! Nero must battle giant veggies with teeth and swords, broccoli-headed aliens, and a host of oddball relatives to solve this mystery. It’s the perfect recipe for family fun! All with an actual recipe for healthy chocolate treats thrown in. Who could ask for more? ~ Marie Powell, author of Last of the Gifted

“Silly and sweet. Can’t go wrong with giant bugs!”
~ Jolyn Michaelis, Kohlrabi cover artist and illustrator (See more of her monstrous art on her portfolio.)

Clementine grabbed Nero’s arm as they tiptoed through the dark room. “Do you hear footsteps?”
Nero listened. “That’s not footsteps. That’s…slurping!”

When Nero and his family go to help their relatives harvest their top-secret genetically engineered house-sized vegetables, he expects to sleep in a pumpkin house. He doesn’t expect to have to eat rutabaga pie. Isn’t a rutabaga a kind of turnip? Or to encounter vegetables with weapons, or a hidden elevator, or a creepy, crawly foe about to destroy the garden.

It’s a good thing he has his trusty Wonder-Gizmo along. It has an arrow, a claw tool with fold-out fingers, night-vision goggles, and a bug zapper. Even a coward can be brave with an awesome gadget like this. Until things go terribly wrong, and Nero has to confront his deepest fears all by himself. He will need all the courage he has, and lots more he doesn’t, to save the garden, and his family, from a slithery, slimy fate.

Ages 8-12 with STEM elements of aquifers, garden plants and pests, and themes of family, friendship lost and restored, courage and environment. Comes with Creative Writing Ideas for the classroom and a home-tested recipe for Twig’s Kohlrabi Chocolate Chip Cookies. Interior illustrations by Jolyn Michaelis.

Perfect for fans of “Bloom” (Kenneth Oppel), “Music for Tigers” (Michelle Kadarusman), “The Astounding Broccoli Boy” (Frank Cottrell Boyce) and “Beetle Boy” (M.G. Leonard).

Available in print at:

Available in ebooks all over the place!

See reviews and learn more about gardens at Sharon Plumb’s website.

Sisters of the Wolf, by Patricia Miller-Schroeder

Author: Pat Miller-Shroeder

Sisters of the Wolf is a thrilling adventure of friendship, culture clash, bravery, and survival set in Ice Age Europe. After being separated from their tribes, Keena and Shinoni must learn to survive as they are pursued by a ruthless hunter in a land rumbling with advancing glaciers and teeming with mighty predators.

This book is available in paperback and ebook versions at:

Published by Dundurn Press. Ages 12-15, Grades 7-9

Dinosaur Adventure Series, by Judith Silverthorne

Book 1 in the Dinosaur Adventure Series

What good is a bunch of old bones?

Daniel lives in southwestern Saskatchewan along the Montana border, land rich in fossils from the prehistoric past. Dinosaur country. Daniel loves nothing more than fossil hunting. He even dreams about dinosaurs.

But his dad wants him to take more interest in his chores. The farm is in financial trouble, and he doesn’t think a bunch of old bones is going to help.

Then, at his secret hideout, a hollowed-out cave in the hillside, Daniel makes an exciting find. A fossil never before seen in the area, proves to him he’s on the right track to find bigger dinosaur bones. But he has to watch out for Pederson, the scary old guy who lives on the neighbouring land. He also has to be on the look out for Pederson’s enormous dog.

What is Pederson hiding in his old shack? Why is he trying to scare Daniel away from the fossils?

Book 2 in the Dinosaur Adventure Series

In Dinosaur Hideout, Daniel and Pederson, a reclusive paleontologist living on a neighbouring farm in southwestern Saskatchewan, made a brilliant discovery–the fossil remains of an Edmontosaurus dinosaur. Now, local bullies Todd and Craig Nelwin, jealous of all the attention Daniel gets, want to find his hideout and wreck it. When the three scuffle and Daniel hits his head, he mysteriously time travels into the world of Cretaceous dinosaurs – Triceratops, Brontosaurus, Tyrannosaurus Rex.When another strange shock brings him back to his own time, Daniel at first doesn’t realize that he carries a small piece of the past. Whenever he touches it, he will return to the dinosaurs’ world. Daniel makes two more unplanned but thrilling trips to the past. He sees the most marvellous, and horrifying, sights and makes new discoveries about dinosaurs. On a final trip, Daniel has two unwilling “hitchhikers” with him–the Nelwins. Daniel isn’t the only one who learns from their sudden shared adventure.

Book 3 in the Dinosaur Adventure Series

Following the adventures of Dinosaur Hideout and Dinosaur Breakout, twelve-year-old Daniel Bringham once again travels back to the time of dinosaurs to learn more about the prehistoric creatures he loves. This time he has an unexpected companion. In Dinosaur Hideout, Daniel and his neighbour, Ole Pederson, made a brilliant discovery: the fossil remains of a dinosaur, an Edmontosaurus they called Marianna. In Dinosaur Breakout, Daniel had an even more amazing adventure. Now, in Dinosaur Stakeout, Daniel decides to travel to the past one more time. He wants to find out if a dying female dinosaur he saw on his last trip is Marianna, the fossil he and Pederson found in Book One. Daniel figures to go alone, but he’s figured without Pederson and his friend Mildred Roost, another palaeontologist. Mildred insists on coming with him and Daniel thinks it’ll wreck everything. An old lady will just slow him down, and if she gets killed, he’ll blame himself. But he’s reckoned without a tough old bird with lots of tricks up her sleeve, tricks that could save both their lives.

Book 4 in the Dinosaur Adventure Series

Daniel has traveled to prehistoric times and seen the dinosaurs up close, but he’s promised his old friend Ole Pederson not to try it again because it’s just too dangerous. What would they tell his parents if Daniel never came back?But his friends Ole Pederson and Mildred Roost, experts on dinosaurs, secretly plan to go instead. For them, the trip will be the thrill of a lifetime, seeing up close the colossal creatures they’ve spent a lifetime studying. Deep down Daniel knows that they accept the risks: they could even die on their journey, deep in the past.When they don’t come back on time, Daniel faces a dilemma. Should he keep his promise, or should he go back and help them?Who could have guessed they’d end up in the time of the dinosaurs’ final extinction? That they’d see sights more amazing and terrible than they could ever have imagined.

All four books in The Dinosaur Adventure Series are available in Kindle and Paperback at:

These books are new releases of previously released books. Some of the original books are also available from Our Little Book Shop.

Trial by Winter (Barr Colony Adventure #3), by Anne Patton

Trial by Winter, by Anne Patton
Trial by Winter, by Anne Patton

Author: Anne Patton
Publisher: Coteau Books

In this third installment of the Barr Colony Adventures, Dorothy and her family are living in a sod hut on a homestead near what is now Lloydminster. They have crossed an ocean by ship, a continent by train, and a prairie by horse-drawn cart. But they have no idea how harsh a prairie winter can be. When Dorothy’s Dad goes to Edmonton to work for the winter and her brother Frank away in Battleford to buy supplies, Dorothy, Lydia and Mam must fend for themselves in the winter storm. If only their sod house wasn’t letting in so much of the cold…

Based on a true story, this book is a riveting ending to the Bolton family’s adventures on the Saskatchewan prairies.

The previous books in this series were Full Steam to Canada and Through Flood and Fire.

Full Steam to Canada, by Anne Patton
Full Steam to Canada, by Anne Patton

Through Flood and Fire, by Anne Patton

For more about Dorothy and her previous adventures, see the Barr Colony Adventures website.

Available now! For where to buy, see the Coteau Books website.

Ghosts in the Garden, by Judith Silverthorne

Ghosts_inthe_Garden
Ghosts in the Garden, by Judith Silverthorne

Ghosts in the Garden is the sequel to Judith’s first ghost book, Ghosts of Government House.

Sam and J.J. are back on the ghost-hunting trail, this time on the grounds around Regina’s historic Government House. Follow them as they go back in time to meet a mushroom gardener and two mysterious young women with a secret. Will they figure out what it means? And will they be able to get back to their own time to do something about it?

Find out more at https://judithsilverthorne.ca/home/ghost-series/ghosts-in-the-garden/.

Published by Coteau Books.

Winner of  the Gold Moonbeam Award for Pre-Teen Mystery, 2018!

Available in print or Kindle e-book at Amazon.ca.

Or buy from Coteau Books or your favourite bookstore.

3 Robin books in CanLit’s top selections for classrooms

Adeline's Dream, by Linda Aksomitis

Three books by three Robins have been included in the current #WeHaveDiverseBooks catalogue – an initiative of the Association of Canadian Publishers’ Top Grade: CanLit for the Classroom program.

The books are:

Through Flood and Fire

Through Flood and Fire, by Anne Patton

Through Flood and Fire, by Anne Patton
Through Flood and Fire, by Anne Patton

Author: Anne Patton

Publisher: Coteau Books

Release Date: August 2015

Through Flood and Fire is the sequel to Anne’s first Barr Colony Adventure,  Full Steam to Canada!

In the first book, Dorothy’s family makes the arduous journey to the Canadian Northwest Territories as part of the Barr Colony group in 1903. When the rest of her family falls seasick on the journey, Dorothy experiences freedom she has never had before. When they arrive in Canada, they take the train to the tent city of Saskatoon. Things are different than in England – even getting the small things like food and water takes a lot of work– but Dorothy is excited about the adventure and her new life.

In the second book, her family is ready to make the final leg of their journey from  Saskatoon to their new homestead, several days’ travel away by horse-drawn wagon. Unfortunately, there is an outbreak of measles in the camp, and Dorothy’s mother has to stay behind. So Dorothy sets out with the rest of her family and a few other people they met on the first part of their journey. It’s a good thing Dorothy has grit, because they will face many daunting adventures before they can build their new home.

These stories are based on the recollections of Dorothy Boan, who came to Canada as a child with the Barr Colonists, and the diaries of some of the other people who were there. To see some of Anne’s research and hear Dorothy’s further thoughts on the journeys, check out Anne’s Barr Colony Adventure website.

Buy Through Flood and Fire  as a print or e-book at:

 

No Place for Kids

No Place for Kids, by Alison Lohans

No Place for Kids, by Alison Lohans
No Place for Kids, by Alison Lohans

Author: Alison Lohans
Publisher: Wandering Fox Books (an imprint of Heritage House)
Ages: 9-11

978-1-772030 -17- 4  (paperback)  $ 7.95
978-1-772030 -18-1  (epub) $5.99
978-1-772030 -19-8  (epdf)  $5.99

Sisters Jennifer and Sarah were once part of a happy, stable family, but their idyllic life comes to an abrupt halt with the death of their mother. Unable to cope with his grief and the needs of his two young daughters, their father finds comfort in alcohol, gets fired from his job, and loses his grip on his family. As twelve-year-old Jennifer approaches maturity, she  starts to develop a tough exterior, especially when she attracts unwelcome attention from one of her father’s friends.

With nothing left to lose, the two sisters decide run away to their mother’s sister in Vancouver, setting out with very little money and no clear plan. Along the way, they must overcome fear, loneliness, illness, and the conflict inherent in their sibling relationship. This emotional story deals with mature themes, but it is ultimately about the enduring bonds of family.

Read reviews from:

An earlier version of this book was published by Roussan in 1999. It was given an “Our Choice” citation from the Canadian Children’s Book Centre, and nominated for a Saskatchewan Book Award in the Children’s Literature category.

Purchase from:

Download Alison’s No Place for Kids – Curriculum Tie-in.