First Rider

Karigan may have heard the First Rider's call, but she's not about to let it take over her life ... ... or at least that's what she thinks. She swore to complete a dying man's mission - to deliver a sealed letter to King Zachary. Now that task, more dangerous than she could have imagined, is complete and her work is done, Karigan wants to leave the dangerous world of tainted magic and ancient magicians behind her and return home. Exhausted in both body and spirit, she plans to return to her quiet life and her father's business. But it proves no match for the Rider's call; ghostly hoofbeats sounding in her mind, visions of the freedom of the open road, all calling her back to the king's service as a Green Rider. Karigan resists it, but when she wakes up to find herself - in her nightdress - on horseback and halfway across the country, her destiny is clear: she is a Green Rider. As she discovers, it's not a good time to be called to serve. For a thousand years the D'Yer Wall, a physical and magical barrier protecting the land from the ancient, corrupted Blackveil Forest, has held. For a thousand years the forest, an arboreal prison containing one of Sacoridia's greatest enemies, has been quiet. Not any more. The wall has been breached, unnatural, lethal creatures are finding their way into Sacoridia, a dark sentience is stirring, and the Green Rider magic itself is failing. And in the midst of it all, Karigan is about to be called to her duty ...

Karigan G'ladheon always seemed to be getting into a fight, and today was no exception. But as she trudged through the forest, using her long walk home to contemplate her depressing future - and the expulsion it was bound to hold - a horse burst through the woodland and charged straight for her. The rider was slumped over his mount's neck with two arrows embedded in his back. Wherever his horse was taking him, he would be dead before they got there. There's nothing Karigan can do, as the young man lies dying on the road. He had sworn to carry out his mission as a Green Rider - one of the legendary messengers of the king - and he has a life or death message that must reach King Zachary. Karigan may be unable to save him, but she can deliver his message. He makes her swear to it, to keep it secret and, with his last breath, he warns her to 'beware the shadow man ...' Pursued by an unknown assassin, following a path only her horse seems to know, and accompanied by the silent specter of the original messenger, Karigan is going to become a legendary Green Rider herself. Caught up in a world of deadly danger and complex magic, compelled by forces she cannot understand, her simple promise to deliver a letter is about to become a race against time ... and a race for her life ...

In 1982, at the age of just twenty-three, Elspeth Beard left behind her family and friends in London and set off on a 35,000-mile solo adventure around the world on her motorbike. This is the story of a unique and life-changing adventure.

There are several historical accounts of the Treaty 7 agreement between the government and prairie First Nations but none from the perspective of the aboriginal people involved. In spite of their perceived silence, however, the elders of each nation involved have maintained an oral history of events, passing on from generation to generation many stories about the circumstances surrounding Treaty 7 and the subsequent administration of the agreement. The True Spirit and Original Intent of Treaty 7 gathers the "collective memory" of the elders about Treaty 7 to provide unique insights into a crucial historical event and the complex ways of the aboriginal people.

“A satisfying ending ensures this nighttime adventure will soothe even the wildest child.” Kirkus Reviews An exuberant celebration of the Buffalo’s return to the wild. Since Declan was born, his kokum has shared her love of Buffalo through stories and art. But Declan longs to see real Buffalo. Then one magical night, herds of the majestic creatures stampede down from the sky. That’s when things really get wild! Azby Whitecalf’s playful illustrations add to the joy and reverence in Deidre Havrelock’s picture book debut. A reprinting of the Buffalo Treaty and an author’s note describe the importance of Buffalo to Indigenous Peoples and efforts to revitalize the species.

The son of a wrestler turned cycling coach called Killer Kowalski, Rob Hayles was soon winning races himself and realizing that he didn't really want to work for a living. The world of amateur club cycling in the 1990s was a long way from the millionaire sport of today though. When Rob first rode for Great Britain, it was with his own bike, one spare tyre, and a hand-me-down jersey. Yet Rob became an integral part of the amazing success story of British cycling, and has been at the centre of the sport for the past two decades. With Bradley Wiggins, he was a member of the first GB team to become world champions at the team pursuit, the most demanding and thrilling discipline on the track. With teammate David Millar, he witnessed first-hand the drug-strewn, often demeaning life of the professional road cyclist. And as Mark Cavendish's training partner, Rob has been the experienced influence at the side of the fastest man on two wheels. Easy Rider is an unforgettable journey through revolutionary times. Sharp, down-to-earth, packed with anecdotes and just plain fun, it takes you from the humblest of beginnings through a golden era in British cycling.

“WANTED. YOUNG, SKINNY, WIRY FELLOWS. NOT OVER 18. MUST BE EXPERT RIDERS. WILLING TO RISK DEATH DAILY. ORPHANS PREFERRED.” —California newspaper help-wanted ad, 1860 The Pony Express is one of the most celebrated and enduring chapters in the history of the United States, a story of the all-American traits of bravery, bravado, and entrepreneurial risk that are part of the very fabric of the Old West. No image of the American West in the mid-1800s is more familiar, more beloved, and more powerful than that of the lone rider galloping the mail across hostile Indian territory. No image is more revered. And none is less understood. Orphans Preferred is both a revisionist history of this magnificent and ill-fated adventure and an entertaining look at the often larger-than-life individuals who created and perpetuated the myth of “the Pony,” as it is known along the Pony Express trail that runs from St. Joseph, Missouri, to Sacramento, California. The Pony Express is a story that exists in the annals of Americana where fact and fable collide, a story as heroic as the journey of Lewis and Clark, as complex and revealing as the legacy of Custer’s Last Stand, and as muddled and freighted with yarns as Paul Revere’s midnight ride. Orphans Preferred is a fresh and exuberant reexamination of this great American story.