It Seemed Like A Good Idea Canadian Feats Facts And Flubs

A hilarious all-Canadian collection of misfires, left turns, general numbskullery . . . and startling victories! Where else but Canada would you find a town that turns its main street into a giant tubing run? Or witness a Mission Impossible-style heist where the thief drops down through the ceiling and makes off with thousands of dollars worth of hockey sticks? Not to mention the slippery - or was that sticky? - bandits who stole 9,000 barrels of maple syrup. And where else would giant perogies, mosquitoes and T. Rexes dot the roadside landscape, or a bank robber be praised for his polite and well-written hold-up notes? It all makes perfect sense, really. Being Canadian means responding uniquely to a unique environment. And it's our - sometimes highly questionable - "good ideas" that makes us who we are! In an engaging, hilarious and always fascinating exploration of geography, history, wildlife, science, culture, food, art . . . and giant roadside attractions - this is our nation at its most jaw-droppingly unusual and innovative. Yes, we can poke fun at ourselves, but readers will also walk away understanding there is so much to celebrate about what it means to be Canadian.

A detective story with as many laughs as there are twists and turns, from award-winning author Ted Staunton! In the beginning, it was simple: I wanted to be a detective, and I needed something to detect . . . Thirteen-year-old Duncan lives with his unconventional bohemian aunt. She's determined to give him an expensive private education, even though Duncan isn't particularly interested in school. He wants to be a detective like the ones in the World's Best 100 Detective Stories, which he reads when he should be studying. Fortunately for Duncan (and readers!), he gets something to detect in the first chapter of this funny crime mystery. Full of twists and turns and laugh-out-loud adventure, this highly entertaining story will have readers wondering if they've solved the mystery (and most likely they haven't) until the last page turn. Ted Staunton ratchets up the fun in this fast-paced romp, loosely based on a true story from Texas in the early 2000s.

A fast-paced story set amidst Toronto's turbulent summer of 1933, this graphic novel sheds light on prejudice and social injustice. It's Toronto in the 1930s. The city is small, often xenophobic, and the summer is stiflingly hot. Everyone flocks to the lakeshore. In one area of the beach, a neighbourhood protective association has formed to keep out "undesirables," and members patrol wearing silver swastika pins. Meanwhile, the police chief believes the immigrant Jewish community is at the root of a communist threat, as the world witnesses an alarming rise of anti-Semitism overseas. Sid and his Pop live at the edge of the Ward, Toronto's immigrant slum, where they have rented a room from the Vendetellis since Sid's mom and baby sister died from influenza. Times are tough, and Sid faces impossible choices as he wrestles with honesty, bigotry, poverty, and expectations as a member of a "whiz mob," slang for a gang of pickpockets. But when Sid and his friends get coerced into working for the police after they're caught lifting a wallet at a baseball game, they become caught up in something much bigger than themselves, and must decide how far they will go to do what's right and to protect those they love. The story climaxes at the infamous Christie Pits Riot, Canada's largest race riot and a historic event that was a symbolic victory for Jewish and immigrant citizens With extraordinarily cinematic artwork that immediately transports readers to the Toronto of 1933, this incredible graphic novel shines a striking lens on many contemporary issues: the immigrant experience, the roots of prejudice, and taking a stand against injustice.

In this hilarious, new series, four ordinary kids are about to learn that they are on deck. . . to save the world! If you could have any superpower, what would you choose? How about the ability to move things with your mind? But what if concentration and coordination weren't your strongest skills? Thirteen-year-old Gary Lundborg often knows all the right moves, but in the middle of an epic growth spurt, his execution is more disastrous than dazzling these days. Can he master his new powers and become the basketball star he wants to be? Well, first he must save the world! It turns out there are forces both good and evil who have had their eyes on Gary and three other “special” kids since their exposure at birth to a mysterious element called reidium. Gary's gifts are called on by secret government Department C, in charge of problems no one else takes seriously, to thwart the evil mastermind The Boss and her equally evil henchwoman Malevia Spleene in their quest to secure all the world's reidium! It's a madcap mission that takes Gary and his younger sister, Kirsten, high into the mountains of Pianvia, where Gary's powers really blow up. This is the second in a hilarious new four-book series where four kids are about to discover what they're really made of. It might not be a superpower, but it sure is almost a superpower! The other books are written by Kevin Sylvester (Mucus Mayhem, Fall 2018), Lesley Livingston (Super Sketchy) and Richard Scrimger (Irresistible).

A nail-biting tale of survival and brotherhood atop one of the world's most dangerous mountains. This fast-paced, three-part narrative takes readers on three expeditions over 15 years to K2, one of the deadliest mountains on Earth. Roped together, these teams of men face perilously high altitudes and battering storms in hopes of reaching the summit. As each expedition sets out, they carve new paths along icy slopes and unforgiving rock, creating camps on ledges so narrow they fear turning over in their sleep. But disaster strikes -- in 1939, four men never make it down the mountain. Fourteen years later, a man develops blood clots in his legs at 25,000 feet, leaving his team with no safe path off the mountain. Filled with displays of incredible strength and heart-stopping danger, Into the Clouds tells the incredible stories of the men whose quest to conquer a mountain became a battle to survive the descent.

Emma searches for her lost favourite toy, and instead finds a true friend. When Emma loses Squeezy, her favourite stuffy, she tries to find another toy to replace her best-loved "pet." It's hard. No one else is exactly like Squeezy, and for Emma, Squeezy is perfect. But instead of finding Squeezy, Emma ends up discovering an unexpected friendship, and that two imaginations are better than one. This touching, smart story of lost-and-found treasures is a great reminder that things don't always go as planned, but they can turn out better than expected. When Emma makes a friend in Frank, she finds what she'd been missing all along! In an equally perfect pairing, Ruth Ohi's delightful art effortlessly brings through the layers in Ted Staunton's nuanced text, bringing together the talents of two of Canada's best-loved storytellers for kids.

The people who orbit around Renn Ivins, an actor of Harrison Ford-like stature--his girlfriends, his children, his ex-wives, those on the periphery--long to experience the glow of his flame. Anna and Will are Renn's grown children, struggling to be authentic versions of themselves in a world where they are seen as less important extensions of their father. They are both drawn to and repelled by the man who overshadows every part of them. Most of us can imagine the perks of celebrity, but Little Known Facts offers a clear-eyed story of its effects--the fallout of fame and fortune on family members and others who can neither fully embrace nor ignore the superstar in their midst. With Little Known Facts, Christine Sneed emerges as one of the most insightful chroniclers of our celebrity-obsessed age, telling a story of influence and affluence, of forging identity and happiness and a moral compass; the question being, if we could have anything on earth, would we choose correctly?

Silence of the Lambs for young adults -- Blood Will Out is a gripping YA thriller readers won't be able to put down. Ari Sullivan is alive--for now. She wakes at the bottom of a cistern, confused, injured and alone, with only the shadowy recollection of a low-pitched voice and a gloved hand. No one can hear her screams. And the person who put her there is coming back. The killer is planning a gruesome masterpiece, a fairytale tableau of innocence and blood, meticulously designed. Until now, Ari was happy to spend her days pining for handsome, recent-arrival Stroud Bellows, fantasizing about their two-point-four-kids-future together. Safe in her small hometown of Dempsey Hollow. But now her community has turned very dangerous -- and Ari may not be the only intended victim. Told in alternating perspectives of predator and prey, Blood Will Out is a gripping and terrifying read.