Your cart is currently empty!
Important Shipping Notice: Due to the ongoing Canada Post strike, delivery times may be longer than usual. Where possible, we’ll use alternative shipping methods to help get your order to you sooner. We appreciate your patience and understanding as your order makes its way to you.
A note to US-based customers: All Lit Up is pausing print orders to the USA until further notice. Read more
Browse the books in the All Lit Up Kids Litspace by category.
Showing 81–96 of 132 results
With careful research and imagination, author Linda Goyette has created a collection of 25 stories based on the true stories of named children of the past and present.
Too often the youngest Canadians are erased from our historical memory. Rocky Mountain Kids provides firstperson creative non-fiction narratives from the region’s children, many of whom went on to be influential adults. In the style of its successful predecessor, Kidmonton, these are lively and entertaining stories, but they don’t flinch in their description of hardship and heroism. Balanced and well-researched, Goyette writes of First Nations, Métis, immigrant and settler children as well as contemporary kids of the Rockies, with informative postscript to help readers distinguish between the fact and the fiction. Against the timeless backdrop of the Rockies, we can all embrace a sense of childhood wonder.
Please visit www.courageouskids.ca for more information on the whole Courageous Kids series.
Silver Medal for the Moonbeam Children’s Book Awards
Honorable mention in the Lion and the Unicorn Award for Excellence in North American Poetry
From Terry Fox to Ghandi, Rosa Parks to Elijah Harper, Robert Priest has collected some of his most inspiring poems together in this book for young people. Priest, an award-winning poet and musician, has written these thought-provoking poems to introduce children to men and women across the planet that have changed the world. Illustrated with bold line drawings by Joan Krygsman, Rosa Rose is a captivating book sure to delight all readers.
Sangeet loves music, and she’s good at composing it, too. Her favourite instrument is the tabla. One day, Sangeet hears all kinds of noises everywhere and together, they have the most incredible beat. But when she tries to play it on her tabla–something is missing! Will Sangeet be able to find her Missing Beat? Teacher resources available on publisher website: rebelmountainpress.com/sangeet-and-the-missing-beat-teacher-resources
As the winter ice begins to thaw, the fury of a demon builds — all because one girl couldn’t stay dead . . .Roan Harken considers herself a typical high school student — dead parents, an infected eyeball, and living in the house of her estranged, currently comatose grandmother (well, maybe not so typical) — but she’s uncovering the depth of the secrets her family left behind. Saved from the grasp of Death itself by a powerful fox spirit named Sil, Roan must harness mysterious ancient power . . . and quickly. A snake-monster called Zabor lies in wait in the bed of the frozen Assiniboine River, hungry for the sacrifice of spirit-blood in exchange for keeping the flood waters at bay. Thrust onto an ancient battlefield, Roan soon realizes that to maintain the balance of the world, she will have to sacrifice more than her life in order to take her place as Scion of the Fox.American Gods meets Princess Mononoke in this powerful first installment of a trilogy sure to capture readers’ imaginations everywhere.
“Sometimes it’s good to take a risk.” Twelve-year-old Jolene knows that her grandfather’s words are true, but she’s not a risk-taker like her twin brother. Frustrated, Jolene convinces herself that it would be easier to take risks if she were a boy. Her grandfather disagrees, but then her father thinks her grandfather might be as crazy as his old stories. For her part, Jolene thinks her father, who’s trying to preserve history in a Museum of Disasters, is the crazy one.
Jolene learns the truth when they take a trip to the Crowsnest Pass to research the Frank Slide, and she discovers that her grandfather has found a way to step back into time. In 1903, disguised as a boy, Jolene must face the wrath of an impatient teacher, challenge her ability as a gymnast, and disentangle herself from an embarrassing love triangle. She must also face the fact that the generous people of the town of Frank are living in the path of disaster and she cannot save them.
She can, however, save herself and her grandfather and does so in a desperate race against time. But the lessons of the past are not lost in the present. Jolene discovers a way to revitalize her father’s museum by preserving the story in history, and she prepares herself to take a few risks herself – as a girl. An historical novel for readers age nine and up, Shadows of Disaster brings to life Canada’s deadliest rockslide through a portrait of a young girl learning to be her own self.
In this genre-bending debut YA novel combining elements of horror, magic realism, and realistic fiction, Rebecca Waldmann’s sheltered life as an Orthodox Jewish teen in Toronto is shattered when her father moves them to Edmonton, where she is plunged into the worldly life of a public high school.
Ordinary teenage angst is complicated by Rebecca’s lack of experience with a culture of wearing cool clothes, swearing, talking back to teachers, and other aspects of secular teen life. Things take a darker turn when Rebecca encounters antisemitism and discovers a secret about the long-ago death of her mother that her father has been hiding from her.
Rebecca doesn’t just defy the strictures of her ultraorthodox religion by wearing tight jeans and flirting with a non-Jewish boy. She discovers to her horror that she has undergone a change that makes puberty look easy—she’s been transformed into a golem! When this mythical clay creature from Jewish folklore takes her over, body and soul, she’s helpless to resist—or almost. Is it because she’s so furious with her father, is that why she is sometimes a girl with a cute boyfriend, and sometimes a very earthy, ugly monster?
In this new and very disturbing back-and-forth existence, Rebecca fights off the attention of a predatory schoolmate and her father’s determination to force her into an arranged marriage. She struggles to name her own desires and speak her own truths, and still be true to her own beliefs. But it’s hard to know your own beliefs when you are in a battle for your existence as a human…
It’s 1914. Sixteen year old Sophie Pritchard, orphaned two years earlier by the sinking of the SS Titanic, is about to begin a new life in the unfamiliar world of British India. For Sophie, still devastated by her parents’ death, India proves a dangerously unsettling environment. Are her terrifying experiences in Kali’s temple and the Park Street cemetery hallucinations, or has she somehow been drawn back through the centuries as a witness to dark places in Calcutta’s past?
Sophie it seems has become an unwilling traveller in a timeless zone where past, present and future co-exist. Kidnapping, enemy spies, and terrorist plots all play their parts against the background of a world at war and growing unrest in the Indian subcontinent. Soon Sophie’s powers of precognition will be called upon to help thwart a conspiracy that could incite a bloodbath in Calcutta, and deliver India into enemy hands. “Sophie, in Shadow deftly weaves intrigue, spies, and mystics with more than a dash of the occult into a story that will captivate any reader.” – Linda DeMeulemeester, author of the Grim Hill Series
The title Stepping into Traffic is a play on words (and a metaphor) reflecting the protagonist’s actions. When we meet Sebastian (Seb) he is already taking risks and putting himself in harm’s way as he and a couple of his friends carry out a failed break and enter and are arrested. As we get to know Seb we discover his life has been a series of bad foster experiences that have left him numb to the memories of his dead parents, and poor in his judgement of how to fit in. Much of his foster care has been damaging to his self-esteem and moral codes. He is not strong and his fears begin to mount.
Awaiting his court appearance, Seb is placed in his eighth foster home in seven years in the company of Mrs. Ford, a foster home caregiver, whom Seb finds familiar and comforting. Memories of his early home life flood him and he begins to find a sense of well-being and trust. However, Seb’s troubles soon reappear in the form of wealthy, manipulative drug dealer Donny Malner. Lured by Donny’s social power and blind to Danny’s ruthlessness, Seb seeks his approval. Soon he is entwined in Danny’s drug-dealing world where violence and lies direct most actions. Though Mrs. Ford continues to stand by him, he knows he is betraying her trust. Others who could help him like his school friends, the nerdy Nina or her friend Matt, cannot hold sway. Soon Seb is caught up in a wave of violent circumstance that neither Mrs. Ford nor his unusual mentor the school janitor, Mr Frogly, can help him out of. He is as lost and directionless as the feral dog he befriends and cannot escape the wicked path of lies he has created.
In a final showdown with Donny and gangland members, he must decide what he will do. His dilemma is as great as the fear he faces: engage in the revenge he seeks and lose the closest thing he has had to a home, or stand up to his mistakes, reveal his lies and accept the consequences. Though he is not ready, Sebastian steps out in the traffic.
Buy an eBook version of this book at Kobo, Amazon Kindle Store, or your favourite eBook store
Marigold has never felt like she truly belonged with her family. And neither has Frederick. When a phoenix feather brings the young teens together for the first time, they finally understand why: they are twins, separated as children.
The two soon learn they have other siblings, and that if they successfully reunite with their brother and sister before the feather bursts into flame, they will all fulfill otherworldly destinies. What they don’t know is that their mysterious sister is a villainous witch who has been trapped in the cover of a grimoire to keep the world safe from her murderous scorn.
Meanwhile, Teagan finds herself in a hopeless situation and faces losing her tail forever. Time’s running out, and it’s up to Asher and Ariana to save her… if only they knew she was in danger.
Will Asher and Ariana save Teagan in time?Will Marigold and Frederick risk releasing the witch to make their dreams come true? And if they do, will the land of Rhyme ever be the same?
This historical time-travel novel, for children ten and up, is the third volume in Cathy Beveridge’s ongoing series on Canadian disasters. Once again we meet Jolene and her twin brother Michael, this time in an RV on the shores of the Great Lakes, where her father and grandfather are conducting research into the Great Storm of 1913.
Away from home, twelve-year-old Jolene feels fragile and lost, lacking a sure sense of direction in her life. When Grandpa discovers a time crease that enables them to step back into 1913, Jolene embraces the opportunity, feeling that she may find some help for her self-doubts in witnessing an earlier time.
At first, however, the past offers no answers. Jolene’s high-spirited new friend Em is a total mystery, and her ardent support of the suffragettes reinforces Jolene’s self-doubts. Then Em inadvertently leads the twins onto the Regina as the ship sails onto Lake Huron and into the Great Storm. When the order to abandon the sinking ship comes, they manage to escape and spend a night clinging to a raft in frigid waters. With her twin brother injured, Jolene is forced to draw on all her resources to allow the threesome to survive. In the process, she discovers her inner strength and a new passion for life.
Submarine Outlaw takes young adult readers on a unique journey when Alfred, a young boy who wants to be an explorer – not a fisherman, as his family demands – teams up with a junkyard genius to build a submarine that he sails around the Maritimes. The book takes the reader through the hands-on process of submarine construction into the world of real ocean navigation, replete with a high-seas chase, daring rescue and treasure hunting. Children will identify with Alfred’s desire for an adventurous life and the sense of empowerment that comes with building his own submarine and operating it independently. They will also love the unusual crew – a rescued dog and a quirky seagull. The First Prize Winner of the Atlantic Writers Competition, Submarine Outlaw shows how any great goal in life takes a good deal of patience, determination and hard work. But also how hard work on one’s dream becomes an act of joy.
“Philip Roy’s Submarine Outlaw is a wildly imaginative story of adventure full of surprises and fast paced, yet there is also wisdom and insight to be found here.” – Lesley Choyce
“Submarine Outlaw and its sequels have firmly established themselves as a riveting adventure series that has gathered a significant following who are anxiously awaiting this next installment. And they will not be disappointed! This personal quest and the internal struggles that it evokes for Alfred give this book a new dimension and allow his character to be more fully developed. . . . Roy continues to keep this series fresh and engaging. We will all join Alfred in anticipating his next voyage.” – Atlantic Books Today
“A truly riveting adventure story, Submarine Outlaw will likely capture the heart and minds of all who have longed to escape the confines of their everyday world and try something exciting and even dangerous.” – janeonbooks.edublogs.org
“A refreshing Canadian novel about following a dream.” – Resource Links
“A terrific and uniquely imaginative premise for an Atlantic Canada novel for kids.” – The Chronicle Herald
“Submarine Outlaw is so well written it is totally believable. Dramatic and touching. Highly recommended!” – Hi-Rise Newspaper
“Submarine Outlaw is a fast-paced, adventure novel that leaves you wanting more. . . . I would definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a great read.” – What If? Magazine
When young orphans Mala and Chun Chun encounter brothers Prakash and Ojha on the busy streets of Kolkata, they are immediately at odds. The brothers come from a lower-middle-class family and spend their time flying kites instead of attending class, while Mala and Chun Chun can only dream of going to school, a goal Aunty promises will be fulfilled if they beg for money from passersby. After a petty fruit-stall heist lands Ojha in Aunty’s cunning hands, the brothers are blackmailed into begging alongside Mala and Chun Chun, forcing the children to interact. Though they find each other nuisances at first, the kids soon realize their strength in numbers as Aunty’s scheming is slowly revealed.
It’s 1944, and two young Canadian able seamen, Glen Cassley and Arthur “Ding Dong” Bell, find their ship sinking beneath them after a German submarine unleashes an acoustic torpedo. Miraculously, everyone on board survives, and Glen shouts out triumphantly:
“You know what this means, Ding? Survivor’s Leave. We qualify for Survivor’s Leave!”
With fun and adventure on their minds, Glen and Ding set off for London. But there is no rest from battle, for the Germans have begun dropping a new kind of bomb, the horrific V-1s, or doodlebugs. When a neighbour and her baby are trapped under their collapsed and burning home, an injured Glen is on the frontlines.
Glen and Ding then accept an offer to travel to Cornwall where they are to stay in a rundown manor house, Penraven. Their stay turns out to be more exciting than the boys could have imagined. Built atop a cave-riddled cliff, Penraven has been the home of smuggling, murder, dungeons and ghosts. To add to the excitement, the boys meet two young English girls who turn out to be charming company!
But the young seamen soon discover that sinister forces have an interest in what lies hidden below Penraven, for the Nazis have hatched an unprecedented scheme involving biological warfare, and it seems the caves are the perfect place from which to set the destruction in motion.
A mother bear shares with her cubs how to be grateful for all they have in the natural world. The Bear’s Medicine shows the interconnectedness of all things in the world they live in and how each season brings changes and blessings for the bears. It is a story of a mother’s love for her children as she teaches them how to survive.
Written in English and Dakelh.
It’s 1937, and Katya-working as a servant girl on a Trakehner horse estate in East Prussia-dreams of being a writer. One hot June day, with Thomas Mann as her muse, and Minna Epstein as her friend, Katya heads to Rauschen, a spa town on the Baltic. Helmut and David, the estate owner’s two sons, accompany them. The foursome pairs off-Minna and Helmut, David and Katya-and things go from peaceful and predictable to dramatic and unsettling.
By summer’s end, Minna leaves for Vienna, ostensibly, to study acting. The new girl who replaces her-Gretchen-is an avid Nazi supporter. She and Helmut, an aspiring SS recruit, soon become a couple.
Meanwhile, David and Katya enjoy riding in the East Prussian countryside. One evening, David has a seizure. According to the 1935 Nuremberg Laws, he must be sterilized.
David and Katya struggle to salvage their relationship, while babies seem to crop up everywhere. Katya attends a cousin’s baby shower and Gretchen deals with morning sickness. Throughout the story, Minna and Katya exchange letters and Minna finally reveals her own unwanted pregnancy.
Breeding Trakehner horses might be an exact science, but breeding perfect Aryans is much more complicated.
Falling in love creates an enchanted time, and when it’s on the magical Sunshine Coast of British Columbia during the Second World War, it is never to be forgotten. The increased emotions of a country at war and the heartache as many of the young men join up to serve their country are always present. A special music becomes the background. It is the era of the big band, and Glen Miller, Count Basie and Frank Sinatra top the Hit Parade on the radio each week. For Meg, who is seventeen, it is a special time, but she is also living in an isolated village. She has only one other girl for company, and the highlight of the day is the daily arrival of Union Steamship with the mail and supplies. A summer job at the local guesthouse introduces her to a number of boys with whom she strikes up a friendship. But it is Bruce, a young naval officer who has been badly burned in the Battle of the Atlantic, who most interests her. He’s bitter, she’s naive, but they fall in love. And yes, they live happily ever after.