ArticlesAmanda Sanders
Amanda Sanders lives in Edmonton, Alberta, where she is a stay-at-home mom to her four-year-old son and six-year-old German shepherd.
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FeaturesPair of books celebrate Calgary Stampede traditions of chuckwagon racing, pancake breakfasts
For over 100 years people have converged on the city of Calgary for the Calgary Stampede for 10 days in July. Books celebrating the centennials of two Stampede traditions – chuckwagon racing and pancake breakfasts – are being published this year. -
Young Adult/ChildrenInspired by children and child-like wonder, nature gets reimagined as creative force
In the colourful and poetic picture book Nature Is an Artist, by author Jennifer Lavallee and illustrator Natalia Colombo, readers can follow along as Nature shows a group of children how beautiful and artistic the natural world is. -
Young Adult/ChildrenTale highlights importance of school, family supports for neurodivergent kids
Winnipeg-based author Jodi Carmichael is back with a new middle grade novel, The U-nique Lou Fox. Ten-year-old Lou lives with ADHD and dyslexia, and as a result, school does not come easily for her. Like many neurodivergent children, Lou often finds herself in hot water for drifting off task and losing focus in class, and this is very frustrating for her, to say the least. -
Young Adult/ChildrenTeenage chef is challenged to learn about being Filipino through cooking competition
Winnipeg author Primrose Madayag Knazan takes young adult readers on a journey through the highs and lows of a pandemic-style cooking competition in her novel Lessons in Fusion. The main character, Sarah Dayan-Abad, was inspired by the author’s children. -
Young Adult/ChildrenTortoises support transition to middle school in tale about maturity
Calgary-based author Patti Edgar “wanted to write a novel about a close childhood friendship at a crossroads.” The result is Anna Analyst, which follows Anna, who narrates and is always open about her foibles, and her best friend, Lana, as they make the transition from elementary to middle school. -
Young Adult/ChildrenFast-paced spooky story inspired by abandoned sanatorium and role-playing games
In Haunted Hospital, a novel for middle grade readers, a group of young teens get more than they bargained for when they take their role-playing game to the next level by exploring an abandoned hospital, said to be haunted with the ghosts of tuberculosis patients who were the victims of experiments gone wrong. -
Young Adult/ChildrenTeen’s relationship to social media changes when a big chatty bird enters her life
Saskatoon-based author Alice Kuipers’s latest novel for middle-grade readers is World’s Worst Parrot, which follows Ava, a teen who strives for the impression of perfection, and Mervin, an African grey parrot she inherited, as both of their lives go through major changes. -
FeaturesTeen werewolf who couldn’t change deserved her own novel
The latest novel for young adults by Edmonton author Nicole Luiken, Feral, features a modern pack of werewolves in Pine Hollow. The Pack is being challenged not only by its proximity to humans, but also by other foreign creatures that are infiltrating the community. -
Young Adult/ChildrenWriting the challenges of daily life for refugee youth
Winnipeg-based author Brenda Hasiuk tackles life in a new country, changing friendships, heroic journeys, lies, and guilt in her new novel for young adults, Swan Dive. Lazar (who goes by Cristoff or Cris to his friends) now lives in Winnipeg with his family after fleeing Sarajevo during the Bosnian War.
