National Network for Equitable Library Service

High Clear Bell of Morning is the gripping tale of a father's love and the extent to which he will go to protect his daughter. Ruby's life begins to unravel when she hears voices coming from her closet. It isn't long before they are with her all the time. Diagnosed with schizophrenia, her treatment goes awry when she meets a drug dealer, Kenny, in group therapy. He introduces her to cocaine, and then heroin, and within a short space of time she is ready to do almost anything for a drug that makes her feel alive.

Strange things done in the midnight sun... Ready for romance and adventure, two sisters take summer jobs as live-in waitresses on the edge of the Arctic Circle. The big-city girls soon learn that the Klondike still exists, and that everyone at the Hotel Beringia seems to have a hidden agenda. An outpost on the remote Dempster Highway, Hotel Beringia is a popular stop for truckers, highway workers, adventurous tourists and scientists, serviced by staff who are all trying to get away from something.

Huxley the cat lives on a houseboat with his human companion, Robin. One day, while they are camping, Huxley gets lost. To get home, he must cross an entire island—passing by and through lakes, rivers, rainforest, subalpine and alpine regions, old-growth forest, ocean, highways, and city. Along the way, he meets strange animals and encounters plants he has never seen before. All through this long, hard trip, Huxley never gives up on getting home to Robin. But will he make it home before the winter storm season?

This playful yet calming book about wonderful forest sounds is the perfect gift for introducing kids to loving—and respecting—the natural world around them. The forest has lots to say... if you listen. When a child steps into the forest, her ears are open and her heart is too. She listens carefully and hears marvelous things. She hears the rustling of leaves sharing their secrets. She hears a beetle balancing on a branch. And the more she listens, the more she learns.

This joyful book about nature sounds for kids 3–7 will transport readers up a magnificent mountain. The mountains have lots to say—if you listen. It's time for a hike in the mountains! A group of friends sets off, ready for adventure, with their ears open and their hearts too. From the rush of a waterfall and a chipmunk chattering cheerfully to the peck of a rascally bird trying to steal a snack, there are many exciting sounds to discover.

This joyful and soothing book about ocean sounds for kids 3–7 will transport readers to the seaside. When a child visits the ocean with his little brother, he whispers to him, "The ocean has lots to say, if you listen." Together, they hear wondrous things, like the rumble of pebbles tumbling and filling the beach with shiny gems, the bark of a seal playing peekaboo, and the whooshing of a shell murmuring messages.

Will's father was just found dead in a pile of sulfur. He was a retired cop who'd been working as a night security guard at the SulCorp sulfur mill. Now, to determine if his death was a tragic accident or something more sinister, Will must return to the place he swore he'd never set foot in again. Hope is a little town struggling in the shadow of a major metropolis, haunted by a history of death, violence and crime. And then there's the girl Will never thought he'd see again, Eve.

It's the summer of 1990, and Amy (age 11), Beth (age 9), and Marion (age 6) are in for the family vacation of a lifetime. No, they're not going Disneyland, Hawaii, or on a Caribbean cruise. No, they're not flying to Germany to collect pieces of the Berlin Wall. They will be looking at rocks, though. Lots of rocks. So many rocks. You see, when your father is a geologist, that's what you do on your summer vacation.

"an excellent anthology ... a lovely project" —Silver Donald Cameron Given that Canada has the longest coastline in the world and its motto is "From Sea unto Sea," it is not surprising that virtually every Canadian writer has been inspired to write about some aspect of the sea at some point in their work. As this book shows, those watery passages are some of the very best writing the nation has produced.

It's the first week of summer and former army brat Jake Ballard is spending it alone at his uncle's cottage while his mom gets treatment for PTSD. Jake's boring day gets flipped upside down when a beautiful stranger asks him to help play a prank on her friends. But when an angry crime boss turns up at the cottage the next morning, Jake is sure of two things: the night before was a big mistake, and that girl was no prankster. And she is nowhere to be found. Jake has twenty-four hours to return the stolen goods...or else.