New Releases by Julie Lawson

A young girl living at three Hudson''s Bay Company posts yearns for more adventure and freedom than the rules of mid-1800s HBC society allow. Motherless for years, and now orphaned when a hunting accident takes her father''s life, Jenna Sinclair is in the care of her prim Aunt Grace, who always finds fault with Jenna''s high spirits and tendency to break rules. Jenna finds kindred spirits in her Grandmother, one of the Home Guard Cree who lives near Fort Edmonton, and with her friend Suzanne. But even then, Jenna is still eager to have more freedom, and daydreams of finding Adventure with a capital A. Opportunity knocks after Jenna moves southwest with her newly-married aunt to Fort Colvile, and begs her aunt to let her attend a ""real"" school at Fort Victoria on Vancouver''s Island. With a small brigade, she begins a sometimes harrowing journey down rivers and over mountains to her new life. But the teachers at the new school are even more strict than her aunt, and she can''t find a friend as likeable as Suzanne. Ever restless, Jenna wants the kind of excitement worthy of being included in a Novel. By sneaking outside the fort walls, spying on the Company officers, even visiting the forbidden Songhees village, she sometimes finds more than she bargained for. As Jenna faithfully records her observations of the world around her - bringing the reader ""inside the walls"" of three very different HBC posts - she makes surprising discoveries about herself, and about Heroes, Villains and the places where Adventure can truly be found."

In her lyrical, cumulative rhyme based on the poetic structure of This is the House That Jack Built, award-winning author Julie Lawson tells the story of a young girl who spends a magical day on the beach, building a sandcastle. While she works, the little girl''s imagination creates a fairy tale adventure, complete with stately castle walls and whales and mermaids who come to visit. Accompanied by artist Frances Tyrrell''s exquisite illustrations, this is a beautiful time capsule of childhood.

While heading for the Klondike to look for gold, Noah takes his cat, against his father''s wishes.

Eleven-year-old Sam''s first visit to the remote west coast of Vancouver Island is nothing like she''d expected. Her older cousins tease "the city kid" mercilessly when they''re not ignoring her altogether. She often finds herself left to her own devices. Still, the woods and beaches around Brackenwood Point offer plenty of room to explore. Then, one day, Sam comes face-to-face with a wild cougar and her two cubs, and her summer vacation suddenly gets much more exciting.

In "Emily: Building Bridges," Hing''s family finally arrives and Emily at last meets Mei Yuk, Hing''s daughter. After a rocky start, the two girls become fast friends. But as Emily begins to include Mei Yuk in her social life, she finds things changing between her and Alice, her best friend. Inspired by her art teacher, a young Emily Carr, Emily learns the importance of staying true to oneself. She also learns the meaning of tolerance and friendship.

Kate''s father is a builder for the Canadian Pacific Railway as it snakes across the mountains and through the Fraser Canyon. Everyone is excited about the "Iron Horse", but building the railroad is a treacherous undertaking. Kate is always thinking about her father''s safety, and the Accident Hospital next door is a constant reminder of the hazards the railroad brings. Despite the danger, there is tremendous excitement surrounding the creation of the transcontinental railroad as Kate, her town, and all of Canada eagerly await its completion. Vetted by historical experts, each book in this series contains maps, numerous period illustrations, and an extensive historical note.

The year is 1896 and Emily pines for a bicycle, the latest craze. On the other side of Victoria''s James Bay Bridge is Chinatown and thousands of Chinese immigrants who are looking for a better life in Canada.

Sixteen-year old Ned Turner sets off for the goldfields of the Klondike in 1897 and encounters adventures.

"In the conclusion to the ''Goldstone Trilogy, '' Ashley can hardly wait to dream on the goldstone necklace she inherits. But fate brings her much more than the goldstone" Cf. Our choice, 2001.

On her first night in the mountains with her family, a little girl is unable to sleep. She sits by the window and listens to the sounds of the winter night. As she imagines the nighttime world outside, she also anticipates the pleasures of the days to come. And day or night, even if she falls asleep, the little girl knows the mountains will beckon her to a magical place of endless snow. Full-color illustrations.

What would you do if a crazy canoe - with you in it - took off on its own? Illustrated by Werner Zimmermann.

Emma loves to watch the high-speed silk trains as they roar past the station where her father works. When a silk train derails, a car breaks open and the silk inside is adrift on the river. Emma just might be able to fulfill her dream of having some silk for her own.

"In this second book to the Goldstone trilogy, Jo struggles for acceptance by her peers. After she learns that she was adopted, she slowly comes to find inner strength" Cf. Our choice, 1999-2000

When a cougar is sighted in downtown Victoria, the conservation officer must find and capture it to return it to the wild.

Karin must warn her father and his railway crew about a deadly avalanche but will she be able to get there in time?

Long ago when dragons were still young ten suns lived at the far edge of the world. One day they decided to shine together! 5 yrs+

During a terrible drought, a cheerful, dutiful son finds a magic pearl which forever changes his life and the lives of his mother and neighbors.

When the wind picks up on Mistaken Road remarkable things can happen. It''s going to take a resourceful trio of night-time adventurers to undo what the wind has done in one day. Under an agate moon, Jess, Claire and Rigby set off on their mission to the Castle of Kite. To say that they get carried away is an understatement! In this high-flying adventure, they encounter a giant that sneezes, the spindrift of the Milky Way, and a windfall of lost and blown away objects. Their only problem now is how to get home. In this, her lovliest, most fantastical picture book to date, prolific West Coast children''s author Julie Lawson lets her own potent of imagination get carried away - out on the finest of strings. There is no better match for lawson''s story than pictures by Kathryn Naylor. Her luminous watercolour palette of snap-flapping colours and her own georgeous sense of play make Blown Away a marriage of talents made in heaven or somewhere very near by.

In a tumble-down house carved out of the dunes lives an old man with second sight. He is the sifter of sands, the man who separates the sparkling mica, black lava, golden-reds, and misty grays. And as he sifts he mesmerizes Jessica and Andrew with his tales of the trickster-creator Raven and how a lonely young man lived to be 300 years old.