"Across the Steel River" is an accurate portrayal of life in a small prairie town. Although the story is fiction, the descriptions of the landscape, the town and the people, are very convincing. It was easy to picture it all in my mind. The story, set in the 1950's, is about two boys, unaffected by the rampant racism surrounding them, who embark on an adventure together as best friends. The book has a nice flow to it, is easy to read and has some wonderfully poignant moments. I found that once I started reading, I didn't want to put it down and yes, I actually got tears in my eyes at one particularly touching passage. It is a thoughtful, insightful tale that had me questioning my own morals and prejudices. Don't be fooled by my sentimental review though - it is still high adventure that leads you down unexpected paths to a thrilling conclusion. This is not just a book for young adults - it can be enjoyed by any age.

this book showed how life can be for both a native and a white boy in the praries. I really enjoyed how the author came into lives of the main characheters. This book showed how destructive people can be just because of the coulor of your skin. I just say no wonder people have grudges against white pepole. I am sorry for the bad writing but I do not want to drone away about a book. This book showed me emmence joy and sadness but it was overall a great read.

The Afterlife Of Trees is a selection of Brian Bartlett's memorable, free-verse poems that carry both the pedantic nuance of events of everyday life, and a personal respect for the majesty and grace of the soul that trees, birds, and nature have given to humankind. The Afterlife Of Trees is recommended as an insightful body of work reflecting communion with nature amid a culture choked with the clutter of material things. "To a red-eyed vireo: Minimalist of the tree tops / more than a scrap of dawn chorus, all day / you ask and answer one question / in two-to-four-note phrases, you're drawl's inflections / reversing, a rise giving way to a fall, a fall / to a rise / ask, answer / ask answer / Is it fair to say you sound like a lecturer who won't / move on to the next point, / or some weary barker / slowly going mad with the monotony of selling?"

The Afterlife Of Trees is a selection of Brian Bartlett's memorable, free-verse poems that carry both the pedantic nuance of events of everyday life, and a personal respect for the majesty and grace of the soul that trees, birds, and nature have given to humankind. The Afterlife Of Trees is recommended as an insightful body of work reflecting communion with nature amid a culture choked with the clutter of material things. "To a red-eyed vireo: Minimalist of the tree tops / more than a scrap of dawn chorus, all day / you ask and answer one question / in two-to-four-note phrases, you're drawl's inflections / reversing, a rise giving way to a fall, a fall / to a rise / ask, answer / ask answer / Is it fair to say you sound like a lecturer who won't / move on to the next point, / or some weary barker / slowly going mad with the monotony of selling?"

Ormsby uses the literary and cultural traditions of the Middle-East to create a beautiful thematic collection of poems. There is much to be admired in his poetic technique, and perhaps even more to be envied in his knowledge of the very rich culture of the Middle-East. Islamic mysticism, Arabic poetry, and day-to-day scenery all find equal place in this collection.

I feel that this collection is especially apropos currently, when the Middle-East is being so demonized. It helps to make the peoples of that reagion into individuals with a rich culture, not just Kalashnikov rifle wielders. The subject matter aids in making Ormsby's already remarkable poetry even more intriguing.

Buy this book.

ARABY is a remarkable and highly unusual book of poems, one that can be read for the beauty and brilliance of the individual poems, but which also develops two characters, Jaham and Bald Adham, a poet and a car mechanic, who both go through their own visionary struggles. To say anything more about either one of them would be to ruin the often humorous excitement of learning about them along the way. By the end, the reader has gotten to know these two men as well as if reading a novel about them.
Some individual poems - "Jaham Serenades a Snake," "Jaham at the Ruins of Recollection," "Jaham Deciphers the Scripts of Insomnia" - are among the finest I have ever read. As this selection of titles suggests, I may be partial to one of the characters, but I learned a lot from both of them. They're developed with humor, insight and depth (their own and those of the poet) and, combined with the voluminous knowledge Eric Ormsby has of the Arab world, they take the reader on a profound journey through a distinctive culture.
In the sheer vitality of his language, Eric Ormsby is a writer of great dexterity, imagination and rhythm, and the excitement of reading his work includes a word-surprise of some sort in nearly every line. ARABY is a tremendously inspired book.

As For Me and My House provides a descriptive tale about a preacher and his wife during the depression. Written by the hand of the wife, who remains nameless, the book incorporates vast imagery to help portray the feeble lifestyle they were trapped within. Mr. Bentley, unable to motivate himself to move beyond his unsatisfying profession as a preacher, lives in unhappiness, bringing his wife into oppression with him. Animal imagery is prevalent, as the town and its people are described in such terms. They all cower and protect themselves; with the exception of Judith, who "scales the wind" at the beginning until she discovers her own sexuality and becomes the earth....Can air continue to have 'life' when submersed into the ground?

Through the journal entries of Mrs. Bentley, we are given a beautiful and complex novel of great importance in Canadian Literature. As a story of life during the depression, this book perfectly captures the trials of prairie life during this era. As Mrs. Bentley describes events in her journal entries, we are given a chance to not only accept the text at face value, but to read between the lines. Mrs. Bentley tends to say more by what she doesn't write than what she does. All in all, an incredible book and one which everyone should read.

This is how a tale of one man's viewpoint of battle should be told. Brief, to the point, graphic, and with no undue embellishment.

Company Sgt.-Major Cromwell's description of his participation with the Queen's Own Rifles of Canada Regiment as they fought in some of the most deadliest battles of WW II - D-Day, Le Mesnil-Patry, Bray and Brettrville-l'Orgueilleuse, Maizières on the Falaise Road, Calais and, of course, Holland and the infamous Scheldt - is one of the best you're apt to find.

The fighting through the Scheldt was exceptionally tough, and when the Canadians at last cleared the area, any threat to the port of Antwerp was removed. Now engineers could safely restore the facilities and critical Allied shipping allowed to land with precious cargo.

So relieved was the Allied High Command that Eisenhower authorized a victory celebration. Everyone was represented. The Americans, the British, the Poles, the Belgians, the French. A grand time was had by all. The only thing was, no one thought to extend an invitation to the Canadians.

In this book, Sergeant-Major Charles Cromwell recounts his own first-hand experiences of the Canadian arms of the D-Day landings. Like the hit movie "Saving Private Ryan", this book is told in vivid, easy to understand - "readable" english. Here he vividly recreates the horrors of the landings, and how these (like the American landing at Ohmaha), went wrong. He then takes us past the landings and on a journey through the next few months. He takes us through the sweep into France and through the push into Germany. It's a true story of "how men became veterans who had to learn fast at the 'point' or they were gone." Because these horors happened - that alone is reason enough that books like these must be read so that we may be even more thankful for the freedoms we share today.

I really enjoyed this book; while there is a number of books about warbrides who travelled to the US, whis books gives a rare insight into the experiences of warbrides that travelled to Canada.

I read this book in about 4 nights straight. I couldn't put it down. I wasnt around back then, but this book made me realize just how lucky I am and how easy we have it in todays world compared to those times during and after the second world war. The stories of their experiences made me laugh one moment and cry in another.

Canadian author Farley Mowat's Born Naked is a must-read glimpse into the author's much self-written about life. It's hilarious, it's poignant and a must for any Mowat fan.

I've been a big fan of Farley Mowat's literary style since I first read Never Cry Wolf back in junior high school. Even as a 9th grade Earth Science teacher, I show the silver screen adaptation of this great novel. Born Naked, however, is of different 'stuff' than Never Cry Wolf. Here is a book written in a light, easy-to-read fashion that highlights his early years in this great world. We, the readers, are along for the ride when he travels to the Arctic on a research mission with his uncle, or when he makes his daily rounds to inspect the nests of local birds in Saskatchewan. This book is written in a truly entrancing style. I had a very difficult time putting it down. There are some questionable portions in it dealing with his discovery of his own sexuality, but they are far outweighed by the sense of awe and discovery he felt as a youngster. I would heartily recommend this book to anyone that enjoyed Tom Sawyer, Huckleberry Finn, or anyone that wants to experience the childhood they only dreamed about

This book was a favorite of my husband when he was a little boy....it was a nightly ritual for each of our four children. Now we are awaiting the birth of our first grandchild and this is the first gift we will purchase for him (or her?). The beautiful art work in this book will live in a child's imagination forever. Classic tales are meant to be read with a child snuggled on your lap!If you like this book be sure to check out "The Gateway to Storyland" also a Platt & Monk classic.

This Children's book was mine and my brothers favorite one to be read at night, it has stories and poems like 'The Owl and the Pussycat' and 'Winken, Blinken and Nod'. It has the most wonderful pictures, they ingrave themselves on your sleepy eyelids and your little one will have nothing but sweet dreams. Now I have a daughter, and a son on the way and would love to share this experience with them, but my brother has already lay claim to our one childhood copy!

Do you like fast fascinating reads?, then you will like By Heart. I read it so fast and normally i'm a slow reader. A great documentary well written!

I suppose this is mainly of interest to those who have read "By Grand Central Station I Sat Down and Wept" which is autobiographical but incoherent. This biography of Elizabeth Smart explains what really happened.
There is lot more to it than that. The insights into Canadian-British-American relationships are illuminating. The British literary scene comes across as the least inhibited and most tolerant of the three. The book has those snide cutting anti-Canadian jibes that Canadian writers do so well. The account of Soho in the fifties is fascinating and the account of Edmonton in the seventies is devastating.
Elizabeth Smart and George Barker and his wives went on to have close and warm relationships into their old age. In a way it's a happy ending to "By Grand Central Station" although there were further tragedies. The paracetemol that killed her daughter Rose (it produces hepatic necrosis when combined with alcohol) is known as acetominophen (Tylenol) in America.
Robert Fraser has written a biography of George Barker.

A wonderful book and a delightful read. Not to be missed.

If you are interested in Canadian History and Children's Literature, then read this book. A truly charming and delightful read