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A Rainbow of Books: Blue

September . . . Feeling blue about the return to school? Never fear, these Alberta books in BLUE will bring the cheer to you.

OF SUNKEN ISLANDS AND PESTILENCE
By Edward Taylor Fletcher, edited by James Gifford

Edward Taylor Fletcher was born in England in 1817 and arrived in Canada as a young boy. An important figure in Canadian literature, Fletcher’s writing was almost entirely forgotten by history. In this volume, James Gifford has gathered and annotated Fletcher’s essays and poems— writings that describe a nineteenth-century Canadian cultural life far more cosmopolitan than what we might have imagined.

Of Sunken Islands and Pestilence: Restoring the Voice of Edward Taylor Fletcher to Nineteenth-Century Canadian Literature

James Gifford (CA)

Published: Aug 31, 2022 by Athabasca University Press
ISBN: 9781771993449

ORDINARY DEATHS
By Samuel LeBaron

In Ordinary Deaths, Dr. Samuel LeBaron reminds us of our need for human connection when experiencing death and loss. Based on more than thirty years of working with children and adults dying from cancer, LeBaron’s memoir contains stories of longing, confusion, love, and humility—often woven together. Sharing recollections from his childhood in rural Alberta and experiences from his career, LeBaron reveals a life of vital, intimate connection with others.

Ordinary Deaths: Stories from Memory

Samuel LeBaron (CA)

Published: Jul 26, 2022 by University of Alberta Press
ISBN: 9781772126563

ECHOLOCATION
By Karen Hofmann

In this provocative collection of short stories, Karen Hofmann creates characters who struggle to connect or disconnect from entanglements and relationships. With ironic accuracy and sensuous imagery, Hofmann considers a range of human foibles: a newlywed couple who transform into feral beasts during the hardships of a remote research expedition; backbiting faculty members who strip down during a post-conference BBQ; an heretical nun who explores the possibility of a new life by imaginatively excavating the fossils of BC’s Burgess Shale; and an ambitious bylaw officer determined to make her mark on the city’s streets.

Echolocation

Karen Hofmann (CA)

Published: May 01, 2019 by NeWest Press
ISBN: 9781988732565

ALBERTA ANIMAL TRACKS
By Ian Sheldon

Alberta Animal Tracks will help you identify tracks of all shapes and sizes, from the Deer Mouse to the Mule Deer. This book is perfect for children, teachers, parents, backwoods explorers and naturalists. Features include excellent illustrations of the animals, detailed drawings of fore and hind prints, stride patterns, easy track identification, animal behaviour, and more!

Alberta Animal Tracks

Ian Sheldon (CA), Tamara Hartson (CA)

Published: May 01, 2021 by Lone Pine Media
ISBN: 9781774510179

PORCUPINES TO POLAR BEARS
By Jerry Haigh

Storyteller Jerry Haigh shares his adventures as a wildlife veterinarian with the University of Saskatchewan and coming from a clinic at the base of spectacular Mount Kenya in Africa to the flat lands of the Canadian prairies in Saskatchewan. He worked with wild animals such as moose, polar bears and even a toothless old lion.

Porcupines to Polar Bears: Adventures of a Wildlife Veterinarian

Jerry Haigh (CA)

Published: Sep 15, 2016 by Dragon Hill Publishing
ISBN: 9781896124612

THE WEEKENDER EFFECT
By Robert William Sandford

A passionate plea for considered development in mountain towns and for the preservation of local values, cultures and landscapes, the updated edition of The Weekender Effect looks at how things have changed, grown, and morphed in numerous mountain communities in North America. Offering suggestions for residents, tourists, and planners who love mountain places, Robert Sandford tackles some of the issues facing small communities on the edge of the Anthropocene and looks forward to a future when the “commodification of place” is no longer the driving factor in human geography.

The Weekender Effect: Hyperdevelopment in Mountain Towns — Updated Edition

Robert William Sandford (CA)

Published: May 05, 2023 by RMB | Rocky Mountain Books
ISBN: 9781771606103

SIXTY-SEVEN ONTOLOGICAL STUDIES
By Jan Zwicky & Robert V. Moody

Sixty-Seven Ontological Studies is a double-stranded book of intense lyric reflections on the fundamental essences of things. The two modes of attention—Jan Zwicky’s words and Robert V. Moody’s photographs—are presented as fully co-equal. Neither one serves as an illustration of the other, yet there are many deep connections between the two. They are brought together here in a resonant conversation, steeped in the pregnant silence of the living world.

Sixty-Seven Ontological Studies

Jan Zwicky (CA), Robert V. Moody

Published: Oct 01, 2022 by Freehand Books
ISBN: 9781990601095

A SLUG STORY
By Mandi Kujawa & Hana Kujawa

Mixing fact and fantasy, A Slug Story is a semi-autobiographical middle-grade graphic novel by Mandi Kujawa (Jacqueline the Singing Crow) and her daughter Hana, engagingly illustrated by award-winning illustrators Claude St. Aubin and Lovern Kindzierski. A Slug Story is about a young boy, Marcus, who learns to embrace the reality of who he is while recovering from a serious brain injury.

A Slug Story

Mandi Kujawa (CA), Hana Kujawa

Published: Sep 09, 2020 by Renegade Arts Entertainment
ISBN: 9781988903767

CANADA IN SPACE
By Chris Gainor

Canadians have always had a pioneering spirit. We’ve explored our country and our planet, and now we’re exploring space. Read more about Canada’s amazing contributions to space research and discovery in Canada in Space, published by Folklore Publishing.

Canada in Space: The People & Stories behind Canada's Role in the Explorations of Space

Chris Gainor (CA)

Published: Nov 06, 2006 by Folklore Publishing
ISBN: 9781894864596

A KID CALLED CHATTER
By Chris Kelly

The kid called Chatter has an affliction. Perhaps it is a gift. He attracts dying jackrabbits. Orphaned by parents whose names he never knew, he was worshipped and savaged in the institutions that raised him. Pushed out by his peers, trailed by the dying, the kid called Chatter fled. A stunning work of Prairie magical realism, A Kid Called Chatter is a kaleidoscopic mingling of history, truth, folk tale, and fiction. A fable of belonging, it explores how humans use stories to confront what can’t be explained, and the way communities come together to protect—or to destroy—the things that make them unique.

A Kid Called Chatter

Chris Kelly (CA)

Published: Apr 15, 2022 by University of Calgary Press
ISBN: 9781773852645

WEIRD ALBERTA LAWS
By Lisa Wojna

Since becoming a province in 1905, the Alberta government enacted many laws to match the wild spirit of the frontier. Later, the unique character of the people spawned many more. Read about some of Alberta’s quirky laws in Weird Alberta Laws!

Weird Alberta Laws: Strange, Bizarre, Wacky & Absurd

Lisa Wojna (CA)

Published: May 05, 2011 by Blue Bike Books
ISBN: 9781926700076

SAMUEL AND THE LITTLE PEOPLE
By Arnold James Isbister

Samuel and the Little People is the story of the origins of the Indigenous Little People as told in the journal of Samuel White Wolf and his encounters with them. This unique book is published by Eschia Books!

Samuel & the Little People

Arnold Isbister

Published: Mar 01, 2023 by Eschia Books
ISBN: 9781990321092

Browse your local indie bookstore for more blue books!