Casey and Derek on the Ice, by Marty Sederman
0 comments Posted by Stratford Public Library at 4:07 PM
Casey and Derek on the Ice, by Marty Sederman, 28 pages.
@ SPL: JP Seder
Casey and Derek’s hockey team, the Rockets, have exactly one minute left to tie a hard-fought hockey game with the opposing team, the Titans! Can they do it? It doesn’t look promising. The Rockets are tired and are just about completely out of steam. As the suspense in the hockey arena builds and builds, the Titans are sure that they have defeated the “underdogs” and that the game is theirs.
When Casey wins the face-off, it’s up to Derek to score the tying goal. The fans are on their feet … Derek speeds down the ice, cutting through the Titan defense … but just as he’s about to shoot the puck, he is tripped and the final buzzer sounds. Now the Titan fans are on their feet, cheering the win.
However, this rewritten version of Casey at the Bat isn’t finished yet. There’s a twist – with a happy ending for the Rockets.
Young hockey fans will very much enjoy this rhyming picture book which is suspenseful from beginning to end, as well as Zachary Pullen’s illustrations.
Author Marty Sederman, her husband and her sons all enjoy playing hockey.
** Recommended for ages 4 to 8 years.
Click here to find Casey and Derek on the Ice in our online catalogue.
Inside Hockey! The Legends, Facts, and Feats that Made the Game, by Keltie Thomas
0 comments Posted by Stratford Public Library at 3:57 PM
Inside Hockey! The Legends, Facts, and Feats that Made the Game, by Keltie Thomas, 64 pages.
@ SPL: J 796.962 Tho
As the NHL playoffs approach, kids can delve into the wild world of professional hockey with this book, which is packed full of hockey facts, inventions, personalities, anecdotes, stories, legends, adventures, photos and humour – of interest both to those who know a great deal about NHL hockey and to those who do not. Some of the practical jokes and hijinks that are a part of NHL history and legend are also included, and girls will appreciate that women’s hockey has also been addressed in Keltie Thomas’ latest sports book. Readers can even discover what types of good luck charms have been used through the years by various hockey players.
Readers will find the “inside scoop” on the dazzling careers of some of hockey’s greatest heroes, such as Maurice “Rocket” Richard, Sidney Crosby, Mark Messier, Phil Esposito and the “Board Street Bullies”. Perhaps best of all is the “Strange but True” section of bizarre stories: after reading it, the reader will agree that just about anything can happen in the world of hockey!
Keltie Thomas is a Toronto-based writer for children who has previous books about hockey, snowboarding, basketball, soccer, and baseball to her credit.
** Recommended for ages 8 to 13 years.
Click here to find Inside Hockey! The Legends, Facts, and Feats that Made the Game in our online catalogue.
Computing for Seniors in Easy Steps for the Over 50'sby Sue Price
@SPL: 004.16 Pri
AND
Internet for Seniors in Easy Steps for the Over 50's
by Michael and Sue Price
@SPL: 004.6780846 Pri
by Michael and Sue Price
@SPL: 004.6780846 Pri
Readers will know that SPL offers an array of computer classes which become filled as quickly as we advertise them! To fill the gap between courses, here are two books whose titles say they are for seniors, but are really geared toward anyone who wants to brush up on their computer and Internet skills. (The bonus of these particular two is that they are for Windows Vista, that much maligned Microsoft operating system that many in the computing world would swear was designed to be the anti-Mac, that is to say, extremely difficult to use.) The first of these, Computing for Seniors, goes through the basics of all your computer parts, explains some commonly used jargon, and then walks you around what you'll see on your screen in different software applications (word processing etc.), and then helps you discover e-mail, how to play movies and music and view photographs on your computer, how to write, save and find documents - it even goes into creating household budget plans and putting them into an easy-to-read spreadsheet, as well as other domestic projects to help you stay organized. The second book, Internet for Seniors, begins by explaining the equipment you need to connect to the Internet, and has an excellent chapter about searching, following links and adding favourite websites to a list so you can easily find them again. The next few chapters are on the entertainment aspects of the Internet - online games (Sudoku, chess), how to watch television and radio episodes online, crafting websites, geneaology searching and making safe travel arrangements. There is a very important chapter on Internet security (which would have been better to put at the front of the book), and even a chapter on some of the more newfangled areas like blogging and RSS feeds. Both books are colourful, easy to navigate, full of tips and tricks and have well-organized indexes for quick reference. Not just for seniors by any means, these books will benefit anyone who wants or needs to improve their computer skills - the next best thing to one of our computer classes! Click here to find Computing for Seniors and here to find Internet for Seniors in our on-line catalogue.
The Canadian Edible Garden: Vegetables, Herbs, Fruits & Seeds
By Alison Beck
Herb Gardening for Canada
By Laura Peters
The first day of spring is finally here! At this time of year it is difficult for hard-core gardeners to refrain from planting until that all-important May 24th weekend. Luckily there is a plethora of new gardening books to help the planning stage and to sooth that itch – these two from Lone Pine Press are for the micro-farmers in the gardening crowd. In these times of rising costs, a home-grown produce aisle can be a real boon, and just think of the taste of sun-warmed grape tomatoes and basil leaves combined with that locally made mozzarella – a taste of Italy from your own back-yard or balcony! Both books explain which edibles will grow where (Southern Ontario is truly a blessed part of Canada), the best soils and levels of sunlight for each kind, how to grow edibles from seed or seedling, how to handle pests (keeping in mind Ontario’s new pesticide ban), and how and when to prune, harvest and store them. The most interesting part of each is discovering new varieties of edibles: for example, fiddleheads are popular in New Brunswick, but grow well in Ontario, as does perilla, a cinnamon-lemon flavoured herb, also known as shiso, or Japanese basil (it may help keep pests off of your heirloom tomatoes, too). Both books contain plenty of tips for planting and uses (although please use caution when using any herbs for medicinal use!), and while neither book contains many recipes, another new book from Lone Pine Press, the Canadian Harvest Cookbook (by Jennifer Sayer-Bajger) can help you out there. Happy planning!
By Laura Peters
The first day of spring is finally here! At this time of year it is difficult for hard-core gardeners to refrain from planting until that all-important May 24th weekend. Luckily there is a plethora of new gardening books to help the planning stage and to sooth that itch – these two from Lone Pine Press are for the micro-farmers in the gardening crowd. In these times of rising costs, a home-grown produce aisle can be a real boon, and just think of the taste of sun-warmed grape tomatoes and basil leaves combined with that locally made mozzarella – a taste of Italy from your own back-yard or balcony! Both books explain which edibles will grow where (Southern Ontario is truly a blessed part of Canada), the best soils and levels of sunlight for each kind, how to grow edibles from seed or seedling, how to handle pests (keeping in mind Ontario’s new pesticide ban), and how and when to prune, harvest and store them. The most interesting part of each is discovering new varieties of edibles: for example, fiddleheads are popular in New Brunswick, but grow well in Ontario, as does perilla, a cinnamon-lemon flavoured herb, also known as shiso, or Japanese basil (it may help keep pests off of your heirloom tomatoes, too). Both books contain plenty of tips for planting and uses (although please use caution when using any herbs for medicinal use!), and while neither book contains many recipes, another new book from Lone Pine Press, the Canadian Harvest Cookbook (by Jennifer Sayer-Bajger) can help you out there. Happy planning!
The newest novel in Lauren Willig’s series about aristocratic spies of the 18th century picks up where the Seduction of the Crimson Rose leaves off – current historian Eloise Kelly has finally got her man, Colin Selwick, descendant of one of the spies she had been researching, the secretive Purple Gentian. As Eloise has come to find out, however, Colin’s ancestor was just one in a whole bouquet of florally-named spies, and as she delves further into the Selkirk archives, she finds that the oft-overlooked, innocent Lady Charlotte Lansdowne comes to the fore when she accidentally uncovers a plot to subdue and kidnap the King – mad King George III, who may not be as mad as everyone believes. Her discovery coincides with the return from India of her favourite distant cousin, Robert, Duke of Dovedale. Long enamoured of Robert, Charlotte’s romantic notions of her white knight are dashed when Robert takes up with a gang of libertines, the notorious Hellfire Club. But little does Charlotte realize that Robert has returned from India hot on the trail of the man who betrayed his regiment to the enemy and killed his mentor. And little does Robert realize that the plot Charlotte uncovered involves the same killer, the elusive but deadly “Night Jasmine”. In trying to recover the king, their paths merge, but will their hearts? As Eloise discovers their story, she uncovers something quite unexpected about the object of her own affections: that the apple may not fall far from the family tree. Moving back and forth through time and written with quick wit, this latest romantic adventure from Lauren Willig is as thoroughly researched as her past novels, and is as every bit as enjoyable to read. Click here to find The Temptation of the Night Jasmine in our on-line catalogue.
by Elle Newmark
It is the height of the Renaissance and in Rome the Borgia family is in power, but in the Republic of Venice a crafty doge reigns supreme. Although renowned for its intrigues and scandals, the city is abuzz with news of a mysterious book, and no one is more curious about it than Luciano, a lively orphan who has been rescued from the street by the doge’s personal chef. Counting himself very fortunate for his improved circumstances, and anxious to prove himself a worthy culinary student to his Maestro, young Luciano cannot help but retain some of his street wiles, gleaning information about the book and the dangerous inner workings of Venetian politics. Who actually has the book? Luciano witnesses the doge commit murder, and then pours a golden elixir down the corpse’s throat - does the book contain magical spells and a cure for death? The chef’s friends have some strange ideas about the nature of the universe – does the book contain the heretical teachings of Copernicus? Is the book the long-searched-for solution for turning base metals into gold, as the city’s alchemist’s hope? The doge’s cold-blooded rival for power, Landucci, wants to destroy the seat of religious power in Rome – perhaps the book contains lost Gnostic gospels? Then again, the Maestro himself seems to be able to bend the doge’s will with his wondrous food, created from his varied and suspect ingredients (like the ‘poisonous’ tomato), grown in his own mysterious garden – perhaps the book is simply the best cookbook the world has ever known? Whatever the answer, Luciano’s own tale is as furtive as the winding canals of Venice, with as many twists and murky depths that will keep readers entranced. The author impressively evokes the atmosphere of day-to-day life in Renaissance Venice, its festivals, its food and its people, and although this might seem like another ‘artifact mystery’ in the vein of “The Da Vinci Code”, it is has a much richer feel. Click here to find The Book of Unholy Mischief in the SPL Catalogue.
Black Ice: The Lost History of the Coloured Hockey League of the Maritimes, 1895-1925
0 comments Posted by RL Godfrey at 8:00 AM
by George and Darril Fosty
In Ontario we are well aware of the trail of the Underground Railroad that allowed black slaves to escape into freedom to as far north as Owen Sound. But long before that route was gaining momentum, there was already a large population of Blacks living in Nova Scotia, the population of which was added to when Black Loyalist refugees from the War of 1812 settled there. Just a decade later, these new settlers were playing this new game, a combination of shinny and Mi’kmaq hockey, and a few decades after that the first official Coloured Hockey League was formed. While it centres on the history of this leagues’ teams, players and games, Black Ice is far more than a sports book – it tells the historic tale of the Black experience in the Maritimes, recounting their challenges, their contribution to the efforts in WWI, their victories and the accomplishments of their leaders such as James Kinney. Kinney was the first Black man to graduate from the Maritime Business College and he later became a force in forming the Coloured Hockey League. He was also a student of Booker T. Washington, and after the league folded, Kinney used this education to influence other Black leaders in the establishment of a Black orphanage, the Nova Scotia School for Coloured Children. The author includes many uncomfortable examples of the type of racism that defined this history as well, so as Black History Month draws to a close, read Black Ice and try to determine how far our attitudes have come – and how far we still have to go. Click here to find it in the SPL catalogue.
The Winter Olympics: An Insider’s Guide to the Legends, The Lore and the Games
0 comments Posted by RL Godfrey at 8:52 AM
by Ron C. Judd
We are officially less than a year away from the twenty-first Winter Olympiad, the Vancouver Winter Olympics. Canada’s “own the podium” campaign has been swinging into high gear as of late, with athletes winning gold medals in various world championships as they hope to peak just in time for next February. With the Olympic torch scheduled to pass through Stratford next December, the Olympic spirit is sure to be high in this region, so you can prepare for the frenzy by boning up on Winter Olympic trivia from this new book. It covers the history of the games, of course, and if you’re actually going to the Vancouver Games there is plenty of information about the venues, tickets, transportation and other handy travel tips. But if you will be watching the games from the comfort of your living room you can skip all that and get right into the in-depth chapters on the sports themselves. Divided into two sections on ice sports and snow sports, each chapter gives a history of the sport in the Olympics, exciting narratives of memorable races or competitions, a ‘spectator’s guide’ to the rules and equipment of the sport, the records broken, a schedule of the sport events for the Vancouver Games and (YAY!) a thoroughly Canadian perspective highlighting our athletes’ accomplishments (as well as other ‘legends’ of each sport). There is even mention of the newest event at the Winter Games, the ‘ski cross’ – a freestyle skiing event that is described as “motocross on skis”, which should be interesting viewing! The Winter Olympics: An Insider’s Guide to the Legends, The Lore and the Games is a great book for any sporting enthusiast and is especially recommended for proud Canucks who will be cheering on our athletes.
Edited by Helene Scheu-Riesz
Long before jumbo-trons and hot-air balloon rides at dawn, the most elegant proposals of marriage were done so through the written word, in the form of a love letter. Will You Marry Me? brings together some of the most beautiful, memorable, and also notorious and unusual love-letters and matrimonial requests throughout history. Arranged in chapters by era, you can peruse proposals from the Victorians, Renaissance and even what the editors have termed the Gothic era - which is actually the high to late Middle Ages - in which one can read the love letter of 14-year old Arthur, Prince of Wales, to his Spanish bride, Catherine of Aragon. Each letter is preceded by some historical context and tells you if the letter was successful in wooing a wife. There are some remarkably romantic notes (as a certain Thomas Carlyle’s is to his future wife), and some are as unromantic and pragmatic as a business contract (a great deal of these were unsuccessful!) There are also several examples of letters written by enterprising young women who were too high-spirited and intelligent to wait for young men to declare themselves. This slim volume is a perfect companion for Valentine’s Day whether you celebrate it or not – there are letters enough for the romantics out there as well as the cynics – presented as it is with beautifully illustrated old engravings. It may also be a handy guide for those who are planning for a future proposal of their own! Click here to find it in our on-line catalogue.
by Pat Foran
Boy oh boy, can we all use help in this regard these days. Not only are we in an economic crisis, but money-related stress is now considered the biggest factor in relationship stress as well. Luckily, Pat Foran (who is most recognizable as the Consumer Reporter on the CTV network) has just released the updated edition of his money-management guide. Incorporating many items seen in his Consumer Alert segments on Canada AM, this second edition of his book is just as thorough as his first, and provides tips and advice on what to do and not do to reduce debt, save for the long-haul and just manage your day-to-day finances. Foran provides not just the basics with handy budget sheets, but also goes into the questions of automobile leasing or buying, gives an extensive chapter on all-things mortgage-related, explains why making a will can save you money, and even clarifies whether or not to say “I do” to a prenuptial agreement. It is so up-to-date that there is even a section on the new tax-free savings accounts that most banks are touting these days. He is particularly helpful in explaining the benefits of RRSP’s and RESP’s (but not so much on mutual funds), the chapters are short and very straightforward (the one on day-trading is three paragraphs long), and it is easy to skip over the parts that do not apply to you (yet) and not get lost. There are great tips for people living in Ontario (i.e. why you should stop renting your hot-water heater), and he reveals other little-known secrets of saving; like the virtually unknown law around those automatic scanners at grocery stores that could save you a small wad of cash if you are diligent when you shop (expect longer lines once more people latch onto it!) This is an extremely helpful guide that will help take the stress out of your money management and perhaps allow you to sleep more easily at night. Click here to reserve your copy in our on-line catalogue.
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