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Skateway to Freedom
by Ann AlmaShort-listed for the 1995 Silver Birch Award Eleven-year-old Josie Grun escapes from Communist East Germany with her mother and father one dark night in 1989 just months before the Berlin Wall comes tumbling down. Braving border guards, barbed wire, and rifle shots, Josie reluctantly turns her back on her best friend, Greta, and all that was once familiar. She crosses the ocean to join her uncle in Calgary, attempts to learn a foreign language, and overcomes the prejudices of her schoolmates in order to forge a new life. Clinging to the passion that has always been a comfort, her figure skating, she enters a local competition to prove that she is free on the ice and off.
Skating Wild on an Inland Sea
by Jean E. PendziwolLet’s go! Experience the magic of skating on wild ice. Two children wake up to hear the lake singing, then the wind begins wailing … or is it a wolf? They bundle up and venture out into the cold, carrying their skates. On the snow-covered shore, they spot tracks made by fox, deer, hare, mink, otter … and the wolf! In the bay, the ice is thick and smooth. They lace up their skates, step onto the ice, stroking and gliding, and the great lake sings again. In her signature poetic style, Jean E. Pendziwol describes the exhilarating experience of skating on the wild ice of Lake Superior, including the haunting singing that occurs as the ice expands and contracts. Accompanied by Todd Stewart’s breathtaking illustrations, this book will make us all long to skate wild! Key Text Features illustrations Correlates to the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.3 Describe characters, settings, and major events in a story, using key details.
Slim and None: My Wild Ride from the WHA to the NHL and All the Way to Hollywood
by Howard BaldwinFrom his start as an owner in the World Hockey Association at the age of 28 (“slim and none” was a Boston sportswriter’s assessment of Howard’s chances when he was first awarded the New England Whalers franchise), to winning the Stanley Cup with the Pittsburgh Penguins and then on to Hollywood success, sports entrepreneur and film producer Howard Baldwin recounts his spirited and hugely entertaining life story.Howard Baldwin has lived his life according to his belief that the life best-lived is one in which we pursue our heart’s desire. He never met a challenge he couldn’t beat. Beginning with his move at the age of twenty-eight from an entry-level position in the ticket office of the Philadelphia Flyers to acquiring and building his own WHA franchise in New England, Howard has built an impressive reputation as a pioneer — and a maverick — in the world of professional hockey. As President of the WHA, Baldwin led the merger with the NHL, and then later became a key figure in the expansion of North American hockey into Russia. Topping his journey in hockey off with a stint as chairman of the Pittsburgh Penguins, he then moved successfully into the film industry, producing a number of outstanding films including the Academy-Award winning Ray.Slim and None is a story of perseverance, persistence, and ultimately, personal fulfilment. Baldwin and Milton have crafted an intimate portrait of a life within hockey spanning from the rebellious 1970s to the tumultuous 1990s and beyond into the exciting world of the movies.
Snowhook
by Jo StormHannah must rely on her survival instincts to endure a brutal ice storm and save her family. At first, when a massive ice storm traps fourteen-year-old Hannah and her family in a remote cabin, it feels like a game to practise the survival skills she's been learning. That all changes when an accident leaves her mother desperately low on insulin. With no power and no way to contact the outside world, Hannah steals away with the four family dogs tied to an old dogsled. All she has to do is make it to the nearest cabin and find a working phone to save the day. But a wrong turn and worsening weather leave her in grave danger and saddled with an unexpected passenger. Hannah must use all her skills and resourcefulness to get help for her family — before they all freeze to death in the wilderness.
Soccer vs. the State: Tackling Football and Radical Politics, Second Edition
by Gabriel KuhnSoccer has turned into a multi-billion-dollar industry. Professionalism and commercialization dominate its global image. Yet the game retains a rebellious side, maybe more so than any other sport co-opted by money makers and corrupt politicians. From its roots in working-class England to political protests by players and fans, and a current radical soccer underground, the notion of football as the “people’s game” has been kept alive by numerous individuals, teams, and communities. This book not only traces this history, but also reflects on common criticisms: soccer ferments nationalism, serves right-wing powers, and fosters competitiveness. Acknowledging these concerns, alternative perspectives on the game are explored, down to practical examples of egalitarian DIY soccer! Soccer vs. the State serves both as an orientation for the politically conscious football supporter and as an inspiration for those who try to pursue the love of the game away from televisions and big stadiums, bringing it to back alleys and muddy pastures. This second edition has been expanded to cover events of recent years, including the involvement of soccer fans in the Middle Eastern uprisings of 2011–2013, the FIFA scandal of 2015, and the 2017 strike by the Danish women’s team.
The Sound of One Team Sucking: Mindful Meditations for Recovering Leafs Fans
by Christopher Gudgeon Tavish Gudgeon Joey Mauro Yusuf SaadiA hilarious self-help book for recovering Leafs fans everywhere. We’ve all heard it. The sound of one team sucking. Our team. The Leafs. It starts as an almost imperceptible hum, a month or so after the home opener, once the shine of the new season wears off, building in intensity with each defeat until the sound explodes like the noise a star might make if you ripped its heart out. Fact is, being a Maple Leafs fan is a kind of addiction: irrational, compulsive, dependent. You can’t just quit cold turkey. You need help … And that’s where The Sound of One Team Sucking comes in. Think of it as your own portable support group, designed to accompany you through another disappointing season (plus draft day!), and guide your recovery as you strive to live a more emotionally and spiritually balanced life. Written by Leafs addicts, The Sound of One Team Sucking is a hilarious meditation on the futility of Leafs fandom.
South Away: The Pacific Coast on Two Wheels
by Meaghan Marie HackinenSouth Away follows Meaghan Marie Hackinen and her sister in the adventure of a lifetime: bicycling from Terrace, BC down the West Coast to (almost) the tip of the Baja Peninsula. Along the way Hackinen battles with the elements in Vancouver Island’s dense northern forests and frigid Mexican deserts; encounters strange men, suicidal highways and monster trucks; and makes some emergency repairs as tires and spokes succumb to the ravages of the journey. Luckily, the pair meet some good people along the way and glean some insight about the kindness of strangers.A rare road-trip story with two female leads, this travel memoir also chronicles an inner journey, as the author begins to better understand her relationship with her adventurous (and not-so-adventurous) family. South Away tells an engaging and personable tale, with imaginative and memorable depictions of land and sea along the ever-winding coast.Praise for South Away:"Everyone says 'Be careful,' but Meaghan Marie Hackinen wants to live large. South Away will fill your lungs with the fresh air of adventure and restore your faith in human goodness. An exhilarating debut."~ Candace Savage, author of A Geography of Blood and Strangers in the House"Hackinen’s journey is the quest of her dreams. Her sharp images of life on the road reveal that the world is more complex than she thought—and that sometimes people will let you camp on their front lawn."~ Nicole Haldoupis, editor of Grain Magazine and untethered
A Sporting Chance: Achievements of African-Canadian Athletes
by William Humber Spider JonesOver the years, Canadians have smugly asserted their country’s more tolerant culture in race relations. Yet as this story of African-Canadian participation in sports demonstrates, the record is far more troubling. In reality, Canada’s record in matters of race was a disturbing blend of occasional good intentions and ugly practices. The study of the Black athletic experience in Canada is not only a revealing portrait into our past, but also one more demonstration of some time-honoured truths about human achievement and the necessity of the public will to provide open and fair forums for equal access to participation. Presented in a chronological sequence, individual sports are presented along with the leading athletes who brought grace and a determination to achieve. Included are George Dixon, Sam Langford, Reuben Mayes, Ray Lewis, Sam Richardson, Dr. Phil Edwards, Jackie Robinson, Harry Jerome, Earl Walls, Donovan Bailey, Sylvia Sweeney, Molly Killingbeck, Herb Carnegie, Jamaal Magliore, Perdita Felicien and Jarome Iginla, to name but a few of the fine athletes who form a part of Canada’s sports heritage. "As Canada’s foremost baseball historian, Bill Humber has chronicled another fascinating chapter from Canada’s rich sports history. This is an excellent read – entertaining, educational and expertly researched. As my pal Don Cherry might say: ’Two thumbs up, Bill.’"– Brian McFarlane, Sports Family Ltd.
Staying in the Game: The Remarkable Story of Doc Seaman
by Sydney SharpePeter C. Newman called him "the Totem of the Titans." From a small Prairie town, Daryl K. "Doc" Seaman became an icon of Canadian business and hockey. He is one of the last of a breed of postwar entrepreneurs and sportsmen who forged modern Canada, striking deals on a handshake and always keeping their word.After flying 82 combat missions during the Second World War, Doc Seaman worked in the oil industry with his brothers, turning a small Alberta drilling business into a global giant, Bow Valley Industries. Later, he led a group that brought the Atlanta Flames to Calgary. Still a Flames co-owner, he helped reshape Hockey Canada and restore Canada’s glory in international hockey.Doc Seaman’s life is a remarkable saga of courage, resolve, generosity, and success. It ultimately leaves us not only with a deep appreciation of one iconic Canadian but also with a wider understanding of our country.
The Stone Thrower: A Daughter's Lessons, a Father's Life
by Jael Ealey RichardsonA daughter discovers herself while uncovering her father’s legendary past in football. At the age of thirty, Jael Ealey Richardson travelled with her father – former CFL quarterback Chuck Ealey – for the first time to a small town in southern Ohio for his fortieth high school reunion. Knowing very little about her father’s past, Richardson was searching for the story behind her father’s move from the projects of Portsmouth, Ohio to Canada’s professional football league in the early 1970s. At the railroad tracks where her father first learned to throw with stones, Jael begins an unexpected journey into her family’s past. In this engaging father-daughter memoir, Richardson records some of her father’s never-before told stories: his relationship with his absentee father, memories of his high school and college football victories – including a winning record that remains unbroken to this day – and his up-and-down relationship with the woman he would one day marry. As Richardson begins unravelling the story of her father’s life, she begins to compare her own childhood growing up in Canada, with her father’s US civil rights era upbringing. Along the way, she also discovers the real reason – despite his athletic accomplishments – her father was never drafted into the National Football League. The Stone Thrower is a moving story about race and destiny written by a daughter looking for answers about her own black history. Using insightful interviews, archival records and her personal reflections, Richardson’s journey to learn about her father’s past leads her to her own important discoveries about herself, and what it really means to be black in Canada.
Stowaway
by Pam WithersOwen’s plan to sail away on an adventure puts him on a collision course with some very dangerous people. When Owen’s parents leave him on his own for a week, the sixteen-year-old gets bored and hatches a crazy idea: sneak onto the yacht that’s visiting the sleepy Pacific Coast island where he lives and stow away on an adventure! Once on board the vessel, Owen quickly finds this is anything but innocent fun. The ship is packed with teenagers from Central America, and it looks like Owen has stumbled into a people-smuggling operation. Complications pile up and as things head from bad to worse, a haunting incident from Owen’s past tightens its grip on him. There’s only one way to break free and make his way home. Owen and the first mate, Arturo — a former street kid — must work together to commandeer the boat and win the trust of those on board. But who’s friend and who’s foe in the shifting tides?
Sudden Death: The Incredible Saga of the 1986 Swift Current Broncos
by Leesa Culp Gregg Drinnan Bob Wilkie Brian CostelloA true story of hockey heartbreak, tragedy, and triumph. Limited time offer. Sudden Death brings to life the incredible ongoing saga of the Swift Current Broncos hockey team. After a tragic game-day bus accident on December 30, 1986, left four of its star players dead, the first-year Western Hockey League team was faced with nearly insurmountable odds against not only its future success but its very survival. The heartbreaking story made headlines across North America, and the club garnered acclaim when it triumphantly rebounded and won the Canadian Hockey League’s prestigious Memorial Cup in 1989. Many of the surviving Broncos continued their successful hockey careers in the NHL, among them 2012 Hockey Hall of Famer Joe Sakic, Sheldon Kennedy, and Sudden Death co-author Bob Wilkie. Years later the Broncos’ tragedy-to-triumph tale was overshadowed when the team’s former coach, Graham James, was convicted of sexual assault against Sheldon Kennedy, Theoren Fleury, and Todd Holt, all of whom played for him.
Tessa and Scott: Our Journey from Childhood Dream to Gold
by Tessa Virtue Scott MoirTessa and Scott share their incredible and inspiring story — now updated and expanded with a new introduction, over 100 dazzling new photographs, and three all-new chapters covering the pair’s stunning performances at the Sochi and PyeongChang Olympic Games and beyond.Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir are the most decorated figure skaters in the history of the sport, and are widely celebrated by peers and fans alike for their superior athleticism, one-of-a-kind partnership, and generosity of spirit. In these pages, they share their incredible story with the world. Tessa and Scott: Our Journey from Childhood Dream to Gold offers an intimate and revealing behind-the-scenes look at the iconic duo. Veteran sports columnist Steve Milton draws from hours of conversations with Tessa and Scott as they take us from their first meeting in 1995 to their impressive debut and rapid rise on the international scene; from the highs and lows of competitive skating to the profound impact of Tessa’s injury and subsequent recovery; and from their unprecedented Olympic achievements in Vancouver in 2010 and Sochi in 2014, through to their exhilarating triumph in Pyeongchang in 2018, when their performance capture hearts the world over and catapulted them into unparalleled international acclaim. Lavishly illustrated with over 100 new photos, this updated and expanded edition is filled with personal stories and recollections from Tessa, Scott, and those close to them — including family members, friends, and coaches past and present. Tessa and Scott is as much a spectacular visual history as it is a celebration of two of the world’s premier athletes.
Thelon: A River Sanctuary
by David F. PellyDavid Pelly tells the Thelon’s story, exploring the mystery of Man’s relationship with this special place in the heart of Canada’s vast Arctic barrenlands. From Thanadelthur and Telaruk to J.W. Tyrrell, John Hornby and Eric Morse, the history is detailed, complete and exciting. The Thelon is the setting for a compelling Canadian adventure tale – with all its drama, intrigue, joy and tragedy. But the writer goes beyond that to contemplate the significance of the Thelon wilderness, and to examine its uncertain future."It is the richness of human experience, layered on top of the natural splendour of the river valley and its wildlife, that really sets the Thelon apart. The place has a history, both Native and non-Native, which gives it standing beyond the intrinsic value of wilderness itself."David Pelly writes as one who has been there time and again. He knows the Thelon from personal experience. As a freelance writer for 20 years, he has travelled many parts of the Arctic, but claims that "nowhere draws me back more powerfully than the Thelon."
Thin Ice: Capital Crime
by Nick WilkshireHockey is a dangerous game, but it’s what happens off the ice that can get you killed … Curtis Ritchie is the only news in town when Ottawa takes the young hockey sensation first overall in the annual spring draft. But on the eve of Ritchie’s rookie season, the media frenzy over the signing and the controversial trades that secured the young star are eclipsed by news of his murder. As Ottawa Major Crimes Unit investigator Jack Smith reassembles Ritchie’s life, he is surprised by how much it differs from the fledgling star’s clean-cut image. A long list of suspects soon emerges, any one of whom had good reasons to want Ritchie dead. But there’s something else about the young phenom — a secret so profound that its revelation to the wrong person could only have meant Ritchie’s end.
Thrashing Seasons: Sporting Culture in Manitoba and the Genesis of Prairie Wrestling
by C. Nathan HattonHorseback wrestling, catch-as-catch-can, glima; long before the advent of today’s WWE, forms of wrestling were practised by virtually every cultural group. C. Nathan Hatton’s "Thrashing Seasons" tells the story of wrestling in Manitoba from its earliest documented origins in the eighteenth century, to the Great Depression. Wrestling was never merely a sport: residents of Manitoba found meaning beyond the simple act of two people struggling for physical advantage on a mat, in a ring, or on a grassy field. Frequently controversial and often divisive, wrestling was nevertheless a popular and resilient cultural practice that proved adaptable to the rapidly changing social conditions in western Canada during its early boom period. In addition to chronicling the colourful exploits of the many athletes who shaped wrestling’s early years, Hatton explores wrestling as a social phenomenon intimately bound up with debates around respectability, ethnicity, race, class, and idealized conceptions of masculinity. In doing so, "Thrashing Seasons" illuminates wrestling as a complex and socially significant cultural activity, one that has been virtually unexamined by Canadian historians looking at the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
Thumb on a Diamond
by Ken RobertsA Horn Book Fanfare Top Ten List selection and an SSLI Honor Book Thumb and Susan come up with an ingenious plan that will take all of the village's nine school-aged kids on the trip of a lifetime. They'll form a baseball team, win the regional title and qualify to be sent to the provincial championships in Vancouver, courtesy of the school board. Never mind that none of them has ever played baseball before. Never mind that there are no other teams to compete for the regional championship. Never mind that the village is not even wide enough to accommodate a baseball diamond. With a lot of ingenuity and a little grownup help, including the advice of a shipwrecked British children's writer-cum-cricket-expert named Mr. Entwhistle, the New Auckland Beavers go into training and start packing their bags. But what will happen when they get to Vancouver? Will they be humiliated by the toughest teams in the province?
Tilt
by Alan CumynNominated for the Ottawa Book Award Stan is an intense sixteen-year-old loner who desperately wants to make the junior varsity basketball team. And it seems that he may be about to do so, until he’s blindsided by the unexpected attentions of Janine Igwash. Suddenly Stan is no longer thinking about jump shots. Instead he is obsessed with Janine’s spiky hair, her milky white shoulders and the mysterious little tattoo at the base of her neck, not to mention the heat of her breath, her dark eyes, wide hips and … Then Stan’s father arrives on the scene with Stan’s four-year-old half brother, and things become truly insane. Tilt is a wonderfully droll and insightful story about a sensitive, intelligent and gently funny young man living through an impossibly absurd time of life. This book is a rare achievement -- a witty, sexy compulsively readable work of high literary quality.
Titans of '72: Team Canada's Summit Series Heroes
by Mike Leonetti Roy Macgregor Harold BarkleyIn September 1972 Team Canada’s heroes triumphed over the Soviet Union in the greatest hockey battle of all time. Phil and Tony Esposito, Paul Henderson, Ken Dryden, Frank and Peter Mahovlich, Ron Ellis, Yvan Cournoyer, Rod Gilbert, Bobby Clarke, Guy Lapointe, Stan Mikita, Brad Park - these are some of the Team Canada heroes who struggled mightily to defeat the Soviet Union’s formidable superstars. For most of September 1972, Canadians were riveted to their television screens in what became one of the most-watched events in Canadian history.At first, in Canada, the Canadians floundered so badly, losing two games and tying one, that it seemed impossible to overcome the embarrassment of total defeat. But in Moscow, after losing another match, Team Canada turned the tables on the Soviets, winning an amazing three games in a row to take the Summit Series.Now, in Titans of ’72, bestselling author Mike Leonetti tells the stories behind each Canadian on that fabled Team Canada, including those like Bobby Orr who didn’t actually play. Accompanying Leonetti’s portraits of these genuine Canadian heroes are superb pictures by Harold Barkley, a photographer who pioneered the use of stop-action colour photography in hockey.
The Toronto Maple Leafs: The Complete Oral History
by Eric ZweigA complete history of the Toronto Maple Leafs, as told by the players, coaches, and reporters. On December 19, 1917, the Toronto Arenas took to the ice for the first NHL game ever played. Over the next hundred years, the franchise changed names twice, home rinks twice, and won 13 Stanley Cups on its way to becoming one of the most successful and storied franchises in NHL history. The Toronto Maple Leafs: The Complete Oral History gives the most comprehensive record of the team from its formation to the present day. With first-hand accounts of some of the biggest names ever to play the game — Syl Apps, Darryl Sittler, Mats Sundin — as well as coaches, managers, and commentators, Eric Zweig gives readers the full insider history of Canada’s most iconic team.
Tracker's Canyon
by Pam WithersWhen Tristan’s dad disappears, he puts his tracking skills to the test to find him — but will Tristan’s talents save him if it turns out to be a trap? Thanks to his dad’s coaching, sixteen-year-old Tristan is one of the best climbers and trackers in his small town. He can read footprints and bushes like they’re security-camera footage, and fearlessly descend rock faces and waterfalls. But when his father disappears, leaving his mother too grief-stricken to function, the young canyoneer’s life goes into freefall. Left in the hands of a well-meaning but incompetent uncle and a space-cadet housekeeper, Tristan finds life a struggle no matter how hard he works. When he nears the end of his rope at home, the teen decides to set off into Swallow Canyon in search of his father — only to realize that someone may be out to get him. Now the question is who’s stalking whom, and are Tristan’s skills up to the dangerous game playing out in the deep, shadowy canyon?
Trails and Tribulations: Confessions of a Wilderness Pathfinder
by Hap Wilson Ingrid ZschognerIn an age when "survival" shows permeate the media, noted northern traveller Hap Wilson shares accounts of his lifelong involvement with wilderness living within the Canadian Shield. Wilson knows better than most how to live in the woods. As park ranger, canoe guide, outfitter, trail builder, and environmental activist, he learned from firsthand experience that nature can neither be beaten or tamed. Trails and Tribulations takes the reader on a journey with the author through natural settings ranging from austere to mysterious and breathtaking. Contents include animal attacks, bush fires, the threat of hypothermia, and vision-quest sites, to name but a few.
Twenty Greatest Hockey Goals
by Eric ZweigEvery hockey fan remembers certain goals scored that stand out from all others. But if one had to name just 20 as the greatest ever accomplished, what would they be? There’s Paul Henderson’s third game-winning goal in 1972, the one that clinched the Summit Series for Canada against the Soviet Union. Also Mike Eruzione’s upset "Miracle on Ice" winner for the United States against the Soviets at Lake Placid in 1980. And don’t forget the famous Stanley Cup winners by the Toronto Maple Leafs’ Bill Barilko in 1951 and the Boston Bruins’ Bobby Orr in 1970. From the goal by the Montreal Victorias against the Winnipeg Victorias in the 1896 Stanley Cup rematch that truly made hockey’s most famous hardware a national event, to Wayne Gretzky’s 77th goal in 1982 that beat Phil Esposito’s single-season record for goals, to Sidney Crosby’s "golden goal" in the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics, Zweig serves up a slice of exceptional hockey moments that’s sure to provoke heated discussion.
Two at the Top: A Shared Dream of Everest
by Uma KrishnaswamiTenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary each tell their story, culminating in their thrilling ascent of Mount Everest. Tenzing Norgay grew up in Nepal, herding yaks in the shadow of Chomolungma, the mountain also known as Everest. He has always dreamed of climbing to the top. He becomes a guide, leading treks through the Himalayas, and finally attempts the highest mountain himself, but doesn’t make it. Across the ocean, in New Zealand, Edmund Hillary grew up tending his father’s bees. He climbed his first mountain at sixteen and has climbed all over the world ever since. He tries Everest, with no success. In 1953, the two men set out on the same expedition to climb Everest. Their party numbers four hundred, counting all the guides and porters. But the climb is grueling, and eventually Norgay and Hillary are the only two determined to continue. They tramp over windswept glaciers, crawl across rope bridges, hack footholds in the ice … until finally they reach the top of the world! This remarkable true adventure story, told in a dual narrative, includes illustrated backmatter rich in geography, history and science. Key Text Features author’s note bibliography facts further reading historical context illustrations Correlates to the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.K.3 With prompting and support, identify characters, settings, and major events in a story. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.3 Describe characters, settings, and major events in a story, using key details.
The Ultimate Canadian Sports Trivia Book: Volume 1
by Edward ZawadzkiWhat Canadian was the first black man to win a world championship in boxing? Who scored the first regular-season goal in NHL history? Who is the only Canadian in the Baseball Hall of Fame? On water, ice, grass, or mud, in the air or on the ground, sports have been a part of Canadian life since before Confederation - even before the invention of hockey. Canada’s Ultimate Sports Trivia Guy, Edward Zawadzki, has ventured into the far reaches of the nation’s sports history to bring together this dynamic collection of facts and oddities. The Ultimate Canadian Sports Trivia Book will entertain and enlighten sports fans of all eras, and will challenge both the jock-quiz novice and the sports trivia junkie. What athlete once challenged and beat a horse in an endurance race? What Canadians have won the Boston Marathon? The answers are here in The Ultimate Canadian Sports Trivia Book.