My Pony by Susan Jeffers
by Tracy Howard - Wednesday Jun 11 2008 11:46 am permalink Post a comment

I love it when a customer introduces me to a wonderful book! My Pony is not a new picture book but it is worth talking about. It is a beautiful short story of a girl who wants a pony - now! When her parents say no she creates an imaginary pony, in her mind, named Silver who comes to life in her artwork. The little girl and Silver take a marvelous ride out her bedroom window to a piney forest, through puffy clouds and across a cold mountain stream.

more...


Tweaked by Katherine Holubitsky
by Tracy Howard - Sunday May 18 2008 2:41 pm permalink Post a comment


Gordie Jessup has had just about enough of his older brother Chase's problems with drugs. Chase has gone so far off course that he has become a serious danger to himself, and to everyone around him. Gordie would like to have some sort of a chance at being a normal teenager, but there is no normalcy when you are in a family torn apart by drugs - and it seems that things are only getting worse.

more...


Dear Canada Writing Contest Winners
by Tracy Howard - Thursday May 15 2008 10:50 am permalink Post a comment

The winners are as follows:

First Prize: Anna Blackmore, Winnipeg Mennonite Elementary School

Second Prize: Mira Refvik, Brock Corydon School

Third Prize: Mary Breau-Hinton, Ness Middle School

Honourable Mentions: Allison Kroeker, Ecole St. Avila,and Jonah Leigh Olsen, Ecole St. Avila

more...


The Proof that Ghosts Exist by Carol Matas and Perry Nodelman
by Tracy Howard - Sunday Apr 13 2008 11:24 am permalink Post a comment


Through many generations, the Barnett family men have died just before their 35th birthdays. Molly and Adam are aware of this gruesome statistic, and as their own Barnett father approaches his 35th, the two young people are becoming increasingly apprehensive.

more...


Dear Canada Writing Contest for Grades 5 and 6
by Tracy Howard - Tuesday Mar 11 2008 6:56 pm permalink Post a comment
Posted in: Contests and Giveaways

McNally Robinson Booksellers and Scholastic Canada invite grades five and six students to enter our Dear Canada writing contest. Last year's contests were a great success - please join us for this second annual event!

more...


A Drowned Maiden's Hair by Laura Amy Schlitz - (Give me a good melodrama any day!)
by Tracy Howard - Sunday Feb 24 2008 10:43 am permalink Post a comment


According to my dictionary, a melodrama is an overly dramatic piece of literature, theatre etc. characterized by large amounts of sentiment with a happy ending. Some of my favourite novels fit this description, including Anne of Green Gables.

Perhaps "orphan searching for loving home" naturally lends itself to melodrama, and that applies to A Drowned Maiden's Hair.

more...


Diary of a Wimpy Kid - Rodrick Rules, by Jeff Kinney
by Tracy Howard - Wednesday Feb 06 2008 7:52 pm permalink Post a comment
Posted in: Reviews, Staff Pick


I loved the first Diary of a Wimpy Kid installment and was equally entertained by this most recent edition Diary of a Wimpy Kid - Rodrick Rules.

Poor Greg Heffley,middle school attending middle child of middle class parents - his life is a series of missteps and misadventures that he describes in his journal (do not call it a "diary" like his Mom does),accompanied by the most hilarious line drawings.

more...


Thank you Mrs Smith
by Tracy Howard - Tuesday Jan 22 2008 9:20 pm permalink Post a comment

Morpurgo on Reading to Children for Pleasure

If teachers want children to become readers, they must be readers themselves- and be passionate about their choices. See author and Children's Laureate Michael Morpurgo's recent article in the Telegraph for his views on reading for pleasure, and his choices of the best books for children.

Oh, and Mrs Smith? She read The Merchant of Venice to my grade 7 class every day after lunch (translating the tricky parts) and made a lover of Shakespeare out of me!


Ask a Bookseller: The Secret Lives of Snowmen
by Tracy Howard - Sunday Dec 30 2007 11:47 am permalink Post a comment
Posted in: Ask a Bookseller

Jen asks:

"I am trying to find a children's book that I once saw in you Winnipeg location. It was a board book format about snowmen and what they get up to when nobody's around. I don't think there were any words. I believe at one point they might have been playing hockey."

more...


Sci-Fi Fabulous
by Tracy Howard - Sunday Dec 02 2007 11:52 am permalink Post a comment

After George meets his new neighbours, Annie and her scientist father Eric, he discovers a whole new way to look at the world - from Outer Space!

more...


    1 2 -   Earlier >