This week, we’re dedicating our blog post to stories about friendship. We’ve included fictional and true tales about the joys and hardships of friendship from some of your favourite BC publishers. Keep reading!
For Kids
Summer is the perfect time for fun in the sun with our friends. And with back-to-school season quickly approaching, we know your little ones may be nervous about making new friends in their class. In these new and forthcoming children’s books, young readers learn all about the importance of friendship, and how it can often be found in unlikely places!
Hush, Puppy by Sigmund Brouwer, illustrated by Sabrina Gendron (Orca Book Publishers)
Eleven-year-old Charlie Dembinski finds people hard to understand. He has a unique bond with animals, but doesn’t understand why he can’t relate to people in the same way. With the help of his animal friends, Charlie will learn to mend his relationships with his schoolmates and class friends.
Niitu and Chips by Babah Kalluk (Orca Book Publishers)
A story of a young boy, Niitu and his best friend—a seal named Chips living in Nunavut. Follow the inseparable duo on a day of arctic adventures.
Coming Fall 2022!
Paulina: The Story of an Almost Unlucky Pig by Hans Limmer (Greystone Books)
A timeless story about the connection between a young girl and her pet pig, featuring 1960s retro photographs.
Trudy’s Rock Story by Trudy Spiller, illustrated by Jessika Von Innerebner (Medicine Wheel Education)
When Trudy has an argument with her brother, she remembers a lesson taught to her by her grandmother and seeks a stone to tell her feelings to. This story teaches children about the importance of friendships within their own family, and that it’s okay to feel big feelings.
Charlotte Diamond’s Animal Friends: A Collection of Songs by Charlotte Diamond, illustrated by Eunji Jung (Orca Book Publishers)
Charlotte Diamond is an internationally recognized recording artist, composer and singer for children. She is one of Canada’s favourite family performers. Now, she is bringing readers her very first picture-book song collection!
Ben the Sea Lion by Roy Henry Vickers (Harbour Publishing)
The latest release by celebrated Tsimshian storyteller and artist Roy Henry Vickers set in the Indigenous village of Kitkatla, on BC’s north coast. Ben the Sea Lion is the true story of an unlikely friendship between the young artist and an orphaned sea lion pup.
For Grownups
We’ve curated a spectacular collection of books for mature readers dedicated to stories of unlikely friendship, and the important role it plays in our daily lives.
Gidal: The Unusual Friendship of Yosef Wosk and Tim Gidal, Letters and Photos by Alan Twigg (Douglas & McIntyre)
Nachum Tim Gidal was a Jewish pioneer of modern photojournalism. Yosef Wosk is a rabbi, philanthropist, educator, author, scholar, community leader and prominent figure in the BC arts scene. The pair formed a friendship, exchanging decades worth of letters. This a compilation of their correspondence.
In the Blood by Alan Hill (Caitlin Press)
From the publisher: In the Blood traces the relationship of two brothers through childhood to adulthood and in and out of institutions to reveal the intricate, often hidden bonds that are broken and forged by the effects of mental illness.
Deer Man: Seven Years of Living in the Wild by Geoffroy Delorme, translated by Shaun Whiteside (Greystone Books)
In this stunning memoir of life in the wild, Geoffrey Delorme shares the intimate details of his friendship with the deer that populated the forest, and the rocky details of his return to civilization, motivated by the desire for human companionship.
Ice War Diplomat: Hockey Meets Cold War Politics at the 1972 Summit Series by Gary J. Smith (Douglas & McIntyre)
A riveting true story about the 1972 Summit hockey series. From the publisher: Amid the tension of the Cold War, caught between capitalism and communism, Canada and the Soviet Union, young Canadian diplomat Gary J. Smith must navigate the rink, melting the ice between two nations skating a dangerous path.
For the Love of Woodstock by Ioana Cosma (Silver Bow Publishing)
It was the era of peace, love and rock n’ roll. In For the Love of Woodstock, Ioana Cosma offers intimate portraits of the characters and friends who attended the iconic festival in the summer of 1969.