This season is the best time of year to explore, or rediscover, new hobbies that will keep you busy all summer! These BC books capture the thrill of getting outside and trying something new with an array of summer activities from hiking, biking, or cooking up something if you’d prefer to be indoors. Whatever your taste, these picks offer something for everyone!
Swimming Holes and Beaches of Southwestern British Columbia by Alex McKeen and George Harwood Smith (Greystone Books)
Swimming Holes and Beaches of Southwestern British Columbia is the ultimate guide for everyone who loves to swim, at every fitness level, even the beach and dock loungers. Alex McKeen and George Harwood Smith quite literally dove into their research, swimming in every type of body of water you can imagine from lakes, rivers, creeks, and the Pacific Ocean to curate this list of 100 top-notch places to splash and swim in swim outdoors in the Lower Mainland and on the Gulf Islands, Sunshine Coast, and South-central Vancouver Island.
Out Now!
Time for a Bike Ride by Emma Metallic, illustrated by Natalie Laurin (Strong Nations Publishing)
In this picture book for young readers ages 4–7, Tom shares his bicycle with Gus, but Gus is nervous about riding it. Will he be brave? This book is part of the Cedar School Decodables series of 20 decodable books for young readers. Designed for students who have previously learned short vowel and consonant sounds, so you can develop phonic skills while learning all about a fun summer activity.
Out Now!
On My Swim by Kari-Lynn Winters, illustrated by Christina Leist (Tradewind Books)
This fun and quirky read will delight toddlers and young readers. On My Swim is a whimsically illustrated rhyming story set on the waterfront in and around Vancouver, this book features a very young child learning to swim and playing on the beach. Come along on this splish-splashing swimming adventure that will get you excited about jumping in the water on a hot summer day.
Out Now!
knee deep in high water: riding the Muskwa-Kechika by bronwyn preece (Caitlin Press)
If you prefer to admire the sunnier days while indoors, be inspired by the outdoors with bronwyn preece’s poems in knee deep in high water. Written on the trail, knee deep in high water is a chronicle of the most physically challenging experience following her accident—a two-week-long horse expedition—and an impassioned ode to the breathtaking beauty of the backcountry and her understanding of self. knee deep in high water is a love letter to the trail and to returning home that encapsulates the spirit of uncharted summer adventures.
Out Now!
The Deerholme Foraging Cookbook: Wild Ingredients and Recipes from the Pacific Northwest by Bill Jones (TouchWood Editions)
Tap into your cooking skills with The Deerholme Foraging Cookbook, an exploration of the wild foods found in the Pacific Northwest. Award-winning chef and author Bill Jones’s recipes feature local mushrooms, edible plants, sea vegetables, and shellfish. The product of over twenty years of research and professional cooking with foraged foods, the book serves as an introduction to the world of wild food and includes information on sourcing, harvesting and preparation tips, and more than 100 delicious recipes featuring wild foods that will keep you in the kitchen all summer long.
Out Now!
Wildlife Weekends in Southern British Columbia: Day and Multi-day Trips from Vancouver for Wildlife Viewing by Roy Jantzen (Rocky Mountain Press)
Wildlife Weekends invites readers to explore the ecosystems of southern British Columbia through 20 species-focused chapters, perfect for summer hikes, family outings, and nature adventures. This guidebook leads you to trails, boardwalks, and wildlife hotspots, making it the ideal read for summer exploration. Blending natural history, Indigenous knowledge, and personal stories from researchers, it offers insights into ethical wildlife viewing, climate change impacts, and actions you can take to protect nature.
Out Now!
Sprocket by Al Rempel (Caitlin Press)
The poems in Al Rempel’s Sprocket will transport readers to the freedom of long, endless summertime filling your days however you please—riding bikes, exploring fields, or chasing adventure from morning till suppertime.. Each of these breathless prose-poems capture Rempel’s childhood adventures spent roaming free in the idyllic setting of Arnold, BC. From climbing up the mountain to finding the best way “to run full blast through a cornfield just before harvest,” take a literary ride through Rempel’s memories of lives lived outside.
Out Now!