Books with author Robert Rayner

When Toby Morton's sister asks him to play hopscotch, he asks if there's a video game version. He hates physical activity, and he especially hates gym class at his New Brunswick school. If the kids on his team in gym tease him for being overweight, he goes out of his way to make sure they lose. So when his new homeroom teacher, Mr. Walker, asks Toby to join the running team, Toby thinks he's crazy. But when his friend Amy suffers a dangerous attack of asthma, Toby is forced to look at exercise in a different light. Walker's Runners is a lively story for young people that introduces the joys of physical fitness, while highlighting the high costs of inactivity.

From Granny Weatherwax to Susan Death and beyond...Terry Pratchett's Discworld is an epic, groundbreaking work of fantasy often hailed for its originality, humour and deep, layered intelligence. But what about the women?Award-winning author & pop culture critic Tansy Rayner Roberts looks at the portrayal of female characters in many of Pratchett's best loved books, from the early years of fantasy satire and sexy lamps to the more complex, iconic characters of the witches, werewolves, dwarves and queens.Contains 10 essays about gender and the Discworld, including "Socks, Lies & the Monstrous Regiment" which is exclusive to this collection.

When heavy November rains threaten to flood the small town of Black River, New Brunswick, the community calls on the hydroelectric company to open the gates of its dam and drop the water level. But local management has been overruled by their parent company and ordered to keep it closed. It's got some people hinting it's time they took things into their own hands.Seventeen-year-old Stanton Frame is caught in between: his father is manager at the dam, but his girlfriend, Jessica, has joined an environmental group that's taken an interest in the matter. With just hours until the town floods, things come to a violent clash between police and protesters. The next morning the dam has been sabotaged, Jessica is missing, and Stanton has more questions than answers.Suspenseful and authentic, with a fine ear for the nuances of local politics and teenage sensibilities, celebrated YA author Robert Rayner's new novel combines activism, love, and mystery.

In the middle of the night, five teens break into a small town high school that has been closed by the regional school board. They are there to protest the decision to move them to a big city school and make their little town that much smaller. Led by Bilan, whose experience with the Arab Spring fired a passion to peacefully fight against injustice, the Gang of Five occupy their old school. The local police chief and the town quietly cheer them on. When the school board calls in a big security firm to break up their occupation using any means necessary, including force, the five have to decide how far they will go to show their outrage at having no control over decisions that affect their lives.This is a novel which picks up on themes drawn from the world around us, and shows how these can play out in the lives of contemporary young people.

When three teenage friends oppose the annexation of their favourite beach by a prominent businessman and philanthropist, their efforts to keep it public are rebuffed or ignored. Their actions quickly move beyond conventional protest, despite the wa ings of an adult friend, the gentle, enigmatic Dexter Lully. As the friends, frustrated and desperate, are driven towards the dark, morally ambiguous world of direct action, one embraces it, one is thrust into it, and one teeters on the brink, appalled at the widening rift he sees separating his friends from him, and from society, for ever.

In the middle of the night, five teens break into a small-town high school to protest the decision to close the school and move them to a big city school. Led by Bilan, whose experience with the Arab Spring fired a passion to peacefully fight against injustice, the Gang of Five occupy their old school. The local police chief and the town quietly cheer them on. When the school board calls in a security firm to break up their occupation using any means necessary, including force, the Five have to decide how far they will go to show their outrage at having no control over decisions that affect their lives.

Libby Meek is busy—too busy. Between art class and youth group, skiing and piano lessons, Libby discovers that she no longer has time to just play. When her parents ignore Libby's demands for more free time, she decides to go on strike to prove her point. Along the way, both Libby and her parents discover the importance of balancing work and play. Robert Rayner is a former elementary school principal in St. George, New Brunswick. His books include Falling Star, shortlisted for the 2008/2009 Hackmatack Children's Book Choice Award, Walker's Runners, nominated for the Ann Connor Brimer Award, and other Canadian Children's Book Centre Our Choice selections.

The soccer-mad gang from Brunswick Valley School featured in Robert Rayner's two previous books for this series is back, gathering every Saturday afternoon to play a friendly game against friends from a neighboring town. A well-meaning adult spots potential in some of the players and offers guidance, inspiring parents of the other side to get their own coach. As the games become more structured, they become more serious―and less fun. It's up to the kids to find a way to reclaim the spirit of the sport.

Shay and his pal Toby are among the players on the school soccer team who fall foul of the "fair play contract" introduced by the new school administration. After being banned from playing on behalf of the school for the rest of the season, the dismissed players form their own unofficial team—and become one of the top teams in the league. But will they be allowed to play in the championship game? Based on a true incident, Suspended is a story about determination and true sportsmanship.

Shay and his pal Toby are among the players on the school soccer team who fall foul of the "fair play contract" introduced by the new school administration. After being banned from playing on behalf of the school for the rest of the season, the dismissed players form their own unofficial team―and become one of the top teams in the league. But will they be allowed to play in the championship game? Based on a true incident, Suspended is a story about determination and true sportsmanship.

Toby's always had weight issues, thanks in part to the free food his team gets from his friend Maddie's dad's restaurant and their soccer team's sponsor, Vinnie's. But Vinnie's sponsorship also provides the kids with team shirts, equipment, even cleats for some of the players. So when a city-wide ban is placed on sponsorship of teams by companies that promote unhealthy eating, many of the kids might not be able to play. Can the kids of Brunswick Valley come up with a way to keep their team going and still stay on the right side of the ban?

This dark and gritty new story from New Brunswick author Robert Rayner examines the moral choices of one teen with a childhood filled with emotional neglect and social bullying, and how haunting real-life choices made when you're young can be when you're older. Life was never easy for Julian, aka Scab. After years of being tormented by his peers and ignored by his parents, he's about to show everyone that he has what it takes to make it. But he finds himself in a situation where he has to choose between his own ambitions and the only person who's ever cared about him.