Books published by publisher Ronsdale Pr

Fiction. Young Adult Novel. African American Studies. In this, the final instalment of Jean Rae Baxter's best-selling young adult trilogy, eighteen-year-old Charlotte sails from Canada to Charleston in the beleaguered Thirteen Colonies to join her new husband Nick. During these final months of the American Revolution, she must muster all her wit and courage when she has to rescue Nick from being tortured as a spy in an alligator-infested South Carolina swamp. She must also find ways to bring freedom to a pair of teenage runaway slaves she has befriended. FREEDOM BOUND delivers a frank and realistic picture of the slave system and a powerful account of what was at stake for both white and black Loyalists as they prepared to find a new home in the country that was soon to be Canada. Like The Way Lies North and BROKEN TRAIL, the two novels that preceded it, FREEDOM BOUND contains a wealth of carefully researched historical details of one of the least known chapters of our history.

Fiction. Young Adult Literature. Native American Studies. In her fourth historical novel dealing with British North America and the American Revolution, Jean Rae Baxter focuses on Broken Trail, a young boy who was born white but captured and adopted by the Oneida people. The great Mohawk leader Thayendanegea—known more commonly as Joseph Brant—has chosen Broken Trail to assist him in the daunting task of uniting all the tribes and nations with the goal of establishing a country of their own. In preparation, Broken Trail must attend a Christian boarding school for native youth, where he soon finds that he has to gain the trust of young men from many different tribes whose ancient enmities lie barely concealed beneath the surface. With the help of Yellowbird, the only woman student, he discovers that the school—racist in the extreme—is a place of secrets where appearances can be deceiving and loyalty is sometimes proven in unexpected ways. As a first step, Brant sends Broken Trail on a long journey to meet with Tecumseh, the young Shawnee leader, to begin the work of union. In this tale of intrigue and adventure, Baxter once again demonstrates her ability to convert the past into living history.

Fiction. Young Adult. Falling in love creates an enchanted time, and when it's on the magical Sunshine Coast of British Columbia during the Second World War, it is never to be forgotten. The increased emotions of a country at war and the heartache as many of the young men join up to serve their country are always present. A special music becomes the background. It is the era of the big band, and Glenn Miller, Count Basie and Frank Sinatra top the Hit Parade on the radio each week. For Meg, who is seventeen, it is a special time, but she is also living in an isolated village. She has only one other girl for company, and the highlight of the day is the daily arrival of the Union Steamship with the mail and supplies. A summer job at the local guest house introduces her to a number of boys with whom she strikes up a friendship. But it is Bruce, a young naval officer who has been badly burned in the Battle of the Atlantic, who most interests her.

In Gold Rush Orphan, Sandy Frances Duncan has woven a gripping tale of hardship and adventure based on her grandfather’s gold rush journal entries of his 1898 trip to the Klondike. The arduous trek to the goldfields come alive in the fictionalized story of Jeremy Britain, an orphaned youth who joins James Fraser and his companions to search for the gold that would make their fortunes. Venturing into uncharted lands, Jeremy begins furiously panning the streams as he follows a mysterious account that promises the motherlode.

Young Adult Fiction. In this fast-paced novel for readers ten and up, James Graham, a Canadian journalist, is kidnapped in a market in Buenaventura, Colombia, right in front of Marco, his thirteen-year-old son. When the kidnappers try to grab Marco, his father yells at him, "Run Marco, run!" Marco manages to escape, and seeing no possibility of help in Colombia, he stows away on a freighter headed to Vancouver where a good friend of his father is living and who may be able to help. During his search, Marco encounters what seem like insurmountable odds and learns that he must call upon his inner strength and nerve to keep going. "Valeroso; courage," he keeps saying to himself as he evades drug dealers, security guards, the police and the authorities who would send him back to Colombia—straight into the arms of his father's kidnappers. RUN MARCO, RUN is a riveting adventure about a plucky boy who will dare anything to save his father, and who learns that running away is sometimes the heroic thing to do.

Janice MacDonald’s profusely illustrated chapter book tells the story of a most unusual Halloween. Featured are Annalise the Witch, Ernie the Ghost and Milton the Skeleton—who live in their haunted house. When the three friends decide to make costumes and join the trick-or-treaters on the darkened streets in search of fun, excitement and treats, everything is turned upside down. Adding to the witchery of the story are Pamela Breeze Currie’s many spellbinding illustrations of the friends and their adventures.

Fiction. Young Adult. SAND tells the story of a young girl, Willy Cameron, her horse named Sand, and her involvement with therapeutic riding. The novel begins when Willy is involved in a car accident and is paralyzed from the waist down. After the doctors tell her she may never walk again, Willy becomes depressed and self-pitying. She then meets a young boy, Ben, who is involved in therapeutic horseback riding for his juvenile arthritis. Ben persuades her to give it a try, and the riding gives Willy back the partial use of her legs. While still recovering, she takes on the training of Sand, a spirited rescue horse at the stable who was injured, and now spooks easily. When her friend Ben disappears after becoming depressed and involved in drugs, Willy secretly takes Sand from the stable—against the orders of the stable owner—to find Ben. But Ben is not in his right mind, and Sand is easily spooked. The fate of Willy, Ben and Sand all depends on what happens next.