Books published by publisher Orca Book Publishers Oct - 2011

In this unabridged audiobook, Lizzie Lane is used to life at the top of the food chain. Her near-perfect life is ruined when Rachel, a girl she socially destroyed, exacts her revenge by getting Lizzie in trouble for cheating on a test. Friendless and facing detention, Lizzie obsesses over finding the perfect revenge. When Stella, Lizzie's strange new neighbor, teaches Lizzie about magick, Lizzie can't resist creating a revenge spell. But she forgets the "rule of three," that whatever spell you cast comes back on you three-fold, and her zit spell backfires with dramatic results. When she asks for help from Stella's Baba, the only advice she gets is to "write the lesson of the zit on her heart." Can Lizzie find a way to teach Rachel a lesson without causing permanent disfigurement to herself?

Hamsters have many places to go and lots of ways to get there! Following the success of her previous board books on numbers, colors and opposites, Kass Reich once again presents her beloved, splayed-toed hamsters. This time, the adorable critters are on the move, demonstrating all the different ways they get from here to there. A lively and humorous introduction to modes of transportation for little ones.

On the Playground: Our First Talk About Prejudice focuses on introducing children to the complex topic of prejudice. Crafted around a narrative between a grade-school-aged child and an adult, this inquiry-focused book will help children shape their understanding of diversity so they are better prepared to understand, and question, prejudice witnessed around them in their day-to-day lives and in the media. Dr. Jillian Roberts discusses types of discrimination children notice, what prejudice means, why it's not okay, how to stand up against it and how kids can spread a message of inclusion and acceptance in the world around them. The World Around Us series introduces children to complex cultural, social and environmental issues that they may encounter outside their homes, in an accessible way. Sidebars offer further reading for older children or care providers who have bigger questions. For younger children just starting to make these observations, the simple question-and-answer format of the main text will provide a foundation of knowledge on the subject matter.

One yellow ribbon unties itself from a child's hair and transforms into a winter scarf, a farmer's field and a lion's mane, among many other magical things, in this delightful board book by celebrated pa-per artist Marthe Jocelyn. Jocelyn's paper collages in this wordless search-and-find adventure will encourage little ones to look closely at the world around them and explore what they see.

In this fun and funny celebration of literacy, kids of all ages will discover that the act of reading is a daring adventure that can take you anywhere! You can read at the playground, under the sea, at the opera, and even in outer space! It turns out you can read everywhere! And when you do, you open yourself to a universe of adventure. Presented in light-hearted, rib-tickling verse, You Can Read sings it loud and proud: Books are awesome. And so are the people who read them.

In this timeless story set on the West Coast, an old man lives alone on a bluff overlooking the sea and tends his garden. And waits. Only when the whales return each year to the bay in front of his cottage is his loneliness eased. One day, his daughter and her baby return home to live with the old man, bringing a renewed sense of purpose to his life. As his granddaughter grows, the old man passes on a wealth or knowledge and wisdom as well as his passion for the whales. And each year they wait together for the whales to appear.

Theo is brokenhearted when he accidentally lets go of the string of his party balloon. As he watches it float out of sight, Theo wonders where his balloon might have gone. Luckily, his older brother Zeke knows everything about everything. Zeke explains that it is a little-known fact that all lost balloons end up in Chicago, the Windy City. Then he tells Theo about Frank, who is responsible for collecting all the balloons in the world. Theo is so touched by Frank's story that he decides to send him a message of hope the only way he knows how. A unique story filled with the magic and whimsy of childhood imagination, Once Upon a Balloon will delight young listeners and reawaken the child in all of us.

Eager to try a summer sport, Lucy and her friends meet at the soccer field for their first game of three-on-three! Thanks to Coach Nick, Lucy, and the rest of Team Blue, they learn a few basic skills as they prepare to face Team Red. This is the third book in the Lucy Tries Sports series, designed to encourage children to get active and participate in sports. In Lucy Tries Soccer, Lucy discovers how much fun it is to play on a team and learns why soccer is the world's most popular game.

Josh had been living in a group home after being ratted out by Scott, his one-time best friend. Now he has moved in with his brother and overbearing sister-in-law and has been sent to a class designed to teach him to deal with his anger. When an old enemy continues to push his buttons and Scott appears to be up to his old tricks, Josh struggles to control his temper. Framed for a crime he didn't commit, it will take all of his new-found strength to keep his cool―and his freedom. Also available in Spanish.

What is the true meaning of friendship? Follow along as a boy meets up with his friend - a dog who faithfully waits for him every day so they can ride out to the beach together to surf. The boy doesn't own the dog and he doesn't know who does, but their daily routine has created a special bond. Award-winning author Eric Walters navigates the waters of a unique friendship. Sometimes the most poignant relationships in a child's life are the ones between friends.

Bunny is in trouble. He’s been kidnapped from the skating rink at City Hall in Toronto, and now he’s locked in a cold basement room, still in his parka and skates. Where is he? And why do his kidnappers keep asking questions about his dead grandpa and some weird national anthem? Bunny may not always know what’s going on, but he has an innocent’s ability to get to the heart of things and find out what it’s all about. When he manages to escape, he skates across hockey rinks and down frozen highways, always a few strides ahead of his kidnappers. He gets help along the way from an assortment of characters--some kindly, some crazy, some scary and at least one that will make your jaw drop.

Inspired by a story told to the author while on safari in 2015, The Wild Beast describes the creation of one of Africa's most unusual animals, the wildebeest. According to oral tradition, the Creator built this unique beast out of leftover parts from other magnificent animals found on the continent. Horns from buffalos and stripes meant for zebras. Tails from giraffes and bumps meant for camels. This creative retelling will introduce little ones to a story rich in both imagery and in lesson: Take what you need to live. Take no more. Waste nothing.