Books published by publisher Orca Book Publishers

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.

Most of the time, Silas loves having seven grandparents. Each of them has something unique and valuable to offer. They take him to amusement parks, museums, dog shows, and camping. But when Silas' parents go away on a business trip, all seven grandparents invite Silas to stay with them. One Silas can't be with seven different grandparents at the same time! How can he choose one without hurting the others' feelings? Silas' Seven Grandparents is a fun and loving story about having multiple sets of grandparents and step-grandparents as a result of divorce and remarriage. Silas' grandparents enjoy exposing him to a variety of interests, values, and cultures. But problems arise when Silas feels he can't be everywhere at once. In the end, it's Silas' sensitive, inclusive nature that brings everyone together.

From a carrier, a baby peers out at the trail. Leaves rustle overhead, and a turtle stretches toward the sun. Everything shimmers with light, including the jeweled wings of a dragonfly and the star-shaped lilies. This delightful board book takes the reader on a hike accented by the soft sound of footsteps on the trail and grounded by the rhythmic rocking of mother and baby moving through the forest. Travel along on their serene journey with Laurie Elmquist's lyrical verse and Shantala Robinson's warmly painted collages. A beautiful book that will be treasured by anyone who loves the outdoors.

Sam Campbell's school team, the Laggan Lairds, always loses. When someone suggests that their name be the Laggan Lard Butts, Sam thinks the team should change its name. What is a Laird anyway? The basketball coach agrees, and soon the whole school is involved in an election for a new team name. Sam and his friends nominate the name Lard Butts. When the basketball team starts winning games after a warm-up cheer of "Go Lard Butts!" it seems the Lard Butt campaign might actually win the election.

Every summer morning, Ellie and her Nonna go to the beach. They swim and build sandcastles, and while Nonna reads, Ellie watches the other children play. One day, Ellie builds up the courage to approach an older girl playing on her own in a beached rowboat. Piper has a gift, an imagination so great that she whisks Ellie off on grand adventures, going high in the air, deep below the ocean, and everywhere in between in their little blue boat, their magic boat. When Piper has to leave, Ellie discovers she has her own vivid imagination.

Jim Webb’s pursuit of the truth about his grandfather’s role in the Vietnam War puts him squarely in the sights of someone high up in the US military - someone who wants certain events from that war left in the past. Webb goes on the run in the American Deep South with Lee, a Vietnam vet, trying to smoke out the man they call the Bogeyman by using Webb as bait. The Bogeyman may be powerful and smart, but Webb and Lee, with the help of a few of Lee’s old army buddies (and one motorcycle-riding girl), are ready to take him down.

When Darren Dirkowitz's evil stepbrother (code name Waldo) gets hold of Darren's tippity-top-secret spy journal, he threatens to expose it to the entire Preston Middle School student body. Unless, that is, Darren starts doing his dirty work for him. Now Darren's got to use the oh-so-cloak-and-daggery skills he's honed in his secret alternate life as Dirk Daring, Secret Agent to spy on kids at school. Naturally, he also sets up a separate, sneaky surveillance program to unearth Waldo's own secrets. As more and more ugly truths are exposed, new alliances are forged and old friendships broken. Can Darren learn to be true to himself and build real friendships for the first time in his life? Or will he retreat back into his exciting but imaginary shadow world?

Night is a boy who knows it's much more fun to play than go to sleep. When the sun sets, he travels through the night sky in a spaceship with his teddy. Night's favorite game is hide-and-go-seek, which he plays each evening with his older sister, Day. But why can't he ever find her? Night Boy is a unique playful audiobook about a brother and a sister named Night and Day. The rhythmic text makes for a bedtime story that is sure to lull children who say "I can't sleep" into dreamland. Through the personas of a brother and sister, Night Boy offers a unique explanation of how night turns to day astronomically.