A young Native American woman remembers her volatile childhood as she searches for her lost brother in the Canadian wilds in an extraordinary, critically acclaimed debut novel As she races along Canada’s Douglas Channel in her speedboat—heading toward the place where her younger brother Jimmy, presumed drowned, was last seen—twenty-year-old Lisamarie Hill recalls her younger days. A volatile and precocious Native girl growing up in Kitamaat, the Haisla Indian reservation located five hundred miles north of Vancouver, Lisa came of age standing with her feet firmly planted in two different worlds: the spiritual realm of the Haisla and the sobering “real” world with its dangerous temptations of violence, drugs, and despair. From her beloved grandmother, Ma-ma-oo, she learned of tradition and magic; from her adored, Elvis-loving uncle Mick, a Native rights activist on a perilous course, she learned to see clearly, to speak her mind, and never to bow down. But the tragedies that have scarred her life and ultimately led her to these frigid waters cannot destroy her indomitable spirit, even though the ghosts that speak to her in the night warn her that the worst may be yet to come. Easily one of the most admired debut novels to appear in many a decade, Eden Robinson’s Monkey Beach was immediately greeted with universal acclaim—called “gripping” by the San Diego Union-Tribune, “wonderful” by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, and “glorious” by the Globe and Mail, earning nominations for numerous literary awards before receiving the Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize. Evocative, moving, haunting, and devastatingly funny, it is an extraordinary read from a brilliant literary voice that must be heard.

From Chris Grabenstein, the bestselling author of Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library and coauthor with James Patterson of I Funny, House of Robots, and Treasure Hunters, comes the second hilarious, fun-in-the-sun adventure in his new illustrated series about all the wacky things that happen when you live in a motel! There’s always something wacky happening when you live in a motel, and P.T. (named after P. T. Barnum, of course) has grown up at the world’s wackiest! When word gets out that the hottest teen idols in Hollywood (plus current YouTube sensation Kevin the Monkey!) will be filming their next movie—Beach Party Surf Monkey—right in St. Pete’s Beach, Florida, P.T. and his friend Gloria know that the Wonderland would be the perfect location. Now they just have to convince the producers! But when things start to go wrong (crazed fans? missing stars?), it will take all of Gloria’s business genius and P.T.’s wild stories to save the movie before both it and the Wonderland are all washed up! BONUS: Includes fun extras like P.T. and Gloria’s Famous Fact-or-Fiction Quiz: Movie Edition

From a writer whom the New York Times dubbed Canada’s “Generation X laureate” comes a quartet of haunting, unforgettable tales of young people stuck in the inescapable prison of family A New York Times Notable Book and winner of Britain’s prestigious Winifred Holtby Memorial Prize, Traplines is the book that introduced the world to Canadian author Eden Robinson. In three stories and a novella, Robinson explodes the idea of family as a nurturing safe haven through a progression of domestic horrors experienced by her young, often helpless protagonists. With her mesmerizing, dark skill, the author ushers us into these worlds of violence and abuse, where family loyalty sometimes means turning a blind eye to murder, and survival itself can be viewed as an act of betrayal. In the title story, for a teenager named Will growing up on a Native reserve in northwestern Canada, guilt, race, and blind fidelity are the shackles chaining him to the everyday cruelty and abuse he is forced to endure. In “Dogs in Winter,” a girl recalls life with her serial-killer mother and fears for her own future. A young teen and the sadistic, psychopathic cousin who comes to live with him engage in a cat-and-mouse game that soon escalates out of control in “Contact Sports,” while in the final story, “Queen of the North,” a young Native girl deals in her own way with sexual molestation at the hands of a pedophile uncle. Each of these tales is vivid, intense, and disturbing, and Robinson renders them unforgettable with her deft flair for storytelling and a surprising touch of humor.

As Lisamarie travels by speedboat, five hundred miles north of Vancouver, searching for her drowned brother's body, she recounts her life which has included visits by ghosts and shapeshifters and tormenting premonitions.

Monkey Ono is not exactly a real monkey, but he really, really wants to go to the beach! So when Beach Day arrives, and the children who own him forget the bag he's in, Monkey Ono does not take this lying down, like most stuffed animals would. Oh no, he's got a plan. In fact he's got many, many plans. From riding the family dog to ricocheting through the sky to diving down the water pipes. All end with hilarious results, but not exactly according to plan. Will Monkey Ono ever get to the beach?? Only if the beach comes to him... J.C. Phillipps’s spirited text and stunning illustrations, done in colorful cut paper collage, deliver a humorous story with a great message—try and try again!

Seminar paper from the year 2016 in the subject Didactics for the subject English - Literature, Works, grade: 2,0, Leuphana Universität Lüneburg (Institute of English Studies), language: English, abstract: Only very few people are used to storytelling for even fairy tales are written down and read out loud to children the same way over and over again without alteration. Changing perspective to first nation tribes one can easily discover the importance that oral tradition and storytelling has to these people. It existed long before literature was introduced by the settlers in the post-colonial era. While contemporary Canadian fiction and short story writing developed in the middle of the nineteen-hundredth century, Native Canadian Writing was forced to create their own distinctive style of writing. By combining storytelling with literature the new genre of storywriting was created. In this paper I will analyze the key features of storywriting and will exemplify them with quotes from the book Monkey Beach by Eden Robinson (2000). First I will present a short overview over the author and the book in general. Then I will give a brief overview about the main motifs, symbols and topics that the book deals with. In the main part of this paper I will present different quotes and show typical aspects for oral tradition that can be found within them.

"This Elusive Land provides an introduction to the literature about women and the environment in Canada. It looks at the ways in which women integrate the social and biophysical settings of their lives, and features a range of contexts in which gender mediates, inspires, and informs a sense of belonging to and in this land. Drawing from geographical, historical, and cultural perspectives, the volume reveals the significance of women's experiences in various landscapes."--Jacket.