New Releases by Karleen Bradford

Featuring stories from nine outstanding Canadian authors, this anthology is the perfect Christmas gift for Dear Canada readers, both old and new! A Time for Giving includes ten tales of Christmas, following the most recent Dear Canada diarists "the Christmas after" their diary ends. Johanna Leary is reunited with her brother after they were separated at Grosse-Île; Mary Kobayashi spends a second Christmas at a Japanese internment camp; Rose Rabinowitz finds some surprising challenges in her new country, and many more! A Special Gift is a story from Ojibwe writer Ruby Slipperjack to preview her upcoming Dear Canada (coming in Fall 2016!), set the winter before the diarist is sent to Residential School. Contributors include Jean Little (Exiles from the War and All Fall Down), Barbara Haworth- Attard (To Stand on My Own), Sarah Ellis (That Fatal Night), Susan Aihoshi (Torn Apart), Norah McClintock (A Sea of Sorrows), Karleen Bradford (A Country of Our Own), Janet McNaughton (Flame and Ashes), Carol Matas (Pieces of the Past), and Ruby Slipperjack.

When Mary''s family sides with the British against the American rebels, they are branded traitors and forced to flee their home. All they have is what they can carry with them — and their determination and courage — when they head north toward Canada. Along with other Loyalists they hope to start a new life in Québec, where there is land for those who have been loyal to the King. But the journey is treacherous, the winter bitterly cold, and the MacDonalds find it hard to survive. Even with supplies from Britain, clearing the land to build their home is a struggle... but one they survive to forge a new life in a new land.

As the rest of the country gears up for Confederation, Rosie''s life is about to be pulled apart. It''s 1866. The year before Confederation. And the year Rosie''s life turns upside-down. She has just gone into service with Mr. Bradley, a civil servant working in Quebec City, the bustling capital of the Province of Canada. When the capital is moved to the rough sawmill town of Ottawa, the Bradleys have to move there too. Rosie will desperately miss her own parents and siblings, and wonders if she will ever have a place in her own family again. Karleen Bradford draws on her own experience as the wife of a diplomat in Ottawa and embassies around the world to craft this authentic portrait of a young girl displaced in the whirlwind of government.

A holiday treat for fans of the Dear Canada series, and all lovers of historical fiction! Experience the wonder of Christmas wishes. Julia May and her family thought they had at last found freedom when they made the final stage of their dangerous trek north to Canada, but even here old prejudices die hard, and the family has had to search for a community that will truly welcome them. As another Christmas in their chosen land approaches, they still have no word of Julia May''s brother Thomas, who returned to the United States to fight for the North in the Civil War. This short story was originally published in Dear Canada: A Christmas to Remember, a collection featuring many of Canada''s top writers for children, including Jean Little, Sarah Ellis, Carol Matas, and more. New readers will adore this stand-alone holiday tale, while fans of the series will recognize the voice of Julia May, whom they first met in the popular Dear Canada book A Desperate Road to Freedom. Collect all 12 Dear Canada Christmas stories this season and enjoy a very happy holiday!

A riveting tale of a brave family''s last bid for freedom, and the price they pay to find it. Julia May and her family have done the unthinkable. They have fled from their life of slavery on a tobacco plantation in Virginia, and are making their way north, on foot, where they have heard that slaves can live free. Their story, told through Julia May''s journal entries, is gruelling. Their journey takes them through swamps, travelling by night and hiding by day. It is a harrowing, terrifying experience, but determination to find a new life in Canada keeps them going. The diary that Julia May keeps is another act of bravery. Learning to read and write alongside her mistress at the plantation was her own secret, and strictly forbidden for a slave girl. Now as she records her fears and the extraordinary things she sees during her journey, she is deeply afraid that she''ll be found out and suffer the consequences. But her journal keeps her going through the hard times until they are finally free. Readers will be moved as they follow her family''s trek north . . . but even here old prejudices die hard.

The daughter of an apothecary and the owner of a secret book of healing arts, Ursula is determined to become a great healer--but her ambition makes her an outsider in the Holy Roman Empire. When she is accused of witchcraft and sentenced to burn at the stake, she is given one chance to save herself; she must march in the People''s Crusade to the holy city of Jerusalem. Along with her father and her friend Bruno, Ursula joins thousands of other pilgrims on a harrowing journey that will expose the dark side of the "glorious" Crusades and change her life forever.

Working at her parents'' roadside gas station and struggling to cope with her alcoholic father and defeated mother, Kate escapes her stressful family life by writing stories. So when Mike, the new boy in town, threatens to rob the snack bar, Kate recognizes his need for attention and decides to befriend him instead of turning him in. But when she hears of a series of robberies in town and then about the murder of the popular girl at school, Kate is torn: will the crimes be solved if she reveals what she knows about Mike''s past? Both a suspenseful mystery and a sensitive portrayal of a young writer''s coming-of-age, Thirteenth Child will grip readers from its first page to its startling conclusion.

In this gripping sequel to the award-winning There Will Be Wolves, Karleen Bradford once again shows her immense talent for combining a sizzling plot, fascinating historical detail and real-life characters whose eleventh-century concerns ring surprisingly true with contemporary young readers. Set against the violence of the Holy Crusades, Shadows On A Sword is the tale of Theo, a passionate young knight; Emma, a strong and subversive girl bound by her position in life; and Amalric, a young man ready for war - holy or not. Confronted by life-or-death consequences, the injustices of war and politics and the joys of first love, the trio are believable players in a riveting, yet sensitive coming of age story.

“Bradford makes history come alive.” Canadian Children’s Literature knew that Karleen Bradford had a winner in There Will Be Wolves, the first, award-winning instalment in her Crusades trilogy. The bestselling book, which has sold more than 40,000 copies, was followed by another critically acclaimed bestseller, Shadows on a Sword. Both of these titles set the stage for the eagerly anticipated release of Lionheart’s Scribe, the third — and the buzz is that it’s the best — title in the medieval series. Lionheart’s Scribe is the story of Matthew, a 15-year-old scribe, orphaned and destined for a hardscrabble life of twelfth-century servitude, whose quick wits thrust him into the position of scribe to King Richard the Lionheart of England. It’s the time of the Crusades, as France and England prepare to help King Guy of Jerusalem in winning back the Holy Land from the Muslim Salah-ud-Din. Matthew finds himself drawn into a bloody and divisive war, saving a queen from imprisonment and a young Muslim girl from drowning at sea. Matthew’s journal becomes the masterful framework for this powerful, action-packed adventure, a first-person account that instantly grabs its readers for a historical ride they’re not likely to forget. Like its predecessors, Lionheart’s Scribe is a satisfying, illuminating story that will be a must-read for Karleen Bradford’s many fans.

Known and loved by readers for her adventure stories wrapped around some of history''s most fascinating and turbulent times, Karleen Bradford has this time written a rich and multi-layered fantasy. On one level, Dragonfire is the action-packed story of Dahl, a stable boy who must conquer the evil Usurper to regain his kingdom. At another level, Dragonfire represents a boy''s struggle to come to terms with himself -- including his other, more disturbing side. Full of dragons, demons and believable, multi-dimensional characters, Dragonfire is an unputdownable read.

Norl, the boy who saved Dahl the King from the dragon Caulda, has grown under the tutelage of Catryn, the Seer of Taun. The Elders have proclaimed that he will be the Bringer of Light and will rid their world of the last of the dragons. But Norl has trouble believing them. He has no magic and is haunted by his promise to Caulda, which saved Dahl and Catryn from the dragon’s wrath: “I will come back to you if you spare them!” Leaving Catryn’s side, Norl goes to meet his fate. Along the way, he encounters a strange girl, the last of the half-dragon, half-human dragonlings that were once the peacekeepers of Taun. He discovers that a dying Caulda has no plans to kill him—instead, she commands Norl to watch over her newly hatched child! As the terrifying shadow of evil falls again across Taun, humans, dragons and dragonlings must find the trust they need to stand together. Karleen Bradford returns to a world of magic and danger in this glorious sequel to Dragonfire and Whisperings of Magic. Fast-paced and exciting, with themes of discovery and redemption, Dragonmaster is a thrilling tale about believing in yourself and trusting in others.

Fourth book in the Crusades Series and sequel to ANGELINE. This is not just the tale of the Children''s Crusade, it is the story of one boy''s inner journey from poor shepherd to trusted leader.

Matt is desperate to fit in at summer camp. One night he gets lost when he goes off on his own to retrieve a forgotten life preserver. A wolf appears and Matt overcomes his fears and follows it. He finds a half-wolf, half-dog pup whose mother is dead. Is the big wolf who guides him the same wolf that his father rescued years before from a trap? The epub edition of this title is fully accessible.

ANGELINE CAN HARDLY BEAR the blistering heat, the noise, the sea of faces crowding in upon her in the teeming Egyptian market. But most of all, she cannot believe that she is being sold as a slave to one of the great princes of Cairo. It was only a short time ago that she left her small village in France to follow Stephen, a shepherd boy whose vision led him to mount a children’s Crusade to the Holy Land. But now they have been tricked, and, doomed to a life of slavery in a foreign land, even Stephen has lost all hope. Karleen Bradford returns to the Crusades and vividly recreates medieval Cairo, a rich and cultured city where Muslims, Christians and Jews live peacefully, side by side. NEW!Teacher guides available for download at www.karleenbradford.com http://karleenbradford.com/teachersguides.html

Jessica knows just what it takes to win over a wild little cat.

"Catryn must tell the King that a dark force once thought vanquished is unraveling the peace that he fought to win. Are they strong enough to beat the evil again" Cf. Our choice, 2002.

Thirteen true stories of animals who saved lives.

Alison senses a presence in the forbidding old house. She finds an old journal written by a girl who lived in the mansion in 1810. What does she want, and why is she so sure only Alison can help her? Grades 5-8.

Describes pets who have become heroes because of their quick thinking and brave acts.

The daughter of an apothecary and the owner of a secret book of healing arts, Ursula is determined to become a great healer - but her ambition makes her an outsider in the Holy Roman Empire. When she is accused of witchcraft and sentenced to burn at the stake, she is given one chance to save herself. She must march in the People''s Crusade to the holy city of Jerusalem.

A novel for young adults

At fifteen years of age, upon the death of her cousin, Edward, Lady Jane Grey was forced to accept the crown of England. She was queen for only nine days, however. Edward''s eldest sister, Mary, soon challenged Jane for the throne, with tragic results. This is the true story of a bright and intelligent young woman who was manipulated and betrayed by the ambitious people who surrounded her.