Best Selling Books by Roy Macgregor

When the Screech Owls take a spring break in Florida, they wind up uncovering a plot to terrorize all of America

Expanding on his landmark Globe and Mail series in which he documented his travels down sixteen of Canada''s great rivers, Roy MacGregor tells the story of our country through the stories of its original highways, and how they sustain our spirit, identity and economy—past, present and future. No country is more blessed with fresh water than Canada. From the mouth of the Fraser River in BC, to the Bow in Alberta, the Red in Manitoba, the Gatineau, the Saint John and the most historic of all Canada''s rivers, the St. Lawrence, our beloved chronicler of Canadian life, Roy MacGregor, has paddled, sailed and traversed their lengths, learned their stories and secrets, and the tales of centuries lived on their rapids and riverbanks. He raises lost tales, like that of the Great Tax Revolt of the Gatineau River, and reconsiders histories like that of the Irish would-be settlers who died on Grosse Ile and the incredible resilience of settlers in the Red River Valley. Along the Grand, the Ottawa and others, he meets the successful conservationists behind the resuscitation of polluted wetlands, including Toronto''s Don, the most abused river in Canada. In the Mackenzie River Valley he witnesses the Dehcho First Nation''s effort to block a pipeline they worry endangers the region''s lifeblood. Long before our national railroad was built, rivers held Canada together; in these sixteen portraits, filled with yesterday''s adventures and tomorrow''s promise, MacGregor weaves together a story of Canada and its ongoing relationship with its most precious resource.

November 1990.

The Owls are all grown up, and now they’re returning home to play an exhibition game in the town’s new arena. But deep trouble has also come to Tamarack. The Screech Owls are all grown up. Ten years have passed, and Travis, Sarah, Nish, and their friends have gone theirseparate ways, most of them scattered far and wide from their old home town. Travis is a teacher. Sarah is captain of the women’s Olympic hockey team. Data runs a computer business with Fahd. Wilson is a police officer. And Nish? Nish is in Las Vegas, a valued member of the aerial stunt team The Flying Elvises. When the people of Tamarack decide to name their new sports complex The Sarah Cuthbertson Arena, it is the perfect time for all the old friends to reunite and play an opening night exhibition game. But as the Screech Owls start to return, trouble also comes to Tamarack. The unspoiled town faces disaster in the form of a new gambling casino, and it seems that the powerful developers will stop at nothing to get their way. Not even murder.

What could be more Canadian than a father and son strapping on their skates and hitting a frozen creek for a game of hockey? Roy MacGregor explores this familiar scene in The Home Team, a book that looks not only at the game of hockey, but also at the important relationship hockey players have with their fathers. Featuring the personal tales of some of the sport''s greatest heroes -- including Wayne Gretzky, Gordie Howe, Mark Messier, and Guy Lafleur -- this specially priced book makes an excellent gift for the fathers and sons in your family.

Practice makes . . . a perfect storm? The Ice Chips are facing a big hurdle at their hometown rink in Riverton. Their biggest rivals, the Stars, have a major advantage, with better gear and a state-of-the-art arena. Without more ice time, the Chips just can’t keep up. Fortunately, the team has a secret weapon: their magical rink, which allows them to travel through time and meet their hockey heroes, who can teach the young players something new about the game. Lucas Finnigan and his teammates have been warned that time travel is dangerous, but when they decided to leap again—hoping to find a way to squeeze in some extra practice—they never dreamed that they would land in the middle of a hurricane! Luckily, a major save from a plucky young player gets the Chips out of some extremely troubled water, and soon they’re running drills all over the Halifax Citadel. But how will these exercises help their hockey playing? And who is this kid anyway? With the help of some of the city’s famous spirits, the players might just make it home ready to compete—and to win.

A week at summer hockey camp is expected to be all fun and sun. Suddenly a body is found hidden in the boathouse, and the Screech Owls are right in the middle of a murder case.

In February 2002, the greatest hockey teams this country could muster headed to Salt Lake City to compete in the Winter Olympics. Our men and women hoped to go all the way to the finals, but it had been fifty long years since the Canadians had won Olympic gold. In the past, they had come close it was just that luck always seemed to be against them. This time, however, their chances to end the long drought were good. The women looked set for a medal although the all-powerful American team stood between them and the ultimate prize. The Canadian men faced strong opponents, too, but prospects were good for the all-star team assembled by the great Wayne Gretzky. And this time, both teams had a secret weapon. So secret, in fact, they didn''t even know it existed. At first. Like all good secrets this one was too good not to pass along. Under the surface at centre ice, Trent Evans had hidden a Canadian loonie. The expert ice maker had been invited down from Edmonton to help install the ice for the Games, and this was his little good-luck charm for our Olympic hockey teams. Perhaps, he figured, the guys could use some "home ice" advantage. A Loonie for Luck is the true story of that loonie and the magic it wove at Salt Lake City. It follows Wayne Gretzky, Trent Evans, and the men''s and women''s teams through their time at the Games. And it pays tribute to the role of superstition and chance in hockey a part of the sport not always acknowledged, but one that brings real magic to the game. With the close co-operation of Wayne Gretzky and Trent Evans, Roy MacGregor tells the inside story of how the coin came to be in Trent Evans'' pocket and then buried under centre ice. He tells how, throughout the Games, the loonie was in danger of being uncovered as the secret began to spread, and how, as the tournament progressed, with the players in need of every break they could get, the good luck miraculously held. This true story, brilliantly illustrated by Bill Slavin, is full of suspense, humour, and charm. It will delight every Canadian who felt a surge of pride for our athletes at Salt Lake City. From the Hardcover edition.

Many Canadian parents are familiar with the painful tradition of the seven a.m. practice. It is enacted weekly across the country - hours before most sane people think of rising from their beds - as long-suffering mothers and fathers bundle sleepy children into the family car or minivan, then drive their budding athletes to the arena, the pool, the field, the gym... Roy MacGregor knows the joys and frustrations of cheering on a sporting child. He has, in particular, become known as an expert on the subject of fathers, sons, and the game of hockey, where parent and child often find a rare opportunity to meet on common ground and forge a relationship mediated by their love of the sport. But Roy MacGregor also has some first-hand experience on the subject of fathers, sons, and ear-piercing; fathers, daughters, and the pre-teen dance. In the funny, sometimes hair-raising stories collected in "The Seven A.M. Practice, in which he describes life at home with his own four children, Roy MacGregor brings his gently affectionate eye to the relationship of parent and child in every aspect of their lives. With bemused good humour, MacGregor charts the highs and lows of being a parent - from the cherished time when he is the centre of his child''s life to the sad day when it dawns on him that he is being gently nudged ever further to one side.

When one of the Screech Owls hockey team is seriously injured by a drunken hit-and-run driver, his teammates determine to find the culprit.