Late on Christmas Eve, after the town has gone to sleep, a boy boards a mysterious train that waits for him: the Polar Express bound for the North Pole. When he arrives there, Santa offers him any gift he desires. The boy modestly asks for one bell from the reindeer's harness. It turns out to be a very special gift, for only believers in Santa can hear it ring. "Magical glowing double spread pictures . . . an original and memorable book." - Guardian "Evocative, realist pastels and atmospheric text." - Sunday Times "A thrilling tale." - Independent
The definitive guide to Canada's flag for young readers, Our Flag explores fun facts about the national banner and its provincial ones, as well as flags from around the world and throughout history. From the story behind the iconic maple leaf design to step-by-step instructions on making your own flag, this is a must-read for Canadian children.
Humans have influenced the landscapes and forests throughout the temperate and boreal zones for millennia. Restoration of Boreal and Temperate Forests, Second Edition focuses on the negative impact of human activity, and explains the importance of forest restoration as a way to repair habitat, restore forest structure and function, and counteract t
Join in on this festive federal holiday, celebrating the birth of a nation by Canadians from coast to coast. See the many different ways in which this multi-cultural nation recognizes this occasion with fireworks, music, food, a day-off work, and other special events.
The Art of The Polar Express celebrates the transformation of Chris Van Allsburg's celebrated children's book The Polar Express into a full-length, animated feature film through a fascinating collection of concept art, production storyboards, and computer-generated renderings. Production designer Doug Chiang shares his original, never-before-seen artwork that evolved into the final motion picture. Weaving these pieces together are candid interviews with the star-studded cast and crew, including Robert Zemeckis and his team of filmmaking visionaries, that deliver rare insight into the film as they divulge the secrets behind their creative process.
This book introduces an interdisciplinary framework to understand the interaction between terrestrial ecosystems and climate change. It reviews basic meteorological, hydrological and ecological concepts to examine the physical, chemical and biological processes by which terrestrial ecosystems affect and are affected by climate. The textbook is written for advanced undergraduate and graduate students studying ecology, environmental science, atmospheric science and geography. The central argument is that terrestrial ecosystems become important determinants of climate through their cycling of energy, water, chemical elements and trace gases. This coupling between climate and vegetation is explored at spatial scales from plant cells to global vegetation geography and at timescales of near instantaneous to millennia. The text also considers how human alterations to land become important for climate change. This restructured edition, with updated science and references, chapter summaries and review questions, and over 400 illustrations, including many in colour, serves as an essential student guide.
An inspiring tribute to a magnificent ecosystem. The Boreal Forest is the largest single ecosystem on the North American continent and occupies one third of the total landmass of Canada. It is as important to the planet as is the Amazon rain forest. The Boreal Forest is a living, breathing, pollutant-filtering six-million-square-mile forest covering almost 11 percent of the planet's surface, stretching from Newfoundland to Alaska. The forest absorbs and filters a quarter billion gallons of water each day and contains a large portion of Earth's non-frozen fresh water. After sixty-five million years of evolution, this ecosystem is now threatened by development and pollution. Rendezvous with the Wild is an impassioned celebration of the Boreal Forest and the rivers that run through it. Fifty-four noteworthy contributors from diverse walks of life provide: Art and photography Essays, stories and anecdotes Songs and poems Journal entries and memoirs. Some contributors express their longtime love of the land. Others tell of their first truly wild encounter with the vast northern woods. The insight of paddlers and philosophers, artists and firefighters, conservationists and forest industry workers, playwrights and scientists will entertain, inform and persuade readers that this vital wilderness needs our attention and protection now. Published in conjunction with the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society's "Boreal Rendezvous" project.
The Boreal Herbal: Wild Food and Medicine Plants of the North is an indispensable guide to identifying and using northern plants for food and medicine. Whether you're hiking in remote areas or gardening in your backyard, this easy-to-use handbook will help you recognize and use fifty-five common wild plants that have extraordinary healing properties. With the Boreal Herbal, you will learn how to soothe pain with willow, staunch bleeding with yarrow, treat a urinary-tract infection with bearberry, and create a delicate and uplifting skin cream from sweetgrass. There are also dozens of healthy and delicious recipes, including Wild-Weed Spanakopita, Dandelion Wine, and Cranberry-Mint Muffins.* Profiles of dozens of herbs, berries, and trees found in the northern boreal forest, including information on their habitat, harvest times, medicinal applications, as well as food uses, cosmetic uses, and spiritual uses.* Full-colour photographs and botanical illustrations of each plant profiled in the book for easy identification* Instructions on how to gather and preserve wild plants* More than 200 recipes: teas, tinctures, powders, flower essences, topical treatments, beverages, jams and jellies, baked goods, soups, entr�es, and much more* Safety tips for harvesting and using edible and medicinal wild plants, including information on calculating dosage and plant-specific cautions* A resource section for people interested in starting up a non-timber forest-products business* Botanical and medicinal glossaries, and index, and handy reference charts
