Rita Baruss, The Quest of Keppoch Mountain (Borealis) $14.95 ISBN 0-88887-233-X.

       The tree spirits are despairing that there are few mature trees left on this planet for them to live in, and think it might be time for them to leave. Kendra tries to imagine forests without any spirit in the trees, like skeletons of extinct creatures and she knows that she must do all she can to prevent this from happening. But will it be enough?
       Rita Baruss lives with her husband and three youngest children in Antigonish, close to the real Keppoch Mountain. A yoga teacher for many years, Rita has been fascinated by the unseen energies that animate our lives ever since she was a child. This is her second novel for young readers, after Spek's Story.

Sophie Bérubé, La truelle magique (Guérin) $4.95 ISBN 2-7601-5849-7.

       Tout a commencé cet hiver, débuta Fleur, la curieuse petite lutine, lorsque j'ai trouvé cette truelle dans un recoin de ma maison... Cette truelle magique allait lui permettre de faire apparaître tout ce qu'elle désirait. Après plusieurs découvertes magnifiques, Fleur va réaliser quels trésors sont les plus précieux. La truelle magique est un petit conte coloré, à la senteur de sous-bois, qui nous rappelle l'importance de partager nos richesses et nos histoires.
       Writing mainly in French, Sophie Bérubé is the author of Le chef d'oeuvre de lombrie and Grand-Papa est devenu un ange, both for children. Her short stories and poems have appeared in Eloizes and La Revue Riviere. Fluent in English, French, German, and Spanish, Sophie is a skilled translator and has translated various publications over a wide range of industries including healthcare, geological, and high tech. She lives in Wolfville and is a member of Les hirondelles de mer for francophone writers.

Les Bowser, The Search for Heinrich Stief: A Genealogist on the Loose (Nimbus) $19.95 ISBN 1-55109-375-8.

       Heinrich and Regina Stief left their homeland in 1749 and settled in Pennsylvania. From there, they and a small band of fellow settlers migrated to the rough terrain around New Brunswick's Petitcodiac River. Faced with starvation, frigid winters and abandonment by their sponsors, the settlers defied the odds to not only survive but prosper. Heinrich's tale has been told so many times that it has become legend. Now a Stief descendant has uncovered a piece of history as significant as it was elusive.
       Les Bowser was born and raised in southeastern New Brunswick where, at an early age, his maternal grandmother introduced him to his Steeves ancestors. He is a direct descendant of five of the first eight settlers who came to Petitcodiac River in 1766, including the founder of the Steeves family dynasty, Heinrich Stief.

Lesley Choyce, Carrie's Camping Adventure (Formac) $5.95 ISBN 0-88780-534-5.

       Carrie says she'll organize everything for a camping trip if only her mother will take her and her brother and their best friends for a first-ever night in the woods. Once they arrive at the campground, they find out Carrie forgot to pack the food. Mom lets the kids figure out how to pitch the tent, make a fire and entertain themselves.
       Lesley Choyce is the author of more than fifty books of poetry, fiction and non-fiction for adults and children, including Carrie's Crowd and Go For It Carrie. Many of his books have received the Canadian Children's Book Centre's Our Choice Award.

Alain Raimbault, Mon Île Muette (Les Éditions David) $10.00 ISBN 2-922109-49-6.

       La Baie de Fundy porte les territoires d'une écriture où le sable et le sel se confondent. Où le présent se pare d'un bleu d'acquarelle. Restent des instants furtifs, à l'affût d'un écho, d'une trace vite effacée par le vent. À peine le temps d'évoquer un souvenir que le silence gagne sure la plage de galets ou de terre ocre. Il faut alors partir. Sous influence maritime, les mots cherchent une attache.
       Alain Raimbault was born in Paris in 1966. He studied Foreign Languages at Poitiers University and emigrated to Canada in 1998. He currently teaches in a French school in Greenwood and resides in Grand-Pri. This is his third book after two children's books, Herménégilde l'Acadien and L'Arbre è Chausettes, and his first book of haiku.

Lynn Turner, Growing Attraction (Avalon) US$19.95 ISBN 0-8034-7474-2.

       Anna loves her organic farm but it is quickly sinking in debt. Her neighbour, Del VanOrthrum, makes matters worse by accidentally over-spraying a chemical on her field, but when he tries to make it up to her, she gets prickly and unapproachable. She knows he won't stand by her when he realizes why the townspeople gossip behind her back... or will he?
       Lynn M. Turner is a mystery and romance author and award-winning screenwriter who lives in the Annapolis Valley. The cover of Growing Attraction looks remarkably like the view from her back deck.