Sheree Fitch, If I Were the Moon (Doubleday Canada Limited) $19.95

This charming new picture book is a departure from Sheree Fitch's usual rambunctious lipslippery romps. It hums, quiet and comforting, like a lullabye on the page. A young girl waking up on a moonlit night contemplates her world and her relationships with the people she loves most. The text is beautifully complemented by the illustrations of Leslie Elizabeth Watts, who also illustrated Sheree's There's A Mouse In My House!.

Sheree Fitch's books include Mable Murple, If You Could Wear My Sneakers! and the recently released The Other Author Arthur, as well as a book of adult poetry, now in its fourth printing, entitled In This House Are Many Women. She lives with her two sons and photojournalist husband on Chocolate Lake, where she is working on another collection of tonguetwisty poetry for kids.

Sylvia Gunnery, Menace And Mischief (Stoddart Kids) $6.99

The atmosphere is tense at Haliburton Junior High. Hobo the hamster and Miss Hiss the boa constrictor escape, best friends C.J. and Raymond both fall for the same girl, and the school bullies are out to make trouble for Raymond. In the fast-paced mayhem that ensures, students and teachers alike come to terms with a very real crisis under some very funny circumstances.

High school teacher Sylvia Gunnery really knows how schools, and kids, work. Her previous young adult novels include Chewing Gum and Other Crimes, We're Friends Aren't We?, Taking Sides and I'm Locker 145, Who Are You? Sylvia lives near the Atlantic where she enjoys the outdoors while plotting her next novel.

Laurie Lacey, Medicine Walk: Reconnecting to Mother Earth (Nimbus) $14.95

For Laurie Lacey, the world of nature has always been a source of inspiration, enjoyment and peace. In this personal and instructive book, he offers the insights and practices which have helped him along his own journey of self-discovery. Medicine Walk explores the benefits of 'special places' and includes notes and exercises as aids to control stress, overcome fear and foster the ability to concentrate and meditate.

Best-selling author Laurie Lacey is also a painter, folklorist and naturalist. A resident of Lunenburg County, he has studied and given field walks and lectures on the plant medicines of the native people of Atlantic Canada since 1974. His previous books are Micmac Medicines and Black Spirit.

Alistair MacLeod, No Great Mischief (McClelland & Stewart) $29.99

Thirteen years in the making, this book's theme is loyalty, and how that quality has affected generations of Scots who came to Canada. The story begins in 1745 with the doomed clan revolt for Bonnie Prince Charlie, moves to Canada in 1759 -- General Wolfe's racist comment about projected heavy losses to his Scottish troops in the assault on Quebec ("no great mischief if they fall") gives the book its title -- then takes the reader through many generations of Scots long established in Canada.

Born in Saskatchewan, Alistair MacLeod was raised in Cape Breton, where he still spends his summers writing. During the winter months, Dr. MacLeod teaches English at the University of Windsor and provides inspiring instruction to writers at the Banff Centre and elsewhere. His previous collections of short stories -- The Lost Salt Gift of Blood and As Birds Bring Forth the Sun -- have established themselves as Canadian classics.

Paddy Muir, Love from Katie (Nimbus) $12.95

Nova Scotia's way of saying thank you to the people of Massachusetts for their generous assistance after the Halifax Explosion is to send a Christmas tree to Boston. In this charming reissue of the 1991 release, on an expedition into the forest with her uncle to find this special tree, Katie discovers some local history, and gets an idea that quickly grows into an exciting adventure and an international mystery. After the tree is erected in downtown Boston, Katie gets a chance to deliver a Christmas message to the largest crowd she has ever seen.

Paddy Muir has produced and/or stage managed fourteen plays, including two staged at Neptune Theatre, and is much in demand for her business writing. She currently lives in Halifax and works as a freelance writer. Kathy Kaulback's illustrations bring this lovely tale to life.

Lance Woolaver, Maud's Country: Landscapes that Inspired the Art of Maud Lewis (Nimbus) $29.95

Maud's Country offers a unique perspective on the work of Maud Lewis by showing the rugged coastlines and gentle valleys of southwestern Nova Scotia which inspired her. With her own special way of representing these landscapes, Lewis transformed her own reality of poverty and isolation into a magical kingdom of happy children and animals, and a peaceful and charming rural life.

Lance Woolaver is a well-known author, playwright and director, whose works include The Metallic Sparrow, The Outlaw League, and Christmas with the Rural Mail, which was illustrated by Maud Lewis. His other Lewis-related works include Christmas with Maud Lewis and the play World Without Shadows. Photographer Bob Brooks also collaborated with Lance Woolaver on the best-selling book The Illuminated Life of Maud Lewis.