Ferns and Fern Allies of Saskatchewan by Vernon L. Harms and Anna L. Leighton Published by Nature Saskatchewan Review by Sandy Bonny $ 19.95 ISBN-13 987-0-921104-27-8 This book provides a keyed guide to the ferns and fern allies (quillworts, club-mosses, spike-mosses and horsetails) of Saskatchewan—a boon to medicinal herbalists, fiddlehead gourmets, and environmentalists interested in the identification and preservation of rare plants and their habitats. Ferns and Fern Allies of Saskatchewan includes 58 species from all parts of the province; several are rare or endangered but many are pervasive species that will be familiar to local readers. A first flip through the book brought waves of nostalgia for afternoons spent pulling apart the black banded segments of the hollow green stalks of Equisetum hyemale, Common Scouring Rush, on the banks of the South Saskatchewan. There was also a moment of revelation: those strange brown pillars that waved above the moss beds we hid in playing ‘flags in the woods’ at summer camp were cones, the fruiting bodies of Lycopodium lagopus, Running Club Moss. The ferns that my husband and I struggle to keep from taking over our shaded urban yard belong to Matteuccia struthiopteris, the Ostrich Ferns, and I was…

Paperwhite by Catherine Mamo Published by Thistledown Press Review by Shelley A. Leedahl $15.95 ISBN 978-1-897235-60-7 One cannot judge a book by its cover, it’s true, but on occasion a cover does manage to reflect the essence of a book. Paperwhite, a new collection of poetry by Catherine Mamo, of Peachland, BC, is a case in point. It’s tastefully fronted by a photograph of an unusual fruit or nut set on a block of wood. This spotlit “scene” is rendered before a rich brown background. The cover’s subdued and beautiful, as are the poems within it. It suggests that the natural world is important for this writer, and it leaves much room for imagining. Numerous contrasts are evident in these “confessional” poems; the poet examines her ordered, domestic life (as a wife and mother), and juxtaposes her “picket fence” lifestyle against nature’s attractive abandon. In “April II,” she writes” “why do children\keep arriving\why do they swing and laugh\why does the grass\bend its one colour so”. The poet dreams of drinking at a river “like bear or deer\tongue lapping\at the very origins,” (“Thirst”). In “I am a Lazy Wife,” she writes “I want\to enter a fish’s gullet\and swim there,\tiny as that…

Summer of Fire by Karen Bass Coteau Books Reviewed by Gail Jansen Price $12.95 ISBN 9781550504156 Listed as a book for teens, Summer of Fire by Karen Bass, is an equally good read for anyone living with a teenager, for the insight it can give into the inner workings of a teen’s minds. Set in modern day Germany, the book acts partly as a tour guide with its rich descriptions of the cities of Hamburg and Heidelberg, and partly as a history book, shedding light on a period that today stills haunts many Germans. Between these two facets is an engaging tale expertly interwoven that tells of two young girls who, despite the years that separate them, lead a parallel existence in many ways. When the book’s heroine Del is sent from her Canadian home to Germany to live with her emotionally distant sister for the summer, Del’s feelings of abandonment intensify as does her anger and resentment, until the day she is introduced to the diaries of a young German girl named Garda. Del starts to realize the part she has played in her own exile, and that as different as life is today, the hardships faced by a…

Ghosts of Government House by Judith Silverthorne Published by Your Nickel’s Worth Publishing Review by Jessica Bickford $9.95 978-1-894431-63-7 Ghosts of Government House follows Sam and J.J., two young girls living in Regina, as they explore an integral building in this city’s history. Most people who have lived in Regina for a while will have probably been to Government House at some point, whether for tea, a tour, or any of the special events throughout the year. It is a special place, made even more special by the supposed haunting. Sam and J.J. make repeated visits to Government House trying to find out just who (or what) might be making mysterious things happen in the historical building. With the help of tour guides, the commissionaire, and Grandma Louise, the girls must prove to Sam’s older brother Gabe that the ghosts are real, or be forced to stay inside and out of trouble for two whole weeks! But the girls get even more than they imagined when they manage to not only see, but talk to some of the ghosts haunting the rooms and hallways of Government House. Grandma Louise helps the girls to overcome their fears, both about the ghosts…

Flyways by Devin Krukoff Published by Thistledown Press Ltd. Review by Cindy Wilson $19.95 ISBN 978-1-897235-77-5 Devin Krukoff has found a very unique way to introduce each of the characters in his novel. By using a short anecdote of a specific bird and its activities we are given a hint about each character in the story and their situation in life. In each chapter the small glimpse we are shown of each person’s existence is very significant. The author makes us feel that we know these characters on a personal level. We see how each character either has some tenuous, or very strong relationship, to another character in the story. The connection between specific events and an array of individuals illustrates the idea that there really is only six degrees of separation,and in some cases possibly less, between everyone in society. Krukoff’s novel encompasses a very wide range of human experience. He delves into family relationships where husbands, wives, and children are often disconnected and in distress. His characters are from all levels of society. Their actions and reactions to the situations they find themselves in reminds us how life can change in an instant. One example the author uses…