Shepherd’s Callby Counios and GanePublished by Your Nickel’s Worth PublishingReview by Michelle ShawISBN 9781988783772 $19.95 Shepherd’s Call is the latest installment in the internationally award-winning Shepherd & Wolfe mystery series, written by Regina-based authors David Gane and Angie Counios. Tony Shepherd is all set to graduate from high school when his best friend Charlie Wolfe suddenly disappears leaving only a cryptic text message on Tony’s phone saying: “Help”. Tony’s search for his friend leads him back into Charlie’s past where he slowly discovers the traumatic events that shattered Charlie’s life. The book is told from both Tony and Charlie’s point of view, so at the same time as we are following Tony’s search we are also following Charlie’s adventures as he attempts to figure out why he has been abducted and what he needs to do to stay alive. I’ve been eagerly awaiting this book. The previous book Wolfe in Shepherd’s Clothing ended on such a cliffhanger and I’ve been desperate to find out what happened to Charlie and Tony. It took me a little while to get into this book because it’s been a few years since the previous book was published. But the chapters are short and the…

Miss G and Meby Jennifer S. WallacePublished by DriverWorks InkReview by Michelle Shaw$18.95 ISBN 9781927570753 Weaving together poems, journal entries, anecdotes and personal essays, Miss G and Me is a beautifully written memoir as well as an exploration of identity, culture, family and place. Jennifer Wallace grew up knowing the basics of her mother’s life. Ruth Williamson was born and grew up in Jamaica. She came to Saskatchewan to work as a nurse and married. But slowly Jennifer began to suspect that there was a lot more to her mother than she’d thought, especially when her sister answered the phone one day to hear a voice asking for Miss G. Jennifer has pieced together her mother’s story through countless interviews with family and friends and research into a myriad of topics. Vividly colored vignettes slip back and forwards through time and place as the book moves between Jamaica, London and Saskatchewan from 1948 to the present. Ruth was just 17 when she left her family in Jamaica to study nursing in London, England in 1961. She qualified as a State Registered Nurse (SNR), and then went on to specialize in midwifery. After finishing her training, she headed to Canada. There…

The Iconic Elevator: Vanishing Horizons of the Western Prairiesby Fritz StehwienPublished by Landscape Arts PublishingReview by Michelle Shaw$29.95 ISBN 9780991964925 There are few more iconic images on the prairies than the majestic grain elevators. In the latest release from the Fritz Stehwien Estate, 37 works of art showcasing these aptly named Prairie Giants are collected together in a beautiful hardcovered book. Barbara Stehwien, who compiled The Iconic Elevator, says that the giant wooden structures under enormous skies left a large impression on the Stehwien family when they arrived in Saskatchewan and Fritz was fascinated by what he saw. “These old elevators add a scale to the vast perspectives like no other structures do. [They appear] to simply dot the landscape in the distance, [but] become quite momentous when up close.” She says the book is a tribute to the incredible visuals of the wide open spaces of Saskatchewan. The Iconic Elevator features images from around the province, including Yorkton, Swift Current, Marchwell, Sintaluta, Fleming, Melfort and Hanley. One painting shows a view from Meewasin Park and another features the University of Saskatchewan Elevator in 1982. Some paintings are simply titled Prairie Summer, Harvest Time and Winter Road. I particularly loved…

Of Prairies Past: Vintage Canadian Prairie Motifsby Fritz StehwienPublished by Landscape Art PublishingReview by Michelle Shaw$29.95 ISBN 9780991964994 When German -Canadian artist, Fritz Stehwien, arrived in Saskatchewan in 1968 he was enchanted by what he saw and began painting and sketching whenever he could. Of Prairies Past is the latest collection of his works, and features a variety of prairie scenes, both rural and urban, captured in oils, pastels, pen and ink and charcoal drawings. This small hardcover book features 39 different prairie motifs from the iconic grain elevator to tiny country churches, the University of Saskatchewan and the Saskatoon skyline. The North Battleford and Melfort Post Offices are featured (both in the 1970s), along with Whitkow Church (1990s) and the Medical Arts Building (1970s) at the University of Saskatchewan. One of Stehwien’s gifts is capturing moments in time. I loved his sketch of a milk delivery truck in the 1970s, delivering milk while the neighbourhood children, all bundled up, slide down the snowbanks on sleds. I was also fascinated to see a drawing of a ski jump pictured at the University of Saskatchewan. The drawing also dates to the 1970s. Naturally I turned to Google and sure enough the…

Sixty and Beyond: Looking Forward – Looking Backby Alison R. MontgomeryPublished by Your Nickel’s Worth PublishingReview by Michelle Shaw$14.95 ISBN 978-1-988783734 When contemplating her retirement, Alison Montgomery’s mother gave her some wise advice: “Travelling, going to the lake, walking the dog and working out are what you do on a vacation. Retirement lasts a long time, and you would be wise to find some form of purposeful work.” Alison took that to heart. After retiring as a high school art teacher, she decided to study further and become involved in adult education. These days she also continues to enjoy her passion as a landscape artist, plays the flute and piccolo in various community ensembles and enjoys a newfound delight for paddle boarding. Sixty and Beyond is a reflection of Alison’s life — past, present and future. As she puts it: “The great thing about this stage of life is that you get to reflect on what has worked well for you so far and what has not and decide if you will keep it or throw it.” This is Alison’s third book. In 2001 her life came to a grinding halt when her son Chris died in a climbing accident….

Tunnels of Terror: Moose Jaw Time Travel Adventure #2by Mary Harelkin BishopPublished by DriverWorks Ink and emmbee inkReview by Michelle Shaw$19.95 ISBN 9781927570678 It’s hard to believe that 20 years have passed since the Moose Jaw Time Travel adventure series was first published. Tunnels of Terror is the second book of the series to be rereleased and updated and will definitely captivate a new generation of readers. Tunnels of Terror takes place about a year after the events in the first book, Tunnels of Time. The book begins with Andrea and her younger brother Tony on the bus to Moose Jaw to spend some time with their grandparents and Great Aunt Bea. The last thing Andrea wants to do is return to the city where she was catapulted back in time and forced to deal with the dreaded Al Capone and his gangsters in the underground tunnels. But Tony has been ill and Andrea is persuaded that her parents really need a break so Moose Jaw it is. She’s uneasy though because she’s been having unsettling nightmares about being trapped in the tunnels and captured. Tony, meanwhile, has been desperate to learn what happened to his sister in Moose Jaw…

Fun on the Farm 3: True Tales of Farm Life!Compiled and edited by Deana J. DriverPublished by DriverWorks InkReview by Michelle Shaw$17.95 ISBN 9781927570630 Growing up on a farm on the Canadian prairies is a unique experience, especially in the days before cellphones and GPS. In Fun on the Farm 3, 20 prairie writers, including Mary Harelkin Bishop and Deana Driver, share some of their treasured memories. The book is full of all kinds of fascinating stories. There are tales of pet calves, malevolent bulls, and piglets like Arnold who was pushed around in a doll carriage. Laurie Lynn Muirhead shares the story of her brother plucking the feathers off the turkeys’ butts to make wings so he could fly. There are stories of learning to drive, usually before the driver could see over the dashboard, and the annual spring ritual of picking rocks in the fields before and after seeding. As Brad Hauber puts it … “This job was made specifically with farm kids in mind.” Mary Harelkin Bishop tells of the time her three-year old brother got stuck in the mud – literally – in the middle of the soggy, muddy garden one very wet spring, and Marilyn…

Six Saskatchewan BunniesWritten and illustrated by Sharla GriffithsReview by Michelle Shaw$17.00 ISBN 9781999560003 It’s always fun to read a book set in a familiar place, and children, especially, love reading about places they know and can actually visit. So Sharla Griffiths’ new children book is a delight. It’s an entertaining invitation to explore the joys of summer in Saskatchewan along with six little bunnies. The bunnies hop their way through the province, climbing the branches of the Crooked Trees, sliding down the sand dunes at Athabasca Provincial Park and feeding the geese at Wascana Park in Regina. They crawl through the tunnels in Moose Jaw, paint rocks along the riverbank on the Meewasin Trail in Saskatoon, discover the skeleton of a T-Rex in Eastend and lie back in the waving prairie grass, watching the clouds drift across Saskatchewan’s endless sky in Grasslands National Park. The book features 24 full page color illustrations that are interesting and fun. Each destination is helpfully labelled at the bottom of the page and there’s a map of the province at the end of the book showing where the bunnies (and the reader) have travelled. Griffiths also introduces the concept of counting. The story starts…

The Girl from Dream City: A Literary Lifeby Linda LeithPublished by University of Regina PressReview by Michelle Shaw$21.95 ISBN 9780889777859 One of the joys of reviewing books is that I’m constantly discovering fascinating lives and original stories. Linda Leith is new to me, but her book is so interesting that she quickly drew me into her narrative. The Girl from Dream City is a small book, yet it manages to combine numerous aspects of Leith’s life, as well as the context of the broader literary world in which she lives and writes. First and foremost, the book is a memoir of sorts, from Leith’s early years growing up in Northern Ireland and England, with an emotionally unpredictable and volatile father, to her later years as a writer and publisher in Montreal. Leith’s early life was peripatetic and complicated. Her family was “a world unto itself” and their constant moving from country to country as her father progressed up the corporate ladder meant that no one else was really allowed into the family unit. Her father ruled the family with a strong hand and his volatility ensured he wasn’t challenged, at least not without repercussions. Only years later did she discover…

I can’t clean my room!Written and illustrated by Jessica WilliamsPublished by All Write Here PublishingReview by Michelle ShawISBN 9781777739300 $11.99 In this whimsical book, Saskatchewan author and illustrator Jessica Williams relates the tale of a little girl with a wild imagination. And, even though this is clearly a children’s book, as the mother of a teenager whose room is also more than a little chaotic, I find it very relatable. The story is a familiar one. Josephine’s father enters his daughter’s room at bedtime to find a big mess. He can’t understand it and asks his daughter specific questions about the state of her room and her toys. But Josephine has a perfectly logical reason (to her mind at least) for each of her father’s dismayed observations. She can’t pick her books up for instance because “the fairies will yell. They’re practicing reading and learning to spell.” As for her laundry, she can’t possibly fold it because “the gnomes would be shocked, and what will they wear if they can’t find my socks?” The story is so original and entertaining. The Illustrations are playful and the little girl with the gap-toothed smile will capture your heart. I especially love the…