The Christmas That Almost Wasn't takes place on the South Shore of Nova Scotia, in December of 1941, as Izzie Publicover, her brother and their friends prepare for a very special Christmas. Despite wartime rationing and the infrequency of winter visits, the Publicover children's grandparents, aunt, uncle and cousins are coming for Christmas. But plans go awry two days before Christmas, when a huge storm hits the village. Can Izzie figure out a way to save Christmas for everyone?

Our Canadian Girl Izzie #1 The Christmas That Almost Wasn't

Wilson, Budge

Literature & Fiction

Penguin Canada

Before Green Gables: The Prequel to Anne of Green Gables

British & Irish

G.P.Putnam's Sons

It's 1942, and Izzie Publicover's life is changing. Her father has finally been accepted by the Canadian navy, and the rest of the family is moving to Dartmouth so that Izzie's mother can work. Although Izzie is proud that her father will be fighting the Nazis, she loves her home in Granite Cove and will miss her best friend, Jasper. Making the most of her new circumstances, she soon befriends another recent arrival at her school. Patricia has been evacuated from London, England, where the war is more immediate and dangerous. But even as Izzie works on breaking Patricia's standoffish exterior, the terror of war is moving closer to Nova Scotia. Welcome back to OUR CANADIAN GIRL, and the continuing adventures of Izzie and many other smart, spirited, and courageous girls. They come from different places and times in Canadian history, and each of them meets some ordinary—and extraordinary—challenges in her day-to-day life.

Our Canadian Girl Izzie #2 Trongate Fury

Friendships is a subtle and moving collection of stories about surprising moments of understanding from unlikely sources. In “The Snake,” a girl faces her fears with help from a strange ally; in “Father by Mail,” a teenager writes down all the things he could never say to the parent who has left him behind; and in “Bruno,” a boy discovers a way to deal with a bully.  These perceptive and contemporary stories, by one of Canada's best-loved and award-winning authors for young readers, show struggling boys and girls making a connection with someone who can bring them to a kind of balance.

Friendships

Short Stories & Anthologies

Puffin Canada

Our Canadian Girl Izzie #3 Patricia's Secret

Nova Scotia, 1945: With reports that the war is coming to an end, the Publicovers eagerly await the return of Izzie and Joey's father. But peace will also mean other, less welcome changes for Izzie's best friends, Roberta and Patricia. Patricia fears having to return to her uncaring mother in England, never to see her dear friends—or Jasper—again, and insecure Roberta will be left all alone if Izzie's family decides to go back to Granite Cove. How will they manage without each other?

Our Canadian Girl Izzie #4 Homecoming

Before she arrived at Green Gables, Anne Shirley had a difficult early life. Orphaned as a baby, she is sent from one foster home to the next and escapes from her dark reality through the power of her vivid imagination. Curious, inventive, and outspoken, even at a young age, Anne battles to make a life for herself by searching out kindred spirits, finding solace in her books, and dreaming of the day she has a family of her own. Award-winning author Budge Wilson brings young Anne vibrantly to life in this fully authorized prequel to the much-loved Anne of Green Gables.

Before Green Gables

Teen & Young Adult

Fractures is a collection of twelve deeply affecting stories that address contemporary family relationships and dynamics through a child's or teenager's eyes. Although these stories (most of which are new to this collection) deal with difficult issues and themes—sibling rivalry, alcoholism, illness, child abuse and neglect—each offers powerful moments of revelation, even of redemption, as its protagonists seek out and connect with others. In "Like a Water Lily,"the neglected daughter of an alcoholic parent is offered the chance to see herself through different, and more caring, eyes; in "My War,"a girl cannot understand her fatherÕs refusal to talk about his experiences as a soldier until a pivotal event occurs in her own life; in "Fathers,"a teacher's challenge allows two boys to acknowledge very different truths about their dads as well as themselves; while in "The Metaphor,"a girl's connection to a teacher sharply and revealingly contrasts her relationship with her mother. These are haunting and entrancing stories that are immensely readable and satisfying.

Fractures: Family Stories By Budge Wilson

Children's Books

View our feature on Budge Wilson's Before Green Gables. A must-read for generations of book lovers. This remarkable, and heart-warming prequel to the classic Anne of Green Gables was specially authorized by L.M. Montgomery's heirs to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the publication of the original novel. Before Green Gables is the story of Anne Shirley's life before her arrival at Green Gables-a heartwarming tale of a precocious child whose lively imagination and relentless spirit help her to overcome difficult circumstances and of a young girl's ability to love, learn, and above all, dream. Published in 1908, L. M. Montgomery's coming-of-age classic Anne of Green Gables has enchanted generations of readers, both children and adults. The story of the spunky red-haired orphan from Prince Edward Island is known to millions, and copies of the eight titles in the series have never gone out of print. But when readers first meet Anne, she is eleven, and has just been sent from an orphanage to meet her new family. No one ever learned the events of Anne's life before she arrived at Green Gables. Until now. For the millions of readers who devoured the Green Gables series, Before Green Gables is an irresistible treat; the account of how one of literature's most beloved heroines became the girl who captivated the world.

Contemporary

A collection of nine stories features tales of a fifteen-year-old who learns the truth about her father, a twelve-year-old who accompanies her mother on an weekend away from an oppressive family, and others.

The Leaving

Poetry

Philomel

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Wilson, Budge. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Wilson, Budge

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Wilson, Budge. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Our Canadian Girl Izzie #1 The Christmas That Almost Wasn't

Before Green Gables: The Prequel to Anne of Green Gables

Our Canadian Girl Izzie #2 Trongate Fury

Friendships

Our Canadian Girl Izzie #3 Patricia's Secret

Our Canadian Girl Izzie #4 Homecoming

Before Green Gables

Fractures: Family Stories By Budge Wilson

Before Green Gables

The Leaving