• Age: 4 to 8
• Grade: p to 3

Grandma closed the piano lid. "I love singing those old tunes with you.
I wish you could have seen the Halifax I once knew."

This dreamy and whimsical story follows a young child who travels back in time to 1950s Halifax with a whimsical tune. Follow the pair through Point Pleasant Park, the Public Gardens, Spring Garden Road, Citadel Hill, and other historic Halifax landmarks, showing off all the sights and sounds of the city. With lively text from Governor General's Literary Award finalist Jan Coates and vivid illustrations of mid-century Halifax by Marijke Simons, A Halifax Time-Travelling Tune is bound to conjure more than a few bedtime sing-a-longs.

Jan L. Coates is the author of numerous books for young readers, including A Hare in the Elephant's Trunk, a finalist for the Governor General's Literary Award and the Ann Connor Brimer Award, as well as a USBBY Outstanding International Book. Her middle grade novels have been finalists for the Ann Connor Brimer Award, the Violet Downey Award, and the Hackmatack Children's Choice Award. Sky Pig received the 2017 Lillian Shepherd Award for Illustration and was shortlisted for a Willow Award. She lives, writes, and teaches in Wolfville, Nova Scotia.

Jan Coates' profile page

Marijke Simons was born in Amsterdam in 1952 and two years later immigrated with her parents to Montreal. After attending McGill University, she studied teaching. In 1976 she moved to Nova Scotia to raise a family. In Halifax she worked mainly as a French and art teacher. In 1988, she set up a small teaching studio where she continues to teach art to children. She has illustrated a number of books, including Who's a Scaredy Cat and wrote and illustrated The Flying Squirrel Stowaways and Jigs and Reels: a Cruise in Maritime Waters.

Marijke Simons' profile page

"A Halifax Time-Travelling Tune is a playful book that takes readers on a journey through the capital city of Nova Scotia. It evokes emotions of happiness and curiosity, coupled with some historical information for readers of any age. The illustrations provide visual images that make the text and story come alive, and even if you have visited Halifax many times before, A Halifax Time-Travelling Tune will make you want to visit there again and soon! I think I am long overdue for a visit there myself! A Halifax Time-Travelling Tune is a perfect book for school and public libraries, especially those interested in Maritime history." —Resource Links (Pouch Cove, NF)