• Age: 5 to 8
• Grade: k to 3

All aboard! Join Bullet, a new steam engine, on his first journey across Newfoundland! Along the way he meets a herd of caribou, helps rescue fishermen, experiences the northern lights, and safely travels through the Wreckhouse area to arrive in Port aux Basques! Told in vignettes showcasing some of the more well-known and picturesque areas along the route of the pre-Confederation Newfoundland Railway, Bullet the New Steam Engine is a beautiful children's book that will be treasured by families for years to come.

Dwayne LaFitte was born in Labrador and grew up in the outport community of Port au Port on the west coast of Newfoundland. After high school, he moved to St. John’s where he earned a bachelor of arts degree from Memorial University. During his studies, he became a passionate supporter and activist for numerous charities. He is an experienced guide and survivalist, and he has a fascination with the outdoors. He has worked as an educator and researcher, and he has been employed in publishing in various capacities. His career path eventually led him to the Government of Canada, where he now works as a program officer assisting employers, youth, and seniors. Dwayne is the author of Over by the Harbour, an illustrated children’s book whose royalties he continues to donate to the Janeway Children’s Hospital. He currently resides in Mount Pearl with his wife, Twila, and son, Liam.

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Thérèse Cilia is a freelance painter and illustrator whose whimsical and detailed work often finds a home in children’s books, prints, stationery, and commissions. She obtained her bachelor of fine arts degree in drawing and painting in 2007 at OCAD University in Toronto. In 2012, she turned a two-week artist retreat in Newfoundland into a year-long residence in Bonavista, where she began illustrating her first children’s book, Over by the Harbour, with Flanker Press in St. John’s. Bullet the New Steam Engine is their second collaboration. She currently lives in Belleville, Ontario, where she is working on her third picture book.

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