Eleven-year-old Bree is the best tree-climber in a townhome complex called Cedar Grove. But when a new rule banning tree-climbing is introduced by council, Bree vows to fight it. Trouble in the Trees (Orca 2011) is Yolanda Ridge's first book.

Another one of her books is CRISPR: A Powerful Way to Change DNA (Annick Press, 2020). CRISPR stands for clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats. If it sounds complicated, it is -- but it's also one of the most powerful ways we can shape the future. And it's poised to completely upend the way we think about science. Ridge tackles this topic in an accessible way for young adults, with two introductory chapters covering the basics of DNA and gene editing before taking readers through the ways that this ground-breaking science could affect them.

In Yolinda Ridge’s middle-grade novel, Elliot Jelly-Legs and the Bobblehead Miracle (Orca, 2023), an eleven-year-old boy, Elliot, desperately wants to succeed at playing hockey. But he can barely skate. Even as a goalie, his “jelly-legs” are obvious and the game ends in embarrassment. Then Elliot makes a wish on his Carey Price Bobblehead and his team starts winning. From publicity, this is a “story of friendship, hockey and the importance of believing in yourself.”

Books:

Trouble in the Trees (Orca, 2011) 9781554693856

Road Block (Orca, 2012) 9781459800458

Inside Hudson Pickle (Kids Can Press, 2017) 9781771386203

CRISPR: A Powerful Way to Change DNA (Annick Press, 2020) $16.95 9781773214238

Elliot Jelly-Legs and the Bobblehead Miracle (Orca, 2023) $12.95 9781459833791

Evolution Under Pressure: How We Change Nature and How Nature Changes Us (Annick Press, 2023) $17.99 9781773217529

[BCBW 2023]