Friends of the Rideau - Tails of the Rideau Book Series

Books for Children
The “Tails of the Rideau” Series
by Mike Cole-Hamilton
Tails of the Rideau books

This is the sequence in which the books were written, also the sequence in which the various characters are introduced. The books for younger ones (up to 4 years) are mostly written with a repetitive refrain. Each is book is about 40 to 50 pages long, written by Mike Cole-Hamilton and published by his wife, Jane.

When ordering - please specify the book number and title on the order page - all books are priced at $6.95 each

Books for younger children (up to 4 years)

TRB-01 - In Where does the chipmunk live? Mike and Jane's grandson Matthew visits from Africa as a toddler, sees a chipmunk and wants to know where it lives...... but all the animals and birds are too busy to tell him. Finally, Stumpy the chipmunk shows him. (Stumpy really exists).

TRB-02 - Leander - the story of a BRAVE chipmunk: Leander fell into a bucket of water on the deck and almost drowned, Mike and Jane rescued him just in time and brought him back to life. Again, this really happened and Leander lives under our woodpile.

TRB-03 - Annie: What am I: Annie is a 3-week-old kitten (Mike and Jane foster kittens for the local Humane Society, Annie was the first of 26, to date). But being raised by two humans and a Yorkshire Terrier she is confused about what she is herself. After asking all the animals she finally finds out she is a cat.

TRB-04 - Charlotte’s Fall: Charlotte is a baby chickadee. Unlike her brother and sister she is determined that everyone will notice her and shows off loudly to all the animals and birds from the edge of the nest...... until she falls out and is rescued by Leander.

TRB-05 - Noah’s Beaver: Written for Mike's new grandson Noah, the original Noah runs into trouble with wood supply in building the Ark. A beaver comes to the rescue and, after the flood, settles on the lakes that become the Rideau canal.

Books for older children (up to 8 years)
The stories for older children are also largely based on things that actually occurred

TRB-06 - The Fifth Avenue Grocery Store: is based on a CBC radio story about a squirrel that stole candy from a comer store in the Glebe (Ottawa). Archibald, the squirrel, gets himself into trouble and is rescued by Stumpy and Leander. This book was reviewed by Alan Neal on the CBC program "All in a day". Directly related to Ottawa

TRB-07 - The Mystery of the Merrickville Gnomes: is the sequel to 5th Avenue. It came out of an item that Alan Neal mentioned, in conjunction with items in the Kingston Whig Standard and the National Post, about garden gnome thefts in Merrickville. Archibald gets into trouble again, aided by his sinister cousin Murgatroyd. He sets off down the river on a raft with several stolen gnomes and comes to grief in Manotick. Stumpy, Leander and others rescue him again. Directly related to the Rideau

TRB-07 - Too many chipmunks: Mike's neighbours were over-run by chipmunks one spring because of the bird (and chipmunk) feeding they did all winter. Not wanting to hurt them they removed them from the property. This story is a bit of fun based on how the chipmunks would have dealt with the problem. Stumpy, Leander and other familiar characters are involved. Directly related to the Rideau

TRB-08 - The Great Frog Rescue: is pure imagination. A band of familiar chipmunks squirrels, chickadees and Sarah the dog team up to rescue frogs imprisoned in a bait shed. Directly related to the Rideau

TRB-09 - Jo, the injured squirrel: Mike's wife, Jane, wrote this with disabled children especially in mind. There are very few books with characters a disabled child can relate to Jo can't climb and misses out on a lot of fun the other animals have. But because she sits in a tree and watches and thinks, she solves a crime. Jo can't climb, but she becomes the centre of attention because she uses her brains.

TRB-10 - The Queen’s Ducks: Clarissa the duck raises a family on the Queen's campus in Kingston and she and her family have to be got back to the lake (this actually happened a year back). The local chipmunks organise the rescue, aided by a detachment of the Fort Henry Mice. Directly related to Kingston

All books are a standard price of $6.95. To order see the Order Page.