PUBLICATIONS
The Pink House
A Bilingual Middle-Grade Historical Mystery in English and French
BY CLAIRE E. SCHEUREN · COVER ART BY ROSANNA MARMONT
Two years after the death of her parents, twelve-year-old Daphne Whalen returns to Gabarus, Nova Scotia, and to the faded pink house that was her family's home — where she begins to hear the voice of Lily, a girl who lived there 250 years before.
An inspiring tale of two soul-sisters who reach across the mists of time to help each other heal. Daphne and Lily, and a cast of intriguing characters, including a mysterious alchemist, have much to teach us about hope, responsibility and goodness in this gem of a story.
— Paul Kemprecos, New York Times Best-Selling Author
ABOUT THE BOOK
Two Girls, Two Centuries, One House
What if you could talk to someone who truly understood what you were going through — even if they lived 250 years ago?
Two years after the death of her beloved parents, twelve-year-old Daphne Whalen returns to Gabarus, Nova Scotia, the quiet Canadian fishing village where she was born, and to the faded pink house that was her family's home. Daphne expects to feel sadness and grief about losing her mother and father. She doesn't expect to hear whispering in the empty house.
Through the open door of the vacant pink house, Daphne begins to hear the story of Lily, a ten-year-old girl who lived right there in 1758, 250 years before. As Lily whispers across the centuries, she describes the night British warships filled the harbor and soldiers came knocking in the dark.
The Pink House is the story of two girls. Two conflicts. Two families torn apart. And a house that holds their stories, waiting for someone ready to listen. Through the mysterious power of the house, two hearts separated in time but connected by destiny learn what it really means to be brave.
THE PINK HOUSE / LA MAISON ROSE
The Classroom Pilot
Zeitgeist West is inviting teachers and their students to participate in a small school pilot of The Pink House / La Maison Rose, written especially for students in Grades 5–8.
The bilingual edition presents the complete 12-chapter novel in both English and French, approximately 100 pages in each language. The novel offers opportunities to explore reading and comprehension, English and French language learning, Nova Scotia and Canadian history, mystery and inference, and questions of courage, grief, empathy, resilience and moral choice.
Teachers may follow a pathway as written or select, adapt, expand or omit activities according to their students' ages, language abilities, learning needs, interests and curriculum requirements.
FLEXIBLE STUDY OPTIONS
Three Teaching Pathways
Choose the approach that best suits your students, schedule and curriculum. Teachers may follow one pathway, combine elements from different pathways, or adapt the materials.
SUPPORTING MATERIALS
Educator Resource Library
The materials can be provided as printed documents and by email as PDFs. This section gives teachers a clear place to find the pilot information and classroom resources.
DISCUSSION & REFLECTION
For Readers and Book Clubs
Stories can help us understand ourselves, each other, and the world around us. The questions and activities below are meant to encourage reflection, conversation, creativity, and kindness. There are no single “right” answers, only opportunities to think, share, and listen.
GABARUS GOOD GAME
A Card Game from the Story
The Gabarus Good Game is a family card game in which players build “good” word pairs while avoiding the harmful effects of “bad” words. Inspired by The Pink House, the game appears in the story and is played by characters in the novel. Like the book itself, the game encourages kindness, courage, cooperation, and forgiveness.
Recommended for ages 8 and up, the game combines elements of traditional Cape Breton “Forty-Fives” and “500 Rummy.” Although created to accompany The Pink House, it can also be enjoyed on its own by players of all ages. Instructions are provided bilingually, in English and French.
ORDER AND AVAILABILITY
Find The Pink House
AVAILABLE FROM
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EDITION DETAILS
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978-09796921-9-2 (Hardback)
The ebook edition can be read on a Kindle device, or on smartphones and tablets using the free Kindle reading app.
Booksellers can purchase through Ingram.
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Retailer links are placeholders pending confirmed URLs and can be updated at any time.
PART OF THE ZEITGEIST WEST COLLECTION
Publishing is more than producing books. It is helping meaningful work become part of the ongoing conversation that shapes communities, culture, education, and civic life.
The Pink House joins Bringing Out the Untold Life in drawing on the history of Gabarus, Nova Scotia — two very different books shaped by the same small village and the stories it holds.