Wanda Baxter's Blog

What an honour, surprise and joy it was today to receive the 2025-26 Hackmatack non-fiction Children's Book Award! The Hackmatack Award and reading group voting process is a wonderful way to engage young readers, and connect writers, illustrators and students. Thank you for choosing She is Hope for Wildlife for this meaningful Award! Woohoooo!!!

https://substack.com/@wandabaxter/not...

Thank you Cindy Blanding
for this lovely review https://ebcreviews.wordpress.com/2025...

Written for young readers, but appealing to all ages, is this wonderful, true story about an incredible woman who has cared for over 80,000 injured and orphaned animals since 1997.

She is Hope for Wildlife is a charming, well-written, and beautifully illustrated book for young readers. This book is about the life of Hope Swinimer as she grew up in rural Nova Scotia loving animals and dreaming about a place “where animals were free and safe to roam, and where people and animals live without fear of each other”. This engaging book is able to capture Hope’s young life and her passion for animals in a way that could help other young readers see the possibilities in following their own dreams. The book follows Hope’s life into adulthood and the struggles and accomplishments along the way toward establishing her wildlife rescue centre in Seaforth, Nova Scotia called “Hope for Wildlife”.

Living in the Maritimes and being someone who is a real “nature lover”, I have always been especially drawn to the news articles and social media posts about raptors being rehabilitated in Nova Scotia. Until reading this book, I never really connected the wonderful work being done to save these birds with the idea of who might being doing the rehabilitation work. She is Hope for Wildlife helped connect the dots for me, and gave me even more understanding of, and appreciation for, the wonderful work being done to save wild animals in the Maritimes. Lastly, if you are a young reader or an adult, She is Hope for Wildlife is simply a great read.

I notice a recent review from @Wunderdrugged about She is Hope for Wildlife that is positive overall, but adds a criticism that the book should have had information about the wildlife rescue and how to donate.

I agree this is important, and there is a whole page (2nd last) about Hope for Wildlife and how to donate. Also, a portion of book sales goes to the wildlife rescue.

I tried to reply to your review, Wunderdrugged, but Goodreads won't let me for whatever reason (I've reported the glitch)

Please take another look at the book, Wunderdrugged. The omission you criticize is there. If it weren't, I would agree with your criticism.

Thanks for reading She is Hope for Wildlife, and for taking time to review. - Wanda

New Book Makes Hope Swinimer’s Story Available to Young Readers
A Non-Fiction YA Review by Lisa Timpf
THE SEABOARD REVIEW
OCT 27, 2024

I first encountered the compelling story of Hope Swinimer, the Nova Scotia wildlife rehabilitator who founded Hope for Wildlife, in Peter Mansbridge’s Extraordinary Canadians: Stories from the Heart of Our Nation. Hope’s story is now available in a book targeted at young readers. Titled She is Hope for Wildlife: The Story of Wildlife Rescuer Hope Swinimer, the book was written by Hope for Wildlife volunteer Wanda Baxter. Cape Breton artist Leah Boudreau’s colourful illustrations support and enhance the text.

She is Hope for Wildlife hits the highlights of Hope’s story, from her childhood in Argyle, Nova Scotia, to operating a successful wildlife rehabilitation facility in Seaforth, Nova Scotia. The signs of Hope’s future passion were there early. As a child, Hope “would sit for hours patiently observing the world, watching frogs and birds and squirrels and insects, and she’d make notes and drawings about what she saw.”

Hope was realistic enough to know she couldn’t afford to start a wildlife rehabilitation facility right away, so she took an accounting degree and got a job in that field so she could earn enough money to fulfil her dreams. Hope paid for her post-secondary education by picking strawberries and blueberries to sell by the roadside, and by selling health-care products door to door.

The road to building and growing Hope for Wildlife was not without its bumps. When Hope was approached to do a television show about her work, she had to weigh the opportunity carefully. Things could have gone badly, but she did it anyway, and the risk was worth the reward: The reality television show Hope for Wildlife TV has given Hope’s wildlife rescue operations an international platform.

“She is Hope for Wildlife introduces readers to some of the animals Hope encountered along the way, including Zorro the skunk, Bobbi the robin, and Gretel the pine marten.”

She is Hope for Wildlife introduces readers to some of the animals Hope encountered along the way, including Zorro the skunk, Bobbi the robin, and Gretel the pine marten. There is also a section outlining how Hope for Wildlife has changed over time. Since the startup of Hope for Wildlife in 1997, Hope’s organization has been rescuing, rehabilitating, and releasing wildlife. The numbers add up: Hope for Wildlife has helped more than 80,000 injured and orphaned wild animals representing more than 250 species.

There are many books about people pursuing their dreams, but She is Hope for Wildlife stands out among them for a few reasons. Hope followed her passions, but she did so step by step, taking courses to build her skills along the way. She’s not a famous athlete, politician or astronaut, but her story is worth telling. She is someone who cares deeply about helping others who could not help themselves (in this case, animals), so it’s a story that engenders empathy. Finally, Hope’s story demonstrates some of the qualities that enable a person to achieve their dreams: courage, tenacity, empathy, and dedication.

She is Hope for Wildlife encourages young readers to think broadly when they consider their passions. Hope’s story also provides proof that sometimes, great achievements do begin with childhood dreams.

About the Author
Wanda Baxter lives on an old farm in Lunenburg County, Nova Scotia, with her long-time partner, Randy, their gregarious cat, George, and an ever-changing assortment of wildlife. Wanda has Masters degrees in English (with Creative Writing) and Environmental Design, and works as an environmental consultant primarily for non-profit environmental organizations. She is a volunteer on the dispatch team for Hope for Wildlife and is the author of If I Had an Old House on the East Coast, illustrated by Kat Frick Miller. This is her first book for children.

https://www.theseaboardreview.ca/p/ne...

After being sold out and out of print fro nearly 8 months, If I had an Old House on the East Coast is back in print! Our 4th printing is a slightly different edition and we are excited to report that this edition is beautifully printed and bound, and has minor edits so it is more broadly relateable.

It was so exciting to get an email from the editor of Cape Cod Life last spring asking for a copy of If I had an Old House on the East Coast. She had seen a postcard we sent when the book was published, and she wanted to read it for potential review in Cape Cod Home.

You can absolutely have a review copy, I told her, and popped it in the mail. Kat Frick Miller (illustrator) sent along files of illustrations from the book, and we waited to hear back. When the review came out, we couldn't have been happier (though they may have mentioned we were Canadian - but the book was written for anyone with an old house on the east coast, whichever side of the border!).

The review is spread over 6 pages of the summer issue of Cape Cod Home (via capecodlife.com), and it is as positive and glowing as we could hope for. Susan Dewey is a former editor of Cape Cod Life publications, and her review is personal and informed: she lives in an old captain's house herself.

Here is what she says of If I had an Old House on the East Coast:

"A diminutive gem of a book available online at Nimbus Publishing, will inspire you to travel down the path of finding your own old house on the East Coast. Small enough to fit on your bedside table, If I had an Old House on the East Coast, by Wanda Baxter, delights with whimsical water-colour illustrations by artist Kat Frick Miller, evoking the quiet charm and comfort of coastal cottage living with poetic immediacy and practical, do-it-yourself know-how."

Right from the first page, Baxter catches your imagination and holds on tight when she says, "If I had an old house on the east coast, I would fall in love at first sight. It would grab me by the heart and not let go."

This review in Cape Cod Home was a wonderful and happy surprise, and a perfect way to celebrate the anniversary of 5 years since it was published.

Thank you to the team at Cape Cod Home. It was a dream to see our book reviewed so beautifully in your magazine. If I Had an Old House on the East Coast Wanda Baxter

When Kat Frick Miller and I were putting the final touches on our book If I had an Old House on the East Coast, we discussed whether we wanted to dedicate it to anyone. Neither Kat nor I did; it didn’t seem the kind of book that needed that kind of gravitas. Over time, though, I have regretted that decision. I wish I had dedicated it to my grandmothers.

Our book's third printing is planned for this Spring (fingers crossed), and I would like to dedicate it to my grandmothers. Neither of my grandmothers had the luxury of doing things like DIY renovations, or making things by hand for pleasure. They also didn’t have the money to maintain and improve their old homes. I doubt either of my grandmothers ever waxed poetic about living in an old house.

So, If I had an Old House on the East Coast is, in part, for my grandmothers Margaret Sarah Barnes and Florence Baxter; for the things they helped me to appreciate and be grateful for, and for their tough and tenacious spirits.