Listen up

Another sign that winter is over is the return of free audio books from SYNC: Audiobooks for Teens.

Though it promotes itself as a summer program, the start up date is this week, Thursday, April 26th.  And, let's face it people, most of us are sick to death of winter and an 'early' start to summer is more than welcomed.

The deal with SYNC is to download two paired audio books based on a theme each week starting this Thursday until July 25th, 2018. You get a week to download the books and then get to keep them - forever! Such a deal!

Sign up by going to the homepage and entering your email address or texting syncYA 25827 to receive title alerts each week. 

First up are The Great War by various authors (including David Almond, John Boyne and Tracey Chevalier and A Study in Charlotte by Brittany Cavallaro. (Both available in the Doucette Library, in case you want to read along.)














Click on this page to see this season's line up.

Happy listening, Everyone.

A real beauty

The Doucette Library is coming into summer-mode – students’ final day was last Friday, exams are scheduled for the next couple of weeks and then--- ahhhhh….sigh… Catch-up time!

Catch-up for me includes reading way more picture books and today’s recommendation is a beauty.

You Hold Me Up by Monique Gray Smith, illustrated by Danielle Daniel is topping my highly recommended list for 2018.

It is a beautiful book gently told and simply illustrated about treating each other with kindness and respect. Everyday activities such as playing, listening, singing, comforting are all ways in which we can hold each other up – the overarching message of this book.  

Monique Gray Smith, a Canadian author of mixed-heritage Cree, Lakota and Scottish descent, has written the book in the spirit of reconciliation. In the author’s own words, she tells us,

“I wrote it to remind us of our common humanity and the importance of holding each other up with respect and dignity… At its heart, it is a book about love, building relationships and fostering empathy.”

I especially appreciate the illustrations depicting Indigenous children and adults in these common, everyday events. The illustrations are perfectly matched to this book with bright, bold colours, uncluttered spaces and stylized figures. It’s in keeping with the sparsely-worded yet affecting text.

This book should find a home in every primary grade classroom for discussions about how to treat one another, family and community.

Food for thought

A couple of recent additions to the Doucette Library’s collection made me realize the number of books that are in the library relating food to social issues and current events.  What a great way to explore contemporary issues and something we can all relate to in an interdisciplinary way, if we wanted to.

Below I’ve created a list and grouped books according to what they focus on.  Click on the titles of the books to go to the library’s catalogue to read a short summary about the exact content.

  

Global Food Issues (such as access, international trade, etc.)

-Chocolate: Sweet Science and Dark Secrets of the World’s Favorite Treat by Kay Frydenborg (Gr.6-10)

 -Down to Earth: How Kids Help Feed the World by Nutritional Issues (Gr.3-6)

Sugar Changed the World: a Story of Magic, Spice, Slavery, Freedom and Science by Marc Aronson (Gr.4-7)

Growing Food (eg. where does it come from)

-Before We Eat: From Farm to Table by Pat Brisson (Gr.K-2)

-Eat Up!: an Infographic Exploration of Food by Antonia Banyard (Gr. 4-7)

-The Children's Garden: Growing Food in the City by Carole Schaefer (Gr.K-2)

-Potatoes on Roof tops: Farming in the City by Hadley Dyer (Gr.4-8)

History and Culture

-Fifty Foods that Changed the Course of History by Bill Price (Gr.10 and up)

-Footprints: the Story of What We Eat by Paula Ayer (Gr. 6 and up)

-Man Eating Bugs: the Art and Science of Eating Insects by Peter Menzel (Gr.8 and up)

 -What's for Lunch?: How Schoolchildren Eat Around the World by Andrea Curtis (Gr.3-6)

-What I Eat: Around the World in 80 Diets by Peter Menzel (Gr.8 and up)

Issues and Events we hear about in the news (organic foods, eating locally produced food)

-Eating Local by Laura Perdew (Gr.4-7)

 -Meatless?: a Fresh Look at What We Eat by Sarah Elton (Gr.3-7)

-Hijacked: How Your Brain is Fooled by Food by David Kessler (Gr.7 and up)

-The Dorito Effect: the Surprising New Truth About Food and Flavor by Mark Schatzker (Gr.10 and up)

These books become an interesting way to discuss health issues, current events, science, history. Tie these books to some of the kits also available in the Doucette Library like the "How Much Fat?" kits that looks at the quantity of fat found in common foods, "How Much Sugar?" kit, also showing us in a very visual way how much sugar we consume. There's great potential for developing an interdisciplinary unit about a subject that is relevant and important for all of us.