Hackmatack Children's Choice Book Award

The Hackmatack Children's Choice Book Award is a literary program designed for young readers in Atlantic Canada. Each year, thousands of children in grades 4-6 read from the shortlisted titles and vote for the winners. Books are selected from Canadian titles published for children over the last two years and are chosen "to spark the imagination and to illustrate a variety of stories, voices, and cultural experiences for young readers in Atlantic Canada."  There are four categories of books:

English Fiction
English Nonfiction
French Fiction
French Nonfiction

You can find more information about Hackmatack, the 2020 shortlist, as well as past winners and nominees on the Hackmatack website. 



Several of the Hackmatack-nominated titles, in both English and French, are available to borrow in eBook format from OverDrive. If you are a fan of Nova Scotia's favorite weatherperson, Frankie MacDonad, you can borrow his book Be Prepared: The Frankie MacDonald Guide to Life, the Weather, and Everything by Frankie MacDonald and Sarah Sawler. 

Sarah Sawler's book 100 Things You Don't Know About Nova Scotia is also one of the shortlisted titles that is available to borrow on OverDrive. 

In addition to titles from the 2019-2020 shortlist, there are also titles from previous years. 





Due to COVID-19, this year's Hackmatack tour is a bit different. In person readings, class visits, and the big award ceremony have been cancelled but Hackmatack is offering a series of author readings via their Facebook page. Make sure you visit their page to take part in upcoming readings and see some that you might have missed. 

Becoming a Backyard Nature Expert

Now that we are finally getting some spring weather, it is a good time to explore plants and animals you can find in your own backyard and community. I was inspired to write this post when I read an article in The Guardian about how "rebel botanists" are using graffiti to name the wild plants they come across in their communities. Let's be clear, I am not advocating graffiti. This movement, which started in France, involves using chalk to write the name of a plant on the sidewalk next to it. Think about the plants you find growing in sidewalk cracks. Do you know what they all are? Most of us know what dandelions look like but what about some of the other plants? It would be interesting to find out.  The Nova Scotia Museum has a free downloadable book that can help with plant identification. You can download the book in pdf format at https://ojs.library.dal.ca/NSM/pages/view/Plants. 

While the Nova Scotia Museum book is very thorough and a top-notch plant identification guide, the pdf is more than 1500 pages and not easy to search. A few websites to help with local plant and tree identification are:

The Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources has a variety of resources to assist with tree identification. Trees of the Acadian Forest is an introductory guide for most tree species found in the Acadian forest. 

The Nova Scotia Young Naturalists Club is a great opportunity to learn from other young people in Nova Scotia. There is information about local clubs (and how to start one) plus there are a variety of links to helpful identification sites. 

Common Shrubs, Herbs, and Mosses of Nova Scotia is a project of the Mersey Tobeatic Research Institute

Nova Scotia Wild Flora Society is a non-profit organization dedicated to the appreciation of wild flora and habitat in Nova Scotia.

The University of Massachusetts Amherst has a very comprehensive list of plant identification websites. This is an American resource but you can find information about all types of North American trees, shrubs, weeds, grasses, etc.

Citizen Science

You can put your new plant identification skills to work by helping with some "citizen science." Citizen science allows the public to participate and collaborate in scientific research and increase scientific knowledge. 

NatureWatch gives Canadians the opportunity to help scientists track changes in the environment. According to the NatureWatch website "information you submit to our NatureWatch programs is pooled with information submitted by other participants across Canada, and is used by researchers at several Canadian universities to improve scientific knowledge of changes in Canada’s biodiversity, climate, and the natural environment. Being a NatureWatcher costs nothing, and is a great activity for children, adults, families, groups, and clubs. You choose the places where you go to enjoy nature – your backyard, a neighbourhood park, or a favourite forest, field or pond – and use the NatureWatch website on your smartphone to record the frogs, flowers, worms, or ice conditions you observe there."

iNaturalist is a free app that helps you identify plants and animals around you. Recording and sharing your observations can help generate data for scientists and you have the opportunity to connect with a community of scientists and naturalists who can help you learn more about natutre. 

Nature Books for Children

OverDrive has a few eBooks of interest to young naturalists. Check out the series of books by Peggy Kochanoff:

Be a Wilderness Detective

Be a Pond Detective

Be a City Nature Detective

Be a Night Detective

Be a Beach Detective

A Primer on PressReader

You may have heard by now that PARL has subscribed to a new service called PressReader. PressReader is a collection of over 7000 digital newspapers and magazines in more than 100 languages from more than 60 countries. With so much content, there is sure to be something of interest to everyone. 

You can find all the information you need to access PressReader from the PARL website. You will need your free library card and your PIN, which is usually the last four digits of your phone number.  If you don't have a card, you can request one online from our website. 

Once you are signed in, browse away for titles that might interest you. You can select different categories, search by language, or by country. In addition to the many newspapers and magazines for adults, there are also a variety of magazines for children and youth. You can scroll down the list of categories until you find "For Kids & Tweens". 

The following titles are just few examples of magazines that children and teens might be interested in reading on PressReader. 

110% Gaming is packed with stories about Minecraft, Fortnite, and other games, plus updates from favorite YouTubers. This magazine is sure to appeal to any young gamer. 















Canadian Geographic features articles about plants, animals, and various other topics. There are also quizzes and games so children can test their knowledge.

















Young Rider is geared towards kids who love horses and ponies and includes articles about animal care, riding tips, and much more. But be warned, there is a classifieds section so don't be surprised if your young horse or pony enthusiast comes away with a bit of a wishlist! 

While you are browsing for magazines for your children, keep an eye out for magazines and newspapers that might interest you as well. If you are looking for the latest news on COVID-19 or want to escape with topics like entertainment or crafts, fashion or fishing, cooking or cars, you will find something in PressReader. 

Happy Reading!

Talking to Children About the Coronavirus

I think it is safe to say that we are all in uncharted territory right now. Routines have gone by the wayside, parents and/or guardians may be working from home (if they are lucky enough to still be working) or they may be putting their own health at risk by heading out to work in one of the essential services that are still available to us. This is a very confusing time for everyone, especially children who are missing their friends, family members, teachers, and other people that they are used to seeing on a regular basis. 

To help families navigate this difficult time, we have compiled a few resources that may be useful in explaining the current situation to children. 

Nosy Crow, a small publishing company based out of the UK, has created a free information book explaining the coronavirus to children. The book was illustrated by Axel Sheffler, illustrator of a very popular children's book called the Gruffalo, and was developed with input from Professor Graham Medley of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. You can download the book in PDF format  or read the book directly from their website. 

Little Puddins is a blog and resource site run by Amanda Mc Guinness (The Autism Educator) a parent of children with special needs. Her printable handout Coronavirus Social Narrative  is a helpful tool to for parents of children with autism.

You may also find some helpful books that can be downloaded from OverDrive. You will need a library card to access these books so if you don't already have one, you can apply for one on our website. 

Germs are Not for Sharing by Elizabeth Verdick 

This book is aimed at children ages 4-7 and teaches children what germs are, what they do, and why it is so important to keep them from spreading. 

Tracking an Epidemic by Tamara B. Orr 

This book tasks readers with following clues and using the scientific method to find out what happens during the spread of an epidemic. 

Engineering Solutions for Epidemics and Pandemics by Kara Rogers

This book is geared towards older children and teens and explores epidemic and pandemic threats and approaches to disease detection, prevention, and surveillance. 

Young children might enjoy the catchy TumbleTune  'Til the Virus Ends, available via our website on TumbeBooks.  

Web Resources

PBS Kids has some great articles on their website. Here are two that might be of interest.

• How to Talk to Your Kids About Coronavirus 
• How You and Your Kids Can De-Stress During Coronavirus

Talking to Kids About COVID-19 from Anxiety Canada.

Scholastic has some articles geared towards teachers and broken down by grade level. 

Please let us know if you have any helpful resources that can be added to this site.