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. 

Fun Ways to Explore Poetry with Children

Did you know that April is Poetry Month? Why not take a bit of time to learn about some of the wonderful poets who write for children and live in Nova Scotia. You can download the following books plus other titles by these and other authors from OverDrive with your library card. 

Apples and Butterflies by Shauntay Grant

From patchwork-quilt farmland to the winding red roads, from sandy beaches to the endless stars at night, Apples and Butterflies shows Prince Edward Island shining in the bright blue and gold light of fall. 

Shauntay Grant is a writer and storyteller from Halifax, NS. She was Halifax's Poet Laureate from 2009 until 2011. You can learn more about her on her website. 

Everybody's Different on Everybody Street by Sheree Fitch. 

Sheree Fitch's playful words lead you into this beautiful children's book and invite you to celebrate our gifts, our weaknesses, our differences, and our sameness. Fitch displays her wit and mastery of words in quick, rollicking rhymes that are complemented by Emma FitzGerald's lively illustrations.

Sheree Fitch is one of PARL's former Writers-in-Residence. She is a well-known writer, storyteller, podcaster, and owner of Mabel Murple’s Books Shoppe and Dreamery located in River John, NS.  You can learn more about Sheree Fitch on her website. 

Although not specifically for children, Song of Rita Joe: Autobiography of a Mi'kmaw Poet by Rita Joe is very important to acknowledge. Rita Joe has become known as the Poet Laureate of the Mi'kmaq people. She faced intolerance, ignorance and abuse—searched her culture for strength—and wrote poems of clarity and encouragement that continue to inspire. Song of Rita Joe includes 75 of her poems.  I Lost My Talk is one of Rita Joe's most powerful poems about her experiences in a residential school. It has been published as a children's picture book, illustrated by Pauline Young. You can find copies of that book in our library branches but unfortunately we do not have it available to borrow digitally. 









Exploring poetry with children can be a fun way to exercise some creativity. Here are a few activities you can try at home:

Book Spine Poetry

It's pretty simple... grab a bunch of books and stack them in such a way to create a poem using the titles on the book spines.  Check out this post on the Scholastic website for more information.  Here is an example so you can see how this works:

Dog Days

Super sketchy

Tricks and games to teach your dog

How to speak dog.

Click, clack, splish, splash,

Holes!

Top dogs: true stories of canines that made history.

OK, it's not great. Give it a try and see how what you can come up with!

Found Words Poetry

Cut words out of an old magazine, flyer, or newspaper and use the words to create a poem. You can even glue them on a piece of paper or start a poetry journal. 

Poem in Your Pocket

National Poetry Month is an initiative of the League of Canadian Poets. One of the activities suggested on their website is "Poem in Your Pocket Day" which takes place on April 30. The idea is to take a poem with you in your pocket to share with others. Since that is not possible during all of the social distancing measures that are in place another option could be to share favorite poem with family or friends through a chat or video message.

Happy Poetry Month!

Online Learning in a Time of Uncertainty

Schools are Closed Until May 1st at the Earliest... Now What? 

As a parent I can understand what was going through the minds of other parents when we heard the news that school closures were being extended until May 1. Lots of us are scratching our heads trying to figure out if and/or how we are going to help our children navigate their studies so that they can end the school year on a successful note. And many teachers are now scrambling on how to make their lesson plans accessible to students online while also reaching the many children and youth who do not have suitable Internet access at home.

While online opportunities are not always the best substitute for personal contact, we at Pictou-Antigonish Regional Library have done our best to increase our online presence so that children, teens, adults (everyone, really) has access to recreational and educational materials while our branches remain closed.

Some of you may already be familiar with TumbleBooks, the collection of online, animated eBooks for children that PARL has subscribed to for the past number of years. From the makers of TumbleBooks, PARL is now introducing TeenBookCloud, a collection of eBooks and audiobooks for aimed at youth in grades 7-12.  TeenBookCloud has something for every interest or reading level and includes a wide variety of novels, classics, and graphic novels. There is also a selection of non-fiction books and videos that may come in handy for various classes.

Unlike many other online library collections, the books in TeenBookCloud are not checked out or downloaded so there is no waiting list and books are accessible right away. 


Here are a few titles in TeenBookCloud that might be of interest:



A Stranger at Home by Christy Jordan-Fenton and Margaret Pokiak-Fenton
A memoir based on Margaret Pokiak-Fenton who, at ten years of age, was a stranger in her northern community after arriving home from a residential school.







The Night Wanderer by Drew Hayden Taylor

Newcomers to the Otter Lake native reserve don’t go unnoticed for long. So it’s no surprise that 16-year-old Tiffany’s curiosity is piqued when her father rents out her room to a complete stranger.But little do Tiffany, her father, or even her insightful Granny Ruth suspect the truth about their guest. The mysterious Pierre L’Errant has a dreadful secret. After centuries roaming Europe as a brooding vampire, he has returned home to reclaim his Native roots before facing the rising sun and certain death. 




The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo

Welcome to the story of Despereaux Tilling, a mouse who is in love with music, stories, and a princess named Pea. It is also the story of a rat called Roscuro, who lives in the darkness and covets a world filled with light. And it is the story of Miggery Sow, a slow-witted serving girl who harbors a simple, impossible wish. These three characters are about to embark on a journey that will lead them down into a horrible dungeon, up into a glittering castle, and, ultimately, into each other’s lives. 


In addition to these few suggestions, there are also a variety of classics, Shakespeare plays, Hi/Lo readers, short stories, and even a few books in French. You can find the full collection of books linked from our website. You probably don't need to use your library card to access this collection but it is useful to have one for accessing other resources. If you don't have a library card, you can apply for a free card on our website.