What comes to mind when you think of winter? Sure you might say "festive" or "beautiful", but what about "cold, expensive, and busy"? Seems like the perfect time to share some of our low-cost ideas to keep your family entertained through the season.
1. Bake Custom Cookies
Yea, baking cookies is a bit of an easy suggestion, we know. But when you've got custom cookie cutters? That'll elevate your cookie game to an entirely new level.
Who doesn't love personalizing their space? Use our awesome Silhouette Cameo vinyl cutter in one of our makerspaces to print some cool vinyl stickers. Designing a sticker is super easy - it can be a favourite quote or something as simple as a name. Let your child's creativity run wild as they choose how to personalize their space!
3. Read Together
Would it be a blog post from the library if we didn't talk about books? Being stuck indoors in cold weather is the perfect excuse to curl up together and actively read with a child. Besides encouraging literacy at home, taking time and sitting down to pick a book and explore a story together helps build a great habit, and may perhaps spark a new favourite cold weather activity.
To help you out, we've asked our staff to share their favourite children's books with you. It was tough, but here are their all time favourite picks:
Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? (for storytimes and when my kids were younger)
Madeline / Pippi Longstocking (when I was younger) - Carolyn
I think it is a tie between Brian Jacques - Castaways of the Flying Dutchman and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling. - Gifty
This is hard, there are so many to choose from. I'll go with "The Paperbag Princess" by Robert Munsch - Bonnie-Kay
The Watermelon Seed by Greg Pizzoli (and soooo many more...this was a hard one for me!) - Jennifer G.
My favourite current children's book is Bark Georgeby Jules Feiffer or almost anything by Karma Wilson, especially the Bear series, andThe Cow Loves Cookies. My own childhood favourite was definitely Little Womenby Louisa May Alcott (I've read it many times and cried each time) and Mara, Daughter of the Nileby Eloise Jarvis McGraw - Donna
"I want my hat back" by Jon Klassen or...really any Dr. Seuss one. -Samantha
Feeling inspired? Be sure to share your winter activity adventures and tag us @BramptonLibary!
As library staff, are always trying to get to know our customers, their preferences, reading interests, habits and so on. Often, we find the best way to get to know the people we're serving is by allowing them to get to know more about us. And so, the "Staff Confessions" series was born - welcome!
In this post we want to explore reading spaces. We all know our favourite places to read (ahem, THE LIBRARY) - but life is not ideal, and book lovers are persistent, which led us to ask our staff members the following:
What is the strangest place you've ever found yourself reading a book?
"I recently was reading a book in a tattoo shop in Toronto while getting a tattoo done. That's one of the stranger places I've found myself reading." - Samantha
"Bathtub..." - Jennifer
"In the car. I was actually listening to an audiobook, which isn’t all that strange - until the story took a sad turn and there I was crying alone in my car." - Julia
"As a kid, I would read in the car (which is odd because I suffered from motion sickness). Now I can't do it - I get queasy right away." - Donna
"The passport office!" June
"On a bus in Italy"-Carolyn
"The strangest place I've ever found (I continue to do) myself reading a book is the closet in my bedroom. My grand parents and my parents are avid readers. I remember reading under the moonlight in Sri Lanka as we went through difficult times without power. But that didn't stop us from reading. To get away from my kids and husband, I read in my closet as it is the last place they would find me in. My daughter is now 20 and my son is 14 and they still don't know my secret place." - Sujatha
As expected,wherewe choose to read seems to tell us a lot about the reader, in a way that is very different from the things we can gather by knowingwhatsomeone chooses to read (or not read). Our next post will explore the latter.
Until then, it's your turn:What is the strangest place you've ever found yourself reading?
Do you wish your child would graduate from comic books to chapter books? Are you nervous that he or she isn’t getting enough out of reading time because of his or her love of graphic novels? Then you’ve come to the right place! By the end of this post, we hope that your anxieties will be alleviated and peace restored in your happy home.
Below is a list of comments we frequently hear about comic books. Perhaps they sound familiar! Read further for some insights from your local librarians:
“I want my child to start reading ‘real’ books, but all she wants to read are comics.”
Fear not, caring parent! Comic booksarereal books! They have pages, a spine, words, a publisher, and all of the other physical elements of those classics you grew up reading. But, that’s far from the whole story. Comics are also very effective at developing crucial twenty-first century literacy skills, such as visual and multimedia literacy, where regular prose falls short.
“I want him reading more challenging books.”
Like prose books, some comic books are easier to read than others, but that doesn’t mean that it’s all fluff. You’d be surprised how complex the vocabulary and storylines are in many comics, and how much more your child is likely learning from them. You see, readers don’t tend to skim comics. It takes time to appreciate the many nuances of the words and pictures which are meant to complement, not replace, one another. Comic readers often go back and read what they read on previous pages/panels which encourages reflection and a deeper understanding of concepts. In fact, many textbooks in South Korea are written in comic book format for this reason. Having pictures alongside complex vocabulary reinforces meaning as well, so your child is more likely to stop and think about what a difficult word means rather than brush past it.
“She just keeps reading the same book over and over.”
That’s so great! She’s identifying strongly with these stories and characters. Repeated reading is going to help her figure out her own identity. This is a very empowering exercise for her. Research also tells us that kids must feel confident about their reading choices in order to identify as readers. Let her read what she loves today, and she’ll love a wide range of books in time.
“But there are pictures! Isn’t that juvenile?”
We don’t know about you, but we’re advocates for the visual arts. Whether you are going to an art gallery or studying the panels of a comic, you’re experiencing and promoting the arts and we think that’s pretty cool.
Okay, I know we’re being a bit cheeky here. We don’t mean to judge or shame anyone for having misconceptions about comics. In fact, we understand it. Canada and the United States have a rathernegative historywith comics, so these attitudes are simply an innocent byproduct of our environment. Canadians are often surprised to hear that in many other countries throughout the world, comics are embraced as a valid, complex, and culturally enriching literary form. While we have a long way to go, attitudes are slowly improving in the west. In fact,this year’s Man Booker prize’s longlist includes a graphic novel for the first time in the history of this prestigious award! This is great news for all of us, including your children whose literacy skills will be all the better for embracing comics.
Convinced? Below is a list of some popular Canadian children’s comicsas recommended by CBC Kids. Click on the titles for links to the series in Brampton Library’s catalogue.
“A series of 4 comics featuring an intrepid girl and the fantastic world in which she has adventures -Hilda and the Troll, Hilda and the Midnight Giant, Hilda and the Bird Parade, andHilda and the Black Hound. Join Hilda and her companion Twig throughout their adventures into strange worlds ruled by magical forces. On the streets of Trolberg, she meets mountain trolls, salt lions, rat kings, and the mysterious Midnight Giant.”
“Follow 14-year-old Dessa Reid, an acrobat in a traveling circus, as she travels from one end of the world to the other in search of her long lost brother. Along with Topher, the circus juggler, and Fisk, the circus strongman, the three thieves flee from the Queen’s Dragons, rescue a prince, meet up with Smuggler Quinn and get captured by the King of Pirates - in a series of 5 graphic novels.”
“After discovering a magic totem hidden in the woods near Grammy's house, ten-year-old Rufus suddenly finds himself with the power to transform into Bigfoot Boy. And with that power comes some awesome adventures for Rufus, his pal Penny and their squirrel sidekick, Sidney.”
“Raina just wants to be a normal sixth grader. But one night after Girl Scouts she trips and falls, severely injuring her two front teeth, and what follows is a long and frustrating journey with on-again, off again braces, embarrassing headgear, and even a retainer with fake teeth attached!”
“Raina can’t wait to be a big sister. But once Amara is born, things aren’t quite how she expected them to be. Amara is cute, but she’s also a cranky, grouchy baby and mostly prefers to play by herself. But when a baby brother enters the picture years later, they realize they must figure out how to get along. They are sisters, after all.”
“Saving the world, one cell at a time… Squish! In this three graphic novel series, a comic book-loving, twinkie-eating grade school amoeba tries to find his place in the world - or at least tries to make it through a school day. Inspired by his favourite comic book hero, Super Amoeba!, Squish has to navigate school, family and friends.”
“After being run out of Boneville, the three Bone cousins, Fone Bone, Phoney Bone and Smiley Bone are separated and lost in a vast uncharted desert. One by one they find their way into a deep forested valley filled with wonderful and terrifying creatures. It will be the longest - but funniest - year of their lives.”
“Meet Bink and Gollie, two mature little girls who are the very best of friends - one tiny, one tall, and both impossible to control. Setting out from their super-deluxe treehouse and powered by plenty of peanut butter (for Bink) and pancakes (for Gollie), they share three comical adventures involving really bright socks, a trek to the Andes mountains, and a most unlikely marvellous companion.”
“When nine-year-old Bud accidentally catches the wrong bus and finds himself launched into a faraway galaxy, making friends is the least of his problems! At Cosmos Academy, Bud soon learns that Earthlings are the most feared creatures in the galaxy. With the help of his new friend Gort, Bud hides his true identity and even learns to play anti-gravity Zero-Ball. But will Bud be lost in space forever?”
“This popular series of 10 graphic novels follows Greg Heffley as he finds himself thrust into middle school, where undersized weaklings share the hallways with kids who are taller, meaner, and already shaving! Share the hazards of growing up before you’re ready through the words and drawings in Greg’s diary.”
This post was inspired and informed by the session “CONVINCING PARENTS, TEACHERS, AND OTHER GATEKEEPERS – advocate for your comics collection!” which was presented at Toronto Comic Arts Festival (TCAF)’s Librarian & Educator Day on Friday, May 11th, 2018.
As librarians, we are often faced with requests to track down books with very vague details (i.e. "It has a blue cover...it was about...science?").
The reality is, rarely do we actually find success in tracking down these ambiguous titles. Sometimes the requestor is confused about the subject, or in fact whether it was a book or movie that they are recalling (true story). However, we have good days too, and last week was one of those.
Robyn (pictured with her dad, and her favourite photo filter, because, why not?) came to the information desk on the hunt for a book that had a dark cover, had a word starting with "e" in the title, and involved teen characters. Eight deeply determined minutes later, we struck gold!
So when subject fields in the catalogue fail you - what other methods can you use to track down a hazy description with an ill-defined set of parametres? Here are my favourite resources:
This is a great option when the title in question is related to another title, such as "The one that's with Jack Reacher, but the sad one...". With endless lists and reviews, this website is a goldmine for finding that specific needle in the literary haystack.
Similair to Goodreads, but a bit less noisy. The readalikes tool here is a gift when someone is looking for, well, you guessed it, a read-a-like. They are searchable and organized by title or author, so you're sure to get a hit fairly easily. And often, even if you don't find the specific title you're looking for, this website has a tendency to lead us to a bunch of other tempting reading options within minutes of browsing.
Most frequently, books that are described by their cover (i.e. "it has a pencil on the cover") are ones that customers have recently seen displayed somewhere (the library, Indigo, an advertisement somewhere). The simplest method here is to go over to Amazon's book page, and take a look at the first page of featured titles. Nine times out of ten, they spot the book by sight.
Sometimes, the toughest inquiries are the simplest: "What book should I read?". Don't panic. Novelist and Novelist K-8 (the latter is designed for younger readers) are the perfect tools for painless reader's advisory. This resource also offers read-alikes, and offers rich browsing categories. This is a terrific option for parents who want to explore reading options for their children.
Finally, the almighty Google. While some think that librarians are anti-Google, I am here to say that we definitely are not! Smart searching is always useful, and simple searching is sometimes necessary to begin honing in on a target. So, when faced with Robyn's request (dark cover, young adult characters, E in the title) - I took to the user friendly search engine to begin chipping away at the possibilities, sometimes jumping over to the images page to see if anything stood out. A few moments into the search, while discussing Young Adult fiction, Robyn remembered that the book took place underground. Well, then we had it! With that term added into the mix, The City of Ember jumped right out at us, and was promptly put on hold.
Robyn was thrilled to find the book, and also discover that it is part of the Books of Ember series. What a thrill (admittedly, if you're a librarian)!Also, Jeanne DuPrau's series is an absolute must-read, for young adults and adults alike, if you hadn't already decided to read it yourself. Happy Searching!
When I was a kid, my mom used to take me, my sister and my two brothers to the library all the time. We used to borrow books, movies and even cassette tapes (for those of you that are too young to remember, cassette tapes were a low tech way to listen to music).
Sometimes, we’d get really busy—with four kids at home, it’s a wonder my mom was able to get anything accomplished! Sometimes, during those busy weeks, we’d forget to return our library books and we’d have to pay an overdue fine. Sometimes the fines were big, sometimes they were small, but they always needed to be paid.
Fast forward to my teen years—many books, and many overdue fines later—and I’m looking for my first real job. My love for the library made the choice simple: I’d work there, putting books away after school. I loved it so much that I went on to complete a Masters degree in Library and Information Science, to become a professional Librarian. I chose to focus my work on services for children.
I always encourage children to have their own library cards and to take charge of choosing their favourite titles. Sometimes, those titles would come back to the library late, ripped, soaked in fruit punch, or they wouldn’t come back at all... Has this happened to you? Don’t worry, you’re not alone! One of the hardest parts of my job as a Librarian is asking for your allowance to pay for those little mishaps!
Today, I’m Brampton Library’s Manager of Children & Youth Services which, to me, is the best job in the world! In my role, I get to watch children and teens across this city experience all that their library has to offer. It also means I get to influence change on a system-wide level and watch our community benefit from those changes.
Very close to my heart was the recommendation to eliminate overdue fines on our children’s collections and I’m so happy to say that, with the full support of the members of the Brampton Library Board, this dream is now a reality. I’ve got to tell you that I have been waiting ALL SUMMER to share the good news!
So, what does this mean? Kids, it means that you can have your own library card and borrow up to 50 items at a time (check with your parents first, please!). You still need to bring them back to Brampton Library, but we won’t be charging you an overdue fine if you’re late. As long as you return the item to us in the same condition it was borrowed (no fruit punch, please!) you can keep every penny of your allowance.
I hope you are as excited about this positive change to library service in Brampton as I am, and I’d love to hear from you. You can reach me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Best wishes for your new school year! I hope to see you at the library soon.
Robyn (pictured with her dad, and her favourite photo filter, because, why not?) came to the information desk on the hunt for a book that had a dark cover, had a word starting with "e" in the title, and involved teen characters. Eight deeply determined minutes later, we struck gold!
Robyn was thrilled to find the book, and also discover that it is part of the Books of Ember series. What a thrill (admittedly, if you're a librarian)!
905-793-4636