The inspiration for this post came, from all places, a friend’s recent Facebook status, which read: Now hiring: someone to read Hand, Hand, Fingers, Thumb 4500 times a day. Pay is much higher than you'd think. The sentiment behind this appeal is universally shared by anyone who has spent some time around a toddler. The […]
This morning it happened: my 13 month old daughter sat on her grandfather's lap attentively listening to story after story. This may not seem like any grand achievement but for me it is, considering it lasted a whole fifteen minutes – I timed it! She hasn't sat still for that long since she started to walk. The […]
The first step to growing a reader is well, to grow a human! So in honour of babies in wombs everywhere, below are my top picks for pregancy related books. Many expecting paren’ts have questions about what sorts of books they themselves should read in order to prepare for childbirth and paren’thood. The short selection […]
Halloween is next week! Are you ready? If not, you and your loved ones can get into the holiday spirit by checking out a seasonally appropriate title, such as the ones described below. There's nothing like a good ghost story to get you in the mood to suit up, face the chilling fall breeze, and collect […]
At six months pregnant, I have recently turned my attention towards building a small home library to greet our expectant little bundle of joy. I’ve broken my list into two: board books and regular picture books. There’s a reason for this other than my obsessive compulsive ways. Board books, and their indestructible formats, are the […]
Color Dance (1989) by Ann Jonas is the textual reincarnation of Loie Fuller. Now how many times can you say that about a children's picture book?! Fuller, a modern dancer famous for her Serpentine Dance (1891) explored the relationship between colour and movement. And it is precisely this relationship which is so playfully depicted in […]
I adore the Knuffle Bunny series by Children's author Mo Willems. The way in which Willems fuses photography and illustration is a great imaginative prod. Yeah sure the characters are great, and the story is heart-warming, entertaining, and instructive, but it's the illustrations that really make the books stand out for me. When teaching children […]
In her wonderful book Reading Magic, Children's book author Mem Fox espouses a storeis-first approach over a strictly phonics-based approach to teaching kids how to read. Fox believes that at first, it is more important for children to develop a love of stories than it is for them to learn how to make the right […]
It's a party and you're all invited! The Black Creek Living History Project, as readers of this blog will know, was a local history project put together by York Woods Library staff, and a dedicated cadre of community volunteers. We are pleased to announce that the project itself is the subject of a Webinar being […]
Join us at the Downsview Branch on the morning of Thursday April 19th, 2012 to participate in this year's Keep Toronto Reading Festival with celebrated Children's author Frieda Wishinsky. Through her Canadian Flyer Adventure series, Wishinsky brings to life a number of cities across Canada, helping to broaden the “reader city” theme […]