It was no surprise to me that the book Jackson took out to read (and subsequently, accidentally tore) was written in a graphic format. Comics have a long history of popularity with young children (and if I am being absolutely honest, with many an adult, as the wildly popular Toronto Comic Arts Festival can attest). […]
Augusta Garrick is good-natured and helpful but when you’re a pirate, being good is BAD. At least that’s what her father, Captain Barnacle Garrick, seems to think. He wants no kindhearted scurvy scabs on board his ship, that’s for sure: “On this ship yez got to be saucy and yez got to be bold but […]
Interested in learning about the heyday of cycling in Toronto? Be sure to visit our current exhibit Toronto’s Sporting Past in the TD Gallery located on the main floor of the Toronto Reference Library. Catch the exhibit before it closes on September 5! You can also check out our virtual exhibit to learn more. Librarian Joanna Morrison, one of the curators of […]
In Baseballogy, author and illustrator (and former sportscaster) Kevin Sylvester takes the reader on an all-inclusive tour of the world of baseball, with fun facts, figures and juicy tidbits from baseball’s colourful history. He tells it all, from the measurements of various baseball diamonds and the composition of a baseball (surprising!) to the breakdown of […]
Today you can catch the Men’s Single Sculls Final at the Toronto 2015 Pan Am Games. Did you know that back in the late 19th century, single sculls rowing was one of the most popular sporting events in the city? In fact, Ned Hanlan, a handsome and mustachioed young sculler from Toronto is widely regarded as Canada’s first […]
Clever wordplay abounds in The Duck Says by British Columbian author, Troy Wilson. As the loquacious gander roams the farmyard, he says much more than just “Quack.” Effusive and emotive, the duck says “Arrr!” when he pretends to be a pirate, or when he is chased by a swarm of angry bees. While leaping over […]
In Charis Cotter’s ghost story, The Swallow, twelve-year-old Rose McPherson may as well be invisible. Her workaholic paren’ts have no time for her, she has no friends, and she often feels like she’s invisible. As if that weren’t enough, she is constantly plagued by ghosts that are invisible to everybody else. Rose’s neighbour, Polly Lacey, […]
In Wild Ideas: Let Nature Inspire Your Thinking, Californian professor and science consultant, Elin Kelsey, posits problems are not obstacles to be feared, but rather, are marvellous opportunities for innovation. In a friendly, conversational tone, this informational picture book showcases creative problem solving skills from the animal kingdom. For example, thirsty chimpanzees make improvised spoons […]
What could possibly become of the gunk, toys, and wrappers that get shoved under the bed? Governor General award-winning illustrator Ron Lightburn provides one daunting possibility: it could become an unstoppable, disgusting creature! In Frankenstink! Garbage Gone Bad, a boy’s runaway imagination and messy-room problems converge. It’s a picture book kids won’t be able to […]
You have just two more weeks to check out Exposed, on display at the TD Gallery on the first floor of the Toronto Reference Library. Exposed is our first exhibition of images from the Toronto Star Photograph Archive – a collection of over one million images donated by the Toronto Star to the Toronto Public […]