News and activities at Norma Marion Alloway Library, Trinity Western University

Author: Krause (Page 3 of 40)

Christmas Themed Curriclum Resources

Christmas Time is Here! Check out our holiday themed book display in TWU’s Curriculum Resource Centre (CRC).

This specialized education resource library serves Trinity’s School of Education and local educators, and it provides a variety of resources for curriculum planning, research and teaching (including curriculum guides), teacher’s resources, and K-12 student resources.

Click on the link for more information. Learn how to place a Hold though our Holds Pickup. Or visit CRC located on the upper floor of the library and choose from these displayed titles and much more!

 

The Attic Christmas by B.G. Hennessy and illustrated by Dan Andreasen

Picture book that tells a story of a group of treasured Christmas ornaments who stage their own holiday celebration in the attic.

 A Firefly in a Fir Tree: A Carol for Mice by Hilary Knight

When the author discovered mice in his studio, he set about designing them a special outdoor home. The mice had unique talents of their own. Maude, an expert needle-mouse, complemented Max’s way with a hammer. Both shared a keen eye for found objects.

Baseball Bats for Christmas by Michael Arvaarluk Kusugak (Inuk) and illustrated by Vladyana Krykorka

The year is 1955 and Arvaarluk and his friends watch as Rocky Parsons lands his plane on the ice in Repulse Bay, a tiny community “smack dab on the Arctic Circle.” Having never seen trees before, the children try to guess what the six green spindly things are that Rocky delivers. One of the boys has a brilliant idea: why not use them as baseball bats?

Chinook Christmas by Rudy Wiebe and illustrated by David More

Christmas in the Prairies means snow and blizzards and bitterly cold winds. But what happens when a warm Chinook wind blows like an unexpected gift down from the Rocky Mountains, turning December into April in the blink of a child’s eye? What happens when the Chinook promises a temporary magic? What happens is the people of a small prairie town abandon old habits and emerge momentarily from the grip of the harsh cold to embrace this wonder.

Dream Soul by Laurence Yep

Young adult fiction about the story of Joan Lee and her younger siblings, Bobby and Emily, want for Christmas in 1927 is to be allowed to celebrate it. Joan longs to be just like everyone else, even if she is Chinese, but this will be the Lees’ first Christmas in West Virginia! Miss Lucy, their landlady and friend, innocently invites the family to celebrate Christmas with her. Joan’s parents resist at first, but that changes when Papa realizes he can turn it to his advantage.

Last Chimney of Christmas Eve by Linda Oatman High and illustrated by Kestutis Kasparavicius

It is Christmas Eve and Nicholas, a young chimney sweeper, has one last chimney to clean. Shivering in his ragged coat, he climbs inside the narrow, sooty chimney, working his way to the top. From the roof, he sees the glow of fireplaces in the houses below and inhales the smell of warm mincemeat. “Someday,” he thinks, “Christmas Eve will be joyful for me, the way it’s meant to be.” After the chimney is cleaned, the owner of the house surprises the boy with two presents: a big, warm coat and a glass snow dome. “Thank you for your kindness,” says Nicholas. “Pass it on,” says the man.

Olive, The Other Reindeer by Bruce Kilby

Young adult fiction about the story of Santa and his famous team of reindeer fail to return to the North Pole after his Christmas Eve delivery of toys around the world, Mrs. Claus fears the worst. What could have happened to keep Santa from his favourite chair by the fire on Christmas day? Desperate, Mrs. Claus chooses Olive, an inexperienced prankster of a reindeer, to launch out into the howling winds and frozen wasteland of the Arctic in search of the lost team and their beloved Santa Claus.

Culture Week in the CRC: Celebrating Stories & Voices from Around the World

Celebrate the stories and voices from around the world by checking out the display in the Curriculum Resource Centre (CRC) that features picture books, young adult novels and other curriculum resources.

This specialized education resource library serves Trinity’s School of Education and local educators, and it provides a variety of resources for curriculum planning, research and teaching (including curriculum guides), teacher’s resources, and K-12 student resources.

Click on the link for more information. Learn how to place a Hold though our Holds Pickup. Or visit CRC located on the upper floor of the library and choose from these displayed titles and much more!

 

Ada’s Violin: The Story of the Recycled Orchestra of Paraquay by Susan Hood and illustrated by Sally Wern Comport
(Grades: Kindergarten-3)

Ada Ríos grew up in Cateura, a small town in Paraguay built on a landfill. She dreamed of playing the violin, but with little money for anything but the essentials, it was never an option until a music teacher named Favio Chávez arrived. He wanted to give the children of Cateura something special, so he made them instruments out of materials found in the trash. It was a crazy idea, but one that would leave Ada and her town forever changed. Now, the Recycled Orchestra plays venues around the world, spreading their message of hope and innovation.

The Bite of the Mango by Mariatu Kamara with Susan McClelland
(Grades: 9-12)

As a child in a small rural village in Sierra Leone, Mariatu Kamara lived peacefully surrounded by family and friends. But when 12-year-old Mariatu set out for a neighboring village, she never arrived. Heavily armed rebel soldiers attacked and tortured Mariatu by cutting off both of her hands. Stumbling through the countryside, Mariatu miraculously survived. The sweet taste of a mango, her first food after the attack, reaffirmed her desire to live. With no parents or living adult to support her and living in a refugee camp, she turned to begging in the streets of Freetown. As told to her by Mariatu, journalist Susan McClelland has written the heartbreaking true story of the brutal attack, its aftermath and Mariatu’s eventual arrival in Toronto where she began to pull together the pieces of her broken life with courage, astonishing resilience and hope.

The Garbage King by Elizabeth Laird
(Grades: 8-10)

This young adult fiction Inspired by the true story of an Ethiopian childhood lived on the edge of destitution. When Mamo’s mother dies, he is abandoned in the shanties of Addis Ababa. Stolen by a child-trafficker and sold to a farmer, he is cruelly treated. Escaping back to the city, he meets another, very different runaway. Dani is rich, educated and fleeing his tyrannical father. Together they join a gang of homeless street boys who survive only by mutual bonds of trust and total dependence on each other.

The Librarian of Basra: A True Story from Iraq written and illustrated by Jeanette Winter
(Grades: Kindergarten-4)

In a war-stricken country where civilians have little power, this true story about a Alia Muhammad Baker a librarian in Barsa and the struggle to save her community’s priceless collection of books reminds us all how, throughout the world, the love of literature and the respect for knowledge know no boundaries.

Mikis and the Donkey by Bibi Dumon Tak and illustrated by Philip Hopman
(Grades: 3-6)

This is a story about Mikis and his pet donkey, Tsaki. Mikis is told by his grandfather that donkeys are working animals, not pets. However, Mikis and Tsaki become friends and the two have some grand adventures. Eventually, both Mikis and his grandfather learn a bit more about what exactly it means to care for another creature.

My Name is Number 4: A True Story by Ting-Xing Ye
(Grades: 10-12)

A powerful and passionate memoir for young readers, Ting-xing Ye tells, through the eyes of a child, the moving story of growing up in China during the Cultural Revolution. After the death of both her parents, Ting-xing and her four siblings endure the brutality of Red Guard attacks on their schools and even their house as they struggle against poverty and hunger. At sixteen, Ting-xing herself is exiled to a prison farm far from home.

 

National Day of Truth and Reconciliation: Curriculum Resources

Time to listen, learn, and celebrate Indigenous culture.

The National Day of Truth and Reconciliation honours the children who never returned home and Survivors of residential schools, as well as their families and communities. Public commemoration of the tragic and painful history and ongoing impacts of residential schools is a vital component of the reconciliation process.

For more information regarding Truth and Reconciliation, please visit the National Centre for Truth and ReconciliationTo learn about the meaning of wearing an orange shirt on September 30th, visit the Orange Shirt Society.

The Curriculum Resource Centre located in the Norma Marion Alloway Library contains various resources that create awareness of Survivors, families, and communities inter-generational impacts of residential schools.

Goodbye Buffalo Bay by Larry Loyie (Cree) with Constance Brissenden
(Interest Level: Grades 6-7)

In this novel, Lawrence learns the power of friendship and courage in his last year in residential school. Returning home, he finds himself a stranger to his family and First Nations culture until he hears his grandfather’s gentle guiding voice.

No Time to Say Goodbye: Children’s Stories of Kuper Island Residential School by Sylvia Olsen (Tsartlip First Nation) with Rita Morris (Tsartlip First Nation) and Ann Sam (Tsartlip First Nation)
(Interest Level: Grades 6-9)

Fictional account of five children sent to aboriginal boarding school, based on the recollections of a number of Tsartlip First Nations people. These unforgettable children are taken by government agents from Tsartlip Day School to live at Kuper Island Residential School. The five are isolated on the small island and life becomes regimented by the strict school routine. They experience the pain of homesickness and confusion while trying to adjust to a world completely different from their own. Their lives are no longer organized by fishing, hunting and family, but by bells, line-ups and chores.

On the Side of the Angels by Jose Amaujay Kusugak (Inuk)
(Interest Level: Grades 6-9)

“Then one day a ‘flyable’ took me away from our world through the sky to a dark and desolate place.” Jose Kusugak had a typical Arctic childhood, growing up playing games, enjoying food caught by hunters, and watching his mother preparing skins. But he was one of the first generation of Inuit children who were taken from their homes and communities and sent to live in residential schools. In this moving and candid memoir, Jose tells of his experiences at residential school and the lifelong effects it had on him.

Orange Shirt Day, September 30th by the Orange Shirt Society
(Interest Level: Kindergardent-12)

This resource published by the Orange Shirt Society was created to educate individuals on the Orange Shirt Day movement, Residential School history and the process of reconciliation. The book explores a brief history of the events leading to the implementation of Residential Schools, and focuses on the impacts of St. Joseph’s Mission Residential School in Williams Lake, BC, the creation of and movement of Orange Shirt Day and how to participate respectfully, authentically and effectively.

The Orange Shirt Story by Phyllis Webstad (Secwépemc) and illustrator (Brock Nicol)
(Interest Level: Grades 2-7)

When Phyllis Webstad turned six, she went to the residential school for the first time. On her first day at school, she wore a shiny orange shirt that her Granny had bought for her, but when she got to the school, it was taken away from her and never returned. This is the true story of Phyllis and her orange shirt. It is also the story of Orange Shirt Day (an important day of remembrance for First Nations and non-First Nations Canadians).

Residential Schools: Indigenous Life in Canada, Past, Present, Future by Heather C. Hudak
(Interest Level: Grades 4-9)

Discusses the history of residential schools, including why the government established them, how Indigenous children were treated, and the lasting impact on Indigenous cultures and traditions.

The Secret Pocket by Peggy Janicki (Dakelh) and illustrated by Carrielynn Victor (Coast Salish)
(Interest Level: Kindergarten to Grade 3)

Based on the author’s mother’s experience at residential school, The Secret Pocket is a story of survival and resilience in the face of genocide and cruelty. But it’s also a celebration of quiet resistance to the injustice of residential schools and how the sewing skills passed down through generations of Indigenous women gave these girls a future, stitch by stitch.

Sugar Falls: A Residential School Story by David Alexander Robertson (Swampy Cree) and Scott B. Henderson
(Interest Level: Grades 7-12)

A school assignment to interview a residential school survivor leads Daniel to Betsy, his friend’s grandmother, who tells him her story. Abandoned as a young child, Betsy was soon adopted into a loving family. A few short years later, at the age of 8, everything changed. Betsy was taken away to a residential school. There she was forced to endure abuse and indignity, but Betsy recalled the words her father spoke to her at Sugar Falls — words that gave her the resilience, strength, and determination to survive.

NEW Curriculum Resource Titles, September 20

Check out NEW Curriculum Resource titles in TWU’s Curriculum Resource Centre (CRC).

This specialized education resource library serves Trinity’s School of Education and local educators, and it provides a variety of resources for curriculum planning, research and teaching (including curriculum guides), teacher’s resources, and K-12 student resources.

Click on the link for more information. Learn how to place a Hold though our Holds Pickup.

Climate Change: Eco Facts by Izzi Howell
(Interest Level: Grades 5-9)

Climate change is reshaping the planet before our eyes. From melting ice caps and rising sea levels to drought and destructive hurricanes, no corner of Earth is protected from the effects of global warming. Discover the facts about what climate change is doing – and will continue to do – to our planet, and how we might reduce its impact.

Out of the Ice: How Climate Change is Revealing the Past by Claire Eamer and Drew Shannon
(Interest Level: Grades 5-8)

An unexpected result of melting from glaciers to permafrost due to climate change has been the discovery of artifacts that were long preserved in the ice’s depths. Tools, clothing and perhaps most remarkable, human bodies have been revealed at the edges the retreating ice. Examining these discoveries, along with traces of plants and animals also melting out of the ice, is the work of researchers in a brand-new scientific field called glacial archaeology.


Palm Trees at the North Pole: The Hot Truth About Climate Change by Marc ter Horst
(Interest Level: Grades 4-9)

This book shares the science and history of climate change in an accessible and entertaining way. Helps kids understand why and how climate change is happening, and what we can do about it. Encourages young climate activists to engage even more deeply with their chosen cause.

Plasticus Martitimus an Invasive Species by Ana Pêgo, Bernardo P. Carvalho and Isabel Minhós Martins
(Interest Level: Grades 5-10)

There’s an invasive species in our oceans: Plasticus maritimus. Inspired by the author’s life work, and filled with engaging science and colorful photographs, this foundational look at ocean plastics explains why they are such an urgent contemporary issue. Pêgo tells us how plastics end up in our rivers, lakes, and oceans, shares plastic’s chemical composition and physical properties, and offers a field guide to help readers identify and understand this new invasive species in all its forms.

Nature Out of Balance: How Invasive Species are Changing the Planet by Merrie-Ellen Wilcox
(Interest Level: Grades 4-7)

Invasive species threaten local ecosystems and the planet’s biodiversity, but are they all as bad as we think they are? This book profiles all-star invasive species around the world, starting in her own neighbourhood, and warns that humans are the most invasive species of all. We find out how and why species become invasive, what we can do to stop their spread and whether it’s time to think differently about invasive species that are here to stay.

What a Waste: Trash, Recycling, and Protecting our Planet by Jess French
(Interest Level: Kindergarten-10)

In this informative book on recycling for children, you will find everything you need to know about our environment. The good, the bad and the incredibly innovative. From pollution and litter to renewable energy and plastic recycling.

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