Mental Health Resources: Nova Scotia

Everyone needs help sometimes.  Please see the list of free resources compiled by The Mental Health Foundation of Nova Scotia.

Pressreader access through local Public Library

Keep up to date on the latest world news!  Did you know the Pictou Antigonish Library has access to Pressreader?   PressReader is the leading digital newspaper and magazine provider for premium content. With your public library card you can explore titles such as The Chronicle Herald, The News, The National Post, The Guardian, Washington Post, Vogue, Forbes, and much more from all over the world.

Don't have a PARL library card?  You can sign up for free on the PARL website or contact them via email here on their online form.  Sign up today for free and happy reading! 

Read Alikes for The Unwanted by Don Brown

Illegal by Eoin Colfer

From Amazon.com

Ebo is alone. His brother, Kwame, has disappeared, and Ebo knows it

can only be to attempt the hazardous journey to Europe, and a better life―the same journey their sister set out on months ago. But Ebo refuses to be left behind in Ghana. He sets out after Kwame and joins him on the quest to reach Europe. Ebo's epic journey takes him across the Sahara Desert to the dangerous streets of Tripoli, and finally out to the merciless sea. But with every step he holds on to his hope for a new life, and a reunion with his family.

A poignant tale perfect for learning about immigration and current global issues.

Refugee by Alan Gratz

From Amazon.com 

JOSEF is a Jewish boy living in 1930s Nazi Germany. With the threat of concentration camps looming, he and his family board a ship bound for the other side of the world . . . ISABEL is a Cuban girl in 1994. With riots and unrest plaguing her country, she and her family set out on a raft, hoping to find safety in America . . .MAHMOUD is a Syrian boy in 2015. With his homeland torn apart by violence and destruction, he and his family begin a long trek toward Europe . . .

All three kids go on harrowing journeys in search of refuge. All will face unimaginable dangers -- from drownings to bombings to betrayals. But there is always the hope of tomorrow. And although Josef, Isabel, and Mahmoud are separated by continents and decades, shocking connections will tie their stories together in the end. This action-packed novel tackles topics both timely and timeless: courage, survival, and the quest for home.

They Called Us Enemy by George Takei

From Amazon.com

A stunning graphic memoir recounting actor/author/activist George Takei's childhood imprisoned within American concentration camps during World War II. Experience the forces that shaped an American icon -- and America itself -- in thisgripping tale of courage, country, loyalty, and love.

George Takei has captured hearts and minds worldwide with his captivating stage presence and outspoken commitment to equal rights. But long before he braved new frontiers in Star Trek, he woke up as a four-year-old boy to find his own birth country at war with his father's -- and their entire family forced from their home into an uncertain future.In 1942, at the order of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, every person of Japanese descent on the west coast was rounded up and shipped to one of ten "relocation centers," hundreds or thousands of miles from home, where they would be held for years under armed guard.

They Called Us Enemy is Takei's first hand account of those years behind barbed wire, the joys

and terrors of growing up under legalized racism, his mother's hard choices, his father's

faith in democracy, and the way those experiences planted the seeds for his astonishing future.

What does it mean to be American? Who gets to decide? When the world is against you, what can one person do? To answer these questions, George Takei joins co-writers Justin Eisinger & Steven Scott and artist Harmony Becker for the journey of a lifetime.

Amercian YA Author and Poet Jason Reynolds is this year's National Ambassador for Young People's Literature. Last year Reynold's  Long Way Down, written in verse, was one of our CCRCE Teen Reader's Choice Award Top Ten titles. Some of his other works include All American Boys and The Boy in the Black Suit.  Because of the global Covid-19 Pandemic Reynolds can not take his planned tour on the road so he is hosting an online series of videos called Write. Right. Rite. Each video contains some unique ideas and prompts to help young people be creative and get writing!  Check out Reynolds video series Write. Right. Rite. today for some inspiration. You can find out more about Jason Reynolds and his books at https://www.jasonwritesbooks.com/books.

Did you know April is Poetry Month?  Why not celebrate Poetry Month with some Book Spine Poetry!  It is easy to do and all you need are a few books you might have on a bookshelf at home!

What is book spine poetry you may ask?

Book Spine Poetry is a free verse poem composed by:

• using the titles written on the spines of physical books
• and stacking the books on top of one another!

Book spine poems don't follow any structure or rhyme but invite inspiring authors and poets to create a poem based on books they love.

Here are some examples from the Saskatchewan Library Association for a contest they held last year: 

 

Read Alikes

Field Guide to the North American Teenager by Ben Philippe

Frankly in Love by David Yoon

Summary from Goodreads.com
High school senior Frank Li is a Limbo–his term for Korean-American

kids who find themselves caught between their parents’ traditional

expectations and their own Southern California upbringing.

His parents have one rule when it comes to romance–“Date Korean”

–which proves complicated when Frank falls for Brit Means, who is smart,

beautiful–and white. Fellow Limbo Joy Song is in a similar predicament,

and so they make a pact: they’ll pretend to date each other in order to gain 

their freedom. Frank thinks it’s the perfect plan, but in the end, 

Frank and Joy’s fake-dating maneuver leaves him wondering if 

he ever really understood love–or himself–at all.

Not So Pure and Simple by Lamar Giles

Summary from goodreads.com

Del has had a crush on Kiera Westing since kindergarten. 

And now, during their junior year, she’s finally available. 

So when Kiera volunteers for an opportunity at their church,

Del’s right behind her. Though he quickly realizes he’s 

inadvertently signed up for a Purity Pledge.

His dad thinks his wires are crossed, and his best friend, 

Qwan, doesn’t believe any girl is worth the long game. 

But Del’s not about to lose his dream girl, and that’s where 

fellow pledger Jameer comes in. He can put in the good word. 

In exchange, Del just has to get answers to the Pledgers’ questions…about sex ed.

 With other boys circling Kiera like sharks, Del needs to make his move fast. 

But as he plots and plans, he neglects to ask the most important question: 

What does Kiera want? He can’t think about that too much, though, because once he gets the girl,

it’ll all sort itself out. Right? 

Darius the Great is Not Okay by Adib Khorram

Summary from goodreads.com

Darius doesn't think he'll ever be enough, in America or in Iran.

Darius Kellner speaks better Klingon than Farsi, and he knows more 

about Hobbit social cues than Persian ones. He's about to take his first-ever 

trip to Iran, and it's pretty overwhelming--especially when he's also dealing 

with clinical depression, a disapproving dad, and a chronically anemic social life.

 In Iran, he gets to know his ailing but still formidable grandfather, his loving grandmother, and the rest of his mom's

family for the first time. And he meets Sohrab, the boy next door who changes everything.

Sohrab makes sure people speak English so Darius can understand what's going on. He gets Darius an Iranian National Football Team jersey that makes him feel like a True Persian for the first time. And he understandsthat sometimes, best friends don't have to talk. Darius has never had a true friend before, but now he's spending his days with Sohrab playing soccer, eating rosewater ice cream, and sitting together for hours in their special place, a rooftop overlooking the Yazdi skyline.

Sohrab calls him Darioush--the original Persian version of his name--and Darius has never felt more like himself than he does now that he's Darioush to Sohrab. When it's time to go home to America, he'll have to find a way to be Darioush on his own.

The Beginning of Everything by Robyn Schneider

Summary from Goodreads.com

Robyn Schneider's The Beginning of Everything is a witty and heart-wrenching teen novel that will appeal to fans of books by John Green and Ned Vizzini, novels such as The Perks of Being a Wallflower, and classics like The Great Gatsby and The Catcher in the Rye.

Varsity tennis captain Ezra Faulkner was supposed to be homecoming king, but that was before—before his girlfriend cheated on him, before a car accident shattered his leg, and before he fell in love with unpredictable new girl Cassidy Thorpe.

Funny, smart, and including everything from flash mobs to blanket forts to a poodle who just might be the reincarnation of Jay Gatsby, The Beginning of Everything is a refreshing contemporary twist on the classic coming-of-age novel—a heart-wrenching story about how difficult it is to play the part that people expect, and how new beginnings can stem from abrupt and tragic endings.

The second title released in this year's TRCA 2020 is The Unwanted written and illustrated by Don Brown. "Follow the journeys of Syrian refugees as they leave their countries in search of peace." A free online excerpt from this graphic novel and YALSA excellence in Non Fiction winner can be found here: The Unwanted by Don Brown   #FiveReasonstoRead   #TRCA2020

COVID-19 Updates

Keep up to date on COVID-19 in Nova Scotia. The NS Government site contains information on the latest health measures, education updates, mental health and well being and more.

Check it out - a free online excerpt from our first released TRCA 2020 Five Reasons to Read title
Field Guide to the North American Teenager by Ben Philippe.  Didn't get a chance to read it yet? Try out this free excerpt first and see what you think! #TRCA2020

EBSCO - Step by Step Guide

It is always helpful to be aware of reliable resources online.  EBSCO is a group of databases that we have access to through the NS Department of Education. These databases contain full text magazines, newspapers and reference materials online in a searchable format. Some students may have used EBSCO before in class, in the library or at home.  Below is a step by step guide to using EBSCO services.

Reliable Research Resources

To use EBSCO remotely login in to your gnspes account.

On the launch page under Learning Resources click the icon.

A list of EBSCO databases the Department of Education subscribes to will be available. 

Almost all groups of databases in EBSCO contain a basic tutorial on how to use the
database and helpful guidelines for navigation and searching. Click on the help feature
located in the top right corner that is available in each database group.

Click on a topic in the list that appears when you click help and guidelines will appear
on how to use any particular feature within the database.

EBSCOhost web contains many tutorials in the help feature on different types
of searching and navigating the database.

For example: EBSCO tutorial

Don’t forget - EBSCO databases help you cite sources properly!
Remember to click on the Cite option in the right navigation bar in each database
and choose the citation format you need. 

If you have any questions please contact Ms. Cochrane at cochranes@ccrce.ca

North Nova Education Center

Library Services Guide

Don't forget you can still access the TRCA blog online from home at https://trca.home.blog!
Here you will find book trailers, information about the TRCA authors and more. 
Just a reminder of our Five Reasons to Read this year:

Meet the TRCA 2020 Contenders:

CCRCE’s TRCA Committee has shortlisted five books for the 2020 Teen Reader’s Choice Award. The award winner will be announced June 9th.

The 2020 finalists are:

• The Field Guide to the North American Teenager by Ben Philippe
• Monday’s Not Coming by Tiffany D. Jackson
• Pumpkinheads by Rainbow Rowell; illustrated by Faith Erin Hicks
• Sweep: The Story of a Girl and Her Monster by Jonathan Auxier
• The Unwanted: Stories of the Syrian Refugees by Don Brown

The 2020 TRCA Committee selected the finalists from a list of over seventy titles. After months spent reading and discussing these suggestions, a selection was made. The selected titles include a fictional field guide to American high school life as told by a black French Canadian; a mystery involving murder, neglect, and systemic racism; a smart full colour graphic novel set in a pumpkin patch; a fantastical historical novel filled with love and imagination; and a graphic novel that humanizes the Syrian refugee crisis.