Category: Libraries

Beltane

Beltane is the ancient Celtic festival marking the beginning of summer. Bealtaine, (or various other spellings) is old Irish for “bright fire” or “mouth of fire.” On Beltane great bonfires may be lit, so it also known as the Fire Festival. Beltane is celebrated on the evening of April 30 into the day of May 1st. Beltane is celebrated in Ireland, Scotland and in other places where people have tried to revive Celtic festivals and observances. Remnants of Beltane traditions can be seen in many May Day festivals, including parts of Canada, such as Newfoundland.

source: uisneach.ie

Find out more:

RTE (Irish Radio & Television)

Uisneach

Newgrange: Beltane

Irish Culture and Customs

The Irish Independent

Your Irish Culture: Bealtaine

Canada’s Poet Laureate

Did you know that Canada has a Poet Laureate? Can you name her?

source: Parliament of Canada

Find out more about our current Poet Laureate and those who have held this prestigious post in the past: Parliamentary Poet Laureate

April is National Poetry Month in Canada.

April is Earth Month

Earth Day is April 22. Join us throughout April in the School Library as we celebrate the Earth all month long! Look for our display of books and other resources related to the Earth, the environment, life, ecology, and issues related to the future of this planet, our planet, our only home in the universe.

Final Four

We are down to the Final Four. 64 YA and Teen Novels have battled it out and now there are only 4 left standing. John Green’s The Fault in Our Stars takes on The Hate U Give, by Angie Thomas. Meanwhile, the Canadian classic, Anne of Green Gables, by Lucy Maud Montgomery, takes on JK Rowling’s Harry Potter. 

The Elite Eight promised some compelling and hard fought contests, although several matchups weren’t as close as anticipated. Harry Potter was dominant in a win over The Hunger Games, as was The Hate U Give as it rolled over Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe. The victory was a bit harder to come by for Anne of Green Gables as it defeated The Book Thief. Meanwhile, the one nail biter of the round saw The Fault in Our Stars eke out a last second win over The Perks of Being a Wallflower.

Semi-Final voting runs April 5th and 6th, closing afterschool Wednesday. Voting in the Championship Final will run April 7th and 8th.

Go here to VOTE NOW

March Madness: Latest Results

Updates from the March Madness YA Lit Tournament “Round of 32”

The Round of 32 is in the books. The number of voters was down, but that was expected over the March Break. Regardless, the results were still very compelling!

In the Popular YA regional, the higher seeds all advanced. The Perks of Being a Wallflower will move on to face Stargirl, which won a nail biter over Th1rteen R3asons Why. Meanwhile, it will be an all-John Green match-up as both The Fault in Our Stars and Looking for Alaska won their 2nd round games.

The Current Issues regional gave us one big upset, as #12 seed The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian shocked #4 Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda. Firekeeper’s Daughter advances, as does The Hate You Give, with a unanimous shutout over If You Could Be Mine. The closest battle saw Aristotle & Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe narrowly squeak by Long Way Down.

There were a few more shutouts in the Classic regional. Both Little Women and Anne of Green Gables crushed their opponents by unanimous decisions. The Book Thief cruised to a comfortable win over The Catcher in the Rye, while The Giver upset that book still found in English classrooms all over North America, The Outsiders.

The Sci-Fi/Fantasy/Supernatural regional also featured some shutouts. Top seeds Harry Potter and The Hunger Games both earned flawless victories. The Maze Runner handled Divergent, while in an upset unimaginable a decade ago, #6 Percy Jackson defeated #3 Twilight.

Now onto the Sweet Sixteen!