December at the Shellbrook Public Library

Holly Hildebrand piece entitled “Soldiers” that was on display at the Shellbrook Public Library as part of a travelling OSAC art exhibit sponsored by the Shellbrook Arts Council. © Shellbrook Public Library

With the arrival of December, the Shellbrook Public Library will start its Christmas Book Sale and continue its ongoing calendar sale. As the Library says farewell to its intriguing traveling art display, Children’s Story Time is also preparing to say farewell to its Fall theme and hello Winter.

Starting December 1st if you are searching for gifts for the reader in your family consider visiting the Library to browse the selection of gently used books on sale. Perfectly priced at a good will donation to the Library, the selection is refreshed weekly with new items. One patron has remarked how easy and affordable it is to find something for everyone on her list.

The Library is again selling its popular 2012 date log calendars for $6.00. Calendars are available at the Library or for sale at Woodland Pharmacy. Pick one up for yourself and as the perfect gift for those organized persons (or those unorganized persons) on your gift list. Supplies are limited and going fast.

The Library hosted an Organization of Saskatchewan Arts Councils’ Art on the Move program featuring North Battleford artist Holly Hildebrand textile artwork “Mixed Messages, Fragmented Stories.” The visual art exhibited was arranged by the Shellbrook Arts Council. The quilted, dyed, and screen printed artwork was greatly admired and commented upon during its three weeks on display from October 27 to November 18.

Children’s Story Time is sending the Fall theme into “hibernation” on November 25th and start off the Winter theme on December 2nd with “snowmen”. The theme “Christmas” will follow on December 9th and 16th. Everyone is welcome to join the fun on Fridays at 10:30am. If you are interested in volunteering your time to read or do crafts, please contact Alanna at 747-3419.

Splash! - Week 8

August 12th: In the Fish Bowl

Books: One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish by Dr. Seuss; Fish, Swish! Splash, Dash! Counting Round and Round by Suse MacDonald

Craft: Fish Bowl

I hope all club members can travel down to the Library on Friday at 10:30am to hear the story and join the game. Please remember to bring down your reading logs and to pick up new ones at the same time.

Jumping into June

The Shellbrook Public Library jumps into June with Joan Summerfeld's landscaping presentation on June 6th, hops into its Annual Summer Book Sale, and splashes into the TD Summer Reading Club. Skipping back to May, we thank the presenters of Travel Club Night South Africa.

The Library invites you to come join us on Monday, June 6th at 7:00 pm to learn from Joan Sommerfeld about landscaping. Sommerfeld will be presenting on the basic elements and principles in the design of landscaping. If you are interested in gardening or perhaps have plans to tackle that stubborn hedge, the presentation may germinate new ideas for you. Admission is free and refreshments will be served.

From June 1st to June 30th, the Library will be holding its Annual Summer Book Sale. There is a variety of gently used adult fiction and non-fiction, young adult, juvenile and children’s books. There are also magazines, puzzles, and video cassettes. The price is totally reasonable -- a good will donation to the Library.

Once again this year, TD Bank Financial Group, the Toronto Public Library, and Library and Archives Canada are proud to support literacy in Canada by offering the TD Summer Reading Club to Canadian children. Every summer kids can improve their reading skills and reduce summer learning loss while having fun. So get ready to dive headfirst into the chosen theme for this year's Summer Reading Club, “Splash! Celebrate Summer” with booklets, posters, stickers, activities, and prizes to be won at the Library.

On Wednesday, May25th Travel Club Night attendees were wowed by Claude and Faye Desjardins presenting their travels through South Africa. With six weeks of adventure the Desjardins had a lot of amazing photos to share (lions and elephants and hippos oh my!) and equally amazing stories to tell. The Library would like to again thank the Desjardins for sharing. We would also like to remind anyone that if they have been somewhere exciting and would like to share your travels, the Library welcomes you.

Library hours are determined by the number of items checked out.

Landscape Rules & Tools

Landscape  Rules & Tools
Joan Sommerfeld presents at the Shellbrook Library the basic elements and principles in the design of landscaping.
June 6 • Monday • 7:00 P.M.






Shellbrook Public Library
Admission free and refreshments provided.

Egg Hunts and Travel Club Night Africa

Two egg-cellent Easter Egg Hunters Emma and Shaylyn Kress with their winning prizes. © Shellbrook Public Library

The Shellbrook Public Library is proud to announce the winners of our egg-cellent Easter Egg Hunt. We're off lion hunting (with camera) on May 25th with an exciting Travel Club Night featuring Africa. Story Time ends this month as we “work” through the last four letters of our career alphabet.

Congratulations to the Easter Egg grand draw winners! Preschooler Adriene Soroka takes home “Put Me in a Book” by Robert Munsch and illustrated by Michael Martchenko. Adam Shakal won the kid prize, “Valley of the Giant Skeletons” by Geronimo Stilton. “Savvy” by Ingrid Law was taken home by tween Emma Kress. Teen novel “The Falls” by Eric Walters was won by Shaylyn Kress. Winners, come on down to the Library to pick up your books and prize eggs!

The Library invites you to come join us on Wednesday, May 25th at 7:30 pm to enjoy the experiences of Claude and Faye Desjardins who traveled through Southern Africa. Their travels included the counties of Botswana, Mozambique, South Africa, Swaziland, and Zambia. They have some amazing photos, interesting information, and travel tips. Refreshments will be served.

Children’s Story Time Friday at 10:30 am combines the joy of reading and the fun of crafts. This year's theme is careers using the alphabet. May is the last month for Story Time this year with the upcoming careers being ‘U is for Umpire’ on May 6th, ‘V is for Violinist’ on May 13th, ‘W is for Writer’ on May 20th, and ‘X is for X-ray Technician’ on May 27th to conclude the alphabet! Many thanks to Susan Slemming and her sons for providing and directing the crafts.

Shellbrook Library will be closed Monday, May 23rd for the Long Weekend.

The Shellbrook Public Library is Hunting Eggs

To celebrate the arrival of spring, the Shellbrook Public Library is having an Easter egg hunt during the month of April. Children’s Story Time is will be concluding at the end of May but before that, there are four more letters to do!

Easter is coming and with it comes the much loved hunt for Easter eggs. The Library is running a special program during the month of April and is open to all readers. The game is to find pictures of eggs or the word “egg” in books. The word egg can be either as a title or in a story, for example, when a character eats eggs for breakfast. Enter the title of the book and your name at the Library where it will be entered into a draw for the chance to win some egg-cellent prizes!

Children’s Story Time combines the joy of reading and the fun of crafts. This year's theme is careers using the alphabet. There is no Story Time on April 22nd and 29th. May is the last month for Story Time this year with the upcoming careers being May 6th is ‘U is for Umpire,’ May 13th is ‘V is for Violinist,’ May 20th is ‘W is for Writer,’ and May 27th is ‘X is for X-ray Technician’ to conclude the alphabet! Many thanks to Susan Slemming and her sons for providing the crafts. Volunteer readers and crafters would be welcome. Please call Alanna at 747-3419.

Shellbrook Library will be closed April 21st for Good Friday and April 25th for Easter Monday

Easter Egg Hunt Contest!

Are you an egg-tremely good Easter Egg hunter? During the month of April, you can use your skills in a contest at the Shellbrook Public Library.

The game is to find pictures of eggs or the word "egg" in books. Words can be either as a title or in a story, for example, when a character eats eggs for breakfast.

Record the title of the book with your name and hand in at the Library as your entry in a draw for some egg-cellent prizes!

Open to all readers.

Spring Is Coming to the Shellbrook Public Library

To celebrate the arrival of spring, the Shellbrook Public Library is having an Easter egg hunt during the month of April. Children’s Story Time is on-going but the Library would like to remind parents of closure times during April for the upcoming Easter Holidays and school closures.

Easter is coming and with it comes the much loved hunt for Easter eggs. The Library is running a special program during the month of April and is open to all readers. The game is to find pictures of eggs or the word “egg” in books. The word egg can be either as a title or in a story, for example, when a character eats eggs for breakfast. Enter the title of the book and your name at the Library where it will be entered into a draw for the chance to win some egg-cellent prizes!

Children’s Story Time combines the joy of reading and the fun of crafts. This year's theme is careers using the alphabet. The upcoming careers are “R is for Race Car Driver” on March 25th, “S is for Scientist” on April 1st, there is no Story Time on April 8th, “T is for Teacher” on April 15th, and there is no Story Time on April 22nd and 29th. Many thanks to Susan Slemming and her sons for providing the crafts. Volunteer readers and crafters would be welcome. Please call Alanna at 747-3419.

February at the Shellbrook Public Library

Shellbrook Public Library would like to announce that the 4th provincial Round Dance is being hosted by the Wapiti region on February 12th. The Library celebrated Family Literacy Day on January 27th with a presentation, was the meeting location of the convening writers’ group on February 3rd, and Children’s Story Time has resumed.

Wapiti Regional Library is hosting the 4th provincial Round Dance, Sharing Wisdom, Building Relationships, to honour the relationship between public libraries and Aboriginal communities. The Round Dance will be held Saturday, February 12th at the Senator Allen Bird centre, located at 851 - 23rd street west, at the Prince Albert Grand Council's Joseph Custer reserve beginning at 5:00 with a pipe ceremony and a feast, Round Dance to follow, non-aboriginals, children, everyone welcome

The Library recognized Family Literacy Day with a presentation on a program to teach preschoolers to read. Presenter Nancy Carswell enjoyed the discussion. "Literacy is the critical skill for success in school and in life. With a program like Bev Jaremko's Anchors and Sails, children can be reading before they enter school. Jaremko thought outside the box when she didn't find a method she liked for her own preschoolers and her method is effective, easy, and fun for both child and parent. With as few as ten minutes a day, in eight days your child can be reading simple words like hat and map."

The writers’ group convened from Laurie Murihead’s Writing Workshop in November has currently scheduled to meet every second Monday of a month at the Library at 7:00 p.m. The upcoming meeting will be on February 14th. Anyone who is interested is welcome as the group is continuing to discuss goals, a group name, and related issues. Please call Alanna at 747-3419 if you are interested and cannot make the meeting.

Children’s Story Time has resumed with Susan Slemming and sons providing crafts and the librarian reading. If you are interested in volunteering to read, or do a craft, please call Alanna at 747-3419. The upcoming themes are “M is for Musician” on February 11th, “N is for Nurse” on February 18th, February 25th there is no story time, and “O is for Oceanographer” is on March 4th.

The Library will be closed February 21st for Family Day.

Shellbrook Library Celebrates Family Literacy Day

Shellbrook Library is celebrating Family Literacy Day by hosting a presentation on teaching preschoolers to read. The presentation by Nancy Carswell is on Thursday January 27th at 7:00 pm. Carswell will share her experiences with Bev Jaremko's (Smith) Anchors and Sails reading program.

The honorary chair of Family Literacy Day is famous Canadian children's author Robert Munsch. He knows the importance of literacy and numeracy to success. Jaremko knows how important it is as well. As a teacher, she had high school students who had become very adept at hiding their inability to read. As a parent, Jaremko decided to teacher her own children to read before they started school. After a futile search for a method, she developed her own logical and fun way of teaching preschoolers to read.

Carswell explains, "The Anchors and Sails reading method teaches letter sounds rather than letter names. Really, when you think about it the letter name "h" is not used for reading; it is the letter sound "huh". Preschoolers are eager learners especially when it means one-on-one time with a caring person. The method is very well thought out. The method begins with only lower case. After introducing seven consonants and a vowel, children can read words like sat, hat, and mat. It is also very visual with a poem to help reinforce the connection between the letter sound and its mnemonic. One of the lines is 'muh is for mittens'."

Carswell's son learned to read with the program and Carswell is now using it for her grandson. She finds the method easy to use with the toughest thing being to remember to use the letter sound instead of the name. She finds it enjoyable as there are many opportunities each day to encourage literacy. "This method makes sense and with a small investment of time we can give our preschoolers the gift of literacy."

There will be time for discussion after the presentation. Alphabet refreshments will be served.

Give the Gift of Literacy to Preschoolers

Nancy Carswell will share her experiences with Bev Jaremko's Anchors and Sails Preschool Reading Program.

Date: Family Literacy Day Thurs Jan 27
Time: 7 pm
Place: Shellbrook Library

huh is for house
muh is for mittens
puh pretty flower
suh snake is bitten

Reading and Writing in the New Year

Creative Writing Workshop participants Alanna Carswell and Marj Bradley are deeply engaged in a timed writing exercise. Outside the photo, workshop leader Laurie Muirhead keeps an eye on the clock. © Shellbrook Public Library

The New Year started with many people interested in the new e-books available online at the Library. To celebrate Family Literacy day at the end of January the Library will host a presentation on teaching preschoolers to read. The successful Creative Writing Workshop hosted in November has lead to the formation of writer’s support group.

The Library now has e-books and audiobooks accessible online at www.library2go.sk.ca. Using a device or your computer, you download your selection of choice and enjoy it for 7 or 14 days. After that, it expires so there are no overdue fees to worry about. If your selection is not available you can put it on hold. Librarian Alanna Carswell welcomes questions in person or by phone at 747-3419.

On Thursday, January 27th the Library will take part in Family Literacy Day with a presentation by Nancy Carswell on her personal experience with Bev Jaremko’s ‘Anchors and Sails: A Reading Program for Beginners.’ This program just takes minutes a day and is a fun, engaging way to teach your preschooler to read. The presentation will be at the Library at 7:00 pm with alphabet refreshments afterwards.

Laurie Lynn Murihead’s Creative Writing Workshop proved valuable to participants. The timed writing exercises were challenging and the sharing session after each exercise lead to informative discussions about the art and craft of writing. Two noteworthy exercises were a descriptive writing piece including all the senses and writing on a randomly chosen calendar picture. As there was an interest in forming a writing support group, there will be a meeting on Thursday, February 3rd at 7:00 pm at the Library. Anyone who is interested in writing is welcome to this initial meeting when we will discuss goals and if Thursdays are better than Mondays. Please call Alanna at 747-3419 if you are interested and cannot make this first meeting.

Bringing in the New Year at the Library

Librarian Alanna Carswell presenting thank you gifts to Madison and Myranda Lepard for their exciting and interactive Travel Club Night "Russia" presentation on November 19th. © Shellbrook Public Library

The Shellbrook Public Library is having its Calendar Sale and would like to remind Children’s Story Time attendees that we break in January. Some big news for the New Year is that the Library now has access to online e-books and audiobooks.

The Library is again selling calendars for $5. Supplies are limited so hurry in to pick one up for yourself.

Children’s Story Time is breaking for the cold month of January as no one likes being in their own rendition of “Thomas’ Snowsuit.” Story Time will resume on February 4th with the letter and theme: “L is for Librarian.”

If you are a member of the Library and have internet connection on an e-book reader, audiobook device, or computer, you can now borrow items online at www.library2go.sk.ca. Patrons can borrow up to five items at a time for 7 or 14 day periods. If all the copies of a title are checked out, you can place a hold on the title. There are no fees to borrow and no overdue fines as once a loan period has expired, the item expires from your device. More useful information to use this new service can be found at the www.library2go.sk.ca website and Librarian Alanna Carswell is available at 747-3419 to answer questions as well.