Education Library Blog

Stay up to date on news, events and special features.

Collection Spotlight: Blind Date with a Book (February 3-14)

Blind Date with a Book – A UBC Education Library Spotlight Event

You’ve heard the saying, “Don’t judge a book by its cover.” Now’s your chance to put it to the test!

Join us for Blind Date with a Book, a fun and mysterious event where you’ll discover a surprise read based on just a few intriguing clues. Each book is completely wrapped, with only a short description to guide your choice. Will you be drawn to a thrilling mystery, a heartfelt short story, or an inspiring poetry collection? The decision is yours—without actually seeing the book!

Take a chance, pick a wrapped title, and bring home a literary surprise. You never know—you might just find a new favourite!

📅 February 3-14, 2025
📍 UBC Education Library

Come explore, take a risk, and discover something new!

New Books at Education Library: February 2025

Discover what’s new at the Education Library this February!

Explore our latest arrivals—click on a book cover to preview it on Google Books, or click the title to find it in the UBC Library catalogue.

BF353.5.C55 G76 2023 How to manage your eco-anxiety : an empowering guide for young people / written by Anouchka Grouse ; illustrated by Lauriane Bohémier.

Thumbnail

PS8603.L3253 B76 2022 A broken blade / Melissa Blair.

Thumbnail

PZ7.M353235 Nw 2020 Nowhere boy / Katherine Marsh.

Thumbnail

PZ7.1.M63645 Ho 2024 Home in a lunchbox / by Cherry Mo.

Thumbnail

PZ7.1.P384 Bn 2023 Bonesmith / Nicki Pau Preto.

Thumbnail

PZ7.1.R5936 Po 2023 Powerless / Lauren Roberts.

Thumbnail

PZ7.1.G6993 Be 2022 Belladonna / Adalyn Grace.

Thumbnail

PZ7.5.F735 Al 2021 Alone / Megan E. Freeman.

Thumbnail

PZ7.7.O53 Mo 2023 The moth keeper / K. O’Neill.

Thumbnail

PZ7.7.Z33 Co 2021 Coming back / Jessi Zabarsky.

Thumbnail

Reading at the Seed Library: Worms and Compost

Blog written by Rachael Huegerich 

January 27, 2024

There is a lot going on in the soil of your garden. Learn about worms and other creatures under the dirt, or delve deeper into the compost process, at the seed library display at the Education Library. You can find the seed library just past the reference desk—or learn more about UBC Library’s seed lending libraries here. Feel free to “borrow” some seeds, or some of the books on display now. Here are a few:

Compost stew: an A to Z recipe for the Earth

Written by Mary McKenna Siddals;
illustrated by Ashley Wolff

PZ8.3.S5715 Co 2014

A rhyming text explains from A to Z, which common items around the house can be turned into the dark, crumbly stuff we call ‘ompost stew’.

.

How to say hello to a worm: a first guide to outside

By Kari Percival

SB457 .P46 2022

Say “hello” to worms, dirt, peas, and more in this gentle how-to guide for connecting with nature.

.

My Baba’s garden

Written by Jordan Scott;
illustrated by Sydney Smith

PZ7.1.S336845 My 2023

A story about the special relationship between a child and his grandmother and the time they spend looking for worms for the garden.

.

The worm

By Élise Gravel

QL386.6 .G7213 2014

The second in a series of humorous books about disgusting creatures, The Worm is a look at the earthworm. It covers such topics as the worm’s habitats (sometimes they live inside other animals), its anatomy (its muscle tube is slimy and gross), and its illustrious history (worms have been on earth for 120 million years).

.

Up in the garden and down in the dirt

Written by Kate Messner;
with art by Christopher Silas Neal

SB457 .M47 2015

Up in the garden, the world is full of green–leaves and sprouts, growing vegetables, ripening fruit. But down in the dirt there is a busy world of earthworms digging, snakes hunting, skunks burrowing, and all the other animals that make a garden their home.

.

Bug science: 20 projects and experiments about arthropods: insects, arachnids, algae, worms, and other small creatures

By Karen Romano Young

QL434.15 .Y68 2009

Part of the National Geographic Kids Science Fair Winners Series, this book features several cool workshops, including two on compost heaps and worms.

.

.

The school garden curriculum : an integrated K-8 guide for discovering science, ecology, and whole-systems thinking

By Kaci Rae Christopher

GE77 .C57 2019

The School Garden Curriculum provides an integrated K-8 framework and over 200 weekly lessons that weave science, permaculture, and environmental education into place-based, immersive learning.

.

Carl and the meaning of life

By Deborah Freedman

PZ7.F87276 Cr 2019

When a field mouse asks Carl the earthworm why he tunnels through the dirt, Carl doesn’t have an answer, so he sets off to find out.

Collection Spotlight: Math Through Storytelling

Post written by Kelly Davila Vargas

In the course Mathematics – Elementary and Middle Years: Curriculum and Pedagogy, teacher candidates from the Middle Years/Self-Regulated Learning cohort explore innovative strategies to help students connect mathematics to their daily lives and the world around them. A key approach emphasized in the course is the use of storytelling, which provides meaningful and authentic contexts for students to engage with mathematical ideas. Stories can delve into mathematical concepts such as numbers, fractions, patterns, shapes and measurements, data, and financial literacy. By weaving mathematics into narratives, educators create learning experiences that highlight the relevance of math in students’ lives, fostering deeper understanding and engagement.

The “Math through Storytelling” display supports this purpose, offering teacher candidates the opportunity to interact with stories in class and find creative ways to integrate them into their practicum, making mathematics both accessible and inspiring for students.

 

A few of the books on display:

Number Sense

 

Fractions & Ratios

 

Patterns

 

Shapes & Measurements

 

Data

   

Financial Literacy

 

Reading at the Seed Library: Urban Gardening

Blog written by Rachael Huegerich 

January 13, 2024

The spring growing season is coming soon! There’s a whole lot you can grow right here in Vancouver—even if you live in an apartment. From container gardens to community gardens, you’ll find lots of possibilities for your urban garden in the current book display at the Education Library’s seed library. You can find the seed library behind the reference desk—or learn more about UBC Library’s seed lending libraries here. Feel free to “borrow” some seeds, or some of the books on display now. Here are a few:

 

One little lot : the 1-2-3s of an urban garden

Written by Diane C. Mullen; illustrated by Oriol Vidal

PZ7.1.M823 On 2020

Count the ways two hands, three days cleaning up, four planter boxes, and many more steps show how city neighbors transform one little abandoned lot into a beautiful community garden.

 

Jayden’s impossible garden
Written by Mélina Mangal; illustrated by Ken Daley

PZ7.1.M36466 Jay 2021

Nine-year-old Jayden loves the outdoors, but his mother is nervous about him playing in their neighborhood. With the help of his neighbor Mr. Curtis, can Jayden help Mama see that nature and beauty are all around?

 

 

City beet

Written by Tziporah Cohen; illustrated by Udayana Lugo

PZ7.1.C64235 Ci 2023

Victoria and her neighbor, Mrs. Kosta, grow such a spectacular beet garden that they need the entire neighborhood’s help to pull out a giant beet.

 

Chasing bats and tracking rats : urban ecology, community science, and how we share our cities

Written by Cylita Guy; illustrated by Cornelia Li

QH541.5.C6 G89 2021

Gripping narrative non-fiction with STEM and social justice themes that proves cities can be surprisingly wild places–and why understanding urban nature matters.

 

It’s Our Garden: From Seeds to Harvest in a School Garden

By George Ancona

SB56.N49 A63 2013

Presents a portrait of a Santa Fe community garden, revealing how students and other citizens work together to select and grow annual plants, create compost, release butterflies, harvest edibles, and protect garden beds for the winter.

 

The everything small-space gardening book: all you need to plant, grow, and enjoy a small-space garden

By Catherine Abbott

SB453 .A23 2012

Vine-ripened tomatoes. Succulent squash. Plump cucumbers. Growing vegetables is a rewarding–and cost-effective–way to eat better for less. However, you might think you lack the space necessary to grow a functioning garden. With this guide, however, you’ll learn how to maximize your space and grow delicious vegetables and herbs cheaply and efficiently, whether you have a small backyard or just a windowsill!

 

Tokyo digs a garden

Written by Jon-Erik Lappano; pictures by Kellen Hatanaka

PZ4.9.L36526 Tk 2016

Tokyo lives in a small house between giant buildings with his family and his cat, Kevin. For years, highways and skyscrapers have been built up around the family’s house where once there were hills and trees. Will they ever experience the natural world again? One day, an old woman offers Tokyo seeds, telling him they will grow into whatever he wishes. Tokyo and his grandfather are astonished when the seeds grow into a forest so lush that it takes over the entire city overnight. Soon the whole city has gone wild, with animals roaming where cars once drove. But is this a problem to be surmounted, or a new way of living to be embraced?