Education Library Blog

Blog written by Rachael Huegerich
March 31, 2024

Pollinators like bees, butterflies, wasps, hoverflies, and hummingbirds are vital within BC ecosystems. Fortunately, there are lots of ways your garden can attract pollinators. Want to read more about these important creatures? Check out the display at the seed lending library at the Education Library, just past the reference desk. While you’re there, feel free to “borrow” some seeds, too!

 

Omar, the bees and me

By Helen Mortimer & Katie Cottle

PZ7.1.M6765 Om 2022

Omar, The Bees and Me encourages children to look after nature in local communities planting wild flowers to form bee corridors.

Themes around cultural identity are also explored through Omar (a new boy from Syria) and Maisie’s friendship.

The publisher, Owlet Press, also offers teaching resources to accompany the book.

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A flicker of hope

Written by Cynthia Harmony; illustrated by Devon Holzwarth

PZ7.1.H37175 Fl 2024

Lucía loves to watch the monarchs’ migration from her home in Mexico with Papá.

But this year, the monarchs’ journey north holds extra weight; Papá is heading north, too, to look for work.

He promises her that when “the weather turns cold and the monarcas return, our winged ancestors will guide me home.”

So while he spends the summer months harvesting produce on faraway farms, Lucía watches the skies for signs of the monarchs’—and her papá’s—return.

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Bruno the beekeeper: a honey primer

By Aneta Františka Holasová; translated by Andrew Lass

SF523.5 .H6513 2021

With glowing, honey-hued illustrations and friendly text, this homespun year-in-the-life of a busy beekeeper and his bees is a definitive picture book primer—whether for families contemplating a new hobby or for readers just curious to know how bees make honey.

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What’s the buzz?: keeping bees in flight

By Merrie-Ellen Wilcox

QL565.2 .W538 2015

Whether they live alone or together, in a hive or in a hole in the ground, bees do some of the most important work on the planet: pollinating plants.

What’s the Buzz? celebrates the magic of bees–from swarming to dancing to making honey–and encourages readers to do their part to keep the hives alive.

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The honeybee

Written by Kirsten Hall; illustrated by Isabelle Arsenault

PZ8.3 .H146 Hn 2018

Illustrations and rhyming text follow endangered honeybees through the year as they forage for pollen and nectar, communicate with others at their hive, and make honey.

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Un jardin pour Tipiti le colibri

Written by Lucie Papineau; illustrated by Lucie Crovatto

PZ23.P364 Jr 2020 (French collection)

Camille et Paolo le petit perroquet s’adorent. Ils font tout ensemble!

Un matin de printemps, ils aperçoivent une drôle de mouche qui vole en vrombissant.

Une mouche avec un… bec?

Ainsi débute cette grande aventure remplie de fleurs, de bourdons, de papillons et de passionnantes découvertes! Tous les pollinisateurs illustrés au début et à la fin de ce livre sont cachés dans le jardin de Camille et Paolo.

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Traveling butterflies

By Susumu Shingu

QL561.D3 S5513 2015 (Canadian Children’s Book Centre)

Traveling Butterflies indulges the awe these creatures inspire by taking a poetic, meditative look at the monarch’s life cycle.

In a lyrical voice that seamlessly blends fact and storytelling, the book zooms in to show a monarch’s progression from an egg the size of a dewdrop through growth, metamorphosis and preparation for their journey south.

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Seeds, bees, butterflies, and more!: poems for two voices

By Carole Gerber; illustrated by Eugene Yelchin

PZ8.3.G297 Sd 2001

A honeybee and a bumblebee have a chat.

A rose offers a worm a bit of its compost.

A mouse assures a root of its importance.

These fun rhyming poems for two voices are blooming, bursting, and buzzing with personality.

 

Blog written by Rachael Huegerich
March 17, 2024

Art, play, and imagination flourish alongside seedlings in the garden! Cooking, dyeing, crafting, game playing, and daydreaming are only some of the possibilities. Find creative inspiration 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.

Natural dyeing with plants: glorious colors from roots, leaves & flowers

By Franziska Ebner & Romana Hasenöhrl

TP919 .E26 2018

The fascinating luminosity of colours from plants can be easily transferred to wool, silk, or other materials at home.

Necessary materials, pickling, the preparation of fibers or substances, and different dyeing methods are described in detail.

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Plant, cook, eat! : a children’s cookbook

By Joe Archer & Caroline Craig

TX801 .A73 2018

For beginners and green-thumbed foodies, this unusually all-inclusive garden-to-kitchen cookbook is part lesson in gardening and part collection of healthy, delicious, kid-friendly recipes.

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Let’s get creative: art for a healthy planet
By Jessica Rose; illustrated by Jarett Sitter

N8217.E28 R67 2024

There’s no question that creating art makes our lives better.

Just think about how happy you feel when you’re dancing, singing, painting or crafting.

But have you ever stopped to think about how creating art might make the world better, too?

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The garden classroom: hands-on activities in math, science, literacy, and art
By Cathy James

SB457 .J36 2015

Packed with garden-based activities that promote science, math, reading, writing, imaginative play, and arts and crafts, The Garden Classroom offers a whole year of outdoor play and learning ideas—however big or small your garden.