All posts by Heather

About Heather

Heather is the Librarian II, Literacy and Readers' Advisory, with the Vaughan Public Libraries. Her job is to connect leisure readers and aspiring writers with the endless space of imagination and creation through words in all forms.  |  Meet the team

Mental Health and Woman on the Edge

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Thanks to Canada Council, The Writers’ Union of Canada and Simon & Schuster Canada, Samantha M. Bailey, author of the #1 national bestseller Woman on the Edge, will be visiting Vaughan Public Libraries’ Adult Book Club on May 20, 2021. I wanted to invite Samantha for two reasons: first, she’s originally from Thornhill and used to frequent the Bathurst Clark Resource Library (had I met her already?!); second, while many would agree that her bestselling title is most successful in the gripping pace, nonetheless it promotes mental health awareness in a way, just in time for the Mental Health Awareness Week in May.

I’d save most of the conversation about this intriguing psychological thriller and Samantha’s creative process for the event night. But if you can’t wait, take a quick peek at our Vaughan Reads video :)! Don’t forget to register on Eventbrite and enjoy an evening with Samantha on May 20!book cover of Woman on the Edge

Here, I’d like to talk more about mental health. Although Samantha’s writing emphasized more on creating a suspenseful page turner than exploring the matter of mental health, postpartum depression was one of the sources that had inspired her work. Her depiction of the protagonist Nicole Markham’s postpartum depression symptoms is absorbing. I’m pretty sure it resonates with many mothers. I myself had experienced a long period of postpartum blue after I had my first child. Without any social support (no parents, no friends nearby, only a husband as inexperienced as I was), brand-new motherhood had struck me with far more anxiety than joy. Even now, I can still vividly recall how strange my feeling was when I first saw my son’s wrinkly, bruised face when he had finally been suctioned and forcepped out of me after thirty-six hours of induction and labour – my heart raced with panic and wondered if I could have returned him like returning a wrong-sized T-shirt, and that feeling had caused guilt in me in every single second of the next six weeks. I still remember I would wake up every twenty minutes at night, gasping, worrying that my son’s little life would go cold before I could enjoy it. I would constantly get up to check on his breathing, never mind he was always hungry and woke me up every one or two hours to be fed, while my body was still experiencing  severe pain from the traumatic delivery. Anxiety prevailed. Depression followed. The beginning of my motherhood was ever rough! Fortunately, the chemicals in my brain didn’t act up, and my symptoms gradually dispersed as my son became more playful about six weeks later.

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Latin American and Hispanic Month Celebration

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(Posted on behalf of Sarah) I once observed that no month needs a party like long dreary November. This is not yet November, but I tend to find the same principle can apply in October. The air gets colder, the nights start sooner and run longer, the days get a little greyer, and people start talking about vitamin D supplements and warm places. And because 2020 has been a challenging year for everyone, it’s time to find something to celebrate.

Enter Latin American Heritage Month which runs throughout October under various names across the country. This is an opportunity to celebrate Latin American culture and learn more about the way Canada’s Latin American community shapes the fabric of our nation.

Broadly speaking (perhaps too broadly), Latin America is considered to be made up of countries in North, Central, and South America where Spanish and Portuguese prevail as colonial languages; and the largest Latin American Canadian communities are Mexican Canadians, Colombian Canadians, and Salvadoran Canadians.

CD cover of Oscar Lopez Flashback Any celebration starts with music, and there are many Latin American Canadian musicians to check out this month. Juno award winning Chilean-Canadian guitarist Oscar Lopez has been making music since the 1970’s. He started out doing rock covers before finding his niche in Latin-style acoustic and flamenco music, and winning awards for his beautiful instrumental work. He also teamed up with folk singer James Keelaghan to explore the place where Latin and Celtic music meet. Lopez’s Best of album Flashback is a lovely introduction to his work.

And in another part of the scene, you will find Toronto born country and roots artist Lindi Ortega.  whose music is influenced by her Mexican and Irish heritage as well as her experiences across Canada, and her time spent in Nashville. Her voice has been likened to Dolly Parton and Emmylou Harris. Her latest album, Liberty, is available on Hoopla.

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Read Me Another: 1000 Books Before Kindergarten

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(Posted on behalf of Alex) As a Youth Services Librarian, I often hear from parents who worry whether they are doing enough to help prepare their child for kindergarten. As a parent myself, I understand this worry. As a librarian, however, I can confidently say, “As long as you’re reading to your little one every day, you are doing enough.” Decades of literacy research has shown that reading to your child from infancy, every day, sets them up to be lifelong learners and, statistically, they do better in school and in life.

Alex reading with kidsAt Vaughan Public Libraries we want to ensure that you and your family start off on the right foot, and that is why we partnered with the 1000 Books Foundation to offer the program 1000 Books Before Kindergarten. We want to encourage you to read lots and lots of books with your little one – at least 1000! This may sound like a lot, but it really isn’t. If you read only one book a night to your newborn, infant, toddler, or preschooler, you will have read 365 books in one year, 730 books in two years, and 1095 books in three years! If you consider that most children start kindergarten at around age 4, you and your child will have had more than enough time to complete this fun and exciting challenge.

So now you’re probably wondering, “What books should I read to my child for this program?” I want to make this very clear: there is no wrong book to read to your child. They are all good, but the very best book is the one they choose for themself. If they bring a book to you and you’ve already read that book fifty times that week, read it again, because every time you read the book, your child will get something new out of it. Repetition is necessary and good.

However, I am a Youth Services Librarian, so naturally, I will always have a few recommendations to share with you.

cover image of Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes

One of the first books I received when I was pregnant with my first child was from a fellow librarian who knew that the baby book, Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes by Mem Fox, should be on every new parent’s reading list. This sweet rhyming book features babies of diverse backgrounds and highlights, of course, their adorable baby fingers and baby toes.

cover image of Dog's Colorful DayAt around 18 months, toddlers begin to notice colour differences (although they might not be able to verbally tell you the colour till much later). This is a great time to introduce books that talk about colours. Dog’s Colorful Day: A Messy Story About Colors and Counting, by Emma Dodd makes learning about colours fun, as poor Dog seems always to be underfoot when someone makes a mess. By the end of the day, he has 10 colourful spots!

The Wcover image of The Word Collectorord Collector, by Peter H. Reynolds, is a great read for preschoolers whose language skills are exploding and who are discovering their voice. In this extraordinary book, Jerome discovers the magic of the words all around him and their impact when he shares them with the world. Plus, it’s a great book to introduce more complex multisyllable words to your preschooler that you may not ordinarily use in everyday conversation.

If you’re looking for more book recommendations, you can always check out our digital book recommendation list or contact us by phone, social media, or email. We’d be happy to help you find loads of choices for you and your little one to read on your journey to 1000 books. Vaughan Public Libraries will help to make the journey even more exciting by providing a  Reading Log where you can track your reading travels – and when you reach a milestone (100, 200, etc.),  let us know, so we can give your little one a small reward.

As poet and author Emilie Buchwald wrote, “Children are made readers on the laps of their parents,” so snuggle up with them and enjoy the adventure you are about to embark on together. The memories made will be well worth the journey, and the benefits will last a lifetime.