Inspiring Future Readers (and Athletes!)

This week, our  library buzzed with excitement as hockey players from Simon Fraser University stopped by for a special reading event. It was a joyful mix of books and Red Leafs spirit—an unforgettable morning for our students!

Instead of skates and sticks, the SFU players brought picture books and big smiles. Classes gathered in the library, where each athlete chose a favorite children’s book to share. The players talked about how reading helps them stay focused, learn new strategies, and succeed both on and off the rink. Their visit showed our students that strong minds are just as important as strong muscles. Many kids were thrilled to discover that even college athletes love storytime!

After the read-aloud sessions, students asked fantastic questions:

  • “What’s your favorite book?”
  • “How often do you practice?”
  • “Why did you decide to play hockey over any other sport?”

The players answered thoughtfully and shared motivating messages about setting goals, practicing hard, and keeping up with schoolwork.

We are grateful to the SFU hockey team for making time to connect with our young readers. Their visit brought energy, inspiration, and a lot of new hockey fans to our halls!

Author Visit: Cara Komukai!

Today our library was filled with excitement and plenty of imagination. We were thrilled to welcome Cara Komukai, a talented young author who published her first book, Rainbow Puppy Daycare, when she was just 13 years old. Cara, now a student at Burnaby Mountain Secondary and already an inspiring storyteller, spent the afternoon sharing her book with our primary classes.

Students really enjoyed the hilarious story about the mischievous puppies and had lots of questions for Cara. Cara happily answered every question and shared that she came up with the idea for her story while she was learning online during the Covid-19 pandemic and was inspired by her Educational Assistant’s puppies, Reggie and Olive.

Cara’s book will be on the shelves of our library for families to borrow and enjoy. You can purchase your own copy from Chapters Indigo. More information can be found on Cara’s website.

We are so thankful to Cara Komukai for visiting our library and showing our students that creativity has no age limit.

We can’t wait to see what Cara writes next – we got a hot tip that her next book will be about space!

The Perfect Paper Airplane

Scholastic is holding a contest to promote Robert Munsch’s new book The Perfect Paper Airplane and Stoney Creek is in it to win it!

The library has transformed into a high-flying hangar as students from Divisions 4, 5, 8, 9, and 10 design and test their entries. Armed with nothing but paper, creativity, and a serious case of aerodynamic ambition, our young pilots are deep into the design process—sketching, folding, testing, and tweaking their aircraft for maximum airtime.

The challenge? Create the best paper airplane. But what does “best” mean? Longest flight? Coolest trick? Most spectacular crash landing? The path to the perfect plane is rarely a straight line (unless you’re really good at folds).

But it’s not just about fancy folds—students are learning the science behind flight! It’s all about the four forces: lift, thrust, drag, and gravity. Each test flight in the library is a chance to see these invisible forces in action (and maybe tweak those wings for a little more lift!).

The contest deadline is October 31st and one lucky winner could win a pizza party for their class, a set of Munsch books, AND a chance to be drawn Munsch-style by illustrator Michael Martchenko (sorry parents, it is open to students in Grades K-6 only). To find out more and enter your child in the contest, click here. 

May the best plane soar!

World Mental Health Day

Friday, October 10, 2025 is World Mental Health Day. It’s a reminder of the importance of good mental health and the need to prioritise and invest in good mental health.

This year’s theme is ‘access to services – mental health in catastrophes and emergencies’. The theme is about protecting your mental health when it seems like there is a lot going on in the world to be anxious about. Read more from the Mental Health Foundation here.

We have a lot of books in our library about mental health and featuring characters who struggle with mental health.

We have picture books:

We have non-fiction:

We have fiction novels and graphic novels:

Come and check out a book for World Mental Health Day this week! Is there any better way to take care of your mental health than reading a good book?

Summer Reading Club 2025

Summer Reading Club is back at the Burnaby Public Library! It is free to join and anyone can participate. Here’s how it works:

  • pick up your reading tracker at any BPL location or sign up online
  • choose your reading goal
  • read all summer long
  • pick up your Summer Reading Club medal starting August 23!

You can read anything, any way, anywhere and in any language. Being read to also counts!

Need help with choosing some books? The library has book recommendations for all ages. Visit their website or visit a Burnaby Public library branch today!

The Book Fair is Here!

That’s right! It’s the most wonderful time of the year. The Scholastic Book Fair has returned to the library. It runs Monday to Thursday and is open at lunch and after school. Remember, odd divisions can shop at lunch on Monday and Wednesday ONLY and even divisions can shop at lunch on Tuesday and Thursday ONLY. Anyone can come after school. See you at the fair!

 

The Joy of Genrefication!

Did you know the fiction section of our library is now sorted by genre? This makes it easier than ever to find books you love! Simply find the genre you’re looking for by using the signs on the ends of the aisles. Within each genre, books are sorted alphabetically by author. If you’re looking for a specific book but not sure what genre it is, use our catalogue to search for the book and find its genre under “sublocation”.

 

Each book has a special genre label on its spine to let you know where it belongs.

Do you forget what genre means? Here is a video to refresh your memory:

The genres in our fiction section are:

  • Realistic Fiction
  • Fantasy
  • Animal Stories
  • Humor
  • Historical Fiction
  • Mystery
  • Sci-Fi
  • Dystopian
  • Adventure
  • Horror

Come check out a book from your favourite genre today!

 

 

Black Excellence Day

The Ninandotoo Society (with the Burnaby School District) will be hosting Black Excellence Day on January 15, 2024. Black Excellence Day is a lead-up to Black History Month and an opportunity to rejoice in Black history and learn about Black stories, Black art and Black people. It’s a day to stand in solidarity with Black Canadians.

In the Stoney Creek library we are celebrating by highlighting Black stories. Come and check out the many books in our collection written by a Black author or featuring Black characters.

Classes will be listening to stories featured on the Netflix series Bookmarks: Celebrating Black Voices. Watch along with us here:

Or click here to see the whole playlist of other stories from the show.

Happy Black Excellence Day!

Ms. Rudolph is Back!

I am very happy to be back at Stoney Creek as your librarian after taking a year off on maternity leave. Last week brought joy to my heart as the community welcomed me back with excited smiles. Drop by the library to say hi and tell me what you have been reading or ask for a book recommendation (although I have mostly been reading board books for the last year!)