Authors, Authors, Authors!

Following Lindsey Carmicheal’s presentation of her book, “Polar WildLife at the Ends of the Earth” in November, County Kids Read hosted several exciting visits from local authors in December, too!

Caitlin Evans read to students at Sophiasburgh Public School from her new book, “Where Do Stories Come From?”

Lynne Grist shared her novel, entitled “Treasure At Sandbanks: The Key to Time” with the Grade ⅘ class when they visited the CKR Book Room.

Dominic Leslie read his book “Shirley Nix: The Snow Fairy” to the JK/SK class from PECI.

Local author, Lindsey Carmicheal, comes to PECI!

On November 14th, COUNTY KIDS READ was pleased to introduce author Lindsey Carmichael to Prince Edward Collegiate Institute's Grade Four Panthers.

Lindsey Carmicheal has a PhD in wildlife genetics and worked as a forensic scientist before becoming an author; she brings 20 years of experience teaching both science and writing to her work as a writer.

Lindsey’s most recent book, “Polar : Wildlife at the Ends of the Earth”, is a “stunning exploration of the animals that have adapted to survive - and thrive - in Earth’s harsh polar regions”. This lucky group of PECI students learned about the amazing arctic adaptations that allow animals to live in bitterly cold, freeze-dried wildernesses where the wind can blow harder than a hurricane.

Lindsey specializes in making all aspects of science engaging, relevant, and fun. Curious children and families are invited to learn more by heading to Lindsey’s website, www.lecarmichael.ca.

Fall 2023 Visits to "Book Room" and School Outreach

Finally, the leaves started to turn and it was time to invite our eager young friends to select their first books for the new school year.

From mid-October to early November, excited PECI students enjoyed exploring the shelves of the County Kids Book Room and taking home their just-right new books.

And, thanks to our keen outreach teams, Athol-South Marysburgh and Sophiasburgh students also had the opportunity to find their next new favourite titles when County Kids Read came to visit.

Along with distributing books to these schools, County Kids Read continues to supply several community partners with books on a regular basis. Currently, we are taking steps to expand our reach with bi-monthly book distribution at the PEC Fresh Good Food Market (both in Picton, and at the County Food Hub in Sophiasburgh), and by participating in local community events like the “Fall Family Open House” at Prince Edward Fitness and Aquatic Centre.

With Gratitude

The County Foundation delivered grants to several community service organizations through the Government of Canada’s Community Services Recovery Fund. The grant has allowed County Kids Read to hire a short term records manager who will access, recommend and implement a records/data management program designed to suit the needs of CKR.

Thank you, also, to our generous local service clubs - The Kiwanis Club Picton, Royal Canadian Legion Branch #78, and The Rotary Club of Wellington - for their donations and continued support of CKR. 

Local Author Caitlin Nicole Evans launches "Where DO Stories Come From?"

Local author and generous friend to County Kids Read, Caitlin Nicole Evans says that her new book, "Where DO Stories Come From?" is "filled with all the words from the creatures inside my head, and the paintings of all the things I love most (ice cream cones, aliens, and wiener dogs - oh my)!"  Caitlin graciously offered friends of CKR the opportunity to donate a discounted copy of “Where Do Stories Come From?” to the County Kids Read book room. Books are still available to order/donate.

In November 2023, Caitlin’s books will be available on her new website: www.caitlinnicoleevans.com. 

“Where Do Stories Come From?” will also be available at Books and Company in Picton, ON at the end of November.  Caitlin can also be found on Facebook (@Caitlin Nicole Evans) and on Instagram (@caitlinnicoleevans).

First Annual Back-To-School Backpack Drive - PECI

Baxter Arts Centre, Wellington Farmers' Market, market vendors from Picton Town Hall, and www.countyballoons.ca collaborated to power a "backpack drive" for children of Prince Edward County.

Generous donations of school supplies and backpacks were organized and distributed to students as they headed back to school!

County Kids Read was honoured to support this wonderful community initiative by contributing a new book for every backpack.

Reading Round-Up

On July 28, 2023, the sun came out at London Avenue Park - just in time to make the "Reading Round-Up" event truly shine! The variety of activities meant that there was something for everyone.  County Kids Read gave 67 books to 67 new friends, along with puzzles, crayons, and markers.  

Many thanks to our fantastic community partners, County of Prince Edward Public Library & Archives and Prince Edward Learning Centre, for a terrific event! We look forward to other events in collaboration with the Picton Heights Community.

March Madness

Spring has arrived, and during the month of March books were flying off the shelves of the CKR Reading Room. Along with supplying all of our community partners with books, County Kids Read also hosted several classes from PECI. Books were distributed to public schools as well, including Sophiasburgh and Athol Public Schools.

Another successful class visit to the CKR Reading Room.

Along with distributing books, it is CKR’s mission to also distribute resources on this website to help parents, caregivers, teachers, and staff. Check out our recently updated “ABOUT” page, by clicking the tab on the homepage. There are three categories which include annotated lists of books and additional online resources in the following topics:

• Childrens' Mental Health and Wellness

• Exploring Indigenous Culture 

• Diversity and Inclusion

While on the homepage, be sure to also sign up for a newsletter and receive updates from CKR directly to your inbox.

Family Day Fun in February

In celebration of Family Day 2023, County Kids Read participated in a wonderful event organized by the Rotary Club of Wellington. On February 18th, from 10am-3pm, families enjoyed a variety of activities at the Wellington Community Centre, including receiving a free book from County Kids Read.  We were pleased  to hand out over 100 books! Hopefully you and your family were able to spend the day together, and thank you to all those who came out to support this event for some Family Day fun.

The New Year is Off to a Wonderful Start . . .

Happy New Year everyone!

After a little holiday break, County Kids will be back to regular updates every month including posts on our Facebook page and a monthly newsletter. Make sure to click “Newsletter” at the top of the page to subscribe and receive info, updates, and events straight to your inbox.

So, what has CKR been up to this January?

Grant funding is imperative to the success of organizations like CKR. County Kids Read would like to thank the Huff Family Fund and the County Foundation for funding our grant application entitled, Post Pandemic: Closing the Learning Gap. The effects of school closures, online and at home learning caused learning gaps which were most pronounced for students from low-income families or students struggling with literacy acquisition. The monies from this grant will be used to purchase books to aid in closing the learning gap for our community’s most vulnerable children. Pictured below is Peta Shelton, our board treasurer, representing CKR as one of this year’s recipients.

On January 21st, County Kids Read participated in a pop-up party in Picton Heights on London Ave called Winterfest. This event was organized by the Department of Illumination with several other community groups. Picton Heights is traditionally underserved with events such as this, and with no cost to those attending, Winterfest was accessible to all members of the community. There were over 200 people in attendance, and everyone was able to enjoy games, food, and fun activities. Including story time (in snow pants!) with the PEC Public Library, and a selection of books to browse and take home thanks to County Kids Read. CKR was able to hand out over 100 books throughout the day. It was a truly wonderful winter event! Below are a selection of photographs highlighting all the fun . . .

Children choose from Dr. Seuss, Animal Snoops, and plenty more . . .

Keeping warm with a game of skee ball . . .

A pop-up puppet show . . .

Thank you to everyone who continues to support, donate, and follow County Kids Read.