I only recently became aware of a wonderful not-for-profit organization, Canadian Children's Book Centre (CCBC) that supports & promotes reading, writing, illustrating and publishing of Canadian children's books. If you are a teacher, librarian, bookseller or even a parent, I urge you visit www.bookcentre.ca where you can find a plethora of information including books by theme, suggested titles by age groups, award winners and what to look for when choosing books for kids. It's like an untapped goldmine focusing on Canadian literature!Are you interested in learning more about the Canadian book scene? Canadian Children’s Book News is a quarterly magazine that gives you that and more. Inside you will find reviews for recommended books, author and illustrator interviews, award winners plus profiles of publishers and bookstores. The quarterly magazines as well as an annual Best Books for Kids and Teens are available to members. With your support, CCBC can put books into the hands of over 500,000 kids and bring authors, storytellers and illustrators into over 400 schools and libraries each year! Individual membership price is only $60 or $30 for students/seniors in which you will also receive an invitation to the Annual General Meeting each June and invitations to special events hosted by the CCBC throughout the year. Very cool!
My love for literature keeps growing every day, especially now that I have two kids to share my passion with. Having a dedicated organization like CCBC is so heartwarming. Only last year in a conversation with my son's teacher did I know that some kids don't have any books at home! I was flabbergasted to say the least. TD Grade One Book Giveaway Program, organized by CCBC, provides every Grade One student across Canada with the gift of a free book, in either English or French. Over 500,000 free books have been distributed annually since 2000:)
I am very fortunate to have an opportunity to spread the love of CCBC. One lucky winner will receive an one-year membership! **throws confetti** Contest is open to Canadian mailing addresses and winner will be randomly selected on Friday April 29th at 9 AM EST. Entry is simple, leave a comment below with your email address and tell me who/what you love about Canadian literature. (My answer: memories of reading Dennis Lee's Jelly Belly over & over, laughing time and time again. I now share this book with my kids who love it as much as I do!)
