As I’ve discovered while writing my ongoing Beautiful British Columbia : A Reading Staycation series, Canada produces a lot of really fantastic children’s book authors and illustrators. Finding Canadian children’s books can require a bit of detective legwork work, though, as the vast, vast majority of the books on our bookstore and library shelves come to us from our American neighbours.
One fantastic online resource for teachers, librarians and readers looking for great Canadian material is Canlit for LittleCanadians. Helen Kubiw, the blogger behind Canlit for LittleCanadians, is a “Canadian, teacher, librarian, reader, reviewer, book awards’ committee member, writers’ festival volunteer, enthusiastic promoter of great literature.”
Kubiw is certainly an enthusiastic promoter of great Canadian literature – she blogs almost daily, reviewing new Canadian titles, interviewing authors and illustrators, profiling publishers, hosting giveaways and cover reals, and generally just being a passionate supporter of the Canadian children’s literature scene.
CanLit for LittleCanadians provides links to major Canadian book blogs, author/illustrator websites and publishers websites, which is a real treasure-trove of great Canadian book information, and is also highly valuable for prospective writers and book industry hopefuls. The website is a true labour of love from a passionate Canadian reader, educator and book lover who’s dedicated to sharing great new Canadian materials for young readers. Definitely, definitely worth checking out, bookmarking and following!
I love the CanLit website – I wish we got more Canadian books in the UK too…
I wish we got more UK book here in Canada!