Contemporary Canadian Picture Books

"This is an enriched reference guide for picture books published by Canadian houses between 2017-2019. Chapters cover a brief history of picture books, key themes in contemporary Canadian titles (matching broad curriculum outcomes in education), and response activities, including frameworks for critical literacy discussions, along with annotated bibliographies that specifically recognize titles by Indigenous authors and illustrators. Also included are original interviews with a dozen rising stars in Canadian writing and illustration. While the book is specifically geared for educators, it also supports public libraries, research in Education, and future picture book creation as well as families who are interested in supporting reading development and related literacy activities in the home setting"--

"This is an enriched reference guide for picture books published by Canadian houses between 2017-2019. Chapters cover a brief history of picture books, key themes in contemporary Canadian titles (matching broad curriculum outcomes in education), and response activities, including frameworks for critical literacy discussions, along with annotated bibliographies that specifically recognize titles by Indigenous authors and illustrators. Also included are original interviews with a dozen rising stars in Canadian writing and illustration. While the book is specifically geared for educators, it also supports public libraries, research in Education, and future picture book creation as well as families who are interested in supporting reading development and related literacy activities in the home setting"--

Academic study of children's literature has explored various aspects of diversity; however, little research has examined Canadian books that portray characters with disabilities. This relevant and timely text addresses the significant dearth of research by exploring the treatment of disability in Canadian literature for young people. Engaging and highly accessible, this text will assist teachers, teacher educators, and teacher candidates in finding and using books about characters where disability is a part of their characterization, supporting the development of curricula that reflect critical literacy and social justice issues. Stories for Every Classroom explores the historical patterns and trends, theoretical frameworks, and critical literacy methods used to understand and teach children's literature and its portrayal of characters with disabilities. It provides educators with curriculum ideas and enriches the body of resources shared with children in K-12 settings for the purposes of developing imagination, empathy, and understanding of self and others. Featuring author portraits, comprehensive annotated bibliographies of contemporary Canadian children's books that depict characters with disabilities, and read-on bibliographies that provide connections with other books in the field, this unique text will be an invaluable resource for educators.

This book provides teachers, librarians, and other educators, parents and relatives, and students with a comprehensive and detailed examination of Canadian children's books. Each of the 133 entries on authors and illustrators presents factual and critical information along multiple dimensions. In addition to authors and illustrators of historical and contemporary importance in the English mainstream, creators of ethnic, Aboriginal, and French-Canadian origin also are included. There are representatives of regions--the North, the East, the West, and the rest between--and of all genres: retold folktales and myths, mystery, science fiction, fantasy, sports, wilderness adventure, animal epic, chapter books, picture books, poetry, stories for reluctant readers. Appendices list the winners of the major English-Canadian children's book awards and sources for further reading.

"The great purpose of landscape art is to make us at home in our own country" was the nationalist maxim motivating the Group of Seven's artistic project. The empty landscape paintings of the Group played a significant role in the nationalization of nature in Canada, particularly in the development of ideas about northernness, wilderness, and identity. In this book, John O'Brian and Peter White pick up where the Group of Seven left off. They demonstrate that since the 1960s a growing body of both art and critical writing has looked "beyond wilderness" to re-imagine landscape in a world of vastly altered political, technological, and environmental circumstances. By emphasizing social relationships, changing identity politics, and issues of colonial power and dispossession contemporary artists have produced landscape art that explores what was absent in the work of their predecessors. Beyond Wilderness expands the public understanding of Canadian landscape representation, tracing debates about the place of landscape in Canadian art and the national imagination through the twentieth century to the present. Critical writings from both contemporary and historically significant curators, historians, feminists, media theorists, and cultural critics and exactingly reproduced artworks by contemporary and historical artists are brought together in productive dialogue. Beyond Wilderness explains why landscape art in Canada had to be reinvented, and what forms the reinvention took. Contributors include Benedict Anderson (Cornell), Grant Arnold (Vancouver Art Gallery). Rebecca Belmore, Jody Berland (York), Eleanor Bond (Concordia), Jonathan Bordo (Trent), Douglas Cole, Marlene Creates, Marcia Crosby (Malaspina), Greg Curnoe, Ann Davis (Nickle Arts Museum), Leslie Dawn (Lethbridge), Shawna Dempsey, Christos Dikeakos, Peter Doig, Rosemary Donegan (OCAD), Stan Douglas, Paterson Ewen, Robert Fones, Northrop Frye, Robert Fulford, General Idea, Rodney Graham, Reesa Greenberg, Gu Xiong (British Columbia), Cole Harris (British Columbia), Richard William Hill (Middlesex), Robert Houle, Andrew Hunter (Waterloo), Lynda Jessup (Queen's), Zacharias Kunuk (Igloolik Isuma Productions), Johanne Lamoureux (Montreal), Robert Linsley (Waterloo), Barry Lord (Lord Cultural Resources), Marshall McLuhan, Mike MacDonald, Liz Magor (ECIAD), Lorri Millan, Gerta Moray (Guelph), Roald Nasgaard (Florida State), N.E. Thing Company, Carol Payne (Carleton), Edward Poitras, Dennis Reid (Art Gallery of Ontario), Michel Saulnier, Nancy Shaw (Simon Fraser), Johanne Sloan (Concordia), Michael Snow, Robert Stacey, David Thauberger, Loretta Todd, Esther Trepanier (Quebec), Dot Tuer (OCAD), Christopher Varley, Jeff Wall, Paul H. Walton (McMaster), Mel Watkins (Toronto), Scott Watson (British Columbia), Anne Whitelaw (Alberta), Joyce Wieland, Jin-me Yoon (Simon Fraser), Lawrence Paul Yuxweluptun, and Joyce Zemans (York).

Experts select the very best of Canadian children’s books in English This is an entertaining and easy-to-use guide to the very best in Canadian children’s books for parents, grandparents, teachers, librarians, and anyone else interested in the field. The first book of its kind in Canada, it deals with over 500 recommended titles, all by Canadian writers and illustrators, selected by two recognized experts. Organized by age and genre, it includes chapters on board books, concept books, picture books, traditional tales, poetry and rhyming stories, books for beginning readers, novels for those aged 7 to 12 and those 12 and up, as well as non-fiction books. Each entry gives bibliographic information and then a short summary of the book, a critical assessment, and the reason for its inclusion. Detailed indexes allow the user to find books based on author, title, subject matter, locale in which the story occurs, and area in Canada in which the author lives. This is an invaluable guide for those who use children’s books in their work or for those who want to select the perfect book for a special child.

This young readers edition of Ingenious focuses on 50 kid-friendly Canadian innovations that changed the world, from canoes to whoopie cushions, chocolate bars to Pablum. Co-written by Canada's Governor General and accompanied by contemporary illustrations, this adaptation offers young Canadians a way to celebrate our history and world contributions on Canada's 150th birthday. Successful innovation is always inspired by at least one of three forces -- insight, necessity and simple luck. Innovation Nation moves through history to explore what circumstances, incidents, coincidences and collaborations motivated each great Canadian idea, and what twist of fate then brought that idea into public acceptance. From the marvels of aboriginal inventions such as the canoe, igloo and lifejacket to the latest pioneering advances in medicine, education, science, engineering and the arts, Canadians have improvised and worked together to make the world a better place. With striking, vibrant illustrations throughout, Innovation Nation is a gorgeous companion to the adult edition that will surprise, enlighten and entertain young readers, and will be a valuable resource for teachers and librarians.

"We are a people who matter." Inspired by President Barack Obama's Of Thee I Sing, Go Show the World is a tribute to historic and modern-day Indigenous heroes, featuring important figures such as Tecumseh, Sacagawea and former NASA astronaut John Herrington. Celebrating the stories of Indigenous people throughout time, Wab Kinew has created a powerful rap song, the lyrics of which are the basis for the text in this beautiful picture book, illustrated by the acclaimed Joe Morse. Including figures such as Crazy Horse, Net-no-kwa, former NASA astronaut John Herrington and Canadian NHL goalie Carey Price, Go Show the World showcases a diverse group of Indigenous people in the US and Canada, both the more well known and the not- so-widely recognized. Individually, their stories, though briefly touched on, are inspiring; collectively, they empower the reader with this message: "We are people who matter, yes, it's true; now let's show the world what people who matter can do."