As we here at Indigo celebrate  the Indigo’s Love of Reading Foundation’s grant announcements yesterday (details to come), and mourned the loss of the great Maurice Sendak on Tuesday, we are reminded that it is also TD Canadian Children’s Book Week in Canada and Children’s Book Week in the United States.  The Canadian Children’s Book Centre (CCBC) salutes this by sending a number of Canadian illustrators and authors to schools across the country, sometimes to remote regions which cannot always get an author to come and talk with them.

The theme for 2012, “Read a Book, Share a Story,” promotes reading as a classic pleasure-filled pastime and encourages sharing a good book or story with friends and family.  Overall thirty-four authors, illustrators and storytellers will be visiting schools, libraries, bookstores and community centres.

Founded in 1976, the CCBC is a national not-for-profit organization that is dedicated to encouraging, promoting and supporting the reading, writing, and illustrating of Canadian books for children and young adults. With this mandate the CCBC partners with some Canadian publishers and the TD bank to organize this week of activities as well as give out awards at an annual gala held in the fall. Two weeks ago, TD and the CCBC kicked off the week with a lovely high tea at the Windsor Arms in Toronto and the Indigo Kids Blog was one of three bloggers in attendance.  Vikki VanSickle, Willow Dawson and Brian Deines ate scones, drank delicious tea and talked kids’ books and writing with other industry professionals.

Having just sat on the jury for the Monica Hughes Award for Science Fiction and Fantasy, written a number of book reviews for the CCBC’s quarterly magazine, Canadian Children’s Book News, and attended a number of their events, I can tell you that the people who work and volunteer for this organization are as passionate about Canadian children’s books as we are.

The Indigokids blog will also be celebrating this week with some exclusive photos from Kevin Sylvester’s new novel, Neil Flambé and the Crusader’s Curse.  

Also, check out our Canadian Books for Canadian Kids shop to see who we think are the best in Canadian children’s lit.

Alberta:

Don Aker, author

Rina Singh, author

British Columbia:

Jan Andrews, storyteller & author

Brian Deines, author
Bernice Gei-Yung Hune, storyteller

Labrador:

Alison Lohans, author

Manitoba:

Vivien Bowers, author

Gina McMurchy-Barber, author

New Brunswick:

Aubrey Davis, author & storyteller

Newfoundland:

Joan Marie Galat, author & storyteller

Northwest Territories:

Andrea Spalding, author

Nova Scotia:

Karen Patkau, author & illustrator

Nunavut:

Allan Stratton, author

Ontario:

Alison Acheson, author

Caroline Adderson, author

Eileen Cook, author

Yayo (Diego Herrera), illustrator

Jessica Scott Kerrin, author

Chris McMahen, author

Robert Rayner, author

Prince Edward Island:

Willow Dawson, author & illustrator

 Quebec

(English-language tour):

Marty Chan, author

Shoshana Litman, storyteller

Kathleen McDonnell, author

Caroline Pignat, author

Richard Rudnicki, illustrator & author

(French-language tour):

Caroline Merola, author & illustrator

Luc Melanson, illustrator

Bruno St-Aubin, illustrator

Édith Bourget, author, poet & illustrator

Linda Amyot, author

Saskatchewan:

Judy Ann Sadler, author

Vikki VanSickle, author

Yukon:

Alan Cumyn, author