June 2013: This publication is no longer available, however the website has been archived and can still be referenced.
The Department of Library and Archives Canada offers an annual publication called “Read Up On It“. Their website describes it as ” a publication that promotes Canadian children’s literature and reading. It highlights notable books on a given theme, and features award-winning, Canadian children’s books in all categories.”
Each edition includes both French and English literature, and follows a specific theme for the year.
For example, the theme for 2010 is Ice Floes and Frost. So, what kinds of books are included in the collection? The website reports that, “[t]his selective bibliography presents books for young people on climate change in the Polar Regions. Ice Floes and Frost describes the variety and richness of children’s books and provides an overview of our country’s northern climate through the representation of cold and wintry weather.”
Books on the list include:
- Amazing Animal Adventures at the Poles: Going Wild
- Canada Close Up: Snow and Ice: Canadian Winter Weather
- Dear Canada: Winter of Peril: The Newfoundland Diary of Sophie Loveridge
- Jillian Jiggs and the Great Big Snow
One bonus in this edition is the list of 23 extra activities that they’ve included as an extention to the book list.
Over the last 20 years, it has covered a wide variety of topics – from Aboriginal Legends to families to magic to science fiction…. it’s quite a comprehensive list! You can see all past theme lists online. An extra that I’ve found looking through past editions is that they list off alternative options to reading books that are available – so things like AudioBooks or movies. It’s an interesting way to expand literature!
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