Congratulations to Patsy Aldana

Patsy Aldana, publisher of Groundwood Books, was named a member of the Order of Canada last week. I'm grateful to all that she's done to bring quality literature to young readers. She's concerned that children and youth seem to be deriving less pleasure from reading. Ms. Aldana questions our focus on literacy as a skill for the workplace rather than on nurturing reading for enjoyment. She asserts that reading can heal. It can make us understand the motivations of others.

Here's her quote in today's Globe and Mail: "If you become a reader, you have a chance to become a critical thinker, to be a person who has some power over your life."

Our family has enjoyed many of the titles from Groundwood. Our latest read is Doggie in the Window by Elaine Arsenault. Our signed copy was a gift when Kieran was a baby. He loves this story of a costume designing dog.

http://www.groundwoodbooks.com/gw_titles.cfm?pub_id=328




In the area of young adult, I loved Skim, a graphic novel by Mariko Tamaki. We are also big fans of the Stella books by Marie-Louise Gay.