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Canadian culture is known for a few things—poutine, Schitt’s Creek, and that many of our successful comedians have left us for the States. I’d wager a guess that if you asked the average American about anything else Canadian, they’d stare at you blankly. But recently, we’ve been in the international news a lot more; I’ve never seen so much coverage about our elections as we had for our April election.
While Canada has always had its own media and goods, we have often consumed as many or more U.S. products. There has been a growing desire within Canada to support items made here, so I want to introduce these eight Canadian picture books. These Canadian picture books aren’t just by local authors, but are also set in the towns and cities where the authors live. Often, Canadian authors set their stories in American or non-descript places because our country as a setting doesn’t sell. On that, I can speak from experience, as I was told while shopping around my (still-unpublished) novel that it wasn’t as marketable because it was set in Canada.
There are so many fantastic Canada-based authors and illustrators out there. If you haven’t already sought out Canadian and Indigenous peoples’ kidlit, I recommend checking out the titles being put out by publishers like Tundra, Second Story Press, and Groundwood Books. Indigenous peoples in Canada also have some incredible publishers like the Snuneymuxw’s Strong Nations and Nunavut’s Arvaaq Press. But overall, this list contains just a sampling of what’s available. If you want to learn more about Canadian lit, Quill & Quire is a great resource with reviews and industry news. Full disclosure, I also write children’s book reviews for them. Ultimately, regardless of where you live, these are just wonderful books.
A Is for Anemone: A First West Coast Alphabet Book by Lucky Budd and Roy Henry Vickers
This board book is an alphabet primer and an intro to the important places and symbols of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh Nations. It features gorgeous embossed illustrations and captivates burgeoning readers and their adults while introducing iconic animals, sea creatures, and locales. Budd and Vickers have created quite a few books together, and they are all fantastic
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Getting Us to Grandma’s by Nadia L. Hohn and TeMika Grooms
Set in the mid-1980s, a Jamaican-Canadian family travels by car from Toronto to the Bronx. Nikki loves geography and maps; when her father takes a wrong turn on the road, she helps him get back on the right track. This book’s vibrant art will retain kids’ attention as they learn about a pre-Google Maps existence.
Mile End Kids Stories by Isabelle Arsenault
Arsenault has produced a compilation of her three picture books set in Montreal’s Mile End. The three titles, Colette’s Lost Pet, Albert’s Quiet Quest and Maya’s Big Scene, all feature spunky kids having fun adventures, and the art features Montreal’s walk-up apartments complete with their recognizable spiral staircases and iconic facades.
From There to Here by Laurel Croza and Matt James
A child thinks about how her life has changed since her family moved from Saskatchewan to Toronto. She’s been uprooted from a rural locale to a city and is struggling to adjust to her father working longer hours, the lack of visible night stars, and the streets full of tall buildings with doors that need locking.
The Hockey Sweater by Roch Carrier and Sheldon Cohen
I can only speak as a Montrealer, but this was the quintessential Canadian picture book when I was a kid in the 80s. A young boy growing up in a small Quebec town is excited to receive a replacement Montreal Canadiens hockey sweater from Eaton’s (a Canadian department store chain), but is horrified when they accidentally send him a Toronto Maple Leafs sweater instead. It’s a charming Canadian classic that perfectly captures the Montreal vs. Toronto hockey rivalry.
Ride The Big Machines Across Canada by Carmen Mok
Machines are introduced in the context of what they are commonly used for across Canada. For instance, Quebec has a crane, PEI has a forwarder, Nova Scotia has a boat, and Nunavut has a plane. Each page spread features the locale, the machine, and the province’s flag—a wonderful way to teach kiddos a little bit about each place.
Wild Trails to the Sea by Penelope Jackson and Elena Skoreyko Wagner
This is a celebration of family and nature, featuring the backdrop of Halifax nature locations. Paired with Jackson’s simple text and Wagner’s warm and inviting collages, it makes Halifax feel like a must-visit city.
Liitia’s One-Ski by Jeffrey Kheraj, Kahlan Miron, and Emma Pederson
This is written in English and Inuktitut, the Inuit language spoken in the Canadian Arctic. Liitia lives in Qausuittuq, Nunavut and one year, she decides to join the community’s annual spring race. Can she win if all she has is an old one-ski?
I hope you appreciated learning more about these Canadian picture books. Make sure to check out this older list of must-read Canadian children’s and YA books, too.
The following comes to you from the Editorial Desk.
This week, we’re highlighting a guide to reading short stories! If you’ve been curious about what short stories have to offer and want to make them part of your reading life, get to know the form and learn where you can find some good ones so you can get started right away. Read on for an excerpt and become an All Access member to unlock the full post.
May is Short Story month, so what’s on your reading list this month? Short stories are one of my favorite things to read right now. Life’s busy, and short stories are fiction that can fit into a hectic day. Instead of using the one-chapter-per-night method to work your way through a novel, what might it look like to read a short story each evening?
I love short stories precisely because they’re every bit as interesting, complex, and beautiful as longer fiction, but they’re more realistic to read when you’ve got a lot going on.
I have a confession: I used to hate short stories. Okay, okay, maybe “hate” is too strong a word. Let’s just say that I basically refused to read them. You might be wondering why I would have such a strong aversion to short stories.
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