scholarly journals Publishing Children Books by Minority Voices in Canada: The Case of Groundwood Books

Author(s):  
Silvana N. Fernández

In Canada today the children’s book publishing scene is quite different from what it used to be in the 1970s and 1980s. Even if most publishers are small and rely heavily on federal grants the sheer range of publishing houses which feature the multicultural composition of the country for children and young adult readers is vast. The pendulum covers houses such as Annick Press, Fifth house, Second Story, or Theytus Books. The situation forty years ago though was radically different. In those days one of the groundbreaking houses was Groundwood Books. In this article we intend to look into the origins of the project, the wider political, social and cultural context, and three works by minority voices which clearly marked the publishing house’s profile and aspirations (Paul Yee’s Tales from Gold Mountain, Thomas King’s controversial A Coyote Columbus Story and Shirley Sterling’s My Name is Seepeetza). Our aim thus is to afford insight into the part played by Groundwood Books in fostering a new poetics in children’s books within the framework of Canada’s nation-building process.

2020 ◽  
pp. 13-23
Author(s):  
Tеtiana Antoniuk

The publishing activity of Yurij Tyshchenko (Siryi) in Ukraine and emigration (1907–1953) as one of the brightest representatives of the process of Ukrainian revival of the first half of the XX century is traced. It is analysed the efforts of a prominent Ukrainian on business in the awakening of national consciousness, forming of identity, knowledge dissemination among the great masses of Ukrainians, distribution of Ukrainian books in Ukraine and in the world through organizing and operation of publishing houses "Dzvin", "UT Publishing House (Yurij Tyshchenko)", active public activity. It is updated the book products of the publishing houses, managed by Yu. Tyshchenko, from the fund of the Foreign Ukrainistics Department of the Bibliology Institute of Vernadsky National Library of Ukraine. Special attention is paid to scientific, popular science, educational and children's book. There are given content and book characteristics and there are found out the ways of distribution of the Ukrainian book in emigration conditions. There are traced the relationship of the enterprises managed by Yu.Tyshchenko with Ukrainian establishments, organizations and public associations in emigration and in Ukraine. On the example of activity of Yu. Tyshchenko in emigration, it is shown the complexity of publishing process organization and the life and activities of Ukrainian political emigration abroad. Considerable attention is paid to the works of Yu. Tyshchenko himself, prepared, published and reprinted in Ukraine and the diaspora. The personal connections and cooperation of Yu. Tyshchenko with prominent Ukrainian scientific, political and public figures of the first half of the XX century are revealed. Attention is accented on the contribution of a prominent Ukrainian figure in the development of Ukrainian book publishing, book distribution, Ukrainian cultural and national revival. On the example of Yu. Tyshchenko's activity in emigration, the complexity of the organization of the publishing process and the life and activity of Ukrainian political emigration abroad is shown.


Author(s):  
Mike Shatzkin ◽  
Robert Paris Riger

Why is children’s book publishing so often viewed as a world apart from adult publishing? You can tell if someone doesn’t work in children’s publishing if she can’t tell you the difference between the Caldecott and Newbery Awards. The American Library Association (ALA) awards...


2012 ◽  
Vol 1 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Polkinghorne

Wolf, Allan. The Watch That Ends The Night: Voices From The Titanic. Somerville, MA: Candlewick, 2011. Print. If you are searching for a way to mark April 14, 2012, the 100th anniversary of the RMS Titanic’s striking of the iceberg, consider settling into a comfortable chair with The Watch That Ends The Night: Voices From The Titanic. You may wish to choose a chair with secure footing on solid ground. Formally, The Watch That Ends The Night is a novel consisting of poems, primarily in free verse, along with a variety of other styles suiting the two dozen “voices” who tell the story. This book stands out in large part thanks to Wolf’s resonant crafting of these voices. We hear from the crew, including an engine room man, a violinist, and the Captain himself. We hear from a range of passengers, including some of the richest and some of the poorest. We hear from men working in the aftermath of the collision, including a sailor on board the RMS Carpathia, the ship that rescued the Titanic’s survivors. The observations of a Nova Scotian undertaker, tasked with cataloguing the bodies and effects of the dead, are interspersed throughout, providing suspense despite the familiarity of the narrative. We read the wireless transmissions, most of which, Wolf mentions, are real: “From: RMS Titanic. To: All Ships at Sea. […] I require immediate assistance”. Wolf enriches the reader’s experience further by giving voice to the ominous perspective of the iceberg: “The lookouts on her mast can’t make me out”. Even “The Ship Rat” appears, scurrying along on a quest for survival whose symbolic importance increases as events unfold. Taken individually, each poem is an engaging insight into a particular perspective at a given moment within the voyage. Taken as a whole, Wolf’s poems build the tension that befits this story while capturing the stratification and diversity that existed on the ship in its time. The back matter is wonderful. Wolf provides details on each character and clarifies what is fact and what is fiction. There is also an extensive bibliography. The Watch That Ends The Night: Voices From The Titanic has many potential classroom applications. Hopefully, many young adult and adult readers will also read it purely for enjoyment. Highly recommended: 4 out of 4 starsReviewer: Sarah PolkinghorneSarah is a Public Services Librarian at the University of Alberta. She enjoys all sorts of books.


Author(s):  
A. V. Zaitseva

The article focuses on the libraries and the publishing and book trading organizations established by Moscow students in the early twentieth century. These organizations were founded to make the textbooks more available, cheaper and less deficient than they were at the moment. As the resource of the textbooks, libraries of compatriots’ associations were widespread. At the Moscow University students publishing commissions (parts of benefit societies) printed lecture notes and examination programs. Library, publishing, and trading activities were tightly bound in these societies. In the Moscow Technical School and the Moscow Women High Courses the libraries and publishing houses functioned independently of each other and of economical organizations of students. The students Library of textbooks at the Moscow Agricultural Institute was really unique, as it combined library service with book publishing for a while. Book trade was usually managed by publishers. Besides students organizations within educational institutes, there functioned a cooperative bookstore and a publishing house at the same time, common for all Moscow students. A dream, that never came true, was a Students House and united library collections of textbooks in it. In spite of many complications, the cooperation was successful, and due to it, access to the textbooks was facilitated for many students.


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