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Children’s Books from Canada at the Munich International Youth LibraryIn June, the Munich International Youth Library, with the support of the Canadian Embassy in Berlin, launched an exhibition of Canadian children’s books selected from the Youth Library’s collections. Entitled Children’s Books from Canada: A Recent Selection, the exhibition showcased the best in Canadian literature written for young people, and offered insight into the rich and varied works produced in Canada over the past five years. One of Canada’s premier children’s illustrators, Marie-Louise Gay, was invited as a guest speaker at the exhibition opening. The following is an excerpt from Josiane Polidori’s essay that appears in the exhibition catalogue. Canadian Children’s Literature: Multi-faceted Landscape In order to accurately portray recent tendencies in Canadian children’s literature, one must be willing to open one’s eyes wide! From our first literary works, Canada’s wild and magnificent landscape has served as an inspiration for both English and French artists. Contemporary Canadian writers and illustrators are renowned for their works that boldly describe subjects dealing with the very real and day-to-day life of children. Subjects such as friendship, loneliness, death, or sexuality are treated with generosity and openness. To describe the diversity of Canadian children’s literature is a daunting challenge. It is for this reason that the Munich International Youth Library has organized an exhibition in collaboration with the Canadian Embassy in Germany: an important project indeed. One must see and read books in order to know them. Happy reading! Josiane Polidori For more information on Children’s Books from Canada, please contact Josiane Polidori at Telephone: (613) 996-7774 |
