From Finding a Voice to Being Heard: Overcoming Current Challenges of Canadian Children’s Literature

Abstract

This article discusses current challenges of children’s literature in Canada and compares them with past developments, highlighting both governmental guidelines as well as educators’ demands. This discussion serves as the background for an analysis of a new book series entitled “In the Same Boat,” which was introduced by the Canadian publisher Coteau Books in 2001 and 2002. With “In the Same Boat” Coteau Books has published a series of novels for young readers that celebrates the richness of Canada’s cultural heritage and the many different faces that contribute to Canada’s multicultural society. The stories take different forms - adventure, family drama, historical fiction, and fantasy - and give information about a particular culture as a background for the main narrative. They feature young heroes who are as culturally diverse as their authors and who embark on an adventurous journey to their roots.