Education Minister Reads With Grade 1 Students

Elementary and junior high school students in Nova Scotia are celebrating Canadian Children's Book Week by digging into books from two new Atlantic Canada Collections. The collections, which include 43 titles in all, were recently distributed to the schools through the province's Learning for Life program.

Education minister Jamie Muir read one of those books, The Rainmaker, to Grade 1 students at Willow Street School in Truro today, Nov. 1.

"Reading with our children is so important, both in school and at home," said Mr. Muir. "We all have a role to play in helping students develop the reading and writing skills they need to succeed in school and in life. Through our Learning for Life plan, we've put more than a million books in schools and have provided more professional development for teachers and more resources and support for students."

The Department of Education has distributed four Atlantic Canada Collections to each elementary and junior high school in the province. The most recent collection for elementary includes 22 titles and the junior high collection includes 21 titles, all written or illustrated by Atlantic Canadians.

"We've given each school a copy of these books to help students learn more about their Atlantic Canadian roots and to support Atlantic Canadian authors," said Mr. Muir. "These collections are a testament to the Department of Education's commitment to highlight and value Atlantic Canadian authors."

The Atlantic Canada Collections support the Active Young Readers and Active Readers initiatives. These reading initiatives have helped more than 100,000 students in Primary to Grade 8 with their reading skills and have put more than a million books in elementary and junior high schools across the province.

Canadian Children's Book Week -- this year being held from Oct. 30 to Nov. 6 -- celebrates Canadian children's authors, illustrators, books and reading. As part of this national festival, the Canadian Children's Book Centre gives a free Canadian children's book to every Grade 1 student in the country.

This year, students will receive their copy of Omar on Ice, by the end of November. The book, which tells the story of a young bear named Omar who wants to be an artist, was written and illustrated by Maryann Kovalski.