Online Resource for Parents & Educators Launches Early in Response to COVID–19
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Toronto (April 25, 2020) – The Canadian Children’s Book Centre (CCBC) is thrilled to announce the launch of Bibliovideo: a YouTube channel all about Canadian children’s books.
Bibliovideo showcases videos and links to resources about Canadian books for children and youth. It is a vibrant destination for readers, librarians, teachers, parents, authors, illustrators, researchers, and others who want to locate and learn more about great Canadian books for young people.
The channel was originally scheduled to launch in May 2020. In response to the COVID–19 crisis, the Bibliovideo team has been urgently working to push that date forward and meet the growing need for Canadian content that can be viewed and shared at home by parents and educators. “The team at the CCBC has worked hard to launch Bibliovideo early,” says Rose Vespa, Executive Director of the CCBC, “to support Canadian children’s creators and publishers while providing much needed online access to Canadian stories and resources to families and educators.”
Bibliovideo features a wide range of videos in English and French, with plans to add Indigenous languages later this year. Viewers can enjoy author interviews, read-alongs, how-to demos from illustrators, publishers’ trailers, book reviews from teachers, parents, or kids, and more. New videos will be added to the channel twice weekly. Project Director Janis Nostbakken and her team welcome new submissions to the channel. “Let us know if you have videos on hand or are interested in creating content to help us bring the stories behind great Canadian kids’ books to audiences everywhere,” says Nostbakken.
To celebrate the launch of the channel, the CCBC is proud to present “Bibliovideo’s 10 Days of Giveaways.” More information about the contest can be found on the CCBC website.
Bibliovideo will serve as the home for a special virtual edition of Canadian Children’s Book Week. The tour is the single most important national event celebrating Canadian children’s books and was unable to occur as planned due to COVID-19. Through the week of May 4-9, special videos from Book Week authors and illustrator will appear on the Bibliovideo channel. Instead of visiting hundreds of children, each participating author will be able to reach children all across the country. Participating authors include Robin Stevenson, Debbie Ridpath Ohi, Eugenie Fernandes, Shane Peacock, Paul Covello and Monique Polak. A new video will be added to Bibliovideo each day. Learn more at bookweek.ca and download Book Week activities and images here.
Each day leading up to Canadian Children’s Book Week, a new video will be added to the channel’s “Stay Home, Read Together” playlist, featuring Canadian authors and illustrators reading from their books to help bring us all together even while we are apart. The playlist will feature videos from Debbie Ridpath Ohi, Joel Sutherland, Dan Bar-el and more.
The CCBC is committed to ensuring that there is better digital access and promotion of exceptional Canadian books to raise awareness and promote literacy. With funding from the Canada Council for the Arts, Bibliovideo is the first step in a long-range digital strategy being developed by a consortium of organizations led by the Canadian Children’s Book Centre that includes the Association of Canadian Publishers/49thKids, Canadian School Libraries, CANSCAIP, Communication-Jeunesse and IBBY Canada.
For more information, please contact:
Trish Osuch
Bibliovideo Channel Manager
trish@bibliovideo.ca
About the Canadian Children’s Book Centre
The Canadian Children’s Book Centre is a national, not-for-profit organization founded in 1976. We are dedicated to encouraging, promoting and supporting the reading, writing and illustrating of Canadian books for young readers. Our programs, publications, and resources help teachers, librarians, booksellers and parents select the very best for young readers. For more information, visit bookcentre.ca.
We acknowledge the support of the Canada Council for the Arts.
About Canada Council for the Arts
The Canada Council for the Arts is Canada’s public arts funder, with a mandate to foster and promote the study and enjoyment of, and the production of works in, the arts. The Council champions and invests in artistic excellence through a broad range of grants, services, prizes and payments to professional Canadian artists and arts organizations. Its work ensures that excellent, vibrant and diverse art and literature engages Canadians, enriches their communities and reaches markets around the world. The Council also raises public awareness and appreciation of the arts through its communications, research and arts promotion activities. It is responsible for the Canadian Commission for UNESCO, which promotes the values and programs of UNESCO in Canada to contribute to a more peaceful, equitable and sustainable future. The Canada Council Art Bank operates art rental programs and helps further public engagement with contemporary arts. Visit their website here.
About the Consortium Members
Association of Canadian Publishers/49th Kids
Canadian School Libraries
CANSCAIP
Communication-Jeunesse
IBBY Canada