This fall, Grade 1 children nation-wide will take home Chaiwala!, written by Priti Birla Maheshwari, illustrated by Ashley Barron and published by Owlkids Books. Translated into French by Benoit Laflamme, francophone Canadians and French immersion students across Canada will receive copies of the French translation, also entitled Chaiwala !

When their train stops at the station in Jaipur, a girl and her mother hurry to line up at the Chaiwala’s cart. They breathe in scents of ginger, cardamom, cloves and cinnamon sticks. Tea leaves rustle, sweet milk bubbles, and the steaming chai is poured back and forth until the cups are filled. A sensory celebration of family, food and culture.

Since 2000, in cooperation with ministries of education, school boards and library organizations across Canada—the CCBC has given every Grade 1 child a free Canadian children’s book.

The book is to be taken home by each child to keep and to read with their parent(s) or caregiver. This far-reaching annual book giveaway program, which provides 500,000 books to Grade 1 children across Canada, is generously supported by TD Bank Group. The program is intended to encourage literacy and reading for young children and supports the Canadian Children’s Book Centre’s mandate of bringing great Canadian books to Canadian children and to promote a love of reading and a passion for books.

The coordination of the TD Grade One Book Giveaway is done by the Canadian Children’s Book Centre. School boards and ministries of education in all provinces and territories will be contacted in spring 2023 for their 2023-2024 Grade 1 enrolment figures.  If you have any questions regarding the 2023 program, please contact Meghan Howe at bookgiveaway@bookcentre.ca.