Tom Best is the Executive Director of First Book Canada. When Tom started, there were only about 125 registered members. He’s seen it grow from this concentrated number to a steadily growing network of over 9,000 members. Can you start with telling me a bit about your day to day?  The nice thing is that… Read More

Remember the first book that you felt was speaking directly to you? The first book that made you feel seen? Or the first book that helped you through a difficult experience? Maybe you got all that from one book or from multiple books, over the course of your childhood. Imagine… Read More

This post is created in collaboration with the Government of Canada. November 18-24 is Education Savings Week! This is a great opportunity to talk about saving early for a child’s education after high school. Whether it’s an apprenticeship program, trade school, college or university, post-secondary education can… Read More

On the morning of October 1, 2018, I participated in a very memorable cross-country exchange that took place between me and an audience assembled at the Brampton Public Library in Ontario.  From my home office in Vancouver, sitting at the same desk where I wrote every page of my three books, Below, Above, and Beyond, I had the very distinct privilege of being the first author to partake in First Book Canada’s inaugural digital reading celebration.  And what fun it proved to be! The event was the launch of… Read More

Kevin Sylvester is an author and illustrator of more than 20 books. He’s a part-time broadcaster with the CBC, plays a lot of hockey, and watches a lot of baseball. Kevin Sylvester has been a longtime supporter of First Book Canada and we are so glad he took the time… Read More

Heather Farquharson is the Deputy Executive Director at First Book Canada.  She joined First Book Canada in November 2017. She is the connector, overseeing First Book Canada operations and managing all elements from fundraising to member communications. What’s your day to day look like?  I’m responsible for the integrated operations of First… Read More

“I am grateful that our relationship with First Book Canada is only growing and I know my school community appreciates more opportunities to read and build their literacy skills… [and] that there is another organization that cares about them.” – Elizabeth Baltazar Elizabeth Baltazar is a teacher at Lord Dufferin. Read More

Teresa has been a children’s author for over twenty years. She has been the recipient of many awards, including the Governor General’s Literary Award for her young adult novel The Unlikely Hero of Room 13B, and she has been involved in literacy issues for almost as long as her writing… Read More

“First Book Canada gives us the opportunity to make a measurable impact in the community that’s immediate.” – Graham Hughes, Literacy Alberni Graham Hughes is the Executive Director at Literacy Alberni, a non-profit literacy provider that is working to address the low literacy levels of people in Port Alberni and surrounding communities. Read More

“Thank you tremendously for the books! The buzz in the air around in our schools from students and teachers is unreal; I will never forget the faces of the teachers when I arrived with boxes of books for their students.” – Jayme McClintock, 2017 Jayme McClintock is a Community Learning… Read More