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thanks for sharing on a special day

Family Literacy Day is an annual event that encourages people of all ages to enjoy reading and learning together.

Family Literacy Day is an annual event that encourages people of all ages to enjoy reading and learning together.

Recently, Yukon public libraries, in conjunction with a number of community partners, offered a variety of programs to celebrate this special event.

At the High Country Inn on Sunday, January 27, Camp Read A Lot was presented for parents and children who attended despite the minus 35 degree weather.

Highlights of the afternoon included live music, creative literacy activities, a campfire sing-along.

Winners of the best camping story writing contest were also announced. My Best Family Camping Trip by Natane Primozic (age 11, Haines Junction) won in the Learning Camping Stories category.

The Fresh Arctic Air by Michael Pealow (Whitehorse) won as the Funny Camping Story, and Alison’s Easter Adventure by the Buyck/Hill family in Mayo won for Adventure Camping Story.

Our Volkswagen Van, by Madeleine Cannings (age 10, Whitehorse), won an honourable mention.

A special thanks to the all those who helped to make Family Literacy Day possible including Yukon Learn Society, Victoria Faulkner Women’s Centre, Many Rivers Counseling and Support Services, Foster Care, Show Shoe Shufflers, Lana Ray and her band, RCMP, musician Remy Rodden, conservation officer Larry Bill and all our volunteers.

Program presenters for Family Literacy Day included Yukon public libraries,   Service d’Orientation et de formation des Adultes and the Yukon Literacy Coalition with sponsorship from ABC Canada.

A variety of fun family literacy events also took place at Yukon community libraries including programs in Carmacks, Beaver Creek, Burwash, Faro and Mayo.

In Teslin there was a Family Fun Skate with a literacy word game on the ice for prizes, word bingo, word cupcakes and lots of warm snacks!

The event was sponsored by Teslin Library, Yukon Literacy Coalition, Teslin Recreation Society, and Teslin Early Learning Childcare Centre.

Tune in and turn

on to books

Read any good books lately?

Five devoted Yukon book lovers will tell you exactly what they think in a lively one-hour radio debate called Yukon Reads.

The program is an annual event inspired by Canada Reads, a week-long CBC national radio special that celebrates Canadian literature.

Both programs feature five panelists each of whom defend a Canadian book in a game of “literary survivor.” The winning title is the book all Canadians are encouraged to pick up and read.

But for the Yukon panelists there’s an interesting twist, the five Canada Reads book titles have been randomly assigned, so each will defend a selection that was “picked out of the hat”.

The following are this year’s Yukon participants and the books they will defend:

Janet Clarke: From The Fifteenth District by Mavis Gallant

Glenda Koh: Icefields by Thomas Wharton

Dean Eyre: Brown Girl In The Ring by Nalo Hopkinson

Mitch Miyagawa: King Leary by Paul Quarrington

Lori Schroeder: Not Wanted On The Voyage by Timothy Findley

Don’t miss the Yukon debate on CBC Radio Yukon on Monday, February 18 from 4 to 5 p.m.

Canada Reads will be broadcast nationally on CBC Radio One at 11:30 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. daily from February 25 to 29. The five Canada Reads books are available at Yukon public libraries.

Freedom to Read

Freedom to Read Week will be recognized across Canada from February 24 to March 1 by libraries, publishers, distributors, booksellers, educators, writers and readers.

This special week gives Yukoners, along with other Canadians, the opportunity to focus on issues of intellectual freedom as they affect our community, territory, country and countries around the world.

During Freedom to Read Week, Whitehorse Public Library will present a display featuring banned books and information about censorship.

To learn more about Freedom to Read Week, check out the display in the library and visit the Book and Periodical Council’s website at www.freedomtoread.ca.

The Whitehorse Public Library Board

Who is on the board and what do they do? The Whitehorse Public Library Board is made up of seven community members appointed by the minister of Community Services.

These seven people advise the director of public libraries on the delivery of library services at the Whitehorse Public Library, including collections, programs, and library policy.

The board also plays an important role in advocating for the library and gathering community input on library services. If you would like to send your comments or suggestions on library services to the Whitehorse Public Library Board, please e-mail wplboard@yahoo.ca.

Or pass your comments along to one of the current board members: Joan Darragh, Sylvie Laperrière, Jan Ogilvy, Hans Ott, Sophia Marnik, Carolyn Moore and Winluck Wong.

Libraries have always been a part of Carolyn Moore’s life: “Going to the library on my own, with my own library card, was a key moment in my independence.

“I continue to be thrilled with how many books I can take out at a time; as a child it was as many L.M. Montgomery and Asterix as I could carry; now I balance out my ‘good’ literature with murder mysteries.

“The library has been a place of sanctuary, whether in public school, at university, or in cities and small towns across Canada. I have explored the libraries where I live, and it helps to make the community a home.

“Librarians, in particular, have made me feel very welcome in new communities. I believe in the democracy and public access of libraries, and where else can you get so much, for free?

“Now my children have the opportunity to welcome the library in their lives (board books, dragons and animals and chapter books). I’m also grateful to Whitehorse Public Library’s Book Club sets; it has settled some discussions in my strongly-opinionated book club.”

This column is prepared by the Yukon public libraries and the department of Community Services.