National Reading Campaign announced a donation from Penguin Canada

The National Reading Campaign announced a donation from Penguin Canada, publisher of Canada Read’s winning novel The Orenda by author Joseph Boyden. The donation will help the campaign’s advocacy for improved access to reading in Aboriginal communities. The National Reading Campaign will donate copies of the winning book to Aboriginal libraries across Canada. Of the 600-plus First Nations across Canada, only 200 have libraries because, in large part, a lack of stable funding, a press release asserts. “Literacy is one of the keys to future success, not to mention an engine for creating the citizens of tomorrow, said Wab Kinew, who championed The Orenda on CBC’s Canada Reads. Kinew has agreed to be a National Reading Campaign champion as well, for the Aboriginal initiative for better library services. “Having access to a powerful novel by one of our best Indigenous writers will be a game changer for thousands of young students,” he said. The book explores the tumultuous relationships between Indigenous groups and settlers in the days before the formation of Canada.