| Big boosts for Orca titles One of Orca Book Publishers’ more successful 2006 titles – the picture book Alphabetter, by Dan Bar-el and Graham Ross – has been given a new lease on life this season, at least in British Columbia. The book has been tapped by the B.C. Ministry of Education for its Ready, Set, Learn program, which began providing an age-appropriate book to pre-kindergarten children across the province in 2004. The books are selected by a committee of teachers, librarians, and parents. According to Orca president Robert Tyrrell, the company was asked to print 50,000 copies of the book last spring, so that they could be distributed this fall through the province’s schools. (Because the aim of Ready, Set, Learn is to get children reading before they start their school careers, the books will be handed out to parents who attend kindergarten orientation meetings.) “It’s a wonderful deal,” says Tyrrell. “It’s a deep-discount deal, of course, but with that number of copies it can only be a good thing. Plus it gives the author more profile.” by Scott MacDonald Quill & Quire October 26th, 2007 |
| ATTENTION BC SCHOOLS Take a look at my storytelling programs and consider bringing me in as a way of supporting this reading initiative. |