TD Grade One Book Giveaway – Supporting Children’s Literacy Programs

Monday, March 04, 2019

This post is in partnership with TD Bank and the TD Grade One Book Giveaway program.

When I was a little girl, I loved storybooks. Our class visit to the school library was a highlight of the week for me because it meant I could sit back and listen to the librarian read to us. Sometimes she would even play the audio version of the book (on cassette tape!), with the author bringing the story to life with silly voices and sound effects. After story time was over, I would often rush to sign out the newest book before anyone else so that I could be the first to read it. I would also admire the pristine cover and that "new book" smell.

As much as I enjoyed picture books, I struggled with reading as a child. I often wondered if this is related to the fact that, aside from the solitary library book I could sign out each week, I really didn't have access to a lot of books at home. You see, my parents immigrated to Canada in the early 70s without knowing a lick of English. Both sacrificed so much to be able to provide us with basic necessities. My mom worked day and night as a cleaner and my dad worked in construction. Thanks to their incredible drive and work ethic, we never did without. Yet, I really didn't have a lot of story books growing up. It's not that my parents didn't feel it was important, but rather, as an immigrant family, other necessities took priority. They did, however, manage to save up enough money to buy us a set of encyclopedias, of which the medical reference volume proved quite enlightening.

The yearly book fair at school was often hard because I remember wanting so desperately to buy at least one new book that I could call my own. It got to the point where I would periodically sneak into my mom's purse and rummage for loose change in the weeks leading up to the book fair, so that I had enough money to secretly purchase a book. I loved that book so much but, ironically, I couldn't enjoy it at home because then I would have to explain where I got the money to buy it.

My struggles with reading gradually grew to be more challenging in later years. Independent novel studies became tiresome because despite my ability to decode words, I would end up re-reading pages for lack of comprehension. Sometimes, I would give up entirely. One year, I submitted a made-up book review based on what little information I could gather from the few chapters I read at the beginning and at the end of the novel. Needless to say, it didn't take long for my teacher to figure that out.

Now, as a mother and an educator, I see great value in exposing children to reading as early as possible. For this reason, I applaud initiatives, such as the TD Grade One Book Giveaway that put books into the hands of young readers. Not only does it help foster a love of reading, but also provides critical opportunities to develop crucial literacy skills.

Did you know the TD Grade One Book Giveaway provides more than 500,000 English and French grade one students with a free Canadian children’s book each year?

The program, which began in 2000, is the largest of its kind in Canada and was created to help encourage literacy in young children. It is a program that shows how TD is committed to giving youth access to reading programs. Thanks to the support of Canadian Children's Book Centre, more than 9.5 million Canadian children's books have been distributed from coast-to-coast since the program first launched. In addition, the TD Grade One Book Giveaway is part of the TD Ready Commitment, a multi-year program launched last year targeted towards community giving and initiatives that will help open doors for a more inclusive future.

In 2018, students were able to take home a copy of Giraffe and Bird, written and illustrated by Canadian author Rebecca Bender.

When my son and I first read Giraffe and Bird, it didn’t take us long to draw a parallel between the two main characters and our family. Similar to my own two kids, Giraffe and Bird tend to do things that irritate each other, like making funny faces and sticking out their tongues. Some days, they invade each other’s personal space and complain of bad breath, or chew food with their mouth open. Sound familiar? In the end, Giraffe and Bird come to realize that, despite the difficulties of always getting along, they are better off together. It’s a sweet message that pairs so perfectly with the beautiful illustrations. My son and I also enjoyed reading the emphasized words thanks to their onomatopoeic qualities, along with the French version La giraffe et l’oiseau.
“Cui-cui!”
“Miam, miam!”
So cute!

Giveaway!

As part of the TD Grade One Book Giveaway, one lucky follower will receive a literacy-themed giveaway that will include:

• Copy of Giraffe and Bird by Rebecca Bender
• Giraffe lunch bag
• Stuffed giraffe toy
• Cute and colourful notebook and pencils

The giveaway will be open to residents of Canada only, excluding Quebec. For a chance to win, please complete the Rafflecopter form below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway