Kids Can Press
Stand at 2013 Festival of Trees in Toronto
Parent companyCorus Entertainment
Founded1973 (1973)
Headquarters locationToronto, Ontario, Canada
DistributionHachette Client Services[1]
Publication typesBooks
Fiction genresChildren's literature
Official websitewww.kidscanpress.com

Kids Can Press is a Canadian-owned publisher of children's books, with a catalog near 1,000 picture books and 500 e-books, nonfiction, and fiction titles for toddlers to young adults.[2] The Kids Can Press list includes characters such as Franklin the Turtle which has sold more than 65 million books in more than 30 languages around the world.

The press was chosen as the principal distributor of the Indigenous Peoples Atlas of Canada.[3]

Description

Kids Can Press started in 1973 as an initiative from the Ontario College of Art to take advantage of growing nationalism within Canada during the 1970s to provide locally relevant children's material. In 1986, the publisher became a privately owned business ran by Valerie Hussey and Ricky Englander.[4] In 1998, the company was purchased by Canadian animation firm Nelvana for $6.1 million.[5] Englander left that same year.[4] In 2000, Corus Entertainment acquired Nelvana and they have operated Kids Can Press ever since.[6] Hussey remained at the company until 2006, when she stepped down and Lisa Lyons assumed leadership.[4][7]

Kids Can Press has published in partnership with more Canadian public institutions than any other children's publisher. Partners include the Royal Ontario Museum, the Ontario Science Centre, the Federation of Ontario Naturalists, the National Museum, the Museum of Nature, World Wildlife, and the National Hockey League.

Kids Can Press books have received critical acclaim and numerous nominations and awards. Some highlights include:

  • Winning the Governor General's Literary Award for Children's Illustration in 2011 for Cybèle Young's Ten Birds.[8]
  • Franklin the Turtle series of stamps issued by Canada Post in May 2012, on the 25th anniversary of the publication of the first Franklin book.[9]
  • Winning both Governor General's Literary Awards for children's literature in 2008 for John Ibbitson’s The Landing (English-language text) and Stéphane Jorisch’s The Owl and the Pussycat (illustration)[10]
  • Mélanie Watt's multiple award-winning Scaredy Squirrel series[11]
  • The Independent Publisher Book Award for If the World Were A Village by David J. Smith[12]
  • Ryan and Jimmy and the Well in Africa that Brought Them Together by Herb Shoveller, a featured selection on Oprah.com.[13]
  • Receiving a Kirkus Starred Review for My Name is Elizabeth! by Annika Dunklee[14]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Hachette - Our Clients
  2. ↑ "Publisher: Kids Can Press | Open Library". openlibrary.org. Retrieved 2022-07-14.
  3. ↑ Royal Canadian Geographical Society (21 June 2018). "The Royal Canadian Geographical Society celebrates a Canadian first: The Indigenous Peoples Atlas of Canada" (Press release). Canada Newswire. Retrieved 25 September 2018.
  4. 1 2 3 Williams, Leigh (January 31, 2014). "The Can-Do Spirit: Four Decades of Kids Can Press". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved December 20, 2017.
  5. ↑ Hoffman, Andy (August 24, 1998). "Nelvana buys kids' book pub". Playback. Brunico Communications. Retrieved December 20, 2017.
  6. ↑ Damsell, Keith (September 18, 2000). "Corus to buy Nelvana for $540-million". The Globe and Mail. The Woodbridge Company. Retrieved December 20, 2017.
  7. ↑ Adams, James (August 29, 2006). "Hussey steps down from helm of Kids Can Press". The Globe and Mail. The Woodbridge Company. Retrieved December 20, 2017.
  8. ↑ "Past Winner: Children's Illustration". Canada Council for the Arts. 29 September 2012. Archived from the original on 5 January 2013. Retrieved 22 April 2013.
  9. ↑ "Canada Post - Collecting". Archived from the original on 2012-06-16. Retrieved 2012-12-04.
  10. ↑ "Winners". Archived from the original on 2013-01-06. Retrieved 2012-12-04.
  11. ↑ http://www.kidscanpress.com/canada/CreatorDetails.aspx?CID=223
  12. ↑ "2003 Independent Publisher Book Awards Results".
  13. ↑ "Thanksgiving - Oprah.com". www.oprah.com. Archived from the original on 2010-05-17.
  14. ↑ "My Name is Elizabeth!". Kirkus Reviews. 5 April 2011. Retrieved 20 January 2023.
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