History of CanLit for Kids Books

CanLit for Kids Books Ltd. is a wholesaler of Canadian books, established by a team of retired teacher-librarians in 1996. The company changed hands in 2003 and was taken over by a retired teacher, Glen Turnbull and his partner Bobbie Turner (a retired teacher-librarian). Bobbie still works part time as a library technician in an Elementary school. Their three teenage children (Elliot, Alex and Natasha) are all avid readers and willingly contribute opinions to books that are previewed and selected.

There is a team of other staff members, the first is our caller, Betty Mason. Betty is Jean Jordon's sister (one of the original founders), she lives on the Sunshine Coast of British Columbia and has a deep love for all books, but particularly, for Canadian children's books. She is a paddler extraordinaire and tries to be out on the ocean when the weather cooperates, unless she is away camping or visiting grandkids.

Barbara Duncan also does some telephoning but her real calling is packing boxes while overseeing everything else to do with shipping. Barb catches most of our mistakes before they even get out the door. When not packing book packages Barb is either in her amazing garden or enjoying what Las Vegas has to offer!

Finally, we have a designer, Marlene Lavallee, who puts together these teacher notes in spite of our late night messages and missed deadlines. Marlene is a volunteer, a quilter and a cat lover.

We also contract other highly qualified individuals on an as needed basis (Janet, a retired teacher-librarian hails from Manitoba and Lora-Beth a retired teacher calls home Vancouver Island).

We are a growing company and are continually looking for talented individuals with an interest in books and fine literature. If you think you have something to offer, contact us at canlit@shaw.ca and tell us your interests.

CanLit specializes in addressing the need for high quality Canadian books for elementary, middle and secondary school libraries across the country.

CanLit offers quality library book selection expertise to schools and educational organizations. CanLit is a proud member and supporter of such organizations as The Canadian Children's Book Centre, and the Ontario Library Association.

The head office of CanLit is located in Sidney, British Columbia on beautiful Vancouver Island.

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