Great Canadian Books of the Century

Steve Pitt is a Toronto-based freelance writer and an award-winning journalist. He has written many young adult and children's books, including Day of the Flying Fox: The True Story of World War II Pilot Charley Fox.

Descriptions of 133 books are featured in this attempt to define a canon
of Great Canadian works of the 20th century. The winning titles were
selected by a 13-member committee, while the book descriptions (250
words or less) were provided by 75 Vancouver Public Library (VPL) staff.
All the descriptions are well researched, although a few have the overly
earnest tone of an undergraduate book report.

In the introduction, Cheryl Ryll, Director of the VPL’s Marketing,
Development and Communication department, describes the selection
criteria; a book was considered Canadian “if it was written by a
Canadian author, if the author’s work was primarily produced in
Canada, if the content or subject is primarily Canadian, or if the work
has been critical in shaping our society. A book with a region subject
or focus was included if it also had national significance.”

Among the selections are such mandatory Canuck standards as L.M.
Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables, Roch Carrier’s The Hockey
Sweater, and Stephen Leacock’s Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town.
Also occupying the winner’s circle are oddball choices like the Royal
Canadian Air Force’s 5BX Plan for Physical Fitness and Madame
Benoit’s Encyclopedia of Canadian Cuisine. The book includes a
bibliography, two indexes (one for titles, one for authors), and a
foreword by CBC radio personality and former librarian Bill Richardson.