Gabrielle Roy's Children of My Heart and Timothy Taylor's Stanley Park will be in the running during the annual Canada Reads battle of the books on CBC Radio.

The Song of Kahunsha by Anosh Irani and debut works Lullabies for Little Criminals by Heather O'Neill and Natasha and Other Stories by David Bezmozgis are the other choices from an "all-star" panel.
 
The CBC Radio One series features five panellists, each a winner in one of the past five years, who have suggested a book they believe all of Canada should read.

Musicians Steven Page of the Barenaked Ladies, Jim Cuddy of Blue Rodeo and John K. Samson of The Weakerthans, author and broadcaster Denise Bombardier and novelist Donna Morrissey will face off against each other to defend their book choices.

At the end of the week, they'll choose a single book they recommend everyone in Canada should read.

In the meantime, Canadian literature lovers can get a jump on the panel's list by reading all five books:

  • Natasha and Other Stories, a collection of seven stories about a family of Latvian Jewish immigrants in Toronto in the early 1980s, was Page's choice. It was a New York Times Notable Book and stories were reprinted in Harper's and The New Yorker.
  • Children of My Heart, a translation by Alan Brown of Ces enfants de ma vie, was Roy's last novel and earned her a Governor General's Award. Bombardier has chosen the book, which is the tale of young schoolteacher who loves children, working in a small town.
  • Stanley Park, about a chef's efforts to run a Vancouver restaurant and take care of his homeless father, will be defended by Cuddy.
  • The Song of Kahunsha, chosen by Morrissey, is a child's eye view of life in the colourful and violent city of Mumbai.
  • Lullabies for Little Criminals, a humorous first novel about a young girl who uses stories to help her cope with a somewhat disappointing reality, was the pick of humour-lover Samson.

"We have five winning debaters with five winning books," said Canada Reads executive producer Talin Vartanian.

Schools, bookstores, libraries and communities across Canada join in the fun with their own readings, debates and contests throughout the Canada Readsweek.

Canada Reads will air on CBC Radio One from Feb. 26 to March 2, 2007, with broadcasts at 11:30 a.m. (12 noon NT) and 7:30 p.m. (8 p.m. NT). The winning title will be announced nationally on March 2.