Celebrate Freedom to Read Week 2026

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Photo of a young girl reading a book with a red cover; there are blue birds flying around her head. Photo by TyliJura via Pixabay.
Photo by TyliJura on Pixabay

The upcoming Freedom to Read Week runs from February 22 to February 28, 2026, marking its 42nd anniversary. Founded in 1984, this initiative helps highlight the importance of intellectual freedom and being able to access books and materials that are free from restrictions. According to their “Freedom to Read Week” webpage, they note that “Canada also has a long-standing tradition of censorship,”  signifying how crucial it is to raise awareness and challenge censorship.

To celebrate Freedom to Read Week, I’ll be putting together a short list of banned and challenged books to exemplify what kind of challenges have been raised for books in the past.

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Bilingual Family Adventures: Money Matters

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It’s a Family Adventure!

Please join us Sunday, March 1 at Civic Centre Resource Library for this special, Bilingual Family Adventure!  Practice your budgeting skills, investigate ancient forms of currency, and earn Ollie Bucks to “spend” on special treats!

Image of a coin going into a piggy bank, with more coins scattered around.

The Fair is a great time to come check out the Money in 10 Questions: Kids’ Edition exhibit from the Bank of Canada Museum.

To create the exhibit, the Museum asked kids across the country to send in their questions about money. They received over 800 questions from kids and classrooms.  

Advertisement for the Bank of Canada Museum's Exhibit: Money in 10 Questions: Kids' Edition.

10 of these questions were chosen to feature in the exhibition. These are actual questions from kids, in their original wording.  The questions chosen were those that the Museum felt were most helpful for children’s understanding of money, the economy, the financial system and how to manage their own money.[1] 

The exhibit is fully bilingual and interactive: a great way to explore Canada’s money as a family: how it works, and why we use it!

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Bad or Rad: Do these Low-Rated Games Deserve Another Life?

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Close-up shot of a screen that says "GAME OVER" in all caps and in red text. Photo by Sigmund on Unsplash.
Photo by Sigmund on Unsplash

Whenever a video game garners high levels of hype but ends up being a flop at launch, it’s interesting to see how reception changes as time passes. Take Cyberpunk 2077 for example, which racked up millions of views on YouTube when the official cinematic trailer was released. With the appearance of a character (Johnny Silverhand) that uses Keanu Reeves’ likeness and voice near the end of the trailer, who’s renowned for his John Wick role and his real-life friendly personality, I felt like Cyberpunk would be among the greatest games of our generation. Plus, who could forget the viral “You’re breathtaking!” quote from Reeves?

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