This month, Toronto-based publisher Kids Can Press (KCP) celebrates its 50th anniversary. The children’s book publisher was founded by a small collective out of the Ontario College of Art (now OCAD University) led by Frieda Forman with Yvonne Singer and Esther Fine. The press’s first books were produced entirely in-house, including the inaugural title, The Travels of Ms. Beaver by Rosemary Allison and Ann Powell. Through the 1980s and ’90s, owners Valerie Hussey and Ricky Englander expanded KCP into a powerhouse of Canadian children’s publishing. Today, many of KCP’s titles, including Franklin the Turtle, Scaredy Squirrel, and The Most Magnificent Thing, are not only beloved across the country, but have also sold millions worldwide. Now a division of Corus Entertainment, in 2023 KCP announced a new senior leadership team – Naseem Hrab, associate publisher, creative; Amelie Roberge, associate publisher, operations; and Sarah Labrie, director, sales and marketing – to steward the publishing house forward.

Back row left to right: Sarah Labrie, Amelie Roberge, Andrew Dupuis, Bianca Rodrigues, Danielle Mulhall, Patricia Ocampo, Anna Bendiy, Yasemin Uçar, Emma Hunter, Barb Kelly, Marie Bartholomew, Michaela Cornell, Vincent Morgan. Front row left to right: Catherine Hum, Katie Scott, Jennifer Grimbleby, Kathleen Keenan, Naseem Hrab, Olga Kidisevic, Shannon Swift.