Children’s author Robert Munsch sails into Winnipeg to play pirate with winning family.

TORONTO, ON — ABC CANADA Literacy Foundation is pleased to announce that the Kurbis-Friesen family’s pirate party is the winning entry of the third annual Munsch at Home contest. The family was one of many contestants from across Canada who submitted their ideas on how they would celebrate Family Literacy Day® to win a visit from best-selling children’s author Robert Munsch on Saturday, January 19.

Kathy Kurbis says her son Lucas, age 7, was very excited that he could read the contest flyer himself and follow instructions on how to enter. “He was so proud to be able to do this that we made a message for him on our answering machine to inform him that we had won, and he has been bouncing around ever since,” says Kurbis. “This contest is a great initiative because it gives parents a chance to connect with their children and have a good laugh.”

To celebrate the 10th year of Family Literacy Day in Canada – the Kurbis-Friesens also win an all expenses paid two-day trip to Great Wolf Lodge in Niagara Falls, Ontario. Keith Simmonds, general manager of Great Wolf Lodge, says, “Interactive play is a part of what we do everyday at Great Wolf Lodge so it was our privilege to support Family Literacy Day by donating a prize to the Munsch at Home contest and having our own Robert Munsch reading at the Lodge.”

Munsch will attend the Kurbis-Friesen’s pirate party where he will re-tell Mortimer, his first book. There will be 10 children and their families attending the party, listening to Munsch, hunting for treasure and building pirate ships. The winning family also gets to choose a library or literacy organization for Munsch to visit for a reading, and the Kurbis-Friesens chose their local library, the Louis Riel Library.

“Each year I am impressed by the creativity families show in their Munsch at Home contest entries. It demonstrates how easy it is to incorporate reading and writing activities into fun family time,” says Margaret Eaton, president, ABC CANADA. “The Kurbis-Friesen’s Family Literacy Day party should be exciting for the children and their parents.”

Family Literacy Day was created in 1999 by ABC CANADA Literacy foundation with support from Founding Sponsor Honda Canada Inc., to encourage families to engage in fun learning together on a daily basis. Robert Munsch is honourary chair of the national program that sees libraries, schools, literacy organizations and households across the country participate in each year.

“Honda Canada is proud to support ABC CANADA’s work to encourage lifelong learning through our role as the founding sponsor of Family Literacy Day”, says Jim Miller, vice-president Honda Canada. “As a result of 10 years of successful FLD programming thousands of families have incorporated learning activities into their daily lives.”

For more information on Family Literacy Day, including family literacy tips, activity ideas and event information, visit www.abc-canada.org.