Building A Home

Building a Home is inspired by the candid accounts and beautiful artwork shared by six children from Syria, Kazakhstan, Mexico, and Pakistan who are now living, playing, and going to school in Nogojiwanong-Peterborough.

Building A Home was commissioned by the New Canadians Centre and written and illustrated by Casandra Lee.

Casandra Lee is an Asian-American children’s author and illustrator. She moved to Canada in 2019 and now lives in Peterborough, Ontario. Casandra teaches at a Montessori school. Building a Home is her second children’s book publication. More of her work can be found at casandralee.com

Thanks to our friends at Watson & Lou, print copies of Building A Home (English version) are available for purchase in-store & online, with delivery available across Canada.

Digital versions of the book are available for free below.

Buy Now

"Welcome to Canada, you might be sad about moving to Canada, but it is actually great and we'll tell you why..."

Read Building A Home in Other Languages:

Traditional Chinese Characters

Engage with "Building A Home"

Purchase Your Copy

Digital Version: Available for free above.

Print Version: Thanks to our friends at Watson & Lou, print copies of Building A Home (English version) are available for purchase in-store & online, with delivery available across Canada. Order Here.

Bulk Orders: We can accommodate bulk orders (50+ copies) in any language available with delivery across Canada. Please contact Bhisham Ramoutar to request a quote.

Book a Story Walk

Take a Stroll and Explore Building A Home through printed panels that can be displayed indoor on walls or outdoor along pathways, parks, and open spaces.

There are 21 panels in the Building A Home Story Walk. Each Panel is 25x15 inches and comes with ground stakes.

Organisations and groups can book this Story Walk for free.

To inquire about availability and booking, please contact Bhisham Ramoutar.

Host Us for a Reading

We welcome opportunities to facilitate live readings of Building a Home in classrooms, at events, and other educational facilities. Readings can be done in person or virtually.

There are two options available:

Author Visit: Casandra Lee, author and illustrator of Building A Home can visit your school, classroom, event, or organisation to read Building A Home, discuss the approach to creating this book, answer questions, and engage the audience in creative and expressive activities and/or discussions about newcomer experiences.

NCC Visit: Do you want to learn more about the New Canadians Centre, our work, and immigration? Staff at the NCC would be happy to speak at your classroom, event, or organisation, and read Building A Home.

Learn more about pricing and booking here.

Quotes

“Finding a place to call home can be a long, difficult journey. It is a privilege to have a safe place to live with joy. The real stars of this book are the children. They always inspired me with their strength, resilience, and joy. I am so honoured to help share their stories in this book.”
– Casandra Lee, author & illustrator of “Building A Home”

“We were inspired to put the spotlight on the voices of our youngest new residents. We hope that this will pave the way for conversations in homes, classrooms, between friends, families and neighbours to reflect on our own experiences and consider our role in helping those who are new to Canada to thrive and belong.”
– Bhisham Ramoutar, project coordinator

“Building A Home is a piece of love that’s missing in our world today. The innocence of our children is seen through its drawings and vibrant colours. Finally, there’s a good book that speaks love in all races! My daughter was so excited to see a drawing that looked like her."
– Grace Terfa, parent

This project was made possible through the generous support of donors and community partners.

Our sincere gratitude to the United Way of Peterborough and District's David Goyette & Victoria Pearce Arts Fund whose support ensured 500 copies of the book was made available to the community for free. This support also ensured that every elementary school in the KPR and PVNCC District School Boards received a copy for free.

David Goyette & Victoria Pearce Arts Fund

For more information about this project, please contact Bhisham Ramoutar, Manager of Community Development: [email protected]