By Emily R. Zarevich, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
It’s a collaboration between three luminaries timed to usher in the new school year. Its central lesson has never been more relevant in a reality where the gap between those who have and those who don’t has never been so drastically wide. When there are people in need, how much should we give? If we’re the ones in need, should we still be expected to give? And is there ever any shame in receiving?
One Can is a new offering to the Canadian children’s literature canon by Groundwood Books, set to come out in bookstores and on Amazon on September 2, 2025. Co-written by Burlington-based children’s book author Lana Button and Guelph-based novelist Eric Walters, this new venture is a short, bittersweet, and eye-opening tale of a youngster who learns the true meaning of giving and receiving. One Can is beautifully illustrated by French-Canadian artist Isabelle Malenfant, who uses clean lines, colourfully clad characters, and minimalistic backgrounds to convey Button and Walters’ moralistic story. The book is appropriately aimed at an audience of readers ages 3 to 6, and carries a strong message to assist them in a small step towards maturity.
In One Can, a sweet, good-natured young boy is excited to contribute to his class’s winter food drive. Like any other young mind who is beginning to grasp the concept of charity, he has an intrepid spirit and an eagerness to participate wholeheartedly. Without hesitation, he reaches for the only good can of food in his near-empty pantry to put in his backpack and bring to school. He’s thrilled because his class’s goal is to contribute exactly one hundred cans to the drive, and he’s determined to bring (at least) one.
“Are you sure you want to take that one? I don’t know when I can get more,” says his very hesitant mother, with a nervous expression drawn on her face.
With these words and the mother’s anxious smile, the eventual twist ending of the book, regarding where that can is going to end up, will become glaringly obvious to the adult readers but likely not to the young ones. When children are as young as One Can’s protagonist, they may not yet be at the age of social awareness, where they notice the disparities between themselves and their classmates. They might not yet notice who has a decent lunch packed and who doesn’t. They might not notice who has the best school supplies and who is always asking to borrow a pencil. One Can will help them start noticing.
Button and Walters are subtle with their hints about the protagonist’s circumstances, but never at the expense of his dignity. He walks to school in the cold with his seemingly single mother and enjoys her company. He sits with his best friend at lunch. His best friend has a lunch from home, and his own lunch is provided by the school. And then, of course, there’s the arching detail of his classmates bringing in ninety-nine out of the one hundred cans to spread out across the classroom’s carpet. He’s brought in only one. Hence the book’s title.
One Can is the kind of children’s book that offers many opportunities for meaningful, educational conversations between parents and their children. It may be awkward and uncomfortable to start discussions about money and poverty with children at first, but books like these are a helpful tool to ease into the topic. The book will also get children interested in the idea of giving to others.
There is an opportunity organized by Button herself and a local Burlington business to begin the real-life portion of the lesson: on Sunday, September 7, 2025, from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., Button will be hosting a celebration of One Can at A Different Drummer Books, located on 513 Locust Street. Attendees are invited to bring cans of food to be donated to FeedHalton. More details are available here.
