Fort Smith (Nov 22/04) - Two new series of Chipewyan and South Slavey language books for children have been published by the South Slave Divisional Education Council (SSDEC).

The 14 illustrated books teach basic words. For example, in the South Slavey books, there are a total of 213 words to learn.

The books have themes such as animals, family, food, land and season, numbers and plants.

More than 500 copies were produced, which will be distributed to South Slave schools, aboriginal language groups, early childhood and teacher education programs, and other interested groups.

"I applaud the SSDEC Literacy Committee and our partners for making these valuable resources available to our students and communities," says Curtis Brown, the SSDEC superintendent.

Funding and in-kind support totalled about $70,000.