Happy Canada Day!

I made it to maple syrup!
I completed the 6th Annual Canadian Book Challenge, hosted by the Book Mine Set. Here is my list of 13 books by or about Canadians:

The Merry Heart by Robertson Davies
Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery *
Speaking from Among the Bones by Alan Bradley
Twenty-six by Leo McKay, Jr. *
Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood
The Beautiful Mystery by Louise Penny
Generation X by Douglas Coupland
A Short History of Canada by Desmond Morton
A Trick of the Light by Louise Penny
The Kids' Book of Canada by Barbara Greenwood
Old City Hall by Robert Rotenberg
The Salterton Trilogy by Robertson Davies
I am Half Sick of Shadows by Alan Bradley

* Thanks to my friend Lisa for lending me these books!

Review: The Kids Book of Canada

The Kids Book Of Canada by Barbara Greenwood

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This picture book provides an overview of the geography and history of Canada and each of the provinces and territories. The book was published before the Northwest Territories were split into 2, but the plan for this was in place, so it is mentioned in the section on the territory.

I liked the format of the book which was appealing to look at and had a consistent format, including a map at the top of each geography page with the area being discussed colored red so you could see where it fit into the country.

The overall impression I got from the book is that Canada is a vast wilderness with lots of animals in it. There was some information, but very little, about Canada's cities or it's non-indigenous people. There were several athletes (esp. hockey players) and some women politicians mentioned. The historical facts on each province were interesting, but didn't really fit together into a coherent picture of the country's history overall. For one thing Upper and Lower Canada kept being mentioned, but it was never really explained what those were or how/if they relate to specific provinces.

Overall I thought this book was good as an overview of the geography of Canada, and was very well illustrated , but was weak as a historical overview.