As a parent of two young Canadian children (my son is in Grade 4, my daughter is in Grade 1), I am always looking for books which both encourage them to read and teach them more about the country where they live. Although they have traveled extensively out of the country — including  two years living in Mexico — most of their travelling within Canada has been limited to their home province — British Columbia on Canada's west coast.  As Canada is the second largest country in the world by total area, it is highly likely that they will never get the chance to visit all of its 10 provinces and 3 territories in their lifetime: unless traveling through books counts — which it does!! That's one of the beauties of reading: the possibility to "visit" and learn about places you might not have a chance to go to otherwise.

Both my children love to read and will choose to spend their leisure time reading (yes, I'm a lucky parent!). My six-year-old daughter has started to read on her own but still loves to have an adult read to her. My son was a very early reader and has always loved non-fiction books — especially those with lots of facts.  As a result, we have a real mix of books in the house from fiction to non-fiction, picture books to novels; and are regular visitors to our local libraries.  So what better way for my children to learn about Canada than through books? 

Canada is unique in many ways and I think it is important that my children and others be aware of it.  A geographically and ethnically diverse country (according to the Federal Government, Canada has the highest per capita immigration rate in the world), Canada is often overshadowed by its southern neighbour the United States of America and unfortunately misconceptions about Canada still abound. I say that if we want the world to know more about Canada and its riches, let's all start with our children. The books I list below are some that my own children have enjoyed and learned from and which I hope will appeal to other parents, teachers and children, in Canada or elsewhere. 

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For the primary/elementary grades -

By Mike Ulmer, illustrated by Melanie Rose
M is for Maple — A Canadian Alphabet
Sleeping Bear Press, 2001

M is for Maple, our national leaf
And the Sugar and the Silver that thrive in the East
The Big Leaf and Douglas prefer west of the plains
The Manitoba Maple bears its home in its name.

Loonies and Toonies — A Canadian Counting Book
by Mike Ulmer and illustrated by Melanie Rose (Sleeping Bear Press, 2006)

By Mike Ulmer, illustrated by Melanie Rose
Loonies and Toonies — A Canadian Counting Book
Sleeping Bear Press, 2006

Of Pacific salmon there are 5 kinds
and all are welcome on fishing lines.
Pink and coho are two of the best.
Chinook and chum are two of the rest.
The sockeye might be the best of the bunch
for catch-and-release or a buttery lunch.

Using rhymes and beautiful illustrations by Melanie Rose,  these books introduce the reader to Canada's history, people, culture, and symbols. In M is for Maple, each letter of the alphabet is represented by a name or word specific to Canada while Loonies and Toonies (which refers to the nicknames of Canada's $1 and $2 coins) uses Canadian content in a counting style book. While the younger children enjoy the rhymes, each page has a column providing more informative text for older kids.

By Maxine Trottier, illustrated by Bill Slavin
One is Canada
HarperCollins Canada, 1999

By Maxine Trottier, illustrated by Brian Deines
Our Canadian Flag
Scholastics Canada, 2004

Maxine Trottier is an award-winning Canadian author of numerous books for both young and older children.  In One is Canada, children learn to count to ten, with the numbers becoming 'more than numbers; they are a celebration of Canada, its land and its resources, a rejoicing in our heritage and people.'

Canada's red and white flag with a maple leaf is one of the world's most recognized flags but did you know that Canada did not have its own flag until 1964? Learn the history of Canada's flag, and what it represents to Canadians everywhere in the book Our Canadian Flag. Using simple prose for the younger audience, each page also contains an informative text box for older readers or those wanting more details. Beautiful illustrations will appeal to all readers!

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For the intermediate/middle school grades -

By Gillian Chan
An Ocean Apart: The Gold Mountain Diary of Chin Mei-Ling (Dear Canada Series)
Scholastic Canada, 2004

'Dear Canada' is an award-winning series of 17 historical novels written by acclaimed Canadian authors and geared towards children in the intermediate grades.  Each book is written in the form of the diary of a fictional young woman living through an important event in Canadian history.

My son's grade 4/5 class just finished a novel study on An Ocean Apart: The Gold Mountain Diary of Chin Mei-Ling and all the kids enjoyed it. This book is about a Chinese girl, Chin Mei-ling, who grew up in the Chinatown neighbourhood of Vancouver, BC in 1922. Mei-ling lives with her father, but her mother and baby brother are still in China as the family cannot afford to pay the head tax for them to immigrate. Mei-ling works after school, and her father holds down several jobs, in a frantic effort to come up with the head tax money to bring her family over from China before the Exclusion Act bars any more Chinese from immigrating.

By Pat Hancock
Crazy Canadian Trivia
Scholastic Canada, 2000

Crazy Canadian Trivia 2
Scholastic Canada, 2005

Many of the boys at my son's school are big fans of trivia! From hockey trivia to Guinness World Record information, they cannot get enough of facts and trivia.  Each of the above books has approximately 120 pages of true, fascinating and sometimes unbelievable facts. The kids find these books fascinating and I must admit that I do too!. Did you know that the world's longest national highway is the Trans Canada Highway- 7,821 km long? Or that more that 95% of Canadians prefer to drink their tea hot as compared to 15% in the United States?

By Vivien Bowers, illustrated by Dan Hobbs
Wow Canada!: Exploring This Land From Coast to Coast to Coast (Wow Canada Series)
Maple Tree Press, 1999

12 year old Guy and his family are going on a trip across Canada and this is his journal/scrapbook of the adventure. Starting in British Columbia and traveling through all 10 provinces and 3 territories, Guy writes about his experiences in an easy-to-read format which is supplemented by postcards from his sister Rachel and e-mails to his friends back home. Full-colour graphics including photographs, maps, drawings and cartoons make this a visually appealing book to both younger and older kids.  Sidebars include 'According to Mom', 'According to Dad', 'Exceedingly Weird' and 'Food I Was Introduced to for My Own Good': these provide more details about the trip and experiences that Guy and his family have. As it would be impossible to visit everything in each province, each chapter ends with a list of 'Things We'll Do and Places We'll Go Next Time'
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Additional suggestions~

By Claire Lemieux, illustrated by Marilyn Mets
Canadian ABC Adventures
Troll Associates, 1994

By Noa Schwartz, illustrated by Mick Beaumont and Susan Tebbutt
Crazy for Canada
Tumbleweed Press, 1997

By Rebecca Grambo, illustrated by
Digging Canadian History
Whitecap Books, 2006

Posted January 2007