Story of Canada by Janet Lunn

[MrsJewelsRae]

Anyone have this or read it before? Any opinions? I saw it at a used book store yesterday and for $8 (hardcover) and am going to go back and pick it up, but wanted to get some reviews on it. Thanks!

[Callimom]

It's excellent and $8 is a good price.
It's one of those books that I think should be on every Canadian hsers bookshelf.

Good luck
Karen

[moominmamma]

Agree with Karenwith4.

As usual.

Miranda

[crittersmum]

For what ages would you say it's good for? I couldn't find anything on the Amazon.ca listing.

[Callimom]

My guess would be that Amazon would rate it for 8-12ish although my 6 year old loves it and I would expect my 12 year old to be after meatier contents.

Other good books to complement it are The Spirit of Canada by Barbara Hehner, which is full of stories, songs, poems etc. and Christopher Moore's Big Book of Canada which is organized geographically but delves into a bit of history.

Another favourite here is the Vivien Bowers series Wow Canada and That's Very Canadian (my kids weren't so keen on Crazy about Canada though). These are a little lighter and much more visually "busy" but fun if you are planning a unit on Canada or if you are making a big drive across the country this year.

hth
Karen

[moominmamma]

I would put the target age-range a little higher than Karen. I think the writing style is suitable for students of all ages. The content might be slightly lacking in depth for a 12-year-old who has studied a fair bit of Canadian history, but I would say the book would be suitable as a readaloud for kids 6-10 and as an independent read for 10 to 14-year-olds. I read it purely for interest's sake as an adult as a refresher on Canadian history and didn't find it particularly simplistic or dumbed down in its writing style.

Miranda

[Callimom]

Originally Posted by moominmamma

I would put the target age-range a little higher than Karen. I think the writing style is suitable for students of all ages. The content might be slightly lacking in depth for a 12-year-old who has studied a fair bit of Canadian history, but I would say the book would be suitable as a readaloud for kids 6-10 and as an independent read for 10 to 14-year-olds. I read it purely for interest's sake as an adult as a refresher on Canadian history and didn't find it particularly simplistic or dumbed down in its writing style.

Miranda

LOL
I loved reading it as well. I don't think it is dumbed down, but it does cover all of Canadian history in a few hundred pages. It's a great resource to start from.

And just to throw in a plug for another favourite Canadian History resource - we love Mike Ford's history music CDs and they have sent us on a few rabbit trails.

[tammyw]

Loving these recommendations. I am originally from Canada and these look like great places to start!