Vivien Bowers

Alice, Cal, and Gran are taking a road trip across Canada, visiting every province. Their journey is documented primarily by Alice ("reporting from the backseat") with tweets, poems, and other interjections from Cal and Gran interspersed. I loved the often subtle humor (especially Gran's selective deafness) and I found the brief overview of each province both informative and enticing. Aside from a quick trip to the Canadian side of Niagara Falls almost two decades ago, I've never visited our show more northern neighbors, and this book made me want to. I don't know how much a Canadian child would get out of this text, but this ignorant American thought it was just delightful. show less

This book is okay, but quite a bit formulaic. It reads a bit like a textbook going through a checklist of facts with a forced storyline. I'd have prefered a story that happens to teach you about Canada. A few other issues I had, first it was very disappointing that it was primarily a tour of capitals. In each section it gives a quick fact or two about the province or territory as a whole, such as "Nova Scotia means 'New Scotland' in Latin" and "Cape Breton Island, at the north end...[is] show more hilly and windy. Waves crash against the sea cliffs. We went to a ceilidh...", then moves on to "[w]e are driving around...", takes a few seconds to look in a coal mine, without providing any context, specific location, history or explanation, and then the characters are at Halifax. As a tour of capitals, it provides a few sections about that, but still not much meat.

The highlights of Halifax were "the Citadel...a British fort that was built to defend...against French attackers...on a hill overlooking the city. The guards wear tartan kilts and furry hats...", then Halifax "[H]arbour is the oldest part of Halifax. At the Privateers' Warehouse, we learned about...pirates [that were actually privateers with permission]... from King George III." Then they're at Digby, which I assume is a beach, because they eat scallops, collect seashells, and built a sand fort, but the text doesn't say. Then they're at Port-Royal, which is "the first place where [Europeans] settled in Canada". It then gives a few lines about Samuel de Champlain and the poor living conditions. Then suddenly it's 100 years later and the English and French are fighting over Port-Royal and they're leaving Nova Scotia.

That's very disappointing. Maybe the author should take an actual roadtrip to do all these things with her kids or grandkids and then rewrite this book. She could then focus on the things that came up, what they learned while trying to experience these things, what fascinated the kids -- and their real music experiences (it seems to be a theme that they hate the music everywhere) -- and provide background occassionally. It would be a longer book, but much more pleasurable and memorable. I don't think I'll remember anything from this book except for the textbook feel of it, so essentially I didn't learn anything. How educational is that? show less

Review originally published on my blog: AWordsWorth.blogspot.com
Book provided by publisher for review.

Nine year old Alice is the narrator for Hey Canada!, and she and her cousin Cal (who is 8) are taking a cross-country camping trip with Gran. To record their adventures and what they learn, Alice writes a blog - which is the main text of the book. But there are also tweets (factoids of Cal, who is apparently quite the trivia expert!), poems, and some great illustrations. Featuring a mix of show more actual photographs and quirky illustrations, Hey Canada! has something of a scrapbook feel to it - something I really appreciated.

Since Alice and Cal are taking this trip with Gran to learn about Canada, visiting every province and capital city (as well as a few other adventures along the way), readers learn about Canada alongside them. In keeping with the scrapbooky vibe, the information is broken down into newsy bits that give tantalizing introductions to all aspects of Canadian life: the history, the trivia, the flora and fauna. Presented in such a way, readers learn a ton of information, without feeling like they're being lectured. It's what I like to call "sneaky learning," if you know what I mean. But seriously: the story itself is fun, and the narrative linking all the "educational stuff" is a little hilarious at times. A Houdini-wannabe hamster, encounters with wildlife and local foods, and a really great family chemistry between Gran, Alice and Cal all make for a thoroughly enjoyable read. show less

This is a great book of travel tips and historical information on Canada aimed at 8 to 12 year olds. Written in the form of a travel diary, the book follows a threesome of two children and their grandmother as they drive across Canada from the east coast to the west and then on up north across the various territories.

Allowing for a young person’s short attention span, the book is laid out in a colourful, interesting style with lots of pictures, sidebars and humor (mostly involving a show more hamster, their fourth travel companion). From Hamster Updates to Cal's Tweets these short, often humorous pieces, both embellish and engage.

Hey Canada would be a great way to introduce children to Canada’s varied landscapes, climate, multicultural people, and rich history, and it does all this without becoming long-winded or boring. Hey Canada made me want to jump in my car and head out to explore our vast and picturesque homeland. show less