That's Very Canadian!: An Exceptionally Interesting Report About All Things Canadian

Christine Linge MacDonald, a past director of the Toronto & District
Parent Co-operative Preschool Corporation and a freelance writer, is an
elementary-school teacher in Whitby.

This colourful coast-to-coast portrait of “all things Canadian” is
cleverly presented in the guise of a girl’s school report, with
“adult” comments supposedly added by her older brother. The result
is a fast-paced romp through Canadian culture—a collage of photos and
drawings, with three-dimensional objects like pins and coins attached to
the report. The fictional author, Rachel, enlists the aid of a
well-dressed moose, a beaver, and a Canada goose, who pop up on every
page to make alternately informative and comical comments. Rachel’s
thorough report focuses briefly on every imaginable aspect of Canadian
society: each province and territory, hockey, languages, wilderness,
spelling, food, loonies and toonies, and more. The underlying theme is
symbology: what represents Canada, and why. This method of investigation
takes the reader from the known (for instance, the famous Canadian
canoe) to the unknown (the difference between the “canots du nord”
and the “canots de maоtre”). The result is an irresistible trip
down the slippery slope to learning, quite painless and fun. Especially
pertinent in today’s global village is the “Meet the Neighbours”
section, where young readers get an affable look at the differences
between Canada and the United States.

Bowers’s playful-but-serious tone is apparent right to the concluding
collage–game of “find the symbol.” Canadians of all ages can enjoy
and learn from this thick, image-packed volume. Highly recommended.