Alberta

Brenda Reed is a public services librarian in the Education Library at
Queen’s University.

The 13-volume Hello Canada series was published by Lerner Publications
in 1995–1996 and has now been licensed to Fitzhenry & Whiteside for
sale in Canada. The population statistics have been updated in all of
the titles (based on the 1991 to the 1996 census results), but otherwise
the content in the new editions appears unchanged from the original
series. The Nunavut volume provides a welcome introduction to Canada’s
newest territory.

Aimed at the middle to upper elementary grades, the series offers
students a solid and accessible overview of Canada’s history,
geography, and economy combined with basic statistics and interesting
facts. Younger students may find the characters of Barkley the beaver
and Scooter the fox helpful as guides to the maps and charts. In each
volume, one of these characters explains the difference between a
physical and a political map, as well as how to interpret map keys and
symbols.

Each of these attractively designed volumes follows the same format.
Maps, charts, drawings, and color photographs are well-reproduced, while
the text is accessible and well organized. Nunavut, for example,
features chapters on history (“Aboriginals and Newcomers” and
“From Mounties to the Birth of Nunavut”), economy (“Making a
Living in Nunavut”), and the people and culture (“The Best of Two
Worlds”).

Each book opens with “Fun Facts,” a two-page collection of
entertaining yet useful information about the province or territory.
Appendixes consist of brief biographies of famous people from the
province or territory, a “Fast Facts” section, a timeline and brief
notes about government, a glossary, a pronunciation guide and a subject
index. Highly recommended for classrooms and libraries that do not
already have the 1995–96 set.