Eh? to Zed: A Canadian ABeCedarium

Sandy Campbell is a reference librarian in the Science and Technology Library at the University of Alberta.

This whimsical picture book presents Kevin Major’s alphabetic poem of
distinctly Canadian words. The poem comprises 13 couplets—one couplet
highlights two sequential letters of the alphabet. Each letter in a
couplet is accompanied by one- or two-word examples that begin with that
letter. The rhyme is delightful, from “Arctic, apple, aurora, Anik”
to “Zamboni, zipper, zinc, zed.” In between we find such uniquely
Canadian things as “chinook,” “Wayne Gretzky,” “Ogopogo,”
“poutine,” and “Van Doo.”

Alan Daniel’s images are tableaus of “folk and fine art, the sacred
as well as the commercial,” with an object or drawing representing
each of the four words. In each tableau, there is something unusual in
the rendering of one or more of the words. For example, under “M”
there is a “Mountie” with a turban instead of the traditional
Stetson; under “P,” the “Parliament Building” is represented by
children’s blocks.

At the end of the book are explanations of the significance of each
word. This is very useful for those who don’t know everything about
Canada and Canadian history or simply can’t figure out that the
delicate paper-cutting of a man in the woods represents Terry Fox. Eh?
to Zed would be a great place to begin all sorts of Canadian
cultural-awareness discussions. Overall, an excellent book. Highly
recommended.