Penelope, Book 3: An Irish Penny

Carol-Ann Hoyte is a children’s bookseller in Montreal and the
regional co-ordinator for the TD Canadian Children’s Book Week.

The strength of the books in the Our Canadian Girl series is that the
characters always wield the power to bring about positive change within
their lives. This third book in the series about Penny deals with the
universal themes of taking pride in your heritage, belonging, and
standing up for your beliefs.

After Halifax’s devastating 1917 explosion, Penny’s father sends
her to live with her grandmother in Montreal and sends her sisters to
live with an aunt in Toronto while he works to rebuild their hometown.
Penny’s life in Montreal is a challenge, but it becomes even more
challenging when she starts attending an exclusive private school where
having Irish roots (Penny’s father is Irish) is widely frowned on
among the student body. With the aid and support of a kind old Irish
lady and a quirky university professor, Penny uses her history
assignment for school to make a statement and stand up to those
classmates who look down on her.

McKay’s well-written, believable, and inspiring work contains
appropriate doses of humour. Students at Miss Edgar’s and Miss
Cramp’s School for Girls in Montreal possess a special connection to
the book—their school served as the model for the one in the story.
Highly recommended.