O Canada: Our National Anthem

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

This is a very simple picture book celebrating Canada’s national
anthem. Each page features a high-quality vibrant colour photograph
reminiscent of calendar art. Though not so clichéd as to include the
lighthouse at Peggys Cove, the images are of quintessentially Canadian
things, including the obligatory Mountie in red serge, a beaver, the
Peace Tower, and a child draped in a Canadian flag.

Each two-page spread illustrates a phrase from the song. The
photographs are thematically appropriate to the phrase. For example,
“with glowing hearts” is illustrated by an image of a glowing sunset
and another of an athlete wearing a Team Canada jacket and receiving a
medal. “The True North strong and free” is illustrated by images of
a snowboarder, polar bears, and the northern lights.

At the end of the book is a copy of the music and lyrics and three
pages of historical detail about the development of the song: one is
dedicated to the song’s composer, Calixa Lavallée; another to Sir
Adolphe-Basile Routhier, the author of the French lyrics; and a third to
Robert Stanley Weir, who wrote the original English lyrics.

When compared with Lobster Press’s whimsical Our Song (2004), which
also celebrates our national anthem, this version is a simple, more
straightforward visual interpretation. Recommended.