Shillings: A Canadian History Mystery.

Lisa Arsenault is a high-school English teacher who is involved in
several ministry campaigns to increase literacy.

The setting for this novel is the building of the Rideau Canal in 1829. The story centres on the children of two historical figures: Colonel By, the engineer who is building the canal, and Thomas McKay, the financier.

When the schoolmaster is ill, the children have a day off from school. During the day off, they fight some bullies, meet a First Nations boy, get caught up in a dam-burst, and help to solve the mystery of the disappearance of a strongbox full of money.

The use of historical figures and period details not only adds verisimilitude to the story but also informs young readers about an interesting period in Canadian history. The setting feels authentic, as if the events could actually have taken place. A short history of the canal and a couple of maps provide additional facts. The young protagonists behave much like children from any time but with speech appropriate to the early 19th century.

Accompanying the novel is a student workbook on CD in an easy-to-use PDF format. It follows Bloom’s Taxonomy (direct information and comprehension questions for each chapter followed by a set of analysis and evaluation questions pertaining to the novel as a whole). There are also game show, word-search, and true/false handouts. All the workbook pages are designed for photocopying. Recommended.