Visiting Canada

School Library Journal

Gr 2-3-These books do little to educate children about Canada. The brief texts are clearly and simply written, but such simplicity is often misleading and in some cases inaccurate. For example, in Visiting Canada, readers are told that Vancouver's Chinese people hold a New Year's Day parade, but there is no mention of when it takes place. Sorensen states that French is the official language of Quebec. While it is predominantly spoken in that province, all of Canada has two official languages, French and English. Similarly, in its early days, the nation consisted of two regions, Upper Canada and Lower Canada, but was never known as Old Canada. The full-color photos in all three titles are of average quality and in some cases seem dated. Wildlife is the least offensive of the trio. Stick with the "Discover Canada" series (Grolier) or Bobbie Kalman's "Canada" series (Crabtree).-Dawn Ibey, Vancouver Public Library, Canada