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Hey Canada!
Gran has decided that she is taking nine-year-old Alice and eight-year-old Cal on a road trip across Canada “before she’s old and creaky.” With a sparkling combination of poems, silly songs, tweets and blogs, the trio records the trip for readers everywhere to share. Starting in St. John’s Newfoundland, where they have a “find-it” list that includes a moose and an iceberg and going all the way to the Pacific Ocean, the gang in Hey Canada! offers a delightful way to learn about vast, varied, and surprising Canada.
The book combines narrative, poems, photos, comics about historical events such as the battle at Fortress Louisburg, maps (including provincial flags, birds, and flowers), in a lively, easily accessible format. Not only great fun to read, this is a valuable resource for young Canadians and for visitors across the country.
The book combines narrative, poems, photos, comics about historical events such as the battle at Fortress Louisburg, maps (including provincial flags, birds, and flowers), in a lively, easily accessible format. Not only great fun to read, this is a valuable resource for young Canadians and for visitors across the country.
72 pages, Hardcover
First published May 8, 2012
2 people are currently reading
89 people want to read
About the author
Vivien Bowers
9 booksVivien Bowers was born in Vancouver, Canada in 1951, the second of four children. She received a B.A. in English (honours) from the University of British Columbia followed by a teaching certificate, and was a grade 5 teacher for several years in Nelson, BC. Vivien has been a freelance writer for more than twenty-five years, writing elementary and secondary school materials, as well as non-fiction books and magazine articles for both adults and children. She has been invited to do presentations on her children's books in hundreds of schools and libraries across the country. Bowers has two sons, now grown up, and lives at the base of the mountains outside of Nelson, BC. She loves to escape into the wilderness to ski, hike or canoe.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
December 29, 2024
My kids loved this funny & informative road trip through Canada! They actually made a bucket list of all the places they want to is it themselves. This is a recommended resource to accompany SCM’s “Visits to North America.” We read it in snippets over the course of a month.
June 28, 2023
I love Hey Canada! A great way to learn about Canada! But the reason I didn’t give it 5 Stars is because their was so much things to learn about that I couldn’t keep up that much with the book. But other then that it was a great book!
February 28, 2018
Noah (8): It was very funny and great! Cal's historical U-turns were very funny and Houdini was a very good character! I learnt a lot from Hey Canada about all the different provinces.
Beth (7): It was very good. I loved Houdini and I loved Cal's historical U-turns. I learnt so much about Canada. It was very funny.
Beth (7): It was very good. I loved Houdini and I loved Cal's historical U-turns. I learnt so much about Canada. It was very funny.
November 18, 2024
They drove across Canada like we did. I didn't know all that about the provinces. -Khi 4
July 4, 2012
Reason for Reading: Always on the lookout for good books about Canadian geography. There are plenty around these days, but not many I'd label much better than just OK. This book's format and artwork attracted me.
I've read several children's Canadian geography books and while they get the job done, dull is usually the optimum word. Either that, or they become pages of factoids with no narrative to carry the book. Bowers' "Hey Canada!" manages to avoid these pitfalls and brings to elementary children and interesting, entertaining and educational tour of our country province by province. Divided into chapters which each are devoted to a province or territory, the story is told in a narrative from the girl, Alice's point of view. She is purportedly recording all this on a blog of their adventure. Her cousin Cal, who is younger than her, but also the brainy one, will come up with interesting factoids to Tweet as he is the official Twitter poster of the group. In this way the journey across each province is told in a fictional story of the family, with humour, Gran is a fun young grandmother and they've got their pet hamster traveling with them by supposed accident.
As the story is told the facts are presented about each province and area concentrating on all things a tourist would like to know about: the wildlife, the land, the history, the peoples, the customs and specifics unusual to each area. Some provinces are given more page space than others; of course Ontario has the most pages devoted to it and Saskatchewan is lucky to get three but I think a fair shake has been given to all the p's and t's outside of over-represented Ontario and Quebec. Plenty of interesting, positive information has been given leaving the reader with a sense of wanting to really visit these places. While the main characters are 8 and 9, I think the book will hold the interest across the elementary grades of 1-6, certainly as an introduction to Canada as a whole and the provinces/territories singularly. I'd recommend this as a quick brush through the topic or as a starting point, using other books to branch out into deeper study. The most entertaining Canadian geography book out there at the moment, that I've seen.
I've read several children's Canadian geography books and while they get the job done, dull is usually the optimum word. Either that, or they become pages of factoids with no narrative to carry the book. Bowers' "Hey Canada!" manages to avoid these pitfalls and brings to elementary children and interesting, entertaining and educational tour of our country province by province. Divided into chapters which each are devoted to a province or territory, the story is told in a narrative from the girl, Alice's point of view. She is purportedly recording all this on a blog of their adventure. Her cousin Cal, who is younger than her, but also the brainy one, will come up with interesting factoids to Tweet as he is the official Twitter poster of the group. In this way the journey across each province is told in a fictional story of the family, with humour, Gran is a fun young grandmother and they've got their pet hamster traveling with them by supposed accident.
As the story is told the facts are presented about each province and area concentrating on all things a tourist would like to know about: the wildlife, the land, the history, the peoples, the customs and specifics unusual to each area. Some provinces are given more page space than others; of course Ontario has the most pages devoted to it and Saskatchewan is lucky to get three but I think a fair shake has been given to all the p's and t's outside of over-represented Ontario and Quebec. Plenty of interesting, positive information has been given leaving the reader with a sense of wanting to really visit these places. While the main characters are 8 and 9, I think the book will hold the interest across the elementary grades of 1-6, certainly as an introduction to Canada as a whole and the provinces/territories singularly. I'd recommend this as a quick brush through the topic or as a starting point, using other books to branch out into deeper study. The most entertaining Canadian geography book out there at the moment, that I've seen.
July 4, 2012
This was a cute and quirky book about a grandmother who decides it's time for her grandchildren to explore Canada. They start at one end of Canada, and travel through each province and territory until they make it completely through the whole country.
I quite enjoyed reading this short book. It was an entertaining look at the country I live in, balanced well with facts, photographs, cartoon pictures and humor.
Some of the things I really liked about this book were the Hamster Update and Find It! features.
I had my son also read the book and we both agreed that we would like to see more actual photographs compared to the amount of cartoon drawings. My son also felt they book tried too hard to be funny and it didn't come across all the time. Also, I'm not sure if I missed it or not (I might have to do a re-read) but I don't believe it was ever clear where the grandmother and grandchildren lived themselves and where they were coming from when they arrived in Canada. That might have been fun to integrate into the story.
Overall I think it's a great book that children will enjoy that will help them learn more about Canada in a fun and interesting way. I suggest you pick it up for the child(ren) in your family to help them celebrate Canada Day this long weekend.
Author - Vivien Bowers
Website: http://www.vivienbowers.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/#!/VivienBowers
Illustrator - Milan Pavlovic
Website: http://www.milanpavlovic.net/
Blog: http://mrstocca.blogspot.com/
I quite enjoyed reading this short book. It was an entertaining look at the country I live in, balanced well with facts, photographs, cartoon pictures and humor.
Some of the things I really liked about this book were the Hamster Update and Find It! features.
I had my son also read the book and we both agreed that we would like to see more actual photographs compared to the amount of cartoon drawings. My son also felt they book tried too hard to be funny and it didn't come across all the time. Also, I'm not sure if I missed it or not (I might have to do a re-read) but I don't believe it was ever clear where the grandmother and grandchildren lived themselves and where they were coming from when they arrived in Canada. That might have been fun to integrate into the story.
Overall I think it's a great book that children will enjoy that will help them learn more about Canada in a fun and interesting way. I suggest you pick it up for the child(ren) in your family to help them celebrate Canada Day this long weekend.
Author - Vivien Bowers
Website: http://www.vivienbowers.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/#!/VivienBowers
Illustrator - Milan Pavlovic
Website: http://www.milanpavlovic.net/
Blog: http://mrstocca.blogspot.com/
June 28, 2012
--Full, non-spoiler review courtesy at Book & Movie Dimension a Blog--
A Children's book with various locations of Canada. It covers: Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, British Columbia, Yukon, Northwest Territories, and finally Nunavut. The story begins with Alice , a nine year old girl, who along with her cousin Cal and Gran are planning this road trip of Canada. Cal is the Official Factoid which just means he gives us information about historical as well scientific facts through the exploration of Canada. Canada is truly brought to life from its cultural diversity and from within its past with
Cal is a pest to Alice although you can tell how they are just lightly getting in each other's hair. Gran is the best though. She really has a way with birds and facts surrounding all types of birds as well as nature. And she loves her kids. Gran along with Cal and Alice can be very amusing indeed.
Even with the book having a Children's book appearance Hey Canada! will make kids learn. Igniting perhaps a passion to someday visit the Great Land of Canada!
Overall: Amazing read!
Genre: Children's book, Educational book, Illustrated book, Canada-Description and Travel-Juvenile Literature
A Children's book with various locations of Canada. It covers: Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, British Columbia, Yukon, Northwest Territories, and finally Nunavut. The story begins with Alice , a nine year old girl, who along with her cousin Cal and Gran are planning this road trip of Canada. Cal is the Official Factoid which just means he gives us information about historical as well scientific facts through the exploration of Canada. Canada is truly brought to life from its cultural diversity and from within its past with
Cal is a pest to Alice although you can tell how they are just lightly getting in each other's hair. Gran is the best though. She really has a way with birds and facts surrounding all types of birds as well as nature. And she loves her kids. Gran along with Cal and Alice can be very amusing indeed.
Even with the book having a Children's book appearance Hey Canada! will make kids learn. Igniting perhaps a passion to someday visit the Great Land of Canada!
Overall: Amazing read!
Genre: Children's book, Educational book, Illustrated book, Canada-Description and Travel-Juvenile Literature
February 2, 2023
I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads. Nine-year-old Alice is taking a trip across Canada with her grandmother and her younger brother who brings along the pet hamster.
The book is focused toward children, providing many colorful illustrations, with humor and trivia interspersed between the more usual facts. The pacing should help keep the attention of children. The illustrations can include information and humor, as can the handwritten notes, so be sure not to overlook them. The hamster updates should appeal to children.
As an example of the humor, when they are starting their trip in the first chapter, "Rules for Well-Behaved Grandchildren" are given:
"1. No whining.
2. No asking 'Are we there yet?' (If you do, I will start to sing opera. Loudly.)
3. No wildlife in the car. Except hamsters.
4. Feed the driver cookies."
The "Except hamsters" is a handwritten addition after it is discovered that Cal has brought their pet hamster along on the trip.
The usual facts include information such as province nicknames, capital cities, native wildlife and plants, important sites, history, and local activities. Pronunciations for foreign-derived words are provided, such as "kay-lay" for ceilidh. Examples of trivia include that the ice in the icebergs along the coast can be ten thousand years old and that the pioneers ate tails of beavers. The book also includes a tweet from Cal in every chapter.
This book
The book is focused toward children, providing many colorful illustrations, with humor and trivia interspersed between the more usual facts. The pacing should help keep the attention of children. The illustrations can include information and humor, as can the handwritten notes, so be sure not to overlook them. The hamster updates should appeal to children.
As an example of the humor, when they are starting their trip in the first chapter, "Rules for Well-Behaved Grandchildren" are given:
"1. No whining.
2. No asking 'Are we there yet?' (If you do, I will start to sing opera. Loudly.)
3. No wildlife in the car. Except hamsters.
4. Feed the driver cookies."
The "Except hamsters" is a handwritten addition after it is discovered that Cal has brought their pet hamster along on the trip.
The usual facts include information such as province nicknames, capital cities, native wildlife and plants, important sites, history, and local activities. Pronunciations for foreign-derived words are provided, such as "kay-lay" for ceilidh. Examples of trivia include that the ice in the icebergs along the coast can be ten thousand years old and that the pioneers ate tails of beavers. The book also includes a tweet from Cal in every chapter.
This book
August 8, 2012
Alice, Cal, and Gran are taking a road trip across Canada, visiting every province. Their journey is documented primarily by Alice ("reporting from the backseat") with tweets, poems, and other interjections from Cal and Gran interspersed. I loved the often subtle humor (especially Gran's selective deafness) and I found the brief overview of each province both informative and enticing. Aside from a quick trip to the Canadian side of Niagara Falls almost two decades ago, I've never visited our northern neighbors, and this book made me want to. I don't know how much a Canadian child would get out of this text, but this ignorant American thought it was just delightful.
June 1, 2012
Such a great read! I'll be part of the blog tour for this book on June 27 - look for my review to be posted soon!
October 24, 2013
Good for my classroom. Cute and informative.
May 25, 2015
I loved this book! I read it with my kids and learned lots of great facts about Canada. The narrative and the pictures are attractive and engaging.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews