A Mighty Big Imagining

Our Canadian Girl: Rachel #1

by Lynne Kositsky

A Mighty Big Imagining tells the story of ten-year-old Rachel, who in 1783 arrives in northern Nova Scotia with her mother, where they reunite with Rachel's stepfather after escaping slavery in South Carolina. Like many slaves during the American Revolution, Rachel's family aided the British war effort, in return for which they were promised their freedom as well as title to land in the British Colony.

Their joy at gaining freedom in a safe new home is dashed when they arrive, for the land they are given is barren, the weather frightful. Worse still, Rachel's mother is pregnant. For a while, Rachel even believes they were better off as slaves - at least they were warm and didn't go hungry.

Despite the adverse conditions of their new life, Rachel is determined not just to survive, but to make the most of her freedom. She wants to learn to read and write, and to help her family turn their squalid hovel into a home. With perseverance, pluck, and the help of a native girl named Marie-Andrée, she will help herself and her family to survive their first winter of freedom.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Childrens, Canada, Middle Grade

75 pages, Paperback

First published February 14, 2006

About the author

Lynne Kositsky is an award-winning Canadian author of poetry and young adult historical fiction. Kositsky, who was born in Montreal, Quebec and grew up in London, England, now lives in the Niagara region of Ontario.

Reviews

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is the first about Rachel, a young former slave, in the Our Canadian Girl series. The Our Canadian girl books are about young fictional Canadian girls during different periods in history.

Rachel is ten years old in 1783. She and her mother and stepfather were slaves on a plantation in South Carolina. Because the British promised to free the slaves, Rachel and her family ran away to join them during the American Revolution. But when the British lose the war, although Rachel and her family remain free, they must travel to the far off colony of Nova Scotia. This new place turns out to be very different than her old home. It is cold, barren, and desolate. Can Rachel and her family succeed and build a new life there?

This was a book that is sure to appeal to young girls who enjoy historical fiction set in the 1700s. Rachel is a likeable character and readers will admire her courage as she struggles to make a new life in a new land.

[Molly Fleet · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rounded up from a 3.5
I used to love "An American Girl" series to learn about history and culture and I found a few of these "Our Canadian girl" books in my local charity shop. Big fan of these collections 💝

[C. (Comment, never msg). · Rating 4 out of 5]

Black history should be learned by anyone unclear about the overdue respect they deserve. I await society's understanding that animals are equals: stories about slavery is awful. However Lynne Kositsky skilfully portrays the feelings and fresh chapter of a normal child. Her "Our Canadian Girl" treatise is more edge-of-your-seat, than dour. "A Mighty Big Imagining", 2001, invites us to follow Rachel and her mother, Sukey Sparrow away from their Charlottetown, South Carolina plantation! Her father was sold before we met them. Rachel's mother expects a baby with a stepfather, in the year 1783.

Instead of relating awful circumstances, Lynne shows what this voyage and freedom mean to them, through her characters' feelings and how they handle the new things they encounter. I learned that the British fought the United States while colonizing Canada. Those fighting for the United States were called "patriots" and soldiers for the British were "loyalists". A widespread, lifesaving offer to slaves decreed that fighting for the British would be rewarded with freedom in a Canadian home! We find Rachel and Sukey boarding a vessel in New York to meet Titan in Nova Scotia. He was paid to build town homes. The literal hole set aside for his family makes puny shelter. I was astounded that anyone, never mind a resident of approaching snow, would be shoeless!

There are lovely layers in Lynne's tableau that I would happily follow anew in her three other books. While it is a shame to meet a British settler who had slaves and was nasty to Rachel; she tries on her freedom by telling him off. Best of all, she befriends a Micmac girl. She lends ethereal colour; previously flitting by unseen! She asked her family to help Rachel's. Micmac certainly know snow. In closing, both groups enjoy each other wholeheartedly.

[Chris Harrison · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book to my class simply because it is hard to find books that deal with the racism former slaves faced, when they arrived in Canada. That is a topic that needs to be more fully explored. Seeing ourselves as the heroes at the end of the Underground Railroad, might be tempting for us, but it is not accurate.

This is a simple book, meant for young students. I read it to my students (grades 7 and 8), because I couldn't find a more age-appropriate alternative. Because the book is meant for younger students, it doesn't fully delve into the racism former slaves experienced upon arriving in Canada.

The book chronicles the journey of Rachel, a former slave, whose family has earned their freedom, by helping the British in the American Revolutionary War. As a reward, they are given their freedom and relocated to Canada, at the war's conclusion. Rachel experiences the harsh Nova Scotian winter, dismal living conditions and racism, as she tries to adjust to life in her new homeland.

[Sam - Spines in a Line · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great book for young girls. Each book in the series follows a young girl through a tough part in her life. Allows girls to put themselves in the shoes of the main characters and also teach them of Canada's history.