Footsteps in the Snow: The Red River Diary of Isobel Scott

Dear Canada

by Carol Matas

Isobel thinks that she and her family will find their fortune in Canada. But Isobel's mother dies before they even cross the ocean, and other misfortunes seem to follow their every step. Isobel's family and the other Selkirk Settlers find themselves caught in the fur-trading rivalry between the Hudson's Bay Company and the North West Company. They cannot even start to build once they finally reach their destination. The harsh climate and escalating threats against the settlers make it impossible to start a new life. Only through perseverance and help from the local Cree band are Isobel and her family able to put down roots in the Red River Valley.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Historical, Childrens, Canada, Middle Grade, Young Adult, Fiction

185 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2002

Reviews

[Manybooks · Rating 3 out of 5]

So yes, right at first I was certainly rather wishing that Carol Matas had made her Footsteps in the Snow: The Red River Diary of Isobel Scott a bit more balanced with assigning blame, that her imagined journal text (telling of the Scott family migrating in the early 19th century from Scotland to what is now the Canadian province of Manitoba) were a bit less one-sided regarding the plight of the Red River colonists, and I was indeed a trifle frustrated with chief protagonist and fictional diarist Isobel Scott generally showing only the North West Company and the Métis as being villains and agitators bent on destroying the family’s settlement dreams (even though the mother’s death due to blood poisoning before the Scotts even set sail from Scotland to what is now Canada had already kind tarnished said dream right from the beginning). For really, the early 19th century conflicts between the North West Company and the Hudson’s Bay Company were in my opinion historically not ever simply a case of one company acting correctly and with honour and the other company behaving with nastiness and dishonour (since both really only seemed to care about the fur trade, about exploiting for financial gain and that both companies callously used both the Métis and the Red River settlers as pawns and played them against each other, not caring about the consequences, the hardships, the animosities caused and created).

However, the more I was reading Footsteps in the Snow: The Red River Diary of Isobel Scott, the more I began to appreciate that Isobel’s rather one-sided (at first) take on events actually does make a lot of narrational sense (since as a twelve year old, Isobel’s voice is actually entirely appropriate in feel, as why should a twelve year old be mature enough to realise that the settlers are being used as pawns etc. and that the Métis are also in many ways just trying to protect their land and way of life, when what Isobel and her fellow settlers are experiencing are mostly hardships and being repeatedly told that they are not welcome, that they are seen as threats to be eliminated). And yes, while Isobel’s attitudes of negativity towards the Métis are uncomfortable to and for older adult I, as a twelve year old experiencing the constant tug of war and being continually forced to keep moving on instead of being allowed to settle down, to receive the land that had been promised, Isobel Scott’s journals feel very much authentic and full of naturalism and realism (including how Isobel must surmount her taught to her prejudices towards the so-called savages, towards the settlers’ First Nations allies, and yes, that Isobel’s annoyance at her father marrying White Loon actually has nothing at all to do with White Loon being Cree, but that Isobel just does not relish White Loon taking her deceased mother’s place).

An engaging piece of historical fiction (with me especially enjoying how Isobel matures and becomes less and less prejudiced and prone to stereotyping as her journal progresses), I do find and recommend Footsteps in the Snow: The Red River Diary of Isobel Scott as a worthy instalment in the Dear Canada series (although I do wonder why Carol Matas did not have Isobel write in her diary about why so many Scottish ended up migrating to North America in the 19th century, why the so-called Highland Clearances were only mentioned in the supplemental information section, as I do think that this should also have been featured in Isobel Scott’s journal).

[writer... · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent insights into the realities of life for a family from Scotland immigrating to Rupert's Land in the centre of what is now Canada. Footsteps in the Snow is an intriguing YA record of the first year of this journey.

Part of Lord Selkirk's Settlers, this 3rd group of Scottish Highlanders set out in July of 1815, searching for a new life in a new world where they will once again be landowners. The Hudson Bay Company granted Lord Selkirk 116,000 sq miles of HBCo. territory in exchange for labourers. The Scottish Selkirk Settlers were to be those labourers for the company and the new colony. They were to receive £20 pay per year and 100 acres of land free of charge after building up a colony. Having had their properties in Scotland taken from them by the prevailing lairds - a period of Scottish history known as the Clearances - many were attracted to this promise of independence.

Unknown to the Settlers, the conditions would be gruelling for more than the anticipated first year and the preparations for their initial arrival were non-existent.

This book is an amazing account written by the fictional 12 year old daughter of one such father who has joined the journey to the new land. She is likeable and authentic in journalling the venture. Many insights gained into living life bravely, with incredible perseverance and stamina.

What I loved was the fulfilling of Isobel's original personal dream of life in the new land... though 10 years to the realizing of it!

History in the making for the very site I have called home for most of my life. Absolutely fascinating stories.
Great end notes from the author, Carol Matas, local to the area described in this diary with all historical references well researched for accuracy. Highly recommended.

Added to reads for:
Scotland Reading Challenge 2013
Canadian Reading Challenge 2012-2013

[Meghan · Rating 3 out of 5]

The plot is unique and mostly pretty intereting. Isobel wasn’t always as interesting.

[QNPoohBear · Rating 3 out of 5]

Isobel and her family were pushed off their land in Scotland and have plans to make a grand life for themselves in the New Land, around where Winnepeg is now. Unfortunately they arrive in winter with no provisions made and must join the Indians farther south to hunt buffalo. Come spring they're caught in the middle of two warring fur trading companies and the hostilities of the Metis people. Isobel finds life in the New Land a lot rougher than she ever expected but at the same time, she comes to appreciate the land and the people who inhabit it.

This is a good book to read over the next few days when we're stuck in blizzard mode. It will remind us how lucky we are to have solid houses, snow plows and plenty of food available. This story is heavy on description. It's almost too much anthropology. The descriptions of the Indian way of life are interesting (and not for the squeamish) but I wanted to know more what was happening with the settlers and if they would make it in this new land. Isobel is a very introspective girl and thinks a lot about the "savages" and what makes them "savages" and what makes her not a savage. Is she becoming savage by participating in the Indian way of life and enjoying it? Is a savage actually a savage after all? I liked her journey of personal growth a lot. This is one of the more depressing books in the series but it's well-written and descriptive. The plot kept me interested but I felt it was rushed a bit at the end and too much had to be explained in the epilogue and author's note.

[Alex Meeres · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've read this with several groups of students aged 8-10, but I think it's probably better for kids a little older. It's an exciting and emotional look at a period in time I found dull and boring when I was a child. Full of suspense, and interesting information, this book has fascinated the kids I teach. A few criticisms: first, that the prose is descriptive to the point of being distracting, since the narrator is supposed to be a 12 year old servant girl with English as a second language. Second, the protagonist is not enough of an agent in her own story. She is carried along by the events and travels around her, and while she takes on responsibilities and reflects on the situations, she is rarely in a position to change the story's outcome.

[Kelly]

Good as always, I love the Dear Canada series. This was particularly good at describing the Cree and Metis ways of surviving winters.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

My dad and I got pancakes at The Forks one time. Isobel Scott and her dad also go to The Forks, but back in 1815 it was a cluster of recently destroyed hovels attempting to be a farming community, which is not what Isobel and her family were expecting when they got on that boat from Scotland in time to beat the Highland Clearances. The Scotts, who are Scots, are part of the third group of Selkirk settlers who are supposed to be farming and supplying the Hudson's Bay Company at the confluence of the Red and the Assiniboine, but the North West Company and the Metis are relying on the buffalo, and the Selkirk settlers find themselves muddling about in the middle of the Pemmican Wars, which I know about from the graphic novel of the same name. (I learn Canadian history slowly and from YA books.) To survive, Isobel's group must indenture themselves to a band of Cree for the winter. Isobel begins to love the Cree and her new, cool, older Cree friend White Loon, but then White Loon goes and marries Isobel's widowed dad, and Isobel has a hard time reconciling, since her mom just died at the beginning of the book. However, Isobel is limited in girls close to her own age: she has White Loon, a bratty nine-year-old who keeps insulting her, and a nice girl named Alice who's in love with Isobel's brother. After the winter at Pembina, Isobel's family and the other settlers are starting to sow their crops in Winnipeg, when representatives of the Hudson's Bay and North West Companies have a bit of a murder fight and the settlers have to flee again. Isobel makes friends with some other Cree girls her age and her family survives another winter. Eventually, they do make it back to future-Winnipeg, white people take over Canada, and The Forks becomes the historically-informed, local business-oriented shopping and dining complex that it is today. Footsteps in the Snow was pretty good. I like Dear America's diary format but Carol Matas gets a little too real in the diary genre by having Isobel apologize for not writing enough and promising to write more in pretty much every entry.

[Georgia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Isobel Scott is a scottish girl growing up in the highlands with her two brothers and mother and father. One day, the father comes home to tell the news about Lord Selkirk's grant to relocate scottish settlers. They are exited to go, but Isobel's mother dies before the voyage. They have to make do without her, and Isobel carries on her mother's diary that she started, and important skills to become a lady. When they arrive their, Isobel becomes over-protective to her little brother, Robbie. And a bully named Kate tourments her. Her family finds themselves having to winter far south, as The Forks have been distroyed. Their load lightens when the scotts meet a young native woman, White Loon who helps the family when she marries Mr. Scott. But then, problems become worse, there have been threats by the Hudson's Bay Company's rival, the North West Company, and Govener Semple will not listen. The battle of Seven Oaks kills a majority of the men in the group, including Kate's father. Kate is left an orphan, but is generously taken in by Isobel's family, Much to Isobel's distain. But in time they become friends, and at the end of the diary, Isobel decides she needs to make changes to her opinions about Kate, and the native people.
I liked this book, their were some times where it was boring and some early entries were just about how to make buffalo meet, but maybe the author was just trying to give the reader a feeling of what life would be like for Isobel in 1815. Great book, Recommended to girls ages ten and over. Great Job, Dear Canada!

[Kristal · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars.

I actually like this better the second time around. I enjoyed the character growth in Isobel (especially in regards to her view of "Savages"). This book included important moments in Canadian History such as the battle of seven oaks and the difficulties between the two fur trading companies while still discussing day to day life and the trials of the journey in the new world.

The reason I gave this book a lower score when I first read it was because I found there was often a lot of time between diary entries compared to other Dear Canada books. Initially I found it more difficult to connect with the characters because day to day living wasn’t discussed as much as other Dear Canada books (like orphan at many door or the polio epidemic book). However, after a second read it absolutely makes sense that there are gaps in the entries since Isabel is quite often traveling and had a lot of duties on her shoulders. Not to mention this edition of the Dear Canada tied in very specific moments of Canadian history and there needs to be more time elapsed for that to happen as those events take months to unfold.

All in all a solid read.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is one of the Dear Canada series, which are historical novels, written in diary format, about fictional girls during different periods of Canadian history.

Twelve-year-old Isobel Scott begins her diary at sea in July 1815, as her family travels from Scotland to Canada, hoping for a better life. Her mother has just died, and Isobel feels lost without her. When they finally reach Canada, a long journey overland to where they will settle still lies ahead. After two months they finally reach their destination, only to be told they must turn back because there are not enough supplies for them to spend the winter there. Isobel continues to describe in her diary her life over the next year as her family suffers many hardships while trying to build their new life.

This was a very good book from the Dear Canada series, although not among my top favorites. I really enjoyed the early 1800s setting, and Isobel's diary narrative was interesting and moved along well. I'd recommend this book to readers who enjoy historical diary fiction.

[Nutkin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was an interesting way of looking into the lives of some of the first settlers in the (now) Winnipeg area of Manitoba, Canada. It's a part of the "Dear Canada" series written for youth as a way of learning about the history of Canada from young girls' perspectives in different provinces. This book is written in diary format and follows Isobel as she goes from thinking about the Aboriginals as savages to wonderful people with a different way of life. During this time, she details the hard journeys and seasons that she endures, as well as the games and skills that she learns from her aboriginal friends like White Loon and Bends Fingers. The book contains an epilogue that shows how Isobel and her family fit into the rest of Winnipeg's history and some historical sketches and images of important people in the book.

I think this book did a really great job of making the history of the area and the people accessible and interesting to people of a young age, and even the older generations.

[Jennifer L. · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have loved the Dear America series, so when I discovered there was a Dear Canada series, I wanted to read it. I was a bit clueless on the history as to what was happening. (I didn't pay much attention in my North American History class in college!) I did enjoy this book, but wasn't one that I will remember for more than a week or so. Some of the Dear America series books have stayed with me for years.

[Shreya=Drastically Random. Find the emoticon. · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't really know why I didn't like this one....I guess I don't like the characters. They seem false.

[Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

These books are always so sad!

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book to determine its suitability for a 9 year-old.
It's an engaging, age-appropriate telling of the settling of the region where the Red and Assiniboine Rivers meet, by Scots, for The Hudson's Bay Company around 1815 - 1820, a region known as Rupert's Land. The early story of The Hudson's Bay Company is really the story of early Canada.
It is well written, with truthful but not upsetting descriptions of the difficulties encountered by settlers of the land, including the physically exhausting trek, food scarcity, harsh winter conditions, native encounters, unlearning stereotypes, crop failure, and other challenges. It also includes messages of tenacity, new friendship, hope and hard-earned victories.

I highly recommend this book for advanced, mature 9 year-old readers and older children.

[Sapphire · Rating 2 out of 5]

When I first read this book, I thought it was one of the worst in the series because of how bland and boring it was. Now that I've reread it, I realized that it's slightly better than what it remembered, but not by much.

Isobel is a mostly boring protagonist. While yes, she has some traits that should make her interesting (such as being conflicted on being ladylike and being a bit more tomboyish), she's just not that interesting. Her feeling the need to be the one to raise Robbie and take on her late mother's responsibilities of taking care of the family, but wanting her own freedom should make Isobel an interesting character. But no, barely anything happens. The only development she has is her learning that First Nations are people that are equals, not below her. But I'll talk more about this topic later in the review.

The story should be entertaining and heartbreaking to read. I mean, the amount of hardships these people face is impressive, and should make you worry if they're going to survive the harsh winter and the attacks from the Hudson Bay Company and other First Nations. But no, the journey feels almost too easy to some extent. Yes, there are difficulties, but they don't really impact the characters nor the plot. It's boring to read.

One praise I will give this book is how they handled Isobel changing her opinions on the First Nations. At first, she called them "savages" and thought they were dangerous. It makes sense, she's a twelve year old that's a product of her environment. She even says that she's superior to them at one point, and it's normal for her to say such things. But as the book goes, she spends time with some of them (such as White Loon), and realizes that they're people with different customs and traditions, not some "savages" that are below her. Isobel even ends up doing activities with them and appreciating their way of living. So yes, I think it's a realistic depiction as to how people thought of First Nations back then, and it's the only good development that Isobel has.

Off topic, but I find it interesting that all of the "Dear Canada" books Carol Matas has written, all of them take place in Winnipeg (the Forks would end up becoming Winnipeg in 1873). Nothing important, just a fun observation.

Do I recommend this book? Not at all. It's just boring and it doesn't really feel like there's much danger when things end up going well for the Scotts. Yes, I liked Isobel's development in learning that First Nations are equals (and basically the only reason as to why I gave this book two stars and not one), but it isn't enough to redeem the rest of the story. Can't believe I'm saying this, but if you want something a bit similar from this collection, just read "Winter of Peril", it's actually fun to read.

[Molly]

This entire series is a wonderful way to learn history or teach it to adolescents. I find today's generations seem to recall more when they learn through other people (pop songs, celebrity gossip, etc.), so what better way to teach history than through someone else's perspective? Yes, "authentic" diaries would be "better", but would the language really hold the modern student's attention? Did the diary writer know what WOULD be important in the context of history? Probably not.

[Jenna Leigh · Rating 2 out of 5]

I literally remember nothing from this book, although I know that I have read it. So the reason I only gave it 2 stars is based on the fact that I've read a ton of the Dear Canada books and based on my knowledge of the way these books are written, if it didn't stick out in my memory, it probably wasn't very interesting. Otherwise I would remember something about it.

[Courtney · Rating 4 out of 5]

I purchased the whole set of these when I was younger. I decided to read it for nostalgic purposes. Although it is a quick read, it is definitely worth reading! It is packed full of history - a lot of which (embarrassingly enough) I didn't know! If you want a quick read with some history built in too, this one is for you :).

[Kit · Rating 1 out of 5]

read this to review it for possible inclusion on a social studies booklist. terrible book. it's only use would be to illustrate the perspectives of early settlers. it was racist, most likely historically innacurrate in regards to Cree and Metis peoples, and full of colonial "let's make the savages better" ideology.

[Madison · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really liked this book. Before I read this I had never heard of the Red River thingy (and I know quite a lot of Canadian history). It taught you a bit about the Metis, too, and that came in handy in Social Studies class! VERY GOOD!

[Teresa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think we often forget how difficult it was for the first westward-bound settlers. They were leaving everything they knew and had for something that was uncertain. Isobel's diary gives you a glimpse into how difficult that life was but also how rewarding it can be.

[Randi · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the novels in the 'Dear Canada' series, 'Footsteps in the Snow' is told from the perspective of Isobel Scott: an early Red River settler. It's a wonderful, honest look into what life was like in early Canadian history.

[Patricia Kaniasty · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love historical fiction. This tells the story of the settlers of upper Canada and how they made life with the indians. It is written in the form of a young girls diary. The emotions shown in their struggle to survive are powerful.

[Angela Sanders · Rating 3 out of 5]

it's not the most interesting of the Dear Canada series, but still pretty good. I enjoyed Isobel's transformation. She matures a great deal in her understanding of the native peoples. it's worth reading for that alone.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this because of the historical context of Rupert's Land and the Metis people of my ancestry. Told in the eyes of a settler, but offered viewpoints from both sides. Covered the Battle of Seven Oaks.

[Lani · Rating 3 out of 5]

a little boring at times but all in all it is good.

[Katrina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good book!
It is awesome

[Sara Sadeghi · Rating 4 out of 5]

not the best but still quite the read.

[Jessie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I started reading the series back when I was 9 and even now that I'm a teenager I still love them and my mom even enjoys reading them. Great for all ages!