The Kids Book of Canadian History

by Carlotta Hacker, John Mantha (Illustrator)

Canada has a rich and fascinating history. In this informative overview, kids will discover the people, places and events that have shaped our country. Featuring fact boxes, mini-profiles, maps, a timeline and more, this title in the acclaimed Kids Book of series offers a comprehensive and engaging look at Canada's development, change and growth. Kids can read about * the potlatch ceremonies of the west coast Aboriginal people * the building of the Canadian Pacific Railway * the battle of Vimy Ridge in World War I * the role of Canadian women in World War II * the establishment of Nunavut, Canada's newest territory, and more ...

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Childrens

72 pages, Hardcover

First published August 10, 2002

About the author

Carlotta Hacker was born in England but was brought to Canada during World War II and went to school here. She later returned to Britain and graduated in history and English from St Andrew’s University in Scotland.

Carlotta wanted to be a writer from her earliest years, but it was not until she was in her 30s that she began to get published. Her first published work was a travel book describing the two years she had spent working her way around the world. On this trip she met the Canadian filmmaker Hector J. (Red) Lemieux, whom she later married. This led to more travels as they wandered the world together making films. It also resulted in the book Africa Take One about their adventures when making films in Africa.

Wherever they went, Carlotta wanted to know how each country and its people came to be the way they were. This meant finding out about their past — their history. She had always been fascinated by history, seeing it not as dates and politics but as stories about people. She couldn’t believe it when she heard people saying Canadian history was dull. “But it’s full of incredible people doing amazing things!” she said.

She was delighted when she was asked to write biographies and histories for young Canadians. One of the books she enjoyed writing most was The Book of Canadians because among the 700 brief biographies she could include villains and some very odd characters as well as heroes and pop stars. The Kids Book of Canadian History was another favorite.

As an editor under her married name Carlotta Lemieux, she has also tried to get others into Canadian history. She was Consulting and Contributing Editor for The Junior Encyclopedia of Canada, writing many of the biographies in it.

Reviews

[Danny Hieber]

I thought it would be fun to learn about Canadian history the way kids in Canada do, to see what they emphasize in the textbooks. This was a short 80-page book, with each set of pages featuring a different time period in history. I thought it was really well done! I also appreciated the fact that Indigenous issues featured prominently throughout the book, as opposed to U.S. history textbooks, which tend to mention Native Americans in the precolonial and colonial history portions and that's about it.

[Rena Fukura]

Canada is a multicultural country. This book explains what happened in each eras and which country involved. It has many pictures, so I could understand easily.
Nonfiction books is a really good textbook for beginners like me.
I am supposed to read another series!

[Shaun Connor]

Bought this for my son after a recent trip to Quebec. Very informative, good illustrations and well put together.

[Jace]

Cool

[Nishuni]

Lot of good info in simple short read !