Dear Canada Series

CAN

1. Title: Brothers Far from Home: The World War I Diary of Eliza Bates

Author: Jean Little

Publication: Markham, On: Scholastic Canada, Ltd.

Publication Date: 2003

ISBN: 0-439-96900-X

Pages: 235 (large print)

Summary: Eliza is given a diary for Christmas in 1916, and so she begins to record the events in her life that concern the war (in which her two older brothers have enlisted), her homelife, and being a minister's daughter.

Major Characters: Eliza Bates (middle child of seven Bates children), Hugo Bates (oldest brother), Jack Bates (second oldest brother), Sam Bates (father and Presbyterian minister), Cornelia Webb (friend)

2. Title: With Nothing But Our Courage: The Loyalist Diary of Mary Macdonald

Author: Karleen Bradford

Publication: Toronto: Scholastic Canada, Ltd.

Publication Date: 2002

ISBN: 0-439-98979-5

Pages: 221 (large print)

Summary: Mary and her family are forced to leave Albany, New York after the War of Independence because they sided with the British. With little else besides the clothes on their backs, the Macdonalds must make a long and dangerous journey to Canada to start a new life in Johnstown, Quebec.

Major Characters: Mary Macdonald (13), Hannah Ross (best friend), Mother, Father, Grannie, Jamie (younger brother)

Comments: As I read these books I found myself believing that they could be real diaries. I had to check to make sure they weren't. The authors obviously did a lot of research, and I love the way that they describe not only events, but the way people felt about them as well. Compared to the Royal Diaries series, these books had more character development and I found that I cared about the characters more. (I actually cried at certain points!) I was also surprised at how accurately Little portrayed life as a minister's daughter. I know first hand what it is like to be one, and the author got it exactly right. I was a little disappointed that Bradford set her book in Quebec instead of New Brunswick. New Brunswickers pride themselves in their Loyalist heritage, and the series would have had greater nationwide representation that way, but there were definately Loyalists who settled in Quebec, so I cannot fault her too much.

Some things I like about the series as a whole is that the books are diaries in both content and form. They are a different shape than normal novels, the paper is thicker and has ragged edges, they have a string bookmark, and they are interactive (the entries are addressed to "Dear Reader.") They also come with "bonus features" such as historical sketches and photographs at the end of each book. The only fault I can find with the series is that the two books I read were both written from the white, middle class, female point of view, and characters from other cultures were barely mentioned.

Genre: Historical Fiction

Age Level: 10-15