Vivien Bowers

I received this educational 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 fictitious 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.

It was fun to learn the trivia and easy to read. It only provides basic facts, since it is aimed for children and not planned to be in-depth.… (more)