What would you pick as the top Canadian book for children? Keep in mind, you aren't being asked which book is the most popular or the best seller - instead you have to select the Canadian book that you believe all children should read, at least once. Do you pick the one with the most colourful illustrations? Do you select the one with the funniest phrases? Does it need to have snow in it? Should the story ooze Canadiana, and if so, what would that even entail? History? Hockey? Degrassi characters?
In honour of Canada 150, we asked a number of University of Alberta children's book experts to tackle this challenge. Here are their top eight choices.
A Coyote Columbus Story
By Thomas King (author) and William Kent Monkman (illustrator)
There are so many reasons to praise this Canadian picture book, not the least of which is the choice to make the Coyote trickster figure a female in the non-traditional role of Creator and baseball-playing aficionado. Add to this the double irony of King's European first-contact narrative - white conquerors who have "bad idea[s] full of bad manners" - plus Monkman's familiar cheeky artwork, depicting Columbus and his wise guys as garishly coloured clowns. The result is a humorous and satirical refocusing of history that should be a children's classic, especially in Canada's 150th year with all the accompanying and troubling self-congratulatory rhetoric.
- Gail Sobat, '83 BEd, '91 MA, instructor and founder of YouthWrite, Faculty of Education
It is Canadian because it is offers a reworking of the Columbus history from a First Nations' point of view and, with a sense of total irreverence, includes countless mentions of Canadian places, animals and people, while making a very distinct comment about historical records. Ironically, Monkman's illustrations were first thought to be too bright and colourful to be authentically Indigenous which is a story in itself.
- Gail de Vos, '71 BEd, '88 MLS, adjunct professor, storyteller and consultant, School of Library and Information Studies, Faculty of Education
The Cremation of Sam McGee
By Robert W. Service (author) and Ted Harrison, '77 BEd, '05 LLD (Honorary) (illustrator)
This classic humorous poem is about a freezing cold trip to the Yukon in the days of the Klondike gold rush. Plus, it's illustrated by one of Canada's most iconic artists.
- Katherine Koch, '80 BA, '84 MLS, head, Coutts Education and Physical Education Library; Debbie Feisst, '98 MLIS, public services librarian, H.T. Coutts Education and Physical Education Library; and Kim Frail, public services librarian
I Know Here
By Laurel Croza (author) and Matt James (illustrator)
It is a very simple story but I like it for many reasons. It is eloquently written and unsentimentally illustrated. The child solves her own problem, through imagining a partial remedy for her grief. There is no pretense that she will not be homesick once she arrives in Toronto, but she is doing the best she can for herself in advance.
The book tells a very Canadian story of a child who is passionately attached to her landscape, but this story does not invoke the myth of the unchanging Canadian countryside. Everything in the story is in a state of transition. The girl lives in the temporary home, a trailer. Once the dam is completed, the landscape itself will change. This family of a working man is moving from rural Saskatchewan to big-city Ontario. This is a story of change - also a very Canadian narrative.
- Margaret Mackey, '91 MLIS, '95 PhD, professor, School of Library and Information Studies, Faculty of Education
Josepha: A Prairie Boy's Story
By Jim McGugan (author) and Murray Kimber (illustrator)
Historically grounded as a settling of the West story, Josepha also speaks to contemporary challenges faced by recent refugee children coming to Canada, especially those who do not know English.
This book stands out for three main reasons: its complex themes, the exquisite language and the striking artwork. Josepha is a powerful story of hardship, shame, perseverance, generosity and friendship. The writing is poetic; every word matters. Winner of the Governor General's Literary Award for Children's Illustration, the painted illustrations are stunning, evocative of golden prairie fields and blue skies.
- Lynne Wiltse, '95 MEd, '04 PhD, associate professor, associate chair (undergraduate education), Department of Elementary Education, Faculty of Education
Lost in the Barrens
By Farley Mowat (author) and Charles Geer (illustrator)
This book, originally written in 1956, follows a young boy as he learns about living in the North. This Canadian classic is a coming of age story that explores the ideas of friendship and survival in the wild.
- Katherine Koch, Debbie Feisst and Kim Frail
Moose!
By Robert Munsch (author) and Michael Marchenko (illustrator)
Robert Munsch is [one of] Canada's bestselling author[s]. Children love his captivating stories, which have been translated into more than 20 languages, including several First Nations languages, Moose! was inspired by a young boy from Cape Breton Island, and it certainly takes place in Canada. Where else can you spot a moose in the backyard?
- Tatiana Usova, directrice, Bibliothèque Saint-Jean
My Beautiful Birds
By Suzanne Del Rizzo
Image courtesy of Pajama Press
This book describes the experience of a Syrian refugee who had to leave his pigeons behind. As Canadians, it's important to have books like these that allow us to understand the experience and healing process of refugee children.
- Katherine Koch, Debbie Feisst, and Kim Frail
The Secret World of Og
By Pierre Berton (author) and Patsy Berton (illustrator)
My mind went first to Munsch, Mowat and Montgomery, then to the poetry of Dennis Lee, Susan Juby's teen fiction, the everyday adventures with Gordon Korman and Indigenous-themed graphic novels like Outside Circle or Secret Path, but I think my top selection is The Secret World of Og - it's Canada's Wizard of Oz or Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. The story follows four children to an extraordinary world found in something so ordinary as a hole in the floor of their playhouse. They are taken to an underground world filled with odd creatures that could only be imagined in the active minds of children. Like many Canadian stories, The Secret World of Og is tied to the geography of the land (albeit the strange underground land) and has that dry sense of humour that Canadian authors use to get us through the darkest days of winter.
- Jennifer Waters, lecturer, School of Library and Information Studies
This article was originally published by UAlberta 2017 on Medium in celebration of Canada's sesquicentennial. Check out more Canada 150 content.
Learn more
Explore the imaginative world of Canadian children's literature with a visit the Canadian Children's Book Centre in the H.T. Coutts Education Library on UAlberta's North Campus.
Did you know?...
Alumni can access UAlberta libraries and check out books using a ONEcard. Even without a ONEcard, alumni are welcome to use the libraries as a place for reading, writing and research.
Comment Policy
We at Thought Box welcome your comments. Robust debate and criticism are encouraged, provided it is respectful. We reserve the right to reject comments, images or links that attack ethnicity, nationality, religion, gender or sexual orientation; that include offensive language, threats, spam; are fraudulent or defamatory; infringe on copyright or trademarks; and that just generally aren't very nice. Discussion is monitored and violation of these guidelines will result in comments being disabled.
We at New Trail welcome your comments. Robust debate and criticism are encouraged, provided it is respectful. We reserve the right to reject comments, images or links that attack ethnicity, nationality, religion, gender or sexual orientation; that include offensive language, threats, spam; are fraudulent or defamatory; infringe on copyright or trademarks; and that just generally aren’t very nice. Discussion is monitored and violation of these guidelines will result in comments being disabled.