I am a Canadian.
I learned nothing about Canadian History in school. It may have been taught and I was alseep, all I know is that I didn't become fascinated with Canadian History until I wrestled with the inanity of the decisions of Judicial Committee of the Privy Council back in Journalism school. (Never mind. It would take far too long to explain).
In any event, I want my children to know their history. What I have been able to discover is utterly fascinating. I haven't made it to Confederation, yet, mind you. I may change my mind when I get there.
Today, someone asked on a message board: Could we help her pull together some literature and geography for her to teach her kids about Canada?
I went digging around in my files (really, I think my on-line name ought to be "web-scavenger") and I found a document I'd saved from someone's web-site ages ago called "Read Your Way Through Canadian History."
"Bonanza!" you might say.
Well, not quite.
I started looking through the list to find the books: first my local library, then Amazon, then Google Books. I was just trying to find descriptions of them. I took one tiny section of the list: Early Explorers. Of the 23 books cited, my library has 6 of them. This is instructive as my library doesn't seem to carry oop (out of print) books. And indeed, a random search of the remaining books seems to be that they are indeed oop.
But my library does have lots of books on John Cabot, Hudson, Cartier, Champlain, and Radisson. But they are, for the most part, factual books. They tell you when each of them explored, how many voyages each took, they show maps and who went with them, who backed them, what they found, blah, blah, blah. But, they are not adventure stories. Why not? Why make history boring, dry and factual when it was full of danger and fear and courage and excitement?
So, authors, take note. Canadians need stories. Our kids need the stories of their past. Maps and facts are fine but after the feel of the sea breeze in your hair, after the relief of sighting land after many months of dry biscuit and stale water, after the wonder of looking at so many trees, after the wonder of exchanging all your buttons for luxurious furs, after the feel of boarding a canoe and shooting the rapids.
Is it any wonder Canadians don't know their history?
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3 comments:
I know exactly what you mean! It is very frustrating, isn't it?
There are some books I like, that are available in Chapters (and likely in the library) but probably don't go as far back as the early explorers. They're the "Dear Canada" series, which are written by various Canadian children's authors, about girls in various times in Canada's history. Go to the chapters website and just type dear canada into the search box -- there's quite a variety there, but since there were no little girls travelling along with the early explorers, the series will be of no help there...
Thanks. I do have a spreadsheet of the Dear Canada series already made up. The first one is by Maxine Trottier on the Filles(?) de Roi and I hope to get to it soon.
I don't suppose there's a series in the works for boys, is there?
Nope. That would honour dead white males a bit too much for our modern times, wouldn't it?!
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