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Noteworthy Books with Canadian Historical Themes

French Titles

Le Secret de l'île Beausoleil
Daniel Marchildon
Montréal: Éditions Pierre Tisseyre, 1990, 181 p.
ISBN 289051417X
(Collection Conquêtes)
Ages 12 to 15
Cover reproduced by permission of Éditions Pierre Tisseyre.

Yannik and Roxanne, two very modern teenagers, are duped by archaeologist Élise Lecamp, who is trying to steal a piece of "valuable property" left on Beausoleil Island by the Jesuits in the 17th century. A second drama unfolds with Roman, a young Ojibway, who dreams of his ancestors' glorious past, a past he would like to revive. The three young people are drawn together through their shared interest in the history of the island. Crime, suspense and history in one.


Les Vikings
Robert Livesey
Illustrations: A.G. Smith
Translation: Nicole Ferron
Saint-Lambert, Québec: Héritage, 1993, 90 p.
(À la découverte du Canada)
ISBN 2762574439
Ages 8 to 13
Available in English: The Vikings
(Toronto: Stoddart, 1989)
Cover reproduced by permission of Stoddart Kids' Division, Stoddart Publishing Co. Limited.

Les Vikings traces the Vikings' journey to Canada, their meeting with the Aboriginal peoples, their customs, their expeditions to distant lands and their mythology. The author asks young people to imagine the construction of an enormous ship for the adventure, possible reactions in the case of shipwreck, and the apparent brutality of the explorers. He invites readers to participate in the Vikings' life by building ships, houses, helmets and other everyday artifacts of the great navigators. The projects are presented in such a way that they can be put together with active imaginations and nimble fingers. The examples and models illustrated by A.G. Smith are a felicitous complement to the text that will facilitate the efforts of would-be explorers.


Les Voiles de l'aventure
André Vandal
Illustrations: Stéphane Jorisch
Montréal: Éditions Pierre Tisseyre, 1992, 145 p.
(Collection Conquêtes)
ISBN 2890514676
Ages 9 to 12
Cover reproduced by permission of Éditions Pierre Tisseyre.

The setting of Charlevoix is cleverly hidden behind the charm of the legends that make up this story. In 1865-1866, Jeannot and Noëlla, attempting to escape the paternal turf, set out in pursuit of a wandering brother. Their wild adventure takes the two young people around the world on a range of vessels of that era, where they meet various characters who help them on their journey. When the teenagers finally find their older brother, he promptly disappears, but filial duty brings Ernest back home where, not without difficulty, the young family is able to put down roots in the land they have chosen for their own.


Le Voyage dans le temps
Denis Côté
Illustrations: Stéphane Poulin
Montréal: Les éditions la courte échelle, 1989, 92 p.
(Roman Jeunesse)
ISBN 2890210952
Ages 10 to 13
Cover reproduced by permission of Les éditions de la courte échelle, Montreal, Canada.

Stéphane Poulin's soft black-and-white drawings illustrate this story by Denis Côté in which, through the intermediary of an old pair of boots discovered by accident one moonlit night, Jo and Maxime are transported back in time to 1889. They are astonished to see a horse pulling a trolley, children dying of smallpox and, worse still, to learn of superstitions which give rise to the persecution of a so-called witch who is interested in science and the future, toward which she will guide the young time-travellers. An intriguing, fast-paced story that will attract young readers with its simple and accessible vocabulary.


Le Wapiti
Monique Corriveau
Saint-Laurent, Québec: Fides, 1995, © 1964, 238 p.
(Grandes Histoires)
ISBN 2762118557
Ages 10 to 14
Available in English: The Wapiti (Toronto: Macmillan of Canada, 1968)
When the orphaned Matthieu is falsely accused of murder, he manages to escape New France's dispensers of justice, only to find himself a prisoner of the Iroquois. Adopted by an Iroquois warrior to replace the man's dead son, Matthieu becomes The Wapiti. With ties in two cultures, can Matthieu find his childhood love again and re-enter the White world? Monique Corriveau portrays her characters compassionately, skilfully and with no extraneous detail.

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Date Created: 2001-05-29
Date Modified: 2002-09-25

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