Reason for Reading: Read aloud to the 9yo as part of our history
curriculum.
Comments: Follows the daily life of a pioneer family, the
Robertsons, living on a backwoods farm in Southern Ontario in 1840
from spring to New Years. Along with Ma and Pa, the family consists
of two elder children (brother & sister), two younger children
(brother & sister), a baby and Granny from Scotland. Told in
the third person, the story is given alternately from the younger
sister and brother's points of view making the book accessible to
both boys and girls. The story itself is very quaint and charming,
told in episodic format and can be compared to one of the early
Laura Ingalls Wilder books. The illustrations are very detailed
drawings done in dark brown and sepia tones; very complimentary to
the text.
What makes this book a little extra special is that between each
chapter is a non-fiction section which describes some of the topics
brought up in the story such as maple sugaring, shearing sheep,
house raising, threshing, guns, the traveling preacher, etc. Also
in this section are crafts to make using either pioneer techniques
or making items similar to what the pioneers used. These are simple
to do but will take a trip to the store to purchase not necessarily
just laying around the house items.
An excellent book. This is the second time I've read it and it is
one of the better Canadian history books out there. Thankfully the
publishers recognise this also and have kept this book in print for
so long, not an easy feat for a Canadian kids' history book.
Certainly worth buying if you have more than one child and a must
for a homeschool library. There are two sequels which follow the
Robertsons through the holidays:
A Pioneer Thanksgiving
A Pioneer Christmas
The book has also been given an American work over (the setting has
simply been changed to upstate New York and any Canadian references
and spelling Americanized) and a new title A Pioneer Sampler: The
Daily Life of a Pioneer Family in 1840.
Recommended!