Title: Beginnings: Stories of Canada’s Past
Author: Ann Walsh (editor)
Publisher: Ronsdale Press
Age Range: Youth (10+)
Time Period: Pre-European to WWII
Location: Canada
“Including both an introduction and a story by editor Ann Walsh, these intriguing tales are about historical “firsts”: such as the first spike pounded in on the tracks of the cross-country railway, the first eight-year-old boy imprisoned in Kingston Penitentiary, the first filles du roi in New France, the first election in which women could vote, and the first contact between Europeans and the people of Northern B.C. – fourteen captivating stories of Canada’s history, complete with extensive historical notes.”
This book is a terrific way to get a small glimpse at the overall history of Canada from the time First Nations peoples wandered the landscape to the Second World War.
Each story is short enough to not be overwhelming, but long enough to draw you deep into the time period, the characters and the experiences of a brief window of time.
My personal favourite was a diary written by a young woman who masqueraded as a boy in the 1800s in order to lay the railroad track to make money and support her family after her father dies. It was fascinating! My only complaint? I wanted many of the stories to keep going! I was sad they were over so quickly!!
There were a lot of tales of sorry – pain caused by wars and the general hardships of life throughout our country’s history.
In the back of the book, you will find notes for each story that helps dive deeper into that period of time and the basis for the story themselves. These, too, were interesting and left me wanting to find out more about the stories that had captivated me.
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