July 1st – Canada Day.

Happy Canada Day everyone.

Today’s recommendation is an updated, 10^th Anniversary edition of Wow Canada! : Exploring This Land From Coast to Coast by Vivien Bowers.

Originally published in 1999 and updated in 2009, it still makes for a great classroom resource about Canada and its provinces for elementary grades.

A fictional family take a trip across Canada starting on the west coast travelling to the east coast and then through Canada’s Northern provinces and territories.  Along the way, they stop in many major cities taking in lots of tourist highlights, both natural and man-made.

Loaded with photographs, and with sidebars providing background information, the book also has postcards and letters to friends, which give us more personal insights about their many experiences.  Provincial symbols are included in a section at the back of the book as well as an index.

Because it’s not possible to hit every city and every tourist attraction in this country unless you've set aside months for travel time, each section includes all the things the family would like to see on their next visit through that province.  This has great potential for research about these places.

Incredibly informative without seeming to hit us over the head that this is an information book about Canada, it’s easy to pop in and out of each province (section), glean a bit and enjoy the vastness of the country and its’ rich diversity. 

Armchair travelling without the fuss, muss and bother.  Though I’d do enjoy the fuss, muss and bother myself.  How about you?