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A Prairie as Wide as the Sea

by Sarah Ellis

When Ivy Weatherall sets out for Canada from England in 1926 she is as hopeful as her family that life in Saskatchewan will be better. Her aunt has given her a diary and she is determined to record everything that happens to her. As that first crucial year rolls by, Ivy discovers that Canada isn’t the land of plenty depicted in the promotional brochures. Her father can’t get work, and her brother has to become the breadwinner. Her depressive aunt and feckless uncle give up and go back to England. But Ivy makes a best friend, rides a horse to school, writes poetry, copes with the school snob, and – most importantly – discovers that she has a true gift for nursing. Her diary closes with hints of good things to come and a sense of really belonging in her new community.

Ivy is a bright and vivid character, and Ellis brilliantly conveys her intensely lived life as a curious newcomer. Historical detail is supplied through Ivy’s observations of differences between Canadian words and customs and those of England. Ivy’s readings of Lost in the Backwoods add a contrasting perspective on pioneer experience and fuel her resolve to be resourceful. The backdrop of her family’s disappointments never overwhelms Ivy’s resilient spirit.

The book’s epilogue sketches in the later sweep of Ivy’s and her family’s life and is followed by a historical note and a selection of photos from the period, a format that will be followed in this Dear Canada series of fictional girls’ diaries. This book and Orphan at My Door: The Home Child Diary of Victoria Cope, by Jean Little, launch the new series in August. However, as immediate and intense as it is, the diary format is limited in its point of view and narrative range. Here, we get just enough of Ivy to whet the appetite for more: the next year of the diary, or better yet, a novel. A companion set of historical novels to this series might satisfy those readers left panting for more.

 

Reviewer: Joanne Findon

Publisher: Scholastic Canada

DETAILS

Price: $12.99

Page Count: 206 pp

Format: Cloth

ISBN: 0-439-98833-0

Released: Aug.

Issue Date: 2001-8

Categories:

Age Range: ages 9-12