Per-Henrik Gürth, illustrator of the classic Canadiana picture books Canada 123 and ABC of Canada, returns with his fifth Kids Can Press book. Once again, simple text that’s pleasant but nothing special (Gürth’s own this time, rather than Kim Bellefontaine’s, as in the other two) accompanies brilliantly coloured images of Canadian scenes and landscapes boldly outlined in black. On this venture, we travel across the country, moving from the far North to the country’s most southern point and from PEI through the Prairies. There are some fresh and lovely scenes, such as one of juicy-looking purple blackberries ripe for picking and another, in the style of stained glass, of monarch butterflies migrating south over a marsh in Point Pelee National Park.

The book’s publicity bumph plays up its appeal to tourists, and indeed, it would work as a welcoming item in gift stores or for family visiting from abroad. And while that’s a good thing about Gürth’s wonderfully enticing presentation of our sometimes unwieldy, bashful country, it also breeds reservations. In fact, it’s hard to know whether this book – gorgeous though it is and populated by rather sweet anthropomorphic beavers, bears, and moose – crosses the fine line between iconic and clichéd. You can only see those bright displays of neatly packaged nationalism so many times on T-shirts and mugs before they seem a bit slick.

While this picture book has the visual interest to hold the attention of its target demographic, parents and teachers might wish to see the artist’s impressive skills applied to a deeper meditation on the complex pleasures of a country that, despite its overwhelming natural beauty, is now largely urban. This book’s emphasis on inukshuks, woodchopping outside a log cabin, and fields of yellow Prairie wheat comes off as a bit too pat.