Despite having been born on Remembrance Day, teenager Johnny Anders shows zero interest in Canadian military history. That is, until he receives a series of nocturnal visits from a ghost-soldier who transports him through time to witness moments of heroism, resilience, and tragedy experienced by Canadian soldiers in the First and Second World War.

This Dickensian scenario, contrived by Charles Reid to deliver the bitter pill of a history lesson, is rife with problems. For instance, rather than placing Johnny in the action, Reid situates him, Scrooge-like, on the periphery, detached and observing.

The ghost shows Johnny the exploits of real-life figures such as Bill Chong, a ­Chinese-­Canadian who spied for the British in Hong Kong; Tommy Prince, a Saulteaux Indian who was a highly decorated Special Forces soldier; and a corvette captain named Petersen, who made grave errors battling a German U-boat.

While these people did some amazing things, Reid’s distanced perspective robs the book of empathy. Scrooge observed his own life and loved ones; Johnny is watching strangers. Thus Reid’s time-travel passages read like encyclopedia entries dressed up with bits of dialogue, doses of old-timer condescension, and platitudes about the evils of war.

Johnny’s waking hours, meanwhile, are so profoundly wholesome that few modern boys will relate. He goes to the library to do research rather than using the Internet. He appears to have no friends and no cell phone. His family life reads like an episode of Leave It to Beaver. When he befriends a girl named Casey, her mother thinks nothing of letting them hang out alone in her bedroom (where, of course, they discuss the Russian Revolution). Even his name sounds like it’s from an earlier era.

While it’s important to instill in kids a curiosity about the past, noble intent does not excuse poor art. Johnny’s goal here is to figure out why the ghost is visiting him. In the end, he somewhat absurdly determines that it may be his “destiny” to write about Canadian military history. Let’s hope he can spin a better yarn than his creator.