Through the Looking Glass Children's Book Reviews
A is for Algonquin: An Ontario Alphabet
Illustrator: Melanie Rose
Nonfiction Picture Book
For ages 5 to 10
Sleeping Bear Press, 2005 ISBN: 978-1585362639
The province of Ontario has much to offer those who love the wilderness, and those who love the culture and the lights of a city. At its heart visitors will find the wild and lovely Algonquin Provincial Park with its miles and miles of trails and its many lakes which can be explored by canoe. There are the Niagara Falls, a place which attracts fifteen million visitors a year. Beautiful cities like Toronto and Ottawa will give visitors the opportunity to see that this part of Canada is not just a wild place with lakes, loons, moose, and beautiful pine trees. It is also a place with attractive buildings, city attractions and entertainments.
This Province has also been home to a number of famous people including Alexander Graham Bell the inventor, Sir John M. Macdonald, numerous painters, and the famous Canadian heroine, Laura Secord.
For every letter of the alphabet the author gives her reader a short poem describing the word on that page. In addition there is a more extensive piece of text on the page to describe the word in more depth. For example she has written a four line rhyming poem for "C is for the Canadian Shield" and she then explains what the Shield is and how it is significant for the whole of Canada.
This alphabet book paints a fascinating picture of the Province of Ontario. Rich, often Impressionistic paintings provide a wonderful backdrop for the poems and the text. Because of the format, the book can be enjoyed on many different levels by readers of all ages.
