MG - Full Steam to Canada: A Barr Colony Adventure (by Anne Patton)

Paperback
13.3 x 19.1 cm (5.25 x 7.5 in)

It's 1903 and Dorothy Bolton and her family are sailing to Canada. They are joined by 2000 other British emigrants: families, single men and women, and soldiers from the recent Boer War. They have all signed up to build Reverend Isaac Barr's visionary colony on the untamed Canadian prairie. Mr. Barr's pamphlet makes it all sound easy.

When their ship leaves England and steams across the ocean Dorothy knows her life has changed forever. While her family falls victim to seasickness, she explores the ship, makes new friends and finds a freedom she's never known. On the long train ride Dorothy is mesmerized by miles of tall forests. Suddenly the landscape collapses into an expanse of flat, treeless land with an enormous sky and Dorothy is spellbound again.

Their destination is the tiny outpost of Saskatoon where they are expected to sleep in drafty bell tents returned from the Boer War. Dorothy and her family have no idea how to pitch a tent, chop wood or cook over a campfire. They find people to help, but Mr. Barr isn't one of them. They soon learn he has made promises he can never keep.

With a disappointed father, angry sister, and bitter mother Dorothy must find within herself the optimism to keep her family moving forward.

Written for middle grade readers, this book is also enjoyed by adults who appreciate a carefully researched historical novel based on true experiences.

Contains archival photographs, a map and a helpful glossary.

“We are taken on a journey that reawakens us to Canada, her people, her spirit, and the jaw-dropping feel of the land...the pioneering energy that shaped us lives on every page.”