Dear Canada: Blood Upon Our Land
The North West Resistance Diary of Josephine Bouvier, Batoche, District of Saskatchewan, 1885
- Publisher
- Independent Publishers Group, Scholastic Canada Ltd
- Initial publish date
- Sep 2012
- Category
- General
- Recommended Age
- 8 to 12
- Recommended Grade
- 3 to 7
-
eBook
- ISBN
- 9781443124072
- Publish Date
- Sep 2012
- List Price
- $14.99
Classroom Resources
Where to buy it
Description
A young girl watches as the Métis life she knows is threatened by conflict and the men in her family are called to action by Louis Riel, the charismatic leader of the North West Resistance.
Tension grips Batoche, Saskatchewan in 1885. Many Métis moved here after the 1870 Riel Rebellion in Manitoba left them disallusioned. But life in Batoche is difficult. The buffalo on which the Métis depended for generations have been hunted almost to extinction, and the coming of white settlers poses a threat to their traditional way of life. The Métis want title to their land, but the government has delayed for years. Promises are no longer enough . . . and talk of a second uprising is in the air.
Thirteen-year-old Josephine finds herself torn over her feelings about the Resistance: she is worried for her brother, who is eager to fight; for her father, who prefers a peaceful solution; for Edmond Swift Fox, her friend, whom she loves and will eventually marry; and for Louis Riel, the leader whose efforts to help the Métis preserve their way of life are actions she grows to respect and admire.
Through Josephine's faithful diary entries, the reader is transported into this pivotal moment in Canadian history - the time leading up to the defeat of the Métis and the allied First Nations forces at Batoche, the execution of Louis Riel, and the growing tensions between English Canada and French Canada.
About the author
Maxine Trottier is a prolific writer of books for young people. Born in Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan on May 3, 1950, she moved to Windsor, Ontario in Canada with her family ten years later. In 1974 she became a Canadian citizen. She is a graduate of the University of Western Ontario.Maxine spent 31 years working as an educator in elementary classrooms, guiding children toward literacy. The students in her class, who of course thought of her only as their teacher, saw each step in the creation of a new work. They heard the unillustrated story, saw the roughs, and were the first to view the finished book.Maxine lives with her husband William and their two Yorkies, Ceilidh and Moon. They divide their year between Port Stanley, Ontario on Lake Erie, and Newman s Cove, Newfoundland, overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. Both are wonderful places to write.
Other titles by
The Tiny Kite of Eddie Wing
Dear Canada: Alone in an Untamed Land
The Filles du Roi Diary of Helene St. Onge, Montreal, New France, 1666
I Am Canada: Storm the Fortress
The Siege of Quebec, William Jenkins, New France, 1759
Dear Canada Christmas Story No. 4: These Three Gifts
Dear Canada Christmas Story No. 9: A Time to Rebuild
Cher Journal : Récit de Noël : N° 9 - Après Batoche
Cher Journal : Récit de Noël : N° 4 - Trois cadeaux en or
Cher Journal : Du sang sur nos terres
Joséphine Bouvier, témoin de la rébellion de Louis Riel, Batoche, Saskatchewan, 1885
Cher Journal : Mon pays à feu et à sang
Geneviève Aubuchon, au temps de la bataille des plaines d'Abraham, Québec, Nouvelle-France, 1759
Cher Journal : Seule au Nouveau Monde
Hélène St-Onge, Fille du Roy, Montréal, ou la Nouvelle-France, 1666