• Age: 6 to 9
• Grade: 1 to 4

Ann and Meg embark on a search for their fur-trader father with a group of voyageurs bound for Grand Portage.

They brave harsh weather, food shortages, stray bears, and more in their triumphant odyssey across the wilderness of 18th-century Canada.

MARY ALICE DOWNIE is a pioneering children's author of historical fiction, folktales and picture books, and is the co-editor of the Amelia Frances Howard-Gibbon award-winning book The Wind Has Wings. Mary Alice and husband John Downie also co-authored Honour Bound and Danger in Disguise. They live in Kingston, Ontario.

Mary Alice Downie's profile page

" . . . for those readers ready and willing to tackle a more complex story. [Bright Paddles is a most engaging adventure story involving two girls of 9 and 10, Meg and Anne, respectively, who embark upon a trip by voyageur canoe through the Canadian wilderness in search of their father, a fur trader and explorer who hasn't been heard from for two years."
- Susan Perren, The Globe and Mail

"The story is an exciting one and Downie brings the girls' struggles to lifevery well. It's difficult for modern readers to grasp what life was really like in the 1700s, and the author provides lots of details to help usunderstand. The illustrations are simple and add to the word pictures that Downie has drawn. This is a cool adventure story about two brave girls."
- The Hamilton Spectator

"Told in short, plot-driven chapters, it's the tale of Ann and Meg, searching with a group of voyageurs for their fur-trader father in 18th century Canada. The best thing about this book is that it makes history accessible for readers just beginning to enjoy chapter-book formats. . . a successful, high-interest formula."
- Beverly Brenna, The StarPhoenix,
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan

" . . . the characters are colourfully portrayed: Jack is the down-on-his-luck optimist whom everyone hopes will succeed; Bastien is the feisty voyageur who will not be stopped from the trading voyages because the brigades say he is too old . . ."
- ResourceLinks

"This beginning chapter book is fast paced and full of adventure. . . The author has a nice touch with language, conveying character and time period with clear and evocative vocabulary. Details such as the voyageurs' repairing the seams of the canoe with pine roots and pine gum add to the story's authenticity."
- Canadian Book Review Annual