• Age: 9 to 12
• Grade: 4 to 6

People have people been coming to Canada for over 12,000years! From those first Stone Age “immigrants” right up to the present day, people have been coming for millennia by every means possible — foot, boat, car, train, and airplane. From the Wow Canada! series comes Coming to Canada, a collection of compelling stories about these pioneers. Coming to Canada traces these stirring human tales of immigration and it’s through this lens that the country’s story unfolds. Interspersed through the chronologically arranged stories are spotlights on important historical events, ethnic neighborhoods, and exceptional individuals. A wealth of compelling archival photographs, artwork, memorabilia, documents, posters, tickets, craftwork, tools, and clothing show how diverse groups helped shape a people and a country. A timeline at the close highlights significant events and waves of immigrants arriving from different parts of the world, to help readers put it all in context.

 

Susan Hughes
a étudié la littérature anglaise à l'Université de Toronto. Depuis, elle
écrit et publie des livres pour enfants, à la fois des fictions et des
documentaires. Elle habite avec sa famille à Toronto.

 

Susan Hughes studied English literature at the University of Toronto. She writes both fiction and non-fiction children's books. She lives with her family in Toronto.

Susan Hughes' profile page

• Short-listed, British Columbia Library Association, Red Cedar Book Award
• Short-listed, Atlantic Library Association, Hackmatack Children's Choice Book Award
• Short-listed, Canadian Children's Book Centre, Norma Fleck Award for Canadian Children's Non-fiction
• Commended, Ontario Library Association, Top 10 Canadian Children's Books, Non-fiction Category, Best Bets List

This book is an honest look at Canada’s immigration history, the good and the ugly, overflowing with artifacts, memorabilia and fascinating photographs.

New Brunswick Reader

Susan Hughes’ Coming to Canada… is an informative look at people who chose Canada as their home, creating the multi-ethnic patchwork nation of today.

New Brunswick Telegraph Journal

This lavishly illustrated book offers stirring accounts of human immigration…

Our Choice

The book is lavishly illustrated with well captioned historical photographs and documents…This is a wonderful book for introducing the multicultural nature of Canada to elementary and junior high age children.

Resource Links

Another in the lively, information-packed WOW Canada series, this capacious book begins by addressing who the first immigrants to Canada were....Aided by archival photographs...Hughes charts the cavalcade of immigrants to Canada, from Samuel de Champlain’s colony at Quebec to the many Somalis who have recently found a haven from civil war and starvation in Canada.

The Globe and Mail

It’s both sophisticated and accessible, well suited to ages 9 to 14. The combination of factual detail and personal narratives makes for a compelling text supported by beautifully reproduced photos, posters, and maps. The antithesis of a dry history book, Coming to Canada makes for interesting and informative pleasure as well as educational reading.

Quill & Quire

Coming to Canada is an honest look at the immigration history of Canada — the good with the ugly, resulting in the multi-ethnic patchwork nation we have today.

Canadian Children’s Book News

Another fabulous offering in this series. The child-friendly approach of this comprehensive and informative book at how and why people went to Canada makes this nation’s immigration history come alive. …The lively text is well supported by an abundance of color and black-and-white photographs. This appealing book stands above others in its genre and is a must-buy for all Canadian libraries.

School Library Journal

...richly illustrated…Coming to Canada does a commendable job of presenting the patchwork quilt of immigration that built and sustains the country…

Bookloons

A sophisticated book that covers a highly important issue… Hughes' writing is excellent and the accompanying photos and illustrations beautifully complement the text…Wow!

2006 Norma Fleck Award Jury

...spirited text and stunning visuals.

Canadian Teacher

Coming to Canada: Building a Life in a New Land

“This is a book about Canadians. And that means this book is actually about immigrants, because Canada is made up of people who’ve come here from every country in the world.”

People have been coming to Canada for 30,000 years by foot, ship, plane, and by train, Susan Hughes tells us in Coming to Canada: Building a Life in a New Land, an informative look at the people who chose Canada as their home.

Aimed at ages nine to 14, this Wow Canada! book is overflowing with artifacts, memorabilia and fascinating photographs (both black and white and colour), as well as a timeline for easy reference.

From the first immigrants – the Native population – to the Irish, the Croatians and the Africans, this extraordinary book chronicles the specific waves of immigration through “spotlight” stories revealing their contribution to Canada. And Hughes does not shy away from controversy, speaking bluntly about how our country treated the Chinese men after they risked their lives to build our national railway or how the Japanese Canadians were treated during World War II.

Coming to Canada is an honest look at the immigration history of Canada – the good with the ugly, resulting in the multi-ethnic patchwork nation we have today.

Coming to Canada: Building a Life in a New Land (Wow Canada!)

How long have people been coming to Canada? This lavishly illustrated book offers stirring accounts of human immigration – from the first Stone Age settlers right up to present day.