Famous Dead Canadians. Joanne Stanbridge. Illustrated by Bill Dickson. Markham, ON: Scholastic Canada, 2003. 196 pp., pbk., $6.99. ISBN 0-7791-1402-7. Subject Headings: Canada-Biography-Juvenile literature. Canada-History-Humor-Juvenile literature. Grades 6 and up / Ages 11 and up. Review by Meredith MacKeen. *** /4

excerpt:

....I have a confession to make. Most of the research about Samuel de Champlain is so boring it makes me want to pop my eyeballs out of their sockets and bounce them against the wall. It’s just one long list of his comings and goings, hithers and thithers (not to mention his yons.)

For one thing, Samuel spent an awful lot of time sailing back and forth between France and North America. (Pardon me? Oh, I suppose you’re thinking I should call someone of his stature Champlain, not Samuel, but I want you to really get to know him. But I wouldn’t use Samuel versus Champlain in an essay you write for school your teacher might not appreciate it! Thank you Plumley Norris.) Open any book about him and you’ll read something like this: On August 8, 1610, he departed from Tadoussac, arriving in France around the 27th of September. A moment later, you’re reading this: On March 1, 1611, he sailed back from France to Tadoussac, arriving around the 21st of May.

And by the time you get to this: He departed from Tadoussac on July 26, 1618 and was back in France by the 28th of August, you’re ready to burst into tears.

Samuel zipped back and forth so many times you could think that crossing the Atlantic was as easy as a trip to the local doughnut shop but I assure you it was not. In those days, the ships were small and tubby. They rolled from side to side like crazy while going up and down, up and down on the waves. They didn’t have engines, so they relied strictly on windpower, which meant half the time they were zooming along like an out of control jet plane, usually in the wrong direction. Also there were storms. And fog. And icebergs. The holds of these ships were horrible, dark and smelly. People got seasick. Sometimes they died. Food rotted. The smell was ...well...Ugh And the journey across the Atlantic took at least a month. So when Samuel tells us cheerfully that he made the crossing twenty one times, feel free to reply with a head slap and a cry of “Are you kidding?”

Using an off beat style, Joanne Stanbridge has written the stories of 12 famous Canadians, including Samuel de Champlain, Madeleine de Vercheres, Louis Cyr, Laura Secord, Tecumseh, John Ware, “Rocket” Richard, Lionel Conacher, Billy Bishop and Frederick Banting. Stanbridge’s diverse selections of men and women recognize a variety of ethnic backgrounds and professions. Apart from a small conventional portrait of these individuals, Bill Dickson, the illustrator, has added cartoons depicting their various adventures. The table of contents further illustrates some of Stanbridge’s humorous style with her use of chapter headings such as: “Samuel de Champlain’s Underwear,” “Billy Bishop and the Luck of the Devil,” and “Simon Fraser and the big ‘OOPs.’” Dr. Plumley Q. Norris is the “professor” who appears from time to time with additional bits of nonsense. For example, in the section on Louis Cyr, his little box includes “The Plumley Norris Harmfulness Scale: 1) If the thing is useful and important nod your head briskly. 2) If the thing is neutral or harmless, hold your head perfectly still. 3) If the thing is stupid and dangerous, shake your head fast while screaming “No!” and waving your hands.” At the end of the book is the Famous Portrait Gallery where famous dead Canadians speak out the Plumley Norris version with little captions being added to well-known pictures of these individuals. Consequently, in the picture of explorers paddling a birchbark canoe down a river in the Rockies, attributed to C.W. Jeffries and headed “Simon Fraser,” one of the men is saying “Hurry! The Big Oops is just around the bend!” Or in Lorne Kidd Smith’s painting, “Meeting between Laura Secord and Lieut. Fitzgibbon, June 1813,” Laura says, “I walked 30 kilometres without seeing a single chocolate.” All of these factors combine to provide a unique and humourous approach to Canadian history. A chronology of dates as well as a factual summary of the subject’s life can be found at the end of each chapter. A bibliography and a list of credits for the original art work appear at the book’s conclusion.

     The book’s humour calls for students to have some general knowledge of the historical fact so that its “ridiculousness” is evident. Since students up to Grade 9 in Prince Edward Island (and I believe the same may be true in other provinces) have not studied Canadian history as such, they might miss the humour. On the other hand, students with a knowledge of history may enjoy the book. The humour involves a swashbuckling, tall tale type of exaggeration and ridiculousness which generally appeals to the 8 to 12-year-crowd. Given sufficient background, students in this age range may appreciate the book; older students may grow tired of the author’s pervasive chatter but find the chronologies at the back useful. For all the fun, readers gain a very limited impression of the personality of these historical figures. Nonetheless, Famous Dead Canadians might flourish as an example of a type of humorous writing, and the cartoons will bring a smile to the faces of the readers.

Recommended.

Meredith MacKeen is a teacher librarian at Glen Stewart School in Stratford, PE.

To comment on this title or this review, send mail to cm@umanitoba.ca.

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Published by The Manitoba Library Association ISSN 1201-9364

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