Canadian history/l’histoire canadienne pour le homeschool
I often see questions on social media about what French books to use for Canadian history. Without further ado, here are the books we used (for grades 1, 3, and 4/CP, CE2, CM1):
À la découverte de l’histoire du Canada by Carlotta Hacker (it is a translation). This book was our « spine ». For history I generally follow the method laid out in The Well-Trained Mind. I read a selection from any book, as long or as short as I want, but hopefully not too long, and then the children write or dictate a narration of what they remember, based on their age, and make a picture to go along with it, which I then put in a duotang. We followed the chapters in this book, and if I wanted to, I supplemented with extra material along the way. Unfortunately it’s out of print; I bought a used copy online.
À la rencontre des explorateurs du Canada by Ann-Maureen Owens and Jane Yealland. Also a translation, also out of print. We used this one when I wanted to read more about a certain historical figure, like Jacques Cartier or Samuel de Champlain.
Les Voyages de Jacques Cartier by Maryse Lamigeon and François Vincent.
Les Premières nations by Robert Livesey. We used an activity in this book to try making our own longhouses out of paper. (If you are not Canadian, you may not be aware that the Native Americans, Indians, Amérindiens, Autochtones, etc are called the First Nations here).
Robert Livesey has a series of books on Canadian history:
Etc…We did not use all these, just the one called Premières Nations.
Le maître Glooscap transforme animaux et paysages by Allison Mitcham and Réjean Roy. This one is about First Nations legends and mythology.
Tihtiyas et Jean by Nathalie Gagnon. A lovely story about a European boy and a Native American boy meeting each other around the time of first contact with Europeans.
Wabanaki is a series of books on First Nations’ history.
Video : les habitations des premières nations au Québéc https://youtu.be/QnxaJJXKSE8?si=Rq938THRclCwCLuo
Video: Dormir dans un tipi : ⛺️ Dormir dans un Tipi ! 🏹- Défi 05
Quelle Histoire: Jacques Cartier. One thing I really like about the Quelle Histoire series is that you can download an audio version of the book to your phone (so you can hear how the French pronounce all those words you weren’t sure about 😉 )
The Radisson series by Jean-Sébastien Bérubé. My children adored these books, but I have to warn you that they are very violent. However, since we have been doing history in this house for a long time, including the ancient Assyrians and Aztecs, my kids haven’t been very sheltered from historical violence. These bandes dessinées tell the story of Pierre-Esprit Radisson, who was captured by the Mohawk while still a youth and lived with them for a number of months before escaping. Later he became a coureur-des-bois, fur trader, and explorer. My eldest daughter wrote her 4-H speech for that year about Radisson, and how he was captured by pirates on the Hudson’s Bay. We were very fortunate that our community college library carried these books, because each one is quite expensive.
Bonus series that we didn’t read: Les aventures de Radisson by Martin Fournier. These are historical fiction novels that are listed as being for ages 14+.
Carcajou by Geneviève Mativat. Another book about a Native American legend. It was very good, and very much enjoyed by my children.
Video about Carcajou: Kuekuatsheu – Le carcajou | Conte innu | Zone Jeunesse
Videos about pow-wows and Native American dances (I saw these on occasion having grown up in Alberta, but where we live now there seem to be no options to see it):
Red Pheasant Powwow 2021 Women’s Fancy Shawl
Native American Music & Dance – Pow Wow
Bonus English book: Banished from our Home by Sharon Stewart. But it does exist in French!:
Adieu, ma patrie. I am a big fan of the Cher Journal/ Dear Canada series (as well as the American versions called Dear America and My Name is America). Cher Journal has some other great titles, too:
There is also a series with the main characters as boys:
À l’assaut de la citadelle by Maxine Trottier. This series has books on WWI and WWII, The Franklin Expedition, and the Titanic. Even more titles are available in English.
For the war of 1812 we read:
Un vent de guerre by Kit Pearson. It was a little bit lacking in action because it was mainly about a girl at home waiting to hear news about the war.
English book: A Call to Battle by Gillian Chan. Unfortunately it does not appear to be available in French. This one had more action than Un vent de guerre.
Bonus English book: Tecumseh by James Laxer. This was a great book, with great images and a good story. Highly recommend.
Book that we didn’t actually read: Jean-Baptiste, coureur des bois by Francis Back. This is a historical fiction novel rated for ages 9-12.
Bonus English book : St. Isaac and the Indians by Milton Lomask. This is about the martyr St. Isaac Jogues who was killed while working among the First Nations peoples.
Questionable books (because I haven’t read them and can’t say whether they are any good or not):
Les diamants du Canada by Axel Vachon. It’s about a guy coming to explore Canada with Jacques Cartier.
Sainte Marie de l’Incarnation: Apotre de la Nouvelle-France by Philippe Roy-Lysencourt. Considérée comme la mère de l’Eglise canadienne !
Mademoiselle de Verchères by Georges Cerbelaud-Salagnac. Historical fiction set in Canada at the end of the 18th century. Rated for ages 10+.
Le Lys des Iroquois: Sainte Kateri Tekakwitha by Catherine Bertrand-Gannerie. The first native American saint!
L’Indien du Saint-Laurent by Marion Raynaud de Prigny. Another one about Jacques Cartier.
Les Premières Nations du Canada by Olive Patricia Dickason.
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