CM Magazine: Ellie's New Home.

________________ CM . . . . Volume VI Number 15 . . . . March 31, 2000

Ellie's New Home.

Becky Citra.
Victoria, BC: Orca Book Publishers, 1999.
82 pp., pbk., $5.95.
ISBN 1-55143-164-5.

Subject Headings:
Immigrants-Canada-Juvenile fiction.
Frontier and pioneer life-Canada-Juvenile fiction.
Loneliness-Juvenile fiction.

Grades 2-3 / Ages 7-8.
Review by Lorraine Douglas.

** /4

excerpt:

Papa touched my shoulder. "You must be brave one more time." Papa spoke quickly now. He didn't look at me. "I want you and Max to stay here with this family while I go ahead. It won't be for long. I'll come back for you as soon as I get settled on our land."
My chest felt like it was being squeezed. "No!"

Ellie is nine years old and has sailed from England to Upper Canada with her father and brother in 1835. Her father goes ahead of the two children to work on their new home, leaving the children with another pioneer family. Ellie becomes concerned about her father and fears that he might disappear. She does have a series of small adventures including seeking the doctor in a time of crisis. She has an unhappy relationship with Mary, another young girl, but they do become friends by the end of the novel.

This is an easy to read chapter book, but there is no sense of place in the novel and few surprises. Don Kilby has created an attractive cover illustration of Ellie, but the interior illustrations are dark and somber in tone. Although there is a strong demand for pioneer stories and readable fiction, books like Celia Lottridge's Ticket to Curlew are much stronger in character development and interest.

Recommended with Reservations.

Lorraine Douglas is Head of Children's Services in the Winnipeg Public Library.

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

Published by
The Manitoba Library Association
ISSN 1201-9364

TABLE OF CONTENTS FOR THIS ISSUE - March 31, 2000.